some1 to speak to and help

[pbn]

Hi, I don't know if this is really the right place to ask about this, but I have read a few other threads here and it seems fairly appropriate, if not, let me know.

I'll start by telling you some about myself. I am a 17 yo male from the UK. I am 6'1" tall and weigh 226lbs. When I look at myself in the mirror all i see is fat. I think there is some muscle under it all somewhere as i am fairly strong. Also i have some strectchmarks that i guess are down to my size around my abdomen, and a few kind of between my chest and armpit area, but from what I've heard, appart from drastic measures like laser surgery there is little that can be done about them. Anyway, they aren't my main problem, i could live with them if my body in general was in better shape.

I have decided after many years of hiding my body in shame (I would love to go swimming but daren't, and in the hot weather when i am with friends they all take their tops off, i won't) it is time i did something about it.

My confidence is low generally and i belive this is because of my body, so hopefuly as things improve, the amount i enjoy life generally should. (I'm not tryin to make it sound like i'm depressed or nething, i am not, generally my life is pretty good).

I am too ashamed to really speak to anyone about this face to face as i get really embarassed, so if someone on here (or as many people that want to) could give me some advice and encouragement I would be grateful.

I think my short-term aims are just to loose some of my body fat and get a bit fitter, although in the long run i would really love to b able to see some abs or some tone and definition. I know this will take some time and work though and i am not expecting miracles.

I want to try and stick clear from and kind of the artificial stuff i have read a bit about on here (forgot the proper word, sorry!) coz my mum would freak coz she's against all that kind of thing, plus i wouldnt know where to get it from and i have little cash!

Ideally, I would like to make a difference in how i look before the summer holidays, however, I've just realised they are only about 5 weeks away so i doubt that will happen.

I have tried some dieting and excercising before, and usually last a few weeks before giving in, i guess motivation is a problem, that why i thought if i had somewhere i could keep coming back to and telling people how i am doing that may help.

I have invested in a set of dumbells, 2 each of 1.1 , 2.3 and 4.5 kg ones and am going to start doing some of the excercises on the charts that came with them.

What I am really after is any general tips on diet etc and also good excercises for relativly rapid fat loss. I will still have to eat at least 2 main meals a day though else my mum will think i am starving myself or something stupid!


I hope you don;t mind this lengthy post but i really feel some1 to talk to about things will help a lot.

Thanks a lot,

Pete

 

[action jaxen]

Hey Pete, @ 6'1 226, You cant be that far off from your goals.. I'm 6'0 218 and dont look all that bad, I've got a couple to shed but it wont be that hard. Just stick to your plan, motivate yourself and make it happen!

Good luck m8!!

 

[pbn]

I dunno, comin from a non kinda body buildin point of view (i aint exactly muscular) most of my weight is fat. If it was muscle that would be great, but it isnt! I feel i need to get down to around the 200 mark although this is just a guess really, i haven;t a clue, I figure once i have lost the fat, excercising more vigorously and thus gaining muscle will be easier.

Pete

 

[PH911]

Do cardio 5x a week and mix in some weights 3x a week, and eat a well balanced diet (everything in moderation) and you will start to see noticable results in 3-5 weeks. Once you feel like you are getting somwhere motivation will NOT be a problem and you can start taking some of the more detailed advice that is readily available on this board.

My $0.02

 

[Belial]

Hey bro.

Buckling down and telling yourself "I'm gonna do this" is the most important step you can take. Congrats.

Is there a gym you could join? The dumbbells are fine, but they seem a bit light to build much muscle... I'm sure some folks here might know some routines you could do with light weights, but...

Anyway, my advice is to read the forums like a madman. Scour the archives until your eyes bleed, and you'll pick up info like a sponge. You want diet plans; well, there are plenty of posts around here.

 

[pbn]

Right, at the risk of making myself sound completely stupid....

By cardio 5X a week, what exactly do you mean? what would be a good starting point? you just meen going for a run or something like that? Is cycling good or not?

soz to be a pain,

Pete

 

[PH911]

At the risk of boring you with my routine (I am by no means a body builder), this is what I do:

Monday: 1/2 hour of weights (weight machines) - fast, easy to setup, high repetitions, moderate weight - THEN a 1/2 hour of cardio (at a gym) - Elliptical trainers are good, something you can see your results on. Shoot for 400-500 calories burned in 30 mins.

Tuesday: No weights, jogging for 30-40 mins outside, then back inside (at the gym we have a small group of people that like to jog outside), then inside and do another 20-30 mins of cardio on the elliptical trainers.

Wednesday: Free weights for 30 mins and 30 min on of some sort of cardio. If not elliptical trainers, stairmaster or something easy on the knees

Thursday: back outside 30-40 mins of jogging, then inside, 30mins of cardio

Friday: Either free weights or weight machines for 30 minutes followed by cardio of somesort 30 mins.

Saturday: Tennis or squash to break up the routine, or even take a day off if you like.

Sunday: Cardio again, treadmill inside or elliptial trainer.

That's what I do. You can see that I try to spread out the cardio, so as not to wreck my knees. You can substitute the treadmill for the elliptical trainers, but try not to wreck your knees.

I'm 30yrs, 5'6" 150lbs. 3 years ago I was 225. I lost 30 pounds with diet alone, then stayed at that until December of 2000. Since then I've lost 45 pounds and levelled off at 150, which is my ideal weight. Now it's just toning and maintenance.

CARDIO WORKS, and weights adds muscle, burns fat and keep the metabolism strong.

You need to eat enough, but not too much. Don't starve yourself, that won't work in the long term.

Hope I've helped, and like I said, once you find a groove, there are lots of tips on hard core diets that you can try.

 

[pbn]

Yea, thats helped quite a bit thanx, startin 2moro i am gonna give this a real hard push. Like i said i dont expect miracles, but things can only get better (at the minute, i do very little excercise but find myself with quite a bit of free time so i gonna take advantage of some of it). I will keep you all posted with how it goes,

Pete

 

[dEgeNeRaTe8211]

Well first, congradulations on making the big step of deciding you're gonna get fit! I really hope you get some quality results in a couple months.

You need to keep your meals relatively small. So I dont think your 2 big meals is gonna help your goals. If you start eating like 6 times a day, u think you can like, eat in front of your mom every time or something so that she knows you're eating. I did this when I first started eating often and clean. I used to have a big breakfast, big lunch, and big dinner. When my mom saw my minimized dinner, she started to get concerned. Then for like 2 weeks, I ate in front of her as much as I could so she could see that I was eating enough.

5x means cardio five times a week. You should really try to do cardio for 1 hour sessions. For an explanation, check WarLobo's post "when does 30 + 30 not = 60?" on the Women's Discussion Board. And like PH911 implied, mix up your workout each time so you dont get sick of a repetitive routine each day.

So good luck with everything! Yeah definitely keep us updated on your progess. And when you develop a diet plan, could you post that too? Cuz I wanna see how thats gonna be.

~dE

 

[pbn]

Does anyone know a way, or a wesite containing information, to find the value of calories, carbohydrates etc in 'non-packaged' food, i am talkin about things such as potatoes, vegetables etc.

This would be a gr8 help, thanks,

Pete