Military Guy needing support

christopherdaigre

Greetings everyone,

I"m in need of a bit of support. I've been in the military for over 18 yrs, and now I"m at risk of losing everything because I let myself go. I'm current'y 45 lbs overweight, and 2% over my allowable body fat. Only about a year ago, I was within 10 lbs of meeting my goal, then stopped.

I"m looking for people that have ideas on losing weight on a small budget and have had to deal with fluid shift schedules (days/swings/mids). I just feel I'm going to have a difficult time with this since I'm actually on my own with excersise, and have difficulty sorting through all the "fad" stuff. I could really use some outside motivation.

savadava

Starting today as well. Hope you had a Happy Veterans Day. My husband is a vet- Army in Vietnam 1970-71
Good luck to us

TattooedNici

Hello! Have you considered the clean eating diet?

YouHadMyCuriosity

My husband is in the military, and he is very simple in the way he stays in shape. He lifts heavy, runs or swims FAST once in a while, and generally eats fairly healthy, lots of protein and produce. He does like Crossfit workouts, but that is more of a "fad" as applies to your posts.

Since you seem to be looking for a solution that has a more simple basis, here is just one suggestion. For one normal week, log what you eat, how much you eat (so, calories). Log how much you exercise, and what you do. Take a critical look at what you see at the end of the week. If you can just lessen your food intake by 10%, and increase your exercise by 10%, you are looking at small steps that can add up greatly over time.

If you are willing to get a little more technical, look into BMR and TDEE.

JaxDemon

For me personally my best results weight loss wise as been on a strict keto diet (Dave Palumbo Keto diet) also teached me more about foods in doing so and how to separate hunger from thirst. Bit of a cookie cutter diet mind but at end of the day gotta do what works for you. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

dutchk

I've been there. I hovered around my 209 lb limit every year for the 20 I was in. Sometimes I was able to get down in time for the semiannual weigh-in, sometimes not. After I retired I stopped having to run the PFT twice a year and my weight escalated even more...up to at least 286 (stopped looking at the scale then). I finally got my s**t together and started walking, then run/walking. Put goals in front of me. First it was a 5K with the wife, then a mud run. A few more mud runs followed and I stayed consistent with the run/walking. I dropped over a 100 lbs, now weigh in at about 183 and am running the Philly marathon this weekend! Keeping up with MFP is what really helped for me. Coming from the military, accountability is big with me.

Send me a FR if you like. I'll be happy to help you out!

skinnybythanksgiving

You would want to figure out how many calories your body needs to maintain your healthy weight. Just do a web search for figuring out your calories for your height, age, bone size, sex and goal weight. Eat that and track your calories, meaning every bite you eat.

Eliminate binge foods if you can't stop binging on them and walk every day unless you are sick. I would suggest strength training too. You can do all of this at home on your own time schedule. Don't read diet books, do fad diets, etc. It's a complete waste of your time. You will probably lose at least 10-15 pounds your first month. Don't panic, you aren't going to lose everything. Well, except your weight!

Good luck, you may want to get a support team going on here too.

breezyleaf

Thanks for your service! I am a military brat and my dad currently works swings night/days all that jazz. He just completed his first Ironman that he trained with his crazy schedule. One thing he does is that he goes to work out when he gets off, even at 5am. He will go swim, run, or ride the bike. One benefit is the free gyms on base. Do you live on a military base with a 24 hour gym? As far as his food goes, he packs healthy food to snack on and one meal. He eats a lot of fruits and veggies (expensive) but you can buy cheaper in season fruit (oranges, apples, etc) and try frozen vegetables (bag of broccoli $2 at the commissary.) Another thing you can do would be to go see the nutritionist at the base clinic, they can give you a lot of tips.

He trains even when he doesn't feel like it! That is the hardest part, you have worked so hard for the past 18 years and you don't want to let it go now. A quote that I live by is "Suffer now and life the rest of your life like a champion. -Ali"

You can do it!! DON'T GIVE UP!!!

~Bre

leebesstoad

The one suggestion was the corect one: you need to be logging EVERYTHING you eat, and all your exercise. That will give you a good idea of where yuo are and where to go. No cheating, no forgetting to log something. And it's free. As far as exercise, do whatever you can. It's good you know not to try the fad diets. They are just that: fads.

Have you tried to calculate what your calorie needs are? Your BMR (basal metabolic rate) and TDEE (total daily expenditure of energy) should help you figure out how much you need to eat and then you can reduce from their. There are quite a few good calculators out there, and give similar results: Scoobysworkshop, fitnessfrog, iifym.org, fat2fitradio.com.

