Big guy starting fresh. Need Advice.

[JackNoCoke]

Ive been reading many stories on here for about 3 hours so far of people losing insane amounts of weight, and I applaud all of you for that. Now its my turn.

I guess for me to get advice ill start by giving you guys some back ground of me:
Im 22 years young, stand about 5'10". Im ashamed to step on a scale, but did this morning, and I weigh roughly 330pounds. Ive always been a big cat, as well as all the men in my family. After high school got over, I blew up. Finally started working out with some friends, lost some weight, then just stopped. No idea why now that i look back. About a year later, I started up again. Once again, stopped. About 2 months ago, I got asked to be my friends best man in his wedding. But when I found out ill be wearing all Pink (kinda gay I know) I realized I have to lose some weight bad. The wedding isn't until 2012, so I know I have time. The wedding isn't the only reason for me wanting to lose weight. Im sick and tired of the fat lifestyle. Every time I looked at myself just my looking down or at my belly or whatever it may be, I didn't see myself as a hugely obese guy. But after looking at pictures my cousin posted of this weekend up north of me with a cut off shirt on, its sad to see me look like I do. So its time for a change and im putting my mind to it, and im going to get it done. No quitting this time.

I guess what my questions would be, would have to start with the whole diet thing. I do drink a lot of pop, and eat fast food. I know I have to cut both out, and im determined to. What would be a good diet for me to follow. Ive never been a big veggie eater, but im willing to change.

Next question would be, where do I start and go with cardio? I do play on a softball league on Sundays. And boy am I out of shape. What are good machines to go with, and so on? I know I get shin splints easily, probably from how big I am.

I do love to workout. When I was working out before, it was like a 90/10 split of weight lifting to cardio. So if lifting ok when trying to lose weight? If so, how should this be done?

I will be going with a friend to LA fitness I believe the gym is, so I know there is a pool, sauna and bball courts there. I'll probably be playing a lot basketball, as well as some swimming. How well does the saunas work when trying to lose weight?

Supplements knowledge as well? Protein, creatine, weight loss pills? Any info would be amazing.

Then anything else you guys want to input would be great. Im sorry this is long, but I would greatly appreciate it if you guys could help me out on this one. I have my mind set and will do what I need to this time. Thank you guys for your time.

[Archaic2021]

Ive been reading many stories on here for about 3 hours so far of people losing insane amounts of weight, and I applaud all of you for that. Now its my turn.

I guess for me to get advice ill start by giving you guys some back ground of me:
Im 22 years young, stand about 5'10". Im ashamed to step on a scale, but did this morning, and I weigh roughly 330pounds. Ive always been a big cat, as well as all the men in my family. After high school got over, I blew up. Finally started working out with some friends, lost some weight, then just stopped. No idea why now that i look back. About a year later, I started up again. Once again, stopped. About 2 months ago, I got asked to be my friends best man in his wedding. But when I found out ill be wearing all Pink (kinda gay I know) I realized I have to lose some weight bad. The wedding isn't until 2012, so I know I have time. The wedding isn't the only reason for me wanting to lose weight. Im sick and tired of the fat lifestyle. Every time I looked at myself just my looking down or at my belly or whatever it may be, I didn't see myself as a hugely obese guy. But after looking at pictures my cousin posted of this weekend up north of me with a cut off shirt on, its sad to see me look like I do. So its time for a change and im putting my mind to it, and im going to get it done. No quitting this time.

I guess what my questions would be, would have to start with the whole diet thing. I do drink a lot of pop, and eat fast food. I know I have to cut both out, and im determined to. What would be a good diet for me to follow. Ive never been a big veggie eater, but im willing to change.

Next question would be, where do I start and go with cardio? I do play on a softball league on Sundays. And boy am I out of shape. What are good machines to go with, and so on? I know I get shin splints easily, probably from how big I am.

I do love to workout. When I was working out before, it was like a 90/10 split of weight lifting to cardio. So if lifting ok when trying to lose weight? If so, how should this be done?

I will be going with a friend to LA fitness I believe the gym is, so I know there is a pool, sauna and bball courts there. I'll probably be playing a lot basketball, as well as some swimming. How well does the saunas work when trying to lose weight?

Supplements knowledge as well? Protein, creatine, weight loss pills? Any info would be amazing.

Then anything else you guys want to input would be great. Im sorry this is long, but I would greatly appreciate it if you guys could help me out on this one. I have my mind set and will do what I need to this time. Thank you guys for your time.

Best advice I can give is find out what works. Read up on macros and visit the nutrition section to get your diet in check.

Everyone is different.

For me, I lift heavy 5 days a week and do 2 miles of brisk/walking jogging a day and it works great. Eating 5 small meals a day has made my metabolism skyrocket.


If you wanting to Get stronger I would look int to Riptoes Starting strengh. 3 days a week, get your compound exercisses down pat.

Protein is the only thing you need to worry about, fat burning pills and all that are nothing but a bunch of Sh*t....it's all in your mind.

If you have any questions shoot me a pm.

[zoso7982]

Congrats on the new lifestyle change. Definitely get your diet in order. If you just drop your cals and lift weights you should drop weight pretty quck. I'd look into a 40/40/20 diet at about a 500 deficit. This is a good starting point and you can adjust as you feel necessary. I think you could go lower on the deficit if it's comfortable for ya. You sound like your somewhat active so getting into the swing of things shouldn't be too difficult. Yes, definitely lift weights. You'll like the final result a lot more if you do. I do cardio just because I enjoy seeing the progress in my jogging and it helps me feel that I am getting into better shape. Just do what you can right now and ease into it. Good luck man.

[carlson61]

UR taking the right steps. You may stumble at first, but dont give up! EVERYONE makes mistakes at first; just learn from them, adjust, and push on. Once you get the ball rolling, you'll find thats its easier than its made out to be. The key is to stick with it long enough to get results. I've yet to meet someone who saw results and still have a very hard time to keep going. 99% of the failures come when people give too little effort or too little time (i.e. 2-3weeks) and see no to little results and thus give up. DONT! It takes time, its a journey, not a destination.

Read up on the nutrition section/stickies and if you can, browse the article section too; great overall advise. I'll offer some basic tips that I found (i lost 100lbs) to of helped. My story, cut short, is that I just got into it. Just started exercising and eating what i thought was healthy. I then slowly learned, read-up, asked questions, and became more involved. The more i learned, the more i read and the more i changed my "rules" and adaptaive. Following how my body responded - ive finally created a system of lifting, eating, and cheating that suites me.

Basic tips (not getting into exact macros)

1. Let the change happen somewhat gradually - if you can do it; by all means -- but most people find it hard to simply cut out all their favs. and relearn nutrition and discovery new foods that are healthier, they find them to be either expensive, blan in taste, or too much prep time; thus, gradually shift to allow ur taste buds, eating habits, and wallet accomedate the change

2. Start by "eating healthy" all day everyday - but allow urself one cheat meal a day. Have what u normally would for that one meal, but rest of day eat healthy. Slowly change this to only cheating 5 days a week, 2 days, and finally one day. (i took this approach. Being a lineman and heavyweight wrestler, i was allowed to eat whatever i wanted....but i slowly cut back). Examples.... I would eat cookies w/chocolate milk or have donuts for sweets. At first i cut those back, but started eating rice-crispe treats as they are far more "healthier" and took care of my sweet tooth. Eventually i stoped craving those and got even healthier. I also hated Diet soda....now its all i drink.... i cant even drink regular soda cause its too sweet for me now.

3. Drink lots of water - about 100 reasons why. Just do it.
4. Eat 6 meals a day. Stops u from getting hunger = stops binge eating = stops cheating
5. PLan ur meals out ahead of time. PRevents the "what should i ahve to eat....." 5 mintues later u give up and grab the quickest thing.
6. Dont have to give up ur fav. foods - but just alter them. I switched my high sugar cereal with moderate ones, and then whole grain fiber ones. My burgers to chicken, hot dogs to turkey dogs, ganorla bars to fiber bars, milkshakes to protein shakes, applesauce to unsweetned applesauce, white bread to whole grain wheat bread... etc etc.
7. challenge urself to try new foods, learn new receipees, and find a good mix of premaid food and stuff u have to cook.

8. Just start moving...dont wait...start now. Walk at gym or outside...i dont advise running as of now due to fact that u have a lot of weight on ur joints and u dont knee to be busting up ur knees....they are very vital....save them.
9. Now that ur at least moving, read-up on and ask questions about exercise programs and "splits" of the week.

