Helping an old friend lose some weight through golf

[Bullitt5339]

I have a friend and co-worker who is 65 years old, loves golf, but is extremely overweight and out of shape.  It has gotten to the point that last week his doctor told him he has two choices:  Lose 50lbs or die within 2 years.  So he approached me, knowing that I like to walk when I play golf and asked if I would walk a few holes with him after work every day so that he can slowly build up to where he can exercise more and walk a full round.  I told him I would love to, but the problem is that his membership is at the courses on Ft. Bragg, and mine is at a country club 35 miles from our work and I simply can't afford to pay for golf everyday.  So unless he wanted to drive 70 extra miles a day, I couldn't do it every single day but would be happy to help.

Yesterday at work, he approached me and handed me a membership card for the Ft. Bragg golf courses and said "Since you're willing to help me, I will pay for your membership out here".  I was kind of floored, it's about $700 for a yearly membership, so it was a big step for him to show that he meant business about losing some weight.

So today we started walking after work.  My plan was for him to walk about 4 holes today and that would probably be enough.  Like I said, he's in pretty bad physical shape.  After 3 holes, I asked him how he was feeling and he was all smiles and feeling good, so we kept playing.  I started noticing him getting fatigued walking down the 8th fairway, but he kept going and I was pretty proud of the old guy.  The green on #9 is elevated and both of our 2nd shots were on the green (something that's never happened before) and as we were walking up the steep hill to the green, he had to stop and take a break.  When we finally reached the green, I gave him a couple minutes to let his heart rate drop before he putted, so I went up to putt and ended up tapping in for a par.  The old guy walked up to his 10 foot putt and drained it for a birdie on his last hole of the day.

I've never seen the old guy so proud in the 4 years I've known him.  He just accomplished more than he had set out to do.  Walking his 1st 9 holes in 20 years, Shot a 43 even though he was a little fatigued near the end and drained a tough putt for a birdie on the last hole.  I made sure when we went to the clubhouse that the girl that works there (who he kind of has a little crush on, and knows the situation with his health) knew that he had walked the entire 9 holes, shot a pretty good round and birdied the last hole.  We are going to do it again tomorrow, although I expect he'll be a little fatigued from today and may only make 4 or 5 holes.

[treebound]

Very nice, and good motivation for many of us here as well.

[GregZ]

Thats awesome of you to help keep him motivated.  That makes me think of when i first made the choice to lose weight and to start walking the golf course.  I thought pulling a cart for 9th holes was going to be the death of me.

[Tomboys]

You both deserve a lot of credit for being supportive of one another.

That being said, you already know this; your bud got fat because he's consuming more calories than he's burning.  So, while it's great that he's committed to exercising more to burn more calories, he needs to also cut down on his daily caloric intake.  Otherwise, all his efforts may not result in the substantial weight loss needed.  3500 calories = 1 lb.  So, if your bud walks just an hour more a day, that should increase his daily burn by @ 250 calories a day.  If he combines it with reducing his daily caloric intake of say another 250 calories, that translates into a daily reduction of 500 calories.  Multiplied by 1 week, that nets out to 1 lb/ wk weight loss.  How much is 250 calories?  Well, just to give you an idea, a large single egg w/yolk scrambled equals about 100 calories  and a large banana is about 120 calories.  So, it's not that much over the course of a day.  Also, if he doesn't have a scale at home, have him get one.  He should weigh himself a few times a week.  Studies have shown that when people become accountable (and trust me, the scale will make you accountable), their success rates become higher.

Good luck.  I applaud both your efforts.

[BuckeyeNut]

I wish him the best.....

Pretty impressive that he dropped $700 on a course membership for you....that's dedication!

[Shorty]

Good that you are supporting each other.

He will mainly lose weight through reduced food intake.

For many people it is as simple as stopping drinking things like non diet cola.

The walking will HELP but it is a fraction of the importance of diet.

And I don't mean "going on a diet", I mean healthy eating and portion control.

