Need help losing weight, Very lost and need direction!

[Regikoko]

So obviously I'm new to these forums, just found out about them 10-15 minutes ago. I read a few post and a lot of these people seem to be pretty informed on a lot of stuff and just seem to be seeking other tips/tricks and maybe just a confirmation on what they are doing.

This is very much not the case for me, I know virtually almost nothing about weight loss, I know exercising and eating healthy... that's about far as I go.

I'm 6', weigh 248, 22 years old. Pending football and other random sports I played when I was 10-15, I don't work out at all, and I don't eat healthy in anyway.

Recently I've stopped drinking pop, mostly just drink water and juice from time to time. Now what I need from everyone or honestly just anyone is to kind of guide me through this... how many times a day I should be eating, what I should be eating, why I should be eating it. What kind of exercises should I be partaking in, how exactly do I go about learning or if you want, tell me how exactly how to do them.

I'm interested in how things work to a certain degree but at this point I just really want to get things rolling so if anyone can kind of start by giving me some guidelines of a few basic things to start doing to get this shindig underway that would be very much appreciated, apart from that, more in depth details again will be much appreciated but I suppose since I really don't know much about anything, I'll take anyone's advice, so please everyone, help me!

 

[dreamingblue]

Hello.

"how many times a day I should be eating"

It all depends on what you want to do. Some people feel better having 3 meals a day with snacks in between. Some people like to have 4-6 small meals a day. It all depends on what you want to do, but it really doesn't matter either way.

"what I should be eating,"

Healthy food is more advisable. Vegetables, fruits, whole grains, protein, fiber, lean meats, etc. Less sodium, less sugar, less processed or pre-packaged food.

And I'd say if you exercise everyday then you'd need around 3000 calories a day. There are plenty of online programs to use to input calories like . That will help you calculate what your total calories are for the day.

"why I should be eating it."

You want plenty of healthy foods to help your body stay healthy and to help it replenish itself

"What kind of exercises should I be partaking in"

Strength training and cardio (running, jogging, walking, aerobics). 3-6 days a week. For about 30-60 minutes. But I've seen people here do more or less than that. It all depends on what you can do or what you want to do.

For strength training I'd say ask trainers at your gym for help or wait for a more expert person than me to advise you, cuz I don't know.

 

[Regikoko]

Hello.

"how many times a day I should be eating"

It all depends on what you want to do. Some people feel better having 3 meals a day with snacks in between. Some people like to have 4-6 small meals a day. It all depends on what you want to do, but it really doesn't matter either way.

"what I should be eating,"

Healthy food is more advisable. Vegetables, fruits, whole grains, protein, fiber, lean meats, etc. Less sodium, less sugar, less processed or pre-packaged food.

And I'd say if you exercise everyday then you'd need around 3000 calories a day. There are plenty of online programs to use to input calories like . That will help you calculate what your total calories are for the day.

"why I should be eating it."

You want plenty of healthy foods to help your body stay healthy and to help it replenish itself

"What kind of exercises should I be partaking in"

Strength training and cardio (running, jogging, walking, aerobics). 3-6 days a week. For about 30-60 minutes. But I've seen people here do more or less than that. It all depends on what you can do or what you want to do.

For strength training I'd say ask trainers at your gym for help or wait for a more expert person than me to advise you, cuz I don't know.

What I want to do is lose weight, a few people have told me that when you build muscles, the more you have, the more your matabalism is working throughout the day so building muscles was a good thing to consider along with cardio.

I'm not a huge fan of running/jogging, would riding a bike be about the same or is running/jogging significantly more productive?

How many meals I eat a day depends I would imagine on how I go about this, if I decide to just run everyday or ride a bike, or if I plan on doing that + lifting weight, I'm just not sure

Also for eating, is it important to balance out so that you have most of the things you listed in a day? Because I really like fruits and not so much vegetables, would it be ok to just use fruit as a snack?

 

[dreamingblue]

Yes, strength training is very important along with exercise. It has many benefits that will help the weight loss process.

Riding a bike isn't a bad option, it's just not the best option in terms of cardio, because with a bike you don't necessarily keep up the same rhythmic pace as you would with running, walking, aerobics, etc. Unless you continuously pump your legs. You could accomplish that by riding up hill I suppose.

I knew this guy that lost all his weight by riding a bike though. The main thing is to have a high heart rate, which causes you to breathe fast and sweat. That's when you start fat burning.

