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[ThatGayWolf]

Maybe go on walks to get out and see some new people while getting some exercise in the process? I'm not sure if this is an option where you live, but it could be.

This sounds like it may help. It sounds like you may be pretty isolated, and having real life contacts and relationships can really help motivate you to change if that's what you want. Not that the support of those you know online isn't valuable, but in my experience it's not always the same.

 

[Pai Pai Master]

Good advice in this thread. You got this, OP.

I went through this kinda thing as well, the turning point was recognizing your struggles and limits, and working towards breaking them down. You're already on the path.

I definitely agree with going out on walks, maybe see if you like hiking? I used to avoid exercising at all costs, but I ended up discovering that I loved hiking out in the woods. I got my hands on an app called alltrails that shows you all the local walking/hiking paths people use in your area and it helped to really get me motivated to get more exercise. Plus it can be social, you may make some new friends out on the trails.

 

[The One and Done™]

Let me known when you've decided to take this seriously and then we can talk. I truly believe getting "in shape" starts with the mind not the body. Resolve to prioritize this goal is required otherwise you may never start, you may start then stop, you may start and do well for a while then fall off. IMO it's a life decision. Therefore weight loss starts with the mind.

 

[dralla]

I think it's important to keep in mind that losing weight and being healithier isn't about eating less, it's about eating smarter. The quality of the food is just as important as the quantity. A good way to start is by improving your diet over time. If you try and pull a 180 and go from eating junk all day to nothing but salads you're gonna make it extra difficult on yourself. Start by removing any type of liquid calories. Than try replacing highly processed and sugary foods with more whole foods and satiating fat and protein filled foods and complex carbs. And continue to improve your food choices from there. My general advice to people trying to eat healthier is to eat food and not products. This means more cooking of course. Cooking is not only healthier but cheaper. And if you don't know how to cook, learning is a lot of fun and very rewarding. Another thing is not letting perfection be the enemy. No one is able to eat healthy 100 percent of the time and you'll no doubt have some slip ups along the way. It's important to not to beat yourself up over it and not let it completely derail your progress.

This is advice from someone who changed the way he ate about four years ago, lost a bunch of weight, and hasn't looked back.

 

[Nickle]

You need to come up with a specific plan to eat healthy foods, it's not just a matter of trying to not eat junk food. If you can find a couple recipes for food that you can consistently eat, then I think that will help you a lot.

I've probably posted this FAQ too much on GAF (https://www.reddit.com/r/Fitness/wiki/faq), but it's a great guide if you aren't well educated on nutrition and exercise.

 

[TickleMeElbow]

Get My Fitness Pal, get a food scale, and eat at least 500 cals below your tdee. You have to remember to adjust total calories as you lose weight though.

It's actually kinda worthless without a food scale, unless you're only eating packaged food that's already separated into servings. For example last year I was trying to bulk, and was eyeballing everything. Ended up putting on too much fat. After I bought a food scale, I found out I was eating 500+ calories more than I was supposed to be eating lol.

You can do it yo

 

[BumRush]

Get active. Gym, walking outside, etc.

Limit yourself to one snack a day. Look forward to it but force yourself to only have that one snack.

Start there. Also, come into fitness GAF...its an incredibly motivating community.

 

[Neverfade]

i lost 50 pounds by cutting out soda (ween yourself off with calorie-less carbonated beverages) and walking several miles multiple times a week. I somewhat monitor my caloric intake every day but I'm not too strict on it. I still even eat fast food. Once my body got used to eating less, it was pretty easy. Went from 240 to 190-195. Not as big of a hurdle as you have, but pretty good considering it was fairly effortless.

 

[Unhandled Exception]

OP I've gone through the same shit for years and years. The only thing that has ever helped me maintain my desire to eat differently is when I decided to become a vegetarian for moral reasons back in December. I've found that attaching something I believe in to doing better for myself and my body has given me the foundation I've been missing to follow through. I've lost about 35 lbs since my birthday in December. I feel better, I look better and my old clothes fit me again. I've got about 65 more lbs to go but I'm not gonna stop. You can do it too.

 

[Trojan X]

No alcohol. No candy. No chocolate. No junk food. No sweet stuff including juice. Just water and get active 5 days a week minimum. Done.

When your weight get to your desired amount -

Lifestyle change -- Minimum alcohol. Minimum sweet stuff including juice, soda. Treat 2-3 times a month only (junk food). Keep active. Change your life. This is NOT a diet. Keep forever.



There you go. Now everything is down to you. No more asking people questions for you know all the answers. It's ALL you.

