Best workout to lose weight for a large guy

jardane1

I am 6'4 and 460 lb. I don't know what kind of workout is best for losing weight. Walking does little for me right now and i heard that weight lifting is good for weight loss. Should i skip the treadmill all together and just spend my workout days weight lifting?

ndj1979

In all honestly, you need to focus on getting into a calorie deficit, that is going to be the number one driver of weight loss.

I would suggest the following:

1. Set MFP to one pound per week weight loss and eat to that number.
2. get a food scale and weigh all solids.
3. make sure that you are getting adequate nutrition, but also realize that it is ok to eat foods you like, like ice cream, pizza, etc, just make sure you stay within your calorie deficit.
4. Make sure that you use correct MFP database entries
5. get .65 to .85 grams of protein per pound of body weight.

As far as a training regimen, I would suggest that you look into strong lifts or all pro beginner routine, and then continue with some light to moderate cardio on off days, but make sure that you get one to two, 100% rest days.

jemhh

I agree with the suggestion to focus on a caloric deficit. The majority of your caloric deficit is going to come from just eating less.

I'm not sure what you mean by "walking does little for me." Do you mean that you don't enjoy it? All physical activity burns calories, which can help you achieve the caloric deficit you need. Lifting weights is included in this. Getting started on strength training is a good idea. I would definitely include a bit of cardio, though, because it is good for your heart/lungs. I'm talking 20-30 minutes a few times a week and if that's too much even 10-15 minutes is a good place to start. I'd also include some sort of stretching a few times a week.

AllanMisner

Fat loss comes from what and how much you eat. Period. Yes, you can increase your burn exercising, but that isn’t the best approach. Here’s an article discussing the intense exercise for fat loss (http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2016/01/4-issues-scientists-have-with-the-biggest-loser.html?mid=wired#).

Exercise should be for other fitness modalities (strength, endurance, cardiovascular, mobility, balance, etc.). So, set some fitness goals and build a program around that. I will always recommend strength training as this will help you maintain muscle mass as you lose weight. It has also been shown to help you keep the weight off (http://40plusfitness.libsyn.com/weight-training-for-fat-loss-ep009).

Enjoy!

Allan Misner
NASM Certified Personal Trainer (Corrective Exercise Specialist, Fitness Nutrition Specialist)
Host of the 40+ Fitness Podcast

jardane1

I am already watching my calories, i am eating at or below around 2900 a day. I work out for a hour three times week and i want to get the most out of that hour. I don't know if walking on a treadmill for a hour will burn as much as weight lifting for an hour or doing half and half. I am also not sure if i should log my workout and eat back those calories. Some people say i should not and some say i should.

This is all confusing.

GiddyupTim

http://www.nytimes.com/video/health/100000002996374/the-workout-doctor.html

TeaBea

jardane1 wrote: »

I am already watching my calories, i am eating at or below around 2900 a day. I work out for a hour three times week and i want to get the most out of that hour. I don't know if walking on a treadmill for a hour will burn as much as weight lifting for an hour or doing half and half. I am also not sure if i should log my workout and eat back those calories. Some people say i should not and some say i should.

This is all confusing.

Weight lifting doesn't burn a whole lot. The reason I strength train is to keep more lean muscle while losing weight. This is why people eat back calories, to keep the deficit in check. But, bigger people don't need to worry about that initially.

Do the exercise that you will do consistently. Don't do exercise just for calorie burn. Look for something you see yourself doing even after you get to goal. Moving more for a lifetime is a good thing.

AllanMisner

jardane1 wrote: »

I am already watching my calories, i am eating at or below around 2900 a day. I work out for a hour three times week and i want to get the most out of that hour. I don't know if walking on a treadmill for a hour will burn as much as weight lifting for an hour or doing half and half. I am also not sure if i should log my workout and eat back those calories. Some people say i should not and some say i should.

This is all confusing.

If you’re on a 500 calorie deficit, that is enough. Eat to fuel the work, so if you’re going to train hard, make sure you’re getting the food to fuel the next one. You’ll probably get more of a “burn” walking, but you’ll probably get more of a fitness benefit overall by lifting heavy.

Start with a fitness goal, and build a program for that.

