It's hard to say. Everyone's a little bit different. However, if your diet consists of mostly junk food and you don't exercise much at the moment, the weight might come off pretty quickly after you switch to a healthier lifestyle. That's by no means a sure thing, mind you. The two most important things are to (1) take it slowly, and (2) do not starve yourself. Keeping track of your calories will become important later on, but don't overwhelm yourself at the outset. If you're like me, you probably have a lifetime of bad habits you need to break, why stress out over tiny details? It takes time to right the ship. For your diet, what I did (and what I think is easier to maintain) is I slowly started to phase in cleaner food. One month I stopped drinking sodas. The next month, I started eating wheat bread instead of white bread. The month after that, I began to eat leaner meats. I never made too many changes at once. I gave my body (and my palette) time to adjust. If you're used to eating Cheetos as a snack, vegetables won't be very tasty . . . at first. But if you give it time and experiment with different types of fruits and vegetables (which are very important), you'll actually start to like them. As far as exercising goes, like travz said, don't overdo it. You spoke about walking and jogging, and I think that's a simple enough place to start. Let your body get used to more physical activity. I can tell you from experience, trying to do too much too soon fucking hurts, haha. It sounds like you have the right idea, though.
Thank you for the advice. My whole life I have ate pretty much whatever I wanted and I don't exercise at all at the moment. I'm switching to water and diet soda's for now, and everytime I eat a meal, I am going to write it down and write down what it was that I ate. I'm going to eat healthy meals that I like. And I'm going to start exercising. Hopefully soon, improvement will show. I think cutting out high calorie drinks like shakes and energy drinks and regular soda will help a lot, and if I start maintaining what I eat, that will help too.
I'm a strong female, i need to time my self for doing push ups for 1 minute, like how we used to in elementary school [even then, i did about 80 to 100, and the 1 minute thing is for beginners or if you havent done exercise in a while]. For the advancement, do faster situps for 5 minutes without stopping. I do mine fast any way, im used to that. Its been a long time since running. I run almost as fast as the road-runner, a cartoon bird who is known for running fast. zipping through! When i was in 3-5th grade, I was the first girl and person to be done with track, i was that fast. However in 6 gd, a newbie student came now she is known to be the fastest runner and be done quicker than me. For my new exercise plan, i just made this one up a few days ago: stretch for 5 mins exercise for 25 minutes that would be like for sit-ups in many different ways. Be creative! Because of creativity, it helps with your stomach, arms and upper leg areas. Plus it'll burn much faster. then i, for me, I Belly dance for over 1hr. more like 2 hours at the mininum. if i get into the belly dancing [more than likely] then i Belly dance fo rlike 3 hours. The exercise is helpful because it creates more energy for your body. advice before start, 1. before start stretching, make sure to not eat and drink for 15 minutes. If you eaten before 15 mins, then you wait 15 mins. then your body, stomach as already started digesting. 2. it doesnt make sense to eat lunch, wait 15 mins. do the stretch/exercise/[and possible belly dance] and then when a few hours are up, you are ready for dinner. Dinner is usually the heaviest food on plate according to breakfast and lunch. so it's like adding back all of the things you lost=it equals to neutral meaning the same. so that plan was a waste. For me, i just eat dinner and if i am awake enough, i will then do the stretching/exercises/ and belly dances. i just thought, it would be a good idea to eat dinner a little bit earlier like around 8pm that way if you are busy, your stomach will digest a little faster then to go about the plan. i try to do my exact plan every day. I'll do what i can. i also record everything. we don't have a scale at home to measure weight. i just record when [the days specifically] and how long i stretch/exercise/and belly dance. I do that per month now. this tracking calender thing helps measure if you are having more energy for like doing everything [stretching/exercising/and bellydancing] for 140 minutes=equivalant to 2hours and 20 minutes. Plus the timing may change like it was 140 one day, then the next day, it'll change to 180= equivalant to 3hours and 0mins. that's huge improvement according to a day or just a lot of hours. and have fun* i am at 168 lbs before i started with this plan that i simply made up. Im glad that i made it up. i also read part of a belly dancing book- it talked about not eating for 15 mins and yes exercise for 25 mins. i just added the rest of the plan. im doing this extra exercising full plan so i can lose weight. I would be surprise if i were to lose about 20lbs in 5 weeks. [one month] with keeping up with the plan. i do love to eat so that'll be the balance.
Anyone have any advice on how to quit drinking alcohol? I wake up and drink pretty much, I'm thinking that I may be borderline alcoholic at this point. I'm gaining a lot of weight from it and I feel achy and sick a lot from alcohol as well... Please help..
If you can't just quit doing it on the spot, you're an alcoholic. Going out and partying a lot and drinking a ton is one thing, but when you have drinks when you roll out of bed for no real reason, then it's clearly a problem if you can't stop.
