Getting fat

[Johnboy114]

I think it's really important to understand that eating is prob70-80% of the key. Somewhere there is some science behind that. So start eating right is the first goal. For me it has been thinking of non processed. As much as possible. Lunch is your biggest meal. Nuts are your friends as well.

7 years ago furthest I had ever run was prob 2 miles. Not sure what got into me but I commited to do a half marathon. I signed up for it. Committed. I started running. Ran 1 mile the first time out. 1 mile! That's all I had. I followed an easy running program and low and behold I started increasing mileage. By the time the half came along I was hooked. I ran at4 or 5 in the morning. I still do. Have completed a full marathon a few years ago.

Another thing I have started that I enjoy is doing more pull ups push ups etc opposed to the gym. Good luck to you, realize this isn't a diet but a lifestyle change. Give your daughter a better daddy that will walk her down the aisle one day. Or run her down it.

[lilwhitelie]

The math is simple. Burn more calories than you take in or at least try. Easier said than done in this day and time with many having office jobs and kids etc where you used to play sports every day. At your age if you just put a little effort on diet and get some routine working out you will see a difference. Running does suck but now the focus has shown to do high intensity vs running distance to get your heart rate at its max. With that theory you get more results in less time. Kinda the T25 based workout. Also as you age your metabolism slows and your testosterone levels drop causing the increase in belly fat so you have to really make the effort to thwart it off. Again it's easier said than done but doing a little every day will give results. Maybe turn the onion into a new potatoe. good luck....the reason most fail at diets is they SUCK and so you trampoline. You lose a lot but can't stick with it then you just gain it all back plus some. Atkins is hell on your gi tract if you have ANY gi issues. Get a partner to hold you accountable.

[mlj300]

I have never been what most people would call fat. Most of my life i have eaten whatever i wanted, butterfat, bacon, beer, ect. I have also been very active most of my life. I despise running and that sort of exercise but i elevate my heart rate daily through manual labor. I hit my all time high weight two years ago at age 32. I got up to about 187. In february of that year after a long day of making cattle feed i crashed out and wound up in the hospital. Turns out i was diagnosed with late onset type 1 diabetes.

Now i take 4 shots and 4 pills a day. I weigh 160 pounds soaking wet but my blood sugar is under control. My point in all of this is that americans as a whole have terrible eating habits. We have more diabetes, heart disease, and cancer than any other country in the world. The single most important thing that any of us can do to improve our health is to improve our diet.

Shop on the outside edge of the grocery store or better yet grow your own vegetables and meat whenever possible. Start with single fresh ingredients. The convenient pre packaged foods are usually the worst for us. If something has an ingredient in it that you cant pronounce, stay away from it. Try to eat like people did 100 years ago. Go vegan before 4 p.m. everyday. Eat your meat at dinner. Never eat after 9 p.m. We as humans weren't built to eat meat, salt, fat or sugar 3,4,5,+ times a day. Think about how rarely those ingredients occur in nature.

If you need to improve your diet improve it. If you need more exercise get more. If you need to loose weight loose it. Don't wind up like me, taking $600 worth of medicine a month at an early age just to feel normal and stay alive. If i could go back i would eat and exercise however i needed to if it could have prevented my illness. Ignoring your weight and diet can cost you the things in life that you truly love just like drugs or alcohol.

That is all, carry on.

[novacaine]

[bulldog ducker]

I have never been obese but I had let myself get out of shape over the last 2 years or so. I had been going to the gym 3-4 times a week and lifting but never did cardio. Our gym closed and the wife and I joined Baptist Healthplex in Madison and I started doing the same routine that I had been doing at my old gym.

I decided to join a 12 week boot camp (at baptist) and that met monday-thursday and on sat morning. I weighed in at 181 and 19.3% body fat before the first workout. We weighed every 3 weeks till then end. My final weigh in was 178 and 11.8% body fat.

I hated it for the first 3 weeks and could barely get out of bet for the first 2. I am happy I stuck with it and feel better for doing it. I would recommend that bootcamp to anyone. There was a range of people in it from folks in better shape than me at the start to people that couldn't do a pushup or run 100 yards on the first day. I was amazed at how your body can change in 12 weeks with some of the folks in my camp.

