My goal.

[#HBC | Gorf]

Link to original post: [drupal=3525]My goal.[/drupal]



I have a lot of friends. I have popular friends, I have my gamer friends, I have my music friends, I have my pothead friends. I get along with a lot of people. But there's one thing that seperates me from a lot of people: I'm fat, and I'm insecure. Even though I'm the funny guy in my groups, I'm the one that sees all of these thin or in shape guys. Most of my friends are either underweight, or in good shape. But for the past three years I've been sitting down thinking when will I be in shape? Now, I'm a sophomore, almost 16, and I realized that I got to get off of my fat a** and do something.

I'm 15 years old, six feet and 200 pounds. Yea. The numbers are pretty bad. My main issues are my somewhat bulging stomach, my *******, and my terrible eating habits. What I'm scared of is my ability to make people laugh going away, and if I'm going to be mentally strong enough to go on. I love clowning about my weight. People get a kick out of it. Even though I'm sick of it, I'm not sure if I'll be funny if I'm not fat. And I've tried working out before, and I quit like two weeks in (P90X is hard as f***)

I plan to start my journey this Friday, July 16. My goal is not to get big and buff, but to get lean and tone. Even though I'm physically built to be a muscle man, that's not what I want to be. I don't like people like that, and I know a lot of guidos. I'm italian. And my other goal is to be in shape before my school's volleyball conditioning. I'd like to play the sport, and the conditioning is in January. I don't want to go there being the lard I am. I've been told by my friends that I'm good, but that I need to get in shape.

Some of my thoughts are to actually eat three balanced meals a day. I tend to, out of a force of habit, just go through my foods and eat something midday. I want to stop that, and if anything, get like a pack of pretzels to last as my snack for the day. DIETS are bulls***. If I eat less, that's much easier, and it's the same s***. Maybe I can go out for a run every day. Just go around my neighborhood for 10 to 15 minutes, and go home and do some sit ups. Later, when I actually can, maybe I'll do some push ups.

Now, why am I posting this here? I'd like your advise, or suggestions. Anything can help. Thanks for taking the time to read this.

 

[#HBC | Acrostic]

Avoid beverages that contain high fructose corn syrup, like soda. If you need caffeine, then I would try to pick up tea or other drinks that use natural sugar.

Also try consuming more vegetables and fruits in place of red meats (i.e. steak) because they are high in saturated fat. One possible alternative that you might want to try out is fish. I personally love mackerel. Off the top of my head, try to also cut down on carbohydrates like bread, pasta, and rice. You might want to look around and ask a nutritionist for more in-depth advice.

 

[DarkLouis331]

You're pretty young, so now is the perfect time to change your habits. You're always left feeling good after a hard workout and I'm sure you'll be able to lose the weight if you keep at it. I started to work out to get more muscle and I've noticed improvement. You can't go wrong with that.

Good luck!

 

[#HBC | Gorf]

@Acrostic

Generally, I don't drink too many sodas, but I guess that means that I'm getting water or lemonade at Subways now lol.

And since it's summer here's my basic meals:
Breakfast is a bowl of cereal with 2% milk (cereal varies on what my mom buys that week. I'm having froot loops, soon to be Cookie Crisps). If not, then a toasted bagel with cream cheese.
Lunch is usually a turkey sandwich, two hotdogs or a peanut butter sandwich (priority of choice goes down, and changes on availability), with a bag of chips.
Dinner is whatever my mom makes/buys (almost always healthy). I don't have a choice over that.

 

[Purtle]

If you can, (looking at your meals/etc) try to have some fruit at breakfast. For breakfast, have a healthier type of cereal. Ask your mom to start buying a healthier type of cereal. Then cut up some banana and put it into your cereal. I always love some Special K (Not too terrible for you I suppose. But meh) with some chopped up banana in it.

As for the exercise, specifically the running (I am a varsity Cross County/Track and Field Athlete. 4:30 mile as of the spring, season is over now though. Ran 4:46 as a freshman[have had a number of injury issues so bleh).) , start with a small run. Like 15 minutes or so like you said. Then gradually up the distance. You may think that you can't go farther, but the mind is a powerful thing. Since you're 15. (a freshman? Or going to be a sophomore?) you don't want to go above like 9 miles. That was the max I was allowed as a freshman was like 7 or 8. It was a while ago so I don't really remember.

Also, stay consistent/be habitual about the exercise and running. Don't say "Oh I will take today off and make it up a different day." If you are going to take a day off a week (I always take Sunday off.), make sure it is always the same day. It makes it easier/you don't fall behind.

