Help Needed

[The Buzz Killr]

I just turned 19, I'm 6'3", and I weigh 340. I'm hoping someone on here could give me some real insight to getting my weight down.

Basically, according to my doctor, with my frame, I should weigh around 210-240, no more. I was about 270 out of high school, but 8 months later, I've gained 70 pounds. I have joint problems with my knees, and I'm at risk for diabetes as it runs in my family. I've tried getting a handle on my diet, but I can't find anything that seems to work on a good basis rather quickly, so I slack off and quit. I'm not planning on trying any weight cutters or ephedra, I'd like to do it by diet and exercise, maybe the help of some supplements. We've got a rather large GNC in town here, and if need be, I'd be more than happy to see about some natural weight loss things.

Here's the details of my diet as is. I at one point in time was consuming between 1/2 - 1 gallon of water a day, but that was mostly as a means to flush my system from all the caffeine I consume. Now, I rarely get 20oz a day. I eat generally two meals a day, fast food for lunch, whatever I can srcrounge up for a large dinner around 7 at night. I'll occasionally snack on stuff, but it's mostly junk food. I drink maybe 3-5 sodas a day, which is pretty bad I know, but that tends to be all I have access to at work.

What I'd like is some input from you guys on a decent diet that will help me lose weight fairly quick, nothing abnormal or such. I know you all recommend cardio, but with my knee not being the most sturdy, I'd like to get off maybe 20-30 pounds before I do any high impact cardio, seeing as how I'm sure my weight has a lot to do with my problems.

Any help?

 

[UbetterTAPout**]

To be honest, if you do too much, it will not work for you. Start off slow, cut out all soda, candy and fast food. Drink a gallon of water a day or so. Try a low impact cardio exercise. Do this for appx 6 weeks, then add supplements and more hardcore exercise.

It's a mental game at this point, just do it.

 

[mmagic]

Don't every eat fast food, it is the nastiest stuff on earth next to fecal matter. Stop being lazy and prepare your lunch the night before or in the morning. Or if you have to eat at a fast food place, they all have salads on their menus and stuff like that.

I think eating 2 meals per day is a bad, bad idea. It means that you will be super hungry for those two meals and you will tend to eat large quantities of crappy food. What you should be doing is eating more meals of healthy food, at least 3 meals per day but ideally 4 or 5.

When you are buying prepared food, look for healthier alternatives to crappy fast food, like Subway or whatever. The best thing is to make your own meals using healthy foods though.

 

[jamboo]

I agree, it wouldn't be good to start off with an intense exercise program. and you are smart for not giving into the caffeine/ephedra hype. there is no scientific evidence that these "fat loss" pills promote fat loss; however, there is evidence that they cause sweating, tremors, shakiness, nervousness, diarrhea, vomiting, racing heartbeat, or even heart failure, just to name a few.

what you should focus on is not drinking any soda, and not eating any junk food. I know it's hard, but it's a sacrifice you need to make to reach your goals. if you succeed at this, reqard yourself after a month or so by rewarding yourself once (eat some fast food).

the other part, which is just as important, if not more important, is to increase your calorie expenditure. exercise has actually been shown to help regulate diet. this doesn't necessarily mean you have to bike or go on the treadmill. when you drive somewhere, park at the back of the parking lot and walk to wherever you're going. go for a walk every day, or even more than once a day. when you're watching tv, and the commercials come on, walk around the house. it might sound silly, but walking up and down a flight of stairs just twice a day can account for 6 lbs. of fat loss per year, so think of what eating right and walking for x amount of minutes every day would do for you!


another thing that could help you a lot would be to buy a meter. each day, try to walk a little bit more than you walked the day before. seeing how many steps you walked might help you stay motivated to better yourself each day. try to eventually reach about 10,000 steps per day, consistently.

the main thing though, is to do exercise that you enjoy! if you're doing things you like doing, you'll be much more likely to stick to it and reach your goals. walking or jogging can be boring as hell, so i would definitely recommend bringing a discman/MP3 player with you.

