Finally i've been bitten by the fitness bug.

Dimitri

Yes yes i cleaning up my act. Up to now i've never had a problem with my bit of extra insulation to offset the coldness of winter but alas too many three course meals and take aways have taken their toll. I've reached a stage where even minor physical exercision has begun taking its toll on me. Also my belly is beging to really show and i've given life to two man boobies that are now big enough to make teenage girls jealous. So knowing nothing about exercise i went away and bough a nice pair of running shoes a traksuit pants and off i went. My main aim is to try and loose at least some of the excess fat before i take the girlfriend away on holidays in exactly four weeks.

So ,my exercise thus far has consisted of walking a mile and running back. I've done this 4 of the last six days. Now i have to admit i'm beging to enjoy this as it really does clear the head, however i've no idea if it will in any help me to reduce the excess fat so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. What other things shouild i be doing besides this? Please bear in mind that i simply cannot afford to join any of the gyms within a reasonable distance to me at the moment!

As for changing my diet so far i've managed to cut out the little meals i eat between meals, these usually are sandwiches. To be fair what i eat on the whole is quite healthy, now that i've gotten rid of the take away option, however the quantities are a bit excessive so if you've any tips on how i'd reduce my appetite a bit i'd love to hear them.

Any feed back would be greatly appreciated because i really don't have a clue what i'm doing and if i carry on the way i have been i'm going to have to buy a bra.

Dimitri

Seems i didn't post my important stats, male,22, 6ft... barely and i don't own a weighing scales. I'm off out now shortly to go for another walk and jog hopefully this is working, i only have 4 weeks to try loose some of my excess fat, after the holiday i'm going to concentrate on breast reduction, however thats accomplished! I've been told that jogging is the best way to loose fat and begin toning up before doing weights or anything like that, i really really hope thats true so i havent been suffering in vain.

gabgab

Hey Damitri,

Lifting weights, heavy weights and changing your diet is the way to go my man. The 4 weeks is not that important, but we have all been there, "damn I am going on holliers.... better get in shape"

If you have no weights, then I would suggest pressups, done properly these are amazing, look them up on www.crossfit.com, and stay with it, 4 weeks is not long, but you can get some results and the confidence for holidays will be there,

token56

If weight is your main concern then I would say diet is probably most important. You will need to be strict with yourself if you want to see any sort of a result in 4 weeks, although I would encourage you to stick with whatever you start for the long term. Oh also get a scales so you can measure any results.
For you diet basically cut out all fast food, as much sweets as possible. Also cut out all fizzy drinks completely they are actually fairly bad for you in terms of diet and weight. Try to eat as much vegetables, nuts and fruit as possible along with lean meat and good carbs, low saturated fat foods.
Everything I have said here and more is here http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2054886861
so listen to what has been posted here and try to follow it fairly strictly.

In terms of exercise going for long walks and maybe some jogging is good for loosing weight, along with weights as previously mentioned. Try to get out for a walk or jog 5 days a week for these 4 weeks. I wouldn't be an expert on weights so i dont want to give you too much advice incase its wrong.

Best of luck

Dimitri

Thanks for the replies guys. I have to admit i'm seriously enjoying the jogging it really helps to clear the head especially this time of year with the sun out, but ya its helping me put some perspective on the exams as well. I'm finally accepting that my diet needs to be radically overhauled. I eat a lot of what is basically good for you, having already cut out the take aways, but the sheer volume of what i consume is a problem. I dont have a problem with fizzy drinks or sweets because i never buy them, only eat them when they are offered. However i've no idea how to get around the sandwich problem. In any given day i'll eat 4-5 of them 2 of which would be lunch, all will have meat cheese salad mayo and relish if its there. If i get a roll made up it will have the same plus strips of bacon! I know its bad but todays food, it being my first of what i consider dieting was

Breaky: 2 weetabix, 2 cups of tea.
Lunch: 2 sandwiches on brown bread with ham, cheese, tomato and relish.
1 cup of coffee.
Dinner: large slice of lasange, 2 cups of tea.
So far today aswell i've drank 6 pint glasses of water which would be normal for me.
Is this good/bad?

With regards to the weights i don't have any but i might be able to get access to some but not till next week. In the meantime i plan to do 20 pushups in their place. I really wish i knew more about exercise and diet, i've benn reading the threads in the fitnes forum but i can't make head nor tail what they are on about in most cases and when i look it up it appears quite daunting. I only spotted the 8 week challenge thing today for the first time but i hope there is another one because that would certainly help with the motivation, its grand now but i'm sure when i'm back working full time it'll take a bit of a hit, though i'm determined that it won't be too big a hit. I realise that i won't be chiesled toned and super fit in four weeks but i hope at least i'll be visibly in better shape than i have been this winter. The eventual aim is to actually look fit and toned but i never have before so i realise that is going to be a good while off but hey at least its a start right.

