today i went out to do some work , it was much harder than i am used to.

It was about 93 degrees and after a about a hour i felt like i was going to die. i am 41 years old and 5 years ago this would have even given me a second thought. But now it was all i could do to carry the chainsaw back to the house.

I am 5.85 tall and i weight 247lbs i have a muscular build

Is it the weight or the age or something wrong with my lungs?

I hate to do cardio and i do diet. I am thinking i should weight about 185 lbs , will this solve my problem if i lose the weight ?

What is a realistic timeline for the weight loss? i want a speedy loss.

today i went out to do some work , it was much harder than i am used to.

It was about 93 degrees and after a about a hour i felt like i was going to die. i am 41 years old and 5 years ago this would have even given me a second thought. But now it was all i could do to carry the chainsaw back to the house.

I am 5.85 tall and i weight 247lbs i have a muscular build

Is it the weight or the age or something wrong with my lungs?

I hate to do cardio and i do diet. I am thinking i should weight about 185 lbs , will this solve my problem if i lose the weight ?

What is a realistic timeline for the weight loss? i want a speedy loss.

1) Heat and humidity will take a lot out of you very quickly. Staying properly hydrated is key. In this kind of weather, I drink at least a gallon of water a day... more if I am doing anything strenuous outside.

2) At 5'8", you are probably carrying more weight than you should be at 247lbs, but it's hard to say without a picture or a body fat percentage to go by. As a reference, I'm 41, 5'10" and 175lbs at 17%BF, and I still have a bit of a gut that I'm working on. But even with that, I can run a marathon or bicycle a hundred miles in a day.

3) A realistic timeline for weight loss is no more than 2lbs or 1% of your body weight per week. In order to lose one pound, you need to consume 3500 calories less than your body needs each week, or a 500 calorie deficit per day. Since you are averse to doing cardio-respiratory activities, it's unrealistic to assume that you would be able to safely lose more than a pound a week through diet alone, but it's hard to say without knowing what you eat in a given day. Since you are looking to get down to 185 (which I think would be a reasonable weight for your height if you have a muscular build), that would be a loss of 65lbs. In my experience, I would anticipate that, given what you have told us about yourself and your activity levels, it would take about a year to reach that goal, IF (and it's a big IF) you are willing to carefully monitor your diet and stay within the nutritional guidelines I just mentioned.

I'm not trying to say it can't be done, but it will involve a great deal of sacrifice and effort on your part. Frankly, the biggest hurdle I think you will face is right here: "I want a speedy loss." In order to make a lasting change in your lifestyle and your health, there's no "quick and easy" way to do it. You didn't gain all that weight overnight, and you won't lose it overnight either. There is a TON of good information in the "stickies" at the top of the page in the Beginners forum... please read a few of those and then post back if you have ANY questions about what you need to do.

The journey starts with the first step, and you have already taken that step by realizing that you need to make the journey. You've come to the right place for support and information. And we're here to help. Good luck and stay in touch. :tu:

I hate to do cardio

Well there you go.

You may hate the sorts of exercise that most people call cardio, but it you don't do some exercise for your cardiovascular fitness, you will encounter getting burning lungs more often than you might enjoy.

Do you lift? It's not hard to get some good exercise for your cardiovascular fitness by lifting weights, mainly you only have to cut the rest periods down between lifts.

One of the easiest things to fix about your fitness is cardiovascular fitness. Almost any exercise program that makes sense will work it out as long as you don't sit around resting for long periods of time during your work out. Nothing like a few dozen heavy squats to set you right up in the breathing department. Except maybe a few dozen heavy deadlifts or lunges.

I'm 47, and a couple years ago I started out at 5'6" and 233#. These days I'm 5'7" (gained an inch from posture improvement) and I weigh about 190# (I'm sort of bulking up at the moment - I got down to 178# at my low point). I can now run a reasonably fast mile (6:20) for a 47 year old, and when I do, my heart rate is about 180. Well, when I was doing some barbell lunges today, my heart rate got up to about 177. So if I want to do cardio, I can run, or if I want to give my knees a break, barbell lunges work just fine. It doesn't matter how you get your heart rate up - laying bricks or tiddly winks makes no difference, just so long as it gets up to where you want it.

When you start up from out of shape, take it slow at the start and gradually ramp up the effort. You might get bothered by apparent lack of progress, but have no fear. Exercise works very very well in otherwise healthy people who are just out of shape. You just have to keep at it for long enough. If you pay attention to the advice people here will give you, you will do very well IN TIME. You will learn that you have a lot of control over your situation.

You are only 41, so technically you don't need medical clearance to exercise. But if you had any symptoms you would associate with coronary disease you might check that first. If you don't have any other medical problems, your weight is one that can make a whole lot of the rest of your life worse. So you will want to do something about it.

Increased fatigue with a usual level of exertion is unfortunately a sign of both being out of shape but also coronary artery disease. President Clinton first noted he was getting more winded walking stairs or hills. I would say even at 41 you should get a physical and ekg and maybe a stress test if you are consistently noticing increasing fatigue with a normally tolerated level of exertion. Especially if you have a family history of heart disease, smoke, have high cholesterol or diabetes.

Sounds like a commercial.

lose weight. about 80 lbs for a start. It will seem like a long trip but you will find many who have taken a silmliar one, none would want to go back. Good luck on your transformation.:gl:

heres a pic

The thing abotu cardio for me is that it is so boring. I did pretty well when i did work out just basically keep moving fast in the water . biking works for me too.

can i get a real good work out biking?

can i get a real good work out biking?

Lance Armstrong looks pretty fit to me.

The thing abotu cardio for me is that it is so boring. I did pretty well when i did work out just basically keep moving fast in the water . biking works for me too.

can i get a real good work out biking?

You can sure burn a few calories that way. Since you are starting out heavy, going up hills will also build a good deal of strength in the legs.

Eventually, when you are not as heavy, then there isn't that much pure strength work in cycling unless you do st00pit nasty hills. But, then, there is always that.

If you lose weight, it will make a massive difference in many physical parts of your life. Not only will you not burn out as quickly for the same work that tuckers you now, but you'll feel generally better from a cardio standpoint (even climbing stairs) and your joints and back will feel better. I assume that you have at least some mild pains in your body and many will go away or lighten if you're not carrying around as much weight. Less weight combined with extra strength from exercise will help a great deal.

And yes, biking is a fantastic workout if you're honest about it. By honest, I mean don't set it in the easy gear and cruise along at 7 mph and expect it to be a workout. Slow biking is to fast what walking is to running. Cycling would be ideal for you because it won't pound away at the joints like running would at this point, and yet it can promise to give far more of a cardio and calorie benefit than walking can give (I think far too many people waste time walking and have been done an injustice by recommendations to do it. It can make sense, but most people would do better to choose something with a greater intensity; walking burns few calories and raises the heart rate little in all but the most unfit/heavy of people).

i have started to take ripped , to increase my energy and it seems to work for me. i like the bibking idea and will start doing it.