Need to lose 100 lbs.

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Morrac32

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First off, this is for real, I weight 300 lbs (a little over 21 stone...I think that is right) and I want to get down to 200 lbs. I don't have any health problems yet, well other than I get out of breath pretty easily. The problem is that I am 32 and I heard it is really hard to lose weight after 30. Also, I work full time and don't get home till almost 6pm when I help take care of the kids and spend time with the wife.

I guess the question I have is....What would be the best way to start chipping into this huge about of weight I want to lose and what kind of exercise can you do when you don't have the time to get to the gym?

Thanks for all the advice ahead of time.
 
You need to seriously lok at your diet. Less bad food = weight loss.

Give us a little bit more about yourself. Are your parents/brother/sisters obese? Do you smoke? Drink a lot of alcohol? What sort of eating plan do you/your wife/kids follow? Are you all overweight?
 
No matter how old you are you can burn fat. Get into the gym and lift weights. If you cant get to the gym, you can buy a decent weight set from a sports store. Running is good but only works while you are doing it. When you lift weights your muscles rip and are repaired while you sleep. Nutrients are taken from what you eat and then fat cells are used to repair muscle.
 
First, I would talk to a doctor: I'm guessing if you want to lose 100 pounds, you're probably very overwieght...they will have the safest advice in this case, and for any other extenuating circumstances you may have. Being out of breath easily is cause for concern. I would also like to mention that safely losing 100 pounds probably takes 2-3 years.

I'm just a few years ahead and a few pounds behind you, and in a similar situation...wanting to lose a little weight and regain my lost energy and physical spark while juggling family, household duties, and everything else.

After that, start with very light exercise that you know you can handle (stretching, walking, for example), and do it every day, if possible.

Eat smaller portions; it sounds simple, but we don't always have to finish the plate to be full. Break up your three large meals into 5-6 small meals, so you never feel too "full".

Avoid caffeine (admittedly, I'm bad at this) because it stimulates pancreatic insulin production, which in turn, increases your appetite. On the other hand, if you don't get an upset stomach form doing so, I've found that being slightly hungry generally keeps me a little more awake, which in turn, staves off (some of) my need for caffeine.

Reduce the amount of game playing and other sedentary activities; go for a walk and listen to music. Make an excuse to get in you car and go to a park or somewhere with interesting sights. If you can handle it (distance and weather-wise), my uncle tried the tactic of walking to the store with a backpack and only buying what he could carry home without too much effort (might actually save money and you get a workout).

Just some ideas...you can do a lot without going to a gym; playing with your kids can sometimes be a good bit of excersice in and of itself. I get a pretty good workout at my family get-togethers, what with 6 kids all running around.
 
100 lbs is a lot to lose, to get rid of it means dieting and a lot of exercise (and possibly medication). It's not impossible, but it will require a lot of sacrifice (e.g. change of lifestyle, getting rid of 100 lbs in a healthy way will take several months), not just from you but from your family too. In any case, I would take this up with a physician/doctor (100 lbs doesn't come from nowhere, there's a cause there somewhere, be it physical, psychological or social).
 
Owen.C93
Smaller portions of food is probably the best way to start losing weight.
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+1 and your stomach will start to shrink a little bit.

Plus pineapple juice, green tea etc... . I mean pure pineapple juice, not the juice that you can buy in a supermarket. Drink a lot of water. When you brake down fat, it brakes down into water, sweat etc... . You need to get it out of your system (= urine) hence the drinking. Eat healthy and start exercising.

Cardiovascular exercises with a low heart rate and at least one hour, 3 times a week is a good start.
Also you have to gain muscular tissue (if you don't work out already). The more muscular tissue you have the more energy you waste for the same amount of movement as when you have less muscular tissue.
 
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As someone said, small portions throughout the day. Try to eat 200-300 meals/snacks 6 times a day, up to 1800 calories per day. Then one day go for 2200-2500 calories. If you stick to that 1600 calories and never go over or under, your body will recalibrate to only live off that and you'll stop losing weight. Start the day off with oatmeal/porridge to get a lot of fiber and to stay full for a while.
Buy a dog and take him out for walks or start listening to books on takes while going out for walks.
 
Small healthy meals every 3-4 hours will help increase you metabolism, if you leave more than 5-6 hours between meals your body stores fat, eating often your body knows it is getting fuel to burn so will not store it.

