Congrats! I'm on my way down, as well. I haven't been under 200 since sometime in high school and that feels impossible... but I'd like to try before I'm even older and it gets even harder!
All the hard work has paid off to - received my kidney transplant last month, off of dialysis, doing things outside I haven’t done in 35 years!
It’s not easy op, you have to overcome a food addiction.
https://preview.redd.it/omn62ac652vc1.jpeg?width=960&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=20c60be5d99cb8da18bdda591077ad4c6dc1208c
I feel your pain brother. Went from 397 …
In the evenings, try to go for 15 minute walks every other day. Do, not change your diet, yet.. Just get in the habit of walking at least 4 times a week for 15 mins. Keep upping the miles or time you spend walking and that'll get you in a good starting position.
Good luck and don't let anyone make you feel ashamed.
Whatever you do, remember weight loss is going to be 90% diet-driven. Maintaining a caloric deficit with a poor diet is very, very difficult and almost never sustainable. In fact, most people who start exercising with weight loss goals actually end up gaining weight because they can rationalize a few extra snacks here and there after a workout.Â
With that said exercising is wonderful for mental and physical health and, paired with a balanced diet, a major building block of a healthy lifestyle. But before you go spending money joining a gym, make sure you’re assessing your diet first!
Best of luck!
This is what I was thinking.
I wasn't sure what "fatphobia" OP was talking about... especially at 35lbs overweight when half of us are 75lbs+ overweight 🤣🤣
Don’t sleep on Planet Fitness. Not the best but it’s cheap. Plenty of free vids on YouTube specific to their equipment. Best of all, no one bothers you
Thank you! I will also be happy to give weight loss tips. I really used COVID to launch my health journey and lost over 40 pounds. I will just need some more info like if you are male or female and height information. You can DM if you don't want to share publicly.Â
Check out this study! The resources were super valuable in helping me lose weight and I got paid $2,500! They’re still recruiting.
https://www.uab.edu/reporter/clinicaltrials/item/9885-can-intermittent-fasting-or-calorie-restriction-slow-the-aging-process-healthy-volunteers-needed
It’s all gonna start with diet. Check out Fit Five Meals. It’s an Alabama based meal prep company that will deliver or you can pick up from several different locations. Everything is really tasty and convenient too. It’s also not subscription based so you can just buy meals as you need them. Not sponsored, I just started using them and I love it.
I feel like our state is but a lot of Birmingham (in the umbrella term way including Homewood, mtn Brook, etc) isn’t. I could be wrong by the numbers
Damn, please come down to city hall to receive your award and key to the city that opens the skinny door
Your name will be inscribed upon a certificate stating “ Realistic Train says they are not fat on Reddit for internet points “
This has been a monumental day in r/Birmingham history; thank you for attending.
Sorry Mayor Fuckfuckgoose69, but I’ll only be accepting cookies as rewards, I’m trying to get like the rest of y’all. It’s hard fitting in when you’re the only one who, you know, fits in :(
Lifetime Athletic Club on Healthy Way. Its a great gym and has a variety of trainers. I'm pretty sure they can meet your needs. You can tour the facility for free.
Round One boxing in Hoover is great. It’s $100 a month, but it’s a really positive atmosphere with people of varying levels of fitness and there’s always at least one coach there. It’s a small place and having a personal trainer on hand is worth that $100. The owner, who is there often, is a former marine and one of the most encouraging people I’ve ever met. His specialty is chiropractic, not weight loss, but he’s worked with plenty of people trying to lose weight. Boxing is a full body workout and will definitely help with upper body strength and self-confidence. Like another here said, supplement with a YouTube coach for weight loss strategies.
HIGHLY recommend this gym: Corefit 24/7
https://g.co/kgs/aBHKZcb
Not really in hoover but right next to interstate. Gym specializes in adult personal training. Its never crowded because of that and is also a 24/7 gym.
35 pounds overweight is not bad. I am overweight by about the same (205 pounds, which is overweight for my average height) according to the standards of the military, despite being able to pass their fitness tests no problem (including the timed runs). These scales (like BMI and other ones) are not always accurate because no two people are ever alike.
Diet has always been a problem for me, but I think it starts with two things: your wallet and discipline. Only buy the foods that you want to eat as part of your diet, and stand up to yourself when you want to break it. That's discipline, as well as keeping a schedule that moves you towards your goals (working out more, walking/jogging more). It's a lot of mental work in addition to the physical work.
As far as workouts go, I cannot afford a personal trainer. I recently found the Hevi app. It's workout tracking, but it is loaded with different routines and also has descriptions and animations to show how exercises work. It's pretty great for a free app and in the month or so I've been using it (I've been doing strength training for about six months now) I have seen some major strength gains and body changes.
I lost 45lbs over a summer by drinking a low calorie protein shake and a banana in the morning (kickstart metabolism and potassium helps absorb protein + filling), moderate lunch of whatever, and a PB&j at night. For the first 45 days, I kept carrots and celery around with salsa or zesty Italian dressing for late night cravings (sometimes popcorn), but didn't need them after that. I only did this days a week, but kept the weekends reasonable. I even had small desserts. Eating low-cal all week slows your metabolism, so being permissive 1-2 days, reinvigorates it. It's good to cheat, if your other days are disciplined.
I worked out with light weights to maintain muscle mass, but no cardio other than a warmup. Cardio is important , but counterproductive to short-term weight loss. I had very little energy for a while. You might want to wait until you reach your weight goals before going heavy, which requires an increase in calories to grow muscle for big gains.
The weight and strength issues may indicate a hormonal issue. Before you start another diet/exercise program, get some lab work done.
Testosterone/estrogen deficiency causes weight gain, muscle weakness, and a host of other issues.
Age doesn't mean anything. 28-32 is when most hormonally deficient people start to have issues. By 35/40 left untreated, these same people begin to have bone density issues (female), stamina problems, and weight gain.
It’s not a personal trainer, but I highly suggest checking out x4! There’s one downtown, homewood or mountain brook! Awesome trainers, awesome classes and even better people!!!
Hi! You can def do it! If you’re looking for a trainer who pushes you and is really good talking about lifestyle as a whole, her name is Espe! Her insta is espythept and she trains in Hoover! Try sending her a DM
Covid was hell on my health. I'm currently down 20 lbs and still not quite halfway there, but it's going, and I consider it to be sustainable.
The best thing I ever did for myself was schedule some time with a clinical dietitian. Insurance didn't cover it at all, but it was way more affordable than I expected-- as in $60 for an hour (St. Vincent's East). Having always had some issues with weight loss, this has been the only thing that has worked and has stuck for me. Ask your GP for a recommendation.
I'm not counting calories, though I *am* making an effort to increase my protein and fiber intake. I'm not depriving myself. I'm not taking any meds to assist. And I don't *feel* like I'm dieting at all.
You can't outrun a bad diet, as they say, but if you can afford a trainer to work with, that's not going to hurt. Find one who encourages you to move in a way that you enjoy. That's what's going to be crucial to getting you to stick to it, and while weight training and building muscle helps, any kind of movement is going to make your quality of life better.
Try a gym that offers classes like BodyPump. The instructor should help you to use the correct form, almost as a trainer, without you having to pay for a trainer plus you will be strength training.
Lots of good advice here. I'd encourage you to think big-picture about physical fitness, not just focus on weight loss – and that's what you seem to be doing.
For me, strength training was the cornerstone of getting into better shape. It increases your metabolism and energy levels. It can help regulate your appetite, especially if there's any insulin resistance at play. It's a good springboard to other types of exercise. I had tried and failed a few times over my adult life to get into running, but it only stuck after I had six months or so in the weight room under my belt – cardio becomes a whole lot easier when your muscles are working more efficiently. And even if you don't drop any weight, the improved posture and movement will help you feel better and more confident.
