Weight Loss and Muscle Gain

[euphfmc]

I was hoping for some advice on something, and I hope some of you more knowledgeable Marines may spare some of your time to help me out.

If you didn't catch my first post, my issue is weight. Decided to join at 430lbs. Down to 385lbs now. I know right now that even if I were at weight I wouldn't have the strength for pullups that I'd need so I've started heavy lifting with a protein diet to build strength.

With that, I'm also doing heavy cardio hard to drop the weight. Will the cardio hurt my muscle gain? Or the other way around? Or should I just concentrate on dropping the weight first instead of doing both?

Thanks again for your time.

[Achped]

YES! Drop that weight before you try to gain muscle, thats just common sense. You carry around over double my body weight every day. Your muscles are already huge, if you lost that fat I'm positive you'd be right where you wanted to be.

[Pete0331]

I was hoping for some advice on something, and I hope some of you more knowledgeable Marines may spare some of your time to help me out.

If you didn't catch my first post, my issue is weight. Decided to join at 430lbs. Down to 385lbs now. I know right now that even if I were at weight I wouldn't have the strength for pullups that I'd need so I've started heavy lifting with a protein diet to build strength.

With that, I'm also doing heavy cardio hard to drop the weight. Will the cardio hurt my muscle gain? Or the other way around? Or should I just concentrate on dropping the weight first instead of doing both?

Thanks again for your time.

Get on the "Biggest Looser" schedule.
I'm not saying that to be a dick, but their programs are designed for people trying to loose 200lbs or so in a heathy way and keep their fitness level high.

Stay motivated, you can do it if you work at it.

[WalkingMan]

Go to: http://www.scientificpsychic.com/fitness/diet.html ...and calculate you BMI, and report what it is. BMI is a better reference number than weight, for overall physical fitness.

Right off the top of my head, I would suggest a general plan of sensible diet (eating correct amounts of the correct foods and liquids) and a serious walking schedule, walking as far as you can, as fast as you can and as often as you can, remembering that injury avoidance trumps exercise... if you can't keep with the walking or workout schedule due to injury, you will lose most of your gains while recuperating.

I would also suggest total abstinence from alcoholic beverages, tobacco, and (obviously) recreational drugs, even if you find one that is legal.

Calisthenics are Ok, but you had better use them very carefully at first, because there is a high probability that your muscles and connecting tissues (ligaments, tendons) and cartilage are close to the breaking point, carrying around so much weight... avoid injury first, exercise second.

Also, your heart and cardiovascular system might be under a lot of stress due to the excess weight. You might be smart to get a physical and see what a doctor has to say.

[euphfmc]

From your site.

Body Mass Index: 48.6 kg/m2 Waist-to-Height ratio: 0.59 Percent Body Fat: 24.0% Lean Body Mass: 294.8 lb

[WalkingMan]

From your site.

Body Mass Index: 48.6 kg/m2 Waist-to-Height ratio: 0.59 Percent Body Fat: 24.0% Lean Body Mass: 294.8 lb

Ok, now that you have the bad news, you also have a starting point, so you will be able to measure your progress, by checking your stats once a month.

Here are my current stats:

5' 11" - 60 years old - BMI - 20.8 kg/m2 - waist-to-height ratio: 0.46 - body fat: 15% - lean body mass 126.6 lbs.

I had a brain injury... a stroke... and my weight got up around 250 because after the stroke, I had difficulty walking, and doing things in general, but I didn't have any problem eating, and when you just lay around, but keep eating the same, boom, you gain a lot of weight.

So I do have a fair idea, the task in front of you.

I got myself a calorie counter (runs on my computer)... actually it counts everything.... calories, all the vitamins and nutrients, etc., so all I had to do was tell it I wanted to lose 2 lbs/week (later that went to 1lb/week... the more you lose, the harder it is to lose each lb.), and it gave me a 1200 calorie diet, but... and this is important... I could eat more and still lose weight, as long as I burned up the calories walking and exercising.

I know that you can reach your goal, because 1) you are motivated already, and 2) I was able to reach my goal, and exceed it, once I got used to the 'suck factor' (as in 'this really sucks'). Now, I love the suck factor... the more it sucks, the more fun I am having.:)

My current PFT stats: Pull-Ups (dead hang) 9 - crunches 80 in 2 minutes - 3 mile run: 26:30

At: http://usmilitary.about.com/od/marines/l/blfitmale.htm

...there is a chart and guidelines for the Marine Corps PFT (males) that will give you your 'end point'... what you will need to do, generally, to pass the PFT.

Also... remember that suggestion I made about seeing a doctor for a check-up. Once you are green-lighted by the doc, you will know you are good to go, and don't have any invisible problems, that might hinder your efforts.

Just like doing the BMI test, it is always best practice to get all the facts out in front, even if some of them are unpleasant.

Knowledge is Power.