Also drink more water, half the time when we feel Hungary it is likely dehydration. drink water and hydrate your body you will get less hunger feelings, thus eat less.

Good luck, 100lb is going to take will-power, set your self a plan for meals etc, and set your self achievable targets, don't over do it because you will lose motivation and it will have been for nothing, role your sleeves up and get it done ;)
 
Eat slower, as well. Take time between shovels of food. Your appetite will dwindle by itself after about 20 minutes of eating, and if you've eaten less in that time, then presto-chango, you're eating less overall. If you're with people, talk. If you're by yourself, take something to read. Handling that will (ahem) bite into your fork-lift time.

No snackification between meals, though!! That was my most difficult thing, not grabbing a pack of cookies or Doritos, or a handful of animal crackers whenever it occurred to me to do so.

I don't eat nearly as much pizza or burgers as I once did, and that by itself got me started. Exercise isn't where it should be yet, but weight is slipping down.

Someone once told me that the best exercise is push-aways. When I took on that quizzical look, he explained, push yourself away from the table.
 
Cut out the soft drinks if you drink them. They're an easy way of taking in lots of simple carbohydrates without much nutritional value.
 
Morrac32
I work full time and don't get home till almost 6pm when I help take care of the kids and spend time with the wife.
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I'm in almost the same situation as you are - arrive home at 5:15, supper with the family, bath for the kids, put them to bed, etc. so I know where you're coming from. Just keep in mind that to see decent changes does not mean you have to go from pizza and burgers to carrot sticks and water and you don't have to be conditioned to run a marathon in 9 days. Take it slow and ramp things up. As others have focused on the eating/drinking aspect, I'll stick to the exercise bit.

Remember that you only need to start off with about 20 minutes of activity per day to see returns. Two things that have worked for me are either getting up 30 minutes earlier (although I know all too well the comforts of that damn bed :lol:) or after the kids are in bed. Find one that works for you and do your best to stick with it.

One last thing - don't beat yourself up if you have an off day. Just don't make a habit of off days. ;)
 
So far I see all good advice that I have heard before. I guess the problem I have is that I know what I need to do just don't have that system of people to push me to do it.

As to a lot of y'all's questions (yes I am from Texas...I say y'all)..

I am not sure about my biological family because I was adopted almost right after I was born. I don't smoke, I don't drink, I don't drink soda anymore (cut that out about 7 or 8 years ago), my job is at a desk doing tech support so not a very strenuous job. No one in my house is overweight other than me and I am not on any kind of eating plan (other than the make it yourself plan). Also, this weight didn't just come on over a year or so. I was 180 lbs in High School when I played football and then I got hurt (got Hi-Lowed...hit high and low...and blew out my knee) and about 4 years later I was 240 and then slowly inched up to 300 over the next 6 or 7 years.

I know 100 lbs is not going to be easy and that it will take a while to get rid of but I just need to get started and have an accountability system somewhere. I would love to get like a bowflex or something but money is kinda short too so that isn't really an option right now and neither is diet plans like weight waters or nutrasystem or something like that.

Thanks for the advice and would appreciate any other advice you could give, including what I could do just to get started.

Thanks.


*** Forgot to tell you my knee doesn't give me any problems anymore and actually my legs don't have much fat on them at all...I guess that is from carrying around all this extra weight. All the extra weight is above the belt. ***
 
When you get hungry and don't really want to eat. Keep your mind off of it and chew bubble gum. Something like Trident Peppermint or spearmint.
 
http://www.bodybuilding.com/guides/male-20to39-fat-loss/intro

Eat fewer calories. Move your ass and lift heavy-ass weight. It's a really, really simple formula but it's hard to do. That's it. If you want to do cardio, you'll need at least 30 minutes of it. Budget for that time there. I haven't lost a lot of weight because I like to eat a lot, but my cardio health has improved a lot since I started training. The weight takes a while, but you'll lose it in a year if you do everything right. Figure about 2 pounds a week as your goal after you really get into it.

If you can't get to a gym, a really good workout is to do some tire-flipping. You live in Texas so surely there must be a good 500lb tire laying around within a 500ft radius. :lol: Youtube videos don't really show great technique because people are filming themselves trying to lift too much weight. Basically, get your hands under it, drop your ass as low as you can, and then pelvic-thrust your hips into the tire as you lift it. Once you get it almost vertical, press it over and let it fall. Run up to the tire and repeat the process. You'd be surprised how exhausting it is.
 
