help wanted

[OohrahRecon]

Need a little help here. I decided I wanted to be one of the few a little over a year ago. At the time I weight 370 lbs. When I went to the recruiting substation near me, I was told I needed to weigh 234 to sign up. Since then I've dieted succesfully and lost 70 of those lbs. I look and feel great, but my problem is I'm still 70 lbs away. I've hit a wieght loss plateau. I've been stuck here for 4 months, no matter how I eat, I'm not getting anywhere. I'm open to suggestions from any and everyone who is or has been where I want to go, where I want to be.

I'm starting a new program called Body for Life by Bill Phillips. Basics of it are 50 minutes of weights 3X a week, and 20 minute "max" cardio sessions in-between the weight days. I plan on running after work as well.

If there are any other questions that would help you help me, ask.

Thanks for all the help!!

Dan

[B A Hall]

I had to help one of my troops loose weight.He wraped up in selaphane and ran untill he would drop,I would put him in my pick up and carry him back,It worked he got to stay in.Good luck.

[PFCJon]

you want to skip that max cardio workout and focus on LSD (long steady distance) workouts. Any kind of aerobic work above your lactate threshold (the pace at which your body can no longer support itself with just oxygen- it's when you start breathing super hard and you feel the "burn" of lactic acid) does not use stored fat as energy. Exercising at a very high intensity will deplete your glycogen stores, which will make it harder to repeat the exercise the next day.

What you want to do is get on a bike, ride for an hour or two every other day at first, and work your milage up from there. Failing that, jog, walk, swim or do all of the above. Losing weight is a simple matter of calories in vs calories burned. Working out for 20 minutes isn't going to burn more than 400 calories MAX. There are about 3800 calories in a pound. I would measure your intake and limit it to 1500 calories a day, and do at least an hour of moderate cardio work every day. That should have you dropping 2-5 pounds a week depending on your metabolism. Much more weightloss than that would be risky.

When you eat, stay away from fats and sweets. Sugar, butter, shortening, hydrogenated vegetable oil- all this stuff is junk. Your body is an engine and you are giving it crappy unleaded. Eat pasta, tuna, chicken and veggies- give that engine a healthy dose of jet fuel.

My background is all about training and nutrition, I am pretty knowledgable about this stuff- feel free to PM me if you have any more questions that I can help with

[PFCJon]

BA- running in suits like that (or just sweats and a jacket when it's warm) as well as working out on an exercise bike in the sauna are a couple tricks I've seen people use to "cut". There's an important difference between losing weight and cutting weight. Cutting is 90% water weight- through respiration and sweating you can lose as much as 17 pounds in a day (maybe more, but that's the most I've ever seen anyone drop to make weight). This is done by people trying to make weight for boxing or wrestling matches, but tends not to be permanent weight loss. Not to mention putting your body through the hell of being dehydrated, often times hypoglycemic (when you start feeling loopy after a loooong workout- called "bonking" or hitting the wall- it's your body's insulin levels going apesh## because it's out of glycogen reserves and it will begin to break down muscle cells for fuel at this point).

Cutting will drop weight, but it tends to be temporary and isn't the safest way to make weight- especially if you have some time to work with before you ship.

[jksniper]

Dan,
you gotta be careful with the "Calories in vs calories out/burned"
If you starve yourself your body will save fat first and burn lean muscle because thats what happens when humans starve. The body thinks it is starving and so saves fat to use as food later. You can damage your internal organs and especially your heart by starving yourself.
You gotta take in to put out. But Depjon is right about what you put in. Eat fiber intense foods to help out with cravings. They make you feel full. Fresh fruit at least 2X a day. Eat smaller meals throughtout the day rather than big ones all at once. Eat smaller portions and eat salads first then meats. Complex carbs are ok but stay away from the simple sugars like cookies/cake.
As far as excercise goes. Depjon is right about length of excercise being important. You won't even enter into burning fat until after 25-30 min of excercise at moderate intensity. You have access to a gym? Early in the am get in the long aerobic session. Helps you to wake up and jump start the day. Then weight training in the evening followed by naother aerobic session this one a different excercise than in the am and for shorter period (sy 20 min to start off) and do it at a mod-high intensity.
This should help you burn up some fat. Remember to see a doctor before starting an excercise program and especially if you have any heart disease or shortness of breath or dizziness while excercising.
Good luck and don't get discouraged when you reach plateaus. They will come now and then. Change your excercises around and try classes at the gym (Spin classes are brutal) .
Good luck on your quest to join "The Few, The Proud."
John Klein

