It's about time that I take this seriously...

[jakesnake771]

So I have been reading some articles on here and have decided that it is about time I take it seriously and lose the weight I need to lose to become healthy.

Let's start off. I am a 21 years old male coming in at about 345 pounds. I am 6 feet, possibly 6 foot 1 inch tall. I would consider my actual build to be kinda big, i.e. I'm not a fat guy on an otherwise small build. I know if I become thin/fit I will still probably be around 200 pounds or so.

I've always been a shy guy, I've never had a girlfriend, been out on a date, or even been kissed before. I feel that a lot of this is because of my size and women not seeing what they should in me. I know I have a lot to offer but I am shrouded by a big body.

I am a junior in college living off campus with a rec pass (where I will be doing my lifting). My current schedule is as follows:

Sunday: Nothing
Monday: Class from 9-10AM, 1-2PM and 5-6PM
Tuesday: Class from 8-9:15AM, 9:35-11AM and a consistent group meeting around 5:30PM-6 or 6:30PM
Wednesday: Class from 9-10AM, 1-2PM and 5-6PM
Thursday: Class from 8-9:15AM, 9:35-11AM, 1-2PM and a consistent group meeting around 5:30PM-6 or 6:30PM
Friday: Class from 9-10AM, 1-2PM and 5-6PM
Saturday: Nothing

Usually we throw a party Friday or Saturday night but I hardly drink, mostly because I was taking medicine that increased the likelihood for seizures with alcohol consumption. I'm off it now but I find readjusting is hard so I really am probably just going to keep DDing. Plus the calories aren't worth it and I have plenty of fun without it.

I am telling myself that I am going to wake up an hour earlier MWF, which would make it a solid 7AM every weekday and drive over to the rec center to do some lifting. There are like 3 people there so I wont have to worry about weights being used much.

Diet wise I have been eating more chicken breast tenderloins that I buy at the grocery store and I have been enjoy the frozen vegetable microwaveable steamer things. I want to pick up some fish oil supplements because I know they have some good fats.

I was looking for some suggestions on workouts, tips, diet tips, possible supplement advice, etc. I was also wondering if anyone had a calculator to figure out the amount of calories I should be eating. I know I need to eat 500 less a day for weight loss.

Thanks everyone, I look forward to your help!

-jakesnake771-

 

[jumpshot903]

well first off congratz on making the choice to lose the weight second off as far as diets concerned just drink water from now on no junk food which you probally know, as far as working out is concerned try to fit in 20-30 min of cardio a day weather it be steady or HIIT, supplements you could try green tea extract and at the most a appetite surpressent but you could easily lose quite a few pounds from trimming your diet a lot i can go in more detail in certain areas if needed.

 

[suncloud]

dang. total body workouts while minimizing the fast digesting carbs are the way to go for you. HIIT, while a great program will be too challenging for your joints. swimming will be very good for you as well.

figure out where your maintenance calories are, then eliminate fast carbs from your diet. between total body workouts and swimming, you should put on muscle, which will therefore put you in a calorie deficit. doing only compound movements is also a great releaser of growth hormone, which will help burn some fat off.

as far as a routine, here's what i've got for you for a MWF workout :
4x10 as supersets (no breaks between exercises, 1 minute break between supersets)

superset 1
deadlifts
bench press
superset 2
assisted pullups
clean and press
superset 3
squats
floor wipers (youtube these)

as stated, 4 sets of 10 reps, done in 25-35 minutes. you can go faster if your body is up for it. as far as weights go, try something light enough that you can do this, but heavy enough that the last set really challenges you. speed is crucial to releasing GH levels.

T-Th, just some swimming. have a cheat meal on saturday and sunday to keep you motivated - dieting only works if you want to stick with it.

that's all i got

hopefully you'll keep us updated on your progress, which will help motivate others to make the same changes that you're doing best of luck.

