Hey guys whats up i have been following this forum for a while. I have the body type where i need to be working out all the time. I am 5ft 11, I was once at 240lbs. And i worked my way back to 200lbs. Well the past two months i have been studying for my boards exam, and i plan on taking it nov. Since then i have not had time to work out or do anything. I wake up 6 am, head out to study and i am not home till about 9 pm,,and i just pass out.

Now i know the diet is important and i watch what i eat. And since i am in downtown studying, i get to walk a bit from the train to class, to library, to train. on my lunch i try to walk after i eat. I even do 50 push ups everday in the morning.

now i am back up to 220lbs. Feel like crap, feel like blaah. And my studies are my number one priority. In the mean time i just want to hold my self at 200 till about nov, and then i ll start to work out again and get myself to my goal of 180.

can anyone give me some work outs i can do at home, that dont require wieghts. and other advice.???

Hey ams. Glad you decided to start posting.

I'd be highly skeptical to accept the fact that you gained back 20 lbs just because you stopped working out. Sure, this didn't help any, but you need to look at your diet more closely. (You knew that was coming, right? ;))

No offense, but it's really rare to find someone who truthfully has a body/metabolism type that requires them to workout everyday to keep the weight off. By far, it's an excuse for a poor diet more times than not.

How long did it take you to put on 20 lbs? Was it just these last two months? The stress from your studying isn't helping things either.

I would create a free account with fitday.com and track your diet for a few days. You need to get a better idea of where your calories are coming from.

It's one thing to say you try and watch what you eat, but if you don't really have a handle on what your daily consumption is compared to what your daily allowance is necessary to manage your weight, then self regulated estimates obviously aren't enough.

Reply back to this thread with what a typical day's diet is looking like these days and we can look for things to improve on. If you decide to track things with fitday, make the data public and update this thread.

All of this diet talk might sound like more work than it really is. The tracking isn't something you have to do everyday once you get a handle on things. The changes in what you're eating probably will require you to prepare food more often to take with you in a cooler, but that really shouldn't be so bad.

Combined with the right diet, a home workout with minimal equipment should be enough to get your weight headed in the right direction.

You throw together a quick routine with a few selections from exercises like Burpees, Thrusters, Squat variations, and Push-Up variations --then mix in some jump roping and you have a routine that can kick your butt in 15-20 minutes no problem.

ams, welcome.
Definitely get you're diet in order. "watching" what you eat isn't enough. Goonie's right. Start a fitday account, track those calories, and search and destroy your trouble spots.

As for home workouts, you can do a ton to increase your core strength. Look for AB, oblique and back exercises. Definitely learn to take walks. If you've got the time, walk to the next train station for the extra distance. Get a jump rope. It takes a while to get a good rhythm, but just keep jumping.

You study a lot, so i'm assuming lots of books. Fill a Backpack and CURL it.

its mainly going to be diet tho.

Hi Ams, welcome to JSF!

Well I'm just in agreeance with the first two points, and as John Stone and other fitness professionals point out, Diet is like 80% of fat loss. Maybe you can post a sample day's diet and we can review?

Also noticing you and DJ's stats are similar, maybe you can share some secrets DJ? What do you think?

Stick with the 50 pushups each morning, thats a good start. Try and keep improving on it. Post a daily routine and maybe we can fill in the blanks.

Good luck and don't give up my friend.

themuss, you should know by now there is no secret.:D It all happens in the roadwork.

AMS, you are actually almost a direct copy of my situation. i'm working my way down at 195 right now, i had some trouble last week (being july fourth, I cheated WAY more than I should have.) Back on track now.

check out my last post.
http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?p=507481#post507481

wow i am i apreciate the responses, man that in its self is motivating know that i got all this support.

your right my diet is key and i have been sloppy, and it has been about 2 and half months that i gained the wieght. I have cut out rice, cut out sugar and use splenda. Yes i am sure the extra cheat meals have a hand to play esp during the weekends.. its just moms cooking and the stress of studying.

My typical meal goes like this

6am wake up and get ready

7 am breakfast 1 bowl of cereal w. skim milk (honey bunches of oats) and 1 multivitamin pill

from breakfast to lunch i am sipping on water and coffee (no cream, and with slenda) about 3 cups of black coffee ( i am addicted, it keeps me focused and going)

12 pm lunch 2 small homemade sandwichs...tuna or lean ground beef, rarely peanut butter and jelly, (on whole wheat, no mayo, no cheese, and for peanut butter low fat, and jelly no sugar)

3pm starbucks coffee.. tall caramel latte non fat sugar free.

5pm snack 1 small sandwhich, usually what i had for lunch


9pm dinner Meat ( chicken, fish, lamb, or beef) with veggies and slice of bread.

10pm pass out


now i know your gonna laugh and tell me my diet is horrible, so thats why i am here to get advice from you guys.

I walk from the chicago downtown metra train station 5 blocks to kaplan, then at lunch i walk around another 5 blocks, then after class i walk 8 blocks to kent library, and then back 3 blocks to the train station. i make sure i carry my back around during the walks, and make sure i drink plenty of water. other than that i do a min of 50 pushups everday in the morning and this week i have gone up to 60.

my goal is to get back to 200 by oct. my body fat percentage is about 22%. my ultimate goal by dec is to be 185

your advice is greatly appreciated.

Hey ams, good to see another Chicagoan on here who also weighs in at 220. I just got down to 219 from 255. I hear ya on the not having time but when you're really motivated, you'd be AMAZED at where you find. My wife is a lawyer who also went to Kent. It was around then I started gaining weight. Then I put on sympathy weight when she was pregnant. My day looks something like this normally:

5:15 am Biking 8-10 miles or 45 minutes of yoga
6:00 shower
6:30 Breakfast (protein shake of berries, whey, berries, oatmeal, flax and half a banana)
7:00 Commute
7:30 arrive at work
9:00 am Snack (apple or whey protein...working on getting better routine here)
11:30 Lunch (variable starting to bring chicken or fish with brown rice and veggies)
3:00 Snack (Cliff bulder bar)
4:00 Leave work
4:30 (2 days during the week) Weights
5:00 Pick up baby from Daycare
5:30 Make Dinner
6:00 Dinner (Chicken, pork, or fish and veggies)
8:00 Put baby to bed
9:00 Rest or chores and snack
10:00 Bed

I find myself in a similar situation with school too. Would anyone here be interested in starting a challenge to help keep up the motivation? I'm at 215 right now and have been stuck there +/- 5lbs for like 8 months..... Just a thought...

okay well so far so good, the motivation you guys give me is already helping me out big time.

So far i am down to 214lbs. I just really really had to whatch what i was eating. And I am walking more often. But i have really cut down on what i am eating. So far it looks like i can meet my goal of 200 by sept.

i still havent made the time to start working out, besides doing my pushups and crunches everyday in the morning. I try to eat as little as possible and have my dinners early. I am always sipping on coffee and in know its bad, but right now its my best freind. I keep an apple and granola bar on me at all times, just incase i get really hungry. So far so good, this is the only week, but i am sure my body is gonna use to it soon, and i am gonna have to change it up

thanks for the support and motivation