Wanting to lose 40 lbs, need help getting started.

[rethug]

Hello! I'm 31 years old, 5'10 and 220-225 lbs (depending on the day). I would first like to get down to 180 lbs and go from there.

I just decided today that I'm sick of being disgusted with my own appearance and I'm sick of being unhealthy.

I am going to finish paying off a big debt next month and am going to use some of that extra money to get a gym membership and hopefully begin a new chapter in my life. I will be planning/preparing for this in the coming weeks with some help from this forum, some reading and some determination.

Due to work, I can only get two weekday sessions in (Tuesdays and Thursdays) and a day (perhaps 2?) on the weekend.

What help do I need? Basics of nutrition and meal planning. How many calories should I be taking in? How much protein/carb/fat? I will be hitting the gym first thing in the morning... around 5am. Do I eat first then go? Do I lift or do cardio? Or both? Does that affect whether I eat first or not?

I have a tonne of questions. I'm inquisitive and I will be reading through the site over the next couple weeks trying to get a handle on these things. Any help, suggestions, tips, etc. are all appreciated.

One note, time is limited. I have an hour and a half commute so my days start early and end late with only a few hours in the evening of down time. That is why I'm planning on the early early morning workouts.

This looks like a great place to be and I'm happy to be here. I hope this is the start of great new things.

Thanks!

 

[DOMS]

I like your mindset. You're looking for answers and solutions.

I started out almost exactly like you. I'm 5'10" and, back when I started, weighed 228 pounds with little muscle. I changed my eating habits and dropped down to 199 pounds. Then I started to workout. I went back up to 225 pounds, but now I had a lot more muscle than I did before.

I recently did a type of workout that help me shed 15 pounds in a little less than 2 months. I also took a big hit in my max numbers.

Now I weight about 209 pounds with more muscle than I've had in a long time.

There's a lot of good info in the stickies at the top of the Diet & Nutrition forums, but I'll tell you the simple things that I did to loose my initial 30 pounds.

• Eat portions. For me, a portion was about the size of my fist.
• I stopped eating certain foods.
  • Regular soda. If you drink a lot of soda like I do, this will help you lose weight faster than anything else.
  • Candy bars from the market (I still purchased the high quality stuff)
  • Ice cream
• I said no to other junk food one out of three times. That doesn't sound like much, but you'd be surprised how many calories this helps you avoid.
• When I ate out, I ordered a to-go box with my meal. When the meal arrived I put half of it in the box for another meal.

It basically comes down to self control. If you can do more, and faster, than I could, go for it.

I really need to point out that I floundered for quite some time before I could do all of these thing with regularity. Even now, I still don't eat as healthy as I should, but I'm not giving up. And hopefully, you won't either.

Welcome to IM, man!

 

[b.spencer]

Welcome to IM.

There are a lot of good people here who have been through weight loss and tons of info, as I am finding out. There's a lot of good advise (DOMS gave some great points), but the biggest battle to me is mental. You'll be able to build a plan that works with your life really quickly. Mine is really strict, others are not. Whatever it needs to be, stick with it. Be consistent, day in and day out (Everybody drops the ball occasionally, that's life.) Remember it's months and years that count in this game of permanent weight loss, not hours or weeks.

You'll make your goals and then some. Best of Luck.

 

[rethug]

Thanks for the tips DOMS. I, too, love the chocolate bars (and other food I should and will be parting ways with) and I drink way too much pop. That started in college. That (along with a lot of beer, Taco Bell, pizza, wings and other college eating horrors) brought me up to about 200 lbs.

Then a couple of years ago I tried quitting smoking. I replaced smoking with more pop. And the quit failed. End result: I was still a smoker and had an even bigger pop habit (addiction) -- it was this time that I switched to diet or I'd be 300 lbs by now. I maintained 200 lbs during all of this... until January of this year.

I quit smoking in January. And I've stayed quit -- almost 8.5 months. As a result, I packed on another 20-25 lbs and here I am.

B.Spencer, you are amazing man. What an incredible transformation you've gone through. That is inspirational.

Thanks to both of you for the replies and encouragement.

 

[IRONBULL05]

Welcome to Ironmag brotha.

Stick round and read up.All your questions will be answered.

As you said,you have a ton of questions,so it would be impossible to answer them all now.

Just learn your way around the board and read up what others have posted and then ask questions for specific questions you have regarding what you have read.

Takes time bro.Stick in there and you'll get to where you want to be.

 

[Arnold]

rethug welcome to IM!

 

[the other half]

welcome rethug, you are picking a great time to get the ball rolling, you have a great time in your life ahead of you. i love the 30's. good luck, and remember it wont all be easy, but on the bad days, thats when u come here for the reassurance. lets have fun