ExRx.net

Hi everyone, I hope I'm posting this in the right place.

I've been overweight basically my entire life, I'm 6'2'' and weigh 270 pounds. I've been lifting weights somewhat casually for the past four years or so, and casually exercising as well. Three weeks ago I decided to start dieting, and I've been taking this Soy meal replacement stuff 1-2 times a day, replacing meals with it. I've also been cutting back on carbs and calories, and I've dropped almost all junk food (once in a while I'll have a candy bar) and I've been drinking more water. My workout routine goes like this(please excuse my poor terminology):

day 1: 7-8 rep curls, 3 sets per arm, 30-50 seconds apart, 30 lb dumbbells

day 2: rest

day 3: 7-10 reps of different flies with 20 lb dumbbells, 3 sets each at two different positions. then some triceps exercises.

day 4: rest

day 5: repeat day 1

day 6: rest

day 7: repeat day 3

Every morning I do about 40 sit-ups and some leg stretches.

The one thing I don't do enough is cardio. I'm trying to add more frequent fast walking routines into my schedule. Would 40 minutes of fast walking twice a week be enough? Should it be more than that? So far I don't think I've lost any weight, maybe just two or three pounds, and I've been at this for three weeks now. Shouldn't my goal be to lose 2-3 pounds a week? I am noticing some good muscle build, could this be why I'm not losing weight? Perhaps I am burning fat but the muscle that I am putting on accounts for not seeing any weight difference.

If you guys could let me know if my routine looks alright I would greatly appreciate it. I'm sick of looking the way I do and am trying hard to get into shape. Also, I'm a poor college student and can't afford expensive groceries or equipment, and right now I'm too embarrassed to go to a gym. I'm quite unsightly. ;)

Thanks!

Get over your embarassment, and head for a gym. If you're too broke to join a commercial gym, go to your college gym or YMCA. In order to do meaningful weight workouts, you need more than a pair of 30 lb dumbbells. The more equipment at your disposal, the faster progress you will make, and the sooner you will stop being "unsightly." Working out in my room, next to the fridge, didn't work for me. It probably won't work for you.

As for your workout, chest and arms are important, but so are legs and back. Do some squats/lunges/step ups with the dumbbells for your legs as well as some rows for your back.

If you've gotten up to 270 lbs, chances are that you can afford to eat right. You just have to change your habits. Do it slowly, however. If you're addicted to junk food, going cold turkey all at once will make you a nervous wreck. And don't worry about supplements other than a good whey protein powder and vitamin pills.

Good luck.

So doing sit-ups, squats, fast walking, and dumbbell exercises really won't do much?



Thanks, I'll do that.



Wait, do you mean that I can afford to buy better food(which I can't, at least not better food that's costly), or that it's good that I diet?



I've never been much of a junk food person, really. But I eat even less now. No more chips, candy, soda.



Should I ditch the soy protein meal replacements in favor of that then?



Thanks. :)


Oh and I edited my first post. I made a mistake there, I actually use 20 lb dumbbells for the flies.

Artie wrote:
... I'm too embarrassed to go to a gym...


hey artie, dont pay attention to any of the ironjunkies at your gym, who cares if they are in whatever shape they are in. do what you must to obtain your goals, dont feel embarrassed, the gym is a place where people to get "ugly", by that i mean everyone sweats and most likely has BO afterwards, some even before, and sticky. unless they are more into exrxing their jaw



Artie wrote:
Shouldn't my goal be to lose 2-3 pounds a week?


artie dont ask us what your goal should be, you set your goals to what you feel that you can accomplish, my advice is to keep it realistic and obtainable. start at a lower amount of weight loss and work it up when you feel you are able to.


good luck man, hope everything works for you

about the diet, you dont have to eat everything healthy, you dont have to carb fat or protein count the food, i think the key that many in the fitness industry dont promote is to have a diet that is BALANCED, meaning having at least the minimum amounts of each of the 4 food groups with correct portion sizes and with minimal "junk food", instead of a pill or plan or whatever.
every diet plan seems to be a big cash grab in my opinion, best cheapest way to get in better shape generally is to walk and swim and eat BALANCED diet. eating balanced doesnt cost a lot of money, buying expensive food costs more money. be economical in your grocery shopping, i understand the college days as i have been twice through it. eating a lot of mac/cheese and pizza burgers fast fried food.

