Will I see a difference?

sedalbis

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Hey,

I'm new to all this so go easy on me! :rolleyes:

I'm 25, 6ft tall and currently I weigh 14st6lbs. I have been roughly around this weight since I can remember.

I started a new job recently which is a 2.2 mile walk from where I live. I've decided I want to get fit and lose some weight as I'm not happy with the way I look. So here's what I'm doing:

1. Walking to work and back each week day, which is roughly 4 miles a day, 20 a week. I walk fairly briskly and it takes me about 30 minutes each way.

2. Each week night I'm doing 12 x 1 minute sets of various abdominal exercises, 100 squats and 30 bicep curls with each arm using 8kg dumbbells. Over time I want to build up to more of each.

3. On weekdays, I have Weetabix with raisins & skimmed mik for breakfast. For lunch I have 2 sandwiches (4 slices of wholemeal Hovis Seed Sensations bread) which contain salad and either a cold meat or cheese, a bag of Walkers Baked crisps, 2 satsumas and an apple. For dinner I will have a variety of different meals but most of them contain lots of fresh veg. All freshly cooked, no ready meals or anything like that e.g. tonight I had tuna steak with home made potato wedges (baked in the oven), green beans and peas. I don't snack between meals and once I've eaten my dinner I don't eat again until breakfast the next morning.

4. On a weekend I don't do any exercise. I will usually drink on either a Friday or a Saturday night (rarely both) which is normally between 6-8 pints of lager, although I'm planning on cutting it down a bit. I don't eat as well as I do on weekdays, but nothing too bad and I still don't snack in between meals.

Based on all the above, am I likely to notice a difference in my weight and/or appearance? And how long is it likely to take before I notice this? I only started this regime about 2 weeks ago, but I am absolutely determined to keep it up. I already feel much better in myself if that makes sense? Less tired, more alert, and generally fresher.

Am I doing anything wrong, or could I do anything to improve what I'm doing?

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance :)
 
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A lot of it depends on the person. I'd be asking if I really needed those two sandwiches at lunchtime though. Those 4 slices of bread alone will be at least 400 calories. As well as that, your alcohol intake is potentially undoing the work you are doing through the week.

When you say "I don't eat as well as I do on weekdays, but nothing too bad and I still don't snack in between meals." how bad are we talking? Changing to ready meals? eating takeaways?
 
I'll sometimes have a takeaway but not really often maybe twice a month. I never eat ready meals. The way I see it, all my life I've eaten and drank what I wanted and done no exercise whatsoever, and stayed at roughly the same weight, give or take a few lbs. I've now started walking 4 miles a day 5 times a week, doing a small workout 5 evenings a week, started eating more healthily and stopped snacking. Surely this will make SOME difference?
 
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Try low or non alcohol lager instead. A pint of lager has 200+ calories and it increases with the alcohol percentage. There is no harm having the one print but not 8 in one go. I often have a bottle of cider as a treat.

Try changing to wholemeal bread.
 
The bread I'm eating is Hovis Seed Sensations, is this good? And yes I plan to cut down on my alcohol, but I very rarely drink on more than one occasion each week.
 
I don't have proper bread very often. Last time was the week before Easter and first time this year. I settle for Pita Bread during the week. One of them at 190 calories is less than half of 4 slice of bread. They are big enough to fill quite a bit in and so only one is needed.

Warburtons Brown Pitta 4 Pack - Groceries - Tesco Groceries

My exercise is only walking at 3.5 miles a day and some exercise bike a few times a week.
 
I don't think it looks that bad really.

Ok, I personally don't eat much bread at all now. In fact we sometimes end up throwing unopened loaves out.
I usually eat what I would in the sandwich still, but without the sandwich itself if that make sense. I then think I have just saved myself about 440 calories by not eating those 4 slices.

Portion control is the key thing. Burn off more calories than you consume and you will lose weight.
a 30 minute fast walk might be about 300 calories or so. So doing this twice a day is 600.
Don't look at this as 'well I have burnt off 600 calories, I will have a chocky bar and packet of crisps now'.
Look at it as cutting down on your calorie intake from the average of 2,500 per day and using the exercise as a top up to help it along.

