Fat kid Wants to Join AU Army

[timid]

Hey guys,

I'm currently 16, turning 17 in two months. No doubt in my mind that I want to serve my home country, and have decided to change. I've dropped a high calorie diet for a healthy no-sugar, high protein, low carb one. I've also dropped drugs (used to be LSD & Cannabis) for a start. I consume from 1200-1600 calories daily and only drink coffee (for breakfast) and water (1-2L). I have a bmi around 24.5, with not much upper body strength. I've so far started running around 3.5Miles on days that I am vacant (sunday, monday, tuesday). I run as long as I can with few breaks (walking). On Tuesday I ran till I actually vomited. Its kind of stupid, but I'm proud to say that I have resisted temptation of fast food (as I work there after school) and instead I just went for a run home after work.

I have very little upper body strength and can barely do 10 full pushups (I did 50 female pushups on sunday). I'd just like some advice on how I should prepare and portion my meals, count carbs n macros.

my usual day goes like this:
-wake up at 7.30am
-head to school (1.8miles away) by foot
-eat lunch at 1 (whole meal bread with salmon (or pork without fat) with 1-2 slices of tomato)
-finish school at 3pm
-walk to work straight from school (1.2miles)
-work for 5-6 hours on average (no snacks or food except water)
-finish work at 9-10pm
-take a bus to school
-run from school to home (1.8miles)
-10-11pm get home and eat a small meal with lots of fruits (sometimes veg)
-go to sleep at 12-1am

Like I said any advice would be appreciated.
weight = 152lbs height = 5'7" body fat % = 18% bmi = 24.5

goals: get fit for the military, gain muscle mass/core strength, excel physically/mentally & be combat ready as infantry. Join the Army after passing highschool and have a diet/exercise plan that I can stick to.

long term goals: die in combat, honorably ( I would rather prefer this than have the indignity of not being able to go to the toilet in time) or maybe even join the French Foreign Legion for the average contract of 5yrs.

Thanks, all

 

[Feanor]

You might want to re-think your long term goals.

 

[protoplasm]

You might want to re-think your long term goals.

As a school teacher I've had hundreds of these conversations, and I've said exactly those words at least once

 

[Hoffy]

Hey guys,

I'm currently 16, turning 17 in two months. No doubt in my mind that I want to serve my home country, and have decided to change. I've dropped a high calorie diet for a healthy no-sugar, high protein, low carb one. I've also dropped drugs (used to be LSD & Cannabis) for a start. I consume from 1200-1600 calories daily and only drink coffee (for breakfast) and water (1-2L). I have a bmi around 24.5, with not much upper body strength. I've so far started running around 3.5Miles on days that I am vacant (sunday, monday, tuesday). I run as long as I can with few breaks (walking). On Tuesday I ran till I actually vomited. Its kind of stupid, but I'm proud to say that I have resisted temptation of fast food (as I work there after school) and instead I just went for a run home after work.

I have very little upper body strength and can barely do 10 full pushups (I did 50 female pushups on sunday). I'd just like some advice on how I should prepare and portion my meals, count carbs n macros.

my usual day goes like this:
-wake up at 7.30am
-head to school (1.8miles away) by foot
-eat lunch at 1 (whole meal bread with salmon (or pork without fat) with 1-2 slices of tomato)
-finish school at 3pm
-walk to work straight from school (1.2miles)
-work for 5-6 hours on average (no snacks or food except water)
-finish work at 9-10pm
-take a bus to school
-run from school to home (1.8miles)
-10-11pm get home and eat a small meal with lots of fruits (sometimes veg)
-go to sleep at 12-1am

Like I said any advice would be appreciated.
weight = 152lbs height = 5'7" body fat % = 18% bmi = 24.5

goals: get fit for the military, gain muscle mass/core strength, excel physically/mentally & be combat ready as infantry. Join the Army after passing highschool and have a diet/exercise plan that I can stick to.

long term goals: die in combat, honorably ( I would rather prefer this than have the indignity of not being able to go to the toilet in time) or maybe even join the French Foreign Legion for the average contract of 5yrs.

Thanks, all

69 kilos doesn't seem that overweight @ 5'7". Regardless you seem to be very focused on your future military career so good luck!

All that exercise sounds like very good physical preparation for what lies ahead.

