Got The Hammer from the Doc

[master-gauge Senior Member Member of the Month May 2016 Find all posts View Profile Close master-gauge]

Well I was to see the Ortho Doc yesterday and he has given some not great news.. At the tender age of 33 I now have an arthritic hip joint (had it for 3 years at least, took that long to get in ), and lower back and neck thanks to my bodies self abuses at a younger age, life has been colorful I'll put it that way, lol.. It was bad enough for my first cortisone shot to the joint.. Now this is the fun part.. I hop on the scale and I'm in the 240 range.. I do have a beer belly, yes but I'm heavily muscled as well 19" arms and I'm only 5'5" for starters.. He actually wants me to drop all the weight so I weigh 150-180 or so.. .. But the kicker is he just wants me to do it with diet.. NO EXERICSE!! He doesn't want me to workout??? His words not mine.. Not even walking great distances??

So I was wondering if any of our Diet Guru's on here had some suggestions for me to pursue.. There is no way in hell I can get to 180 lbs let alone 150, I weighed that in grade 8, haha.. I have way too much muscle on me for that.. 205-210 is really pushing it, I know I feel anorexic at that.. 215 is reasonable, I still need to function at work too, I don't have a desk job.. Some suggestions from anyone that had to drop a large amount of weight is appreciated..


Thanks

[closed224 Senior Member Member of the Month Dec 2014, Feb 2017 Find all posts View Profile Close closed224]

The Atkins style diet focused heavily on protein, good fats, and carbs from vegetables has been the best method for me. I would seek the help of a nutritionist. Because of your muscular build you will find it very difficult if not impossible to lose weight to the level suggested by your doctor.
He is likely taking your target weight from a chart that says a person that is 5'5" tall needs to weigh this much. A better test would be a try BMI type test that measures fat, lean ,muscle, bone density etc.
I am bigger than you but have the same trouble. Very muscular, as well as too fat. I don't know that losing so much lean mass will be healthy for you. There are excersizes programs for people with bad joints, and I think it is irresponsible for the doctor to suggest no excersizes.
I would seek the advice of a doctor that specializes in all these areas, instead of one who looks at a sliding scale as the end all be all of what you should weigh.

[CUSP82 Administrator Admin of the Month Dec 2014PEGym Hero Find all posts View Profile Close CUSP82]

Every time you get a nice shot of pain from that hip which s carrying way too much weight it should simply remind you to eat less and eat healthy, unless of course you like pain.

[Dangler Senior Administrator☼ Wizard ☼ White Tiger Award 2015 Find all posts View Profile Close Dangler]

You might surprise yourself with just how little food you really need to get that weight loss process kicked into gear.

Do this when you are younger; if you delay until you are older, it is really going to be a B*tch.

Go with a higher ratio of vegetables to meats.

[not2big Senior Super ModeratorPEGym Hero Find all posts View Profile Close not2big]

Check out a carbohydrate chart so you know how much is in the foods you are eating. Keep your total carbs under 120 and you should start to loose weight. Food labels list carbs per serving. A fist size of starch (pasta, potato, wheat, etc) is about 15 carbs.

the good news is that foods rich in protein are usually low in carbs.

[master-gauge Senior Member Member of the Month May 2016 Find all posts View Profile Close master-gauge]

The Atkins style diet focused heavily on protein, good fats, and carbs from vegetables has been the best method for me. I would seek the help of a nutritionist. Because of your muscular build you will find it very difficult if not impossible to lose weight to the level suggested by your doctor.
He is likely taking your target weight from a chart that says a person that is 5'5" tall needs to weigh this much. A better test would be a try BMI type test that measures fat, lean ,muscle, bone density etc.
I am bigger than you but have the same trouble. Very muscular, as well as too fat. I don't know that losing so much lean mass will be healthy for you. There are excersizes programs for people with bad joints, and I think it is irresponsible for the doctor to suggest no excersizes.
I would seek the advice of a doctor that specializes in all these areas, instead of one who looks at a sliding scale as the end all be all of what you should weigh.