Look at your fat and sugar intake too. Cheese is VERY fattening. Cereals have LOADS of sugar in them (ok, Weetabix doesn't, but kids ones do).
Learn to look for hidden calories. Those which are low in fat may actually be high in sugars and they may even be hidden sugars as those found in carbs. Fruit has a lots of sugars in them too.

As I said, I dont think your routine and eating seems that bad really (providing you are truthful to yourself) and you should notice a difference. It may be with your belt or the reading on the scales at first, but will soon be when other people notice (that's when you feel great in yourself).
It WILL take a month or 2, but keep at it and don't give in.

BTW, I am same height as you, was the same weight at the start of this year and about 23% fat (but I am 43). I am now 13st 5lb and 17% fat. I hardly ever drink alcohol (about 2 shandies per week, and only 1 bottle of wine this year). I eat loads of protein and clean carbs and try not to eat hardly any saturated fats. I go to the gym 4 or 5 times per week doing 21 minutes running, 10 minutes on the crosstrainer and then weights). I still like a cheat of a chocky bar or kids sweets (hmmmm, Haribo) once a week.
 
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Thanks for the encouraging words. I'm extremely determined to stick to it. I'll report back in a month :)
 
I don't think it looks that bad really.

Ok, I personally don't eat much bread at all now. In fact we sometimes end up throwing unopened loaves out.
I usually eat what I would in the sandwich still, but without the sandwich itself if that make sense. I then think I have just saved myself about 440 calories by not eating those 4 slices.

Portion control is the key thing. Burn off more calories than you consume and you will lose weight.
a 30 minute fast walk might be about 300 calories or so. So doing this twice a day is 600.
Don't look at this as 'well I have burnt off 600 calories, I will have a chocky bar and packet of crisps now'.
Look at it as cutting down on your calorie intake from the average of 2,500 per day and using the exercise as a top up to help it along.

Look at your fat and sugar intake too. Cheese is VERY fattening. Cereals have LOADS of sugar in them (ok, Weetabix doesn't, but kids ones do).
Learn to look for hidden calories. Those which are low in fat may actually be high in sugars and they may even be hidden sugars as those found in carbs. Fruit has a lots of sugars in them too.

As I said, I dont think your routine and eating seems that bad really (providing you are truthful to yourself) and you should notice a difference. It may be with your belt or the reading on the scales at first, but will soon be when other people notice (that's when you feel great in yourself).
It WILL take a month or 2, but keep at it and don't give in.

BTW, I am same height as you, was the same weight at the start of this year and about 23% fat (but I am 43). I am now 13st 5lb and 17% fat. I hardly ever drink alcohol (about 2 shandies per week, and only 1 bottle of wine this year). I eat loads of protein and clean carbs and try not to eat hardly any saturated fats. I go to the gym 4 or 5 times per week doing 21 minutes running, 10 minutes on the crosstrainer and then weights). I still like a cheat of a chocky bar or kids sweets (hmmmm, Haribo) once a week.

I've just joined a gym, induction on Friday, is this a good regular routine to have? I have no idea!:confused:
 
I've just joined a gym, induction on Friday, is this a good regular routine to have? I have no idea!:confused:

If you are asking if my routine is good then I have no idea either.

You don't NEED the gym at all, you could quite easily lose weight without ever stepping foot in one.

I go as I enjoy the feeling I get after I leave . I also like the social aspect as I meet the usual suspects in there and have a bit of a natter.

I have also noticed BIG strength increases and my body/muscles getting harder, which is also a great feeling to (especially in my mid 40's). For instance I used to do bicep curls using 8kg weights (3x 10 reps). I now do the same but with 22kg weights then use the 24kg weights for as many as I can (usually only 5 or 6 more). As soon as I get to 10 more I will up the 22kg to the 24kg ones. Its a great feeling knowing you can do this.

Please be aware, it is VERY difficult to start of with and you will feel worse before you feel better and ache in areas you didn't know existed, but persevere and you start to feel fantastic. Even now I put my hand on areas on my body and it doesn't feel like me. My stomach is flat (compared to what it was like) and my biceps/triceps are hard and feel muscular (never noticed that before).
It can be VERY addictive and you feel as though you are letting yourself down if you miss a day or 2.
 
If you are asking if my routine is good then I have no idea either.

You don't NEED the gym at all, you could quite easily lose weight without ever stepping foot in one.

