Gaining weight, getting worried. *wall of text*

[TreWatson]

Ok, ever since I was about 10 or so (I'm 21) I've always been the "fat kid"

and that's not a big deal because I've been a little chubby, and that didnt bother me except when i was made fun of, but you get over it.

but now, at age 21, and 6'5", my weight is beginning to push towards 300 lbs. (currently at about 270 and PRAYING i don't gain more weight)

so what I'm asking here is:

my family overfeeds me (i mean they literally threaten me if i don't eat seconds at meals mom cooks because my mom refuses to "waste food") but my job doesn't pay enough to buy groceries for myself (let alone a gym membership, since i have 3,000 dollars in university debt.

the job i work now is an office job, and I work from 6 am to about 3 PM.

this leaves me plenty of time to work out right?

well, here comes the next problem.

I'll try to work out, get overwhelmed at how bad i suck at it, feel like i can't do it, and give up. so yeah, motivation to keep doing it is kinda nonexistant

my cousin who has a physical therapy degree told my "why don't you try boosting? (fat-cutter supplements), but i heard those were placebos and the ones that do work are really sketchy and dangerous.

there's gotta be something i can do about this as far as my diet and excercise regimen is concerned.

I know i have to excercise, and I'm trying to, but I'm having issues keeping myself motivated, because I end up getting winded after running like, 3 blocks straight. and nowadays after like 4 flights of steps...

*sigh*

I usually feel better about it when people do it with me and stay on me, but they give up, and then, with no one pushing me to keep going, i feel like it isnt worth it and I give up.

I'm worried I'm gonna gain too much weight and develop a heart condition or diabetes...

[BlindingLight7]

I'm in same rut man,

just exercise and stop being a pussy at it, because your not gonna get anywhere unless you try.


this probably makes no sense...


Just exercise, JUST DO IT.

[TreWatson]

Originally Posted by BlindingLight7

I'm in same rut man,

just exercise and stop being a pussy at it, because your not gonna get anywhere unless you get better at it.


this probably makes no sense...


Just exercise, JUST DO IT.

that's the thing, i DO. i don't sit around doing nothing, i run until i get tired.

it just happens that it's never that long, and i don't see any improvement after 3 months. in fact I'm still gaining weight.

[BlindingLight7]

Originally Posted by TreKita

that's the thing, i DO. i don't sit around doing nothing, i run until i get tired.

it just happens that it's never that long, and i don't see any improvement after 3 months. in fact I'm still gaining weight.

That blows, you will have a rough time since your calorie intake is ....ed with being forced to eat seconds all the time. I'd say get hydroxycut(I used this and it works very well, lost a good 40 pounds in a few months.) or something that's extreme but healthy.

[PeteyG]

There's other ways to do cardio work that don't involve running and making yourself feel like you're going to die for long enough to kill your motivation.

Also doing lighter weight work for longer periods of time is great for keeping your metabolism up. Cardio on its own isn't the best medicine and is the thing which kills most peoples motivation, whereas feeling the benefit of some muscle work is far more instant and enjoyable.

[jymellis]

Originally Posted by TreKita

i run until i get tired.

.

um, keep running. stopping when you "get tired" doesnt cut it you said you are over weight and cant run very far. well your not gonna lose any weight if your not rnning very far brother. run, and when you get tired, run twice as long. when i quit smoking i gained about 45 pounds in 4 months. i lost 30 of it in 2 months. i ran, and lifted weights. i also only ate 1 time a day. your telling us you eat "seconds" at meals and want to loose weight. that aint gonna work brother.

[BlindingLight7]

Originally Posted by PeteyG

There's other ways to do cardio work that don't involve running and making yourself feel like you're going to die for long enough to kill your motivation.

Also doing lighter weight work for longer periods of time is great for keeping your metabolism up. Cardio on its own isn't the best medicine and is the thing which kills most peoples motivation, whereas feeling the benefit of some muscle work is far more instant and enjoyable.

