Willing to lose weight. Need guidelines and help, If possible!

neo245

TL/DR version: 19 y/o male, 115kg(253.5lbs) - 185cm(6ft 0.8in). Confused between doing Cardio, Strength or Both. Lost 20kg(44lbs) in ~4 months the last time (few years ago) with an intake of 1500 calories/day (wasn't quite strictly following it). Now after using MFP app it recommends an intake of 2200 calories/day (strictly following it).

Long Version:

Hey there, first things first. I am 19 years old male. Weigh 115kg/253.5lbs and my height is ~185cm/6ft 0.8in

I am willing to lose weight but I 'needed' an incentive to do so. However, I got my friend who is now attending the gym and he told me to join him, he started 1 day earlier than me, he is not excessively overweight as I am, he is actually fit. Regardless, I am confused which 'program' to take, follow or even 'make'. To begin with, I already started fixing up my diet. I've calculated the calories intake which came up to be ~2000 calories a day, I am going to follow it. But along with that I want to follow an exercise. Now what confuses me is: cardio, weight machines or both? The gym that we're attending has upgraded their equipment to Impulse. (previous machines were unbranded). During these days I have been doing a 'general' workout where I use most of the machines including the treadmill and the cycling machine yet I read somewhere that weight machines are not recommended for a followed routine. But I am a young green sprout and I am not that much into 'weights' or "free weights" so bare with me (:


So, should I just attend the gym and utilize the treadmill along with the exercise bike? (I prefer the treadmill over an open track, not quite comfortable running/walking on a track.)


When I first began: (First two days)

I tried the treadmill and the 'burn calories' program it automatically set me up with an inclination and gradually increased the speed from walking to jogging for 20 mins (is there a difference between jogging and running?) I couldn't take it when the speed was at 6 kmph. It was just too hard to adhere and keep up with that pace. My heart rate was over 150 and I thought I was pushing it too far given that I am obese and not quite flexible. The inclination of the machine made it even harder to cope with. I just stopped the program (After burning 57 calories or so the machine claims. Though I haven't entered my age/weight) and started manually with a walk speed of 3~4.

That was a warm up. After the treadmill I went on the lat pull / vertical row machine, made 3 sets of 10 proper reps with a very low weight of 14kg/30lbs. I didn't want to tire myself and my muscles in the early days. Not to mention that I am weak in terms of muscles, so I might feel I am exerting effort even though I am not lifting that much of a weight. Later I went onto most of the machines within the same range of sets/reps and mostly same weight.


These were pretty much my first two days. So, is cardio AND weight lifting applicable both at a time? if I want to be at least a tiny bit strong and lose weight, will that be possible? will that interfere with my diet? since I am just following a set calorie intake rather than following a dietary program? The idea I have of growing muscles is to eat proteins before and after exercise (not sure how accurate this statement is), but since I wont be following a dietary program I will just be eating anything without exceeding an overall of 2200 calories a day. Also, should I exercise 3 days a week or is it okay to exercise 6 days a week? my friend suggests to rest 1 day every 3 days of exercising, do you agree with him? I am currently doing what he suggests.


Should I just continue doing what I am doing? Use the treadmill and play generally on all machines with low weight + high reps?
The reason I am asking this specifically is because the gym doesn't have quite educated attendants (I asked one of them about the cardio activity on a treadmill, he told me to "'jog for 30 minutes' and at 31 minutes point, it means that you've jogged for 1 minute. Anything before that is not counted and you don't burn calories until after that point." Like.. what the heck?!). I'd have to pay an expensive monthly fee in order to consult a trainer. ~$1 a session in the gym is already somewhat expensive for me in Egypt.


What I am doing these recent days is use the treadmill for 20 minutes following the "Couch to 5K" program and the exercise bike with no specific program, burning a variable of 300 calories each session. Then I take a 'tour' on all the weight "machines". I think you should be able to view the exercises I perform in my page. I am planning to keep doing that for 2 months until I have more knowledge from any experienced individual and till my muscles are used to some effort.


