Export thread

So I'm not sure if you caught the fact in the Rant thread that I have purchased a bike with the intention of getting in shape and ultimately use it to ride to work. If you saw that then you also know that I found myself in terrible shape and even short rides was hellish. So I finally said "Fuck it!" and started taking even more steps to health.

• I joined a gym - I looked around a lot at what I could afford and found a place that's only $30 a month, including classes (Zumba, step, endurance training, etc.) and a nutrition assessment which turned out to be a waste of time.
• I'm dieting. Or at least I'm going to, once I settle on which one I want to do. Until I decide I'm going strict calories in < calories out. And it sucks. I assume it'll get better once I pick a diet and can actually plan meals.
• I finally have support. This is a big one. In the past I got NO help at home if I wanted to try something like this. This time my wife is joining me in trying to get healthy. So we're doing it together. We went to the gym last night (her first night) and she did a Zumba class while I rode the stationary bike for 5 miles. Tonight we are both taking a "functional strength and balance" class...whatever the fuck that is.

Bottom line is I'm finally getting off my ass and doing something about myself. I'll be posting here occasionally with updates and the like so you can track my progress or egg me on - and yes, making fun of me is allowed and almost expected. I'm one of those people who when told I CAN'T do something will do my level best to accomplish it. Don't harsh on my wife, though. I'd have to go medieval on your ass.
What pointers ya got? What diets have worked for you? Do you recommend one over another? Why?
Help a Dave become a mini-me.[DOUBLEPOST=1342121410][/DOUBLEPOST]By the way, starting weight is 200 lbs, target is 160. This is the first time I'm been in a gym since 1987. Working cardio and that sort of thing first.

Don't do trick diets or gimmick diets. Things like Atkins or South Beach tend to not work, or they have huge downsides that negate the value of the weight loss. For example, the Atkins diet may help you lose some weight, but it destroys your cholesterol and blood pressure. And besides, the weight all comes crashing back if you go off the gimmick diets. So really, just make fruits and vegetables the main anchor of what you eat, and watch your calories. There's no better way to improve your diet in my opinion.

Good luck! I have confidence you will succeed at this.

Cardio is good. Count calories if you will but ultimately it's all about food moderation.

Check this site : http://www.344pounds.com/

Whenever you drive to the store, park as far away as you can.

200 pounds isn't exaclty whale territory; you can be perfectly healthy at that weight for your size and age...Though, obviously, 160 is porbably better for a lot of things (joints/cholestorol/back/...). Anyway, if you were having trouble with short rides and so on, your very first thign to do is obviously cardio and endurance training - so that if/when you do other things, you can do them for a good long while.
In that view, do'nt overdo the dieting. It seems to be an american thing that dieting is absolutely always necessary and whatever...It isn't. Minding your food is one thing, dieting is something else. Try to eat healthy, try to think of what you're eating is doing to your body (such as, eating a heavy meal right before bedtime means a large part of your body can't relax while you sleep 'cause it's still hard at work).

Anyway, that your wife is joinging you is a very good thing. it's hard to stay motivated alone; both when it comes to sport and when it comes to eating. If she and/or live-in children don't join in, it can be frustrating and self-defeating - like stopping smoking if your wife just continues smoking right next to you...It makes it a lot harder.
However, don't blindly just do everything together. Depending on your goals, it's possible one of you should be doing/eating very different things/amounts. Toning, losing weight, gaining muscles, endurance,.... It's not the point that her breasts melt away and you get finely chiseled calves and thighs to look great under a skirt

But, hey, beginning is one of the hardest steps, you go boy (and girl, to her)!

The best advice I can give is to make sure that your workout is, if not fun, then at least not the most boringly hellish slog imaginable. Just riding 5 miles on a stationary bike would bore me to tears and I'd be unlikely to go back to do it again, so what I did (and admittedly this was a program that my trainer put me on) was 15 - 20 minutes of cardio on a stationary bike as a warm up, followed by weight lifting with interspersed ab workouts and more cardio. The weight lifting was fun and gave me some quickly gratifying measurement of improvement, which kept me going back, and the cardio was great for my heart rate and for weight loss.

I realize that 200 pounds may not be that much in the long run but let's look at what has motivated me to do this.

First, when I got married I was wearing size 28 pants. Now, I realize that that was actually unhealthily thin, but I was in pretty decent shape. Now I'm wearing size 36 and they are getting so tight I should probably move to 38. I don't want to go to a 38. I'm over 200 for the first time in my life and I just feel lethargic. Part of it is age and part is weight. I can't reverse my age but by God I can work on my weight!

The pants was a big thing but the other was when I attended an event at work and started really looking at my co-workers. As a guy who works closely with IT I noticed that they were all basically clones of myself - old fat white guys with goatees. Then I looked at management. Trim, shaved, in shape. The difference was night & day. If I don't do something to change, I'll be relegated to cubical hell for the rest of my life. I know it sucks, but looks DO matter in a workplace, whether they want to acknowledge it or not. Look at your own places of business. How many obese people are running the joint? I'd be willing to bet that the ratio is skewed in favor of thin/in shape managers.

So I decided to get off my ass & shut my pie hole. It's going to be a bumpy ride.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/ is a pretty good way to track your calories and progress.

Shakey said:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/ is a pretty good way to track your calories and progress.

Click to expand...

I'm already on that, which is why I said the nutritional assessment was bullshit. Basically the assessment was to show me (and pay $10 a month access to) their own web site which is nearly identical to MyFitnessPal. MFP has better nutrition information, but damn it I paid for the other one!

Couch to 5k: http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml !!

Since I started this program, I went from being able to run for about a block before getting completely winded, to hopping on the treadmill and/or trail and running for 2-3 miles at a time. It's FANTASTIC and it really eases you into distance running.

I've always had a really hard time with losing weight with the calories in < calories out formula, even when I carefully measure portion sizes and over-estimate the calories I'm consuming, but I love carbs and tend to eat a lot of bread/pasta/potatoes/etc. My best results have always come when I at least loosely follow a paleo/primal diet -- more information here: http://www.livestrong.com/article/222538-primal-diet/. It's something I'm going to pick back up when I start working from home in August; there's a lot of really interesting evidence in favor of a diet like that, but I feel awesome when I manage to stick to it, so if you're not getting the results you want with the way you're eating now it might be something to look into.

Dave said:

How many obese people are running the joint? I'd be willing to bet that the ratio is skewed in favor of thin/in shape managers.

Click to expand...

Not only has to do with looks. Heavier people need more energy for the same amount of movement and so on and so forth; it's "obvious" when you're looking at really heavy people but the same affects you and you can notive a difference after just a few pounds. More weight -> more energy needed to move about and heat your body and all of that -> less energy left for other things. Less energetic, less decisive, less willing to take initiative.
It's one of many ways your body, unfortunately, has an impact on your mind. Pfeh.

Take it slow and listen to your body. No need to rush things, and you'll hurt yourself if you do. Whenver I'm exercising and start seeing good progress, I'll think to myself "fuck yeah, time to crank it up" and end up breaking down from overexertion. Don't be afraid to take rest days; you'll need them.

Oh, I'll be back when I'm not on iPod. And then you'll be sorry.

--Patrick.

How tall are you? 200lbs is my ideal weight

Start walking. Fuck the gym, fuck zumba. Get a pedometer and commit to 10,000 steps per day. Do that for 3 or 4 weeks and then start ramping up to the gym and zumba. If you go too hard at the beginning, it's so easy to fall off.

Couch to 5k! I use Bluefin software's Ease into 5k app on my iPhone.

I've taken to waking up, taking a bus a couple miles down the road, getting off and walking back home and getting ready for work. Just make a part of the daily routine.

Hey Dave.

I'm a fitness trainer. I'll hook you up, brah.[DOUBLEPOST=1342142165][/DOUBLEPOST]

Dave said:

So I'm not sure if you caught the fact in the Rant thread that I have purchased a bike with the intention of getting in shape and ultimately use it to ride to work. If you saw that then you also know that I found myself in terrible shape and even short rides was hellish. So I finally said "Fuck it!" and started taking even more steps to health.

• I joined a gym - I looked around a lot at what I could afford and found a place that's only $30 a month, including classes (Zumba, step, endurance training, etc.) and a nutrition assessment which turned out to be a waste of time

Click to expand...

YES! Make sure you do things that you find fun and not tedious or boring, especially in the beginning when you're building your routine. Zumba is great! I recommend joining a Spin class since you're getting into cycling. It's always great to sign up for group activity sessions. On top of that you'll meet people to be work out buddies (I'll cover that point later). I focus mostly on endurance training and strength training. Send me a PM and I can hook you up with a great stretching routine and lifting schedule.