Allan Misner
NASM Certified Personal Trainer (Corrective Exercise Specialist, Fitness Nutrition Specialist)
Host of the 40+ Fitness Podcast

AnvilHead

jardane1 wrote: »

I am already watching my calories, i am eating at or below around 2900 a day. I work out for a hour three times week and i want to get the most out of that hour. I don't know if walking on a treadmill for a hour will burn as much as weight lifting for an hour or doing half and half. I am also not sure if i should log my workout and eat back those calories. Some people say i should not and some say i should.

This is all confusing.

If you're willing to put a bit of time in to educate yourself, Lyle McDonald wrote a series of six articles entitled Training the Obese Beginner which is a great read. It's a lot more involved than one-paragraph forum posts and discusses many of the issues obese beginners face, as well as recommendations for both training and diet. It will take no more than a couple of hours to read the entire series and I'd highly recommend it. It will definitely remove the confusion.

ndj1979

jardane1 wrote: »

I am already watching my calories, i am eating at or below around 2900 a day. I work out for a hour three times week and i want to get the most out of that hour. I don't know if walking on a treadmill for a hour will burn as much as weight lifting for an hour or doing half and half. I am also not sure if i should log my workout and eat back those calories. Some people say i should not and some say i should.

This is all confusing.

Are you using mfp method? I.e you entered your stats into mfp and it gave you 2900 calories to eat?

jardane1

ndj1979 wrote: »

jardane1 wrote: »

I am already watching my calories, i am eating at or below around 2900 a day. I work out for a hour three times week and i want to get the most out of that hour. I don't know if walking on a treadmill for a hour will burn as much as weight lifting for an hour or doing half and half. I am also not sure if i should log my workout and eat back those calories. Some people say i should not and some say i should.

This is all confusing.

Are you using mfp method? I.e you entered your stats into mfp and it gave you 2900 calories to eat?

Yes, that is what MFP said i need to eat to lose two pounds a week.

jemhh

AnvilHead wrote: »

jardane1 wrote: »

I am already watching my calories, i am eating at or below around 2900 a day. I work out for a hour three times week and i want to get the most out of that hour. I don't know if walking on a treadmill for a hour will burn as much as weight lifting for an hour or doing half and half. I am also not sure if i should log my workout and eat back those calories. Some people say i should not and some say i should.

This is all confusing.

If you're willing to put a bit of time in to educate yourself, Lyle McDonald wrote a series of six articles entitled Training the Obese Beginner which is a great read. It's a lot more involved than one-paragraph forum posts and discusses many of the issues obese beginners face, as well as recommendations for both training and diet. It will take no more than a couple of hours to read the entire series and I'd highly recommend it. It will definitely remove the confusion.

Agreed. That is a great series by a guy who knows his stuff.

OP, if you are going to exercise for health purposes, I would suggest finding activities that you enjoy and not worrying too much about which burn more calories than others. You're already on a good path to losing fat, simply because you've cut your calories and are up and moving. Walk or lift weights (or do both or something entirely different) because you enjoy it and because it makes you feel good to have done it.

Carlos_421

ndj1979 wrote: »

In all honestly, you need to focus on getting into a calorie deficit, that is going to be the number one driver of weight loss.

I would suggest the following:

1. Set MFP to one pound per week weight loss and eat to that number.
2. get a food scale and weigh all solids.
3. make sure that you are getting adequate nutrition, but also realize that it is ok to eat foods you like, like ice cream, pizza, etc, just make sure you stay within your calorie deficit.
4. Make sure that you use correct MFP database entries
5. get .65 to .85 grams of protein per pound of body weight.

As far as a training regimen, I would suggest that you look into strong lifts or all pro beginner routine, and then continue with some light to moderate cardio on off days, but make sure that you get one to two, 100% rest days.

+1

Carlos_421

jardane1 wrote: »

ndj1979 wrote: »

jardane1 wrote: »

I am already watching my calories, i am eating at or below around 2900 a day. I work out for a hour three times week and i want to get the most out of that hour. I don't know if walking on a treadmill for a hour will burn as much as weight lifting for an hour or doing half and half. I am also not sure if i should log my workout and eat back those calories. Some people say i should not and some say i should.

This is all confusing.

Are you using mfp method? I.e you entered your stats into mfp and it gave you 2900 calories to eat?

Yes, that is what MFP said i need to eat to lose two pounds a week.

Then you should be logging your workouts in MFP.
MFP is designed for you to log and eat back your exercise calories. That 2900 number is net calories.
Some people recommend only eating back half of your exercise calories but that's only because there are doubts about the accuracy of how many calories MFP says you burned in a given exercise.