Broken

Ken Shamrock

This is going to be long so sorry in advance. I'm 22 5ft 8, currently 14 Stone.

I was born into a family of martial artists, we had a gym in our back garden, my father had 30+ students per week, from the age of 3 or 4 I was one of them. I started playing football when I was around 6 or 7 and I had led a very active life. Diet never existed to me, I ate whatever I wanted and I saw no problem with It as I was always in fantastic shape.

When I was 17 I stopped playing football and I stopped training. I was drinking and smoking heavy. At 19 I got an office job, I'm still here, It's 2 hours sitting on a bus in the morning, 8 hours sitting in an office and 2 hours sitting on a bus on the way home.

My diet consists of chocolate and some sort of chocolate milk or milkshake for breakfast. A burrito, Burger King, chicken fillet roll etc for lunch. Dinner is normally takeaway and I will snack on chocolate throughout the day. Fruit+Vegetables do not exist, I do not like them and I do not eat them.

Needless to say when I stopped exercising and started the office job the weight started to come on, VERY slowly mind you, I lost tone, I lost muscle mass, and I've slowly but surely put on a beer belly. I also notice my face,legs etc looking fatter. At 17 I was 11 Stone and ripped and at 22 I am 14 Stone and whatever the opposite of ripped is.

This for me is extremely depressing, the active lifestyle and youth masked the extremely bad diet, as I am getting older and as I am no longer active, the effects of my diet and lifestyle are taking there toll mentally and physically.

I am extremely lazy,drained,unmotivated etc and cannot find the will to diet/exercise, I have tried a few times over the past few years. I want It, but I just can't do it. I am going on holiday in September with my Girlfriend and she is also uncharacteristically over weight at the moment. She started a diet and exercise plan on Monday.

While I do not agree with a holiday being a motivating factor in someone trying to get fitter and healthier It really doesn't matter what the motivation is as long as It works. For me, well I am just depressed and angry at what I have become and when I try to fix It I get more angry and more depressed.

On Monday I went out to the "Gym" I say that because It Is no longer a gym and there is very little room to work with. I stretched and worked the bag for a bit, then I tried to do pull ups, I did ONE...just one...I used to do sets of 20 and now all I can do is one. That's just an example.

Anyway, this is the Fitness thread and not the Depression thread :pac:

I have a plan and would love to know what you guys think of It.

Breakfast: Need help here because I don't get up to cook in the morning. For the past 2 days It has been some special K bar.

Lunch: For the past 2 days It has been wholegrain wrap, Chicken,sweetcorn,cheese mayo.

Dinner: No more takeaways, on Monday It was Chicken,Mash and Mixed Veg, Tuesday was Burger,mash and beans.

Snacks: Past 2 days, Apple, Treble Crunch, Tracker bar.

Drinks: Only water and Vit Hits.

Exercise: I plan on training 5 days a week. I will try and sort out the "gym" and the plan will be, Stretch,warm up, press ups, sit ups, dips, squats, chin ups etc. 3 sets of 10/20 depending on what I am capable of, I plan on working the bag, getting a skipping rope and buying some dumbells.

I also plan on buying a bicycle instead of using taxi's to get everywhere

Although that diet does not look healthy, It is a massive shock to my system and a huge lifestyle change. I would really appreciate any feedback/advice.

Thanks.

coffee_cake

Breakfast you can boil eggs the night before or take 4 mins to boil them in the morning

What kind of chicken are you talking at lunch, is it goujons or breadee chicken. As a rule i would suggest meat and veg and some rice for lunch and same for dinner...

Frozen mixed veg in the shops can be tasty and good for you. Bags of fresh stir fry mix veg.
What you have is better than milkshakes and takeaways anyway.
Would also suggest going to the cooking club forum and trying some of their recipes for fun for dinners.

Nichololas

Heya, similar situation - did loads of martial arts when young then replaced training with drinking, smoking and video games. Similar stats to you but I only started trying to get my act together when I was 24.

