Advice for getting fit and loosing a few kg

Peter T

Hey. Im a 20 year old male, 5'9" and im 83 kg. I was into cycling during my younger days (did it and competed with a local club and now im broke so cant buy a decent bike or gear) but never really tried anything else. Im looking to get rid of the donut ring and tone up my upper body and legs. Have a full gym and pool available to me in my college (But i swim like a rock). Just wondering does anyone have any recomendations for a workout for a lad who hasnt really left the couch in a while. Also a diet change is on the cards so any help with that would be greatly appreciated. My first time doing this sort of thing so be gentle

jmvane15

Just replace any of your unhealthy meals and snacks with fruit, salad, and other healthy foods. You have access to a gym, just go and use it. I hope you lose some weight. good luck

Peter T

Hopefully. Have a few friends that go to the gym on a regular basis so hope to fall in with them to keep the motovation going

talkinyite

Eat lots of healthy snacks throughout the day rather than having big meals and focus on plyometrics and cardio.

marathonic

I cycle as well but, as you're aware, the equipment is expensive. For an entry-level road bike these days, you’d be looking to spend at least €400 – and add to that stuff like a helmet, bottle cage, bottle, pump, tubes, puncture repair kits, etc. and it can all get a little overwhelming. Personally, I save €7 daily on the bus so that €35 per week has added up to a tidy wee sum since March – can’t believe the weathers still so mild 

Have a look at http://www.c25k.com/. All you need is a pair of running shoes and a road.

Regarding diet, there’s a lot of information in the stickies but it can be very overwhelming at the start. You may want to do it in stages – maybe overhaul the breakfast first, then the snacks, then the dinner, and so on.

Good Options are:

Breakfast: Porridge or Eggs (boiled, scrambled, poached, omelet, etc.)
Snack 1: Fruit or Nuts (unsalted almonds, cashews, brazil, walnuts, etc. or Peanut Butter on oatcakes – the Peanut Butter from Holland and Barrett is good)
Lunch: Tuna, Chicken, Turkey, Salad, vegetables (the frozen microwavable kind are handy if you’ve a microwave at work)
Snack 2: As Above
Dinner: Lean Meat or Fish with salad or vegetables and little or no sauce (use pepper and herbs instead). Leftover meat can be used for next days lunch

The above would be a start and then you can tweak as you go along.

Two misconceptions amongst a lot of people are that cereal is good (it’s not, not even Special K or Weetabix) and diet minerals are fine (they’re not so replace them with water or, if necessary, some cordial).

If you're doing weight training, as you should be, you could consider adding a protein shake post-workout.

Peter T

Thanks very much. Started today with eggs and a slice of toast for breakfast and have a banana for a snack. Was talking to my housemate last night who is studying PE and maths, luckely he has done a module on workout programs so hes offered to give me a hand with cardio and weights. Might start a fitness log to keep myself motovated

Peter T

Well tomorrow morning is my first go at the couch to 5k so il let ye know how i get on

Peter T

Just posting in this again to say that iv been going to the gym with the past two months with my housemates and enjoying it. The diet department is where im falling short but im slowly trying to sort that out ( cutting out hot chicken roles, pizza and all the other stuff ). My weight is staying roughly the same but thats largely due to my laxy dazy diet. I took on the couch to 5k program and its great to get yourself back into the swing of exercise. Now I give a reference back to the program every now and again to see where im at but I have noticed great improvement and mostly do my own thing now. Thanks for the help guys