Just a newbie!!!

onlystavros

Hello everyone,

This is my first time on the forums....apart from a little lurking. I'll give a little run down on myself. I'm 24, male and weigh in at 238 pounds at a height of 5ft 9inches. My goal is to lose 40 pounds between now and Christmas this year. I've always been a big guy but my weight has gone up incredibly since the start of the year and I've decided to do something about it.

Thanks,

OnlyStavros

terri_journey

Hi, 40 lbs in 151 days. I don't know if that's possible but I will be glad to help encourage you along the way. Sending you q FR.
Terri

sashachilders18

Welcome!!!! I'll send you one too, we're around the same age we can do it!!

VivianBaconbatch

Hi Stavros,
Being that you are a man and 24 you can absolutely lose 40 lbs in 5mos. I would suggest a modified Body for Life
approach. You can search here or Google bfl blog etc. You can do the entire thing without Myoplex shakes, etc.
I should be taking my own advice and starting this, lol.

Here are the basics:

eat six small meals a day, 2 to 3 hours apart
balance each meal with a carb, protein and healthy fat
your portions should be about the size of your palm or fist. eyeballing is key in body for life. calorie counting is not necessary.
i follow the rule of thumb: eat as many grams of carbs and protein each day for every pound you weigh. so, 120 lbs=120 grams carbs, 120 grams protein…divided by 6 meals= about 20 grams of each per meal.
your ratios for where your calories come from at the end of the day should be 40% carbs, 40% protein and 20% fat
no white bread, white rice, white sugar, white pasta, super processed foods, high fat foods, super refined carbs, soda, sugary desserts, etc etc etc!
every other day, you do a 20 min high-intensity interval cardio work out. there is a specific 20 minute structure based on RPE (rate of perceived exertion).
every other day, you do a 45 minute weight training session. you alternate between upper and lower body work outs. there is a specific structure based on RPE to decide how much weight to use and how many reps you do for each muscle.
drink a crapload of water. you may as well get a catheter because you will be urinating so much due to all the water consumption.
one day a week, all these rules are thrown out the window and you do whatever you want. free day

onlystavros

Thanks for the support. I'm lucky enough to have a friend who's a personal trainer and he suggested the above type of regime to help shed the fat and build muscle mass. We'll see how it goes. I've not decided whether to have weekly, fortnightly or monthly weigh ins. What do people suggest?

OnlyStavros

TheIgnorantTroll

I think that's a very realistic goal best of luck with it.

On the weigh in issue I do it weekly and I find it helpful. but measurements are a good idea too.

onlystavros

Yeah I keep being told that because I'm planning on doing a lot of weight training measurements are quite important so I don't lose faith.

mikevandewetering

Hi Stavros,
Being that you are a man and 24 you can absolutely lose 40 lbs in 5mos. I would suggest a modified Body for Life
approach. You can search here or Google bfl blog etc. You can do the entire thing without Myoplex shakes, etc.
I should be taking my own advice and starting this, lol.

Here are the basics:

eat six small meals a day, 2 to 3 hours apart
balance each meal with a carb, protein and healthy fat
your portions should be about the size of your palm or fist. eyeballing is key in body for life. calorie counting is not necessary.
i follow the rule of thumb: eat as many grams of carbs and protein each day for every pound you weigh. so, 120 lbs=120 grams carbs, 120 grams protein…divided by 6 meals= about 20 grams of each per meal.
your ratios for where your calories come from at the end of the day should be 40% carbs, 40% protein and 20% fat
no white bread, white rice, white sugar, white pasta, super processed foods, high fat foods, super refined carbs, soda, sugary desserts, etc etc etc!
every other day, you do a 20 min high-intensity interval cardio work out. there is a specific 20 minute structure based on RPE (rate of perceived exertion).
every other day, you do a 45 minute weight training session. you alternate between upper and lower body work outs. there is a specific structure based on RPE to decide how much weight to use and how many reps you do for each muscle.
drink a crapload of water. you may as well get a catheter because you will be urinating so much due to all the water consumption.
one day a week, all these rules are thrown out the window and you do whatever you want. free day

There isn't really a necessity to apply this, even though the poster means really well, most of the things he said are outdated/debunked. You just need to eat in a calorie deficit and hit your minimal protein and fat macro's. I agree with the drinking water part. Also cardio is up to you, it is not needed to lose weight. The source of foods you pick doesn't matter when it comes to body composition, it does when it comes to ''health''. If you want to eat 1 or 6 meals is up to you, often 6 meals make it easier for a person to stick to the diet, nothing more nothing less. So even if you only ate 1 meal a day and still hit all your goals for that day, it is fine. If you want a fit body i would recommend that you start with a good weightlifting program and maybe adding cardio if you feel the need for it.

Just aim to lose 1-2lbs a week by creating a daily deficit and move from there. If you want any more information or even sources to back me claims up, just send me a message. The most important thing is the weigh your food!!!! you need to know exactly what you eat, so no eye balling!!! This will make sure you reach your goals without any struggle.

Check out the research done by Alan Aragon who is great expert when it comes to nutrition. He allways backs his claims up by hard evidence and does alot of research.