Need help with total routine / diet plan / stop smoking plan

[Zrow]

DA, you da man. Your transformation is inspiring and I want to follow suit.

Right now I'm about 5'11" and 171 lbs. I'm not overweight by "official" BMI standards, but that doesn't matter, because I'm not in great shape (think beer belly). I don't get enough exercise in the cardio variety, and I do basically no strength training. I water ski (which is actually a b*itch of a workout) but not a whole lot else exercise-wise.

I need to change my eating habits and exercise regularly. I don't belong to a gym and I'm not really in a position to join one at this point (I'm in that awkward college-grad to real-world phase, so I'm not even sure where I'm going to be living in six months). I have an Iron Gym, which hangs in your doorway. I've also got a limited number of free weights to utilize. Ideally, I'd like to get in good shape using what I have before I decide on a gym to join.

I don't eat well enough, and that partly stems from overall laziness and not being proactive when it comes to planning and preparing healthy meals. Basically what I need is a good overall plan that includes a diet plan and a workout plan. Thing is, it's tough to best plan for something like this if you don't know what you're doing. I'm going to see if I can mimic the kind of dietary changes you made and go from there.

I really want to plan this out, though, so I can just dive headfirst into it.

 

[Der Alta]

Thanks, I appreciate it. Its been a lot of hard work. I've been debating starting my own "transformation" thread, but have more work to get done before that.

I'd like this thread to stay specifically regarding Silverzone's discussion though.

 

[Silverzone]

Ok.. it's been a while since I've updated. I'm having a real hard time now. I have completely fallen off my diet and no money for the gym. I had a pretty positive interview this morning, and it looks like I'll have that job. This will basically be like starting over again, but I'm ready. I'm hitting the gym tomorrow morning with a little money I scraped together. It's hard to eat right being stuck at the house all day. If I had the spare cash I would buy my own meals and such, but I just don't have the money to buy healthy foods. This whole layoff has pushed me back into a depression, but I'm not far enough into it that I've buried myself in this hole. I'm confident I can pull myself outta this. I just saw a few pics of me from a party recently and I was disgusted. I am tired of looking like this, and I really want to lose the pounds. When I get back to the normal, I'm thinking about really really buckling down. Like harder than I did before. If I keep on the route I'm on I could really hurt my health. It's gotta stop, and I'm more determined than ever. I get my first unemployment check on Friday, first thing that's going to is to get me some healthier foods around. And I need to get back to the gym regularly. I'm really hoping I can keep it on track this time.

 

[Der Alta]

Sorry to hear abou tthe dismal situation. I know how it can feel. Best of hope for the interview and job App.

If not the gym, at least a long walk every day. One step in the right direction, is just getting exercise. I've worked hard in the gym for what I want, but my wife didn't The path that she took was very simple, but it took alot of will power.

She simply counted her calories and walked 3 miles 5 days a week. She did her research and decided that 1200 calories a day was all that was necessary. She hit the treadmill for an hour each night at the gym with me. By doing this, she literally walked 40 lbs of her body. She went from 165 to 125 in about 3 months.

I'm on a different path, as I don't want to lose weight at this point, but rather drop fat and gain muscle.

In the 1200 calorie diet she went on, she allowed herself any food she wanted as long as she stayed in that 1200 limit. If she wanted a B&J icecream (400+ calories), she knew she'd be eating veggies for the entire day.

Glad to see you check in, and good to hear that you're seeing some positive light out there.

 

[Silverzone]

That last job opportunity fell through, but this new one looks promising. When I'm finally back into steady employment I'm going to step it up again. I've been eating less and still going to the gym every once in a while, but It's hard because I'm so busy with the job hunt. I will go back into it full force after I'm employed. I'll keep checking in. maybe one week I'll have a good update.

 

[TB]

Not that I want to be pushy, but if you treat the job hunt like your job, you could exercise after "work". It doesn't cost anything to go out for a walk at *insert ideal time here*.

Regardless, keep at it. 👍

 

[Silverzone]

Well, I'm finally employed again! I've restarted the diet and will probably start going back to the gym next week. It's like starting anew so I want to weigh in and see what I got to do. I'm thinking about ramping up my cardio now since I've slowed down on my smoking. I really want to do this and now I have the means ($$) to go back to the gym and starting buying my own groceries again. I'll start updating more regularly now.

 

[TB]

Congrats on the new employment and renewed motivation, Silverzone!

 

[Der Alta]

Good to hear there is improvement in your life! Looking forward to your new adventure.

 

[Silverzone]

returning to the gym tomorrow! Any advice on how to ease back into working out? Now I feel I will be able to do a lot more cardio since I've quit smoking and maybe thats what I need to focus on to lose more weight?

 

[Der Alta]

Warm up with the cardio, then some easy weight lifting, as you'll likely be really sore no matter how much you lift. Then some more cardio after the lifting. Stretching, will help alleviate the soreness you feel the next day.

Any way you hit it, you're going to be sore the next day. How much is soely dependent upon how sore you think you can handle.

 

[LSX]

I know this is old. But if your still out there dealing with the smoking, which I know is a real pain. You can try Snus, it's like dip, but in a pouch. You don't spit it, it has about the same amount of carcinogens as nicotine gum, but instead of 50.00$ for a box of nicotine gum, it's 4.99 for a tin of Snus. It's manufactured differently from regular dip, which leads to it having a low level of Nitrosamines, which is what causes cancer. I'll say it's not groundbreaking, as far as curbing cravings from smoking, but if you push it out of your mind, it's just fine, it's a better "fix" than the gum... If your doing good and not smoking, and hopefully you are, then don't mind what I said about the Snus, just keep doing what your doing. It is another option though if you're having trouble.

It's only a crutch, but it may keep the smoke out of your lungs.

 

[Silverzone]

Well, I haven't checked back in a while, but Everything's going well. I've slowed down smoking, and I've lost a couple of pounds. I'm working on this, and settling in the diet is the hardest part of it. But I'm working on it, and I'm going to keep working on it. It took me a long time to put this weight on, it's gonna take me a while to take it off. Again thanks to everyone for all the help. I'll try to update if anything major happens.