56 replies to this topic

[johniac7078]

here is a hint.  If you are the grocery shopper, stay in the outside aisles longest and avoid the inner aisles.  Do not drink your calories, so no fruit juice etc.  Lower your carbohydrate intake and increase your lean protein, preferably chicken and fish, and increase your fiber (fresh fruits and veggies, NEVER canned).  And be creative, mix it up.  If you eat broil chicken everyday, you will be off the eating plan before you can say cluck cluck.  Drink lots of water, and I mean at least 8-8oz glasses a day.  Take a multivitamin.  

Exercise is key, but start slow.  If your level of fitness is low, just start with a 20 minute walk.  Try to keep a pace that let's you break a light sweat.  When you can do 30 minutes at the same pace without breaking a sweat, join a gym.

As far as diets go, they are not easy. Weight watchers is a healthy eating plan.  Most people want fast results, but often they are short lived because the plan is not sustainable,  Also get some support from a friend or family member to help on this journey.  Let your friends and family know you are doing this and that you want them to support you, not to say stuff like "let's go get a pizza".

Edited by johniac7078, 22 August 2012 - 04:15 PM.

[tiger49931]

I would also suggest going to the Pool if you are a good swimmer swimming increases core and is no impact on joints. I just turned 41 and am getting back into shape. like some i am tired of being the "Fat guy" I am 6'5" 345lbs i started to go to the gym a few months ago but ended up getting plantar fasciitis. i came out of the gate walking 1 mile every day ( to much impact on bad shoes) so i am going to try just swimming for a but to get some weight off before i try the long walking thing again. But agree with everyone cross-fit is great just don't over do it right off the bat. If you are not that active you must like all things start out slowly and build on it.

[vash_241987]

I realized that after finishing LVN school and currently studying for boards, its gonna be hard to convince a patient to live healthy if I'm obese. I'm 5'6" and started the new year at 268 lbs. On 1/19/13 I decided to actually use my "Lose It" app on my iPhone, just curious to see how much calories I'm really eating. I added up all the stuff I ate and I took in 2,966 in one day and on top of that I lived a sedentary lifestyle, go sit down at work then go home and sit down and watch TV/Internet. The app had me down for 2,109 cals a day for what goal I wanted: 100 lbs, 2 lb loss a week (thats the max) and it quoted me that I should loose that amount by 2/3/13. Since I started that almost 4 wks ago, I've been doing well as far as keeping my calories below the max, I've lost about 16 lbs so far and just started exercising 2 days ago with just a jog/walk. Another reason to lose weight besides health, is I'd like to start in USPSA open, and having your gut overflow onto the mags and mag holders would not be comfy.

[tator2k]

I'm in the same exact spot as Vash, Sitting at desk all day and TV/PC at night. I hit my all time heaviest this past winter. Even with downhill skiing with my kids 4-6 hours a week my eating and other habits were really bad. I'm 5'9" peaked out at 278. My wife and I started using LoseIt on March 3rd and in that time I've lost almost 20 lbs and now got back to what was my average carry weight over the past year. I've been a HUGE Mtn Dew drinker and fast food eater for many years. And figured I didn't have time or want to exercise. Here's the personal goals I hit since we've started this new journey.
1. After two weeks I couldn't drink sugared sodas and energy drinks. After 4 total weeks I'm pretty much completely diet soda and sugar free energy drink free. I'm not completely cold turkey as I'm doing water and MIO or other powdered drinks. I've worked on packing both a breakfast and lunch for work and eat in 4 of 5 days a week. This has allowed me to start slowly working out in the campus fitness center doing stretching and treadmill work. Evenings after dinner I started working out with my wife's zumba videos which have helped greatly doing 15 min at a time and working my way currently up to 30 min. This has helped greatly with cardo endurance and core building.

[Padraig]

Over the last two years I have lost 40 pounds. I am down to the same weight I was in the Army 1967-1969. I am 5' 10". For the last year of losing and
keeping the weight off I have used Lose It, circut training, bicycling and running.

Another good thing to do is portion control. Use a smaller plate and dish it out in the kitchen and carry it to the dining room. Don't put a big bowl on the table because if you are like me...... you will take two or more helpings. Also there are some very good low cal frozen food dinners available at the Super market. They make aquick and easy lunch or dinner.

Good luck

[frag316]

I don't recommend making radical changes to your diet like going to paleo or anything like that. I know people swear by it, but it's a way for a lot of people to get turned off the idea of losing weight, because you're going away from what you like.

Set a goal, then find a way to meet it. I downloaded the My Fitness Pal app for my iPhone a couple of years ago and I used it to track what I was eating. I was working out fairly intensely, but couldn't seem to drop below 193-195 (I'm 5'11").

I recommend eating your normal intake for a few days and tracking it on the app. Once you see what you're putting into your body, you'll have a much better appreciation for what you need to cut out.

I lost 20 lbs (I hover between 173-175 now) in the course of six months and have kept it off for almost two years. The app is tied to www.myfitnesspal.com and you can track your intake just about everywhere. It's very easy to use, and you add in any exercise you get (like mowing the lawn) to show you how many calories you have left.

I also don't recommend going psycho on a workout scheme right off the bat. If you're not used to working out, you'll wreck something and be in a worse spot than you were before. Start off slowly adding workouts to your normal routine. Get up 30 minutes earlier and do something that gets your heart rate up into the 120-140 range and keeps it there for at least 20 minutes in a row. When you decide to add weight training, start off with fairly light weights until you get used to the movements.

I currently use a TRX suspension trainer (www.trxtraining.com), and I love it. You can set it up just about anywhere and there are tons of workouts you can do with it. You vary the amount of stress you put on your muscles by changing where your body is in relation to the anchor point. (NOTE: If you use a door as your anchor point, slide the anchor toward the hinge side, so you don't put a lot of stress on the door and the latching mechanism.)

You might get good results from just eating better and keeping with your normal activity levels.

I do cardio and TRX on alternating days. I run for 22 minutes or so on cardio days (I started running in Afghanistan at 7600 feet, so I'm running around a 8:15/mile pace) and do the TRX for 30-45 minutes on weight training days. My results are pretty good. My BP is good, no diabetes (it's in my family), my resting heart rate is right around 60. I eat a bowl of ice cream for dessert after dinner just about every day, and I get donuts with my kids on non-match Saturday mornings. I'm not severely cut, but I'm in better shape than most men my age (I'm 42) and I'm comfortable in my clothes and with my shirt off in public now.

[Eyefly]

Food, food, food. Your body is largely a reflection of what you eat. Change your diet and you WILL see a difference. Easy rules. I started eating much like I had diabetes. I do not. The diet is fruit, vegetables, lean meat. Drink anything I want as long as it is water. That's it. Stick to that and the fat will melt off.