How may I go from an obese male to a marathon runner?

[Isaif370]

Hello, I'm a 21 year old male, I weight 404.8lbs & my height is 6"3. I'm a former high school athlete that let himself go right after he graduated. I used to play football varsity & track in high school with a side of tae kwon do & boxing. I've eventually stopped going to TKD & Boxing as well, ever since i graduated in 2013 I've been a couch potato & a heavy eater.

I've met a lady last year that I currently like very much and she's inspired and motivated me to get back into shape & go back to school. She's a 21 year old high school teacher & cross country coach "where i got my goal to be a marathon runner." I'm just bored of my current lifestyle and I want to make a major turn in my life and make a man out of myself mentally and physically. I want to get back that motivation to compete again and make myself better.

My goals are to lose 200lbs & become a dedicated runner. I realize that this may take small steps but I'm willing to go for the "long run" (pun intended) and just do my best in this for myself and her, but mostly myself because my health is something that matters to me.

[BurtonTricks]

I'd say the first thing you need to do is to cut out the junk food. No more soda/pop and sugary foods. The best way to start losing weight the right way is the curb your current diet into a more healthy one. Replace all drinks with water only. Portion your meals. I'm not saying suddenly eat like rabbit food, but you need to change what you eat. Weight loss is done in the kitchen and the workout room. Add light cardio here and there as this is the early stage and you can't go straight into more intense workouts yet.

Start with being more active. Change your sedentary lifestyle to one with more activity. Be it playing outside with friends or a pick up football/basketball game. Anything will do. There are helpful and motivational stories in this forum link: forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=140847501 Every time I look here, I'm amazed by the stories and transformation stories/pictures. If they can do it, you can do it too! Make an account on the website and post the same question in their fat loss section. More experienced posters will post there than here.

Some of these transformations are so inspirational! Take a look at some of them and you will find the motivation you need. Anything takes hard work and commitment. Don't expect a quick fix to anything as your goal will easily take more than 1 or 2 years. Just realize that you have a long road ahead of you and tackle your problems head on! Don't give up! You got this! You're on the right track by asking on here!

[Anonymous]

First thing, walking.

Walk first thing in the morning, on an empty stomach. Do this while wearing a heart rate monitor, and make sure that your heart rate is between 50 - 85% of your maximum heart rate (for at least 20 minutes). Do it for at least 20 minutes to start, and every week, add 5 minutes to the walk until you hit about 40 minutes to an hour.

Do NOT attempt to run yet--you will get injured because of weakened joints and muscles.

The other thing is diet. Find out what your BMR is, then factor in the calories burned by walking. (check out the nutrition, fitness tools, and cardio info on the sidebar at https://scoobysworkshop.com/ it's probably some of the best advice you will find). You will want to consume about 500 calories less than your BMR to begin safely losing weight (you don't want unsafe drops in the amounts).

You will have to do those two things (walking and nutrition) for a while until you have lost most of that weight--you are carrying too much weight to safely run without injury. In about a year, if you are really dedicated, you might safely approach being able to jog, but it's going to depend upon your progress.

[Justsomeguy9814]

Should never go above 30 min on the morning walk

[Opinion Owner]

@Justsomeguy9814

That's nonsense. There is no logical reason for that statement whatsoever.

But there's plenty of reason to work up to at least 35 minutes. After 35 minutes of steady cardio, the body's metabolism increases--which means more burned calories, which means more burned fat. Working up to 40 minutes is a good goal, since it doesn't kill too much time out of your day, but puts your metabolism in overdrive for the next 24 hrs.

[nalaa]

Well with your history, you should already know a lot about working out

As for diet, it's simple really. Eat a whole foods diet, I like to keep it whole foods, plant based

As for motivation, well any celebrity you like? Look at pictures for motivation. And find a marathon or race you're interested in
I'm not much of a runner but I found one of those color me rad 5ks in my area and that seems like fun
I'd never run an ordinary marathon or half marathon, but somehow this compels me, so I'm going

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYCXaSiNBTc

[Littlett25]

Maybe start walking & build up from there. You could eventually start boxing & TKD again. Also change your diet. No snacking at night.

[Remonster]

I would advice you to lose weight with low-impact cardio first. Running is no joke and for heavier people it certainly poses more of a danger to your knees.

Personally I discourage marathon running because it's counterproductive (too much of a good thing is a bad thing) but it can be a nice challenge I suppose.

[MyNameIsJonas]

You can do it but your going to need a good plan and most of all FOLLOW THROUGH!

I cannot give you all the answers through a GAG answers. I can tell you that you should look into buying a gym member ship if you don't already have one. Join all the classes they have. Start running daily. Slow but steady. It's going to take time but the only thing I can guarantee, If you really want it, never quit, and follow through, you WILL get there.

[Klaatu51]

200 lbs would take more than a year for sure... but u could b a pro-wressler as well judgin by yer height/weight if u build muscle. all u need's 2 motivate yerself bro. personally i was very fat as a teen but then i got sick of myself and now i'm less than half of my thn weight :)

[Tractorbeam]

You'd be doing it slowly at first, so you don't kill yourself.
Even as you become fitter, you should avoid doing more than 30 minutes of strenuous exercise at a time. It can cause permanent injury if done often, where shorter sessions can be beneficial.

[Hercules073]

Cut your meals in half and add vegetables to every meal. With every meal half should be vegetables.

Stop drinking anything with suger in it. Or those "suger free" drinks. Drink water instead. And when you want to drink something enjoyable make a smoothie with fruits once a day.

[Anonymous]

Let me take your height, u take my athletic body

I am 5'10 ;(

[Hercules073]

I am 5'7 :(

[Damian42]

Start off with a little exercise a day