You're in a far better position than most - you know what training needs to be done and you know how good it feels to be active. The vast majority of teens don't have good nutrition anyway, so improving your diet/putting on weight is I think something that pretty much everyone goes through once their metabolism starts slowing down, or the effects of early 20's college life-style begin to sink in. Buuut, think of everyone in your school PE class who - to put it diplomatically - didn't have an interest or aptitude in it. They probably don't have good nutrition, but also don't know how it feels to be active. YOU know what it feels like, and you know what needs to be done to get there, and that anger that you've let yourself get this far should be a pretty big motivator (or, it was for me). You're still young, so with any training you'll get back into shape in reasonable time, but you should also take time to figure out nutrition and work on your diet, as it's more than half the battle. "Broken" is a tad melodramatic, it's not like you're a 24 stone 45 year old facing a huge uphill marathon to get fit - with your stats you could probably be fitter than you were as a teen in 6 months.. Just be patient with yourself.

edit: And if you're still smoking, stop smoking

Ken Shamrock

bluewolf wrote: »

Breakfast you can boil eggs the night before or take 4 mins to boil them in the morning

What kind of chicken are you talking at lunch, is it goujons or breadee chicken. As a rule i would suggest meat and veg and some rice for lunch and same for dinner...

Frozen mixed veg in the shops can be tasty and good for you. Bags of fresh stir fry mix veg.
What you have is better than milkshakes and takeaways anyway.
Would also suggest going to the cooking club forum and trying some of their recipes for fun for dinners.

What would be good with boiled eggs in the morning? Toast or something?

Just roast chicken from the Spar, It's not breaded or anything.

Truth be told, I don't cook at all, as I said I'm extremely lazy

I'm back home the past 2 months so ole Mammy has been cooking dinners, she does it for herself and my Da anyway so she throws something on for me and leaves It in the microwave till I get home from work. Prior to that I lived with friends for 2 years and none of us cooked, just ordered food.

Ken Shamrock

Nichololas wrote: »

Heya, similar situation - did loads of martial arts when young then replaced training with drinking, smoking and video games. Similar stats to you but I only started trying to get my act together when I was 24.

You're in a far better position than most - you know what training needs to be done and you know how good it feels to be active. The vast majority of teens don't have good nutrition anyway, so improving your diet/putting on weight is I think something that pretty much everyone goes through once their metabolism starts slowing down, or the effects of early 20's college life-style begin to sink in. Buuut, think of everyone in your school PE class who - to put it diplomatically - didn't have an interest or aptitude in it. They probably don't have good nutrition, but also don't know how it feels to be active. YOU know what it feels like, and you know what needs to be done to get there, and that anger that you've let yourself get this far should be a pretty big motivator (or, it was for me). You're still young, so with any training you'll get back into shape in reasonable time, but you should also take time to figure out nutrition and work on your diet, as it's more than half the battle. "Broken" is a tad melodramatic, it's not like you're a 24 stone 45 year old facing a huge uphill marathon to get fit - with your stats you could probably be fitter than you were as a teen in 6 months.. Just be patient with yourself.

edit: And if you're still smoking, stop smoking

Well that was nice to read, you're right "broken" is a silly title, but tbh mate that's just how I feel. What did you do to get back in shape?

Edit: Never

coffee_cake

Well... Start...
Trying new recipes is fun and tasty and you're not gonna spend your life with someone else cooking!!
Plus if you start off with stir fries they cook themselves like

Mr. CooL ICE

Preparation is key. Instead of relying on Spar, you should prepare meals in advance and bring them to work. Assuming work has a microwave, you have no excuses.

You should invest in decent tupperware and learn how to cook batches of food that can be easily microwaved.

