Those of us who are Obese
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i think the opposite of most people, and think that fitness is the most important thing to a healthy weight.
3 years ago i was getting ready to go into a size 40 pants. now i'm in 32's. i never really changed my diet other than eating a little less junk food and more healthy foods. in fact, i eat more now than i used to, but i do cardio every day. from walking, to power walking, to intervals, to running. on my intense workouts i keep my heart rate in zone 5 for up to an hour some times.
3 years ago i could barely walk a mile at a slow pace. now i can power walk 10 miles at about a 4.5 mph pace, and run 5 miles (at a slow pace), and i'm 60 years old.
my theory is if you get to a good fitness level and eat a well rounded healthy diet (not too much junk food), your body weight will get healthy all by itself.
just my theory, but it seems to be working for this OldAssDude.6 -
I do see where you're coming from, but in order for me to get to a good fitness level, I had to cut my calories so the weight would drop and I could run up two flights of stairs without getting winded. Exercise did help reduce my appetite, my stress, and my boredom, which made it easier to stick with the program, but I've always eaten a well-rounded healthy diet... just too much of it.
For me, it's all interconnected. But being a short (5'3") woman, my calorie requirements are probably a bit less than yours, so I have less wiggle room. Especially as I get closer to my ideal weight.3 -
OldAssDude wrote: »i think the opposite of most people, and think that fitness is the most important thing to a healthy weight.
3 years ago i was getting ready to go into a size 40 pants. now i'm in 32's. i never really changed my diet other than eating a little less junk food and more healthy foods. in fact, i eat more now than i used to, but i do cardio every day. from walking, to power walking, to intervals, to running. on my intense workouts i keep my heart rate in zone 5 for up to an hour some times.
3 years ago i could barely walk a mile at a slow pace. now i can power walk 10 miles at about a 4.5 mph pace, and run 5 miles (at a slow pace), and i'm 60 years old.
my theory is if you get to a good fitness level and eat a well rounded healthy diet (not too much junk food), your body weight will get healthy all by itself.
just my theory, but it seems to be working for this OldAssDude.
I was just the opposite. For the last dozen years that I was obese, I was very active, working out 6 days most weeks, competing athletically (not great, but not terrible), AM resting heart rate high 40s to low 50s, able to keep up with younger folks in group classes and such (I was then ages 47-59).
It was super easy for me to out eat a few hundred daily calories of exercise and stay obese. I had to change my eating to lose weight. I barely changed my exercise routine at all.
And I wasn't a big junk food eater while obese, either. I've been vegetarian for 43 years, ate lots (too much
) of fruit, veggies, whole grains, other whole foods. I didn't change my food choices that much to lose weight, mostly just portion sizes or relative proportions. I can't think of a single thing I ate when obese that I've cut out entirely. (For sure, I eat certain calorie dense foods less often.)
Different people require different paths to achieve their goals: No one route works for everyone.5 -
I started at 274, down about 40 with maybe 60 to go. One word of caution, I was off to a good start a couple years ago with primary exercise being long walks. Got run over by a car on the sidewalk and that halted progress and I gained back all I'd lost plus some more.
Keep up the good work and be careful on that bicycle.1 -
Hey guys! Sorry, my work out schedule I know is a bit off kilter, this is temporary until I am able to have steady shifts. With this I have been keeping my food intake has been really good and I end up only a couple hundred cals under. I do intend on switching this up, but as I am literally JUST being able to start the resistant training, I am starting slow right now. I do keep everyone's advice on hand (and really do appreciate all the help!) I just am stuck this way to keep a routine going and then switch it around. @thesatchito I do the same thing with spice! I live in Arizona and picked up quite the spicy habit
But again, this is gonna be slow and steady for ME. This is about losing healthy and toning for me right now.2 -
I started out at 300 and am now at 240. I also have a powerlifting total of 1145 and am working on hitting a 1200 total by the end of this year. I am not losing more as weight loss effects my lifts and I have a 38" waist now and will likely hit 36" by April at the same weight.
My advice would be 3 main things.
1. Calorie deficit is more important than anything else for weight loss. Keto, intermittent fasting, or any other trendy diet doesn't really matter as long as you are in a deficit.
2. Start a beginner program from http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you/p1 . It really doesn't matter the one you pick, but I do prefer Starting Strength. The reason is you will lose muscle during a weight loss. You can combat this by lifting. The beginner programs listed here work. Many of us have tried them and proven that they do work.
3. This brings me to the something many don't think of with exercise and training. You need your recovery. Make sure not to sabotage your progress by not sleeping enough or trying to lose to quick. Once you start seeing the progress you might think if I go a bit more into deficit I'll lose faster or I can train 7 days a week. This is not healthy and if training cardio or strength it can *kitten* up what you are attempting to accomplish.
Thank you!
I really like these! I am not trying to lose fast but I will check those starter programs out as well! I just kinda want to get the strength/toning started so I can get my metabolism going with what I want to do. I did take 2 days off this week, but my eating and sleeping has been right on point. Thank you so much for the advice!!!!
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Mannerizms07 wrote: »I am currently attempting to lose as much as I can. I am currently down 22lbs - a bit feat for me. My starting weight was at my heaviest 272; I am currently down to 250lbs. Anyone have any good ideas to help with lose a large amount of weight (again being obese not looking to lose weight fast) and the best advice in doing so?
Currently I walk a 1/2 mile a day currently and ride an indoor cycle for 30-45 minutes 4 days a week. I have been doing some work outs at work (push ups against wall, tricept dips on my chair, and finally attempting to do modified lunges.)
