44, obese and terrified

[Over404life]

Hello

Long story potential.....Short story version.....I find myself at 44 and weighing 315 lbs. I recently went to the doctor's office and was told I have arterial fibrillation. Although not life threatening, my cardiologist told me that I need a lifestyle change or I could have some serious health problems down the road. Oddly enough, by cholesterol is only at 230 (I thought it would be 300+).

I'm 44 and feel 60. I'm constantly sore with my joints hurting and always tired. I eat pretty crappy. I know a solid diet is key. I live alone and HATE cooking. I drink 4-6 pops a week, very little veggies/fruit and lots of prepared meals from the grocery story frozen food section. I don't work out at all. I think about it a lot, but never follow through.

Today....I've had enough. I'm so sick and tired of feeling like crap and looking like crap. My self confidence is NIL...not a single shred and it's effecting every aspect of my life. I NEED HELP.

I cannot afford a nutritionist or a trainer....i can barely afford my gym membership (joined this weekend).

Here is what I think I know....

Stay away from sugars, processed & fast food......eat veggies, fruits and lean meats. Eat/graze 5 to 6 times a day. Drink lots of water.

I want to lose weight. That is my #1 main goal. Muscle gain doesn't interest me much, but definition does. I need to loose 100 lbs. I'm 6'2" and weight 315. I know I cannot do this over night. It took years to get to where I am now and it will take a long time to get to be where I want. I know this. I have it in my mind.....it's going to take a long time and I need to be patient.

I only have one goal and I know I need to make smaller ones. The only goal I have now (it may be silly to others, but not too me). On my 45th birthday, I want to wake up and look in the mirror and cry.....tears of happiness....tears of self love. I want to be in the best shape of my life on my next birthday (10 months from now). I'll create smaller goals as I go along.

So, here I am. Asking complete strangers (because, quite honestly I have no family or close friends to help me out) for assistance.

Weight loss....#1 goal. Muscle definition is my secondary goal.

Can someone write up a small, brief outline for me that includes a diet plan and how often I should work out? Anything will help. A link to a "beginners" thread....anything that can get me on the right path.

Thanks for reading this and any advice/assistance you can offer.

Wish me luck

Bruce

[-=FLEX=-]

I want to lose weight. That is my #1 main goal. Muscle gain doesn't interest me much

weightwatchers.com ------------>

[marty6001]

Hello

Long story potential.....Short story version.....I find myself at 44 and weighing 315 lbs. I recently went to the doctor's office and was told I have arterial fibrillation. Although not life threatening, my cardiologist told me that I need a lifestyle change or I could have some serious health problems down the road. Oddly enough, by cholesterol is only at 230 (I thought it would be 300+).

I'm 44 and feel 60. I'm constantly sore with my joints hurting and always tired. I eat pretty crappy. I know a solid diet is key. I live alone and HATE cooking. I drink 4-6 pops a week, very little veggies/fruit and lots of prepared meals from the grocery story frozen food section. I don't work out at all. I think about it a lot, but never follow through.

Today....I've had enough. I'm so sick and tired of feeling like crap and looking like crap. My self confidence is NIL...not a single shred and it's effecting every aspect of my life. I NEED HELP.

I cannot afford a nutritionist or a trainer....i can barely afford my gym membership (joined this weekend).

Here is what I think I know....

Stay away from sugars, processed & fast food......eat veggies, fruits and lean meats. Eat/graze 5 to 6 times a day. Drink lots of water.

I want to lose weight. That is my #1 main goal. Muscle gain doesn't interest me much, but definition does. I need to loose 100 lbs. I'm 6'2" and weight 315. I know I cannot do this over night. It took years to get to where I am now and it will take a long time to get to be where I want. I know this. I have it in my mind.....it's going to take a long time and I need to be patient.

I only have one goal and I know I need to make smaller ones. The only goal I have now (it may be silly to others, but not too me). On my 45th birthday, I want to wake up and look in the mirror and cry.....tears of happiness....tears of self love. I want to be in the best shape of my life on my next birthday (10 months from now). I'll create smaller goals as I go along.

So, here I am. Asking complete strangers (because, quite honestly I have no family or close friends to help me out) for assistance.

Weight loss....#1 goal. Muscle definition is my secondary goal.

Can someone write up a small, brief outline for me that includes a diet plan and how often I should work out? Anything will help. A link to a "beginners" thread....anything that can get me on the right path.

Thanks for reading this and any advice/assistance you can offer.

Wish me luck

Bruce

Come check out the keto thread... It's a big lifestyle change but may get you eating better foods. Whatever you do congrats on taking the first step, realizing you have to change so you can enjoy the second half of your life. Get yourself to a gym and get some help on how to start. Even if it's light walking anything and everything will help. The trainers there can help get you on the right path!!! Again, congrats and good luck!!

Is there a planet fitness near you? They are really cheap and can help you get started!!!

