# New to fitness. Need to lose some weight..where to start?



## lewis (Jan 14, 2017)

ok so across the board for the last few years Ive slacked off majorly and I want to put that right now I have a daughter.

I have a quite inactive lifestyle atm and most of my day is spent sitting. I also barely eat healthy. Mostly quick oven meals with the odd made from scratch meal (like Spaghetti Bolognaise) and the other odd takeaway.

Ive gained a solid 3 stone in this time I would be keen to remove but here is where it gets tough.

The last few years has shunted my willpower. I struggle to "make the effort". Im also not wanting to do gym either.
I want to try and lose the weight by mostly healthy eating and just doing more activities than I do now. More walking and using a Bicycle for example.

Im not against doing like 3/4 of each week as a vegetarian with maybe 1 meat day or something. I love fish, chicken, pork and red meat so all types basically.

could anyone offer any kind of experiences on things like this?. It sounds like just buying healthy food and eating it, should be simple, but is it?.

I have 0 diet or healthy eating experience and portion control is probably my biggest issue.

Cheers


----------



## lemeker (Jan 14, 2017)

The simplest way I find to shed pounds without serious exercise is to eat alot of veggies, drink a butt load of water and walk about a mile a day. It worked like a charm for my dad, and still generally ate what he wanted to. 

I worked for me too, but my job(s) were in retail at the time so I was constantly moving anyway.


----------



## mongey (Jan 15, 2017)

I have just started getting back on the healthier train as well . My daughter is about to turn 2 and since she was born I have def let it slide.now she is running aorund like a manic and I feel i need to get on top of it now to keep up with her .

I hate the gym generally . I was 93kg pre xmas . I consider 85 to 88 to be my perfect weight for my height . 

I have started with 2 simple rules just to get started 

1 - no booze during the week . Fri and Saturday evenings only .this is a big one for me as I make home brew and love good craft beer. but all those iPA's add up 

2- I do 100 push ups a day. I don't think the 100 push ups is going to make me super fit but I find the discipline of doing it makes it easier to be in the frame of mind to eat healthier and be more active generally .it's more for training my mind and good habits then body .I started by doing 5 sets of 20 now a month later I do 2 x 30s and a 40 . 

now its easier I am also adding sit ups to the daily routine and have ordered a weight set off ebay to get back into some dumbell work 

eating wise my wife and I both enjoy cooking so other than some takeaway on the weekend when be cant be bothered we do eat pretty well . Cooking is like any hobby . you start with no idea then over time you learn things ,and start to try new things and then try to improve what you've done . the key to doing it more is to try and find the joy in it .

even with xmas ,and extra booze ove rthat period I have dropped 2kg in 3 weeks. so have made a start


----------



## Fiction (Jan 17, 2017)

Eating healthy is definitely the key here, just watch out on snacking and times you're eating.

Try and have your carbs in the morning, and cut back on carbs at dinner, as in stick with meat & veggies, avoid pastas and huge dollops of mashed potato. Get a bit more protein, don't try and fry things in fat, as fat surprisingly adds up ....ing quick for calories, you'd be surprised but 2 pieces of peanut butter toast, the peanut butter itself is like 15% of your daily intake, due to the fats in peanuts and the oil made to emulsify.

Also motivation for exercise may be hard, but it doesn't have to be such a chore, exercise doesn't have to be a run or going to the gym. Any of your colleagues play basketball or sports? Martial arts, or if you're going somewhere a few kms away, don't drive, put your headphones in and walk.


----------



## ThomasUV777 (Jan 17, 2017)

I can highly recommend the ketosis diet. Helped me lose 14kg, never felt hungry, and after some time you lose the cravings. Have a cheat day every 2 weeks to keep you from going insane.

For me, this diet was the best protocol to follow. If you don't feel like totally skipping out on carbs, I recommend leangains. Basic premise is: 16 hours of non-eating, 8 hour window of eating. Both have given me great results.


----------



## KnightBrolaire (Jan 17, 2017)

1. lift weights (major exercises like deadlift, squats, power clean, snatch are best for building overall strength) AND do cardio. If you can't get to a gym or don't want to go to a gym and lift then at least go run/walk around outside for 30-60 min a day. Working out AND eating decently is the best way to lose weight. Dieting alone takes far longer unless you're starving yourself.
2. eat mostly fruits/veggies/protein (beans,chicken, turkey) and a little bit of carbs (sweet potatos or squash since they're complex carbs)
3. try to limit overall fat consumption (fat is the most calorie dense per gram at 9 kcal per gram while protein and carbs are 4-5 kcal per gram).
4. Stay away from pre-prepared meals since they generally have a ton of calories, ton of sodium and aren't really the healthiest option. Meal prepping will make your life easier. Make a pile of chicken breasts or turkey (or beans) and then you have them on hand to make stuff like tacos/sandwiches/wraps.


----------



## Blytheryn (Jan 17, 2017)

KnightBrolaire said:


> 1. lift weights (major exercises like deadlift, squats, power clean, snatch are best for building overall strength) AND do cardio. If you can't get to a gym or don't want to go to a gym and lift then at least go run/walk around outside for 30-60 min a day. Working out AND eating decently is the best way to lose weight. Dieting alone takes far longer unless you're starving yourself.
> 2. eat mostly fruits/veggies/protein (beans,chicken, turkey) and a little bit of carbs (sweet potatos or squash since they're complex carbs)
> 3. try to limit overall fat consumption (fat is the most calorie dense per gram at 9 kcal per gram while protein and carbs are 4-5 kcal per gram).
> 4. Stay away from pre-prepared meals since they generally have a ton of calories, ton of sodium and aren't really the healthiest option. Meal prepping will make your life easier. Make a pile of chicken breasts or turkey (or beans) and then you have them on hand to make stuff like tacos/sandwiches/wraps.



