I was JUST about to PM you and let you have it! This whole thing started because of you. :smile: Anyway, get into this program. You're not going to see results for the first couple weeks, but they will come. Why wait till next week though? You can do this stuff in your home. All you need is space on the floor for your body length. There's no excuse for not starting immediately. Don't make excuses, just do it. There's no better time to start than now.
Zonebuster didn't show if the gut's there or not though...Alio how long do I have to wait until the gut starts to get smaller...I have not enjoyed my food for about a week now...at 3-4 workouts per week when will it start to go away??
Look, I still don't really see my abs yet. I've been working out daily for 6 months now. The fact is, belly fat is the hardest area to get rid of. There are two levels, the subcutaeneous and visceral. The subcutaeneous is the stuff right under the skin, covering your abdominals. The visceral is wrapped around your internal organs, squeezing them. You will burn off the subcutaeneous somewhat quickly, but the visceral is hard to get rid of. It's also the most dangerous fatty deposit in the human body. What you should be worried about right now is building muscle. That's the biggest key to losing weight. As zonebuster explained, a good level of muscle is going to burn calories even while you're sleeping. Get to work on those squats. As has been mentioned earlier in the thread, squats are the epitome of exercise. You will get the most results overall by doing squats. (Now don't take that to mean you can get away with just squats. You have to do a complete program.) Don't get ahead of yourself. It took me about a month of hardcore cardio before I started seeing any weight loss. The program I've discussed should help work a little faster, but if you expect your gut to be gone in a couple weeks, you've already failed. Think in terms of short-term gains. Your first priority is to start getting healthy. Forget not enjoying food. There've been enough suggestions in this thread that you should realize you don't have to eat bird seed to lose weight. Eat smarter, that's all. Get into the sprints. If you want faster weight loss, you're going to have hit the sprints hard. And it's going to hurt like hell. Do the workouts as has been discussed. I don't recall how overweight you are, but you need to get started, and you need to be realistic. There is NO MAGIC PILL. That includes exercise. No program short of a hardcore crack addiction is going to help you lose 20 pounds in 2 weeks and allow you to live through it. You should be aiming for 2-3 pounds per week. (And 3 is talking AMAZING results.) Now you still have time to get in shape for the good summer weeks. By August, if you're committed, and you do everything right, you should look good enough to feel comfortable taking off your shirt. If you're going to find excuses why this isn't going to work, or get frustrated next week when you don't look like Ahnold, you may as well not bother at all. That's not the answer though. The answer is to get to work. Now do it. I want to see you post once a week with an updated weight. Post your routine for a few days too, so we can all help tweak it for you. Now get to it.
BTW: If you're only doing 3-4 workouts per week, you should be putting a lot more time into them. I'm doing 2 x 10-15 minutes workouts per day, 7 days a week. If you're only doing it a couple times a week, and only once on those days, you need to do the interval training for at least 45-60 minutes each.
Your gut should be the last of your worries. For most people it's the first, but it really should be one of the last. The most important thing is feeling healthy, not looking healthy. I can do exercises that make my arms look rediculous in less than a week's time. They're not much stronger from those exercises though, so who really wants that?
It takes time and hard work to see serous results. I have been working out for over 3 years now, it took me a long time before i had the six pack and definition. My biggest vice is cardio. I used to love to run 3X a week about 3 miles, the problem i had was i would drop weight too fast when i run. I had hernia surgery about two years ago, i coulden't lift for a wile but the doctor cleared me to run. I droped 20 lbs in a few months, it took me a wile to put back on the weight and muscle.
True dat. ----------------------- Hey Quack, wanna share some of those exercises that make your arms look ridiculous in a week? (Obviously I know that's an exaggeration, but I really want to increase the size of my guns, and it's REALLY slow going. Any advice on increasing arm muscle mass is appreciated!)
One thing to remember is that, while you are lifting weights or strength training you are tearing up your muscle in order to create new muscle. In order to take most out of this, you really have to plan out your pre and after workout meal. These two meals are your two most important meals of the day. If you eat right for these two meals, you will see results much faster and will feel great. You won't be feeling the soreness through out the days, but rather feel very energetic. Pre workout meal should consist of Complex Carbs (ie, oatmeal), Protein (ie, egg white without the yolk, milk, whey protein), and some sweets from fruits to create an insulin spike and to open up blood vessels. Stay away from fats, as it will make you feel bloated while working out and will give you stomach cramps. Do your workout about 45-60 minutes later. Always try to work out 20+ minutes, preferably 45 minutes or more. You are just burning calories for the first 20 minutes. After 20 minutes of intense workout, you start to burn the fat. However, if you don't eat the correct pre-workout meal you will be burning muscle rather than fat. Anyhow, immediately after your workout you have to feed your body with 24+ grams of protein. This will help you repair all the muscle you just teared up during your workout. Without the protein, you have just wasted your time during the workout and will just feel sore through out the entire day. Buy your self some Whey isolate protein powder. These are pretty cheap and tastes awesome. You also have to create an insulin spike here. They will be burned off right away since you have been working out. And after about 45-60 minutes later, you will have to eat a meal consisting of complex carbs and protein. This is very important for your recovery process. So, remember to eat the correct things for your pre and post workout meals. Otherwise you are just wasting your energy during the workout. And btw, Jtud, no I don't have any guts. These days, my packs only show after I wake up because I don't run, don't do crunches, nor do I workout much. However, during high school (3 years ago) my 6 packs were very much visible at all time because of all the football practice and baseball practice. Aw man, those were the days. These days, I barely have time to do anything. Any free time I have, I just use it to get some shut eyes.