10. Forget about supps that "burn fat". Waste. Only worry about whey protein and a multivitamin. The other stuff you wont need till later.
11. Get ur sleep
12. Have fun - stay motivated - meet new friends with similar goals.

Here are some quick basic healthy foods ive come to love.
1. eggs / egg whites
2. ham and chicken
3. Fat Free cheese
4. Whole grain wraps
5. Wheat bread
6. 1% milk
7. Reduced fat cottege cheese
8. Oatmeal (now the flavored kind, but the bulk kind....i add sugar free syrup for flavor)
9. Variety of whey protein
10. Several Fiber one Products
11. Water
12. Whole grain pasta
13. Healthy cereals
14. Turkey dogs / baked chips.

Hope any of this makes sense.... i had to write this in a hurry with revising cause im at work and not suppose to be here.... but also hope it helps. Further... i created a somewhat successful thread called something like "company gimmicks to be aware of" (ballpark name) which numerous people gave input about "health" scams and such....u might like it. Good luck -- keep us posted.... were here to help!!!

[FatZillllla]

Hey Fatty (its cool if a fatty calls another fatty a "fatty" LOL)

congrats on making the decision to lose the weight

I was at 329lbs last Oct myself so pretty close to your current weight

now I didnt take weight loss seriously until May 2010 but since I have lost close to 60lbs


Cut back on soda, fast food and junk foods and try to eliminate them for good after a while.
You can eat all of them and still lose weight but do yoou rather eat a 300cals piece of chicken or 300cals from a bottle of pop?

All u need to lose the weight is a calories deficit
Everything else is optional

just figure out how many calories your body needs to maintain it self and subtract a good 500 calories from that and that should put you at a steady weight loss

You are still too heavy to care about carbs and fats and the other crap

just make it simple for yourself and count calories




And in terms of cardio... I dont know about you but at 330 I had a lot pain in my knees so I wouldnt recommend running or heck even jogging on a treadmill
Cardio machine; as log as you do it correctly is one hell of a kick as machine to do cardio with an not put any pressure on your knees

I personally havent tried elliptical because of knee pain after my knee surgery

Station and recumbent bike are both cool, but I always get a butt pain when doing them LOL and regardless of how much I push myself while using them, I can not bring my heart rate up

I also walk on a treadmill as a part of my cardio - I put the machine at a 13 degrees hill position and walk at 3mph

[ejthomp]

...........I do drink a lot of pop, and eat fast food. ......... Ive never been a big veggie eater, but im willing to change..........

You are what you eat.

Your success or failure is going to all depend on you re-learning what is good food. You've polluted your taste buds for years...lots of artificial sugars and flavors...heavy salt on everything... The bottom line is that the processed food industry has you hooked like a heroine addict. You say you are willing to change....but are you really?

Can you gradually cut down on the soda? Maybe first switch to diet...then reduce consumption...then STOP consumption? Plain water is your best friend.

Can you stop eating all the crap....chips, dips, pizza, fast food junk.... and replace it with good food....fresh fruit, vegetables and protein?

There is where the battle is won.

Good Luck!

[Virten]

Like what everyone said, your diet will be so crucial to your weightloss. I would try the elliptical and do that until you feel comfortable trying other cardio machines. I also like the stationary bike.

Definitely CUT OUT SODA and 99% of your junk food...I'm not sure if you should be drinking protein shakes...maybe someone else can chime in on that .

[drewott]

You have made the integral first step, all you need to do now is continue to move forward. There will be missteps along the way, but every single pound you lose is an improvement. That is an excellent way of thinking, so even if you break down one day and drink a case of beer and a wagon full of girl scout cookies it is not the end. Pick up from where you left off and keep going forward.

As has been said, the beginning is a great place to be. I started at 330lbs in January and have just now begun incorporating cardio at 50lbs. lost. Diet is the key, weightlifting is important and protein is essential.

Good luck and enjoy the trip,

Drew

[scrubs007]

As ppl have told me...as well as reading the INVALUABLE sticky threads...