What KB said... I'll say that it is to a large degree a lifestyle change. You're going to have to step out of the comfort zone in order to get any lasting, meaningful results. My best advice would be to start doing some full body workout stuff perhaps three times a week. Just that with eating better, and some cardio once a day (walking, stationary bicyle, treadmill) will have you on the right track. You'll only stick with it if it's something you like to do, so I encourage you to find some physical activity you enjoy. For instance, I love being in the gym, but dislike running much more, others are different.)

Good luck


----------



## ThomasUV777 (Jan 17, 2017)

KnightBrolaire said:


> 3. try to limit overall fat consumption (fat is the most calorie dense per gram at 9 kcal per gram while protein and carbs are 4-5 kcal per gram).



A note on this is that not all fats should be avoided. In fact, on non-workout days, I'd recommend to eat more (healthy) fats than carbs. Bake everything in coconut/olive oil, eat fatty fish (salmon) and avocados. Roasted almonds are a great snack btw!


----------



## TedEH (Jan 17, 2017)

Blytheryn said:


> I'll say that it is to a large degree a lifestyle change.



This. You've already, in your OP, identified the problems, the trick is to make lifestyle changes to address those things.

I dropped a ton of weight in the last year and a half or so, and did it mostly by getting a little bit of exercise during the day (I work sitting at a desk, so an hour of walking or drumming most days), and by changing what I eat (portion control and being a lot more selective). I started at 310lbs and made it back down to 180lbs this way. It sounds ridiculous, and it is a little bit, but a tiny bit of activity and a bunch of salad made that much of a difference.

And that's not doing anything like counting calories, going to the gym, or diving into specific types of fats or any sort of nutritional science - it's just a matter of putting half a thought into it before cramming my face full of garbage food every day, and being less lazy.


----------



## P-Ride (Jan 17, 2017)

Eating a large amount of vegetables and drinking plenty of water is, of course, a good start. I find paleo-based diets highly effective for losing weight.

In particular, a highly effective and tolerable method I've used is to eliminate almost all carbohydrates for six days each week; no starches, cereals, potatoes, rice etc; eating mainly vegetables and meat, then have one day (or even afternoon) a week, eating whatever I want.

I'm aware ketogenic diets are controversial. Ensuring you maintain a calorific deficit is of course king; but these diets also work, because many carb-heavy foods (pasta, bread, pizza) are so calorie dense - and addictive.

I've lost significant body-fat while doing this; while feeling good (after a few days of adjustment) and performing reasonably in sports (although not my very best). When I was weight-lifting and swimming I'd sometimes flag by Wed/Thursday, so ingest a small amount of carbs in the evening.

Research shows that having a designated 'cheat day' or at least 'cheat window' results in more weight-loss, because it's psychologically far more manageable to think 'I can eat doughnuts on Saturday', than 'I can't eat doughnuts'. In the case study I read, this group lost more weight than the group with a strict diet, because the latter group simply cheated in small ways, more regularly.

*Training-wise, anything less than barbell weights is wasting time - in my opinion.*

Nothing comes close to the load 1-6 rep squats, dead-lifts and military press place on the central nervous system. This transforms your body's muscular recruiting ability, way ahead of developing noticeable muscle growth.

Weight-lifting is effective at three points.

1.) Weight-lifting itself burns a significant quantity of calories.
2.) Weight-lifting (especially powerlifting) and sprints result in glycogen disruption and can boost your metabolic rate for 1-2 days, while your body is recovering and rebuilding itself.
3.) Adding lean muscle mass results in your body having a higher calorific maintenance level.

That's why the diet enjoyed by a 200-250 lb powerlifter with a single-digit body fat % would result in someone inactive becoming very obese. Powerlifting is a great sport for people - like me - who love eating!

If you're going to spend three to five sessions a week in the gym anyway, why wouldn't you get as much value as possible, by training hard in those sessions? Spending time on machines just isn't maximising the value of the time you have dedicated.

I'd highly recommend the Stronglifts programme, which is simple, effective and three days a week.

I have a blown ACL in my left knee and nothing has improved my stability for sports like deep squats have.

Compound Barbell Lifts / Sprints / A fun sport is king for body transformation.


----------



## TedEH (Jan 17, 2017)

^ As an alternative view to all the gym/lifting talk, I don't think any of that is necessary if your goal is just to lose a bit of weight.



> the diet enjoyed by a 200-250 lb powerlifter with a single-digit body fat % would result in someone inactive becoming very obese



What that amounts to, as far as I see it, is that you need to adjust your diet and level of activity to match/compliment eachother. If that means hitting the gym every day so that you can get away with eating what you want, then that's legit. But recognizing that your activity level is fairly low and adjusting your diet to fit that is just as legit too, IMO.

It annoys me when every health conversation turns into a you-must-become-a-powerlifter kind of conversation. Do it if you want, but you don't have to go that route.


----------



## KnightBrolaire (Jan 17, 2017)

ThomasUV777 said:


> A note on this is that not all fats should be avoided. In fact, on non-workout days, I'd recommend to eat more (healthy) fats than carbs. Bake everything in coconut/olive oil, eat fatty fish (salmon) and avocados. Roasted almonds are a great snack btw!



fats are great, they're just calorie dense and since OP said he's trying to lose weight, cutting *some* fat out of his diet is one of the easiest places to start.


