New, saying "Hi" and askiing advice

J

jwrichards82

New member
Well, I'm new! Hello, all!

I'm hoping to start using this resource to it's fullest. I need to loose weight and start being a bit more healthy than I am now. I am 150 lbs, 5'9", 30 years old and currently unemployed. I guess at this time in my life, my head is finally screwed on straight and I know what I need to do. Since being a kid, I've always been a bit over weight. My fat to weight ratio or some junk like that has never been looked at as being dangerous, nor labeled obese. I've had physicals periodically throughout my life and have been told my cholesterol is good, no high or low blood pressure and very healthy...except for the weight. Mind you, no one has told me I needed to be lighter for health reasons, it seemed until a few years ago, it was just an image thing. I walk everywhere I need to go, unless it's more than an hour then I take a bus. Since I'm unemployed, I'm usually sitting at my computer and playing games or writing. I've noticed in recent years that I am now obese. What I've been told is fine is now a health risk. I went for a physical last week (I donate plasma regularly since I'm unemployed) and was still told everything is fine. I'm not dieing, I'm not short of breath after a walk, I may be in danger of developing diabetes, since my father "got" it when he was around 40...

So I'm really confused. I do want to loose weight though. I was pretty slim at one point in my life after high school, but I got married (for a short time) and gained a lot. I want to be like that again. But nothing really seems to work (from my perception at the moment anyway). Since I'm unemployed, I only really eat once a day, and I drink water, soda, tea and juice between to keep me from eating what food I have. Since I don't have money, I also do not have access to a gym and the "free" trainer services offered. I start reading about dieting and see what kind of grocery list is offered, but it's hidden until I give that website some money.

So, any advice? I would like to try and loose about 60 lbs in the next couple months (if it's safe and possible) so that I can go on and get into the National Guard (I really should have entered service, like my father, right after high school) before the 35 age cutoff.

I've started on my own a bit, hopefully. I walk for an hour or two every night. One hour in one direction, walk around a bit, stand still for about 10 minutes, turn around and walk home. I thought I cut out the sodas, but ended up getting another after an unbearable headache from having no caffeine ( yup. I'm a Mountain Dew junky) I'm going to try again, this time lowering the amount of soda I drink in a day until I no longer worry about headaches. Cold turkey on the soda was not very cool.

Anyway, thanks to those who take the time to read up on my current situation and I appreciate any advice you can give. I'll be spending the next two weeks going through the forum and see if there is anything useful. Links to topics or sites with 100% free information is absolutely accepted!
 
Welcome to the forum.

BMI is the ratio of weight to height - and it is used by doctors and insurance companies alike.

I do not know who has led you to believe that your current weight is unhealthy - but this is not the case.

I strongly recommend that you book an appointment with your doctor and ask him directly about this.

Your BMI is 22.1 so you are lucky in that you start with a healthy weight.



I can tell you that if you weighed 60 pounds less - you would be a very unhealthy weight.

It may be that you have keyed the wrong weight in (something that is easily done) and you weigh more.

If that is the case - we can certainly help you do lose weight - without paying out any money for the information.

Please check and confirm what your current weight is. If it is 150 pounds - then please do not attempt to lose 60 pounds.
 
Great - now I can advise you on how to lose weight with a clear conscience... :) You would be amazed at how many very thin people turn up on forums who are desperate for an unhealthily low weight.

It certainly sounds like the soda and juice is not helping you at all.

I must admit that I tend to opt for solving one problem at a time...
While we would be better off drinking nothing but water (and we all know that a lot of soda has a lot of chemicals in as well as a heap of calories) - I think that it is better to solve the calorie side first and have diet drinks that have chemicals but next to no calories - then work on that side of things later... You can get things like diet cola which have the caffeine but next to no calories...

Fruit juice has tons of calories in - but doesnt fill you up... There are loads of diets out there that effectively put the fruit on free food lists but the fruit juice costs you loads of points or whatever... that is because at least if you eat 5 oranges you feel like you have had something... if you have the juice from 5 oranges a lot of us think "nice drink - now where is some food to go with that"...

if you are having tea and coffee - remember to use sweetener as sugar can add a heap of calories - and you can switch full fat milk to skimmed.

Try to drink a fair bit of water in addition to the soda though as water is really good for you.

Most diets want you to fill up on veg - and to cook it in a healthy way.

Walking is really good.
 
Hi I think you may also want to set some realistic/achievable targets for where you want to be in terms of your timelines.

I started off with 55 Lbs to lose from a starting weight of 231 Lbs and set myself a fairly aggressive target of 4 months which equates to 3.5 Lbs a week. To try and lose 60 Lbs in a 'couple of months' is in my mind unrealistic because the last thing you want to do is fall behind your targets, get disillusioned and give up (I have in the past). Yes targets should be challenging but reaching milestones them is also cause for celebration and what will keep you motivated.
 
I agree Joshd - 60 pounds does not sound too realistic to me. It is not like you are very big (in our terms although you might feel that you are)... You are trying to do things in a healthy way.

1% of weight per week is good going...

If you set unrealistic targets you will feel a failure when you have actually been a brilliant success... We need the celebrations to keep going...
 
My husband is 5'11" and 195lbs now. He used to be 236 before he started losing back in March of this year. He isn't unemployed, but he does have a desk job he works from 8 AM to 5 PM so he's fairly physically inactive save for walking back and forth from his desk to a printer. What he's been doing is walking on his lunch break (1 hour), drinking SlimFast in the morning and plenty of water throughout the day, and a huge dinner meal. Work keeps him too busy to want food.

I'm the stay-at-home parent, so I can sort of relate to what you say when being unemployed has you sitting around. A good way to avoid that is to find things at home that will keep you busy. The best thing to do is clean. It's inexpensive (the cost of cleaning supplies) and keeps you active, not to mention living in a clean environment will have you in a better mood than living in a dirty, nasty one. You can also push mow your lawn or manually wash your car, both of which give you access to fresh, rejuvenating air.

I can also relate to your caffeine headaches. I was prescribed Topomax over a year ago for my awful headaches, but I can now go without. I don't drink coffee, tea, or sodas anymore and I drink plenty of water to stay hydrated. I get my caffeine from Hydroxycut now. It's a weight-loss supplement, I know, but it's just two pills that keep me going for the day without needing to drink the empty calories of coffee or soda. If you can't stand the taste of tap/filtered water, I recommend Mio to flavor your water; it's 0 calories and you can find store alternatives that are cheaper (like GV from Walmart).

When you get to the point you can afford it, I would recommend doing an overhaul of your fridge. This was one of the first things I did. I had so much unhealthy, full-fat stuff in my kitchen (noodles, mayo, salad dressings, sauces, milk and cheese and yogurt that weren't low fat, sandwich meats, unhealthy frozen dinners). You'd be surprised how much that makes a difference as far as your weight loss and feeling better because you are, in fact, eating healthier foods and getting the nutrients your body needs.

And honestly, you shouldn't worry about a gym membership. I have a wellness center membership and don't even use it. Sure, they're useful for their equipment and workout classes, but you can find plenty of ways to exercise at or around home. You've already said you're walking outside. You can also do push-ups, sit-ups, etc in your own home so you can get that extra exercise in without spending hundreds of dollars on a gym.
 
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