Physical job and weight loss?

[Akolades]

I've hit a rut in my weight loss.

I followed a better diet and dropped from 267 to 239 over 6 months. I'm 5'11, so I figured i should be around 170-190 to be healthy.

The problem is, I've been working at UPS, which is a very physical job. During the first week, without a change in my diet, I dropped down to 230. But the following week, the weight all came back. It's an evening job.

So I was wondering if there is anything different that I should be doing in order to lose weight. I haven't done a specific workout plan, because i assumed that the work at UPS would be enough, but it has not been.

Is there a certain workout routine i should follow? when should I workout? Is there a diet that would be best for this? Keep in mind that from 6-10pm every night, i still hav to be able to perform my job.

[Wolfram]

There's a ton of stuff in the faq about this.

Basically, you just gotta eat less and exercise. I don't think that working at UPS is enough exercise to drop 50-70 pounds.

Do "Starting Strength" and run a caloric deficit diet and you'll see results.

[SmileyEH]

Diet dietdie dietdieiidididet diet diet die teiieridietitieitite.

How physical is your job? Are you out of breath and sweating for 8 hours? If not-while it is still good for you-isprobably not enough exercise to build a bunch of muscle and/or get in good cardiovascular shape.

[Akolades]

[ QUOTE ]
Diet dietdie dietdieiidididet diet diet die teiieridietitieitite.

How physical is your job? Are you out of breath and sweating for 8 hours? If not-while it is still good for you-isprobably not enough exercise to build a bunch of muscle and/or get in good cardiovascular shape.

[/ QUOTE ]

I definetly feel out of breath/tired during the last hour of a 5 hour shift.

I was just partly concerned that adding a workout to the mornings would lead to me over training, and not being able to do my job due to soreness.

Thanks for the tips though. But is there anything else i can do to help me deal with the workout and still doing my job that night?

[SmileyEH]

Doing a 5x5 will not lead to overtraining.

[Wolfram]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Diet dietdie dietdieiidididet diet diet die teiieridietitieitite.

How physical is your job? Are you out of breath and sweating for 8 hours? If not-while it is still good for you-isprobably not enough exercise to build a bunch of muscle and/or get in good cardiovascular shape.

[/ QUOTE ]

I definetly feel out of breath/tired during the last hour of a 5 hour shift.


[/ QUOTE ]
I don't mean to diss you, but if you're 5'11 and 240lbs with a high fat-percentage then walking up 3 flights of stairs probably has you feeling out of breath.

Unless you're diggin ditches, throwing bales of hay, doing hard labor then you'll need to exercise to get in better shape.

-Lift weights 3 times a week to increase muscle mass so that your body will burn more calories during the whole day. Plus you'll look better.
-Do cardio (running/walking/swimming/cycling/sports) to make your heart stronger and increase stamina and endurance.
-Eat healthy to live a long life.


[ QUOTE ]

I was just partly concerned that adding a workout to the mornings would lead to me over training, and not being able to do my job due to soreness.


[/ QUOTE ]
You really don't need to worry about this. Overtraining is something that professional athletes need to deal with, not regular joes like us that go to the gym 3-6 times a week (unless you're working out for 2hrs+ each time). I really doubt you can count your job as training. Maybe you can describe it to us?

[ QUOTE ]

Thanks for the tips though. But is there anything else i can do to help me deal with the workout and still doing my job that night?

[/ QUOTE ]
If you don't wanna do the work, then there's little we can do to help you. You can lose weight just by fixing your diet and running a caloric deficit, but then you'll just be a skinny unhealthy dude. A normal healthy life should include some extracurricular exercise.

[KittyLiquor]

I used to work at UPS. I don't know what your job is, but I was an unloader and a sorter.

If you are an unloader ("There's the semi, unload it, I'm checking to see that you are pushing 50 packages a minute out the back") then you are doing a lot of work in the 4-5 hours that will burn a fair amouht of calories. You'll lose weight unless you eat like a pig. But it will not get you "in shape." You need to work out, to add some muscle. You job should get you in average-above average cardio shape, but not anywhere into great shape. You just aren't working hard enough.