• I'm dieting. Or at least I'm going to, once I settle on which one I want to do. Until I decide I'm going strict calories in < calories out. And it sucks. I assume it'll get better once I pick a diet and can actually plan meals.

Click to expand...

Very important. Although, don't go gung-ho like you are. You're going to end up craving stuff and eventually crash your diet. Start small. Instead of drinking like three sodas a day, cut down to one etc... Start getting used to shopping for fruit and vegetables. Again start small. Make a meal out of vegetables once a week. Cut down your meat intake to small 8 ounce cuts etc... I recommend the book "Eat this; not that". It's a really good way to gauge what's good and what's crap.

• • • I finally have support. This is a big one. In the past I got NO help at home if I wanted to try something like this. This time my wife is joining me in trying to get healthy. So we're doing it together. We went to the gym last night (her first night) and she did a Zumba class while I rode the stationary bike for 5 miles. Tonight we are both taking a "functional strength and balance" class...whatever the fuck that is.

Click to expand...

People get great results with personal trainers because they have that constant motivation. Your wife is now your personal trainer. And you're hers! Always remember to push each other into going to the gym and not half-assing your routines.

Bottom line is I'm finally getting off my ass and doing something about myself. I'll be posting here occasionally with updates and the like so you can track my progress or egg me on - and yes, making fun of me is allowed and almost expected. I'm one of those people who when told I CAN'T do something will do my level best to accomplish it. Don't harsh on my wife, though. I'd have to go medieval on your ass.
What pointers ya got? What diets have worked for you? Do you recommend one over another? Why?
Help a Dave become a mini-me.[DOUBLEPOST=1342121410][/DOUBLEPOST]By the way, starting weight is 200 lbs, target is 160. This is the first time I'm been in a gym since 1987. Working cardio and that sort of thing first.

Click to expand...

Silent Bob said:

Hey Dave.

I'm a fitness trainer. I'll hook you up, brah.

Click to expand...

Sweet! I'm 5'9". I started this week at 203 and am down to 201.4 as of about an hour ago. Here's what I've been doing so far:

portion control - not eating as much and eating a lot of little "snacks" - mostly apples, grapes, carrots, celery, that sort of thing.
Counting calories - Using the gym's site and MyFitnessPal. Making sure I don't eat things like the cookies we have here (70 cals per cookie!) or anything like that.
Cardio - I started with fairly decent cardio by riding my bike. I also mostly do treadmill and stationary bikes right now. Tonight I took a class with a trainer and we did bands for upper body and balance.

I've decided we're doing any low/no carb diet things as planning meals is too much of a step for us right now. It was a bit overwhelming.

One of my biggest problems is that I don't know how most of the machines work right yet. I float from machine to machine and check them out, but I feel that since I'm not paying for a personal trainer it's not fair of me to ask them how every machine works. I find one I like and then ask if I'm doing it right. But they'd probably help if I asked. They are really cool people.

Yeah, but Dave, have you seen his avatar? I wouldn't take diet advice from someone looking like that.

Dave said:

Making sure I don't eat things like the cookies we have here (70 cals per cookie!)

Click to expand...

If your family is used to having cookies or sweets in the house, I've found it helpful to keep fudgesicles around. 40 cal per and low sugar/fat in the Popscicle brand ones.

Dave said:

Sweet! I'm 5'9". I started this week at 203 and am down to 201.4 as of about an hour ago. Here's what I've been doing so far:

portion control - not eating as much and eating a lot of little "snacks" - mostly apples, grapes, carrots, celery, that sort of thing.
Counting calories - Using the gym's site and MyFitnessPal. Making sure I don't eat things like the cookies we have here (70 cals per cookie!) or anything like that.
Cardio - I started with fairly decent cardio by riding my bike. I also mostly do treadmill and stationary bikes right now. Tonight I took a class with a trainer and we did bands for upper body and balance.

I've decided we're doing any low/no carb diet things as planning meals is too much of a step for us right now. It was a bit overwhelming.

One of my biggest problems is that I don't know how most of the machines work right yet. I float from machine to machine and check them out, but I feel that since I'm not paying for a personal trainer it's not fair of me to ask them how every machine works. I find one I like and then ask if I'm doing it right. But they'd probably help if I asked. They are really cool people.

Click to expand...

I recommend not looking at your weight as a guide. Your weight can literally change depending on phase of the moon.

measure your waist with a tape measure, and measure your hips. divide those numbers and measure the ratio from month to month. If you really want to you can use your weight as a guide; you should lose about a solid pound or two a week. Weigh yourself in the morning ONLY.

You can have a cookie. ONE. If you're dying for a chocolate fix. Mix up a glass of Hershey's syrup with skim milk.

Your gym should have staff on hand that will show you how to do each exercise on each specific machine. Don't be afraid to ask, it's what they're there for. Warning: don't listen to gym rats about lifting technique. Half the time they tell you the wrong thing.

My weight has literally a 4 pound shift throughout the month... but that is because of female things. Don't look at miniscule weight changes as meaning anything until they consistently stay that way or continue decreasing.

Also, since you're an RPG/gamer nerd like a lot of us: www.fitocracy.com

While I'd love to see them expand the program, it's pretty awesome. You get XP for workouts, can level up, have certain quests that will net you bonus XP and achievements (i.e. when I went rock climbing for an hour one day, I unlocked the "Cliffhanger" achievement). And I'll echo Silent Bob...doing something you enjoy is really important. I got into good shape during the height of the DDR craze, I've stayed in decent shape doing parkour and rock climbing...it's immensely helpful finding something you have fun doing that burns calories.

Speaking as a foodie, I find the hardest part of dieting would be the food; specifically, the foods you have a weakness for (I have a fondness for Coke that I can't shake) and life intruding on you being able to make a good meal (i.e. "I'm tired...screw it, let's go to *insert fast food chain*.") Something that's helped my fiance and I has been crock pot cooking and finding recipes centered around a healthy ingredient we like (such as lentils). This website in particular has been a big help for recipe ideas: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/content/healthy/

Best of luck to you and your wife, though!

Enresshou said:

Also, since you're an RPG/gamer nerd like a lot of us: www.fitocracy.com

While I'd love to see them expand the program, it's pretty awesome. You get XP for workouts, can level up, have certain quests that will net you bonus XP and achievements (i.e. when I went rock climbing for an hour one day, I unlocked the "Cliffhanger" achievement). And I'll echo Silent Bob...doing something you enjoy is really important. I got into good shape during the height of the DDR craze, I've stayed in decent shape doing parkour and rock climbing...it's immensely helpful finding something you have fun doing that burns calories.

Speaking as a foodie, I find the hardest part of dieting would be the food; specifically, the foods you have a weakness for (I have a fondness for Coke that I can't shake) and life intruding on you being able to make a good meal (i.e. "I'm tired...screw it, let's go to *insert fast food chain*.") Something that's helped my fiance and I has been crock pot cooking and finding recipes centered around a healthy ingredient we like (such as lentils). This website in particular has been a big help for recipe ideas: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/content/healthy/

Best of luck to you and your wife, though!

Click to expand...

Fuckin' love it! Turning my health into a game? Awesome!

Hell yes. It's surprisingly effective...after one brutal lifting workout, I actually found myself doing a few extra exercises to get an achievement...

Wait, I just realized something... no more flappy hooties!

I have a poster on my office wall that I make all my clients read about Bruce Lee's friend:

Bruce had me up to three miles a day, really at a good pace. We'd run the three miles in twenty-one or twenty-two minutes. Just under eight minutes a mile [Note: when running on his own in 1968, Lee would get his time down to six-and-a half minutes per mile]. So this morning he said to me "We're going to go five." I said, "Bruce, I can't go five. I'm a helluva lot older than you are, and I can't do five." He said, "When we get to three, we'll shift gears and it's only two more and you'll do it." I said "Okay, hell, I'll go for it." So we get to three, we go into the fourth mile and I'm okay for three or four minutes, and then I really begin to give out. I'm tired, my heart's pounding, I can't go any more and so I say to him, "Bruce if I run any more," --and we're still running-"if I run any more I'm liable to have a heart attack and die." He said, "Then die." It made me so mad that I went the full five miles. Afterward I went to the shower and then I wanted to talk to him about it. I said, you know, "Why did you say that?" He said, "Because you might as well be dead. Seriously, if you always put limits on what you can do, physical or anything else, it'll spread over into the rest of your life. It'll spread into your work, into your morality, into your entire being. There are no limits. There are plateaus, but you must not stay there, you must go beyond them. If it kills you, it kills you. A man must constantly exceed his level."



This is what your buddy should be like.

