Joe that's good! Keep consistant work. Even (we all have)if You fall just start again. Do Give Up!

I am pleased to say I defeated temptation tonight after work. Usually my weakest time, I almost stopped for an Italian beef for dinner because I got of late, but I pulled into the grocery store instead, got a fresh cod fillet, some brown rice and a head of broccoli. Cooked a nice little dinner. Had the leftover stuffed onions for lunch. Nice healthy day.

I feel good. Going to work out in the morning, do some side work at my boss’s house and then go check out some revolvers.

Hope you guys are well.

Joe I'm so happy to hear this. Just stay consistent, if you only got 10 minutes at least do something. I know You Can Do It. Please keep us updated and if your back keeps giving You problems keep reading the forum. I'm going to try to post some more stuff that I've done.

Good morning!

So I did begin yesterday, and I feel great about it. I did a ddp yoga workout in the morning, did a few things around the house, then went to the state park with my girlfriend and my dog and walked about 2.5 miles, even jogged about .2 miles.

We then went back to her place and made stuffed onions, a new recipe for the both of us. They turned out great, and I’d imagine were decently healthy.

I feel good today. I had a piece of peanut butter toast and some coffee before leaving the house. A bit sore in the back so I didn’t work out before work, but I plan on getting some movement in during my lunch break later today.

I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your guys’ input and advice. I was all smiles yesterday reading everything you had to say. I AM going to make it happen this time. And I hope to stick around this forum through it all. Thank you for the support.

Now for the guns, Greg, you just threw a big wrench in the gears. Just kidding. I was pretty much decided on the 206. And now I am liking the 605 and 85. Well, if I did go 605 I would definitely get the stainless steel over the poly. Why the recommendation of the Taurus over the RIA?

And yes, I love the 686. Fires nicely, looks gorgeous, and solid as a rock. I highly recommend it.

I also would love to get that 88 shotgun!

Hi Joe - Michael and I are pretty good friends and we are cut from the same cloth as far as much of our exercise experience. We both came to a point in our lives where our joints were trashed from too much of certain types of training and we were overweight. I weighed 217 at the time. I weigh 185 now.

Michael and I agree on some things and disagree on others, but everything he said was good advice. Sounds like you have a lot of positives in your life. Don't disregard them. DDP yoga is also a good exercise system. Just remember to make haste slowly. Working out should make you feel good afterwards; not drain you.

As for the firearms, I'm jealous of the 686. That is one I have on my list to buy when I quit buying budget guns to talk about. As far as a dependable back-up gun for concealed carry; whereas I like my m206, I'd go with a Taurus 85 or 605. If you decide to go deep pockets and go S&W, I'd stay away from the airweights. It is just my old school opinion, but a carry revolver needs a little weight for accuracy and handling. The 85 weighs 22 ounces as compared to a classic Chief's Special which weighs 19. For me, 22 ounces is about an ideal carry weight for a snubnose .38.

Joe it has to start right now! Believe me I've been there. I was working 7 days a week doing tree work when I first started my journey to lose weight and get healthier. Long days and hurting body. And because of the sacrifices I made the rest of my life has fallen into place.

You said," So my work schedule is not ideal for a good diet. " Sometimes we need someone to tell us the truth. You're not the only person that has said this. Don't think like this You Can Do It! When I first tried losing weight my diet:Breakfast; 5 minute oatmeal,banana and glass of milk. Lunch; peanut butter on whole wheat, apple or banana, salad or celery. Snack; handful of nuts. Dinner; lean meat, brown rice and vegetable. That was without a plan. At the time I knew the calories I was taking in . If You have a day off get some food ready for Your week. I don't know what kind of food You like so I can't go into details but You can use my example above. Bring a lunch to work and also a snack. The snack can consist of vegies, fruit or nuts.

We have something in common. I have had problems with all five of my lower back disc and a fractured vertabrae. Stay with low impact. There is nothing wrong with the DDP yoga program. I bought it for my wife and tried it. Guess what I was sweating like a pig also, no shame in that. Many people have had success with that program. If You like it start out every other day until You get use to it.

You said," Right now I can only do about 5 push ups and 0 pull-ups. Sad." You know what I say," No it's Not". Reps are not important, Effort is. We all start somewhere so why not start and not worry about where we're at in the present. Here's what You can do for the push ups which will be short and sweet. Do Your push ups like this: 1-2-3 reps. You do 1 reps take 2 deep breaths, 2 reps take 3 deep breaths and 3 reps take a couple of breaths. First week just do this one time. Second week do it two times. Third week do it three times. So it will look like this the third week: 1-2-3,1-2-3,1-2-3. Then you can start adding a 4 rep to each set and eventually work up to 1-2-3-4-5,1-2-3-4-5,1-2-3-4-5. Do this twice a week but one day do it (push ups) on Your knees. This gives You a light day which we all could use. If You do this and make it to 1-2-3-4-5 let me know. When You get here Your workout will take no more than 15 minutes.

