What exercises would be best for me in this situation?

[systemfailure]

(20 year old male, 5'6, currently 160lbs, aiming for 120 - 125lbs)
I'll try and keep my story brief: I'm trying to get back to the weight and physique I had when I was 17. In my early-mid teen years I had always been a short, skinny guy and at 17 I was 5'6 and around 123lbs. I didn't mind the short thing so much since weight-wise I was looking pretty good. Then I was put on some medications which took a massive toll on my body. By my 18th birthday I had gained over 75 pounds and was up to around 200lbs, which looked terrible on my naturally short/skinny frame and at age 19 (last year) I hit my high weight of 230lbs. None of my clothes fit anymore, I looked and felt awful and I didn't want to go outside for fear of being seen like this by people I knew. Then last fall I was taken off all my meds and took up walking every day and by my 20th birthday (this April) I had lost about 50 pounds and weighed in at 180lbs.

A little over three weeks ago my doctor started me on a new medication, Adderall, which is a stimulant and is known to be associated with weight loss. My weight was 173lbs on the first day of the new meds and in the 3 weeks since then I've lost 12.8lbs (4 pounds a week) and am currently at 160. However, here's my problem: the weight loss is coming from eating much less as a result of my decreased appetite…this type of weight loss is neither healthy nor the type I want. Even though I'm 70lbs lighter than I was last year, most/all of the fat is still there, and my fear is that even if I lose another 35-40lbs and get back down to my original weight, the deposits of excess fat will still be there, just kind of hanging on me. I believe I'm losing more muscle than fat this way, and I'd like to change that. I've already looked into changing my diet and have asked for help specific to diet/nutrition over on the Nutrition board, but in this thread I'm looking for help specifically on exercise.

Here are my two problems with exercise:
The first is that this medication raises my already-high resting heart rate even higher so that it is usually between 100 and 120bpm just sitting down relaxed. I'm worried that strenuous physical activity will send it dangerously high which is one of the big reasons why I’ve avoided much serious exercise lately.

The second is that I have not had good luck with exercise in the past. Three years ago when I was on the first month of the meds and was first noticing the weight gain I tried exercising daily...running, biking, swimming, lifting weights and so on. I did lose a few pounds this way but it made me *appear* fatter since I believe it broadened my shoulders, added more muscle to my upper arms, and just generally made me look stockier. The change from lean and skinny to a bulkier/stockier body type was drastic, especially considering my height, and made me appear significantly fatter and squatter than I really was. So I’d like to avoid that sort of effect if at all possible; I'm interested in specifically cutting/toning down, not bulking up, particularly losing that extra fat I can't seem to get rid of.

Okay, so now the question I'm hoping to get answered here: Given this information, what kind of exercises should I be doing? Nothing too strenuous or exhausting that might result in a dangerously high heart rate and nothing that will make me bulkier/stockier instead of leaner/thinner. I haven't been able to come up with much by myself so far, so any help would be great.
Thanks!

 

[summer123]

First of all, I'd go back to see your doctor. He/she will be able to advise on what exercise would be suited to you, maybe even refer you to a medical specialist.

There would be some forms of exercise that you can do though, weight bearing rather then cardio may be better suited, and be aware that as cardio is what burns the calories, its a good idea to have some degree of muscle on you as muscle will require calories to exist even at rest. You may notice yourself puff up a bit though as muscle lies beneath fat. (You need to have the fat lost first to have the muscle show) so maybe an idea is to build up a bit so your body requires more energy which it will take partially from the fat cells you already have.

Walking is a form of exercise and there are many different types of walking- its worth researching into.

Swimming is another good idea, if your lost for ideas you could always try water aerobics which although may be quite female orientated, men are more then welcome.

Rowing is another idea. In a gym you can start and stop as you wish and as your sitting your heart rate tends to stay lower then if you were on a treadmill. You can try adding the pressing and even adding wrist weights to make it harder if speed is not an option.

The upright bike is another idea. Its where you are sat in a right angle chair and cycle with your legs spinning ahead of your body. Again would produce a lower heart rate as your seated and is harder to make your heart rate rise accordingly.

The arm cycle could be another option. This is like a bike but with just your arms. You can get a higher heart rate with this though if you spin too fast. Maybe try the seated version and also up the intensity so its not possible for you to spin so fast.

If your into it, the Powerplate could be another good option. Great for core stability it could be your transverse abs which are very important for good posture and performing other resistance exercises properly.

If and when you do decide to do weights and etc, get some advice on posture and if you can get a spotter (work in pairs) even better. Bad posture can ruin an exercise in terms of muscle building and even cause injury some of which could mean you are unable to exercise for weeks afterwards which is not what you want.

But def. go back to your doctor for some advice on what exactly you can do and what to look out for and to avoid.