I hope this helps. let us know how things are going!

 

[Nimrod321]

First thing you need to do is eat breakfast. It really is the most important meal of the day. Why do you only eat 2 meals a day? Do you work 12 hour shifts that make it hard to eat every 3 or so hours, or do you just not feel like eatting so often?

Drink green tea every day, not the snapple or sobe crap, drink the real stuff. It is said to increase your metabolism.

Try to eat 5 or 6 small meals (300-400 calories) a day. Try to use the least processed food that you can

Some flaxseed and fish oils will help you get your essencial fatty acids. These are said to help reduce fat storage in the body.

If you have access to a stationary bike, you will be able to do some cardio without much stress on your knees. This will help lose the weight faster.

 

[The Buzz Killr]

My intake amount is that way because I have little time in the day to eat. I have classes from 7 AM to 11 AM, I then eat my lunch and walk to work. Work is about a mile and a half away with about 30 pounds of books on my back, plus I'd say I walk another 1-2 miles during the day while working, so it's not like I get no cardio at all, it's just that it seems like it isn't helping. I then get off around 5ish and head home, but I couldn't imagine cramming 4 meals into 5-7 hours.

As for my lunch, I've been trying to stick to eating at the Blimpies on campus and having a six inch club (white bread, ham, turkey, swiss, lettuce, and ranch) and a bottle of water, but it's honestly a piss poor excuse for a sub if I may say so. I have no car, so I'm carrying around anything with me all day, which is why I tend to eat out. I've thought about taking in some bagged Starkiss Tuna and eating that during the day maybe with an apple or bananas, but the appeal of having fish trapped inside a sweaty backpack isn't really there.

With the green tea, is it best to drink it in the morning or the evening? I've heard about drinking it several times before, just never actually given it much thought.

 

[CarlsonTeam101]

First thing you need to do is eat breakfast. It really is the most important meal of the day. Why do you only eat 2 meals a day? Do you work 12 hour shifts that make it hard to eat every 3 or so hours, or do you just not feel like eatting so often?

Drink green tea every day, not the snapple or sobe crap, drink the real stuff. It is said to increase your metabolism.

Try to eat 5 or 6 small meals (300-400 calories) a day. Try to use the least processed food that you can

Some flaxseed and fish oils will help you get your essencial fatty acids. These are said to help reduce fat storage in the body.

If you have access to a stationary bike, you will be able to do some cardio without much stress on your knees. This will help lose the weight faster.

Basically what he said, about 5-6 healthy meals, Just watch what you eat and follow with a excerise program, Try finding a local gym for a personal trainer to help you out. Not that expensive and will help you in the long run.

 

[Sinister]

I agree, it wouldn't be good to start off with an intense exercise program. and you are smart for not giving into the caffeine/ephedra hype. there is no scientific evidence that these "fat loss" pills promote fat loss; however, there is evidence that they cause sweating, tremors, shakiness, nervousness, diarrhea, vomiting, racing heartbeat, or even heart failure, just to name a few.

Incorrect.

For one thing sweating = fat loss.

For the second thing, read the third post in this thread:

http://www.sherdog.net/forums/showthread.php?t=311903

And keep your eyes peeled. Tomorrow I'm going to update that thread about one of the few FDA-approved Fat Loss medicines. Which actually coincides more with your statement there.

 

[Madmick]

Ephedrine is safe. But it scares some people.

Take 200mg caffeine before your cardio. Don't ever lift more than 1/2 hour (if you do at all), that's not your priority. Look, I know weight training improves the metabolic rate, but the guys who have taken off the big pounds (myself included) didn't do it anyway but spending every ounce of energy running.

If you're on equipment that monitors heart rate, try to stay at 60%- 80% of yor max heart rate (220-age) for 45 minutes to an hour.

Don't try to do more with less. Weight loss is less with more. Longer time running is the secret.

