Does this seem good enough...

[Onestep]

Hey all... I'm basically an overweight 19 year old... I currently weigh 16 (and a touch) stone and my ideal weight is 12st for my height according to the BMI.

To cut long story short, in the past 4 weeks I have lost almost a stone, but I've been reading all various articles and such to help with my overall workout so that I'm doing everything possible to lose weight and not missing out on any special tips. But having read all of this I'm now somewhat unsure that the exercise routines I'm doing are good enough to help me maximise how much weight I can lose.

So I basically had a total of 5 stone to lose in 6 - its now 4 with 5 months left and my aim is to actually be below 13st come that deadline. Below is my current exercise routine and I just want feedback as to whether ya'll feel this is good enough or also any tips you may have for me..

I workout 5 days a week. I was doing 25 mins of a running a day, but think I pushed it too hard with that one so I've eased off for the moment and will do it less when my leg feels better. Otherwise I basically do this everday:

10 min martial arts warm up
35-40mins exercise bike - with increased pace segments
20 mins upper / lower body workout (weights, crunches, squats... etc)

Now for the moment, I repeat this twice a day. When my leg gets better I will do the morning with all the above, but with running instead of bike (3 days a week) and then the bike in the afternoon as usual.

I also have a boxing bag, but I don't have a stand for that right now or the spare cash to grab one, but when I do I will factor that into my regime too... lol

So generally thats what I do... what do you think? Thanks people.

 

[trainerbob]

If I'm calculating stones to pounds correctly, then it appears you're trying to lose nearly 60 pounds in 5 months. That's a lot of weight to lose and keep off permanently. You probably need to look at more realistic goals for weight loss, because even if you can do it your body won't necessarily be healthier, and a lot of that weight loss could just be water weight.

I'd suggest that if you work out twice a day, then do the split with your cardio one of those times and weight training the other time.

What's your diet look like?

 

[Onestep]

Well I do agree that 12st by end of August is perhaps unrealistic and even though I will be happy to at least be under 13 and a half by that date, I will keep working to achieve whatever I achieve. My diet basically consists of this:

Breakfast:

Wholegrain cereal or 1 slice of wholemeal bread with jam and a banana or 2 slices of wholemeal bread with jam and half a glass of semi skimmed milk

Lunch:

about 150g (if I remember correctly) of whatever pasta I eat (if thats detailed enough for you)

Dinner:

I try to eat whatever is healthy really... I variate between own made salads with chicken... or fish with wholegrain rice / or salad... or a small jacket potato with tuna filling... and then sometimes pasta for dinner though I prefer not to. Probably doesn't sound like much, but that variation doesn't bore me.

To snack during the day, its either fruit or soya yoghurt if I named that correctly.

I think a few emotional factors have helped to get me down on it, but in the last few weeks I've really cut out all the junk food... biscuits especially (that was my worse habit... not chocolotes, crisps, or anything else... just biscuits).

I feel I'm seeing a slight improvement with the shape of my belly, but after only 1-2 weeks I think that judgement could be a slight bit premature, but I'll just keep pushing... and whatever advice or such anyone can give... I truly appreciate it.

 

[trainerbob]

Your diet looks okay, although possibly a bit low in calories and protein. Yes, if you eat too FEW calories it can be hard to lose weight. It's hard to say whether or not your calories or protein are low unless you actually track your diet. Try the online diet tracker at . I've never used it, but have seen posts from others that like it. That way you know more specifically what your intake looks like.

When you exercise be sure to do so at high intensity. That means during cardio work try to keep your heart rate in the training zone (calculate by 220 minus your age times about 60%). And with weights it means hitting muscle failure at about the 12th rep during a set.