I need some advice. I'm 260 lbs. I feel and look pretty crappy. I'm having health problems that are gradually getting worse with time. I'm only 22 years old and I want to lose weight, but don't know where to start. I probably sound stupid. I'm wondering if anyone has any ideas or tips when it comes to losing weight.

When I was still on the farm I was much, much more physically active and only weighed around 225. I felt great back then.

 

Don't Diet !'

Change you eating habits.

Eat Green & Orange Vegetables
100% Whole Wheat Flour things or Multi-grain bread.
Bagels
Brown Rice
Eat Fruit
Lean Meat only
Baked Potatoes
Use Non-Hydrogenated Margarine

Your last meal of the day should be eaten before 7:00 PM
No Midnight Pizza then to bed at 1:00 am

Cut out all sugar & white flour products.

Don't eat anything that has been deep-fried.

Snacks:
Pretzels
Un-buttered popcorn
Carrots

Less intake & more exercise = Weight & Inches GOES DOWN
More Intake & Less exercise = Weight & Inches GOES UP



Exercise
Walk
Aqua-size (a Non-weight bearing form of exercise to prevent destroying your knees & feet early in the program)
Rowing machine



Of course by looking at me you would never believe this came from my mouth /brain.

 

Try eating a few std pretzels (not handfulls) or something similar, just a mouthful or two 10-15 minutes b4 a meal along with a glass of water. It will cut the hunger pangs and reduce the amount of food you eat.

 

Another good tip is not to eat until you are full but until you are satisfied. I was getting on the heavy side, I stopped eating the little fast food that I did, got a job requiring hard physical labor. Thats nto feasible for everyone but its a good, easy plan.

 

ok im not rubbing this in anyones face here, just stating a fact....

ive never had a weight problem. but at the same time ive never had an "easy" job. im ALWAYS on my feet. i do tree removal, so i am constantly lifting logs into trucks, dragging brush to the chipper and beating it into it, shoveling chips after grinding stumps, basically i sweat my family jewels off. and people say im crazy because after working like this all day, i still go to the gym and lift weights.

my diet- very little pop, 2 cases of beer a week, NO CANDY, fat free pretzels, fruit snacks and beef jerky are a common thing for me. i drink mostly gatorade or water when working.
lunch- almost everyday i get Mcdonalds... but i skip the grease- those McChicken sandwiches are only a dollar each, i order them plain and just dip them in ketchup. no fries or hamburgers-

ive noticed that of ALL my guy friends that the "out of shape" ones have he office jobs, and the ones who are happy with their bodies work constuction, concrete, roofing, basically jobs that keep you moving. excersize is probably the best way to go.

ive read that lifting weights burns fat faster than arobic excercise, because not only do you sweat and get your heart pumping, but your body actually breaks down the fat which then turns into muscle.

so to put all this into one shorter story, watch what you eat, get LOTS of exercise ( youll even feel healthier after a few week of excersizing cause it gets your metabolism and blood going faster, heart greats stronger ) dont eat right before bed like mentioned by Mil1ion-

find a partner to excersize with- for moral support AND youll find that trying to get into shape quicer than them will PUSH YOU TO TRY HARDER!!! do this for yourself, DONT GIVE UP! hope is not lost-

GOOD LUCK!!! go impress the ladies at the local gym!

 

I have gone from 300+ in Nov of '02 to 255 to 260 by following the "Atkins" diet. I went the "work out" route, but I tend to "bulk up". I had a knee replaced 2 years ago, so "activity" level has gone down. I still walk 2 miles every other day, so the weight is comming off. I am a believer in "Atkins", but all of the other suggestions are great, too.

 

You are smart to recognize the problem and want to something about it. The best way is to make a good diet and exercise part of your life style. At first it takes a lot of disicipline but in time it will become part of you and good habits formed at your age are like money in the bank. Heart disease and diabetes are epidemic in this country and one major cause is that most are overweight. Many take better care of their trucks than they do their bodies and that's a shame (not to mention stupid). Hang in there and best of luck.
Dono

 

Well your taking the first step in the right direction. Ever heard of the Aktin's diet? Good good plan. I was watching NBC today and a guy lost 81 lbs that they were talking about on dateline. A guy at my work lost 40 lbs on it. Over 15 million people have tried it. I can get some information for you if you would like.

