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[Ish]

I've hired a personal trainer to make sure I behave. Being a fundamentally lazy chap prodding works well and she's helping me work round and strengthen around my various injuries.

Sweet zombie jesus - it hurts! In a good way but by god she makes me work!

[merf]

seeing the benefits of my post redundancy gym regime kicking in, down into clothes that haven't gone on for 3ys and feel so much brighter and less lethargic.

really mixing it up with general gym work, tennis, cycling and once a week 1:1 boxing sessions.

succumbed to the lure of the protein shakes recently and they seem to be making a big difference to strength and endurance.

I'm quite proud I can now do an hour of pads works at boxing and just knocked out 7.5km on the rower in 29m 30secs, which is a massive PB for me !

I don't want to look for a job and undo all the good I'm achieving

[Ish]

I'm proper addicted again (for long time readers of the thread - like the olden days!). Can't get enough.

Not that I'm an addictive personality or anything....!

PT has got me doing some core strength stuff that I'm really feeling. Its stuff I struggled to work on on my own (too easy to lapse into lift heavier and heavier etc.) but always knew the value of.

[Bort]

My current weight loss regime is realistically coming to an end soon. Porked up a Lot over the winter period (~3 stone).

I've been eating a set amount each day (~20g Special k for breakfast, 50-70 cal's of sandwich meat for lunch, apple and a small banana for tea, a Lot of coffee/tea with milk throughout the day and the odd grape/baby silverskin onion when I go into the kitchen in the evening to get a coffee/tea) and have been doing 45 mins (at 60 rev per minute. Set tension but quite high) on an elliptical trainer (25 on a friday due to not enough free time) everyday.

Dropped sixty five pounds in sixty seven days. The lowest I've reached before was I think Fifteen stone three pounds so getting down to Thirteen Twelve (weight last two days) is a pleasant surprise.

In the past when I've lost weight I've broken and instantly fallen back into my old fat bastard ways and blown up again. This year I want to try and stop myself from doing that and find a balance and control myself.

Just getting this off my chest, I don't talk about it and people know not to ask in the real world. Hopefully the transition from my current unhealthy eating and exercise to eating a healthy amount and keeping on exercising will go well. There has to be a first time for everything.

[Dirty Sanchez]

Bort - congrats, that is a cracking acheivement.

If you want to keep it off the gym element is key, it'll keep you ticking over. If you start getting bored try out a few other routines or attend a class.

Try not to eat much later than 7pm, preferably no carbs at this time either, try to get them in for breakfast or lunch.

[Number45]

If you want to keep it off the gym element is key, it'll keep you ticking over. If you start getting bored try out a few other routines or attend a class.

I'm finding this at the moment. I'm on a break currently (Been ill this week and next week I won't be able to get to the gym until Friday), but when I go back I'm going to try and devise four or five different routines (Some weights, some CV) that I can rotate to try and keep it fresh.

At the moment I cycle two routines, based around the same CV, and I think it's holding me back. I want to work more parts of my body with weights (Not looking to build muscle, just definition) and I really want to start pushing myself more on the CV side, culminating in maybe doing some half/marathons.

[Dirty Sanchez]

I'm finding this at the moment. I'm on a break currently (Been ill this week and next week I won't be able to get to the gym until Friday), but when I go back I'm going to try and devise four or five different routines (Some weights, some CV) that I can rotate to try and keep it fresh.

At the moment I cycle two routines, based around the same CV, and I think it's holding me back. I want to work more parts of my body with weights (Not looking to build muscle, just definition) and I really want to start pushing myself more on the CV side, culminating in maybe doing some half/marathons.

If your gym does classes give some of them a go, even ones that mostly have girls in them, don't let it put you off. Speak to whoever runs the gym, they love it when people want different thangs from class, most of them are bored stupid wiping down the machines and counting towels.

A bit of body pump/boxercise is a great overall toner.

Even halfing all your weights but taking a strict 30 secs work, 30 secs rest then move station can kickstart the old cv and get a bit of def going.

[FatGit_UK]

For the last 16 years or so, I've been a proper couch potato. In October my wife of 11 years left me and I then spent a couple months of adjusting to single life again. After New Year, I was just over 14 stone, but as I'm only 5'9, was about 2 stone more than I wanted to be, so I started improving my diet - less junk/cakes/beer - more fruit/veg etc. I've now lost a stone and hoping to lose somewhere between a half and another stone.