As for the fruit as a snack, sure, why not? Many people don't like vegetables and just stick to what they like. However, vegetables have many nutrients that you might want to consider.

Healthy eating is very good - very very very good. However, when it comes down to it it's all about calories in vs. calories out. It all comes down to the amount of calories you eat.

 

[KaraCooks]

Hey there. Welcome.

I'll chime in with my point of view here ... which is pretty much of the "it depends" variety. The thing is that weight loss and healthy eating and getting fit is a pretty personal thing, when you come right down to it. What's healthy or right for one person isn't always what's healthy and right for another. There are basic principles, of course, but so much of it is flexible. It's possible to be healthy eating 6x a day or 2x a day. It's possible to be healthy eating no meat or lots of meat. It's possible to be healthy eating a Primal diet (i.e. no grains) or eating lots of whole grains.

And, on top of that, you'll find that the scientific wisdom is continually changing. 5 years ago it was "don't eat eggs", for example. Now, it's pretty widely acknowledged in the medical and scientific community that there's no reason not to eat eggs unless you're allergic.

A lot of learning to eat healthy and get in shape is reading, researching, asking questions, and figuring out what works for YOU.

Ok, all of that said, I'll tell you what I find works for me and why.

how many times a day I should be eating

Ultimately it doesn't matter when you eat, but how much you eat and what you eat. I find that I do better if I eat frequently, but that's personal choice. I know if I go all day w/out eating, I'm more likely to be starving and to eat indiscriminately when I sit down to dinner. I know that if I eat 3 meals and 3-4 snacks, it's easier for me to balance how much I eat.

what I should be eating, why I should be eating it.

Through all the research that I've done, I've found that when trying to lose weight and when trying to gain strength, a high protein diet works best. That does NOT, mind you, mean a low carb diet. I actually don't believe in low-anything types of diets. I believe in balance. I don't eat low carb, or low fat, or anything. I eat a reasonable amount of calories based on my current weight and my goal weight and I try to balance that out so that 40% of my calories are complex carbs, 35% of my calories are from protein, and 25% of my calories are from healthy fats. (These, by the way, are referred to as macro-nutrients, or often just "macros". A 40/30/30 split or some variation thereof is a fairly common way to split them out.) I have discovered that if I keep my protein to 35% of my daily intake, it means I'm getting around 140g of protein, which also comes somewhat close to the recommended goal of 1g of protein per 1 lb of bodyweight.

So all of that said, what shoudl you be eating? IMO, lean proteins, lots of richly colored veggies, complex carbs (whole grains, oats, quinoa, things like that), fruits, and healthy fats (olive oil, peanuts, avocado, olives, etc.) in that order.

How much of it should you eat? At 248 lbs and no physical activity, you could probably maintain that weight at around 3500 calories or so. If you want to lose weight at a healthy rate, I'd say drop down to around 2700 or 2500 calories. That represents a figure of about 30% less than maintenance.

What kind of exercises should I be partaking in, how exactly do I go about learning

Exercise is another one of those "it depends" things.

I'm a big believer in strength training for EVERYONE. Lift weights, do body resistance work, use stretchy bands, whatever ... but work the muscles. There are a couple of reasons for that: Primarily is that when you lose weight, you don't only lose fat - you also lose muscle. The best way to keep from losing a lot of muscle is to work the muscle and keep it active. Secondarily, muscle is metabolically active - so by maintaining and eventually building muscle, you're helping yourself lose weight and keep your weight down.

I also know, based on research and personal experience, that if you want to lose weight, you have to do some kind of cardio. Everything that I've read and my own experience bears out that interval cardio and HIIT in particular (high intensity interval training) is better for losing weight than hours of ss-cardio (steady state cardio) is. How you get that cardio in (running, bike riding, whatever) is less important overall. You can do intervals on a bike just as easily as you can do them running.

So, IMO, a combination of weight training or strength building and some type of interval cardio is going to be most effective at helping you to lose weight and get in shape.

Hope that helps give you a start. Feel free to ask questions.

 

[TrainerJosh]

Regikoko! here is a fat loss article I have on my blog, it has a lot of beginner's fat loss information for you that I think you'll like. Check it out!

