[Weight loss] Any suggestions?

[holyforce]

So I'm currently going to try again, for the billionth time to loose some weight again. But before I tell you more, I have to tell you about my self to give a better idea on what I' talking about. I'm currently 6 foot 5 inches and about 330 lbs I'm 19 years old. I take medication daily for bi-polar disorder. These medications can cause your metabolism to slow down tremendously. I smoke about 2 packs of cigarettes a day, and at this time I cannot quit as I'm under a lot of stress, I plan on trying again to quit in the near future. I also smoke a lot of marijuana. I eat in excess when I'm alone, bored, or depressed. I struggle greatly with motivation, even with something i want badly(IE a lower weight). My doctor said he'd like to see me in the 210-235 lbs range. I need some advice on sticking to a diet and exercise plan. What I did was a 1 1/2 mile walk around my extremely hilly area, then I'd try to lift for about 15-30 minutes. Any advice would be great fella's, I'm trying to improve my self slowly but surely.

[Badpaladin]

Don't focus on losing weight. Focus on living healthier - weight loss will come as a byproduct.

First thing is to cut out the weed(at least the excess part); it's not addictive like the cigarettes and you'll have less food binges.

Mainly also change what you eat, not just the quantity. I'm guessing you eat stuff like burritos/burgers/snack food a lot, and not only does that stuff have insane amounts of imbalance regarding the nutrients in there, but it's dehydrating and probably increasing your stress level at a psychological level. Feeling better about what goes into your body will reduce your stress, because it's something you don't have to worry about anymore.

I'm not really a fan of the act of losing weight - it seems like something that's set up for failure, especially when goals aren't met fast enough for whatever reason, and that's probably why so many people end up failing. Living healthier should be your goal, not losing weight.

[Deleted]

You say your medication slows down your metabolism, and at the same time you smoke, and smoke weed.
All 3 of those hinder weight loss.

[Smurflord]

I am also currently undergoing another attempt at losing weight.
So far it's working ok, but it's no secret diet plan, more just taking that objective step backwards and taking an objective look at your lifestyle. Sometimes it's best to get that perspective through the eyes of someone else.

1) eat more fruit and veg, and less fat
2) eat less overall - portion control is key
3) do more physically
4) Regret, self-loathing, justifying your old behaviours and acting defensive never help.

[Deleted]

You say your medication slows down your metabolism, and at the same time you smoke, and smoke weed.
All 3 of those hinder weight loss.

Actually not all 3, only 2.. smoking regular cigarettes actually helps lose wight in most cases... but it is very unhealthy in general, blood preasure and all.

Id suggest simply balancing ur meals (eat potatoes,rice,macaronie.. etc.. everything that has Carbs.. for strength) combine that with something healthy, like salads, juice, vegetables etc. If you eat meat, only eat the ones that don't have a lot of fat, like fish and boiled in water chicken.
The main part about low fat diets.. is that when u buy products u read how much fat it has, and if it doesn't have any or very little ur good...

The other option.. that id suggest anyone who is struggling with losing weight, is Atkin's diet(u can google it). It is basically the opposite of a low fat diet. Where u DON'T eat Carbs, and get ur strength from the other source.. which is fat..
Ur metabolism works like this... it prioritizes Carbs, cuz carbs are easier for ur organism to take in.. etc., but fat is harder so it is mainly skipped if there is enough Carbs to go around, so fat goes to ur hips n such. :P That's why they are called "low fat" diets, u can't take fat cuz it would give you more weight. :P Simple.
So on a low carb diet, it is different, u eat meat and fatty stuff, but almost 0 carbs, no potatoes, macaronie etc..
Ur organism then gets used to use the fat for strength instead, so u don't get any fatter, cuz it gets all used up.. (ofc if u dont over eat...).
Also, ur organism after the first few days of going the low carb way will start to not only consume all the fat u eat for strength, it also takes the fat u already have on u and consumes it slowly, so u will lose wieght the first week or weeks from not even exercising that much. Though it might be a bit hard at first it gets better and better. Also, ull need to buy multivitamins, cuz u will not be able to eat fruit and take the neccesary vitamins.
I am on atkins at it works great, id suggest u trying it.
But go search for it and read about it, either Atkins diet, or simply search for.. low carb diet..
Hope that helps.
Also, i only do 2 workouts, 1 is on an exercise bike, the other are stomach exercises..

