Hey. 18 year old male here, 6'2 and 218lbs.

So, 3 days ago I started walking on a treadmill at about 4.5km/h for 3 hours each day. I've lost 5 or 6 lbs since then. And now I'm wondering what the negative effects of this could be. I drink plenty of water while I'm walking and by the end I'm barely out of breath. I'd already lost about 28lbs since the start of the year by cutting down my eating, and I'm aiming for 189lbs, but the shape of my body and my fitness matters to me more than the number. I've also been taking these Thermo-3 dietary supplement things, so I don't expect to keep losing weight at that rate. I'd be happy with 2lbs a week, since I've been burning off 1000 calories a day on the treadmill. Also, I should mention that my knee is pretty sore. It started yesterday, but it wasn't sore enough to keep me from doing the full 3 hours. I take it it'd probably get worse if I did it all again today, but I don't know.

Anyone got any advice? It'd be much appreciated.

I work out 2- 3 hours a day six days a week, doing alot more than walking on a treadmill. See my log "performance is not enough" I have gone from 200+ with 21% to 183 with 11% and i am preparing for an ironman!

Am I bragging- YEP! just like you. I put in the sweat ad th time, and I put other stuff aside. It is called sacrifice (if you see it that way).

Keep up the great work.

FF

p.s. Do anything Derwyddon tells you and you will be better for it!

Thanks for the advice.

As for my diet... I don't really watch what I eat, just how much and how often. But I mainly eat things like chicken, rice, pasta, tuna and eggs. I eat a little junk food, but not every day and when I do it isn't too much.

EDIT: Also, is 189 a reasonable goal? I kind of just chose an arbitrary point on the scales, but as I said, my main goal is the shape of my body, i.e. I don't want to look fat. Would I see a significant difference between 218 and 189?

It all comes down to this sentence really.

Can you see yourself being able to sustain a 3 hour walk mutliple times a week for a long period of time? Probably pretty unrealistic. What Derwyddon posted is right on. For your goals adding some strength training along with some quality cardio is going to do much more for you than what you're currently doing. You'll see the scale go down, feel happy that you don't have to spend hours upon hours a day of sacrifice to see it, and realize its a lifestyle you can easily maintain. Truthfully, to get to your goal you're going to have to sacrifice your diet a little. You can workout all you want but if you don't eat correctly you will never get to your goals. There is a huge difference between 218 and 189 and its a realistic goal. To not "look fat" I would look towards the weight room. It really does drop the fat faster than anything when paired with some quality cardio and a sound diet.

Now, if you're going to TRAIN for something like an ironman, then yeah, join FF and his 3 hour crazy workouts. The side effect of his training is the weight/fat loss...but he's in it more for the adventure and challenge

Okay, thanks. The reason I'm only using a treadmill is because it's the only thing I have at the moment. Also, there really isn't much else to do where I live, so I think I could probably keep up the 3 hours a day for a while. But if lifting weights will help then I'll have to get some.

What about my knee? It isn't as painful as yesterday, but if I work through with it will I make it a lot worse?

don't ya just hate when a cute chick has your number!!

geepers a guy can't even have a lil fun!

one thing that does happen around guys like me is INJURY!

but god loves me special, so i get to survive..

did i ever say welcome to the board.

FF

Well the knee sounds like an overuse injury. You could be overstriding. When your heel hits the ground first and you're taking significant strides thats a lot of jarring to your knees. Try and shorten your strides and step on your whole foot at once rather than heel/toe. Kick back on the long walks for a little while, increase some resistance (you can do weight bearing activities even without a dumbell) and try to formulate a plan for your diet.

Okay, thanks. I can do that. I tried to go faster yesterday to try that HIIT thing and nearly fell off because of my knee.

One last thing, given 'afterburn' and all that, if I continued burning around 1000 calories a day while exercising, what would be a realistic rate to expect to lose weight at?