----------



## lewis (Jan 17, 2017)

thanks to everyone who has contributed so far. There is some excellent advice in here already. Especially regarding types of diets and general advice (like what to cut right down on etc). I will add, Im 100% not interested in becoming a weight lifter and doing any kind of Hench gym work etc so I agree with the above.

Im just interested in changing to a healthy eating lifestyle and incorporating abit more exercise than I have been doing as of late.

Im currently knee deep in moving house (had a month long slow move) so there has been an increase in Pizza' and take away recently due to the late night decorating etc. Im officially in the new house and settled, from the 4th of Feb so it will be from this date, I will be wanting to change mostly my shopping and food purchases to better reflect a much healthier diet at this time.

Im going to fruit and veg myself into a coma haha. Plus upping my water intake is a huge must for me. I often get headaches that I can tell are to do with being dehydrated so its seriously important I make more an effort in this regard especially.


----------



## TedEH (Jan 17, 2017)

If it makes a difference, what helped me a lot was to start keeping track. As in, I write down what I weigh every morning. After a few months, when you start seeing data that reflects your choices, you start weighing those choices differently (pun slightly intended).


----------



## Rachmaninoff (Jan 17, 2017)

lewis said:


> I have a quite inactive lifestyle atm and most of my day is spent sitting. I also barely eat healthy. Mostly quick oven meals with the odd made from scratch meal (like Spaghetti Bolognaise) and the other odd takeaway.



As for the diet, you don't really need go full on vegetables (I personally *hate* vegetables), just try to avoid processed food in general. That helps a lot.

But the most important is to take some exercise. Start walking! To keep yourself motivated, download some tracking app like Endomondo, Runtastic, Strava, etc. Respect the limits of your body when walking, start with short distances. Increase as you feel less tired. Some point in the future you will feel good enough to start running... then the world is yours.


----------



## TedEH (Jan 17, 2017)

Semi-serious suggestion:
Get into Pokemon go, or Ingress. It'll give you something to do while walking around.


----------



## Fiction (Jan 17, 2017)

ThomasUV777 said:


> A note on this is that not all fats should be avoided. In fact, on non-workout days, I'd recommend to eat more (healthy) fats than carbs. Bake everything in coconut/olive oil, eat fatty fish (salmon) and avocados. Roasted almonds are a great snack btw!



Yeah i agree with healthy fats, I said be wary of fats in my post, but do not under estimate healthy fats.


----------



## MikeH (Jan 17, 2017)

Whole foods, gallon of water a day, start walking a couple miles a day, eventually work up to jogging, and do some calisthenic workouts. You don't want to go to the gym, so I have little to offer otherwise.


----------



## Blytheryn (Jan 18, 2017)

MikeH said:


> You don't want to go to the gym, so I have little to offer otherwise.



Just out of curiousity, OP... Why are you so opposed to the arguably fastest way to lose some weight, is it a mental thing or is it injury related? Seems odd that you're willing to do everything else except explicitly the gym. You don't need to become a meathead...

Lifting doesn't have to be "hench work" unless you decide you want to start doing all kinds of heavy lifts. It does a lot of good for your body, even in moderation.

Lots of great advice here from the rest of the bros.


----------



## TedEH (Jan 18, 2017)

I know the question wasn't directed at me, but just for the sake of putting another voice in there, the gym is very unappealing to some people (myself included). For one thing, it's not free. Walking is free. You have to work your schedule around it, as opposed to just fitting some exercise into your day when it works for you. One of the biggest things for me is that I have absolutely zero interest in anyone else being involved in my health or around me when I'm exercising - you don't have the advantage of privacy in a gym. There's always someone there who is going to either silently judge you, or start giving you advice you don't really want, or start suggesting all kinds of things that work for them but that you don't want to get into (I keep getting people offering me things like protein powders, or giving me advice on how to reach THEIR goals not mine). Gyms are set up to be able to market more fitness products and services to you - diets, personal trainers, equipment, etc. They're in the business of fitness, and if that's what you want to center your lifestyle around, then that's fine, but not everyone who wants to lose a bit of weight wants to do that.

But the important bit for me:
We've already established that weight loss means lifestyle change. In other words, if you want your improvements to stick around, then whatever method you picked to stay healthy is permanent.

I'm all for changing my lifestyle in a permanent way that just adds some activity on my own terms so that I can naturally go about my day and be healthy.
I'm really not interested in other people and an establishment taking that permanent place in my life.

Edit:
I'd also argue the "fastest" point. It doesn't matter if you're exercising in a room that you paid to get into - it just matters that you're exercising. I walked past a gym window every day for a year, and basically thought "why are you paying for this, when I'm getting just-as-good or better results for free"?


----------



## lewis (Jan 18, 2017)

TedEH said:


> I know the question wasn't directed at me, but just for the sake of putting another voice in there, the gym is very unappealing to some people (myself included). For one thing, it's not free. Walking is free. You have to work your schedule around it, as opposed to just fitting some exercise into your day when it works for you. One of the biggest things for me is that I have absolutely zero interest in anyone else being involved in my health or around me when I'm exercising - you don't have the advantage of privacy in a gym. There's always someone there who is going to either silently judge you, or start giving you advice you don't really want, or start suggesting all kinds of things that work for them but that you don't want to get into (I keep getting people offering me things like protein powders, or giving me advice on how to reach THEIR goals not mine). Gyms are set up to be able to market more fitness products and services to you - diets, personal trainers, equipment, etc. They're in the business of fitness, and if that's what you want to center your lifestyle around, then that's fine, but not everyone who wants to lose a bit of weight wants to do that.
> 
> But the important bit for me:
> We've already established that weight loss means lifestyle change. In other words, if you want your improvements to stick around, then whatever method you picked to stay healthy is permanent.
> ...



