Diet & Excercise

[naughttosixty]

Well a brand new year is approaching us fast, and I have decided that something needs to be done about my diet and exercise. I'm 22 1/2 stone, a smidge below 6ft tall and quite a broad person. I have been living off ready meals/takeaway and it's not doing me any good. I want to change not only for appearance, but also for my health. My plan is to cut out the snacks/pop/takeaway and replace with a more healthy option. Exercise wise I can't say I do alot, I mean, I walk about 5 miles a day and give the dumbells a blast at home but no real fitness regime. Can anyone give me any pointers for weight loss and improving my general health?

Thanks

[K87]

Running.... start of slowly just aiming to build up to about 30 min sessions, then when you can manage 30 mins without stopping you can begin building on either speed or distance.

Works wonders for the weight loss.

[ShadownINja]

Learn to cook healthy dinners. There are plenty of online resources but you could treat yourself to a new recipe book. You will start to see a difference by changing what you eat irrespective of whether you do more exercise (not that 5 miles walking a day is bad!). Also do some research about the GI diet and find out how that works. It's not a diet in the common sense of the word but the "strict" sense of the word (just like grass is a diet for cows, IYSWIM).

[tanqueray]

If you're walking five miles a day then this alone will be burning 4-500 calories off. At your current weight I wouldn't have thought further exercise is too important yet. Concentrate on your diet.

[funkyrobot]

swerni said:

K87 said:

Running.... start of slowly just aiming to build up to about 30 min sessions, then when you can manage 30 mins without stopping you can begin building on either speed or distance.

Works wonders for the weight loss.

nooooo

do not do this, what ever you do.

Stick with walking and maybe swimming.

At your current weight running is a very very bad idea.

As someone will no doubt soon say "eat less, move more".

Lots of healthy snacks, lots of fruit and bulk meals out with veg.
By bulking the meals out you won't feel as hungry as if had just shrunk them.


HTH

I agree with the above.

Diet is the key, although you don't have to become obsessed with this and don't take diet to mean starving yourself. I have been losing weight by cutting out the junk (crips, chocolate, pop etc) and cycling 3 to 4 times a week.

I have been advised by my physio that running isn't a good idea as I have spine issues, and even if I didn't have these issues running for me would be very bad for my knees (i'm 6ft 4 and weigh around 17 1/2 stone). I have found cycling to be excellent for me.

Swimming is good too though!

[Animal]

My most effective fat loss came from walking, not running! Two tips:

1) Walk faster - try marching at a pace that is just on the right side of comfortable. You should be able to feel your heart beating and be slightly out of breath without feeling like you've just run with the bulls in Pamplona! There's no need to run or jog at this stage.

2) Drink more water. Sounds so stupid, but drinking more water will suppress your appetite and make you feel healthier. You should be drinking at least 2 litres a day, which really isn't a lot. Thirst is often mistaken for hunger, so when you feel hungry try having a pint of water before eating. Also, have a large glass of water before bed and another first thing in the morning. Remeber: if you're feeling thirsty you're already dehydrated!

These two combined with cutting out the rubbish from your diet will do the trick: I stopped training for a couple of years when I was younger and got to be about 15st (I'm 5'9" and have quite a small frame), but a year of going to the gym and eating properly and I lost 3 stone - it can be done!

Good luck,

Animal

[Mansell's 'tash]

Animal said:

My most effective fat loss came from walking, not running! Two tips:

if i burn 300 cals in 30 mins riding, or 150 cals in 1 hour of walking, which one is most effective for fat loss?

[Halb]

Burn more cals is best as swernie advises.

Read this for time efficient cal burning.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-intensity_interv...

[ShadownINja]

Animal said:

1) Walk faster - try marching at a pace that is just on the right side of comfortable. You should be able to feel your heart beating and be slightly out of breath

This does seem to be the general consensus amongst medics. Quick enough to make it difficult to have a continuous conversation but not so crazy that you're gasping for breath. 3 times a week. It's a good start, anyway.

There'll come a time when your output matches your input and to lose weight further, you'll have to decrease your input or crank up your output. (Personally, I prefer to crank up my output as I'm improving my fitness etc.)

An interesting idea to add to everyday living: when you need to go upstairs or downstairs, do it twice. So if you're downstairs and need to go upstairs to get a jumper, go up then down then up. Then you're upstairs and want to go downstairs to watch TV, go down then up then down!

Edited by ShadownINja on Wednesday 30th December 13:39

[Silver993tt]

ShadownINja said:

An interesting idea to add to everyday living: when you need to go upstairs or downstairs, do it twice. So if you're downstairs and need to go upstairs to get a jumper, go up then down then up. Then you're upstairs and want to go downstairs to watch TV, go down then up then down!

or give the TV a miss and go for a walk/run?

[Mansell's 'tash]

Halb said:

Burn more cals is best as swernie advises.

Read this for time efficient cal burning.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-intensity_interv...

this is good, though more knackering than walking.

[ShadownINja]

Silver993tt said:

ShadownINja said:

An interesting idea to add to everyday living: when you need to go upstairs or downstairs, do it twice. So if you're downstairs and need to go upstairs to get a jumper, go up then down then up. Then you're upstairs and want to go downstairs to watch TV, go down then up then down!

or give the TV a miss and go for a walk/run?

Well, of course, run to the gym, do the 300 thing, 100 turkish get-ups, climb an overhanging cliff face, fight a horde of pirates at the top, eliminate the Taliban scourge and bring peace to the Middle East. But in the meantime, a slight adjustment to lifestyle is a step in the right direction.

[996 sps]

swerni said:

K87 said:

Running.... start of slowly just aiming to build up to about 30 min sessions, then when you can manage 30 mins without stopping you can begin building on either speed or distance.

Works wonders for the weight loss.

nooooo

do not do this, what ever you do.

Stick with walking and maybe swimming.

At your current weight running is a very very bad idea.

As someone will no doubt soon say "eat less, move more".

Lots of healthy snacks, lots of fruit and bulk meals out with veg.
By bulking the meals out you won't feel as hungry as if had just shrunk them.


HTH

This sums it up nicely, its just so not rocket science, no flash yank terms just get your ass moving use the calories and don't put in more than you use, seeing a guy with RA and he just loves to walk and swim, keeps and enhances his joints mobility as well as keeping the weight off he is 64 and very dedicated. Nell McAndrew summed fitness up as the above and she is no slouch, weight loss is not rocket science if there is no medical condition limiting you.

If you could add some form of body resistance training in this would aid you in your goal, but if your dedicated you'll lose weight and get fit no problems.

Edited by 996 sps on Thursday 31st December 16:26

[whythem]

Just by simply cutting out the junk food and pop you will probably be able to cut 500 cals per day from your diet. This will be enough to start your wieght loss initially. Do this for a couple of weeks untill you find some healthy alternative foods.