ideas for a newbie

[oldguy47]

Age, Bodyweight/fat

Hi,
I need to lose weight in a serious kind of way as my Dr is pressuring me to get weight loss surgery.
I am 47 and got really fat a few years ago because of a perfect storm of stress (the pressure of dealing with grad school, a full time job, plus 2 parents that started dieing at the same time). I had been fat once before and it honestly never bothered me health wise but this time it was different and I started feeling sick some of the time. I had hoped it would straighten out once I got out of school and had the time to exercise again. At first that seemed to be true, but not for long. When I graduated, I was at 286 and was able to get down to 266-270 on my own. It would bounce between those 2 but I could never lose any weight after that. I walked 2 miles a day but if I ran I would get sick after the 2nd day and would have to wait about a month to recover. Things kept going downhill and noticed I was always in a fog and my legs would get stiff if I sat in a chair for 5 min or longer. Left arm muscle would ache even holding wet wash cloth. And I kept feeling worse and worse till I had to got to the Dr. She said I had all the symptoms of Metabolic syndrome and sent me to 3 specialists. One for TRT, one for diet change, and one for weight loss surgery consultation.

After only 6 weeks the TRT has made a huge improvement (and very quickly) as I can run again and the weight is coming off. Last week-just to prove that the TRT was reallly kicking in like I thought, I ran 8 days straight (1 + mile each) and this week I am up to 2 miles, but not running everyday anymore. I like running because it is quick, fun and effective. I was 270lbs when I started TRT during the first week of March and now I am at 255. But my Dr beat around the bush and didn't think I should do it too much running as it might screw up my knees over time. I am not going to stop running but I do want to mix things up.

I was told in another section that weight lifting should help me lose weight as well. I have a new weight bench but need to get some weights. My company has a large new gym. They had an old one that was free, but tore it down after the new one went up. It is 120 a year- Not sure if I should join or just do the home thing.

Anyway is there a very simple/quick routine I could do that is right for a newbie? At this point, I only interested in dropping weight.
Thank you!

[scorpion62]

You seem to be on the right track mate , you should up the cardio you'll burn more calories with cardio (aerobic) exercise than with strength or resistance training.
cross-training -- that is, doing a range of different activities during your workouts. Not only does this help you keep from getting bored, it's better for your body. Doing different activities recruits different muscle groups. You're also less likely to develop an injury, since doing the same thing day after day creates wear patterns on your joints. Also eating and exercise are not separate issues they go hand in hand so a good diet is always a good place to start

[oldguy47]

Hi thanks for the reply. I also do mnt biking on the weekend, but I guess I do need more variety. What about jumping rope? Would that be any worse on my body than running?
On diet do about 275 Cals of meat and about 130 cals of veg. Drink water. May cheat a bit on Weekend-gotto live one in a while.

Thanks again...

[Turkish Juicer]

Both running and jumping rope will put a lot of stress on your joints when you are carrying extra upper body weight. I have asked the advice of a few orthopedists on this subject and they all recommended that walking on a treadmill is about the safest and healthiest practice concerning longevity of joints. Running has many benefits of its own, which is why I would not compare one to another in a rigid manner; however, if you are overweight and concerned about your joints than this is what seems to be the case.

Presentation of your diet is completely vague, BTW. You should provide us with a detailed list of what you eat and how much of it throughout the day in a detailed manner.

[oldguy47]

Both running and jumping rope will put a lot of stress on your joints when you are carrying extra upper body weight. I have asked the advice of a few orthopedists on this subject and they all recommended that walking on a treadmill is about the safest and healthiest practice concerning longevity of joints. Running has many benefits of its own, which is why I would not compare one to another in a rigid manner; however, if you are overweight and concerned about your joints than this is what seems to be the case.

Presentation of your diet is completely vague, BTW. You should provide us with a detailed list of what you eat and how much of it throughout the day in a detailed manner.

Well I am not sure if I should be concerned or not. It is my Dr who preferred that I walk or ride a bike. Well already do those too but they just are not "violent" enough for my stomach fat the way running is. Just hoping to find something else to add to mix it up and let my legs rest just in case.
I have got mixed feedback on whether lifting weights would help. I tried to buy a weight set today but they were out and only had the much more expensive individual weights. Bottom line I have 70lb now so maybe do something with that.

Until I get my weight off I have been eating the same thing over and over to keep it simple (can't cook so I have to). Here is my M-T shed. Friday is identical except I generally eat at Subway (half a turkey sub) on Fri nights.

Diet

breakfast

Walmart Great Value - Lowfat Strawberry Fruit and Grain Bar 140c
Slimfast - Creamy Milk Chocolate 190c

Lunch - Turkey sandwich on wheat (sara lee) bread. Mustard ?
Somedays chips out of vending machine abt 200 calories.
Walmart 5 cal water mix

Dinner

John Soules Foods - Angus Beef Strips or grilled chicken 275c for both beef or chicken
Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers - Basil Vegetable Medley 90c
Salad with light italian, cherry tomatoes , a few croutons and pepper.??

Does that help? Thanks..

[scorpion62]

Your diet in a word mate is sh1t a law fat bar ? And slimfast one scoop 30 sugars not a good start to the day , your body needs food ie lean beef , chicken , turkey , fish , a good breakfast starts your day go to the nutrition section and get some ideas on diet and post yours , your diet is a big part of weight loss to it has to be right

[beenie]

When I started well over a decade ago, I was in what I suspect to be similar condition. I think that I was 285lbs at my high point. I went to the doctor and he told me that I was obese. I responded, "perhaps a tad bit portly, but not obese." He said, "no you are obese and your cholesteral levels are off the chards." I joined a gym the next day. I started doing cardio: at least an hour a day. At first I would run one nuinute at 6mph and then walk one minute at 3.5mph and keep on changing it. I lost 10 lbs in the first week. Went back to my doctor and he told me that I was losing the weight too fast, at which point I fired him!

After a while, even with the cardio, tehre came a point I think that I was a 265 that I stopped losing weight. People told me, "and now comes diet." I changed my dioet to what is basically the induction stage of Atkins with virtually no carbs. Over the next six months I dropped down from to 195 taking off nearly 100 lbs. I continues to take weight offf to, when at my low I weighed 169 lbs (about 9 months after star\rting). My friends now were telling me that I looked gaunt. I responded, "really? I think I look great!" My cardio had become so strong that I would run 30 minutes at 9mph cocnsitently and then drop it down to 8mph and I coul;d basically run forever at that speed. People pushed me to start lifting. at that point.

My gym told me that won a week with a personal trainer. I used it and got goof form. Got up to 175 or 180. In about a year with very lean nuscle. Right now, I am at about 200. I am pretty lean, you can see my abs. I will never have the tight skin that guys who statred out skinny and beed have, but my skin tiughtened pretty nicely on its own-- didnt need surgery.

In short my advice to you would be to do at least an hour of cardio every day (more is better). The reason more is better is that when the results occur quickly it actss as inspirration to continue. Low car diets are great because you dont need to starve yourself as you would on a low calorie diet. Thats why people always need "cheat days." If you feel that you need a "cheat day" you are, in my opinion, doing something very wrong.

Good luck. Ultimately the magic bullet is diet and exersize.