# FAT and need help / advice



## davidlewis26 (May 9, 2010)

Hi everyone im looking for some help/advice if possible im 27 years old and just under 6ft but my problem is that i now way 17 stone 9pounds. I want to lose weight but unsure on what diet i should use and what i can eat and drink the problem is i look online for advice and there is so much out there its mind boggling. So i was hoping that someone on here that has had this problem before and beat it could put me in the right direction on what i need to do. thanks all in advance


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## bigmc (Mar 22, 2010)

The simple solution is eat less, move more. Cutting crisps, biccies, fried food, processed food, bread and sugary snacks, eat lots of lean meat and fresh fruit and veg and at least 2 litres of water a day.


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## alan hanson (May 21, 2008)

im no expert and lucky as never had a weight problem, but guessing stop snacking and eat good meals so you dont feel like snacking, heard eating slower makes a difference too. above all exercise is top not only for weight loss but your overall health also.


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## McClane (Dec 9, 2010)

davidlewis26 said:


> Hi everyone im looking for some help/advice if possible im 27 years old and just under 6ft but my problem is that i now way 17 stone 9pounds. I want to lose weight but unsure on what diet i should use and what i can eat and drink the problem is i look online for advice and there is so much out there its mind boggling. So i was hoping that someone on here that has had this problem before and beat it could put me in the right direction on what i need to do. thanks all in advance


^^ That's step no.1 :thumb:

Step no.2 might be to log onto www.johnstonefitness.com

All you need can be found there for free, along with a lot of good motivation/learnings from the man himself. Just check his original Jan 2003 picture to see what he's come from. All his stuff about food and training is archived for free access. :thumb:

The "My Transformation" tab is the useful one.


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## davidlewis26 (May 9, 2010)

McClane said:


> ^^ That's step no.1 :thumb:
> 
> Step no.2 might be to log onto www.johnstonefitness.com
> 
> ...


brilliant thank you


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## ITHAQVA (Feb 20, 2011)

Eat natural foods (Not packet crap).
Drink plenty of water.
Do aerobic Exercise every day, about half an hour to an hour.
Calculate your diet & exercise so that you burn 500 calories a day more than you consume
Do weigths three times a week, it will grealty increase your results as muscle burns more calories than bodyfat.
Try not to eat to late before bed.

Your question is a simple one, but to answer it fully would take ages. You need to understsnd a bit about nutrition & exercise.


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## maestegman (Mar 3, 2011)

Hi David

Good on ya for posting. This is an extremely friendly forum and you'll get lots of great advice and hear many inspirational stories about weight loss.

I lost 8st three years ago and kept most of it off.

First of all: Set small targets. I joined Weight Watchers. I didn't follow the diet - I just needed the discipline of a weekly weigh-in.

Secondly: Bin alcohol. Two reasons here. One, it's empty calories. Two, and more importantly for me, it's stops you getting the munchies / losing your discipline.

Thirdly: Make sure you exercise. You don't need to go nuts - just move more than you're doing at the moment. Join a gym where they hold classes. Class goers are always supportive and you'll never feel out of place. Early morning is better if you can make it. Oh, and, if you feel uncomfortable showing your body at the moment, don't shower there. Get sweaty then shower at home. There'll be plenty of time to show off your muscles when you achieve your ideal weight.

4th: Schedule a cheat day. You'll go bonkers (and your weight loss plan will be unsustainable) if you don't. Don't go crazy however - just reward yourself with a chocolate or something sweet.

5th: Set a big target. Decide what your treat is going to be at the end of your journey. For me, it was a sports car.

6th: Drink lots of water. This is a great tip. Water will fill you up.

7th: Combine cardio with weights sessions. You'll lose weight slower if you only do cardio.

8th: More protein, less carbs, less fat. Learn to love cottage cheese and tuna. You'll learn to eat more fillers too (e.g. salad and other things full of fibre).

9th: Go easy on dairy products (except 8 above) and learn to love skimmed milk. 

10th: Sleep and relax. You can only push yourself to the max if you get enough rest.

PS An energetic car cleaning session can easily burn 600 calories


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## davidlewis26 (May 9, 2010)

maestegman said:


> Hi David
> 
> Good on ya for posting. This is an extremely friendly forum and you'll get lots of great advice and hear many inspirational stories about weight loss.
> 
> ...


thanks for taking the time to write back the people seem great on here. With regards to weight watchers do many men go ? i allway's thourght it was a womans thing or i would have gone a long time ago


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## Scatty (Oct 1, 2010)

There are lots of diets out there, i use to be really big and i did the Cambridge diet, i know not everyone is going to agree with it. But i did lose alot of weight and in the first week lost half a stone. It is online if u want to have a read up.


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## maestegman (Mar 3, 2011)

davidlewis26 said:


> thanks for taking the time to write back the people seem great on here. With regards to weight watchers do many men go ? i allway's thourght it was a womans thing or i would have gone a long time ago


There were quite a few other blokes there when I went.

It really doesn't matter if you're the only fella there though - the ladies that attend the classes are fab and will be really supportive. Don't forget, everyone who goes is in the same boat!


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## Derekh929 (Aug 28, 2011)

Speaking with experience hear used to go up and down weight all the time 6F 1" 18st 7lbs now can stay at 16 st no problem breakfast every morning porridge or cereal etc bacon on grill on Sunday and sandwich and fruit and jelly for lunch and normal supper cut down on loaf and cheese and my favorite crisps but best of all plenty of washing cars and tidying up the garage and doing gardening, another thing that helped was have high bP and get cholesterol checked every 6 months so makes me be good but i always have treat at weekends but don't eat late now and always at set time. But also in summer go for long fast walk twice a week. Now want to come down a little more to 15st 7lb do it slow and you have to change your whole mind set IMHO , hope this helps


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## davidlewis26 (May 9, 2010)

maestegman said:


> There were quite a few other blokes there when I went.
> 
> It really doesn't matter if you're the only fella there though - the ladies that attend the classes are fab and will be really supportive. Don't forget, everyone who goes is in the same boat!


yea good point mate thanks


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## buck-egit (Aug 19, 2008)

Check this out... If you need motivation and the proof you can do it if you put your mind to it THIS IS IT !!!!!


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## Shiny (Apr 23, 2007)

I've been fat pretty much most of my life and i've just started to do something about it properly after many half-arsed attempts over the years. I've always eat well, but walking to the car was about the most exercise i've ever really done.

I've cut out sugar, eat plenty of fruit and have started exercising by a two mile walk on the treadmill each night at a pace i can just about cope with. In the last few days i've even managed to incorporate a bit of jogging within my two mile walk. We are a bit fortunate that my missus bought quite a good treadmill 2nd hand about 10 years ago, so i can do this at home and still find time with the kids etc.

I've also cut out alcohol, that's quite hard coming home after a crap day and opting for a glass of water instead of cider.

What is disappointing is that i'm not losing very much weight, loosing a pound or two one day and then seeming to put it back on another. However, I've noticed my shirts are not as tight as are my trousers and there is a noticeable difference in the amount my belly protrudes. I'm sure the loss of weight will come, my missus reckons i could be building up some muscle which is why can't see the difference on the scales.

I do feel better for it though, I've noticed i can walk places quicker and where me and kids used to take the lift from the 5th floor of the multi-storey every Saturday, we now walk up and down the stairs and i'm not dying when i get to the top!

I'm only a month in and really hope i can keep it up this time. So good luck to all in my position and may we persevere!


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## Radlin (Aug 18, 2011)

I'm now 12st 2 after reaching almost 16 stone and rather than trying to stick to a diet (which is all to common prone to failure) would encourage as has been said eating less and substituting all snack food to cereal and fruit. I've managed to loosing and keeping weight off through being 'good' during the week i.e. small meals, NO snack/sweet stuff and walking. If I'm hungry which tends to be in the late evening I eat a bowl of cereal (shredded weat bite size/weetabix) being very filling and low in saturated fat. During weekends I'm a little more lax in that if I want ice cream or a Big Mac I'll have it, in that way you're not permanently depriving yourself of lets face it.. food that's nice. That way during the week you're far more likely to stick to your plan as you know the weekend isn't far away for that treat. You'll find that after perhaps a couple of weeks or so you'll get used to the regime and are probably much more likely to 'keep at it' than strict dieting.

Oh and if you can get a dog... I've never been a lover of walking but know the dog needs to go out, so walk him twice a day for 2 miles or so. Nothing strenuous I know but it seems to do the trick. And as has also been said Alcohol is v. bad and be careful with eating lots of Bread.


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## 335dAND110XS (Dec 17, 2010)

Be your own sergeant major. The real difference is made when you really don't fancy exercising (e.g it's raining, you feel tired/rough) but still do it. Or when you fancy a snack and resist it and drink a pint of water (sort of fills you up) Get into this mindset and things will fall into place.

And a gentle stroll is not proper exercise - it needs to push you fairly hard.

No fancy regimes are needed - 99% are just trying to flog you something. It's all about your mindset. If you want it enough, you'll get there.


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## chunkytfg (Feb 1, 2009)

335dAND110XS said:


> Be your own sergeant major. The real difference is made when you really don't fancy exercising (e.g it's raining, you feel tired/rough) but still do it. Or when you fancy a snack and resist it and drink a pint of water (sort of fills you up) Get into this mindset and things will fall into place.
> 
> And a gentle stroll is not proper exercise - it needs to push you fairly hard.
> 
> No fancy regimes are needed - 99% are just trying to flog you something. It's all about your mindset. If you want it enough, you'll get there.


