Applied to the Army

[Finch]

Hi there. I just handed in my application yesterday for Armoured Soldier. I have wanted to join the Forces since I was a kid so after a few months of thinking it over I decided to go for it. The only problem I have is the physical fitness and weight. When I started working out in August 2009 I weighed in at 315lbs and was really unfit. I thought I would have 6-12 months to work out lose weight and build muscle so I was not discouraged but my parents were pressuring me constantly to sign up now and then lose the weight.

At first I was able to use counter arguments and valid points to get them off my back but after my mom(a nurse) went to the Army base to give vaccines, she talked to a few of the troops there and they all told her I should join now and then lose the weight so they kept up the pressure. After I realized I was not going to win I decided to kick up my exercise program and changed my lifestyle.

Now I get up at 5am every day and hit the gym for 30 min with my dad before going to work, and then when I get home I go there for another hour. On Thursday I weighed in at 268.2lbs. The recruiter told me that the chances of getting shipped to basic before spring(3-6 months) was slim to none, so I think I will be able to not only meet the standards, but pass them before I go. So to make a long story short, they told me to expect a call in 3 weeks so ill post more updates as they come.

 

[MikeL]

No need to work out 7 days a week doing 30mins in the morning than an hour at night.. that can lead to overtraining an thats bad.

Theres a few threads here on Physical Training, weight loss, etc that may be helpfull to you.

Also, I'm sure you know this, but since it wasn't mentioned  working out is great, but you also have to eat properly aswell. An theres threads on nutrition, etc here.

Good luck on the weight loss/fitness an getting into the CF.

 

[Finch]

Sorry I forgot to mention I take Sundays off, but I agree with you about the over training. I think I am going to cut back because its starting to take a toll on my kneecaps. Also Thanks for the tip on nutrition I have been struggling with that so ill check out the threads on these forums.

 

[CallOfDuty]

  Hey Finch, I lost 90 pounds a few years back and have kept it off since.  I can tell you without a doubt, that 85 percent of losing weight is all about what you put in your mouth.  The other 15 percent is moderate excercise and proper sleep.  Thats it. 
  Lean meats, whole grains and lots of fruit and vegetables.  Repeat daily!
I suggests a subscription to Mens Health magazine( tons of good recepies and health tips).....as well as look through a copy of Eating Clean.
Cheers man

 

[Niniux]

  Hey Finch, I lost 90 pounds a few years back and have kept it off since.  I can tell you without a doubt, that 85 percent of losing weight is all about what you put in your mouth.  The other 15 percent is moderate excercise and proper sleep.  Thats it. 

Is that applicable to everyone?  I mean, I do have poor eating habits, but I think for me it is actually mostly my sedentary lifestyle.  My diet probably contains less calories (but maybe less fruits and vegetables as well) than when I was 100lbs less.  I also noticed that when I did stick to going to the gym for a month and actually being more physically active, I did lose twenty pounds in a month.

Is it possible for someone that they've got the opposite problem or am I just deluding myself?

 

[Dean22]

Is that applicable to everyone?  I mean, I do have poor eating habits, but I think for me it is actually mostly my sedentary lifestyle.  My diet probably contains less calories (but maybe less fruits and vegetables as well) than when I was 100lbs less.  I also noticed that when I did stick to going to the gym for a month and actually being more physically active, I did lose twenty pounds in a month.

Is it possible for someone that they've got the opposite problem or am I just deluding myself?

It is different for everyone depending on how much weight they need to lose but eventually you'll hit a brick wall where your body won't change anymore unless you start diet.

Right now, for my weight and exercise daily according to a metabolism calculator I would need to eat about 3,400 calories a day to maintain my weight.

http://www.webmd.com/diet/healthtool-metabolism-calculator


So you can at this stage of your weight loss and training plan only be losing weight to exercise because that extra exercise in your daily routine is putting you under the amount of calories you would have to consume to maintain your current weight.

Also, remember that 3,500 calories is about 1 US lb (I believe).


