Well doc chewed my tail friday

[Sks985]

I started kayaking a few months ago and I have lost over 20lbs. To me the trick is to find something you will enjoy doing so it seems more like fun than working out.

When I first started I thought I would go about 3 times a week, now I find myself on the water everyday.

 

[c10seven]

Look into going to a paleo(ish) diet it will help you. And I'd suggest going to at least three meals of quality food over one large meal a day. When my wife and I went paleo(ish) a little over a year ago I lost 25lbs within 6 months with no/ very little body weight excersize. I say paleo(ish) because mon-Friday were fairly strict and weekends we ate(still do) grains. Example week days no grains or sugars all whole real foods, weekends a burger on a bun with sweet potato fries or fajitas on tortillas, then back "strict" come Sunday evening. I drink water, UNsweet tea, and coffee, occational beer or few and regularly a glass of red wine. A good base for water intake is 1/2 your bodyweight in oz per day.

Keep in mind eating healthy does not have to be bland or minimal, people are constantly amazed at the food we cook and the amounts we eat and have lost and now maintain weight. We are now working out( crossfit) therefore eat more to sustain our needs but even befor starting that I noticed my food intake increased once I started eating clean.

 

[Hattrick 22]

I started losing some weight by doing gardening work planting and maintaining a garden isn't hard nor easy I suppose but it's been helping me shed some pounds although I'm still heavy at 306 now down from 314 when I started out.

I'm sure I could loose much more if I could get my diet in check I just haven't devoted anytime to finding meals that are good and somewhat easy to make.

 

[bjeepin2]

find something that work for you and stay with it i was 310 when playing football at usm then went down to 235 in the Marines then back up to 300 when i got out in 99 from 99 to last year up to 385 i now have a type II diabities, but have drouped to 324 in the last 6 months my goal is 275 by some time before the new year. i like the Atkins Bars cut out cokes and anything white. check out the book The Type 2 Diabetes Diet Book, Fourth Edition

 

[goteron]

All good advice for diet. I would do some research on LSD (Long Slow Distance) training, get a heart rate monitor and start doing that as well. Just walking at 130bpm heart rate for 90 minutes will help you out.

I am no expert, but I have heard that RHR should be in the mid 50's for someone your age.

Get at it!

 

[flamatrix99]

Eat a huge breakfast with complex carbs, monounsaturated fats, and a great deal of protein, snack on nuts a couple of hours after that, a good chicken breast spinach and fruit for lunch, more nuts two hours after that, and dinner should be really good lean protein and dark vegetables. Do not eat after 8pm, anything. Prior to eating chow, guzzle a bottle/glass of water and eat slow. Don't eat while driving or watching tv.

Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, dinner like a pauper.

I have lost 60lbs since Feb by doing this and moving more. By moving more I joined a Crossfit gym. That may not be for you but it has worked great for my wife and I. Combined we have lost 110#.

 

[AustinBR]

I have lost 60lbs since Feb by doing this and moving more. By moving more I joined a Crossfit gym. That may not be for you but it has worked great for my wife and I. Combined we have lost 110#.

Moving more and doing Crossfit workouts aren't exactly the same thing...but I like it, haha!

 

[zbaw]

Gotta second Weight Watchers. The weight watchers for men online program is awesome. I lost 30 pounds really fast on it. I just started it again this week because I relaxed after a while and have put some back on. After you lose the initial weight and start to slow down, then start exercising. It will get easier as you weigh less. However, when you first start, it is gonna hurt, no way around it. Just gotta muscle through it and get it done. It gets easier after you start.

 

[flamatrix99]

Moving more and doing Crossfit workouts aren't exactly the same thing...but I like it, haha!

You'd be surprised.. Everything in Crossfit is scaled. A friend of mine was in a compitition is Texas 2 or 3 weeks ago. His wife and him met an 82 yo lady that Crossfits. We have a 63 yo lady at our Box.

 

[RedStickChick]

Everything can be scaled, correct.