Ken Shamrock

bluewolf wrote: »

Well... Start...
Trying new recipes is fun and tasty and you're not gonna spend your life with someone else cooking!!
Plus if you start off with stir fries they cook themselves like

I wish it was that easy, again I will reiterate I am a lazy ******* I struggle to get out of bed to make work on time, I take every shortcut life offers me, my mindset Is all wrong.

Agreed I will not always have someone to cook my dinner 7 days a week although that would be nice.

As for stir fries, the problem is I cant stomach peppers,onions etc. Veg I can manage Corn,Beans,Peas,Cauliflower and Brocolli. Fruit I can manage Apples and grapes. That's It I'm afraid. 3 years ago I only ate beans and corn.

Nicolas Cage wrote: »

Preparation is key. Instead of relying on Spar, you should prepare meals in advance and bring them to work. Assuming work has a microwave, you have no excuses.

You should invest in decent tupperware and learn how to cook batches of food that can be easily microwaved.

Again, I have the problem of what can I make? Most people in work do this, but they all make stir fries etc that I wouldn't be able to eat that. I like Chicken and pasta but I can't have that 5 days a week :-/

Alf Veedersane

If you can't be bothered to make the effort, I don't know how you're going to turn things around.

I want It, but I just can't do it

Unless you're willing to make some effort, then there's no point in anyone suggesting anything. It's that simple.

Ken Shamrock

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

If you can't be bothered to make the effort, I don't know how you're going to turn things around.



Unless you're willing to make some effort, then there's no point in anyone suggesting anything. It's that simple.

Why do you think I started this thread and am trying to change my diet and start exercising?

I am willing to make the effort, I just can't become the perfect human being over night like some people suggest on here. It has to be small steps not a complete overhaul.

Mr. CooL ICE

Bob.Carcass wrote: »

Again, I have the problem of what can I make? Most people in work do this, but they all make stir fries etc that I wouldn't be able to eat that. I like Chicken and pasta but I can't have that 5 days a week :-/

Why can't you eat stir fries? Don't like veg?

Ken Shamrock

Nicolas Cage wrote: »

Why can't you eat stir fries? Don't like veg?

Yeah what's in them exactly? I don't like peppers or onions etc.

Alf Veedersane

Bob.Carcass wrote: »

Why do you think I started this thread and am trying to change my diet and start exercising?

I am willing to make the effort, I just can't become the perfect human being over night like some people suggest on here. It has to be small steps not a complete overhaul.

Well that's a start. Some of it just reads like you're making excuses for not doing things that aren't easy. And no one expects you to make a 180 overnight but a lot of the easier stuff to implement will require effort to sustain in the short term.


You don't have to be perfect but what you do need is a healthier diet and one that's sustainable in the longer term. Considering your current diet, none of those changes are going to be easy necessarily.

Food preparation is your friend. Eggs boiled the night before, lunches prepared the night before or at the weekend will make a difference and stop you going for the easier, less healthy option.

Some time at the weekend preparing some simple stuff for lunch makes life easier during the week.

The training seems to be something you'll enjoy doing which means you're more likely to keep it up so that looks after itself.

LuckyLloyd

Honestly? At 22 with some years of good training history in your past hammering the training should be the main point of focus imo.

Let's talk performance. Would you like to get back competing at Martial Arts? Is there any strength / body weight / running targets you'd like to hit?

I think if you get training 5 times a week working towards defined targets and cut the silly diet excesses out you'll sort this. I wouldn't worry about getting the diet spot on just yet. That can come later.

Mr. CooL ICE

Bob.Carcass wrote: »

Yeah what's in them exactly? I don't like peppers or onions etc.

You sound like a fierce picky eater. You don't want to eat a stir fry even though you don't know what's in it? It's something you will just have to get over.

Start by learning different ways of preparing veg. Boiling the crap out of veg is a sure way of making you hate it. A typical way of preparing a lot of veg for me is to par boil before sautéing in butter and seasoning with salt and black pepper. It cooks them enough so that there is still a crunch and a decent texture.

