New here!

Hey everyone, so the time has come where i went and searched out a forum to find others who struggle with weight loss issues. Its VERY hard to find support in my community of friends and family and i'm hoping i can find some here. I guess ill start with the raw facts... My names Dustin, i've been right around the range of 250-260 for the past year or two and im about 5'11.  When i come to any of my friends that im depressed about my weight and im looking for help they always say "oh youre normal enough"  which really makes me just want to slap them lol. Anyway, i know im not morbidly obese, but i'm still large enough where ive got stretch marks and it totally hampers even being able to go to a beach without turning red with embarassment.  I'm 23 years old and thats about all my group of friends want out of me is to be a beach bum and it hurts my friendships to always say no to them... Everyone tells me im crazy to even consider weight loss surgery at my weight... are they telling me the truth?? Its pretty much impossible for me to do something at weigh****chers, atleast at this point in time because im barely making enough money for rent right now.  However this week i began jogging down my street in the mornings, id say its nearly a mile?  I get SUPER winded and get jelly legs by the time i get back home but im trying to move in the right direction here. The truth of the matter is that i'm an aspiring Pro Wrestler... however all trainers tell me i need to drop the fat and gain muscle, so i was really looking on advice to everyone here on maybe some good diets i can do at home without paying something liek weigh****chers?  AND any advice in general on how to drop the fat??? I've began running and lifting weights and my goal is to hit around 185.  Some help and tips here would really help me light a fire under my butt. -Dustin

Hi Dustin and welcome to the board!!!! I have a few suggestions for you, and you may or  may not accept them but here they are. You remind me a lot of my two sons.  One is 18 and the other is 15, my 15 year old is the wrestler.  He constantly struggles with his weight.  The 18 does as well but he doesn't want to do anything about it. ~laughs~ Atkins has been known to help men out a LOT.  My other half lost 100 pounds on it about 5 years ago and has kept it off all this time.  You don't have to spend any more money then you do on a regular meal.  Just google Atkins and there is a ton of information.  Basically high protein, no carbs.  You will take the weight off fast.  It has been shown to be most beneficial to men, although women obviously do it as well.   As far as activity....well...when I was 350+ pounds I took my first walk and 100 feet later turned around in tears.  Now I am able to do cardio 4-5 days a week for 45-60 minutes at a clip, and I weight train 2-3 times a week.  I don't lift a heck of a lot but my muscle tone leads people to believe I weigh a heck of a lot less than I truly do.  Just walk, get a bar and some weights and lift in your bedroom.  If you can't join a gym then doing SOMETHING is better than nothing. Baby steps, Dustin, that's all you can do.  But take them, because the more days you don't take them the harder it is going to be.  You are so young, don't allow yourself to spend your young adult years as obese.  you deserve to enjoy life now.  Take the bull by the horns and JUST DO IT!!!!!!! Good luck, please keep coming back for advice.

Funny you mentioned that, I bought an atkins book 2 days ago to read up on it, and im looking at starting that within the week, once i can get a fair grocery list to fill my needs. I do lift weights at home for the moment, my job doesnt really give me the time to travel to a gym unless its a 24hour gym that costs like 80 dollars and thats way outside my budget so i just do lots of different lifting exercises at home, i have been for about 6 months now, but thats just making me bigger as far as muscle goes, now i gotta get rid of this big ol stomach lol im definatly going to keep up the morning runs and try to pace it down to a slow jog and hopefully work myself up from there

hey Dustin!!!! I will say that it's lucky you are a guy...they "get away" with being chubby - a LOT more than we girls do.  You are not comfortable with your body, and that is a problem. I would bet lots of money that working out with weights, a little cardio and cutting out of junk food (by this I mean mainly fast foods, chips, sweets, cokes) would make a world of difference in how you look. As a young man, just eating one normal portion of three meals plus one or two healthy snacks would probably drop weight with a workout program of an hour daily.  To lose, you can try eating high protein snacks with healthy carbs (fruits, vegetables, whole grains),realy small meals,  throughout your day.  This will curb hunger and tease your metabolism. Your morning runs are super good for you.  You need to build up more endurance...a young man your age should easily be able to do a mile at a reasonable pace, so work toward that!

Yea, it does kinda bug me when i hear from ladies telling me that i get away with it cause im a guy however... my last girlfriend told me that im unattractive because i sweat to much because im a "fattie" and that i should wear a bra in public... so i wouldnt exactly say that i get away with being chubby... thats why im here in hopes of getting this weight outta here. Also, one problem with my endurance of running/jogging that i forgot to mention earlier, i have really bad knees... one was broken in a wrestling injury and the other knee had its PCL and tendons torn and neither seemed to heal fully and i almost completly lose feeling in my legs by the time i get back home from jogging.  I hate to make excuses but i really do feel that my knees hinder my exercise. however i have been following pretty much exactly what you said for a diet for the past about month...  starting yesterday i dropped all bread & soda from my diet as well which were probably two big things not helping

you called her "my last girlfriend" sounds like she is an ex....  good riddence. that is so unbelieveable and mean!

 

I agree with the others.  Increase protien, cut out the white things (bread, pasta, sugar) and keep moving!  You will feel better and look great in no time!

I would add that you need to use a good food journal.  I use www.thedailyplate.com some others like www.fitday.com either will help you really get a handle on what you are eating and where changes need to be made.

It sounds like you have quite a few problems with your knees.  You might want to consider, instead of running, swimming.  That will give you quite a workout and will be lower impact and won't cause you additional problems with your knees. 

Well not so nice of a girlfriend right there! I'm guessing she is gone? I would hope so. I would take you in lol chubby and all :) lol. Plus you're a guy....dropping that bread and soda....I am so jealous of men they drop weight like there is no tomorrow. So just do your thang.  That knee of yours, there are ways around it. I remember my brother lost about 60-70 pounds in a matter of months. He never ran or jogged I'l ltell you that! lol. He didn't lose weight the healthy way. He only ate one meal a day and drank water....then worked out with weights. It came of like THAT! And he has kept it off for over a year now. = me JEALOUS! lol. So maybe you dont have to run or maybe walk on a tredmill? I see men doing it ALL the time at the gym I go to.  So good luck to you and keep coming back here I need a guy around here my age lol. :)

Good riddance to that mean beeyatch! Can you get your hands on a bike? That may take stress off your knees and accomplish the same thing. If not, as some have said, your food is the number one thing to get under control anyway.  Weights will help you tighten it up. wish kriz was around...he has bad knees and feet and????what else, kriz??? LOL  You should dig back for his first day of jogging.  I thought i would pee my pants reading that.

thanks for all that info everyone, it definatly helps. and yea i told that girl to take a hike lol