If your having problems on your kneecaps go on an ellyptical instead of jogging. If you put the ellyptical on a high weight setting it will be better for calorie burning than jogging (granted people lose weight differently on different exercises depending on their weight.) I do the elyptical at a high weight about 2-3 times a week between my weight training days for 30 to 60 minutes which, burns about 600-1200 calories per session for me.

 

[gcclarke]

If you are lazy and do nothing, it is possible to still lose weight due to a carefully controlled diet. If you are gluttonous and eat everything you might want, there aren't enough hours in the day for you to exercise enough to compensate. Running 10 km will burn you 800+ calories, and probably take you about an hour. A big mac meal will gain you 1350 calories, and probably take you less than 10 minutes to eat. 85 / 15 sounds about right.

 

[Dean22]

If you are lazy and do nothing, it is possible to still lose weight due to a carefully controlled diet. If you are gluttonous and eat everything you might want, there aren't enough hours in the day for you to exercise enough to comphensate. Running 10 km will burn you 800+ calories, and probably take you about an hour. A big mac meal will gain you 1350 calories, and probably take you less than 10 minutes to eat. 85 / 15 sounds about right.

I'd disagree on the losing weight doing nothing but eating your diet unless it's one of those silly Doctor's diets with needles. But yes, Big Macs are the devil and only super freaks with crazy metabolism can eat them on a regular basis (ex. the guy who has eaten over 10,000 big macs in his life and is about 100 pounds).

Eat more healthy but if you think you have the willpower then eat a purely healthy diet. Just make sure your consuming for your body size and your not under consuming. It doesn't matter what people say about 2,000 calorie diets it's simply not enough for people who weigh 180-280 pounds. Big guys like us need to eat but it doesn't mean we need to eat unhealthy. Try mixing more fruit and more healthy foods into your life so that you can support a healthy diet for weight loss but also support the amount of protein and health your body needs to build muscle.

If your hungry have a banana or apple.

Anyways, that's my 2 cents. But I agree with the guy above me you can't work out and then go eat a big mac for example. Even if your body does burn 4000 calories a day in metabolism/working out. Just think if you burn 4,000 calories a day in metabolism and working out and stick to a healthy 2,500 to 3,000 calorie diet you lose about 0.33-0.4 us pounds a day.

 

[Finch]

Hey guys I just wanted to post an update. 5 days after I posted my last reply in here I came down with a very nasty cold which turned out to be H1N1. It also developed a virus that made breathing difficult and I could not stop coughing. Its been around a month now but I finally am over it and I just started going back to work. Unfortunately I was not able to work out at all during this time so I am kind of disappointed that I lost all that valuable time. Luckily I am back to 100% and am going back to the gym starting Monday to restart my weight training program. I took a liking to it so I have been doing that for about 2 hours a day and 1 hour of Cardio.

Good news also on the Status of the Army Application, I have been told by most of my references that they have received and replied to the back check but there is still 2 who have not done so yet and I assume that is what is taking a while so I have gotten on their cases about it. That is all for now thanks for checking in.

 

[infantryian]

Don't worry about the H1N1 too much. I know for a fact that your body hasn't forgotten how to work.
Aditionally even just building the muscle that you have will burn more calories at rest than going to the gym when you were still overweight. (I'm not a doctor, but I read that in a fitness magazine).

Best of luck in your application, Im still trying to find a 5th reference. I think im going to call and ask if I can use someone I've only known for four years.

 

[Amack]

Congratulations on your progress!  Keep up the good work and as everyone else said, just watch what you eat above all.  Careful not to overdue it in the gym. 2 hours of weight lifting coupled with an hour of cardio is a lot for a day.

 

[byrd365]

hey I'm new to this site so I'm sorry if this is in the wrong place. i applied for the  CF NCM INFANTRY in October 09 i have completed everything except my medical they had it set for DEC.8/09 but called and cancelled the day before because infantry was full. so i was told to call in the new year to see if it would be opining in April 2010. so my question would be is that  a legit reason to cancel my medical ? or would it be because they don't want to accept me? personally i think i would have been told my application was canceled but that's why I'm here thx

 

[burkecross]

Read the site, Infantry is closed until april. The recruiting centers are not going to dodge you or try and give you the run about.

 

[byrd365]

thanks! like i said im new and i just found that post but thanks anyway