PLEASE Give Me Your Opinions And Advice?

KittehPuss

I'm desperate to lose a significant amount of weight. I'm 5'10" , in my mid 60's, and weigh around 280 pounds. My expensive EatSmart scale has gone on the fritz and the warranty expired two months ago.

Several times in the past I've lost 50 pounds or so by dieting and exercising but always gained it back. I want to lose 100 pounds, and this time KEEP IT OFF. My favorite form of exercise was walking and swimming in my backyard pool. I've had sixteen major surgeries on my legs, my back is shot (I can now use the phrase "pain in the *kitten*" in a sentence and not be cursing). And I no longer live in California nor do I have a backyard pool. I do have a Bowflex recently purchased. But walking is out and I am too embarrassed to use a public pool for fear somebody would yell "Thar she blows, the White Whale!"

I do have a decent food scale and I have the newest version of the Nutribullet coming on Tuesday. It's a "PRO" model. In a couple of hours I'm selling my Breville Juice Fountain Plus for $75. The new super PRO blender will therefore only cost me about $50. I liked the juicer. But it was Damn expensive to feed, took a long time to feed, took even longer to clean, and it took less than 30 seconds to drink the juice made. The Nutribullet Pro looks to be very quick and easy to use and clean. And as I'm going to have my remaining lower teeth removed shortly and a denture made I figure soft foods, drinkable foods, are going to be a plus for a while.

I asked before but never really got any responses, does anyone have experience with a nutribullet or a juicer, experience that ended up with them becoming healthier and weighing less? And are there any suggestions for ways to do Cardio when I can't walk or stand for more than a few minutes at a time?

I figure if I could lose 100 pounds and do so in such a way I could continue it it would be the best thing I could do for my health.

Those are my main questions. But I'm also curious about whether anyone has used smoothies or juices to lose a lot of weight? And is anyone familiar with chia seed, gogi berries, and cacao nibs?

My plan is to try and stay around 1600 calories a day and have two smoothies plus one regular meal a day.

The Cat Avatar is my Pal Merlin (Former Pal?) who recently meowed "Fat *kitten*!" when I bent over to put some fresh tuna packaged in spring water into his treat bowl.

Sorry for rambling!

LanaeCarol

I have seen people in wheelchairs use resistance bands to exercise. I see no reason why you couldn't make up a workout of seated leg raises, "marching" while seated, lifting dumbells or soup cans from a seated position, some stretching, etc. Eventually maybe you could progress to higher resistance bands, heavier dumbells, etc.

As far as the juicer, I have no info or advice for you. I have lost my weight through portion control and exercise. Actually, I have been very careful about drinking calories. Until recently, my only liquid calories came from a cup of soy milk a day. In an attempt to raise my protein, I have added a whey protein that I mix with my soy milk. That is my only liquid source of calories.

Stage14

If you want to keep the weight off, stop looking for fad diets and quick fixes. Log everything you eat and eat less calories than you burn each day. Eat at a moderate calorie deficit and in a way that you can honestly see yourself eating for the rest of your life (I.e. if you don't think you can do two smoothies a day forever, don't do it now).

MickeyBoo

No advice on the juicing, I'm diabetic so find that raw juices have way too much sugar in them to be worth it for me. My advice would be to skip over the 'fads' and focus on making your diet as healthy and as normal as possible for the long term. That's not to say you can't have success with these things, just that for me personally they haven't been necessary. I've had better success with being honest in my food diary and accountable for everything that goes in my mouth.

On the exercise front, I also have some major issues with my back, legs, knees and ankles, I'm in chronic pain everyday and was very resistant to exercising because I didn't want to be in more pain. I was limited to the pool, and even then not swimming just walking laps. I could not walk outside/treadmill for any longer than 5mins without my leg starting to collapse on me.

I'm 5'9 and started at about 258pd, down to 231pd now. Best advice is if you can only use the pool then join a gym with a pool, or just use the public pool, forget about everyone else there and just get in it and get moving. I am incredibly self conscious about myself in swimmers but hey the fat is not going to burn itself and I figure that if I'm at a gym working out I'm going to be surrounded by people who are there for the same reason and won't be judgmental, which is exactly what I discovered.

