Jonathan here, need to lose 200 pounds.

jpbazemo

Hi, I'm from New England, East Coast, and I "plumped up" as a side-effect of some medicines that I take. I have a really good doctor, and he's concerned about my weight (currently, 370 pounds). I'm 6'3" tall, but unfortunately, most of the fat that I've accumulated is in my midsection--which is an indicator for heart and kidney trouble. My wife is my fitness buddy, but I'm also looking for like-minded individuals, particularly those in the same weight situation, who need 1 year to 1 1/2 years to get down to their target weight.

Up until I was in my early 30's (I'm 46 now) I weighed 170 pounds, and had a relatively flat stomach. Even though it's in the future, I'm not looking forward to the sagging skin, and I think I ruined my previously-nice abdominal area with fat from the drugs.

If I don't take the drugs, then I get mentally ill, so stopping them isn't an option at this point. Even though I seem to be cosmetically-concerned, my primary reason for losing weight is health reasons. Also because of the tremendous weight gain, I have sleep apnea, and I wake up in the middle of the night with bad headaches. I also get up about 6 times a night to go to the bathroom, but that has subsided since I restarted my weight loss.

About a year ago, I was on myfitnesspal.com, and with help, I lost 41 pounds. I regained that weight, but now I'm determined to be in this for the long haul.

I'm using diet shakes, I think they're called "Slimfast," and I'm interested to know about rebuilding my abdominal muscles and my skeletal muscles, to fill out that flabby skin. I got some electrical muscle stimulators, but I don't think they are going to work until I lose more weight. I'm also interested in the use of whey protein, while losing weight, and the relevance of creatine muscle loading, in conjunction with a good cardio and kettlebell workout.

Here's my tentative plan: take about a year to lose 200 pounds, and get down to 170-180. Then rebuild muscle mass, reducing the overall body fat to 12 percent (or less). I used to practice martial arts, and I'd like to get my body back

So, any ideas, feedback, or pointers would be most welcome. And I hope that application of the electrical muscle stimulators isn't that esoteric.

Thanks for reading,

Jonathan

ps. I think my overall health is good, I feel as fit as a fiddle, except for the inertia from this fat, but if I don't lose this weight soon, I'll be a prime candidate for heart disease, diabetes, and as I said, continuing sleep apnea. My blood pressure is also higher than I'd like.