[Speedlance]

So I'm currently going to try again, for the billionth time to loose some weight again. But before I tell you more, I have to tell you about my self to give a better idea on what I' talking about. I'm currently 6 foot 5 inches and about 330 lbs I'm 19 years old. I take medication daily for bi-polar disorder. These medications can cause your metabolism to slow down tremendously. I smoke about 2 packs of cigarettes a day, and at this time I cannot quit as I'm under a lot of stress, I plan on trying again to quit in the near future. I also smoke a lot of marijuana. I eat in excess when I'm alone, bored, or depressed. I struggle greatly with motivation, even with something i want badly(IE a lower weight). My doctor said he'd like to see me in the 210-235 lbs range. I need some advice on sticking to a diet and exercise plan. What I did was a 1 1/2 mile walk around my extremely hilly area, then I'd try to lift for about 15-30 minutes. Any advice would be great fella's, I'm trying to improve my self slowly but surely.

First step is to accept the fact that you're overweight and not denying it, and with this thread you're acknowledgeing the problem, this is very good.
Also aiming for a sixpack is a bad idea because that requires way to much work and will take away any motivation you got.
After that you need motivation, you need a reason to lose weight. Most people do it to live longer, and their friends/family supports you and they're tracking their progress.

Main thing is if you're working out is not to weigh yourself everyday, because muscle is heavier then fat so thats why I don't agree with your doctor on putting a number to reach.
Don't start to hard, work out big muscle groups like back, chest and legs, training those will also activate secondary muscle groups like bicep, tricep, shoulders, traps etc etc etc, so don't worry about bicep curls just yet and the remaining 4 days you should continue your walk, don't put a time on it just walk til you feel you're done, don't make training something you hate by doing 2 hour cardio sessions. 20-30mins is more then enough aslong as your heartrate is going up.

finally you must eat healthy, don't count calories, just lower your meal sizes by a confortable amount and stop eating fast food.

[Deleted]

From my personal experience with trying to lose weight, the problem was usualy pushing myself too much and failing cause I couldn't keep up for long and I ended up eating more than before the diet.

Imo a diet should be something that you'd be able to keep for the rest of your life. A way of life, not eating extremely small amounts of food for some months, being hungry all the time and then trying to find a balance to be able to keep steady. This way it will be more pleasant for you, and you won't notice doing it.

What I did, was following some simple steps, and until now I lose slowly but steady, without noticing it:
1. Don't eat if you're not hungry. This might seem obvious for some, but it's not so much for ppl like us . If you feel like eating something when you're not realy hungry, occupy yourself with something that interests you, or drink something to satisfy your taste.
2. Stop eating before your belly is in pain. Get full, but stop before it gets unpleasant and start thinking how you'll be able to survive the pain :P.
3. Exercise during your daily routine. Like, stop taking the elevator and go from the stairs, don't take the bus or the car for short distances, or get off the bus one stop earlier to walk a little more, stuff like these that you won't even notice but still sum up for a small amount of exercise evey day. It's not much for ppl who exercise a lot, but for the rest of us they make the difference.
4. Chose a kind of exercise that you like. Don't think of what you are supposed to do, but what you like to do. This way it won't feel like a torture. I chose swimming, someone else might like the bicycle, or walking, anything actualy. But do the one you like and you won't get bored too soon.

This is from my personal experience only, after failing with a lot of diets that made me feel miserable and hungry all day. It's not the super effective, express result, but it's something that you can do for your whole life, and not gain the weight you lost slowly and steady. I didn't mention the medication etc, cause I don't know how they affect the weight loss.

[Deleted]

Actually not all 3, only 2.. smoking regular cigarettes actually helps lose wight in most cases... but it is very unhealthy in general, blood preasure and all.

Id suggest simply balancing ur meals (eat potatoes,rice,macaronie.. etc.. everything that has Carbs.. for strength) combine that with something healthy, like salads, juice, vegetables etc. If you eat meat, only eat the ones that don't have a lot of fat, like fish and boiled in water chicken.
The main part about low fat diets.. is that when u buy products u read how much fat it has, and if it doesn't have any or very little ur good...

The other option.. that id suggest anyone who is struggling with losing weight, is Atkin's diet(u can google it). It is basically the opposite of a low fat diet. Where u DON'T eat Carbs, and get ur strength from the other source.. which is fat..
Ur metabolism works like this... it prioritizes Carbs, cuz carbs are easier for ur organism to take in.. etc., but fat is harder so it is mainly skipped if there is enough Carbs to go around, so fat goes to ur hips n such. :P That's why they are called "low fat" diets, u can't take fat cuz it would give you more weight. :P Simple.
So on a low carb diet, it is different, u eat meat and fatty stuff, but almost 0 carbs, no potatoes, macaronie etc..
Ur organism then gets used to use the fat for strength instead, so u don't get any fatter, cuz it gets all used up.. (ofc if u dont over eat...).
Also, ur organism after the first few days of going the low carb way will start to not only consume all the fat u eat for strength, it also takes the fat u already have on u and consumes it slowly, so u will lose wieght the first week or weeks from not even exercising that much. Though it might be a bit hard at first it gets better and better. Also, ull need to buy multivitamins, cuz u will not be able to eat fruit and take the neccesary vitamins.
I am on atkins at it works great, id suggest u trying it.
But go search for it and read about it, either Atkins diet, or simply search for.. low carb diet..
Hope that helps.
Also, i only do 2 workouts, 1 is on an exercise bike, the other are stomach exercises..

