Starting out - advice needed

[tommy_stew]

Ideally I am really looking to drop somewhere around 8 or 9 stone.

Anyway, with regards to my diet the main thing that has been hampering me has been cutting out on snacking on sweets etc.

I think keeping a diary will help me avoid this, and I've also looked into zotrim.

From a quick search, it looks as if my calorie intake today has been 1,964.

A typical weekday if I can cut out the snacking will see my calorie intake anywhere between todays amount and probably 2,200.

At the weekend, it could be around a maximum of 2,400.

I don't drink all that much really, infact I rarely drink at all during the week and it's only really maybe every 2nd weekend that I drink and then it would maybe be around 6 pints of lager and 5 or 6 vodkas and sugar free mixer during the weekend.

So, I am looking for advice on whether or not this is suitable to help me drop this weight and what I need to do to ensure I don't end up with loose skin problems?

All advice welcome.

 

[Ironwil]

getting started tips

The diary idea is a great one. Offhand, I don't know how much a stone equates to in pounds, but I still have some ideas for you. The alcohol is one of the worst things when you're trying to get rid of extra weight. Alcohol contributes very highly to increasing your blood sugar, which in turn leads to more fat on the body. Try to limit that as much as you can. Getting exercise is very much a good idea. Limiting your calories will help, but if you can burn them off in the gym as well it's even better. Try to lift some weights if you're not doing that already. More lean muscle helps to get rid of fat.

 

[tommy_stew]

Thanks for that.

1 stone = about 14lbs I think.

I try to go to the gym around 2 or 3 times a week at the moment, but have mostly been sticking to a treadmill and bikes.

I didn't realise that using the weight machines would help with weight loss so much. I'll try and fit more of them into the balance of my workout from now on.

 

[Harold14370]

Alcohol contributes very highly to increasing your blood sugar, which in turn leads to more fat on the body.

I don't think that's right. Alcohol actually inhibits the liver from producing glucose, leading to lower blood sugar. Alcohol can be dangerous for diabetics who take insulin because of the risk of hypoglycemia. Nevertheless, the extra calories from the beer and vodka would be considerable. Six pints of beer plus 6 oz of 80 proof vodka would be somewhere in the neighborhood of 1600 calories.