Some direction

rightturnclyde25

I am at a standstill. I've basically been maintaining my weight since 2015. In 2010, when I did Biggest Loser Cardio Max I lost 7 lbs in 3 weeks. I realized that was a bit intense with the jumping so then I moved to The Workout. Within a month, I lost a T-shirt size and bought myself a pair of jeans. In 2012-2013 I was 226, doing the Biggest Loser The Workout and was at my best. Then in 2014 I started drinking and since then have put on around 80 lbs. I was doing Power 90 for 6 years but was only doing it for 3 days here, 4 days here and so on.


I have some Biggest Loser DVDs and Power 90. I've managed to workout 4-5 days a week before when I was 226.

Calories are my biggest hurdle. Before, I've never tracked them and this was when I was in the low 220s. I just made sure to eat veggies and protein every day. I definitely have been most likely drinking my calories if anything. I drink at least once or a twice a week. My eating most days is good with a little treat here and there, as long as fitting in my calories. I am 5'10, male and 316 lbs and have been eating 1300-1500 calories for mostly and have been successful. It's just moving and exercising more. I just can't decide on what workout to do. I'm afraid I won't stick to the 6 day a week but it is more manageable to do compared to some Biggest Loser DVDs. But most BL DVDs are 6 weeks and the timeline is perfect. I can apply what I've read on forums about P90 onto the Biggest Loser. I don't hear much on the BL DVDs as compared to the P90 but I can put the knowledge onto BL (tracking calories, eating right) from P90.

AnnPT77

Good for you, working on improvements: Cheering you on!

Might you consider varying your workouts, trying out some new-to-you things for a while?

There are several threads here where you could get ideas, including some ideas that are free, don't take lots of equipment.

For strength training ideas, there's this thread:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you/p1

Despite the title, it isn't just lifting weights: There are also some bodyweight programs you can do with minimal or no equipment.

For video options, maybe take a look at this thread:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10796095/what-youtube-workout-did-you-do-today/p1

There is also this very long thread where people are just sharing what they did, so you can see how other people mix things up within a day or across several:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10796095/what-youtube-workout-did-you-do-today/p1

This is another thread where people share their workouts, can get some feedback/motivational input:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/331789/tlfc-exercise-and-accountability-support/p1

When I first started getting active, I tried a lot of things. I tried to give things a fair chance, as long as I didn't think they were dangerous to me: I wanted to get past the "newbie blues" phase where everything seemed awkward, see what it would really be like. That worked really well for me to find some things that were a good mix for me, but that's going to vary by individual taste.

It's fine to start with a plan that isn't some intense thing 6 days a week (it might even be better to ramp up gradually!). Maybe consider something more vigorous 2-3 days a week? Then, if you think it works better for you to be doing something 6 days a week, fill in the other days with something more moderate, like stretching, or a nice walk? Recovery is where the magic happens, and even mild activity has value for health and habits.

Best wishes!

rightturnclyde25

Thank you for that!

Being 100 lbs over where I was, it's going to be of course be harder than it was to do before. I only did 5 minutes after the warm up.

One of the Biggest Loser DVDs that I do have has better stretching in the warm up and not doing any jumping to warm up. It also follows a low impact cardio and then a 10 minute cool down with stretching that is nice. It can be 5 days a week and not the required 6 days a week that P90 has. And eventually, I can definitely add a 6th day for some walking or light yoga!

AnnPT77

rightturnclyde25 wrote: »

Thank you for that!

Being 100 lbs over where I was, it's going to be of course be harder than it was to do before. I only did 5 minutes after the warm up.

One of the Biggest Loser DVDs that I do have has better stretching in the warm up and not doing any jumping to warm up. It also follows a low impact cardio and then a 10 minute cool down with stretching that is nice. It can be 5 days a week and not the required 6 days a week that P90 has. And eventually, I can definitely add a 6th day for some walking or light yoga!

I know this is crazy talk (😉) but you can also do P90 3 days a week, or 2 days a week, or whatever - just picking the workouts you enjoy the most. Or you can mix P90 and Biggest Loser on different days in the same week, however you like. Or mix parts of those workouts with other things you like doing like some kind of improvisational exercise goulash.

These are not magical recipes that have to be done in some exact sequence in some exact way, and if you don't do that you lose the benefits. Any form of moving more that's manageable, a little bit of a challenge, and enjoyable for you (or at least tolerable) . . . that will be fine, and will have benefits. In the much longer term, you'll sort out which things at which times in which ways are most enjoyable and beneficial for you. You'll have time to try new things, learn more about exercise planning.

For now, don't be afraid to mix it up in ways that work for you. It's your workout.

rightturnclyde25

Very good ideas! So true. When I did P90 I would change it up, like for 3 days do strength and then 3 days do the cardio....when I actually did do 6 days though!

I think starting the Biggest Loser Workout for 3-4 days would be great. They also have a cookbook I can go through for some ideas and cook more better. The workouts include a variety of moves and can be modified. Likewise, I have a P90 nutrition guide and can do the same thing for that and work up to it.

So much information and discussion I've searched has mostly been about P90. And Biggest Loser doesn't have much of a good reputation in the past as it is....but the personal videos are of course different from the show and you DO get results. And hey...at one point...P90 was popular too.

I have my calories set at 1,980 to lose 2 lbs a week. I was going to customize it to 1,480 to lose 3 lbs a week for awhile and then go back up. But I think I need 1900 calories especially if I'm going to be exercising.