That's the real problem.. I wake up and want to drink. Like I go buy a bunch of beer or whiskey and drink by myself at home. I rarely ever drink with anyone and I never go to parties or bars. Alcoholism runs in my family. I don't think I have a serious problem yet, but I do this everyday and I want to stop it before it gets bad.
Eat lots of fruit, the water content is satisfying to your body. I suggest doing something else instead of drinking, whenether you want a drink, eat a piece of fruit. In the future of Earth, most people will not drink, they will realise that alcohol is bad for your internal organs, diminishes your sense of being and only serves a purpose as a tool for running away from "problems" which are only problems because you are not accepting situations which arise in your life, my dad and brother are alcoholics and can't accept this advice, I hope you take something away from it.
I need so much help. I'm 6'1 and currently weigh 235 pounds. I need help quitting soda and energy drinks, and just high calorie beverages alltogether. I want to be able to just drink water, not diet soda. I feel I could lose a lot of weight by just cutting it out alone... What is an ideal weight for a 6'1 male?
There's no way to "help" quit soda and energy drinks. Just stop. All the sugar and calories from those sodas are definitely not needed. After a while, soda will be too sweet and water will be delicious.
I'm going to try really hard, it's just sometimes hard for me. I feel like a damn drug addict or something, I can go a day or two without soda, and then I drink one and then I just start drinking it for a while and then quit again, etc.... It sucks...
The easiest way for people to lose weight is to quit drinking soda and to start drinking a gallon of water a day. I workout very intensely with a buddy, and he's still not happy with his weight loss. He's still sucking down soda like it's nothing. I always tell him that what we're doing in the weight room is the hardest part by a huge margin. Changing your diet takes no sweat, pain, or tears. It's the most effortless way to lose weight, yet most people still won't do it. The worst part is that he has the will and determination inside of him to kill himself 6 days a week in the weight room, but he can't seem to simply stop drinking soda. I constantly tell him, and he knows that he won't fully realize his goals until he changes his diet. But he has made a lot of changes to his body already, so he's still very happy. Maybe that's the problem. He's content with the progress he's made so far and might not feel the need to stop consuming something he loves.
Sodas weren't super hard for me to quit drinking, but the best advice I can give is to take it slow. Don't quit cold turkey. Cut down to one or two sodas a day. Let your body get used to that for a couple of weeks, then try to go a day or two without sodas. And, like travz said, drink a lot of water, especially while you are eating. Food tastes so much better without a sugary drink, in my opinion.
It took years for me to finally be able to do it. I emotionally overate as a kid and reaped the results. I ended up my highest weight at 199 pounds at 14 years old. I stopped eat for a few days after that one because I refused to hit 200. After several more years of seriously struggling with the weight and depression, I finally started to get myself going and losing weight... got down to about 148, and then my mom got sick. After she passed from cancer, I gained it all back. Didn't care about anything at that point. About 2 years after I lost my mom I decided that the weight was only making my life worse. In 2008, I began changing my eating habits and slowly introducing exercising (I used to sit on the couch in my depression and do nothing.) I started with walking once a day for 30 minutes. Then I realized I enjoyed walking and listening to my music, so it turned into multiple times a day. Today, I have gone from 199 pounds to 113. I (try) to eat as healthy as possible, but I don't kill myself over it if and when I slip up... I (try) to work out without missing a day, but I don't kill myself over it if I slip up. And that is VERY important... because the reason my past attempts failed, was due to the amount of times I slipped up and hated myself so much for it that I got discouraged and gave up. I maintain the weight with ease now, I can eat fatty foods and not work out and live through it, but I make sure this doesn't happen often... th I'm trying to lose at least 10 pounds more (i'm only 5'2 and i've spoken to my doctor. He said my weight now is perfect but if I feel like I NEED to, I can attempt it to lose more, but not 'too much'.) So i'm making a new work out routine and a new 'diet' (it's also important to not look at it as a diet, but a lifestyle change). I'm beginning training tomorrow for a Zombie race in November, so I think that'll be a good start. But in short, my advice is to start out slow... go at your own pace... don't rush it and don't get discouraged. Here's a before and after of myself... before from 2005, the after from last year i'll be taking more progress pics when the new progress begins! I hope I haven't bored you all too much with my babbling lol. and a second 'after' for good measure. (PS, i'm not a whore... I just like heeled boots... lol... we we're going to our friend's rock show at the local pub.)
Thank you Snail it's always nice to hear reinforcement that it's visibly paid off! Even though I know I look much different now, after so many years spent being overweight, it becomes difficult to not see yourself that way anymore. But i'm working on it
Flaunt it if you've got it. Reveal it, don't conceal it. But in all seriousness, be proud, and stay the course! Unless you're on vacation.
hahaha thank you! vacations are usually my 'safe' zone, I always dread the weigh in when I get back, though... lol.