I also saw a PT who helped me work out what machines I could use safely (the bike for short periods ie warm up, and the X-trainer for the best low impact also a longer cardio workout). I was also introduced to the weights section and am loving it. If you have good form, and develop your muscles slowly, stop when your body says to stop and just keep at it you will find a noticeable improvement in your basic strength and if you're like me will also see a reduction in pain.

I would also get weighed and measured properly and focus more on how your body shape is changing than the number on the scale. In just 11 weeks of doing a basic weights program I lost 7cm off my arms and 15cm off my waist, which was a great motivation to keep it going.

Start with small changes and make improvements over time, it's going to be a long slow process not just for your body but for your mind as well. Be prepared to be sore after a workout, and be prepared to face days where you eat everything in sight and feel terrible, but remember that each day is a new day and it's going to be a step in the right direction.

BeachIron

Skip breakfast on a REGULAR basis.
First meal at noon.
Don't worry about calories or exercise.
Things will sort themselves out.
You'll see.

That is the worst advice I've seen all day.

OP, find some resistance/strength exercise that you can do. Given your current situation I'm inclined to suggest skipping cardio altogether unless you can manage a bike perhaps. Then weigh and measure your food, eat a reasonably balanced diet, but give yourself a daily treat that fits in your calorie goal. That treat should also be no more than 10-20% of your daily calories. Then be very consistent. That's it. Juice if you like but it certainly isn't necessary and should not crowd out fats and protein.

meshashesha2012

Skip breakfast on a REGULAR basis.
First meal at noon.
Don't worry about calories or exercise.
Things will sort themselves out.
You'll see.

for serious? not worrying about calories or exercise is how many of us end up needing to lose weight

anyway, OP, since you've had experience losing weight maybe it's a good idea to look back and see where yo went wrong. was it a matter of cutting your calories too low or starting habits that were too restrictive that you couldnt keep up with?

my advice is to lose the desparation and calm down. make some smaller goals that will add up to your larger goal. set up some fitness related goals and some lifestyle change goals that you can count in your "win" category as you progress.

no idea about the juicer though. i prefer to eat my food. as for the scale , i have a pretty good cheapie one i got from amazon. it's digital and the brand is like ozark or something. i would get up to look to see but i have a cat reclining one me, so you know how that goes: i'm the cushion :laugh:

that's weird about your cat being a hater. mine seems to love me more that i'm fluffier.

mamadon

You DO NOT need to juice to do this. Here's the wonderful thing. You can eat whatever you want!!! You just need to eat at a calorie deficit. There is no magic way to do this. No juices, no pills no anything. Just a deficit!!! You can do it if you do it right!!!

KittehPuss

Thank you for your reply LanaeCarol! I actually have a band resistance set from Bodylastics. IMy Dr's are worried if I use them or the BowFlex I could mess things up even worse to where I would have no choice but more surgery. I have an appt. in two weeks to see the Ortho with an eye to getting a list of things I CAN do using them.

Myhaloslipped

Skip breakfast on a REGULAR basis.
First meal at noon.
Don't worry about calories or exercise.
Things will sort themselves out.
You'll see.

No...just, no. This advice doesn't even make any sense. I don't know if the nutribullet helps with weight loss, but I noticed that once I started having 3-4 of these juices per week, I started to crave fruits and vegetables more so than junk food when I wanted a snack.

KittehPuss

If you want to keep the weight off, stop looking for fad diets and quick fixes. Log everything you eat and eat less calories than you burn each day. Eat at a moderate calorie deficit and in a way that you can honestly see yourself eating for the rest of your life (I.e. if you don't think you can do two smoothies a day forever, don't do it now).

I learned a long time ago if I don't like something there is NO hope of my continuing it. But the smoothies I've tried I liked a lot. And they seem like a great way to get some really high nutrient low calorie foods in me. And they are easy and quick to make.