Got to agree with this. I'm 18st but was 24st, and over the years my weight has gone up and down as I try all manner of diets to try and get me into a better position. None of them have worked in the long run.

In the end I decided that the cycling I had always done was not enough and that I wanted to do more. I wanted to do a triathlon. I could already swim and cycle so just needed to learn to run along with dropping some weight.

I bought some running shoes and joined the local pool and just went for it. decided I was going to do something at least 6 times a week even if that something was only 30 mins of jogging. I would cut out the snacking but still allow myself the odd indulgence and just see what happened with the weight. I dropped to sub 20st pretty quickly and then dropped slowly the last 2st. This allowed me to complete my goal yesterday an complete my triathlon.

I now love the training so much I feel withdrawl symptoms on the days I dont train.

At the end of the day weight loss is all in the mind. If you want to lose it you will.

I have nothing against the 'fad' diets, lighter life, Atkins etc, but ultimately the majority of obese people put food too high up there list of important things in there life to be able to cut out and regiment there intake in such a specific manner. You need to allow yourself the stuff you like so you dont end up hating the diet and quitting.

I personally find I reward myself for the training I do so if I go out and ride for 3 hours burning 3000 cals I will allow myself 1000cals of indulgence so you still see a 2000cal 'weightloss' but you have eaten the stuff you miss be it chocolate, icecream, pizza etc etc.

Set yourself goals. Nothing motivates more than something to work towards that you couldnt do as you are. Set mini goals ontop of that such as 1stone in the next 6 weeks or to be able to do a 5k run by Xmas etc etc.


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## 335dAND110XS (Dec 17, 2010)

"I now love the training so much I feel withdrawl symptoms on the days I dont train."

Indeed and having to have 1-2 weeks off from injury is killing me!! And the surf is good too - ARRGHHHH!!!!!

Wise words too Chunky.


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## jamest (Apr 8, 2008)

If you have a problem with your food try and eat smaller more regular meals (rather than 3 big meals, spread it out over 5) which will help your metabolism.

6 days a week do a minimum of 30 minutes of exercise where you are sweating at the end, if you aren't sweating you haven't done enough.

If you have a 5-10 minute car journey, walk or cycle it.

Stay committed and realise that it is a long term goal and won't happen in a couple of weeks. Everyone expects the weight to just go in a couple of weeks of light exercise and eating less.

You don't get fat overnight, so why would you lose it overnight?

More important than the weight and waist size is how you feel once you are healthy from the exercise.


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## jimmy669966 (Sep 25, 2011)

Two years ago I was in a very similar position to you, I was nearly 18 stone, 23 years old and measuring in at 5'10". I'm not completely satisfied with my body yet, but two years on I'm getting there and weigh in at 12 stone and have a body fat percentage of 17.

I normally only browse this forum and other forums to look at the work done and pick up tips. But this prompted me to join and share some of the things that worked for me and some of the things that didn't, hopefully you can avoid these pitfalls.

I won't give too much advice on specific exercise or diet as there is a wealth of information available on these subjects. But here are my general tips from my experience.

1) Weight loss is a *LONG TERM COMMITMENT* and no matter how hard you work out at the gym or how strict you are with your diet things won't happen overnight, in a week, a month or if I'm being brutally honest not even a year. Accept things will be slow progress and learn to be happy with small gains - you're only 27, invest the time in to changing the rest of your life, it's a marathon not a sprint.

2) On a similar note to above *DON'T DIET*, diets are short term, unsustainable and as soon as you stop the weight will go back on. What you need is a long term, sustainable, healthy diet, to be clear I'm talking about having a balanced and healthy diet as opposed to being on a "diet". Don't do the <insert latest celebrity/fad diet> such as the Atkins or similar, yes you will lose weight on such diets but they all have drawbacks and will detract from your long term health. However to contradict myself a little, don't cut carbs, but be "carb conscious" eat enough so that you don't crave them and also try to consume the majority of your daily carb intake at lunch time rather than during your evening meal. Also eat breakfast, lots of people skip it and think it's great that they are dropping a few hundred calories from their daily intake. However the damage to your metabolism hugely outweighs this.

3) *DON'T STARVE YOURSELF*, I made this mistake and dropped a lot of weight in a relatively short period of time, but when I stopped I put most of the weight back on as quickly as I lost it. However what I didn't regain was the muscle that wasted away and boy did I regret this as it took me months to get back to the point where I regained my strength.