 

[Fatmanonice]

Some advice:

-Drink a lot of water. Get a milk jug, fill it with ice water and then carry it around with you. If you don't feel like lugging it around all day, just keep it around the house and drink out of it when you're watching TV, playing video games, etc.

-They say that pepper, cayenne pepper, and ginger will higher your metabolism for about 20 minutes minutes. Supposedly, it can raise your metabolism up to 20% depending on how much you use and the fat content of what you eat. As the saying goes, the hotter the better. Don't be stupid though and think that they justifies eating 2 pounds of hot wings or a whole large pizza with jalapenos.

-Eat smaller meals but have more healthy snacks through out the day. Fruit, vegetables, pretzels, nuts, etc are good options.

-Don't eat until you're full. If you have a habit of eating until you're full, drink more water during your meal. As my Mom says, learn to eat until you are satisfied, not until you feel like you're going to explode.

-Consider taking a multi-vitamin like Centrum. Take them 2-3 times a week.

-Candy, soda, processed meat, chips, most pastries, and fast food are obviously not good things to have during a diet. Try to find heathy alternatives or try to train yourself to only have them every once in awhile. Cutting them completely without finding a decent substitute will pretty much drive you crazy and unless you have extremelly strong will power, you'll fall face first off the wagon.

-Meat and cheese are usually huge pitfalls because most people don't know what to do with them. Here's a simple guide; beef- lean, cut fat off whenever possible; chicken- eat it without skin; turkey- eat it without the skin, for sandwiches get it cut at a deli instead of buying it prepackaged; fish- any is good as long as you cook it right; shellfish- same; pork- avoid bacon, trim fat whenever possible; cheese- simply use less because good tasting low fat cheese is hard to find.

-Beans and bananas... enough said. Find ways to use them more. Both are pretty much super foods and diet God sends.

-Try to find alternatives to butter and margarine especially with cooking. If you can't, just use less. Olive oil and vegetable oil are the easiest to come across when it comes to cooking.

-For bread product, eat whole grain.

-If you think your diet food tastes bland, start experiencing with different spices and condiments. The only condiments that should be avoided are ranch dressing, sour cream, buffalo sauce, cream cheese, and mayonaise so you'll have plenty of options. (Notice a pattern with those?) Hot sauce may very well become your best friend.

-ALWAYS EAT BREAKFAST! I cannot stress this enough. It gives your metabolism a good boost to start off the day. Again, this is the time when you should starting looking a bananas as a God send.

That's pretty much all the things I can think of when it comes to food right at the moment.

 

[#HBC | Gorf]

Yea I'm going to be a sophomore. I'll talk to my mom about getting those cereals on saturday (the day my mom shops).

@Fatman

I'll try my best to do that on Friday. It's not going to be easy. But if I ever want to ditch this fat, I have to.

Oh, and I heard that masturbation is unhealthy. Is this true? Yea, I know, but it's a serious question lol. Just need to know.

 

[Nø Ca$h]

buy a watermelon, do watermelon situps, than eat the watermelon.

 

[Fatmanonice]

Yea I'm going to be a sophomore. I'll talk to my mom about getting those cereals on saturday (the day my mom shops).

@Fatman

I'll try my best to do that on Friday. It's not going to be easy. But if I ever want to ditch this fat, I have to.

Oh, and I heard that masturbation is unhealthy. Is this true? Yea, I know, but it's a serious question lol. Just need to know.

Only if you do it obsessively or have SM habits like choking yourself while doing it. Nearly all studies about it say that it's actually healthy.

Also, when it comes to food:

- Avoid fried and sauteed foods. Healthier cooking methods are steaming, grilling, baking, and boiling.

 

[#HBC | Gorf]

Crap! Is attempting to drown yourself while doing it considered a SM habit? Lol jk jk.

I'll make sure to look over this blog before I start.

 

[Yonder]

...Have you called jenny yet?

 

[Fatmanonice]

Just to let you know, it will suck at first especially if you go gung-ho right from the get-go. Start with little changes and then make bigger ones as you go along. Also, this will take time and the key is perservance. Getting your metabolism up should definitely be your first goal which will help bring you to your goal faster.

