Army Ready?? Soo not.. :(

Coming from someone who doesnt have to live by those standards I guess thats an easy side to take.

Did you miss the bit about being military, after 23 years with command responsibilities at various levels I'm comfortable with the idea of actually fulfilling command responsibilities.

COC was not the concern, and yes I read that you were military. You said: "If you pass the standards then you pass, regardless of your size, and it doesnt sound like there is anything wrong with what you described". That is what I was refering to in your post, as the standards are much different here in the US, so its easy to say there is nothing wrong with it, when you dont have to live by it. I was merly giving the above user a synopsis of the change since he asked for it. But rather than list out the reasons of why this has been an issue for many, I will leave it with the fact that the OP is trying to get fit for the US military and I was trying to give her an idea of what she is in for, so she makes the right decision for herself.

That is what I was refering to in your post, as the standards are much different here in the US, so its easy to say there is nothing wrong with it, when you dont have to live by it.

Ok, understand what you mean now. My observations were around how CoC is managing the issue, but then I've come from an environment where BFT opportunities were held weekly and the officers were expected to attend, and pass well, every week.

Fwiw if the originator works on hitting the test performance standards she should find the measurements coming down anyway. Fwiw as far as training approach is concerned I know that TRADOC have been taking lessons from the modernisation of Brit and Aussi training over the last five years. Similarly USMC, USN and USAF have done the same.

Have you tried the 5:2 lifestyle? Sure works for me. You can do it.

Instead of trying to eat less, know exactly what you eat. And be sure you're in a calorie deficit.

I'd stop walking at an incline and start running like you'll run in Basic Training. I'd also get the 100 push-ups app and start doing as many push-ups as humanly possible. I would imagine that those are the two things that people struggle the most with in Basic Training. I would also start lifting weights to build your general strength and preserve your lean muscle mass. Do a lot of HIIT for general fitness.

Start accurately logging every bite you eat. Make healthy foods a priority and try to limit processed crap and alcohol (although you don't have to eliminate it entirely if you are able to meet your macros).

Develop a tough, disciplined mindset and attack your goals like they matter.

As far as 45 minutes, sometimes I do 2-a-day workouts, with running in the mornings and lifting in the afternoons, and sometimes I do 90 minute workouts, and I'm not training for anything in particular. I have plenty of strength and lean mass. I'm pretty sure that you'll do much more than 45 minute workouts during Basic Training and you'll finish with plenty of lean mass and a lot of fat loss.

If you want to become good at something (running, push-ups, general fitness), you should do that thing as much as possible. If you get fit and strong, along with eating healthy, the fat loss will come.

My unit was at a very high fitness level so I guess I missed that. I do know that they had “remedial” PT for normal units though but I never heard of people getting discharged for being overweight.

Well, the reality is that someone in bad shape or seriously overweight is going to have a hell of a hard time humping a rucksack over 20 miles.

In the US, there was an outfit called "FTU" - Fitness Training Unit - that was a holding pen for people who couldn't even meet the requirements to get *into* Basic Training. If you couldn't march for an hour or knock out a dozen so-so pushups, that's where they'd put you for a week or two. FTU's nickname was, the Army being the Army, "Fat, Tired and Useless".

I will never qualify, but I looked into the pt standards out of curiosity and am thinking about following some of the guidelines to mix things up and help me lose some weight, get fitter, and possibly qualify for the reserves -- I'm looking for a new job and found several that I could excel at but you have to be in the reserves. In the process I found (it took a little doing) the guidelines for the PT Tests, which included 2 miles, push ups and sit ups. I also found something called the Army Pocket Physical Training Guide that had workout plans and schedules to help you get where you need to be. You might search for it online -- I could only find it online in a PDF version.

When I joined the Army years ago, I had to lose about 20 lbs...here is my advice if you want this bad enough.

1) For as long as it takes, don't eat out if at all possible. It's hard to add up calories that come in various forms in restaurants.
2) Get yourself around like minded people who exercise daily.
3) Anyone not supportive of your efforts, don't let them into your world of success
4) Log every morsal that enters your body
5) Strength training and cardio will help tremendously
6) If you have life stressors at the moment, try to get them to a minimum
7) Stay absolutely focused on your goal.....

Good Luck!

Army or not, it is calories in... calories out. I found for myself that I might forget to count the "small amount of oil" I used to cook, or the mayo on a sandwich. Once I was confronted to measure and weigh all foods and count them before I ate them, things really changed. Honesty is key. I had to get honest with myself. I exercise a minimum of an hour a day. MFP takes that into account.
Good Luck. Stay strong.

I'm ex-military myself (from New Zealand). I did the hard yards before the recruit course, turned up and found it not too hard. There were other girls who were unprepared and they found it hard, like soul destroying hard. Also in the military world, you need to be on time for everything. If you are late back from a run - guess what happens - you are late for your next class. Then you get more negative attention.

Best to turn up fit and in shape, and it will be a much better and positive experience for you. A previous poster is correct in saying that you will be required to maintain fitness too after the recruit course. In our case, we were fitness tested every 6-12 months.

All the best for your future!