Edit: also wanted to add something important about atkins, that helped me the most. As fat is harder for the organism to take in, it takes longer for u to get hungry again, as well as, little fat makes u stuffed faster, then it would when u eat carbs frutit etc.. So, by that i mean, u will eat less, and will have less cravings to eat in general, that is very helpfull for overwight people.
Also. id suggest maybe even consulting ur doctor or atleast making an overall health test before begining atkins, to compare later.

[obdigore]

So I'm currently going to try again, for the billionth time to loose some weight again. But before I tell you more, I have to tell you about my self to give a better idea on what I' talking about. I'm currently 6 foot 5 inches and about 330 lbs I'm 19 years old. I take medication daily for bi-polar disorder. These medications can cause your metabolism to slow down tremendously. I smoke about 2 packs of cigarettes a day, and at this time I cannot quit as I'm under a lot of stress, I plan on trying again to quit in the near future. I also smoke a lot of marijuana. I eat in excess when I'm alone, bored, or depressed. I struggle greatly with motivation, even with something i want badly(IE a lower weight). My doctor said he'd like to see me in the 210-235 lbs range. I need some advice on sticking to a diet and exercise plan. What I did was a 1 1/2 mile walk around my extremely hilly area, then I'd try to lift for about 15-30 minutes. Any advice would be great fella's, I'm trying to improve my self slowly but surely.

Do you live alone or with your family? If you are the one buying and preparing meals, eat no meat but chicken and fish. Cut out bread and pasta. Get rid of the soda and fruit juice drinks. Water/Milk is the way to go. Don't focus on loosing weight at first, but on increasing your stamina and muscle. As you build muscle you are going to increase weight but that muscle is going to eat up calories all the more. I've found it is easiest to stick to this diet if you allow yourself one cheat day a week where you have a soda or two and some pasta/bread if you love it.

Stick to walking at first, and push yourself to walk further, faster. Don't weigh yourself. When you lift, focus on your thighs and chest/shoulders. Those are your big muscles. Those will eat more calories, faster, the bigger they are.

Do you have money to go buy a KettleBell? If so, do it. A good KettleBell routine can take the place of your walk and your lifting (Until you get a lot stronger).

As stated before, Don't weigh yourself. And if you miss a day or two, just start working it again. Don't feel terrible about it and get discouraged. It happens.

[Deleted]

I am also currently undergoing another attempt at losing weight.
So far it's working ok, but it's no secret diet plan, more just taking that objective step backwards and taking an objective look at your lifestyle. Sometimes it's best to get that perspective through the eyes of someone else.

1) eat more fruit and veg, and less fat
2) eat less overall - portion control is key
3) do more physically
4) Regret, self-loathing, justifying your old behaviours and acting defensive never help.

1. Semi right, Eat more fruit and veg. Yes.... Eat less fat? No. Fat intake does not matter unless its saturated.
2. Correct.
3. Correct.
4. Correct

[Crispin]

Loosing weight can seem like a daunting task, but it's really not that bad.

Just don't set any unrealistic goals, set a goal, reach it and set a new one, don't try to loose weight in a way that you just can't stand, if you hate it like the plague you'll give up for sure.

And take small steps, don't go from a junk food eating weed smoking, allday infront of the computer kind of person, to a running, brocolli eating monster in 1 day.


Like, cut of Soda first, any sugar drinks, drop it right away, you won't miss them after 1-2 weeks, then go on junk food or candy, you'll miss it alot for some time, and then you'll all of a sudden not care about it anymore (candy was the hardest part for me tbh).


While you do this, start becoming active, don't try to run 10 miles on your first day, got a smart phone? there a several running apps, which will provide easy help when it comes to running, if your joints cant take the stress of running, get on a cross trainer, and set a goal, don't try to do a 30 min run the first time around, slowly increase your goals.


I were a tad on the heavy side some years ago, ate too much junk and candy and drank way too much soda everyday, I lost 20 kilo's in 7 months, going from 97 kilo to 77 kilo, and started to become a tad skinny tbh, I mainly did weight lifting for it, and then just started eating alot more again (not the same shit as I did before though), and I'm "back" on 88 kilo atm, but without all the fat.