1) Count calories and eat healthy...1g of protein per lean body mass...calculate your BMR and eat under maintenance;
2) Lift heavy...u may or may not want to do cardio, i do 20 mins after a workout;
3) drink lots of water...and no alcohol!!!

hope u achieve what ure looking for

[JackNoCoke]

Thank you everyone for the tips. I will definitely be reading up on the nutrition part of the forums and get my diet in check. I started today at the gym, as well as a semi healthy eating day. No pop or fast food today, and did 2 hours in the gym. Talk about being out of shape. It was somewhat embarrassing for me. I walked a mile on the treadmill before my legs were just burning. So I went and did some light lifting. Just some easy chest and tri work outs. Even though I know im going to feel them in the morning. After the workout, I went onto the stationary bike and rode for 45mins. Then went into the sauna afterward for 30min. I feel amazing so far. Ive drank probably close to a gallon of water, as well as a bottle of apple juice at the gym. I made myself a can of tuna with a protein shake for lunch before the gym, and am now preparing some boneless skinless chicken breast with a salad. Tonight I plan on getting something like a journal going, and taking some pictures for some before and after shots. Thanks again for all the advice and encouragement.

[Tokus]

If you do not like veggies i would look into a Keto diet.

[mariplay2004]

just to chimme in, make sure you get enough water during the day, and make sure you get at least 6 hours of sleep at night .


good luck and I hope to see your progress post soon .=)

[JackNoCoke]

One more quick question...

I know to drink plenty of water, but I keep hearing about water retention. Does water retention only occur when you drink a lot of water, and have a high salt intake? Or will it still happen even if I cut out my high intakes of salt, and still drink a lot of water?

[subbob]

UR taking the right steps. You may stumble at first, but dont give up! EVERYONE makes mistakes at first; just learn from them, adjust, and push on. Once you get the ball rolling, you'll find thats its easier than its made out to be. The key is to stick with it long enough to get results. I've yet to meet someone who saw results and still have a very hard time to keep going. 99% of the failures come when people give too little effort or too little time (i.e. 2-3weeks) and see no to little results and thus give up. DONT! It takes time, its a journey, not a destination.

Read up on the nutrition section/stickies and if you can, browse the article section too; great overall advise. I'll offer some basic tips that I found (i lost 100lbs) to of helped. My story, cut short, is that I just got into it. Just started exercising and eating what i thought was healthy. I then slowly learned, read-up, asked questions, and became more involved. The more i learned, the more i read and the more i changed my "rules" and adaptaive. Following how my body responded - ive finally created a system of lifting, eating, and cheating that suites me.

Basic tips (not getting into exact macros)

1. Let the change happen somewhat gradually - if you can do it; by all means -- but most people find it hard to simply cut out all their favs. and relearn nutrition and discovery new foods that are healthier, they find them to be either expensive, blan in taste, or too much prep time; thus, gradually shift to allow ur taste buds, eating habits, and wallet accomedate the change

2. Start by "eating healthy" all day everyday - but allow urself one cheat meal a day. Have what u normally would for that one meal, but rest of day eat healthy. Slowly change this to only cheating 5 days a week, 2 days, and finally one day. (i took this approach. Being a lineman and heavyweight wrestler, i was allowed to eat whatever i wanted....but i slowly cut back). Examples.... I would eat cookies w/chocolate milk or have donuts for sweets. At first i cut those back, but started eating rice-crispe treats as they are far more "healthier" and took care of my sweet tooth. Eventually i stoped craving those and got even healthier. I also hated Diet soda....now its all i drink.... i cant even drink regular soda cause its too sweet for me now.

3. Drink lots of water - about 100 reasons why. Just do it.
4. Eat 6 meals a day. Stops u from getting hunger = stops binge eating = stops cheating
5. PLan ur meals out ahead of time. PRevents the "what should i ahve to eat....." 5 mintues later u give up and grab the quickest thing.
6. Dont have to give up ur fav. foods - but just alter them. I switched my high sugar cereal with moderate ones, and then whole grain fiber ones. My burgers to chicken, hot dogs to turkey dogs, ganorla bars to fiber bars, milkshakes to protein shakes, applesauce to unsweetned applesauce, white bread to whole grain wheat bread... etc etc.
7. challenge urself to try new foods, learn new receipees, and find a good mix of premaid food and stuff u have to cook.

8. Just start moving...dont wait...start now. Walk at gym or outside...i dont advise running as of now due to fact that u have a lot of weight on ur joints and u dont knee to be busting up ur knees....they are very vital....save them.
9. Now that ur at least moving, read-up on and ask questions about exercise programs and "splits" of the week.

