New here, some pics of me so far.

[Sdk09x]

Hey there everyone, my name is Sam. I am new here. I figured this is the place for someone like me since your all in the same boat or have gone through what I am going through. I started my weight loss about a year ago and so far have lost about 150 or so pounds.
Here is me at my all time high of 378 pounds!

And here is me now at around 225 pounds.

I am still losing, hoping to get to about 200, then I wanna start lifting and get the loose skin to go away and build some more muscle.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Fygle]

Get new clothes! That's a lot of weight to lose in a year, hence why you have some loose skin I'd imagine. Superb job!

[Sdk09x]

Thanks, yeah I have gotten a lot of new stuff. I didn't even try to lose this much so fast, I just started working out and eating healthier and it started falling off lol.

[musculargirl]

Congrats on the weightloss! That's great. Very impressive. Maybe you shouldn't wait until you get to 200 for lifting maybe you should just start now?? Just a thought. Congrats again!

[Sdk09x]

Thanks, I do want to start lifting now, but I can't figure out a good plan for it. I have heard every other day for lifting is good and then I have heard that lifting then taking two days off is better. I know I gotta have the time for my muscle to heal.

[musculargirl]

That's a good question but I'm pretty inexperienced right now to answer it for you. So I will have to let Boss and others respond to how you should go about starting out for lifting. How did you go about losing the weight?

[Sdk09x]

Mostly lot's of cardio. I spent 5 to 6 days a week at the gym. At first I just did 30 minutes on the treadmill. Then I added biking for 15 minutes. Now I usually go on the elliptical for 30, the stairmaster for 25, the bike for 15, and I usually run a mile or two on the treadmill. Sometimes I will swim for a bit too. Like I said, lot's of cardio. lol

[musculargirl]

Congratulations again. I think most people on here would probably advise to do more lifting and less cardio for weight loss but its quite impressive what you did, thats a lot of weight to lose. Sorry i can't be of more help with advice.

[Boss Man]

Start doing TBT training 3x a week for 4-6 weeks as a starter, to get used to the biomechanics of weightlifting.

After that you have options.

1. TBT

2. A 4 day split, 2x Upper body, 2x lower body workouts, with a the 5 day format of UB, LB, Day off, UB, LB, Day off, Day off.

3. a 3 day split, consisting of paired groups. I.E. Legs / Biceps, Chest / Triceps, Back / Shoulders, with a day off between workouts.

4. A 5 day split. I.E. Legs, Chest, Back, Day off, Biceps / Triceps, Shoulders, Day off.

Some people will favour specific systems, others will do what feels best for them. Time and experience will teach you.

There's a few things to know regards any system.

1. Use good technique. Don't increase weight until technique is good and don't use something like the Weider Half reps method, where you do half a range of motion with more weight added. That's not very productive and may cause developmental problems.

2. Don't use more weight than you can handle. If you're not sure what you should use, be conservative, don't overestimate. It's easy to increase a low weight level, but too much may cause injuries.

3. Don't do things like Wrist Curls and Behind the Neck exercises, that cause risk to Bones and conenctive tissues.

That's for the future though.

[musculargirl]

what is tbt training? What does it stand for?

[Boss Man]

Where you train all the muscle groups in one session. Usually repeated 3x a week.

[Sdk09x]

Thanks Boss Man, I will have to start trying that. Get my shape more tight lol. Thanks everyone for the comment's and help. It's really appreciated.

[MissJenaKay]

Sam,

I just want to say, CONGRATULATIONS! You're doing amazingly. Also, I love the tiny Hello Kitty bag in the background of your first picture. Haha. Keep up the great work, you're looking great and I can imagine you're only going to feel and look even better.

Jena :]

[Athene]

Wow, you look like a different guy. Congratulations!

[Sdk09x]

Thanks everyone. Yeah I sort of assumed someone would eventually notice the hello kitty bag lol. But hopefully you guys are right and I can reach my goal and feel and look better then ever.