how did i miss this??

[lightnin]

I've become a bit of a health nut. last november my dad was rushed to the hospital on the verge of a heart attack. congestive heart failure. his health has steadily declined since then. it's been an eye opening experience for me, as one of his traits that i definitely inherited was his eating habits. he and I have the same doctor, and the doc and I had a serious talk about my health after all that went down. so in december, i started changing, slowly, how i eat and what i do with my spare time.

jan 1, 2007 i weighed 286 lbs. yesterday i weighed in at 211. i know it's been almost 10 months but i wanted to take it slow. that first month i lost a BUNCH of weight and promptly put it all right back on :tongue: so i slowed it down, and the results have been awesome.

i was exercising when i worked at the university, because i had ultra cheap access to a very nice gym. i got another job at a big media company in atl a few months ago and lost access to that gym, although i want to join a gym somewhere...

that being said i dont know jack squat about exercise. i can use machines, but freeweights seem so much cheaper and better but i dont know what to do with them. any of you guys know of any good resources to learn proper exercise? i dont really wanna pay a trainer...

[LawnMM]

Subscribe to muscle and fitness. Its loaded with ads but its also constantly full of different exercise diagrams with information on proper form. Thats a good place to start as far as the 'how to' of different exercises. As for the gym, I'm a fan of 24hr Fitness. Costs me like 42 bucks a month and I can use any one of their gyms in the country.

[RADA]

Men's Health Mag helps a lot too. Always a butt-load of articles on fitness, eating right, etc...

[edcentric]

I hate to admit it, but I think that you do want to pay a trainer. At least up front to help you better understand your options.

Ask you Doc about clinics in the area related to cardio rehab, and then ask them for some leads on trainers.

Just remember that you need variety, in both your diet and training. It is OK to have some basic stuff that you do (or eat) all of the time, but switching it up will keep you interested and protect against overdoing and one area.

When you read books or articles I would suggest that you stick with guys that have been doing it for a long time. If they have been in good shape and writing about it for 10 years then they probably have a good balanced outlook on fitness.

Great progress, you get my respect.

[Nomad]

Try a local YMCA too for low cost. Some schools may have open facilities. Are there any other colleges or community colleges in your area?

[IndigoRed]

Lightning, not simple, but you had the lesson taught. Looks like you've learned, but now you have to live the lesson. Moderation and live life actively. Lucky for you, you got the information before it affected you. Not good that it was you dad tho. How is he? For the both of you, better, I hope?

[lightnin]

Dad's an interesting character. he dieted on a 2g of sodium or less diet for a bit, but fell right back into his old ways. i think he's actually put on some weight since then. he's going to have to *want* to change and it doesn't look like he wants to.

i think i'm going to look into talking to a personal trainer. there's a gym somewhat near my house that has different training programs in different intervals. the only problem is timing, i'm going to have to adjust my work schedule on some days in order to make it to *any* gym around here at the proper time. these training sessions happen in groups, it's the only way i can afford it right at the moment.