Hi people,
I've decided my weight has begun to be a massive problem for me and it has to be sorted. I joined the gym recently but still had a lot of stuff going on at work. I’ve started going to the gym again this week and tried looking around several sites but trying to decipher the information on my own is pretty difficult with so much to take in. I try looking through threads but cant pick out what I need to know and end up getting in a mess and closing everything as I’m stressed. I'm really putting it out to you to make me programs if I'm being honest. It's not that I don't want to be able to but more that I don't have a clue what I should be doing/looking at. Once I begin to get an idea I’ll be able to see what is making a difference to me and be able to alter them myself.

I really am clueless with what I've meant to be doing when I go though and that's where you come in. Hopefully you can give me programs for training, firstly i want to lose the weight but ideally tone the muscles at the same time. (I used to play rugby and train often but this was from a young age so I have no experience of weight loss) If anyone has any good dieting ideas that would help I'd be greatful too. I understand that changing my diet will play a major part in me losing weight and I’m going to go shopping for stuff at the weekend.

I have set myself an aim of 182 pounds by 1st July 2007. This may not seem a lot but considering I currently weigh in at 252 I think that may be a step too far. However I am going to give it my best shot. This is the first thing I need feedback on, would this kind of drastic weight loss be possible in this time period? If not then what would be a suitable target for this time. I have created a spreadsheet for myself with targets every week.
I'm gonna keep this thread as a diary of my progress and hope it will spur me on. I know I will hit difficult times and thats when I'll look back on it and see what I've achieved so far. This time I AM going to do it.

First off welcome.

1-You may want to start a journal in the diary section, a lot of people find that very helpful.

2-We cannot give you specific programs or diet guidelines to follow, we can however point you to the right directions for you to do it yourself. In each forum section there are "sticky" threads at the top. Read through all those threads and the combined information should get you started on your way. Then if you have any specific questions post them for us to answer with lots of detail, the more detail you give, the better we can help and answer you quickly.

3-Aggressive weight loss goals are great for motivation, but the goal of fat loss is to lose fat, not muscle and water. To lose that amount of weight by then would most likely mean you would a)loss water and muscle and b) gain it back on if you ever stopped eating in a low caloric range. So aim for a loss of 1-2 pounds per week. In the beginning it can be healthier and faster than that, but that should be your overall goal.