Hey, it's finally time for me to start journaling on here and to quit lurking in the shadows, LOL.

To begin, my name is Sam, and I'm a 24 year old guy living in SLC, Utah. I work a full time job as a tape librarian at a data center (pretty sedentary). I also live with my two younger brothers (21 and 20).

Now, what brings me here, you ask? I have finally had it with being overweight. I can't do it anymore. It's too much stress in my life and it's depressing. Being fat is an energy drain, both physically and emotionally. I just want to finally lose the weight and not have to focus day in and day out on how big I have gotten.

So here are my stats:

Height: 6'2''
Weight: 241lbs.

Waist: 46.5''
Hips: 45.5''
Arms: 13.50''
Thighs: 26.5''
Chest: 47.25''
Neck: 16''
Calfs: 16.50''

Questions:

1. How much weight do you want to lose?
I would like to lose 41lbs. as of right now. I would like to get down to 200 lbs and go from there. I typically think of my ultimate goal weight wise would be around 170-180lbs. but, I just want to start with 200lbs.

2. What is the timeframe for reaching your target weight?
It's the beginning of March now, so I believe I can do this by the end of July, so about 5 months or so. 41lbs in 5 months sounds do-able to me, even though I have never done it before,

3. How do you plan on accomplishing your goal? Methods you will use? I have a gym membership and plan on going as much as I can. I also like to go running at a park by my house but, I will need to wait until the weather warms up some. Also, this might sound small but, at work I plan on making myself get up and walk around the building more, and there are tons of stairs here, I want to start making myself go up and down them a certain number of times each day I work.
As far as diet goes, I am typically a pretty healthy eater. I just need to make sure I am very consistent. I want to cut out fast food (which I don't really eat that often anyways) completely. Also, I completely cut diet soda out of my diet exactly one month ago today. It was super hard in the beginning because I loved, and I mean loved my diet coke. Now it isn't very hard at all. All I really drink now is: iced tea, 1% milk, water, or red wine....

4. Who or what can support you in reaching your goal? I am hoping I can find support on this website, as so many others do. I also feel that I have to support myself. If I don't put forth the effort, then my goal will not be reached. I'm really trying to visualize myself at my goal because I hear that helps too. I'm hoping that my family and friends will be supportive too. However, if they are not, then that is their problem. This is my goal I've set for myself. This time it's all about me.

5. How realistic is your goal? I feel that my goal is very realistic. I have lost weight before and my body usually responds pretty well to a balanced diet and regular exercise. So, I think that 41lbs. in 4 to 5 months (probably 5) can happen.

6. When will you start? Today's the day!

congratulatons for making this decision and welcome to the forum. you seem determined and i'm having a feeling you will reach your goals (now you better cause i am rarely wrong with my hunches lol)

Lena

welcome welcome- glad to have you here.. and miss lena is very wise if she says you can do it -then you can do it -youdon't want to disappoint her now

good luck and have fun while you are here

Thanks so much you guys! I love how nice and supportive everyone is here.

41 pounds in 5 months is very do-able. If you think about it thats around 2 pounds a week. Anybody can do 2 pounds a week if they work hard at it. My boyfriend was almost identical to you (6'2", 145) and he's been working out and eating somewhat healthily for a month, and he's already down to 223. I know you can do this!

Thanks Kristi! I totally think 41lbs. in 5 months I can handle. Us big guys (me and your bf) can usually take off weight pretty quickly, so what you said about your bf's success so far is motivating!

Welcome to the forum, Sam. There's a huge amount of good advice and support here, so take some time to read through it all. In particular, I recommend reading the posts from Steve and Leigh. Leigh posts regularly in the "Harsh Truth" forum, and Steve posts all over the place, as well as his own diary.

Before you get too firmly set on the timeline for your goal, I would take a look at what he has to say.

I'm only advising that because you may not want to lose weight quite that quickly. It really depends what your body fat percentage is. If you have a very high BF%, e.g. 30%+, then you may be able to lose 8 lbs. a month without cutting into your lean muscle mass too much. But if it's already quite a bit lower than that, you want to be careful. Otherwise, you could end up at your target weight of 200, but still be "flabby" and have no strength at all.

Thanks Tom. I will definitely read some of what Steve and Leigh have posted. I don't for sure know what my bodyfat is although, I did go to this website that said it would tell me my bodyfat if I answered some questions, so I did. Anyways, it said my bf was 33%. Now, I would not argue with that number at all but, I think for an accurate bodyfat reading I would need to go get measured by those caliper things at the gym. All I'm saying is that I don't know if that reading I got from that website is completely accurate....

I really do need to work on my strength training. I can do cardio for hours but, when it comes to weights I slack a little. At the gym, I just get a little intimidated I guess. To be honest I really need to work on my upper body, that is for sure....

You can get calipers from bodybuilding.com for $17, including shipping. It comes with a handy conversion chart, and I found them to be far more accurate than my scale. I doubt the reading you got from the web site is accurate, or if it is, it's a coincidence.