I have to be careful with my workouts because I have a bum knee.

Crossfit is the only workout that I legitimately look forward to. Other than biking.

 

[Ironman26]

Get rid of soda drinks, diet drinks....keep enough carbs in you to function properly, stay away from fatty meats as much as possible !!! Eat all of your calories early in the day as it goes, eat more than 4 to 6 meals a day keep your metabolism up as high as possible but watch your portions as close as possible !!! Like Spanky said, move and move more every day of the week, breaks on the weekend but stay active !! Drink lot of water and more water....! I know what you are going through believe me, I'm 5'7'' at 400 but still in good shape ! I've been on my program for 6 months and should be much farther than I am now, -40lbs, but because of complications from other health issues I've reached a plateau ! Also may want to have your blood work done and also check your testosterone level checked....it affects way more than you think !! Good luck and stay dedicated !!!

 

[CEHollier]

Eat less (and quality) and move more.

From the voice of experience.

 

[charlie12]

From the voice of experience.

Yep do the Spanky diet

 

[AustinBR]

Get rid of soda drinks, diet drinks....keep enough carbs in you to function properly, stay away from fatty meats as much as possible !!! Eat all of your calories early in the day as it goes, eat more than 4 to 6 meals a day keep your metabolism up as high as possible but watch your portions as close as possible !!! Like Spanky said, move and move more every day of the week, breaks on the weekend but stay active !! Drink lot of water and more water....! I know what you are going through believe me, I'm 5'7'' at 400 but still in good shape ! I've been on my program for 6 months and should be much farther than I am now, -40lbs, but because of complications from other health issues I've reached a plateau ! Also may want to have your blood work done and also check your testosterone level checked....it affects way more than you think !! Good luck and stay dedicated !!!

5'7" at 400 and good shape? What? (I don't mean that as an insult at all, I'm just curious if you mis-typed).

I am 5'7" at 145-150 (depends on the day) and I am trying to temporarily go down to 140 as I lose fat. In about two weeks I will begin pounding down protein and almost doubling my caloric intake (slowly, not all at once) in order to try to go up to 160 or so in muscle.

One suggestion I have for people just starting a diet or lifestyle change is to bump up the fiber at first. Extra fiber will help you feel fuller longer and in many cases will help keep the cravings down. On the subject of cravings, if you are cutting out sweets (cokes, candy, cake, and anything with lots of sugar) you will have cravings at first and for a while. A good way to help is to have a cup of coffee every morning with a little bit of local natural honey in it. The coffee will bump up your metabolism early and is full of antioxidants. The little bit of honey in it will take a good while to digest and will keep some sugar in your system, thus helping keep the cravings down.

Another important suggestion that might have been mentioned earlier is to eat if you are hungry. Starving yourself sucks. I had to do that all through highschool to make weight for wrestling. There is nothing wrong with eating a healthy snack if you get hungry. A healthy snack can be a handful of nuts, some veggies, an apple with some peanut butter (will help with sugar cravings), or even a small glass of milk with a scoop of protein powder. A lot of people do dieting so wrong. Eating nasty food and always being hungry might work, but it is not good for you and will not work as well as a properly maintained food schedule.

 

[RedStickChick]

I learned something about eating when you feel hungry. Apparently late at night when you're tired your body mistakenly makes you feel hungry when in fact its telling you it needs rest.

I don't know if that makes sense but basically late at night "hunger" = I need sleep.

 

[doc ace]

Hunger is also very much confused with thirst as most Americans walk around dehydrated as it is. X<8 glasses of water per day = no bueno

 

[RedStickChick]

Hunger is also very much confused with thirst as most Americans walk around dehydrated as it is. X<8 glasses of water per day = no bueno

I learned this the hard way. I drink at least 2 glasses with every meal plus before, during and after my workouts.

 

[Dgraham225]

This is a topic I can relate to, lol. I've been up and down more than once, currently up. I'm 26yo, 6'3" at about 350 right now (up from a healthy 240) and completely utterly horribly out of shape. My job requires sitting at my desk for 12hrs a day with very little opportunity to get up and move around. I've been on a bad streak for a couple years now and need to make some changes some kind of bad.

