Hi, everyone

[adrian silva]

Hi. I've been following the Cat Herd for a couple of months with a lot of interest. I am very interested in doing something similar to lose the extra 20 kilos I've been carrying for the past 7 or 8 years. I'm almost 40 and have 2 small boys and am scared as hell of not seeing my grandchildren.Problem is everytime I start I seem to burn out.The other problem is that I've read so much that I'm confused in what I shoul do. Like I said , I am interested in what I've read but am a bit unclear on some of the principles. Where or how could I get a run down on the program or whether I could use it. Thanks

[Tom]

Well, read through the past blog entries and you'll get most of it. It's not really that complicated. Here are the salient points:

- There are 3 aspects that have to be addressed: diet, cardio, and strength training.

- For diet, get about 1 gram per pound of body weight from protein. Avoid saturated fats, sugars, and starches. Eat a lot of leafy greens and other fibrous veggies.

- For strength training, learn to do a few basic exercises with free weights. Bench press, squat, deadlift; that sort of thing. Do a weight workout 3 times a week; it should take 45 minutes to 1 hour. No more than 1 hour, though.

- For cardio, brisk walking (emphasis on "brisk") is the most straightforward way to start. Get a heart rate monitor (they can be had for as little as $50.00 US) and use it to make sure you're really working and not just going through the motions. Start with a relatively brief walk and increase the time each week, until you've worked up to an hour a day, 5 or 6 times a week.

That's the big picture. You can find more detail in the blogs, or feel free to ask here (we're a helpful lot), or on Marty's live chat (Tuesdays at 12 noon US Eastern time).

[paperboy]

Hi Adrian, welcome to the Forum!

Very soon, I will have a resource available for you that will outline everything you need to know!

[childresspta]

Welcome adrian,

The hardest 2 things to do are to start and to finish. First you get sick of where you are and decide that doing what you have been doing is not working. That will motivate you to get started. Second hang out with a group like this and regularly post and contribute and motivation and encouragement will be immeasurable. Just do what you can do plus a little bit more then tell us about it. Then go back and do it again tommorrow.

Jerimiah

[Bobcat]

Glad you joined, Adrian.

Australia would mean a 15, 16 or 17 hour time difference from Marty-- depending upon which part of Australia. So literally live chat might be difficult unless you're an early riser; however, I'd still recommend submitting a few questions in advance and checking the chat transcript the next day for the answers.

If you have access to a power rack, a bench, and a barbell, you could use the Cat Herd program . . . unless you've got an injury that prevents it. Once you get started, I'd recommend keeping a training and eating log.

[CinnamonGirl]

Welcome, Adrian!

After Tom's, Jerimiah's and Bobcat's greetings and advice, there's not a lot that's valuable that I can add at the moment except to suggest that you write out your goals and make an agreement with yourself to make the investment of time and effort in your health and well-being. You won't regret it.

[ms_irreverent]

Welcome! I pretty much agree with everyone else, but I have a slightly different take: Since you sound to be rather strapped for time, I'd suggest 30-minute workouts. Done properly, they are just as effective. The Cat Herd's workouts were never more than that. You can start out with dumbbells, too.

I also second the suggestion that you post a question for the chat ahead of time. Marty will want to know your age, height, weight, sex, and what your goals are.

[fireman1]

Adrian:
Everybody has it right. You need to focus on three elements....

Performance Eating - remember - reduce calories first, then change the content (lean protein, lots of fresh veggies), then start eating 4 - 6 times per day. Better to eat 500 calories four times a day than 500 for breakfast and 1500 for dinner and nothing in between.

Cardio - walk, run, swim - whatever you do, start and on a weekly basis increase the duration while maintaining the intensity (see Tom's note about a heart rate monitor)

Progressive Resistance - the others have suggested some good exercises for you to do. The key is intensity - whatever you do, always seek to do more repititions or lift more weight in every session.

How do you know you have all three legs of the tripod in balance? You'll know it if you are losing 1 - 2 pounds per week and you're not suffering from a lack of energy. If you're losing more than 1-2 pounds per week or you're suffering from a lack of energy then you'll need to make some adjustment - this is where Marty's chats on Tuesdays come in real handy. Tell him about what you're doing and tell him the results - he'll let you know how to adjust.

Finally, the one thing that has not been addressed yet is FUN! It is the lack of FUN that you have probably always burned out. In each aspect of the fitness tripod you must find a way to make it FUN. FUN trumps all - if it's fun, you'll want to come back for more.