Very true Wish!! I cringed when he said no exercising and losing muscle mass .. Diet and exercise go hand in hand as far as I'm concerned.. My issue is I was a strength athlete for years (not now) and I built this muscle to compete with.. Strength guys eat most anything as long as it gives u the energy needed to lift like a mad man.. I think the term is "Dirty Bulked"..

We don't worry too much about dirty carbs.. I'm not a " big farm looking fella" by any means, but there is a beer belly right now.. Because some of the strongest people on earth look like "Big ol' farm boys" to the rest of the people.. Not so much the BB'ers and Cross fit crowd.. But I'm going to need some guideance from them as to where to look on diet.. Counting Macros sounds like a pain in the ass, lol..

Atkins would likely work for me, I love eating protiens.. Love a nice big juicey steak-chicken.. I'm just pissed because I worked for years to get it and now I need to lose most of it.. I've been looking for links on eating clean and dropping... There is A LOT.. It's kind of hard to pick one..

I'm use to lots of pain from different things Cuspie.. But I'm starting to get sick of it!!

[lilbigman Senior Member Member of the Month June 2015 Find all posts View Profile Close lilbigman]

Try swimming for exercise. You can get a good workout and it is easy on the joints.

[TheGreatDivider Senior Member Member of the Month Dec 2015 Find all posts View Profile Close TheGreatDivider]

You're that obese and you worried about losing muscle?!

You've got a lot to forget about bodybuilding, and some truths to learn about nutrition.

-Losing muscle it's harder than you think. So long as you maintain you strength you'll maintain dry weight in a calorie deficit and gain it back over time when in a caloric surplus. Expect to lose up to 12lbs of glycogen and no more than 5lbs of muscle (water).

-No matter how hard you try you can't crash your metabolism dieting. Your metabolism will adjust over time to meet your energy needs but it's not going to change by much. When you eat less you move less and you burn less calories. The myth about slowing metabolism and gain fat is a misunderstood explanation of water weight gain and glycogen storage.

-70-120g of protein is enough to maintain and build muscle, excess turns into sugar and fat not muscle. Eat more if you like but don't obsess on hitting a magical number.

-Dieting is mostly psychological. In a nutshell what you eat is less important than why you are eating. When you take away food as a source of pleasure you may find certain unwanted feelings coming up. Learn to accept these feelings and practice mindfulness rather than stuffing or avoidance.

-Diet breaks will help you to keep losing weight. When you're tired and cold and bitchy, when all you can think about is food or recipes, and cheat meals don't make you feel any better.... It's time for a diet break. Diet as hard as you like for as long as you can take it then take a diet break for 1-2 weeks. Usually 8-12 weeks of dieting followed by 1-2 weeks off or 1 week off out of the month. Don't count calories or macros just eat whatever you like for a few days then spend the rest of that time slowly gearing up for another round. You'll know you're ready to go back to dieting when you're appetite returns back to normal or lower than normal and you get your sexual appetite back.

-Lastly, one of my biggest tips. Keep sodium consumption the same or slightly elevated and drink a lot of water (1-2g a day). This will keep your muscles full and water weight low. You won't have to worry about gaining water weight from cheat meals, refeeds, or diet breaks because diuretic hormones will remain level.

You can do whatever diet you like just remember there's no such thing as a perfect diet. It all comes down to calories in vs. calories out. Eat whatever you like within reason.

[master-gauge Senior Member Member of the Month May 2016 Find all posts View Profile Close master-gauge]

Thanks for those tips TGD.. That's a lot of the type of info I was looking for.. I'm trying to remember myself what I did to cut weight and go down before (212 last time was bottom).. It's a good 10 years since I done this and I have no notes here I can find..