10. Forget about supps that "burn fat". Waste. Only worry about whey protein and a multivitamin. The other stuff you wont need till later.
11. Get ur sleep
12. Have fun - stay motivated - meet new friends with similar goals.

Here are some quick basic healthy foods ive come to love.
1. eggs / egg whites
2. ham and chicken
3. Fat Free cheese
4. Whole grain wraps
5. Wheat bread
6. 1% milk
7. Reduced fat cottege cheese
8. Oatmeal (now the flavored kind, but the bulk kind....i add sugar free syrup for flavor)
9. Variety of whey protein
10. Several Fiber one Products
11. Water
12. Whole grain pasta
13. Healthy cereals
14. Turkey dogs / baked chips.

Hope any of this makes sense.... i had to write this in a hurry with revising cause im at work and not suppose to be here.... but also hope it helps. Further... i created a somewhat successful thread called something like "company gimmicks to be aware of" (ballpark name) which numerous people gave input about "health" scams and such....u might like it. Good luck -- keep us posted.... were here to help!!!

^^^^LISTEN TO THIS GUY^^^^^^
Repped for an outstanding reply....

OP you will get there....There are a lot of great stories on here from people who have lost A LOT of weight. Take your time and be PATIENT. Don't let haters tear you down. Kill it dude...

[zoso7982]

Lower the salt intake and drinks lots of water. Lots of water decreases water retention. Doesn't even make sense when writing it but it is true.

[JackNoCoke]

Lower the salt intake and drinks lots of water. Lots of water decreases water retention. Doesn't even make sense when writing it but it is true.

Thanks man. Thats what I didn't get. Seems weird that drinking a lot of water, would decrease retention. but I guess that's the human body and science for ya. Thanks for the input.

[JackNoCoke]

So right now is the hard part of this weight loss change. I had 3 egg whites, 2 peices of Whole Wheat toast with some jam, and a glass of orange juice this morning. For lunch I had 2 cans of tuna on whole wheat bread. Went to the gym did my workout and cardio, just about killed me, and had a protein shake afterwards. Ive drank about a gallon of water or so today. For dinner I had 2 4oz bonless skinless chicken breast with some apple juice. Now is the time I normally start to snack, and my body is craving so bad. So instead of eating chips or whatever, I just had about 20 grams of nuts. Night time is going to be a challenge for me. Any advice on how to get past these nighttime hungers?

[zoso7982]

Good job so far man. Night time is a difficult time for a lot of guys cutting. WILL POWER and once you see the change it's motivation to keep that will power. Cottage cheese or a protein shake is a good snack to kill the hunger as well.

[pauskocak]

First of all Congratulation on deciding of being fat, I did start on January 2010 (I never really exercise before that) , now I am very satisfied with the progress and I am not done yet.. so far I've lost 40+ lbs..

Go man you can do it! If you need any help, be free to PM me

[ejthomp]

......Night time is going to be a challenge for me. Any advice on how to get past these nighttime hungers?....

One trick I use is to extend my eating times until later and later in the day so my dinner ends up being at 9pm.

9-10 am breakfast....2-3-4 pm lunch...7-8-9pm dinner

[Keyboardsmasher]

So right now is the hard part of this weight loss change. I had 3 egg whites, 2 peices of Whole Wheat toast with some jam, and a glass of orange juice this morning. For lunch I had 2 cans of tuna on whole wheat bread. Went to the gym did my workout and cardio, just about killed me, and had a protein shake afterwards. Ive drank about a gallon of water or so today. For dinner I had 2 4oz bonless skinless chicken breast with some apple juice. Now is the time I normally start to snack, and my body is craving so bad. So instead of eating chips or whatever, I just had about 20 grams of nuts. Night time is going to be a challenge for me. Any advice on how to get past these nighttime hungers?

You need to get your diet in check. What you ate today is atrocious, it's no surprise you're getting cravings. Zero veggies... Come on man....

[ejthomp]

You need to get your diet in check. What you ate today is atrocious, it's no surprise you're getting cravings. Zero veggies... Come on man....

Certainly not atrocious compared to some of the diets I've seen here.

Yes, add in some dark green veggies...skip the apple juice for dinner...maybe a big mixed green salad with cottage cheese?

