Weight loss

[bswope]

I'm 6'2" 216lbs. I'm getting ready to join but my recruiter says I need to be down to 201, I'd like to reach 190. To be honest I have a desk job and have not worked out in about 2 years. My problem is getting motivated to run. What has helped out for others?

[ecampos1012]

I am 6'0" and 275 i just started 2 work out, running on the treamill so plz i need help to lose all this weight . THx.

[emhoffman]

I am 6'0" and 275 i just started 2 work out, running on the treamill so plz i need help to lose all this weight . THx.

I'm 6'1" and 235lb and seriously started training since this year. Haven't trained in like forever. Have a desk job now, which doesn't really help.

Get some (Marine/Seal/Army) cadence music. With lyrics like "Didn't come to Coronado for the sun, so screw that bell! We're having fun." Or some music that pumps you up. And just go work-out.
Run, run ALOT!! If at first it bores you, do a sport you like. Soccer, football, etc. Go biking. Anything to get your heart rate up. You'll be dropping pounds in no time.

MAJOR RULE: If your body tells you it hurts, if you feel pain, not sore, pain. STOP doing your activities and let your body heal. Take care of your body. It needs to reconfigure. Especially after not training for so long, your body needs to wake up.

Talking about waking-up. Do a training session (run, weight-lift) in the morning before work. It will kickstart your metabolism and it will be heigh all day, meaning you are burning more calories sitting on your butt.

SIT UP STRAIGHT!! You heard me! We deskjockeys tend to slouch at the desk. This messes up your posture big time. Catch yourself doing it. If you do, sit up, tension the abs (something you should do walking and running and whenever), chest forward, shoulders back.

If you can't motivate yourself, find somebody (friend, personal trainer, wild cougar) that gets you started, gives you advice and kicks your ***.

Watch what you eat! Learn about nutrition fast!! IMO diet products (diet-coke,etc) are crap. They have un-natural sugar replacement like aspartane and Splenda. Splenda has some nice side-effects. Google it. Google it all! Learn everything there is about nutrition. Know how much calories your daily diet should be and start keeping track the calories you consume every day. Made me realise a few things too.

If you stand on your bathroom scale alot, take the readings with a pinch of salt. If you start training, you will lose fat, but gain muscle. Muscle is heavier than fat. So don't get discouraged about what that scale says when you just get started. Just keep on running!

HAVE FUN! You should be having fun doing it all. Keep smiling. If you find yourself in the mirror at the gym and your not smiling. SMILE damnit.

REMEMBER! Keep reminding yourself why you are doing it. I do it because I want to be a SEAL. I visualise myself running at BUD/S, trying to be faster than the rest. Instructors yelling at me. And me going through BUD/S with a big smile on my face and the instructors getting pissed about it and asking why I'm smiling? Remember? Because I'm HAVING FUN!
Remember that you are doing to serve your country, that you might one day need that extra bit of strength or endurance to save a life, a small child, your team mate, your own.

I think I've said enough for now. Chin up! Shoulders back, chest forward! Tighten does abs!! HOOYAH!!

[SilentSnake]

I'm 6'2" 216lbs. I'm getting ready to join but my recruiter says I need to be down to 201, I'd like to reach 190. To be honest I have a desk job and have not worked out in about 2 years. My problem is getting motivated to run. What has helped out for others?


I was in your shoes only a couple months ago...I hated running...mainly because I was out of shape big time. Trust me though, the more you run, the easier it gets, and the more you begin to like how it makes you feel! Just get out and run! Just do SLOW runs at first to get used to it...if you get to tired, walk a bit and then run again when you catch your breath. Two other things that have helped my running...relax your body and pick a spot in front of you to focus on and get into a cadence...and DON'T ever feel sorry for yourself! Also, start swimming! I've noticed that since i've started i'm never out of breath when I run...the rest of my body gets tired, but I can still breathe fine...in in, out out....

[bswope]

Thanks for all of the replys, I started getting back into it and some of your tips have really paid off. SilentSnake, I read your post on the swcc forum and it really helped motivate me. I too want to become a swcc operator, and I guess I just needed to hear that someone else could overcome some of the same challenges that I'm encountering now. Thanks!

[mikev]

I ran until my muscles burned and my veins pumped battery acid. Then, I ran some more.

Gotta love fight club, get off your *** and run

[pondering seal]

I just started training about a month ago and now down to a 6:15 mile. I think the biggest thing (for me) was eliminating pop, especially fountain coke from restaurants. The carbonation dehydrates you like no other and causes cramps early in the run. Cutting out beer also helped a lot (same issue).

You might be a slow runner but feeling great during the run is what separates people who hate to run from those who love it.