Well, my buddy won't be like that. My buddy needs more support than I do so I'll be that guy. But when she's doing things like Zumba I'll be hitting the other exercises and my own thing.

You should do Zumba, it's pretty fun.

Counting calories is not always needed unless you're in truly dire straight.

Keep your meals to 4 ounces of lean meats (lean beef, chicken, fish, etc.), a quarter of the plate starch and half a plate of vegetables (with some fruit, don't overdo the fruit. No one lost weight eating tons of fruit.) you'll never be hungry and will be eating more than well enough to drop weight at a healthy, gradual rate. It's an easy way to keep your meals reasonable without counting calories.

I actually advise against counting calories. Unless you're massively overweight in the first place, your caloric intake is more or less what your body should be eating to stay healthy. Counting cals can help you lose weight, but reducing your intake can also make you massively hungry. Then you fall off the wagon and you're back where you started with, plus the guilt.

What you should focus on doing (and it sounds like you're already doing it), is eat better and exercise more.

Exercise makes up for the excess calories once your metabolism slows down with age (blah blah Dave age joke here blah blah), and eating better will help your body with proper digestion cycles and energy storage. That's really what portion control is for, not calorie counting.

Also, Fitocracy is the shit. Super recommended. I stopped using it for a while when I started my new job and had to change my schedule, but I'm finally into the rhythm of things and will probably go back to using it.

Here's my recommendation:

I consider the Atkins like diets to be crash diets. Yes, they work to an extent, but they only do because you're putting your body through ketosis, overall it's not a lifestyle choice you want to make, and it's easy to get bored and yo-yo back to even heavier to when you started.

IF you're going to be working out at least four to five times a week:
First off, check with your doctor. Get a physical first. Make sure you won't kill yourself.
Second this is a big one: don't follow this if you're half-assing your workouts.

Eat six small meals a day.

Breakfast is your biggest meal. Eat eggs and other high protein/carb foods for breakfast only.
Mid morning snack (a granola bar, raisins, nuts etc...).
For lunch go nuts have a single sandwich or pizza slice with grapes or celery
Mid Day snack : vegetable (i usually eat raw veggies with a little bit of ranch dip)
After work: have a nutragrain bar. something really small.

Do your workout (I'm guess you do a 9-5 job routine).

Dinner: keep it light; keep it small. DO NOT eat after 8 pm or before bed.

Now you don't have to follow this to a tea. Be flexible to your schedule and current lifestyle. That's really the key, Dave. You can't expect change overnight. If you have to alter things around be sure to stick to my breakfast rule and dinner rules. Those are really the most important. Your metabolism is like a furnace. You want to stoke it at breakfast time, and then just add logs to the fire through the day. This diet plan coupled with a good workout scheme is guaranteed to get you fit. Not skinny. Fit. You'll have more energy and be overall healthier.

Another note: Good food (good quality) is better for you. Go organic with your shopping. It's a little more expensive, but I'm a firm believer of "garbage in- garbage out". I don't know if you have local markets where you live, but that's where I get ALL of my shopping done. Processed food is TERRIBLE for you. Gradually ween yourself off processed foods and soft drinks. Again. Don't jump into this all at once. It's a slow process. Like I said earlier, slowly replace processed stuff with good stuff. Instead of three sodas, take one out and drink a water instead. The next week go down to one soda a day, etc...

Slow and steady. You want this to be a lifestyle change.

When I went to DC last month, it was three days of walking until my feet were ready to fall off, take a nice soak in the hotel tub in the evening, then get up and do it all over again come morning. I didn't gorge myself, nor did I starve. Came back home about 20 pounds down from what I thought I was.

I need to figure out how to fit that into a routine of overnight front desk shifts.

Dude, there is no way you lost 20 lbs of real weight in three days from walking. You were either retaining hella water, or you were not nearly as heavy as you previously thought.

drifter said:

Dude, there is no way you lost 20 lbs of real weight in three days from walking. You were either retaining hella water, or you were not nearly as heavy as you previously thought.

Click to expand...

I'm guessing the latter, as I hadn't gone near a scale in months and my clothes weren't getting noticeably looser or tighter.

But still, it showed me I've still got it in me to get back under 200 myself.

Silent Bob said:

Here's my recommendation:

I consider the Atkins like diets to be crash diets. Yes, they work to an extent, but they only do because you're putting your body through ketosis, overall it's not a lifestyle choice you want to make, and it's easy to get bored and yo-yo back to even heavier to when you started.

IF you're going to be working out at least four to five times a week:
First off, check with your doctor. Get a physical first. Make sure you won't kill yourself.
Second this is a big one: don't follow this if you're half-assing your workouts.

Eat six small meals a day.

Breakfast is your biggest meal. Eat eggs and other high protein/carb foods for breakfast only.
Mid morning snack (a granola bar, raisins, nuts etc...).
For lunch go nuts have a single sandwich or pizza slice with grapes or celery
Mid Day snack : vegetable (i usually eat raw veggies with a little bit of ranch dip)
After work: have a nutragrain bar. something really small.

Do your workout (I'm guess you do a 9-5 job routine).

Dinner: keep it light; keep it small. DO NOT eat after 8 pm or before bed.

Now you don't have to follow this to a tea. Be flexible to your schedule and current lifestyle. That's really the key, Dave. You can't expect change overnight. If you have to alter things around be sure to stick to my breakfast rule and dinner rules. Those are really the most important. Your metabolism is like a furnace. You want to stoke it at breakfast time, and then just add logs to the fire through the day. This diet plan coupled with a good workout scheme is guaranteed to get you fit. Not skinny. Fit. You'll have more energy and be overall healthier.

Another note: Good food (good quality) is better for you. Go organic with your shopping. It's a little more expensive, but I'm a firm believer of "garbage in- garbage out". I don't know if you have local markets where you live, but that's where I get ALL of my shopping done. Processed food is TERRIBLE for you. Gradually ween yourself off processed foods and soft drinks. Again. Don't jump into this all at once. It's a slow process. Like I said earlier, slowly replace processed stuff with good stuff. Instead of three sodas, take one out and drink a water instead. The next week go down to one soda a day, etc...

Slow and steady. You want this to be a lifestyle change.

Click to expand...

Very good post. It's like you're an expert on this or something.

Already had a physical. She said I was perfectly on the line for everything except for my weight. IN fact, she said if I lost a few pounds I'd be a walking, talking example of a healthy 46 year old white guy.

As to half-assing my workouts...I don't know what that means. I don't know what a good, complete workout IS right now for me. I'm still trying to figure that out. I did a lot of core/balance tonight using a step and bands, followed by 30 minutes of cardio on a treadmill (only getting up to 3.6 max - I'm on level 3 workout). I'm tired and my muscles are a little sore, but I also know I could have done more. Did I stop at the right time? Should I have continued a while longer? I don't know. But I do know I can't afford $60 an hour for a personal trainer, so I'm trying to figure this all out.

But I've started eating breakfast - oatmeal - but have not yet had a mid-morning snack. I eat a sensible lunch (today I had a small burger with mandarin oranges instead of fries and an unsweetened iced tea to drink) and have an apple for a mid-afternoon snack. For dinner I had a couple of ham slices with potatoes (yes, I know - but it's all we had) and Diet Mt. Dew to drink. This gives me my caffeine fix so I don't go loopy and it has 0 calories and 0 carbs.

I did do the workout AFTER I ate dinner, though. I guess I need to change that up, yes?

One last thing. Money is a hindrance for us so buying food that is good for you is really, really tough and only going to get tougher as the prices rise - THANKS, GLOBAL WARMING! We are going to try our best, but buying organic is out of our range.

Silent Bob - Does it matter if you work out in the morning or evening? Should you eat a little before you exercise or wait to eat afterward? Is it a matter of personal preference or how easily it fits into your schedule? I've heard morning is best, but I feel better when I run in the evening after dinner.

Learn to love lentils, beans, and brown rice, Dave. Cheap and good for you!

Also, do you have any ethnic groceries around you? Where I live, their produce and meats are generally cheaper than the local supermarket.

Also, I've heard Aldi usually has good prices, again if there's one near you.

drifter said:

Learn to love lentils, beans, and brown rice, Dave. Cheap and good for you!

Also, do you have any ethnic groceries around you? Where I live, their produce and meats are generally cheaper than the local supermarket.

Also, I've heard Aldi usually has good prices, again if there's one near you.

Click to expand...

I've let my rice cooker go to waste the last couple of years thanks to the overnight shift. Breakfast at 6pm and not likely to cook anything when I get home at 8am.

I should really do something about that. Maybe get another package of natto over the weekend. Some folks think its nasty, but I like it. And it's good for you too. I serve it on a bowl of Japanese style white rice. Goes well with a nice cold beer.

