Hey, im new to these forums. My names Joseph and im a 16 year old male. Currently I weigh in at 240 pounds, and ive been gaining weight throughout the years of my life. Now im going to do something about it, but do not know what to do. Im not in the position financially to get a gym membership, or purchase expensive workout machines, and need to know some good exercises to do daily, that will make me lose weight. Most of my weight is on my stomach, and thighs. To me right now, im not concerned about gaining muscle mass, I just want to lose the excess weight, and be around 170-180 pounds. It doesnt matter how long it takes me to lose the weight, i just need to do it, to feel better about myself, and live a more healthy lifestyle, because I feel like im headed down the wrong path for the future. If someone that knows about some exercises I can do, or some things I could possibly purchase (Such as an exercise ball, etc. ) could tell me about them, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks =)
Need to lose alot of weight
- Thread starter Joseph1
- Start date
Loch
New member
I plan on cutting out all of the soda and junk in my diet. I read that cutting out soda entirely from your diet can really have an impact on your weight loss, and I drink probably 2x 2l of pop a day.
I would suggest that you join a sport, or go for a 30min jog or bike ride if you have a bike 3x a week. You don't need a gym membership or an exercise machine to lose weight. I think it's a load of garbage having to spend money to get healthy.
Try to snack of fresh veggies when you feel hungry between meals, and if your parents look for you inform them that you want to make a lifestyle change and start eating healthy, I'm sure they'll be more than happy to help you. Have them show you healthy meals if they do they cooking, otherwise I suggest using google for good meal plans.
You can also do pushups, situps, and other easy exercises in home to help with weight loss.
I would suggest that you join a sport, or go for a 30min jog or bike ride if you have a bike 3x a week. You don't need a gym membership or an exercise machine to lose weight. I think it's a load of garbage having to spend money to get healthy.
Try to snack of fresh veggies when you feel hungry between meals, and if your parents look for you inform them that you want to make a lifestyle change and start eating healthy, I'm sure they'll be more than happy to help you. Have them show you healthy meals if they do they cooking, otherwise I suggest using google for good meal plans.
You can also do pushups, situps, and other easy exercises in home to help with weight loss.
Thanks loch, yeah ill try not to drink soda (i never really do anyways), and cut down on food with high calories, and eat more fruits and vegetables. I ride a bike to school and back (which the school is like 20 minutes away), and usually go riding with friends when I can. Ive also been walking and jogging more, and doing sit-ups through the day. Hopefully by the end of the summer when I get back to school, ill be slimmer =)
Loch
New member
You're also still growing, so if you start making the right choices now and staying active you'll see progress. You're young, which is good, because you can manage your weight better when you're younger.
I know at my highschool we had a gym, and the fee was dirt cheap. You may want to look into that. The coach's were real nice, and taught the class about the equipment, and proper exercise and all of that.
I know at my highschool we had a gym, and the fee was dirt cheap. You may want to look into that. The coach's were real nice, and taught the class about the equipment, and proper exercise and all of that.
KaraCooks
New member
Hey Joseph!
Sounds like you've got the right mindset - wanting to be healthy and to not rush the process. Good for you.
First of all let me state for the record that I'm not a professional or an expert here. I am one of those people who compulsively researches everything (*grin*) so I've done a LOT of research and reading in the area of weight loss, fitness, and health. That and I've lost about 80 lbs and kept it off for 18 months now. Those are my only qualifications.
Whatever I say here is based on what I have researched and what has worked for me. Now that said, I have a few thoughts for you.
The biggest part of being healthy and maintaining a healthy weight is EATING RIGHT.
When I first started wanting to lose weight and be healthy, one of the things that I really focused on was learning to eat REAL food. That meant cutting out packaged and processed foods as much as possible. Not just cutting out "junk" foods, but cutting out things that contain chemicals and preservatives and artificial ingredients, even if they were supposedly "good" for me or were low cal or low fat or whatever. One of the things I challenged myself to do was to eat foods that my grandparents would have been able to purchase and cook.
So for example, I don't eat "diet" food. I don't eat anything that comes out of a box or can that says "with added vitamins and nutrients". I don't eat anything that is specifically designed to replace nutrients that I can get from REAL food. I do eat fruit and veggies, oats, beans, pasta, whole grain breads, natural peanut butter, eggs and dairy, lean proteins (chicken, fish, pork, beef - pretty much in that order), and so forth.
Now I know that at 16 it's harder to make those kinds of dietary changes when you're not the one buying the groceries or cooking the meals, but if you are in a situation where you can ask your parents to maybe buy some things for you to eat/snack on over the summer - or maybe if you can spend part of the summer learning to cook and maybe doing some meals for the family - you might be able to tweak your diet some. One thing is that over the summer I eat a LOT of grilled food so maybe talking your parents into letting you learn to grill would help out some? I don't know what your home situation is, so let me know if my suggestions are way off base here.
