Its time for me to get into shape!

[Rich]

I finally got to the point where I can no longer stand myself. I feel weak, have very little energy, and I am disgustingly overweight, and in general feeling really down about myself.

I have been wanting to drop some pounds for a while now, but most of the things I have tried, like going to the gym havent worked. (It sucks working out by yourself.) And most ppl that I am friends with don't work out. Basically they dont understand being overweight. Take my best friend Steve for example. This guy has the worst diet I have ever seen. He eats at Mc Donalds every day, sometimes 2x a day. He sits around all the time, and his job isnt physically demanding either.

I have known him for 6yrs, and the kid hasnt put on any weight. Infact, he has lost weight. If it wasnt for his girlfriend, he would probably never leave his house, but still never gains weight.

And that Pisses the HELL out of me!

I only have one friend that does Kickboxing. She has been bugging me for the longest time to come down and check it out. So today, I actually did. I had a free lesson and I actually loved it. The instructor took it real slow for the first bit, but it got intense really quick. It was a hella good workout. Learning how to kickbox cant hurt either.

I signed up for a month. Its a start at least. Now im gonna lay off the fast foods too.

My goal is not to lose a huge amount of weight, or to become a professional kickboxer. My goal is simple. By the start of the new year, I hope to be feeling a bit more confident about myself, not only physically but mentally as well. Im going to be doing some running as well, and that should help too.

I have wanted to join the Canadian Forces Army Reserve for quite a while. I have a few friends in it, and its great as its part time, government pays my tuition for college, gives me interesting training, and I get paid (the pay is not good, but I am not in it as a career). I would have joined up a while ago, but the basic training / boot camp is supposidly very physically intense. Currently I am classified as obese, and most likely would not be able to pass the physical part of the entrance exam, never mind the fact that if I did get in, basic traning would probably kill me.

For example, I need to be able to do a 2.5km run in less than 12min. Now for some, this is probably not much, but right now if I try to run more than about 2 blocks, I am completely out of breath.
That is just one of the parts of the entrance test. There is push-ups, sit-ups and lots of other stuff. I want to be feeling confident that I can handle long distances. There is a 13km hike with full gear on near the end of the basic training.
I want to be in the basic intake starting in January, if I am not physically ready by then, I WILL be ready to do it next May.


Ok. I know I have wrote a whole friggin book here, but it felt good to get my goals out in the open. BTW, does anyone here do kickboxing? How about martial arts? Has it helped to get you into shape, or helped your confidence?

Thanks for reading, and I would appreciate any thoughts that anyone has or wants to share.


--Rich

[JD@af]

WAY TO GO, RICH!!! YOU SHOW THOSE LOVE HANDLES WHOSE BOSS!!!!

No but seriously, I can completely understand how aggravating it is to feel and actually be out of shape. It is good of you to have the drive to stand up to it and fight it. You are taking a great, new direction in life. Congrats

-JD

[Spec2 Girl]

Good for you Hummerman! It’s great that you have actually made a start. I did Tae Bo for a while and I think that did actually help me to lose weight and tone up. I lost 16kg in 12 weeks due to a combination of diet and exercise (cardio and weights). If you need a hand with your diet and want some tips or whatever just holler and I can give you some ideas.

[Jay!]

Good on you, Rich! I need to get off my recently-fattened ass and work out a bit, too.

I am, well was, like your friend. I was locked into 150 lbs for about 7 years. I do nothing, go nowhere, sit at a desk all day, eat whatever. Then, for whatever reason (though I suspect it's because I got married), I've gained about 20 lbs in the last year, all in my gut.

Yeah, so.... I need to do some sit-ups or something...

[JD@af]

All right, all right, since we're all sharing so much, FTO, I'll sing the benefits of Tae Bo as well. Since... maybe mid February, I've been doing the first Tae Bo Basic workout, three days on, then one or two days off, repeat. It didn't really help me lose much weight, but I did tone up quite a lot. You'll get to a point where you will want more challenge, like doing the exercises with hand weights, or doing the tape twice back to back. It works well, though it does not do enough for your back and pec muscles IMO. And I am a big believer in doing the basic, as the advanced moves are too complicated and do not stress good form, which is invaluable.

Its much quicker than going to a gym (just do it at home), and once you pop the tape into the VCR, Billy is the only workout partner you'll ever need.

