tips for a reformed couch potatoe

pebbles21

hi folks i woke up one morning about 3 months ago ,looked at my body in the mirror after twenty years of abusing my body (39) through drinking heavily,smoking,junk food diet and no exercise decided enough was enough and joined my local gym

my height is 5 11" weight 13 st 8lbs big beer gut ,chubby cheeks,triple chin,man boobs but thin legs and arms and totally unfit

i started off in the gym doing cardio exercises on treadmill,cross trainer and rowing machine for about 30-40 mins per session 3 times per week and started to use weight machines about 3 weeks later

i also cut down my drinking habit to 1 night per week (was 4/5)and cut out all junk food fizzy drinks etc and now eat fairly healthy and not too much as a lot of tips i got from the stickies here(thanks btw)

so after 3 months my workouts consist of 1 hr of cardio and 45 mins of weights(machines)im lifting heavier weights per 2 sets each week and my arms chest back and legs have toned up a slight bit but i cant seem to shift the fat and my weight actually increased 5/6 lbs but i do feel a lot fitter

could anyone give me some advice as to where im going wrong as in workouts ,weights,amount of time etc as basically i just want to get rid of the belly and flabby face and generally tone up (but please dont ask me to give up my one night out on the beer its all i have left)

many thanks if you've read this far and appreciate any advice given !

celestial

pebbles21 wrote: »

hi folks i woke up one morning about 3 months ago ,looked at my body in the mirror after twenty years of abusing my body (39) through drinking heavily,smoking,junk food diet and no exercise decided enough was enough and joined my local gym

my height is 5 11" weight 13 st 8lbs big beer gut ,chubby cheeks,triple chin,man boobs but thin legs and arms and totally unfit

i started off in the gym doing cardio exercises on treadmill,cross trainer and rowing machine for about 30-40 mins per session 3 times per week and started to use weight machines about 3 weeks later

i also cut down my drinking habit to 1 night per week (was 4/5)and cut out all junk food fizzy drinks etc and now eat fairly healthy and not too much as a lot of tips i got from the stickies here(thanks btw)

so after 3 months my workouts consist of 1 hr of cardio and 45 mins of weights(machines)im lifting heavier weights per 2 sets each week and my arms chest back and legs have toned up a slight bit but i cant seem to shift the fat and my weight actually increased 5/6 lbs but i do feel a lot fitter

could anyone give me some advice as to where im going wrong as in workouts ,weights,amount of time etc as basically i just want to get rid of the belly and flabby face and generally tone up (but please dont ask me to give up my one night out on the beer its all i have left)

many thanks if you've read this far and appreciate any advice given !

Alright dude,

If you'll humour me just a little, I've been knocking round these parts for a fair few months and have seen soo many of these kinda posts to talk a little about the formula for approaching the original post...

1) Congratulate the OP on making the effort and the decision to change things around.

2) OP has made some progress - but is not 100% happy with their progress so far, and wants to know where they are going wrong.

3) OP does not provide full details on diet (funnily enough people aren't shy about telling us about their exercise programme, but we have to ask again about diet), so...

4) We ask for details on diet...and

5) Generally speaking the details of diet show where the OP may be going wrong!!

So, my self-indulgent ramblings above are a roundabout way of saying well done to you for getting up off your arse and saying enough is enough (I mean that btw) and give us all the details of what you eat day-to-day cos the devil is in the detail and that's where we will be finding the answer!!

mags16

Well done for the progress so far. Btw, do you still smoke?

Regarding your beer belly and chubby cheeks, I think that you have to have a long hard look at your diet. Why don't you post up a typical day's food intake, with approximate amounts?

I would never ask you to give up your one night on the beer!

pebbles21

hi thanks for the replies !my average daily diet now consists of

breakfast:muesli,brown bread,fruit(usally banana)

lunch:sandwich (tuna,chicken,ham,+salad)fruit

dinner:chicken/meat,veg(2/3portions)pasta,rice or patotoes

snacks:fruits/cheese/ryvita/eggs

in regards to smoking i do still have the odd few when i go out on a friday night


thanks again hope this helps a bit!

MicraBoy

My tips would be:

(1) Move to a free weight regime. My question is how many hours per week are you doing in the gym? Good results require 3 hours, great results require more. More muscle will increase metabolism and aid fat loss.

(2) You eat a fair amount of starchy carbs for someone trying to drop fat.

-Muesli is good in the morning, just check the ingredients and make sure it is decent clean muesli not loaded with filler ingredients like sugar and raisins.
- Do you really need the brown bread on top of this? Eggs or natural yoghurt would be better.
- Sandwich at lunch (again bread) try to substitute for a spinach salad with some good fats, lean meat, nuts etc. (as per stickies).
- Dinner - past/rice/potatoes are unfortunately not going to help the fat loss. They aren't so bad if you eat them post workout (and if you busting your arse in the gym) but you need to be very aware of the SIZE of the portion you are eating. Do you know? Again substitute with lower GI alternatives as mentioned in stickies.

(3) One nights drinking won't kill you but you probably need to compensate by eating clean during the week.

celestial

pebbles21 wrote: »

hi thanks for the replies !my average daily diet now consists of

breakfast:muesli,brown bread,fruit(usally banana)

lunch:sandwich (tuna,chicken,ham,+salad)fruit

dinner:chicken/meat,veg(2/3portions)pasta,rice or patotoes

snacks:fruits/cheese/ryvita/eggs

in regards to smoking i do still have the odd few when i go out on a friday night


thanks again hope this helps a bit!

First of all don't trust the scales as a reliable indicator of your fat loss progress - you have very likely lost fat and added muscle, so the scales will show an increase in weight. Weight loss and gain is not the same as fat loss/gain - it's the composition of your weight that is what matters - not a number on a scales. I lost 2-3 inches from my waist but very little if anything in terms of actual weight - look in the mirror and use the tape measure to see the real changes in your shape.

Some quick tips/questions:

Portion size! How much pasta/spuds are you actually eating. Cut back a little on the carbs and replace with veg/salads, more meat/fish.

How much do you drink on that one night a week? Do you pass by the chippers on your way home, or do you go in?

Your snacks - you may be underestimating how much you are actually consuming, so take care here.

Roper

I know a lad in your situation, was 38, had lived most of his life in the boozer and one day a barman put a pint down in front of him and he looked at it, looked at his gut and walked out. He's been back for social drinks since but now he's in the gym 3 or 4 times a week too.

Would you give a thought to joining a sport? There are loads you could do and the added buzz of training in a group might be a push on for you.

Irishpimpdude

pebbles21 wrote: »

in regards to smoking i do still have the odd few when i go out on a friday night

And Saturday and Sunday :rolleyes: