Help me lose weight. Please!

asadkhwaja96
asadkhwaja96 Posts: 9 Member
edited November 2024 in Getting Started
Hey Guys,

I am a 19 year old male, who is currently 60lbs overweight (210 lbs). I have to get down to around 150lbs, and I am new to all this fitness, exercise and calorie counting. I need help in setting a reasonable goal to lose the fat and hopefully gain a lot of muscle! (Ex: I don't know how to work with my calories to lose fat and gain muscle)

Somebody please help!

Replies

  • WendyLaubach
    WendyLaubach Posts: 518 Member
    Doing both at once can be complicated. May I suggest you concentrate first on choosing a daily calorie budget that produces steady weight loss, maybe 1 lb. a week? (And of course, as always, log log log.) The number of calories that will take will depend on your steady level of daily exercise of whatever type your choose, in the neighborhood of 30-45 minutes a day. Then, when it comes to building muscle--either at the same time or after you've established a reliable pattern of shedding pounds--there are tons and tons of books, articles, and YouTubes about suitable strength-training exercises, with or without a gym. The consensus seems to be that resistance training is what you want for muscle building. Some people favor cardio for weight loss and strength training to build muscle; others claim strength training is adequate for both. There also appears to be a consensus that you should keep your protein intake high. I wouldn't know about that; body-building is beyond my amibitions just at this moment! I'm focused on getting the weight down before I worry about muscles (beyond my weight-bearing ones, of course, which already get plenty of work :-)). For getting the weight down, it's all about calories in/out; the other details can easily become a distraction.
  • vivmom2014
    vivmom2014 Posts: 1,649 Member
    Input your stats to lose 1.5 lbs/week. Your primary aim is to remove body fat. It's a great idea to strength train at the same time. Any exercise will earn you additional calories to eat.
  • asadkhwaja96
    asadkhwaja96 Posts: 9 Member
    Thank you All for your help!

    I guess for the time being I will focus on losing weight (fat) by keeping a close eye on my calorie intake, and trying to burn more than I consume by doing cardio and a bit of strength training. Afterwards, I will focus on gaining more muscle than I previously had.
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    asadkhwaja96 wrote: »
    Thank you All for your help!

    I guess for the time being I will focus on losing weight (fat) by keeping a close eye on my calorie intake, and trying to burn more than I consume by doing cardio and a bit of strength training. Afterwards, I will focus on gaining more muscle than I previously had.

    It's valuable to preserve as much of the muscle you have, because it's harder to build than you realize. 1-1.5 lb/week is a good place to start and as you get closer to goal weight, you should slow that. Input your exercise calories (if you have a Fitbit or other tracker, you can sync it here, and let it determine your burn, if you don't then just input it here), eat about 50% of your exercise calories back until you see how it is working for you. The first week is typically a big loss (mostly water weight), so don't be surprised. If you are doing a new workout routine, you may not get a big drop. Your body will hold water to help repair the muscles from the workouts.

    As for the burn more than you eat, I want to make one point, just because it is so often misunderstood by people. Your body will burn calories every minute of every day, while you sleep, watch TV, workout, etc. So the burn more part, includes your just existing. So don't try to go to the gym and workout until the calorie estimates say 1800, and then you eat less than that. Let the program do it's thing. Aim to be right below or slightly above the daily calorie goal (plus 50% of your workout), and give it some time. In about 4-6 weeks you can revaluate your plan. If you are losing too much, eat a bit more. If you are losing less than you had expected, eat a little less.

    Slow and steady. Be consistent, persistent, and patient. You can do it! And read the threads stickied at the top of the getting started and general diet forums called Most Helpful Posts. These have a great amount of information in them, start with the ones on logging accurately. Best wishes!
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