4) Learn to distinguish between *PHYSICAL & EMOTIONAL* hunger. When you wake up in the morning you're physically hungry, when you get home from a hard days work with hardly time to ram a sandwich down your throat you're physically hungry. At 9:45 on a Tuesday evening when you see a buy one get one free offer from Dominos, that's emotional hunger.

5) *DON'T FOCUS SOLELY ON WEIGHT*, yes initially the scales will be your friend as during the first couple of months the change in diet and exercise will cause you to shed the pounds quite quickly. However after the initial snowball effect you will appear to plateau. This is when other measures should be taken in to consideration such as the fact you will gain muscle and also muscles that were previously used infrequently will "tighten". Muscle weighs more than fat and the "tightening" effect will also make you look slimmer. Take a fortnightly photo of yourself in your boxers and use this to track your progress.

6) *DON'T JUST DO CARDIO,* yes this will strip fat but it will also strip muscle, do cardio and strength training in equal amounts. This will help you to avoid becoming a "skinny fat person". Many people believe that if they simply lose weight they will look like a toned adonis. However the reality is if you want a beach body, or just want a bit of shape you need to have the muscle tone.

7) Once you've achieved a weight that you are moderately happy with and are in the healthy BMI range (20-25) buy a scales that will measure your *BODY FAT PERCENTAGE* and concentrate on this as opposed to your weight. After all a man who weighs 12 stone with a body fat percentage of 20% will look a lot less toned/attractive than a man who weighs 12 stone with a 10% body fat percentage. However as far as weight is concerned they are identical.

8) *MOTIVATION MUST BE LONG TERM*, don't get caught in traps such as "it's the office party in 6 weeks and i really want to look good to impress <insert name of office hottie>". This will be counter productive as if you find out she isn't going/has a boyfriend you'll get depressed and fall off the wagon. You need to concentrate on your long term health benefits and self esteem.

9) *DON'T BE BORING*, yes you're on a diet, yes you want achieve a goal, but don't sacrifice your social life. Just be sensible, drink shorts such as vodka, lime and diet lemonade rather than the pints and avoid the 3AM kebab. Also don't be scared of eating out, just because you're in a restaurant it doesn't mean you have to have a mixed grill with chips, etc. Have a fillet steak and some vegetables. Remember point 1?... Weight loss is a long term commitment and sacrificing the occasional pleasure such as food/alcohol is not sustainable. On a similar note allow yourself the occasional sin at home, remember everything in moderation, there are no bad foods if consumed in sensible quantities.

10) *DON'T BEAT YOURSELF UP*, you won't be as strong as other people in the gym, you won't be able to run as fast as others. Also occasionally you will for no good reason go to the gym and just not be able to get in to the session. This happens to even the most dedicated professional athletes. You could be tired, stressed, etc. Don't dwell on it, focus on the numerous good sessions you will undoubtedly have under your belt.

11) Have a *POSITIVE MENTAL ATTITUDE*, things might not be moving as fast as you may like, but consider this - Each time you go to the gym you are only improving your position and doing good. If you apply this glass half full mentality you are far more likely to achieve your goal.

12 *GET A TRAINING PARTNER* and have an agreed gym/exercise schedule this way you'll be each others motivation also training with a partner is less boring and you can have a good old chin wag at the same time. If you can't find a partner join some classes you'll have the "strength in numbers effect" and probably make a friend who will be in the same position and become your gym buddy.

13) I*T'S GOING TO HURT!* Be under no illusions the first few months are going to be tough. You'll feel like an asthmatic pensioner when doing cardio and ache like an arthritic 90 year old by shocking dormant muscle groups back in to action with the weights. Learn to embrace the pain, it shows what you're doing is working!

14) *MIX IT UP*, you will learn what exercises you enjoy doing, but mix it up and don't stick to the same routine for too long. A new routine every 4-6 weeks is ideal.

15) *CONCENTRATE ON THE WHOLE PACKAGE *- as your weight starts dropping off and you look in the mirror don't concentrate on the fact you've still got a bit of flabby stomach or the slightly droopy man boobs. Look at the overall silhouette, because this is how other people look at you. Unless your absolutely ripped focussing/obsessing too much on an individual body part will only depress you.


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## davidlewis26 (May 9, 2010)

jimmy669966 said:


> Two years ago I was in a very similar position to you, I was nearly 18 stone, 23 years old and measuring in at 5'10". I'm not completely satisfied with my body yet, but two years on I'm getting there and weigh in at 12 stone and have a body fat percentage of 17.
> 
> I normally only browse this forum and other forums to look at the work done and pick up tips. But this prompted me to join and share some of the things that worked for me and some of the things that didn't, hopefully you can avoid these pitfalls.
> 
> ...


Brilliant write up thanks for taking the time to help me out ill take it all on board thanks again :thumb:


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