Ok guys, I'm right now at 6'1" and 304 pounds (gained the weight I lost last semester back over the Christmas break) and I want to change that. I may not be the total fatass that most 300 pound guys are but I still want to shoot for 50 pounds over the next 6 months. However, I've got a few things holding me back

First is a bum ankle... I shattered my right one Thanksgiving 2013, had surgery,  ect ect but running is out of the question. Even walking too long will get it to hurt like hell. Also, things like squats are a nono according to my doc unless I really want to screw my cartilage. Also paired with that is a pinched nerve in my mid back that things like squatting, bending over wrong, so on so forth gets its pain rolling..

Next is being a college kid... not a whole whole lot of free time and I don't really have access to all the healthy foods nor a place to cook along with simply not having enough money to buy it off campus. However, do have full access to the REC center.

And please don't take these as excuses, they are not but they are unfortunate factors that already dictate pretty much everything I do...

So can any of yall give me some advice on what I could do to loose weight? Workouts or just simple activities that are easy to work in whenever? I have already started cutting back the best I can and am getting better. I'd also appreciate it if someone could recommend a good calorie intake app for android that could help me keep track.

Thanks guys

Less food more cardio

No such thing as a diet

Stay focused

Keep it simple

Don't make it work but more enjoying when doing cardio. This is what worked for me. After months I began lifting weights.

Atkins.   Read the original book and everything else about it, so you can understand the whole process of what made you fat to begin with.    

Paleo or any of the other copycats will get you there too.  

Basically, you need to return your body to the diet it is designed for.    

Many of us haven't evolved enough to handle todays high carb diet.     Good for those who have, but humans have only been eating this way for a couple hundred years, a couple thousand years, if you include all grain products.  

Don't listen to the willfully ignorant.     Read up and edumacate yourself.

You know the answer to your question.  

If fewer calories go in than you put out, you lose weight, period.

Working out is a plus, but bedridden people loose weight.

I have lost 100 pounds twice and caught myself 75 pounds up this time, so I am back at it.

Now, swim for a low impact cardio, but fix your mental relationship with food if you want to get it under control.

Do it now, while you are young.  Trust me, the older you get, the harder your mindset is to change.

Eat less.

Agreed. Look up Jeff Volek on youtube and watch his lecture about ketogenic diets.

True, but weight loss != health, and not all calories are created equally.

You want to burn fat and add muscle. If you starve yourself for a week for example, you'll be lighter on the scale, but that weight loss didn't come completely from fat -- it's muscle, water, and a little bit of fat.

Your body metabolizes 100kcal of fructose from a soda WAY differently than it metabolizes 100kcal of glucose from a fibrous source.

kettlebells work pretty well

swimming would be a good low joint pain option

when in doubt find a friend who works out and ask to jump in with them

having a good training partner can keep you motivated!

Already doing that

Will look into them, thanks

Will do, thanks!





Thanks for everyone else's input too, I just don't want to fill the thread with a million replies. Day one starts tomorrow morning

Cut the carbs and sugar (especially in drinks).  Eat less.
Do some type of exercise, anything that can get your heart rate up for 15-20 min every day.  Walk around campus every night and no eating after 8pm

It is not easy to do, but it is that simple.

Cut out all fast food and sodas. Water to drink, always. Take the stairs.

Eat much less sugar.

Use gyms rower.

Since no one else has mentioned it yet, use My Fitness Pal.  It's amazing the changes you make in your diet when the numbers are staring you in the face.  If you are honest with it, you will see results.  Make it a habit and it really is easy to do.

What are you eating now? If you're saying you can afford unhealthy foods, I don't understand why you can't afford healthy -- or at least, significantly healthier -- foods.

Does the rec center have stationary bikes or other machines (NordicTrack, etc) which would enable calorie burning, without putting much stress on your ankle or back?

Are you tracking everything, very easy to do with apps on your phone or myplate.

My wife lost 15 lbs last year by tracking everything for a few months, it adds up fast.

She was doing about 1200-1300 calories a day, with a little extra on Saturday if we went out to eat, no exercise other than walking.

Yours will likely be higher since you're a man and bigger, but something like 2000 a day should be right for losing 1-2 lbs per week.

My dining hall wasn't terribly good, but we always had access to steamed veggies, various staple foods and dry goods like oatmeal. Very easy to overeat there, but with a little thinking you could get a plate full of food that was under 500 calories total and reasonably balanced.

What I meant is that there isn't much on campus (where my meal plan is applicable) that I consider not to be crap food and relying on off campus adds up fast since I do not have a job currently.

And yes, the rec does have stationary bikes. That's what I was thinking as a definite instead of running

Will do there, and the rec is on the opposite side of campus from me so that aughta pair well

Downloaded My Fitness Pal today for that exact reason. Put in my info and it put me at 2300 ish calories. I plan on beating that

Got it, and I take the stairs every day 3rd floor for my room

Move more, eat less...

Stay the same weight, just lower the body fat %!!!

30 mins of cardio, 1hr of lifting everyday, low carbs, high protein, low calories unless you're lifting back or legs.