EDIT: It wouldn't be un-common for me to eat a second dinner, often if i have dinner at home and go out to the girlfriends after and i'd usually have a bite there too if she's eating. Even if i'm not hungry, i know i'm a bad person but i do love food, oh well i'll have to find something else to replace it. Oh ya and i probably should've added i'm a heavy smoker.

CodedFire

Hi Dimitri,

Ive just started also, one thing i would say is switch all your tea and coffee to decaf, although this seems a waste you will actually find the lack of caffeene in your system will help control your energy better. Ive switch to decaf from at least 12 hot caffinated beverages and i find im less tired than normal.

Ive also found that five small meals is alot better than the usual 3, basicly if your come home starving for dinner you havent eaten enough during the day. Remember lasagana has a serious amount off cheese and white sauce which are complete callorie busters. Do you like chicken? A nice big portion of chicken with alot of vegtables would be much better.

Buy a steamer, some chicken and fish and five or six packs of frozen veg and you have your meals for the week, just bang it all in the steamer no fuss no muss, its a lazy mans wonder tool!. Also if like me your not a fan of seeds and nuts you can buy milled flax seeds pumkin seeds, etc and sprinkle (you wont taste them i promise) them on your weetabix and fish/chicken to give you those good fatty oils, they also tend to make you eat less as you feel fuller.

Hope this helps!

Dimitri

Thanks for the help with the diet stuff i'm really at a loss as to whats required but i've been trawling through the threads and i'm learning, the steamed vegies sound good i'm not a big nut eater but i reckon most of my appetite problems are in my head but the suggestions should help some bit aswell! I really wish i could fast forward the whole learning process, at the moment i'm motivated and i would love to be doing more to help my cause.

CodedFire

Well TBH, im not that long at it ether, i suppose just informed choices are the best. I tend to read the back of labels a bit more. Although ive just cut caffenee fizy drinks and sweets right out, there is no middle ground with those foods. The thing i found best to do was to right down a list of all the foods i liked that were good for me, these would be the easiest to eat as i like them.

Next i wrote list of all the foods i disliked that were good for me, ive tried to incorperate these "seceretly" into my diet. For instance, i LOVE veggies, but im not so much a fan of fruit, so the most logical thing for me was smoothies, im talking proper ones with whole not fruit, add a bit of low fat yogurt and there quite nice, also nuts, ive found you can add a small amount of milled nuts to almost anything and you get the goodness without the hassle.

BTW you will get a huge tefal steamer in power city for €45 euro. Ive found them very easy to use and you will be making more healty food than ever before. Also another trick if your partial to a curry: Fill a wok full of veggies you like and add some steamed chicken. Lop in an uncle bens sauce of your choice and serve with noodles or rice (i hate brown rice/noodle so i tend to eat less for carbs sake). The meal will feel huge but its really only alot of veg and one chicken fillet. You will get the hang of it very quickly... i did.

Dimitri

Agh today was dismal, i drank several cups of tea tucked into half a pack of chocolate chip cookies and couldn't finish my run! Alas it was terribl, ususlly i walk briskly for 1 mile and jog back, however jogging back i only made it half way, instead of improving i'm getting worse.

Several cups of tea and and half a pack of cookies aside i think i kept some control over what i ate.
Breky: 2 weetabixs
Lunch: 2 brown bread sandwiches wth mayo ham cheese tomatoe and relish
Dinner, sword fish steamed veg and two new potatoes.

Whether thats good bad or indifferent i just don't know. For the life of me though i cant explain what happened to me on the run. On the weights front my girldfriends father has a set i can use but without proper instruction it will only be of limited use till i can afford a gym. Also since starting exercising, i'm still getting bigger, i know i won't see a reduction in just a few days but i thought that at least i'd stop getting bigger which has been happening at a drastic and very obvious rate since christmass. Alas i think i'm doomed and i'm on a one way street to obesity.

CodedFire

The lunch and dinner were fine, cut mayo out though, look at it this way, for every slice you put mayo on add 100 calories, that 20 mins on a cross trainer or another 40 or so mins jogging. That will quickly put a stop to your mayo, cheese isnt much better so use light cheese very sparingliy, half the portion half the fat.

