[Bizz]

All right here's the deal.

I have just spent the last 6 months of my life working 80ish hours a week and eating whatever free food the company I work for purchased. Needless to say this has taken a toll on my already unhealthy body. However...the over time is ending, the game I was working on is shipping and it looks like I will get the opportunity I went through this hell for in the first place.

Now I'm back to 40 hours a week (minus the odd night here and there).

I have been looking at my options as to proper weight loss, training and trying to be realistic about stuff so I figured I would summaries and see what advice you could all offer as from reading these pages some of you really know what you are talking about.

Step one: Doctor Appointment - yep first things first, its been three years so I need to anyway. Hopefully he can give me proper advice as to a proper way of eating and also check for any red flags, hormone imbalances, etc.

Step two: Main street boxing gym. I have been researching gyms / schools etc for about a month or two and its come down to this one. They do not offer pankration like some of the other gyms but have a really good rep for kickboxing and boxing and I see it as a good way to get into a better fitness level before seeing if I truly want to roll or just stay with the standing arts.

Step three: Quit smoking / Quit drinking (except for the odd special occasion...i.e. Christmas and new years eve). Both obviously take a big toll on my health and will hinder my goals.

Here are the questions:

How often should I go to this boxing gym and for how long per night? Is it a case of more the better (i.e. Mon, Tue, Wed, Thru, Sat)? Or should I stagger it more seeing as I am in terrible shape and might not be ready for that yet?

I don't cook for myself... is there any proper way of eating healthy while still eating out a fare bit...or should I suck it up and take some cooking lessons as well as it is the only real way to make sure you stay on a proper eating routine?

I am currently floating between 280 - 300lbs and am 6'3. My goal is to get down to 210 - 220 and just be healthy. With a proper eating routine (2000 - 2500 cal a day?) and exercise what would be a true realistic time line for this goal? (I'm 22 years old btw)

Now I know from reading (and basic common sense) that you can't give exact answers for everything, as everyone is different but are they any tidbits of advice or words of wisdom any of you have for me as I start my path into obtaining my goals?

Thanks guys, I really do appreciate it

[Brad Morris]

The more you can get to the gym the better. As time passes you will be able to put more into your training each night and ultimately learn how to push your body. When you start it won't matter if you aren't going at the same pace as the top guys in the class or even if you have to take it a bit slower than everyone else. The more often you get there you quicker you will see and feel the results and the quicker you will catch up to the rest of the class.

Learning to cook simple healthy meals for yourself is a bonus, but providing its not a financial burden eating out but eating healthy is an option, you just have to know what to look for.

At 300 lbs dropping down to 210 is possible in about 6 months, if you lose about 3.5 lbs per week. That is a realistic goal provided you train regularly and eat properly and get 6 to 8 hours sleep a night. Being young (22) will help with your recovery from training.

I would look at getting into some grappling as well, you said that the gym has a good reputation for boxing and kickboxing which is great, and I'd encourage you to do both of them. The reason I suggested grappling is that it will add variety which is important and variety will help you stay on track, not only that but grappling is a great form of cardio, as to are boxing and kickboxing.

Seeing the doctor is a good idea, get him to check blood pressure and resting heart rate and compare these throughout your training.

I'd also encourage you to incorperate some weights into your program, a slight increase in muscle mass will increase your ****bolism which will in turn help burn bodyfat. I'm not suggesting an hour of weights a day just 15 to 20 minutes 3 to 4 times per week focusing on one group at a time with basic compound movements such as squats, deadlifts, dips, chin ups, bench press, cleans. Doing 4 or 5 sets per bodypart. But remember that cardio is what is going to help you lose the bodyfat, muscle will speed the ****bolism but you need to be doing cardio for at least 40 minutes or more 5 times per week. Once you are getting the hang of regular cardio you can look at mixing it up and maybe doing some High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) to spice things up a bit.

Hope that was useful, I helped a friend lose 80 lbs in 5 months following what I have outlined above.
Best of Luck with your training mate.

[jscott]

I'd also encourage you to incorperate some weights into your program,

I agree with matsumi, deffinitely need to add in a weightlifting routine

[Lusst]

Ooh, ooh, what game?

I'm thinking that you work for Blizzard, because I read they treat their employees like shit. If so, then the WoW expansion? Hrmmmmm?

[Bizz]

Originally Posted by Lusst

Ooh, ooh, what game?

I'm thinking that you work for Blizzard, because I read they treat their employees like shit. If so, then the WoW expansion? Hrmmmmm?

Can't say haha,

It ships on the 15th and was made in the city I state I'm from.

And they don't treat us bad per-say...they just make us work a lot.

There are perks and to be honest this was a special case situation.





ANYWAY....

Thank you everyone for your input