Morbidly obese starting this program.... need advice

bjess8411

I notice the authors of this book do not really talk to those women who are very obese when starting this program and how their goals should be adjusted given that fact. A lot of exercises are too hard for me or not possible because of my belly. I can do squats fine. I have problems with lunges, anything on the floor, step ups, and the prone jackknife just in the first workout! What substitutions are there? The eating plan doesn't say anything, so far, about if you have to lose 100+ lbs- actually I need to lose almost 200 lbs. Also, should I really aim for about 300 grams of protein a day? That seems like a lot! Oh, and I am not a fan of meat and animal products but don't mind them in moderation, so should I just load up on protein powder? Is that healthy? Did any of you start where I am and how do you implement the program?

janiep81

I say just do what you can. Just one jack knife? That's one more than you were doing before! (I assume - correct me if I'm wrong.) Next time try for two... and I think you'll be surprised at how quickly you'll be doing a full set of them. Use your own body weight for a while until you can do two sets and then start adding weight... just my two cents. I'm no expert and I'm new to this, too! Good luck and blessings. I'm glad you're here.

bjess8411

Thanks, Janie. I just started going to the gym so it will be fun to implement the program. I actually like working out more than I expected.

DawnEmbers

Couple of thoughts here:

I started obese as anything above 150 is considered obese when you're just under 5' in height. I didn't follow the nutrition plan in that it's more focused on those closer to the healthier range but showing that weights can give them the type of body they are after compared to cardio. I did this and stronglifts both on a deficit.

Protein: the general recommendation tends to be .8-1 gram per lean mass, so this is where body fat percentage some have some affect. When I started this one (I did stronglifts first), I was at 174, but that didn't mean I needed to eat 174 grams of protein. My body fat was upper to mid 30 percent based on not quite accurate methods (one day I'll get an accurate scan), which puts my lean mass at a little over 100 lbs. So, if I wanted to go for the 1 gram, I could aim for just over 100 but I tend to go for a minimum of 80 grams. So, even if you're at say 40 percent body fat and 300 lbs, that would be more like 180 grams as the high end. You don't need to have meat all of the time though some fish and chicken make it easier to get a good boost of protein. Many things have protein, including vegetables. Search the nutrition forum and you should see a number of posts on different protein sources in the general forums. I have a mild dairy allergy so I am trying to find a decent protein powder that isn't whey but the plant based all have less per serving in protein grams. You can supplement with protein powder and the occasional bar, just also eat some other food too.

I agree with the do what you can. I couldn't do push ups on the ground, not even on my knees because when I try on my knees my stomach touches the ground long before the I'm down to the proper point for everything else. My knees didn't allow a one leg squat variation in one of the middle stage, so I did goblet squats instead. Do the ones you can and modify a little if needed.

The reason and result will depend on what is causing the problem. Push ups, don't do them on the floor. It's okay to start with an incline instead. I used a walkway rail. Step ups? Is the step too high, even just a tiny step or curb is sufficient to start.

janiep81

OH - I meant to say. Nonfat plain Greek yogurt gives you a lot of protein for your calorie. Make sure its not "pretend" Greek yogurt (regular yogurt with added thickeners), though. There's a lot of that out there.