Fat burning ideas

andyzee69

After a year and a half on MFP, I've not made much progress. I work sitting down all day and have a young family to look after so don't have a lot of time. I'm 48, weigh nearly 300lbs and have 64% body fat. Does anyone have any proven ways I could burn more fat using diet and exercise? I can afford a gym membership so any exercise would need to be free or inexpensive. I do my best to keep under my calorie limits but still don't make much progress.

tanyamum

andyzee69 wrote: »

After a year and a half on MFP, I've not made much progress. I work sitting down all day and have a young family to look after so don't have a lot of time. I'm 48, weigh nearly 300lbs and have 64% body fat. Does anyone have any proven ways I could burn more fat using diet and exercise? I can afford a gym membership so any exercise would need to be free or inexpensive. I do my best to keep under my calorie limits but still don't make much progress.

Check your sugar intake and start there. There are lots of hidden sugar on foods. I didn't realise myself that milk had a lot of sugar. I check everything now as the body will burn this off quicker as it's easier and then it has less time to burn the fat. So reduce the sugar and your body will burn the fat instead. Also research the good and bad fats and try and eat more of the good ones. Too many people are scared of fat when its sugar we need to reduce first.

kommodevaran

You use quite a lot of energy just by being alive. To use more of your stored energy (fat stores), you have to take in fewer calories than you burn. You can do it through more exercise, or through eating less. For most people, eating less will be the main driver of weightloss. Using your food diary is free. Less food costs less money. The only expense should be a food scale, and mental effort in using it and eating less for real, consistently, and for the rest of your life.

neugebauer52

I am a bit heavier than you are - started on 170 kg, 356 pounds. For me "diet" is not the answer, never has been. Whatever I lost on weight, I regained and some more. Over the last 3 months I am able to change to a healthier life style with food I enjoy and daily calories I can live with. Thanks to MFP I have lost about 15 kg so far. Initially I could only walk short distances but slowly that improved. I walk every day, (usually with our daughter) at least half an hour, sometimes longer. I walk to the shops and other facilities nearby. I do not fit onto / into most gym equipment but I have joined their aqua aerobics classes. It is excellent for my knee joints, no more pain as long as I am in the water. I take it day by day, meal by meal. I am sloooowly adjusting to portion control and I am certainly not worried how long it will take to lose the weight. After all, it has taken me years to be so "well rounded". There are plenty of motivational stories on MFP and it feels good to read up on their success stories.

jennifer_417

Eat fewer calories than you burn. Any type of movement will burn calories, too.

I'm not trying to be a jerk, it's just really that simple.

Lounmoun

I would concentrate on sticking to your calorie deficit and logging as accurately as you can.

Walking is free. You can get a cheap pedometer and see how many steps you take now. Then work on increasing that by 500-1,000. When you get there set a new step goal of 1,000 more. Gradually increase.
There are tons of free workout videos on you tube. If you have trouble walking or standing much you might start with seated exercises for the obese, elderly or injured for now.

CarvedTones

Commitment and discipline are the two biggest factors for me. I log every single thing I eat, no exceptions. Even if it something home made or from a restaurant I con't find entries for then I use something that seems likely to be somewhat close. IMO, discipline to log every single thing is more important than complete accuracy (but don't get sloppy about it). I weight everything I can.

I lost 65 pounds and have kept it off over 4 months so far. For the first half of my loss, I got almost no exercise. Now I get quite a bit. Losing weight motivated me to get more active; it's hard for some of us to get motivated to exercise before any loss.

xxzenabxx

Start walking. Go the park and take your kids too. How have you calculated your caloric requirement? At your weight it should be easier to lose the initial weight.

buffinlovin

One thing that helped me a lot is that my work gave me a sit/stand desk.

I work in a call center and am tethered to my desk for just about 8 hours every day. It was really hard to get extra movement in aside from going to the bathroom or walking to someone for a question, and that is frowned upon.

My job was trialing a Varidesk, and the person who was testing it didn't care for it, so she asked if I wanted it. Once I got it I refused to give it up Now I stand usually 6 out of 8 hours of the day and am frequently just walking in place. I got a few strange looks when I started but now it's just considered the norm to see me walking in place.