Ah. I see. My situation is somewhat similar. In that case all you can do is to select the best of what's available to you.

I wish you success.

Dude OP would be an animal!  That's like Mariusz Pudzianowski or Derek Poundstone type stats.

I've had to eat in a lot of military chow halls, so I'll tell you this- don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

Choose a vegetable dish and a meat dish. Choose the best you can.


Sounds like rowing or biking would be a good place for you exercise wise. Do things like bodyweight squats and pushups as well.

Here's the deal man, you didn't get that big because you have a healthy relationship with food. I had the same problem and I didn't get to 300lbs but I'm not 6' either.

I did the Paleo diet. It helped me lose the weight but it did some other things that I wasn't expecting like giving me the ability to control my hunger which in turn gave me the ability to control what I ate. Call it Metabolic Derangement Syndrome, being a natural born fatty, I don't give a shit what you call it, it was real to me and has been as long as I can remember. I've never ate "right."

I understand where people that say "eat less" are coming from but odds are they've never been morbidly obese.

I HIGHLY recommend you try the Whole 30 and do it perfectly. No cheats. If you can't do the 30 days without fuckin it up, then you're probably gonna be a fat ass the rest of your life. IF, you do it the way it is prescribed, I guarantee you you will be pleased with the results. It fixed my eating, my sleeping, dropped 15lbs in the first month, fixed my high blood pressure, my low blood sugar, my daytime energy was up which has an exponential effect when it gives you the ability to exercise>go to bed MORE tired> sleep better> wake up MORE rested> less caffeine>exercise/play more and harder> sleep even better etc.

Then when the 30 days is over, I went strict Paleo which I still do today with a couple amendments, (cottage cheese before bed, whey protein, white rice, peanut butter). Stuff doesn't negatively effect me so it's good to go. I've been doing it going on 5 years and it's no longer a "diet" I just don't eat processed shit food with no nutritional value. I know what's in what I eat and why I'm eating it. All in all I dropped 75lbs and kept it off since. (Except for the 15 I put back on hitting the weights)

You can take anyone in this threads advice on exercise, I'm still a relative newb at that myself, but being a fatass and not wanting to be is something I have sort of a specialty in. If you're interested, I'd be glad to help you out answering questions or hell, you can call me and we can chat. Up to you.

http://whole30.com/whole30-program-rules/

That was pretty much my approach.

I've eaten 1400kcal net a day since late June and started at the gym in September -- I have been averaging about 90min of cardio a week, while doing a 4-5 day/week lifting program (outlined it in the other thread on the subject). I dropped about 25lb from June-Sept through diet only, and another 40+ since Sept (currently 5'11 196). The body composition change over the last couple of months has been very noticeable though -- down a shirt size, down from 40 or 42" pants to 34 or 36" dress shirt collar down 1.5", etc. All core lifts continue to increase, cardio endurance is at least 2-3 times what it was when I started (was gassed after a mile before, now doing 3-4mi @ 7mph)

I eat paleo inspired low carb -- still eat ranch on my salads, still have protein shakes, some cheese, alcohol on the weekends, etc. I shoot for less than 45 net carbs per day.

It's tough to stay focuses when your friends tempt you with going out to eat and drink all the time, but the results are worth it.

Once my body fat % is down where it should be, I'll up the food intake to get more gainz.

Oh, also, OP, losing weight will help your ankle. I sprained mine really bad back in 2010 and never went to the doctor's -- just iced it and slowly started using it again and rehabbing it with elastics. It would bother me all the time -- when hiking, running, on stairs, etc.. The more weight I dropped and the more leg exercises I did involving it (such as squats and calf raises), the less it hurt, to the point where now it doesn't bother me at all. Same thing with my right knee.

Lol hell yea

I passed out just reading that part

I was the opposite, started my journey at 155lbs, been eating and lifting heavy for a year and a half now and I'm at 195 and around 12% bodyfat (measured at 12% last month but I've also jumped to 5000 calories a day since). I know you big dudes struggle, but I honestly think little dudes have it harder... Dieting down is one thing, but there have been many many meals where I have had to force myself to chew and take a huge gulp of water to be able to swallow every bite like a pill...when you're already 5 meals in you start to wonder if it's worth it... YES IT IS!!!

To the OP, if you are serious, jump all in. Every meal, every cardio session, every single rep... Make everything count, every. Single. Time. Make no excuses, never accept weakness.

Watch these and take them to heart:



Go ahead and subscribe to that page (walleast) too, tons of motivation there



This guy died filming a video a couple weeks ago

Calories and Cardio.

While its always better to eat quality food, bottom line is if you want to drop weight, manage your calories. Write down everything you eat. Everything. Use an app or creat your own spreadsheet that tracks weight, calories, workouts. Its important to track and write everything down.

If you cant run, try the elliptical, bike, swimming, walking, rowing, yoga, etc

Mix it up, make it as fun as you can, and stay focused. Give yourself daily, weekly, and monthly goals. Get someone to join you if you can.

Good luck!

The guy was an idiot and go hit by a train......but he looked good doing it.