I wouldn't say no to muscle building besides losing weight. (:


It is worth mentioning that a year and a half ago I tried fixing my diet by not exceeding 1500 calories a day and it worked, I lost around 20kg/44lbs out of the same weight (115kg/253.5lbs) in a 4 months period with no exercise whatsoever. Just sitting and not doing any activity. Eating less portions with lower calorie value. But I got bored of the repetition of it everday and one day I ate like there was no tomorrow and started gaining weight again till I went back to where I started from. I love the taste of food and food itself. Not much of a 'sugar'-lover though. I eat in medium amounts but more than once a day, like after eating breakfast, I get hungry a few hours later and I eat something 'heavy', It might not be in a big amount, but rather small with a very high calorie value.

It's been 10 days -or so MFP claims- that I've been tracking my food. I screwed up a day because I didn't eat quite well during Breakfast and didn't have a snack for too long. I also didn't care much or even notice the nutrition intake in the mobile app. and I do not understand one thing:

What is the difference between Totals/Daily Goal in the webpage and Total/Goal in the mobile app?

Because in the webpage it says that I consumed 110 carbs. with 163 remaining and a maximum of 278 carbs. While in the mobile app it indicates that my carbs. is 48%/50%. Does that mean I should not go over 50%? Some clarification is appreciated.


Questions:
1. The app recommends me to lose 0.5kg a week, while I chose 1kg/week. Should I stick with the recommendation? is it better for me? or do I follow 1kg/week until my BMI drops below 30 and then switch to 0.5kg/week?

2. I am not sure which "description" of my daily activity to choose. I ticked Sedentary till I receive an answer here. I've been attending the gym for a week (6 days on, 1 day off) now and I plan to exercise 6 days a week with the average workout time of 1 hour (30 minutes cardio, ~30 minutes strength workout) am I considered "Active"?


I hope you guys can be of help. I'll appreciate it if you're willing to follow up with me and my progress or if I have questions to ask. I hope I am not being a jerk for asking for too much or if I didn't explain the events in order.


P.S.: I do not have any injuries except that I've done a pilonidal cyst operation and I've fully recovered from it. I have never performed any analysis (e.g. cholesterol?) I have never followed a diet with a doctor as such things are expensive here in Egypt. I am pretty much on my own, then and now.

P.P.S.: Off-topic: I posted this before on /r/Fitness subreddit but my post was removed because all of my questions were already answered in their wiki, doh.

Will update my post in case I forgot something.

JenMc14

Do a mix of cardio and strength.

If you click Active, do not log your exercise. If you plan on logging your exercise and eating back a portion of the calories, then use Sedentary. You can always start at 1kg/week and see how you feel, if you feel like you want to eat more, switch to .5, eat a bit more and just go slower.

Mycophilia

I had a pretty similar starting point. 185cm tall, weighed 121kg and 23 years old.

I recommend doing some sort of strength training program (Stronglifts, Starting Strength or IFC). It will help you retain as much muscle as possible while losing weight. I can't comment on cardio since I hate it and refuse to do it lol.

If you're interested in learning more about nutrition I highly recommend checking out http://rippedbody.jp/complete-diet-nutrition-set-up-guide/ , it pretty much covers it all.

Horrorfox

When tracking your food, make sure you're using a food scale. If you don't have one, you can pick one up pretty cheap on Amazon.

I think you should stick to cardio or strength training in one session. Don't try to do both. I personally train like this

Sunday - Cardio
Monday - Strength / BJJ
Tuesday - Cardio / BJJ
Wednesday - BJJ
Thursday - Strength / BJJ (x2)
Friday - Cardio
Saturday - Strength

If you don't train a martial art, like I do, you'll have 2 days off from both strength training and running.

It's all about finding a routine. As a beginner, there are quite a few. My personal recommendation is Starting Strength, because you'll get great gains as a newbie.

On days that you are working out, you should make sure you eat a bit more, and definitely carbs if you're doing cardio. On your off days, make sure you're sticking to your regular calorie deficit. I also recommending doing light activities, like walking for 30 minutes to an hour, because you shouldn't be sitting on a couch vegetating on your off days.

As far as MFP, the percentages are out of 100% split between Calories/Fats/Carbohydrates. It's only telling you how much % you're consuming between the three. The actual number limit is something you can set for yourself in the food options, as well as the percentage goal.

strong_curves

If you want to lose weight, start with how much you're eating first.

I suggest reading this thread and then adjust accordingly.

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1