Weight issue...

LegacyUser

Hi there, I've been worrying about my weight for the past while now and in the past few days it has been getting worse.

I am currently a very young man, I am 6'5 and I weigh 17 stone (very little muscle). I know that this isn't the recommended weight for a guy of my height. I have tried eating as little as I can, like toast in the morning, cerial for lunch and then dinner at 6pm in the evening. It didn't work at all. I am out of ideas.

The main reason why I am worried is because at football, I am having problems doing laps, not breathing wise but with my legs. I can feel it affecting my legs with each lap I do. At least I think that is what is wrong. Today for example, I could only do one lap of the pitch and then I had to sit down because of the pain.

Could someone please give me advice on what to do to lose this weight, what I should weigh and what to eat and what not to eat.

I am currently very interested in doing some weights to tone up and tighten up some muscles. I haven't started yet because I would like to get the weight issue out of the way first. So any advice on that would be very welcome also.

Regards,
fatboy.

Duckjob

First of all, dietwise, cereal isn't a proper meal in itself. You need proper meals expecially at breakfast and lunch, otherwise chances are you're going to end up
snacking on ****e between meals.

You're probably around 3 1/2 - 4 stone over your ideal weight. Remember 17st is a lot of pressure on your leg joints, expecially if you don't have much muscle on your legs to help take the shock of running.

Can you swim? If so, take up intensive swimming at a pool. Cycling is also a good way to get the initial weight off. Both are gentle on the joints, and if you want to, you can take up running later when your weight is down a bit to improve your progress.

You're right about losing the extra weight before toning up, there's no point in trying to tone up now because even if your muscles do get more toned, you won't see it and this will discourage you and demotivate you.

Just concentrate on attacking the problem of your weight for now, and start doing weights later when you've reached your target weight. Because muscle burns calories every day, you'll find if you can build up even a bit of muscle, it will help to keep you trim.

Good luck.

Beruthiel

Originally posted by brut_of_a_man
I have tried eating as little as I can, like toast in the morning, cerial for lunch and then dinner at 6pm in the evening. It didn't work at all. I am out of ideas

I’m no dietician, but that’s not good.
As far as I know it doesn’t help much either, you need to eat or it fecks with your metabolism – in order to loose weight you actually have to eat in order to get this working properly. Get yourself loads of fruit for eating during the day, bananas, apples, oranges etc… you can eat them till the cows come home and they will not add to your problem, loads of veg too.
Perhaps have a look in the fitness forum for more tips.
Would you be up for joining Weight Watchers? I’ve heard they can be helpful and when given targets with a group it can be encouraging.
It's better to just loose a pound a week, it has more of a chance of staying off if you take your time and also it's healthier.

we are not doctors in here or professionals of any sort, so be sensible and take the advice that suits you. There is no point whatsoever in eating nothing, all that will happen is you will loose weight and when you start eating again, back on it will go.
if you drink, give it up for a while, it's high in calories

b3t4

Join weight watchers. I know the majority of people that go to it are female but there are some men that go too, noone bats an eyelid as to whos there or who isn't. It's also a diet you don't have to let on to mates that you are doing.

With weight watchers you can eat what you want and that is no joke. You can still go for a few pints, still enjoy that steak and also still enjoy bread and pasta. You will loose weight but slowly which is the best way to loose it.

You say that you have cut back on what you eat but when you go to weight watchers you will more than likely find out that what you were eating was alot more than you should be.

Also the exercise you are doing counts. If you exercise you can eat more.

I joined last year and I lost 11pounds in 2months. I've just recently started back on it as I had let it slide since I stopped going to meetings.

My two cents, hope it helps,
A.

Sleepy

A couple of tips:

If you're a beer drinker and don't want to give up the boozing entirely switch to drinking vodka/bacardi and fruit juice instead. This is something all the boy bands are made do because there's something like 400 cals in a pint of beer whereas there's very little in something like a screwdriver.

The advice to swim/cycle a lot is very good, it's one sure way to see pretty fast weight loss.

Obviously, you have to watch your diet. The key here is to still eat loads, but just eat the right stuff (fruit, veg, brown foods instead of white). Reducing your intake just isn't sustainable for most people. It also slows your metabolism down which eventually will mean that the weight will come back. Beruthiel's tip to keep a lot of fresh fruit around is a good one, go shopping for it yourself and be fussy about which produce you buy. As a former fruit & veg worker, trust me, there's massive differences in taste and quality out there. Usually the higher end the store, the better the quality (i.e. Superquinn rather than your local shop).

Kegser

Just wanted to suggest that you check out the Fitness board, there's a wealth of information and links there that'll help get yourself sorted.

Crucifix

Try to balance proteins and carbohydrates, eg: When having a salad, put nuts in it for protein.

Pigman II

Fatboy,
one thing to try if possible is to pull your dinner back an hour and never eat anything after 5pm.

KlodaX

you could always do what the Kellogs add says...

rice crispies for breakfast... rice crispies for lunch *with slimline milk* .... proper dinner.... multi vitamins ... NO sugar.

lots and lots and lots of water. You get hungry .. you drink water .... you are obviously used to eating more than you need.. you need to shrink your tummy which involves being hungry now and again.. your stomach is bigger than needed so you need to shrink it.. you get the feeling you are hungry when you stomach is half full.. but that doesn't mean that your body needs food ... there may be still some there.. and if you are 17 stone .. I'm guessing this is what happens to you.

Try Lettuse baps ... as snacks... and tea... diet coke .... and water.. you can have as much of these as you like but not fattening... and fill you up momentarily.

this is by far not good advice...
I wouldn't recommend it... but if it makes losing the weight easier....


good luck

MeatProduct

Fruit all day except banannas. Make a vegetable soup and eat that whenever you are hungry. Do that for three days. On the fourth day supplement this diet with a small beef steak. Keep it going for another 3 days after that. Make sure you get good exercise during this time, plenty of walking.

