Losing weight

Mitch Rapp

Mitch Rapp

Well-Known Fanatic
Joined
Jan 16, 2011
Messages
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Location
Tulsa area
Ok, here's the deal. I need to lose weight. I am not hugely obese or anything, but I need to drop thirty pounds fairly soon, and about fifty total. When I got maried (about 7 years ago) I was about 180, and now I stay between 220, and 230. It has begun to hamper the things I consider important, both for self defense, and for just day to day living. The recent talk about H2H training has really peaked my motivation. I am not a weak or lazy person, I work outside and do many physicaly demanding things and was doing a lot of push ups on a daily basis until a elbow injury at work put that on hold for a bit. (I say a "lot" of push ups, I could do 60 in 2 min before the injury)

So here's the question, what would yall suggest for me to do to get into a "fighting trim"?

I can't run. My knees give me trouble, and while I want running to be one of the things I can do easily I think it is better to wait until I drop a decent amount of weight before starting with running. What do yall think? anyone been here before?

ExSniper's thread really got me to thinking. H2H needs to be my next form of training, but this has to come first. I hope yall can be helpful, but also give me a kick in the butt if you don't hear from me posting results soon.
 
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It's a pretty controversial method, but I've had great success with low carb dieting. It requires a pretty scientific approach and a GANG of discipline. I can go into specifics later if it doesn't kick off a crap-storm of critical feedback.
I went from nearly 260 to 212 in a matter of 4 months, not to mention my LDL and blood pressure returning to healthy levels.

You might first try thePALEO-DIET
It is based on the premise that the kink in our armor is processed foods. You might be surprised how much weight you'll lose by cutting out everything that has processed sugar and flour.

The magic of diet and exercise is 75% diet and 25% exercise.
 
i can go more in depth if you want me to i just don't want to type for 30 minutes.. i used to be a certified personal trainer, so i dealt with this alot
1. eat 5 to 6 times per day, you body can only store fat and if you are waiting to long between meals your body stores more fat
2. cut out things that have no nutritional value, pop, chips, etc... you don't have to follow some crazy diet, just get away from things that don't benefit you at all.
3. hit the weights, for each lb of muscle you put on your RMR will increase by around 150 calories per day!!!
4. do cardio that you like... weather it is biking, step aerobics, elipitical, jump rope, walking the dog.. if you don't like to do it you won't stick with it.
5. make it a routine, meaning that you set aside time every week for this and nothing else, if you say well i will get around to it, you never will...

let me know if there is anything i can do to help..
 
Yes, these are all great tips. I am also trying to get off my last 5-10 pounds. I am not obese either but I carry every extra pound I have between my neck and waist. Not a pound of fat anywhere else on my body So 10# makes a big difference on me. So far I have dropped 18# but that last 5-10 seems to be the killer.
 
Simple formula is burn more than you take in (but you know that). Dieting rarely results in long term changes for me....it's good for dumping weight, but it will come back.

Cardio, and calorie burning circuit training activity has been really good for me when it comes to losing weight and keeping it off. You mention doing pushups, which is great but pushups alone don't burn a lot.

Try fitting pushups into a 20-30 minute circuit of pushups, body-weight squats, crunches, burpees, pullups etc...I don't worry about reps, I go by time. 1 minute of pushups, 2 minutes of crunches, 30 second rest, 1 minute pullups etc....until target time is reached. You can keep the circuit from getting boring by adding different exercises in every time you do it. I start the circuit off with some time on the treadmill or stairmaster (easier on the knees) to warm up...just depends how much time I have to work out.

Good luck.
 
A lot of people are scareed of lifting weights while trying to cut, but the fears are unfounded. Anerobic activity has been found to not only burn calories during the exercise, but for HOURS after, while your body is trying to replenish lost fuels and repair muscle tissues. The larger the muscle group activation the better.

Myth 1: ...because I don't want to get all big.
Fact: In lifting circles, if you're able to put on 15 lbs of muscle in 1 YEAR, you're considered an exceptional gainer (The Wisdom of Mike Mentzer, 1986). FAR slower than you should be losing bodyfat.

The single biggest thing I ever did in the gym for weightloss is deadlifts and squats. OH, and toss the scale, The mirror and an unbiased observer are better indicators.
 
Thanks so far guys, I am planning on going to a gym, so I can try out an elyptical, but I really like push-ups and things I can do on my own, cause I can keep doing them if I go out of town etc.
 
Mitch... If the excercise doesnt seem to work have your Doctor check your blood sugar. I noted that no matter what I did, the weight was adding up over the last few years.

Doc found that I was in the early stages of Type II diebetes. When we got the meds and diet right I dropped 20 right off the bat.

You guys remember Herschel Walker (Heisman winner from Georgia, NFL Vikings)? Rumor has it that he never touched a weight. Push ups, sit ups, floor exercise and diet- the guy was built like a greek god and never missed much time from injuries.
 