Oh, and maybe this subreddit might be helpful?[DOUBLEPOST=1342157829][/DOUBLEPOST]

DarkAudit said:

Maybe get another package of natto over the weekend. Some folks think its nasty, but I like it. And it's good for you too. I serve it on a bowl of Japanese style white rice. Goes well with a nice cold beer.

Click to expand...

Maybe you could find a co-op, farmer's market, or CSA in your area. I joined a CSA here and get a nice delivery of produce twice a month. It costs $20 per week. This week I got a huge bag of arugula, two papayas, 4 tomatoes, some leaf lettuce, two cucumbers, a yellow squash, and a big bunch of green onions. All of it is organic and locally grown.

WasabiPoptart said:

Silent Bob - Does it matter if you work out in the morning or evening? Should you eat a little before you exercise or wait to eat afterward? Is it a matter of personal preference or how easily it fits into your schedule? I've heard morning is best, but I feel better when I run in the evening after dinner.

Click to expand...

Whatever fits your schedule. I usually am up at 5 am and go for a light 20 minute jog. I'll do a quick 10 minute stretching routine prior to that. That's not really a workout, it just helps to get blood flowing and limber up for the day - wake me up so to speak.

As far as eating goes, don't eat right before a workout. You should have plenty of energy from eating your other meals. Food in your stomach kicks your body into gluconeogenesis mode. You get tired because there's stuff in your stomach that needs attention in order to be digested. If you start working out, that whole process shuts off and the food just sits there (you'll want to throw up). Eat after a workout, but after you've showered; got your heartrate down etc...[DOUBLEPOST=1342179953][/DOUBLEPOST]

Dave said:

Very good post. It's like you're an expert on this or something.

Already had a physical. She said I was perfectly on the line for everything except for my weight. IN fact, she said if I lost a few pounds I'd be a walking, talking example of a healthy 46 year old white guy.

As to half-assing my workouts...I don't know what that means. I don't know what a good, complete workout IS right now for me. I'm still trying to figure that out. I did a lot of core/balance tonight using a step and bands, followed by 30 minutes of cardio on a treadmill (only getting up to 3.6 max - I'm on level 3 workout). I'm tired and my muscles are a little sore, but I also know I could have done more. Did I stop at the right time? Should I have continued a while longer? I don't know. But I do know I can't afford $60 an hour for a personal trainer, so I'm trying to figure this all out.

But I've started eating breakfast - oatmeal - but have not yet had a mid-morning snack. I eat a sensible lunch (today I had a small burger with mandarin oranges instead of fries and an unsweetened iced tea to drink) and have an apple for a mid-afternoon snack. For dinner I had a couple of ham slices with potatoes (yes, I know - but it's all we had) and Diet Mt. Dew to drink. This gives me my caffeine fix so I don't go loopy and it has 0 calories and 0 carbs.

I did do the workout AFTER I ate dinner, though. I guess I need to change that up, yes?

One last thing. Money is a hindrance for us so buying food that is good for you is really, really tough and only going to get tougher as the prices rise - THANKS, GLOBAL WARMING! We are going to try our best, but buying organic is out of our range.

Click to expand...

Half-assing means you go to the gym and lift on one machine, or do a five minute jog, and leave while mentally telling yourself you worked out. This is a state of mind that people get into, and they then proceed to eat bad stuff because "they worked out today".

A good complete workout means finishing your routine, and you're sweaty and tired afterwards. You should wake up feeling sore in the morning. When you start waking up and your muscles aren't sore, then it's time to increase your routine.

Keep in mind as well that Cardio workouts are about heart rate, not speed. And that there are different target heart rates if you are trying to just burn fat or if you are trying to improve your endurance. When I am just on a treadmill or bike for weight loss purposes, my target heart rate is something like 122, which isn't that high, and I mostly do a brisk walk.

Okay, I will make a few comments. I have not read the rest of the thread, and I am not super knowledgable, but I DO know that I've gone from 205 down to 172 (as of today) with minimal effort on my part.

I do not exercise regularly. I should, but eh.

1) Cook your own food. Even if you cook some greasy-ass just god-awful food, it is STILL hard to beat fast food fat, sodium, and calories. Quite frankly, I've been cooking for myself for months now, and I cannot even fathom what I'd have to create to make to equal fast food. (Example: A whopper + fries = 1200 calories etc ; Chik-fil-A sandwich, fries, drink combo is 1,000.)
--- 1A) To help you find foods you can cook, consider these options, which is what I've used:
--------1Aa) supercook.com - This site lets you plug in all the ingredients you have in your kitchen and tells you what you can cook with those ingredients. (Recipes come from other websites.) This is not only super fun to see what kind of interesting food you can cook with all your random ingredients and spices, it helps stretch the stuff you don't know how to use.
--------1Ab) Yummly.com - THIS website lets you seek recipes specifically and lets you choose certain criteria to filter recipes-- for example, one I did the other day for my lactose-intolerant, dieting, but in need of chocolate NOW girfriend: brownies, filtered to less than 120 calories per serving, dairy-free.
--------1Ac) Pinterest. Pinterest is full of insane women who want to be sexy and thin, and they repin nothing but health food everywhere. My girlfriend loves this site and constantly picks out surprisingly delicious, filling healthy foods.

2) This ties in with #1, but don't eat fast food. At least not often. It's okay to treat yourself here and there. If you have to get fast food, google "healthiest fast food options" and it'll tell you what on the menu will be best for you. Or, use common sense. If you end up at Chik-Fil-A, go grilled instead of fried.
-----2A) Subway is -somewhat- exempt from this rule, as it is generally healthful and cost effective. Get a footlong black forest ham sub (do NOT get mayonaise. Cheese is not suggested, but I fucking love cheese so I put it on anyway.). It is cost effective ($5 for 2 meals), and each 6" will put you at about 310 - 370 calories depending on your cheese choice. It's a perfect lunch, as I try to go 100-200 cals for breakfast, 300-400 for lunch, and whatever is left before hitting 1200 for dinner. Take note, though, I usually come in WAY below 1200 after dinner. I've been SHEDDING weight like this and have felt perfectly satisfied, healthy, and even energetic this way.

3) Pay attention to serving sizes. This will be difficult at first, as you will constantly go "Man I want some morrrrre", but my stomach quit that crap, honestly, after 2 weeks. Once upon a time I could eat a full footlong from Subway. Now I go, "FUCKING HOW!? That is so much food!!!" Something that helped me is that I got cups (like drinking cups) that are 1 Cup in capacity. So when I drink my sodas (See below) I'm getting only 1 Cup worth, which is actually less than a serving size of soda. This helps for ice cream too. People try to fill their plates, bowls, glasses, etc based on their mind's appropriate percentage. Get a smaller plate-- you will eat less food. (Don't go for seconds.) Get a smaller bowl-- less food. I put ice cream into my 1 Cup sized glass because it helps me judge about half a cup, which is the proper serving size, and actually half the serving size depending on the brand. Half a cup of ice cream, with honey or whatever topping you want, is surprisingly satisfying when you have a sweet tooth. I know it sounds like "A FUCKING HALF CUP, DOOMDRAGON. REALLY?" Yes, really, I thought that way too, but I've gotten to the point that if I get more, I'm like "That is a shit-ton of ice cream."

4) Soda. Touchy subject. If you already avoid soda, fine, keep at it. I fucking love soda. I personally would feel fine including it in my diet because I love it so much. However, I've found a (cold) apple peach tea that I can make that is healthful, delicious, refreshing, and satisfying. I've been drinking that and went without soda for a week before I ended up at a fast food restaurant with some friends. So basically, try to find a drink that is healthful for you that you ENJOY. Don't try to suck down some crap you don't like. My parents love sweet tea, and they sweeten it with honey, which is infinitely better for you than sugar, though is does affect taste.

5) Frozen food. Don't have time to cook? I get that, I do. I personally love cooking and love it when my entire day is nothing but cooking fun foods. Sometimes, or always, you don't have time. You can buy frozen "Smart Choice" or whatever brand you want foods for $1.50 - $3.00 per meal that are only 200 - 350 calories per meal. Are they small? Yes. I personally eat them for lunches, not dinners. I think they are too small for dinners. And know what? It's OKAY to eat 2 for dinner! Think about it, even if you eat 2 for dinner, that's 400-700 calories, which is a perfectly acceptable dinner amount. Again, I go for 100-200 breakfast, 200-400 lunch, and leave 400-700 for dinner.