This is an unreal reply that I just honestly would not have been able to type better myself.

This is precisely why Im not going to the gym or want to hit the gym.

Very well said!


----------



## Ibanezsam4 (Jan 18, 2017)

the problem is you can lose all the weight you want but if your fat percentage stays the same you'll still be at risk for a couple medical problems. 

i understand not wanting to go to a gym - i initially didn't like the gym until my goals could only be achieved by weightlifting - but i read through your OP and i see a lack of motivation to do anything difficult. 

that's going to be a problem regardless of what you do. 

change comes through persistent challenge; whether that means trying to beat your best running time or swimming farther or whatever. 

i saw this quote on either youtube or instgram, but i think it's true: "Motivation follows action, action rarely follows motivation." 

pick an activity you don't think you will hate for the rest of your life (everything will suck at first) and then push your limits in that activity. eventually your body will start to reward you with endorphin release and your motivation will show up out of nowhere.


----------



## TedEH (Jan 18, 2017)

Ibanezsam4 said:


> the problem is you can lose all the weight you want but if your fat percentage stays the same you'll still be at risk for a couple medical problems.



Outside of literally starving yourself, I don't know how you'd manage to lose a significant amount of weight while maintaining a high fat percentage. And even if that's an easy mistake to make, the kinds of mistakes you can make outside of a gym, regarding things like nutrition, still apply regardless of where or how you get your exercise (or lack thereof).



Ibanezsam4 said:


> pick an activity you don't think you will hate for the rest of your life (everything will suck at first). and then push your limits in that activity. eventually your body will start to reward you with endorphin release and your motivation will show up out of nowhere.



That's 100% doable without a gym.

Don't get me wrong, I understand the value of a gym, the value of personal trainers, access to proper nutritional guidance, the safety factor of having people around if you make mistakes with the equipment, etc. If you're going to do anything particularly athletic or extreme, then there's definitely value there. But that is NOT the only way to be healthy, lose weight, etc. People's personal goals are different - some people's goals and motivations are supported by a gym environment, and some are not.

At the end of the day, when you break it down, a gym is just a room to exercise in. You can exercise anywhere. You don't NEED a gym to be healthy or to lose a bit of weight by any stretch of the imagination.


----------



## phugoid (Jan 18, 2017)

I dropped almost 25 lbs (210 -> 185) since last summer, and I'm easing up a bit this month to stabilize my weight before pushing it downward again. 

The struggle is mental. The best I can explain is that it required changing my relationship with food, and also accepting that I'll spend a significant amount of time feeling hungry.

I needed a simple strategy that I could implement right away, with no hassle, so I decided to eat whatever I want for breakfast and lunch but skip dinner. It was that simple. (Keep in mind that I'm not shabby in the kitchen, and my wife is a trained pastry chef: simple but painful.)

Hunger is interesting - your thoughts start drifting to food, you get itchy/cranky, then stomach pains and more grumpiness. Eventually your body stops complaining so loudly. Through all this you feel gradually more hyper-aware and energetic than usual. What irony that less food equals more energy: must be evolution telling us to get off our asses when we need a meal.

It gets easier as your stomach "shrinks", and you can't handle huge meals anymore. I'm realizing how little food it takes now to prevent hunger.


----------



## TedEH (Jan 19, 2017)

^ Agreed that the relationship with food is a huge factor.

I'm not sure that feeling hungry all the time is a good sign- especially if you're skipping meals entirely. If you're putting yourself in a state where your body doesn't feel like it's getting what it needs when it needs it, I would guess that might cause you to store what you eat instead of just burning it. I know very little about the science behind that, so don't quote me on anything.

From personal experience, I feel like I've made the most progress by trying to be very deliberate about how much I eat and when. What worked for me was to think of lunch as being the "meal of the day" instead of supper. I don't skip breakfast, I always have something (not a lot) to start the day with. When lunch comes around, this is when I try to get when I think I need for the day, since most of the day is still ahead of me. When I get home, I don't really need a big "meal" because the day is done and I'm probably just going to be lazy from then on, but I still have something- a small salad, some fruit or something, to keep the metabolism going, and keep me from feeling hungry. If I get to the end of the day and feel hungry because I didn't have enough for lunch, or was particularly active that day, supper is an opportunity for me to correct that. Assuming you're eating roughly the right amount of food in a day, I don't think you should feel hungry all the time if you distribute it right. Feeling hungry sometimes I think is normal, especially if you're in the process of altering your diet, but it shouldn't be a constant.

The takeaway, I think is this:
- Yeah, portion control is very important
- But distributing what you do eat across the day I think is also very important
- If you're feeling hungry, it's probably because you should eat something. That doesn't mean eat a lot, and I don't mean a "craving". I mean, legit, "feeling empty" kinda hungry. Ignore cravings, but don't ignore when you're legitimately hungry.


----------



## Ibanezsam4 (Jan 19, 2017)

TedEH said:


> Outside of literally starving yourself, I don't know how you'd manage to lose a significant amount of weight while maintaining a high fat percentage. And even if that's an easy mistake to make, the kinds of mistakes you can make outside of a gym, regarding things like nutrition, still apply regardless of where or how you get your exercise (or lack thereof).



or, y'know, increasing your muscularity appropriate to your physical activity  

all i'm saying is skinny-fat should not be considered a healthy alternative. because it's not. if the body is skinny but lacking athletic musculature (i'm being very careful to draw a line between weightlifting and a physique attainable through other exercise), it is made up of fat. 



