"I want to lose weight!"

[sfmarine]

Well...I've been struggling with my weight ever since high school. I ran XC and developed large muscles in my legs. I also spent most of my time in the gym where the football coach occasionally monitored. He persuaded me to join the team and the rest was downhill after that. All they did was feed us lol. We never ate school lunch it was always a catered private affair. Wings, pizza and the like. I gained about 30 lbs my junior and senior years. Standing @ 5'6" it's not easy. I was up to around 225-230.

Then I bumped into the Marine recruiter and the rest is history. I had to get down to the 191 area to ship to Parris Island. I was extremely motivated as that was the only thing in my way of getting there. I got down to around 191 and could easily do 15+ pull ups and run 5 miles. I was in the best shape of my life.

Post-Marine Corps, I entered college and they say the average freshman gains 20 lbs. I sure did. I'm back up to my 230ish weight and it's been hell. Eating fast food everyday and the keggers have taken its toll. This summer I've backed down and pretty much only drink water. I have a well so the water is pretty good. I've been cutting down on the fast food and late light munchies. But I still can't lose any weight. Probably due to lack of exercise. I've become extremely lazy over the past two years. It's hard to go to the gym when you don't have a workout partner pushing you. I've been reading a lot of the posts on here and I am impressed. I'm a double portion guy. I always eat seconds. I guess I need to start there and eat less. But it's hard. I love watching moves and eating lots of popcorn with butter. There's an option for OCS after I graduate from college. I figure it would give me a good reason to get moto'd again.

Any advice...

[mikejet]

Look in the mirror. That should be motivation enough. When I saw my belly I knew I had to do something.

[sfmarine]

Ya...I do that lol. It's depressing. Especially when it used to be flat. It's also never fun trying to fit into clothes that you used to fit into.

[MCT]

well you were in the Marines....just do whatever you had to do to lose weight in order to join the Corps and that should work.

[Riff Magnum]

I think you already know the answer. Exercise. Even if it's a nightly walk.

[MyBlu-rayBrotherEd]

Originally Posted by sfmarine

Well...I've been struggling with my weight ever since high school. I ran XC and developed large muscles in my legs. I also spent most of my time in the gym where the football coach occasionally monitored. He persuaded me to join the team and the rest was downhill after that. All they did was feed us lol. We never ate school lunch it was always a catered private affair. Wings, pizza and the like. I gained about 30 lbs my junior and senior years. Standing @ 5'6" it's not easy. I was up to around 225-230.

Then I bumped into the Marine recruiter and the rest is history. I had to get down to the 191 area to ship to Parris Island. I was extremely motivated as that was the only thing in my way of getting there. I got down to around 191 and could easily do 15+ pull ups and run 5 miles. I was in the best shape of my life.

Post-Marine Corps, I entered college and they say the average freshman gains 20 lbs. I sure did. I'm back up to my 230ish weight and it's been hell. Eating fast food everyday and the keggers have taken its toll. This summer I've backed down and pretty much only drink water. I have a well so the water is pretty good. I've been cutting down on the fast food and late light munchies. But I still can't lose any weight. Probably due to lack of exercise. I've become extremely lazy over the past two years. It's hard to go to the gym when you don't have a workout partner pushing you. I've been reading a lot of the posts on here and I am impressed. I'm a double portion guy. I always eat seconds. I guess I need to start there and eat less. But it's hard. I love watching moves and eating lots of popcorn with butter. There's an option for OCS after I graduate from college. I figure it would give me a good reason to get moto'd again.

Any advice...

Get the P90X program. It's only $150.00, and if you have some weights and a pullup bar it really works. I bought a pullup bar for $25 bucks and a set of adjustable weights at Costco for $300.00, and I'm set. You can get some resistance bands, but I find the weights work much better. It has a nutrition plan with really good recipies for good food that tasted great.

I think you proably know that at the end of the day if you want to lose weight you have to burn more calories than you eat. It is very much a strength of mind thing. If you aren't motivated to do the work you will never get the results.

I would like to say a very personal and heart felt "THANK YOU!" for your service to our country. I wish you all the luck at OCS if you chose that path.

[Riff Magnum]

Originally Posted by sfmarine

Ya...I do that lol. It's depressing. Especially when it used to be flat. It's also never fun trying to fit into clothes that you used to fit into.

You say you're in college right? Don't most universities give you a "free" membership to their gym nowadays?

[sfmarine]

Originally Posted by ed4246

I would like to say a very personal and heart felt "THANK YOU!" for your service to our country. I wish you all the luck at OCS if you chose that path.

Thanks. I appreciate it.

Originally Posted by Riff Magnum

You say you're in college right? Don't most universities give you a "free" membership to their gym nowadays?

That is true. However, the college is over an hour away. And the equipment is older than me. I used to love swimming. There's a gym about 45 mins away that has a pool. But like many people...you go to the gym and then after a while it gets old or you miss a week and then 2 weeks and then everything is gone and you have to start over again. I think the scale is evil. You look @ it and it never says what you want and then you say screw it. I've done this many times.
Someone told me to weigh myself every other week instead of every day. I'm probably better doing that.

[Riff Magnum]

yeah, that's why i don't have a set routine. I just do stuff. I feel as long as you're breaking a sweat everyday, and not completely eating like a pig, it'll all work out eventually.

[sfmarine]

That's a good point.

[PS3-Playb3yond]

I want to gain weight lol. I'm skinny.

