Well, looking into fitness is definately a good starting point. With a year to train if you were fully devoted, I'm sure you could complete an IM.

However, since you're a teenager...I would not recommend long distance tris, very hard on the body, especially at a younger age. That doesn't mean triathlon isn't for you. I've been a traithlete for 4 years and haven't done 1 Ironman. I'm 23 now, and probably won't do my first IM until I'm 25. There are a variety of shorter distances that still take plenty of dedication to train consistently to complete. The side effect of this will most likely be substantial weightloss.

I'd say, sign up for a sprint triathlon for late spring/early summer of next year, then find a training plan, or coach, or club near you and get some good advice. Don't start throwing down money on equipment, just start training and see if you like it. I think you will be pleased with the results.

When I was a sophomore in HS I finally got tired of being overweight and out of shape. Grant it I'm still above 200lbs (even tho most people don't believe me), but I've run 2yrs of CC, 4 years of rowing, and 4 years of triathlon and don't have any issues with my self-image that I did before. Welcome to being fit and GL

if you start training, and moving to the likes of running, biking and swimming on a regular basis, you.will.lose.weight. if you have a focus like a sprint next spring/summer as jsk suggested, it could propel you forward, just start slowly and stick to the plan

training for tri's alone will help you lose weight. at least it worked for me.

you have to be 18 to do a full ironman but there are plenty of other options like everyone else has pointed out. get some running shoes and a bike w/ two round tired and get going. and welcome to the sport

you probably know this, but...you will need equal focus and dedication to your daily nutrition as well

welcome to the world of tri's and good luck!

we'll be here to help as much as we're able!

in high school, I had a friend who was overweight and slimmed down over a summer by taking on a bike messenger job. we were all very surprised at his new shape in the fall...maybe something to consider?

Proud of you for taking this step.
A good website to track your nutrition is
http://www.prevention.com/cda/homepage.do

On the right side click on the "My Health Trackers". This may be a good place for you to get started.

My one suggestion is to take it slow. Don't try to do to much to fast. Doing anything may be difficult for the first couple of months but you'll build from there.

Go in for a complete physical. This will give you a base line to work from and your doctor can talk to you about any warning signs that he/she may see.

Keep up the hard work and we'll support you along the way.

Sounds like you have a lot of motivation. Don't let that cause an injury. As long as you are having fun with exercising, the body will adapt, and you will be pleased with the changes.

Yeah, don't be afraid to "cross-train" with things that are more enjoyable to you than swim/bike/run too...If I had a group of active friends local to me still, I would still be trying to get together some ultimate frisbee, basketball, or backyard football games. If you're not enjoying it, you won't stick with it.

I also had a HS friend who lived right next to a golf course, and he'd just sneak on every evening and play as many holes as light would allow. He'd obviously be walking/carrying clubs and lost a ton of weight. You'd be suprised how many calories carrying your bag for a round burns.

All I'm saying is, especially for HS students, fitness sports like S,B,R can seem more tedious than enjoyable for many, so don't force yourself to do them all the time. Other enjoyable activities will also help your fitness when starting from 0.

Also, definately start at least tracking your diet. Once you hold yourself accountable for what you eat, you find yourself naturally looking for better alternatives.

Having a goal and hitting rock bottom will help you get motivated to change your outlook. You are in high school and have avenues at school. (ie.. track, teachers and a library) Also, you can get online find local runs/walks, tris or swimming events and aim to complete some of those in anticipation to reach your long term goal.

I to have issues with nutrition. I tend to always be in a hurry and then slide into the fast food niche then beat myself up over it. Lately, I've left fresh fruit in the refgerator, tired to cut vegtables up before putting them away and have protein ready to eat when I feel out of control. A huge thing for me is that the husband & kid don't really care for sweets and having next to nothing in the house works for all of us. Small steps and then bigger steps help. make sure you are talking to your household on how you are feeling and how they can help you.

Fed up with people making fun of your size and stretch marks.. I wish I could talk to everyone one of them. Unfortunatly they are repeating what someone has taught them and it is a vicious cycle. Think good thoughts and do not bottle the anger up when you hear it. Think that you are now going to change your outward appearence by starting on the inside. Hold your head up.

You are on the step up to a better life! Definately start by writing down everything you eat & do in a day and then think about how you can change it to reach your goals.

Oh and nothing is ever stupid.. If you need to say it, it was important to tell someone. (even a stranger).

dude - congratulations! you only get one chance with that teenage body and doing it now will save you from the pain of trying to do it when you are 20 or 30. it gets harder when you get older, at your age your body will recover more quickly and change quicker.

that said, it is still going to take work and change probably won't come quickly enough. stick with it, your future you will thank you.

That is awesome man! What you are doing now will help you so much in the future! Just remember set a goal with a plan and stick to it. Scarifices are going to be made but in the end once you complete your goal it is well worth it!

The most important thing I can tell you is keep your attitude positive! That will help you out so much as far as training, goals, and most importantly your moral goes.

Good Luck! Keep your head strong and everything else will fall into place!

'A journey of 1000 miles begins with the first step'

Congrats on takin the first step. You assessed yourself and pointed yourself in the right direction.

This will not be easy so take small steps and don't rush it. You will get better results if you are consistant.

You are young and your body will adapt to exercise and diet change.

Set small goals first to give you something to shoot for.
Start with a 5k in a month or so, even if you have to walk some or all of it.
Then set addtional goals. You can eventually get to an IM if you want.

You will have moments of doubt, work thru it and stick to your goals.
Reach out here or to friends to keep you on track.