I dropped from around 205 to 185 in the past few months......My arms, legs, shoulders, chest, and back all look like a complete 180- All are defined as opposed to stuck behind fat, but I still have a little gut going.......It's def much smaller and looks a hell of a lot better, but it's still there, no abs visable......For most guys, the gut is the last that goes.......Nothing you can do about it except keep working hard........For example between 17% and 12% bodyfat, your stomach area will look almost the same in the mirror, and 5 percent bodyfat is alot........Once you get around the 11-10% bodyfat area is when you will start to see the abs unless you are a freak of nature.........I think I started around 20% bodyfat and I think I am around 14 now......I got some work to do but it's all good
I def need to do sprints.....I will give it a go.... As for my over-weightness, I am not too sure....I am basing this mainly on how I look, but I assume that I could stand to lose 10-15 lbs.
Alio 1st off thanks for taking the time to post all of this so all of us can try to live healthier longer lives for our families. When I found out I was going to be a dad I instantly wanted to lose weight as I'm about 25 lbs overweight from my healthy weight. I have a few questions for you, we generally use olive oil at home. After travelling through Italy and Spain I realized how much better I liked it than veg oil. We have started to use smart balance what are your thoughts on that and how about these new chips that are cooked in sunflower oil? I hope I don't get laughed at because of this but I am one the high perecntage of people that suffer from IBS, is it possible that this is caused by my being overweight and my body fat being at a high %? Lastly I used to be a runner, I was in great shape and I looked like one of those track guys. Hell that's what I did but I really haven't run in a few years. What is a good way to get on a treadmill without overdoing it the 1st few times I setp on it. As of right now I'm only looking to burn the fat and lose the weight, the toning will come after I get back to a respectable weight. Also by running what is a reasonable length of time I should look at before I start seeing results?
10-15 should take you about 8-10 weeks. So figure early to mid August, if you are religious with your workout routines. Again, as has been said by more than just me, get in shape. Don't worry about looking in the mirror or at the scale every day. Just work hard, and get your body back into good health. Everything will flow from there.
Well, this is a bit to answer, so let's see what I can do. Olive Oil is FAR superior to all other oils. It's just better for you, so good work there. (Just keep in mind what NJJ had mentioned, that I had actually forgotten. When olive oil is fried at high heat, it releases toxins, so beware.) I have no idea what's in Smart Balance. However, if it's at all margarine, dump it. Butter is underrated. Sure, don't go eating gobs of it for a snack, but butter is healthier than margarine. Margarine, like so many other things, is lab-created crap. I don't touch margarine anymore. (Though I'm sure I'll hear someone talk about how margarine isn't that bad. Whatever, I say stay away from it at all costs.) As for sunflower oil fried chips, think about one thing. They're still fried. You should avoid fried food as much as possible. I don't eat much in the way of fried food anymore. (It sucks too since I'm a big chip guy, but oh well.) (Now I haven't checked out the label on Baked Lays, so something like that could be okay as an occasional snack, but remember, it's still useless calories, needless carbs, and far more sodium than is appropriate.) Dude, I won't laugh at IBS, and anyone that does is lucky they don't have it. I never have, but I know someone who did. It sucked for him. Honestly, I'm not a doctor, so I can't say for certain, but if you're eating a lot of oily foods, expecially greasy ones, I would assume that will play Slip'N'Slide down your insides. Again, get the oil and grease out of your regular diet, but for reasons beyond IBS. Truth be told, I don't know how to tell you to get back into running. When I started, I got right on the bike, and pedalled for a half hour. I then spent the next week hating myself. Given that I kept getting back on the bike every day, it probably took me longer to heal, but I was fine with that. If I were to give you advice, I'd say start by walking a fairly long distance for a couple days. Get your legs used to the movement again. Make sure you stretch too. Squats and lunges couldn't hurt either. It really depends how much pain you're willing to endure initially. Me, I'd prefer to be in a lot of pain for a few days to start, and get right into the program, but that's me.
I would also like add that, you want to lose 10-15 lbs the healthy way quickly, drink a lot and a lot of water. Most of the time there is water is stored under your lower belly. This is caused by not drinking enough water and too much consumption of salt. If you drink a lot of water, your body will know water is and will be coming up more often to your body, and will no longer store it under your lower belly. In another words, you will be pissing away 5+ lbs ultra fast. Another thing I would like to add is that, ever had that crazy bloating feeling after a huge meal? To a point where you can't move and all you want to do is gouge your finger down your throat and throw up? However, while eating you don't feel that bloated. All you want is one more slice of that chicken. This is because, it takes brain 10 to 15 minutes to finally realize when you are full. I would recommend, drinking a full glass of water before you start eating. Take your time eating, so just eat slowly. Drink plenty of water while eating.
I drink about a gallon of water per day, but only piss about 5 times from the time I get up to the time I hit the sack. You get used to it.
Thats pretty much the advice i'd give. I initially wanted to just start off jogging for about 10 minutes along the golf course... well that quickly turned into a 20 minute walk, with sprinting every so often to keep the heart rate up. Im more ambitious then i am in shape i guess. That being said, I'm not nearly as sore as I would be if i just jumped into fast sprints and jogging. I'll be able to go buy a weight set this weekend since my paycheck is coming in, so i expect to be really sore this time next week.