 

[jakesnake771]

notes

Thanks for the replys, it really is nice to see such a quick response. I forgot to point out that I don't drink pop, most of my beverage consumption (which is most of my calories i think, or a good chunk) is fruit juice and milk. I don't drink water, it makes me gag, however I do enjoy the zero calorie crystal light. I hope this is an acceptable substitution.

I don't have access to a swimming pool, unfortunately this is one of the luxuries that my rec center doesn't include. In terms of cardio, perhaps I can toss around the basketball with some of my roomates or perhaps toss around the baseball. I enjoy going to the field house and pitching (my roommate is a club baseball player and catcher).

HIIT means high intensity interval training? is that the sprints thing I've read about before?

 

[jumpshot903]

ya HIIT you do 5 min warm up then intervals of sprints and rests i do 20-30 sec sprint 1min rest repeated like 8 times on elliptical with high ramp and resitance. find what works best and do it this will help incinarate fat. as for juice whatch for suagry juice there not your freind. Its hard to eat right in college but you can change a lot now just by lowering calories and exercising more.

 

[suncloud]

I don't have access to a swimming pool, unfortunately this is one of the luxuries that my rec center doesn't include. In terms of cardio, perhaps I can toss around the basketball with some of my roomates or perhaps toss around the baseball. I enjoy going to the field house and pitching (my roommate is a club baseball player and catcher).

HIIT means high intensity interval training? is that the sprints thing I've read about before?

you've pretty much hit the nail on the head there. HIIT may be too rough on your knees - any maximal effort can be.

if no pool is around, do whatever you feel comfortable doing. i would go with a bike or elliptical machine myself, but if you'd prefer to be outdoors, by all means do that instead. i think 20 minutes on a bike would be better than 20 minutes playing baseball, but if you're outside for an hour having fun while getting in shape, you're probably better off. not to mention you're getting in 3 times the exercise

 

[Variocam]

A few of my thoughts:
Lose the juice and the milk, both are high in calories and mostly sugar. At your size HIIT might be a bad idea. I would try and do some long medium intensity cardio on a stationary bike as it gives you less impact and the easier the workout is on your body the more likely you will stick with it long enough for you to be in the kind of conditioning to run for cardio. The heavier you are the harder it is on your body to do stuff like wind sprints (hiit). HIIT would be good on a stationary bike for you as well however I would first do maybe 45 minutes medium intensity instead for a month to build up a baseline.

ill also caution you on calorie requirements. A lot of websites will tell you you need more calories because you are larger. However, a lot of these websites make assumptions such that if it takes a skinny person who weighs 150 2500 calories to maintain therefore it must take a person 300lbs 5000 calories to maintain. This makes little sense if you consider the larger person probably has a much slower metabolism then the smaller and therefore requires less food proportionately if you get what i mean. I would say that at your size 2500 calories would probably be fine if you adjusted down to it. Its a lot of effort to consume say 5000 calories and if your maintenance was truly that high you would know it.

You should first start logging your calories so you DO know what your maintenance is as if you have been at 345 lbs for awhile now you probably have been eating maintenance. if your maintenance was say 3500 (which is a reasonable amount) you would maybe try reducing 500 calories a week until you reach maybe 2500 calories and keep it there until your weight loss plateaus. This is so you get accustomed to eating healthy portion sizes, an energy level with less calories (if you start reducing calories, especially carbs you will feel like crap first few days), and keep your metabolism working. Starvation diets as you are probably aware actually would slow your metabolism and would also result in muscle catabolism. Given that you are on a bodybuilding website we assume thats bad A good source of nutritional data would be fitday or calorieking. Fit day allows you to save a food log. I think anabolic minds has something as well but dont remember. With the calorie counting websites you can typically get it to split into a % of calories from your macronutrients, protein/fat/carb.

People have different macro preferences and you can play with the numbers as you get more experienced. A popular one might be 40% protein 40% carb 20% fat. as I lose weight easily, I cant really give you much advice on a good macro ratio but I typically do something high protein high fat, relatively low carb.