sorry for the rant
anyways eat what you like but eat balanced at every meal, have correct portions, and use common sense and economics when buying groceries.
if you cant afford a gym pass, you dont have to pay to walk or bike(if you have one)

in the end it all comes down to what you feel is best for you

hope that helps some

It will definitely do some good, and is preferable to doing nothing. Walking, in particular, is something that can be done regularly. But by joining a gym, you will have much more equipment available to you, as well as (hopefully) trainers who can teach you how to use it correctly.



You're on the right track then. You might want to take a look at this for some info on nutrition. Sorry, it was presumptuous of me to assume that you were a junk food addict. Probably projection on my part, since I lived on junk food when I was in college.



Many people in bodybuilding circles look down on soy protein because of (alleged) phytoestrogens, but Jack La Lane drinks a soy protein shake every morning. I prefer whey protein, but Jack might know something that I don't . ;-)

Happy training

I'd stay away from soy protein, it messes with males' endocrine system

Thanks everyone, all of the comments are very helpful.

I weighed myself today and I'm actually five pounders lighter than I was last week. I know that weighing yourself isn't super reliable as the amount of water or food you have in your system changes and everything, but I felt good about that.

And I did hear something about that, zeratum. Has that been proven?

Thanks for the Dietary Guidelines page, Stephen.

I was wondering if you guys could guide me a bit as I'm going grocery shopping tomorrow and was going to take some advice from this thread. First let me list what I usually get for the week:

-Soy Protein Meal replacement for breakfast

-Low-carb multi-grain bread for two sandwiches for lunch at work: usually some mustard and a good amount of turkey breast and a pb&j sandwich, and then a banana for a couple hours later

-Sometimes another thing of the Soy shake, and if not I probably just make myself a sandwich.

Also, I've been taking fiber supplements for a while at the advice of a doctor, and of course the usual multivitamins. I also usually have a glass of oj in the morning.

That's been my routine for the past few weeks. Not so good, huh? So should I get an assortment of vegetables, some lean meats, and some regular whole wheat bread(or stick with the low-carb kind)? And this Soy stuff is really expensive. Should I get some whey protein supplements and add that to some meals?



Yeah, I'm going to start walking more often. How often should I walk, twice a week for 40-50 minutes?

I hear what you guys are saying about the gym, but I was thinking, maybe I could first lose a bit of weight, gain some confidence, and then go to a gym. I should be able to make some progress by doing the exercises that I'm doing now, right?

Soy protein doesn't mess with anything. It is perfectly safe. I eat all kinds of soy and I'm still alive and healthy.

You could just get adjustable dumbbells and some plates. Then put a routine together from one of the splits on this site. Just pick all dumbbell stuff.

Artie, I'm 6' tall and about 260lbs , I use to be 200lbs 6 years ago when I was Basketballing all day every day! I'm just getting back to the gym, here is the routine I'm doing...

Month 1 April/May 2006

Monday & Friday (Week 1/3) Wednesday (Week 2/4)
1. Ab workout - Twisting Sit-up, Hanging Leg Raise.
2. Bench Press (10x50kg-8x60kg-6x70kg-4x80kg) - Shoulders, chest triceps.
3. Lat Pull Down (3 x 10 x 50kg) - Latissimus dorsi, biceps, and brachioradialis.
4. Leg Press (12x125kg-10x150kg-8x175kg-6x200kg) - Hips, hamstrings, quadriceps, groin, and lower back.
5. Dumbbell Curls (3x10x10kg p/arm) - Biceps, and forearms
6. Front Squats (10x50kg-8x70kg-6x90kg) - legs, hips, lower back, upper back, and shoulders.
7. Bar Dips (3 x max x 30kg assistance) - Chest, shoulders, and arms.
8. Calf Raises (3x30x400lbs) - Ankles, and calves.
9. Wrist Curls (3x25x10kg) - Forearm flexors.

