My weightloss story...I thought you might be interested

Cat695

Ok This is pretty long but its worth a read and should keep you entertained so please have a look.....and keep an open mind!

Ok I hit 36 in June I weighed in at over 18 stone (I'm a man standing 6ft 2) so I carried it pretty well (I've always been a large guy...think rugby build).

But due to some medical reasons (I have crohns disease) and adding that to just turning into a lazy bloke I turned fat and I mean the dangerous fat (if you have a big belly and its hard when you push it in thats the dangerous kind because the fat is all around your organs!!!)

Anyway I decided I needed to sort my life out so I did my research and started....just over 3 months later I'm down to 16 stone and believe it or not it was actually quite simple.

I've actually lost more FAT weight than the 2 stone but I've put on MUSCLE weight.....I feel a hell of alot better and (this is the bit I like) actually enjoy waking up and knowing that today I'm going to be pushing my body a little bit more that before oh and I look damn good even if I do say so myself.;)

This was MY way of doing it......it may not suit you but it works and the best bit its actually really easy.....I'm no front cover model but I'm not far off a six pack now how many 36 yro can show you a 6 pack!!

I always keep this in mind (as qouted by Arnie) as it gives me the boost I sometimes need to get out there. (but any quotes from a rocky film helps lol)
It's simple, if it jiggles, it's fat.


Now for some myths (and I promise you won't agree on them all but they are myths)

• Starving yourself does not work (your body needs fuel or it will store fat)
• Living off Diet plans (and I mean Atkins etc etc) DO NOT WORK not if you want to continue to keep the weight off
• exercising everyday is best (no really its not)
• Exercising for hours ( when was the last time you saw a gorilla or a lion exercise or even a cheetah)
• Cardio is the best for weight loss (erm actaully long term its not)
• I must lose X stones (actually you probably don't you just need to lose FAT)
• I don't have the time (doing anything is better than nothing)
• don't eat anything before bed (nope you CAN eat before bed)
• Fat burning pills work (erm NO THEY DON'T or we'd all be slim surely)
• Eating beans/lentils/cardboard keeps the weight off (erm maybe but boy you'll be tired hungry and naggy)

Now the truths

• Eating 6 meals a day is better than 3 (this gets your metabolism fired up all day long) metabolism=fat burn
• Muscle is far better at keeping fat off than cardio in the long term
• Exercising for more than 40 mins is actually a waste
• Think I must lose FAT and not weight (you can actually be VERY healthy and be 20 stone.....though I'm sure most of you women would rather be less than that)
• Protein is your friend (white meat)
• Interval training is the quickest way to burn fat (what so no long boring runs)
• eating nice foods helps in losing weight (when I say nice I mean the food you actually enjoy eating and not the cardboard rubbish you see people struggling with on diet plans

Now I know I mention muscle in there (I don't want to look huge you cry) but if you lost loads of weight and didn't gain any muscle you would look damn ill.....I talking about a nice muscle tone (think tight butt...nice calfs...and for the men broad shoulders and bigger arms)

Heres how I did it......First of all I decided I'm NOT after losing weight its about getting rid of FAT.....two very different things!! so keep the scales hidden


THE FOOD

I changed my diet (no NOT GO ON A DIET change of DIET)....oh and believe me its hard eating 6 meals a day....and thats coming from a guy you can eat a LARGE dominos on his own with a starter!!you will NEVER go hungry.....you should always eat WHEN you're hungry (its your body telling you it needs fuel)