And like Fiona says, "Hunger hurts, but starving works." I'm not advocating starving, but you're gonna have to get used to being hungry.

 

[HP_Nut]

Most important, have 2 cheat meals/week. Don

 

[Madmick]

Cheat meals can help, psychologically, especially if you're going hungry, but also keep cheater treats: stuff like frozen fruit popsicles that have like 25-50 calories are awesome. Instead of ice cream every night- which was just pure habit at that point- I ate one of these.

 

[The Buzz Killr]

Okay, I tried a cup of green tea this morning, but that didn't go very well, and it wound up outside in the front yard about 45 seconds after I consumed it. I'll give it another shot this evening.

I've actually got time to kill before I head in to class, so I thought I'd get a good breakfast in me, but the only place on campus to eat at this hour is the Grill, which doesn't serve the best food if I may say so myself. I guess I'll see about shopping and getting myself some things to eat and snack on during the day that I can take with me.

 

[Madmick]

You threw up green tea? What the hell did you do?

I've never heard of anyone having that reaction. Green tea must be less aggravating than even the oolongs and black teas you get at any restaurant.

 

[The Buzz Killr]

Basically, I had nothing on my stomache, so when the hot cup of tea hit it, I proceeded to hurl. I have the same reaction to coffee in the morning, so I'm assuming it's the hot liquid.

 

[UbetterTAPout**]

Wow, man. I live on green tea. If your body can handle all that soda, it can sure as hell handle green tea.

Sounds like you need a "mental" workout first!

 

[UbetterTAPout**]

Basically, I had nothing on my stomache, so when the hot cup of tea hit it, I proceeded to hurl. I have the same reaction to coffee in the morning, so I'm assuming it's the hot liquid.

Make iced green tea then. It works just the same. And don't intimidate yourself. Green tea is great tasting, remember that.

 

[Madmick]

Basically, I had nothing on my stomache, so when the hot cup of tea hit it, I proceeded to hurl. I have the same reaction to coffee in the morning, so I'm assuming it's the hot liquid.

That's very strange. That might be uniquely physiological, but it's also very possibly psychological. We all have your ticks.

Not that I'm gonna lecture you on how to "overcome" it. Iceing the tea should do it. It'll probably work better for your stomach than it does for the San Jose Sharks.

Oaoh!!

 

[Grady]

Some great advice in this thread.

Dude - keep your walking habits because that is the best thing you have going for you at this point. Add some additional walking time in if you can, too. And, as so many other pointed out, eat breakfast. Some oatmeal or eggs (you CAN make both these in a microwave even) and wheat toast are all good items.

Eating frequent meals is also a great thing to do. Smallish, frequent meals:
(1) keep metabolism higher, your body never kicks into starvation (fat storage) mode
(2) keep your overall calorie consumption lower for the day. You are less likely to
overeat if you aren't ravenously hungry when that lunch and/or dinner meal comes around.

Cut out all sugar based soda and drinks. Think of these drinks as liquid FAT, because that is what they end up being. Drink diet soda if you have to have soda. Water or iced green tea is much better.

Cut out all fried foods like chips, fries, fast-food style burgers, and pizza.

Eat foods that have higher satiety. These are foods that make you feel fuller and more satisfied with less calories.

http://www.nutritiondata.com/fullness-factor.html - check out the tables in this article.

If you do all the above, after a while you won't feel nearly as hungry as you probably do right now every day when lunch time finally comes around.

Eventually you will notice the fat just to start melting off.

 

[CH1LL]

If I were you, I'd spend some time studying up on nutrition. It will help you learn how and why you burn fat and what foods you need to do so. Also, once you start learning a lot about it, you get so focused on creating the perfect diet, that you won't even want fried foods, soda or fast food anymore.

 

[Madmick]

BTW, there is a sticky that covers fat loss.

Maybe you should put "Weight Loss" or "Fat Loss" in the title, K, none of the white belts seem wise to that sticky.