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Anonymous
hey there /fit/, I was wondering if i could get your opinion. I'm 19 years old, 6'1", 340 lbs, and have been fat my whole life. During and before high school, I played football (nose tackle), so I was always heavy (290 my senior year), but a lot of it was muscle and I could keep up with most of my teammates in cardio excercise. After High School was done and I moved on to college, however, I stopped playing football and working out, and ballooned up to 340 lbs, losing a lot of muscle as well.

I've decided to stop being obese once and for all, and am looking to go down to a healthy BMI. What I've come to ask is what sort of regimen/diet would you guys recommend for losing 130-160 pounds? I'm not really looking to gain muscle right now, but it wouldn't hurt at the moment. I'm way too embarrassed to even go to a gym anymore, so that rules out that way of excersise, but walking/jogging is an option, since there is adequate outdoor areas for that near my house. I'm also a great swimmer, but once again I'm mortally embarrassed of being seen in a swimsuit (man-boobs, stretch marks, etc.), so that rules that out as well.

Food-wise, I usually don't eat unhealthy, but I eat a lot. When I've tried dieting before, I found that eating a lot of whole grains, fruits, fish (specifically light canned tuna), and chicken worked rather well in losing weight. Is there anything you'd suggest food wise? I've heard that cutting down the amount of calories you eat drastically causes your metabolism to drop even more, so I'm not sure about anything on that department.

My last question is, if I successfully lose all my weight, will my stretch marks on my stomach and lower back go away, and will the excess amount of skin left over ever go away? I heard they do if you're young, but I'm not sure how it'd work out for someone my age (19).

Thanks in advance, pic is somewhat related, isn't me, but is about roughly the same size.
>> Anonymous
Sounds like you're on the right track. I would say weight training and cardio together would give you the best results, lifting while dropping those pounds will allow you to keep more muscle. Sounds like your diet is good, just make sure to eat a variety of foods and keep portions small.

I'd recommend doing the simple lifts, i.e. deadlifts, squats, bench, military press, etc. and run a lot. So long as you stick to your routine you can't go wrong. And yeah, you're probably young enough that your skin will correct itself given enough time.
>> Anonymous
Goddamn your a fat bastard.
>> Anonymous
The stretch marks will eventually discolor, I think. But the loose skin won't go away if you don't bulk up.
>> Anonymous
Same thing happened to me, except I was playing rugby and didn't get quite that big (310, 6'3" for comparison) I was able to get down to 200 in just over a year. That was like 8 years ago though so I can't help you too much with a routine aside to say that I cut out all the garbage foods (soda chips cookies shit like that), and started doing a mixture of cardio/weights in the gym 4 days a week, I was embarassed too, so I just went to a crappy little local gym at the pool and had the place to myself 90% of the time. I'm sure you can find some actual concrete advice on here for a routine, just know that you can definitely do it if you want it bad enough. As for the stretch marks --mine are still there 8 years later, they've faded a little but not a whole lot you can do about those. The flabby skin did go away around the same time I was satisfied with my weight though.
>> Anonymous
at least you've got a good height OP

weight will be easy to lose if you eat the right kind of food, and just steadily build up exercise. start with walks then progress to occasionally jogging every 100m or so, i'd suggest an exercise bike, because you can just chill on it for 30mins or so a day too.

oh, and one sure way to lose weight would be to go on a strict vegertarian diet. Trust me, drop the pounds like a motherfucker though the food is skanky.
>> Anonymous
>>64805
OP here. I think my body would go into some sort of shock if I stopped eating meat. I also think it's morally wrong to not eat meat as well :P

Seriously though, I think if I cut down on the amount of red meat I ate, it'd have a rather large benefit for my weight loss.
>> Anonymous
>>64805
op here again. What do you mean by a good height?
>> Anonymous
>>64915
The advantage to being tall is that you don't have to get down to a really low weight to look slim. The greater your muscle mass, the more calories you can eat without gaining (or while still losing weight). That sounds like a plus to a big eater like yourself.

I went from 240lbs to 155lbs a few years ago. When I was in your position (embarassed, out of shape), I started out slow, getting rid of junk foods and liquid calories (sodas and fruit juices, which have almost as much sugar) while walking to my local park. Eventually, I got en decent enough shape that I could handle jogging a few laps around the park and joined a small gym that was walking distance from my condo. After that, my diet and training both got more intense and better researched and eventually I wasn't afraid to work out in front of people or take my shirt off.

You can do it. High protein, high fiber, and low carbs were my friend. Experiment and find out what works for you.

I would not recommend vegetarianism, although cutting down on red meat isn't a bad idea.
>> Anonymous
>>64939
OP here.
thanks for the reply. Another question I have is what's the consensus for diet soda? Good/bad?
>> Anonymous
>>64949
What the hell do you think?
It's soda.
>> Anonymous
All sodas are bad. I've personally noticed having any kind of sodas, even diet, makes me feel bloated and actually makes me feel like eating more, and feeling bloated makes you want to work out even less.
>> Anonymous
Hi OP, I in the past felt the same. I was 220lbs and was only 5'5, i tried the high protein low carb diet with cardio and went down to 110lbs. Sad thing is, to a weird twist of faith, the weight loss was more on the muscle side.

The stretch marks do not really go away (experience) but they kinda fade, it's better to build abs to they'll make the skin tighten making them less noticeable, the flabs will remain only if you're thin and did not develop muscles.

I'm back to 155 now and starting up a new program, Cardio+Lifting with a balanced diet. 30 mins of jogging every day (morning) and lifting heavy weights in the evening. Carbs is needed to fuel your body or else they'll eat your muscles (you do not want that)

You can eat virtually anything but remember lessen the fats. Also make fruits (specially apples) your snack. Their sugars are low in GI and that's good for you, goodluck OP
>> Anonymous
>>64949
Diet soda contains aspartame, which is in debate wether it's harmful or not. It's alright every once in a while.