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Ok, about 6 years ago I weighed in at 225-265 Lbs and was quite happy where I was at with my weight as I had dropped from 310 Lbs.

I basically walked 3 miles to work, did 2 hours in the gym everyday and then walked 3 miles back home. My diet consisted of virtually nothing except Corn Flakes as I had very little money coming in and a money grabbin girlfriend - actually it was a fair amount of money, but I never saw any of it due to money grabbin GF.

Well I met with a freak accident in 2005 where I tore my Quadrecep, ACL, all the cartilidge, calf muscle and achilies tendon completely off the bones in my right leg and separated the thigh bone and shin bone away from the knee cap. I was in and out of hospital for 8 months and unable to walk for most of that time.

My weight shot up from 225 Lbs all the way up to 350 Lbs in a very short space of time.

Now I'm at a point in my life where I want to lose all the weight and go back to being happy again, but it's so damned hard to do.

Diets are not working and I can't excerise because of my knee being in such a bad state - I can't even walk without it hurting all the time.

I really don't know where to start.

I've forgotten all I know about going to the gym and I really don't want to just go back onto an all Corn Flake diet again as it messed up my body pretty badly.

My goal is to drop from 350 Lbs to 200 Lbs.

I didn't know if anyone had any advice, as all the Doctors I've seen have been as useful as a kick in the nutz and no one else I know can help. I even read Muscle and Fitness, which suggests what to eat, but a lot of it i'm allergic to.

Vicious circle - DOH.

Any help?

BTW - Swimming is out of the question as I have a mortal fear of large amounts of water. Swimming Pools terrify me.

Shoot man, that's rough (understatement of the year). I would focus on rehabbing your leg so that you can put it through some higher impact exercise. Some good low impact exercise would be swimming or just water exercise in general. Find anything that can raise your heart rate and sustain it for 30 to 45 minutes. You don't need to run to lose weight, just burn more calories than you take it. Just my $.02

Thanks for the advice Youngblood.

What qualifies as a low or high impact exercise?

The problem with my knee is it will never get any better than it is. I have to put up with the uber amounts of pain.

I should add to the OP...

I have a massive fear of water. Swimming Pool amounts of water terrify me.

riding a bike= low impact because there is isn't much of an "impact" when your foot turns the pedal
running = high impact because you're constantly slamming you foot onto the ground. The "impact" is felt through the entire body.
General, the more fluid an exercise motion, the less impact it will have.
Find a wading pool (3-4 ft. deep) and do small exercises. The added resistance of the water helps with strength training and toning.

OK, you've got a bum knee but you want to lose weight?

I've been under 200# all my life, and I keep my weight under control via diet & exercise.

Losing weight is pretty easy:
1. eat less
2. move more
3. profit!

Dieting alone *never* works. Each pound of fat is 3500 calories, or about 2 days worth of eating for a semi-sedentary person. So if you plan to lose 150 pounds, you have stored fat that's equal to 300 days of not eating.

The real trick for you is to cut junk calories (bread, pasta, rice, fries, chips, candy) in favor of quality calories (fruit, veggies, meat). Eat as much veggie that you like, and snack on fruits. Keep meals in proportion Simple rules:
1. NO beige food.
2. NO more than 1 small plate or bowl at any meal.
3. more small meals.


Now the bum knee is a problem, aggravated by the fact that you're putting 350+# on it with every step you take. If you get your weight down, the knee might be less bad. You can do a lot of non-impact stuff, and I'd suggest swimming and weights to raise your metabolism, along with yoga / pilates to strengthen your core. A bad knee has no effect on upper body work, and minimal effect on core exercises. If you're fully weight-supported in water, your knee should be OK. If it gets better, you can switch it up to non-impact bicycling / spinning.

Paying for this, save the $600+ and buy a lifetime gym membership at a major club with pools.


But getting started, you can start with wall / knee push-ups and a couple water jugs to lift. Just get started. No excuses.


It's a big change in lifestyle, but making the first decision to get started is the first step.
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If you're scared of water, you'll need swimming / water safety lessons. Buy a life jacket / flotation vest and wear it when you go into the water. Have a friend help you. At 350#, you will definitely float. The idea that you would sink to the bottom is not going to happen - you need to be <200# to sink. So you don't need a jacket / vest, but it will make you feel better.
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Chunk to Hunk is a very similar story to you, though he didn't have the knee problem. Read how he started in the water - it probably helps you.

Chunk to Hunk

I'm not trying to be defeatist here - it's too late for that - but water is really not the option at all.

I got pushed into a lake when I was a kid and then later that same week a teacher pushed me into a swimming pool because I was afraid of the water. I almost drowned twice in a week and I just cannot go anywhere near a swimming pool. I won't even go fishing or go anywhere near a river or lake.

Now weights is something I loved to do. I used to lift weights all the time when I went to the gym and even entered into some local amateur powerlifting competitions. Never won anything, it was just fun to do. The only useful advice a guy at a gym gave to me was that "You are a very strong guy, but you have a lot of relaxed muscle and it's turned into fat, you should try lifting weights again."

I don't know if he was correct as I've been told so many conflicting things.

I'd love to start again, but I don't know where to start.


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Thanks for the advice though John. I've ordered the book. Should be a good read.

Losing weight is a matter of consuming fewer calories than you burn up. Your objective is to reduce your intake slightly by diet and increase your output by exercise.

In terms of diet, don't deliberately starve yourself and go hungry. It will just make you binge when you do finally get a meal. There's a lot you can do to cut down calories without reducing the volume of food eaten. Feelings of hunger and satiation are partly triggered by how much your stomach contracts or stretches.