I think your main problem is your not eating enough at brekfast also, you want to have your two weetabix, two slices of brown bread (the wholemeal stuff not the slice pan stuff) and a yogurt or danone actimel jobby if you can fit it. That should stop you lashing into the cookies, also try have something before lunch along the lines of an apple or some other fruit.

Regarding getting bigger, remember it takes time. I think one thing you could do is rather than jog for a fixed distance, jog until you physicly have to stop. If you keep jogging the same amount you will never get any better. You should be ringing wth sweat and absolutly knackered from at least two of your days.

On the weights if you cant join a gym you really should get someone around who can help you with form as lifting a weight incorrectly is like pissing in the wind. You could be a bit cheeky and take up many of the gyms free days and watch the guys do it but its really recommended you get some formal training.

Remember all this takes time and mistakes are a natural thing. Just because you do something over and over again does not mean you get better at it, it only allows you to make more observations, iven the most hardend fitness gurus slip up. Dont be too hard on yourself, just dust it off and get back at it.

Dimitri

Okey doke so yesterdays exercise consisted of
10 push ups,
10 sit ups,
2 mile brisk walk.

Diet:
Breaky:2 weetabix, 2 slices of brown bread toasted, cup of tea.
Lunch: 2 sandwiches with light mayo, ham, tomatoe, light cheese and relish on brown bread.
Dinner: Medium sized sirloin steak with salad and wdges.
3-4 cups of tea.
About 2-3 litres of water.

I'm happy enough with that, i had an exam yesterday and it didn't go my way so the overwhelming urge to go down to the chipper was there. I resisted because if someone else was cooking and gave me a choice of steak or chipper i'd always choose steak. Plus i'd have felt like crap this morning.

Today so far
2 weetabix, 2 slices of toast (white bread)
2 cups of tea.

CodedFire

Do you find your less hungry with a bigger brekfast?

BossArky

Cut out the 6 pint glasses of milk per day if you are looking to loose weight. Drink water in its place.

If you have to eat bread try brown instead of white. If possible avoid bread altogether - tough, but will definetly speed up the weight loose. Bread is pretty high in calories for what you get out of it.

Change your weetabix to porridge. Make the porridge by mixing together a half cup of oats with a cup of half milk/half water and stick in the microwave for 2 mins, stir, then 2 more mins. Porridge will keep you full longer than weetabix, plus is better for you.

Increase your walk each day by a small bit, like 100 metres, and jog back. Eventually you will be jogging a fair distance and seeming the results you want.

Lastly, discipline - you'll need to keep this up. Good luck.

Dimitri

The only milk in my diet is in my tea, its water i drink normally, i'd say you must have read it wrong! Aside from that increasing the distance i run is a major goal, i intend to be able to run the two miles in a reasonable time by the end of june. However i plan to take turns between running and cycleing from now on seeing as i got my bike fixed today. I'd love to cut out the bread but i've no idea what to replace it with so any suggestions would be great?

Todays exercise.
2 mile brisk walk.
slightly over 4 mile cycle.

Todays food.
Breaky: 2 weetabix, 2 slices of toast (white).
Lunch: nothing except for two satsumas bad i know but i was up the walls and i didn't notice the time go buy.
Snack: muller crunch corner.
Dinner: 2 chicken breasts (oven cooked), large portion of broccoli, carrots, 3 new potatoes and 2 cups of tea.

Tomorrow i'm going to try the porridge

BossArky

Dimitri wrote: »

So far today aswell i've drank 6 pint glasses of water which would be normal for me.

For some reason I read that as milk, not water!

You can avoid bread at lunch by stuffing yourself with chopped veg. Bring a plastic container with you filled with carrotts, brocoli, cauliflower, peppers and whatever else you can find. It will prevent the sleepyness and food coma that sometimes follows eating stuff like sandwichs, plus will be healthier for you. Chop the veg up in the morning and wash them. It will take 3 mins.

Dimitri

Okey doke so the log took a hit there the past few days in as i was studying and so did the diet I've kept up the jogging and walking however the diet has taken a hit. I've consumed four large white bread rolls which each time bloated me somethin terrible, i've had five small snack bars, a lion bar, a small glass of pepsi, two servings of lasange and i may as well have eaten my exam paper i did so badly. I still havent started doing weights but the jogging is coming easier and easier to me. Unfortunately the last time i used my bike i punctured the front wheel so i'll have to fix that because i enjoy that more than the wlking and jogging even if me arse do be killing me afterwards!