I'm not really all that obese, there is a bit of a beer belly and really that's all there is.. I'm 5'5".. 245 lbs..... BUT (this is the important part).. I have a 39" waist right now, 19" arms, 28" quads, and I'm 5'2" around the shoulders.. A good chunk of my weight is actually muscle..

He's an Ortho Doc and wants me to lose size as a whole, fat and muscle both.. Try to explain "I can loose most of the fat u want off but muscle?? Is not happening, lol" That's what he was telling me because the more weight I'm carrying the harder it is on the joint obviously... 150-180 lbs is nuts in my eyes, couldn't likely happen unless something unhealthy took place OR a very long time in my case.. I could see maybe 200-205, I'd start to look ripped again as a bonus going that low..

I like the sodium tip.. I don't feel so bad now drinking G2 here at work (higher sodium)..

[CUSP82 Administrator Admin of the Month Dec 2014PEGym Hero Find all posts View Profile Close CUSP82]

Yup I'd get sick of the pain as well. The sad part is it gets worse as you get older. You really don't want to look forward to a future of getting an artificial hip do you? Do the best you can to live longer pain free.

[namsokiek Banned Find all posts View Profile Close namsokiek]

Here is what I did to lose 40 lbs in 11 months.

https://www.pegym.com/forums/exercis...tml#post657996

I don't mean to be contradictory, but if you have a "beer belly," a good chunk of your weight is also fat. 5'5" and 240lbs, sounds damn close to 40% bf.

Imagine carrying a back-pack full of 70 lbs of rocks, sure will make your joints tired. Now imagine dropping the pack...

[Cavalier Retired Super Moderator Member of the Month Feb 2015PEGym Hero Find all posts View Profile Close Cavalier]

It's in your best interest to give it your best shot possible right now to loose the weight. I was a procrastinator for a long time until I finally got the ultimate motivator to loose 70 lbs, severe back pain and two failed surgeries. Take care of it before it gets worse.

All I did, and it took time, was to only have a yogurt for lunch, snack on a few fruits or vegetables during the day and a moderate meal for dinner. I made no changes in the type of food I ate for dinner, I just ate less. It took a little less than a year.

[master-gauge Senior Member Member of the Month May 2016 Find all posts View Profile Close master-gauge]

Not contradictory at all namsokiek.. I think last time I check BFI I was just over 30 something like around 32%?? Like I said I'm an extremely solid built guy (animal as some put it, lol).. I'm not arguing for keeping the weight up there, that is for sure.. I don't need it anymore and even 20 lb off gets me a lot more "attention" when out from the ladies.. That is a sign of approval in my eyes that I'm looking good.. It just comes in handy if someone gets mouthy at work, lol JK..

I'm in pain now from this and the neck (motorcycle accident years ago).. I'm getting old and cranky before I should be..

@ the guys that answered: Congrats on the 40 and 70 lbs loses guys.. Those really are no small feats to pull off.. Another plus is my unit will look bigger too from up here, lol.. Checking out your link namsokiek..

[master-gauge Senior Member Member of the Month May 2016 Find all posts View Profile Close master-gauge]

Just thinking about the eating clean and cutting last time.. I was eating a crap load of tuna at dinner time out of the can.. I think I was using Franks Red Hot on it too.. Sounds yummy don't it, haha... I know I could hardly stand to look at Tuna after that, but it did work..

I just adding up the breakfast, it's 500 cal on the button.. What I was wondering should I go with more Carbs at the breakfast, or keep it more protein??

[kickinthemebs Senior Member Member of the Month Feb 2014 Find all posts View Profile Close kickinthemebs]

There are literally 101 different ways or tips to lose weight, the internet is awash with them. Intermittent fasting is a popular one. So too with adkins (I nearly typed admins for some reason haha). Then there is the paleo fad, and the juice diet, and around a hundred more different ones.

You have to choose what is right for you. If you can't go without breakfast, then intermittent fasting will be tough. If you are veggie then adkins would be tough, and so on. What is your diet currently and how much do you want to/can alter it?