[Riff Magnum]

I know that goes against most people's rules, but if i don't have a routine then i don't feel obligated, and when i don't feel obligated, i don't feel pressure or guilt when i "miss." I think it's much better to do stuff you enjoy or things that will give you results in other areas of your life than simply grinding out some narcissistic wet dream. You said you enjoy swimming. Swimming is great exercise and it's actually enjoyable, unlike pushing weights. Basketball and tennis are both great cardio, great fun, and you actually get better at a skill instead of turning into a gym rat. I live in the south, and i find myself sweating balls just mowing the yard, planting flowers, digging around in the dirt, or even fishing for crying out loud. They key is to just start somewhere and build on it.

[MyBlu-rayBrotherEd]

Here is a decent routine for ppl who like to go to the gym:

http://www.mensfitness.com/ylw/fitne...t_routines/312

[sfmarine]

So what's the deal with P90x. I've heard about it a lot but really know nothing about it except that it is expensive$$$. Anyone on the program?

[MyBlu-rayBrotherEd]

I think it's only like $150 dollars. That isn't that much. 5 months at the gym....unless you have free access to one. You could go in on it with a group of friends if you want. It has weight/strenght routines, cardio routines, yoga and stretching routines, which gives it variety to keep you from getting bored. It gives you a nutrition plan and a schedule to follow. Overall it's a pretty good program I think. Each routine lasts from an hour to 1 1/2 hours. I think they have a 30 day money back guarantee.

[Hammie]

I've used SparkPeople to monitor my food intake and exercise. I feel looking at that, especially the first couple weeks, puts things in perspective.

My current routine is 5-6 days of 30-45 minutes of cardio (400-600 calories), every other day I work my lower body and the other days I work my upper body. However, everyday I try to get the trunk machine in to work on my "love handles."

I also try to stay within 1700-2200 calorie intake per day with a minimum of 8 tall glasses of water a day.

Breakfast = OJ, Oatmeal, and Banana
Morning snack = Orange
Lunch = Either leftovers from the night before or a Turkey ham/Jalepeno cheese/spicy mustard sandwhich on 100% whole wheat bread, glass of 1% milk
Afternoon snack = Banana
Dinner = Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing, glass of 1% milk, lots of veggies, some sort of meat or pasta

Its not all about WHAT you eat, its about HOW MUCH you east. Portion control is the most important. When I go to a restaurant, I immediately put half my dinner in a to go box and I never, ever drink alcohol or soda. At the worst, I may have an unsweetened iced tea or lemonade.

I've been doing this routine for about 2 weeks or so and have lost about 8 pounds. I'm 5-7 and currently weight in at 178.

[brettallica]

The best routine is a combination of exercise and a moderate diet, with some allowances for "slipping" every once in a while -- like that one nasty dinner on the weekend or night out partying or whatever. The stricter you are with yourself, the quicker you'll see results; but on that note (depending on one's personal dedication level), you might push yourself to burnout faster.

What has worked for me in the gym and for my health in general for nearly 14 years now (I'm 31) is keeping it fresh and mixing it up, both in what I do to stay fit exercise-wise and how I eat. Luckily, when I was a kid I was really big on all sports, including fitness-intensive ones like water polo, swimming, soccer, etc., so I've got a mindset that you need to kick your own ass all the time and push yourself as hard as you can go. I even played polo in college, so my foundation is set (anyone who knows anything about fitness understands what kind of shape you're in when you're a polo player). Having done these rigorous sports for so many years has gotten me set up to deal with the fact that no matter how hard I go, I'll never reach the level of exertion I did every day while I was playing polo. This makes the typical workout of mine seem a lot less like a chore and almost like a privilege! It's a mind game with me at this point. I know that particular method doesn't work for everyone and I am sensitive to that.

Nowadays, I'm in the gym for a minimum of seven days for a minimum of 45 minutes of cardio. I'm actually writing this post from my iPhone while riding the cardio bike. I'm currently not lifting weights because of an elbow/biceps injury in my throwing arm, but I typically lift four or five days per week as well. I also play basketball a few times per week for a couple hours at a time, and now that it's summer, softball is starting up and I'll be doing that a couple/few times per week (but probably cutting back on hoops). Needless to say, I'm pretty big on sports and fitness! A coworker of mine brought up the fact that he'll be competing in a local triathlon in September, and he's gotten me thinking...

One thing I do know, however, is if you don't exercise your heart and lungs will not be in good condition, which will inhibit your ability to get fit. It can be a vicious cycle if it's not caught early enough in life. Blood pressure and cholesterol are all affected positively, too, if you train hard. My biggest motivation factors are on the health aspects I just mentioned, but I also have two boys whose butts I'll need to be able to still school at sports when they're teenagers, so I am really concentrated and focused on being that dad for my kids. I also had a grandfather who died young (63 or so), and a father who died EXCEPTIONALLY young (only 47, just a few years ago). Not wantng to go down their path is all the motivation I need.

I'm lucky and unlucky in the sense that I have the experiences of my dad and grandpa to draw from: even though I lost them, I know what NOT to do with my body and life.

[PS3-Playb3yond]

To those who want to lose wait, have you tried Alli (think that's what it's called)? I see it in the commercials everytime. Might work for ya.

[PanasonicPlasmaMan]

if you want to lose weight cut your carbs and calorie intake.
I am 160 pounds so to maintain my weight I have to eat around 1600 calories. so if i wanted to lose weight I would eat between 1200-1400 and go jogging 5-6 days a week to burn an additional 200 calories therefore making me lose 2-3 pounds per week. I followed this and lost 75 pounds in 11 months. Keep your carbs to around 100 grams. good luck!

[PS3-Playb3yond]

Forget about losing weight for a sec, I want to talk about gaining weight. No matter what or how much I eat I just don't gain weight. This really frustrates me. I think I might be sick or something. I eat fast food anytime I want and nothing.

Tell me I'm not the only one here....