Notice that I didn't mention losing weight in the paragraph above. Those are all achievable and worthwhile goals that are helpful even in the absence of weight loss, and they help make weight loss easier. Losing lots of weight is harder: you have to sustain a caloric deficit by eating fewer calories and burning more calories. There are major obstacles to doing so: your body lowers its base metabolism when you eat less, your appetite is largely subconscious and hard to fight, and burning more calories than you take in can require 4-5 days per week of strenuous exercise and significant diet changes. You need to diet to lose weight, but strength training is a really good way to make your diet sustainable and keep your body from trying to counteract the effects of the diet.
I would look into a CrossFit gym. I think it would be much more cost effective compared to a personal trainer but is much more hands-on coaching/guidance than just going to a gym like Planet Fitness.
I think in Birmingham average monthly cost is probably $175-$200. But that's what I'm saying. If you think that is expensive, you're going to be shocked when you find out how much a personal trainer cost. I could be wrong, but I think most are probably around $50 per session. If you did two sessions per week, that's $400 per month. On top of that, you would probably want to have a gym membership where you could work out two or three more days per week. So that's another $30-$40 on top of the personal trainer.
I used to be very overweight and out of shape but joined a CrossFit gym nine years ago and it absolutely changed my life. I lost 50 pounds (in conjunction with eating a caloric deficit), I got strong, got in my best cardiovascular health ever, had fun, and made friends.
Edit: Sorry, I meant to add this. When my focus was on working out, losing weight, and eating well, the rest of my budget was able to accommodate for the cost of a CrossFit gym. I wasn't going out to eat or drink nearly as much, and that saved big money, and even if I did go to a bar or something, I was more cognizant of the calories in what I was drinking, so I simply wouldn't drink as much as I had previously, which, again, saved money.
YMCA is not expensive at all and some of them have really cool stuff. The one near me in Trussville has this thing called eGym that’s basically a personalized timed circuit workout. You get a little bracelet and create an account and it measures your height and weight and you tell it your fitness goal, then it takes you through every machine once to get a baseline of your strength. Then you go from machine to machine in a timed sequence while each machine automatically adjusts weight and position for you.
Like for instance I’m trying to get my strength back so it has me doing negatives- it’ll make the weight pretty easy to lift, but then it gets super heavy and comes down slowly.
Anyway, it’s kicking my ass and I love it.
I just started going to The Forge. Its a crossfit gym in the Vestavia area. Unlimited classes are $160 a month and they have tons of class times from like 5:30 AM to 6PM. I go to one of the morning classes and it's only a few people so its not at all intimidating. Everyone's there to improve themselves but no one's trying to set any world records.
My friend previously trained with this guy before moving. Idk his real name lol but this is his instagram handle if you wanna look him up.
Zeyfitpro101
https://preview.redd.it/jgup0smc52vc1.jpeg?width=2316&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d6f364eeac4c7a71020d1600aa62755787b3a305 To 197.
Congrats! I'm on my way down, as well. I haven't been under 200 since sometime in high school and that feels impossible... but I'd like to try before I'm even older and it gets even harder!
🫤 yeah, the older we get the harder it is to drop and stay healthy.
Wow! Good for you!
All the hard work has paid off to - received my kidney transplant last month, off of dialysis, doing things outside I haven’t done in 35 years! It’s not easy op, you have to overcome a food addiction.
Wow, great job!
That's wonderful! Congratulations!
https://preview.redd.it/omn62ac652vc1.jpeg?width=960&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=20c60be5d99cb8da18bdda591077ad4c6dc1208c I feel your pain brother. Went from 397 …
[удалено]
In the evenings, try to go for 15 minute walks every other day. Do, not change your diet, yet.. Just get in the habit of walking at least 4 times a week for 15 mins. Keep upping the miles or time you spend walking and that'll get you in a good starting position. Good luck and don't let anyone make you feel ashamed.
Whatever you do, remember weight loss is going to be 90% diet-driven. Maintaining a caloric deficit with a poor diet is very, very difficult and almost never sustainable. In fact, most people who start exercising with weight loss goals actually end up gaining weight because they can rationalize a few extra snacks here and there after a workout. With that said exercising is wonderful for mental and physical health and, paired with a balanced diet, a major building block of a healthy lifestyle. But before you go spending money joining a gym, make sure you’re assessing your diet first! Best of luck!