I personally hate working out, it's not fun, great or whatever, it's a pain in the butt, but I don't do it because it's fun, there's alot of days where I just wanna skip it, but I've decided than I have to go to the gym, get in the clothes and start the first exercise, before I decide wether I should skip the day or not, and I havent yet.


Best of luck to you, and just hang in there, the weight doesnt come off by itself, some days will just wanna make you drop it completely, cus you can go weeks without seeing any real improvement, but giving up surely arent the answer.

[jbhasban]

I just talked to my father, a neurologist, and he told me bi-polar medication does not effect metabolism. What it does do is induce hunger. So essentially you just need to learn to deal with absurd amounts of hunger to lose weight.

[Deleted]

I just talked to my father, a neurologist, and he told me bi-polar medication does not effect metabolism. What it does do is induce hunger. So essentially you just need to learn to deal with absurd amounts of hunger to lose weight.

One big cold glass of water will fix that.

[nimryas]

First thing is to cut out the weed(at least the excess part); it's not addictive like the cigarettes and you'll have less food binges.

It's actually proven to be addictive, just not in the way that products are usually addictive. It's psychologically based and can lead to disfunction in society basicly. I agree with the rest of your story tho

@Holyforce:

I would take this chance not only to lose weight but to put yourself in a new sort of lifestyle. As for your weight lose, you just need to start moving/exercising. Meaning taking a walk around your living area for 20-30 mins will be good as well. The lower part of your body as the most muscle mass so, if u make them work you will benefit the most from exercising.

[Badpaladin]

It's actually proven to be addictive, just not in the way that products are usually addictive. It's psychologically based and can lead to disfunction in society basicly. I agree with the rest of your story tho

Well yeah, it is chemically addictive, but less than caffeine so it's largely irrelevant in that regard. It's not something that his body would freak out over if he were to stop immediately, unlike cigarettes.

[valliant13]

So I'm currently going to try again, for the billionth time to loose some weight again. But before I tell you more, I have to tell you about my self to give a better idea on what I' talking about. I'm currently 6 foot 5 inches and about 330 lbs I'm 19 years old. I take medication daily for bi-polar disorder. These medications can cause your metabolism to slow down tremendously. I smoke about 2 packs of cigarettes a day, and at this time I cannot quit as I'm under a lot of stress, I plan on trying again to quit in the near future. I also smoke a lot of marijuana. I eat in excess when I'm alone, bored, or depressed. I struggle greatly with motivation, even with something i want badly(IE a lower weight). My doctor said he'd like to see me in the 210-235 lbs range. I need some advice on sticking to a diet and exercise plan. What I did was a 1 1/2 mile walk around my extremely hilly area, then I'd try to lift for about 15-30 minutes. Any advice would be great fella's, I'm trying to improve my self slowly but surely.

Your attitude from what I gather on this short little thing is the issue. Losing weight as badpaladin put is about a better and healther lifestyle.

It's a lifestyle change that is needed, exercise and lifting alone will not do shit mainly because you will sooner than later be undetermined one day, then one day turns into one month, one month to one year etc etc. Now smoking pot from my experience with other people has no effect on what you gain for weight and well neither does smoking cigarettes. But the toxins in them can severely cut off the potential of where you could be without them to where you are now with them. Im not saying to quit either, i know some "healthy" smokers so to speak but it will literally kill your potential.

Another thing is getting some willpower. I get depressed now and then and I dont gorge any more. But I have adapted the lifestyle change needed to maintain a healthy fat loss. I will say this, get rid of any and all sugary drinks outside of stuff like orange/apple juice(but keep those limited). Don't change coca-cola with orange juice or whatever. Don't drink gatorade unless its the low cal/low sugar kind.

Fat loss/muscle gain is a SLOW process. It doesn't happen overnight. So what you need to do to keep yourself motivated is have a weekly check-in. Write it down in a notebook. Weigh yourself, check your waist line, your bicep size, chest size etc. The small quarter of an inch or less a week SHOULD motivate you to turn it into an inch within the month. The importance of the notebook is so you can see that you are in fact losing size, even though its not always visible to yourself in the mirror on a daily basis. You could go literally 6 months without noticing a significant loss or a significant gain(in terms of muscle building).

I have a slow metabolism too, so thats just an excuse. Drink water and pound that through your head. Once a week have a cheat day where you can gorge out on some junk food but try to keep away from fast food always and try to keep yourself from absolutely gorging out on the cheat day. If you get bored of the water buy those crystal light packets of powder to put in bottled water to vary up the flavor without adding sugar. Also remember to eat your calories, so that milkshake from whereever that looks fucking boss...dont drink it...

