im a 23 year old male who weighs about 300 pounds, ive always been bigger but lately my pant size has grown from a 38 to a 42 in a matter of months so it was time for a change, ive enroled in a gym and am trying to eat as healthy as i can(i.e) packing my lunch and trying to eat out healthy at night( i worka all day and night so i have no choice ,ive searched through the forums and found alot of interesting stuff heres a run down of what ive got going on tll me if i should change anything
(((((EXERCISE)))))
7:00 am - cardio, treadmill at 3.6 weight loss setting for 39 minutes(6 days a week
7:30 am - weights, basic weight machines set up for me b my gym , makor muscles arms ,legs,etc(6 days a week)
8:00 am swim about 30 minutes just see how many laps i can do, (3 days a week)
EATING))))))

9:00 one serving of honey bunches of oats
10:30, a handful of grapes
1:30 a tuna sandwich made with miracle whip on whole grain bread
3:00, an apple
430-5.00, a tofurkey sandwich on whole grain bread
6:00 one serving of triscuits(low fat) 7
830-9.00, dinner, usually apiece of fish , salmon or tuna, steamed veggies and black beans(normally get htis from chillis gultless menu)

i added up my figures today to giive an idea
CALORIES -1488
FAT-28
CARBS-201
Protien-69

please let me know if im headed completly wrong or if i should cut out anything...i keep looking in the mirror and of course im still fat, but its only been about a weekk....i just have these thought im doing it all wrong....thanks in advance...

come on people gimme some help

*sigh*

First, read this thread (http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=1222)...

This thread will help you properly estimate your calories as well as teach you a few of the finer points of nutrition. 1,500 calories of absurdly low for a 300-lb. male. To contrast, I eat about 1,800 calories a day, weighed in at 140.0-lbs. this morning, and I can lose body fat on those calories. You'll lose more than just body fat - you'll lose lean mass (i.e., muscle!). This is bad and you should seek to prevent this at all costs. You'll also eventually run into problems losing weight at that low of a caloric intake. Your body will begin to hold on to your body fat perceiving a famine (i.e., the all-too-oft mentioned "starvation mode").

Yes, eating more is counterintuitive to weight loss (I'm so tired of typing that statement...). However, this is a tried-and-true method of approaching weight loss. Remember that as you lose weight, you must constantly rethink your caloric intake. At least every couple of weeks, as you're losing weight, readjust your calories (as you lose, you'll need to decrease calories slowly) so that you maintain forward progress.

Skip the swimming. While it is very low impact on the joints, it's not going to do much as a cardio activity. It might be good for sloughing off a few extra calories, but that's it. If you stick to the cardio and weight regimen you posted religiously, you'll do just fine at weight loss.

Get your protein intake up. You'll need roughly equal parts carbs and protein, and keep fats of the more desirable type (Omega 3/6/9, flax) and minimized accordingly. Do some research in these forums about macronutrient ratios. Please use the effing search function! After you've done some research, ask your questions. We're happy to answer.

Finally, realize that it took you years to do this to yourself. The transformations you see in magazines and on TV are either exceptionally outstanding individuals or they're out-and-out lies and deceptions to sell products. You spent years getting fat... realize it'll take you some time to lose your weight. Never lose weight faster than 1.5~2-lbs. per week or you risk looking like a roadmap from stretchmarked skin.

Stick to it and you'll do fine. Everyone can do it.

-R

thanks for the reply, i did search quite a bit and after reading for 3 days straight and seeing different info , i thought id just get a personable reply...i appreciate your time

Hello youfailme, welcome to the forum,

I agree with Bluestreak that you shouldn't try to go too drastic in your calories. You will definitely feel hungry on the menu you have written up.

First specifics:

Drop the honey bunches of oats, miracle whip and triscuits. Don't buy your cereal in the regular cereal aisle at the grocery store, it is all a bunch of sugar loaded crap. Go to the other ceral aisle that most stores have in something usually called the Harvest or organic section and get some kashi cereal or anything where the sugar is fairly low. I get Cinna-raisen crunch.

The triscuits meal comes at a time when it would be great to give your self something that will fill up your body, some protien or whole grain carbs would go nicely here. Maybe a load of vegetables. The triscuits will probably just make you hungry immediately after eating it.

