hi, im new here and im looking for advice on exercises and diet. currently i am 252pounds and 6ft 3 and 38 years old male and i want to start weight lifting i know im old but i want to get muscular if i can. my diet is crap i eat pizza, fish and chips, fish fingers chips and beans/peas, chow mein fried rice chips and curry, tuna sallad sandwiches, cheese and onion sandwiches. drink beer, drink semi skimmed milk, fresh orange juice and pop. im giving you as much info as possible so u can help me. can you tell me what i need to start eating, do i need to take any supplements, what do i need to drop etc. i cannot get to a gym or go out walking as im housebound but not disabled physically or mentally i just have agoraphobia so jogging is out of the question and so is walking. all i can do is walk/run up down a flight of stairs. next i have a very basic weights bench with no attachments and plenty of free weights to use and need advice on what exercises to do, how many times a day, how many minutes, how many times a week. is it better for me to buy a multigym as i have no one to help me train and i dont want a heavy barbell crushing my chest if i cant lift it thats y i think a multigym suit me fine any ideas? i can also buy a treadmill to compensate for lack of walking is this a good idea? i know you have to do warm up exercises before u lift weights is this sit ups and press ups? can you tell me how heavy the weights should be for starting and when do i need to use heavier weights. how long if i eat right and train as you may suggest will i lose weight and become muscular. do i need to go on a diet first to lose weight off my belly. if anyone could tell me the best way or give me some genuine advice on what to do id be most grateful im prepared to put the effort in and long term not short term and just turn it to fat. thank you i hope you can help me

Before you do anything, you need to get your eating habits in order. It's not bad to eat fast food every now and then, but you don't want it to be your main course of eating. You should feel better just by eating the right foods after a couple of weeks or more. Your diet should contain a high protein like chicken or salmon. There are lots more to chose from. You should be eating lots of green vegetables also. As far as supplements go, the main ones are protein, multivitamin and fish oil.
If for exercise all you can do is walk up and down some stairs, then walk up and down some stairs. Use the free weights to the best of you advantage. Here’s a link to some free weight exercise. http://www.thetrainingstationinc.com/freeweightexercises.html
Always warm up before exercising. It may consist of stretching or jogging in place since you can’t do it outside. As far as weightlifting goes, you do the heaviest weight possible that will let you keep proper form.
Don’t worry about becoming muscular right away. Set small goals for yourself and go from there. Best of Luck, John
 

Like TSP said you need to get your eating in order. No more crap food. You should try to eat food that is of high nutritional value and has a low-to-medium glycemic index (i.e., is broken down slowly by the body). Check out the calories on everything you eat and cut down on it, and buy a book that lists the GI-value of common foods. (Carbohydrate-)Supplements should be taken when necessary, e.g. when you can't stuff more potatoes or meatballs down your tummy, it's often easier to sweep a drink with equal caloric value. Protein-supplements, same principle. There are lots of other things you should eat (multivitamins and so on) but for now you need to switch to food with low-to-medium GI. It's a plus to cut down on fat and calories, but cutting down on calories will leave you hungry and less energized. You should do some kind of cardio every day; personally I prefer bicycling 'cos it feels better to still be moving even if I'm resting for a moment. Remember though that bicycling requires more time to lose the same amount of calories you'd lose if you were jogging.
 
Good luck!

hi thanks for replying. i forgot to mention im limited on my food intake as im a vegeterian the only meat stuff i eat is tuna and cod. can you help me out here with foods to eat and what supplements to take. ru saying i need to lose weight first before i start exercising? you didnt mention if buying a multigym and treadmill was a good idea since i cannot walk or jog etc as im housebound at the moment. if you could point me in the right direction as to food and exercises and how often i need to train sumone got me sum books from the library but they useless apart from it says i need to train at least 25 minutes before i burn fat they dont give me a diet or exercise routine. and as to supplements are you on about the milk shake drinks you can get or tablets can you give me some clue as to what type of supplements i need. im in the uk so if any of you live abroad etc we wont have the same brands. please give me some more advice as i am planning to start my exercises and diet on monday i want to totally change and become fit. your advice will be most helpful thanks.