TedEH said:


> That's 100% doable without a gym.
> 
> Don't get me wrong, I understand the value of a gym, the value of personal trainers, access to proper nutritional guidance, the safety factor of having people around if you make mistakes with the equipment, etc. If you're going to do anything particularly athletic or extreme, then there's definitely value there. But that is NOT the only way to be healthy, lose weight, etc. People's personal goals are different - some people's goals and motivations are supported by a gym environment, and some are not.



pretty sure i didn't tell him to join a gym. i referenced my need for a gym and then used to non-weight room examples of training. all forms of training are acceptable, so long as a challenging effort is placed on the activity. 

even walking, with the caveat of needing to very fast or for great distances (hiking several miles a day).

here's the real issue: does the OP want the easiest way to lose weight and best maintain his current lifestyle (which is unhealthy)? or does he want a better lifestyle? 

homo sapiens grew to dominance as a species because of our ability to run all day long and not die. we are the only creatures who can do this. so our genetic and biological legacy is one of prolonged, challenged movement through space. simply losing weight and being sedentary is not a solution. look up the studies of humanity + 16 hours of sitting and read the consequences. 

the OP needs to move. a lot. and then feed himself accordingly to power his movement. 

any advice to the contrary leads to more of the same. even vegans experience a ton of medical problems (never ignore our omnivore heritage) because they think their lifestyle replaces their key genetic purpose; prolonged, challenging movement through space.


----------



## TedEH (Jan 19, 2017)

Ibanezsam4 said:


> all i'm saying is skinny-fat should not be considered a healthy alternative.


I hear you, as far as the gym vs training anywhere thing goes.

To be honest, I don't really understand the whole skinny-fat thing though. If you're comparing a person who has x amount of muscle and lots of weight, having the same x amount of muscle but less weight (ie less fat) would be better, wouldn't it? Having low muscle and low fat would be preferable to having low muscle and lots of fat, unless I'm completely misunderstanding something.

I can't really think of a scenario where losing fat is bad for you if you don't bulk up at the same time.


----------



## AxeHappy (Jan 22, 2017)

Skinny fat is what happens when people do aerobic exercise without any anaerobic exercise. Especially when combined with extremely calorie deficient diets. 

They lose a lot of weight yes, but a not negligible amount of that is muscle and bone tissue. Which leaves their body fat percentage typically much higher than one might think based of of our society's perception of health and fitness. High enough to be well into the unhealthy range despite having a "healthy" BMI (Don't get me started on how meaningless BMI is). 

Meaning, they are skinny but they are also rather fat. It depends whether you care more about being healthy or having an aesthetic that is culturally acceptable when you're clothed. 

It is actually better to be fat and have a fair amount of muscle mass than to be skinny fat. Ideally you want (for a guy) a BF% between 10%-15% (15%-25% for a woman) and a fair amount of muscle for the best health.

I Hate gyms, the people at gyms and the fact that 99% of personal trainers are ....ing morons who don't know .... all, so I bought my own equipment.


----------



## Drew (Jan 24, 2017)

lewis said:


> I want to try and lose the weight by mostly healthy eating and just doing more activities than I do now. More walking and using a Bicycle for example.



I'm another guy in the "the gym isn't necessarily always the answer" camp. 

I think you're on the right track - try to eat reasonably healthy and with appropriate portion size, and while this changes evbery year or two, current thinking is that sugar is a bigger issue than fat, so maybe give a try looking for ways to cut that out of your diet - if you drink soda, for example, try cutting down or stopping for a couple months. 

Over and above that, find an activity you like, and do that. If that's the gym, awesome. If it's not, awesome too. Finding something that you ENJOY doing is going to get you further than forcing yourself to do something that someone else thinks is effective that you don't like much, because motivation will never be a problem if it's something you want to do anyway. 

For me that was cycling - I started to get into long distance riding in 2012 when I signed up to do the Pan Mass Challenge, and between training for a two day 190 mile ride and quitting a job I hated to prep for the CFA exam and spending six months out of the workforce, I dropped a fair amount of weight. I then blew out my knee in a skiing accident, spent all of 2013 immobile, started rehab after surgery in 2014, and then that winter in a span of a few weeks Boston set an annual snowfall record and I spent all my time holed up in my condo drinking beer and cooking comfort food. By February, my weight maxed out around 206, which isn't morbidly obese for a 6' guy, but was way higher than I was comfortable with it being. 

So, since I enjoyed cycling and wanted to do it anyway, I hit the road hard that spring. I didn't really make huge dietary changes (on an average century - 100 mile ride - I burn about 4,000 calories, so getting *enough* calories was more of a problem than cutting them), but I started riding more often, doing a lot of solo rides when my buddies weren't around, signed up for Strava, a ride-tracking app that ranks you on leaderboards for any user-created "segments" you ride across and gives you useful analytic information to track your progress, and started to log some series distance. 2015 I rode a little more than 2,000 miles (double the 1,000 I did the year I rode the PMC), and then last year I rode 3,500, including my first 20+ mph century, and a 163 mile one day ride. I also started to get rather fast - I'm thinking about entering a few races this year, as I ride with a few fairly competitive Category 5 guys (where you start off as a new racer) and I have a feeling I could hang with a Cat 5 pack with no problem. 

