Here goes nothing...

[Akachi]

Hi everyone, my name is Tom and I have decided that it's time for me to get fit (for good this time!). I'm 24 years old and for as long as I can remember I've been overweight. By the time I was 21 I weighed roughly 23.5 stone (329lb or 149kg) and felt really unhappy with the way I looked. Soon after I moved away for university and began a number of activities such as walking, swimming and mountain biking to name a few. I also changed my diet quite significantly and ate a lot of vegetarian foods. Within 8-10 months I had managed to go from 23.5 stone to 18.5 stone and felt great for it. I still had work to do but I felt so relieved that I had took a step in the right direction.

Since then I've moved away from university to a new area and, as of yet, have no job. For the last year or so, my activity levels have dropped and my eating habits have took a turn for the worse. My weight is back up to around 20 stone now and I've started to feel lethargic and unhappy. I've decided that it is time to take action and, as of tomorrow, will be beginning my new healthy eating/exercise plan! I'm hoping that, with a little motivation, I can get down to around 17 stone and maybe start to add a little muscle mass along the way. The main aim is, of course, being healthy!

Anyway, a friend told me about this forum so I thought I would check it out I hope everyone is well and working hard towards their goals! Thanks for taking the time to read this!

 

[October]

I'm starting tomorrow, too!! YAY! I'd love to keep tabs on each other and support our progress.

My partner and I are doing it together, but starting slow. For this month, we are replacing three dinners with juicing (We bought a juicer!) and sticking to a regular work out routine. I've been jogging regularly about 1.5 miles a few times a week, but it's all erratic. Starting tomorrow, it will be 4 times a week and 3x's per week I'm going to be doing some ab exercises.

What is your meal and exercise plan going to be for March?

 

[Akachi]

Hi, October! Thanks for the reply!

I've decided to cut back on fizzy drinks, sugary foods and red meat for now. I'll also be eating more veg/fruit and wholefoods where possible. Certain meats I will replace with protein-rich vegetarian alternatives, too.

As for exercise, I made a rough plan which is as follows...

Monday - Cardio (60-90 minutes) This will most likely start as a 60-90 minute walks eventually building up to jogging/running.
Tuesday - Cardio (30 minutes) followed by strength training (45 minutes) consisting of weights and/or compound exercises
Wednesday - Rest day (20-40 minute walk, nothing too strenuous)
Thursday - Cardio (60-90 minutes) followed by HIIT exercises (30 minutes)
Friday - Strength training (60-90 minutes) again, weights and/or compound exercises and HIIT
Saturday - Cardio (30-60 minutes) Depending on how much time I have free, most likely a short evening walk
Sunday - Rest day (another walk if I'm not worn out! )

I'm new to this so I have no idea if this is a sensible or well constructed plan but I am going to stick with it for a while and make any changes that I need to along the way

Good luck to you and your partner! Hopefully we will all be able to post some positive results soon

 

[October]

Yes! And let me know how your plan goes. It looks like a good one for sure. You're clearly not messing around