[Bullitt5339]

He has made quite a bit of changes in his diet, but being severely diabetic and living alone with no family around, it makes it more difficult for him to actually lose weight just through caloric reduction alone.  We are working on getting him to where he can actually go to the gym and do some cardio, which will help him a lot more than just walking on the course.  But he simply doesn't have the stamina right now to do anything that resembles cardio, so walking a few miles a day should help him build up some stamina.  He loves golf, and for 65 years old, he's still got the distance to play from the middle tees and doesn't even think about going to the senior tees yet.  His average drive is about 230 from what I've seen.

So by combining something he loves (golf), someone to actually push him (me), and a bit of walking, I hope that we can build his stamina up enough for him to be able to combine his diet with some cardio and get his weight and diabetes under control.  There seems to be a trend that the more weight he gains, the worse his diabetes gets, so hopefully this will get him back down to a more comfortable level.

[Tomboys]

Actually, walking is cardio.  Based on some rough guidelines, your bud probably burns about 2200 or so calories per day, so if he plays 9 holes of walking golf or if he goes on a daily walk for about an hour, he can increase his daily burn to about 2500.  Now, if he can get his daily intake to around 1800 to 2000, then he'll achieve that 500 calorie daily deficit that he needs to have to lose the 1 lb per week.  Please note that heavier people actually burn more calories in a day than their thinner counterparts.  I know, it sounds counter-intuitive (sort of like the golf swing, but I digress).  The reason is that it takes more energy to move a larger mass.

Given the condition of your bud, walking is probably the best thing for him.  It's low impact, low cost, convenient, and IME, very effective.  Also, he doesn't have to block out a bunch of time to do it.  He can do it in 15 minute blocks, 4 times a day.  The typical goal is to take 10,000 steps a day (you see the commercials on TV) which is close to walking an 18 hole golf course.  Also, based on my pedometer, when I walk an hour, it's just over 5,000 steps (about 3 miles).

[Mr. Desmond]

I knew a guy who walked everyday at my former course - he'd be there at 6:30 with his pull cart and be the first one off - usually alone, and would finish in about 2-2.5 hours.

Said he'd lost a lot of pounds by walking every day.

But it is not golf alone that will help your friend --

1. Drink lots of Water -- no sodas

2. Stay off the burgers and fries - go chicken and salads.

3. Avoid eating sandwiches - and the bread - the processed meat is bad, too.

4. Stay on fruits and veggies and lean protein - I avoid pork and beef - will go with a lean steak once every 2 weeks.

5. Avoid soups, sodium and cereals -- too much sodium

6. Avoid pasta and too many carbs.

7. If the club has a gym, try heaviest weights that you can control with a few reps to build up testosterone - testosterone allows muscle tone and prevents disease - and as you get older, you lose it naturally - and diet of pasta, breads, i.e.. sugars, will delete it.

8. Get your 7-8 hours of sleep every night - it heals your body, heart,  and builds testosterone (you need it).

This from a mid-50's guy who just had a quad bypass las year and is now 6 ft and 175 lbs. I was 197 at my worst.

[soon_tourpro]

did run my sisters kid on a cruel course, he lost 20pounds in 14 days.

Lot of ravines and up and downs there.

He had some weight to loose but nothing beats walking at a good pace and some good eating habits and searching for a golf ball.

[anthony]

Very commendable!

I will echo other's replies about watching calories. That really does go hand in hand with exercise. I'm trying to drop 20 lbs myself and use a site called http://www.myfitnesspal.com to track all of my calories. You just punch in what you want to loose each week plus your age, weight and gender and it calculates your daily goals. Plus, you can enter your exercise and it acts as negative calories. Their database of foods is massive. I haven't searched for anything I couldn't find. Plus, you can make meals as well (instead of listing each component of a turkey sandwich, make them into one "meal").

Mr. Desmond listed a lot of great tips. Ditching soda (or pop as I like to say) is something everyone should do regardless of whether you want to loose weight or not. Regular and Diet. They're both bad.

