Overweight and gotta fix it

[TommyG]

My back injury was almost 6 years ago now. Broke my back and left elbow(smashed the elbow actually) after my senior year of high school in a pick up hockey game with some of the new seniors. Got checked rly hard, went over backwards(think folded in half backwards). That's when I gained alot of my weight, with having been laid up for 7 months then another 6 before I was 80%. In that time, my fiancee decided she didn't want an overweight has been hockey player, or something idk, so she bailed. That added to the stress and self pitty and weight gain.

i cut weight before by cutting all Pop/Soda out of my eating habits, quit drinking and smoking, and didn't eat as nearly much fast food. Mostly lean beef, chicken, with less starchy foods(is less bread and potatoes). I'm going to start with that again. Don't have to worry about smoking i quit that 4 years ago.

i have an endurance bike that while I'm watching TV or something at night I'll be on more. I wanna check out p90x as i have heard the same thing from people

You've got the right ideas. There is no magic to it, you have to burn more calories than you take in. Give your body good fuel and you will get good results.

[bp7178]

The older I get the more I find that losing weight is more about diet. Excercise is important, but its very easy to undo a good workout with a crappy meal.

Plain black coffee w/o cream and sugar is good to keep your energy up when you are feeling sluggish from a reduced calorie intake. A side benefit is it will reduce your appetite.

Notice I said plain black. Fancy coffees and gas station powder mix stuff is loaded with calories.

Drink plenty of water. No flavored stuff. Hidden sugar and even fake "sugar free" sweeteners will play havoc with your appetite.

I've been bringing a few peices of fruit with me to work instead of going out to lunch all the time. If you go to a gas station and want a snack, many sell bannanas and apples.

Don't get wrapped up in all the charts that say at X weight and X age, you will burn X calories, and think if you stay close to that number you'll lose weight. Instead of eating to feel full, eat to stop being hungry. You would be surprised how little this takes. Another "trick" if you will...before you sit down to eat, quickly drink a 12oz glass of water. It will suppress some of your appetite.

At first you'll be hungry and have food cravings all the time. These will quickly fade when your body gets adjusted to the new routine.

[Gun]

Jon, some simple things.

Get rid of all processed foods, including margarine.

Eat more in morning, less than that for lunch,
and less than that for dinner, almost as if you're
still hungry.

Kick start your day on the elliptical, which should start
causing your body to break down fats for fuel, which
is not an easy thing to do for some people.

Don't think about where you are at right now, but
where you want to be.

[nowayout]

First place to start is with exercise. Exercise makes you feel good and that is an important part of the process.

So making exercise something fun should be a priority.

If you enjoy walking the trails start there by making the walks longer and then more intensive.

Eventually getting on a bike to ride the trails which is really fun.

Everything will fall in place if your enjoying what your doing. Meaning your diet and eating habits.

Starting with the diet portion sucks mentally and really makes you hate it which eventually leads to failure.

Keep it simple and fun and try to get others involved but at the same time dont depend on others to make it enjoyable for you. Example: I like riding MtN bikes with my buddies but it is just as enjoyable to me solo. Depending on others usually leads to disappointment.

Good luck and keep your chin up.

[bulbvivid]

Good luck with your fitness goals. With your competitive drive, you should have no trouble setting goals and getting to them. Starting is certainly the hardest part.

P90x can be pretty brutal, especially if you're well out of shape. You can get the program and do as much as you can at a time, but it can be pretty discouraging. Though many have used it to get in shape, it's designed more for those who are already in shape and want to get to the next level. They have a fit test you can take to see how it will work for you.

Take a look at Power 90, the precursor to P90x. You can do Power 90 and then move on to P90x. The diet plans and support materials are handy to have as well, so it's worth it to buy the program as opposed to finding it on the Internet.

[chuckman]

Good on you for for reaching out. Time to take an axe to self-pity. You are not a loser; you got derailed a time or two. Happens to us all. You are starting off on the right track. Start walking, drink water, add exercies as your body will accept. Best us luck and include us on your successes.

[Treehopr]

Along with what others have posted, I agree with Hmac that losing weight is as much psychological as it is physical.