I go as I enjoy the feeling I get after I leave . I also like the social aspect as I meet the usual suspects in there and have a bit of a natter.

I have also noticed BIG strength increases and my body/muscles getting harder, which is also a great feeling to (especially in my mid 40's). For instance I used to do bicep curls using 8kg weights (3x 10 reps). I now do the same but with 22kg weights then use the 24kg weights for as many as I can (usually only 5 or 6 more). As soon as I get to 10 more I will up the 22kg to the 24kg ones. Its a great feeling knowing you can do this.

Please be aware, it is VERY difficult to start of with and you will feel worse before you feel better and ache in areas you didn't know existed, but persevere and you start to feel fantastic. Even now I put my hand on areas on my body and it doesn't feel like me. My stomach is flat (compared to what it was like) and my biceps/triceps are hard and feel muscular (never noticed that before).
It can be VERY addictive and you feel as though you are letting yourself down if you miss a day or 2.

Cheers! Yea i know i'll ache lol. I just want to know i'm doing some good.
 
Hey,

I'm new to all this so go easy on me! :rolleyes:

I'm 25, 6ft tall and currently I weigh 14st6lbs. I have been roughly around this weight since I can remember.

I started a new job recently which is a 2.2 mile walk from where I live. I've decided I want to get fit and lose some weight as I'm not happy with the way I look. So here's what I'm doing:

1. Walking to work and back each week day, which is roughly 4 miles a day, 20 a week. I walk fairly briskly and it takes me about 30 minutes each way.

2. Each week night I'm doing 12 x 1 minute sets of various abdominal exercises, 100 squats and 30 bicep curls with each arm using 8kg dumbbells. Over time I want to build up to more of each.

3. On weekdays, I have Weetabix with raisins & skimmed mik for breakfast. For lunch I have 2 sandwiches (4 slices of wholemeal Hovis Seed Sensations bread) which contain salad and either a cold meat or cheese, a bag of Walkers Baked crisps, 2 satsumas and an apple. For dinner I will have a variety of different meals but most of them contain lots of fresh veg. All freshly cooked, no ready meals or anything like that e.g. tonight I had tuna steak with home made potato wedges (baked in the oven), green beans and peas. I don't snack between meals and once I've eaten my dinner I don't eat again until breakfast the next morning.

4. On a weekend I don't do any exercise. I will usually drink on either a Friday or a Saturday night (rarely both) which is normally between 6-8 pints of lager, although I'm planning on cutting it down a bit. I don't eat as well as I do on weekdays, but nothing too bad and I still don't snack in between meals.

Based on all the above, am I likely to notice a difference in my weight and/or appearance? And how long is it likely to take before I notice this? I only started this regime about 2 weeks ago, but I am absolutely determined to keep it up. I already feel much better in myself if that makes sense? Less tired, more alert, and generally fresher.

Am I doing anything wrong, or could I do anything to improve what I'm doing?

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance :)

Just a quick update. I've stuck strictly to all of the above and I've started eating the same at weekends as I do week days. I've also not touched any alcohol since I started this routine. As of this evening, I now weigh 13st12lbs. So I've lost around half a stone in just under a month. Very encouraging I think, and I'm definitely going to keep going! In my opinion I don't look any different at all and my clothes do not feel any looser. But I'm going to keep plodding on, hopefully I'll notice a visual change after another month!
 
Another update.....

Just weighed myself and I'm now at 13st2lbs. Over half way to my target of 12st!
 
keep eating clean and you'll keep seeing results, aswell as being able to maintain your weight. many people say that 70% of achieving weight loss/body results is done in the kitchen. Keep going and best of luck!
 
Hi
Sounds like you're doing brilliantly, keep it up I say. The results will depend on how much you changed things but seems quite dramatic to me. I did something similar and kept losing the weight for around a year and then levelled out. Lost around 2 stone.
Used to feel very sleepy mid afternoon but not anymore and noticed like you, the old brain is noticeably sharper doing every day tasks.

Cheers

J
 
Yep. Haven't done anything dramatic. 3 healthy meals a day cutting down on alcohol and walking 4 miles 5 times a week. That's it.
 
It's actually quite surprising how much weight you can shift in a short time without losing any muscle, I was surprised at the figures anyway when I worked it out...
 
