My husband is a solidier...I have a question?

simplyshannal
simplyshannal Posts: 188 Member
in Motivation and Support
My husband, bless his heart, is a phenomenal soldier, husband and father. Recently he has had an issue with gaining a little too much weight while being on rear-D during his units deployment. He does normal PT every morning and even does special PT in the afternoons but the main problem is he needs to reduce his waist, it is the main problem. He goes to the gym and works out but it doesn't seem to be helping as much as he would like. Does anyone have any help to offer that could help him get back to the place he wants to be. He doesn't work out with me, is more of a loner type. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Replies

  • Lisa_Rhodes
    Lisa_Rhodes Posts: 263 Member
    Has he changed his diet in anyway?
  • MelodyinGa
    MelodyinGa Posts: 202 Member
    Is he still deployed? My immediate thought was he was experiencing stress and his body is reacting.
  • simplyshannal
    simplyshannal Posts: 188 Member
    Has he changed his diet in anyway?

    He has changed his diet. He is eating mostly salads and fruits, veggies.
  • simplyshannal
    simplyshannal Posts: 188 Member
    Is he still deployed? My immediate thought was he was experiencing stress and his body is reacting.

    He wasn't deployed, they kept him behind on Rear-Detachment.
  • TimeWarp9
    TimeWarp9 Posts: 91
    Some high(er) intensity cardio is probably what would do him good. It will him trim up all over. Does he like racquetball or anything? A lot of the guys in my unit do the P90X or Insanity as they consider it more acceptable than some of the other exercise videos. Good luck to him!
  • dawn_eichert
    dawn_eichert Posts: 487 Member
    my husband is having the same issue and what we have talked about is that he needs to mirror maybe a little more closely the diet they supply in bootcamp which is actually fairly protein (primarly chicken) heavy with the vegies and salad. very little of processed cards (pasta, rice, breads, etc). Maybe that will help though can be a little hard on the rest of the family....

    Good luck
  • galenofedgewood
    galenofedgewood Posts: 146 Member
    My husband, bless his heart, is a phenomenal soldier, husband and father. Recently he has had an issue with gaining a little too much weight while being on rear-D during his units deployment. He does normal PT every morning and even does special PT in the afternoons but the main problem is he needs to reduce his waist, it is the main problem. He goes to the gym and works out but it doesn't seem to be helping as much as he would like. Does anyone have any help to offer that could help him get back to the place he wants to be. He doesn't work out with me, is more of a loner type. Any help is greatly appreciated.

    Take this from an Active Duty Captain in the Army.... He HAS to track what he eats. If he's like me, he has a small neck and that'll always get him on the tape. He can do shrugs to work the neck and make it a bit bigger, but that's only masking the problem.

    I've dropped 44 lbs since Thanksgiving, 34 lbs since I joined myFitnessPal. Proof is in the pudding, so-to-speak. My ACUs don't fit because they're too big. I need a new set of ASUs because of my weight drop. I used to stretch my Large shirts and fill out my XLs, and now I wear mediums!

    I'm currently lighter than I've ever been in the Army, including times I was at Boot Camp, AIT, or even the high PT OCS times. Hell, I'm almost lighter than I was in 8th grade! It's doable. But he's got to watch his food intake.

