Time for a change

[garland sooner]

Ok. So, I'm 20, 5'9" and about 260lbs and I've never really worked out in my life. I've decided I've had enough of it and I want to make a change. The problem is that I pretty much know nothing about going to the gym except that I could get on a treadmill and run. So, the next time I go to the Huff, what kind of exercises should I be doing? Cardio? Weight training? Tell me what you all do and maybe I won't doom myself to being overweight forever.

[RUSH LIMBAUGH is my clone!]

In a nutshell, regular exercise of just about any kind will help, but the more important thing is to cut back on the chow some. It takes a concentrated effort at first, but the weight loss will come fast.

[SoonerSid]

sign up on a slow pitch softball team.. it always helps you to stay in shape and it limbers you up too..

[Ash]

cardio is the most important thing to trim your fat gut...weights do some, but only if you minimize rest between the different exercises (keep up the heart rate and burn out the muscle). Strength and endurance are part of a good routine, but cardio is what trims the fat off your a$$.

And like someone else said, good diet contributes a great deal. If you get on the treadmill for 30 minutes, then go chow on chicken fried steak, extra mashed potatoes with sour cream, fried okra, down several beers and finish it off with a fried pie...your fighting a losing battle.

[soonerboomer93]

cardio first and foremost

if you do weights, you can do cycles to keep your heart rate up

cardio burns more calories, weight training burns calories longer post workout

and just be glad you're doing it at 20, not 30+ like me

[GottaHavePride]

Step 1: Give up the soda. At the very least switch to diet sodas.

Step 2: Replace sodas with water. Lots of water.

That'll help, too.

[soonerboomer93]

and also switch from beer to hard liquor

beer very high in calories

[Norm In Norman]

Ok, for the diet I'm on I:
Walk at least 30 minutes 3 times a week. Evidently walking is good for burning fat. It has to be at least 30 minutes at a time to be very effective though.
Increase the amount of protein I'm eating (chicken, fish, lean beef, turkey)
Decrease the amount of carbs I eat
try to cut out sugar
always eat an equal amount of protein with carbs or sugar
Eat all the fruits and veggies i can stomach
cut out all caffeine
drink at least 6 glasses of water per day

And there are some pills I'm taking, but I wonder if they are doing much.

[jacru]

...the more important thing is to cut back on the chow some. It takes a concentrated effort at first, but the weight loss will come fast.
“No Need to Diet and Exercise to Lose Weight.” A major debunk. “A new study debunks the widely held belief that diet plus exercise is the most effective way to lose weight. Researchers report that dieting alone is just as effective as dieting plus exercise.” It’s very simple. “Dr. Leanne Redman of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, said, ‘For weight loss to occur, an individual needs to maintain a difference between the number of calories they consume everyday and the number of calories they burn through metabolism and physical activity.” More people burn more calories through metabolism than they do through exercise.

“Redman and colleagues found that the diet-only group and the diet plus exercise group lost roughly the same amount of weight, albeit by different means. They lost about 10 percent of their body weight, 24 percent of their fat mass and 27 percent of their abdominal ‘visceral’ fat -- the deep internal fat linked to heart disease risk. Therefore, if the goal is purely shedding pounds, diet or exercise will work,” but you don't have to do both at the same time.

From a Reuters story. (http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSTON20527420070222)

[Widescreen]

Adding muscle will burn fat even when you're just going about your daily business.

[Octavian]

start smoking

[soonerboomer93]

excercising will make you healthier, dieting might make you thinner

[StoopTroup]

Have your jaws wired together for 9 weeks.

Drink lots of fluids.

YWIA

[OUHOMER]

Good luck dude, I just started working out about 3 weeks ago. We have been going 3 to 4 times a week (mostly 3 day M, W, F). I think I need to start going 6 days. I do tread mill, than get on the elliptical running machine, get my heart rate up, than I hit the weight machines and try and do 3 sets on each. I have only lost 5 lbs, but I can feel my arms getting tighter and stronger.

Yea, my diet sucks, but I am working on it. It took me 48 years to get to where I am now. So it’s not going to get better in a few short weeks. Also if you smoke, like me quit. I have slowed way down on my smoking and hopefully I will have this kicked too. It’s hard to get on a cardio program if you can’t breath.

So I am trying to lose weight, change my diet, and quit smoking. Not easy

[jacru]

Exercise is great, beneficial, healthy, etc. but, for weight loss it's all about what you eat.

[Sooner Born Sooner Bred]

Do they have trainers that can help you at Huff? If so, I'd do that. This has been the best in keeping me motivated to go work out.

Diet and exercise must go hand in hand. If you just work on the eating part, you might lose weight but you won't be gaining muscle tone to replace the fat loss. Instead you'll just have hanging skin.

Good job for working on it!

[garland sooner]

thanks, guys. I appreciate the help.