I think you already have enough good advice in this thread, but I wanted to mention you might try either (or both) Crossfit or P90X for your workout regimen. They are more like an MMA workout than anything you see in most regular gyms.

In fact since you're in BA, I recommend Extreme Combat's conditioning class. Been meaning to start back up with it myself... It's Tues/Thurs/Sat, here's a link:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Extreme-Combat-Plus-Strength-and-Conditioning/233364724002#!/pages/Extreme-Combat-Plus-Strength-and-Conditioning/233364724002?v=info
 
Look into the Low Glycemic or Glycemic Index diet. You still eat 6 times a day, you still get to eat a lot, you just restrict intake of certain foods that cause your blood sugar to go wild. Basically your body burns sugar or fat for energy. It will go for the sugar first as that is easier, so the fat stays there. The G.I. diet lets you eat a good variety of foods but limits certain foods (like potatoes) but still lets you have "friendlier" carbs. We are liking it a lot and it is working. Add on a calorie burning exercise program as others have mentioned and that weight should go away soon. Good luck.
 
ExSniper said:
Look into the Low Glycemic or Glycemic Index diet. You still eat 6 times a day, you still get to eat a lot, you just restrict intake of certain foods that cause your blood sugar to go wild. Basically your body burns sugar or fat for energy. It will go for the sugar first as that is easier, so the fat stays there. The G.I. diet lets you eat a good variety of foods but limits certain foods (like potatoes) but still lets you have "friendlier" carbs. We are liking it a lot and it is working. Add on a calorie burning exercise program as others have mentioned and that weight should go away soon. Good luck.
Click to expand...

+1 for this, works as quickly as low protein if you're strict, and keeps your energy levels high. A lot of bodybuilders have gone to this for show prep, and tons of regular athletes live by it.
 
Buy 2 months of Jenny Craig and stick with it. I lost 20 lbs on my own, then another 20 with Jenny. My wife got it for us, I thought it was a joke at first. But it is a good plan. Good food and plenty to eat. Yes, I'm being serious.
 
All great info posted so far. I am definitely no expert, but I will second the Paleo diet, I started with that and it did wonders. Along with the diet, I started doing Crossfit (the workouts are listed on their website and updated daily and are FREE). It gets your heart rate up for at least 15-20 minutes for the typical workout scaled accordingly, and most things can be done at home with only a few essentials. I bought a jump rope, some dumbbells, and supplies to build a pull up bar. I do most of my workouts in my garage, weather and temperature permitting.

Another idea if you don't want to try Crossfit, would be to invest in the P90X videos. I have heard positive things from people that have used them, and it is geared for people to be able to do in their home.

Last March I started my journey to shed some weight and I didn't want to spend money on a gym membership because I knew I could do it simply by dedicating 1 hour a day to getting in shape at home. Don't get me wrong, gyms are an amazing resource, funds just did not permit it and I had failed a few time before when going to gyms. So 80 lbs later and 15-20 to go I am confident you will be able to accomplish your goal, because if I could do it, anyone can.
 
I have P90X at the house and while it's one helluva workout I ended up shelving it because it requires a big chunk of time. After a while, I ended up picking and choosing what worked well and I had time for. It requires very little equipment though. A folding chair, some dumbells, and a chinup bar and you're all set.

It's not nearly as intense, but I had better luck with the MARSOC short card personally, since it was ALL bodyweight stuff and was on paper so I could literally do it anywhere I found myself while travelling.
 
I got up to 245 when I was on the full ride oil field credit card business lunch plan. I was down to 203 during the broken ankle saga when I had crutch everywhere. I lost the weight by reducing the food intake. Diet is 80% of the equation. Do like Benjamin said find 4-5 foods that are heavy on the protein and eat small amounts 5-6 times a day. If you can do some lifting or biking or any cardio that will obvioulsy help but the fridge is your enemy and mine too.

I eat cottage chees for lunch and breakfast with an occasional granola bar mixed in for some sweets. I eat a bunch of beef jerky for snacks. I don't like all of the sodium but its low in calories and taste yummy. Dinner is chicken or turkey sauasage. I try to stay under 1800 calories per day in diet mode. Somedays I'll go crazy and try to eat like 1000 to shock my body then ill eat more like 3000 calories to keep it guessing.
 
Bill Phillips. Body for life. http://bodyforlife.com/

I went from 230 to 185 in about 2 months. I found that I was over working in the gym. I cut down my workout, and got great results.
 
Deacon said:
I have P90X at the house and while it's one helluva workout I ended up shelving it because it requires a big chunk of time. After a while, I ended up picking and choosing what worked well and I had time for. It requires very little equipment though. A folding chair, some dumbells, and a chinup bar and you're all set.

It's not nearly as intense, but I had better luck with the MARSOC short card personally, since it was ALL bodyweight stuff and was on paper so I could literally do it anywhere I found myself while travelling.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I recommended P90X for home use but I didn't know about the "short card." That looks pretty intense, and I plan on trying that very soon. Thanks a lot for the tip Deacon.
 
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