Health issues: need Fitness and Diet help

[mdaugherty24]

I'm 31 years old, 6'1" tall and 220 lbs. After a recent Doctors visit, my blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose levels were all well above normal but not dangerously high. A combination of my diet, fitness and smoking are all the main contributors. I have got to start making some serious life changes, any help or advice would be much appreciated.

To start, I have quit smoking and started walking 30 minutes twice a day. Does anyone have any suggestions on better routines, exercises or overall fitness regiments that would benefit my current health situation? Obviously the one round a week and range sessions aren't enough exercise!

As far as diet goes, any suggestions on certain foods that will help me keep my weight and levels down to normal? or just any other advice on dieting would be helpful, Thanks!

[nellycuz]

I'm 27 yrs old, weighed about 227 in January about 5'11, athletic build. Used to play soccer in college at a weight of 185. I've lost 20 lbs since January by doing a few things. -Make sure to get to the gym 4-5 times a week. Before you lift a certain muscle group, run a few miles. I've been doing interval training where I run at 6.0 mph for 2 minutes, run at 8.0 mph for 2 minutes and repeat until I've run a total of 2 or 3 miles almost every time I go to the gym. Then I'll lift a muscle group like chest, biceps etc. Usually a 45 min-1hr workout depending how I feel. -DIET is probably the biggest thing however. I LOVE chicken wings, pizza etc. I used to go back to back to back to back to back meals for days eating like crap. Cut out the fast food all together. I do maybe 1-3 cheat meals a week, usually on the weekend. I'll drink rather heavily one or two days a week. Eat a lot more fish/veggies in the evenings. I've been counting calories on my non cheat days. Keeping it well under 2,000 cals. After I go to the gym after work I get home around 730-8 and just have a protein shake as my dinner. Saves some calories because I'm usually not hungry enough to eat a full meal after working out. On my cheat days, I eat really light meals for breakfast and lunch if I know I'm going to have an unhealthy dinner. Helps minimize damage. Those are two of the biggest changes I've done to help me lose weight. I still got some ways to go but maybe you can gather an idea or 2 from what has helped me get to where I'm at! Good Luck!!

[saevel25]

Start off slow. Just walking will help out. If you try to jump into something hard, and hurt yourself, or get demoralized then you will just end up failing.

First, I recommend learning how to cook. That way you change your eating habits at home, and take ownership of what you prepare. Doesn't have to be complex stuff, but basics are good enough to help out. As for diet, I recommend dumping all processed foods.

Drinks, I would allow water, tea (minimally sweetened if need be), coffee (minimally), alcohol (minimally, red win mostly due to its help with heart issues). The more calories you stop drinking the better.

Carbs, I would test if you are a good candidate for low carb diets. Some people are not, some people are. I would try to minimize the amount of flour based products you eat. I would stick to potatoes, sweet potatoes, things like that. Also I would cut out as much sugar as you can.

Protein, eat more of it. Lean protein is good, especially fatty fish.

Fat, don't be afraid of it. Moderation is key though.

Basically eat fresher stuff. I always think of it as, if I had to buy nothing that came from a box, jar or bottle, what do I want to eat. Then I go from there.

As for calories per day, I would take your body weight and multiply it by 15, that is your maintenance, no weight loss, calories.

220 x 15 = 3300 calories. Now to loose weight I would take about 20% off. So I would go with around 2600 per day.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/

I recommend this website, its free, and you can pretty much find anything there and get its nutritional value.

As for break up of food, I would go at least 0.75 grams of protein per day per lb of weight. This way you stave off muscle loss and also fill your diet with more sustaining food sources. Basically protein keeps you fuller longer.

[14ledo81]

Is it what you eat (diet)?  Or the amount?

I lost 15 lbs in the last two months by cutting out sweets (candy, pop, cookies, donuts, etc.), and better portion control at meal time.

I feel better than I have in years.

[saevel25]

Is it what you eat (diet)?  Or the amount?

I lost 15 lbs in the last two months by cutting out sweets (candy, pop, cookies, donuts, etc.), and better portion control at meal time.

I feel better than I have in years.

It can be both, in my opinion.

[Dave2512]

Yes learning what to eat and how to prepare it would be a good start. You will be surprised how much volume you can eat if you have been eating poorly. Eating right isn't about starving it's about making better choices. Knowledge is power with food. Understand where your calories are coming from and how many you should be eating. Be careful to avoid fads, specifically food fads. You see lots of stuff like eat more nuts. Well that's fine if you've made room for them in your day but it doesn't take many nuts before you've consumed more calories than a double cheeseburger. Besides what saevel25 said I recommend buying a cheap kitchen scale and look up values on-line. Hard to eyeball calorie content, 10 oz of pork loin has roughly the same calories as 7.5 oz beef sirloin, both are around 400 cal. You'll be surprised when you see you can eat a huge steak and take in less calories than a value menu mini-burger. And you won't be hungry after wolfing down a steak. Which reminds me, pack your lunch. Exercise is the easy part. Changing how you eat can be tough. Important to remember that 400 cal you burned walking on a treadmill for an hour is quickly negated with one bad food choice.