 

I too am on the Atkins diet. I have lost 3 pants sizes since April. My codriver has lost over 75 pounds with it since March. the best part is you don't feel deprived! Its great! (most of the time, unless everyone else is having pizza )

Check out this website Lowcarbfriends it has really helped me a lot. BTW, my handle on that discussion board is "Bigger than Budda"

 

See a doctor first. If you have a serious heart or blood problem you want to know before you stress your body.

You did not get fat overnight, you worked at it, getting thin takes time too. Each pound is 2,000 calories you have to burn off. If you lose (for a man) 1 pound a week, you are doing very well. 1/2 a pound a week for a woman is a good target. If you can lose 20 pounds in one year, I think that would be great.

Short walks two times a day. Break every other day until you can take long walks. Otherwise you will kill your body and shins. Then increase your walks until you can walk 3-5 miles at a time twice a day.

Only eat after walking. Eat as many veggies as you want until you feel full. Use a lot of salsa, garlic, and spices to make the food taste better so you are more inclined to eat it. Take a multi-vitamin recommended by your doctor.

Do not weight lift. Someone grossly out of shape is just asking for a heart attack doing that, for many reasons, including buildup in your veins breaking free and lodging in your brain (stroke).

Skip any food with caffeine, especially coffee. It increases your appetite. If you need something tasty to drink, try Red Zinger tea with some sugar.

Skip diet drinks, they alter the chemicals in your brain into wanting carbs! So, you are more likely to suck down a chocolate bar and kill the diet all at once.

Do not eat out, prepare all your own food. Eat slowly, do not watch TV! Watching TV can actually slow your metabolism 25% or more. If bored, read a book instead while eating. I usually use the time to go through my truck and equipment catalogs.

It comes down to deception and what you think you "need". Pray and ask for help and strength.

I would NOT recommend this until you are in shape, but, if you fast for 48 hours, when you do not have to do any work, and go without food and water, it increases your will power. Then you are more likely to remember it and be able to say "I do not need that" I survived without it before.

 

At 17 yrs old I weighed in at 258lbs. I joined the Army and 6 weeks later I weighed 185. 8 weeks after that I weighed 195lbs.
The easiest way to lose weight is have a DI chasing your but screaming at you.

J/K Seriously, start getting some exercise. Start slow and work your way into it. Rome wasn't built in a day. If you jump into exercise to fast you will probably end up injured. Eat decent food, do not look at it as being a diet, look at it as being a lifestyle change.

 

As mentioned above, get checked to see if you are going to drop dead...

I have lost 78 lbs, so far this year, doing a modified version of the Atkins plan. Dieting does not work, change your food pattern. The things that make you fat are not the protein or the fat, it is the Carbs..... They are the bad guys, so get off the carb train, forget that sugar exists, and eat only simple carbs.

Robert Atkins book is available anywhere, and is a good place to start. However, AVOID the substitute candy bars - I started to feel like the proverbial recently, and went for a test or two - The Atkins candy bars, recommended for diet use, were doing a real good job of killing me. The sucralose, or Splenda sweetener used in them was overloading my body with CHLORINE (bleach - a toxin) Apparently Splenda is made by taking sucrose (sugar) and heating it up, breaking down it's structure, and bonding in 3 atoms of chlorine. This destroys the carb content of the molecule, and makes for a nice low carb sweet. HOWEVER the chlorine is a real bad side effect, so far denied by the sellers, but I know different - I have medical evidence that chlorine was overloading my organs, and the ONLY chlorine in my diet (unbeknownst to me) was from the Splenda in the Atkins bars... So now I do not eat them.

I am never hungry, and have lost 20 inches from my waist...

I hope to loose another 4 inches, over the next 6 months, and be nice trim 38 waist, 190 lb me. (248 now)

BUT FIRST!!!!!

Get checked out by a doctor - you can seriously hurt yourself changing your eating patterns if you have any health problems.


Theo

 

Great advise Million, except for the baked potato. They're like eating a large candy bar. Also, butter is better for you than most any margarine.

 

Potatoe? Is that the Republican spelling?

One rule to weight loss, if it tastes good, spit it out.

 

You got it there Ranger.. If it tastes like you want it, get rid of it.. Unless it is a great big T-bone steak, with garlic and mushrooms, followed by a cream and berry mouse....

Theo