5'7'' 160 pound male (18yo)

Frostmere

I'm gonna be 19 soon and I really don't want to put aside losing weight any longer. I'm running on my elliptical regularly and eating healthier (green smoothies and chicken breast) but I'm not really seeing big results and then I started googling if running on the elliptical was good for losing weight and I was getting mixed things, which really scared me because I thought losing weight was supposed to be simple (now there's cardio, weight training, moisturizing, taking, cold showers, veggies, lean meats, no junk food, no cheese). I want to lose 25-35 pounds i think, what can I do aside from the elliptical an hour a day? Should I do push-ups, squats, pull-ups? how many is enough? Is too much exercise safe?

swinler

Well done for making the start on your journey!

The short answer here is that the only way to make sure you lose weight is to consume fewer calories than you burn on a daily basis. It really is that simple.

As a start, you could use the calculator here on MFP to work out your daily calorie allowance and then track your food to ensure you stick to that allowance. It's not just switching from junk food to healthy food, as even healthy food has calories. You need to eat below your daily calorie limit.

The good news is that whatever exercise you do will give you extra calories to eat, so don't give up on the elliptical! Working out can be good, as building muscle has a number of benefits. Some of the other things you mention like moisturizing and cold showers sound like nonsense to me.

Don't go looking for quick fixes or magic solutions. Just be consistent and the weight will come off.

Also, don't believe everything you read on the internet - even on MFP!!

Feel free to add me as friend if you like.

mperrott2205

I posted this to someone else before, so here you go.
The steps to losing weight:

1) Find your TDEE. There are numerous TDEE calculators over the internet. Use about 5 of them and take an average from them. Make sure you're 100% honest with them or the results won't help you.

2) Subtract a reasonable deficit from this average. About 300-500 calories. You do not want to give yourself too much of a deficit otherwise you will be causing yourself more harm than good. You will be surprised at how much you can eat whilst being on a "diet". Remember, this is a marathon, not a sprint. Nobody has successfully lost weight by trying to find a quick and easy road.

3) Make sure you reach your macro goals. Use this calculator to help you with your macros: http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/ (You can also use this as one of your TDEE calculators)

4) Try some low intensity or HIIT cardio routines. For low intensity, walk on a treadmill with a 10% incline at about 3.5kmh for 30-40 minutes. For some HIIT cardio, either on a treadmill or outside walk for 1 minute, then run for 1 minute. Do this for 10-15 minutes.

5) Start lifting weights. There are numerous programs out there for BOTH genders, not just men. A good one if you don't want to lift weights 5-6 times a week is the 5x5 Program.

6) Rest. Get plenty of sleep each night to allow your body to recover from exercise.

7) Last but not least. DO NOT GO BY SCALES. This will be your biggest de-motivator. Instead use a tape measure and measure yourself - Re-measure yourself every month. Take photos of yourself every 2 weeks - a month. This is a MUCH better way at tracking your progress. Weight doesn't matter when it comes to appearance. What matters is your body fat % and how you look and feel.

That's all there is too it. If you're dedicated enough, eat properly and exercise where you're pushing yourself the fat will melt off.