[odc25]

I know a women that lost about 100+ pounds on the "water diet." If you will drink ONLY water, water that is VERY cold about 6 or so VERY large bottles of cold water and you eat right such as salads and healthy foods you will lose that weight really quickly. The weight training you are about to start could possibly add unwanted weight so you will have to be careful with that but I suggest you try the water diet and see if maybe that helps you out a bit. you can look on google for more info on this diet but it is really helpful!

[OohrahRecon]

Ok, now I have an idea on running, what about strength training? In all honesty, I don't think I've done an honest to God pushup....ever, and I know I've never done a pull up. I'm doing some rep training with dumbells, and I see results, but is that enough?

[PFCJon]

Honestly, I'd say worry about that cardio. Before I started getting serious about being an endurance athlete I was a "big boy". I couldn't have done a pullup, maybe a pushup or two max. As the weight came off and general fitness and strength improved, the other stuff came. There is so much resistance within your own body at a heavy weight, that often shedding that weight alone reveals the strength you had all along. To put it simply, a 160 pound Marine can do 20 pullups, but how many could he do with a 90 pound pack? How many could he do if he weighed 250- same deal. Get leaner and meaner and the rest will come easy.

[Sgtj]

What is your age? and Height? Most important though have you talked at all with your or a Dr. ?

As far as strength training you want to turn fat into muscle however in doing this you will not lose weight but gain or level out...which is were you might be now. I would do low to medium weight and do 4 sets of a high number of reps, in other words get to about 15 reps for each for sets. When your in the gym do individual body work out just yet. When your in there do total body with out much rest between different workouts. About the time it takes to intake some water is sufficient. What I mean by total body is chest(push)Back(pull)Triceps(push)Biceps(pull) Abs, Leg lunges... Get my point.. Start with the shoulders and work your way down with one workout for each body part and then start back over. If you cant get to a weight room don't worry or if you don't yet have the confidence. If you can do a push up don't be afraid to modify it. In other words drop the knees into what is known as the female position and get some reps out that way, do this until you can do an actual pushup.. What I'm telling you is work slowly. It produces the best results and the results are long term... However, most important stretch before and after...let me know if you have any more questions. I think my email is in my profile.

[OohrahRecon]

i'm 23, 6'0", and no, haven't talked to a doc since the DOT physical. he said to lose weight, but that i was very healthy.

next question, what should i do about food?

[PFCJon]

Shoot for 5 small, fist sized meals a day, not 3 big ones. This will keep your insulin levels stable and avoid that mid day "crashing" feeling you get after a big lunch. Go for a 40/30/30 ratio of Carbs, Protein and Fat. Stick to lean meats, fish is good, tuna, etc... for your protein sources. Dairy is good, but tends to be a bit fattier than you may want, so go easy on the cheese. A simple and great meal would be grilled chicken pasta- some Penne pasta, sliced grilled chicken, and a sauce rich with veggies and seasoning for some great flavor- or Ragu if you're like me and try to save time. Another good one, a good breakfast, is to take a can of tuna, drain it, and spread it over two toasted english muffins to make two small toasted tuna sandwiches. Add a slice of tomato or lettuce and it makes a great breakfast or snack. Another breakfast one while I'm remembering here, a couple pancakes with low fat fruit yogurt instead of syrup- or a waffle with chopped up pineapple or strawberrys. It's all healthy, good food. Eat meals like those a few times daily and you will feel noticably better than if you follow the average american diet of "you want fries with that?". Dang, now I've gone and made myself hungry, haha. Good luck Oorahrecon.