Miracle whip, did some searching around. Apparently there are light and fat free kinds. Unless you are using the fat free one, get rid of it. Even the light had too many fat calories. Anything mayonaise really has no place in a fat loss plan. All bad fat calories.

Some things that would be great to see in your daily plan. Some chicken breasts, turkey, eggs, protein powder, so basically more protein.

It is not ideal to do cardio immediately before weights. You deplete your body of fuel before working the muscles. But this probably won't matter at first.

I have a lot more tips written up in the fat loss guide in my signature, it you want to read more on what I have to say.

Goodluck.

Alright, I agree with Bluestreak that you should be eating more. You're working out too much, too... try lifting 3x per week on non-consecutive days. You can do your cardio whenever, though.

Your food choices are not ideal, but I bet they are way better choices than you're used to making. The hardest things for people initially are:
1) to give up sugary food like soda and candy
2) to give up snacks like chips and cheetos
3) to eat more often during the day
4) to reduce portions to an amount that will satisfy your nutritional needs yet not leave you stuffed

You've done all of those things in your plan and my advice would be to spend some time with those changes and get used to them. Give yourself a cheat once or twice a week, but otherwise try to live within those constraints. It's hard when you're first starting and a lot of people get discouraged when faced with the challenge of doing those few things and hear, "hey your diet's not perfect." Don't worry about perfection right now, just try to follow those 4 points to your best ability. What you'll find is that in a few weeks, it will get much easier. In a few months, it will start to feel like second nature. Once that happens, you'll most likely look to improve your diet and refine it more... step it up to the next level. That's when you'll want to look into the finer tweaks like Bluestreak and GravityHomer are tlaking about. They gave excellent suggestions, I just think you might benefit from taking on changes at a slower pace. You've made the decision to do this, you have the rest of your life to follow through.

Best of luck! :tucool:

Anything mayonaise really has no place in a fat loss plan. All bad fat calories.
That's not true is it? Mayonnaise is made from oil and eggs... good fats. On calorieking.com, it says that regular full-on mayonnaise has 10g fat per tablespoon with 1.5g saturated fat. That's not bad.

What I would do is alot like what everybody else said. Eat more food, more often and eat better stuff. For cereal try Kashi Crunch or Optimum Soy Power. Try and avoid all trans fats and processed foods. Eat more periodically during the day, eat after lifts. I wouldnt lift every day. I would try 3-4 times a week, with each day being devoted to a particular muscle group. LIke chest day, back day, leg day etc. I would get a small coil book and track your food, lifts and body fat and body weights, to get a handle on your progress over time. Drink 4litres of water a day. For calories I would look at a start point of maybe 2800 per day and see how it goes. IF you starve yourself and work out alot you will run out of steam and quit. Its better to have a plan and work to it over the long haul. YOull do better and it will be easier. BTW swimming can be a good cardio workout if your heatrate is high enough and you continue it for sustained periods. Its also beneficial form of cardio for those who are really overwieght or out of shape as it places very low stress on already over stressed joints. ON the triscuits, save eating them and just flush them directly down the shitter..thats all they are good for. Avoid high sodium foods! THey will make you retain water and appear to impede your results.

I am a believer in low calories, but I still feel that you should keep yours at 2200-2400 for most part. Also you need to make sure those are clean calories, no junk.

Try not to eat out, if you can't cook, I suggest frozen dinners at least the calories and porportions are right.

Now the next thing, you need a good weight training program! I suggest you find one that is spelled out in detail, with information you can refer to and read. HIT, Max-OT, Body for life, and HST have been used by members. Very important to maintain or gain muscle.

Swimming isn't the best of cardio, if you want to do cardio, try walking. Remember take stairs rather than elevator where you can. Park away from stores. Walk in place during TV commericals. Stay active-move.

Skip the swimming. While it is very low impact on the joints, it's not going to do much as a cardio activity. It might be good for sloughing off a few extra calories, but that's it. If you stick to the cardio and weight regimen you posted religiously, you'll do just fine at weight loss.

If done right swimming can be a very effective form of cardio. I swim for my cardio, it's the only type of cardio I do. I weight train as well as eat clean and you can see my stats below. Swimming works. I've managed to get a nice little 6-pack since I was forced by a back injury to swim instead of ruinning. Most of it is from eating clean, but to say "Skip the swimming" is ridiculas.

