Hello

[Chubbs000]

Hi people!

I was recommended to come here by a mate who said he used to post on Affordable Supplements forum, and he said all the knowledgable guys moved here.

Me? Im Adam, a 28 year old fat bas, who has pretty much always been a fat bas and never been particularly strong or athletic. Having seen the effects of lack of exercise and obesity on some close personal friends, I really need to get in shape, and came here to see if I can pick up some suggestions for working off all this fat as quick and as "sustainably" (dont you love that word :cutup:) as possible, and making myself more healthy/athletic/less pathetic. I figured shifting heavy stuff around in conjunction with a bit of sprinting and eating right could be the way to do it?

Here's a couple of photos to let you know what we're dealing with here...
http://i999.photobucket.com/albums/af114/Chubbs000/CIMG0497.jpg
http://i999.photobucket.com/albums/af114/Chubbs000/CIMG0498.jpg
6'2", 225lbs, c.40" waist. Fat Bas...

You're dealing with a complete beginner here, so any and suggestions (particularly for a proven routine/diet combo etc) will be gratefully received.
I know weight loss isn't what you guys are all about, but from what I'm told you'll know how to do it effectively.

Look forward to reading and learning around here.

[PikeKing]

if you're a complete beginner do you have someone you can train with to teach the basic exercises?

[666]

Hello!

Although it's not many people's main aim on here, there are enough of us who decide to have an anti-gut blitz every now and again!

Diet is going to be more important for losing belly than the exercise side. What do you eat atm roughly?

[chi]

Hello!

Although it's not many people's main aim on here, there are enough of us who decide to have an anti-gut blitz every now and again!

Diet is going to be more important for losing belly than the exercise side. What do you eat atm IN PRECISE DETAIL?

Fixed that for you

[Chubbs000]

Hello guys, thanks for the replies...

if you're a complete beginner do you have someone you can train with to teach the basic exercises?

Yes, my mate who recommended me here has done a fair bit of training, and is happy to help me out on the technique - its just he's naturally super-skinny, so has never had to think about diet and exercise combos for losing fat.

Hello!

Although it's not many people's main aim on here, there are enough of us who decide to have an anti-gut blitz every now and again!

Diet is going to be more important for losing belly than the exercise side. What do you eat atm roughly?

Fixed that for you

Well, its pretty tough to give an exact story of what I eat, mainly because my job involves a lot of travelling, client entertainment etc, so its been pretty hap-hazard, "as and when", generally fairly unhealthy, kind of basis.

I guess a typical "good day" would be:

Bowl of Alpen
Kit Kat
Sandwich + soup from Pret
Some kind of main meal for dinner - fajitas/chicken & mash/Steak/whatever

A typical bad day might be:

Nothing for breakfast
Some kind of chocolate or maybe bacon roll mid-morning
Pizza Express or other for lunch with a few beers
Some more beers after work followed by chip shop or more pizza/curry/whatever.

Not pretty reading obviously:011:, but that's the honest answer, and probably as accurate as I could give at the moment. Its safe to say a day's eating is never planned.

[PikeKing]

Who is your mate?
I'll leave the other guys to comment on the eating as i cant sort my own diet out let alone give advice

[Chubbs000]

His name is Adam Shaw - don't know what his "forum name" was on the AS website.

[ATZ]

Nice to have you here, pretty brave putting up photos too on your first post so you've made the first step.

As the guys have alluded to losing weight is about calories. Whilst weightwatchers etc looks pretty retarded on paper they have it right in the fact that you have to count calories - to some extent, to suceed.

I'd suggest that you could probably make some quite decent gains (in bodyfat loss) intially by just cleaning up your diet, try doing this for a few weeks and see where it puts you coupled with weights and some cardio. To do this though you're gonna have to start planning. Be religious with it at first and plan what your eating for the rest of the week, then after you get a good tack on good eats and not so good you can be a bit more flexible. Preparation is pretty important when you're trying to make large scale changes so start buyiing in bulk and cooking / preparing in bulk on a Sunday (or any other convenient day, I find sunday is best). By cooking in bulk you'll have stuff ready for the rest fo the week and you'll be less inclined to spend money on junk as you've already outlaid good money on food.

Basically centre your meals around:

1. Lean Proteins: Chicken, Turkey, Eggs, Lean Mince, Tuna, Whey Protein Supplements.
2. Veggies: More coloures the better but think Salad, peppers, greens, non starchy root veg etc
3. Healthy Fats: Olive Oil, Oily Fish, Avocado, Walnuts, Fish Oil Supplements.
4. Complex Carbs: Sweet Potatoes, Oats, Cous Cous, Quinoa.


Make sure each meal has at least has a serving of protein, veggies and fat. Save your carbs for pre and post exercise.

Start slowly though, so for the next week try cutting out obviously bad foods - Chocolate, Sweets, Fizzzy Drinks, Cakes, Beige Goods (Bakery etc) and replacing them with stuff from the list above.

