Need help getting my life back...

[M_V_P]

Hello everyone,

I’m 25 years old. Once a well-rounded athlete and competitive powerlifter, I have fallen in physical health to dangerous levels. I am currently 5 feet 8 inches tall and weigh 250 lbs. I have extremely high blood pressure (around 170/120) and tachycardia (heart rate stays around 110). I also have high cholesterol and severe sleep apnea. My sleep apnea, since my weight gain, has become so severe that in my recent sleep study the chart concluded that I stopped breathing for 10 or more seconds approximately 106 times per hour, which is nearly twice per minute.

I am currently on 100 mg of Atenolol (beta blocker) blood pressure and admittedly, I eat nothing but fast food. To tell you what kind of shape I was in before, at 19 years old I was in the Army and weighed 181 lbs at 5 feet 8 and bench pressed 335, squatted 415 and deadlifted 460 lbs. During this time, I ran two miles every morning in less than 15 minutes. A sedentary job and depression lead to my weight gain, which has occurred over the last six years.

Today, I currently have my Class A CDL and drive a truck for a living. It’s what I love to do and it is what I’m good at, but unfortunately, due to my recent illnesses, I have been let go from two jobs due to my inability to do the work. Not only has this weight gain and health decline affected my performance in the gym and my appearance, it’s affected my career and my marriage.

I am married to a beautiful girl that has remained in shape over the years. We have one son and another one on the way and she is 5’2” and weighs 118 lbs (before she got pregnant) and has an excellent physique. I can tell she is even disgusted at times at the man I have let myself turn into. Since I have developed my sleep apnea, I have no energy to do things to help her around the house and we no longer sleep in the same bedroom due to my extremely loud snoring and gasping in my sleep.

This isn’t just an “I want to look better” thread, but my life has been turned upside down due to my decline in my health; everything from my career to my marriage and my health. The Doctors said I am at high risk for kidney failure and heart disease since it runs through my family, I want to be here for my boys and participate with them in things like weightlifting and football, but at this rate, I’m afraid I won’t even be here when they turn 18.

In 2012, I grossed $81,000 on my W2 and then this last year and of 2014, I only worked just short of four months out of the year at two separate jobs due to my decline in ability to perform essential duties and barely made just over $20,000. I had to take a physical ability test with the gas company that I worked for and nearly failed. After talking to a friend that I hadn’t seen since my days as a powerlifter that couldn’t believe how horrible I look right now, he said he bought the Insanity discs and would let me borrow them.

I remember back when I used to post regularly on these forums, it was the most motivated I had ever been in my life. I remember training journals and constant posts about gains always keeping me having a positive attitude. I know this post has been long and I have gone on and on, but if you read through it, you know just how badly I need motivation and help.

My question is to those who have been through significant weight losses before. Would Insanity help me at the moment with weight loss? I am not worried at all about gaining any mass at the moment, as losing this weight and decreasing my blood pressure and preferably eliminating the severity or even completely eliminating my sleep apnea is my prime focus. I just want to lose about 20 lbs short-term and long-term, about 50 lbs. I am currently in a size 38 or 40 jeans and XL in t-shirts. I am used to wearing 34 or 36 at the biggest and L in everything.

Any comments or experience with Insanity, high blood pressure or even dieting advice would be highly appreciated. Please no bashing, that never helps anyone. Thank you for taking your time to read my post and thank you for your opinions. God bless!

 

[Devildog_]

I've never had to deal with weight loss to this degree but to a fellow brother in arms I hope to see you turn this around for the better! I wish you the best of luck friend and I hope you log this journey. Best of luck

 

[M_V_P]

Thank you, and I definitely plan on logging my progress on this website. Sorry for the ramble, I guess what I'm basically trying to ask is: what would be the best approach to jump start this weight loss journey? Would I be better off starting out with something effective and anaerobic like insanity and just doing as much as I can to start with or would I be better off preparing my body for exercise with a slow, moderate walk on an empty stomach for 30 minutes per day for about six weeks and then move into the more physically demanding insanity workouts? I'm sure I could probably only complete the warm up for insanity right now, but I do remember hearing someone say before that workout tells you to do only as much as you can, push yourself, but know your limits?

