Expert: Eric Ernst - 9/30/2009

Question
QUESTION: Hello, my name is britney and recently ive been seriously concidering joining the military i havent really looked to far into what branch that i want to go into but at this point i am almost willing to go into whatever branch is willing to take me but... i am currently 5'8" and 245 i know i have the ability to undergo indurance workouts and would be able to make it my question is...Is there a waiver that will allow me to enlist even though i dont meet the exact weight requirments? i know that once i were to enlist i would drop weight like crazy once i went to basic training but i was wondering if there was any way that i would be able to get some sort of waiver to enlist soon!!!!

thank you for your time ~B

ANSWER: Hello Britney,
Thank you for wanting to serve the military..As for your question, some of it may be a little hard to take. Right now since the economy is in the tank more people than ever have been showing up at recruiters offices. So much so that the are basically taking the cream of the crop and holding people to a higher standard. My advice for you would be to try working out as much as you can and see how much you can lose. The military goes by weight and by body fat percentage.  At 5'8 240 depending on your age it puts you almost 50 pounds overweight, that is by army standards which in turn is the more lenient of all the branches. You can try but odds are the recruiter will most likely tell you to try and lose more weight. Don't let this discourage you though, just keep working out. I once lost 25 lbs in a little less than a month because I was overweight. So my advice keep working out, do a lot of cardio. If you have anymore questions please let me know and I will do my best to answer them for you.
Thank You,
Eric

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: How did you loose the 25 pounds in one month what diet and exercise plan did you fallow to loose it tht quickly and how much time should i put into exerciseing each day and what should i eat to make me loose the weight quickly?

Answer
Hello,
To lose the weight, I ate extremely healthy I basically went the all vegetable route. I didn't eat meat for about a month and I cut out all un-unnecessary sugars. As for working out, I'm not an expert in any way shape or form about the exercise, so i can't really give you any advice on that. Your best bet is probably contact a doctor or nutritionist and set a plan of action. Remember one thing though you don't want to start out to hard on yourself you have to take baby steps with cardio workouts.
Eric