On another note, get those calories up. You will be very lucky to make it through the day with that low amount. I know you're in a hurry, but remember that you didn't become 300LBS overnight so you will not lose it overnight either.

:gl:

but to say "Skip the swimming" is ridiculas.

Well that is my opinion, and I didn't think it was ridiculous. It was based on articles and books that say the same thing, backed up with dozens of reasons. I have a pool and swim often. It is good recreation and can burn some calories. The choice is always up to the individual.

He will get varying opinions when he says "please let me know if im headed completely wrong or if i should cut out anything". Now he has yours.

thanks for the comments guys....

im eating those few calories in a day but im full all day it seems like i dont get it....

i dont really know what to eat i dont eat any meat whatsoever other than fish so its hard for me to keep the protien count up , and a work from 10 am to 10pm so all meals are basically at work,
so i guess my next questions would be

what should i eat?(other than whats been suggested)
what fruits are good( i ask this b/c i hear grapes are too high in sugar , and bananas too high in carbs)

ill do away with the things mentioned and try to replace them with new items, i dont really understand i guess....if im burning off say 600 calories during my workout and im consuming about 1500 a day how is that bad...i do barely any moving all day other than taking 5 steps from one room to another.....

im not expecting to lose any weight over night, i just more want to make sure im on the right track...

also if i cant use miracle whip or mayo what the heck do i mix with my tuna??

also if i cant use miracle whip or mayo what the heck do i mix with my tuna??
I eat my tuna plain. Sometimes I'll put a little mustard on it.

You're not a meat person, huh? Edamame beans have nearly as much protein as carbs. I really like them. You could also eat meatless sausage patties, all protein. I get the morningstar ones. They're really tastey. And can be microwaved really quickly.

i dont really understand i guess....if im burning off say 600 calories during my workout and im consuming about 1500 a day how is that bad...
Well, it's really pretty simple. 1500 - 600 = 900 calories. 900 calories! Your 300 pound body is trying to survive on 900 calories a day. Did I mention that was only 900 calories? Contestants on Survivor eat more than that. Let's check back on Bluestreaks post...
First, read this thread (http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=1222)...Please do that before going any further.

----

also if i cant use miracle whip or mayo what the heck do i mix with my tuna??I use lemon juice, but I also wrote this in my post...
Mayonnaise is made from oil and eggs... good fats. On calorieking.com, it says that regular full-on mayonnaise has 10g fat per tablespoon with 1.5g saturated fat. That's not bad.

okay not to throw another barrel in the way , we dont have a microwave or a fridge at my work....so, im stuck ..i actually love edemame(spelling) but should i go to an asian resturaunt to get it?(im always worried they put stuff on my food i dont know about) i appreciate the help...i just dont know what to eat...im really wanting to go to the grocery store now , but i dont know what ot get

Grocery list
Any fruit
Any vegetable
Whole wheat bread
Quaker oats
Fish filets (I know you only eat fish)
Shrimp? Other seafood?
Cottage cheese
Milk
Plain, fat free yogurt (not vanilla... plain)
Smuckers nautral peanut butter
Nuts (almonds or walnuts are excellent)

Now go to www.calorieking.com or www.fitday.com to get the nutritional info and serving sizes for those foods you buy and lay out a menu for yourself. Don't get too picky, just use common sense and judge what's healthy and what's not.

I eat my tuna plain. Sometimes I'll put a little mustard on it.
Eww...

thanks for the comments guys....

im eating those few calories in a day but im full all day it seems like i dont get it....

i dont really know what to eat i dont eat any meat whatsoever other than fish so its hard for me to keep the protien count up , and a work from 10 am to 10pm so all meals are basically at work,
so i guess my next questions would be

what should i eat?(other than whats been suggested)
what fruits are good( i ask this b/c i hear grapes are too high in sugar , and bananas too high in carbs)


I am vegetarian, but get ample protein eating egg whites, cottage cheese, and legumes (lentils, black and kidney beans). I also eat a moderate amount of soy products and supplement with protein powder if I need to increase protein intake. Good luck! :db:

Eww...
Hey, i thought it was weird before I tried it, but...

Eww...