[Chuckle12]

If you aren't wanting to dive off into exercise then start with diet. It's all about math. If calories taken in are more than calories burned during a day then you're gonna get fat, if calories in are less than calories out then you will lose weight. If you really want to get in shape, sign up for an event. I was out of shape, overweight (25#'s but that is a lot on my frame). I tried to start dieting and working out but was not motivated. I signed up for a Spartan race because I didn't want to "just run". It motivated me to start eating better and gave me a goal to train for. Now I run 3 days a week and lift weights 3 days a week. I've done 3 Spartan sprints and a Spartan super. I'm in better shape than I was in high school. Stronger as well. Buy a bike, take a swimming class, get a trainer for a little bit. You need something to make you accountable, whether it is a trainer, a partner, a group or an upcoming race.

[Greenhead329]

I turned 30 this year and am in a similar boat..I have found stress tends to exacerbate weight gain for me...i wen from an in shape 185 to 230 in a matter of 1 year...

Between all the daily b.s. at my previous job, piss poor eating habits (no lunch break-literally ), i would eat anything i could grab quickly, work schedule..not only did I not have time to work out, just didn't care.

Started jogging again, doing push ups and sit ups, cut out cokes, and now getting more sleep I'm down to 207 ..that's in less than 2 months. .

My goal is to start running 20 miles per week, start swimming, and do a major diet over haul vs just cutting out the cokes.

[Dutch Dog]

Running is a great way to shed weight relatively quickly. Here's what has worked best for me. Week 1, day 1 run until you are done, do NOT push yourself. If it's only a half mile or 5 minutes so be it. Run that distance every day for the rest of the week. Week 2 day 1, up your run by a small amount, say 1-2 minutes and run that far for the rest of that week, Week 3 day 1, up your run another 1-2 minutes and run that far for the rest of the week. Keep doing this and before you know it, you are conditioned to it and easily running 30 minutes (approx 3 miles) or more every day. I've also found that running on a treadmill is much easier on your body (wear and tear) and you can do it no matter if it's 100 degrees or 15 degrees. You might be a little sore the first 3-4 days, but after that you won't get sore any longer unless you quit for a spell then start back.

[jacksbuddy]

Been there, done that, got the t-shirt. I have actually done this for a living, so I've learned a thing or two.

First, remember. It took you time to get where you are, so it will take you a little time to get where you want.

Second, avoid all fad diets. None of them work.

Third, do something. Go for a walk (you'll be surprised), Cut the snacks (and alcohol, and smoking, etc.), Drink water, Eat breakfast (Not the supersized value meal), Play with the kids, etc.

And Fourth, do it forever.

Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.

(Note: Nothing I suggested costs a dime. They DO, however, require commitment on your part.)

[WilM88]

Jacksbuddy, summed it up and didn't throw out a bunch of stuff to dive into that you don't necessarily need to at the moment and that doesn't cost any money.

Don't get tricked into some fad diet, or supplement pyramid. Like they said above, burn more calories than you consume. Don't go from eating like you do now to a 1000 calorie diet or anything extreme, and I wouldn't advise a fasted diet either, most people don't do well on those, it shocks your body at first and will make you weak, foggy, lethargic and irritable in the mornings. Make simple adjustments, for example if you are at Wendy's, get a chicken wrap and a water or a large chilli like mentioned earlier and a water or tea (unsweetened), if you travel a lot, have a banana and some trail mix or jerky, instead of a bag of funions and a coke...

Drink more WATER, this is what people tend to not do. I personally drink close to 150 ounces everyday.

Cut out the sugars, cut back on the cokes, frostys, brownies, etc.

Find some type of physical activity/hobby you enjoy, you don't have to join a gym or spend fortunes on a personal trainer (not saying they don't help, bc I am a personal trainer around my day time job) but start slow, take walks, turn that into a jog, then run, ride a bike, swim, take the stairs, get outside with our daughter, push ups and air squats every morning, find something and stick to it.

