Exercise tips, for me and my dad.

[Noomz]

So, I've figured that the best way for me and my father to probably lose weight is to do something together, so we get motivation.
The problem is that my father is 10cm's shorter than me but 20 kilo's heavier than me. He's also started to get some serious back problems that can probably attributed both to age and his weight. I'm near 90 kilos and he's around 110. Walking for just 5 minutes cause him terrible discomfort due to the pain in his back.

I really want him to be able to lose weight, because I think he's starting to get a bit, well... sad about not being able to do so. Especially now that anything involving walking or standing is such a problem for him.
I have back pains as well but mine are because I'm so stiff from lack of exercise.

But both he and I have our vices. His is all the beer, and mine is all the chocolate. Together, I was hoping he and I could cut down on all that. But I think we also need something related to exercise, I just need help figuring out what could work.

So, any tips or ideas?

[koodledrum]

Swimming's probably going to be your best bet if his back's not up to walking/running which would also severely impact most other exercise as well.

[Deleted]

To lose weight you need to be on a caloric deficit, which you can achieve by watching your diet. If you want to include exercise swimming is a good option that doesn't strain your body that much, like koodledrum said.

You could try lifting weights, but I'd recommend visiting a physician first, considering the back problems.

[iggie]

Diet diet diet. Diet diet diet diet diet diet diet diet diet diet diet diet diet diet diet diet diet diet diet diet diet.

Did I mention diet? You are what you eat. I've dropped 5 kilos this month by limiting my portions and going zero grains. Grains make you want to eat more. Focus on lean meats + fish and fruits and veggies. No, no juice. No, those "fruit snacks" are all sugar.

I can't run, due to bunged up knees. I can swim and lift heavy ass weights though. Muscles burn calories.

[Spectral]

Swimming and cycling are both great options. Some people with back problems aren't able to ride, but others find that it actually relieves a significant amount of pain. Everyone's different, and the only way to know for sure is to try it.

[Dtloweca]

I would highly suggest before doing anything go see a doctor/physician/dietician about at the very least his situation and see what he has to say about his back problems. If he is really heavy he may have and has back issues he may also have knee issues as well. Swimming is low impact and such but depending on his situation and whats causing the pain it might do nothing or it might make it worse so get it checked out asap.

As far as actual tips some people do diet alone or exercise alone and tbh for losing weight they are Ok on their own but they ware way more effective together. Don't be coaxed into low carb diets regular diets can be just as effective and are less of a pain in the ass. Get a resistance band that is a challenge for you it won't be too expensive and the amount of exercises you can do with it should cover a good portion of your muscle groups. Speaking of routines people really over complicate them sometimes a rule of thumb I use is really push yourself and work harder than you normally do and your body will change and get plenty of rest (Sleep/naps). (Excluding injury/ health reasons) your body is the way it is because of what you do so for it to change you have to change.

[transorD]

Biking would be my first choice, since it's an activity you're doing together, it will allow you to be outside and seeing new things. Swimming would be fine as well, just more boring.

Iggie is right, though. Diet is the most important first step.

[OhpUldum]

A few tips:
1) Visit a physician and have a physical of both individuals. Ideally have blood work checked so you can see what vitamins you may be deficient on
2) Visit a gym and have a sit down and chat with a trainer. You would be surprised the amount of exercise you can do that won't put a lot of strain on the back but still allow you to strengthen the area.

Outside of that it almost always comes down to diet, attitude, and dedication over time. Results don't occur overnight.

Also I am a comfort food eater. Big one. Even now. The trick is to just off set everything you eat by admitting that if you eat that treat you're just going to have to work harder. So at some point it just becomes work harder or work smarter. Smarter being not eating the comfort foods, harder being more time doing physical exercise.

[Salystra]

If losing weight is your main agenda then it got summed up by iggie.

Calories In > Calories Out = Weight Gain
Calories Out > Calories In = Weight Loss

A big part of the issue with most people including myself before I "retrained" my thinking is portion size, personally I recommend you track what you eat via www.myfitnesspal.com and see where the diet is falling over before you think about putting stress on your body through excercise as this is primarily where you are going to see the biggest changes.

Remember if you do track though, TRACK EVERYTHING and don't cheat as you will only be cheating yourself.

Exercise is good but if you are already straining your body by simply walking the only option would be swimming for less strain but I would advise also as above poster to go see a doc to see if any underlying issue in his back.

Best of luck.