• I stopped ALL take away food (less subways)...yes thats the hard part (though not forever just to help)
• STOP alcohol...listen if you want to lose FAT its got to go...end of...its the worst kind of calories because it does NOTHING for the body other than actually STOP your metabolism!!
• have a cooked breakfast EVERY morning.....ok I lied a little here I have 2 poached eggs on brown bread (no butter etc) with beans and cooked tomato plus a banana (so you have protein/fibre and carbs) or have musli(boring) with lots of fruit/yoghurt
• snacks= nuts/fruit/cottage cheese/Feta cheese/dried fruit/low fat yoghurt etc
• Lunch=I normally just have fruit/yoghurt and a good chicken/turkey salad sandwich/baguette/Pasta/Rice (more protein and some carbs)
• snack=as other snack
• evening meal= NOW this is the hard bit as you have to do research on the foods NO CARBS (well no foods that are high in carbs as no carbs is pretty impossible) so lots of chicken/oily fish/loads of steamed veg
• last meal=I normally have fruit or a tin of Hienz soup and a protien shake (protein shakes are NOT needed) Feta cheese is ok/some milk/something thats slow digesting and has protien...but again NO CARBS...just keep it small and low calorie such as raw veg

Now I keep going on about protein.....Protein is needed for muscle repair...exercise equals muscle damage (which is a good thing) so you need LOTS of protein
HOwever the body can only digest approx 30g of protein each meal so over doing it is a waste (a chicken breast is approx 20g-40g depending on the quality)
Try and get protein into your body within 30 mins of any workout as this will help with the repairs
Casein and whey protein is your best source of protein;)

You need carbs in the morning as that is helping fuel your body......hence why you shouldn't have Carbs from late afternoon onwards as you will just store it as FAT

Good carbs are....rice/potato's(NOT chips of any kind)/pasta (these should NOT be refined though)

Oh and drink LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS of water.....helps keep you full and your skin will look damn good

THE TRAINING starts here

you don't need to stick to the timings (just remember my myths and truths tho)

REST DAYS are VERY VERY important or you will burn out and HATE training

Walking a mile burns the same calories as running a mile....however if you run 10 you will burn more in the time while running but the same overall as walking 10 (ie over the next 24 hrs)

I started off with the couch to 5k running program

I used this one as it was free to look at (just print the page off) but have to pay to download(not very MSE).
http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml

at the end of my session I would always do 25 push ups and 25 situps....its not going to make you big but it helps maintain muscle growth

Now I decided to do the running bit as this gets the weight off fast......its more interval based IE you run AND walk not just plod for hours on end getting bored.

STOP....get some decent trainers...YOU must get some decent trainers....running will NOT knacker your knees FACT. (so no excuse)

Now I hate running (and still do) so I got a bike but remember this simple rule if you decide to hit the bike instead of running

1 mile running is equal to 3 miles cycling(you do the maths)

Cycling downhill doesn't count...sadly
Again Interval training is better
Cycle EVERYWHERE ie nip to the shops/paper etc

This got the weight shifted in no time (about 2 months I had lost the 2 stone) but boy did I look skinny.....I looked ill...remember I have always had a big build the look didn't suit me so I needed to gain weight (what!! I hear you cry but you've just lost it)

The HARDEST part

gaining weight without putting on the fat

This is where weight training now kicks in........I will follow up with the weight training side for you guys later

I will give you some myths and truths about weight training

Also I will show you training that EVERYBODY can do......its not just about being MASSIVE its about being toned

Starting with Core strength....core what?.....the foundation to any weight training program.....without it you might aswell not bother

Cat695

Ok Good morning to you all:beer:(oooops no booze remember lets pretend they are tea!! lol)

First of all thank you to the guys and gals that have read so far (maybe think i'm talking out of my behind) and thanks for the erm thanks

Ok so this morning I'm going to cover what you should be doing to continue your lose weight/keeping the weight off and building the foundation for gaining a LITTLE muscle....the buzz words is CORE strength

WHAT IS CORE STRENGTH

Well its pretty simple really its all to do with your torso/pelvic/back and abs (deep muscles) you use them pretty much all the time....they help maintain your balance (in a big way) and really help if you decide to get into weight lifting.

you'll be suprised that you probably already have pretty strong core strength however once you start to train them you will start to feel very different in yourself (does it make you breathless to do up shoes?? even sit up is a bit of a chore?)