If you are a sorter ("See those 50 packages a minute coming off that truck, look at each one and pick it up/slide it to the correct belt") then you are doing some work (good for burning calories), but less so than unloading. Still need weight lifting and cardio.

I would suggest lifting weight 3 times a week and doing some high intensity cardio once or twice a week. (I think the UPS jobs is equal to a 4-5 hour walk at a decent pace.) When I worked there we never got any breaks. I frequently worked 1 truck until it was empty then I went home or helped someone else finish up their truck. Had to work less than 5 hours or the law said we got a break. NEVER HAPPENED!

------------Kitty

[Akolades]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Diet dietdie dietdieiidididet diet diet die teiieridietitieitite.

How physical is your job? Are you out of breath and sweating for 8 hours? If not-while it is still good for you-isprobably not enough exercise to build a bunch of muscle and/or get in good cardiovascular shape.

[/ QUOTE ]

I definetly feel out of breath/tired during the last hour of a 5 hour shift.


[/ QUOTE ]
I don't mean to diss you, but if you're 5'11 and 240lbs with a high fat-percentage then walking up 3 flights of stairs probably has you feeling out of breath.

Unless you're diggin ditches, throwing bales of hay, doing hard labor then you'll need to exercise to get in better shape.

-Lift weights 3 times a week to increase muscle mass so that your body will burn more calories during the whole day. Plus you'll look better.
-Do cardio (running/walking/swimming/cycling/sports) to make your heart stronger and increase stamina and endurance.
-Eat healthy to live a long life.


[ QUOTE ]

I was just partly concerned that adding a workout to the mornings would lead to me over training, and not being able to do my job due to soreness.


[/ QUOTE ]
You really don't need to worry about this. Overtraining is something that professional athletes need to deal with, not regular joes like us that go to the gym 3-6 times a week (unless you're working out for 2hrs+ each time). I really doubt you can count your job as training. Maybe you can describe it to us?

[ QUOTE ]

Thanks for the tips though. But is there anything else i can do to help me deal with the workout and still doing my job that night?

[/ QUOTE ]
If you don't wanna do the work, then there's little we can do to help you. You can lose weight just by fixing your diet and running a caloric deficit, but then you'll just be a skinny unhealthy dude. A normal healthy life should include some extracurricular exercise.

[/ QUOTE ]

The job requires me to load one or two trailers per day. I load at a speed of 8 packages per minute, for 4-6 hours per day. The packages range from 1-120 pounds, but most are in the 15-25 pound range.

I will begin the workouts tomorrow morning. Thanks for the tips. For the record, it's not that I was scared of doing the workout, i just wanted to make sure it was safe.

And in regards to my last comment (if there was anything else i could do) I should have been clearer. I didn't mean besides working out. I meant, is there anything I can do extra that would make working out and doing the job easier? Like, Should I have a protein shake after the workout and the job instead of a regular meal?

Thanks again

[Blarg]

Remember that part of getting fit can mean staying heavy during different periods, as far as a scale goes, since muscle is very heavy compared to fat. You can actually get more heavy while still losing fat and achieving all your other fitness goals. Don't get too expert at finessing interpretations of what the numbers on a scale means, because they can be very misleading. You will find yourself reaching reasonable goals if you eat right, and moderately, and get an adequate work-out schedule going.

[That Foreign Guy]

The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing he world he doesn't exist. The second greatest one was convincing the world that the scale numbers matter.

There are two guys in my office. Both about five eight, both weigh about eighty five kilos (*2.2 for pounds so about 187-190). One plays rugby (twice weekly training plus a game, pretty high intensity intervals), weightlifts a couple times a week, and does assorted other things (squash, mountain bike, etc). The other eats McDonalds twice a week, complains how low fat marshmallows don't taste as good as regular ones, and sometimes walks to work (about 15 minutes).

The scale says they are both the same weight, but I know which one I'd rather look like.