As I said, what you eat is the most important thing.
When you're eating the right thing, it makes the exercise you do more effective - and it makes you able to exercise better (faster, stronger, etc.).
So from there, there are a ton of things you can do at home without a lot of equipment in order to build strength and maintain your muscles while you're losing fat. Basic bodyweight exercises are (IMO) the best way to start for someone who is out of shape and overweight. Things like squats, lunges, stepups, pushups, chinups or pullups, dips, planks ... all of those are great full body exercises that will get you on the right track. Mix in those items with some kind of cardio in short bursts, and you'll be on a good track to losing weight and getting in shape.
If you have the money to purchase some equipment to start off with, I'd recommend a good set of barbells with adjustable weight ranges. I know Target has a couple of sets that run around $35 (This is a good set here that will give you room to 'grow' for a minimal investment: )
The nice thing about a set of barbell weights like this is that as you get used to the body-resistance exercises above, you can start adding weight using this set. For example, I started out with body-weight lunges, and now I do them with a 15 lb barbell in each hand to raise the intensity. Same with stepups.
Another thing you can look into getting to help with the cardio is a jump rope. It's a simple thing, but 15 minutes of jumping rope will kick your ass .. and it's a great cardio workout. You can vary the intensity and the speed to keep mixing things up and keep them from getting boring. And I think I got my jump rope from Target for $6.
Finally, if you have a little extra money, I'd recommend one of these for about $30: . I got one for my birthday this year and I love it. I've always wanted to be able to do a pullup or a chinup ... I think for me being able to do one is the thing that totally dispells the "weak girl" myth for me. I still struggle with them, but someday, I'll be able to pop out a dozen pullups w/out breaking a sweat! I'm determined!
I hope that helps you some and please feel free to ask any questions. Like I said, I'm not a professional, but I've been there/done that, so I'm happy to share my experience and research when I can.
Sounds like you've got the right mindset - wanting to be healthy and to not rush the process. Good for you.
First of all let me state for the record that I'm not a professional or an expert here. I am one of those people who compulsively researches everything (*grin*) so I've done a LOT of research and reading in the area of weight loss, fitness, and health. That and I've lost about 80 lbs and kept it off for 18 months now. Those are my only qualifications.
Whatever I say here is based on what I have researched and what has worked for me. Now that said, I have a few thoughts for you.The biggest part of being healthy and maintaining a healthy weight is EATING RIGHT.
When I first started wanting to lose weight and be healthy, one of the things that I really focused on was learning to eat REAL food. That meant cutting out packaged and processed foods as much as possible. Not just cutting out "junk" foods, but cutting out things that contain chemicals and preservatives and artificial ingredients, even if they were supposedly "good" for me or were low cal or low fat or whatever. One of the things I challenged myself to do was to eat foods that my grandparents would have been able to purchase and cook.
So for example, I don't eat "diet" food. I don't eat anything that comes out of a box or can that says "with added vitamins and nutrients". I don't eat anything that is specifically designed to replace nutrients that I can get from REAL food. I do eat fruit and veggies, oats, beans, pasta, whole grain breads, natural peanut butter, eggs and dairy, lean proteins (chicken, fish, pork, beef - pretty much in that order), and so forth.
Now I know that at 16 it's harder to make those kinds of dietary changes when you're not the one buying the groceries or cooking the meals, but if you are in a situation where you can ask your parents to maybe buy some things for you to eat/snack on over the summer - or maybe if you can spend part of the summer learning to cook and maybe doing some meals for the family - you might be able to tweak your diet some. One thing is that over the summer I eat a LOT of grilled food so maybe talking your parents into letting you learn to grill would help out some? I don't know what your home situation is, so let me know if my suggestions are way off base here.
As I said, what you eat is the most important thing.
When you're eating the right thing, it makes the exercise you do more effective - and it makes you able to exercise better (faster, stronger, etc.).
So from there, there are a ton of things you can do at home without a lot of equipment in order to build strength and maintain your muscles while you're losing fat. Basic bodyweight exercises are (IMO) the best way to start for someone who is out of shape and overweight. Things like squats, lunges, stepups, pushups, chinups or pullups, dips, planks ... all of those are great full body exercises that will get you on the right track. Mix in those items with some kind of cardio in short bursts, and you'll be on a good track to losing weight and getting in shape.