Lastly, I will repeat this a second time, it's a lifestyle change not just a i need to lose weight. If you aren't willing to put in what you need to in order to make that change then you may as well continue to stay as you are and not bother even trying to change. Im not saying this to be a condescending prick even though i know the way I am wording it comes off that way. Moreso as motivation cause I was 295 at 5'10" this time last year, now im 245....50 pounds in a year is a lot. It's also a lot of dedication. It also took me a while to adapt to the lifestyle change, I spent probably 4-6 months weaving in and out of it myself. But once drop one waist size it becomes a lot more addicting. So again, it's a lifestyle change, get with it or dont bother.

[Deleted]

Hope you figure something out, your situation/lifestyle seems quite overboard.
Don't have much tips with it all mixed toghether, but goodluck atleast!

[valliant13]

I am also currently undergoing another attempt at losing weight.
So far it's working ok, but it's no secret diet plan, more just taking that objective step backwards and taking an objective look at your lifestyle. Sometimes it's best to get that perspective through the eyes of someone else.

1) eat more fruit and veg, and less fat
2) eat less overall - portion control is key
3) do more physically
4) Regret, self-loathing, justifying your old behaviours and acting defensive never help.

and im quoting the other guy unofficially that quoted your response.

1)Correct up until the fat part, nuts are filled with tons of fat, but the healthy fat and are in my personal opinion absolutely needed in any diet(unless you are allergic to nuts, then im sorry =/)
2)Portion control is right to an extent. It matters on how hard he trains and what hes doing to burn the calories. Im not saying he's going to be michael phelps and eat 12000 calories a day while training, but if he loses say 50 pounds of fat and starts training harder, he will need more calories to go with his training regime.
3)Absolutely correct, I have found the easiest way to continue to do cardio workouts is find something that requires exercise that you enjoy. I play flag football at a high level once a week to break the cardio boringness on the elliptical or my jogging.
4)Right here is probably the ABSOLUTE best thing I have seen anyone say on this forum. This is pretty much the most important factor to ANY form of lifestyle change.

[Deleted]

If you plan on losing the weight then go back to bad eating habbits, dont waste the time on losing weight.

Sorry but its the hard truth.

[Blaschnack]

I can recommend a combination of weight lifting and cardio training while eating healthier and maintaining a calorie deficit. At least that's how I lost 20 kg in 10 months. I'd say in the beginning the weight lifting is even more important than the cardio, since the muscle mass you gain will increase your metabolic rate (even though you might have it a bit harder with those pills you take). Most important is to not overdo it in the beginning but rather find a pace that you can keep up for a long time. If you can keep up your motivation to get through the first 2-3 months, you will probably develop a need to strive for more weight and longer cardio sessions by yourself to keep pushing (at least I sure did). And as said in a comment earlier, see all of this as a lifestyle change, and not something you do for a few months and then it's done. Your last sentence where you say you want to improve yourself slowly and surely is just what you should aim at, so that's a good thing already.

Just don't give up if there are not too many results within the first month, that's completely normal, i lost 2 kg in the first 2 weeks, just to have 'em jump back up in the following 2 weeks, but if you keep up a good training routine, you will start to see a steady improvement around the 2nd month into your training. The first thing you will notice is that your jeans will get more and more loose and you will soon need a (new) belt. Oh, and don't worry if your friends don't notice you losing weight, if you are some time into it. I had to lose 14 kg before they noticed, because I met them all the time. Had the same with a friend of mine who lost alot of weight himself 2 years earlier, where I didn't notice it in ages ^^

As for a good training routine, I used this guide when i first started, because it was a nice read and covered alot of useful information about the whole "weight loss" issue and gave me an overview over good beginner-exercises that train many different muscles at the same time (it does mention Clean&Jerk in a beginner guide, but i'd not suggest that one, I actually don't dare to do that exercise even after 13 months of training). This guide is also helpful and also gives a short overview of how you should plan your training schedule. The guide suggests a 3 day per week schedule, which probably is already enough to lose weight. When I started I also added a cardio day inbetween those 3 days to get a 5 day schedule. Cardio is probably not as efficient in long terms as weight lifting is, however I have to say I am glad that I added cardio, because my stamina increased alot and I haven't been sick once since I started doing this training, so my body's defenses surely profited from it (at least I like to tell myself it's because of the cardio ^^).

Anyways I wish you good luck with the weight loss and again, just don't give up and keep up the training and a healthy diet.