Wednesday (Week 1/3) Monday & Friday (Week 2/4)
1.Ab workout - Legs-in-the-Air Sit-Ups, Hanging Leg Raise
2. Incline Bench Press (10x40kg-8x50kg-6x60kg) - Shoulders, chest, triceps, and upper back.
3. Seated Lat Row (3x10x60kg) - Latissimus dorsi, biceps, and brachioradialis.
4. Leg Press (12x125kg-10x150kg-8x175kg-6x200kg) - Hips, hamstrings, quadriceps, groin, and lower back.
5. Lateral DB Raises (10x5kg-8x7kg-6x10kg) - Deltoid and trapezius.
6. Front Squat (10x50kg-8x70kg-6x90kg) - Legs, hips, lower back, upper back, and shoulders.
7. Tricep Press Downs (3x10x20kg) - Triceps.
8. Calf Raises (3x30x400lbs) - Ankles and calves.
9. Dumbbell Curls (3x10x10kg p/arm) - Biceps, and forearms.

For cardio my days are like this...
Every week day:
Ride bike 9km to gym
Walk 3/4 mile to work
Ride bike 9km to home
7pm 10 minutes on exercise bike
8pm 10 minutes on exercise bike
9pm 10 minutes on exercise bike

Monday: Walk dogs 2 miles
Tuesday: Game of Basketball
Wednesday: Walk dogs 2 miles
Thursday: Game of Volleyball
Friday: House Rennovations
Saturday: House Rennovations
Sunday: House Rennovations and Game of Basketball

I start week 2 of my return to the gym tomorrow, last monday I was 6' tall and 275lbs!!! Thats 15 lbs in a week! I haven't changed my diet yet except for 1 or 2 whey protein shakes a day!!! In my goals diet change isn't until month two!

If I hadn't previously been an athlete I couldn't do this, but if you haven't been an athlete and you could do half of this, even just the cardio side, you could probably double my loss of 15lbs!

When you go to the supermarket next time, think about what goes in the cart. Check info panels, if something says it's low fat check it's sugar and sodium content, especially sodium as it retains fluid in your body! Don't be scared of cheap generic brands and buy lose vegetables that you have to bag yourself as they charge you for packing pre packed stuff! Also instead of buying bottled water consider investing in a water filter, some brands cost about 20c a gallon and the water tastes the same as bottled stuff! The big thing is be aware of shelf placement, stores put the product that makes them the most profit at eye level, look at the lower shelves for the cheaper brands, in most cases quality is the same but packaging is tackier! The biggest thing is forget about your looks, think only of what you see in your head of what you want to look like and go for it!

Oh another great way to utilise your fat stores and diet is to do your cardio on an empty stomach and eat afterwards. Don't do this with weights as your body will use muscle for fuel and you will lose muscle mass! But in my exercise I ride my bike to the gym (cardio) have a carb/protein rich snack, lift weights, walk to work (cardio), eat breakfast and have a protein shake at work!

Hey man if you don't like these ideas, thats cool, finding what works for you is THE most important thing, good luck with it!

Thanks for all of the advice!

I have another question. :D

Is it okay to do sit-ups every single day? I usually do a set as soon as I wake up. Should I eat something first?

Doing sit ups won't spot reduce belly fat, so if that's your aim, you're wasting your time doing them. Since normal sit ups don't overload the abdominal muscles (weighted ones do, however) , you can do them every day.

Ah, so what good do normal sit-ups do?

Initially, they do build abdominal strength in the untrained individual. But once you can do more than, say, three sets of 15-20 they become an endurance exercise.

BTW, sit ups work the hip flexors more than the abdominals. The preferred abdominal isolation exercise is the crunch. I like doing sit ups, though, since the hip flexors need to be worked, too.

Also, you might want to take a look at this

I like to do situps weighted on a decline. Abs get most of their work from leg exercise though. Any variation of squats and deadlifts work abs well. Work your abs the same ammount you work any muscle. They are not magical in any way. They are muscles like any other.