 

[Griss]

At 320 pounds the idea that you should go out right away and sign up for the gym is wrong, for me. Even at 230 I wasn't fit enough or confident enough to make full use of the gym.

The number 1 step is to get your eating under control. You don't have to rush this. Take it easy - you've got the rest of your life to get it right. Don't panic and change everything overnight - if you do that it will seem impossible and you'll crack. People will shout 'No soda! No sugar! No chocolate!' at you. Don't worry about doing all of that at once, and ramp things down slowly in a manageable fashion.

1. Calculate your Basal Metabolic Rate and Total Daily Energy Expenditure. This site will help you out.
2. Track everything you eat on MyFitnessPal. Don't change your eating for the first week, just track everything you put in your mouth. Get a sense of how many calories per day you typically eat right now. This is crucially important, and you might be shocked.
3. Figure out how far above your TDEE you are, and where you need to be (from a daily calorie perspective) to lose weight.
4. Understand that for every 3,500 calories below your daily TDEE you stay, you will roughly lose one pound.
5. Use an excel sheet to track your weight, with a formula calculating your average weight over the last 7 days to avoid spikes from water weight / food retention. Consider the 'average' to be your 'weight' or you'll be upset by bad mornings. Always weight yourself at the same time each day, preferably after waking up and going to the bathroom. Consistency.
6. Start operating at a caloric deficit with your newfound knowledge. At your weight, this should be easy at first, and you'll be able to still have treats and food you like. After a couple of weeks, you'll have dropped a couple of pounds - and all of a sudden you'll be motivated.
7. Really start figuring out what you can cut from your diet. Watch the weight fall off.
8. After this new lifestyle has become habit, start introducing exercise. Do 5km walks in the evening and buy some medium level dumbells. Use the weights, do situps, do walks. Feel a bit healthier.
9. Once you've lost a good bit of weight and are feeling better and healthier due to your exercise, consider joining a gym.

None of that is scientific, but it works for me and it can work for you. For me, it's the social days out that kill me and set me back as well as the fact that I hate exercising and refuse to do it, but we all have our own challenges and I know this setup works.

 

[thehypocrite]

GAF I need your help, I have nobody around me that can support me through what is for me, an incredibly hard challenge. I need to lose weight but i've been having an incredibly hard time doing it. I've been alone for about 2 years now as the games industry is hard to get into, so my career required that I moved away from my family and friends.

2 years ago I weighed 230 pounds but now I am around 320 pounds and I'm lost. Every day I say "this is the day" but by lunch time it's out the window and i've eaten 2 pastries and a hot dog. I want to get out of this, I feel awful both mentally and physically and most of all I feel lonely and isolated.

Give me whatever you can give me whether it's advice, weight loss tips, your personal experiences or just support. I want to break out of this cycle and If i'm honest I know exactly how to lose weight but it's a very much a psychological barrier that I need to overcome.

I've just thrown all of the junk that i've bought for myself in a bag and will be taking it to work tomorrow to leave in the kitchen. I want this and I definitely don't want to be sat in a doctor's office one day being told that my inability to lose weight has ended my life early.

Get a Bike, walk more, find a sport like swimming with low impact, ditch elevators and take stairs, just move, move. Make a groceries list and stick to it.

 

[jmdajr]

"If you go to the grocery store hungry...all is lost."

 

[Goron2000]

Thank you everyone. I'm going to bed now as it's 1am in the UK but I will return in the morning, I promise. I've also made my first post in the fitness thread that I plan to update frequently so thank you to everyone that suggested that.

 

[Griss]

"If you go to the grocery store hungry...all is lost."

Great advice. If I have food in the house I eat it. No ifs, ands or butts. But if I go to the shop after a big meal, I'll buy very responsibly and it becomes easy to stick to my diet.

 

[Goldfishking]

Going through the same thing OP.

Count calories.

Try to pin down why you are eating. For me it was boredom and comfort eating. Now i have a busy life of hobbys and work, i eat breakfast in the morning and i dont even have time to eat until the afternoon/evening.

Ultimatly your first goal should be to stop gaining weight. it is a suprisingly easy goal and will give you a boost in confidence. Not to mention it will break you out of this cycle.

Good luck OP. Just realise that this is a lifestyle change, and will be a slow change. Dont expect to lose weight or become a gym nut in the next month. Just try to get started. NO EXCUSES.

Edit: Oh and also try not eating unless your hungry. I got into the habit of having food before i went to bed and when i wake up. Just try going to sleep hungry or going without food for 24 hours. Your body will VERY quickly learn that being hungry isn't the end of the world.

 

[Goron2000]

"If you go to the grocery store hungry...all is lost."

