First time at the gym

[JayJay1]

Hey everyone, I am new around here. I currently weigh between 350-400lbs(I think) and im looking to change that. I have a scale coming that I ordered online so I can get the exacts! Ive never been to a gym in my life, and just a few hours ago I went with a friend for the first time.

Ive done a ton of diets, usually it involved sitting on my butt and not eating much. This time ive decided to eat healthy and exercise.

Today at the gym I did 10 minutes of weight lifting, 20 minutes on the cycle, and 20 minutes on the treadmill. I'd like to eventually do more weight lifting when I lose more. but i'd like your opinions on what I should do at the gym in the span of an hour. Is what im doing above ok? Ive been thinking about using the 10 minutes on weights to learn each machine and how it works. Then the 40-50 minutes of cardio.

Ive also changed my eating habits from fast food 2 times a day to 3 healty meals and snacks. I went out and purchased a lot of grilled chicken, turkey slices, lettuce, vegetables to snack on, fruit and fish/tuna for meals. My ultimate goal would be to get to 200lbs. But for short term i'd love to hit 300lb. (Even if that means 100lbs)

I guess im just looking for general advice! Thanks

 

[maleficent]

check the work out thread in this forum - as well as some of the stickied nutrition threads and that shoudl give you a lot of general info to get you started

 

[Fat Lazy Guy]

Be sure to get someone (preferably a trainer at the gym) to teach you how to use each machine properly as well

 

[Steve]

It sounds like you are off to a great start.

At your weight, pretty much anything is going to be effective. Nutrition should be your primary concern, but it sounds like you are going about that correctly. If you are interested in counting calories, at 400 lbs, to lose weight, I'd be taking in, at the lowest, around 2500 calories per day. You can go higher and still lose weight though. It depends on you and how hungry you get. The idea for now should be to eat as close to 2500 calories per day without feeling too deprived. If that means you take in 3500 calories per day, so be it.

In the gym, for now, it's all about expending energy. How often do you plan on going?

With regards to weight machines, I'm not really a fan in general. With that said though, sometimes with people your size it's your best bet. Large people have unique centers of gravity along with various other pathological problems usually that make free weight training difficult. When this is the case, machines are your next best bet.

There are still some free weight exercises that you will be able to do.

I would take Mal's advice and checkout the sticky in the "weight loss through exercise" section of this site called "workout." Try and adapt this program to you. To what you have available to you and what you can do.

If you want more personalized advice, always feel free to privately message me or even publically, it doesn't matter to me.

In terms of cardio, pretty much the same goes for this. For now, just get more active. Increase the intensity of the cardio sessions from week to week by increasing the length of time at first. For instance, start at 20 minutes each session at a comfortable intensity. If that means walking, so be it. You shouldn't be out of breath to the point where you can't talk.

As time goes on, work your way up in length. I wouldn't really go greater than 60 minutes of cardio.

Once you get beyond 30-40 minutes, you can start toying around with the intensity via other units besides length of time. Think speed, incline, resistance, etc.

Bottom line is this:

Cardio is not something you should have to do every single day in order to lose weight. The primary contributor to your weight loss should come from nutrition. If your nutrition is on point, again, daily cardio is not required.

Ideally, 2-3 sessions of cardio per week and 2-3 sessions of resistance training per week would be ideal for starters. But do what fits your schedule.

Hope that gives you some perspective.

 

[maleficent]

Large people have unique centers of gravity along with various other pathological problems usually that make free weight training difficult

I don't want to threadjack but - oh heck, I will anyhow

Maybe I've not been paying attention, but I think that's the first time i've heard you say that... or read you write that - -that is - that's interesting -and in my case it was and still is somewhat true... are there ways to correct that problem?

 

[JayJay1]

It sounds like you are off to a great start.

At your weight, pretty much anything is going to be effective. Nutrition should be your primary concern, but it sounds like you are going about that correctly. If you are interested in counting calories, at 400 lbs, to lose weight, I'd be taking in, at the lowest, around 2500 calories per day. You can go higher and still lose weight though. It depends on you and how hungry you get. The idea for now should be to eat as close to 2500 calories per day without feeling too deprived. If that means you take in 3500 calories per day, so be it.

In the gym, for now, it's all about expending energy. How often do you plan on going?

With regards to weight machines, I'm not really a fan in general. With that said though, sometimes with people your size it's your best bet. Large people have unique centers of gravity along with various other pathological problems usually that make free weight training difficult. When this is the case, machines are your next best bet.

There are still some free weight exercises that you will be able to do.

