I would like to lose weight but dont want to burn out from over running 3 or 4 days a weeks

Fucking LMAO. The irony is that cook was one of the better jobs to transition out. The NCOIC who ran our battalion DFAC went to some French cooking school on the Army's dime and then left to take a job running the kitchen of a luxury hotel chain.

Also some of the most fit guys were the ones who didn't have to spend all their time in the field losing weight lol. When I was over in the desert, one of the baddest dudes on the base camp was the Air Force chaplain's assistant who's only job was keeping the chapel tent organized for religious services. He fought pro MMA on the side.

Honestly i always find it weird that people think that soldiers are jacked

Here most are skinny runners

And from what i heard about british SAS they look average as well (of course they are badasses anyway)
 
Honestly i always find it weird that people think that soldiers are jacked

Here most are skinny runners

And from what i heard about british SAS they look average as well (of course they are badasses anyway)

Dismount guys that spend a lot of time in the field for sure were lean and built like runners and that includes the Long Range Surveillance (U.S. equivalent of what you did) guys. SF guys I ran into same thing. Some of the guys in my unit went out for Delta (didn't make it) and said the same about those guys. I know a lot of PEDs were going around but the only guys that were really jacked were Rangers (guys in the active Ranger Battalions) and from what I heard, SEALs (never worked around or met any of them but a Navy buddy of mine had some on his carrier).

Probably the hardest guys I worked around were British Gurkas. Small lean dudes but hard as hell mf'ers. Did some training with an active unit and later ran into some retired ones in Iraq who were working as security contractors.
 
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Probably the hardest guys I worked around were British Gurkas. Small lean dudes but hard as hell mf'ers. Did some training with an active unit and later ran into some retired ones in Iraq who were working as security contractors.

I am friendly with quite a few ex Gurkhas, very nice guys, make great curries too! Still keep themselves fit into old age, always out walking & running.
 
I am friendly with quite a few ex Gurkhas, very nice guys, make great curries too! Still keep themselves fit into old age, always out walking & running.

Whoever made the decision to take them into the British forces is a genius. Start with a population of tough as nails mountainmen born in the Himalayas and create a testing environment where less than 1% of applicants are admitted, and you have what is probably the most selective and loyal conventional infantry unit in the world.
 
Dismount guys that spend a lot of time in the field for sure were lean and built like runners and that includes the Long Range Surveillance (U.S. equivalent of what you did) guys. SF guys I ran into same thing. Some of the guys in my unit went out for Delta (didn't make it) and said the same about those guys. I know a lot of PEDs were going around but the only guys that were really jacked were Rangers (guys in the active Ranger Battalions) and from what I heard, SEALs (never worked around or met any of them but a Navy buddy of mine had some on his carrier).

Probably the hardest guys I worked around were British Gurkas. Small lean dudes but hard as hell mf'ers. Did some training with an active unit and later ran into some retired ones in Iraq who were working as security contractors.

I will say that a lot of the SEALs I worked with were fucking seriously yoked up. I'm sure they were just PT gods in general though too, but definite steroid use. This was on deployment to Iraq in 06.

It's funny because in the Marines if you were yoked up, we generally assumed you were a POG. We did so much cardio and field time in the infantry it was basically impossible to get big without anabolic assistance. I could barely get over 200lbs in my time in. Any time I got a little bit of gains, off to the field for a month for maneuvers or ranges and lost all my mass.
 
I will say that a lot of the SEALs I worked with were fucking seriously yoked up. I'm sure they were just PT gods in general though too, but definite steroid use. This was on deployment to Iraq in 06.

It's funny because in the Marines if you were yoked up, we generally assumed you were a POG. We did so much cardio and field time in the infantry it was basically impossible to get big without anabolic assistance. I could barely get over 200lbs in my time in. Any time I got a little bit of gains, off to the field for a month for maneuvers or ranges and lost all my mass.