This is the one that gets me every time. I also live across the road from a supermarket which is...convenient. Way too convenient.

 

[Warm Machine]

So this is what I did. Your mileage may vary but I doubt it.

First off load both RunKeeper and My Fitness Pal on your smart phone and synch them together. Scan barcodes and pay attention to serving sizes.

Buy Miniwheats as your breakfast cereal. Why? Because a serving is 21 Miniwheats and they are easy to count out and put into a bowl. They are also sweet so phase two works well. Fuck milk. Get unsweetened almond coconut milk. It's about 40 cals a cup so 1/3rd that of milk for the same amount.

I try to keep meals to 400 calories. A can of Chunky Soup is 400 or less about. A 6 inch turkey sub with cheese and vegetables is about that too.

100 calorie bags of popcorn are a blessing. It is my go to snack.

Dinners are more difficult. Learn to cook and portion. Also make salads at home to complement a piece of chicken. Another simple portionable thing to eat is boneless skinless chicken thighs with Shake N Bake. Takes 10 mins to prep and 25 to cook.

Get diet sodas if you need soda to live, but try to wean yourself off them.

Finally go for an evening or morning walk. 1 hour at a decent pace will burn 400 calories.

So aim to eat about 1500 cals combo' with a walk and you'll be in a massive weight loss zone. Do this for 3 weeks and it will simply become habit.

 

[triplestation]

I think carbohydrate foods like bread and rice are the main culprit of being fat

Remember back to when your pants fit great, it was a time you were wary of putting these foods in your body

Wheat and grains should be a part of your diet because they're a great source of calories but they're very easily abused

 

[ChrisD]

Popping in to add the suggestion of biking if you can. Get one with gears and just use the lowest, easiest gear until you feel comfortable moving up.

I know how much pain running can put a person in. Biking was my answer to my body telling me no to running.

 

[Goldfishking]

This is the one that gets me every time. I also live across the road from a supermarket which is...convenient. Way too convenient.

I live ABOVE a supermarket. In the morning i can hear the music coming from the store while im on the toilet. Sometimes it's pretty tempting to just go downstairs and buy a milkshake.

 

[Cth]

For starters you have to give up sugary drinks. Soda, juice, gatorade. Hell it's a start and a VERY important one. That shit is probably doing more damage than anything else.

Came here to post this.

If it helps, start small, focus on one thing. For example, substitute diet soda for soda. Move towards water. Eventually phase it out altogether. That way it's something you get used to and start liking instead of looking at it as losing one thing and replacing it with something you may not initially like in comparison (which will make falling back onto things easier to do)

Since you use MyFitnessPal already, think of how many extra calories you gain by saving them on your drinks. With water you can have as much as you want and there's flavor drops if you need them.

 

[torre_avenue]

I haven't read many responses, but I can at least tell you how I got my ass in gear and started dieting & going to the gym. About 2 months ago, I went to Sunday brunch. Sunday Brunch at my college is legendary for how excessive it gets; pastries, milkshakes, paella, omelette bar, turkey and what not. That particular Sunday, I went all in. I was eating plates and plates of food, drinking milkshakes, and eating eclairs. That was just for lunch. By the time dinner rolled around, I wasn't even feeling particularly hungry, rather it was just my mind saying to my stomach "It's night, so its dinner time." I was also feeling particularly lazy, and I remembered I had a free Dominos pizza with their "rewards" program. I ordered it, ate it, and thought nothing of it. The following day, I went to get my picture taken for my college ID and, I promise this is all true, I genuinely recoiled when I saw my picture. I looked ugly, fat, dead, and like I was due for a heart attack. I was about 280-290 during that time. And I just felt disgusted, genuinely disgusted. I couldn't even eat because I looked horrific. So, I decided to try and turn my life around. I cut out all the sources of unnecessary calories from my life, e.g. cheese, red meat, fast food, soda, etc. I exorcised all snacks out of my dorm room. I began religiously counting calories, and started going to the gym three times a week. I became determined to not end up any more obese than I already was. While nowadays I can feel myself becoming less harsh on the diet stuff, every time I look at my ID I feel embarrassed and it gets me on the right track again. So, take a picture of yourself. A real picture of yourself. Look in the mirror and look at your stomach, your arms, your back, and just let the stretch marks, man boobs, and fat sink in. Realize you are unattractive, you'll die early, and you'll be all alone, and let that sink in. Let all of that hit you, till the only thing you want to do is change. And if you feel on the following day you don't want to, then there's nothing I can do to help. The only person who can help you...is you.

I'm sorry if it's harsh, but real change comes from within and you have to want to change with your heart and your soul.

