Little bit about me – Currently, I am 22 years old (5’10”) and I almost weigh 270 pounds 😭 My weight has fluctuated all my life but I’ve been a bigger guy for as long as I can remember. I think my highest weight before college was around 254ish when I was a sophomore/junior in high school. I did theater in high school so I would usually lose a little bit of weight during the time of school productions since I was constantly on my feet. During college, I went from weighing around 227 (my lowest adult weight) during the middle of my freshman year to weighing about 273 (my highest weight ever) during the first semester of my junior year. I fluctuated between 250 and 265ish during quarantine this past year. When I look at my parents who are nearing their 50s, it scares me that they have to worry about health issues and other co-morbidities that go along with being considered clinically obese. I want to get a handle on that while I am young; I also am an actor and I think I will be a lot more marketable within the tv and film industry if I am not obese.
I guess my main question is what do you recommend for a person that is not experienced with dieting or working out? With working out, it feels like I can’t last longer than like 5 minutes doing cardio. My legs start to feel like jelly and I feel like I can’t completely control my motor functions 😂 Whenever I try to stick to a diet, I always buy foods that I don’t necessarily enjoy. In addition, it’s hard for me to resist temptations when my family doesn’t necessarily eat that healthy. I don’t think I’m the type of person who thrives when I’m constantly checking how many calories I’m eating or is constantly thinking about food. I have body image issues so I don’t like to focus on the subject of my body’s appearance and what it is wrong with it in it’s current state. I would rather strive towards short-term and long-term goals that are attainable for a person of my height and current weight. One of these goals is to shed some pounds by my 23rd birthday on September 1st.
TL;DR – What (books, sites, google docs, etc.) do you recommend for an obese individual looking to lose weight and start working out on a consistent basis? Specifically, ones that have more of a focus on long-term healthy eating habits and weight loss rather than getting 14 pack abs or being able to lift a car with your bare hands.