OK lets get some myths and truths out about weight training


The Myths of weight training

• you can turn fat into muscle
• The more you workout the more you'll grow
• you have to be BIG to be strong.....
• you needs weights to weight train
• doing lots of situps will give you a 6 pack
• women need to train differently than men
• muscle turns to fat
• weight training makes you BIG
• lifting weights for high repititions will give you tone
• I have to eat LOTS of food to weight train

As I said the above are myths and you shouldn't believe in a single one


Now for some TRUTHS of weight training

• You MUST rest for your muscles to grow
• weight training burns more fat than cardio overall
• weight training fights depression
• weight training CAN be done by women with making you look muscular
• weight training makes you strong

OK now we've got rid of some of the myths hopefully now you will start to realise that weight training isn't just for steriod mad meat heads.....everybody and anybody can do it

Lets get back to core strength

we need to train the core to help us with what is called FORM.....form is how you lift weights....by having GOOD form means you will work the muscles in a safe way but also maximise the workout...bad form can lead to injuries and you not actually achieving anything

now before we get into the exercises you need to know about Repititions and sets (known as Reps and sets) to keep it nice and simple a set is a number of reps

so 1 set equals 8 reps or it could equal 20 reps

Now depending on what type of weight training you are doing depends on how many reps and sets you need to do......and this is the weird bit

reps are the more important part of your training (but not the main one)

weight training can do 3 things depending on the number of reps (this is just an average guide)

1-8 reps builds strength (think lifting small cars lol)
8-12 reps builds muscle mass (think toning...called Hypertophy)
12-20 reps builds endurance (think doing 100 pressups without breaking a sweat)

All 3 different reps ranges will build muscle and tone you but if you want to build more in one area then you should stick to that reps range

now we also need to take into consideration the following (and this may sound obvious) but the weight you are lifting

the general rule is more weight equals bigger strength....however once you get use to a certain weight to see more gains (and you feel you want to go higher) then you need to start adding more weight (it actually gets adictive) you should start with 50/60% of your max weight

Also the timings (as in how long each rep should take) we'll call it the Tempo....

So 2-1-2-1 mean lift for 2 secs hold for 1 down for 2 and pause for 1 (easy eh)

overall what you are working towards in the reps/sets ranges is working to failure....ie when you can no longer lift that weight.....if you can lift the weight in the final rep of the final set then you simply need to add ore weight (ooo that means your getting stronger)

for starters you should be looking at 1-3 sets of 8-12 reps per exercise

so 8reps x 3 sets of bench press

However there is another way of weight training called High intensity training....HIT

and it works on the basis that you do 1 set of 8 reps at 80/90% of your max weight that you can lift (so if you can lift 100KG then 80/90KG)

if you look at Lions/Gorillas etc they do not do any sort of training yet they are damn strong......some of it is down to evolution obviously but us humans have the exact same muscle and it works just the same for us

BY simply doing a full body workout at 80% of your MLW (max lift weight) you can see and will see massive improvements both in your strength and muscle growth (ie toning)

ANyway back to core strength (did i get side tracked or what)

Here are 5 easy good core strength exercises that will after a few weeks will get you feeling great
http://www.walesrowing.com/coaching/seminar_files/exercises_for_core_strength.pdf

40 mins is all you need any more can be counter productive.....starting out you should be doing 3 days a week but once your happy with what you have gained you can cut it down to 1 day a week and you will keep the shape and the weight off....howver remember YOU NEED REST DAYS or your muscles will not grow!!

start with 3 sets of 8 reps....and then next sessions go to 9 reps so on and so on till you hit 12......then you can start the actually weight training side.... more on that later.

remember core strength is important as its the foundation
it won't happen over night
you will look good!!


I wish you well and I will be back soon with more info

Please don't waste your money on diet plans and pills etc etc YOU DO NOT NEED THEM!!;)