 

[Violet_0]

first, set a restriction for your daily calories intake - you need to calculate how much you require every day. If you don't, everything else you do will be pointless

cut sugar completely. Try low-carb or keto or any other proven diet. Cook at home, don't drink soft drinks or fruit juice or any of that nonsense

 

[Novoitus]

This is great advice everyone, thank you for your responses. I tried running for the first time in my life late last year and I LOVED it, every single minute. Unfortunately it only lasted about a month before my knees and shins were crippled presumably due to my weight.

I have MyFitnessPal and I like using it (scanning barcodes is surprisingly cathartic) I struggle to keep on top of it and update every day.

I would like to keep leaving updates on my progress but don't want to keep bumping this thread, is there a thread for anything like that?

Try going on an elliptical instead of running, less pressure on your knees/shins

 

[shintoki]

Join a club you can't quit and get graded on. Really, its probably the best motivation. I went with the Army PT. It sucked at first were anytime we had to run, I would literally sit their panting afterwards for 10 minutes.

Now I still have to pant, but that is after running 2 miles.

I don't think you need to try one of those special diets or anything either. Its simply going to be small, lifestyle changes. In process of above, I stopped driving places and start walking/riding a bike. I save gas now. Let's say I want some Pizza, instead of getting my own. I bike down to the restaurant and get a single dollar slice and bike back. If you make that a habit, you start to slowly change your mind. Either I can be lazy and not eat Pizza, but something healthy since that is all I stock at home. Or I can exercise a bit and eat Pizza. Get it? I forced myself in a position where I either have to work out to get junk food, or eat health. I also limit myself to that one slice of Pizza. Meaning, I get the sort of drug kick from the Pizza, but I'm no where close to over eating.

Over time, I stopped getting that Pizza less and suddenly decided to just start eating more at home. I got more used to grilling chicken, making rice, eating veggies, salad, etc.

 

[IISANDERII]

Take a full body picture of yourself in your underpants and make it your phone wallpaper.

 

[punkmaggit]

You have to remember, it's not a diet, it's a life change. Count your calories, opt for healthy high-protein foods that you enjoy, and keep the sugar low. Start walking. Find an album that you really like to listen to and put that on. It will make the time go by faster.

Good luck!

 

[LosDaddie]

I'm sure it's already been said but....losing weight is a marathon, not a sprint.

Keep doing what works.

 

[Violet_0]

I cut out all the sources of unnecessary calories from my life, e.g. cheese, red meat

coincidentally, cheese and red meat are my primary diet currently and I'm not quite sure why you cut those. I'm doing Keto so I pick food items with nearly no carbs, but even with other diets there's, like, nothing unhealthy about cheese and red meat, quite the opposite

Finally go for an evening or morning walk. 1 hour at a decent pace will burn 400 calories.

you need to run 1 mile to burn roughly 100 calories. I honestly kinda doubt that walking the distance is nearly as demanding or efficient as running

 

[Poona]

Try going vegan.

People say they know you can be vegetarian and fat, but I'm not really aware of overweight vegans (I'm not that overly aware of fat vegetarians either but I can see the possibility if you load yourself up on dairy).

 

[Warm Machine]

you need to run 1 mile to burn roughly 100 calories. I honestly kinda doubt that walking the distance is nearly as demanding or efficient as running

You are talking to someone who can run 10k in 49 minutes I know what calories get burnt. RunKeeper puts the calories at around 400 for an hour at a 3.5 mph pace. That is also if you weigh 180lbs. More cals if you are heavier.

 

[TheExecutive]

It's as simple and incredibly difficult as taking in less calories then you expend. You MUST work out. Little tiny bits at first- have short term goals. Like VERY short term goals- every two days. Don't weigh yourself for a month and slowly build up your walking schedule. 1/2 mile, 3/4 mile, 1 mile a day and just build obtainable goals. It's NOT about weight loss- it's about building a healthy, good lifestyle. The weight will come off as an ancillary bonus. I have lost 20 of the 40 pounds I need and I started off doing 100 push-ups and 100 leg lifts a day. Did that for 2 weeks and started using a rowing machine every other day with the Push ups and sit-ups. Increased the time in the rower slowly and I am losing weight.

 

[Chuck Norris]

Find out what sort of diet works for you, and what sort of dieter you are:

Do you diet better through repetition? Having the same meal every day that is predictably healthy eg grilled chicken and salad

Do you crave variety?