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Smaller meals more often tend to keep the metabolism up a bit higher, which leads to you burning more calories. Or that is what I've heard and seems to work for me fairly well.

And be active. Stairs instead of elevator or escalator, and just find excuses to walk or run. Little things really do add up, however trivial they may seem. Try to find a routine as well, like get home from work and walk around the block or such. And stick to it.
 
Get alot of rest, even while your sleeping you can burn calories. Maybe thats eating certain foods..
 
Get yourself some kitchen scales and a calorie counter book.

I have been losing weight for the past 10 months and the biggest tool to help me was the Calorie King website. For us Aussies access to the Australian site and the tools on it are free but for the Amercian site they charge a monthly or annual fee but they do offer a free trial which may be enough to get you started. If you can't justify paying an online subscripion then buy the book that has all the foods in it and then you can just make yourself a diet diary and work the calorie intake yourself.

It lets you set meal plans and has the calorie amounts for most foods you can but and also allows you to add your own custom foods for recipes/meals you make yourself. This has certainly helped me with learning portion control. You have to remember to count everything though - sauces & dressings etc - better if you can cut these completely but if you can't do without then use less. I can get buy on 1/4 of what the "suggested serving size" of a salad dressing is and I don't use it everytime.

Don't give up if you have a bad day or even just a bad meal. Don't use it as an excuse to write the rest of the week off. Just get back in there and make your next meal a good one.

Treat yourself occaionally too. If you really like chocolate or something don't deny yourself completely, you can factor in a few squares of chocolate as a treat at the end of the week.

Try and aim for 1/2 an hour of exercise daily but if you can't really manage this then even 10 minutes more that you are doing now is better than nothing. Exercise is my weak point.

Don't expect to lose weight as quick as they do on Biggest Loser. 1-2lbs a week is good but some weeks you will lose more and some you won't. Measure yourself before you start you will find that some weeks you may not lose mass but you have actually decreased your waistline.

Good luck it will be a long hard slog but you will feel so much better for it. You will also start to gain more energy which will then make exercising easier.
 
nk4e
Get alot of rest, even while your sleeping you can burn calories. Maybe thats eating certain foods..
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Ah, beat me to the punch. :)

What everyone has said is kosher. I was able to lose 70lbs two years ago (and put on about 10 pounds of muscle). There's nothing more I can add that hasn't been said, other than what I did was a lot of experimenting. A lot.
 
I've barely eaten over the Xmas period and I've lost a stone in weight over the past 4-6 weeks. Food is my downfall and eating less of it is what allows me to lose weight. Excercise is good for you, but doesn't work for everyone for weight loss (it certainly doesn't for me).

It's also very important to get rid of this fat from your stomach - that's a "dangerous" place to be storing it, making you at a much higher risk of heart attack and stroke than someone who stores it on their bum/legs/arms.
 
I would avoid anything to do with fat-burning supplements. You'll just be wasting money for the mental comfort (but not actually doing anything for you) of knowing that something else is doing the work for you and possibly not doing excerise.

Just eat healthly and just start doing more walking, cycling, jogging or the like. Say, before you go to work, you'll walk for 20 mins. That'll help you to be alert for the morning portion of your job. Then during the lunch hour (if possible) walk for another 20 mins. Then when you get home, walk for 20 mins again either before or after supper or putting the children to bed. At the end of the day, you would have done 1hr of walking by doing the walking piecemeal during the day. This is better than doing nothing.

If you don't work far from your house, like a mile or two, you can walk the distance. Generally, walking for one mile can take, at the very most, about 10 to 15 mins of consistant walking (as far as I can understand it). Doing this twice a day as part of your "commute" would be a great fat loss aid and lead to higher metabolism too! Plus, you'll be happier (After the first week of doing it) at achieving something too.

Sometimes, to kick-start yourself to taking action, it could be useful to take on a physical activity for charity. Such as walking a certain distance. Or running half a marathon distance for charity. Or doing a big event. And tell people about it. Say you ARE going to do it for THIS reason and keep repeating. Because you have told close friends and family and work people, you'll get them to be on your side and asking you how things are going and possibly help you to achieve your goals. It may work or not, depending on the company you keep though.

Hope all of that helps...


