BIG GUY needs big help

[BigGuyinSC2020]

I was always in great shape most of my life, in 2007 I took chantix to try and quite smoking, in 2014 it caused me a heart attack. So at 43 I was laying in the hospital feeling hopeless. I did quit smoking because of my heart attack. I am now 49 in Aug, almost 3 hundred pounds with hyper tension. My main problem is my belly. I need help, I need to lose weight, I want to get healthy for me and for my grand kids. I just have had hard times and I guess a ton of excuses. I lost my grand son in October of 2019. I do radio and that is my job. Sitting a lot and my eating habits are bad. I do not know what to do ! I am lost and depressed over my weight.

[faithbrah]

try to eat more healthy foods, and eat a bit less. you should also do some walking for example

[SuffolkPunch]

Chances are that you have pre-diabetic symptoms too... The simplest way to diet will be to restrict yourself to eating only from these foods
- any meat - although leaner is better
- eggs
- vegetables of any kind, only exclude or limit starchy vegetables like potatos
- fruit - keep this down to 2 or 3 pieces per day because they do contain some sugar which can add up.

That's it. Keep mealtimes regular - say 2 or 3 x a day. Eat until you are pleasantly full - you can't expect to feel stuffed and you can expect to feel hungry between times but avoid snacking. Drink water or low calorie drinks like tea or coffee or (limited) diet soda.

And get weight training on a routine like Fierce 5.

If you have time on other days, do walking, swimming, cycling anything you can fit in.

[xsquid99]

We always stress counting calories here, but that can be a big step for people and there are other ways to get started as Suffolk mentioned above.

Eat Single. Ingredient. Foods.

What do I mean by that? I mean if you go to a grocery store and you flip over a box or a package and there is more than 1 ingredient on it then it doesn't belong in your grocery cart. Buy fresh meat (preferrably lean, not a 2000 calorie 20oz Ribeye steak), try chicken breast, turkey, fish, any and all veggies, sweet potatoes, etc. You need healthy fats as well, so nuts (be careful with how much), avocados, olive oil, eggs, etc.

Walk walk walk. Just start with walking, after a while if you feel like moving into jogging try that, but you can get away with just walking for quite a while. If you have a gym near you (hopefully a real gym, not planet fitness) even better, because weight training will help you keep muscle while shedding fat. A good strength training program like Fierce 5 (see Workout Program forum), will do wonders for almost anyone.

Go back 1 page, read the "Dont Look Past the Basics" sticky at the top, then go over to the nutrition forum and check out those stickies as well, lots of great knowledge in there.

Good luck!

[Manzooka]

Hey BigGuy. I used to weigh about 330lb and cut down to 200lb about 8 years ago. I had a few heart scares that derailed my exercise and eating routines (not that it had to, I let it) and I went back up to 260 over the course of several years. The heart issues are now behind me so I'm back on the program, down to 250 and decreasing steadily. I'm planning on getting to 190 this time around before starting a clean bulk.

Anyway, point is I've been there and know how hopeless it can feel. I also know that that losing all the weight is entirely within your control. The key for me was forgetting everything I thought I new about exercise and weight-loss and starting anew by focusing on the absolute basics from people here who aren't trying to sell me anything. As it turns out, you can fit 99.9% of the info you need on a one or two page pamphlet, but that doesn't sell, so some people in the fitness industry fill their magazines, blogs and advertisements with straight up bull****, misinformation, or clever ways to say the same thing over and over again. That just confuses the issue so ignore all that ****, forget what you think you know, and start again with the absolute basics.

Here's what works for me...

1. First things first... read the stickies here: https://forum.bodybuilding.com/showt...hp?t=165843261 and here: https://forum.bodybuilding.com/showt...hp?t=173439001. That's most of what you need to know.

2. Calculate your TDEE (its in the stickies) and keep in mind that this is only an estimate. No worries though, a ball park number is all you need.

3. Count your calories. You absolutely don't have to count calories every day once you get into the swing of things, but if you don't have a good grip on your daily calorie expenditure and your daily calorie intake you'll be leaving far too much of your planning to guess work. Consider signing up for a program like MyFitnessPal, purchase a food scale, and do your best to dutifully log your calories. It doesn't have to be 100% accurate (and hell, it never will be) as long as you're consistent with how you measure and log your food. As these gents mentioned above, this part is much easier if you're willing to limit your meals to good whole foods. Chicken breast, sweet potato and broccoli? Easy. Bowl of mixed fruit and a grain bowl with 12 ingredients? Not so easy.

3. With your TDEE in mind, adjust your daily food intake so that you're in a reasonable caloric deficit. Don't be the 300 pound guy that starts eating 1000 calories per day and wonders why he feels like ****. When I first started I could eat nearly 3000 calories per days and still lose 1.5 to 2 pounds per week. At my current weight I eat ~2600 calories daily and lose 1.5-2 pounds per week. Speaking of which...

4. Track your weight! Start up a spreadsheet and weigh yourself once weekly. Log the date and weight and keep that up for the long haul. Better yet, get a measuring tape and log as many measurements as you're willing to track. Waist, leg, arm, neck, chest circumference. Why do this?

5. Because you want to let your long term trends be your guide to adjusting anything on your program. Personally I like to look at four weeks worth of data before making significant changes. You might go three or four weeks without much movement on the scale while still seeing progress on those other measurements above. Hell, on many occasions I've gone three weeks or more without loosing weight and sometimes even gaining weight only to experience 3 or 4 times the expected weight loss on the next week. If I adjusted my calorie intake after a single week I'd just be hurting my progress in the long run. But of course, if you don't see any change at all in 3 to 4 weeks it probably is time to readjust.

6. Keep posting in these forums. Let us know how you're doing, ask questions when you have them, and assist other people when you have the answers to their questions. Its a great way to stay motivated and maintain some accountability. The friends you make here will be cheering for you, and will support you when you're demotivated.

There's a lot more I could say about starting a lifting program, figuring out your macros, etc, but that's all in the stickies and there's no need for me to repeat what other people have already said better.

Anyway, post again and let us know your thoughts. Consider starting a log thread and PM me the link so I can follow your progress. This time next year you can take one of those pictures standing next to your old giants pants with a smile on your face.

[JMNash]

Big Guy, I can definitely relate. Two years ago I lay on the ground praying God would just put me out of the misery of a life full of terrible behavior decision. It wasn't the stroke that scared me into health, it was the fear that I had totally given up in life. So at 49 I decided that it was time for me to get serious. The first thing I had to do was examine my life and admit to all of my problems. I had to be honest about my unhealthy habits and confront them on their terms. Once I could admit my powerlessness over them all I was finally able to start finding the help that I needed. Therefore, first examine all of your unhealthy habits and understand just how powerless you are when it comes to them. Start educating yourself on better ways. Then find someone who's going to help you be accountable to your goals. Someone who you can be totally honest with about these problems. Someone who's not going to cosign your crap and is going to force you to sit down at the table with your concerns and battle it out with them. For me it couldn't be a family member or good friend. I found another Veteran who was going through many of the same issues I was going through and we began to hold each other responsible. Now every day I take one more positive step. That's where I would start Big Guy. It worked for me.