 

[Driven2lift]

The biggest factor here is not your workout routine, it is proper diet.

The workouts and physical activity help but any one that gets you moving and sweating is effective for weight loss. Start slow, doing everything at once never ends well (hard to maintain, early plateau, etc)

I advise getting your diet in check first. Track food intake accurately and get the scale moving down.

Posting this here was actually a great idea and good step, sharing your journey helps you see it through. I highly advise starting a log here, we will follow along and make suggestions as you go. Having all of us see your progress adds accountability too, and having it written and planned has been shown in studies to help the process.

I think Insanity is fine, but dial in diet first, get your routine going then add in cardio as necessary.

Good luck with the journey brother, if you ever have questions feel free

 

[cheftepesh1]

As said above diet is the biggest key. Set small weightless goals for month to month. Skip the fast food and learn to eat lean meats and veg. If you have to go on the road pack a cooler with heathy foods and water.

 

[kenpoengineer]

WAKE UP CALL! You love your son and wife? You want to see him grow into a man, right? I KNOW you do. It's time to do something about this NOW!

Insanity is a high energy cardio workout. I believe this would be way too much for you at this stage. I'd start with walking at as fast pace as you can. Get a Fitbit fitness tracker and use that to set goals.

Diet is the key right now. Do you know what your macro goals should be? Drop ALL fast food.

The apnea is dangerous and needs to be helped with a ventilator. Do you have insurance?

You need a training partner. Someone to kick you ass into gear when you need it.

YOU are fighting for your life here brother. Not trying to be a dck here. Keep posting progress here, don't stop moving forward and keep your eyes on your son!

 

[Driven2lift]

As said above diet is the biggest key. Set small weightless goals for month to month. Skip the fast food and learn to eat lean meats and veg. If you have to go on the road pack a cooler with heathy foods and water.

Speaking of water, a pretty good weight-loss tool is staying hydrated and drinking a lot of water.

Learning to drink more water over juice/soda is key. Liquid calories are the worst

 

[Driven2lift]

^ kenpoengineer = captain motivation lol

Follow that man's log for some solid motivation His OLAD routine + some cardio could be a solid option for your training too

 

[kenpoengineer]

^ kenpoengineer = captain motivation lol Follow that man's log for some solid motivation His OLAD routine + some cardio could be a solid option for your training too

Thanks D2L. This man's plea for help brought tears to my eyes! I'm not an expert here but will supply motivation where I can!

 

[scope75]

Diet, Diet, Diet!!!

Diet is the key and coupled with a good exercise program youll reach your goals in no time.

I went from 330+ to a lean 190 in 1.5 years with a balanced diet and lots of exercise.
The only reason I was able to lose the weight and have been able to keep it off is I didn't want to die so damn young because at the time I was 23 now I'm 29 and still 195.

Only diet advise I have is find one you can stick to long term and you'll be golden.
I like LC diets because I have insulin issues and a LC diet allows me to eat the foods I really enjoy and that's protein and fats. I still eat carbs but only 1 day a week and only for the last 6-8hrs of the day.

 

[LeanEngineer]

Once you get your mind in the right mindset, which sounds like you really want to lose the weight, then you will lose the weight. You gotta train your mind to only eat what's on your diet and not stray away from it. Don't go to strict at first cause you'll give up cause it will be hard and away from your norm. But slowly transition into a clean and strict diet and you will get results. if you have any diet questions or training questions or supplement questions let me know.

 

[Blergs]

I stopped reading at "i mostly eat fast food"

you already know the issue so fix it man... not to sound harsh.. but there is no magic beans for you... just time and dedication.
I would rec google and research "carbcycling for fatloss"

 

[hvactech]

Bro, for immediate weight loss, ensure proper diet, do plenty of cardio at the gym or on open terrain (no running on concrete) and take Clenbuterol. I've never had to lose weight (if anything, I have the opposite problem) but I instructed my friend of 6-0ft 285 # to bring his weight down to 210-215 and he cut his hair & looks great. I also put him on zinc to take away the stretch marks.