[Shorty]

The 5/2 intermittent fasting diet is the ONLY way to go.

If you follow it you will be amazed. It is incredible.

It is based on science, is not a fad, and the benefits go far beyond weight loss.

In fact, the weight loss becomes a fortunate by product of it.

If there is one thing I want people to believe I am serious about it is this.

If you are a  smoker, you have to stop that. Obviosulsy. Glad you recognise that.

[Shorty]

You see lots of stuff like eat more nuts. Well that's fine if you've made room for them in your day but it doesn't take many nuts before you've consumed more calories than a double cheeseburger.

True. The calories in nuts are incredibly high. As Dave said, research calories in foods, you'll be surprised.

Avoid things like commercial muesli bars. You may as well eat chocolate, they are so full of sugar.

Also, avoid things like smoothies and , believe it or not, orange juice (except in very smalll quantities). Fructose is your enemy and if you drink freshly squeezed orange juice, you may as well drink a can of coke. It's that bad.

[saevel25]

True. The calories in nuts are incredibly high. As Dave said, research calories in foods, you'll be surprised.

Avoid things like commercial muesli bars. You may as well eat chocolate, they are so full of sugar.

Also, avoid things like smoothies and , believe it or not, orange juice (except in very smalll quantities). Fructose is your enemy and if you drink freshly squeezed orange juice, you may as well drink a can of coke. It's that bad.

Yea the problem today is that modern grocery stores made available foods that took a lot of work to get. Fruits were only seasonal. Nuts took a long time to shell and eat. Now there is a ton of them in large quantities. So being aware of what you eat is important. Like, I could down a whole carton of strawberries in one sitting, love them. Same with clementines. So I have to watch out when I buy those things. Reason why I DO NOT buy any snacks. If you visit my place, its bring your own snacks, and you are taking them with you or they go in the trash. I have no will power against snacking.

[14ledo81]

I do not have much will power against snacking.  Especially when I am reading.  I keep pretzels on hand.  I really like them, but still have to make sure I do not go overboard with them.

[mdaugherty24]

Thanks for all the post and suggestions! I defiantly have a lot of information to get me started

[Dave2512]

I don't sweat eating as much fresh fruit as I can hack. For example 1 cup of strawberries only has about 7 grams of sugar and 49 calories and no chemicals (hopefully) and is packed with fiber, definitely worse choices. About the same as eating a medium tomato. A Snickers has 5x times more calories and 4x more sugar plus a ton of nasty binders and it will likely make you more hungry than you were with zero health benefits.

[Shorty]

Just an example of why people get  confused and think they're being "good" when they aren't:

100 grams of blueberries =57 calories

100 grams of macadamia nuts = 718 calories

100 grams of sugar = 318 calories

[saevel25]

Just an example of why people get  confused and think they're being "good" when they aren't:

100 grams of blueberries =57 calories

100 grams of macadamia nuts = 718 calories

100 grams of sugar = 318 calories

But they are a great ratio of Omega-6 to Omega-3 fatty acids. They taste SO DAMN GOOD!!!

I rather eat 100 grams of those than 100 grams of Sugar. I can live with the calories, and I'd probably be full, rather than being left hungry if I just downed sugar.

[Dave2512]

Just an example of why people get  confused and think they're being "good" when they aren't:

100 grams of blueberries =57 calories

100 grams of macadamia nuts = 718 calories

100 grams of sugar = 318 calories

Yeah pretty funny. Just looked it up a 150 grams of M&M;'s has about the same calories as the 100g nuts. When ever I see those juicer commercials with people tossing handfuls of nuts into it the WTF is immediate. If I wanted to eat 718 cal I'd head to a steakhouse.

[Shorty]

Yeah pretty funny. Just looked it up a 150 grams of M&M;'s has about the same calories as the 100g nuts. When ever I see those juicer commercials with people tossing handfuls of nuts into it the WTF is immediate. If I wanted to eat 718 cal I'd head to a steakhouse.

Yep  - I'm a great believer in quality calories.

[Dave2512]

My calorie goals are twofold. I like quality and what offers satiety. Really looking forward to summer aka good veggies and grilling season. There is a nice chuck eye and bunch of asparagus waiting for me at home.

[albatross]

I think there's some really good advice in this thread.  I'll tell you what has worked for me, even though it's controversial.  If you start the Atkins diet and really follow it for 1 month, you will drop a ton of weight.  It's not easy, but it is guaranteed to work.  With blood pressure, cholesterol, and glucose problems, it's not something you would stay on obviously, but you will shed a ton of weight quickly.  From there, you want to then maintain a balanced diet with exercise, and obviously stop smoking.

You'll be amazed how quick the pounds come off with Atkins, but it's a hard at first and your body will feel weird without carbs.  Just use it to drop fast weight and then switch to a reasonable calorie intake and exercise.  It's worked for so many people I know, including myself.