getting fit/losing weight?

[madbassplaya]

Well, i've never been the healthiest guy. I've always been a bigger guy and even if I did lose weight, i'm still built big, which I like. I like being a big guy, I just want to be a healthier big guy. Recently i've been wanting to get healthier and feel it would improve me as a musician/ bassist because I wouldn't get tired on stage so easily. I was doing good, but fell in a slump and kinda stopped...even gain weight back!

Last night at work, a friend of mine, a true friend who wants to see me get healthier gave me a challenge. He said, he didn't feel like I was serious about getting healthy and told me if you can lose 70 pounds in 4 months, I will give you $100 bucks out of my own pocket.

I start a new diet/exercise plan tomorrow, after I weigh in.

You guys probably don't care. But I would appreciate encouragement/stories of your own success at getting healthy!

[joegeezer]

Look up the Mayo Clinic's Cabbage soup diet. I lost almost that same amount in 3 months several years back on that diet.

[Auzzie-Phoenix]

Walk a combined total of 13 mi. / day (this counts all walking in shops, around town, at parks, etc... not hard to do). Couple that with a hybrid between pilates situps and calesthetics for firming the midsection. Pushups and pull ups will increase upper body strength.

When you hit a plateau, change your routine from walking to bicycling and squats, or dancing. Couple all exercise with a moderate portion diet with a good nutritional variety to keep your vitamin and mineral levels balanced and replenished. You should start seeing some results within 3 weeks. As an added idea, if you want to increase your stamina, try running. Doing so will increase stamina, and overall circulatory health.

Just remember that if you start feeling pain, that's your body's hint to take it easy. You shouldn't risk injuring yourself.

[L-A]

Sounds like you're in for a lot of cardio and water. Too much muscle training will give you more toning, but less weight loss. Too little of it will however negate cardio training, as you will slowly burn through your muscle mass and store more of your food as fat.

Find a nice balance point, and forget every reason you have not to train today

[hbarcat]

Originally Posted by madbassplaya

He said, he didn't feel like I was serious about getting healthy and told me if you can lose 70 pounds in 4 months, I will give you $100 bucks out of my own pocket.

I start a new diet/exercise plan tomorrow, after I weigh in.

You guys probably don't care. But I would appreciate encouragement/stories of your own success at getting healthy!

I care enough about your health to tell you to NOT lose 70 lbs in 4 months. THERE IS NO HEALTHY WAY TO DO THIS.

Realistically, the most you can safely lose through a sensible yet aggressive diet and exercise program is 20 lbs in the first month and perhaps 10 lbs per month after that with ever decreasing losses as your weight goes down. If you are losing more weight than that then you are forcing your body to go into starvation mode and this is inherently unhealthy.

Do yourself a real favor and commit to a lifestyle change with regular, moderate exercise and a sensible diet and you will be amazed at how much better you feel and how much more energy you'll have as you get healthier.

Ask you friend if he will give you the $100 in 8 months if you agree to weigh yourself every month and meet the targeted goal every time.


From the total 70 lbs weight loss goal:

1st month - 20 lbs
2nd month - 10 lbs
3rd month - 10 lbs
4th month - 10 lbs
5th month - 5 lbs
6th month - 5 lbs
7th month - 5 lbs
6th month - 5 lbs

Plan out a good exercise program that is a heavy on cardio and go over your diet so you are taking in fewer but more nutritionally balanced calories. Commit yourself to sticking with both and you can easily achieve the 70 lb weight loss goal above without hurting yourself or making yourself sick. And when you've achieved that, you will be in the habit of doing regular exercise and eating healthy and you won't gain the weight back.

[7StringBassist]

Originally Posted by hbarcat

I care enough about your health to tell you to NOT lose 70 lbs in 4 months. THERE IS NO HEALTHY WAY TO DO THIS.

Realistically, the most you can safely lose through a sensible yet aggressive diet and exercise program is 20 lbs in the first month and perhaps 10 lbs per month after that with ever decreasing losses as your weight goes down. If you are losing more weight than that then you are forcing your body to go into starvation mode and this is inherently unhealthy.

Do yourself a real favor and commit to a lifestyle change with regular, moderate exercise and a sensible diet and you will be amazed at how much better you feel and how much more energy you'll have as you get healthier.

Ask you friend if he will give you the $100 in 8 months if you agree to weigh yourself every month and meet the targeted goal every time.


From the total 70 lbs weight loss goal:

1st month - 20 lbs
2nd month - 10 lbs
3rd month - 10 lbs
4th month - 10 lbs
5th month - 5 lbs
6th month - 5 lbs
7th month - 5 lbs
6th month - 5 lbs

agreed there, if you lose weight to rapid you'll gain it back just as fast

[i_got_a_mohawk]

70lbs in 4 months is a lot, ive lost a lot of weight in the past, but never that much that quickly.

And I think weight training should def. be in there. Yeah, sure, you will have a bit of gain in muscle mass. Which isnt loosing weight, but it is being healthy.

Have a read through some of the gym threads for good tips

[7StringBassist]

TRUST ME GAIN MUSCLE

why, because that will help you tone up loose skin
Also it helps burn fat faster

[TOOL460002]

Originally Posted by L-A

Sounds like you're in for a lot of cardio and water.

+1 for water or biking cardio.

if youre a bigger fellow, id be worried about the impact on your knees, and hips running on a treadmill, or outside, or whatever. heck, one of my hips still will click if i move it wrong, and that was only from a year or so of running 2+ miles a day on concrete, and that was when i was in the best shape of my life, as far as body fat goes.

[madbassplaya]

thanks for all of your input guys!

yea, 70 is a lot. i have a friend that is a dietician that has given me very similar advice to what is above. I AM going to do this the right way by making a lifestyle change in what i eat/drink and incorporating exercise, including daily cardio and weightlifting.

if i don't hit the 70 spot in 4 months, oh well. i do want to prove this guy wrong though. he doesn't think i'll do anything.