[desoto]

A tip to keep at it.
The biggest single reason why weight loss is unsuccessfull is lack of motivation. One of your chores or activities during the weightloss plan is find a way to keep refreshing your motivation. There are a few ways to do this. Look at the transformation pages on this website or others and ******** has good motivation pages you can "like".

Remember eat less and healthy and KEEP AT IT.

[jrod67]

Hey bud I just turned 46 this February and thie past December I was 383 pounds and I never felt terrified. I just knew I was sick of being overweight. So i joined this site and started to do something about it. Now 360 pounds and feeling like a million bucks I love the exercise and my new lifestyle change. It is not going to be easy, trust me. I am only 5'8" so take a good hard look at yourself and buck up and do it for yourself.

We are all here to help you on your journey so please post away. Stay and keep asking questions but be forewarned some guy's are harsh but dam we all need that to remind us we need to do this for ourselves. So never let anyone under your skin, just use there words to drive you, I did. AND LOVED IT!

[DSUP]

I NEED HELP. So, here I am asking complete strangers (because, quite honestly I have no family or close friends to help me out) for assistance. Thanks for reading this and any advice/assistance you can offer.

weightwatchers.com ------------>

First of all, shame on you, FLEX. We're all human. The guy is just looking for some help. Have a heart.

Bruce, you've got a long road ahead of you but, the good news is, it's not that complicated and it's completely doable so long as you want it. I'm starting my Summer cut on Friday and I started a thread over in the Losing Fat section (http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=152070263). Hang out in there for the next three months and we'll get you on the right path.

In the end, it's up to you. Get busy living.

[Dr.Griefo]

All of the above. At 315 lbs, adding exercise and a sensible diet should pull off quite a few pounds. A sensible diet can be found by buying 90% of your groceries from along the walls of the grocery store: Meat, vegtables, fruit, milk, bread. Fill up on the basics. Drink 8-10 glasses of water. Get 8-10 hours of sleep and work a light cardio (i.e. long walks building up top easy jogging) and a basic muscle workout (i.e. All Pros beginnner workout).

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...4195843&page=1

[orangegoblin]

A good link for calculating nutritional needs...http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=121703981

[Tifflex]

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/bbmainnut.htm

Good luck OP! Do not lose this fight.

[jrod67]

yes don't give up on yourself before you start. Seriously you can do this. If I can you can. Once you get into it and accept the lifestyle change you will find this so easy. I am pulling for you.

[crupiea]

Good for you for getting yourself together.

you in a way have a big head start in that you live alone so you have no one to distract you from your goals.

The top thing to do for now is to get your diet straight. here is an easy method.

1- Take a couple days to think about stuff you might want to eat this week. make it realistic and dont worry about calories. Write down meals you can easily make yourself.

2- go to the store. Buy all the stuff you need to make your meals. i like to make everything one day, pack it up and take it to work and mocrowave it so you will need microwave plastic containers, spoons, forks, that sort of stuff.

3- eat 5-6 times per day. This forst week out, dont worry if it has all the right amounts in the food, you are just trying to let your body get used to eating and processing the food.

4- next week you repeat the process. be sure you wrote down what you ate the first week so you can come back to it later on. You will find some things were a pain in the ass and others were suprisingly simple. Use this week to start looking at the calories and the like of what you are buying. You will be quite shocked at some of the stuff.

5- The 3rd week is where you want to start seriously lok at what you are eating and start to make some adjustments so you are eating the right amount of protein, carbs and fats. Its not an exact science so dont kill yourself, you will have plenty of time to fine tune it.

6- so now you have been at it for 3-4 weeks and are used to it. Now start adding in some workouts. Again, start slow and dont kill it. Always leave yourself wanting more. What usually happens is people get fired up, starve themselves with salads, kill themselves in the gym, dont see results and quit. Dont be this person.

Take it easy initially in the gym and let momentum run its course.

Now you will have it all together, it was painless and easy and all you have to do now is to fine tune everything.

[Jtbny]

Bruce I was you just younger a few years ago. I weighed in at 315 and wanted to lose weight no matter what. It really is as simple as eating less. Back then I didn't track my calories nor did I do compound exercises during my weight lose. What I did was starve myself and run on the treadmill everyday (well I walked in the beginning, until I could run). Don't do this!

What I would tell myself if I had a time machine is this:

Buy a food scale, and track my calories and my macros. I would start my calories at about 2200 a day. I would build a workout routine around deadlifting, squatting, bench pressing and overhead press (military standing). I would help build my calories deficit by hitting the treadmill but I would relie on my diet as my main source of calorie control. I would lift...as heavy as I could because after you shed the weight you will want to have some muscle under there.

Hit the nutruition sub forum here and read the stickies. Learn everything you can over there. It's free. Start right now! Also remember its all about time and constitancy. You will have bad days, you will eat like **** sometimes, just brush it off and keep going. After 3 months you will be amazed at how much you can accomplish if you just stick with it.

Good luck.

[Paradosis]

I don't have any advice at the moment, but welcome

[OutdoorsinCO]

Something that helped me to stay motivated is to take progress photos. Maybe take one every month, or every other month..once you get on a meal plan and start exercising and you start seeing results that motivation will keep you going.