Again, I am not "savvy" about health much at all. I'm just letting you know what my personal observations have been, and that this has worked, and is working, for me. Last week I was at 176, and now I'm at 172. The week before last I was at 179. Before that 182, then 185, etc. As you can see it's a steady drop of 3 pounds per week, which as I understand is about average for safe weight loss.

Hope this helps.

I find Panera Bread is also acceptable for lunch, but I also have a 500/500/500 calorie split when I'm dieting. (eating less than 1200 calories as a man sounds crazy to me )

Holy cow, I missed that. You regularly come well under 1200 per day? I mean, maybe you're some kind of outlier, but more likely you're gonna fuck up your metabolism if you keep that up.

drifter said:

Holy cow, I missed that. You regularly come well under 1200 per day? I mean, maybe you're some kind of outlier, but more likely you're gonna fuck up your metabolism if you keep that up.

Click to expand...

It's entirely possible, but also keep in mind I don't count calories perfectly; I coups be way off. These are my best estimates.

As for metabolism, if anything I feel like it's better. I wake up hungry, feel hungry by lunch, am hungry by dinner, and satisfied for the night.

I won't argue against anyone who knows better than me though, for all I know this is terrible. But, I feel good, so we'll see.

Anyway, it was just to share my personal experiences.

I can't imagine trying to operate on "well under" 1200 per day... I recently dropped 96 pounds and I started at 1500 with serious counting and gradually moved up to 2000 a day with less strict guidlines to sustain it. But if you're seeing those results that's what really matters.

I'm a big believer in "do what works for you" so good job!

Yeah, I haven't been counting too seriously, so for all I know I'm getting close to that. The fact that it sparked such a response probably means I'm wrong. I just know that I can get through breakfast + lunch at about 400 - 500 total, and my dinner sure as hell isn't on whopper meal level, so I figure 900-1200 seems like a safe estimate. Could be wrong.

Didn't mean to derail the thread into talking about me though. Sorry Dave. >>

If there's one thing these campus visits this summer have taught me, it's that I'm not prepared physically for grad school. I think it's time to take advantage of the gym and pool that I pay for with my student activity fees.

Dave, we can get rid of our floppy man hooties together.

I'm kind of surprised so many people are recommending against counting calories, it was the absolute most effective thing for me in losing 25 pounds and having kept it off for the last year and a half. But then, I was at 240 when I started weighing, so I was probably at a dangerously high weight to begin with. If you're used to regularly drinking soda, try switching to flavored carbonated water (one without any kind of sweeteners, artificial or otherwise), for me it seems to fool the craving to go away well enough.

I have been slacking lately in both keeping track of diet and keeping up with exercise, and I've hit an ugly plateau trying to stay below 215. I need to get back into the habit of running.

doomdragon6 said:

Yeah, I haven't been counting too seriously, so for all I know I'm getting close to that. The fact that it sparked such a response probably means I'm wrong. I just know that I can get through breakfast + lunch at about 400 - 500 total, and my dinner sure as hell isn't on whopper meal level, so I figure 900-1200 seems like a safe estimate. Could be wrong.

Didn't mean to derail the thread into talking about me though. Sorry Dave. >>

Click to expand...

Depends, though. It's perfectly possible to get some 1200 kilocalories (damn anglophones who can't get their measurements straight ) from your three main meals, and still get some 1800-2000 kcals a day, from snacks, drinks,...

David said:

I'm kind of surprised so many people are recommending against counting calories, it was the absolute most effective thing for me in losing 25 pounds and having kept it off for the last year and a half. But then, I was at 240 when I started weighing, so I was probably at a dangerously high weight to begin with. If you're used to regularly drinking soda, try switching to flavored carbonated water (one without any kind of sweeteners, artificial or otherwise), for me it seems to fool the craving to go away well enough.

I have been slacking lately in both keeping track of diet and keeping up with exercise, and I've hit an ugly plateau trying to stay below 215. I need to get back into the habit of running.

Click to expand...

Calorie counting is good, but it gets really boring and people stray from their calorie plan quite quickly. My goal is always to make food subconscious thing. Hungry? Get an apple instead of a Snickers.[DOUBLEPOST=1342269016][/DOUBLEPOST]

doomdragon6 said:

Okay, I will make a few comments. I have not read the rest of the thread, and I am not super knowledgable, but I DO know that I've gone from 205 down to 172 (as of today) with minimal effort on my part.

I do not exercise regularly. I should, but eh.

1) Cook your own food. Even if you cook some greasy-ass just god-awful food, it is STILL hard to beat fast food fat, sodium, and calories. Quite frankly, I've been cooking for myself for months now, and I cannot even fathom what I'd have to create to make to equal fast food. (Example: A whopper + fries = 1200 calories etc ; Chik-fil-A sandwich, fries, drink combo is 1,000.)
--- 1A) To help you find foods you can cook, consider these options, which is what I've used:
--------1Aa) supercook.com - This site lets you plug in all the ingredients you have in your kitchen and tells you what you can cook with those ingredients. (Recipes come from other websites.) This is not only super fun to see what kind of interesting food you can cook with all your random ingredients and spices, it helps stretch the stuff you don't know how to use.
--------1Ab) Yummly.com - THIS website lets you seek recipes specifically and lets you choose certain criteria to filter recipes-- for example, one I did the other day for my lactose-intolerant, dieting, but in need of chocolate NOW girfriend: brownies, filtered to less than 120 calories per serving, dairy-free.
--------1Ac) Pinterest. Pinterest is full of insane women who want to be sexy and thin, and they repin nothing but health food everywhere. My girlfriend loves this site and constantly picks out surprisingly delicious, filling healthy foods.

2) This ties in with #1, but don't eat fast food. At least not often. It's okay to treat yourself here and there. If you have to get fast food, google "healthiest fast food options" and it'll tell you what on the menu will be best for you. Or, use common sense. If you end up at Chik-Fil-A, go grilled instead of fried.
-----2A) Subway is -somewhat- exempt from this rule, as it is generally healthful and cost effective. Get a footlong black forest ham sub (do NOT get mayonaise. Cheese is not suggested, but I fucking love cheese so I put it on anyway.). It is cost effective ($5 for 2 meals), and each 6" will put you at about 310 - 370 calories depending on your cheese choice. It's a perfect lunch, as I try to go 100-200 cals for breakfast, 300-400 for lunch, and whatever is left before hitting 1200 for dinner. Take note, though, I usually come in WAY below 1200 after dinner. I've been SHEDDING weight like this and have felt perfectly satisfied, healthy, and even energetic this way.

3) Pay attention to serving sizes. This will be difficult at first, as you will constantly go "Man I want some morrrrre", but my stomach quit that crap, honestly, after 2 weeks. Once upon a time I could eat a full footlong from Subway. Now I go, "FUCKING HOW!? That is so much food!!!" Something that helped me is that I got cups (like drinking cups) that are 1 Cup in capacity. So when I drink my sodas (See below) I'm getting only 1 Cup worth, which is actually less than a serving size of soda. This helps for ice cream too. People try to fill their plates, bowls, glasses, etc based on their mind's appropriate percentage. Get a smaller plate-- you will eat less food. (Don't go for seconds.) Get a smaller bowl-- less food. I put ice cream into my 1 Cup sized glass because it helps me judge about half a cup, which is the proper serving size, and actually half the serving size depending on the brand. Half a cup of ice cream, with honey or whatever topping you want, is surprisingly satisfying when you have a sweet tooth. I know it sounds like "A FUCKING HALF CUP, DOOMDRAGON. REALLY?" Yes, really, I thought that way too, but I've gotten to the point that if I get more, I'm like "That is a shit-ton of ice cream."

4) Soda. Touchy subject. If you already avoid soda, fine, keep at it. I fucking love soda. I personally would feel fine including it in my diet because I love it so much. However, I've found a (cold) apple peach tea that I can make that is healthful, delicious, refreshing, and satisfying. I've been drinking that and went without soda for a week before I ended up at a fast food restaurant with some friends. So basically, try to find a drink that is healthful for you that you ENJOY. Don't try to suck down some crap you don't like. My parents love sweet tea, and they sweeten it with honey, which is infinitely better for you than sugar, though is does affect taste.

5) Frozen food. Don't have time to cook? I get that, I do. I personally love cooking and love it when my entire day is nothing but cooking fun foods. Sometimes, or always, you don't have time. You can buy frozen "Smart Choice" or whatever brand you want foods for $1.50 - $3.00 per meal that are only 200 - 350 calories per meal. Are they small? Yes. I personally eat them for lunches, not dinners. I think they are too small for dinners. And know what? It's OKAY to eat 2 for dinner! Think about it, even if you eat 2 for dinner, that's 400-700 calories, which is a perfectly acceptable dinner amount. Again, I go for 100-200 breakfast, 200-400 lunch, and leave 400-700 for dinner.

