Finally with the new year, I'm ready to start my goal, sadly no pictures yet, but I'll take some soon enough, because I will love to compare them down the road. I just recently turned 18, 255lb, and 5'11. I've been this weight for almost all of highschool, and I know it will be easier to change it while I'm as young as I am. I've read the Food and Diet FAQ in this forum, and will be working out the math parts of my diet soon.

My goals are to go down to about a 32-34 waist this year, and hopfully shape up, and have the endurance to start martial arts within 6 months, and if I'm lucky, a nice Varsity track run in March. Also to make my girlfriend extra happy :D

Exercise is hard at first, I'm not sure how I should just warm up into it, or very sure what to do. All I know is running is great, but not too much about distance and speed, or what really else is great for this. I'm also hoping suppliments are not vital, and that foods may work out just fine, but I can understand otherwise.

So questions I really want to understand is,


Running Basics
Other exercises that target weight loss.
Some diet ideas, and good drinks for diet.
I live in Oregon, USA, and here in the Northwest, its very very damn cold. What is proper outside attire for working out.
Will the pains/sickness I get when running go away?
I have some leg weights, a 5lb pair, should I use them?
Is white rice "refined", and not good?


And many others, but this will do for now. My main goal is weight loss, I am looking forward to more of a fit look, but I have something else to take care of before that.

Thanks everyone for their time, I'm ready to work on this fully, and get this problem off for good.

Hi and Welcome! From another fellow Oregonian (Eugene). Yes, white rice is highly refined and the only time you ever want to eat that stuff is if it is your cheat day/cheat meal or the meal after you workout. Stick to brown rice. The best drink you can consume while getting fit is WATER. Lot of it. Aim for a gallon of it a day. You will be heading to the bathroom quite a bit in the beginning, but your body will get used to it eventually.
Any exercise that elevates your heart rate for an extended period of time and that keeps you excited and motivated, is the best exercise for you. I tend to get bored easily, so I do a lot of things. Kickboxing once a week, boxing with a trainer once a week, I run, jump rope, use the stairmaster and the elliptical trainer.
If you can access some weights, use them. That will speed up the weight loss process.

I highly recommend the "Body For Life" book by Bill PHillips when you are just starting out. It is a good basic beginner program that lends itself towards good results.

What kind of sickness are you talking about while working out? Overall, if you exercise and eat well, yes you will start to feel a lot better.

HTH :gl:

There is two ways I feel sick. One is just a urge to throw up after extended running, the other is when I'm exercising, I get home, and have a cold instantly. I've gotten this before, and it was after periods of generally being unactive. Right now I'm sick from a run last night.

Also, something I forgot to ask in my first post, I'm not sure if I should run until I simply can barely stand up, or just a nice distance.

Finally with the new year, I'm ready to start my goal, sadly no pictures yet, but I'll take some soon enough, because I will love to compare them down the road. I just recently turned 18, 255lb, and 5'11. I've been this weight for almost all of highschool, and I know it will be easier to change it while I'm as young as I am. I've read the Food and Diet FAQ in this forum, and will be working out the math parts of my diet soon.

My goals are to go down to about a 32-34 waist this year, and hopfully shape up, and have the endurance to start martial arts within 6 months, and if I'm lucky, a nice Varsity track run in March. Also to make my girlfriend extra happy :D

Exercise is hard at first, I'm not sure how I should just warm up into it, or very sure what to do. All I know is running is great, but not too much about distance and speed, or what really else is great for this. I'm also hoping suppliments are not vital, and that foods may work out just fine, but I can understand otherwise.

So questions I really want to understand is,


Running Basics
Other exercises that target weight loss.
Some diet ideas, and good drinks for diet.
I live in Oregon, USA, and here in the Northwest, its very very damn cold. What is proper outside attire for working out.
Will the pains/sickness I get when running go away?
I have some leg weights, a 5lb pair, should I use them?
Is white rice "refined", and not good?


And many others, but this will do for now. My main goal is weight loss, I am looking forward to more of a fit look, but I have something else to take care of before that.

Thanks everyone for their time, I'm ready to work on this fully, and get this problem off for good.

hey man, i'm new here, but i'll try to help -

running - you might want to start with a just walking or something, or a recumbant bike or elliptical machine. if you're feeling really sick or anything, or your legs get tired really quickly, you might want to start at a lower resistance than bodyweight... machines are good for that, as you can work yourself up to running "shape". starting with running might be hard on your joints (if you don't have leg muscles to support body weight yet) and might be too intense to handle for more than a few minutes at a time (if you don't have cardio yet).

other exercises for weight loss - weight training... i'd probably start with something like a full body workout once or twice a week. nothing too intense to start (until you get comfortable with the weights). after a few weeks of that, try to get a split going so you can really begin building some muscle. two major benefits - your new muscle will burn a lot of fat and when you do get rid of the fat, you won't look sickly underneath.

i don't know much about diet. just try to eat healthy. lots of people probably gonna have you counting calories and whatever, which is probably a really good idea, but i was never good at that. a good start would be to neg the sodas/ice cream/chips/etc. it's easier than it sounds - after a few weeks you'll honestly be nauseated by the thought of eating that crap in large quantity!

other stuff... i'd just wear a windsuit or something... if it's really really cold, just go to the gym i guess. um, white rice i guess is OK, some people will disagree. just remember everything in moderation. i don't think you're trying to be a fitness model anytime soon, so don't worry about the little stuff like "is white worse than brown rice" or whatever, just cut out the obvious crap foods. lastly, i wouldn't use leg weights, they can hurt your joints and you can get progressive resistance cardio from better places like bikes/ellipticals/etc. ok hoep this helps!

Thanks alot to to you guys!
Any more imput from anyone will be great!

They pretty much covered it all I'd say :)
As you spend more time on the forums, you'll learn to fine tune your program. For now the basics will get you a long way!
Read the stickies for more info, and GL GL GL

:gl:

Welcome to JSF. Glad you're here. You have some good advice already posted, let me add a little bit. If you are throwing up after a cardio session, you're working too hard, and not enough smart.

For fat loss, you want to sustain an excercise that has you about about 65-75% of your maximum heart rate. You MHR should be about 220-[your age], which works out to be about 200 (round number). So, you want your heart rate to be between 130 and 150 while you excercise -- for about 40 minutes. Might need to start at 20 minutes, 25, 30, 35, then 40. Whatever.

When I run, I take a stopwatch. Every 10 minutes I stop and walk for a few seconds, for 6 seconds I take my pulse. Usually my heart beats about 14 times during that 6 seconds. If you multiply that by 10 you get 140, which is my heart rate. I only stop running long enough to take my pulse. As others have said, you might just need to walk to get your heart rate in that zone, or any other activity. That's the fat burnign zone, that's where you want to be. Also, it's most helpful if you do it on an empty stomach -- first thing in the morning, or just before dinner (after 5 or 6 hours of no carbs).

You're stepping in the right direction. Soon, you'll be feeling good, you'll have more energy during your day, and you'll enjoy life so much more. Keep us posted on your progress, and struggles, we're here to help each other.