Suggestions anyone?

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Proud2BaDad

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Hello my name is Ryan and I am new. I posted this in "newcomers" bit it was suggested that i post it in here ... "I'm Ryan. I'm 45 yrs old. 6'1" and 295 lbs. I don't know my bodyfat%. Currently, my only exercise is 2 flights of stairs while I go to work and come home. Diet is extremely poor (75% fast food and soda, 25% 170 cal meals from Walmart. Diagnosed with anxiety and depression. Recently took 1 yr off from wrk to care for sick daughter (cerebral palsy, brain surgery, leg surgeries, etc) and lost everything. Now family and I living in motel for 7 months. Will be here till back on our feet. Need inexpensive diet. We only have small refrig and microwave for me, wife and 2 teens. No stove or oven. Can eat canned veg (salt free). Some veg if they fit in tiny frig. I can jog outside and do stairs here. Any help?"
 
Hi, Ryan & welcome to the forum. I love your username. You deserve to be a proud Dad. Giving up work to care for your sick daughter is a selfless act & I admire you for it. I am so sorry that your financial circumstances are currently poor, but it seems to me that your strong family values & positive outlook will get you through this time.
The 1st thing I thought of to cut down your calorie intake is to drop the soda. Is your tap water OK to drink? I am sure that others will come up with some good ideas, but without a decent sized fridge, I'm scratching my head. Fast food is so cheap & so high in calories & that is half the problem with the world's obesity problem.
You have come to a place where you will find some good support & hopefully the lovely people here will come up with some ideas for you. Cheers, Cate.
 
Hi Ryan and welcome. I'm sorry your country's healthcare system is failing you so badly. I agree with Cate on cutting out soda if the water's drinkable.
Things that tend keep at least for 3-4 days without refridgeration: tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, root veg (they may get a bit wrinkly but will still taste good) including (sweet) potatoes, firmer pumpkin/squash, and if your room isn't too warm onions as well. Can-wise I tend to like beans/peas (well-rinsed) , carrots, and tomatoes. Precious fridge space may be well-spent on a head of cabbage - dirt cheap (around here at least) and if you just peal off some outer leaves every day it keeps for weeks, giving you some fresh greens.
A microwave can actually be used to cook quite a lot of stuff, Youtube has lots of microwave-only recipes that sometimes hide behind a "student" or "dorm" tag.

In the US the $/calorie are always going to be better for fast food than for the real stuff but I think if you look at the nutrition labels (time-consuming at first but worth it in the mid-to-long term) of the fast food and "cook" one veg&bean dish a day at home you can still lose weight and not endanger your health.
Do you know how many calories you want to be consuming for weightloss? As for exercise if you can run running's great but otherwise walking is great for your body as well. Just consumes more time. Other than that bodyweight exercises can be very helpful in keeping your muscles fit without a gym.
I hope things will take a turn for the better very soon and you'll stick with us in the meantime.
 
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Hi Ryan, i read your article. Looks like my life..... I did some research for an inexpensive program. For years I am way over weight too. In was hoping that over time this would dissapear, but (not very strange) it didn't. Currently I do not feel happy and are ashamed of myself. I noticed that I did not leave the house as often as I used to, because of that. So like you, I have to act now. I found several very good looking diet programs. Lots of them seem to need a very active mind set, make you eat horrible food or are very expensive. Lot's of sports and eating only veggies. That just does not sound like me; I am not that sportive. I also found some other programs. The best for me seems the spam link removed. I was wondering, did you (or anybody else) hear about this program? Love to get your feedback.
 
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Hi, Ryan. I have been giving this some more thought. Purchasing an inexpensive slow cooker might be a good idea. Someone at your work might have one unused in a cupboard. Soups & stews are great, especially as you are coming into Winter. You could buy some cheaper veg & cheap cuts of meat, cook them up & store them, even in a small fridge. Buying some legumes or a just a general soup mix would add extra fibre & nutrition to either a soup or a casserole & they are easily stored. I'll keep thinking....
 
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