There are loads of different ways of preparing veg, including oven roasting them. This looks like a good place to start.

Ken Shamrock

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

Honestly? At 22 with some years of good training history in your past hammering the training should be the main point of focus imo.

Let's talk performance. Would you like to get back competing at Martial Arts? Is there any strength / body weight / running targets you'd like to hit?

I think if you get training 5 times a week working towards defined targets and cut the silly diet excesses out you'll sort this. I wouldn't worry about getting the diet spot on just yet. That can come later.

No, I don't think so, I was never one for targets, I was always where I needed to be when I was younger. It felt normal because It was all I knew, when I got the freedom to do whatever I wanted I said **** you (Father) and your martial arts and I ruined myself because It was forced on me and I had no choice, I resented It.

Now, I would love to just be fit again, It's a long road from where I am which is the hardest part for me, because I'm so used to doing this this and this and then when I try to do It I can't. It's like I need to start over again. I am going to give this the best shot I can, I just feel lost??

Nicolas Cage wrote: »

You sound like a fierce picky eater. You don't want to eat a stir fry even though you don't know what's in it? It's something you will just have to get over.

Start by learning different ways of preparing veg. Boiling the crap out of veg is a sure way of making you hate it. A typical way of preparing a lot of veg for me is to par boil before sautéing in butter and seasoning with salt and black pepper. It cooks them enough so that there is still a crunch and a decent texture.

There are loads of different ways of preparing veg, including oven roasting them. This looks like a good place to start.

I am a very picky eater, I'm afraid It's not something I can just "get over".

The vegetables I listed above are the only ones I can eat, perhaps I will try new things again down the line, but making a diet out of food you cannot stomach is not exactly a feasible option. Thank you for the advice tho.

DuffleBag

Im seeing a trend with what you said above about ruining yourself because martial arts was forced upon you, and you not liking veg and stuff like that and also peoples diet recommendations which could be construed as being forced upon you

Trial and error i would recommend for your vegetable issue. If you want to lose weight, like someone else said above, you're just going to have to get over it. Add spices to veg, or mix it with a little sauce and rice/quinoa and you'll barely notice you're even eating them.

As for the job situation, an office job is perfect for dieting. You have regimental hours, and can have tuppawear with food prepared at your desk. Something i do myself.

Alf Veedersane

Bob.Carcass wrote: »

I am a very picky eater, I'm afraid It's not something I can just "get over".

The vegetables I listed above are the only ones I can eat, perhaps I will try new things again down the line, but making a diet out of food you cannot stomach is not exactly a feasible option. Thank you for the advice tho.

Trying to stick to foods you don't like won't help. You'll ditch them.

That said, when it comes to veg, a lot of it is down to how they were cooked when you didn't like them. We've all been there. Everything boiled to bejaysus. A lot of it ends up tasting horrible.

But if you change tack and try cooking them differently (because they will taste very differently), then you are basically trying something new. You need to try new things to see what you do and don't like. `

If you stick to a very narrow range of foods, you'll get sick of them. You need to allow for variety. And you also need to start experimenting with cooking. Small amounts. A breast of chicken here, a pork chop there, trying different seasoning...it will be trial and error. But from little acorns.

LuckyLloyd

Bob.Carcass wrote: »

No, I don't think so, I was never one for targets, I was always where I needed to be when I was younger. It felt normal because It was all I knew, when I got the freedom to do whatever I wanted I said **** you (Father) and your martial arts and I ruined myself because It was forced on me and I had no choice, I resented It.

Now, I would love to just be fit again, It's a long road from where I am which is the hardest part for me, because I'm so used to doing this this and this and then when I try to do It I can't. It's like I need to start over again. I am going to give this the best shot I can, I just feel lost??

Bottom line? You will fail unless you you break this up into smaller chunks. Two things that aren't going to happen:

- you're not going to bottom out your nutritional issues right away;
- you're not going to get back to who you were at 17 before September;


If you're goal is going to loosely equate to 'I want to eat perfect and look absolutely ripped for my holiday in September' you will soon become discouraged and fail.

