Weight loss...

[josh11490]

Hi all,

Decided its time to sort myself out and make myself healthier and lose weight.... But I don't really know where to start.


Currently 18.5st 40" waist and 5ft 10", 19 years old, a big lad.

I want to ideally get to 15st (rough target) but I'd rather not just lose the weight but gain muscle/tone up.

A couple of mates go to the gym 5 times a week and train weights, invited me along.

I plan on going but would rather lose some weight before hand as I feel out of place in the gym being the size I am and weight training with them.

Any help in regards to diet/exercise would be awesome!

Cheers all!

[Giraffe]

Go with your mates, everyone has to start somewhere and anyone worth a fuck wont care what you look like or whether you look out of place.

Diet wise, cut the shit, drink plenty of water and try and eat natural foods like meats and vegetables. Make sure you are sleeping well.

As for what to do, start small and simple. Get yourself up on a morning and go for a walk. Nothing fancy, just walk. The reason being isn't primarily weight loss, but developing a new habit and routine.

Seriously though, don't over complicate it. Just eat meats, vegetables, fruits, nuts etc, in reasonable portions.

[josh11490]

Go with your mates, everyone has to start somewhere and anyone worth a fuck wont care what you look like or whether you look out of place.

Diet wise, cut the shit, drink plenty of water and try and eat natural foods like meats and vegetables. Make sure you are sleeping well.

As for what to do, start small and simple. Get yourself up on a morning and go for a walk. Nothing fancy, just walk. The reason being isn't primarily weight loss, but developing a new habit and routine.

Seriously though, don't over complicate it. Just eat meats, vegetables, fruits, nuts etc, in reasonable portions.

Yeah man, been looking online and it gets complicated, my mates seem to know what they're doing training wise so ill go along, more diet advice I was looking for, my diet at the moment is shit tbh, I don't eat loads but what I do is wrong...

Thanks bud.

[matt_vtr_15a]

Take everything on board mentioned above I"d suggest the exact same.

I can't stress enough that you just go to the gym eith your mates though, no excuses just do it. Prrsonally i'd defend anyone that is in the gym attempting to better themselves. Anyone who judges someone in the gym is not worth a fuck and neither is their opinion.

I've seen all kinds of shapes and sizes in the gym, never batted an eyelid, peolle are there to train not critique others.. unless they have horrendous form that is.

tidy up your diet, cut out the bad habits and go for brisk walks etc. And throe some cardio in with the weights.

Lift heavy, cleaner diet, less junk and a bit of cardio will alone yield good results.. don't punish yourself too early on in terms of diet and training... ease into it and push yourself further week by week... until it becomes an addiction you can't live without.. it should slowly become a lifestyle rather than a chore that way.

[matt_vtr_15a]

Yeah man, been looking online and it gets complicated, my mates seem to know what they're doing training wise so ill go along, more diet advice I was looking for, my diet at the moment is shit tbh, I don't eat loads but what I do is wrong...

Thanks bud.

Give an idea of your current diet? Got your height and weight so I'll give you a bit of direction if you wish.. I've been in the same position dropped my bodyfat considerably whilst packing on some lean mass.

[josh11490]

Give an idea of your current diet? Got your height and weight so I'll give you a bit of direction if you wish...

Cheers man would appreciate it.

Current diet is

Mon - Friday

Breakfast 8-8:30am cup of tea

Lunch 2 ham/ tuna salad sandwiches white bread no butter (4 slices bread) and a packet of crisps

Tea 6-7ish what Evers being cooked, all sort of like chicken dippers/chips/bacon/normal shitty food

Snack a bit on crisps/biscuits/ toast.

Weekends don't eat much through the day, but takeaways etc.

Weekdays I drink mostly water in work, but do drink a fair amount of fizzy drinks at home.

[Giraffe]

Cheers man would appreciate it.

Current diet is

Mon - Friday

Breakfast 8-8:30am cup of tea, Porridge or Scrambled eggs, probably a bit of porridge.

Lunch 2 ham/ tuna salad sandwiches BROWN bread no butter (4 slices bread). If you can be arsed cooking at home, things like chicken and brown rice would be better

Tea 6-7ish what Evers being cooked, all sort of like chicken dippers/chips/bacon/normal shitty food. This needs sorting. Meat & vegetables preferably.


