New here, need advice.

[sakichan]

Hey guys, how goes it?

Well, just for starters, some info about myself. I'm 18, currently in college as a music major, and been overweight to obese my whole life (or at least as far back as I can remember).

At the moment I am 5' 2" and 210, the heaviest I have ever been. My weight has never really ballooned or fluctuated with no good reason, just gradually gone up as time goes by. I don't feel huge, and have no health problems, but I refuse to let myself get any larger. I think it's time for me to do something about it.

I've tried dieting, but not very much. Most diets won't work for me, because it's very hard to stick to something with my current hectic schedule and family situation. Also, exercise is hard because of the same crazy schedule and tight budget--I rarely have time to jog or something such, and a gym is absolutely out of the question.

So, I've pretty much decided that DDR is probably the answer for me. I love the game---I've been playing for 2 years on and off, nothing intensive enough to make me lose weight. I'm hovering around 5s to 7s currently, mostly Standard mode. I have a Cobalt Flux pad as well, so that makes life much easier.

What I need advice about is how often and how long I need to play, and on what difficulty setting, in order to lose a decent amount of weight. I'm sure that any will be better than my current exercise regime (which is nothing), but if anyone who has a good idea about how much DDR will make the pounds drop off would give me some suggestions, I'd really appreciate it.

Also, any other suggestions (such as chastising me about my lack of dieting) would be great.

[abrannan]

How much DDR? At least 30-45 minutes at a level that gets your heart rate up to about 70% or maximum (in your case, your target is about 25 beats in a 10 second count). At the very least, make sure to get on the pad for one song a day, 6 days a week. You can break your workout up throughout the day if need be.

As for diet? Just try to make one small change that you stick to 5 of the 7 days in a week, and eventually work into a full time change. Example changes: Cut out sugar soda and "fruit" juices. Drink more water. Eat more veggies, the darker green the better. Eat less refined starches (potatoes, rice, white bread, basically anything white).

Just as small changes got you where you are today, small changes can add up over time to reverse the process. But it's not going to happen overnight.

[circlesoft]

DDR is truly an excellent way to drop pounds in weight - I myself can attribute to that, after having lost over 100 pounds doing it over the course of about two years. My problem now is that my doctor wants me to build lean muscle mass as I've gone underweight from overtraining by a combination of DDR and endurance running... ^^;;

Any difficulty setting that is somewhat challenging for you, but adequate enough for you to maintain for about half an hour or so is a good difficulty to lose weight at. Try to aim for that 6 days a week, like abrannan says. On that seventh day, take an "active rest day". Go out for a walk or something, or tidy up your living space, or otherwise move around in a less-physically-taxing manner. Rest is very important, because DDR can be a very stressful activity to the body. I'm living proof of that, because I used to play maddening 2 or 3 hour sessions every day, and now I'm sitting on the opposite exteme of the scale...

Also, diet is important...but dietING is a horrible horrible thing. Dieting is a restrictive process - I'm sitting here underweight and bony-looking because of that. I don't think anyone wants to look like they're from a concentration camp. The important (and much more effective) thing is to make a change in your overall lifestyle, and add in healthier choices:

-Eat your veggies. Salads with balsamic vinegar or other light dressings of that sort (watch out for creamy or oil-based dressings!) can be very good, calorically favorable for losing weight, nutritonally dense, and can be made in practically seconds.

-Get your whole-grains. Whole wheat bread, oatmeal, whole grain cereals...all healthier, less processed versions of a lot of foods you probably already eat.

-Snack on berries and things when you get the munchies instead of junk food items - it's a great way to get all those essential nutrients in your day.

-Eat smaller meals more often instead of larger meals less often. It'll stave hunger urges, and it'll improve your metabolism - it won't store as much fat, because it's constantly being fueled.

-Stay away from trans fats...heck, just try to have less processed food in general. Man was not created in a lab. I don't think his food should be either. His body isn't meant to process it.

Anyways, people on these boards have all kinds of useful pieces of advice, and they're very supportive, so just read around. Good luck!