I'm happy sticking with the diet I'm on - I don't count calories, it's more going for low fat options, especially the saturated type. I find it easy because I do allow myself to have the odd chocolate bar, cake etc and have nights out with friends on the beer without really worrying about what I'm eating or drinking. so, instead of trying to lose more weight dieting, I've decided it's time to start exercising and to spur me on, I've signed up for the Bristol Half Marathon in September.

I know it's going to take quite a bit of work as I've never been one for running, but I was wondering what people would recommend food wise. Ideally, I would like to lose more weight, but I also want to make sure I'm giving my body enough energy to fuel the running. I haven't been keeping any sort of food diary, so not really sure on quantities etc, but as a rough guess, I'd say my carb intake is probably about 20-25% of my daily total - should I be looking to increase this? Or is it more protein I need?

Any suggestions/advice is welcome.

[icarus0]

After setting myself a New Year's resolution this year (which I've been determined to stick to for a change) to get into shape, I've been weight training for a couple of months now 3 or 4 times a week.

I've upped my protein intake, mainly through using whey protein shakes from Sci-Mx, and have begun to notice a difference to my arm and shoulder muscles which is encouraging me to stick to it. I'm now wondering if there are any other products I should be looking at to increase muscle gain?

I guess other types of protein is an option but have also been looking at Nitri-Mx NO2 or BCAA capsules to use alongside the shakes. Has anyone tried these and can vouch for them?

I'm on a bit of a budget (ie. I'm skint!) so can't afford to be buying loads of diiferent types of supplement (as much as I'd like to) and would therefore like to find a decent combination on a budget, if thats possible.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[rumbletum]

I haven't been keeping any sort of food diary, so not really sure on quantities etc, but as a rough guess, I'd say my carb intake is probably about 20-25% of my daily total - should I be looking to increase this? Or is it more protein I need?

Give a general outline of what you're eating on a typical day, I'd be surprised if you're only getting about 20-25% of your calories from carbs

If you're happy with your current diet, just stick with it and start running! It's not as if you're going to be able to run great distances to start with, so initially you won't have much of an additional energy requirement.

[FatGit_UK]

Give a general outline of what you're eating on a typical day, I'd be surprised if you're only getting about 20-25% of your calories from carbs

If you're happy with your current diet, just stick with it and start running! It's not as if you're going to be able to run great distances to start with, so initially you won't have much of an additional energy requirement.

Typical day is probably something like this....

Breakfast - fruit
Lunch - ham, chicken or tuna sandwich (2 slices wholemeal) and more fruit. Occasionally a packet of low fat crisps
Dinner - usually fish n vegetables (occasionally including pots), chicken stir fry with veg n noodles, home-made veg soup

I do have bread or potatoes most days, but don't think they would amount to much carb-wise.

I am happy with the diet and you're right, I won't be running very far for awhile yet, I'm just thinking ahead to when I will (hopefully) be running 30mins or more. So would I be right in thinking I'd need to increase the carbs - bread, rice, pasta etc?

[rumbletum]

The fruit, bread, noodles etc are all carbs, and depending on the quantities of food you're eating I would guess you're predominately eating the majority of your calories as carbs already.

Once you're running, you may want to increase some of your portion sizes, and/or have something pre-workout to give you a bit of energy, but see how it goes first. Personally I've always run on an empty stomach, and only had energy drinks etc when running for over an hour, other people wouldn't dream of running on an empty stomach.

Not sure if you've got a running plan, but there a decent one here if you're a total beginner.

[FatGit_UK]

Ah, didn't realise fruit counted as carbs

Thanks for the link - the running plan doesn't look to daunting, so should hopefully be fairly easy to stick to. And only being three times a week will help fit it around my time with the kids too

[SuperDanX]

How can i get rid of belly fat, ive really been tonning up over the last ten months or so and barely have any fat over my torso, however cant seem to shift the fat over my gut (although i have reduced it a lot) any tips on getting it flat?

[icarus0]

How can i get rid of belly fat, ive really been tonning up over the last ten months or so and barely have any fat over my torso, however cant seem to shift the fat over my gut (although i have reduced it a lot) any tips on getting it flat?

Yeah I seem to be having problems with this too - have shifted most of the excess fat elsewhere but the fat on my belly and chest seems to be the hardest to get rid of.