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  #1  
Old 08-11-2008, 11:15 AM
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Question for Fitness Gurus

I have a friend who needs to lose 30-40#. He is about 5'9 and 215-220#. This is NOT in the wife's area of expertise so we cannot help him. He could see a doctor, dietitian a physical therapist, etc, etc BUT he has no insurance. His knees are not the greatest but not too bad. A few squeaks according to the wife. So, what sort of exercise machine could he get? Probably not a treadmill but maybe an elliptical trainer or a bike. Which is better? Weight is around the tummy mostly. Arms and legs seem fine. Wifey thinks that the weight in the tummy is not the best for the knees.

I thought I'd post it out here and see what sort of free advice we can get for him.

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  #2  
Old 08-11-2008, 11:23 AM
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I'm not an expert but my dad was a bodybuilder on the competition level. He had many back and joint issues as he aged and progressed with MS. He was told by his doctors to get into Yoga or swim and do pool exercises. Yoga helps stretch and strengthen the muscles and helps to better support the joints. Swimming allows exercise without impact on the joints.

Get on one of these:
http://www.endlesspools.com/index.html
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  #3  
Old 08-11-2008, 12:06 PM
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Don't think he has the money for a pool or he'd have insurance. He does have a few hundred back from his tax rebate tho.
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  #4  
Old 08-11-2008, 12:10 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by aklim View Post
Don't think he has the money for a pool or he'd have insurance. He does have a few hundred back from his tax rebate tho.
http://www.ymcadanecounty.org/facilities/program_centers.asp

$500 per year and he has access to a pool year round and exercise equipment/trainers.
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  #5  
Old 08-11-2008, 12:30 PM
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Eliptical machine. Best combination of effort balanced with low impact. I have an older model Nordic Track eliptical that I'm getting ready to employ in my quest to lose about 30#.
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  #6  
Old 08-11-2008, 12:36 PM
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Cut calories and increase exercise....Weight Watcher's is very good.
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Last edited by Mistress; 08-11-2008 at 12:47 PM.
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  #7  
Old 08-11-2008, 12:45 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chad300tdt View Post
http://www.ymcadanecounty.org/facilities/program_centers.asp

$500 per year and he has access to a pool year round and exercise equipment/trainers.
That might work too. Maybe they can give him pointers on how to lose that beer belly besides stopping his beer.
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  #8  
Old 08-11-2008, 01:00 PM
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The beer is a killer. Beer drinking smokers have it worse. The combination creates a body where below the waist is normal or even undersized with a large "pot" belly.
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  #9  
Old 08-11-2008, 01:01 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KarTek View Post
The beer is a killer. Beer drinking smokers have it worse. The combination creates a body where below the waist is normal or even undersized with a large "pot" belly.
He even wondered if switching to a "Lite" beer will help. Wife told him to knock it off if he wants to keep it down.
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  #10  
Old 08-11-2008, 01:18 PM
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The problem with exercise equipment is that they are just too boring to use and end up as a clothes horse. Maybe I'll remove the jackets on my exercise bike later and hop on. He could just set up an area where he can play some music he downloaded or even 'youtube' and dance to it by himself. Since a song is about 3 minutes he would be motivated to finish the 3 minutes. He can also use a couple 5 lb dumbells while dancing, but if he has a partner, he'll have to be careful he doesn't hit her in the head. lol. I find it works better if I have to click on each song rather than letting a bunch play, otherwise I'll just end up listenenig to the music and forgetting the dancing exercise.
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  #11  
Old 08-11-2008, 01:18 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by raslaje View Post
The problem with exercise equipment is that they are just too boring to use and end up as a clothes horse. Maybe I'll remove the jackets on my exercise bike later and hop on. He could just set up an area where he can play some music he downloaded or even 'youtube' and dance to it by himself. Since a song is about 3 minutes he would be motivated to finish the 3 minutes. He can also use a couple 5 lb dumbells while dancing, but if he has a partner, he'll have to be careful he doesn't hit her in the head. lol. I find it works better if I have to click on each song rather than letting a bunch play, otherwise I'll just end up listenenig to the music and forgetting the dancing exercise.
Agreed. I'm installing a TV in the exercise room to combat the boredom of it. It works out nicely that most of the programs I record are 30 min. which makes it perfect for a morning work out.

Another habit that builds weight is sitting down with a beer (or 12 as they say) in front of TV every evening, last thing before going to bed.
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  #12  
Old 08-11-2008, 01:42 PM
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you do know you cannot spot reduce fat by working out.
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  #13  
Old 08-11-2008, 01:44 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TheDon View Post
you do know you cannot spot reduce fat by working out.
True, but if he has a beer belly, chances are that's the spot that will reduce most dramatically.


Superhydration will help, especially since he's used to drinking large amounts of liquid anyway:
http://www.drdarden.com/readTopic.do?id=383704
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Last edited by Chad300tdt; 08-11-2008 at 01:49 PM.
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  #14  
Old 08-11-2008, 01:50 PM
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To shed weight the first thing to do is lose the bad habits and know you really want to do it. There are no magic diets or machines that lose weight for you.

There are many options which have little or no cost involved. Weight Watchers is a good start. Low impact exercise such as pilates and yoga are excellent and classes are relatively inexpensive. I recommend group exercise because of the support and advice you get from others.

My area offers a "boot camp" group class for $10/hr. Look into YMCA or community exercise programs.

I am a certified yoga/pilates instructor, I pay a personal fitness trainer $25 for a 30 min workout twice a week. The only exercise equipment I have at home is free weights and pilates exercise balls, rings, etc.

I lost 74 lbs seven years ago and kept it off.
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  #15  
Old 08-11-2008, 09:07 PM
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The general rules of weight loss:

1. Don't eat too much.

2. Exercise.

Now for more specific advice:

The best exercise is one that this guy will do regularly. He should try some different ones until he finds one he likes. Swimming is good. So is biking. Eliptical and other machines work if you use them, even going for a long walk regularly can help. Strength training is good for building muscle in order to raise basal metabolic rate and burn more calories.

Diet: As long as the guy is getting 60+ grams of protein daily, vitamin and mineral intake is something halfway close to recommendations, and the total caloric intake is a bit less than he's burning, he's going to do ok. It's better to include more fruits and vegetables. It's easier to keep the calories down if you don't eat much pizza, hamburgers, etc. I get a lot of mileage out of just reading the nutrition information label on a product before I decide whether to buy it.

On the beer thing, I have heard of folks losing weight by switching from beer to whisky. I tried that and found that it's way too easy to get way too drunk without trying.

I ended up just watching my diet a little more closely and working out regularly. I was pushing 170 before I started making changes and have been mostly holding in the low to mid 150's for the past two years (ok, there was a dip into the 140's when i was doing all manual labor all the time).

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