If so start studying up on healthy foods. Plan your meals out. If you have time to cook, measure everything and make healthy choices

If you're time poor like me then maybe ordering from a fresh prepackaged service is your option. Find one that give calorie and nutrient info on every food and actually tastes good. Read reviews, trial and error. This is what I currently do

Then there are diets like paleo and keto. Paleo is all fresh food, nothing processed. This may be hard but you may fall in love with the freshness and healthiness of your meals. Keto is a high fat diet that puts your body into a metabolic state where it burns fat for energy. Good thing is eating lots of butter, cheese, sausage, bunless burgers etc. bad thing is basically zero carbs. Super effective but hard to maintain

If you slip and have a bad meal, get right back on the horse and don't let it snowball

At your weight you don't really need to exercise yet, but start by walking and progress from there. Eventually you'll get to running and/or weight training

 

[maximum360]

GAF I need your help, I have nobody around me that can support me through what is for me, an incredibly hard challenge. I need to lose weight but i've been having an incredibly hard time doing it. I've been alone for about 2 years now as the games industry is hard to get into, so my career required that I moved away from my family and friends.

2 years ago I weighed 230 pounds but now I am around 320 pounds and I'm lost. Every day I say "this is the day" but by lunch time it's out the window and i've eaten 2 pastries and a hot dog. I want to get out of this, I feel awful both mentally and physically and most of all I feel lonely and isolated.

Give me whatever you can give me whether it's advice, weight loss tips, your personal experiences or just support. I want to break out of this cycle and If i'm honest I know exactly how to lose weight but it's a very much a psychological barrier that I need to overcome.

I've just thrown all of the junk that i've bought for myself in a bag and will be taking it to work tomorrow to leave in the kitchen. I want this and I definitely don't want to be sat in a doctor's office one day being told that my inability to lose weight has ended my life early.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIuj-oMN-Fk

Eat whole foods. Nothing processed or any added sugar.

If you do workout try HIIT cardio or weight training. You will have your best results there [confirmed in studies] https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct...T7Vun5fQQWa1zh3bg&sig2=y5xIlVRRIz2iA8caCxj3Jw

 

[Sylas]

So this is what I did. Your mileage may vary but I doubt it.

First off load both RunKeeper and My Fitness Pal on your smart phone and synch them together. Scan barcodes and pay attention to serving sizes.

Buy Miniwheats as your breakfast cereal. Why? Because a serving is 21 Miniwheats and they are easy to count out and put into a bowl. They are also sweet so phase two works well. Fuck milk. Get unsweetened almond coconut milk. It's about 40 cals a cup so 1/3rd that of milk for the same amount.

I try to keep meals to 400 calories. A can of Chunky Soup is 400 or less about. A 6 inch turkey sub with cheese and vegetables is about that too.

100 calorie bags of popcorn are a blessing. It is my go to snack.

Dinners are more difficult. Learn to cook and portion. Also make salads at home to complement a piece of chicken. Another simple portionable thing to eat is boneless skinless chicken thighs with Shake N Bake. Takes 10 mins to prep and 25 to cook.

Get diet sodas if you need soda to live, but try to wean yourself off them.

Finally go for an evening or morning walk. 1 hour at a decent pace will burn 400 calories.

So aim to eat about 1500 cals combo' with a walk and you'll be in a massive weight loss zone. Do this for 3 weeks and it will simply become habit.

This is really good advice for like... a solid year down the road. Telling someone to aim for having a daily net of 1100 calories is--well, it's a lofty and noble goal but one that a lot of people are going to fail at. Setting the bar too high can absolutely do more damage than setting the bar low at first.

Work up your confidence in a diet first. A lot of the other advice in the thread is miles better than what I've quoted for someone that's trying to get into good habits. Cut out sugar as best as you can in your daily life, but allow yourself a single cheat day where you're allowed to eat a pizza or a burger or a slice of cake. Holding yourself hyper-accountable 7 days a week can really fuck with your head when you inevitably falter. It's not a weakness to have trouble with it, especially when you're first starting.

Go walking and explore your neighborhood a bit, or the area around your work. Put on a podcast or some music and just get to wanderin'. You'll see some good results and from there you can kick it into a higher gear.

 

[Hey_Blinkin]

I can share what worked for me. I know people say diet drinks are horrible for you, but they're what got me started. I started drinking Diet Mt. Dew and the weight started dropping. Seeing the first ten pounds drop so quickly gave me the motivation to keep going. From there I switched to a diet consisting of a ton of fiber. I would buy frozen bags of broccoli and have those for snacks. Sprinkle a little bit of soy sauce on it if you need some more flavor. Eventually I started replacing my dinner with a large bowl of somewhat healthy cereal. Frosted Mini Wheats, Raisin Bran, etc. Now that I'm comfortable with my weight, I just try to stay at 1800-2000 calories a day. I usually overestimate on calories just to give myself a little bit of a buffer.