PeaceLoveTrees

I agree with a lot of what's being said here. Be VIGILANT about counting your calories! Track everything and start making those key lifestyle changes to stay on track. That's the thing about weight loss, it's a lifestyle, not a short time deal. Once you figure out what you like and what makes you happy stick to it and keep doing it, even once you've lost the weight.

If you have a lot of pain try joining your local YMCA and going to water aerobics. I would not worry about someone making fun of you at the gym, especially if you join a Y, I've never seen or experienced anything close to that.

I like juicing myself, but if you're going to end up being hungry all day from it, then do it wisely. You don't want to be miserable or make this harder than it has to be. Maybe use the juices for snacks instead of meals. That might really help you out.

Smart snacking, smart food choices, and go get in that water!!! You can do it! :-)

KittehPuss

Thanks MickeyBoo! I have started seeing a barbaric surgeon but not to have the surgery, to have a medically supervised diet. And they measured everything. They even did a metabolic rate test. It estimated I burn 3576 Cals a day (265 from exercise), and gave me a medically supervised zone of 0 t0 2041 cal a day.

DaveS_63

Have you tried cycling as a form of exercise? if you cant get out a recumbent stationary bike in the home might do the trick. Excellent cardio workout without the high impact. Mixed with a weight training program you will see significant changes in weight, stamina and strength rather quickly.

KittehPuss

I'm not looking to juice. The Nutribullet gizmo makes smoothies and I plan on making them balanced with fats, and protein. Nutrient dense, but light caloric stuff.

THANK YOU Beachiron for your reply!

KittehPuss

I need to learn how to use this Forum better. I'm trying to reply to specific people but not doing so well.

DiamondRubyMom

Try youtube for chair exercises, or an arm bike. Definitely a great question for you Docs. Strengthening the muscles around the joint is the best way to reduce pain at the joint.

KittehPuss

Skip breakfast on a REGULAR basis.
First meal at noon.
Don't worry about calories or exercise.
Things will sort themselves out.
You'll see.

for serious? not worrying about calories or exercise is how many of us end up needing to lose weight

anyway, OP, since you've had experience losing weight maybe it's a good idea to look back and see where yo went wrong. was it a matter of cutting your calories too low or starting habits that were too restrictive that you couldnt keep up with?

my advice is to lose the desparation and calm down. make some smaller goals that will add up to your larger goal. set up some fitness related goals and some lifestyle change goals that you can count in your "win" category as you progress.

no idea about the juicer though. i prefer to eat my food. as for the scale , i have a pretty good cheapie one i got from amazon. it's digital and the brand is like ozark or something. i would get up to look to see but i have a cat reclining one me, so you know how that goes: i'm the cushion :laugh:

that's weird about your cat being a hater. mine seems to love me more that i'm fluffier.

I was kidding about Merlin. Despite all the surgeries etc. the reason my primary source of income is disability is due to the fact I was in a big earthquake that destroyed my house, took out the Bay Bridge etc. I have a real bad time now with anxiety and panic attacks and he's a therapy animal. I used to be hospitalized half a dozen times a year for the anxiety, but since I got Merlin I've only been in once.

What "went wrong" each time was having a mjor failure of one of my knees or my back. Threw me off stride and I just never quite got back on track.

KittehPuss

Have you tried cycling as a form of exercise? if you cant get out a recumbent stationary bike in the home might do the trick. Excellent cardio workout without the high impact. Mixed with a weight training program you will see significant changes in weight, stamina and strength rather quickly.

Used to LOVE to mountain bike My last bike was a custom frame Gary Klein and I selected every nut and bolt on it..But now I have to have a bench to sit on just to take a shower. I can't stand up very long let alone pedal. Wish I could just WALK! That was my favorite exercise.

KittehPuss

The last time I usedsomething called "CalorieKing" and I did measure EVERYTHING. But this website seems to have something similar, and it just "feels" right to me. I'm encouraged.

uconnwinsnc

I need to learn how to use this Forum better. I'm trying to reply to specific people but not doing so well.

