Not an expert, but I do want to share something that helped me.

I have bad knees so that made it tough for me to get cardio. Then I learned that lifting weights can be cardio. Just do lots of reps to get your heart rate up and do not rest a lot between sets. Keep your heart rate up.

I'll just pop in here for a bit.
Although I could never consider myself a "fitness and health nut job", I have been trying to lose weight.
I'm 5' 10", and started out around 245, in the late winter. Was 219 yesterday. (Gained a bit back, today, since I ate an extra bowl of chili last night.)
I'm okay with losing it slowly, since that's how I put it on. (The real crusher was when I quit smoking, decades ago. I really believe that tobacco or its by-products increases your metabolism. But it's what it is.)

I found that the real difference was made when I quit eating junk food, and got rid of the "sugar monkey on my back". Had to give up donuts and ice cream.
Used to crave them, but not any more. I still treat/cheat myself occasionally, but not frequently enough to wake up the monkey.
I drink what I want, in terms of alcohol, but it comes down to no more than two drinks in a day. I drink bourbon. Measured shots, mixed.
I used to like wine, occasionally, but it's loaded with sugar.
My "ideal" weight is in the 170s, but I'll be happy when I get below 200, although I don't plan to stop there. I haven't weighed in the 170s since right after high school.
I'm 67, BTW...

[This message has been edited by Raydar (edited 09-15-2024).]

quote Originally posted by ls3mach: Typed up 3 long post and deleted them. Getting fitter/healthy is one of the 3 best decisions of my life. I wish I could give someone the (feelings) of the change for just one day and they'd understand forever. It has been a life changing experience on a journey of humility I embarked on a few years ago. That's the TL R

Awesome stuff man. I'm glad you stuck with it and feel the rewards.

quote Originally posted by BingB: I have bad knees so that made it tough for me to get cardio.

I'm not saying that this is necessarily the case with you, but I've known so many people over the years who suffer from "bad knees" who are also packing a lot of extra weight around. Now, it could be argued that the weight gain is due to less activity as a result of the "bad knees"... but because I've known many of these people for years, I've observed that the weight gain occurred before the knee issues began.

I can only shake my head when I see obese people at the supermarket loading up their shopping carts with cases of Coke/Pepsi and boxes of chips and cheesies.

I outlived that Simmons guy that was supposed to be some kind of health and weight loss guru so I suppose I'm not doing terrible.
Still wondering about the whole healthy lifestyle thing, considering Keith Richards and Mick Jagger consumed everything bad within reach and are still kickin..
They both look like hammered dog pooh but are still above the grass...

quote Originally posted by maryjane: Still wondering about the whole healthy lifestyle thing, considering Keith Richards and Mick Jagger consumed everything bad within reach and are still kickin.. They both look like hammered dog pooh but are still above the grass...

I suspect neither one has been overweight in their entire lives... so I wouldn't doubt that has helped. And maybe good genes.

quote Originally posted by maryjane: I outlived that Simmons guy that was supposed to be some kind of health and weight loss guru...

Keep in mind, Simmons was a 268 lb teenager (only 5'6"), and then became anorexic and dropped to 119 lbs by age 20. He was not always a healthy person, far from it.

[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 09-16-2024).]

quote Originally posted by Patrick: I'm not saying that this is necessarily the case with you, but I've known so many people over the years who suffer from "bad knees" who are also packing a lot of extra weight around. Now, it could be argued that the weight gain is due to less activity as a result of the "bad knees"... but because I've known many of these people for years, I've observed that the weight gain occurred before the knee issues began.

My extra weight absolutely makes it worse, but I had bad knees anyway. Doctor says the cartilage is gone. Pretty much bone on bone. I even have some bone spurs in my right knee. I had surgery on it when I was in high school. But losing weight would help a lot.

In high school I loved football more than anything. I even played my freshman year in college. At that age I was so active that I had trouble gaining weight. So I developed the worst eating habits in the world. It didn't matter if I ate a whole bag of chips if I went and played pick up basketball for 3 hours. I continued to exercise regularly bot lifting and running until about age 40 when I got married. I have gained about 60 pounds over the last 20 years.