Newbie Alert!

stephenenglish
stephenenglish Posts: 5
in Introduce Yourself
Hi Folks,

Literally just turned 45 years young and am sick of wearing baggy clothes and being out of breath and being generally unfit.

The time has come to put it right so I have put myself on a diet with an aim to get back to my fighting weight of 175lbs - the weight I was at 25 years old.

I am currently 238lbs I started dieting a little over two weeks ago at a starting weight of 247.8lbs - I have lost an amazing 9.9lbs in 15 days by cutting down from an average of 2900cals a day to 1000. A good start but I now need to think about exercising as apparently playing my guitars and sitting in front of the PC isn't cutting it! ;o)

I have also stopped drinking alchol apart from a couple of beers on Saturday nights, I was drinking pretty much every night. I have to be honest and say I feel so much better. Less lethargic and a bit more go in me ;o)

Any advice would be super welcome!

Kind Regards,
Stephen.

Replies

  • bf43005
    bf43005 Posts: 287
    If you really haven't ever done any exercise I would suggest starting out small. It's going to make you sore in the beginning and if you push really hard one day and can't walk for a week.....well that might derail your workout routine. LOL! Try going for a 30 minute walk and do that a few times a week. Then try adding in a little jogging. Not sure if you have any limitations (i.e. injury, no gym, no access to running paths, etc.) but don't over do it. Walking/jogging is really great for the body. If you can't go to a gym maybe buy a few weights for the house. My husband and I joined a gym and it's like a family....well ok maybe a cult LOL! But that connections with everyone there makes it fun to go back each day. Best of luck. Feel free to add me as a friend. Just remember if you have a bad day, don't make it a week, stick to it!
  • Gavery1
    Gavery1 Posts: 74 Member
    Wow that's an amazing loss well done! I'm a bit worried that 1000 Cal's a day is not enough for you though. I really think u may want to up that a bit If u want to start exercising. What does MFP work out for your daily Cal's? Keep up the good work your doing great :-) :-) :-)
  • clobern
    clobern Posts: 341 Member
    Greta start!

    1) Don't consider it a diet. A diet just means it is something you're doing now and you plan on going to back to what you did before once you are done. Make changes you can stick with for good.

    2) Make sure you calculate your BMR and TDEE and get the right calorie count. 1000 calories isn't a lot for little people let alone us big guys.

    3) Start out just walking for exercise and slowly add in jogging and then running, also make sure you do some lifting so you don't lose muscle.

    Good luck to you!
  • lurcstet
    lurcstet Posts: 77
    If you really haven't ever done any exercise I would suggest starting out small. It's going to make you sore in the beginning and if you push really hard one day and can't walk for a week.....well that might derail your workout routine. LOL! Try going for a 30 minute walk and do that a few times a week. Then try adding in a little jogging. Not sure if you have any limitations (i.e. injury, no gym, no access to running paths, etc.) but don't over do it. Walking/jogging is really great for the body. If you can't go to a gym maybe buy a few weights for the house. My husband and I joined a gym and it's like a family....well ok maybe a cult LOL! But that connections with everyone there makes it fun to go back each day. Best of luck. Feel free to add me as a friend. Just remember if you have a bad day, don't make it a week, stick to it!

    This is good advise, start small... baby steps then work your way up. Walking is great to start with and once your comfortable with this, crank it up a bit and start some power walks.

    Also, think about the little things... playing guitar is fine, but stand up with it, tap your feet, do a dance, play it walking around, a lot of little changes make a big difference.

    Good luck and remember there will be times when you give up. Thats ok, but make sure the day after you pick yourself up and get back on it!
  • stephenenglish
    stephenenglish Posts: 5
    Thanks for the advice and warm welcome all! Really appreciate it!
  • harley1968
    harley1968 Posts: 218 Member
    Hello Stephen, welcome to MFP :smile:

    I have to agree that I don't think 1000 is enough for you, I think you would need to have more if you are going to start exercising.

