Ill be 30 October... Discouraged.

I used to be a soldier in the Army. Since I got out I have gaind a ton of weight I went from 180lbs to 280lbs. I quit smoking months ago. I feel better but I still feel the effects of being morbidly obease. I am 6ft tall and I carry it all over so it doesn't look as bad as it sounds. I am engaged and have a baby on they way. I want to be fit for them and for me. I want the energy I used to have. I am tired of this. I have a plan but its hard to stay motivated. I have ben searching for exercises programs I can do at planet fitness where I am a member, but their is an overload of information and I dont want to waste my time finding out which excercises work and which ones are bogus. Can some of you point me to some sites that have excercises that burn fat efficiently? Thanks.

Congrats on your engagement and your new baby. ENJOY!!! Thankfully you have seen the importance of living a healthier life style-- your wife (to be) and your child deserves the best YOU possible and you also owe YOURSELF the best you. As for sites that can offer advice-- trust me there is not shortage. I have not tried any personally so I can't make a recommendation BUT use google, and I am sure a wealthy of information will pop up. MFP is a great resource. Make use of the site, but join groups that are in line with you fitness goals and also get some friends who will motivate and hold you accountable. YOU CAN DO THIS!!

Add me as friend and I will do the best I can to offer support along this journey. Take care.

Congratulations on your upcoming wedding and baby!! That is certainly going to add distraction so definitely getting into a routine now will be key to keeping your goals when life gets hectic.(I have 3 toddlers and a teenager so I know hectic)

Having said that, I too found a shortage of proven reliable information on the web. It isn't really that there is a lack of information but rather there is so much that it is very hard to filter through to find the gems! Now, I have been overweight my whole life so I do not have a context of what it felt like to be 'healthy weight'. However, through this last year I have managed to shed over 70 pounds so that is where my 'help' comes from. Also, my brother is Coast Guard and has been in shape and physically fit his wholeeeeee life!! So, I asked him the same question you are asking and he referred me to the FitDeck program. www.fitdeck.com. It is a deck of playing cards where each card shows you an exercise to do and how many reps/sets to complete based on whether you are a beginner/intermediate/advanced level. My brother said that they use these cards and between each card will do 30-60 seconds of jump-rope since they do not take up much space on the ship deck. I purchased one of the sets and use them several days a week for strength training/toning. Other days I do cardio in the form of step aerobics. So, I would say these cards are probably perfect for use at the gym. They were created by a former Navy Seal and are geared to keeping military men/women in shape so they might work best for you.

Hope this helps!
~Sandi

At your gym, you should be able to use the elliptical machine. A good one will tell you how many calories you burned depending on the intensity of your workout. Also, take classes that incorporate weights and aerobics. An hour class should really work you out. This alone will not cause you to lose weight, but it will help lose inches. You will need to track your food consumption as well. MFP really helps with that since you can use it at your desktop or on your smart phone. Just don't give up.

I am six months preggo myself and have gained 27lbs
THings will get better but i do try to walk every other day and do at least 15 minutes of cardio daily just to keep my heart rate at normal levels and to keep the blood flowing. Swollen feet dont help much but I have to keep at it so that I wont feel sluggish.

Take care...