upforthecount Member

Lots of good advice above. Please don't be embarrassed. Every one was new to the free weight area at some point in their life. Maybe find a workout partner to relieve the stress? Good form is important, especially when you are first starting a lifting program. Develop proper form at the beginning so as you age you won't…

On YouTube, I'd recommend videos done by Mark Rippetoe. There is also a book written by him "Starting Strength, Basic Barbell Training". It's important to make sure you use good form to avoid injuries and get maximum benefits. It can be difficult to judge your own form while lifting.

Kath, you are definitely on the right track (ease back into your exercise slowly). Remember that you are changing your lifestyle - there is no going back to old habits, ever, unless you want to do the yo-yo thing. Best wishes for success.

Some of the lines are hidden. I don't see an option to unhide them.

I'm not going to call it sugar free, but I am giving up "sweets" and other foods with added sugar as much as possible for the rest of my life. Last week, at the doctor's office, I read an article about sugar addiction in Reader's digest - www(dot)rd(dot)com(slash)health(slash)diet-weight-loss(slash)sugar-addiction. After…

Starting Weight: 204 Easter Goal: 185 Ultimate Goal: ~160 (my real goal is to get down to a 30" waist) This is going to be difficult; no two ways about it.

I'm close to your age but not nearly as fit. Way to go and keep at it! And yes, it is inspiring.

For me, it is very difficult to maintain without counting cals. Too many bad habits I fall back into. Many of the other responders have methods to keep themselves on track (weighing, tight clothes, etc). But for me, I'm sorry to say, I have to keep track, otherwise I will eventually start to gain again.

I can't speak for the taste, but the truenutrition.com has a variety of non-dairy protein powders. They allow you to customize the favor any way you desire. I've been ordering protein powder (made from milk) from them for years and have always been satisfied.

That is a tough question. If possible, I try to eat something healthy just before I go out, so I'm not starving while waiting for the food to be served and get tempted by bread rolls or salsa and chips etc. The other thing, which I find difficult to do, is leave food on your plate after you have consumed the amount of…

Many of the bottled green tea brands have just about everything but green tea in them (like the aspartame that you mentioned). If you want to try the real deal, go to uptontea.com. You can order sample packs of any variety of green tea leaves they carry. And they carry a very large variety. As for sweetening, if you want…

GODfidence advice is good. Unfortunately, a person cannot affect which part of his body will lose inches first; its a genetic thing. As you lose fat, your body will make that choice for you.

For example, at 214lbs I could bench 3x12 at 120. When I weighed closer to 165, it was a struggle to do 3x3 at 120. I would end up doing 3x8 at 105. I aimed for a deficit of around 500 calories daily. Glad to hear your strength increased. I wish I could say the same.

"My goal in fitness, for the moment, is to lose weight without losing muscle mass." This is a laudable goal but very difficult to achieve. In my own case, I dropped from 214 lbs to near 160 lbs over the course of six months. I trained consistently during those months using mostly free weights. Over the course of those six…