I wanna lose weight

[PA Big Game Hunter]

I am 20 years old and I am 6'4 270 lbs. I am a naturally big guy (not big as in fat, just big) and I would like to get into the 240 range. I got real serious about 2 weeks ago and started watching what I eat and have already dropoed 2 lbs. I have cut out candy, fast food, and soda pop. I have been doing things like sit ups and crunches in the mornings. I would like to start running but it has snowed for 2 weeks. I just wanted to get some opinions and see if you had any ideas to help me. Any opinions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[marshhunter]

not sure of your athletic background but be careful starting a running program. You do not want to start too fast because it will lead to injury. Start off by walking for 1 week everyday for about 45 minutes to an hour. Week 2 start off walking and mix in some running at an easy pace for 1 minute intervals. You should be able to hold a conversation during the running intervals. If you cant make it for a minute then stop running when you start to breath heavy. This will keep you in the aerobic zone where your body burns fat for fuel. Just do a couple of these intervals during your walks for the first couple of weeks and when you feel better you can do more running and less walking. A core strength workout with weights or continue doing pushups situps will help get your metabolism going faster. Your body will be using more energy so when your metabolism kicks in you will seem hungary all the time. To lose weight you have to continue to eat but do not eat more. You seem to be on the right track with changing your eating habits so continue with that.
Running can be hard on the body and tends to get boring after a while so you may want to consider some cross training maybe swimming, biking or a fun sport that you like to play that gets you some excercise and keeps your motivation up.
Let me know how it goes.

[paulie]

Hey PA, check out this thread "Exercise/Routine of the Week" (if you havent already).

[DeerCamp]

Ya like paulie said, I would check that section out..JPH has some real good stuff in there.

[bmstaaf]

Lost 13 lbs since the first of the year. No POP ![quote][/quote]the thing that kills me is the beer. The walking will help same with running .biggest thing is to get your metabolism to work. You are not going to see results fast but long run you will.

[Patriot]

I've dropped from 214 to 191 (23 pounds) since November 30, 2009.  I'm 5'11"
 
What works for me?
 
Pretty simple......portion control.  No more bowls of ice cream at 10pm, no more big fast food burgers.  No more 5, 6, 7 cookies at a time.  No more pizza binges (well...maybe once per month).
 
I go to Subway (a lot) and get footlong subs (chicken breast) with no mayo.
 
I'll eat at Burger King, but get the chicken sandwhich (no mayo) and a side salad.
 
I still drink a ton of diet pop.  I try to drink a glass of water whenever I'm hungry between meals.
 
No excercise (yet), but I plan to hit the cardio soon.

[Everyday Hunter]

ORIGINAL: PA Big Game Hunter

I am 20 years old and I am 6'4 270 lbs. I am a naturally big guy (not big as in fat, just big) and I would like to get into the 240 range. I got real serious about 2 weeks ago and started watching what I eat and have already dropoed 2 lbs. I have cut out candy, fast food, and soda pop. I have been doing things like sit ups and crunches in the mornings. I would like to start running but it has snowed for 2 weeks. I just wanted to get some opinions and see if you had any ideas to help me. Any opinions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Candy, fast food, soda pop. What they all have in common is high fructose corn syrup. That's what I'm targeting. That also means most juices. High fructose corn syrup is a sugar molecule that is killing us, and ever since food manufacturers began removing fat, they've been adding HFCS to restore taste to the food. HFCS is sweeter, and cheaper than cane sugar or beet sugar, so the food manufacturers love it. But it's slow poison.

I'm losing at least 1 pound every two weeks just by reading labels and avoiding that one thing. (Of course, that means I avoid several things.) I have an achilles problem, and when I get that solved I'll be able to walk/run.

Steve

[MSHunter]

ORIGINAL: Patriot

I've dropped from 214 to 191 (23 pounds) since November 30, 2009.  I'm 5'11"

What works for me?

Pretty simple......portion control.  No more bowls of ice cream at 10pm, no more big fast food burgers.  No more 5, 6, 7 cookies at a time.  No more pizza binges (well...maybe once per month).

I go to Subway (a lot) and get footlong subs (chicken breast) with no mayo.

I'll eat at Burger King, but get the chicken sandwhich (no mayo) and a side salad.

I still drink a ton of diet pop.  I try to drink a glass of water whenever I'm hungry between meals.

No excercise (yet), but I plan to hit the cardio soon.

Patriot,
Good for you!!

The key to losing weight is to burn more calories that you consume. There are any number of possible diet/exercise programs to achieve this.
The key is finding what works for you as an individual. On a personal note, I've found that to be successful at losing weight, one must work at
it like anything else.

[hookset6969]

BIG GAME HUNTER, Keep in mind that if you like to lift weights that lifting will burn more off of you then a general walk in the park or treadmill for that matter, And I don't mean doing 4 thousand rep's either when lifting. you seem to be on the right track with where you have started with your diet. I would suggest that you eat about 5-6 times a day if possible and try to space your meals about 2-3 hrs apart. I could go on here forever but don't have the time right now but this is what I used to do back in my younger days before I tore my knee up training for the APF powerlifting world championship. Just keep in mind your current size and feed yourself a reasonable amount of food or your body will hold back and start to go into lock down mode because it thinks your starving it. The only thing that burns fat is heat and your body is the fire place and the food you eat are the logs so when to deprive your body of food your killing your fire. Keep in mind that wood is just like food some will burn better than others. I wish I could go on but I gotta run hope this makes some sense [:)]

[pickleguy]

PA
Go for it as a life style change. I have been a yo yo dieter for the last couple of years lose gain, lose gain. It makes my wife want to beat me. I have lost 27 lbs since the first of the year, portion control & exercise!!! I have a four month bet with 3 coworkers as to who can lose the most % weight in 4 months. I am losing weight faster than I probably should but it is worth $300. Just think of the hunting things I can buy with that. If I were you I would start by walking a half hour a day for a couple of weeks. Make sure you keep a pace that raises your heart rate or it does no good at all. Eat smaller portions more often & at bigger meals pay attention to how much you are putting on your plate & say no to seconds!! I am going to keep off my weight this time because it really sucks to have to hold your breath while tying your shoes. By the way I am 6' tall & started at 238#. My goal is to get down to 190 by the end of our contest & stay between 190 & 195. Good luck keep us posted on your progress. One more pointer is only weigh yourself once a week.