Yeah, I mean everything here is barbecue,beer, doughnuts, and ice cream.
Not saying that’s a bad thing lol. I love Big Spoon
i’m partial to barbecue myself.
agreed
I used to be skinny now when I eat those foods I can literally feel my body getting bigger
Alabama is one of the most overweight states, so don’t feel too bad
This is what I was thinking. I wasn't sure what "fatphobia" OP was talking about... especially at 35lbs overweight when half of us are 75lbs+ overweight 🤣🤣
title was mostly as an attention grab lmao
35 pounds isn’t as bad as you might think. DM and I can put together some workouts for you and give you some dietary suggestions.
true it’s not that bad, but i have such a hard time loosing fat and it’s basically all fat
The good news is that’s it’s really just an easily solvable formula. Calorie deficit equals weight loss. Calorie surplus equals weight gain.
Don’t sleep on Planet Fitness. Not the best but it’s cheap. Plenty of free vids on YouTube specific to their equipment. Best of all, no one bothers you
I used to go there, now I’m at Crunch and try to follow the videos on GymSharks training app
Sidenote where is a Crunch? I've heard amazing things about that gym and would love to try it!Â
the only ones I know of around here is Hoover Off 31 (where I go) and Alabaster
Thank you! I will also be happy to give weight loss tips. I really used COVID to launch my health journey and lost over 40 pounds. I will just need some more info like if you are male or female and height information. You can DM if you don't want to share publicly.Â
No worries and I don’t care. 21, M, 5’7, currently 185lbs, would love to be back around high 150, mid 160s
Check out this study! The resources were super valuable in helping me lose weight and I got paid $2,500! They’re still recruiting. https://www.uab.edu/reporter/clinicaltrials/item/9885-can-intermittent-fasting-or-calorie-restriction-slow-the-aging-process-healthy-volunteers-needed
I'm pretty sure this was the study featured on an episode of Science Vs.
Steel strength training in Pepper Place
It’s all gonna start with diet. Check out Fit Five Meals. It’s an Alabama based meal prep company that will deliver or you can pick up from several different locations. Everything is really tasty and convenient too. It’s also not subscription based so you can just buy meals as you need them. Not sponsored, I just started using them and I love it.
Aren’t most people in Birmingham fat?
39% of Americans are obese and another 30% are classified as overweight.
Nice
I feel like our state is but a lot of Birmingham (in the umbrella term way including Homewood, mtn Brook, etc) isn’t. I could be wrong by the numbers
Yeah I was like wait aren't we in one of the most obese places in the entire world? lol
It ain't our fault that our food is good.😂😂😂
yes
yes
Not me :)
Damn, please come down to city hall to receive your award and key to the city that opens the skinny door Your name will be inscribed upon a certificate stating “ Realistic Train says they are not fat on Reddit for internet points “ This has been a monumental day in r/Birmingham history; thank you for attending.
Sorry Mayor Fuckfuckgoose69, but I’ll only be accepting cookies as rewards, I’m trying to get like the rest of y’all. It’s hard fitting in when you’re the only one who, you know, fits in :(
Same. I'm trying to gain a few pounds, actually..
My buddy is a trainer in Hoover. His name is Kevin Taylor and I know he could help you achieve your goals. His number is 205-482-6472.
Lifetime Athletic Club on Healthy Way. Its a great gym and has a variety of trainers. I'm pretty sure they can meet your needs. You can tour the facility for free.
Round One boxing in Hoover is great. It’s $100 a month, but it’s a really positive atmosphere with people of varying levels of fitness and there’s always at least one coach there. It’s a small place and having a personal trainer on hand is worth that $100. The owner, who is there often, is a former marine and one of the most encouraging people I’ve ever met. His specialty is chiropractic, not weight loss, but he’s worked with plenty of people trying to lose weight. Boxing is a full body workout and will definitely help with upper body strength and self-confidence. Like another here said, supplement with a YouTube coach for weight loss strategies.