If you have anything on how lose weight without running that would be great! tell tell tell

[PeteyG]

Biking is good, swimming is better, and both far more enjoyable than running, when you think about going for a bike ride, you tend to think about riding something enjoyable, not about how many calories it burns off. Also swimming exercises a greater portion of your body whilst forcing you to control your breathing. Otherwise there are loads of things around the house to use to help cardio, small bursts of exercise during the day, instead of walking up the stairs, run 2 stairs at a time, stuff like that.

Aerobics, while being quite girly and a little gay, are great, don't work you ridiculously hard but get the job done and through doing some of the stretches along with being constantly active, you burn a lot of calories.

Yoga too, not cardio, but hard ....ing work. Really great for toning muscle and acting on specific areas of the body where fat gathers.

Just stuff like that, things which don't take up a lot of space, aren't too hard to do, and can be spread out over the day.

Realise this is coming from someone who is himself a pretty hefty bunt, but for what it's worth, I've lost about 16lbs in the past 4 weeks, and all without really trying too hard.

[BlindingLight7]

Thanks man!

[PeteyG]

The only other thing I would say is to befriend some health addicts. In a month or two I am moving into a house with 3 guys (and 1 lazy arse) who are all pretty healthy, go to the gym on an almost daily basis, and eat healthily.

I am going to be mirroring exactly the foods that they eat, and going to the gym when they do.

If your friends are giving up on working out with you, then you need to really motivate them to do it with you, this will help motivate yourself also, otherwise find someone who will help you work out.

[toiletstand]

yoga is awesome. but classes are pricey. Cut out the soda and sweet drinks. theres a cool program for running, you pace yourself start slow and over the course of 20 weeks it has you running an hour non stop and comfortably.

also you cant expect people to motivate you and push you. yeah itd be nice but it has to be a decision you choose and commit too. dont bring yourself down. start off small and build your way up. you can do it

also tell your family you want to take better care of yourself. Your health is way more important than making mom happy and eating seconds.

[Tiger]

Let me help you out:

Yesterday at 1 PM in columbia south carolina there was 96 degrees with 50% humidity, today looks about the same even with rain.

Hour by Hour Weather Forecast for Columbia, SC (29203) - weather.com

Point is, I was out doing speedwork, that is, quarter and half mile sprints with my heart rate monitor telling me I was hitting 190 beats a minute a times. I finished and went about a half mile away to a hill thats about .2 miles up with an extreme incline. and did repeats on that, just the most miserable/hardcore kind of cardio you can pull out in REALLY awful uncomfortable conditions.

When it was all done with my watch said about 3.5 miles had been covered. You know how many calories that was? Only about 450. Thats nothing. Thats like, a bagel, a glass of milk and a can of tuna, which is what I ate afterwards. Theres 7000 calories just in a pound of fat.

My point is that yea, cardio and exercise helps, it helps motivate and regulate metabolism. It makes you healthy on the inside. But your DIET, read again, DIET is what is going to make you lose weight, especially on the magnitude of what you're talking about. Learn to deal with your family, the 'They MAKE me eat!' is such a cop out. Even if you had been out there with me running like a mad man, you would have A) died and B) only lost less than 500 calories. Whereas cutting back 500 calories or more a day every day for a week will net you a pound or more of fat loss, with a little bonus from exercise.

[jymellis]

Originally Posted by Tiger

Point is, I was out doing speedwork, that is, quarter and half mile sprints with my heart rate monitor telling me I was hitting 190 beats a minute a times. I finished and went about a half mile away to a hill thats about .2 miles up with an extreme incline. and did repeats on that, just the most miserable/hardcore kind of cardio you can pull out in REALLY awful uncomfortable conditions.

.

did you stop when you got tired?

[McCap]

First, try to speak to your parents.
The logic "I don't want to waste food thus I fatten my son" seems a little jinxed to me. Why not buy less in the first place?

Second, maybe try team sports. There's the fun element which keeps you running much longer, than jogging while being bored. And there's the other guys or girls to keep you motivated.

Third, I don't know your environment, but if possible don't drive everywhere by car!!
Go to work by bike. (And I mean even if it is 5 miles away or more)
Walk or bike to the store.
Try to avoid going by car anywhere you could go by bike or walk.

Fourth, stop drinking soft drinks!
There is a ton of sugar in there! Drink water!