:-/

 

[cubsfan815]

:-/

Exactly. Why clen? Why not just crack or meth?

 

[mkretz]

My advice...one thing at a time, pick one thing to change that u can do 100%.... Once its a habit pick another....youll be living a whole new life style in no time

 

[TheMovement]

WAKE UP CALL! You love your son and wife? You want to see him grow into a man, right? I KNOW you do. It's time to do something about this NOW!

Insanity is a high energy cardio workout. I believe this would be way too much for you at this stage. I'd start with walking at as fast pace as you can. Get a Fitbit fitness tracker and use that to set goals.

Diet is the key right now. Do you know what your macro goals should be? Drop ALL fast food.

The apnea is dangerous and needs to be helped with a ventilator. Do you have insurance?

You need a training partner. Someone to kick you ass into gear when you need it.

YOU are fighting for your life here brother. Not trying to be a dck here. Keep posting progress here, don't stop moving forward and keep your eyes on your son!

M_V_P and I mean that as where one falls by the wayside he needs to trust in the comfort that there are others who can pick him up not to "CARRY" him along at the expense of the group but to further strengthen the crew as a whole. From this community to the family you have built with you wife YOU HAVE TO MAKE A CHANGE! Bottom line no if ands or butts about it.

I have an issue with sugar coating so please take non of this to heart but I challenge you to make the change TODAY!

Insanity=HIIT on a scale that many cannot handle. For every 1 person who completes this and loves it 3 others drop it due to its severity. Its high impact and rest periods may not give you the opportunity to acclimate properly until you can adequately control you HR.

Your Diet:

Fast food is easy, you have kids, but they need their father and your wife needs her rock to always depend on and know with and through YOU everything will always be alright. There will be nothing stronger in solidifying that very thing! Figuring out times to take turns in preparing meals for the family will be better overall for everyone and give you a headstart on knowing just how much of your budget goes towards food expenses. Start soon with a simple meal tracker. Print one off from Word in the templates and record for a week. After that use a food database to calculate your calories and macro breakdowns. From here you build your baseline to make the changes needed to go forward!

Wellness Gameplan: Do you drink, smoke, what relieves your stress?

A training gameplan will be easy to begin but you dont want to be too gungho about it. Circuits in gym will be great to slowly bring you back up to speed for 2-3weeks while allowing you a safer option. Walking on the treadmill and adjusting the incline for added intensity not the time or speed just yet. Your not on their monitoring how "hard" but your HR and slowly working it downward getting used to work add slowly strengthen it. Weight loss will come and rapidly but you have to be patient enough to watch it versus getting ancy and doing too much too soon. Yoga!!! great stress reliever and give you a chance to really put yourself in compromising positions and learn to breath through them. A killer way to prove mind over matter.

The sleep apnea I have zero experience dealing with but it will take notime to dive through studies and instances that may be similar to your own to throw ideas your way but Im sure you have already talked to your doctor and I 2nd the ventilator option.

Getting out and simply walking is going to be a saving grace. For a good time period.

I am glad you found the strength to confide in us but we have a good ways to go man and if you allow, me myself or im sure several of our members can help you along your journey to a better you. Wont be easy, hell its going to SUCK! but if you allow us we will stand beside you together there's nothing we all cant do. Let us know what you need and if I dont have the answer bet your ass I will have someone or a connection to one ASAP. Lets make a change and lets get it going soon! Get a log going and we all can join in and there wont be any stepping on toes. You must make the best choices for your life and find whats going to work. Use us as tools to help along the way!

