Hello everyone, I am a 36 year old male that as of a week ago completely stopped drinking beer after waking up and realizing that at 320 lbs can barely bend over to tie my shoes and realizing that the alcohol and fast food is going to kill me if i dont make a major change! well, im making that change and need advice. I have never dieted,dont know where to begin. Need to start excercising but at an easy rate as i get winded easily. I want to be around for my kids and realized that if i dont do something NOW my short time here will be even shorter.can anyone give me some tips . anything will be appreciated! Thanks again, Greg

Hi Greg!

I'm also from Indiana and I can definitely relate to your post! I'm new to the site as well so I may not be of much help but a friend told me to change 1 or 2 things (like drinking water, making better food choices, and movement) and stick with that for a couple weeks until you're comfortable and then change more. She advised me not too change too many things at once, or I'll get frustrated and just give up.....I think she's right!
Feel free to contact me if you want to chat!

Good luck on your journey!

Start slow- okay you quit drinking awesome! Now if you never cook go check out amazon and buy some cookbooks that make easy and quick meals that are healthy as well. Pick your recipes for the week and go grocery shopping (you may think your bill is high but remember you won't be eating out anymore/as much). Choose your other meals as well. At 320 pounds you should probably start with 2400 calories a day. Remember to drink PLENTY of water- cut out anything that isn't water or green tea- even "diet" drinks aren't that good for you- if you must have them wean yourself off of them with time.

Then with working out- don't push too hard to fast. If your first day you can only work out three minutes before passing out- then only work out three minutes that day! The next day come back and go for four! When I first started running on the treadmill I did less than ten minutes day one- now I can go at least half an hour

Slow changes make for permanent weight loss! Good luck!

Hi Greg - well first, welcome and second...congrats (on the appropriate steps you are taking to get your life in order). That being said, you will self sabotage yourself if you go in full force, ESPECIALLY since you have never dieted before. So my suggestion to you is this - eliminate eating out and beer all together, yes all together. Continue to eat your normal home food, even if its not healthy, we have to take baby steps here Greg. From making those 2 changes, you will start to see the scale go down. Now, set a goal - 10% is very reasonable and realistic, to get to your next mini goal, you should consider the following:

* Make sure you get in your 8 glasses of water a day, this will help with any sodium consumption you may intake, it will make you feel full, flush out the toxins from your body and keep your metabolism going fast.

* Try to cut back on all sodium products, especially chips.

* Eat a big breakfast, try to make it your largest meal.

* Try "snacking" every 3-4 hours, but no later than 3 hours prior to your bedtime.

Now, going into exercise. Do what you can sustain, I mean, push yourself to bring up your heart rate but dont overexert yourself. Try walking at first, then beef it up to something else you enjoy doing, i.e.: swimming, basketball, whatever you fancy. Eventually once you get in a walking routine, you may want to invest in a good heart monitor, this will allow you to push yourself without burning you out. Everyone has a target heart rate based on their age, weight and height.

Amazingly enough, every man that I know rarely has to go into a full blown diet because little changes like I named above have worked in getting their weight down. If you do not have the self discipline, you may want to join Weight Watchers where it isnt a dramatic change for you but you still have someone to hold you accountable. Naturally, you should be following the food pyramid to a certain degree, especially with fruits and veggies, but that will come to you in time. I really think if you try to jump into this full throttle, you will cause more harm than good.

Good luck and feel free to send me a private message if you have any questions or just need a support buddy. I have done enough research, read enough books and tried every diet known to man to get where I am now in educating myself on the healthy and proper way to lose weight.

Hi and welcome to 3FC!


Hugs
Michelle

Thank you Gigglesquirt i think just simple changes at first will ease me into this whole thing!

Hello,
Yes, you are right starting slow will be the way to go.Although since i have stopped drinking i find myself snacking more( and eating more) than i did when i drank. Probably bcuz i was full of beer all the time LOL! but im trying more healthier foods and still mixing in the occasional sin snack(no beer) i thank you for your advice and will probably take you up on the buddy thing as i know the first steps are gonna be the hardest...Thank you again!GREG

Hi michelle! thanks for welcoming me!

Welcome to 3FC Greg

I don't think that I could add anymore to what everyone has already said above me but what I can say is that you will be able to find support, advice and motivation here to help you reach your goal!

Seems that everyone agrees slow and steady is the way to go! thanks beerab!

I agree, support advice and motivation are greately needed and i believe you will all be there for help! Thank you Lauren

Welcome and good luck ! Quitting the beer drinking will be a good start, but don't replace the beer with mashed potatoes and gravy ! Eat fresh fruit and vegetables and lean meat especially chicken and fish. We women are totally bummed that men lose much quicker than women, sad but true for us. Do what exercise you can but work up to it slowly.Congratulations on taking charge of your health .

Just wanted to welcome you to 3FC! Eliminating the drinking is often a huge start, especially for men, so long as you don't replace those calories with food as you mentioned. What kinds of food do you normally eat?

I would start out with walking as others have suggested. Just a daily 30 minute walk (you can even break it up into two 15 minute walks) goes a long way and you will be surprised how quickly you stop being winded from the exertion. Literally, within a week or two. Get your kids to go with you and make it a family ritual after dinner.

Good luck to you. You can do it!

When i was drinking i would eat a couple cheeseburgers, maybe pizza(whole), chicken nuggets, lots of garbage!(not literally..lol) now (over the past week) pretzels for snack,maybe an aplle or yogurt, turkey sandwich light mayo and mustard,fresh fruit, salad(no dressing,cheese) marinade instead lower in fat.havent started walking yet trying to give up the whole couch potato thing!taking the kids is a good idea! thank you, Wish me luck!

no mashed taters akthough it sounds good....lolo! no i have been eating the occasional fattening thing but trying to fill up on fruits veggies low fat snacks etc. excersise is gonna be the big hurdle for me. I get winded very easily as my Blood pressure is through the roof from the beer/weight combo. so thats gonna be the key lose some wight i think then start the walking thing hopeing that will work out thanks no mashed taters! Greg