Alright let's chop this up first:
 

im limited on my food intake as im a vegeterian the only meat stuff i eat is tuna and cod. can you help me out here with foods to eat and what supplements to take.

 
This makes things somewhat more difficult since meat is rich in protein. However you eat tuna, which is rich in protein so you should eat that. You could try meal replacements as well, but that can be quite expensive if you're gonna replace every meal. I'm not vegetarian so I've never focussed on that part, but dairy products are rich in protein as are foods that are made from them, pancakes for example.
 

ru saying i need to lose weight first before i start exercising?

 
No that's not necessary (and it's not possible to do so in the long term either), what we're saying is that exercising won't help much if you keep stuffing crap down your throat. It's quite essential really to know what kinds of food contain how many calories and what's the GI-value of those foods. Googling "gi table" I found this site: http://gitesting.com/index.php?page=gitable which should give you an idea of what you can eat. As for calories, it usually says on the food; for example, spaghetti is 360kcal per 100 gram (and from the link you can learn that it's GI is around 30, which is an excellent level). Now, additionally to this, you need to weigh your food.
 

you didnt mention if buying a multigym and treadmill was a good idea since i cannot walk or jog etc as im housebound at the moment.

 
Well, how long will you be housebound? And Why are you housebound? If you can afford it and know you'll keep up with the training and proper nutrition, buying a multigym is surely very comfortable. Same goes for treadmills.
 

if you could point me in the right direction as to food and exercises and how often i need to train

 
I keep repeating myself but you need to eat food with a GI value less than 90, preferably less than 70 (low GI is up to 70, medium 70-90, and high is 90+, which you should avoid). That's the most important thing. Cutting on fat is important as well, but then you have to eat more in turn; if you're overweight because you never get full or because you simply pack on fat easily I don't know, but if it's the former by all means cut on the fat and substitute the lost calories with fruit and vegetables; excellent replacements for calories from fat.
 

i need to train at least 25 minutes before i burn fat they dont give me a diet or exercise routine.

 
How much you need to exercise to burn fat depends on a lot of things such as what kind of exercise it is, how long you're doing it, as well as how your body...works (genes and stuff). Now, when exercising the body normally turns to carbohydrates for energy, but if there's no carbs in you it turns to the fat deposits. On you, I'd say 20% of your weight is fat which means you have fat worth roughly 205,000 calories (and a couple thousand maybe stored in muscle and other tissues). So in order to get down to 15% body fat you need to lose some 50,000 calories from fat. That's quite a bit and requires at least a month to burn. So far as losing weight then, I'd say walking or bicycling every morning before you eat ANYTHING for 30-60 minutes, and then again later during the day when your tummy is empty again (or you can do both at once). Regarding weight lifting, exercises can be found here http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/gluhareff16.htm under "Training Plan" and you can click on the names of the exercises to see how they're performed. There are 1000's of ways to train, the routine in the link is one of them. The important thing for you at the moment is to find exercises for all the bigger muscle groups - calves, back thighs, back, triceps, shoulders, biceps, forearms, chest, abdominals and front thighs. Check this out http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/exercises.htm
 

and as to supplements are you on about the milk shake drinks you can get or tablets can you give me some clue as to what type of supplements i need.

 
I was thinking about the milkshake drinks... Well the first thing you'll need to worry about is extra protein intake (especially since you're vegetarian). For the first 1-2 months that's all you need to care about; dosage should be an ounce every 3-4 hours.
 

im in the uk so if any of you live abroad etc we wont have the same brands.