 

[jakesnake771]

I agree that I need to cut down the beverages. Would the crystal light be a good option because plain water makes me sick to my stomach (dont bother talking me out of it, it happens, whatever). I figure the crystal light is better than nothing, water wise.

Is there something else I should be taking besides fish oil? I have read things that said that multivitamins might not be the best.

 

[Variocam]

I agree that I need to cut down the beverages. Would the crystal light be a good option because plain water makes me sick to my stomach (dont bother talking me out of it, it happens, whatever). I figure the crystal light is better than nothing, water wise.

Is there something else I should be taking besides fish oil? I have read things that said that multivitamins might not be the best.

I like drinking ice water personally, but you could do crystal light for awhile if your overall diet is clean. Try and track your calories and see how it ends up. It might surprise you how low or high it is and you will be able to identify problem areas to fix. I dont take any supps personally b/c I eat a lot of lean meat, fruit, vegetables, etc but they are better than nothing. You would probably want a multivitamin, fish oil is okay, as is cooking with olive oil instead of butter, etc. Whey protein is very useful and you should consider picking up some of that. I don't take any right now because I have access to an awesome kitchen but when I was an undergrad I drank alot of it to supplement my intake. You could take a scoop after you workout. Just remember it adds 100-150 calories or so per scoop.

 

[jumpshot903]

Vario pretty much sumed it up i would cut out juice you may say like o it has some vitamins in it but you can just get a solid Multivitamin like Orange Triad, ADAM, Or ZMA for all the vitamins you need. As for crystal light if you really cant handle water go with it i never was fond of water until i cut out soda and the only time i really cant drink water is right in the morning, when i wake up but i usually down a gallon or more a day. I also drink Sobe Life Water 0 Cal and Sugar on occasion for some flavor. supplements all you need are staples Whey,Multi, you could get Fish Oil maybe Green Tea Extract.

Try to get in solid workouts 20-30 min steady cardio on bike or elliptical is great and easy on joints start lifting a good amount and really whatch what you eat thats biggest thing as vario said track your calories and find something you like thats good for you.

 

[jakesnake771]

So I kinda started my new lifestyle last night. Ate some grilled chicken breast tenderloins and some corn for dinner. Been drinking nothing but Crystal Light so I am pissing a lot more. Woke up this morning at 7 to go workout with my sister (she's a freshman here at ISU so it's kinda cool that shes around). Got a good 30-35 minutes in. I kinda lifted sporadically, though. I did some sets at the bench, then some sets at the incline bench, then I did some sets at the fixed stack machine where you sit and push up the weights with your legs and shoulders to work glutes, etc, and finished with some standing calf raises.

I am kinda dissapointed that I couldn't get the workout done that you suggested, I think I am going to go on a day where I am not in a hurry so I can figure out where to do each exercise. Going to go shopping later to get some fruits, other good food as well as some fish oil, green tea extract, and protein powder.

My roommate who is a P.E. education major uses a product called NO Extreme when he lifts. I read up a bit about it and noticed that there is a product called Jack3d which is apparantly better. I was wondering if such a product is necessary for me at this point or if I should worry more about getting a good lift. Also should I be doing heavy weight strength training or should I be doing lighter weight endurance and toning?

 

[suncloud]

is jacked necessary to loose weight? no. will it help? probably. i would save buying/dosing that until you hit a plateau, and use it to break through it. that's my opinion though.

 

[jakesnake771]

K, I was thinking that. It could be used to break through a flatline.

 

[suncloud]

K, I was thinking that. It could be used to break through a flatline.

the workout i gave you above, my old workout partner did when he was trying to loose some body fat. he dropped 2 inches off his waist in a month, and he was really bad limiting his carbs. i guarantee you that if you stick to that program and limit your carbs, your success will be better. he didn't supplement either, so you shouldn't have to. when you do hit a sticking point though, those supplements are great for pushing thought that.

 

[MrBigPR]

Its a marathon, remember that.

Advice i have given people to lose weight/gain muscle relies in their diet. Cut out ALL fried food, limit sodium consuption and stay away from starchy foods. Go wheat instead of white bread, wheat pasta, and sweet potatoes. Keep proteins lean, skip snaps.