In December I dislocated my knee, 2 days before my birthday no less!! But I have been doing the low carb diet with the work outs and seem to be doing better.
Please share your stories/ideas/support here!
I’m obese, I’m currently 260/261ish. I’ve lost 5-6 pounds in the last few weeks.
Here’s what is working for me, I’m doing Just Dance between 2.5-3+ hours a day. I’m not ounting cals. I eat a large brunch & a large dinner, no sweets. My snack is popcorn (31 cals air popped + 1 tsp of salted butter). Today I did 3+ hours of Just Dance and worked off over 1600 cals.
The other thing I make sure to do is either eat fiber like popcorn or I have what I call my “poo” cookies which are not made with sugar but they’re based on the Aussie Bites recipe & they make me go as well, I put flax & some other seeds in it as well as dried fruits crumbled & I think they’re just 70ish cals per one - make sure you’re always “going” to get stuff out of you.
GL, feel free to friend me if you like.
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Macros matter. I lost over 100 pounds just counting calories. In the process I lost a ton of muscle (even though I was lifting & working out), destroyed my metabolism and screwed up my hormones. I spent YEARS easily re-gaining weight that was suddenly MUCH harder to lose regardless of exercise or my calorie intake. What I learned was that too big of a deficient is dangerous and while you may lose weight, you are also setting yourself up for long term failure and that macos are just as important as calories. I also believe sugar and carbohydrate addiction is an indicator that your body is running on the wrong kind of fuel.8
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You're going about it with the right attitude (slow is best). I'm down about 65+ lbs from my high, have a good 50+ more lbs. to go. It's a slow process to do it right (more than a year for me so far), and 1-1.5 lbs./week is a sustainable pace.
1. Be careful about your weighing. Pick a routine and stick with it, and be prepared for frustration and push through that. I'm on a bit of a plateau right now, and reworking my general plan around that. My routine is weighing every day, just before I step into the shower. I weigh 3 times (get on and off the digital scale) and take the average or mode, as the the number can change between reading for a host of reasons. I chart my progress just so I can see the decline visually. However, daily weighing has a danger in that it is easy to bounce around a pound or two each way each day, for things such as water weight. I like to keep tabs and a tight leash and continually adjust my lifestyle. There are others that think you should only weigh once a week or less frequently. No one is "righter" than others, it's got to just work for you. Doing daily has a mental cost from the fluctuations, just keep on grinding through.
2. Most of my weight came from dietary modification, and MFP has been great for that. Not just calories, but awareness of what's going into my body. I've just retired, and am doing the bulk (all) of the family cooking, and by adopting better, cleaner foods, we're getting good results. However, I'm down to about 2000 cal/day through dietary control, and am finding it difficult to sustain many less cals/day for any length of time (short fasts or reductions are easy). So ...
3. I'm increasing my activity levels. I've always been a big guy, but historically active: football/shotput in high school, scuba instructor nights/wkends while computer programming during the weekdays, and, decades ago, bicycle touring. The came promotions in my IT career, extensive, long-term business travel, family and other obligations, life things, etc., all leading to less or no real activity, except for sailing (I'm a boatowner on the New Jersey coast - there's no real cardio in sailing). The weight came on. And on and on. So, now, as a retirement/Christmas gift, I have a new bike and am working hard at an invigorated lifestyle. My docs are thrilled with the idea of me cycling, and I'd suspect yours would be too - low impact, good cardio, etc., in addition to the calorie burn. So, as of Jan 1st, I'm on a gradual physical buildup program centered on cycling as my "now-current job to get healthy." Since it's winter, I can't ride outside as often as I'd like, so I hit the gym in the off days. 5 of 7 days a week I strive to do one or the other. You need to rest your body a little also.
Good luck in your endeavors. Get ready for the long haul, and keep your end state in mind. I made up a poster and taped it to my refrigerator, just to keep me reminded.3 -
You're kicking butt, so keep it up! Every person is different, but an important thing to keep in mind when trying to loose a large amount of weight is to just continue chipping at it. Eat well (and watch your portions), stay active.
As others mentioned, the deficit will lead to loss of lbs so you need to burn more than you eat. As you get more confident in your ability to move well, and control those movements, start adding weight. I started at 273, and I'm down to 237. It takes time, but if you stay consistent, the weight loss will happen.1 -
Hey guys! I have adjusted some of my weight training as well! I have started doing HIIT cardio 3-4 times a week and adding some strength training to it! I have lost another 10-12 lbs and my dietitian and doctor are pretty happy! It doesnt happen overnight. I do let myself indulge once in a while but WITHIN REASON and portioning. I am trying to lose this slowly but noticing the more I work out the more my anxiety goes down and my energy and attitude is getting to be so much better!5
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JeromeBarry1 wrote: »One attributes it all to rowing, but she's old. The young ones lift to keep and build muscle and muscle is what makes a body shapely.
I’m 65 and lift 3-4x a week. 65 is not old my friend. Not sure what point you’re making by saying “but she’s old, the young ones lift....”
Damn right.
Mad Re5pext.
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Motorsheen wrote: »JeromeBarry1 wrote: »One attributes it all to rowing, but she's old. The young ones lift to keep and build muscle and muscle is what makes a body shapely.
I’m 65 and lift 3-4x a week. 65 is not old my friend. Not sure what point you’re making by saying “but she’s old, the young ones lift....”
Damn right.
Mad Re5pext.
Just a wild guess, but I think he might have been teasing . . . someone. Maybe someone ol'. 1
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