 
Check out http://www.twinlab.com Twinlab are available in the UK and you can check out what they've got on their website; all you need. Not that I'm saying that they're the best, but their stuff works (I don't use it though, too expensive).
 

please give me some more advice as i am planning to start my exercises and diet on monday i want to totally change and become fit.

 
Bodybuilding is almost like science, there's lots you'll have to learn and you won't learn it all till Monday, you'll have to learn by time. While you do that, eat low-GI food, do 1-2 exercises for each muscle group with 2-3 sets of 6-10 reps twice (or thrice, if you like) a week.

ok ive taken notes and have researched gi foods and heres the webpage i used followed by my food choice from the list you can tell me if the diet foods i have chosen are correct and will help me lose weight if i eat some of them every 4 hours. i think i still need to get protein drinks and vitamin tablets aswell as i dont eat meat. also the reason i dont go out for walks etc is because i have a phobia of open spaces and have had it a long time thats y i can only exercise in the house. heres the webpage i used http://www.weightlossresources.co.uk/diet/gi_diet/glycaemic_index_tables.htm and heres my chosen foods from the list. low gi foods roasted peanuts 14, skimmed milk 32, low fat fruit yoghurt 32, wholemeal spaghetti 37, apples 38, pears 38, tomato soup 38, porridge made with water 42, oranges 44, orange juice 46, peas 48, baked beans 48, milk chocolate 49, crisps 54, banana 55, sweetcorn 55   gi moderate foods  boiled potatoes 56, cheese and tomato pizza 60, ice cream 61, new potatoes 62  gi foods high  mashed potato 70, white bread 70, french fries 75, jacket potato 85 plus added to this are tuna and cheddar cheese. tell me if you think this diet is enough if eaten every 4 hours. your suggestions be most welcome. im not trying to learn everything in a few days but if i eat and drink the same foods im eating now then im wasting my time if im going to do this i want a good start and diet to me seems a good place to start. please remember im a vegetarian when considering my diet and that i only eat cod and tuna (battered cod) im going to research exercise now so wil post my comments for guidance. thanks

ok im back, ive looked at the exercises and i only have a basic very old bench with no attachments i havent invested in a multigym yet. my weights are 4.4pounds 8.8 pounds 2kg 6kg and 10 kg i have dumbells and a barbell. i also have an exercise bike in the garage which i can use if need be. ok now tell me which exercises to do ie bench press, curls, etc i havent a clue which body parts belong to which groups. do i start off lifting small weights on day one then continue with small weights until its easy or do i start off lifting heavy weights? if i start on monday what do you suggest that i warm up with the exercise bike then have a rest then start lifting weights, which exercises should i begin with. do i just do it for 10 minutes on the first day or do i make it 30 minutes or more. do i just do it once a day and exercise with the bike twice a day. how many times a week do i do it every day if i bench press and do dumbell curls what exercises should i do on the 2nd day. i am a totally beginner and do not want to just go plunging into lifting weights and doing wrong exercises that will injure me or not be of benefit to nme at all if i do the same exercises everyday. i think its monday, wednesday friday to lift weights and the weekend resting is that right? do i need to do sit ups and press ups? what warm up exercises do i need to do b4 i benefit from lifting weights, how much time between reps, how much time between different exercises. ok thats enough to get on with now im going to look at the supplements you can get thanks.

i still need to get protein drinks and vitamin tablets aswell as i dont eat meat.

 
Indeed you do; both protein powders and vitamins are available from health stores, but you might wanna check out internet stores, due to your phobia. I don't know very much about which vitamins and minerals are important, but I take a multivitamin (ABCDE) and extra zinc. I suggest you take those and extra Calcium, Magnesium and Potassium as well.
Due to your phobia a treadmill or exercise-bike is obligatory.
 

low gi foods roasted peanuts 14, skimmed milk 32, low fat fruit yoghurt 32, wholemeal spaghetti 37, apples 38, pears 38, tomato soup 38, porridge made with water 42, oranges 44, orange juice 46, peas 48, baked beans 48, milk chocolate 49, crisps 54, banana 55, sweetcorn 55   gi moderate foods  boiled potatoes 56, cheese and tomato pizza 60, ice cream 61, new potatoes 62  gi foods high  mashed potato 70, white bread 70, french fries 75, jacket potato 85 plus added to this are tuna and cheddar cheese.