Again, I am not "savvy" about health much at all. I'm just letting you know what my personal observations have been, and that this has worked, and is working, for me. Last week I was at 176, and now I'm at 172. The week before last I was at 179. Before that 182, then 185, etc. As you can see it's a steady drop of 3 pounds per week, which as I understand is about average for safe weight loss.

Hope this helps.

Click to expand...

This is all well and good, but there is a big difference between losing weight and being fit; and losing weight (lbs). You're on the right track with cooking your own foods and serving sizes. But frozen meals are absolutely horrible. They're processed with garbage you body can't even digest and loaded with salt - empty calories. Fast food and soda are "treats" that you can eat once in a while to prevent binging, but they should not be part of a regular diet.

I think that actually counting calories when you start is a good idea, especially when you are changing your eating habits drastically. Because, honestly, odds are you are going to end up feeling hungry for a few days while your body adjusts, and you can't trust it to tell you to stop eating. Once you get used to it, then odds are that you won't need the calorie counter anymore because your body will start balking at the excess on it's own.

Dei said:

I think that actually counting calories when you start is a good idea, especially when you are changing your eating habits drastically. Because, honestly, odds are you are going to end up feeling hungry for a few days while your body adjusts, and you can't trust it to tell you to stop eating. Once you get used to it, then odds are that you won't need the calorie counter anymore because your body will start balking at the excess on it's own.

Click to expand...

I agree. It is a good thing to start out doing. It really can show you how calorie laden things really are and how much is actually in a serving. I was helping a friend and when we went to a coffee shop I got a hot chocolate no cream that ended up being more calories than I was usually eating for a meal. It just opens your eyes up to what little things are giving you vast amounts of calories that you would normally never think about. I would try it for 2 weeks and make sure you are being honest about serving size. Most things that look like an averaged size meal can have 2+ servings in them. Well good luck Dave

Dave. I forgot.

For your workouts: Get an mp3 player. Fill it with songs like this:



Hi tempo stuff that gets you PUMPED!

I like listening to Pandora's alternative endurance station on my phone when I run. Muse, MGMT, Kings of Leon, Deadmau5, Daft Punk, Benny Benassi...they definitely help keep me going! Also I think it's a good idea to mix up your workouts (correct me if I'm way off base, Silent Bob). I started running, but I also started doing yoga on my off days so I would stretch and use my muscles differently. I love it.

Silent Bob said:

Dave. I forgot.

For your workouts: Get an mp3 player. Fill it with songs like this:



Hi tempo stuff that gets you PUMPED!

Click to expand...

I have an iPod and music, but I need a pair of earbuds and one of those things that keep it secure on my arm.

I plan on Running with Zombies as soon as I can, but I don't have an iPhone, so it'll be a bit.

I take it them that you have an iPod nano or something similar and not an iPod touch.

It's an iPod touch, but to run with Zombies you have to have GeoLocation and online at all times.

Assuming you are talking about the Zombies, Run! app, I thought that you could do that with the accelerometer as an experimental feature now. I don't really use the zombie chases though, since trying to do random bursts when I need to cross streets fairly often on my jogging route is a terrible idea.

Lol... Around here there's not much anywhere to run, so I used Zombies, Run! in a cul-de-sac, so when zombies were after meI was just running in a circle and it was like, "You're losing them!" haha..

I just want to tag the vast majority of the posts in here as highly informative - I love information like this, and while some of it I already knew, the rest is filling in the blanks and letting me know WHY I should do something like that.

I've had success simply with switching to no sodas (I fell off the wagon HARD whilst on vacation, but I'm back to my usual self now) and drinking water/watered-down Gatorade. That, combined with running, saw an immediate drop of 15 lbs over a fairly short period of time. And then I stopped running. I will now be running again, as of tomorrow.

Dave, I salute your endeavor, and will be joining you. Semper Fi, do or die!

Also, I would just like to say that my music list while running/walking would horrify anyone. Though there is nothing wrong with randomly belting out Muppets songs while running right?!

Officer_Charon said:

I just want to tag the vast majority of the posts in here as highly informative - I love information like this, and while some of it I already knew, the rest is filling in the blanks and letting me know WHY I should do something like that.

I've had success simply with switching to no sodas (I fell off the wagon HARD whilst on vacation, but I'm back to my usual self now) and drinking water/watered-down Gatorade. That, combined with running, saw an immediate drop of 15 lbs over a fairly short period of time. And then I stopped running. I will now be running again, as of tomorrow.

Dave, I salute your endeavor, and will be joining you. Semper Fi, do or die!

Click to expand...

I'm 2 weeks without soda now.

Hey the no soda thing was a bone of contention with my wife and I. I was showing her how bad they were for you. I showed her my Mr. Pibb and its shitload of calories and carbs. Then I went to show her how bad her Diet Mt. Dew was...0 calories, 0 carbs. Fuck.

So now I get my soda & caffeine fix I'm drinking Diet Mt. Dew. Tastes awful at first but I'm getting used to it.

Dave said:

Hey the no soda thing was a bone of contention with my wife and I. I was showing her how bad they were for you. I showed her my Mr. Pibb and its shitload of calories and carbs. Then I went to show her how bad her Diet Mt. Dew was...0 calories, 0 carbs. Fuck.

So now I get my soda & caffeine fix I'm drinking Diet Mt. Dew. Tastes awful at first but I'm getting used to it.

Click to expand...

http://www.rodale.com/facts-about-soda?page=6

(I do not know if this is actually legit or if it's sensationalist, but something to think about.)

Dei said:

http://www.rodale.com/facts-about-soda?page=6

(I do not know if this is actually legit or if it's sensationalist, but something to think about.)

Click to expand...

Yikes.

I never trusted 0 cal sodas because-- well-- that energy has to go SOMEWHERE

Dei said:

http://www.rodale.com/facts-about-soda?page=6

(I do not know if this is actually legit or if it's sensationalist, but something to think about.)

Click to expand...

The two cases cited by Wikipedia for bromism showed one guy drank 8 liters(!) of Ruby Red soda per day for several months, resulting in skin lesions. The other guy drank 2-4 L per day of cola, resulting in a multitude of symptoms, eventually leading to an inability to walk.

So basically don't drink a fucking gallon of soda a day. Brought to you by the American Council of Duh.

Dave said:

Hey the no soda thing was a bone of contention with my wife and I. I was showing her how bad they were for you. I showed her my Mr. Pibb and its shitload of calories and carbs. Then I went to show her how bad her Diet Mt. Dew was...0 calories, 0 carbs. Fuck.

So now I get my soda & caffeine fix I'm drinking Diet Mt. Dew. Tastes awful at first but I'm getting used to it.

Click to expand...

The problem with diet drinks is that they totally screw you body's ability to metabolize sugar.

Silent Bob said:

The problem with diet drinks is that they totally screw you body's ability to metabolize sugar.

Click to expand...

If I drank a whole lot of it I'd be worried. But I have only one or two a day.

Right now here's my (our) schedule:

Breakfast: I have oatmeal, my wife drinks a health-type shake.
Snack: 90 calories. Special K bars. Actually not bad.
Lunch: Either a health shake or something small.
Snack: Apple or plum. Maybe grapes. Or a Special K bar. Doesn't matter.

Workout!

Dinner: We're eating a regular dinner. We haven't changed how we buy groceries or anything like that. What we ARE doing is using smaller plates and watching our portions. Instead of our normal dinner plates we are using ones normally reserved for like cake or something like that.

My workout right now consists of doing band work on the arms, steps for balance and either treadmill or stationary bike for cardio. My wife is doing Zumba Mon/Wed/Sat. On days when we don't go to the gym we walk at home. We haven't missed a day, but tomorrow we'll probably fall off a bit as it's our anniversary and we're celebrating.

Okay, I started at 203 and have now cracked the 200 mark. Granted, it's only 199, but I'm making progress.

And that includes eating like a starved pig on Tuesday for my anniversary.

Just found this thread! Good for you Dave; you will kick ass!

I'm not a huge fan of diet soda either. I drink it sometimes, but when I want something fizzy, a club soda and fruit juice is very good (fresh squeezed). For caffeine I have been trying to stick with plain coffee, as much as I live my complicated espresso drinks.

Good goin', Dave. ^^

I just broke into 169 territory, so I'm a bit excited as well.

Make sure you have the money to buy some clothes that fit. ;P My "tighter fitting shirts" that I bought a year ago are baggy on me and I had to drop a pants size, and get a new belt.