That's why I say focus on the training aspect to begin with. You have a good history there, have done the right thing at a time in the past.

Now, I would love to just be fit again, It's a long road from where I am which is the hardest part for me, because I'm so used to doing this this and this and then when I try to do It I can't

Give me some precise examples of things you could do that you can't now. A list here could be some performance targets and give us something to work back from in terms of a plan of action and some milestones...

Ken Shamrock

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

Bottom line? You will fail unless you you break this up into smaller chunks. Two things that aren't going to happen:

- you're not going to bottom out your nutritional issues right away;
- you're not going to get back to who you were at 17 before September;


If you're goal is going to loosely equate to 'I want to eat perfect and look absolutely ripped for my holiday in September' you will soon become discouraged and fail.

That's why I say focus on the training aspect to begin with. You have a good history there, have done the right thing at a time in the past.

Certainly not expecting that to happen, I don't have a problem with image, I will gladly swim and walk around with my fat ass on show.

I don't want to eat perfect I just want to eat better, what I'm eating now is slowly killing me, It's making me overweight, It's making me feel like sh1t, It's making me unfit and unhealthy and worst of all It's seriously addictive.

Even now 2 and halve days in my body is craving sugar,chocolate,greasy food etc. That needs to change, not just for Lanzarote but for life. There's some good advice here and thanks to everyone for trying to help. I literally heave If i try to eat things like mushrooms,cabbage etc.

But I will try and experiment with different vegs etc.

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

Give me some precise examples of things you could do that you can't now. A list here could be some performance targets and give us something to work back from in terms of a plan of action and some milestones...

Oh my, there are too many to list.

I gave the chin ups as an example earlier, press up's I'm sure will be a similar situation as my weight has greatly increased and my strength has decreased.

Sit ups aren't a problem, I can still throw out sets out 20/30 but I can feel the difference with the belly there.

Running, I'm gassed after 1 Minute when for example I used to play a 70 minute football match every Sunday and train twice per week.

power pants

Office work is a terrible strain on peoples health from inactivity slothing at your desk to poor diet throughout the day.

I am fortunate as I walk an hour each way to the office and train 4x a week in the gym and keep myself active at the weekends too - walking boxing

but if I were to stop the exercise and go to a typical office workers diet and lifestyle I would be depressed. So many flabby slobs waddling around and they havent even reached 30

As suggested try having eggs /porridge for breakfast

lunch try and start eating some fruit, start of with a banana? I typically have curried beans and a tin of tuna for my lunch with milk and a banana. More often than not I fart the office out, but that is their problem not mine. They are always silent anyways.

faage yogurt at 11am

4pm I sometimes have nuts and something else

I never snack on chocolates, crisps, sweets, cans of coke etc.

GuitarMusic

Instead of aiming for 5 days er week training I'd probably exercise one day and rest the next day so you'd be training three or four times a week. You want to give your body a chance to recover and build strength in the muscles and new capillaries etc.

Ken Shamrock

power pants wrote: »

Office work is a terrible strain on peoples health from inactivity slothing at your desk to poor diet throughout the day.

I am fortunate as I walk an hour each way to the office and train 4x a week in the gym and keep myself active at the weekends too - walking boxing

but if I were to stop the exercise and go to a typical office workers diet and lifestyle I would be depressed. So many flabby slobs waddling around and they havent even reached 30

As suggested try having eggs /porridge for breakfast

lunch try and start eating some fruit, start of with a banana? I typically have curried beans and a tin of tuna for my lunch with milk and a banana. More often than not I fart the office out, but that is their problem not mine. They are always silent anyways.

faage yogurt at 11am

4pm I sometimes have nuts and something else

I never snack on chocolates, crisps, sweets, cans of coke etc.

