My road to weightloss and fitness

C

Chris.D

0
Hi all, I'm new to this site so be nice ;)

I'm 21 years old and from Wellington, New Zealand. Currently I'm studying law and accountancy. I've joined the army, and in around six months I'll be doing my basic training for the part time force - known as the Territorial Forces here. My goal is to get down to a good weight, and get fit. I dont want to struggle too much during my basic, and would like to keep up with some of the fitter people!

I'm into mountain biking, though only manage to get out about once a week. I'm a member of the local gym, though have been a bit slack lately. I particularly enjoy the 'Pump' class they do - an aerobic class with light weights - it's very hard!

I've never been fit in my life, and have always been overweight. I look forward to my journey, and will post regular updates. Attached here is a picture of me about six months ago - very little has changed, as I havent been part of a strict plan. I look forward to your comments, tips and encouragement! I'll attach a more recent photo when I get around to it.

Thanks!
 

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I suppose I should post up some of my goals. Firstly, I want to get withi a good weight range - so I want to get myself under 70kg/155 pounds. I want to be able to do 50 push ups, and run 12km/1.5 miles in 10 minutes. I also want to be able to run for 45 minutes without having significant stops.

Also, looking at those pics now, I have somewhat changed. Surprises like that are always good ;) I'll get some new pics up tomorrow.
 
im glad to see that you are taking an interest in health. You are still relatively young so your goals should come fairly easy. Just remember to focus on a clean diet, a good cardio program, and if you ever plan to lift weights, there is no time like the present. It burns lots of calories and will only help you see results.

You and I have a very similar build. All the unwanted weight is in the mid section

here is a link to my pictures so you can see

http://www.fitness.com/forum/showthread.php?t=15816

Thats 2 months of progress there. I lost a lot of fat before those 2 months as well and i was weighing in at around 220. I'm now 195 and im less worried about the numbers, and more just about how i feel and how i look and how my pants fit.

If you need any advice at all, do not hesitate to ask. We are all here to help.
 
Thanks for the kind words, junkfoodbad. As far as diet goes, it's not really a problem. I live with my girlfriend, and we eat pretty well. I still eat a little much (especially over the last week with her birthday, including birthday cake and my lasagna!), but it should be easy to cut down. We eat fresh meat and vegetables, and whole grain or whole wheat bread, and non-fat calcium fortified milk. I dont eat anything processed, and NEVER eat fast food, or drink soft drinks of any sort.

My biggest problem is motivation to get off my ass and do some exercize - and I'm using this website as a tool. Anyhow, as promised, here are my new photos, taken 2 minutes ago. As you can see, a long way to go. However, having lived with my girlfriend for the last 6 months has done me some good - those jeans are looking a little less strained today!
 

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Did a run on the treadmill today - only got 20mins out then I'd had it! That was at 9km/h with increases to 14km/h for 1 min intervals 4 times. If I'm feeling up to it, I'll be going to the Body Pump class in about an hour - should be a good day for me if I can! Is it a good idea to take these classes on the same day as you did a good run?
 
AJP said:
Are you incorporating any weight training? If not, you should definitely start.
Click to expand...

Aside from Body Pump classes, I havent gotten myself organised with a weights plan - however, I intend to do this over the next week. Thanks.
 
OK, so, shamefully, since I started this journal I've been quite slack - not to mention my diet over this weekend has been apalling! So time to get really serious about it from tomorrow. Also, I've read a lot about the importance of weight training, so that will be incorporated into my schedule as well. Tomorrow I will probably go for a run during the day, then hit the gym for a pump class in the afternoon.
 
I've been much better this week so far - on Monday, I did 15 minutes of intervals (5 mins warm up, 10 mins of 1min running, 30sec sprinting) before doing my body pump class. I had Tuesday off because I was quite sore, so just did my 100 press ups. Today, I had a day off so went for a ride on my mountain bike with a mate. We departed at about 10.30am and rode till 4pm, with 2 breaks of about 20-30mins. The riding was a variation of hard uphill, cruisy (but technical!) downhill, and some pedally single track.

