Looking to lose a bit of weight

cloud493

I'm looking to lose a bit of weight, I'm a big fella(tall and wide) so I'm just looking to lose some of the flab. I was thinking of running, but I haven't done regular exercise in 3 years. Any tips/advice?

ojola

I would encourage you to start slowly and progress gradually. Do not set too high a goal for starters. Also watch what you eat, cut out junk food if you eat them, fill up with fruits and lots of water. this is what i am doing and it is working. Also I drink a glass of water infused with freshly squeezed lemon juice. Goodluck.

A0

Can you cycle instead of running? If you have access to a gym, alternate (i.e., 2 bike sessions and one run). It's better to lose a bit of weight before taking up on running exclusively and cycling reduces the risk of injuries (weight bearing activity). Once you are fitter and lighter then run more often. As Ojola says, progression is the key. Lastly, if you want to lose weight, you'll have to have a good diet in addition to exercising regularly. Good luck!

Smartguy

I would look at diet first. If the diet is bad, exercise won't help much.

jmvane15

Try swimming. It's a great way to lose weight and it's really fun too. It's great because it is low impact on the joints and it also works the whole body.

cloud493

I do want to do swimming(although I'm working on the diet) I have no idea where the nearest pool is, costs, etc.

mcmoustache

As the above posters said, stop eating junk food if you eat it at the moment. Cut out fizzy drinks too. Cut out bread and eat less carbs (spuds, pasta etc) with your dinner. Drink less beer and maybe switch to wine for your tipple. Avoid anything that claims to be low-fat (ecept supermilk ).

Avoid elevators. If you drive, stop driving short distances. Take a bike or walk instead.

I wanted to get rid of my belly a few about two months ago and I'm nearly there. I'm 5'10 and weighed nearly 12 stone. I wasn't fat but I had boobs and a belly. I had been cycling for a year and joined a GAA club about 4 months ago. It was joining the club that made me want to lose the flab.

The exercise, while great for my fitness, didn't help much in losing weight. I asked a work colleague who has a habit of fattening up during christmas and losing it for the spring what he did. He told me that the only way is to count the calories.

I knew already that that to lose weight, you need to spend more calories than you eat but I had no idea how many calories were in most foods. It sounded lke a pain in the arse but it doesn't take long to find out what most things contain when you look at the back of the pack. The caloric content of other things can be found out on the net - eg a pint of beer can contain up to 250.

The amount that you eat is one side of the equation but you also need to find out what your requirements are. I found this helpful. Then count how many you consume and see what you can cut out. The things I suggested in the first paragraph are what I did myself and it wasn't too hard.

The thing to remember is that you don't need to be eating salads and feeling hungry all the time. For example, eggs and rashers with a cup of tea is a tasty and healthy breakfast. No need for watery porridge. Steak with fried mushrooms, onions and green beans fried in olive oil and served with a bit of mash is also tasty and filling as a dinner without being too loaded with calories. Of course, too many spuds and eating bread with the dinner will turn it into a calorie-fest so don't do it. As a rule of thumb eat more meat fish and veg and less spuds, pasta and bread. If you do it right, you won't have to sacrifice taste. If you end up eating food that you don't like, you'll lose the motivation continue watching what you eat.

tl;dr

Eat less calories than you spend. Spend more by getting more exercise. Eat fewer calories by cutting down on carbs. Having meat, fish and more veg will make sure your food is tasty and filling while being lower in calories than a meal with lots of carbs and/or bread. You can still eat great food and lose weight at the same time.

jmvane15

I would suggest taking up swimming. It is a great way to lose weight because it works your whole body.

Mellor

jmvane15 wrote: »

I would suggest taking up swimming. It is a great way to lose weight because it works your whole body.

It's actually not.
Simply because most people aren't very good swimmers.

Serafijn

Agree with mcmoustache on the diet - basically you need to eat less calories than you're using and you'll lose weight. I use www.myfitnesspal.com which works it all out for you

Also running is great for burning fat. I did the couch to 5k plan a couple of years ago and it worked really well. It's quite hard but be tough, stick to the plan and you'll be running in no time!

Naos

cloud493 wrote: »

I do want to do swimming(although I'm working on the diet) I have no idea where the nearest pool is, costs, etc.

First, fair play on the wanting to get fit side.

Second, if you want to go for a swim but don't know costs, distance etc - why not google it?

jobless

another option is bottcamp....have to say while its tough it made be shed a few pounds and tone up a bit.... its expensive enough but i've been in gyms and wasted membership money by not going.... being in a group seems to make me go more...

eleven1

few years a go i gained about 12kg , so i went to the gym , started working out very seriously , and this is the key , if you r not serious about your diet & your trainin regime, then u have 2 b 2 c good results . if like me u gonna join a gym , i used the crosstrainer for 60/90mn 4 to 5 times a week ,plus 10 to 15 mn doin weights, i lost that 12kg in about 4 months .a year later , i'm still doin 60mn 4 times a week , i got even better . i'm very pleased with my achievments.

eleven1

sorry i forgot to mention , if you can sky+ "the biggest loser" do it and u can c that everything is possible, that show is very inspritional & motivating .

cflanagan

Start slowly.. do some light running first then gradually increase the pace/workload until you get to the ideal weight you want to achieve.

deegs

eleven1 wrote: »

i used the crosstrainer for 60/90mn 4 to 5 times a week

Dude!! That sounds seriously tough... mentally like not physically!!

Well done on the weight loss aswell!!