Actually, I bought a shirt last year that didn't fit quite perfectly-- it looked nice standing up, but when I sat down I realized it felt like it was squeezing the turds outta me, so I had to unbutton the last button. Now, it's actually a little loose but fits much better. That's when you go, "Holy hell, I'm doing it."

Dave said:

If I drank a whole lot of it I'd be worried. But I have only one or two a day.

Right now here's my (our) schedule:

Breakfast: I have oatmeal, my wife drinks a health-type shake.
Snack: 90 calories. Special K bars. Actually not bad.
Lunch: Either a health shake or something small.
Snack: Apple or plum. Maybe grapes. Or a Special K bar. Doesn't matter.

Workout!

Dinner: We're eating a regular dinner. We haven't changed how we buy groceries or anything like that. What we ARE doing is using smaller plates and watching our portions. Instead of our normal dinner plates we are using ones normally reserved for like cake or something like that.

My workout right now consists of doing band work on the arms, steps for balance and either treadmill or stationary bike for cardio. My wife is doing Zumba Mon/Wed/Sat. On days when we don't go to the gym we walk at home. We haven't missed a day, but tomorrow we'll probably fall off a bit as it's our anniversary and we're celebrating.

Click to expand...

Oatmeal is great to have for breakfast, and honestly, that's one thing you can eat until you feel full. I'd recommend your wife eat some starches in the morning. Cereal, oatmeal, a muffin is even better than just a shake.

Stay away from shakes like Slim Fast. They're junk. Unless you're talking to a nutritionist, don't pop into GNC and buy up a bunch of stuff either. Natural food is always better for you than processed, canned shakes.

You sound like you're doing good with your workout. Running, cycling, and swimming are the best cardio you can do.

I recommend stretches before every workout: http://www.military.com/military-fitness/workouts/stretching-plan

Actually, that site is great for a bunch of stuff. I base my circuit routines off of their strength training section.

Dave said:

Breakfast: I have oatmeal, my wife drinks a health-type shake.
Snack: 90 calories. Special K bars. Actually not bad.
Lunch: Either a health shake or something small.
Snack: Apple or plum. Maybe grapes. Or a Special K bar. Doesn't matter.

Workout!

Dinner: We're eating a regular dinner. We haven't changed how we buy groceries or anything like that. What we ARE doing is using smaller plates and watching our portions. Instead of our normal dinner plates we are using ones normally reserved for like cake or something like that.

Click to expand...

How do you eat your oatmeal? Sugar and milk? If so, think about substituting the sugar with fruit of any variety really but berries are your best bet.

Frank said:

How do you eat your oatmeal? Sugar and milk? If so, think about substituting the sugar with fruit of any variety really but berries are your best bet.

Click to expand...

2 packets of oatmeal and hot water. Since the oatmeal is maple/brown sugar, it's already tasty.

Ahh gotcha.

Dave said:

it's our anniversary and we're celebrating.

Click to expand...

Which means you'll still be getting in your cardio.

ThatNickGuy said:

Which means you'll still be getting in your cardio.

Click to expand...

I don't think 2 minutes counts as a cardio workout.

SONOVA...!

197.1 and dropping. Been doing a lot of cardio and am now starting to work on the machines. As God is my witness when I turn 50 in 4 years I want to bench press my weight without difficulty.[DOUBLEPOST=1343182874][/DOUBLEPOST]And in 2014 I have my 30th high school reunion.

Nice!

'Rah!

Officer_Charon said:

'Rah!

Click to expand...

I'd really like to get back to my "Corps core". My upper body is still weak, but I'm working on it. I can do a good amount of weight for curls, but my pushups, pullups and benches are pathetic and sad.

I watched a girl yesterday doing some exercises that would have been hard for me even when I was in the best shape. I was green with envy.

Tell me about it... I've started running again, and the places I usually work out at are full of people who pass me with contemptuous ease... I am ashamed, and it pushes me to work harder.

... which in this heat in not necessarily a GOOD thing...

I'd like to thank you, Dave, for the following:

If you hadn't posted about the app, I wouldn't have found out about it and wouldn't have had the motivation to do cardio outside of freerunning. Thanks for helping make running fun!!

Sweet! I wish I could use it. Not having a smart phone means I can't. But I SOOOO want to!

Officer_Charon said:

Tell me about it... I've started running again, and the places I usually work out at are full of people who pass me with contemptuous ease... I am ashamed, and it pushes me to work harder.

... which in this heat in not necessarily a GOOD thing...

Click to expand...

I've been running at Hickam AFB while my son's in karate. Talk about feeling out of place. The rec center where his class is held is right next to barracks/bachelor housing. I'm not only the only female out running with a stroller, but I'm the slowest and most out of shape one running, too. Add to that 85+ F with 50% humidity and jet exhaust blowing around. After 15 minutes I want to die.

How's it going Dave? I can't seem to shake 170.

We had activities this weekend and didn't get to the gym. And we ran out of shakes and ate real food. *ahem*

Went today and was back at 198.

Finally coming back to post. I knew I was going to want to say a lot and I also knew this was going to have to be when I had some hours to spare.

First off, the disclaimer. I am not a medical professional. I am also not a fitness trainer. I'm just a smart guy with a lot of info. If you see me flubbing something, then fer gods' sake call me on it before someone gets hurt. Also I will learn more. Now, on to the story...

The previous posters are absolutely correct. Your weight/BMI, while a useful tool, is not the One True Metric that you should use as your basis of success/failure. You hear me? Throw it out. Check it every couple of weeks to make sure you haven't varied a dangerous amount, but otherwise just ignore it completely. Plotting your daily weight on some kind of chart is like peeking under the Band-Aid to see how your wounds are healing. Just like with burns and pavement rash, the way you feel is a much better indication of your progress than how it looks.

And as far as calorie counting goes, everybody is right, for the most part. Calorie counting is important, but it's not the sort of thing you need to obsess over and document and chart unless you need to lose weight for medical reasons. See, your body needs energy to do stuff, and it gets that energy by burning fuel that you have eaten. This fuel comes from one of three places: From carbs/sugars (stuff you just ate), from fats (stuff you ate a while ago), and from proteins (stuff you thought you were done with). Let me give you a couple of analogies as to how this works:

[Analogy 1: FIRE]
You want to maintain sufficient fire for your needs. At the same time, you want to make sure you are not amassing a huge pile of leftover wood to clutter up the place. Keep in mind that you can manage this fire through the addition of different types of fuel, so if you know you're going to need more fire, you can send down more fuel against your expected future needs. But here's the catch...you don't actually load the firebox. The only thing you can control is how much fuel you send down, and what kind, and if you send down more than you actually need, the excess gets pressed into bricks for later use and left lying around.

Now, if all you send down is branches, newspaper, kerosene, and pine needles, your system is going to get a little crazy. See, the guy feeding the firebox is always going to prefer to toss in the easy stuff first because it's the most convenient, but because the level of fire is going to vary so much because this stuff burns so quickly, you're going to get refueling demands which also vary wildly in their urgency, ie your appetite will be all over the place. If your diet is more fat-heavy, then it's more like you're sending down nothing but logs, which is great for overnight or long-term steady state but which is lousy if you really need a quick burst of energy. And if you ever get to the point where you're burning your own protein for energy? Well, that's a bit like breaking up the furniture for fuel...it's not a long-term solution, and you want to avoid it if possible.

You can see why eating multiple small meals throughout the day makes more sense. If you keep the flow steady, you have a much better chance of staying on top of demand. Snack wisely for JIT delivery of energy and your body will be less likely to panic and try to throttle you back so it can lay in a full Winter's supply of fuel "just in case."

[Analogy 2: FINANCE]
(For this analogy, imagine that your ultimate goal is to stimulate the economy as much as possible instead of saving for your own retirement. Just go with me, here...)
You are trying to make ends meet. You have earnings and you have bills to pay. When possible, you try to pay them all out of your paycheck/cash (carbs/sugars), because doing so is much more fluid. When you can't, you reach into your savings/retirement (fat reserves) when it's going to be a while until your next paycheck. When things get really dire, however, then you have to mortgage your own stuff (burn protein) in order to keep up with demand. This is a bit counterproductive, since you will eventually want to put that stuff back.

Again, you can see why eating several small meals is a benefit. It's more like getting paid every week instead of bi-weekly or even monthly.

Furthermore, there are finer points to consider. Carbs come in quite a variety. Sugars are generally metabolized very quickly, which means they are good for ENERGY NOW DAMMIT situations, but they don't last for very long. Additionally, too much sugar can spike your insulin, which will lead to that "crash," or even possibly diabetes if it happens too often. Your body prefers to get its sugars in about equal amounts, which is why sucrose (table sugar) is so good. Internally, sucrose breaks down into glucose and fructose, and both go on their merry way through your system. The problem with sodas full of HFCS is that it is mostly fructose, which upsets that balance. Glucose can be used pretty much wherever it is needed, but fructose has to be metabolized in the liver, so if your diet is disproportionately composed of fructose, then you are making your liver do a lot more work than it needs to, as well as forcing your cells to wait around for your liver to get done processing their energy supply.