The problem is, here's what I've eaten today so far (as of 4.20pm):
Breakfast: Banana and milk smoothie
Lunch: Ham and cheese bagel

I havent been hungry at all, and have been too budy riding to stop for food. I know I'm supposed to eat a lot more than this, but I'm really not feeling hungry or weak - and this is often what happens during a day of exercize for me. Should I just not worry about it? Or is it a major concern? I carry with me during my rides a carbo suppliment, which is a gel I use if I get really tired, but rarely use it. Do you recommend these suppliments as meal replacements? It's solely a complex carbo replacement, no protein or anything.
 
I'm not sure if anyone is reading this or not, but to be honest, it's more for me than anyone. Anyhow, I was going great until 10 days ago, when I went home for the uni holidays. During this week-and-a-half period, I totally fell off the wagon. Went for one run the whole time, and spent my days hanging out with my family and friends, eating out and generally being naughty. As a result, I feel like I'm back to square one.

On the plus side, I found my mum had a copy of Body for Life, which I borrowed and read on my way home on the bus. It was a great read, and really spoke to me. Thanks to Bill Phillips, I'm counting these last 10 days as a net win. I woke this morning back in my own bed with a pretty bad cold, so I was out of actio today - but I'm feeling much better (at 11.20pm) so hopefully tomorrow I can get back into it. It's not shaping up to be a terribly busy simester, so I'm looking forward to really giving it my best - diet and exercize wise.

Also, I did a huge grovery shop this morning, and thanks to Body for Life, I've got a pretty good idea what kind of diet I should be aiming for. I dont think I'll be up for a 6am run tomorrow, so I'll do some weights in the afternoon (or body-pump) and get into a run on Tuesday. Oh, one more plus from my holiday - a mate of mine's father is a real music and recording buff, and I asked him to put together some tracks for my interval training, so I dont have to watch the clock all the time - a nice slow 5min warm up song, followed by some hard rock for 30secs, and back to slower rock for a min - rince and repeat. I cant wait to try it!
 
Just home from the gym - did an uppder body workout as per Body For Life. I'm loving this book and the ideas it has given me. To be honest, it's nothing I didn't already know, but it's a good, honest, sensible plan, with great advice in one book. Basically, it gives me no excuses not to have the body I want! I also found Bill Phillips 'Eating For Life' at the library - some great recipes in that. I'm making BBQ chicken pizza for dinner tonight for me and the missus!
 
Today I did some intervals - a 10 minute warm up to the botanic gardens, then intervals around the garden (1min jog, 30 sec sprints) and a jog/walk home. It was entirely done on hills - almost entirely uphill. The jog/walk home was mostly downhill, which makes for a good cool down - it's not a steep hill, so it wasn't too difficult. It was a great run - I feel fantastic having done it. All up it was about 35 minutes. Tomorrow I'm doing a lower body/ab workout - and most likely hitting the mountains on my bike in the afternoon with a mate.
 
I had a bit of a choppy start when I began my program, but now I'm most certainly on track. For the last 3 weeks I've alternated cardio and weights for 6 days a week. The exception being that on Monday I did an upper body workout, Tuesday circuit cardio, and today a mate wanted to go for a ride, so I've been on my mountain bike for the last 2 hours. Tomorrow I'll do a lower body workout. Today I also bought some whey protein powder to increase my protein intake, and also got a free box of Advantage Edge bars, which are a great energy source (200 calories) for long days riding. I also got a half price deal on a small tub of NutriLife Ultra Lean, which contains whey protein, a bit of carbs, and a myriad of other nutrients.
 
This week started great - had excellent diet and did a great workout every day from Monday to Friday. Then a mate asked me if I nwated to have some drinks on Friday night - I almost never drink, so though this would be a good chance to catch up with friends and have a good night. Long story short, I finished a 12 pack that night - which I later calculated to 1500 calories in beer. Body for Life encourages a free day once a week - however, 1500 calories is like wasting 3 days worth of caloric deficeit. I'm pretty dissapointed with myself, because apart from the obvious implications, the night out also screwed with my weekends sleeping patterns, and therefore my diet and exercize regime. It's 2.30pm on Sunday and I'm certainly not up for a workout today, so I'll get back into it tomorrow.

Other than this weekend of shame, it's been an excellent week. I can now easily run a mile in 7minutes 30secs, which is great. My weights are increasing steadily and I'm feeling great. I'm down to 77kg (and that was immediately after drinking 700ml of water), so I'm making good progress. The mirror is also friendlier to me than it has been for a while.
 
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