I have a friend who was able to lose 80 lbs in 2 years with nothing but exercise and dieting. The hard part is staying with it long enough to see the results, it can be discouraging to work your ass off for a week and then not see any immediate changes. Keep a log so that you can track progress even if you don't feel it or see it right away.

A few things to make it easier; tie in your dieting and workouts so that its a common goal rather than 2 separate things. Think about eating foods that support your workouts such as protein to build muscle or carbs for a long endurance workout.

I've got friends who are big in to Crossfit and some are big in to the Zone Diet while others go for Paleo, the type of diet doesn't matter as much as staying with it.

Having a Crossfit-type gym or belonging to a running or swimming club can also make your workouts part of your social life. It provides a supportive atmosphere and gives you a structured schedule to work out.

If you can make your workouts fun it will also make you want to workout as opposed to feeling like you're just doing a chore.

Since you're getting in to 3 gun and competition, have some experience with paintball and you have a farm, can you build a circuit where you move from one position to the next with a paintball gun and shoot pre-staged targets?

For example, if you can get a circuit with 10 stages with 10 or more targets (trees, painted rocks, old tires) you could time yourself running through and engaging targets at each stage.

Have different obstacles or barricades so that you can work on agility rather than just speed. Build stages so that its a challenge rather than just having something to shoot, e.g. 100 meter gap between stages so that you have to move a bit before shooting or set up a lane where you have to go uphill.

Have barricades that force you to change positions such as kneeling or prone (or switching between the two). Be creative and have your "workout" sync with your training for competition. Mix it up so that you don't get bored or invite friends over so that you'll be motivated to do it and improve. Competition can also make you work a little harder than you would if you were by yourself.

You're not necessarily training to shoot, you're training to get in to position quickly and efficiently to shoot. Try workouts that support this type of training such as short sprints, burpees or lunges.

Get on the elliptical if you're doing something like laundry rather than just sitting in front of a TV.

I'm a believer in kettlebells, it gives me a lot of options to workout and basic kettelbell swings can be a good cardio workout as well as strengthening core/leg muscles.

Another aspect that's often overlooked is longevity, recovery days are part of your training. Your heart is a muscle that needs rest just as your hamstrings or calves do. Injuring yourself won't make you want to workout.

Hope some of this helps, good luck and keep us updated on your progress.

[bp7178]

Depending on others usually leads to disappointment.

Boy, you ain't just whistiling dixie....

My last suggestion would be to use a tape measure in addition to a scale to track progress. It's encouraging to see lower number on the scale, really encouraging to measure a shrinking waistline.

[Armati]

Some basics:

Right now, today, remove sugar and white flour from your diet.

Eat less food. Yes, you may be a little hungry. Don't snack. If you use a 9" diner plate, switch to a 6" plate and don't pile it up. Only eat real food - either food you can eat raw or food that must be cooked to eat. No processed food. Learn what the Glycemic Index is and how to use it.

For exercise, first and foremost, it must be fun or you will not do it. Work on 'functional exercises' that mimic the movements of the sport you are training for. Since you are into 3Gun (great sport), work on some sprints. Check out "interval training" for runners. Set up some mock courses for yourself and practice running them. Practice getting up and down and negotiating barricades and obstacles. It shouldn't take much of this to get you pretty winded. For the first couple of weeks run your course every two days for one iteration. Every week after that run an additional iteration on your training days. Mix up your course and events. Never get use to one course or sequence of events. Even if you can't shoot during your physical training, try to run with your guns and gear. Really imagine you are running a 3Gun course.

[jwfuhrman]

Actually, I've been running a Shotgun/Pistol course almost every day. My shotgun was giving me fits, and since it was new, figured I just needed to shoot it. Soooooo, Ive been running 25rds thru it and 10rds thru pistol every day.

Been on the elliptical every day for 15min when i get home, and the endurance bike for roughly 15min every other day.

I don't eat much to begin with, not really a breakfast person, a glass of milk and a nutrigrain bar is what i normally eat. Lunch is the worst part of my diet, either fast food or greasy Mid Western diner food, and since I live next door to my parents, on the family far, I usually just eat with them, mom is pretty health conscious so she cooks good stuff. My problem is with my job, I sit on my ass all day, and during the winter when theres not much to do with the farm, I don't get out much either.