Good luck, keep us in the loop and we will be glad to help you. ;-)

Like others have said, the first step is deciding to take steps. Welcome!

yeah, what they said ;-)

Congrats on getting going with losing weight and a better lifestyle by exercising! I agree with all that has been posted, but I would start with the lower impact exercises if you are seriously overweight as you mentioned. Starting out with a lot of walking/running will be REALLY hard on your lower joints. And, getting going safely is the best part.

I would start with swimming, biking, and weight training. This will give you a lot of really good cardio (fat burning and heart strengthening), good conditioning base, and more muscle (to help burn more fat). All of those are low impact, and will not be as likely to cause harm to your joints (and will help strengthen tendons, and muscles before getting to higher impact).

Also, on the weight training, keep the weight lighter, but make sure to do more reps. So, instead of lifting 200 pounds 1 time, lift 20 pounds 10 times. It not only helps with your muscle endurance, it helps with "toning" and burning more fat.

Congrats, welcome, and Good luck!

It can be done.
I work with a guy who was very overweight (400+)
Since last October he has lost about 110 pounds thru sensible eating and walking.

Now he is able to do a little more exercise and should be down to 200 pounds by next spring.

Sounds like you have alot of good advice already so I just want to add one thing that has worked for me. I go online each day to a site and log in what I eat and the exercise I do. It has a goal chart and keeps track of things for me. I just have to be honest and it is a great way to journal, see what I am eating and what I am doing along with how I feel. It has really made a huge difference in my training.
Find a local tri for next spring or summer and go for it! And don't be afraid to ask questions on this site- it is full of people willing to support and help you!

you are going to need a pair of goggles, some swimwear to cover the naughty bits, a bike, some running shoes and the rest you can figure out later. don't be cheap on the shoes - it's not worth it.

Yeah, keep it simple for starting out....like diva_mom stated:

Cheap swimwear (trunks or jammers)...~10 pds
Goggles...5-10
Bike (if you don't have a workable one, go for a used road bike for the versatility I'd say...also give you options if you decide not to go tri route in fitness)...highly variable on price, can be as little as 100-200 or so for used aluminum frame w/ lower end components and up from there for better equip. I'd say go for something that works, don't worry about speed and technology yet
Running shoes...~50 pds (don't skimp here, or you'll pay in injuries, have someone trained fit you)
General workout clothes (dri-fit type shirts, mesh shorts, spandex for running, bike shorts)...as much/as little as you want to spend

That should get you at least on the course, and once you're addicted, you'll spend far too much time looking for/trying to get upgrades across the board.

Note: Being American, my conversion was basically estimated as cost for british goods being a little more than 1/2 the cost for american counterparts, so don't take my word here

[quote=jsk85]Note: Being American, my conversion was basically estimated as cost for british goods being a little more than 1/2 the cost for american counterparts, so don't take my word here[/quote]

They wish! :) America has very cheap consumer goods compared to Europe, and the U.K. is especially bad for whatever reason...

jono

I tried to account for that, however I could be way off...I mean isn't the dollar worth 1/2 the pound (approx.), so I halved what I would expect to pay, then marked up some since I noticed things were more expensive there in my travels

Welcome to a new world! Tri training is great for weight loss: I've gone from a 110 cm waist to 90 cm. Just to reemphasize important points from above:
1) Shoes are your most important gear: spend about twice as much as you would like to spend.
2) Go slowly. Find a book at the library on cross-training that emphasizes how to avoid injury. Injuries are not fun & they obliterate your goals. The 30 seconds of experimenting if I could ride my bike down the steps cost me one month of training. Start with walking: walk fast & long and someplace that you enjoy or with someone you enjoy.
3) Eat healthy: equate that scoop of ice cream with how many miles you have to walk/run to burn up the calories. Eat a lot, but eat vegetables & fruits, preferably raw.
4) Add fun stuff to your routine. Off-road biking on trails in the woods is a blast, so I do that once a week. Doesn't seem to have anything to do with tri-training, but it is doing wonders for coordination and core muscles (belly).
5) Set goals, keep records. For me an Excel worksheet is the easiest, but there are lots of online sites: www.perfectweightamerica.com, http://lifehacker.com/393083/track-your-fitness-progress-with-free-tools, www.fitday.com
6) Have weight milestones and once you achieve that milestone, never again let yourself get 5 pounds heavier that that milestone.

Here's a link with some other tips that have been the most helpful for me, http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/10-unconventional-diet-tips-h.... I didn't lose 50 pounds in three months, but I'm losing a little every day.

Bottom-line, if you're not having fun along with the no-pain-no-gain attitude, then change your program. You need positive feedback and a positive attitude: celebrate every pound lost and every fitness gain!

BTW, where do you live? I have a friend in Kent that would love to have you in his running club. He just lost 4 lbs. and 2 toenails in the Box Hill, Dorking half marathon. Obviously, not an event to start out with (billed as the toughest in the UK), but joining a bunch of crazies in running or some othe sport is a great motivator: it's what got me started, I couldn't stand it that the girls could run more than I and the guy that couldn't hardly walk because of back problems could fly past me on his bike.
HTH --Sam

I hope you have read all of the above posts and realize that we all want to you do this and get well!! Just the fact that you have reached out to this community tells me that you a smart kid and have already taken the most important step (possibly of your life) and started to think about getting fit.

It wont be easy, but the pay off is AMAZING!!! There will come a time when you will say..I wish I would have dome this a long time ago!!

Go get em kiddo!!!!!! We got your back!