And it won't seen
 
Find the time to go to the gym/exercise on your own...
2-3 nights a week may mean seeing your wife and kids for 6 or 7 hours less per week now, but it might mean you get an extra 20 years with them later on.

Also, eating smarter is more important than eating less. The rate at which your body breaks down certain things, and how it breaks them down is really important.

Avoiding getting hungry will reduce your bodies desire to eat fatty foods. So drink water etc..

Home made healthy soups (meat & veg soups) are a good way of helping your stomach shrink, and your body takes longer to digest it, getting more nutrients from it, and keeping you feeling full up for longer.

Avoid tea, coffee, alcohol and smoking. Or anything else that will add to complications further on in life.

Just a few tips I've heard recentley.
 
I understand staying away from coffee, soda, etc; but a couple of you have mentioned to stay away from tea. Is that all tea or just some kinds? I usually drink green tea with lunch and have a cup of hot tea in the morning to warm me up. Are there some teas I should be staying away from or is this mostly like sweet tea or something like that?
 
Lots of bro science in here. Caffeine is actually a thermogenic chemical that will accelerate your metabolism. Fat burning pills are commonly caffeine/ephedrine stack, but ephedrine can kill you if you overheat your body while taking it. So most of these kinds of supplements today are just straight-up caffeine. Coffee and tea and all that are fine. The problem is the sugar that you'd put into these kinds of drinks. You can try sweetening them with Splenda, mint, or stevia leaves though.

General rule of thumb when watching your calorie intake: Don't drink your calories.
 
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Yup, just drink water, stay away from fruit juices, soda, alcohol, etc. I lost a similar amount of weight about 4 years ago, took me about a year. You can lose weight very quickly, if you're sensible, but don't think you'll have to eat lettuce 8 times a day, healthy food can be tasty if you've got a decent source of food and can cook food yourself.

The single biggest thing that will determine whether you lose weight or not is your determination, and it's important to factor that in to what you do. There's no point signing up to the gym if you don't have the motivation to go there, go for walks, 30 minutes a day shouldn't be too difficult to stretch to and it can be made to go very quickly by listening to audiobooks or music. The key really is to do stuff that you can do, too many people don't suceed in losing weight (it's really quite simple barring the psychological aspect) because they try to do things that aren't them.

In terms of what you actually eat, portion size is a big aspect, plenty of websites out there can help you with that.

What fats do you use? Butter, margerine, lard, oils? Avoid things like peanut butter, butter and margerine, they are high in polyunsatured fat, which is no-no. Try and use things like olive oil, which are high in monounsaturated fats and low in saturated fats.

Cheese? Consume a lot of it, then try changing from cheddar to mozzarella, which is lower in fat and calories.

What kind of meats/fish do you eat? What's your typical weekly diet? Feel free to PM if you'd prefer, I've cheffed a fair bit so can offer advice on replacing x with y or cooking x instead of y, etc.
 
Omnis
Don't drink your calories.
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Absolutely. There's a lot of bro science (as you'd say) going around on the interwebs saying that caffeine increases your appetite (or at least my co-worker read one to me). I say that's not true, at least not for me. On a bad night, I'd go through about 12 cups (the pot, basically) of coffee. That's been going on for about a year and a half when I started my overnight job. When I wake up, I have a cup of green tea. My appetite hasn't changed a bit from before to now.

The fact of the matter is: It's the drinks with sugar/high-fructose corn syrup in them that get you. Pop, Kool-Aid, Energy Drinks, fake fruit juice, et cetera. All that stuff I'd start to cut out first.

Edit - Suppose caffeine does increase your appetite, it probably wouldn't matter too much. As you said:

Omnis
Caffeine is actually a thermogenic chemical that will accelerate your metabolism.
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I didn't have to lose weight although I had a pop belly which was starting to get out of hand. The first step for me was cutting out refined sugar which occurs in pretty much all processed foods. I switched to granary bread and cut out having tea in coffee (also switched to decaf). Refined sugar is highly addictive so you may need to cut this down gradually rather than going cold turkey like I did. Withdrawal symptoms for me were mild depression (especially at night) and some shaking on one occasion.

I exercise 3-4 times per week, running approximately 5 miles per session and on Tuesdays I also do a 1 hour cardio class before doing the run. Drink plenty of water (2 litres per day is whats recommended plus extra for exercise days).

Good luck, it's definitely tough for the first few weeks but stick at it and set yourself achievable goals.
 

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