I'm up a little bit from my end-of-summer low (181-182 or so), up to about 185, but I shed about 20 pounds from my early 2015 high, and while both winters I've put a couple pounds back on, I've generally kept my weight at a stable to downward trajectory since I got serious about riding. I've also made a bunch of new friends through riding, have had some pretty damned cool experiences, and generally feel better than I did before I really got hooked. I also own a bike that's worth more than my car, but that's a different story.  

In general, cardio CAN be a great way to lose weight. It's more effective at higher heart rate levels - running is an awesome way to shed fat, though it's not something I really enjoy, because virtually the whole time you're in Zone 4/Zone 5 (heart rate monitors rule, btw, maybe look into one), which is really where you're shedding fat. It's hard to sustain that on a road bike just given the way terrain changes impacts the intensity (I don't think I COULD get my heartrate up to anerobic territory on a downhill), but interval work is a great way to periodically slam your system, and will make you a faster sprinter, too, which helps you build speed and drop your riding buddies. 

Walking works to an extent, but you'll get a lot more progress if you can find some way to seriously elevate your heart rate - hiking up steep trails, for example, rather than just walking down the street. 

Personally, for me going to a gym holds no interest. The whole gym culture is a turnoff, I don't really have any desire to have ripped biceps or anything, and increasingly as I'm getting back into good riding shape (I'm closing on the weight I was in back in high school when I was a competitive cross country skier), things like my power-to-weight ratio are going to make an increasingly big difference on my performance - a guy I ride with, a Cat 5 racer at that too, IS a weightlifter and is pretty damned jacked. And, he's fast as hell on the flats and has a higher FTP (functional threshold power, the maximum output you can sustain for an hour's effort) than I do, but as soon as we hit any hills, I drop him simply because he has a LOT of extra weight to haul around relative than me, and his ripped arms and shoulders do nothing to power a road bike. On the flip side, they make him an awesome guy to draft behind.  

Anyway, though - general message here is, find SOMETHING you like, then work hard enough on it that you're getting some real cardio (or whatever) benefit from it, and you'll make progress.


----------



## TedEH (Jan 24, 2017)

Drew said:


> current thinking is that sugar is a bigger issue than fat, so maybe give a try looking for ways to cut that out of your diet



I don't personally think it matter which one is the "bigger issue", but cutting excessive amounts of sugar will definitely help, I think. I dropped pop/coke/soda/whatever you call it, and it immediately helped. Of course, I didn't improve THAT much until I stopped eating meals fit for 2-3 people at a time, but that's a whole other story. 

What about drumming as an added activity? It's musical, and depending on what you're playing, you're getting tons of movement out of it.


----------



## Drew (Jan 25, 2017)

Drumming, especially faster stuff, is a surprisingly good workout, even BEFORE you talk about setup and breakdown.


----------



## TedEH (Jan 25, 2017)

^ I've read in some places that it's not a very good workout, but I agree with you on this one, especially depending on what you're playing. Because it's too cold lately, I don't spend as much time outside, but powering through a couple of power metal tunes on drums instead has done a great job of making up for that lack of activity sometimes.

When I was in much worse shape, I'd play through two or three songs and be pretty much drenched in sweat. It always surprises me to see really large drummers (I'm thinking Gene Hoglan) since it's such an active instrument to play.


----------



## Ebony (Jan 30, 2017)

Unfortunately, even as just an added activity, drumming doesn't help anything with weight loss. 
If sweating, concentration and labored breathing equated to weight loss, all obesity would end at puberty. 

You gain superior dexterity and your forearms looks yolked, but that's about it.

Just look at guys like Nick Barker, Gene Hoglan and pre-weight loss Eric Moore.
No amount of high intensity drumming has made them any lighter.


----------



## TedEH (Jan 30, 2017)

^ How is the added activity not helpful in weight loss?

I mean that as a legit question.

If you look at weight loss as being a matter of caloric deficit (using more than you consume), then it shouldn't matter what the activity is, as long as you're doing something. The added activity means you're burning a bit more, and balancing that with what and how much you're eating, should make some small difference, I would think.

In other words if you switch from eating junk and sitting on the couch all day, to eating a bit better and playing some drums for an hour each day, I have trouble believing that's not an improvement. It's not about the activity itself, so much as choosing to do something vaguely active instead of doing nothing at all.

Yeah, drumming on it's own isn't going to magically make a person healthy, but no activity is going to do that. If you play drums all day but eat horribly, then it won't help anything.

If I'm wrong, then feel free to correct me, but I don't think I'm that far off.


----------



## GregoryP (Jan 30, 2017)

Something I haven't seen in this thread (maybe I missed it, so sorry if i did) 

Take babysteps!
Which of the methods or advice mentioned in other posts you decide to use, is your own choice, but take it slow.

If you want to keep the weight off and actually change your lifestyle, you're better off losing 1 pound per week by molding yourself into a new person rather than trying to lose 20 pound in a month by going full out the first few weeks/months and fall backinto old habits after you reach your goal.

Set small achievable goals and make sure you reach them before moving on to the next. For example:
week 1: 1 snack a day only (if you are used to snacking more often)
Week 2: still 1 snack a day, and only 1 unhealthy drink a day (be it soda or beer or whatever)
week 3: 1snack, 1 unhealthy drink and start moving 15 minutes a day (walk, home workout, whatever)
...

Keep moving on until you have the lifestyle you think is ideal for yourself and your family. Your daughter will pick up your good habits just by watching you live by them.

If you fail your goal for one week, or you relapse into old habits: don't worry, pick yourself up, keep going strong for the rest of the week and start your goal again the week after.