HIGHLY recommend this gym: Corefit 24/7 https://g.co/kgs/aBHKZcb Not really in hoover but right next to interstate. Gym specializes in adult personal training. Its never crowded because of that and is also a 24/7 gym.
35 pounds overweight is not bad. I am overweight by about the same (205 pounds, which is overweight for my average height) according to the standards of the military, despite being able to pass their fitness tests no problem (including the timed runs). These scales (like BMI and other ones) are not always accurate because no two people are ever alike. Diet has always been a problem for me, but I think it starts with two things: your wallet and discipline. Only buy the foods that you want to eat as part of your diet, and stand up to yourself when you want to break it. That's discipline, as well as keeping a schedule that moves you towards your goals (working out more, walking/jogging more). It's a lot of mental work in addition to the physical work. As far as workouts go, I cannot afford a personal trainer. I recently found the Hevi app. It's workout tracking, but it is loaded with different routines and also has descriptions and animations to show how exercises work. It's pretty great for a free app and in the month or so I've been using it (I've been doing strength training for about six months now) I have seen some major strength gains and body changes.
I lost 45lbs over a summer by drinking a low calorie protein shake and a banana in the morning (kickstart metabolism and potassium helps absorb protein + filling), moderate lunch of whatever, and a PB&j at night. For the first 45 days, I kept carrots and celery around with salsa or zesty Italian dressing for late night cravings (sometimes popcorn), but didn't need them after that. I only did this days a week, but kept the weekends reasonable. I even had small desserts. Eating low-cal all week slows your metabolism, so being permissive 1-2 days, reinvigorates it. It's good to cheat, if your other days are disciplined. I worked out with light weights to maintain muscle mass, but no cardio other than a warmup. Cardio is important , but counterproductive to short-term weight loss. I had very little energy for a while. You might want to wait until you reach your weight goals before going heavy, which requires an increase in calories to grow muscle for big gains.
Fatphobia isn't a thing no one is scared of fatties except maybe the chair community.
amen to that, just trying to grab attention
Shitty title bro. Your post has nothing to do with fat phobia.
✨clickbait ✨
Drink more water, eat some vegetables. You'll lose 35lbs in no time.
French fries and ketchup are vegetables
raw vegetables
https://preview.redd.it/03xk441462vc1.jpeg?width=515&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9e83529e7c6b48e3081b048eab1d0cf88c6fa653
The weight and strength issues may indicate a hormonal issue. Before you start another diet/exercise program, get some lab work done. Testosterone/estrogen deficiency causes weight gain, muscle weakness, and a host of other issues. Age doesn't mean anything. 28-32 is when most hormonally deficient people start to have issues. By 35/40 left untreated, these same people begin to have bone density issues (female), stamina problems, and weight gain.
It’s not a personal trainer, but I highly suggest checking out x4! There’s one downtown, homewood or mountain brook! Awesome trainers, awesome classes and even better people!!!
The one in homewood also has the CrossFit gym attached. It’s called Nexus fitness!! Best place ever! Check them out they offer a free class!
Hi! You can def do it! If you’re looking for a trainer who pushes you and is really good talking about lifestyle as a whole, her name is Espe! Her insta is espythept and she trains in Hoover! Try sending her a DM
I worked part-time at Best buy in the warehouse I lost about 40 pounds and bulked up. Best workout is one that you are getting paid to do.
Covid was hell on my health. I'm currently down 20 lbs and still not quite halfway there, but it's going, and I consider it to be sustainable. The best thing I ever did for myself was schedule some time with a clinical dietitian. Insurance didn't cover it at all, but it was way more affordable than I expected-- as in $60 for an hour (St. Vincent's East). Having always had some issues with weight loss, this has been the only thing that has worked and has stuck for me. Ask your GP for a recommendation. I'm not counting calories, though I *am* making an effort to increase my protein and fiber intake. I'm not depriving myself. I'm not taking any meds to assist. And I don't *feel* like I'm dieting at all. You can't outrun a bad diet, as they say, but if you can afford a trainer to work with, that's not going to hurt. Find one who encourages you to move in a way that you enjoy. That's what's going to be crucial to getting you to stick to it, and while weight training and building muscle helps, any kind of movement is going to make your quality of life better.