P.S. I have this nagging feeling that I should be highly embarassed for sharing this with all of you!! :finger: :silly2:

[KatWoman]

Way to go Rich! It's hard to get into at first, but once you get really into whatever kind of workout you are doing and start seeing results, you will look forward to it and want to keep up with it

I have been working out for 8 months now (missed a few here n there) and have lost 30 pounds so far Alex and I had joined LA Fitness, then he went to Pure Fitness to start working out with a friend because he wanted to get into free weights and I was not strong enough to spot him. Then I joined PF too because it was alot cheaper than LA...plus the attitude of management at LA sucked. Working out by yourself does suck, especially if you are trying to do it at home...where there are too many distractions like tv, the laundry pile in the corner screaming to be washed, or the pile of unfinished business on the desk. I have been working out alone for about 3-4 months now, but since I do go the gym just being around other people in general helps, for me anyways.

Now for a novel

The following are some tips I posted on another board, where some of us girls were swapping weight loss tips. Guys can follow these too:

1. The obvious...stay away from fast food/junk food. If you do go out to eat, pick the healthier options on the menu like broiled/roasted chicken, not fried. Baked potato, not fries. etc. Alot of crap out there has ungodly amounts of sodium, which makes you retain water. Then that results in being bloated and the famous "water weight gain".

2. Drink lots of water. It helps keep your system clean and your liver and kidneys filtered. Drinking lots o soda puts you at risk for kidney stones...and literally will crystalize your kidneys over time. Also, it robs your body of calcium...and if you lack calcium, your bones can become brittle and will be more prone to break, including your teeth. Water also keeps you hydrated. If you get a tired, crapp feeling in the mid afternoon, are prone to headaches and what not...those are a couple of signs that you aren't getting enough water. Also...I recently read that sometimes dehydration will make you feel "hungry" so alot of people mistake that for an empty stomach and then go eat more food to satisfy the hunger. Also remember too, party people, alcohol dehydrates you too. Drink lots of water before/after partying.

3. Eat smaller meals, and more often. When you feel hungry, that is your body's signal that it needs fuel. Eating a reasonable and healthy portion of food will spike up your metabolism. A few hours later when you feel hungry again, repeat. When you fuel your body your metabolism goes up...and over a few hours it starts to go down again, so you want to eat a little something to keep it up. When you let your metabolism drop too far down, your body will "think" there is a lack of fuel and go into a "starvation" mode and start storing fat. This is why it is important to NOT skip breakfast in the morning.
a. You don't store fat in your bodyin a way like you can cut a chunk of skin out and pull out a piece of fat...your cells are what stores fat. This is why liposuction is scary smeg, because you are not only putting yourself thru unnecessary torment, you are also destroying CELLS.
Also when you eat...eat until the hunger feeling goes away, not until you are ready to bust and the seams and need to loosen the bra.
b. Don't eat late at night. If you eat something then go to bed an hour later, you're obviously not active and won't burn it off. Think of it as putting gas in your car but not driving it.

4. Another obvious....EXERCISE, especially for those of us who are at desk jobs. If you are inactive for so long, your body also reacts by slowing down functions, and in the long run that can be detrimental to your health, not to mention the waist line. People who sit around and do nothing feel tired and worn out in an unhealthy way. I have been there. You need to do at least 45 minutes of some kind of activity. The first 20 min is spent buring off sugars from the carbs you consumed. Then after 40 min the fat burning starts. To gain tone and lose fat, your best bet is to do some kind of weight training for the first 20-30 min, then at least 45 min of cardio after that. Some argue whether exercise is more effective in the morning or evening...either way it's important to do it, regardless of time.

5. GET SOME SLEEP! (This is one I need to work on myself ) After a long day your body needs rest to refresh and re-energize. You should get at least 7-8 hours of sleep at night. It also helps your metabolism stay at decent levels. People who are getting by on 4-6 hours of sleep are forcing the metabolism to work overtime, and when combined with bad eating habits, it pretty much throws your systems out of whack. If your metabolism is out of whack, you won't burn fat effectlively and you will feel tired and crappy.

6. Don;t obsess over numbers. As you get older your bones become more dense, making them "heavier". Go by how your clothes fit. A 150 pound 45 year old could be wearing the same size 8 jeans that a 130 pound 22 year old wears. Society, the media, and the fashion industry has done us a huge injustice by forcing upon us what they think we need to wear, weigh, and what size we should be to be considered acceptable. This is pretty damn sad. Seems they have forgotten about inner beauty. I could go on about that, but I think there may be a character limit per post LOL. Also too remember, our weights fluctuate depending on "time of month", what we ate/drank during the day or week, and of course when the event happens, pregnancy. If you weigh 130 one day and 133.5 the next, don't flip out. Fluctuating 5 pounds up or down is not a bad thing.