If you have the money to purchase some equipment to start off with, I'd recommend a good set of barbells with adjustable weight ranges. I know Target has a couple of sets that run around $35 (This is a good set here that will give you room to 'grow' for a minimal investment: )
The nice thing about a set of barbell weights like this is that as you get used to the body-resistance exercises above, you can start adding weight using this set. For example, I started out with body-weight lunges, and now I do them with a 15 lb barbell in each hand to raise the intensity. Same with stepups.
Another thing you can look into getting to help with the cardio is a jump rope. It's a simple thing, but 15 minutes of jumping rope will kick your ass ..
and it's a great cardio workout. You can vary the intensity and the speed to keep mixing things up and keep them from getting boring. And I think I got my jump rope from Target for $6.Finally, if you have a little extra money, I'd recommend one of these for about $30: . I got one for my birthday this year and I love it. I've always wanted to be able to do a pullup or a chinup ... I think for me being able to do one is the thing that totally dispells the "weak girl" myth for me. I still struggle with them, but someday, I'll be able to pop out a dozen pullups w/out breaking a sweat! I'm determined!
I hope that helps you some and please feel free to ask any questions. Like I said, I'm not a professional, but I've been there/done that, so I'm happy to share my experience and research when I can.
Thanks ALOT for the information kara, really was a mouthful Yeah im taking into consideration everything you said about the food, and buying the equipment such as barbells and a jump rope is definetly on my to do list. One thing I wanted to ask is this: I talked with my dad about losing weight, and he said there's a great diet that I could go on, and he GUARANTEE'S that it will help me lose weight effectively. He said I can eat as much of these items as I want:
Hard-boiled Eggs OR Poached Eggs
Dry Whole Wheat Toast
Grapefruit Juice
and still continue to lose weight. He claims that olimpic ski professionals would use this diet, to get rid of any excess weight a few weeks before going to a competition. If anyone could get back to me about this (if it works, or if its just a complete waste of time), I would really appreciate that =D
Yeah im taking into consideration everything you said about the food, and buying the equipment such as barbells and a jump rope is definetly on my to do list. One thing I wanted to ask is this: I talked with my dad about losing weight, and he said there's a great diet that I could go on, and he GUARANTEE'S that it will help me lose weight effectively. He said I can eat as much of these items as I want: Hard-boiled Eggs OR Poached Eggs
Dry Whole Wheat Toast
Grapefruit Juice
and still continue to lose weight. He claims that olimpic ski professionals would use this diet, to get rid of any excess weight a few weeks before going to a competition. If anyone could get back to me about this (if it works, or if its just a complete waste of time), I would really appreciate that =D
complete and utter waste. and pretty sure thats false too. no olympic nutritionist would ever give any of their athletes a diet like that.
I like to think of diet in more broad terms. it's not just the foods you eat that are important, but whats in them. That diet for example has no fats. while fats should be 20-30% of your daily calories. That diet's only sources of carbs are sugar and gluten. both of which can be bad for people depending on certain variables.
Pick a calorie amount. 2100-2400 should be a good starting point for you. And eat 40-50% carbs, 20-30% protein, 20-30% fats. The foods you eat can be anything that get you into this breakdown. If you're looking for a more specific list of good foods to eat, then look at the food list for the mens health Abs Diet. Long as 70% or more of your calories are coming from foods on that list, you're golden.
I like to think of diet in more broad terms. it's not just the foods you eat that are important, but whats in them. That diet for example has no fats. while fats should be 20-30% of your daily calories. That diet's only sources of carbs are sugar and gluten. both of which can be bad for people depending on certain variables.
Pick a calorie amount. 2100-2400 should be a good starting point for you. And eat 40-50% carbs, 20-30% protein, 20-30% fats. The foods you eat can be anything that get you into this breakdown. If you're looking for a more specific list of good foods to eat, then look at the food list for the mens health Abs Diet. Long as 70% or more of your calories are coming from foods on that list, you're golden.
KaraCooks
New member
Any diet that begins with "you can eat as much [whatever] as you want" and includes the phrase "I guarantee you'll lose weight" is pretty much utter and complete bullshit.
If you'll pardon the language.
You said in your first post:
Eat a balanced variety of protein, veggies & fruits, complex carbs. Stick within a healthy calorie range, as Jynus suggested. Don't get hung up on "superfoods" or getting told you that you have to eat a lot of one kind of food, or anything like that. Eat real foods, in reasonable quantities and you'll be fine.
If you'll pardon the language.
You said in your first post:
Keep thinking with that mindset. Eating a ton of boiled eggs and grapefruit is not healthy. It's a fad diet. Avoid fad diets like the plague and BE HEALTHY.