Sounds like you are hoping to avoid a dishonorable discharge - does that sound like a fair observation?

 

[Raven22]

Which Army are you wanting to join? Your use of pounds, feet/inches and miles is confusing me.

 

[ngatimozart]

The NZDF have a Force Fit app that you can download that's free, takes six weeks, doesn't require a gym and will help you plan your fitness training. Good luck.

 

[Toblerone]

Sounds to me like you had a bout with depression and decided to change your life in a big way. That's good, keep it up but you don't need to over-exert yourself, you are very young and your body will get strong with exercise, you don't need to hurt yourself trying to hurry it up.

Also sounds like you want to escape your problems by joining some foreign army and leaving it all behind. Not sure if that's the best solution.

 

[bdique]

I'd suggest checking out the Army recruitment office. There should be someone there who can best advise you on what areas you need to change, what to keep up, and may even suggest some fitness training/conditioning programmes.

Like the rest, I'd suggest you revise your long term goals. How about thinking of where you want to be in the Army career-wise i.e. NCO? Officer?

 

[Redlands18]

You really need to think about the long term goals you have given here, because if you tell a recruiting officer that you want to "die a honourable death in battle"you will almost certainly fail on psych grounds. The idea is to train to stay alive and keep your mates alive where possible. You go to battle to kill the enemy not get killed yourself.

 

[Feanor]

As a school teacher I've had hundreds of these conversations, and I've said exactly those words at least once

A lot of your student's long term goals included dying in battle?

 

[protoplasm]

A lot of your student's long term goals included dying in battle?

For a very small number they imagined dying in a battle fighting for territory, it's just that they were thinking of a local gang battle rather than in state vs state conflict. For many it was that they had long term goals that were generally incompatible with ordered functional society.

 

[timid]

For a very small number they imagined dying in a battle fighting for territory, it's just that they were thinking of a local gang battle rather than in state vs state conflict. For many it was that they had long term goals that were generally incompatible with ordered functional society.

what I meant was, I would be willing to lay my life for something greater. Something realistic.

 

[timid]

I just cant think very far ahead. But I'd probably save enough money for a half decent car, decent house. Yeah a career in the military sounds great. I just can't really fathom being a civilian having to make "adult" decisions and worry about something that is self orientated. I guess like to help (generally) and helping a country eliminate threats for our safety and peace would be the biggest help I'd be able to offer.

 

[ngatimozart]

I just cant think very far ahead. But I'd probably save enough money for a half decent car, decent house. Yeah a career in the military sounds great. I just can't really fathom being a civilian having to make "adult" decisions and worry about something that is self orientated. I guess like to help (generally) and helping a country eliminate threats for our safety and peace would be the biggest help I'd be able to offer.

If you see military life as a place to avoid making "adult" decisions as you put it, then you are thoroughly ill informed. Service life is all about making adult decisions and taking responsibility. If you cannot or will not do that then you are ultimately a clear and present danger to yourself and to your service mates. Military life is no easy street full of cream cakes and sticky buns. It's a hard and very demanding commitment 24/7/365 physically, mentally and emotionally with the possibility that you can be sent into danger where you may be maimed or killed. However if you have the commitment and willingness to work very hard, listen, take the good with the bad and don't have expectations of getting rich, then you may find service life extremely rewarding and fulfilling.

 

[swerve]

69 kilos doesn't seem that overweight @ 5'7". Regardless you seem to be very focused on your future military career so good luck!

All that exercise sounds like very good physical preparation for what lies ahead.

Sounds like you are hoping to avoid a dishonorable discharge - does that sound like a fair observation?

I'm almost the same height (172 cm) & I've been that weight. Nobody thought I was overweight, though I was annoyed by my waistline. I had a lot of muscle in my legs, from all the cycling I do.

If your current fat was replaced by more muscle you'd not be overweight at all IMO. If I was you, I'd not concentrate on losing weight, but building fitness & strength. The exercise will burn calories, & building muscle mass will increase your basal metabolic rate, so you'll need to eat more just to maintain your body than a couch potato the same weight. You'll be slimmer at the same weight - & might lose a bit anyway.