 

[dbrock504]

I stopped reading at "i mostly eat fast food"

As did I. No offense brother, but this is the kind of stuff that just pisses me off about people. They eat absolute garbage and wonder why they're fat. I have 2 in laws who both have diabetes type 2 and both eat fast food, candy, cakes, etc and drink a 12 pack of coke on a daily basis and wonder why they are morbidly obese with health issues.

I guarantee you start eating like this and you will drop 20 lbs in a month. No exercise included.

Meal 1: 2 eggs 1/2 cup egg whites 1/2 cup oatmeal 1 scoop whey
Meal 2: banana 2 scoop whey
Meal 3: 5 oz chicken breast 1/2 cup black beans 1/2 cup green beans 3 oz avocado
Meal 4: 8 oz salmon w/ a spinach salad
Meal 5; 5 oz chicken breast 3/4 cup rice
Meal 6: 5 oz chicken breast 1 cup broccoli 3 oz avocado

No eating out. No sodas or juices. Just water. You will shock your self. Diet is 80% of it imo. I see people work their @$$ off and never achieve anything because they eat sh*t 24/7. If you're not willing to make a huge life change to your diet, you will NEVER get any better. That's the truth.

 

[RecompMan]

Yea sure tell him to go on a beta agonist while on a beta blocker

Smart idea guy:

Sorry but some things get to me especially when this is a field I've extensively studied

To the original poster:

Small changes at a time to ensure they remain.

As much as I don't use bars and powders I highly recommend you trying to find some that work for you

Physical activity is a must even if that means during rest stops while driving you take a walk or do push-ups or squats for half the time you are at rest

Just get moving and slowly remove the bad from your diet so it can stay out of your diet.

 

[angelo212]

You mentioned depression. To go from what you were to what you are now I think if you don't deal with the depression your doomed to fail. You might get motivated as phuck but if the depression kicks in it won't last. Start simple. Walk a few miles and get to the gym and just use the machines for a few weeks. DON"T MISS A DAY! The trouble is getting started but once you get started you will see results in a month. The weight will come off bro. Listen, your wife isn't having it. She will not but up with you looking bad, not helping out with the children etc, sexual disfunction (eventually) not working and having a income.
He's the deal. I'm preaching to you and I'm in a bad way myself. We both need to start eating better and exercising but what is important is underlying health issues. Do what it takes to get the depression and blood pressure under control. I think the sleep apnea will go away once a good amount of weight is dropped. Think of the kids bro. They need you. The good news is there is a way out and you know what needs to be done.

 

[ryane87]

Clen for an overweight man with heart issues and no physical foundation sounds like a great, healthy way to lose weight.

Duh. Just do what the sensible posters have said and slowly take out the bad and transfer it to the good. For those posting strict diets and things like that, it just doesn't work that way. Foods have chemicals that work on the brain and you slowly have to siphon out the bad and change to good. First week maybe cut out one fast food meal with something better for you like lean protein of your choosing and some oatmeal or brown rice. You just up and go cold turkey and then inevitably fall off the wagon, your depression could get triggered because of disappointment in falling off the diet. It's easy for people who are in shape and already eat well to say "do this, do that and you'll be fine". Small steps build an eventual stairway to success. Sounds totally gay I know, but it's true. Slowly get your physical conditioning back and slowly change your diet. When your diet and your training meet, you will end up being bad ass again.

 

[dbrock504]

. For those posting strict diets and things like that, it just doesn't work that way. Foods have chemicals that work on the brain

True. And to clarify on my post. That's something you need to work toward eating. Not something you start tomorrow because of reasons like ryan e said. I'm sorry I didn't clarify that in my original post.

 

[ryane87]

Totally understand where you are coming from though. When I return from layoffs for whatever reason, I immediately jump into eating well. But that's because I spent years doing it and it still takes me a couple of weeks to fully adjust.

 

[HIT4ME]

You are getting some GREAT advise here, but I'm afraid there is still a gap. Most of what is being said is 100% true and helpful, but in my personal experience, none of it mattered. I have a feeling, given what you've posted, none of this will make any difference either - at least not until you get the spark. The issue isn't the "how" - the issue is the "why". Lots of this advise deals with the how of it all, but you are struggling to find your reason for doing this still.