Eat a balanced variety of protein, veggies & fruits, complex carbs. Stick within a healthy calorie range, as Jynus suggested. Don't get hung up on "superfoods" or getting told you that you have to eat a lot of one kind of food, or anything like that. Eat real foods, in reasonable quantities and you'll be fine.
snugglebuns
New member
Best tip
One of the biggest mistakes people make when they want to lose weight is to go on a restrictive diet. They usually will eat much less and in so doing force their bodies into 'famine' mode. The best way to lose weight is to eat more regularly (8 times a day is good) but eat foods that are not processed in any way. Eat natural, wholesome foods that are good for your body. A great diet plan that works very well is:
On waking: 1 cup of green tea with slice lemon (try to have 3 - 4 cups a day)
Within half an hour: Fruit (Papaya is the best as it has special enzymes in it that aid in weight loss)
Breakfast: Omelette made with one egg and 2 or 3 egg whites. Use a tiny blob of butter in the pan if required. Add chopped chives and 1/2 cup of mushrooms (can also be served on the side) Mushrooms are filling and you will feel satisfied after eating them. 1 slice of rye or whole grain toast lightly buttered.
AM Snack 1 : Yoghurt and a piece of fruit (a banana is good)
AM Snack 2 : Raw vegetable crudites (carrot sticks, celery etc.)
Lunch : Tuna or chicken salad served with a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar (or cider vinegar to cut fat faster)
PM Snack 1 : 3 asparagus spears wrapped in deli ham or turkey (fine slices) You may use tinned asparagus as long as it hasn't got additives.
PM Snack 2 : 1 apple chopped with shredded celery (to make a small salad) with lemon juice and a few walnuts
DINNER : Protein (the size of your palm) in the form of either poultry, beef, pork, veal or fish and steamed veggies (unlimited). No corn or potato etc. until your free day.
NO FOOD AFTER DINNER
Chew food well when eating (20 times per mouthful)
Drink plenty of water throughout the day to slake thirst
No fruit juices, sodas etc.
Unlimited herbal, oolong or green tea
No sugar or sweeteners except perhaps for Stevia
Don't skip meals
Don't stuff yourself during meals. Eat until you feel satiated.
Moderate exercise (e.g. walking for 20 minutes) and build up from there
Once a week have a free meal where you can eat pretty much what you like (except no sugar, processed or refined foods) and end off with a small bar of dark chocolate.
Anyone who goes on this diet (or similar) will experience an increase in their metabolism and will lose weight. Good luck Joseph. Don't give up. The results are worth it and you're young enough to do this without suffering from all the issues older people have with sagging skin etc.
One of the biggest mistakes people make when they want to lose weight is to go on a restrictive diet. They usually will eat much less and in so doing force their bodies into 'famine' mode. The best way to lose weight is to eat more regularly (8 times a day is good) but eat foods that are not processed in any way. Eat natural, wholesome foods that are good for your body. A great diet plan that works very well is:
On waking: 1 cup of green tea with slice lemon (try to have 3 - 4 cups a day)
Within half an hour: Fruit (Papaya is the best as it has special enzymes in it that aid in weight loss)
Breakfast: Omelette made with one egg and 2 or 3 egg whites. Use a tiny blob of butter in the pan if required. Add chopped chives and 1/2 cup of mushrooms (can also be served on the side) Mushrooms are filling and you will feel satisfied after eating them. 1 slice of rye or whole grain toast lightly buttered.
AM Snack 1 : Yoghurt and a piece of fruit (a banana is good)
AM Snack 2 : Raw vegetable crudites (carrot sticks, celery etc.)
Lunch : Tuna or chicken salad served with a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar (or cider vinegar to cut fat faster)
PM Snack 1 : 3 asparagus spears wrapped in deli ham or turkey (fine slices) You may use tinned asparagus as long as it hasn't got additives.
PM Snack 2 : 1 apple chopped with shredded celery (to make a small salad) with lemon juice and a few walnuts
DINNER : Protein (the size of your palm) in the form of either poultry, beef, pork, veal or fish and steamed veggies (unlimited). No corn or potato etc. until your free day.
NO FOOD AFTER DINNER
Chew food well when eating (20 times per mouthful)
Drink plenty of water throughout the day to slake thirst
No fruit juices, sodas etc.
Unlimited herbal, oolong or green tea
No sugar or sweeteners except perhaps for Stevia
Don't skip meals
Don't stuff yourself during meals. Eat until you feel satiated.
Moderate exercise (e.g. walking for 20 minutes) and build up from there
Once a week have a free meal where you can eat pretty much what you like (except no sugar, processed or refined foods) and end off with a small bar of dark chocolate.
Anyone who goes on this diet (or similar) will experience an increase in their metabolism and will lose weight. Good luck Joseph. Don't give up. The results are worth it and you're young enough to do this without suffering from all the issues older people have with sagging skin etc.