Need to lose at least 100 pounds... Is BJJ a good idea?

NaliB

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I am 6'7 and weigh about 350 pounds...

I can train BJJ 3 times a week at a good school with 2 black belts and a brown.

What should I do?

Also, what Gi should I buy? I didn't manage to find one in my size.
 
Well how long of a plan to you wish to lose the pounds? If your talking about within the next month I'd consult your local plastic surgeon.

But if your willing to take the time to work it off, Jiu Jitsu, running, and a HEALTHY DIET, will make you lose the weight.

For dieting:
  • Don't eat anything past 8 P.M.
  • Watch your sodium and carbohydrate intake.
  • Eat natural foods, try to stay away from bagged things like chips and stuf.
  • Eat more then three meals a day, but make sure they aren't big meals, meals that just satisfy your hunger not make you full.
  • Try eating as much brown rice and grilled chicken. Veggies of course.
  • Don't eat any sweets, period.
  • No soda, water and sometimes milk, sometimes.

Run enough to make you sweat and get tierd, but don't burn yourself out by running to much at one time, pace yourself.

Jiu Jitsu wear a rashguard or something that will make you sweat a lot, make sure that you aren't half-assing drills, work your body.
 
I am 6'7 and weigh about 350 pounds...

I can train BJJ 3 times a week at a good school with 2 black belts and a brown.

What should I do?

Also, what Gi should I buy? I didn't manage to find one in my size.
Start training. BJJ isn't optimized for weight loss, but still pretty good (especially together with sensible nutrition). It's also awesome, so you will want to train more.

Can't help you with the GI problem. I'm an A2, and do my shopping in Europe.
 
At 350 lbs pretty much any physical activity is going to help you lose weight. Just remember that losing weight is exercise + diet. You can exercise every day, but if you're still taking in more calories than you use you will not lose weight.

Make a plan and work hard to stick to it. Its going to take a lot of time, and it will be really hard. Plan on losing it slowly if you want it to stick. 2-3 lbs a week would be a great plan to stick to at your weight. As you get smaller it will be 1-2 lbs a week.
 
I think any physical activity will help you lose weight, but the number 1 factor in weight loss is your overall calories in vs. calories burned (reads: diet). Physical activity only helps.

As Fondler was hinting, it's (losing weight) going to be rough, but once you start BJJ and like it, all you'll think about is going to class and getting your sweat on.

As with any new exercise program, you should consult your physician.

As for gis, Padilla and Sons size A6 is for people 6'5"-9" and 290-325#'s. I figure it'll be a tight fit for a short while, but maybe you could use that as motivation to stick with it.

Best wishes,

Sickygnarwhal
 
More than just BJJ I'd suggest dieting. But ANY type of cardio is good for losing weight, especially HIIT, or High Intensity Interval Training. But if you're overweight and not used to doing exercise, BJJ is going to KILL YOU. When I was losing weight I'd go to the gym from 5 p.m and left at 9 p.m between cardio, weightlifing and classes like yoga and pilates. I thought of myself as being pretty fit. Bullshit, I almost puked after my first couple rolls.

So take it easy at first, learn how to do the techniques (and be careful not crushing the smaller guys), and supplement your BJJ classes with normal low-impact cardio two or three times a week on non-training days (or six hours before or after class).

BJJ by itself is not very good for losing weight, but it's a great motivator and a great way to KEEP in shape. It's as addictive as a video game, you always want to keep 'leveling up' :p
 
I lost 50 lbs doing BJJ 4 times a week in 6 months.

Like everyone else said ANY exercise is effective for burning calories, but BJJ is much more fun than other sorts of exercise, so I think you'd be more likely to stick with it.

Do BJJ regardless of weight loss needs.

It's fun.
 
Thx.

I have enough free time to keep this going for months (years.)

I can do BJJ 3 times a week and thinking of doing weight training also
 
Also check out the S&C and Diet and Supplement sub-forums on Sherdog, especially the FAQs. There are some smart and experienced guys in there that will be willing to help you. You can also start a log in the S&C which goes a long way in accountability and encouragement.


Most of all, good luck.
 
Thx.

I have enough free time to keep this going for months (years.)

I can do BJJ 3 times a week and thinking of doing weight training also

I'd urge you to wander over to our S&C forum and diet forum to read the stickies there.

Edit: Beat by seconds!
 
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MyPlate - Food Diary & Food Calorie Counter | LIVESTRONG.COM

Start tracking your calories, it will help immensely. Cut out all condiments with significant sources of calories, and don't drink your calories.

The only sugar you need is from fruits (you'll still get a bit from milk too.)

Once you start taking responsibility for your nutrition, it'll get way easier. Good luck!
 
BJJ is good in that a 1.5-2 hour class gets you a significant amount of exercise. You'll burn some calories and work a lot of muscles. But where it's really good is that a lot of people who try it find it a lot of fun, get hooked, and train frequently and regularly. I'd guess that's an important consideration for you: finding exercise that's fun and that you'll want to go to 3 times a week.

As far as weight loss in general, I found this looooooooooooooong article/guide pretty helpful when I wanted to drop a few pounds.

The Ultimate Weight Loss Guide
 
Thx.

I have enough free time to keep this going for months (years.)

I can do BJJ 3 times a week and thinking of doing weight training also

If your worried about finding a gi that will fit, might I suggest trying no gi for a while till you can find one that will fit? It tends to be a little harder core in the cardio department then gi, at least the places I train.