Weekends do the same as a weekday...

Weekdays I drink mostly water in work, NO MORE FIZZY DRINKS

That's pretty much as basic as you need it for now, just cleaned up a little bit, nothing fancy.

Remember that if you try to change EVERYTHING in one go, it will probably be too much of a change to stick to. Small changes over time will add up to a big change in the long run. I've made changes in bold. That's what I'd do anyway. No more snacks, or if you must snack, make it a banana or some nuts or something. No more shitty fizzy drinks.

[josh11490]

That's pretty much as basic as you need it for now, just cleaned up a little bit, nothing fancy.

Remember that if you try to change EVERYTHING in one go, it will probably be too much of a change to stick to. Small changes over time will add up to a big change in the long run. I've made changes in bold. That's what I'd do anyway. No more snacks, or if you must snack, make it a banana or some nuts or something. No more shitty fizzy drinks.

Cheers mate, will give this a go!

[chompy]

Take on board all of the comments above, they're all good advice.

But in my opinion, Don't go to the gym. Gym's are boring places.

Find an Activity you enjoy such as cycling/climbing etc and do it.

I was the exact same as you, over 18st. That was about 6months ago, I've not changed my diet that much (i've cut out fizzy drinks and have slightly smaller meals) I still have the odd takeaway and enjoy a snack here and there.

But I now weight under 17st. Granted - I'd be alot skinnier if I cut out the rest of the shite but I enjoy it.

And how did I do this? By this:
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/01/05/se7abyma.jpg

4/5 hours a month spent climbing mountains carrying 15kgs of kit. Burning around 4/5000 calories a time (according to the calorie counter I use). The occasional walk round some local hills at the weekends that take about an hour or two. I've summited 5 munros and 1 corbet in the past 6 months and done over 60miles of walking.

Mostly though, I enjoy it. I used to spend about 4 nights in the Gym when I was 14/15 prepping for competitions and I hated every second of it.

[Giraffe]

Weekend walking is awesome like, I was doing 1 or 2 8 - 10 mile walks a week at one point and I find it very relaxing.

With the OP being from Wales, bet there are plenty of routes to do, but it can be quite daunting to start up on your own if you don't know any body else who does it, so the gym with his mates is still a decent place to start I reckon.

[Ryancoyle]

You should never feel out of place going to the gym, a gym is there to help you lose weight / tone up so go with your mates. Think about it this way, by you not going to the gym and eating healthy is going to slow down the process of weight loss. I would strongly suggest doing a lot of research before starting though, if you don't eat properly it won't be worth your time going to the gym

[Connorsaxo]

I would say definitely go to the gym with some friends, youre a lot more likely to succeed when youre with them as it doesnt give you feeling that you have to be there as much, because its also made into a social thing. Maybe not 5 times a week at first...but slowly ease your way in so by the time youre onto 5 days a week youre not completely knackered and feeling sick afterwards.
Also dietwise I wouldnt change the amount you eat, just eat different things with less fat and more carbs, its annoying seeing people completely starve themselves to lose weight - yes it does work, but you end up making yourself more and more ill and messing up your digestive system altogether.
Cycling is a superb way to lose weight too, ive got 2 members of my family who have lost 2st+ just by cycling to and from work instead of driving, and this was within about 6 months without changing their diet what so ever, youll also get your cardiovascular fitness from this too which will aid you in your toning and strengthening in the gym.

[Giraffe]

You should never feel out of place going to the gym, a gym is there to help you lose weight / tone up so go with your mates. Think about it this way, by you not going to the gym and eating healthy is going to slow down the process of weight loss. I would strongly suggest doing a lot of research before starting though, if you don't eat properly it won't be worth your time going to the gym

I would strongly suggest doing very little research to begin with... Don't want to overload on information before you get the motivation/habit established otherwise it becomes daunting and too much of a change.

Just basic exercise and small changes to diet will give the first step of results which can be built on...

[devilsadvocate]

Go with your mates, everyone has to start somewhere and anyone worth a fuck wont care what you look like or whether you look out of place.

Diet wise, cut the shit, drink plenty of water and try and eat natural foods like meats and vegetables. Make sure you are sleeping well.

