[Advise] Working out and losing weight

So I'm pretty out of shape. I'm 190 and 5'11 but my BMI is probably around 27 or more. I carry it well meaning people assume I'm generally around 170, but my overall strength isn't very high.

I prefer to avoid working out at a gym for various reasons but I'm up for purchasing some dumb bells or kettlebells at home. Would kettlebells be a good alternative to going to the gym and can anyone vouch for them? Also where would I purchase them in Austin? I'm pretty new to working out so any sort of advice is appreciated.


Also same question. Whats a good product for Whey Protein and where's a good place to buy it? Newbie workout guy looking for input.

 

Some good advice here. My workout is mostly through martial arts 3 times a week where generally we do about a half hour of drills and often spar at the end for about 15 min.. I used to lift weights but have quit doing so but if I ever get back into competing will. Since March I've taken up running again and will about twice a week around 4 miles but will sometimes run up 5.5 miles. I also bike a fair amount but these days not so much for exercise as basic transportation.

For the past two years I've been watching my diet in terms of cutting down fried foods, candy, sugared drinks and meat. My weight hasn't changed drastically but at my age and size, 5'-7 154 lbs, I'm less worried about losing weight as just trying to maintain overall health.

This is a problem that I have as I will have periods where I'm working as much as 80 hours per week. The main thing is to get into a habit of working out and keep on doing it even when things are busy. When I'm really busy I still make time to work out, especially doing martial arts, as I would go crazy without it.

Even if though you find that you can't haul yourself to the gym there are a lot of things that you can do around your house and at work to burn calories. One of the simplest things is take the stairs instead of the elevator. Another thing is try to bike or walk to do your errands. You will be saving gas, helping the environment and getting a workout. A lot of simple household chores can get you a workout too if you don't rely on mechanization as much. For me I mow my lawn with a push mower, no motor but my muscles, and in the winter I shovel snow with a shovel and not a snow blower. Also if you have kids and/or a dog take them outside and play with them. You will be surprised how much of a workout you can get chasing around some active kids for awhile or instead of walking your dog jogging with him.

Finally at work or at home when you get some slow time don't just sit on your butt watching TV or surfing the internet (except for CF.net) get up and walk around the house or office for awhile.

 

Your diet isn't just a "big part" in losing weight, it's 90-95% of it. In fact, you don't have to exercise one iota to lose weight. I dropped 40 lbs this way and it wasn't hard. I know studies show that most people who successfully lose weight combine an improved diet with exercise. The downside is exercise takes time and commitment which many eventually fail at. What ends up happening is the exercise dwindles & stops and people drop the improved diet along with it. The weakest link causes the entire chain to fail.

I lost 2-3 lbs/week without exercise and decided I didn't want my improved eating to be influenced by an off-and-on commitment to exercise. It was a good decision for me.

Exercise is good for your overall health and is something you should do. You can get a lot of advice on working out and on cardio routines. But I recommend you separate the two goals of improved health and losing weight (which obviously overlap).

For losing weight, change your diet and reduce calories. You must reduce the calories in a way that allows you to do it permanently. If you eat foods you don't like and deny yourself too much, your diet will fail and you will revert back to your old habits. 100% guaranteed. The key is to reduce your calories AND stay satisfied at the same time. It isn't that hard but explaining it is too difficult on a message board. You don't have to do extreme stuff like cut out all beef/pork, only eat fish/chicken, don't put any dressing on your salad, etc, etc.

For exercise and health, I'll let other members comment.

Keep this in mind: There are thousands of people who have lost significant amounts of weight by reducing calories and not exercising. But nobody loses a significant amount of weight by exercising and not changing their diet. Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying. Workout warriors and cardio freaks who lost large amounts of weight ALSO chopped their calorie intake, whether they know it or not.

 

I'm no good at basketball, but soccer, yes I can do that ... at least on Sundays. But I should probably have a more regular exercise regimen than a weekly soccer game.

 

I was considering replacing my ephedrine/caffeine/aspirin stack, with an amphetamine, caffeine, aspirin stack. Any thoughts?

I would also be up for cocaine though.

 

Luby's can be a pretty good spot, depending on how things are cooked. For example, the grilled Tilapia (fish) would be way better than the fried whitefish. Same thing applies to grilled and fried chicken. Basically, if something has breading/batter on it, it's not optimal for your health.

Most of the vegetables are alright, but some aren't that great. Mashed potatoes and gravy or broccoli w/ cheese is not going to do you any favors, but green beans, corn, broccoli (plain), and lima beans are just a few that you can rely on. STAY AWAY from the macaroni. Back when I used to be oblivious about my caloric intake, I would sometimes order two sides of it. It's much better to get a side salad with low fat dressing or a pasta salad. Add a fruit salad and iced tea to satisfy your sweet tooth.