Munch on Peanuts, almonds, etc. Eat every 3-4 hours. A good option is Lean Options and you can find that on google.

IF you skip cheat meals as a whole, you could loose as much as 4 lbs a week for the first few weeks.

Elliptical is good for the joints, while weight lifting with moderate to high intensity will replace the fat with muscle. Remember when weight lifting also, its about bodyfat and not really always about the scale. You can stay the same weight and lose body fat. In your predicament, you should be able to see some good progress in about 4-6 months. I think in that time frame you can easily loose 50-70 lbs with a good diet, and steady workout regimen.

 

[suncloud]

Elliptical is good for the joints, while weight lifting with moderate to high intensity will replace the fat with muscle. Remember when weight lifting also, its about bodyfat and not really always about the scale. You can stay the same weight and lose body fat. In your predicament, you should be able to see some good progress in about 4-6 months. I think in that time frame you can easily loose 50-70 lbs with a good diet, and steady workout regimen.

i agree, the scale lies. either stick to measurements, or take monthly pics to track the progress.

 

[Variocam]

So I kinda started my new lifestyle last night. Ate some grilled chicken breast tenderloins and some corn for dinner. Been drinking nothing but Crystal Light so I am pissing a lot more. Woke up this morning at 7 to go workout with my sister (she's a freshman here at ISU so it's kinda cool that shes around). Got a good 30-35 minutes in. I kinda lifted sporadically, though. I did some sets at the bench, then some sets at the incline bench, then I did some sets at the fixed stack machine where you sit and push up the weights with your legs and shoulders to work glutes, etc, and finished with some standing calf raises.

I am kinda dissapointed that I couldn't get the workout done that you suggested, I think I am going to go on a day where I am not in a hurry so I can figure out where to do each exercise. Going to go shopping later to get some fruits, other good food as well as some fish oil, green tea extract, and protein powder.

My roommate who is a P.E. education major uses a product called NO Extreme when he lifts. I read up a bit about it and noticed that there is a product called Jack3d which is apparantly better. I was wondering if such a product is necessary for me at this point or if I should worry more about getting a good lift. Also should I be doing heavy weight strength training or should I be doing lighter weight endurance and toning?

If you need a simpler routine you could always try the classic 5x5 for the first month and then switch to the more advanced routine suggested above.

Exercise Sets x Reps Details

Monday
Squat 5x5 Ramping weight to top set of 5 (which should equal the previous Friday's heavy triple)
Bench 5x5 Ramping weight to top set of 5 (which should equal the previous Friday's heavy triple)
Barbell Row 5x5 Ramping weight to top set of 5 (which should equal the previous Friday's heavy triple)
Assistance: 2 sets of weighted hypers and 4 sets of weighted sit-ups



Wednesday
Squat 4x5 First 3 sets are the same as Monday, the 4th set is repeating the 3rd set again
Incline or Military 4x5 Ramping weight to top set of 5
Deadlift 4x5 Ramping weight to top set of 5
Assistance: 3 sets of sit-ups



Friday
Squat 4x5, 1x3, 1x8 First 4 sets are the same as Monday's, the triple is 2.5% above your Monday top set of 5, use the weight from the 3rd set for a final set of 8
Bench 4x5, 1x3, 1x8 First 4 sets are the same as Monday's, the triple is 2.5% above your Monday top set of 5, use the weight from the 3rd set for a final set of 8
Barbell Row 4x5, 1x3, 1x8 First 4 sets are the same as Monday's, the triple is 2.5% above your Monday top set of 5, use the weight from the 3rd set for a final set of 8
Assistance: 3 sets of weighted dips (5-8 reps), 3 sets of barbell curls and 3 sets of triceps extensions (8 reps)

http://www.geocities.com/elitemadcow1/5x5_Program/Linear_5x5.htm

its not bad for beginners I did something like that when i started training 4 years ago and then after about a month I switched to doing more volume, more exercises.