But once you figure out how much you need to eat, and actually log what you have eaten, say for a week or so, come back and ask for people to review it and make suggestions. You can do it, even on a limited budget and on a swing shifts. It takes commiment and will power but I bet you have that in reserve and just need to tap into it.

And thank you for your service.

BlackStarlight

Welcome and good luck!
Thank you for your service.
I know what its like to work shifts I was a nurse and its a killer. But this works for me. The best thing I can say is to log EVERYTHING. It lets you know where you are and how many calories you have left for the day. Log all your food and all your exercise. It might be tempting to cheat but seriously don't. Once you work out how much your eating and exercising on a regular basis it will get easier.
I wish you all the best on your journey. Feel free to add me as a friend if you want too.
We can always try and motivate each other x

Fuzzipeg

Just to follow on from Dancingdarl.. I would suggest you keep your meals simple, plenty of root veg and for protein you can add pulses. These are also called legumes, peas beans, chick peas, the dried packets are cheaper to buy but need to be soaked for while before use. A good meal I have been told is a jacket potato and baked beans.

Also walk and keep walking but I am sure you are used to that. Just get out and about. My brother in law never walked but now has a keen interest in wild life round a lake near his home. He has no idea how much weight he has lost but I estimate he is down three sizes in his trousers. He is loathed to buy more, expense....

All the very best in getting back on track.

GiveMeCoffee

Welcome to MFP and Thank you for your service!

Log everything you eat and drink. This will give you a lot of insight into what you are consuming and from there you can find ways to make some small changes to your diet. Get a food scale this will help with portion sizes and help you to track more accurately what you are consuming. Once you learn portion control, it will help you to be able to eat what you want but in moderation.

Calories in vs. Calories out. You don't need fad diets.

You can do this! Good luck to you!

teresamwhite

Hi...I work at a military hospital, in the Nutrition Care Division...Have you considered seeing a dietician? A lot of our patients are those either pushing the weight limit or have gone over. They will put you on a nutrition plan that is very easy to follow, either in the DFAC or things you can easily find in the commissary.

airdale8263

Hi...I work at a military hospital, in the Nutrition Care Division...Have you considered seeing a dietician? A lot of our patients are those either pushing the weight limit or have gone over. They will put you on a nutrition plan that is very easy to follow, either in the DFAC or things you can easily find in the commissary.

^^agree. Most bases have a program to assist those who are overweight to get back in standards. See the nutritionist/dietician.
Account for the food you eat, exercise. Stay committed. MFP can assist but you have to be the one that does it.

swanny320

Clean eating....eliminate all junk. You don't have to go crazy...just start with the no brainers (no fast food, no Doritos, no soda, etc.) and then as your body gets used to healthy food, continue to eliminate bad stuff. Also, exercise at least 30 minutes a day. You can do it!

clambert1273

Prior Army here *waving*


For you, since I know how the miitary is - use the facilities on base - free gyms can't beat it!! Lift Heavy 3x a week (on top of normal PT training) and track what you eat here... you might be surprised

I gained 50lbs quickly after getting out (massive thyroid issues) and had no idea why. After 13 years, they got it in check (somewhat) so I started just eating (logging/weighing food) and weight lifting. I just started lifting this week - I let the food thing do its thing for a few weeks first (lost 7.5lbs doing that).

You can do this... take your mind back to boot camp

mamadon

You are going to get a lot of different advice on here. Low carb, clean eating etc and it gets confusing. Just find out your tdee, (google tdee calculator) this will tell you how many calories to eat every day with a calorie deficit. Get some exercise, stay within your calorie limit, log honestly and you will do great. Simple.

swissbrit

Here is a site with loads of workouts for at home, here in Switzerland gym membership costs an arm and a leg (would be some lost weight lol ) so I prefer to workout at home http://hasfit.com/

07JKGirl

You're in the right place for support. The best advice I can give you is to log everything and be honest about it. It can be a real eye opener. Remember that you have to burn more than you consume to lose. Also, hit the weights. Cardio is not enough. Thank you for your service!

tigersword

Count calories, track everything, stick to your deficit. That's all there is to it. No special diets, no specific foods (or eliminating foods,) no specific workout routines needed.

Obviously exercise can help with your fitness, so definitely hit the gym, but remember, losing weight is all about how much you eat. It really is that simple.

ammadove

Someone suggested drinking 2 8 oz. glasses of cold water 20 minutes before each meal. I have tried this and found it to be helpful.
Good luck on your weight loss and thank you so much for your military service.