Well, stone-ground might be a better idea, a bit more 'tang' to it than classic yellow. I'm presuming we're not talkin French's here. :)

thaks everyone for there help especially slush puppy for the late night chat, i went to the grocery store last night and got some things redid my menu and am taking everyones advice....im gonna post this up and you guys can let me know if i should tweak something

Exercise
cardio ,3.6, for 40 minutes(6 days a week)
weights,overall body workout(3 days a week)

food plan

9:00am puffed kashi,soymilk and half of a banana

12:00 am , one serving of hummus and celery sticks

2:00 am , tuna sandwich with swiss,tomato ,sprouts on whole wheat bread(made with lemon juice)
small spincah nad mushroom sald with poppy seed dressing,
handful of grapes

4:00 Tofurky sandwich(6 pieces of turkey for added protien) with swiss, tomato, and sprouts
2 tablespoons of sliced almonds

6:00: tuna sandwich(same as before), and maybe an apple or pear

8:00, 8 oz salmon, steamed veggies and black beans

the totals are still not quite where they should be but here what i came up with

calories:2314
fat:55
carbs:246
protien:181

so i appreciate the help im gonna try this out and please let me know if you have any more opinions help etc...

thanks guys off to work

You could also throw in some nuts and some tablespoons of natural peanut butter to easily get that up to 2800-3000 if you wanted to.

Looks awesome. My mouth is watering just reading your menu.

Well, stone-ground might be a better idea, a bit more 'tang' to it than classic yellow. I'm presuming we're not talkin French's here. :)
of course not, I use Gulden's brown and spicy

okay i almost ate all that today, i 86ed the huumus and put in peanut butter, and i didnt get around to meal 6 becuase well i was freaking stuffed....seriously no way i could have eaten...i had some epemamme at about 9:00 but thats it...am i supposed to feel this full all day...for some reason i feel like im gonna be gaining some weight...

everyone i work withthinks im retarded...there all on low carb diets and i keep looking in the mirror at my man boobs getting frustrated, obviously the weight isnt going to just fall of i just never thought losing weight reqired this much eating

everyone i work withthinks im retarded...there all on low carb diets and i keep looking in the mirror at my man boobs getting frustrated, obviously the weight isnt going to just fall of i just never thought losing weight reqired this much eating
Most people on atkins don't exercies. They may lose weight fast, but they usually feel like hell while doing it and then look like hell when they're done. What you're doing is losing weight in a controlled way, and when the results start happening, you'll look and feel a lot better than those other folks who think you're doing it all wrong now. Good luck! :tucool:

i didnt get around to meal 6 becuase well i was freaking stuffed....i just never thought losing weight reqired this much eating

that's one of the first things i learned when i started researching healthy nutrition. i wasn't eating often enough, and i wasn't eating anywhere near enough protein. no wonder my body felt so unhealthy.

if you have trouble eating all of your meals, cut back the quantity until you can finish 6 meals a day. this is to convince your body to keep your metabolism up and not store calories as fat. before long you will find that you are still eating all the time and when its time for your next meal you will be ready to eat :eat:

keep up your exercise and eat properly and you will notice your efforts paying off soon enough.

good luck

man i cant believe this.....how come mor epeople dont lose weight??...seems like its a fat persons dream,, just eat...im gonna take some photos soon and start really tacking, i picked up a notebook today to track all my caloric intake

i have one more question for now the bread im eating is : cobblestone mill 100 percent whole grain sugar free..........thats good right....

i gotta stop listening to these atkin weirdos i work with

Keep your head up, you'll be amazed at the results you get. When I first started eating cleanly along with lifting/cardio I too thought I was eating too much. I didn't keep up with my intake and burned myself out very quickly, don't let that be your downfall. Within a month or two, you'll see some very prominent changes to your physique.

BTW, that bread sounds like it's pretty good. I wonder if you could list the rest of the stats for it?

Good luck!

thanks for all the encouragment guys

the bread breaks down like this
calories 90
sat fat 0.5
trans 0
poly 0.5
mono 0
cholest 0
sodium 190
carbs19
dietary fiber 3
sugar 0
protien 5

ingredients : stoneground whole wheat flour, water maltitol, wheat gluten yeast

Your diet is low fat with balanced carbs and protein. It will win out in the long run over low carb which throws away the carbs for as much fat as they want.

well i replanned my meal today and tried to make some smaller portions, added some peanut butter, and some more almonds......took out a sandwich and put in 2 morning star farm sausage patties,

i guess im hitting this mental block of needing all the calories, protien,fat that i have packed in my lunch bag, but not being hungry enough to finish it all....

but i can say today during my cardio i decided to speed it up a lil and run for 30% of it at 4.6 and it felt awesome.....

give me some info to come home to guys....

thanks

Sounds like you are doing great. Now comes patience. You need to keep stringing together healthy days and the fat will come off. 2 lbs/week is good. Doesn't sound like much but 8 pounds in a month, 24 after 3 months, those numbers sound better. You may lose quicker in the beginning since you are just starting.