For sure. I remember busting my ass in garrison to get up to 170 lbs lean, and then off to the field for 3 weeks and 10 lbs gone. Not only are you on your feet the whole time, you're not getting enough sleep and you're lugging heavy shit around all day. I'm convinced the thinning spot on the top of my head is from wearing that damn K-pot everywhere when I was in the army. Was in Iraq 03-04

Re. PEDs I didn't use and would never encourage anyone to use that didn't want to, but IMO if there's any jobs where it should be allowed, it's military and LE. Humping 100 lbs of shit will destroy your knees and back and PEDs might actually help prevent chronic injuries for guys that have to do it.
 
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You'll burn about 200 calories/mile. A can of Coke is 140 cal., a bag of chips is 250 cal., 150 calories in a chocolate chip cookie, 10 gummy bears is about 100 calories, 140 calories in a two slices of bread, and McDs small fries will cost you 220 calories. Diet will have a much bigger impact at this point in your journey.
 
Sounds like you have unrealistic expectations TS.

Id encourage you to start eating "clean" (cut out as much processed, sugar laden food as you can, cook/make meals yourself with fresh ingredients) and start SLOWLY introducing exercise to your life.

Go too hard, too soon and you'll burn out, or even worse injure yourself, and end up even worse than where you started.

Losing weight shouldn't be your focus, imo. Living healthy should be. Especially because you'll be, hopefully, building muscle, which weighs more than fat, so judging your progress by your weight can be misleading and counterproductive.

And the only diet that you should be thinking of is the one you can stick to for the rest of your life. Same with an exercise plan. Stop thinking short term and start thinking about sustainable long term solutions.

I'm no expert, btw. This is just all the advice I've seen given by experts.
 
5'7 and 200 pounds? Holy shit dude. You are not fat.. you are obese.

90% of your weight loss is going to come from diet. You can't outwork a poor diet.

You did good in cutting soda... but go easy in the weight loss because you can lose a lot of muscle if you are going too fast.
 
I am probably between fat and obese, not sure. I am 5 foot 7 and about 200 pounds I believe now. Would running 3 or 4 times a week burn me out? When I say burn me out I mean make my legs too tired and feel like they are 300 pounds each the next day. What would you guys advice? I would love to lose about 20-30 pounds in this month by also decreasing my calorie intake to about 1000 a day.

Are you currently doing any exercise? What made you decide on 1000 calories a day?
 
5'7 and 200 pounds? Holy shit dude. You are not fat.. you are obese.

90% of your weight loss is going to come from diet. You can't outwork a poor diet.

You did good in cutting soda... but go easy in the weight loss because you can lose a lot of muscle if you are going too fast.

LOL, true. I've been about 155 most of my life though. I've just let myself go 2 times in my life to about 200 pounds. The last time I did was for about 1 year but then I lost it all. This time I let myself go to 200 for about 3 years and now I am down to about 185 or 190.
 
LOL, true. I've been about 155 most of my life though. I've just let myself go 2 times in my life to about 200 pounds. The last time I did was for about 1 year but then I lost it all. This time I let myself go to 200 for about 3 years and now I am down to about 185 or 190.
Just find foods you like and are low dense calorie and stick to it.
 
I am probably between fat and obese, not sure. I am 5 foot 7 and about 200 pounds I believe now. Would running 3 or 4 times a week burn me out? When I say burn me out I mean make my legs too tired and feel like they are 300 pounds each the next day. What would you guys advice? I would love to lose about 20-30 pounds in this month by also decreasing my calorie intake to about 1000 a day.
Losing weight is gonna be about diet mostly.

Get some activity, get your good and adequate sleep and don't overtrain.

It may be better to do just a little bit every day/4-5 days a week, than going too hard 2 times a week.
 
Losing 30 pounds in a month is not safe, and however you do it, it probably won't last.

I am 50 years old. I've been in shape, out of shape, way out of shape and back in decent shape now. When it comes to taking off weight-when I was in my 20s-30s, running was the key. Start off slow, because if you haven't done it, you may cause more harm then good. Start off walking and adding in brief periods of running. Your body will tell you when it wants to run more. Don't listen to your brain, listen to your body.

Resistance training helps as well. Keep in mind that you will see the results in your waistline, but you may not see them on the scale.