Just some ideas. Good luck

[Tiger]

Originally Posted by jymellis

did you stop when you got tired?

No, generally you try to decide how many repeats you are going to do, and scale your speed on each so that the last one will be your fastest. On hills I just set a number of them and do that. I went on with my workout for the day after that.

[TreWatson]

Originally Posted by Tiger

Let me help you out:

Yesterday at 1 PM in columbia south carolina there was 96 degrees with 50% humidity, today looks about the same even with rain.

Hour by Hour Weather Forecast for Columbia, SC (29203) - weather.com

Point is, I was out doing speedwork, that is, quarter and half mile sprints with my heart rate monitor telling me I was hitting 190 beats a minute a times. I finished and went about a half mile away to a hill thats about .2 miles up with an extreme incline. and did repeats on that, just the most miserable/hardcore kind of cardio you can pull out in REALLY awful uncomfortable conditions.

When it was all done with my watch said about 3.5 miles had been covered. You know how many calories that was? Only about 450. Thats nothing. Thats like, a bagel, a glass of milk and a can of tuna, which is what I ate afterwards. Theres 7000 calories just in a pound of fat.

My point is that yea, cardio and exercise helps, it helps motivate and regulate metabolism. It makes you healthy on the inside. But your DIET, read again, DIET is what is going to make you lose weight, especially on the magnitude of what you're talking about. Learn to deal with your family, the 'They MAKE me eat!' is such a cop out. Even if you had been out there with me running like a mad man, you would have A) died and B) only lost less than 500 calories. Whereas cutting back 500 calories or more a day every day for a week will net you a pound or more of fat loss, with a little bonus from exercise.

you guys don't live in black families do you o____O

seriously, sit down with a black family that's lived in the projects after living with them and refuse food, see where that gets you (just sayin'), But I'm trying to accomodate for that by changing how i eat the rest of the day. I try to eat a small breakfast with mostly fruit and maybe water or coffee since i'm in an office building and walk in dead every morning

when left to my own devices, I tend to eat a lot better than when my family cooks, but like i said, I don't have enough money to even buy groceries. my current life situation has me stuck between terrible junk food (which is taking some kind of miracle to avoid) or eating at home ( where the food is better for me, but wanting my family to not bug the hell out of me and threaten me is taking a toll on my waistline)

i haven't drank soda in about 3 years and counting, my liquid pretty much consists of water, coffee and unsweetened iced tea with the occasional lemonade ( though i'm probably going to have to say goodbye to beer on weekends)

all in all my waistline is still a 38, which isn't ridiculously huge, but if possible, I'd like to work it down to a 34. I understand that fat or skinny I'm ....ing HUGE, so I'm prepared for that, and 34 seems realistic and achievable. I'm not trying to get ripped, I just want to get down to something less at-risk than my current weight

and thanks for the advice petey!

we haven't talked in a while, how's everything been?

[TreWatson]

Originally Posted by McCap

First, try to speak to your parents.
The logic "I don't want to waste food thus I fatten my son" seems a little jinxed to me. Why not buy less in the first place?

Second, maybe try team sports. There's the fun element which keeps you running much longer, than jogging while being bored. And there's the other guys or girls to keep you motivated.

Third, I don't know your environment, but if possible don't drive everywhere by car!!
Go to work by bike. (And I mean even if it is 5 miles away or more)
Walk or bike to the store.
Try to avoid going by car anywhere you could go by bike or walk.

Fourth, stop drinking soft drinks!
There is a ton of sugar in there! Drink water!

Just some ideas. Good luck

thanks! I my job's like 8 miles away, but I might try it on one day where i feel like coming in late ( which is like 9:30 am-ish)

[jymellis]

Originally Posted by TreKita

you guys don't live in black families do you o____O

seriously, sit down with a black family that's lived in the projects after living with them and refuse food, see where that gets you (just sayin'), ?

yes i have eaten with less fortunate families of a darker skin color , ever sat down with a family from germany? world war era? i have, you can refuse food, my inlaws are from germany they talk about how they didnt have a fridge and would move the skin on the milk bottle so they could get a drink. they look down on refusing food, but it wont end the world bro and a 38 inch waist isnt very big at all, im 6 foot 3 180 and wear a 34.