 

[Ozzy Onya A2Z]

The simple way:

1. Change your mental state to light hunger = weight loss. Be happy about being mildly hungry and don't jump to always feeling full by eating.

2. Weight loss is in the eating, exercise has many health benefits but for weight loss it's 75% diet and 25% exercise. Let that sink in. You are what you eat.

3. Portion control. Focus here! Week 1 eat a bit less e.g. 1 pastry and 1 hot dog. When you progress through your first few weeks keep lowering your meal/snack sizes, your stomach will reduce naturally and you'll have far less room to fill up. Eat a larger breakfast so you start the day feeling mostly full. Don't eat at night after dinner at all.

4. Drink water, plenty of it. It stops you feeling hungry. Many people have crossed wires and think they're hungry when in fact they're just thirsty. First and last thing of each day should be a glass of water.

5. Cut down on these foods/drinks and keep cutting back over weeks. Soft drinks (you know you're drinking heaps), breads, pastas, pastry, sweets etc. You know what's bad or good.

6. Enlist a friend or post on Facebook that you're deciding to lose weight. Make it real and accountable to those you know, whether they're near or far. It will help keep you motivated.

7. Don't weigh yourself everyday, your weight loss will fluctuate, just weigh in once per week or fortnight.

8. Get moving, exercise, stairs instead of elevator, park your car in the furthest space away etc. Start with beginner Yoga as it helps your flexibility, can be done at home and promotes a routine to getting up in the morning.

9. Now start to learn about foods and recipes that you enjoy that aren't processed from a package or supermarket chain per se e.g. vegies, fruits, water, protein (meat/eggs).

 

[DeployThatPizza]

I was in the same problem as you, but I had someone to push me. Have someone around you(a friend, SO, family member, it doesn't matter), to push you and make sure you're not slacking.

OP, the big thing is the mindset. If you don't want to eat healthy, you're not going to eat healthy. For me, when I lost weight, it was running every weekend for about an hour and going for walks/doing other stuff during the week. Eating healthy was a big part of it for me too. I lost about 5 lbs a week with this method. Drink a lot of water, or tea. Both those are healthy for you, and try to cut down on soft drinks/juice. Make sure everything is low fat or organic(you can change after you get down to the weight you want). Try eating less and less. You'll be hungry for the first couple of weeks, but eventually your stomach will adjust to it and you won't feel hungry anymore. It's alright to eat unhealthy occasionally; just make sure it's not too much. Be sure to eat less than you burn off, so your work will actually amount to something.

 

[MadLaughter]

Hey guys, I'm trying to get started in a similar situation as OP.

My question: What are good exercises for someone who is around 330? Situps are hard because I feel like my fat is blocking my breath when I move up (same for some other stuff).

I'm literally starting at square 1. I have a treadmill in my garage, so walking is what I've got so far.

 

[DeployThatPizza]

Hey guys, I'm trying to get started in a similar situation as OP.

My question: What are good exercises for someone who is around 330? Situps are hard because I feel like my fat is blocking my breath when I move up (same for some other stuff).

I'm literally starting at square 1. I have a treadmill in my garage, so walking is what I've got so far.

Running is probably your best bet. You'll burn off a lot that way. Combine that with jump roping, and you'll have two intensive activities that burn a lot of fat.

 

[RoboPlato]

I know the feeling. Several years ago mom was diagnosed with cancer and I had to take care of her and my grandma during that time. I suffer from depression and eating is a major thing that cheered me up and one of the only things I had control over. I gained 110 pounds in about a year.

My goal this year was to lose 30 pounds in calendar 2016, I've already lost 31 since mid January. Cutting out soda was the biggest dietary change for me. That combined with portion control/calorie counting has made a world of difference and I didn't have to drop the food I like.

Aside from that I joined a gym and just started forcing myself to go 5 or 6 days a week. One of the trainers wrote me up a workout that's been very good for me. It's a Planet Fitness too so membership was cheap and the trainer appointments are included.

In total I've lost 60 pounds of what I had gained and built up a lot more muscle at the same time. It's taken years so far but 2016 has really opened my eyes to what I can do if I focus on it. I never, ever thought I could do something like this. Good luck, OP. I'll be rooting for you.

 

[CoffeeJanitor]

Download myfitnesspal. Enter body metrics (sex/height/weight/etc.) and enter your weight loss goal per week

Check livestrong or other sites for good diet ideas

Eat clean--vegetables, whole grains, lean meats. No cnady allowed. Only drink H20 for fluids. For milk or whatever you csn have yogurt instead

TRACK EVERYTHING YOU CONSUME IN MYFITNESSPAL. KEEP THIS AS ACCURATE AS POSSIBLE AND HIT YOUR CALORIE DEFICIT EVERY DAY.