You could also do this for Your pull up goal. You can use inverted rows https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sojTXqJGVkQ or doorway rows https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPvK5FamZKY You could also do Pull up isometrics. Get a chair and a pull up bar. Do three positions top, middle, and bottom or the opposite way. All You do is pull down on the bar in each position with Your feet on the ground. While You do this take deep breaths depending on the amount of time You hold.

I could go on and on but Your the one that has to decide. If You like DDP Yoga stick to that. If You like my idea here's how Your week would look like:

Mon: Push up workout ( 5 to 15 minutes) Tues: Pull up workout (5 to 15 minutes) Wed: Step up workout(5 to 15 minutes) then repeat all three days with one day rest.

Step up workout is doing Step ups on steps. I like to do them on my basement steps holding on to the railings. All You're doing is stepping up and down. Do all Your reps one leg at a time. Start off with 10 reps at a time per leg. I do 50 per leg for 5 sets each sometimes. take Your time. Let me know if this helps and how it goes because I'm very interested in Your progress.

Thanks for the reply!

I have often agreed with you, to improve my health would improve almost all aspects of my life. And I definitely feel like right now I am going to really start doing better.

So my work schedule is not ideal for a good diet. I can definitely start waking up in the morning and working out before I leave for work, which is at about 7:30. I work at a very busy animal hospital, usually eat lunch around 1-2, and don’t get off until about 7-7:30. Takes me a half hour to get to and from. 5-6pm is when we are busiest, so no time to stop for any kind of dinner there, which leaves me to [cook and] eat after 8pm, but usually it’s to a fast food place because I’m so tired and cooking is the last thing I want to do. Which is bad.

For workouts, I guess there’s no shame here, but I’ve begun to do the DDP yoga program. Embarrassing to say it, yes, but it does make me sweat a lot and it is pretty much low/no impact. I have lower back problems, so any excessive running/jump roping/high impact workouts have the capability of putting me out of commission for days.

That being said, I CAN run and jump rope and do things like that, just not for extended periods. But I’m guessing that with the right workouts and core strengthening, I can certainly get to where those things are no issue.

I love to swim, but the only gym near me with a pool has very inconvenient hours.

For strength training, I do have a few dumbbells, but would love to become more proficient in pushups/pull-ups.

Right now I can only do about 5 push ups and 0 pull-ups. Sad.

I guess my two biggest obstacles are [addiction] to fast food and avoidance of discomfort in working out. I’m lazy, no bones about it. But I want that to change.

I did a good workout this morning and it felt great. I plan to do another tomorrow before work.

I have told myself a million times that “it starts now!” , but I always revert back into laziness. I hope that I will break that cycle this time.

Here's an article that could help You until You get back to us on what You like. Remember we all have busy lives. You don't need much time to exercise.

https://www.livestrong.com/article/515689-good-daily-routine-for-losing-weight/

Joe Welcome to the Forum! Ok I' going to go backwards on Your goals and it's for a reason. Goal #1 can make the other goals that much easier. Just my opinion and what I experienced. Congratulations on getting back to school in pursuit of Your bachelors degree! Don't let Anything stand in Your way of this.

Goal#4 is not my forte so I have no right to talk about something I know nothing about. Greg and others have knowledge about firearms so they would be better suited for talking about this. There is a forum for that and those guys like talking about it. So if You have any questions or just want to talk about You'd be better off posting it there.

Now this is just my opinion, someone else my not agree. Goal #2 can be helped alot by taking care of goal#1. How? Confidence and Health, physically and mentally. I'm 47 years old, 5'11" and now weigh 170 lbs. About 8 years ago I weighed 220 lbs so losing weight can be done. You Can Do It!

First I'll ask You some questions. What does Your day look like? How much free time do You have? What kind of foods do You like? What kind of exercise do You like? Do You have any medical conditons? If so talk to Your doctor first. If I think of more I'll ask later.

Some suggestions for now would be walk whenever You can. If You can find 10 to 30 minutes a day for walking that would be a great start. If You have time for some kind of strength training I would go for full body three times a week. The strength training doesn't have to be done for a long time. It could be 10, 20 and no more than 30 minutes. Anyhow, let us know what kind of exercise You like or want to do. This way we can help You more.

Nutrition wise, I planned what I was going to eat everyday. I know some guys my not agree with this but I ate the same things everyday for awhile. The reason for this was so I knew how many calories I was taking in. You have to look at what Your eating now and see what can be replaced to make Your diet healthier. One thing I know You have probably heard before is the more vegetables and fruit we eat the better.