[Chubbs000]

Thanks for that ATZ. I'll work on putting a meal plan for this week together tonight, and post it up. Probably best to aim for like 2,500 calories a day to start off with?

Anything you would particularly recommend for breakfast? Seems tougher than the other meals to incorporate your suggestions, whilst still actually wanting to eat it - ie mince, sweet potatos and brocolli is maybe not the most appetising at 730am :boohoo: - still if it works, happy days...

[ATZ]

Your 225lb right? Recommendation for cutting (losing fat) in terms of calories are 10-12 cal per lb BW, putting you at between 2250 - 2700kcal, so 2500kcal would be a nice starting point for some healthy sustainable weight loss. You should aim for 1g per lb BW in protein to maintain muscle and make the most of your weight training, so about 200g will be fine, the rest of your calories then from carbs or fats. Get used to checking food labels...

In terms of my recommendations you don't have to be ridgid with them but strive to keep close to them, some healthy breakfast suggestions off the top of my head:


Porridge (50g Oats) made with milk or water, serving of whey protein mixed in, handful dried fruit or berries (Blueberries, Strawberries, Raspberries). 5g Fish Oil (5 x 1000mg Tabs or teaspoon oil)


2 Slices Wholemeal Toast, 4 scrambled eggs, some greens (spinach etc wilted with the eggs). 5g Fish Oil.


In a rush? Put in a blender: Serving whey protein, 100g Blue Berries, 100g Strawberries, Few Brocolli florets, with ice and water = Healthy Smoothie. 5 g fish oil


You can soak the porridge overnight (put kettle boiled water with the oats in a pan leave to soak) it will then take minutes to re-heat in the morning, add some whey and dried fruit, eat out of the pan to save on washing up.

[ATZ]

Also get a journal up to log your lifting and eating. Easier to do it when you have some encouragement from people, or to put a rocket up your arse when you fall off the bandwagon (which eveyone does now and again!).

How successful you'll be with your goals will largely depend on how honest you can be wioth yourself too.

[Chubbs000]

Thanks for all that ATZ - I'll need to go for a big shop tonight and chuck out all the mars bars and stuff that are residing around the place. Is there anything specific I should be doing with training? I was told doing bigger movements (compounds?) would be a good calorie burner, but not to worry too much about the ultimate weight going up a huge amount due to restricted calories. Its been suggested I do something like:

Workout1
Deadlift
Flat bench press
Pull downs
Overhead press barbell
Curls
weighted sit ups


Workout 2
Squat
Raised bench press
Chin-ups (once able)
Overhead pres (dumbells)
Curls
Weighted sit ups

And to rotate these two workouts with a day's rest in between. Goal is to start basically with an empty bar, aiming for 12 reps, and add a little bit of weight every time unless I drop below 6 in the reps.

ie...
Workout1 - deadlift (empty bar)
Workout2 - Squat (empty bar)
Workout3 - deadlift (bar + say 5kg)
Workout4 - Squat (bar + say 5kg)

Jumps in wieght to be determined by overall size of muscles worked - ie 5kg jumps for deadlift, 0.5kg jumps for curls.

Any thoughts?

[ATZ]

Thats a decent workout you've got there, if you keep at it and keep adding weight to the bar you'll be gaining muscle size in no time. If you can, get someone to teach you to Squat and Deadlift properly, they're the best exercises you can do but easy to screw up, if you can't start with variations like the goblet squat (Hold a DB under your chin like you'd drink from a goblet) and rack pulls (a deadlift off a bar / pins of set height).

As your goal is losing weight you'll want to do some cardio, either on off days or after your weights. This could be steady state (think running, rowing, biking etc) or interval type work (spints). If you're not used to training though start easy and work up - aim to do those 2 weights sessions each week for the next 4 weeks and try walking for 30-40mins at lunchtimes or when you get home for cardio. After those 4 weeks try upping the weights to 3 x per week on a ABA, BAB schedule if workout 1. being A and workout 2. being B, and add dedicated cardio sessions to this.

Remember - Baby steps, keep it fun and remember the ultimate goal.

[JB]

Its been suggested I do something like:

Workout1
Deadlift
Flat bench press
Pull downs
Overhead press barbell
Curls
weighted sit ups


Workout 2
Squat
Raised bench press
Chin-ups (once able)
Overhead pres (dumbells)
Curls
Weighted sit ups
Welcome. That's better than a majority of people do in the gym, so you're on the right track, couple of points though...

(i)You have a 2:1 ratio of pressing movements to pulling movements which isn't going to do your posture or shoulders any favours.

(ii)You have no horizontal pulling movements- it's good to cover all bases and keep everything balanced.

You don't need to do curls every day, especially when not doing any tricep stuff. I'm not 100% on the sit ups either, but someone else could probably chip on that as I've never done any ab exercises. (might wanna ignore me ont he arms advice too for that very reason...)

It generally looks alot like my standard go to approach for newbies mentioned in another thread recently.