DO NOT LOSE HOPE. KEEP AT IT.

YOU WILL WIN

 

[Gutek]

Download MyFitnessPal onto your smartphone and start calorie counting. Log EVERYTHING you eat.

Thank me later.

 

[RDreamer]

At 320 pounds the idea that you should go out right away and sign up for the gym is wrong, for me. Even at 230 I wasn't fit enough or confident enough to make full use of the gym.

The number 1 step is to get your eating under control. You don't have to rush this. Take it easy - you've got the rest of your life to get it right. Don't panic and change everything overnight - if you do that it will seem impossible and you'll crack. People will shout 'No soda! No sugar! No chocolate!' at you. Don't worry about doing all of that at once, and ramp things down slowly in a manageable fashion.

1. Calculate your Basal Metabolic Rate and Total Daily Energy Expenditure. This site will help you out.
2. Track everything you eat on MyFitnessPal. Don't change your eating for the first week, just track everything you put in your mouth. Get a sense of how many calories per day you typically eat right now. This is crucially important, and you might be shocked.
3. Figure out how far above your TDEE you are, and where you need to be (from a daily calorie perspective) to lose weight.
4. Understand that for every 3,500 calories below your daily TDEE you stay, you will roughly lose one pound.
5. Use an excel sheet to track your weight, with a formula calculating your average weight over the last 7 days to avoid spikes from water weight / food retention. Consider the 'average' to be your 'weight' or you'll be upset by bad mornings. Always weight yourself at the same time each day, preferably after waking up and going to the bathroom. Consistency.
6. Start operating at a caloric deficit with your newfound knowledge. At your weight, this should be easy at first, and you'll be able to still have treats and food you like. After a couple of weeks, you'll have dropped a couple of pounds - and all of a sudden you'll be motivated.
7. Really start figuring out what you can cut from your diet. Watch the weight fall off.
8. After this new lifestyle has become habit, start introducing exercise. Do 5km walks in the evening and buy some medium level dumbells. Use the weights, do situps, do walks. Feel a bit healthier.
9. Once you've lost a good bit of weight and are feeling better and healthier due to your exercise, consider joining a gym.

None of that is scientific, but it works for me and it can work for you. For me, it's the social days out that kill me and set me back as well as the fact that I hate exercising and refuse to do it, but we all have our own challenges and I know this setup works.

Wanted to come in and say something, but this sums things up in a better step-by-step.

I personally just lost about 80 pounds (255 to 175) in about 4-5 months, and I did it through something similar to this. For me writing down my calories was the biggest piece of the puzzle. It's one thing to eat something shitty but it's another to have to answer for it and write it down there forever. Not only is it written down, but eating something shitty means the next thing you eat that day is an even harder choice. It really got me to weed out some of the worst of my diet mostly for utilitarian reasons. No I'm not going to get a fucking donut and add like 400 calories to my total. That donut won't even fill me up for more than 10 minutes. The hunger when you go to sleep will motivate you to make those better choices.

This is really good advice for like... a solid year down the road. Telling someone to aim for having a daily net of 1100 calories is--well, it's a lofty and noble goal but one that a lot of people are going to fail at. Setting the bar too high can absolutely do more damage than setting the bar low at first.

It probably doesn't work for everyone, but some people do need a kick in the pants. Personally if I didn't see it working fast I doubt I'd have stuck to my plan. My weight dropped like a fucking stone because my daily net was sub 1000 for the first few weeks (obviously a lot of exercise). Seeing the change so visibly and quickly motivated me far more than anything else I could have done.

That's just me, though.

 

[Tigress]

GAF I need your help, I have nobody around me that can support me through what is for me, an incredibly hard challenge. I need to lose weight but i've been having an incredibly hard time doing it. I've been alone for about 2 years now as the games industry is hard to get into, so my career required that I moved away from my family and friends.

2 years ago I weighed 230 pounds but now I am around 320 pounds and I'm lost. Every day I say "this is the day" but by lunch time it's out the window and i've eaten 2 pastries and a hot dog. I want to get out of this, I feel awful both mentally and physically and most of all I feel lonely and isolated.

Give me whatever you can give me whether it's advice, weight loss tips, your personal experiences or just support. I want to break out of this cycle and If i'm honest I know exactly how to lose weight but it's a very much a psychological barrier that I need to overcome.