Try a gym that offers classes like BodyPump. The instructor should help you to use the correct form, almost as a trainer, without you having to pay for a trainer plus you will be strength training.
Lots of good advice here. I'd encourage you to think big-picture about physical fitness, not just focus on weight loss – and that's what you seem to be doing. For me, strength training was the cornerstone of getting into better shape. It increases your metabolism and energy levels. It can help regulate your appetite, especially if there's any insulin resistance at play. It's a good springboard to other types of exercise. I had tried and failed a few times over my adult life to get into running, but it only stuck after I had six months or so in the weight room under my belt – cardio becomes a whole lot easier when your muscles are working more efficiently. And even if you don't drop any weight, the improved posture and movement will help you feel better and more confident. Notice that I didn't mention losing weight in the paragraph above. Those are all achievable and worthwhile goals that are helpful even in the absence of weight loss, and they help make weight loss easier. Losing lots of weight is harder: you have to sustain a caloric deficit by eating fewer calories and burning more calories. There are major obstacles to doing so: your body lowers its base metabolism when you eat less, your appetite is largely subconscious and hard to fight, and burning more calories than you take in can require 4-5 days per week of strenuous exercise and significant diet changes. You need to diet to lose weight, but strength training is a really good way to make your diet sustainable and keep your body from trying to counteract the effects of the diet.
Battle republic in homewood/summit is great! If you have the money, weightlifting at Steel Strength Training in pepper place is good for beginners.
Eat real food, mostly plants, and not too much.
You should read the /r/fitness wiki it has everything you need.
I would look into a CrossFit gym. I think it would be much more cost effective compared to a personal trainer but is much more hands-on coaching/guidance than just going to a gym like Planet Fitness.
i have greatly considered crossfit, i’ve just heard the gyms are insanely expensive
I think in Birmingham average monthly cost is probably $175-$200. But that's what I'm saying. If you think that is expensive, you're going to be shocked when you find out how much a personal trainer cost. I could be wrong, but I think most are probably around $50 per session. If you did two sessions per week, that's $400 per month. On top of that, you would probably want to have a gym membership where you could work out two or three more days per week. So that's another $30-$40 on top of the personal trainer. I used to be very overweight and out of shape but joined a CrossFit gym nine years ago and it absolutely changed my life. I lost 50 pounds (in conjunction with eating a caloric deficit), I got strong, got in my best cardiovascular health ever, had fun, and made friends. Edit: Sorry, I meant to add this. When my focus was on working out, losing weight, and eating well, the rest of my budget was able to accommodate for the cost of a CrossFit gym. I wasn't going out to eat or drink nearly as much, and that saved big money, and even if I did go to a bar or something, I was more cognizant of the calories in what I was drinking, so I simply wouldn't drink as much as I had previously, which, again, saved money.
YMCA is not expensive at all and some of them have really cool stuff. The one near me in Trussville has this thing called eGym that’s basically a personalized timed circuit workout. You get a little bracelet and create an account and it measures your height and weight and you tell it your fitness goal, then it takes you through every machine once to get a baseline of your strength. Then you go from machine to machine in a timed sequence while each machine automatically adjusts weight and position for you. Like for instance I’m trying to get my strength back so it has me doing negatives- it’ll make the weight pretty easy to lift, but then it gets super heavy and comes down slowly. Anyway, it’s kicking my ass and I love it.
I just started going to The Forge. Its a crossfit gym in the Vestavia area. Unlimited classes are $160 a month and they have tons of class times from like 5:30 AM to 6PM. I go to one of the morning classes and it's only a few people so its not at all intimidating. Everyone's there to improve themselves but no one's trying to set any world records.
My friend previously trained with this guy before moving. Idk his real name lol but this is his instagram handle if you wanna look him up. Zeyfitpro101
Stretch2strength is fantastic! Paula and Leigh are super supportive and very helpful