Two things to keep in mind right now:
1) don't give up. You will have setbacks. Just keep going at a steady pace.
2) Do not over exert yourself too much in the beginning. It is okay to go slow in the beginning. You don't want all the motivation you have right now to get taken away by an injury.

Keep these two points in mind.

well today was good i tried to stay on schedule as much as possible heres a quick rundown

10:00 i cup kashi with strawberries,banana, and soy milk

12:30,tuna sandwich on whole wheat, with swiss,sprouts,pickle,mustard,
spinach side sald with poppy seed dressing, handful of grapes

2:30 celery sticks and 2 tablespoons of smuckers natural pb

4:30, Tofurkey sandwich,on whole wheat ,swiss,sprouts,pickle,mustard handful of sliced almonds

6:30 2 morning star farms sausage patties, edamame

9:00 8oz grilled salmon, 2 morning star farms sausage patties hand full of almonds

i drank 98 fl oz of water today as well

bringing my today totals up to
Calories/Fat/carbs/protien
2335 / 99/ 171/ 202


i pretty much would eat today and be full not overly stuffed just satisfied, but when those two hours passed i was ready to eat for sure, i wish there was some light built on me that told me if my metabolism was speeding up...must be if im hungry...thanks everyone for help...as always comments are wanted and appreciated

ive got a few things im confused about, i tried servhing, but i usually get sidetracked and end up reading about all kinds of stuff, but here they go i guess answer if you feel like it

where is my heart rate supposed to be?, i looked it up on the age subtraction thing...it seems fairly vague?

on cardio ive done a two minute warm up , then run at 5.2 for 4 minutes, then walk at 3.6 and so on and so on until the end of the program...is that ok?

last night i had an appointment that i knew was going to carry over so i decide to grab dinner before i had to tattoo for 5 hours and i went to outback and got the grilled tuna with steamed veggies...(i looked this up on there site and it says cooked with no butter just grilled and it was healthy, although no utrition info was provided) so i ate it...and it made me feel horrible...i dont know why it tasted awesome...but almost too good to be clean for you....any suggestions on eating out becuase most nights i will have too

whey protien...best flavor?...and where should i get it ..locally

i think thats it....help me out guys...i know you will

oh one more thing...
is weight training on machines ok??.....ive read alot of conclicting info...if not what should i be doing...seems like everyones work out is different , but just a general idea, maybe a website showing me how to do the exersices

Ultimately free weights are better: they force you to control and stabilize while you lift. But if you haven't lifted before (or haven't lifted in a long time) starting on the machines is fine. Ultimately, starting on resistance training is one of the best moves you can make for yourself.

Full credit to you for starting by doing something, and then learning as you go along. That's a huge thing. You have the right attitude (inquisitive and open to learning how to do this better). The real wild card for you will be patience and determination. Know that this forum is a great place to vent and get encouragement and advice.

Know that you will run into some plateaus and times that you don't see progress. Know that you will mess up from time to time. Know that others won't understand why you are doing it your way (i.e. frequent eating and non-Atkins seems to confuse your co-workers). Know that it's not complex, but it can be damn hard sometimes.

But also know that successes will greet you at times when you least expect it. That you are doing something that will benefit you for the rest of your life. And that with the right attitude you will succeed and others will look to you for support in the future.

Have you seen this thread: http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=12811

makes searching for info easy.

This site on there http://www.exrx.net/Lists/Directory.html

shows how to do all kinds of exercises.

I really don't know about HR. Cardio sounds fine to me, but you won't know unless you are tracking your progress. Are you measuring yourself with a tape measure on a weekly basis?

no i havent been measuring , im gonna go get a tape measurer today and start....

thanks for the links, ill read everything...

got any tips on sushi...going out tonight...whatshould i eat/stay away from