1200-1600 calories a day isn't sustainable if you're exercising hard. A 100 km bike ride would burn a lot more than that, for example, on top of your basal metabolic rate. It's not good for your body to run out of blood sugar & keel over. Make sure you eat enough. Don't get obsessive about what. I don't mean you should gorge yourself on fast food, but it's much better to eat a burger than flake out because you've run out of calories.

BTW, it's probably better to eat something for breakfast. And finding physical activities which you enjoy, which fit into your daily routine, or which have more aims than purely exercise (e.g. chopping firewood, digging the garden - whatever fits your life) should make it easier to keep up the exercise levels.

 

[timid]

I'm almost the same height (172 cm) & I've been that weight. Nobody thought I was overweight, though I was annoyed by my waistline. I had a lot of muscle in my legs, from all the cycling I do.

If your current fat was replaced by more muscle you'd not be overweight at all IMO. If I was you, I'd not concentrate on losing weight, but building fitness & strength. The exercise will burn calories, & building muscle mass will increase your basal metabolic rate, so you'll need to eat more just to maintain your body than a couch potato the same weight. You'll be slimmer at the same weight - & might lose a bit anyway.

1200-1600 calories a day isn't sustainable if you're exercising hard. A 100 km bike ride would burn a lot more than that, for example, on top of your basal metabolic rate. It's not good for your body to run out of blood sugar & keel over. Make sure you eat enough. Don't get obsessive about what. I don't mean you should gorge yourself on fast food, but it's much better to eat a burger than flake out because you've run out of calories.

BTW, it's probably better to eat something for breakfast. And finding physical activities which you enjoy, which fit into your daily routine, or which have more aims than purely exercise (e.g. chopping firewood, digging the garden - whatever fits your life) should make it easier to keep up the exercise levels.

Wow thank you for the detailed reply, very much appreciated.
Apologies in advanced for a badly structured reply.

I don't want to ask for too much of you but what would be a good diet plan/work out routine (cardio/strength) to build muscle?
And I don't mean specifically, but which should take more priority?
And what would be a good calorie consumption? It really helps me feel confident and have a clear mind so that I don't just go back to eating fast food every time after I work (I used to drink a lot of sugary soda too)

A career in the military would definitely fulfill me. I couldn't really see myself doing much else.

P. S : I do have a bmx bike getting repaired
Not sure how many km I should do on that (it's pretty heavy, old and slow), I'm thinking of getting a mountain bike

This whole ordeal made me go from dirt nap attendance/grades to a good and respected student. It made me think, eat, and basically live healthier. I hope to change my pessimistic view on life to a slightly better one.

I've also started testing out getting cold and making my body work to get warm as an effort to constantly burn some calories.

Most of the time I run at night, should I do it early in the morning?

Is my breakfast consisting of 2 fried eggs, a cup of coffee and 1 slice of whole meal bread good as a kick start in the morning?

Thinking of training with a new friend I've made who has a similar goal in the future (serve my home country). It may boost my moral.

Subway any good from time to time?

Again sorry for the messy reply, I'm just in a hurry

 

[timid]

If you see military life as a place to avoid making "adult" decisions as you put it, then you are thoroughly ill informed. Service life is all about making adult decisions and taking responsibility. If you cannot or will not do that then you are ultimately a clear and present danger to yourself and to your service mates. Military life is no easy street full of cream cakes and sticky buns. It's a hard and very demanding commitment 24/7/365 physically, mentally and emotionally with the possibility that you can be sent into danger where you may be maimed or killed. However if you have the commitment and willingness to work very hard, listen, take the good with the bad and don't have expectations of getting rich, then you may find service life extremely rewarding and fulfilling.

I don't mean "adult desicions" as I making responsible/logical decisions, but more like worrying about a job I'd very much dislike and be forced to do it for the rest of my life to support myself. I've worked at McDonald's for a good 6 months and absolutely despise every second of it. You don't have to think much. It's all about muscle memory. It's so repetitive I'd want to vomit. That along with minimally trained managers who have no incentive to help you or even treat you with a micro amount of respect even though you clearly know more and are of working without those lazy dogs that sleep on the job.

If I make a mistake, I take100% responsibility and accept punishment, unlike most of my coworkers. They treat it like school without teachers or just a large social gathering. I mean it's so bad that they walk away from a simple task.