But, don't forget you are over 300 pounds so the idea that you should suddenly change everything in your life is foolish. Right now you will lose weight on 3,000 calories per day. You have room to ease into a new lifestyle....

Cravings need to be taken care of....they can't be ignored or you will eventually fail big time....find as healthy of a snack as you can and eat what you need to eat.

Reread Carlson's post

[st3v0s]

Firstly, carlson61 had a great post (rep. for that) so take note of what he said.
Few things I want to chime in with in regards to what you said.

1. In order to succeed you need to have the motivation. Your friend's wedding/body image or whatever works for you. Without it, there is little hope.

2. Switch sugary soda to their diet alternatives. (I presume "pop" means soda. We say soft drink in Australia). And of course you need to cut out the fast food. However, I won't lie and say you can't lose weight while eating fast food.

3. Ultimately, you will need to eat veggies. I used to hate them also but I bit the bullet and ate them anyway.

4. There are many diets out there, and i'm not an expert on specific diets. MORE importantly, to lose weight the formula is calories in vs calories out. Whatever diet path you follow, the most foolproof way to ensure correct amounts is to count calories. When I choose to count calories I use www.fitday.com . I find it to be quite good but there are others out there.

5. I don't believe a strict exercise regime is needed at this stage. Just keep keep exercising, but don't neglect weights. Don't forget your post workout protein.

6. Nobody has brought this up yet... but I strongly suggest that you keep a daily journal of your journey and post it here. As you said, you have read about people's transformations on these forums via their journals. Whether it be losing fat or bulking up, countless people cannot emphasise the importance that their journals have had on them. It will allow everyone to motivate you and for you to see your own progress.

Good luck with your weight loss. Everyone here will be rooting for you. I look foward to checking up on your progess soon

[carlson61]

One more quick question...

I know to drink plenty of water, but I keep hearing about water retention. Does water retention only occur when you drink a lot of water, and have a high salt intake? Or will it still happen even if I cut out my high intakes of salt, and still drink a lot of water?

Ask as many questions as you can think of - knowledge is power; ignorance is not bliss in the case of ur body.

I wouldnt worry about water retention - thats more or less a conern when your trying to fit into a tight pair of jeans or looking to show off some hard earned cuts. Basically water retention is when ur body "holds" onto the water ur consuming; it does this in part due to spikes in sodium - which acts like a sponge; just soaks it up - and because ur body maybe in "shock" ... aka its not used to a incline in intake and thus thinks something maybe wrong....maybe ur stocking up because u know u wont have access to water for a long time....so it stores it for hydration purposes. The effect is that you "fill" out a little more and bloat a little and "gain" a few pounds - affects are only temporary and subside a day or so later.

To prevent this you can and should do two things. Decrease ur intake of sodium and drink more water. Once ur body is used to a high intake of water, once it "learns" its a new habitual event and not a emergency stock up, it will obsorb what it needs and pass the rest. While a short-about-summary of water retention - Hopefully this clearifies the topic; its something that may happen at first, but dont worry about it.

You have a good attitude about this journey, its a awesome start!! Don't get upset if you "slip" and cheat a little here and there, or have a bad workout; its going to happen - and does to everyone. It wont hurt as long as they are only slips and not habits.

Few other things ive learned over the years...
1. Sometimes "rewarding" yourself after a long week of diet/exercise ; feels better when you buy urself something uve wanted (a movie, game, cd, clothes) opposed to eating a cheat meal
2. The longer u stay with this - the easier it gets. I loved and craved my cheat meals (and still do) but they have def. toned down and volume: I feel good and clean when i eat healthy - and when i overdue a cheat meal...i feel bogged down, dirty, greasy -- thus its not worth it and i have less interest in that food
3. NEVER be embarrassed at the gym. Go ur own pace, do a routine that suites u best. Dont care about the others - i bet ull be wokring harder than 95% percent of them. Wait and see whos embarrassed when you've lose a lot of weight in a few months and those other people who been going for years havent changed a bit.
4. Spices and herbs can bring a world of new flavor to old and or blan foods.
5. Some cheat foods can be converted to "healthy" foods -- once again. i took hot dogs and now eat "hot dogs" made with turkey (35 cals, 5g protein, 0g fat, 3g carb) on whole wheat roll. I cook my own pizza with wheat dough, fat free cheese, tomatoe sauce/sliced tomatoes, and sliced chicken. It is a bit "bulky" nutrition wise, but its got virtually no fat and high in carbs/protein which is perfect for me/ muscle building.
6. Lifting heavy weights can be as good as, if not better than running for burning calories. I personally, at this stage of my fitness journey, lift for 55minutes and walk incline for 6 (5 days a week) and then i have one 20minute cardio day. Thats only 50 minutes of cardio a week, and im still in good shape because when i lift....i stay focused and lift hard. I wouldnt recommend this for you right now as a good lifting/cardio combo will suite u best....but i was illuminating the point.

