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Richie2shoes

Hi all, I've just "returned" to MFP although I never used the forums the first time around... My ultimate goal is to lose 170-180 pounds. I know how to do it, I just need to physically do it. My biggest problem is sticking to a program and keeping the weight off. Around 5 years ago, I started a routine and over the course of 8 months lost 90 lbs, but I stopped following the program I was on and slowly but surely, the weight all came back.

Currently my program is pretty basic. I calculated my BMR (sedentary office job - no exercise) and I set my daily calorie intake at 500 below my BMR. I'm also trying to exercise at least 3x a week, a mixture of strength and cardio building up to daily exercise. This is how I did it last time and I know it works, so I'm going to do it again.

Last time I joined a health club and went before work, building up to 6x a week. This was also part of the reason I quit... It hit February and I didn't want to get out of bed when it was so cold and dark outside!

This time, I put a gym in a spare bedroom of my home. I have a Weider weight machine (Model 8630), a treadmill, an incline bench and dumbells. Even though it's been there for a year, I rarely use it. My nephew decided he wanted to start a regular exercise routine so I invited him to join me. I know I'll do it if someone is counting on me and I'm hoping the habit will stick. That's the goal that matters most to me, even more than the weight loss, daily exercise.

When I joined the healthclub, I talked to the trainer and told him my goals. The first goal was a program that would work all the major muscle groups and be easy enough to remember. The routine he gave me consisted of the following exercises, each done 1 set of 25 reps, followed by 30 minutes on the treadmill. The exercises are: Chest Press, Shoulder Press, Standing Curl, Tricep pushdown, Seated Row, Leg Press, Calf Press, Leg Extension, Leg Curl, Wall Squats, Vertical Knee Raises and Stomach Crunches (15 reps for the last three exercises). I did this 3x a week and eventually started doing just cardio on the other 2 days, plus some other activity on the weekend. As I started to plateau, the trainer gave me a new routine, this time focusing on muscle building, the same basic exercises only more sets/less reps. I then alternated between the two routines every 6 weeks or so.

So in a nutshell, that's my goal again. To get back into that routine and stick with it.

Good luck to everyone! Remember, all it takes is patience and work!