You can make the period longer and take it one month at a time, instead of adding a new goal per week. Each person is different and incorporates habits at their own pace.

In the beginning you'll not see big changes happening on the scale or in your pants size, but you'll have to persevere and then the changes will start happening more quickly and more easy.


----------



## Ebony (Jan 30, 2017)

TedEH said:


> ^ How is the added activity not helpful in weight loss?
> I mean that as a legit question.



The added activity of drumming is great for many, many things in the body. 
Just the concept of moving and being active is very beneficial to our bodies in almost every way imaginable. 

But the sum of calories burnt from an hour of drumming with proper technique is so slight, its effect on body fat composition is not worth measuring.

One might compare it to walking 1 kilometer a day in a steady tempo. 
Is it a good thing to do versus being stationary all day? 
Yes, offcourse.
Does it make a measurable difference in daily caloric expendature that in turn should lead to losing a few extra grams? No.

No amount of caloric management is going to fix a broken metabolism (aka being fat). Proper diet and stress management needs to be implemented before any regime of physical activity should be considered.


----------



## TedEH (Jan 30, 2017)

Ebony said:


> One might compare it to walking 1 kilometer a day in a steady tempo.



Given how little activity some people get in a day, I don't think that's too bad.


----------



## big_aug (Jan 30, 2017)

Just start walking. Go for time, not distance. 45-60 min a day. Increase effort as you are able to do so. Eventually things will feel easy and you'll be able to go harder for longer. 

Do push-ups, sit ups, and chin ups. Easy to do them in the morning when you get up. Start small. Add one or two reps as you can. It'll get easy then do more.

It's not rocket science 

If you get serious and go to the gym, you can transform your body in less than 6 months. You don't even have to be crazy about eating clean all the time.


----------



## Mordacain (Jan 31, 2017)

It's going to be tough, no bones about it. However, I would find a decent local gym that offers group workouts and has a fitness director. Typically, group sessions are much less expensive and offer much of the benefits of a dedicated personal trainer. It's infinitely better to have some guidance (even if only for the month trial most gyms offer) than not.

Of course, a diet rework will be necessary as well but the simplest first step there is to just cut out fast food and force yourself to cook every meal. You can gradually replace food items with healthier options as time goes on. Personally, I think a good workout ethic is more important at the start assuming you want to make a total life-change and do so more quickly.

Of course, as others have said, if you are not in a super rush to lose weight / get fit quickly you can implement a healthy diet and just increase basic activity like walking and cycling regularly.


----------



## Drew (Feb 3, 2017)

Ebony said:


> Unfortunately, even as just an added activity, drumming doesn't help anything with weight loss.
> If sweating, concentration and labored breathing equated to weight loss, all obesity would end at puberty.
> 
> You gain superior dexterity and your forearms looks yolked, but that's about it.
> ...



Devil's advocate, that some drummers are larger doesn't prove that extreme metal drumming doesn't burn calories - it's only one part of a lifestyle, and for all I know, Gene Hoglan's typical lunch is three double cheeseburgers, a large fries, a Coke, and a giant milkshake. It's hard for ANY amount of exercise to offset that.


----------



## TedEH (Feb 6, 2017)

Drew said:


> Devil's advocate



I find the tricky part about health or fitness just in general is that you can't really half-a** it. You can't say "I exercise a bit so I should be fine, right?" or "I eat salads, so why do I need to do anything else?" I know lots of well intentioned people who do one or two token things "right" in the hopes of excusing the parts of their lifestyle that actually contribute much more to their unhealthiness, and it gets them nowhere. I know some who have super active jobs but come home at the end of the day, eat a meal fit for 3 people, spend the rest of the day with a bag of chips on the couch, and wonder why they don't look or feel healthy. I know a good number of people who "totally lift, bro", but still somehow look more unhealthy than I do.

So I guess the trick to becoming healthier is not to just pile up on token healthy things, so much as identifying whatever is being the most detrimental to your health and fixing that.


----------



## Drew (Feb 8, 2017)

TedEH said:


> So I guess the trick to becoming XX is not to just pile up on token XX things, so much as identifying whatever is being the most detrimental to your XX and fixing that.



Edited to a a more general statement, because this is (IMO) one of those fundamental truths that applies to virtually_ everything. _


----------



## gnoll (Feb 9, 2017)

Hmm, I can agree with that to an extent, but at the same time... You gotta start somewhere, and eating some veggies is better than eating no veggies. Exercising a little bit is better than not exercising at all. If people have a salad for lunch and feel that they're doing something right, that's probably better than them thinking "this fitness thing is too hard" and not doing ANYTHING.

Sometimes you just don't have the time or energy to give something 100%. I wish I went to the gym more often. I haven't reached my fitness goals by any means. I'm not going to the gym today even though I know I "should", because I just need to prioritize other things. But I'm gonna get some training done at home, because that's better than nothing.


----------



## Semi-pro (Feb 13, 2017)

Got a gym card as Xmas gift from my fiancé, as well as a few meetings with a pt. I'm freakin' loving the whole thing! Already seeing some results after 4 weeks.

I thought it would be harder but everything's actaully pretty simple, just thought I'd share in a nutshell what I've learned this far:

Time management problems? If possible at all, get up early and go to the gym in the morning before work if you can. I've realised that it's 10x easier to sneak in that hour before your day starts than afterwards. No, you won't be too shot to work after the workout. Just grab around 300 kcal (all bran cereal, a smoothie/banana) and you're goot to go. Arnold used to train with empty stomach in the mornings, so it can't be all wrong. Especially if you're trying to lose weight not gain mass.