Some employers will get you a sit/stand desk with a Doctors note, some may help subsidize the cost, etc. it would be beneficial to talk to your employer to see if they have any options

kimny72

andyzee69 wrote: »

After a year and a half on MFP, I've not made much progress. I work sitting down all day and have a young family to look after so don't have a lot of time. I'm 48, weigh nearly 300lbs and have 64% body fat. Does anyone have any proven ways I could burn more fat using diet and exercise? I can afford a gym membership so any exercise would need to be free or inexpensive. I do my best to keep under my calorie limits but still don't make much progress.

Have you been logging accurately and consistently for that year and a half?

How much weight have you lost in that time?
How are you measuring your portions?
Have you double checked that the entries you are using in the database are accurate?

Burning fat happens when you eat less calories than your body burns during the day. Any exercise will burn extra calories as well.

Take a few minutes to read some of the Most Helpful Posts pinned to the top of each forum. Lots of great info there.

mmapags

While there may be many ways to accomplish it, there is only one way to burn fat. Burning more calories than you consume. There are no "tricks". It's as simple as that.

kshama2001

Lots of us have desk jobs. I make a point of getting some exercise at lunch. This makes me more productive in the afternoon, and increases my energy through the evening.

Walking is free, but do spring for good shoes.

If I had kids, I'd get a membership at a YMCA. I've belonged to a few over the years, and they all had great programs for kids of all ages. They also have a sliding scale based on income, which I used when I was underemployed.

Gardening is another fun thing to do with kids. If you're in an apartment, there might be local community gardens you all can participate in. Before I moved in with my OH, there were no gardens. We've since put in two 4'x8' raised beds for veggies, three 2' x 8' for flowers, and a circle shade garden under a tree which I did 100% myself and was a lot of work!

I got all the shade perennials for 50% off at garden centers at the end of the season last fall. Many perennials spread and gardeners need to weed them out or find a home for them, so you can find them for free on places like freecycle.org or craigslist.com. Strawberries and mint spread like weeds and I give them away on freeccyle every year.

mmapags

andyzee69 wrote: »

After a year and a half on MFP, I've not made much progress. I work sitting down all day and have a young family to look after so don't have a lot of time. I'm 48, weigh nearly 300lbs and have 64% body fat. Does anyone have any proven ways I could burn more fat using diet and exercise? I can afford a gym membership so any exercise would need to be free or inexpensive. I do my best to keep under my calorie limits but still don't make much progress.

This is the key. "Doing your best" allows for failure. As Yoda said, "Do or do not. There is no try."

You have to decide what is most important to you in life. Your health and being around to enjoy family for many more years or eating the amount you want to eat each day. Possible low carb or keto might be helpful for you if you struggle with cravings and hunger signalling. There is some research that indicates lowering carbs helps reduce cravings and hunger.

malibu927

tanyamum wrote: »

andyzee69 wrote: »

After a year and a half on MFP, I've not made much progress. I work sitting down all day and have a young family to look after so don't have a lot of time. I'm 48, weigh nearly 300lbs and have 64% body fat. Does anyone have any proven ways I could burn more fat using diet and exercise? I can afford a gym membership so any exercise would need to be free or inexpensive. I do my best to keep under my calorie limits but still don't make much progress.

Check your sugar intake and start there. There are lots of hidden sugar on foods. I didn't realise myself that milk had a lot of sugar. I check everything now as the body will burn this off quicker as it's easier and then it has less time to burn the fat. So reduce the sugar and your body will burn the fat instead. Also research the good and bad fats and try and eat more of the good ones. Too many people are scared of fat when its sugar we need to reduce first.

Dairy has sugar naturally (lactose). Your body naturally burns all carbs first, not just sugar, and if you're in a deficit you'll lose fat.

OP you don't have to exercise to lose weight, just think of it as a tool to get your body healthier. But if you're looking for something free to do, walking is always a good option.

AnnPT77

In addition to the good suggestions above about eating and exercise, consider working to increase your non-exercise calorie burn. Those increased calories are hard to estimate/measure compared with exercise calories, but they do add to one's calorie needs. This thread has quite a discussion on the subject:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10610953/neat-improvement-strategies-to-improve-weight-loss