Be patient, it won't happen overnight. Set realistic goals for yourself (attainable ones), reward yourself when you meet them, its motivating when you accomplish things, even if they are small. It keeps your striving to reach more and more of them and those small goals, well, they add up.

Have cheat days or cheat meals where you pig out and eat like you want one day or one meal. It keeps your sane and satisfies your temptations and cravings.

Give yourself time to be unhappy or frustrated with the new diets, exercise programs, or being "out of shape" before you know it, it will be part of your day and something you look forward to, not just physically but mentally.

Enjoy the process, know you are doing it for your own health but for your loved ones as well.

[sondance]

Man there is some good advice given in this thread. I was 42 or 43 and was never really big. I got up to about 210lb. The thing was I was the director of sales for a medical device to treat obesity and I saw where I was going. My company started doing something called corporate athlete. It was essentially how to exercise while traveling. Some of my co-workers started doing it and I didn't want to be the one who stayed unhealthy. That being said, I never embraced the corp athlete stuff and they fell off the wagon. However, I started going to the gym and watching what I ate as a result. Most of which these earlier posters have elaborated on. One trick to stave off hunger, is to eat a little something healthy like almonds, then wait 20 minutes. You won't be hungry anymore. Most guys eat too fast and too big of portions. It takes your brain a minimum of 20 minutes to figure out that you are full.

The thing about the gym, it is a pain to go BUT, if you go you will make yourself stay because you already put out the effort in getting there. It was a little embarrassing for me at first as you would see these folks lifting heavy and I couldn't do it. But, I finally came to the conclusion I wasn't there to impress anyone but myself. I was there for me. So I kept going and it started becoming a habit. I didn't lose a ton (20lbs) but I dropped 4 inches of my waist and fat started becoming muscle. I got a fitbit type device (Jawbone) and that helped even more as I became aware of what I was putting in my mouth and how much I was moving and sleeping (big deal for weight loss). I have been at it for 3 years now and feel bad if I don't go workout. There are MANY days I don't want to go but once I make myself I am glad I did once I get through it. The point is losing weight and getting healthy is a choice you have to make (sounds like you are getting there) and budget your time for. It's not hard once you get into a pattern but, getting that way is tough to start. You just remember what your daughter said (your reason). That should keep you on track. BTW I am not a runner either. Good luck to you.

[edub20]

[jacksbuddy]

[the tree]

For starters, quit eating fast food and cleanse your house of all snacks! Make time to walk every day (not a stroll), at least 45 minutes. Create a diet. I made my diet bananas, sweet potatoes, almonds, oatmeal, cereal (natural, no sugars) and frozen grapes as deserts, soups and some kind of meat. Splurge on weekends and enjoy bacon and eggs, but no breads. Commit yourself for 30 days. At the end of 30 days you may not have lost a single pound or adjusted your belt one hole, but you will know if you have the discipline needed to accomplish your goals. And when hunger strikes, think of the smart a** comments your good buddies will make when serving as your pall bearer!

[SNOT]

I've gotta get back into it. I worked out 5 days a week from 2001-2010, never missed more than 2 weeks during that time. Had a membership at the Healthplex and Anytime Fitness. Ended up dropping my Healthplex membership and keep the other one. December 2010, I took 2 weeks off to hunt and decided I wouldn't worry about working out - I was just gonna hunt and not worry about it. I haven't been back since....that's all it took to get out of the habit of working out. Kept my Anytime Fitness the whole time, keep telling myself I'm going back....basically spent around 3 grand over 5 years keeping a membership I haven't used. I'm 6'2" and used to stay around 210. Over my 5 year break I've slowly gotten to where I stay 225-230. Not fat but just feel out of shape. I've always eaten whatever I wanted. I rarely drink water...love Cokes, Mountain Dew, Sunkist...crave em....drink 1, 16oz Red Bull a day in the morning (hate coffee so that's my coffee in the morning).
I'm gonna start back this week. Reading this thread has help me decide that. Just gotta get back in that routine.