If you are worried about overtraining and injuries, just walking and diet will take weight off. Cut down on carbs a lot. Try to extremely limit refined carbs and fruits. Carbs from berries , whole grains and vegetables are the way to go.

Best bodyweight exercises to help with weight loss:

-Pushups, regular or "hindu" pushups
-Squats-use resistance bands for more of a challenge
-planks, including side planks
-mountain climbers
 
30 Lbs in a month is too much to expect. I took about that much off in 6 months during a work trip where I was able to work out 2 times a day and eat relatively clean. I was 5'10 and 205 at the start and came home at 175. Been able to maintain 180 +/- 5 lbs since (3 yrs). As everyone else has suggested, aim for about 1.5 lbs a week. I used a free app (myfitnesspal) to track calories and exercise. That will make you consider what you are eating day in and day out and reinforce good habits. I have found it has kept me from backsliding. Dropping soft drinks is key, also alcohol can be a diet killer. When I binge its is normally due to booze but with that said, I can recover from a cheat day in about a day or 2 so consistency over the long run is crucial. When you feel better because of good diet choices it will raise your energy level and make you want to be more active starting with walking and then slowly building additional activity. Good luck
 
I see this thread is getting a bit old, but the key is this, if you want to lose weight *relatively* quickly, and not gain it back, you need to eat clean and *not* exercise like a madman. Exercise requires energy, you get energy through food. You cannot and will not outrun your appetite, especially when working out hard. Especially if you aren't already working out hard, it'll last a few weeks and then you'll regain everything and more. Or if you're unlucky, you'll get injured.

Instead, find a handful of healthy things you like, can cook quickly and that fill you up without requiring you to eat a fuckton of it so food doesn't become a time sink. Focus on quality food, and limit your salt intake on a caloric deficit. Stick to that diet for a couple of months whilst limiting your workouts to normal, physical activity.

You will lose a bit of muscle in the process, and you probably won't feel that you look very impressive, but you will lose weight. Once you hit your target weight, you can start lifting and running again. You'll be back at your old strength levels quickly, and you'll feel and look better very fast.

I did this a couple of years ago after letting myself get to around 210 at 5' 11". I lost 30lbs in 2.5 months, and then started working out. I lost another 10lbs or so over the next 3 months whilst surpassing all my previous strength metrics. Its been 2 years and still keeping it off and eating healthy.
 
You need to setup the calorie intake and foodplan you're going to follow for the long-term now. Eating 1000-1500 calories a day and doing lots of cardio is just asking for the yoyo effect to occur, not to mention the weight you're losing is going to be a lot of muscle. 500 calorie deficit a day with weight lifting and some cardio will do wonders. You should aim for 5-10 pounds of weight loss a month.
 
I am probably between fat and obese, not sure. I am 5 foot 7 and about 200 pounds I believe now. Would running 3 or 4 times a week burn me out? When I say burn me out I mean make my legs too tired and feel like they are 300 pounds each the next day. What would you guys advice? I would love to lose about 20-30 pounds in this month by also decreasing my calorie intake to about 1000 a day.

Depends on how long and how fast you run, and over what kind of terrain...

Light running for 5km or so is pretty easy to do 3-4 times per week, once you're used to it. It becomes like walking, but with a bit more sweating and chafing. You'll feel a bit sore in the legs most of the time, but nothing that'll bother you in your daily life. Operative phrase is "once you're used to it", however. Personally I think a good way to start is to actually run pretty frequently from the get-go, but do so very lightly. Start off by running 500 meters and walk for another 2 km or so, then work your way up. Frequency is more a matter of habit than anything else (so you can start working on that right away), but the intensity of the workout is dependent on how fit you are.

Besides that, focus less on cutting calories, and more on cleaning up your diet (progressively). The latter will have the same effect as the former, but with less OCD anxiety. Running frequently on a poor diet isn't the greatest idea anyway imo, since you don't want your digestive system to act up while you run.

The "lose 20-30 pound in a month" part I'll just assume is a joke. In the real world, those are extreme numbers. I guess you could do it, but it would most likely be by using short-term methods that your body would have to compensate for eventually.
 
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