Nick

KlodaX

do not be disheartened if you do not loose weight within the first month...
this takes time

take solitude in the fact that it is actually harder to gain weight than it is to loose it.

seriously. don't eat for days ... you loose weight... eat for days and you may not gain the weight you lost.

depending on your metaboisim will vary your weight. If you actually stop and listen to you body you will know what is best for yourself. Its just sometimes ... people use food for comfort... if you are one of those people you will find if you change your perspective so as food is only something to keep you alive and healthy ... you will loose alot of weight ... if you aren't ... you will have to ask your doctor for healthy advise ... cause its gonna be alot harder. Sorry to break it to you.

GuanYin

Originally posted by brut_of_a_man
Hi there, I've been worrying about my weight for the past while now and in the past few days it has been getting worse..

It may be a problem your bosy has metabolising certain foods if you are actually eating healthily and excercising. I had that problem myself in my late teens.


Basically the best advice is to get regular exercise and eat healthily and regularly. Drink lots of water.

Diets and such are useless because you are really tricking your body in most cases and the weight won't stay off.

Try joining weight watchers or an organisation like that if you are having motivational problems (as an aside, a friend of mine swears its a great plave tomeet women).

Before you try and loose large amounts of weight consult a doctor for information about healthy loss rate for you (it varies per individual).

KlodaX

Diets and such are useless because you are really tricking your body in most cases and the weight won't stay off.

it does.

to be honest. I have always been slight. and at one stage in my life I neglected this fact.. alot of drink makes you eat more than u should.. and I gained a stone.

it wasn't me so I felt horrible. I did the whole non carbs thing... atkins I think it is and lost a stone in bout 6 months ...

thing is .. since then I've realised *this is 2 years ago* ... how bad for you the diet is ... your body needs carbs ... I relied on caffine for energy ... thats just not right... when I started eating carbs again I had a whole new lease of life....

saying that... I haven't gained the weight back on. Be careful you don't get carried away. Carbs are good.... sugar is bad. Carbs are only sugar if you are a lazy bastard.... bear that inmind.

GuanYin

Originally posted by KlodaX
it does.

to be honest. I have always been slight. and at one stage in my life I neglected this fact.. alot of drink makes you eat more than u should.. and I gained a stone.

Your body learns to metabolise the food it is supplied vs. the stored energy and water, which is why you lose weight when you diet.

If you crash diet in most cases you will lose "biological storehouses" or water. Once you leave the diet the weight will come back on rather quickly.

Onthe other hand, losing weight in a natural healthy way will avoid this. In which case you're right.

dudara

You have to eat a breakfast if you're trying to lose weight. It kick starts your metaboloism for the day. Stay away from white bread. It's so processed, it's not funny. If you want bread, eat brown/wholegrain. These are slow-release carbs, and not as sugary as those found in white bread.

If you're trying to run at your current weight, you've a high chance of developing shin splints, which are not fun. Try to lose some weight in other ways first, like cycling/swimming/walking before running. Give your knees and shins a fighting chance!

kelle

Brut_of_a_man, I had a weight problem following the births of my 2 children. I tried to follow different diets, and did 3 sessions of step aerobics followed by callanetics weekly, but they didn't work. Now I'm at target weight and fit into size 12 clothes for the first time since I was 10 years old, and the answer was giving up wheat.
My mother is a kinesiologist, and she found herself allergic to wheat a few years ago so she decided to give it up. She lost lots of weight as a result, after being a Weightwatchers and Unislim veteran for years. She believes it weakens muscles, causing backache and joint problems, and also causes bloatedness. She doesn't touch a morsel of wheat now, and hasn't done so since 1997. She has found people who are overweight generally show a weakness or intolerance to wheat, and when they eliminate it from their diets experience weight loss.
Last year I injured my back, and was in agony for a week. My mother suggested giving up wheat, which I scoffed at - it's next to impossible. But I did as I was told (just to show her up if it didn't work!), and miraculously the pain disappeared the following day. I continued the "diet" afraid my backache would return.
It never did, and I started to lose weight without dieting! It probably took about 4 months, but all my baby weight disappeared followed by fat deposits I had thought were just a natural part of me, a total of 3 stones. I eat loads and never gain weight, unlike the past!
Okay, it's nearly impossible, but once you get used to it, it gets easier. For breakfast, I eat a huge bowl of Jordan Crunchy Oats (absolutely delicious , comes in 4 flavours, contains no wheat) with full cream milk. It's very high in calories but doesn't seem to make a difference to me. Cornflakes and Rice Krispies are an alternative. I bake my own bread using spelt flour (most health shops supply this). It tastes just like wheaten bread, and doesn't require a lot of work to prepare and bake. I have a fry-up every Sunday morning, but I get non-wheat sausages from the butcher, and eat all with spelt bread ( no black or white pudding, though). I cook recipes from ordinary cookbooks but use spelt flour instead of ordinary. Also, if you fancy Lasagne or other pasta, you can get corn or maize alternatives from the health shop. You can still bake cakes, biscuits and buns just using spelt flour. All fruits and vegetables can be eaten. Eating out at restaurants is tricky, but Indian food (if you like it) is generally non-wheat.
Unfortunately, the following foods are out - semolina, couscous, mustard, crisps (many have a dusting of wheat flour - read the ingredients), most manufactured sauces, some chocolates.
I know it takes a lot of hard work, and you'll have to do a lot of your own cooking but it's healthier and you know what's in your food! Would you try it for a few days anyway and see what happens?