7. STAY AWAY FROM "MIRACLE" PILLS. There is no such thing as a miracle when it comes to weight loss. You gotta work at it and earn it. Just like going to work, you gotta do it to bring home a paycheck. FenPhen and other drugs like it are kinda lilke a legal form of "speed", and is supposed raise your metabolism to burn fat. Well, it raises your heart rate unnaturally and eventually messes up your heart. This is why there are lawsuits against alot of these drugs. I tried these once myself and just about when thru the ceiling. Panic attacks in the middle of the night when you should be sleeping are no fun.

8. Keep your chin up. If you have a lot to lose (I still have quite a way to go myself ) it's gonna take longer than someone who has 10-15 lbs. If you mess up on your diet today, don't beat yourself up. Start again tomorrow...but don't get into the habit of always telling yourself "I'll start over tomorrow." Make every effort to stay on track...however a treat once inawhile is not gonna kill you. Stay away from things that may make you feel bad...the mall for example. Or if you can't look at a fashion magazine without feeling bummed, GET RID OF IT/DON'T LOOK AT IT. If you have friends that are critical or are always bringing up your weight, find other people to hang with that look beyond the outside. If you have a problem with certain foods (chocolate for example), don't keep them around the house. Stock the fridge/cupboards with healthy stuff.


I think that's about all I could pull from the archives in my brain for now

[HogieGT-R]

i'd say all of that too, but what worked for me was that ever since playing football...i would eat like a health nut....in combination with vigorus exercise from football and the constant yelling from coach branch that would make me work even harder...i lost about 50 lbs in the course of 3 months....

[YogsVR4]

Damn! Sounds like you've got yourself a good plan buddy. Theres not much we can do to help from here other then to offer encouragement. Have fun with the kickboxing. When something like that is enjoyable, you'll find its much easier to stick with.

[ci5ic]

All my life, all I wanted was to gain weight... 2 years ago, I was 110 pounds (I'm 5'8"), and now, I'm weighing in a 170 pounds. However, my enjoyment of the fact that I actually gained weight is tempered by the fact that none of it is muscle... Like you, I have no energy whatsoever, and since I smoke, if I ran any kind of distance, I would need a long time to get my breath back. I don't feel good about my physical condition...

Recently, I started eating less, and I've been lifting weights and exercising a little bit lately (but not on a regular schedule)...

For 3 months, I was working out every day with a buddy of mine that I work with. We have a full Gym in the basement of the building I work in, so we'd go down there every day for 45 minutes (heheh on our 10 minute break). He really kept me motivated, and I was down to 3 cigarettes a day. But now, we work on different shifts, and I don't have anyone to motivate me anymore, so I guess I'm on my own...

[Ssom]

More power to ya Rich!!!!! :ylsuper



Taking control of your diet is a gruelling task at the start, but after a while you notice that people notice it compliment you and its an easy road from there

two years ago on the 28th I decided to take control of my wieght, I joined up to a gym and cut a lot of shit out of my diet. However I have been sick the last week and thus missing the gym, so I am getting a bit soft in the gut, hopefully I can start back on Thursday

I am also thinking of doing the EAS body for life program once I leave for Uni and I have a bit of time to work out more

[taranaki]

if your body is a temple,
mine is a garbage skip.

Not pretty to look at, but damn useful.

The man who popularised jogging died young of a heart attack.
Jenny Craig died of annorexia.

Nothing bad ever happened to me while I was asleep in a recliner chair in front of the t.v.

[shadowboy]

Originally posted by HuMMerMan
I want to be in the basic intake starting in January, if I am not physically ready by then, I WILL be ready to do it next May.

no offense man, but that honestly sounds like a lofty goal. good physical fitness doesn't come instantly. by your post it sounds as if you are a bit off the mark and to be able to pass that physical by january seems like quite a lot of work in a short time. that is one common problem with people who try to work out. they expect too much too soon. if anything you may fail to meet your goals and end up disappointed in yourself and it wouldn't be your fault.

i would suggest setting more reasonable goals and escale them in steps.

otherwise, good job and good luck!

[JD@af]

Last night remined me of one of the "bitches" about the working out world. I had trouble sleeping - again - which I think is because of the fact that I have too much energy. If I work out, it helps me sleep, for a while. Then, its benefit seems to taper off with time. But then if I stop working out, as I have for the last 9 or 10 days, this trouble sleeping arises Very annoying. Shouldn't have to wake up three times in the course of sleeping 7 hours.

Sorry, this is not the Stress Release forum, but my comments seemed relative.

[TapouT]

rich if you enjoy doin kickboxing just keep it up. I also do kickboxing, wrestling and and BJJ. I say any MA can get people into shape and if you enjoy the MA, even better. Just keep going at it and pratice everyday. You will get better over time.

[eversio11]

Tapou.. these people haven't discussed this topic for over 2 years. Please don't bring up old topics