    I also agree that you need to start off small, just walking. I try to walk at least an hour a day during my lunch break, and I find it is really good as I don't really class walking in the sun (when we do get it in the UK) as exercise.

    Good luck, and will find plenty of people on here to inspire and motivate you.

    As you can see I haven't lost any weight as yet as I just started on Monday, so maybe we can help each other along.
  • thesupremeforce
    thesupremeforce Posts: 1,206 Member
    You're definitely not eating enough, and you'll eventually start to really feel it. Fortunately, adding a few more calories isn't all that difficult. I echo the people telling you to do your BMR and TDEE calculations and work from there. Even if you're hesitant to stick to them, it's still educational.

    It will get easier, and you can learn a great deal. When I first started down this path (earlier this year), I tried the same approach that you did (massive reduction in calories), but I was also exercising. I learned fairly quickly that 1000 calories isn't sustainable, at least not if I wanted to have ANY energy whatsoever.
  • lurcstet
    lurcstet Posts: 77
    1000 is not enough. Redusing your intake can actually have the opposite effect and your body will go into survival mode, storing every calorie possible.
  • stephenenglish
    stephenenglish Posts: 5
    It's a tough one, I guess the body will be having a bit of a shock going from 3000cals a day to 1000 also. Will aim to hit around 1350 I think. I guess its just temptation as I dropped so much in under 3 weeks to continue around 1000 cals. Oh well lets see what happens? ;o)
  • ScattyGirl73
    ScattyGirl73 Posts: 25 Member
    EAT MORE!!! Your post makes me want to cry!:sad: Eat more, and walk more. Log all your food, fuel your body and don't take it too fast. It won't be long before you end up getting every bug going if you put your body under that pressure.

    Congratulations on your weightloss so far. Treat that as a kick start, and now try and up the calories. What did mfp recommend for you. I have to eat 1200 a day, and obviously eat back my exercise calories. I'm only 5ft and I would seriously struggle on 1000 calories a day.

    Slow and steady wins the race. It's the only way to keep the weight off long term :smile:

    YOU CAN DO THIS! :wink:
  • serioustuff
    serioustuff Posts: 46
    You're definitely not eating enough, and you'll eventually start to really feel it. Fortunately, adding a few more calories isn't all that difficult. I echo the people telling you to do your BMR and TDEE calculations and work from there. Even if you're hesitant to stick to them, it's still educational.

    It will get easier, and you can learn a great deal. When I first started down this path (earlier this year), I tried the same approach that you did (massive reduction in calories), but I was also exercising. I learned fairly quickly that 1000 calories isn't sustainable, at least not if I wanted to have ANY energy whatsoever.

    44027801.png
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  • kevinindelaware
    kevinindelaware Posts: 127 Member
    Way to make the choice to feel better. You'll get to your goal if you stick to eating well, leaving out the drinks (like I have done as well) and start exercising. Great Job so far!
    Hi Folks,

    Literally just turned 45 years young and am sick of wearing baggy clothes and being out of breath and being generally unfit.

    The time has come to put it right so I have put myself on a diet with an aim to get back to my fighting weight of 175lbs - the weight I was at 25 years old.

    I am currently 238lbs I started dieting a little over two weeks ago at a starting weight of 247.8lbs - I have lost an amazing 9.9lbs in 15 days by cutting down from an average of 2900cals a day to 1000. A good start but I now need to think about exercising as apparently playing my guitars and sitting in front of the PC isn't cutting it! ;o)

    I have also stopped drinking alchol apart from a couple of beers on Saturday nights, I was drinking pretty much every night. I have to be honest and say I feel so much better. Less lethargic and a bit more go in me ;o)

    Any advice would be super welcome!

    Kind Regards,
    Stephen.
  • Roberta617
    Roberta617 Posts: 9
    ADD ME I am new and need some friends to help with motivation...because the boyfriend and kids are no help here....eat junk, junk, junk! SO frustrated having it around the house!

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