Looking for some good free advice. I am 43 years old, 5'8", and weigh 280 pounds. My weight has never been a concern to me, until recently. Two months ago I was diagnosed with sleep apnea, high cholesterol, pre hypertension blood pressure, and pre diabetes. Needless to say, this was my wake up call. My doctor assured me this can all be controlled and possibly reversed with medication, diet, and exercise. For two months I have been eating better and taking medications. I have lost 20 pounds. When it comes to exercise, I am clueless. I joined Fitness Connection last weekend. I have walked on treadmill (cardio setting) one hour a day every day. Am I doing it right? What else should I do? Can't afford a personal trainer. Any advice appreciated. In before "stop eating". TLDR: Gym workouts to loose weight.
The diet will do more to help you lose weight than the actual workouts. But for me, working out helps me stick to my diet. If I'm putting in hard work at the gym, I don't want to throw that away by eating crap that's going to negate the work I did. I'm currently doing Shaun T's T25 home workout. You really don't burn THAT much calorie wise compared to spending a full hour at the gym 5-6 days a week. But due to the diet, I've lost 4.5 lbs in 9 days. I've done the same thing before just dieting and running at the gym, losing 30 lbs before I fell back into bad eating habits that necessitates me trying to lose weight again. I did P90X at the beginning of the year. I lost a little weight but not a lot because I wasn't as committed to my diet as I should've been. Diet is the key.
First, doing an hour a day of exercise is a great start so congrats to you. Start adding 30 minutes to your gym routine 3 times a week where you do some weights. It can be simple stuff on the machines. Everyone's right that diet is the biggest difference maker, but getting up and getting active that much in a week is great for your body. Find some extra time to get up and go for a walk, even if it's just around the the neighborhood for 30 minutes.
There are tons of workout programs on the internet you can look up depending on your goals and time commitment. You don't want to over do it either. Google beginner workout or getting back into shape workout. Something like this is fine for starting out: http://www.mensfitness.com/training/build-muscle/the-workout-for-every-guy-the-beginners-workout
You need a disciplined diet and a disciplined workout program. Buy Insanity. You'll drop 40-50 lbs if you stick to it.
Sorry. let me add something more useful. don't go to the gym till you fix your diet. There's a reason you became overweight..and it wasn't the lack of gym.
There's a lot of ways to lose weight. You just have to pick the right one for you. Only eat healthy. Do xxx workout. Spend hours at the gym. None of these are can fun as a beginner and will prob lead you back to point A. Go out there and have FUN. Let it be cardio, basketball, lifting weights... the most important thing is that you are enjoying it and come back for more.
We know you're looking for a change, but it's important to know what you're trying to change from. 280 is just a number and what you're looking to do is not just change a number but a lifestyle. so the question to ask is, whats your lifestyle like now? You've got to have done something to end in the position you are in now. In part, you're going to have to go in reverse, back to what your life was like before you "lost control".
Diet alone will help you. At this point I'd even say go for the Ketogenic diet to lose weight faster. Once you get to a certain point switch off from Keto, go to a more sustainable diet and then start lifting.
The best bang for your buck exercises are those that engage multiple joints, otherwise known as compound movements. Such movements include squats, deadlifts, bench press, shoulder press, etc. Make these exercises the core of your exercise regimen and you'll be on your way to gaining muscle. Don't be so concerned with a number on the scale. Focus your efforts more on lifting than trying to achieve some number on the scale. The weight loss will take care of itself provided you're working out regularly and eating sensibly. When you gain more muscle, you'll burn more calories at rest than you did before since muscle is more metabolically active (requires more calories to function) than fat.
Unless you're dedicated to a different diet, exercise will only take you so far. You've got to make a concerted effort in eating better, healthier, and in smaller quantities. Once you get to a point where eating healthier becomes easy, that's when I would start hitting the gym 2-4 times a week. You'll see results faster, and it'll be better for your body.
Not to be a dick but you're 5'8 and 280? How did you not realize your weight was an issue a 100 pounds ago?
Please listen to this man. Going to the gym is not the way to solve your problem. 95% of it is eating habits. However, if going to the gym makes you more thoughtful about what goes in your mouth, good and well. But you really need to focus on permanently changing your eating habits. Spending time at the gym could end up being a distraction from what's really important. The best exercise for losing weight is pushing back from table. The second best is whatever cardio you enjoy the most (or dislike the least). In your condition, I wouldn't bother lifting weights for now.
Yep diet is key. If you can't get rid of the bad eating habits (the first step is to identify what they are because you have to have them if you're really that size ) then going to the gym isn't really going to help you. Diet is everything in losing weight...unless you workout like an olympian of course then you'd be good...but a typical gym workout can be killed by a 15 minute dinner if you're eating the wrong stuff. Good luck!