I would take Mal's advice and checkout the sticky in the "weight loss through exercise" section of this site called "workout." Try and adapt this program to you. To what you have available to you and what you can do.

If you want more personalized advice, always feel free to privately message me or even publically, it doesn't matter to me.

In terms of cardio, pretty much the same goes for this. For now, just get more active. Increase the intensity of the cardio sessions from week to week by increasing the length of time at first. For instance, start at 20 minutes each session at a comfortable intensity. If that means walking, so be it. You shouldn't be out of breath to the point where you can't talk.

As time goes on, work your way up in length. I wouldn't really go greater than 60 minutes of cardio.

Once you get beyond 30-40 minutes, you can start toying around with the intensity via other units besides length of time. Think speed, incline, resistance, etc.

Bottom line is this:

Cardio is not something you should have to do every single day in order to lose weight. The primary contributor to your weight loss should come from nutrition. If your nutrition is on point, again, daily cardio is not required.

Ideally, 2-3 sessions of cardio per week and 2-3 sessions of resistance training per week would be ideal for starters. But do what fits your schedule.

Hope that gives you some perspective.

Wow thanks! Awesome advice. Yea, right now I plan to do it 3 times a week. Along with walking a mile outside 2 times a week if I can fit it in. I was having a hard time with the weight lifting, but the cardio I did great on and really broke a sweat. I didnt have any trouble breathing, and in fact I woke up today and my legs weren't sore at all! So I hope i did something right. On the cycle I wasn't going to fast, but I managed to do "2 miles". On the treadmill though I was comparing my speed to everyone else and it wasn't that different. The only difference was I did not yet include the incline (Kind of afraid ill break the machine if i do )

As for the calories, that is one of my main problems. I might be undereating! Im trying to keep low in fat, very low in carbs. Yesterday I had a south beach bar for breakfast, (20 protein!) and snacked on honey roasted penuts during the day at work. For lunch I had a subway 6 inch veggie delight with apple slices. Then for dinner I had a salad with slices of turkey on it. Treated myself with a little lite ceasar dressing. I normally use zesty italian with v. low calories.

All together though that only came to likely 1000-1300 calories. And it seems really hard to eat over that, and still stay with healthy foods. Would it be a bad thing to keep low carb, and go into ketosis? I think then the low amount of calories wouldn't be so bad at first. But of course I could be wrong.

Thanks again!

 

[Steve]

I don't want to threadjack but - oh heck, I will anyhow

Maybe I've not been paying attention, but I think that's the first time i've heard you say that... or read you write that - -that is - that's interesting -and in my case it was and still is somewhat true... are there ways to correct that problem?

Lose what's causing the irregular COG... the fat, lol.

Until then, you adapt the program to what the individual can handle, while improving proprioception, coordination, and balance using various drills/exercises.

And not all large people suffer from this. I've seen some people squat deeper than me!

 

[Steve]

Wow thanks! Awesome advice. Yea, right now I plan to do it 3 times a week. Along with walking a mile outside 2 times a week if I can fit it in. I was having a hard time with the weight lifting, but the cardio I did great on and really broke a sweat. I didnt have any trouble breathing, and in fact I woke up today and my legs weren't sore at all! So I hope i did something right. On the cycle I wasn't going to fast, but I managed to do "2 miles". On the treadmill though I was comparing my speed to everyone else and it wasn't that different. The only difference was I did not yet include the incline (Kind of afraid ill break the machine if i do )

That's great!

I wouldn't really worry about the incline as of yet. Increase intensity once you've already developed a baseline of conditioning.

As for the calories, that is one of my main problems. I might be undereating! Im trying to keep low in fat, very low in carbs. Yesterday I had a south beach bar for breakfast, (20 protein!) and snacked on honey roasted penuts during the day at work. For lunch I had a subway 6 inch veggie delight with apple slices. Then for dinner I had a salad with slices of turkey on it. Treated myself with a little lite ceasar dressing. I normally use zesty italian with v. low calories.

What's your reasoning for going low fat and carb?

Weight comes off b/c you are deficient in energy. Not b/c you are deficient in carbs or fat.

Your cals are too low. Yes, the bigger you are the larger caloric deficit you can maintain.

Yes, however, there is a too low.

Increase your variety in foods.

For protein think: Egg whites, lean beef, top round steak, grilled chicken breast, turkey breast, pork tenderloin, cottage cheese, etc.

For carbs think: Old fashioned oats, whole wheat pasta, whole wheat bread/wraps, rice, etc

For fats think: various nuts, extra virgin olive oil, fish oil supplementation, etc.

And don't forget about fruits and veggies. They'll fall into the carb category but are very important.

Worry about calories first. Then macronutrient breakdown.

