I decided to change the way I live two weeks ago today. I had not been eating healthy, no exercise - just junk food, laying in bed or sitting on the internet, and weight gain.

I've been posting some things on here, and lurking a little, but I finally decided to post my page and pictures because all the feedback I have heard from people has been honest and uplifting.

The page below has both my spreadsheet stuff and some pictures I took this evening. I had kind of slipped up as far as diet was concerned, and things have been hectic with school lately but I'm fighting past that and am still committed to the change.

Feel free to browse the page and give feedback as necessary. My biggest pain right now is keeping the diet in check, but I do as well as I can...since my goals aren't too harsh I figure I don't have to be anal about it.

Oh, yeah, just in case you haven't heard this before - I'm 19 years old, 5' 6'', about 155-160 (I still need a good scale) at about 20% body fat. My goal is to get down to 140 (or leaner) and drop the body fat by half. I would love to do this by May, when I graduate, but my overall deadline is my birthday. (I haven't been keeping up with the chart portion of the spreadsheet so I'm sorry).

Anyway, that's enough yappin' - check 'er out and let 'er rip (oh, yeah, I don't get much sun so I am really pale...but, you know).

http://members.iglou.com/fortezza (members.iglou.com/fortezza)

I just had time to look at your pics and your not looking that bad. Once you start eating right and exercising your body will probably repsond really quickly and I dont imagine it will take that long to get rid of the gut.

You have the same physique as quite a few of friends, a little bit overweight but not enough to start getting worried and I tell them they should start doing some exercise otherwise they will wake up in 5-20 years and they'll be obese and it will start effecting their well being.

Good job for being one of the few younger guys that decided to take action and nip it in the bud before it takes over your life :tu:

Marcus

Hey man -

I was just browsing through your excel spreadsheets and you're not eating enough food. If I had to make a suggestion I would up your calories quite a bit, with half of your caloric defecit coming from diet, and the other half coming from cardio/exercise. Also, I wouldn't let this defecit get below 500 calories a day. What you're eating now doesn't even support basic metabolic function...

Yeah, you're eating waaaay too little. Also, try to consistantly eat at least 5 meals a day.

You'll cut up in no time man, but you need to eat! Just eat "smart" and you'll be surprised at how well it works. Good luck and keep us posted!

Thanks for the comments and suggestions. I knew I was taking in a little less food than others have recommended, but I've been having a hard time making a solid plan to stick by (the diet portion of this life change has been the hardest).

As far as what I'm eating now, it's way more than I ever used to eat (just because I would eat roughly a meal or two per day). I picked up some shakes yesterday and they're pretty good, which should add a couple hundred cals per day - but, like I said, I'm still getting into the groove and trying to find what meals work best. If anyone has suggestions, I'm open to hear them :D

Anyway - thanks again for the comments - I'm off to work now but I'll check back soon as see what everyone's doing...take it easy!