I used to go to the gym EVERY weekday, early in the morning between 3-4am. This is something I had great results with and kept my metabolism kicking ass throughout the day. I'd get in some bcaa's or prewo drink before going, do some cardio (HATE lol), hit some weights, drink a zero carb pwo protein shake and go to work. 2 hours later, a couple slices Ezekiel bread, 1 whole egg/5 whites.. I'd maintain eating every 4 hours or so with the usual chicken/fish/tuna/sweet potato/almonds/ etc you get the picture..

Do NOT under eat. 1 meal a day isn't sufficient. You may lose weight, but a large portion could very well be muscle from being in a catabolic state. Not to mention hitting a plateau a few weeks in. The first few months will come easy, a slight change in habits will make a noticeable difference quickly. However, coming out the start with calorie count below 2000 or so will stop you in your tracks in a short time. Eating a healthy diet and exercising to create a caloric deficit is a much more effective means of getting where you want to be.

Low carb is normally the most effective for a bigger guy, insulin resistance is pretty tough to get past. There are lots of plans for this whether it be Atkins/paleo/keto/primal, etc. low carbs, low fat, high protein is pretty easy to manage. Keto is a bit more difficult with basically no carbs (<5%) high fat (50-60%), moderate protein (remainder). Keto isn't for the faint of heart, I mean literally no carbs or ketosis is a fail.

I could go on and on and on, sad I have the knowledge to be a personal trainer (actually done that for friends), yet I have complete hell sticking to it myself. The hardest part is starting and adopting a routine you can manage. Don't overdo it, don't make yourself miserable or you will fail. Been there, done that, currently still there LOL

 

[TomTerrific]

The health advice you get on this forum is worth exactly what you pay for it.

OTOH, the experiences related are real.

Take your heights and weights and calculate your Body Mass Index.

The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute has a BMI calculator here: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/obesity/BMI/bmicalc.htm

Note the caveats they list. BMI is meant as a screening aid, not a diagnosic.

I suspect the notion that 400lb at 5' 7" is in good shape is a typo as the BMI for that is 63, or grossly obese

The OP says he is 5' 6" and 276lb, which works out to a BMI of 44.5. For that height/wt, obesity starts at 186lb and overweight at 155.

The person who is 6' 3" and 350 has roughly the same BMI, 43.7. Overweight for him starts at 200lb.

The formula I use is: BMI = weight in pounds x 703/height in inches squared. I can use that to calculate weight for a given BMI and height, which is convenient.

Full disclosure: I have been right around a BMI of 30 for a while.

The literature says a BMI over 30 puts one at much higher health risk for a number of things starting with heart disease, hypertension, and type II diabetes for starters. It also greatly increases the risk for some cancers. My suggestion is to first get a thorough health checkup from a competent physician and go from there. There are many NPs that are good in the field.

I am 73yo and wish I didn't have the "It isn't gonna happen to me" syndrome back when I could do something about it. I've been going to a gym, free thanks to Medicare, for about a month and am seeing the pounds come off a little at a time, but fairly steadily. I have pulmonary problems and the exercise helps with it, too.

IMHO, if you don't do the weight loss/conditioning under medical supervision, you are asking for trouble.

 

[Gringo Loco]

He said nomore cokes or beer. Told me if ya must drink there's vodka or whiskey but advised against it. I'm only eating once a day and I work outside all day. Drinking alot more water now though

Eating once a day will actually help you gain weight. There are some theories of fasting and how it regulates your actual fat content in your body, but it mostly will mess up metabolic rate. Eat 3 normal meals a day. Eat healthier. Eat cleaner. Drink water. Purer juices and less of them. Milk is good in moderation. Watch fat and suger intake: it is in most "normal foods." Stay off fried for a while. Your metabolism needs to speed up, so you can start burning more.