Avoid sugary drinks, alchohol and fatty foods. (Fat is a denser source of calories than protein and sugar.) Switch to diet Coke, etc. Try to give up milk and sugar in tea and coffee.

Eat more complex carb foods like pasta and brown bread, and more vegetables. Dress them a bit with some kind of sauce or they get rather boring. Eat leaner cuts of meat such as chicken or lean beef instead of fatty pork and lamb chops. Grill rather than fry. Eat smaller portions. If you're hungry between meals, eat a piece of fruit instead of a biscuit or chocolate bar.

Drink plenty of water in between meals, it helps make the stomach full which reduces the autonomic nervous system's trigger of hunger.

Exercise
As John pointed out, your heavy weight at the moment puts extra strain on your knee. This should ameliorate to some degree as you lose weight.

A tatic rowing machine would offer lower impact to the bad leg and you can favour it, and it's a good workout for the torso and arms. It would be difficult at first due to lack of flexibility around the waist.

Walking is a good exercise; perhaps you could use a walker's pole to help the bad leg. It looks better than a walking stick.

Upper body weights (arms and chest exercises) don't require anything from your legs. This can be done with free weights or machines.

Drop soda's and replace it with water in your diet, control your eating, go to a gym and talk to a personal trainer and set up a plan. And most importantly stick with the plan and keep yourself motivated, its great that you already have experience in the fat-to-fit aspect of life as you're going to need that motivation.

Circuit training might be a good substitute for water training it'll also increase your cardiovascular level, here's a link about it: http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/tipsandtricks/a/TrainThruInjury.htm

Scroll down, they have some examples of circuit training for us knee-injured people. Cardio-boxing might be another good option but you do have to use your legs and be on your feet for it.

If you find yourself with some free time it might be a good idea to hit the floor and do some crunches/push-ups/exercise ball/etc.




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I'd also seriously think about using a walking cane if you get pain from just walking around; it'll help relieve pressure and it'd also be a decent enough weapon in self-defense situations.

Does riding a bike somewhere use up more calories than walking the same distance?

George Spiggott wrote:Does riding a bike somewhere use up more calories than walking the same distance?

Depends on how hard you ride. If you walk 1/2 mile downhill and then ride a bike another 1/2 mile downhill, you'll obviously burn more calories walking due to the inability to coast (the exception being a "fixie").

Two miles down hill, two miles back up. What's a 'fixie'?

George Spiggott wrote:Two miles down hill, two miles back up. What's a 'fixie'?

At a moderate pace for both, walking would definitely burn more. A fixie is a bike that has no ability to coast. When the wheel is turning, so are the pedals.

radiohazard wrote:water is really not the option at all.

Now weights is something I loved to do. I'd love to start again, but I don't know where to start.

Thanks for the advice though John. I've ordered the book. Should be a good read.

You have a valid fear of water, and I understand that. But, as you're making major life changes, dealing with water might not be a bad idea. Esp. as water aerobics and swimming really will be the best long-term aerobic exercise available to you, based on your knee. Fat & deathly afraid of water vs. fit & able to swim is a pretty good change. Enlist your *real* friends to help you here.

Weights, you start slow and small, and work your way up. Your legs are already pretty strong, just from moving your current 350+# around. But your core (esp. back) and upper body can use a lot of work. If you powerlifted before, you can work your way back up again, step-by-step. Just do it!

You really should enjoy the book. It's mostly attitude & mindset - very helpful in staying motivated!
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Kilkrazy wrote:Feelings of hunger and satiation are partly triggered by how much your stomach contracts or stretches.

Eat more complex carb foods like pasta and brown bread, and more vegetables. Dress them a bit with some kind of sauce or they get rather boring. Eat leaner cuts of meat such as chicken or lean beef instead of fatty pork and lamb chops. Grill rather than fry. Eat smaller portions. If you're hungry between meals, eat a piece of fruit instead of a biscuit or chocolate bar.

Yep. Hunger goes away due to fullness and fatness of eating. Fullness = fiber (veggies). Fatness = normal food.

I am *extremely* dubious about any actual health benefit gained by "low fat" grilling vs deep-fat frying. I do not ever eat so-marketed "healthy" foods - they're even more processed than the regular processed version. A good example is ice cream. When I buy ice cream, I buy the fattiest, richest ice cream, avoiding ice milk / frozen yogurt / air-churned junk. When I eat ice cream, I eat a couple spoonfuls and can actually taste the cream - it's very satisfying. Those couple spoonfuls are all that I need, due to the high fat content in the ice cream. OTOH, if you have low-fat ice cream, then you need to eat a lot of ice cream to have the same "fullness" from fat - a big bowl. And even then, it's rather unsatisfying - too sugary.

I say, have the self-discipline to limit portion sizes, rather than to limit what you eat. However, if one has the bad habit to eat entire ice cream cartons in one sitting, then better to quit cold turkey. Eat slower, starting with veggies & fiber, so that the body can actually feel full when you eat.

A big bowl of beige food is far, far worse than a small bit of fatty, tasty food. Having the three pancakes at breakfast is far worse for you than eating the two eggs, two strips bacon & two links of pork sausage!

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George Spiggott wrote:Does riding a bike somewhere use up more calories than walking the same distance?

Probably not. And not even close compared to running. But it is a *lot* less wear-and-tear on the joints (esp. knees).

For comparision, a good walker will go about 4-6 mph, while an runner is lucky to go 12 mph (5-minute mile!). Elite runners are lucky to reach 15 mph (4-minute mile!!!). A recreational distance cyclist is good for 15 mph without too much effort, and in a pack, elite distance cyclists will go 20 mph. A comparable 4-minute elite "speed" time is easly 25 mph, and the 1-hour record for a conventional bike is over 30 mph (about twice as fast as an elite marathoner).