As for what to do, start small and simple. Get yourself up on a morning and go for a walk. Nothing fancy, just walk. The reason being isn't primarily weight loss, but developing a new habit and routine.

Seriously though, don't over complicate it. Just eat meats, vegetables, fruits, nuts etc, in reasonable portions.

Agree with this.

Most people who are overweight seem to start random fad diets and expect results to happen instantly.

The best thing so do in my experience is to eat some 'uncontaminated' foods so to speak, as suggested above. You haven't got to start munching on salad and soup every meal but cutting the bad things out of your diet is fairly easy and combine this with exercise and you will lose weight.

Dieting is common sense for the most part. Avoid eating too much saturated fat and sugar and cut down on the calories.

Starting with a walk is a great suggestion, you need to build up fitness before you decide to smash out a 10k run as its not realistic otherwise.

[josh11490]

Cheers guys taking in all the information! Gonna start gym payday which is 2 weeks time and go 2-3 times a week, start eating more healthier and cutting fizzy stuff out as well as fatty foods, ill eat more chicken and fresh veg etc.

Might keep this updated with how I do etc, might also help me to see how I'm doing.

[Carl-h]

Take the gym steady to begin with and build up to maybe 5 days a week or whatever. Eat well and you'll see results and you'll end up loving the gym! I'm on a weeks rest this week and can't wait to get back in there. Lots don't but I personally love training. Can't stand cardio boring shit I'll cycle instead (road bike and mountain bike) but I really really enjoy weight training.

[josh11490]

Take the gym steady to begin with and build up to maybe 5 days a week or whatever. Eat well and you'll see results and you'll end up loving the gym! I'm on a weeks rest this week and can't wait to get back in there. Lots don't but I personally love training. Can't stand cardio boring shit I'll cycle instead (road bike and mountain bike) but I really really enjoy weight training.

Think the biggest thing about the gym is feeling out if place, everyone will have routine and look like they live there and ill just be asking what do I do lol after a few weeks I'm hoping it'll be routine and ill enjoy it.

[Giraffe]

Think the biggest thing about the gym is feeling out if place, everyone will have routine and look like they live there and ill just be asking what do I do lol after a few weeks I'm hoping it'll be routine and ill enjoy it.

Mate seriously, everyone has to start somewhere, a gym is full of people just starting, people who have been there a while and people who live there. You'll be fine. Also, fuck what others think man.

[josh11490]

Mate seriously, everyone has to start somewhere, a gym is full of people just starting, people who have been there a while and people who live there. You'll be fine. Also, fuck what others think man.

I'm sure after the first few times ill feel fine, need to sort myself out so ill have to do new things and things I don't like to start, losing 3st ain't gonna be easy and I'm not expecting to wake up day after gym and have a 6 pack haha gonna take me a good few months to start seeing any real gains.

[Carl-h]

Think the biggest thing about the gym is feeling out if place, everyone will have routine and look like they live there and ill just be asking what do I do lol after a few weeks I'm hoping it'll be routine and ill enjoy it.

You have as much right as anyone to be there! If you go with mates they'll teach you to begin with which is always best, but don't make it too social. I hate going with some people as they just wanna talk rather than get on with the reason we went in the first place. I've been in the gym 2 hours in the past with a mate. By myself I'm never really in there over 50 minutes.

Just put your weights back when your finished with them and be happy to let someone jump in on a machine with you and no one will ever have an issue with you at the gym. Leave your weights round and everyone will hate you though ;)

[devilsadvocate]

Think the biggest thing about the gym is feeling out if place, everyone will have routine and look like they live there and ill just be asking what do I do lol after a few weeks I'm hoping it'll be routine and ill enjoy it.

Everyone feels like that when they go for the first time.

It helps if you can go with someone else, more so if you are doing weights.

[b0t13]

Also dietwise I wouldnt change the amount you eat, just eat different things with less fat and more carbs, its annoying seeing people completely starve themselves to lose weight - yes it does work, but you end up making yourself more and more ill and messing up your digestive system altogether.
Cycling is a superb way to lose weight too, ive got 2 members of my family who have lost 2st+ just by cycling to and from work instead of driving, and this was within about 6 months without changing their diet what so ever, youll also get your cardiovascular fitness from this too which will aid you in your toning and strengthening in the gym.

*hits head against wall*

[josh11490]

*hits head against wall*

What's wrong with what was said?