Press the "quote" butt on that person's post.

KittehPuss

Try youtube for chair exercises, or an arm bike. Definitely a great question for you Docs. Strengthening the muscles around the joint is the best way to reduce pain at the joint.

I've been using the Bowflex with light resistance and doing a lot of upper body reps. But I don't know how effective a cardio workout that is. Not much is my guess. I think at least initially I'm going to have to concentrate on limiting the intake, but if I remember correctly it takes a LOT of cardio to burn a significant amount of calories. The advantage is it raises your metabolism even when your not working out right?


THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR KIND REPLIES!!

hicksang121

My thoughts...

Exercising: Agree with the gym with the pool or public pool, stationary bike, and talk with a physical trainer who can suggest some strength building exercises you can do. Resistance training is essential to losing and keeping off weight.

Juicing/Diet: All calories are not created equal - i.e. one scoop protein powder in water vs. one twix bar - both are about 100 calories but... The isopure will help your body build muscle and stave off hunger. The twix bar will make your insulin surge (then you'll crash) and you'll be hugrier than ever - probably making you more susceptible to overeating (and probably the wrong things). One banana, one 8 oz. glass of orange juice contains a day's amount of recommended sugar (~24g). My suspicion is that although homemade and natural, juicing is putting too much suger (carbs) in your diet - maybe add some unflavord protein in those juices and cut back to one a day. It may not hurt to talk with a nutrionist. Best of luck!

KittehPuss

I agree with a lot of what's being said here. Be VIGILANT about counting your calories! Track everything and start making those key lifestyle changes to stay on track. That's the thing about weight loss, it's a lifestyle, not a short time deal. Once you figure out what you like and what makes you happy stick to it and keep doing it, even once you've lost the weight.

If you have a lot of pain try joining your local YMCA and going to water aerobics. I would not worry about someone making fun of you at the gym, especially if you join a Y, I've never seen or experienced anything close to that.

I like juicing myself, but if you're going to end up being hungry all day from it, then do it wisely. You don't want to be miserable or make this harder than it has to be. Maybe use the juices for snacks instead of meals. That might really help you out.

Smart snacking, smart food choices, and go get in that water!!! You can do it! :-)

The last movie I was able to sit through was the first Lord of the Rings film. I get REALLY uptight in a crowd or a pool. That's why I got the bowflex and the resistance bands. I'm sitting in my recliner now. I have a 55" HDTV that is not only my home theater, it's my computer monitor as well. The only other thing on that wall is the bowflex. It isn't pretty, but it's hard to ignore.

Again, I'm not going to be juicing, the Nutribullet is for making smoothies, it PULVERIZES even seeds. Or so the infomercial claims. I've found I'm lazy when it comes to making meals. So something I can prepare in just a couple of minutes and take with me might be helpful.

tehboxingkitteh

From the OP

And as I'm going to have my remaining lower teeth removed shortly and a denture made I figure soft foods, drinkable foods, are going to be a plus for a while.

And your response

You DO NOT need to juice to do this. Here's the wonderful thing. You can eat whatever you want!!! You just need to eat at a calorie deficit. There is no magic way to do this. No juices, no pills no anything. Just a deficit!!! You can do it if you do it right!!!

:flowerforyou:

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

Most of your weight loss will come from changing your food intake. Exercise is great and I'd encourage you to do as much as you can, but calories are the biggest factor in losing weight.

Log accurately, with your scale. You should only use measuring cups/spoons for free-pouring liquids. Everything else should be weighed. Enter your own recipes. Look for the database entries with no asterisk-- those are the most accurate.

Juicing is a great way to work in more fruits and veggies, but as long as you have a calorie deficit you'll lose weight no matter what you eat. That said, you'll be a lot happier and healthier if most of your calories come from nutrient dense foods.

Good luck to you.

KittehPuss

If you want to keep the weight off, stop looking for fad diets and quick fixes. Log everything you eat and eat less calories than you burn each day. Eat at a moderate calorie deficit and in a way that you can honestly see yourself eating for the rest of your life (I.e. if you don't think you can do two smoothies a day forever, don't do it now).