All together though that only came to likely 1000-1300 calories. And it seems really hard to eat over that, and still stay with healthy foods.

Again, add some fruit and veggies. Add another meal if you can. And instead of a salad, get a more balanced meal in at night.

Do you always eat at subway. I don't have much against them but I'd prefer a more balanced, packed meal any day of the week.

Would it be a bad thing to keep low carb, and go into ketosis? I think then the low amount of calories wouldn't be so bad at first. But of course I could be wrong.

For what purpose?

You are worrying to much about carbs and fats.

 

[JayJay1]

Well the main problem is I work quite a bit, and odd hours. So I dont usually have the time to plan out a healthy meal. The carb thing I guess is just from all my previous diets, probably something I shouldnt worry so much about. But everything I buy is either no carbs or very low carbs. Still not a bad thing right? Also by low fat, I just meant trying not to eat "bad" things. Like penuts have some fat but I know that is "good fat" right? And your right, I should concentrate less on that. Ive done a few VLC diets, so im still trying to shake off the "low calorie, no carb" part of that.

The subway, no I do not do it often. But since I just started I dont have everything planned to well yet. So at work when I got hungry I figured thats the best place to go out of all the fast foods. And for 250 calories, a ton of veggies on a wheat bun didnt seem too bad. I think it may be something I do once a week at most. Is it really bad to do so? Other than price of course. Price doesn't really matter to me.

Again thanks for the advice. This morning I had some egg beater (white), on a low carb wrap with a few slices of turkey. As for my protein, how much a day should I be getting? I think between everything, including the 20g bar I have at work. I get upwards of 40 protein. Ive also seen the "Optimum Nutrition" whey powder, which packs a ton of protein. Would this be something good to add some calories and protein to my day as a "fourth meal"? Ive also been drinking a TON of water, like running off to pee every 10 minutes because of it. haha I think im getting in close to two gallons a day.

Oh yea, I also wanted to add. For anyone whos upwards of 300+ lbs and is afraid to go to the gym, DONT BE! I never went in my life cause of my weight, and finally I said who cares and went for it. No one cared that I was fat, no one looks at you funny. If anything they admire you for being there. Most people are too busy with their own workout routine to even look at you once.

Edit: doh, to pack more questions into this post. Im taking centrum performance multivitamin since I started. Probably a dumb question, but this stuff is good for you right?

 

[Lula3]

The gym was the most scary place I'd ever been to when I joined and felt very very self concious and had no clue what I was doing at first, but you quickly get used to it and realise that people are too busy doing their own thing to look at you and what you're doing. I guess you know that now its not that bad.

The great advantage of being overweight is that the bigger you are, the more benefits you get from doing a bit of sports, so if you cannot manage much at first, don't worry too much as many studies have showed than even if you start with very little, great benefits will follow due to the changes it does to your body. You're already doing brilliant, and if you can stick to that, good on you. You'll get much better with time anyways.

Also, as you carry excess weight, you have to be careful not to hurt your joints, so I would start with low impact cardio until you remove some of the wieght. By that I mean doing stuff which spares joints, such as the elliptical instead of e.g. the treadmill, and swimming.

Another good thing about having excess weight to loose is that since you have to creat a calorie deficit to shed the weight, if you used to eat e.g. 4000 calories a day, going down to 3000 calories a day will probably have a result, and you can gradually go down. When I was overweight, I was eating about 3000-3500 calories a day (should really be under 2000 for my height and frame), but losing weight steadily at 2500 calories, which meant that it was pretty easy to stick to. The problem is that if you eat too little from the start, you'll lose weight too quicly (=saggy skin) and then reach a plateau which will be hard to break and you'll probably be frustrated and be tempted to starve by eating far too little, or give up.

Steve has given you brilliant advice on what to eat. Forget about diets. Forget about low carb - people were slim before Atkins/low carb. Ketosis gives you bad breath too, and the initial weight loss can be very high, but is mostly water from depleted energy stores in the muscle, which contain water (released upon depletion). Just eat complex carbs, eat your 5+ portions of fruit and veg, eat your proteins, and eat a bit of shit food too (I allow myself 1 cheat day a week - for social occasions usually, or I allow myself a bit of shit food every day, like 200 cal good quality chocolate allowance or corn tortillas with guacamole). What you need to learn is what healthy eating is, and adopt a way of eating which you will do for life, so sustainable and good for you. You don't need to go low fat either - as long as you stick to your recommended amount of fat and sat fat per day, that's fine. Fat is essential, so get your mono and unsaturated fats from vegetable oil like extra virgin oil, and your omegas from oily fish such as salmon.

