I appreciate aby help/support

[Mahmoud]

Hi everyone,

I do not know where to start. I will try to keep it short. I am a 6'3'', and 400 lb 30 years old. I want really to loose weight as my health deterioration started to be very obvious and my cholesterol levels became very high. However, every time I try, I get distracted easily with my work. I do not have any one near me to get some motivation. So, I was looking to find other people who have the same goal to create a motivational group. Also, I am kinda of lost and do not know where to start. I went through many websites and I found many contradictions. Therefore, I appreciate any advice or tips from people who went through this experience.

Thanks in advance for anyone who support me.

 

[Fred Fleury]

Hey Mahmoud,

Congratulations and taking action on solving the problem - signing up for the forum and seeking help!

First thing in my opinion is you understand you CAN do it. A lot of people have done it and the sooner you "re-wire" your brain with that idea, the more it will work in your favor to change your body and improve your health.

The general guidelines are:

- You'd slowly introduce exercise into your routine; it can start as much as a low-intensity treadmill, growing into more intense cardio as your cardiorespiratory capacity increases and further into weight training.
- You'd start educating yourself and changing your eating habits slowly but truly; we don't want too drastic a change that will make you drop out two weeks later; it's a change for good.

Can you tell me what exercise programs/nutrition strategies you've tried before? And how did they work? I can try and help you out with more specifics then.

Best of luck,

Fred

 

[Mahmoud]

Hey Mahmoud,

Congratulations and taking action on solving the problem - signing up for the forum and seeking help!

First thing in my opinion is you understand you CAN do it. A lot of people have done it and the sooner you "re-wire" your brain with that idea, the more it will work in your favor to change your body and improve your health.

The general guidelines are:

- You'd slowly introduce exercise into your routine; it can start as much as a low-intensity treadmill, growing into more intense cardio as your cardiorespiratory capacity increases and further into weight training.
- You'd start educating yourself and changing your eating habits slowly but truly; we don't want too drastic a change that will make you drop out two weeks later; it's a change for good.

Can you tell me what exercise programs/nutrition strategies you've tried before? And how did they work? I can try and help you out with more specifics then.

Best of luck,

Fred

Hi Fred.

Thanks for the reply and the advice. I used general approaches before like limiting the quantity, eliminating junk food, cutting down sugars and carbs, and exercise for 30 minutes a day. So, basically I was trying to eliminate unnecessary food ingredients from my diet. Do you recommend a certain diet and exercise routine? My concern is that I do not want to loose weight at the expense of my health. I saw many ugly cases where people loose weight and get very sick. This is why I am looking for tips from people who where in my shoe and managed to balance this.

Thanks again.

Mahmoud

 

[Fred Fleury]

Hi Fred.

Thanks for the reply and the advice. I used general approaches before like limiting the quantity, eliminating junk food, cutting down sugars and carbs, and exercise for 30 minutes a day. So, basically I was trying to eliminate unnecessary food ingredients from my diet. Do you recommend a certain diet and exercise routine? My concern is that I do not want to loose weight at the expense of my health. I saw many ugly cases where people loose weight and get very sick. This is why I am looking for tips from people who where in my shoe and managed to balance this.

Thanks again.

Mahmoud

Hi Mahmoud,

My recommendation is that instead of just eliminating junk food and sugars (which is great!), you start replacing them for real fat burning/healthy meals. How to do that:

*Nutrition
- Starting with once a day, you'll make a real meal that consists of protein+veggies. I don't mean vitamin enriched veggies juices or protein powders, I'm talking about real food here: chicken, meat, fish, eggs, broccoli, spinach, cauliflower, asparagus... etc.
- So let's say you were going to eat pizza or maybe a hamburger for dinner. Instead, you don't simply skip this meal; you do the P+V meal above.
- As you go, start making an effort to replace the remaining "bad" meals in the day too, so that you're consistently eating foods that a) Support health and b) Help you lose at and gain/preserve muscle

*Exercise
- You can start building up to a 30-minute treadmill out outdoor walk three to five times a week; see how your body reacts, and from there start growing into a jog and then a vigorous jog, as your body gets used to exercise. Initially, aim for a level of exertion (effort) where you're sweating a bit but still able to talk, not past that (not sweating profusely and breathing so heavy you can't sustain a conversation)
- Once you're able to do a good jog for 30-minutes 3-5 times a week (that sounds good already doesn't it??), you add 2 days a week of weight training -the real deal for fat loss and muscle building, in my opinion.

*Notes on health
- Don't try to just cut everything and drop a lot of weight at once - understand it's a change for your life and not for the next month;
- By eating natural foods, especially vegetables, you're giving your body the nutrients is needs not to get sick; as an extra strategy, you can add 10g-20g glutamine in exercises days, which is a supplement that strengthens your immunologic system and adds up on you staying healthy and not getting sick

I hope this helps, Mahmoud. Let me know if you have other concerns!

Best,

Fred

 

[Nathan_Ayala]

Mahmoud,

Fred is giving you some great advice! I bet it'd work like a charm, just take is slowly and make it a habit.

You said:

I used general approaches before like limiting the quantity, eliminating junk food, cutting down sugars and carbs, and exercise for 30 minutes a day. So, basically I was trying to eliminate unnecessary food ingredients from my diet. Do you recommend a certain diet and exercise routine?

Did you have any success using these general approaches? please use numbers if you have them.