That is EXACTLY what I'm wanting to do. It's what I did previously when I lots 50 pounds or so.

tigerblood78

Skip breakfast on a REGULAR basis.
First meal at noon.
Don't worry about calories or exercise.
Things will sort themselves out.
You'll see.

this guy......he gets it

KittehPuss

Most of your weight loss will come from changing your food intake. Exercise is great and I'd encourage you to do as much as you can, but calories are the biggest factor in losing weight.

Log accurately, with your scale. You should only use measuring cups/spoons for free-pouring liquids. Everything else should be weighed. Enter your own recipes. Look for the database entries with no asterisk-- those are the most accurate.

Juicing is a great way to work in more fruits and veggies, but as long as you have a calorie deficit you'll lose weight no matter what you eat. That said, you'll be a lot happier and healthier if most of your calories come from nutrient dense foods.

Good luck to you.

Thank you!! ARe you familiar with CaloreiKing? http://www.calorieking.com/ I liked using their app to keep EXACT track of my intake. Isn't there something similar on this website? I like the people here a LOT better!

I need a new scale. I saw some on this site somewhere that really looked cool for a guy that thinks of himself as a geek.

tehboxingkitteh

OP, people are very accepting at gyms. There are people from all walks of life. Another poster suggested joining the ymca for water aerobics. But if you're not comfortable in crowds, try a home routine with your machine. Best of luck.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

Most of your weight loss will come from changing your food intake. Exercise is great and I'd encourage you to do as much as you can, but calories are the biggest factor in losing weight.

Log accurately, with your scale. You should only use measuring cups/spoons for free-pouring liquids. Everything else should be weighed. Enter your own recipes. Look for the database entries with no asterisk-- those are the most accurate.

Juicing is a great way to work in more fruits and veggies, but as long as you have a calorie deficit you'll lose weight no matter what you eat. That said, you'll be a lot happier and healthier if most of your calories come from nutrient dense foods.

Good luck to you.

Thank you!! ARe you familiar with CaloreiKing? http://www.calorieking.com/ I liked using their app to keep EXACT track of my intake. Isn't there something similar on this website? I like the people here a LOT better!

I need a new scale. I saw some on this site somewhere that really looked cool for a guy that thinks of himself as a geek.

Go to the FOOD tab at the top. That's where you can search the database. I'm not sure how similar it is to CalorieKing but once you get the hang of it it's easy to use. If you're entering eggs, search for "whole raw egg" to get the USDA entry. If it's fruit try "Banana raw" etc. If you're not seeing a USDA entry and it's a whole food, try something like "tomato usda" to pull up the user entered entries that were pulled from the USDA. If it's packaged food then just double check the calorie count against your package the first time you use it.

Once you've used a food it'll be in your Recent Foods and you can add it quickly and easily.

littlelexical

Personally i'm an 'anti-juicer' as it removes a lot of the goodness of the fruit - you are talking about blending, so assuming you are putting the whole fruit in there - thats not such a huge issue - however, i think eating each of the things you put in the blender as a whole ingredient is far more beneficial - chewing is an important part of eating & blending/juicing gets rid of that entirely.

Chewing through a meal takes time - your body takes time to register fullness - so - chewing through those ingredients is going to give your body more time to register it is full than glugging down a drink will.

Saliva is created by chewing (not exclusively, no - but - i'm being 'broad' here) and contains enzymes which help break down food - now - having it pre-blended already helps in digestion etc through the intestine - but - it doesn't promote the same saliva reaction - so - thats a down side. Saliva contains lipase (one of many enzymes) which helps process fat FYI

If however throwing some fruit/veg in the bullet and drinking is your 'quick fix' instead of reaching for something from a packet much higher in calories and lower in nutrition - and it still fits in your daily calorie limit and conforms with what your body needs (hormonal/metabolic issues etc) - then I applaud your healthier choice You could use it as a step towards eating these things whole, or in a more solid form in the future.