[McGuire86]

What's wrong with what was said?

Do some research, you'll understand why.

[Connorsaxo]

High quality carbs, fruit, veg and most wholemeal products also contain vitamins and more importantly for losing weight, fibre, which makes you feel fuller for longer as its broken down a lot slower, which helps to stop snacking and unnecessary eating.

Starving yourself can mess up your digesting system by making it used to not having food in the body, and when it comes to eating again it gets thrown up soon after. Ive seen and heard of this happening a hell of a lot

Cardiovascular fitness to help toning - toning is done by using light\medium weight (low weight\high reps), to gain the endurance which in turn gets you in total readiness for physical activity. With no\poor cardiovascular fitness the high reps part isnt going to be nearly as good as somebody with good cardiovascular fitness whos oxygen is carried a lot more efficiently to the muscles, thus being able to do more reps.

[Giraffe]

Toning, lol.

Toning is done by losing body fat. That's about it...

[Connorsaxo]

Losing body fat is losing body fat, if you have a look at the definition of toning it is along the lines of your muscles being in total readiness for physcial activity. Being thin doesnt mean you are well toned.

[Giraffe]

Being well toned is simply being able to see muscular definition, like a bodybuilder. Never come across it being linked to readiness for physical activity, but happy to be educated if you can provide a link.

[Connorsaxo]

http://www.ot-mom-learning-activities.com/muscle-tone.html

[Giraffe]

Right, I'll go along with your source and grant you some of it, but I'm not sure why the rep ranges you've suggested would ever aid in that...

[smiith]

Think the biggest thing about the gym is feeling out if place, everyone will have routine and look like they live there and ill just be asking what do I do lol after a few weeks I'm hoping it'll be routine and ill enjoy it.

I felt the same before i started this time last year.. Thought everyone would be judging me, looking at what i was lifting, and sniggering.. Albeit I'm not a big built lad, but i still had that in my head.. Specially since i was going with one of my mates who has been a gym nut for years, so in comparison, i was nothing next to him...

Then i bit the bullet and went.. Realized no one gave a second glance at what i was doing, if anything, if they saw me struggling, they would rush over to spot me, or help me out.. If they saw me having bad for, say not getting my squatting form right, someone came over, gave me pointers, told me to put the bar down. and showed me what he did to get his form, how he learnt it, and what i need to adjust to do it right..

Even had people who would just come and make conversation, asking if i have seen much improvement in myself over the months i was there, which was nice.. Always a few people coming in and doing new things, all i had to do was ask about it, and they would tell me what muscles it works and everything..

All genuinely friendly people.. There was only 1 or 2 which were dicks, who got in a huff if you were using a weight they wanted, but you just have to make them wait their turn, you shouldn't sacrifice your workout for them!

[josh11490]

I felt the same before i started this time last year.. Thought everyone would be judging me, looking at what i was lifting, and sniggering.. Albeit I'm not a big built lad, but i still had that in my head.. Specially since i was going with one of my mates who has been a gym nut for years, so in comparison, i was nothing next to him...

Then i bit the bullet and went.. Realized no one gave a second glance at what i was doing, if anything, if they saw me struggling, they would rush over to spot me, or help me out.. If they saw me having bad for, say not getting my squatting form right, someone came over, gave me pointers, told me to put the bar down. and showed me what he did to get his form, how he learnt it, and what i need to adjust to do it right..

Even had people who would just come and make conversation, asking if i have seen much improvement in myself over the months i was there, which was nice.. Always a few people coming in and doing new things, all i had to do was ask about it, and they would tell me what muscles it works and everything..

All genuinely friendly people.. There was only 1 or 2 which were dicks, who got in a huff if you were using a weight they wanted, but you just have to make them wait their turn, you shouldn't sacrifice your workout for them!

Yeah man Ill be going with 3 other lads who train a lot and are regulars, they'll help me out, It's just the thought of people watching etc like you said.
Once I've been a few times ill be fine haha

[MuZiZZle]

I used to be at the gym daily, I need to go back!, however when I started there were 2 guys there that were seriously strong, every day same time as me.

I was as weak as a weak thing, but they just gave me pointers, they were totally sound, if anything seeing what they could do spurred me on rather than making me feel like sh*t