You've got a fair amount to lose, and you can do it only through running a caloric deficit, so don't embark on a weight lifting routine that's focused on machines and small muscles. At this point, you want something that gets at compound muscles -- exercises like squats, deadlifts, bench presses, military presses, and pullups. Also, don't fall into the trap of thinking you need to do lots of reps with these. Five sets of five reps will do just fine.

If you do a good whole body routine every 3 or 4 days, you will preserve your basic muscle strength. As I said, you won't gain mass, but at least you won't get weak and flabby.

It's very important to combine cardio with weight training. The two get at different systems. Cardio gets at your aerobic system; weight training gets at your anaerobic system. Fitness in both systems is very important.

Don't worry about the gym. Honestly I chuckle when I look at 95% of the people there. You see the guys doing squats and barely bending their knees, all decked out with gloves and belts; you see the grunters trying to bench press 100 lbs., and most of all you see lots of really overweight people focusing on small muscles like biceps, while their large muscles are neglected.

And even the people who do know what they're doing once started exactly where you are today. So it's nothing to be ashamed about.

If you're not sure of your form, then you might consider hiring a personal trainer. But just be careful. It takes $300 and a few hours of study to call yourself a personal trainer, and most of them appear to be incredibly clueless. The vast majority of them seem to be afraid of free weights and large muscles, and constantly steer people toward the machines. Maybe it's a liability issue . . . I have no idea.

If you go the PT route, I would ask the management for the trainer who is most accomplished at squats and deadlifts. That alone will probably eliminate 90% of them!

Today's eating hasn't been really really good but, it's been better than usual. I am kind of aiming for around 2000 calories per dayish. I know I need lots of protein and water. I'm also trying to avoid sweets but, that is really hard for me. I have a hardcore sweet tooth. I have been drinking my water (like I usually do). Losing this weight means a lot to me, and I know I can do it. Getting the diet in check is going to be tough but, I am determined.

I had to work a 12hr shift today, so I didn't get any exercise in. Tomorrow though, on my lunch break I am going to see if I can take 1.5 hrs and go over to the gym and get in some cardio and a few weights perhaps. I don't usually workout on Sundays just because I am working and stuff, and the gym is only open from 8to4pm. So, if I can go on my lunchbreak, and I see how smooth it goes, it might become my Sunday routine....

Tomorrow I will start posting my food too. I don't know if I am going to list the calories and everything yet, but, I will at least start to post the foods and be more concious of my eating.

-Sam

if you don't already -y ou might want to get an account at FitDay - Free Weight Loss and Diet Journal -it will record the calories/fats/carbs/etc for you - helps to keep yu accountable to yourself and also shows you fiber/sodium and other numbers you might want to keep track of.

have a great day..

Thanks Mal. I've never used FitDay before. I have had a Spark account in the past. I think what I am going to do, to begin at least is just write down all my food in a little notebook, and keep track of the calories and fat. The whole notebook thing will probably work best for me right now, and I will probably start using spark again here in a couple weeks or so...

well i think you're off to a great start i hope you'll manage to get some exercise time tomorrow.
Lena

Thanks Lena. I will definitely get some exercise time tomorrow. I get off work at 4pm and then I am heading straight for the gym for some much needed cardio. Today, I am stuck at work, and I am the only one here. The rule, or I should say the law here is that the buliding cannot be left unattended, so I don't get to leave until 7 tonight when someone comes in to replace me for the overnight shift.... I was planning on someone being here today so I could take a long lunch and go do a little cardio but, my gym closes at 4pm on Sundays... So, I was thinking I will go do the stairs a bunch of times, and walk around the building at a fast pace a few times. I know that isn't a gym session but, I will make it work.

-Sam

Well, hey I'm back. Almost a month later nonetheless. Diet wise I have been trying to do okay. It's been alright. I have been exercising some, not as much as I should. I have been going running in the gully behind my dad's house. I have been going 2 to 3 miles at a time. It makes me feel great, and I love it (when the weather permits). I need to get more into it. I am ready. I am going to give this journal thing another go again and see if it works out for me this time. I guess we will see. I also think I should post my foods and be accountable for those as well. Here goes:

Breakfast:
Egg McMuffin
(1) Hashbrown
Large unsweetened iced tea with lemon

Snack:
Large Banana

Lunch:
Pei Wei: Lemon Pepper Veggies (Brocolli, Carrots, Onions, Sprouts) and Tofu, with brown rice
2 fortune cookies

Snack:
Cottage cheese w/ a tbsp of mix in sauce stuff. Pretty good, I eat them quite frequently....

Dinner:
Not completely sure yet. Probably a salmon burger (no bun) with steamed broccoli, or some sliced turkey and hummus or something. I will confirm tomorrow


So, I haven't weighed or measured myself since my first post. I don't plan on stepping on the scale or doing my measurements until at least Apr.15th or so.

-Sam