[meisterjager]

Dude, just go for long ass walks if you can't run. Besides, running at the kinda weight your at may be dangerous for joints, and you certainly won't have anything resembling a good running technique. You're very likely to hurt yourself.

Seriously, make a 3-4 mile round trip and WALK IT, three times a week at first, walk it as hard as you can so you sweat, and drink tonnes of water. If you don't feel like you're getting growing pains when you go to bed, up your regime.

I'd say that your problem is bigger than seconds at dinner. Cut out soft drinks and unhealthy snacking entirely. Make your snacks celery and carrot sticks. Combined with the walking, you will notice a vast improvement in your health and weight - it'd be impossible not to. You'll be running in 3-4 months if you can keep the walking going and ramp it up sensibly.

I dropped nearly a stone in a month, and I was only walking about 1.5 miles a day and drinking about 3-5 litres of water with no soft drinks. I didn't massively change my diet, if at all.

With the weight your at now, believe it or not, you have some slight benefits. You may not be able to do proper push ups right now, so try doing them whilst on hands and knees, or even leaning against a wall. The extra strength you'll need to lift yourself will literally mean you're bench pressing about 200lbs. Building more muscle will mean you burn more calories during rest.

[TreWatson]

Originally Posted by jymellis

yes i have eaten with less fortunate families of a darker skin color , ever sat down with a family from germany? world war era? i have, you can refuse food, my inlaws are from germany they talk about how they didnt have a fridge and would move the skin on the milk bottle so they could get a drink. they look down on refusing food, but it wont end the world bro and a 38 inch waist isnt very big at all, im 6 foot 3 180 and wear a 34.

yeah, my size isn;t what's worrying me, it's definitely the NUMBER.

[highlordmugfug]

Explain to your mom that you are trying to lose weight and there is such a thing as re-runs. You can eat whatever is left tomorrow or the next day. No need to eat the entire epic meal in one sitting.


And worst comes to worst, fighting your whole family after they get upset you won't eat 10lbs of food would be really good excercise.

[TreWatson]

Originally Posted by highlordmugfug

Explain to your mom that you are trying to lose weight and there is such a thing as re-runs. You can eat whatever is left tomorrow or the next day. No need to eat the entire epic meal in one sitting.


And worst comes to worst, fighting your whole family after they get upset you won't eat 10lbs of food would be really good excercise.

I laughed so hard at this.

luckily my family is only me dad and the dog.

but that makes it harder to weasel out of eating because there's no one to shift anything to.

but carrots with vinegar is something "I've started to eat.

I like it a lot.

and if i have to gto out to eat, I usually stick to places like chipotle or subway that don't fry their food and put ridiculous amounts of unhealthy shit itn it, and it lasts a couple days.

[Tiger]

As far as the grocery thing...every three-four days I make wheat pasta with lean turkey and vegetables with a sauce, total cost is about 8 bucks. Makes a ton of meals. You can afford to eat healthy.

My experience with people who are overweight is they are really good at making excuses and not so good at the simple act of eating less food and trying to make sure its good for them. Buckle down and get it done, if you're not willing to take the heat from your family or yourself or whoever, then just continue to gain weight.

[TreWatson]

Originally Posted by Tiger

As far as the grocery thing...every three-four days I make wheat pasta with lean turkey and vegetables with a sauce, total cost is about 8 bucks. Makes a ton of meals. You can afford to eat healthy.

My experience with people who are overweight is they are really good at making excuses and not so good at the simple act of eating less food and trying to make sure its good for them. Buckle down and get it done, if you're not willing to take the heat from your family or yourself or whoever, then just continue to gain weight.

in this instance, I'm not making an excuse. what I say is true.

I've been taking small steps, because I'm trying to not overwhelm myself.

edit:

also, how are you buying meat, pasta vegetables AND sauce and it's only costing you 8 bucks?

i need to move, then.

[Tiger]

You cant afford to make wheat pasta that equates to 2-3 dollars a day (way cheaper than any junkfood)?

You cant make a stand with adults, as an adult?

You cant avoid meals with them or ask for support?

You cant _____?