If you have a strong enough "why" you will move a mountain, whether you know how or not. I've seen people do tremendous things in the completely wrong ways, just because they had a significant reason for doing it.

You have listed some significant "logical" reasons for doing this, but I don't think they're emotionally moving for you. I'm not saying you don't "want to be there for your kids" or aren't emotional about them - but you may logically know this is true and you want to be there, but have you really explored the emotional outcomes of the two roads you have before you - the one you're on and the path you could take?

I've mentioned my story on this board a few times, but I'm in a similar situation to you. Two years ago, at the age of 33, and a height of 5'8'' I weighed somewhere between 285-295 pounds. Not really even sure of my top weight. I didn't go to the doctors so I don't know what my health was really like, but I do remember waking up at night with my chest pounding and realizing that I had stopped breathing for so long that I was actually in physical pain from it all. I could move and work, but I definitely had some serious issues. I was probably the fattest person I knew. I knew it affected my quality of life, kept me from doing things, made me tired all the time, etc. None of this mattered at all to me. I KNEW I just didn't care enough to do anything about it.

15 years earlier, I had been in good shape. As a teenager I had similar numbers to what you posted, but not on the bench...maybe I could do 275-285 on the bench for 1RM. I worked out and kept in shape because I was overweight as a kid and if I didn't, I would balloon up. Then I got out of college, got a real job, got lazy and over 10 years put on about 120 pounds.

Despite my personal situation sucking, I wasn't emotionally impacted. Then a few things happened. One - my grandmother who was 86 years old could no longer walk on her own. She could barely get out of a chair. Everyone around her in my family thinks it is because she has a bad knee and they wouldn't operate because she was "old". The truth is, she's had a bad knee for 30+ years and they won't operate because, she is afraid and lazy and out of shape. The doctors didn't think she would do the work to recover, and the risk given her condition (out of shape) is too great. I know other people her age that in good shape and have had the same surgery, so it wasn't age. It was 30 years of laziness that finally caught up to her.

Then, I looked at my dad, in his 60s, with a bad knee and a weight of 300+ pounds and he can barely walk now. Then I looked at myself. And I realized, we were all on the same path, and soon my dad won't be able to walk, and before I know it, I will be my dad.

Around this same time I started watching YouTube videos and came across Elliot Hulse and "Bar Tenders" - Bar Tenders had guys doing things on pull up bars that I didn't know was possible. I then came across a routine for doing "100 push ups" and thought that could be a good goal to strive for. I couldn't do 5 at the time.

The idea here is that I had already spent years working out and dieting, and I KNEW what I had to do. I just didn't want to do it. It was getting a clear emotional pain on one side of my brain, and then actually having something to move TOWARDS - doing 100 pushups, being able to do pull ups, etc. that got me going.

In 2 years I have lost about 50 pounds and gained about 20 pounds of muscle. I can move, and I'm much happier. I surprise people all the time with what I can do physically, because I'm still fat and they don't think I'm in shape, but I'm in better shape than a lot of people who are lean and don't work out.

Fine YOUR reason WHY. Really clarify the pain you will be in if you stay where you are, make it real. Then find out where you COULD be. Because you can do AMAZING things that will blow people's minds and motivate THEM to be better. It starts with small steps.

Also, to echo what others have said here. You don't eat an elephant all at once - you do it one bite at a time. Make small changes that you will stick to and are easy, but move you in the right direction. Over time, they will build on themselves and you will get better at all of the changes and they will no longer be changes- they will be who you are.


Finally, I'm guessing you are having trouble affording a gym/equipment. Don't try to get to deadlifting 450 over night. Small changes. Start playing with your kids, start doing things that you "can't" do with them. Try to do the hard things. Throw a ball around, do whatever. Make it fun. Look up the 100 push up routine, get a pull up bar, etc. Just get started, and just keep going.