7. Keep us posted!! Keep track of ur results. You will succeed.

[gdoubleg]

Yeah I feel you man. When you get up to 300+ you really don't realize how much you've done to yourself until you see some pics and think damn...what happened? I'm glad you're taking the steps to change yourself. Coming here is a good start.
Like everyone says, don't make excuses for anything. Hold yourself accountable. One thing I would say starting out is don't go gung ho following too much advice. Take it in gradually. But definitely educate yourself as much as you can right from the start. Read, read, and re-read.
First off, just EAT LESS. Eat what you're eating and just learn to control yourself. You have to ween yourself off the huge portions and processed crap, basically relearn everything you know. It took me more than a month starting out before I could finally just move myself to eating chicken breasts/brocolli and keeping my protein intake up. Eventually you'll want to keep eating this way and get better at it. Maybe you're the type that can go cold turkey but this is what I had to do to snowball to my current 90lbs lost...

[JackNoCoke]

Thanks a lot again for the advice and motivation man. Im glad this isn't one of those forums where you ask a question, and get dogged about it because you haven't "earned" a spot. But thanks again to everyone. Im probably going to get some pictures and start a journal come Monday. I think that's when the real journey begins.

Ask as many questions as you can think of - knowledge is power; ignorance is not bliss in the case of ur body.

I wouldnt worry about water retention - thats more or less a conern when your trying to fit into a tight pair of jeans or looking to show off some hard earned cuts. Basically water retention is when ur body "holds" onto the water ur consuming; it does this in part due to spikes in sodium - which acts like a sponge; just soaks it up - and because ur body maybe in "shock" ... aka its not used to a incline in intake and thus thinks something maybe wrong....maybe ur stocking up because u know u wont have access to water for a long time....so it stores it for hydration purposes. The effect is that you "fill" out a little more and bloat a little and "gain" a few pounds - affects are only temporary and subside a day or so later.

To prevent this you can and should do two things. Decrease ur intake of sodium and drink more water. Once ur body is used to a high intake of water, once it "learns" its a new habitual event and not a emergency stock up, it will obsorb what it needs and pass the rest. While a short-about-summary of water retention - Hopefully this clearifies the topic; its something that may happen at first, but dont worry about it.

You have a good attitude about this journey, its a awesome start!! Don't get upset if you "slip" and cheat a little here and there, or have a bad workout; its going to happen - and does to everyone. It wont hurt as long as they are only slips and not habits.

Few other things ive learned over the years...
1. Sometimes "rewarding" yourself after a long week of diet/exercise ; feels better when you buy urself something uve wanted (a movie, game, cd, clothes) opposed to eating a cheat meal
2. The longer u stay with this - the easier it gets. I loved and craved my cheat meals (and still do) but they have def. toned down and volume: I feel good and clean when i eat healthy - and when i overdue a cheat meal...i feel bogged down, dirty, greasy -- thus its not worth it and i have less interest in that food
3. NEVER be embarrassed at the gym. Go ur own pace, do a routine that suites u best. Dont care about the others - i bet ull be wokring harder than 95% percent of them. Wait and see whos embarrassed when you've lose a lot of weight in a few months and those other people who been going for years havent changed a bit.
4. Spices and herbs can bring a world of new flavor to old and or blan foods.
5. Some cheat foods can be converted to "healthy" foods -- once again. i took hot dogs and now eat "hot dogs" made with turkey (35 cals, 5g protein, 0g fat, 3g carb) on whole wheat roll. I cook my own pizza with wheat dough, fat free cheese, tomatoe sauce/sliced tomatoes, and sliced chicken. It is a bit "bulky" nutrition wise, but its got virtually no fat and high in carbs/protein which is perfect for me/ muscle building.
6. Lifting heavy weights can be as good as, if not better than running for burning calories. I personally, at this stage of my fitness journey, lift for 55minutes and walk incline for 6 (5 days a week) and then i have one 20minute cardio day. Thats only 50 minutes of cardio a week, and im still in good shape because when i lift....i stay focused and lift hard. I wouldnt recommend this for you right now as a good lifting/cardio combo will suite u best....but i was illuminating the point.