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* Eat Fruits & Vegetables, Lean Protein & Take Fish Oil. This is all there is too it. Nothing fancy or bling blingy. Eat fruits and vegetables regularly every day and eat lean protein such as chicken, fish, turkey, buffalo, pork tenderloin, etc. Also taking a fish oil supplement has been found to enhance the fat loss process.
* Spread Out Your Meals Throughout the Day. A study found that those who ate 6 meals a day lost significantly more weight than those who ate only 2 meals throughout the day. When you have irregular meal times you will gain fat. It’s not just about how many calories you take in, but the meal frequency plays a big role.
* Low Carbohydrate, High Protein Diet. Consuming a high carb diet will cause you to gain fat as numerous studies have shown. Research has shown that there was significant fat loss with a low carb, high protein diet. It will enhance satiety and increase your metabolism. If you’re overweight your diet should look like this; 40% carbs / 30% protein / 30% fats, erase whatever notions you have that a low fat diet will make you skinny. Bad fats (saturated, trans) will make you fat, healthy fats (unsaturated) won’t.
* Avoid Grains Like the Plague. Grains are not vegetables! That includes corn and it’s manufactured friend, high fructose corn syrup. High fructose corn syrup is found in everything from sports drinks to ketchup. Go for rye bread next time instead of whole grain.
* If it’s White, then Don’t Eat It! Stay away from things that are white such as rice, pasta, cereals and go for things that are colorful and nutrient rich.

Alright, now that we have the nutrtion part out of the way, let’s look at the training fat loss principles:

* The Heart Rate Aerobic Fat Burning Zone is a Load of Crap. Keeping your heart rate in the 65-80% heart rate zone for burning fat is a bunch of hogwash. Yes, in this zone you are burning more calories percentage wise than 85% and above, BUT when you go 85% and above you are burning more total calories overall and therefore burning more fat. Steady state aerobics will have zero to no effect over dieting alone, the science simply doesn’t support it.
* You Have to Lift Heavy Weights. Resistance Circuit Training is incredibly more effective and causing fat loss than aerobic cardio work. You’re going to have to lift heavier weights than the light weights you may be used to for your 15+ reps you’ve been doing. Keep it around 8-12 repetitions and don’t rush through it, your time under tension (60 seconds) is a big factor here. Try alternating a upper body exercise with a lower body exercise with 30-60 seconds rest in between them, by alternating we will maximize our work density, therefore increasing our total calories burned.
* Use Interval Training. Interval training has been scientifically proven to burn 9 TIMES more subcutaneous fat loss than endurance training. The belief behind this is that there will be a metabolic disturbance in your body in the post workout period and will enhance your EPOC (Excess Post-Exercise Consumption). If you’re obese this will most likely be too intense for you. You should first realistically focus on lifting weight 3 days per week and doing some light walking.
* Time Is the Biggest Variable. If you had all the time in the world to work out, then you would want to do something in this order; Metabolic Resistance Training, High Intensity Anaerobic Interval Training, High Intensity Aerobic Interval Training, then Steady State Aerobic Training. Unfortunately we live in a real world and most of the people I see I can only see 3 hours a week, so I’m going to have them do resistance training with me. But if I had a few hours more I could do more interval training, and then if I had more time then I could add some steady state aerobics to aid in losing weight.
* Write Down Your Goals. When a client first comes to me and I ask them their goals, I’m really asking them to be specific. It’s not enough that you just want to lose weight. We have to have a plan of attack. Always answer the following questions; what do you weigh? how much do you want to lose?, by when? Then record their body fat %, take girth measurements and take pictures.

 

[KaraCooks]

The ONLY think I'm going to disagree with Josh on is this one:

Avoid Grains Like the Plague. Grains are not vegetables! That includes corn and it’s manufactured friend, high fructose corn syrup. High fructose corn syrup is found in everything from sports drinks to ketchup. Go for rye bread next time instead of whole grain.

First of all, rye is a grain.

Second of all, a lot of very healthy foods that will help you get to your 40% carbs macro are grains: oats are amazingly healthy and adding oats to your diet is a great thing. Whole grain breads (not just wheat, but actual whole grain) are good - rye is one of them. Brown rice is good. Whole grain pastas are also good. Quinoa is an excellent grain (although technically it's the seed of a grass, it's dietarily classified as a grain).

Grain is not the enemy. It's full of protein, fiber, and other really good nutrients.

I would rephrase Josh's point to be the: Avoid PROCESSED grains like the plague. Corn syrup, white flour, processed pasta ... anything white, bland, and starchy. Stick with grains that you would recognize if you saw them in nature.