Will definitely try get some eggs in in the morning. I have a strong dislike of banana's but will replace with an Apple, allergic to Fish so Tuna is out of the question but I might try what everyone is suggesting and bring in my own lunch pre made.

As for snacks I could prob survive with some grapes + a bar and/or crisps, the healthier the better but cutting out things like that completely would prob kill me:pac:

GuitarMusic wrote: »

Instead of aiming for 5 days er week training I'd probably exercise one day and rest the next day so you'd be training three or four times a week. You want to give your body a chance to recover and build strength in the muscles and new capillaries etc.

I was planning on doing mon tues on break wednesday thurs fri on and try do one of the days on the weekend. On/Off On/Off can get messy especially If you start missing days because this or that happened.

LuckyLloyd

Bob.Carcass wrote: »

Oh my, there are too many to list.

I gave the chin ups as an example earlier, press up's I'm sure will be a similar situation as my weight has greatly increased and my strength has decreased.

Sit ups aren't a problem, I can still throw out sets out 20/30 but I can feel the difference with the belly there.

Running, I'm gassed after 1 Minute when for example I used to play a 70 minute football match every Sunday and train twice per week.

Couch to 5k may be a great place to start running wise (maybe target a fun run of some sort in the next couple of months?);
For bodyweight movements practice plus weight loss will help those come up over time (maybe target max effort tests every six weeks?);
Strength and mobility work [squats / presses / deadlifts] will also help regarding body composition and feeling more of a functional human being;

What's the gym plan at the moment? How many sessions; what exercises; reps; etc;

Ken Shamrock

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

Couch to 5k may be a great place to start running wise (maybe target a fun run of some sort in the next couple of months?);
For bodyweight movements practice plus weight loss will help those come up over time (maybe target max effort tests every six weeks?);
Strength and mobility work [squats / presses / deadlifts] will also help regarding body composition and feeling more of a functional human being;

What's the gym plan at the moment? How many sessions; what exercises; reps; etc;

The plan is in the OP at the moment I'm doing nothing. Obviously I will work on building up reps and cardio. I was never one for presses,deadlifts etc. Certainly won't be splashing the cash on a bench or gym membership any time soon.

Couch to 5k looks decent actually, Thanks.

Nichololas

Bob.Carcass wrote: »

Well that was nice to read, you're right "broken" is a silly title, but tbh mate that's just how I feel. What did you do to get back in shape?

Edit: Never

Started doing my martial art again, and running a couple times a week. Only 25-30 minutes at a time, and took a while before I could do it without stopping for breaks, but that was a couple years ago now and while I don't run seriously I can run a 10k on command no sweat.

The big, big kicker for me was quitting smoking though. Two (really ****ty) weeks after quitting, my depression lifted, energy levels went through the roof and I had too much pep to sit still at a desk, so I started a weights programme in the gym to let the steam off.

And nutritionally speaking; for the first year or two of that I was eating oven pizza probably about 4 times a week. You won't turn everything around over night, it takes a while.

hardCopy

Life will be so much easier for you if you can expand your tastes. Think of your pallette as just another muscle to be trained, really any flavour or texture can become an acquired taste if you start small and gradually expose yourself to new flavours.

Baby steps will do it.

JJayoo

Do you really spend 4 hours on a bus each day? No wonder you aren't motivated

Ken Shamrock

JJayoo wrote: »

Do you really spend 4 hours on a bus each day? No wonder you aren't motivated

Haha yeah, I've to get two buses to and from work Mon-Fri, I guess the plan is too start cycling again and gradually work my way to the point where I could cycle to and from. I just don't want to be sitting in the office all day stinking of sweat

hardCopy

This stuff works http://www.amazon.co.uk/Muc-Off-Dry-Shower-200ml-without/dp/B009IUT4EQ

I wouldn't rely on it if I was going on a big date but it does the job if you can't get a shower in work.

sncork

just get over yourself and do it, two weeks in you will be grand