7. Keep us posted!! Keep track of ur results. You will succeed.

[carlson61]

Thanks a lot again for the advice and motivation man. Im glad this isn't one of those forums where you ask a question, and get dogged about it because you haven't "earned" a spot. But thanks again to everyone. Im probably going to get some pictures and start a journal come Monday. I think that's when the real journey begins.

Hey, no problem, your 22 - you got a whole life ahead of you and plenty of time to enjoy the added benefits of a active and healthy lifestyle; pat urself on the back for recognizing a problem and taking the right steps to improve it.

I was once pushing 300lbs (290) and remember clear as day the daily "difficulties" I encountered -- most of which i didnt realize were difficulties until i lost weight and felt how much easier things became. Things from ill-confidence, no endurance, hunger issues, sleep issues, clothes shopping, "will i break this olde chair" etc. Let me tell you, its well worth every ounce of effort. I still cheat (eat my fav foods), i dont starve myself (eat 7 times a day), I eat real food (no rice-cakes or celery sticks for me), and I dont live in the gym (i have time to enjoy many other hobbies). My life is better for it, urs will be too!!!

[ejthomp]

Hey, no problem, your 22 - you got a whole life ahead of you and plenty of time to enjoy the added benefits of a active and healthy lifestyle; pat urself on the back for recognizing a problem and taking the right steps to improve it.

I was once pushing 300lbs (290) and remember clear as day the daily "difficulties" I encountered -- most of which i didnt realize were difficulties until i lost weight and felt how much easier things became. Things from ill-confidence, no endurance, hunger issues, sleep issues, clothes shopping, "will i break this olde chair" etc. Let me tell you, its well worth every ounce of effort. I still cheat (eat my fav foods), i dont starve myself (eat 7 times a day), I eat real food (no rice-cakes or celery sticks for me), and I dont live in the gym (i have time to enjoy many other hobbies). My life is better for it, urs will be too!!!

LISTEN TO THIS MAN!^^^^^^^^^ He's been where you are and look at him now!

[DSUP]

Here's some thoughts for you:

1. Transforming your body will not be complicated. The Prophet Wave_Length (See the Sticky at the top of this forum) has reduced it to three rules (i.e., workout three times a week with weights, eat one gram of protein for every pound of lean muscle mass, and REDUCE CALORIES to lose 1-2 pounds a week). This is truly all you need to know. The rest is just polish (and much of it is BS).

2. Transforming your body will not be pleasurable. Overeating is pleasurable. Undereating produces hunger. Hunger sucks. Get used to it. Embrace it. Hunger is the feeling that fat leaves behind as it exits the body. Learn hunger management. Deal with it or give up and stay fat.

3. Transforming your body will not happen quickly. Sure, the first ten pounds or so will fall off really fast but, the more you lose, the harder it will be to lose. Losing fat takes time. Accept that and settle in for the long haul. Fat loss is a slow process but, if you are vigilant, it will happen. Guaranteed.

4. Transforming your body will not be cheap. Sure, you might spend less on food but you're going to have to replace your entire wardrobe at least once.

5. Transforming your body will not make you a better person. If you're an A-hole now, you'll still be an A-hole after you lose the fat. You'll just be a skinny A-hole.

6. Transforming your body will not be something that you regret doing. Ever.

[C.ruel]

You've been getting good advice. Mine is this-

Take a picture of yourself right now with your shirt off, regardless of embarrassment or whatever else.

Take a new picture like this every month, or once every three months.

About 6 months from now you'll be able to look back on these and get motivation from them. It's a great tool. Then in a year and a half you'll have a great montage to show your friends to motivate yourself and them. It's cool to watch.

Also, on the note of what was said above, every pain you feel gets you one step closer to your goal. Every craving you fight will increase your mental fortitude, every extra rep you squeeze out will increase your pain tolerance. You aren't just working your body, after you've lose weight you'll be much stronger mentally to match how strong you will be physically.