Getting a little carried away, but thank you for your reply :smilie

 

[Feanor]

If you see military life as a place to avoid making "adult" decisions as you put it, then you are thoroughly ill informed. Service life is all about making adult decisions and taking responsibility. If you cannot or will not do that then you are ultimately a clear and present danger to yourself and to your service mates. Military life is no easy street full of cream cakes and sticky buns. It's a hard and very demanding commitment 24/7/365 physically, mentally and emotionally with the possibility that you can be sent into danger where you may be maimed or killed. However if you have the commitment and willingness to work very hard, listen, take the good with the bad and don't have expectations of getting rich, then you may find service life extremely rewarding and fulfilling.

To be fair, one of the reasons many Marines in the US find transition to civilian life hard is because the military takes care of people quite well, so he's not entirely wrong in that regard.

What he doesn't realize is that the cost includes some serious hard work, stress (mental and physical) and lots and lots of boredom, with fairly little freedom.

In other words, he may be able to avoid many of the worries of the civilian world, but you're 100% correct on the demands and the commitment.

 

[Feanor]

I don't mean "adult desicions" as I making responsible/logical decisions, but more like worrying about a job I'd very much dislike and be forced to do it for the rest of my life to support myself. I've worked at McDonald's for a good 6 months and absolutely despise every second of it.

What happens if you sign a 5-year contract, join, and (after the shock and novelty wear off) realize you hate the military just as much? With the added exception that when you work at McD's you go home at the end of the day. In the military you go to your barracks, where you are surrounded by the same people and same atmosphere.

You don't have to think much. It's all about muscle memory.

Sounds like so many of the machinegun drills I've done.

It's so repetitive I'd want to vomit. That along with minimally trained managers who have no incentive to help you or even treat you with a micro amount of respect even though you clearly know more and are of working without those lazy dogs that sleep on the job.

Underemployment may be your problem. Not sure military service is the solution. Long term goals that start with "dying in battle" is a major red flag. I'd think about whether military service is really something you want to do. Once you're in, you're in. Typically, for enlisted, getting out halfway through their contract is almost impossible. Getting out honorably, pretty much out of the question (barring permanent disability or death). It's a big decision, and if you decide to join, no matter if it's for just the 5 years, or for life, it will change you. A lot. Not necessarily a bad thing (personally I think quite a few more people state-side would benefit from military service, though I'm not sure the military service would benefit from them ) but either way, not something to take lightly. And not something to opt for because you've decided you hate McD's. I mean, short of masochists, and brainless monkeys, I can't think of anyone I know who enjoyed working in fast food. When I was in college, I worked in the cafeteria. And despite having nice and understanding managers, and intelligent co-workers (students mostly), it still wasn't enjoyable. It wasn't bad as far as having a job goes, but certainly not something I would consider as a career.

 

[timid]

What happens if you sign a 5-year contract, join, and (after the shock and novelty wear off) realize you hate the military just as much? With the added exception that when you work at McD's you go home at the end of the day. In the military you go to your barracks, where you are surrounded by the same people and same atmosphere.



Sounds like so many of the machinegun drills I've done.



Underemployment may be your problem. Not sure military service is the solution. Long term goals that start with "dying in battle" is a major red flag. I'd think about whether military service is really something you want to do. Once you're in, you're in. Typically, for enlisted, getting out halfway through their contract is almost impossible. Getting out honorably, pretty much out of the question (barring permanent disability or death). It's a big decision, and if you decide to join, no matter if it's for just the 5 years, or for life, it will change you. A lot. Not necessarily a bad thing (personally I think quite a few more people state-side would benefit from military service, though I'm not sure the military service would benefit from them ) but either way, not something to take lightly. And not something to opt for because you've decided you hate McD's. I mean, short of masochists, and brainless monkeys, I can't think of anyone I know who enjoyed working in fast food. When I was in college, I worked in the cafeteria. And despite having nice and understanding managers, and intelligent co-workers (students mostly), it still wasn't enjoyable. It wasn't bad as far as having a job goes, but certainly not something I would consider as a career.

Yeah, thats true. Something I'll put into consideration. Obviously life would be better than death. Thank you for making me think more deeply about this. There are some things I'd sacrifice for a larger entity (AU). I wouldn't have to think so much about myself, and more about the bigger picture. I hope you get what I mean, man.