A
Squat
Bench (Dumbell or barbell)
Row (Dumbell, barbell, cable)

curl if you fancy it

B
Deadlift
Overhead press (Dumbell or barbell)
Pulldown (chins when you can do them)

tricep exercise, again if you can be arsed.





This doesn't look like much, but it's plenty to be going on with. There are lots of other solid routines you can do, but I know that works well.

I'm not sure how your flexibility is, so you may not be able to perform squats or deads with good form at present, or have someone to show you how to do them and watch you lift, if that's the case you can sub in less challenging variations till you can (goblet squats or rack pulls for example). Lots of people (myself included) used to do 3 inch deep squats and horrific roundback deads and had to correct them late. That's definately something to avoid, form is key at the moment so starting with the bar is a good plan.

[Vinny]

I really wouldn't worry about sticking to those workouts, if you look through the training journals on here you'll see a whole host of different exercises. The more you do, the more you vary, the less you'll get bored.

IMO I wouldn't worry about going more than 3 times a week, it's quit common to see people come to the gym go balls to the floor, train all the time and a few weeks later they've stopped going.

The major thing you need to realise this isn't going to be quick fix, you need to get in the mindset that this is a lifestyle change.

ATZ (Aled) is your man for the diet, he's a pretty knowledgeable guy on the subject so take it on board. and yep aled don't expect that to happen again:thumbup1:

[Chubbs000]

Thanks for all the tips guys - Im going to have a good read through tonight and try to piece it all together. If I keep logging in at work I'll be fat and unemployed. Plenty of time for training though I guess...

[ATZ]

Thanks honey. We all know you're only losing weight to fit in your penguin suite for the end of your life as we know it ceremony.

Anyway, good advice from our powerlifting vanilla ice look-a-like above, and what JB said.

[webcore]

Welcome!

[plateau2]

You going to do any cardio to help with getting in shape?

[chi]

i think you should bulk

[Chubbs000]

Welcome!

Thanks Webcore!

You going to do any cardio to help with getting in shape?

Yeah, I was told doing sprints might be useful, especially while Im overweight, to get the heartrate going whilst avoiding nailing my knees too hard. Something along the lines of 10 sets of 20 second sprints with recovery time between. Sound ok?

i think you should bulk
Really? I kind of feel big enough already! Maybe once the belly is gone and I can actually see any bulk that is added! dancingban
You never know - if I work hard I might get there in time for a bulk over winter, when jumpers are thicker and extra padding is helpful.

[ATZ]

Don't worry about bulking, newbie gains will take care of that!

[Vinny]

Really? I kind of feel big enough already!

At 225lbs!!!:079: LOL

Will be looking forward to reading your journal, get it done. Start your journal with your weight every time too.

[plateau2]

I'm not sure sprints are a good idea - how many times a week are you going to lift weights? Weights + sprinting would be quite draining.

Maybe start with 20 mins steady state cardio after weights, look at HIT/interval stuff WHEN fat loss stalls. Do all at once you'll have no extra cards to play!

[ATZ]

Seriously, start with the walking + lifting as I said. Walk every lunch time, lift 2 x per week. Do this for 4 weeks, then up your activity levels again depending on your results. Most of your results are going to come from diet however.

No need to go killing yourself early, and as Vinny has said - pushing it too quickly too soon can be equally de-motivating.

[Chubbs000]

At 225lbs!!!:079: LOL

Will be looking forward to reading your journal, get it done. Start your journal with your weight every time too.

Cheers Vinny - not too worried about my actual weight, but adding size is probably great if your in decent shape - for me, it'll just make me look porkier!:thumbdown:

I'm not sure sprints are a good idea - how many times a week are you going to lift weights? Weights + sprinting would be quite draining.

Maybe start with 20 mins steady state cardio after weights, look at HIT/interval stuff WHEN fat loss stalls. Do all at once you'll have no extra cards to play!

Thanks for the advice - sounds good to have another level to go to when progress slows.

Seriously, start with the walking + lifting as I said. Walk every lunch time, lift 2 x per week. Do this for 4 weeks, then up your activity levels again depending on your results. Most of your results are going to come from diet however.

No need to go killing yourself early, and as Vinny has said - pushing it too quickly too soon can be equally de-motivating.

Thanks ATZ - I'm going to go for my lunchtime walk now - chicken and cous cous salad fueled!

[plateau2]

plenty of tweaks to make but let's do them later, get a feel for things you like first.

[Chubbs000]

Jeez, just back from my walk (45 mins) - sweating like a little piggy - its roasting here though and I'm wearing a wool suit. Error. Still, been a decent day so far.

Breafast was museli with natural yoghurt
Lunch was Chicken and couscous salad
No sweets, and only drunk water - Im almost done on litre 2.

[666]

Black coffee rules at suppressing hunger btw when it gets tough.

[Chubbs000]

Black coffee rules at suppressing hunger btw when it gets tough.

Thanks for the tip - I'll give it a try. Im pretty sensitive to caffiene though, so I'll be running around chewing my gums and juddering!

[JB]

Well.... How are things going?