Just had a terrible checkup with Dr., really it’s my own fault. I have just let myself go. To be honest I have been trying to change my eating over the last 6 weeks and have lost 20 pounds, and right now I am only walking 20 minutes or so a day. But I am worried, Im not going to be around for much longer if I don’t drop some serious weight.
All the info on here is so confusing. Do cardio, Don’t do cardio, do hitt, don’t do hit, go keto, no go vegan. I am just looking for some solid advice. I want to thank you in advance and say Merry Christmas. Andreax
The “no cardio” crowd is pretty far and few between these days, and they’re dumb. But at 356 pounds, you shouldn’t run. Don’t run to get fit, get fit to run.
If you’ve lost 20 lbs, keep doing what you’re doing. Increase your walks in duration and in briskness as you can. Join a gym and begin lifting. There are a bunch of good program choices, if you’d like some suggestions.
You shouldn’t have to jump through any hoops to keep losing weight at 356 lbs.
I don’t know what weight he started at, but I know he was pretty big and he’s super jacked and looking amazing now, so I’ll tag @throwawayfitness to give you a hand.
I commend you for asking for help and for listening to your doctor, and for being realistic without being self-deprecating. I hope you stick around and make a big turnaround.
My opinion, as someone who’s never been over 300lbs, is to clean up your diet in a big way. This has to be priority no.1, 2 and 3. After that: increase your activity in a way that doesn’t hurt you. Walking is fantastic.
Have you lifted before? Any sports/athletic background when younger/college etc?
Start off with a basic fullbody 3 days a week like stronglifts mentioned above, this good also…
DOn try to do too much at once. Just turning up to gym three times a week should be your initial goal. Once you get in the swing of things and feel work capacity improving then at least one session a week really hit it damn hard
Diet: IMO just cut out the crap from your diet especially sugary stuff. No need for hard dieting at this stage just get in better habits.
Down the line/few months crank up the training with something like this…
And then Next stage after that take a hard approach to diet… maybe something like this…
went vegan nov 1, 2021, thats how I lost the 20 pounds and light walking. was feeling a lot better, but now I am starting to feel like crap again, even though I am vegan.
Since you’re feeling lousy, perhaps you should reintroduce some animal products into your diet. Many, many studies have shown that higher protein intake positively correlates with effective weight loss.
Not all protein is created equal, though. Animal protein, whether meat, dairy, or eggs, is complete protein, meaning it provides your body with all the essential amino acids - protein building blocks - to do everything the body needs to. Plant protein can be good, but no single plant source contains all the essential amino acids. Furthermore, the body doesn’t utilize plant protein as much as it does with animal proteins; plant sources aren’t as bioavailable. Reintroducing lean animal protein into your diet may help you feel better and will likely further your weight loss.
Getting your diet sorted is more about quantity and quality than whether or not you’re vegan.
I’m going to use a Josh Hillis line: “quantity determines scale weight, quality determines body composition”
So, for now, I’d focus on making sure you have adequate protein to preserve as much muscle as possible, enough decent fat sources to keep your hormones ticking over and make sure you have a decent calorie deficit.
thanks so much for the advice, I was wondering if I should at least try to eat lean meat, every other day, if that would help? I will probably start this weekend and see if it does change things. again thanks so much.
My pleasure! I’ve noticed I feel better when I eat quality meat at least two or three days each week and eat eggs and some form of dairy pretty much every day. For dairy, cottage cheese and Greek or sheep’s milk yogurt are some favorites, although I only buy the expen$ive sheep’s milk yogurt when on a serious sale.
When you’re ready, starting a log here that tracks your food, weight, and exercise may be a valuable tool and source of community for you.