 

[Ryu Shimazu]

Link to original post: [drupal=3525]My goal.[/drupal]



I have a lot of friends. I have popular friends, I have my gamer friends, I have my music friends, I have my pothead friends. I get along with a lot of people. But there's one thing that seperates me from a lot of people: I'm fat, and I'm insecure. Even though I'm the funny guy in my groups, I'm the one that sees all of these thin or in shape guys. Most of my friends are either underweight, or in good shape. But for the past three years I've been sitting down thinking when will I be in shape? Now, I'm a sophomore, almost 16, and I realized that I got to get off of my fat a** and do something.

I'm 15 years old, six feet and 200 pounds. Yea. The numbers are pretty bad. My main issues are my somewhat bulging stomach, my *******, and my terrible eating habits. What I'm scared of is my ability to make people laugh going away, and if I'm going to be mentally strong enough to go on. I love clowning about my weight. People get a kick out of it. Even though I'm sick of it, I'm not sure if I'll be funny if I'm not fat. And I've tried working out before, and I quit like two weeks in (P90X is hard as f***)

I plan to start my journey this Friday, July 16. My goal is not to get big and buff, but to get lean and tone. Even though I'm physically built to be a muscle man, that's not what I want to be. I don't like people like that, and I know a lot of guidos. I'm italian. And my other goal is to be in shape before my school's volleyball conditioning. I'd like to play the sport, and the conditioning is in January. I don't want to go there being the lard I am. I've been told by my friends that I'm good, but that I need to get in shape.

Some of my thoughts are to actually eat three balanced meals a day. I tend to, out of a force of habit, just go through my foods and eat something midday. I want to stop that, and if anything, get like a pack of pretzels to last as my snack for the day. DIETS are bulls***. If I eat less, that's much easier, and it's the same s***. Maybe I can go out for a run every day. Just go around my neighborhood for 10 to 15 minutes, and go home and do some sit ups. Later, when I actually can, maybe I'll do some push ups.

Now, why am I posting this here? I'd like your advise, or suggestions. Anything can help. Thanks for taking the time to read this.

My 10th grade year I weighed 260 and was 5'9 I'm now... still 5'10? and weigh 155. You can do it.

Advice : Count Calories. Eat ~1.7k a day or so. And exercise and run a lot. Once you get to an ideal weight, drop running and lift once/week at least. I work at a fastfood chain so I substitute that with running a lot.

 

[mzink*]

Try to make your exercise activities something you enjoy, so you aren't always thinking "I want to stop now" . IE, I hate running long distances, but if I'm joggin on a nature trail with my dog it is much more enjoyable to me and the time and distance goes by a whole lot faster. Also, I have little motivation to work out on my own, but I actually enjoy it if it is part of sport participation, so playing a lot of sports kept me fit and healthy. Also the competitive aspect of working out in a group drives you to push yourself further than you would on your own.

 

[#HBC | Gorf]

I've tried working out in groups. But I'm always behind. Most of the friends that want to work out are the ones that are in shape, hoping to get in better shape, or the super skinny guys who want to get tone. I can't really keep up. But I would go out with my older brother to volleyball open gyms, but two things stand in the way:

I don't want to be the first one tired.

And I don't want to get up at 8 AM to go.

I just got to find a way to motivate myself. And I just realized how hard the three meals a day thing is going to be. Today I had a bagel w/ cream cheese for breakfast, turkey sandwich for lunch, and beefaroni for dinner. And I just realized, that I had three bags of little bites brownies, two six pack oreos, and a bag of popcorn aside from my meals. It's gonna be a hell of an experience, and if I can overcome it, it'll be amazing.

 

[mzink*]

I see your dilemma, the only thing I can really say is, put aside your self consciousness. You are there to get **** done for yourself, not for other people. Don't worry about whether you finish last, concentrate on how you are improving. I know some people that have self conscious issues BAD when it comes to working out and stuff. You have to learn to just take pride in your achievements and to hell with looking bad.

Edit: not meaning to sound preachy or anything. It has just been my observation that once people overcome that, they make great improvements and usually are the hardest workers I know when it comes to that stuff. But it didn't happen till they got over the fear.

 

[#HBC | Gorf]

I've had really low self esteem and not much self confidence in anything for as long as I can remember. It stands in my way a lot. And I have to get over it. Sure, people will be better than me at stuff. But I need to get over it. I just have to find out how.

 

[mzink*]

Maybe if you had a workout buddy that you trusted? I have had self esteem issues with some things and usually having somebody that I trust sort of guiding me helps me to gain confidence since I'm not worrying about looking bad in front of them.

 

[#HBC | Gorf]

Yea I get you. And I have somebody that would probably be down to do it too.