For weights, look up Starting Strength by Mark Ripptoe. Hell, by the book. He's pretty much the god of the S&C forum like Roger Gracie and Saulo Ribero are here. But read the FAQs and Stickies before posting. They can shut you down pretty quick if it's obvious you haven't.

Best of Luck.
 
Well how long of a plan to you wish to lose the pounds? If your talking about within the next month I'd consult your local plastic surgeon.

But if your willing to take the time to work it off, Jiu Jitsu, running, and a HEALTHY DIET, will make you lose the weight.

For dieting:
  • Don't eat anything past 8 P.M.
  • Watch your sodium and carbohydrate intake.
  • Eat natural foods, try to stay away from bagged things like chips and stuf.
  • Eat more then three meals a day, but make sure they aren't big meals, meals that just satisfy your hunger not make you full.
  • Try eating as much brown rice and grilled chicken. Veggies of course.
  • Don't eat any sweets, period.
  • No soda, water and sometimes milk, sometimes.

Run enough to make you sweat and get tierd, but don't burn yourself out by running to much at one time, pace yourself.

Jiu Jitsu wear a rashguard or something that will make you sweat a lot, make sure that you aren't half-assing drills, work your body.

Running for a man that size would wreak havoc on his knees, I know I have been up to 350 and wasn't even 6'7, only now this summer at around 280 have I been able to run without feeling completely dead in my knees

You should really consider doing a strict powder-shake diet/meal replacement routine. You really lose pounds quickly and it gets you of a routine of junk food/sweets, soft drinks, beer. shock the body somewhat.

saying don't eat anything after a certain hour is completely arbitrary, there is no magical hour. most people need something after training at least, some people don't go to bed until much later etc etc

Drink lots of water as it makes you feel full. veggies, paprika/cucumber works great as a fruit
 
At 350 lbs, anything would help.

Editing because I realized this post sounded jerk-ish, which was not my intent. Just saying you should go for it full throttle and don't be hesitant.
 
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something that will keep your heart rate steady will be great like running or getting on a bike or an elliptical.

bjj will help but normally people who start get gassed out and their heart rate sky rockets too quickly and becomes a anaerobic exercise or a cardio work out instead of a "fat burning" work out.
 
Diet is the key, get that in check and go ahead and do the BJJ. Someone at the BJJ school will help you with the gi issue.
 
Go for it, get the biggest gi you can and just get in there and train. The weight will fall off easily. Just be reasonable with how much you eat, and eat clean.
 
I can offer some advice. I started where you're at.

March of 2010 - I had a high risk for a brain tumor or aneurysm after collapsing into my desk at work - I'm 25 years old.

I go through various scans, mris/mras etc and they find nothing.

Turns out I have a severe/rare form of migraines that basically take me away from life for 3+ days at a time.

I get weighed and I'm 350 at 6' tall. They say, you know - you've got kids and a wife and losing weight will not only help your migraines, but your heart and it will keep you with your family for longer.

October - 2010 - Just hit 290 after 6-7 hard months of work.

---
some tips

  • Don't eat past 8 like others have said.

  • Get a workout schedule and stick to it. The more the better. - I did this with only muay thai and BJJ and dieting. For me this is 3 hours of BJJ a week, 3 hours of MT a week and one hour of Judo a week.
  • Watch your diet - I mean this in a calorie and content and size manner. Don't eat nasty shit, watch the carbs. I eat under 100g guaranteed a day, some days I eat less than 10. Might want to hit the diet forum as others have mentioned. Protein is your friend. I started with a calorie limit of 2500 carbs when I was at 350 lbs. I'm at 2,000 now, a bit more (like 2500) on days I'm doing BJJ/MT
  • Stretch in the mornings...stretch in the evenings. Will help with routine and flexibility
  • Get a punching bag at home. Use it for at least 30 minutes the days you are not at the gym/dojo. A little pocket round timer will help you - do 2-3 minutes rounds with 30-60 seconds rest in between.
  • Water is your new drink. Something like crystal lite if you need flavor. I've learned to love water though.
  • Be vigilant. It's easy to fuck up and fall off the diet. Fix yourself immediately. Don't let that shit slide. Get angry with yourself if you have to. Let your instructor know you want to lose weight and that you might need to be pushed - make sure he understands your reasons and possibly your limits.
  • Just start something. Now. There's no need to get in shape for BJJ, BJJ gets you in shape for BJJ - your teammates will become your friends, they'll understand your struggle and congratulate you on the way. Your instructor will know that you've put your heart into it. The reward will be twofold - weight loss and respect from yourself and from others.

I'm no pro at this, and I'm still big but this is a battle I'm winning, feel free to ask for any tips or ask any questions you may have. I'm not shy and will answer things publicly because for every person that asks - there are 10 people who don't or won't ask.

As far as the Gi goes, a Fuji A6 fits most 350ish people with ease. Pants may need hemmed though. I bought an A5 though as a motivator to get me to muscle through those pounds. Instead of shrinking the Gi to fit me, I shrink myself to fit the Gi.

If you're going to lost weight fast like I did...a century size 8 Gi jacket is a good start, you don't want to drop coin on a gi you'll grow out of (shrink into) in ~6 months.

Losing weight is all about mindset and dedication. Lessons learned on the mats in BJJ/Wrestling etc translate well into other aspects of life.
 
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