If you haven't eaten enough in terms of calories, then have another meal or make bigger portions. I am guessing you usually ate calorie dense food that play havoc with your blood sugars, rather than bulky low calorie food that keep you full for longer.

Good luck, Im sure you'll do great! The best thing you can do is read about healthy eating and not diets

 

[ming9899]

Sound good and great start!!. I hope you lose your weight soon. I will try to go to gym too.

 

[JayJay1]

The gym was the most scary place I'd ever been to when I joined and felt very very self concious and had no clue what I was doing at first, but you quickly get used to it and realise that people are too busy doing their own thing to look at you and what you're doing. I guess you know that now its not that bad.

The great advantage of being overweight is that the bigger you are, the more benefits you get from doing a bit of sports, so if you cannot manage much at first, don't worry too much as many studies have showed than even if you start with very little, great benefits will follow due to the changes it does to your body. You're already doing brilliant, and if you can stick to that, good on you. You'll get much better with time anyways.

Also, as you carry excess weight, you have to be careful not to hurt your joints, so I would start with low impact cardio until you remove some of the wieght. By that I mean doing stuff which spares joints, such as the elliptical instead of e.g. the treadmill, and swimming.

Another good thing about having excess weight to loose is that since you have to creat a calorie deficit to shed the weight, if you used to eat e.g. 4000 calories a day, going down to 3000 calories a day will probably have a result, and you can gradually go down. When I was overweight, I was eating about 3000-3500 calories a day (should really be under 2000 for my height and frame), but losing weight steadily at 2500 calories, which meant that it was pretty easy to stick to. The problem is that if you eat too little from the start, you'll lose weight too quicly (=saggy skin) and then reach a plateau which will be hard to break and you'll probably be frustrated and be tempted to starve by eating far too little, or give up.

Steve has given you brilliant advice on what to eat. Forget about diets. Forget about low carb - people were slim before Atkins/low carb. Ketosis gives you bad breath too, and the initial weight loss can be very high, but is mostly water from depleted energy stores in the muscle, which contain water (released upon depletion). Just eat complex carbs, eat your 5+ portions of fruit and veg, eat your proteins, and eat a bit of shit food too (I allow myself 1 cheat day a week - for social occasions usually, or I allow myself a bit of shit food every day, like 200 cal good quality chocolate allowance or corn tortillas with guacamole). What you need to learn is what healthy eating is, and adopt a way of eating which you will do for life, so sustainable and good for you. You don't need to go low fat either - as long as you stick to your recommended amount of fat and sat fat per day, that's fine. Fat is essential, so get your mono and unsaturated fats from vegetable oil like extra virgin oil, and your omegas from oily fish such as salmon.

If you haven't eaten enough in terms of calories, then have another meal or make bigger portions. I am guessing you usually ate calorie dense food that play havoc with your blood sugars, rather than bulky low calorie food that keep you full for longer.

Good luck, Im sure you'll do great! The best thing you can do is read about healthy eating and not diets

Thanks so much for the advice! Ive already started to do "less" watching the calories and more eating healthy. Like today I had a whole wheat sub with quite a few carbs in it. (40 per 6'' I believe) Had yogurt for breakfast, and peanuts to snack on during the day. Then after my walk tonight ill have a nice salad and turkey slices or grilled chicken. Im still in the 1000's in calories. But im staying over 1000 now, which is good. And you are right, I used to only eat 2 or so meals a day. But those meals were fast food, mcdonalds, burger king, wendys, etc. And then bad snacks chips, candy, breads, etc.

As far as the joints, I seem to have pretty strong legs. I guess its from lugging around my butt all this time. The first time I walked a mile, I was dying. After only two more days walking, and my gym time I was able to walk 2.5 miles with my friend last night. Took a break after the first mile for water and a skim milk cheese stick. And then went another mile and a half. My legs didn't even burn! Woke up today and I was a little sore for about 10 minutes, after walking around I was fine the rest of the day. Same at the gym! The cycle and treadmill barely wore me out, which is really surprising for my weight. But I dont think I mentioned im only 21. So my age may have something to do with that. If I was older im sure I would have many other problems with joints and such.

As for the calories again... im not hungry during the day. And it might be because I drink so much water. Im also snacking on penuts twice a day. 1/4th a cup holds me over until lunch. I eat a nice sized lunch, then drink more water and im good until i get home for dinner. Maybe I need a bigger breakfast, ive been having yogurt, cottage cheese, eggs on a wrap, etc. But I really have no idea how I could possibly fit 2000-3000 calories a day in without eating bad things!

Again thanks for the advice.