 
This is a good list. Like I said, you should EAT NONE OF THE HIGH GI FOODS. Also, eat very moderate amounts of roasted peanuts, milk chocolate, pizza and ice cream as they are high in calories. Let me ask you about your weight: Is it more or less constant, or is it continually rising? If it's at a constant level, you should continue eating as much as you're eating now, just replace your current junk food with the above. In Marc David's book that's available from this forum you can calculate how many calories your body needs to maintain weight; so you calculate how many calories you need, and then you eat as much of the stuff on your list that you reach this level. Eat as much as you can of the low GI foods on your list, and then turn to medium GI foods. NEVER HIGH GI FOODS!
 

my weights are 4.4pounds 8.8 pounds 2kg 6kg and 10 kg i have dumbells and a barbell. i also have an exercise bike in the garage which i can use if need be.

 
OK good. However you need to buy more weights. You need to buy between 50-75kg in weights that you can put on your barbell and dumbbells. It's great that you have an exercise bike. Use it daily, a one hour set every morning before breakfeast, or two sets a day (both on empty stomach).
 

tell me which exercises to do ie bench press, curls, etc i havent a clue which body parts belong to which groups.

 
Check out this site I gave you http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/exercises.htm , it names all muscles, and you can click on the muscle group you want to exercise and you'll get to another page with lots of exercises you can choose from. I'll let the choosing over to you, do the ones you feel comfortable with.
 

do i start off lifting small weights on day one then continue with small weights until its easy or do i start off lifting heavy weights?

 
I'd suggest you spend two weeks doing light weights many times, 20 reps and over per exercise. Do 1-2 exercises per muscle group, and I suggest compound exercises (exercises that train many muscles at the same time). Do 2 sets per exercise. Exercise every other day.
Then you should spend the next two weeks with medium weights medium times, about 12-15 reps per exercise (increase weight if you can do more than 15). 1-2-3 exercises per muscle group. Have a nice blend of compound and isolation exercises (isolation = exercises that train one muscle only). Do 2 sets per exercise, but do 3 sets on those exercises you're most comfortable with. Exercise every third or fourth day.
Finally, move on to heavy weights few times, 6-8 reps per exercise. Do 3 exercises per muscle group, and now you should do mostly isolation exercises, with a few compound exercises. Do 3-4 sets per exercise. Exercise every 5-7 seven days. Also, split the muscle groups into four groups: e.g., Monday upper backside, Wednesday upper front, Friday lower backside, Sunday lower front. This way you don't have to spend hours in the gym.
While exercising, drink water between each set. Immediately before or after exercise, eat 50-60grams of protein (a protein bar is ideal). This is not necessary until you start doing heavy weights though. Personally I eat dextrosol tablets during exercise to constantly replenish glycogen stores in the muscles; do that if you wish.
As for warmup, 10-15 minutes on the exercise bike.
 

i am a totally beginner and do not want to just go plunging into lifting weights and doing wrong exercises that will injure me or not be of benefit to nme at all if i do the same exercises everyday.

 
If you go to a gym there will be personnel there to show you how to do exercises correctly. If you do everything at home, it's important to read about how you do things properly.
 

do i need to do sit ups and press ups?

 
Situps are very efficient in building nice abs. Hold your arms crossed over your chest, legs bent, and then lift your chest. Don't twist your neck while lifting! That will cause injury. Use ONLY your abs to lift your upper body.
 

how much time between reps, how much time between different exercises.

 
You should do the reps quite fast (lift fast, fall back slowly), so there won't be any rest between them. 2-3 minutes rest between each set and exercise.