At home, I make chicken tenderloins with reduced fat butter, broccoli, reduced sodium teriyaki (and various seasonings) on a bed of steamed brown rice. I also make lean ground beef with broccoli, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, onions, broccoli, and various seasonings. A baked potato with reduced fat butter, sour cream, corn, pepper, and just about a 1/2 tablespoon of shredded cheese is one of my favorites. Very filling, easy and cheap to make, and a far better option than fast food or a microwave dinner.

However, if you have to eat fast food from time to time, here are some things to know...

Taco Bell is actually one of the healthier places to eat. Their new fresco style items replace any sour cream, cheese, or fattening sauces with pico de gallo. A fresco crunchy taco is only 150 calories and 8 grams of fat, but it gives you 7 grams of protein which is a good trade off. The fresco grilled steak taco is even better at 160 calories, 4.5 grams of fat, and 10 grams of protein. The fresco chicken soft taco is great too at 170 calories, 4 grams of fat, and 12 grams of protein. Again, you can get better options cooking at home, but on the run that's about as good as it gets in my opinion.

If you're going to a burger joint, go for ketchup over mayo, and mustard over both ketchup and mayo if you can. Also stay away from bacon burgers, and convince yourself to skip the cheese. If you want to take it a little further (which I often do myself) you can take the bottom half of the bun and toss it in the garbage or feed it to some birds. That can cut anywhere from 100 to 200 calories off your meal. Would you rather have that half of the bun back, or run an extra 45 minutes?

Also watch out for Subway, just like Quizno's. If you pick the right kind of bread, the right toppings, and you go with mustard or reduced fat mayo, you can get away with eating fairly healthy. But if you start adding cheeses, extra meat, and fatty sauces, you're better off with a Big Mac. Also, at your size you should never eat more than a 6" at one meal.

Alright, I think that's it for now.

 

my friend lost 60 pounds cuz he stopped eating meat and drinking soda everything for 5 months...along with walking/running on a treadmill everyday. stop eating trash and so some running and there's a good chance you'll lose some weight

 

You're friends with Christian Bale?

 

Not sure if its been mentioned but make sure to drink alot of water too.

 

No, actually its a consensus that its best to starve and dehydrate yourself as much as you can stand

 

I just purchased some Nutrex Lipo 6x from bodybuilding.com after reading your thread...

i buy protein powder from them once every 2 months - so i just went with "the most popular" brand of CLA.

We'll see how it goes.

I already take 1 multivitamin, 2 fish oil capsules, 1 amino acid capsule, 2 calcium capsules, and 1 vitamin c capsule daily... adding 4 CLA capsules daily to that is gonna make my daily pill consumption rather intense...

i'll report back my findings in the coming weeks.

fyi - to start i am 6'1", 185lbs and 15% body fat.

trying to get to sub-10% body fat for more definition...

 

How does one measure body fat? I assume you can't do it on your own?

Anyway, to me it's pretty funny reading about a 5'10" 170lbs guy wanting to get skinnier.

 

You are OK. Let it go steady. If you lose weight fast, you will gain them back fast too.
Add some cardio at the end of each session. It works for me.

Just give it some time, you may gain some weight initially. But once your metabolism adjusts to the new level, you will lose weight. Don't over-eating after each session is important.

 

I don't think you should be worried about your WEIGHT as much as your body fat% The muscle gain probably is adding to your weight.

 

seems the opposite is true for me. As long as I work out 4-5 days a weeks (alternating upper and lower body) I can gorge on ice cream, soda, popcorn as much as I want and I hover around 11% body fat. If I stay away from the gym, eat home cooked healthy meals only, my body fat jumps to 15%

The short of it is you have to find what works for you

 

I'm trying to lose about 10 lbs. I'm basically just trying to out-exercise my eating habits. Which consist of pretty decent in the day, horrific in the wee hours of the morning.

My routine consists of Yoga for an hour, 3 times a week. Then the other 2 times a week usually basketball/cardio bike.

I dub this a worthy thread.

 

I got a 35 lb. kettlebell last week and tried it for the first time on Friday. I am sore all over. Like the slightest movement can sometime just trigger a stinging jolt on my muscles. It's not an injury or anything, but when is a good time to start lifting again? Even when I'm still tender? Or until I don't feel any pain at all? Would stretching help it in the meantime? Should I stick with cardio until the soreness goes away?

 

I'd like to talk to you more in detail. One thing that I will assume is that you are not very much overweight (if at all). If that is the case and you are trying to lose some tough pounds, then exercise is more important than for most Americans. If Luckyazn isn't that far off from his ideal weight and is in relatively good shape, my general advice doesn't apply.

If you take the typical flabby American man or woman that is 30-70 lbs overweight, with a change in eating habits alone they can lose all of the excess (or perhaps maybe all except 5-10 lbs). Exercise without a change in eating won't do much for them. It's people like that where the 90-95% of it being diet applies.

 

I found skipping breakfast, drinking lots of coffee and smoking about a pack of cigarettes a day kept off the pounds nicely. I'm 5-11 and that diet kept me around 140 for several years. That moved to about 160 when I started drinking beer regularly. No exercise at all.
Ever since I quit smoking, I've been about about 180.