So what you're saying is, he didn't have functional fitness?

Pretty much.  It is funny to read the articles about it. One article said it was a "preventable accident"......no shit dont stand on the tracks and you wont get hit by a train...it is not like they will swerve to hit you.

Seems more like a lack of good sense than an absence of "functional fitness" (whatever that is).

Hey OP, I am also a fellow large man currently 6 foot 298lbs. I recommend eating only whole foods but stay away from the starchier foods like potatoes. Although all calories are not created equal when it comes down to it weight is lost when you burn more than you eat. This has been proven with the McDonalds diet and a convenience store diet where the guy ate only food from a convenience store. I have heard great things about the keto diet but I don't think I could handle eating less than 50 grams of carbs a day. I use the If It Fits Your Macros (IIFYM) calculator to determine my macronutrient goals, here's a link IIFYM Calculator. If you follow it you should see results. It would also help if you knew your basal metabolic rate(BMR), that's the number of calories your body burn if you were to literally lay down all day and do nothing. BMR Calculator. If you eat less than your BMR you will definitely lose weight. I use MyFitnessPal and have done so for years.

LCHF/Keto is easy, I'm down 73 lbs since last may.

Eat less has to be the worst/dumbest advice I read here.

Eat heathy might be the advice you are looking to give.




Lets say OP eats 6 Pizza's a day if he drops down to 5 pizzas will he get thin? I mean....he is eating less right?

Depends on his RMR and how many calories the pizza's are

Eat clean. Put your body into a State of Ketosis through a ketogenic diet. There are urine strips you can get at Walmart to tell you when you've reached Ketosis by seriously reducing your carbs.

Carbs, sugars...they're the enemy.

Get a dehydrator and start making jerky to snack on. It's less expensive than the store bough, better tasting, and will help when you get snack cravings instead of chowing down chips or other things with carbs.

If you need something fast or quick go to Chipolte and get a burrito bowl with no rice for a filling low carb quick meal.  

Start eating two eggs for breakfast. I know you're probably like most Americans and not eating breakfast.

Hit the weights. Muscles are the engine my friend. If you want good cardio take Krav Maga lessons or better yet some MMA lessons. You'll find you're getting a great workout in with MMA training without noticing that an hour has flown by quick. Way better than just mindless jogging in place on a treadmill starring at the clock.

Get a good backpack (45 ltr or better) put some weight plates in it and every morning get up an hour earlier to put in a good 3 mile walk eventually walk/run if you can. Weight lifting five days a week.  Do some cleans, because those will really help with your testosterone boosting and that will help you prime your body to build muscle and burn fat. Leg day has big pay offs.  Workout a good recovery system for leg day though like an ice bath or hit the hot tub or sauna afterwords. Also remember if you don't do something for your legs like an elipitcal the next day you'll get a delayed soreness to your lower body, which I know keeps a lot of folks away from doing a good leg day like they should.  

Forget everything you've ever heard about weight loss. The answer is simple.

1) Cut out soda and other sugary drinks.

2) If you ever feel "full" you're not gaining ground. Get used to feeling hungry and having less energy. Eat lots of oatmeal.

If you follow these two steps the pounds will disappear so quick you won't know what hit you.

This, but it's more nuanced than that. I dropped 65 pounds a few years ago (285 ->220), and have fluctuated since, currently at 229. I'm now 45, do crossfit twice a week, log my calories/meals on an iPhone app and have self imposed dietary restrictions. For me, diet was 90% responsible for weight loss. Working out is great for fitness, strength, etc...., but even a very hard workout is worth a Big Mac or so. Of course it can help metabolism with increased muscle mass, but diet is way more important to weight loss than working out. They should be done together of course.

What worked for me was keeping to an 1800-2000 daily calorie intake, cutting out most refined carbs (still eat potatoes, some whole wheat organic bread but not much), lots of plain veggies, lean meat (chicken, pork tenderloin, red meat only once a week or so) and cutting back diet soda to a few times a week. I should drink only water (and a few beers a week) but even I have my limits!

The nuance has to do with the quality of the food and the timing. Recent studies show that when you eat can have a big factor on weight loss. I try to stop eating past 7pm, even avoiding bedtime snacks (even healthy ones.) Other little tricks include drinking water before meals to trick the stomach into thinking it's more full, eating veggies first, etc..... saving the higher calorie foods for last. I eat too fast, and slowing down would help too.

Basically, you should eat good foods following the old 'pyramid' chart at a prescribed calorie count (depends on your goals, health, etc..... maybe 2000-2200? per day) cut back on refined carbs, try to eat during a 12-14 hour period, drink lots of water, work out a couple times a week and stay active. I lost, on average, 2 pounds a week when I was losing weight. Some weeks were more, some were less, but after a month it got easier. The first month sucks. Big time. Stick with it and have short term goals. Also have your foods set up so you don't find yourself hungry without a plan.

Funny, i often feel full and have way more energy. Skip the carbs (oatmeal) and eat moderate protein/high fat.

I would agree with this. Oatmeal keeps me full for like 15 minutes.

swim