It actually depends on how much you have to lose in the first place.
Someone quite large will find it easy to shift it (providing diet and exercise are sorted out), where someone down to their last stone (or few pounds for cutting) will find it very difficult as your body is in panic mode and wants to keep hold of it.

People say 'if you lose it fast it wont stay off', WHY should that be?
Ok, you may be more likely to yo-yo diet, but if you aim to lose 2lb per week from day one then it will take a long time to lose a decent amount if large. Where if you lose it quickly from day one, then as you get slimmer slow your weight loss down to 2lb per week, then it will be the same as doing 2lb per week from day one with the benefits of losing a lot straight away. Your body does this automatically, in a form of plateauing.
 
I am 17, 9.7 stone and 5.9". I am not really fat, but my thighs are rather big and I lack muscle.

I have been doing 50 bicep curls every two days, the dumbbells are only 5kg at the moment, will increase when I have the money. I do about 80 sit ups a day, and 25 press ups.

I don't really eat healthy, not as much as I should. I do a Cookery course at college, so I do know what to, and what not to eat.

I am going to start cycling with friends, looking at doing a few hours every two days.

I was 15 stone, 3 years ago but lost 5 & 1/2 stone In the 3 years, through just exercise, eating less and drinking water instead of sugary drinks.

I am trying to tone up my stomach, and build more muscle in my shoulders and arms. As well as decrease the fat, in my thighs . Any tips ?
 
I am 17, 9.7 stone and 5.9". I am not really fat, but my thighs are rather big and I lack muscle.

I have been doing 50 bicep curls every two days, the dumbbells are only 5kg at the moment, will increase when I have the money. I do about 80 sit ups a day, and 25 press ups.

I don't really eat healthy, not as much as I should. I do a Cookery course at college, so I do know what to, and what not to eat.

I am going to start cycling with friends, looking at doing a few hours every two days.

I was 15 stone, 3 years ago but lost 5 & 1/2 stone In the 3 years, through just exercise, eating less and drinking water instead of sugary drinks.

I am trying to tone up my stomach, and build more muscle in my shoulders and arms. As well as decrease the fat, in my thighs . Any tips ?

Why so many bicep curls? They are amongst the smallest muscles in the body so they are doing next to nothing in terms of you losing fat/toning up. Proportions are everything; developed biceps and lacking other areas look weird.

You can't spot reduce fat. So if you want a "toned" stomach you need to lose fat everywhere. You want to hit your whole body. Think about buying a chin up bar. Do some pullups/chinups, pushup variations (incline, diamond, weighted back pack, pike pushups for shoulders etc). Try to keep your push and pull exercises about equal. So if you're doing 5 sets of pushups then you want to do 5 sets of pullups. The reps will vary since pullups are much more difficult, but you can throw in other exercises to fix this (like say dumbell rows or inverted rows-- get under a table, legs out and straight body, grab the edges and pull yourself up and down). You can do dips on corner units in the kitchen or get two chairs together.

There are a million and one ab exercises you can do at home. Youtube is your friend. I avoid ones that involve bending at the hips because most of us have tight hip flexors from sitting and this sort of movement just makes things worse and gives us bad posture (anterior pelvic tilt; you know, people who have their butts sticking out. Pretty common if you look for it). Crunches are better than situps. You won't see your abs until your body fat is low no matter how hard you train them. You might want to think about joining Myfitnesspal.com and tracking your calories. You can use online TDEE calculators to work out what you should be eating, then under eat by 200-500 calories.

Anyway, just google/youtube bodyweight exercises and incorporate them such that you are working your whole body. The main ones being back, chest, shoulders, core and arms. Working out legs at home is pretty difficult. Unless you have at least a decent set of dumbells or a kettlebell imo you will need to join a gym. I believe the squat is the best exercise in the gym bar NONE so the sooner you start doing these, the better.

If you are serious about bodyweight training, have a look at Ross Enamait's website. I'd recommend the book called Overcoming Gravity which goes through gymnastic and body weight moves and teaches you how to build a routine. It's suitable from beginner to all but elite level.
 
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It's actually quite surprising how much weight you can shift in a short time without losing any muscle, I was surprised at the figures anyway when I worked it out...

How do you know the op hasn't lost any muscle?
 

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