[Brackneyc]

Eat at an established 500 calorie a day deficit, and walk 3 miles a day. There is your plan. Now stop being scared of things and go do it. You did this, now go undo it.

[billb7581]

Find something you can stick to.. for me it was easiest to skip breakfast, and do a targeted keto diet... very low carb with the majority of carbs backloaded into the evening around working out..I didn't like eating 5-6 little meals, I'd rather have one medium and one large meal.,

[-=FLEX=-]

First of all, shame on you, FLEX. We're all human. The guy is just looking for some help. Have a heart.

Dude, I have a lot of respect for you. And I'm not trying to be an ass to OP, but really he doesn't belong here.

BODYBUILDING is about Building MUSCLE.

OP flat out said that's not what he's interested in.

This is not the place for him.

[Jtbny]

Dude, I have a lot of respect for you. And I'm not trying to be an ass to OP, but really he doesn't belong here.

BODYBUILDING is about Building MUSCLE.

OP flat out said that's not what he's interested in.

This is not the place for him.

Normally I'd agree. I think OP is desperate and in need of direction plus he didn't use the word toned

[Do_Somethin]

Normally I'd agree. I think OP is desperate and in need of direction plus he didn't use the word toned

And he wasn't being a dick either.

[HYMENATOR]

In theory it should be easy to lose weight if you track your calories? The lifting becomes almost irrelevant.

[Over404life]

Folks

Thanks SO very much for all the advice and words of encouragement.

Flex wasn't being rude, short, yes, but he made a valid suggestion and thank you Flex.

My bad for not being 100% clear. I DO want to work on toning up, so I will need some sort of lifting plan, but right now....it's diet and slowly bringing in cardio.

I've been given a lot of good places to start and I thank you all.

Bruce

[HYMENATOR]

Good luck

[Montourage]

Wish you the best of luck OP. I'd recommend taking the photos as well as taping yourself as it's nice to see where you are losing the weight. Just last month I saw the highest number I've ever seen on a scale so I decided to do something about it. Lost two inches around my waist and ten pounds this month. So I have no doubt that you can lose 100 pounds by your 45th, that would be quite the accomplishment! Best of luck!

[cmg1976]

Just another person rooting for you- nearly everyone here had very good advice and support to offer so come back and re-read your thread if you start to get discouraged. If you want to learn how to lose fat, I personally can't think of a better site- the nutrition stickies here are really good.

As you start moving, eating properly, and shedding some layers you'll start feeling better, and that will provide the reward you need to keep going. So just start. I don't blame you for focusing on the more pressing goal initially, but I bet if you hang around this site you won't be content with that and you'll gain interest in becoming as strong as you can be as well. It really is addicting, in a good way

[discdoggie]

welcome!

[NoJunk]

4 words: Eat less and exercise...

[Brad805]

Good luck. All the info you need is spread around this site. Keep it simple. Start making some changes and learn what works for your lifestyle. Make sure this is more than a diet, and is a life changing process. It is up to you to figure out what fits you. Sorry, none of us can really pin point what it will take. It will take daily persistence on your part. 10mo might be a little short, but do your best.

myfitnesspal might be helpful to you also.

[EjnarKolinkar]

Start from 1st post and read these.

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=121703981

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=136691851

Do something like this

Allpro's



Succeed as many just like you have. Lifting weights is needed to keep more muscle, and maybe grow some too. Keep the nutrition simple and consistent per the above threads. You will dominate the fat loss and achieve all goals. It will be a marathon, not a sprint.

Good luck.

[MichaelCJ]

My advice is, yes, to eat less and to exercise. Of course. But also, to eat clean. Now, I know there's a fair few people on this site that subscribe to IIFYM, and well, whatever works for them I guess. But it IS NOT quite that simple, and particularly not for those with serious excess fat issues. It's a cavalier approach, and there might well be a time and place for that. The OP isn't, I believe, at such a time or place.

Other factors aside, it's actually darn hard to seriously overeat good, whole foods. With an emphasis on protein, I mean. Opt for truly whole grain products, if you eat grains at all - they're much more filling, and take longer to process. Fill up on a range of vegetables (and don't forget a good dose of natural seasoning and flavouring for all foods that call for them, incidentally) any ol' time. Lean meats and fish. Some fruit here and there.

Admittedly, I'm by no means an expert on nutrition, but I do know a few things, and have transformed myself from "skinnyfat" (and weak as heck) to "toned", far stronger, and healthier and more confident to boot. And, I know a few people IRL who have made the journey from chronically overweight to "normal" or thereabouts. A cleaner diet has been a part of it, in every case.

[DSUP]

Dude, I have a lot of respect for you. And I'm not trying to be an ass to OP, but really he doesn't belong here.

BODYBUILDING is about Building MUSCLE.

OP flat out said that's not what he's interested in.

This is not the place for him.

I disagree and think there's room for everyone here at the cool table but, nevertheless, I love you man.

(Bruce: never use the word "tone" at the cool table)