[Bullitt5339]

Went out again this afternoon, and he made 9 holes in about 2:15 and the course was empty.  He was very tired and sore from yesterday, but he kept going and ended up shooting a 44 because his wedge game was a bit off today.  I shot a 43 again, but had a double bogey and lipped out 2 par putts.

[sean_miller]

Don't forget to pack the Powerthirst!!

[Bullitt5339]

Went out again this evening and played the back 9, which I don't think he was ready for.  The back 9 isn't as flat as the front and the last 3 holes were really hard on him and he was complaining about his hip hurting coming up 18.  We're going to play early tomorrow at my course, and I think he's going to have to ride.  My course is a lot more hilly than the one we've been walking on.  He said he's going to try to walk the front 9 and then possibly hop into a cart with another buddy of ours that can't walk who's playing with us.

I also talked to him about his diet, and he assured me that he's eating correctly with the diet that he got from his doctor.

[Rudyprimo]

That's really good of you to help him out.  I don't think there's as much of that today, friends being there when they need help, as there used to be.  He has a diet from his doctor so he should follow it.  I was going to post something until I read that.  But anyway, it's very important to count calories and for a guy like him that should be about 2000 calories a day that he should stay under.  Also, cut way down on the carbs.  You need to lose weight the right way a little at a time, like 1-2 lbs. a week.  You have to do both diet and some kind of exercise.

[Bullitt5339]

Well, 1 month after we started, and here's where we're at:

I haven't been asking about his weight, but he seems to have lost a little.  His face looks thinner at least.  But the major gains have been made on his stamina.  He can now walk 9 holes in under 2 hours, and we have even walked 18 the past 2 Fridays.  He was exhausted at the end, and the final hill back to the clubhouse really kicked his butt, but he made it both times.  Just one month ago, he swore that he'd never be able to walk a full 18 and now he's done it twice and will do it again when we get back from Myrtle Beach.  His game has actually been improving as well, although the scorecard doesn't show it that much.  He strikes the ball great until he gets really tired and then it falls off a bit.  I'm interested to see how he plays while we're in Myrtle Beach and riding in a cart without the fatigue.

On a side note, I have actually lost 12lbs in the past month from the exercise.  I went from walking a round twice a week to 5 times a week and it's been good for me and my game as well.  2 days ago, I shot my best 9 hole score ever, a 40 (par 36).  I am on the last hole on my belt, so I'm looking forward to having to go buy a smaller belt here soon...... lol

[McObra]

Good to hear.  Hope he keeps it up.  Kudos to you for helping.

[socks and shoes]

Originally Posted by Tomboys

Actually, walking is cardio.  Based on some rough guidelines, your bud probably burns about 2200 or so calories per day, so if he plays 9 holes of walking golf or if he goes on a daily walk for about an hour, he can increase his daily burn to about 2500.  Now, if he can get his daily intake to around 1800 to 2000, then he'll achieve that 500 calorie daily deficit that he needs to have to lose the 1 lb per week.  Please note that heavier people actually burn more calories in a day than their thinner counterparts.  I know, it sounds counter-intuitive (sort of like the golf swing, but I digress).  The reason is that it takes more energy to move a larger mass.

Given the condition of your bud, walking is probably the best thing for him.  It's low impact, low cost, convenient, and IME, very effective.  Also, he doesn't have to block out a bunch of time to do it.  He can do it in 15 minute blocks, 4 times a day.  The typical goal is to take 10,000 steps a day (you see the commercials on TV) which is close to walking an 18 hole golf course.  Also, based on my pedometer, when I walk an hour, it's just over 5,000 steps (about 3 miles).

Just so you know: " According to Shapefit, a 130-pound golfer will burn approximately 295 calories per hour while pulling her clubs on a wheel-accessible device, compared to 352 for a 155-pound golfer and 431 calories per hour for a 190-pound golfer. That means that over a nine-hole round, which while pulling clubs is likely to take around 2 1/2 hours, golfers burn between 700 and 1,100 calories per outing."

With his co-worker being larger than 130lb and normally inactive he will actually burn more than the 700-1,100 calories per outing. The 500 calorie deficit should be easily reachable.