Help me please. I'm overweight and need some pointers.

xxGBHxx

Don't want to knock this as you're genuinely trying to help but I'm not sure you have any clue of relative differences in fitness. I'd suggest your level of fitness is off the scale compared to "normal" overweight inactive person. Even when I was 18 I couldn't get near the figures you're posting. It would take me at BEST 12 months to get near those figures without the weight I'm carrying. It would take me nearer to 2 years when I factor in the weight I'm carrying as well.

I understand it's well meant but stating things like "It may take you a little longer" is unfortunately not only misleading but also disheartening when you're starting from such a low level (as I believe the OP is) not just physically but also psycologically. The OP just needs to take it slowly and build it up over time. It's great to strive for the sort of level of fitness you're quoting but realistically, the OP may never get anywhere near that level.

Thanks

G

RMCF

The one thing you are going to need is willpower. Lots of it. Its the one thing that the current generation don't have, too many want to eat everything and want an easy fix after the event but its never that easy.

As others have said, you have to eat less and exercise more. Its so simple. Ok so some people can't jog or swim but we can all walk. Start off light, and short distances, and you will improve your stamina over time, picking up your pace as well to get your heart working.

Another thing is you MUST stop eating any junk food. That is the killer nowadays. Its too easy to have the sugary things and the microwave dinners, but you can't have them if you are serious about getting fitter and losing weight.

No more:
Sweets, chocolate bars, fizzy drinks, takeways, pizza, crisps ........ you know whats bad.

You can do it if you really want to (would sound good in a song that), but you have to really want to.

Good luck.

hort2074

Lol. It's a lengthy response when typing on an iPhone.

Oh, and please, it makes no difference if people can or can't eat pork, I'm sure they are intelligent to work out a reasonable alternative.

qwerty321

1000 calories? There is no need to make things hard on yourself like that. Sure, weight will go down quick but why make it harder than you need and put yourself off?

Use MyFitnessPal as mentioned enter your details in there and it will tell you your calorie allowance. I'm 5'8 and 78kg and eat 1600 cals for weight loss. I think you should be able to eat a bit more than that and still lose weight. MFP does open your eyes to what you are taking in. If anything, overestimate what you take in and underestimate calories burnt when exercising.

As suggested, walking is great. I did a 4 mile walk with my Wife today and took just over an hour and burnt around 450 calories.

Matt_C

S**t more than you eat. Job done

Eric

anything is possible.. I was 23 stone and within 6 months of hard work I ran a sub

But he may.  Who knows.  I look at things differently than most though I guess.  I have a silly attitude of 'I can do that'. So if I see that I for some odd reason think I can do stuff as quick.  I work hard and hopefully it will spur him on to work hard.  
I often see people at the gym on treadmills still playing on Facebook and so on.  
I was once 22-23 stone, have done articles for scope, daily express I think it was for weight loss etc.  Work hard and it's quite possible to achive in 12 months.

reiteration

yep- it takes time and dedication - and it's not going to happen overnight... there will be times when the OP will want to give up and have a pizza - that's easy... getting into (and staying in) shape can be hard - and harder for some people...

the OP will need to find something they enjoy - and set up small challenges that they can beat on a regular basis - this will aid in their progression... this can be running an extra minute each session, or adding a kilo every session for example, but there will be times when they may have to deload (i.e. go lighter / slower) a session or two in order to progress long term...

be prepared to have session when they almost kill you - but only afterwards you'll feel the benefit, you'll appraciate these - but don't do too much the first time(s) as it can put you off... think of it as a lifestyle change and stick to a routine that you can do long term and you'll enjoy it...

good luck

bluecube000

Just make small changes to your daily routine. Start small. Really small and slowly by slowly build on it. For example start with a 15 minute walk when you get home. Then slowly by slowly increase the distance / time. Make sure you start with what you enjoy doing most (swimming, walking, running, hiking, etc). Regarding, diet, again start making small changes slowly. Remeber losing weight is more mental than physical. Your mind needs to adapt. Forget about all these quick weight loss programs. You might lose a lot of weight but you'll just gain it back because you haven't let your mind adjust and you'll end up discouraged. Remeber, if you take one small step at a time, you can climb the worlds tallest building. But if you try to sprint to the top, you can only climb 4 or 5 floors at best and you'll end up feeling like crap. Good luck!

clc.sheff

Gettin your blood sugar level stable will help considerably with energy levels. Look up low GI foods and try to substitute them for higher GI ones. E.g. Sweet potatoe for normal ones.

I make up a big pan of chilli every sunday. The recipe has evolved over time and now includes stuff like green lentils, chick peas and / or split peas. I also mix real mince and quorn sometimes. The result is really filling and healthy

Every two days I boil up about 120 g of brown basmati rice ( which replaces white rice ) and all of the above lives in the fridge for dipping into.

I have another 'go to' dish which is effectively thai red curry paste, chicken stock, spoon or two of creme fresh, red lentils, quorn chicken pieces / real chicken, diced carrot and tons of spinach.

Basically if you can develop a handful of healthy meals you are hapy to eat often and can whack a decent sized, low sugar, breakfast down that is over halfway to getting yourself on track.

Give it a week or so to adjust ( you may even feel a bit crap for a few days ) and your energy levels will really start to improve. You will also feel better mentally.

The exercise becomes far, far easier to tackle if you are fueling  your body right. You naturally want to be more active.

andyjsg78

Some great advice here and some just to ignore (1000 calories - WTF??).

I may not have started really really heavy, but I was 100Kg and a 20 a day smoker etc and with diet and exercise I have managed to very much turn it around. I remember doing a little run around Elephant and Castle about 5 1/2 years ago at approx 6am in the morning, in total it was a mile and a half and I walked 4-5 times. I am now down to about 80Kg and a pretty decent club runner and have now done a couple sub 3 hour marathons and Ironman races etc. I think exercise and diet have been equally important, but I think there is too much put on calories and to eat perfectly and the advice "out there" can be vague and contradicting to say the least. I have tried various "diets" such as Paelo, low carb etc, but really just eating decent food most of the time along with regular exercise has done the trick. I would just recommend, using wholemeal of everything (bread, rice etc) over white alternatives and just check the sides of packets, for example dont eat low fat yogurt as more often than not it has tons of sugar in it. If you want a sweet taste to say coffee or tea, use honey (sparingly) instead of refined sugar.

As for typical meals, I eat peanut butter (something with no palm oil) on wholemeal toast for breakfast, a wholemeal sandwich and fruit for lunch and some sort of meat with potato wedges (so a baked potato cut up and baked with no or little oil) and tons of veg.