Problems with what to eat? Calculate your macros (google helps!) and get an app like Fat secret or My fitness pal. Fill in what you eat and keep your eye on the daily total. Simple as that. 

Need carbs but you've almost filled your daily fat? Cereal, banana etc.
Need protein but you've almost filled your carbs? Switch quark to cottage cheese (same amount of protein, much less carbs). Or eggs. Too fatty? Just the egg white.
Need fat? Some avocado, tuna, cashew nuts...

You'll quickly learn where to get the macros you need (and how to avoid what you do not want).

The truth is that you must exercise AND eat right. Or be lucky as hell. You don't need to hit the gym, but then google some home exercise program. And use those free apps, they make everything so much easier. You'll quickly forget that döner you had for lunch and the rest of the day will be ruined if you don't compensate that somehow.

_"Those who don't plan, plan to fail." -Some famous dude somewhere_


----------



## canuck brian (Feb 15, 2017)

The biggest key to me losing weight was counting my calories. There's a saying "abs are made in the kitchen." You can work out until you're blue in the face but unless you're under your expended energy for the day, you're not going to lose fat.


----------



## AxeHappy (Feb 16, 2017)

Abs are built in the gym, same as any other muscle, but they are absolutely revealed in the kitchen. 

Then again, abs on a skinny guy are like big .... on a fat chick. They don't count. Squat less than 315 and your abs are meaningless.


----------



## KnightBrolaire (Feb 16, 2017)

AxeHappy said:


> Abs are built in the gym, same as any other muscle, but they are absolutely revealed in the gym.
> 
> Then again, abs on a skinny guy are like big .... on a fat chick. They don't count. Squat less than 315 and your abs are meaningless.




Most guys won't see their abs until they're 15% body fat or lower (usually lower). Nothing wrong with training them from the get go but seeing abs largely comes down to diet not exercise. You'll never have rippling abs if you don't eat properly.


----------



## 7 Strings of Hate (Feb 16, 2017)

Lets be honest. You can pretty much eat what you want. Its really portion control. Eat sh#tty? Its ok if you keep it to a very small serving. Want to eat a lot? Then eat some leafy veggies or something.

Part of my weight loss (lost 70lbs a few years ago) was to admit i just like to eat. And thats ok if its the right stuff. White popcorn, most veggies, rice cakes. Stuff like that you can eat until you feel full and its not going to screw over your day. If you cant break past the will power, then use it to your advantage and know your weakness and allow yourself foods that you can eat as much as you want.


----------



## TedEH (Feb 16, 2017)

7 Strings of Hate said:


> Lets be honest. You can pretty much eat what you want. Its really portion control.



I'm going to disagree on some level with this on the basis that you can really mess with your health by reducing your intake without being careful that you're still getting what you need. It could be something as simple as hydration - since a lot of the water we take in comes from food (as opposed to literally drinking water). A reduction in fiber can also mess with your system. Maybe all of the sudden you're getting dizzy because you lack iron or something like that. I've made some mistakes, and I'll leave the consequences to your imagination.

I'm with you on the rest of it though. I know very well that my weight has a lot to do with my relationship with food- and like you said, a lot of that is just that I really like eating. Food is great. Combine that with the fact that I work sitting down and most of my hobbies aren't very active. Being aware of this and using it to inform what you're deciding to eat definitely sounds like a step in the right direction, and I did something like that a while back too. I knew I liked eating a lot, so I figured if I'm going to do it anyway, I should just eat a lot of something that isn't going to do as much harm. Lots of salad. Lots of fruit/veg. Cut out soda. Cut out deserts. I also cut out pasta for the most part, despite really liking it. The one thing I still eat lots of that's arguably "bad" is bread. Next step was portion control. Then once you've built up the portion control, the choices of what to eat can get a little more strategic.


----------



## pwsusi (Feb 16, 2017)

IMO this book provides just everything you'll need to know about diet and exercise. I think it's good for everyone from a body builder to just an average person who wants to lose some weight....it's up to you decide how far you want to take it. 

https://www.amazon.com/Burn-Fat-Feed-Muscle-Transform/dp/0804137846/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1487290287&sr=8-1&keywords=tom+venuto


----------



## Semi-pro (Feb 22, 2017)

7 Strings of Hate said:


> Lets be honest. You can pretty much eat what you want. Its really portion control.



True. And while you're at it, why not go on to...



canuck brian said:


> The biggest key to me losing weight was counting my calories.



This. And while you're at it, why not count the macros instead?  It's not a big stretch and the calories will end up in the same ballpark automatically. You'd be surprised how differently you eat each day! Plus, in the end of the day you'll be high-fiving yourself for once again nailing the daily goal while writing down the last bite before sleep.

I saw a documentary on fat recently and it basically said that too much of anything will end up stored in fat. So if your ~2000 kcal GDA is all carbs and fat and not enough protein, you might not even be going to the right direction. Keep your eyes on the correct macros (aim around 300 kcal below the daily GDA if you wanna lose weight), work out and watch your weight drop!



KnightBrolaire said:


> Most guys won't see their abs until they're 15% body fat or lower (usually lower).



I agree. Used to be at ~15% and there was no abs. Listen to any pro and they'll tell you that the abs are there, but they're covered on the last grams of fat your body will ever get rid of. The ab and core exercises are for proper support and posture reasons, not for growing up a bunch of tennis balls in there. Only if you're big already it will be reasonable to use your valuable time to single out that group for growing purposes.

Let's hear what Scooby has to say: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95xRTID478I


----------