[rsctt83]

There is a saying in extreme endurance circles that the toughest distance is that distance between your left and right ear. This of course is referring to the mental side of the equation. I can tell you at times the last thing in the world I want to do is go out and run or do PT {I hit it hard twice a day and it wears on you day after day}. The toughest thing for me during these times is to actually take that first step out the door, sometimes it takes a lot of mental strength to force myself to do it, but once I make that first step out the door I am good to go.

For you guys just starting back, think small baby steps. Do not get bogged down into thinking "man how am I ever going to get back to running like I used to, or how am I ever going to lose 50 pounds". This will make you crazy with frustration and is a receipe for disaster. Instead try and set small goals for yourself whether in your performance or weight loss or both. You have to establish a routine where you JUST DO IT everyday.

Here are my recommendations

1. Baby steps {small very attainable goals}
2. Purchase MP3 player loaded with your favorite music
3. Purchase good pair running shoes with Super Feet insoles
4. Change your eating habits {good foods the more with no labels the better - fruits & veggies do not have ingrediant labels}
5. Get access to gym and pool.
6. Think of why you are doing this and always focus on WHY WORKING OUT IS IMPORTANT, you really need to WANT to do this, this will insure you DO NOT QUIT.
7. If you can afford a heart rate monitor {$90} they are great training aid
8. Try and mix up wour workouts so that they are enjoyable {using three disciplines run, swim and PT}.

Hope this helps, remember this will take a while and to be very patient, things, even big things get built brick by brick by brick. It's almost unfair, but the reality is that it is so easy to get out of shape and yet so hard to get back in shape. Again BABY STEPS .....

[bswope]

I've started running again. At first a mile a day, then a mile and half, progressing more and more each week. Though I'm fighting a head cold right now so every day I feel like crap, I know that just doing a little bit at a time will help no matter what.

[n00433478]

This is a very good motivational thread to get back in shape.

When i graduated highschool i was 5'11" and hovered around 185. Ok ok, so i wasn't really overweight, that out of shape or what not, but i was on track. I drank beer and soda; ate fatty foods, fast food, candy, etc. I couldn't run but a mile or so in about 10 minutes and that put me way out of breath. I did not really care about my health but this all changed March 9th, 2007.

I saw 300, and was really fascinated by the spartans. Prior to this, i had no will to workout, to run and least of all join the military. I was a blind soul sailing wherever the wind took me. I think it was the complete dedication to a single cause was what opened me up to this better lifestyle. Since the movie came out i have dropped down to 158, went from about 20% body fat to 8%. I barely eat out, i always cook myself meals; lots of vegetables and fruits, whole foods, etc. No soda's, no fatty meat cuts, very little candy.

Aside from that, i really advise you to listen to Pink Floyd's "Time" and Harry Chapin's "Cat's in the Cradle." These song's are about the only truely unrenewable resource: Time. Everytime i hear these songs it motivates me to get out there and do it. Because every time you give in your self-discipline slips; and trust me, its a very steep and wet slope. I also compiled a list of famous quotes and i think these are a few of the best that say what im trying to say:

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.
-Mark Twain

A man is not old until regrets start taking place of dreams.
- Anonymous

You haven't failed until you quit trying.
- Anonymous

Running is a big question mark that's there each and every day. It asks you, 'Are you going to be a wimp or are you going to be strong today?'
- Peter Maher, Irish-Canadian Olympian and sub-2:12 marathoner

Failure is only the opportunity to begin again, this time more wisely.
- Anonymous

The only job where you start at the top, is digging a hole.
- Anonymous

What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight - it's the size of the fight in the dog.
- Dwight D. Eisenhower

In order to be walked on, you have to be lying down.
- Brian Weir

A strong person and a waterfall always channel their own path.
- Anonymous

If there is no struggle, there is no progress.
-Frederick Douglass

Change your thoughts and you change your world.
- Norman Vincent Peale

Only I can change my life. No one can do it for me.
- Carol Burnett

Im sorry this is so long, but these quotes do wonders for me every single day. There is inspiration around you all the time, you just have to teach yourself to have a different outlook. I hope this helps someone.

[bhazeltine]

yes i agree you should get an mp3 and listen to your favourite music cause even knowing that sometimes it will start to hurt when i listen to music when i run i tend to forget about the pain and just keep going and yes!

take baby steps DO NOT take big jumps
or you wont be able to do so much for so long bit by bit is great worked fine for me.
and find everything/think to/of anything to motivate you
and you will get where you want i guarantee it!

Also this song get me motivated to.

Breaking Point- One Of A Kind

Hope this heaps And good luck in future challengers