I've just thrown all of the junk that i've bought for myself in a bag and will be taking it to work tomorrow to leave in the kitchen. I want this and I definitely don't want to be sat in a doctor's office one day being told that my inability to lose weight has ended my life early.

Well, you're not alone if that helps you. I'm not quite at that level yet but I lost 90 lbs like 8 years ago, kept it off for 5 then got in a motorcycle wreck and the short version is I got off track and have almost gained that 90 back (and I'm 5'1" so 90 lbs is a lot on me ). And I know exactly where you are coming from (I'm sad I'm gaining it and I wish I could stop but at the same time I don't and part of me is just unwilling to get back in gear).

Things that helped me when I was on track was 1. taking small steps. Don't do a lot of big changes at once. Like I started by eating small snacks throughout the day cause I noticed I didn't tend to overeat a huge meal if I snacked more throughout the day. Then I counted how many calories I was consuming cause it seemed to work and tried to keep it at that level. Then I added in a few walks/excercise. Then I increased the excercise.

I also let myself have a day of the week of not worrying about it so if I was craving something i could have it that day. Unfortunately I was a little overzealous in my calorie counting so now my metabolism is not so good so I don't think I can get away with that so much. And, I kept in the habit for five years as well. The motorcycle wreck broke it by getting me out of the habit for long enough I had and am having a hard time getting back on it.

Also, as cringeworthy as it is at first, especially if your body doesn't respond very quickly, weighing yourself every day (I'm scared to look at the scale now but I do think if you weigh yourself every day it gives you feedback on if it is working). I didn't do that at first either (small steps...). I think I first weighed myself the first time when I already knew I had to have lost some weight. People say that it's useless cause your body tends to fluctuate but it did seem to help me keep on track and I read a study that showed people who weighed themselves every day did tend to be better about keeping on track.

Also, a big point... I had to be ready. My turning point was when I was sick of getting to the point that I'd overeat and know that it would make me sick later and I'd still do it anyways. That was my low and I was sick of it and I at first just wanted to control myself so I didn't do that. You have to reach that point where you just are ready and willing.

The problem is finding a way to get yourself truly there without waiting til you are at your lowest. And that's where I'm having a problem now .

 

[esmith08734]

All you have to do is remind yourself that it's just food.
A cookie might taste better than a chicken breast but once you're done eating, you forget about it, no matter what. Your body will thank you in the long run for having that chicken breast, though.

My advice, download MyFitnessPal on your phone, cut the soda, dessert, and anything that's not of great nutritional value. Start some moderate exercise. Start with walking a few miles a day, then progress to jogging. If you just want to lose weight, you got to go through the tough stuff: cardio, HIIT, etc.

Listen, you're not going to drop 40 pounds in a week. It's a slow process. Join Fitness OT on GAF, we're nice dudes and we can help.

 

[RDreamer]

Hey guys, I'm trying to get started in a similar situation as OP.

My question: What are good exercises for someone who is around 330? Situps are hard because I feel like my fat is blocking my breath when I move up (same for some other stuff).

I'm literally starting at square 1. I have a treadmill in my garage, so walking is what I've got so far.

Definitely some cardio, man. Treadmill works. Exercise bike (or real bike) works, too if you get one of those. I kind of felt the same way with other exercises feeling awkward in my "fat" state.

The other big reason I say cardio first is because it's very easily trackable. You know whether you've done more or less exercise in one day than another. That means you can combine it with something like MyFitnessPal and really figure out a good diet plan. Weights and some of those other exercises are great to do if you can but they're really hard to track. How long did you wait in between sets? How long was the overall session time? Reps? So many variables to track between days and weeks. If you get a bad week or a week without as much loss then it's hard to figure out why. If you're tracking cardio and using similar variables (like running the same pace every time) it's much easier to pinpoint where your diet probably failed.

 

[Gutek]

Op, forget workout. You will never out work a shitty diet. You need to go down to 1800 calories a day. No way around it.

 

[Ozzy Onya A2Z]

Running is probably your best bet. You'll burn off a lot that way. Combine that with jump roping, and you'll have two intensive activities that burn a lot of fat.

I hate to call you out mate but at 330 pounds running isn't the first answer I'd give for advice. Walking and general movement activities for the first couple of weeks, speed up the walking consistently, lift some mild weights, do some stretching/cardio stuff but avoid impact things at that weight e.g. running. Running will just end up with pain and abandoning the weight loss/motivation.

Use a treadmill or bike or elliptical machine to start with so you don't have pain from exercising at that weight. As you lose weight and gain fitness you can then start jogging in between walking e.g. walk then run then walk again and repeat. Eventually you'll be running full time and without injury or pain.