trying to lose weight

K

kevbo

0
Hello,

After going to the beach a couple weeks ago, I realized that I wanted to lose weight. I'm 17, and up until then, I was very sedentary.. as in, I went to school, came home and sat on my computer for the rest of the day.. the only exercise I really ever got was the gym class I took 2 times a week which I rarely ever broke a sweat in. I ate an average breakfast, two school lunches, and a fairly large dinner (as in, if we ate pasta, 2-3 bowls of pasta), which a bowl of chips or something in between lunch and dinner.. also, if I went out, which I frequently did, I would probably drink an average of two glasses of soda. Not to mention, I also ate fast food with my friends on an average of 3 days a week, getting more than the average person would get.

By this time, you're probably thinking "WOW THIS KID MUST BE HUGE", but I'm actually not that "fat", I'm just not skinny.. I'm actually not even chubby, you probably couldn't even tell if I was wearing a shirt, but I've got a lot of extra fat in the thigh/legs/abdomen area that I'd like to get rid of. I'm basically afraid (and I know it would happen) that when my metabolism slows down, I'm going to be stuck. I weigh about 175lbs, and I'm about 5'10.

Over the summer, I now have a job which requires a "moderate" amount of physical activity (ie: carrying boxes, walking around a fair bit, I'm a computer technician but I don't stay in the same spot for very long nor am I actually working on a computer over the summer). Also, I have started to seriously do some cutting down on eating. I still eat an average breakfast, usually eating two slices of *white* bread for toast (I will probably switch to wheaties/cheerios with 1% milk though..), and lunch for the last week or so has been a 6inch ham&cheese with lettuce, mayonaise and black olives on wheat bread. Dinner is pretty much whatever my family decides to have, but cutting down on the servings.. we eat pasta a lot unfortunately, but I only eat one bowl instead of two or three. Also, I have been playing tennis quite frequently (I try to every day for about an hour, but sometimes I don't always have a partner), and doing sit-ups and push-ups (about 50 of each per day), and light/moderate lifting. I have also completely cut soda and junk food such as chips, crackers, and pretzels out of my diet, and I no longer get fast food. I only drink water, orange juice, and occasionally 1% milk.

So what I want to know is, is this enough to lose a significant amount of weight and gain *some* muscle. I'm not exactly looking for a Boflex-body or eat a Rocky-esque diet, but just enough to be happy with the way I look without my shirt on! Also, are there any specific exercises without special equipment you can recommend, especially leg exercises? I'm probably going to break out the treadmill, but it only goes at a power-walk pace. I could get my Boflex body at the gym later on, but right now I just want to get fit. Also, are there any changes to my diet you could recommend? I've been pretty hungry for the last two hours, but I'm not sure what to snack on. Fruits and vegetables?

Sorry for the long post! Thanks to anyone who replies, I really appreciate it.

Kevin
 
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Squats and lunges definitely :) Those'll work those legs like hell.

My daily life was just like yours. A year ago I realized that I wanted lose some weight. Like you, I wasn't OVERWEIGHT but I could lose a few pounds. And so I did! I was roughly 155 and now i'm 135 which is not really the best but better than before :)

Remember to drink at least 8 glasses of water per day and watch your calories. You need to limit yourself.

I can answer as much questions as I can to the best of my abilities, mind you that I'm only 15 so I'm not full of all the knowledge out there.

I think your job will help out a lot. The more active you are the better.

I wish you luck and stick around on this forum, it's great!
 
thanks for the great advice :) I am definately watching my calories, I've actually got the mindset that I don't need to eat everytime I see food! My friend and I went to Wendy's, but I just got a cup of water while I watched him eat his biggie fries, nuggets, and burger. I'm so proud of myself :)

And yes, so far, from all the reading it is great.. I always turn to forums for anything that I have trouble with, it's like dipping into a pool of hundreds of brains full of knowledge :p
 
Be careful not to starve yourself and don't kick fat completley out of the diet that you might set, your body will hang on to it if you don't get the right amount of fat.
 
KEVBO- what u are doing is awesome ... stick to it and u'll get results ... and great job at wendys! Thats tough .. i sometimes eat a salad with no dressing when i'm in that situation ... i wouldnt take any diet supplements .. i think gelfey is just advertising his website ...
 
thanks guys :)

i'm reducing on my calorie intake a lot.. but i'm having trouble fitting protein in my diet. my diet today was:

breakfast: cheerios w/ skim milk and skim milk to drink
lunch: 3 strips of grilled chicken, cantelope, and 3 wheat crackers and water
dinner: salad with "light" italian dressing (i tried to avoiding drenching it), and two stuffed shells with water

i tried to fit some fruit "snacks" in between lunch and dinner. i tried to drink water (a lot more than i used to), but i could drink some more. i also worked 5 hours today, which consisted mainly of walking around and moving boxes (nothing overly exerting though). i lifted a little bit when i got home and did pushups and crunches, also did an exercise i read on the internet for running up flights of stairs for like 10-15 minutes. tomorrow i'm going golfing and walking the whole 9 holes, and maybe playing tennis. i would say that i'm eating less than half the amount of calories that i was eating before, and a lot less junk food.. this will be enough right? what should i do about the protein? i've heard about protein shakes, and i'm willing to try those but i'd rather balance my diet a better way.

is there anything someone can suggest that can be easily obtained as far as protein is concerned? i dont really like beans, but im open to suggestions.

thanks guys! this is actually kind of fun, i see it as a personal challenge.
 
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