Need advice from men 45-50 y/o

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Hi all,

So I'm here looking for advice for my dad. He was always very fit when he was younger but 8 years ago he quit smoking and ballooned! 3 years ago my mom died and he's gained even more weight from depression and stress. He literally looks 11 months pregnant now. He works in Angola and the living conditions and food are horrendous.

He is home for 2 weeks to 4 weeks every 105 days. He hates anything thats green and loves red meat and anything fried. Im trying to convince him to eat healthier but when he is home he pigs out on all the yummy stuff he can't get in Angola and when he is in Angola he hardly eats and is very malnourished. He struggles walking because he has emphysema from 20 years of smoking.

Is there anyone out there who has some advice on what kind of exercises or food that might help him? His weight is causing him a lot of health problems and I don't want to lose him.

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  • Maddius
    Maddius Posts: 78 Member
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    You're a sweetheart for caring about your Dad like you do. What you haven't said is does your Dad recognise he's overweight and it along with his smoking is impacting on his health? Second question is does he want to do something about it? As far as weight loss goes he could get great results doing 5:2 Intermittent Fasting, check out it's easy to do and the results are fabulous. It may even give him the desire to give up smoking and adopt some exercise into his life. Remember he Can do this but Only if he Wants it.Good luck.
  • Maddius
    Maddius Posts: 78 Member
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    Sorry I misread, I didn't realise he'd given up smoking, the emphysema will make it Very difficult for him to exercise, having said that HASfit.com has a lot of free exercise programs available online for all levels of fitness. I also juice daily, it's actually surprising how every little change I made, made me want to adopt more changes and bigger challenges. Again good luck.
  • lisajuliette
    lisajuliette Posts: 123 Member
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    He does want to lose weight I just think that he doesn't know how. He looked into buying a treadmill for himself and he has tried the USN weightless shakes but he doesn't have the willpower to stay away from junk food. He eats a lot of sweets to curve the smoking cravings. He works in construction and because he doesn't look after himself he has slipped discs in his back, broke his ankle, 2 ribs and middle finger and never got it set.

    I also think he has cancer but won't tell myself nor my sister because he doesn't want to scare us as our mom died from cancer. He is always sneaking off to the doctor when he is at home and I often hear him and his friends whispering about things when he gets back. He's also having a mid-life crisis sort of thing. Last year he bought a sports car and a Rolex which kinda makes me think he has a bucket-list he's trying to check off.
  • lindawayne11
    lindawayne11 Posts: 62 Member
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    Its so wonderful he has you to help him out and for support. But it does seem like there are lots of health obstacles he is dealing with. I would encourage him to ask his doctor for advice. If indeed he does have cancer, his doctor can custom make a diet for him to follow that would allow him to loose weight and could possibly benefit his cancer as well (its been said certain foods can help fight cancer).
    On another note, with his work schedule it would seem difficult for him to get certain foods in Angola and follow a certain healthy regime but I would think he could find ways to get a little excercise in. Again, I would let the doc determine what exercises would acceptable for him.
    Sometimes a little encouragement and a point in the right direction from a professional (his doctor) is all it takes to get motivated and get on a right path.
    Good luck, I think with your support and love, he'll see a healther self in no time :)