 

[Dre89]

I've tried working out in groups. But I'm always behind. Most of the friends that want to work out are the ones that are in shape, hoping to get in better shape, or the super skinny guys who want to get tone. I can't really keep up. But I would go out with my older brother to volleyball open gyms, but two things stand in the way:

I don't want to be the first one tired.

I think you've got this the wrong way around. Being larger makes it ok for you tire quickly, everyone will understand that. It's far more embarrassing to be thin and tire quickly.

For example, if you're in a football team and you do a sprint, the big guy who comes last isn't the one who cops the jokes, it's the thin guy who comes second last and only just beats the big guy.

Long story short, you've got nothing to lose from working out with your friends.

 

[Pakman]

Advice : Count Calories. Eat ~1.7k a day or so. And exercise and run a lot. Once you get to an ideal weight, drop running and lift once/week at least. I work at a fastfood chain so I substitute that with running a lot.

No offense, but this is exactly the opposite of good advice. 1.7k calories is an AWFUL diet. With that you are setting your self up to gain the weight back unless you plan on eating 1.7k calories a day for the rest of your life. You don't lose weight to get healthy, you get healthy to lose weight. Diet is more important than exercise when losing weight. Lots of exercise is not a substitute for good diet. Stay away from fast food.

Here are my thoughts on weight loss. First of all, anything that claims to lose an incredible amount of weight in a very short amount of time is unnatural, unhealthy and you will gain the weight back. If you want to keep the weight off, you are going to need a permanent diet change. This isn't as hard as you might think.

What you want to do is improve your metabolism. The guy who said the stuff about the hot food is right. Buy some cayenne pepper and throw in on sandwiches and meats if you like that.

Tips:

1.) Minimize sugar as much as possible. This means soda, sugary cereals, pastries and cakes. Once you get rid of sugar and lose the cravings, which takes about a week, it is actually pretty easy.

2.) Food affects your health, mood, and energy. When I want to lose weight, I keep a food journal. I write down what I eat and how I feel once or twice a day. Figure out what meals give you the most energy and make you feel better. Chances are those foods have the nutrients your body uses. They can be different for each person.

3.) Eat as little processed food as possible.

4.) Don't just do cardio exercise. Do muscle building work outs too. Each muscle requires a certain amount of calories to use. The more muscle tissue you have, the more calories you burn when you use it. Building muscle speeds up your metabolism. Using that muscle gets rid of calories faster. Why distance cardio is not the best option: after a few miles of running your body can't keep up with the oxygen needs of your muscles and it begins to actually eat your muscle to get energy (slows your metabolism). This is why distance runner's are always very lean and do not appear muscular at all. Training for a marathon is not the best way to lose weight and keep it off. Walking is surprising good exercise. I hike a lot when I need to get into shape.

5.) Overall body shape and energy is a better measure of health than the number on the scale. Everyone has a set-point weight. When they are doing everything right, their body tends to get closer to that weight, whether that means gaining it or losing it. The picture of health for one guy could be 120 pounds, but for some other guy it might be 180.

6.) DO NOT STARVE YOURSELF. There was a diet a while ago called the cookie diet. You eat 7 "special" cookies a day and your weight just melts off. It had great results, but the second people got off the diet they gained it back. This was because each cookie was 100 calorie. 700 calories a day is less than what Jewish people got in Concentrations camps. They trained their bodies to run off of 700 calories, and slowed down their metabolism. Don't do that.

7.) Don't over eat. Eat until your are satisfied. You don't have to finish your plate if you don't need to. You shouldn't need to count calories, but don't go overboard. Generally eating many small mini meals is slightly better than the 3 big meals a day.

8.) I personally subscribe to metabolic typing. Try taking this test: http://www.naturalhealthyellowpages.com/metabolic/self_test.html and it will give you a direction for what diet to eat.

 

[kpm91]

Here's a tip my psych prof. gave to his friend to lose some weight: whenever you take a bite of anything, chew it 100 times and then swallow.

 

[The Cunning Weasel]

Apparently, even colors influence how much you eat. Red, orange, and yellow encourage you to eat more, while blue encourages you to eat less. Some people say it works while others say it doesn't.

 

[Jim Morrison]

All I can say is work out regularly. You got a lot of diet tips.

Trying to build muscle isnt a bad thing, building muscle burns lots of fat.

 

[StealthyGunnar]

More power to you, man. I am also overweight and trying to lose weight.

As of right now, I am eating less and doing 100 situps a day.