    If he needs/wants to talk, send me a message and I'll hit him up over AKO.
  • tekwriter
    tekwriter Posts: 923 Member
    People that reduce simple carbohydrate sources seem to have luck losing belly fat inches. Maybe he is eating more potato, rice, bread while on deployment. Have him reduce those and stick with complex fruit and vegetable carbs.
  • spirytwynd
    spirytwynd Posts: 141 Member
    As a Soldier and an NCO, may I offer a few suggestions? The first is to find a battle buddy to work out with. I understand he sort of wants to go it alone, however, having a workout partner is a great way to have accountability, encouragement and to ratchet up the "pumpitude." Encourage him to try myfitnesspal. He doesn't necessarily have to do it with you, though it might help. Gently encourage, don't nag -- his coworkers will likely handle the rougher side of the encouragement. Basically, it is against the rules in the Army to be prejudice against gender, race, religion, and a number of other things, however, overweight status is NOT on that list. Suggest he go talk to the dietician at the base hospital - what does he have to lose, other than a few pounds? Also, the hospital may have a wellness center. Suggest he make an assessment appointment with them. They have a lot of good information and insights. I speak from experience. I resisted going to the wellness center until some life events strong armed me into going. I wish I had gone sooner, a lot sooner. He is probably going to have to run . . . a lot. It is the most common cardio exercise we do - and highly endorsed by the Army! Does he have a bike to ride? It would give him another alternative. Swimming is also good. Pump up the metabolism, increase the burn and tone down the fuel. One caution, he needs to eat enough to fuel what he is doing. If he is not putting enough in the tank, his body will go into famine mode and his body will hold onto every fat cell with claws. Also, does he like drinking alcohol? If so, he may need to give it up for at least a while simply due to the calories in the booze. A lot of us are fighting "the battle of the bulge." He is not alone. You can have him contact me if he wishes. Yeah, we are not always great at asking for help - still, the offer is there if he wants it.

    Lank
  • iulia_maddie
    iulia_maddie Posts: 2,780 Member
    What is his diet like?
  • TS65
    TS65 Posts: 1,024 Member
    Has he changed his diet in anyway?

    He has changed his diet. He is eating mostly salads and fruits, veggies.

    If he's mostly eating salads, fruits and veggies - he probably isn't eating enough calories and needs to add quite a bit more protein into his diet.
  • BigDave1050
    BigDave1050 Posts: 854 Member
    Have him change up his workout routine and times he does them. Also might need to check how intense he is working out. Last note, When I was in the rear with the gear, I found that I was eating poorly. This didn't help either. If he is eating salads make sure they aren't loaded with a bunch of stuff he doesn't need.
  • mikejholmes
    mikejholmes Posts: 291 Member
    Have him log his foods, and try to reach good macros.
    And lift heavy.
  • Krhunt79
    Krhunt79 Posts: 6 Member
    yeah he might not be getting enough calories, that will make you gain weight. I recently did the Advocare 24 day challenge, and it was amazing.. I am still taking the products. on the challenge you learn how to eat the right way, I lost 12lbs and 11 inches.. if you want to know more about it let me know..lots of military people use the products and see great results!

    make sure he is drinking enough water!
  • MsJulielicious
    MsJulielicious Posts: 708 Member
    Diet. calorie count plus the exercise
  • jenn26point2
    jenn26point2 Posts: 429 Member
    HEAVY WEIGHT TRAINING and diet change. Cardio is worthless as a weight loss tool. I spent a whole summer running 7 half marathons and didn't lose a single pound. Weight training is what has transformed by body and taken the fluff off. Granted, I'm a girl and he's a guy, but I bet there are other guys out there who will say the same has worked for them.

    Stay away from sugar (salad dressing has a lot of sugar) - use olive oil for a salad dressing instead. Find one that is infused with garlic or other spices so it doesn't taste so much like oil.

    Cut back on starchy carbs like bread, pasta, potatoes, etc (except sweet potatoes - those are generally ok). Eat more meats and veggies.

    Maybe look into a paleo or primal lifestyle. Primal and weights has made all the difference for me. I was a fat half marathon runner at 221 lbs. I'm 38 lbs less fat and 3 sizes smaller now when I couldn't get anywhere with cardio and regular diet before.

    To get different results, you have to try something different. :)
  • freddykid
    freddykid Posts: 265 Member
    do you even log? j/k. Exercise won't matter all that much if he is eating more than he should. Could it be that he is not going to the gym and chillin in the parking lot of a burger king munching?

    On the serious side, he needs to really watch what he eats. Salads and veggies can make you fat if you eat too much.
  • samanthajade124
    samanthajade124 Posts: 217 Member
    To focus on the waist, I've learned.... do reverse crunches and bicycle crunches
  • simplyshannal
    simplyshannal Posts: 188 Member
    Thanks to everyone for their support and input! My husband has a bad knee and has turned to swimming, which we are hoping will help him lose the tummy. He doesn't have any other issue but his stomach so hopefully by cutting out starches and him going to the pool, he can kick start his lose.

Categories