I’m new here at T-Nation and I just wanted some input. I’m 24 years old, have been struggling with weight for a long time now and I just need to turn everything around. When I was a junior in high school I was lifting weights 3 times a week for a little over a year. I saw a great amount of change and honestly quit because I had already started feeling better about myself and was happy the way I was looking.
I really haven’t lifted weights much since then and have gained a lot of weight. I have went on a few diets and lost weight, but never changed my habits and gained it right back. I’ve just gotten really mad at myself, and have decided to do a whole life style change. This website is very inspiring, and I’m determined to do what ever it takes. The highest weight I’ve gotten to was 240 pounds, and I’m 5’11.
Starting November 1st I have been on a diet and lost about 30 pounds. So right now I’m weighing at 210. I really haven’t been dieting the healthiest way, but I figure it’s alright to get started with. My question is…should I keep losing weight til I’m about 180 and then change my diet and start lifting? Or should I start lifting right now?
I know it’s gonna take a lot of time and I’m ready for it. Everytime I start lifting when I’m around this weight, I gain about 10 or 20 pounds but never really look like I’ve done too much. I want to be around 180 but toned, so I was just wondering what you all think. My work schedule is a little weird to get started on, but I should be able to work out something. I work 12 hours everyday for 7 days straight, then I’m off for 7 full days.
I know in order to have success, you have to have a plan with atleast 6 hours of sleep, have consistency with your weight lifting and diet. It’ll be easy for the days I’m off but when I’m working, I’m not totally sure what to do. Feel free to post anything that might get me started on the right direction. Thanks!
Do both. Diet is what will matter when it comes to losing weight. Strength training will keep the weight off and prevent rebounding. Dieting without exercise leads to the yoyo effect which leads to morbid obesity and eventualy heart attack and death.
Try the Paleo Diet for a long term eating strategy.
Lift weights to Lose weight…no joke! Cardio will keep muscle off, now I ain’t saying Cardio’s bad, its good to go out and do a bit of running or play your favourite team sprot once every so often I just wouldn’t make a habit of it…weight training, proper diet, good supplementation and the fat will melt off ya!
You need to educate yourself. Read the stickies at the top of the beginner’s forum, and find an eating style you can do.
Then find a training style you can handle.
follow them both exactly as they are written until you reach your goal.
Lifting weights now will help maintain the muscle mass you have now. Dieting down without lifting is bad. You will burn all muscle away with the fat and never be “tone.” (BTW, that word is so misleading.)
Lift weights and eat right. Now go read and figure out what that means.
Start lifting NOW! I was in exactly your position a year ago and I dieted way down while doing low intensity cardio and lost soo much muscle it’s depressing. Sure I lost fat but I was skinny fat at 180lbs. It’s taken me since summer to build up a little muscle and look good at 180lbs.
Dietwise: look up the nutrition for newbies two part series to get started. figure out required calories, make a plan based off the basic guidelines and post it here.
Routinewise: I champion complexes since they have worked so well for me however 10x3 for fat loss, TBT, or HIIT are all great and will greatly accelerate fat loss while helping to prevent some muscle loss. I also suggest taking at least one day a week and lifting heavy with the money lifts(deadlifts, cleans, squats, etc) to remind your body it needs to keep muscle when in a calorie deficit.
I would advise against using the word ‘tone’ to describe your goal. Mostly because nobody really knows what it means, and it’s kind of a jargon word for thin weak personal trainers and 16 yr-old girls. Even if you fall into one of these categories, I would advise against it’s continued usage.
Lift weights. Specifically, squat, deadlift, bench press and row. These will put some muscle mass on you or at least allow you to keep your current muscle while dieting off your fat.
What are you currently doing now? It is definitely good that you have begun your transformation, and are taking steps in the right direction. If you post what you are currently doing, we should be able to help tweak it so that you acheive better results.
Your work schedule looks like it will make things difficult. Honestly, I would recommend a staggered approach where you lift MWF on your ‘on’ week, and then lift MWF on your ‘off’ week with three sessions of interval running as well. Time is usually the limiting factor.
The 7 off 7 on workweek thing is a bitch - but you can work around this.
Hell, some crazy people might even say that go hard on the 7 off days with your training and really focus on getting higher numbers in the 3 big compound movements (bench,squat,dead).
Then rest on the 7 on days with maybe some bodywork shit (pushups,pullups on a door, jumping jacks, whatever) and maybe a 15 minute sprint (I didnt say jog. I said sprint!)
I am of course assuming you dont have gym equipment at work (and a 12 hour day is going to fuck you up).
The workout plan you decide upon is the easy part.
Being at work long hours means you’re going to have to have your shit together with your nutrition.
Pack some fruit, some nuts, some vegetables and some lean protein which will make up the daily calories you need. AND CONSUME IT IN PIECES OVER THE DAY EVERY 3 HOURS!
My imagination thinks you work in a mine or something so this will be the hard part.
Thanks for the comments guys. I’ve done a lot of reading before this post and still couldn’t figure anything out, so it really helps knowing what all of you think. I know my schedule sounds pretty rough, but it’s so much better than previous jobs I’ve worked. I did electrical work for a couple of years, and then installed alarm systems afterwards. It got pretty tough working the long hours, not getting many days off, and had bad habits of eating a lot to get most of my energy.
I felt WAY too tired to think about lifting at all, especially in the extreme temperatures of being in an attic or just outside in general. I recently got a job in the IT field and mainly sit down in an office for my 12 hour work days. Luckily there is a workout room and shower in the building. I have 8 hours to play around with before my boss and other co-workers show up in the office.
Don’t get me wrong, I can’t spend my whole 8 hours lifting, but sure can lift on my breaks and can extend the them a little on certain days. I feel like I definately can change things now. Like I said before, my eating habits were not healthy to lose my weight so far…but to me, it felt easier and quicker than anything else. I drink a lot of water, juices, take vitamins, and eat a small meal every OTHER day.
After about 3 days of this, my body gets use to not eating hardly at all and adjusts to the change. It might sound like a wimpy or girly thing to do, but honestly for me it was extremely easy to adjust to and saw results FAST. I know that’s not the way to go especially for a lifestyle change, but wanted to lose some weight before getting starting on any weight training. My plan now is to read a little more on some supplements I should take and decide what my diet is going to consist of. Thanks again for helping me get on the right track!
That is not a good eating plan at all. You are starving yourself, and you will lose TONS of the muscle mass you already have. At the end you may be your desired weight but you will look flabby and skinny fat because you lost all your muscle. Use the search function on this site. Search Nutrition for Newbies articles. Also read all the stickies here in the beginners forums. Low-carb dieting will provide extremely fast results as well and you will be able to eat often.
Pick an eating plan you can do and do it.
Pick a lifting plan you can do and do it.
Throw in some extra cardio, intervals or whatever. Monitor your progress to ensure you’re losing fat at a rate of 1-2lbs/week. Continue for 12-16 weeks. This will make you look the way you want to look.
What you’re currently doing will make you look… well, google ‘starving african child’ and you’ll get the picture.