More complex carbs (starches, minimally refined pasta, whole grains, oats) take longer for your body to metabolize, which is why having oatmeal with maple syrup or fruit for breakfast works so well. Your body seizes the sugars and puts them to work immediately, but because it has to work a little harder to unlock the energy in the starches, that energy isn't made available until just about the time the energy from the sugars is wearing off, which stretches out the time until your brain gets sent the "Time to refuel!" message.

Fats come in two main varieties: Saturated and Unsaturated. Saturated fats are usually stiffer (higher melting point) than their unsaturated counterparts. Unsaturated fats are "better" for you because they have room for loose hydrogen to latch on, thereby keeping it from rampaging through your body, oxidizing as it goes. Hydrogenation is the process by which extra hydrogen is forced to join with unsaturated fats, usually to raise the melting point (to make it more solid at room temperature) but this also ruins the hydrogen-scavenging benefits those unsaturated fats had in the first place. Also, hydrogenation converts a lot of the fat into trans-fats, which will then shoot your triglyceride levels through the roof (you don't want this).

Proteins can be burned as energy, but really they (or their component amino acids) should be eaten with the idea of building/maintaining the actual structure of your body rather than as an energy source. The US RDA for protein is about 50g/day, but really this is one stat which should be adjusted based on your body weight. If you are doing strength training then you are going to want to increase your protein intake beyond the maintenance level so that your body has enough to rebuild more than you are destroying. Usually you will be able to tell...if your muscle soreness from workouts gets worse or doesn't subside after a few days, then you probably want to increase your protein intake, split your protein intake up into more snacks per day, or possibly pursue a more bio-available form. Meat (especially fish) is a great source of protein, but it is not the only source. Legumes, nuts, whole grains (including the germ), brewer's yeast, eggs, and dairy (cheese, whey, etc) are all great non-meat sources. You'll be a lot better off mixing up your sources rather than depending on any single source of protein. Actually, you should mix up all your food categories. You don't ever want to lock yourself into any single fruit, vegetable, nut, or whatever. Keep your system on its toes. Rotating your sources will also help you minimize exposure to things that would pile up if you went mono-source (such as mercury in fish, pesticides with legumes, or antibiotics/hormones in dairy/beef, etc).

Needless to say, the quality of the food you eat will have a huge bearing on how good it really is for you. Meat from a grass-fed cow which led an active life free of hormones will be much better for you than that from a grain-fed cow which led a stress-filled life full of antibiotics. The difference with Omega fatty acids is staggering. The same is true of produce (vine-ripened v. boxcar-ripened, etc) but it's especially important with meats since all the stuff that applies to produce also applies to meats since it determined the quality of the feed that went into those meats. We won't even get into the GMO issue until more testing has been done and more results are in.

Switching your diet over to nutrient-dense food should have the benefit of satisfying your nutritional needs with less intake of food, but in case your body rebels at how much emptier your stomach is, remember that you can always make yourself feel fuller by eating foods with lower calorie/high fiber content (green peppers and other produce, fruits such as apples, eating the entire interior of an orange instead of just the juicy bits) or by drinking more water to fill up space (which you should probably be doing anyway) until your stomach gets used to the multiple-feedings-per-day schedule and shrinks in response (which it will, guaranteed). A smaller stomach feels full faster, which reduces the temptation to snack when you don't really need one.

One more thing about eating before you go to bed. From what I've heard/read, it's actually a good idea (assuming you are not afflicted with GERD/bad reflux) to have yourself a little high-carb snack before hitting the sack. Pick something with a high ratio of complex carbs with maybe a little bit of simple sugary garnish (a banana dipped in molasses, a small bowl of cereal/oatmeal with a bit of fruit, or celery with a bit of peanut butter) before you brush your teeth for the evening. The activation of your digestion machinery and the feeling of satisfaction will help you sleep better. The same sort of thing is good for after a meal. Having a bit of sweet at the end of your meal helps tell your body/brain that the meal is over, and gives a cue for closure.

I could go into a lot more food-related topics (vitamin absorption v. mineral absorption, fermented/raw foods, etc) but I believe the above should be plenty informative and be a good start for anyone who hadn't heard all of this before. Now, on to activity.

Simply put, more activity is better. I don't necessarily mean that more intense activity is better, just that more activity is better. You want to convince your body to turn up its thermostat, and you do that by increasing the amount of sustained activity(-ies) you experience throughout the day. Three flights of stairs too much? Just take one set of stairs, but do it slooower. Stuck at your desk? Bounce your leg. Stretch more often. Press your feet together sideways behind the privacy panel. Lift yourself up in your chair by tensing your buttocks and keep it there a minute. Hold your coffee cup at arm's length while you're on hold. Turn your knees 90° to your torso and then go the other way (good for your back). You're going to want to do this kind of stuff to avoid DVT anyway. Starting in the parking lot, hold your briefcase in front of your sternum rather than at your side, and hold it there all the way in. There is absolutely no need to limit your workout only to activities which punish your joints, make you sweat/stink, jangle your organs all over the place, make you ache, or which involve yelling/grunting/screaming. It should be relatively easy to modify your daily routine to make it harder and get your breathing/heart rates up, but not so much that you break out in a sweat or possibly injure yourself.

Whatever activities you choose for your workout, make sure you include at least one activity which involves sustained use of your upper leg muscles. Biking, running, yoga, power walking, stairs, rowing, something. While you use the large muscles of your legs, the constant tense/relax cycle causes the muscles themselves to squeeze blood through your system, supplementing the action of your heart. If your legs share the load, that means your heart doesn't have to work as hard, which is better for your heart.

Last year, I joined a fitness challenge at my job. The idea was to run and keep track of your progress using the Nike+ app. Well, I hate running, so I decided to walk it, instead. Over the course of about 5-6 weeks, I put in just over 250 miles. Walking. And about 32 miles of that was over the last 2 days because I put some of it off (this resulted in me getting plantar fasciitis, which is only now starting to go away. Moral of the story...get good shoes before your feet start hurting). While I was doing this, I noticed something. Whenever I went out walking, from a fitness standpoint, the first hour might as well have not even existed. Every time I went out, it always took at least 45 minutes before my body basically said, "Waitaminit. You're serious about this, aren't you?" So all I'm saying is that if you are going out for cardio or circuit training, make sure to budget at least an hour's worth of time for it to actually "sink in," and also make sure that your level of exertion is one you are going to be able to sustain for that full hour. Don't push so hard that you run out in 25 minutes, no matter how manly it makes you feel or how many reps you did. Stay toasty warm for 60 minutes rather than hot for 20.

Lastly (it's getting late and I need to go bed), I want to touch on something that gets frequently ignored by the vocal fitness crowd, and that's mental fitness and health. I know I shouldn't need to go into a lengthy explanation about how much harm your brain can do to your body if you aren't happy with yourself. We already have entire threads devoted to serving as examples of this. Time and time again, study after study confirms what really should be obvious, that our mental state directly influences our physical state. I'm sure this brings to mind any number of New Age connotations, but try to remember this distilled bit of wisdom: if all you do is stress about how little you're doing, how many workouts you miss, how little progress you're making, how few pounds you've lost, how tired you are, how much life sucks, how floppy your hooties are, etc, etc, you are actually going to initiate biochemical processes within your body which will make it harder for you to succeed. If, instead, you pay all the minutiae no mind BUT you stick with it dependably (on Faith, so to speak) for at least a month, then at the end of that month...how will you not see progress? I would almost be willing to bet that you could skip all your workouts, not change your diet or other habits at all, and so long as you maintained a genuinely positive outlook on your life and managed to sidestep the stresses, you would probably find you had lost either 5-10 pounds or an inch from someplace unimportant yet noticeable.

Keep us posted. You may yet serve as an inspiration to others, or more of one to some.

--Patrick

Good stuff, there. A lot I need to remember, and a decent amount of stuff I'm already doing.

Mental fitness. Oh yeah. In spite of all the work drama, the finances approaching crisis time, my not eating as well (or apparently as often) as I should, and weighing a good 30 pounds more than I'd like, I'm happy. Because all of these situations are under control.

And ya know what? I've got a perfectly good bicycle that's been languishing in the shed since the 2005 fire. I need new gear and a tuneup for the bike, but that's not completely out of reach either. (to be continued...)

I agree about mental fitness, too. One of the things I have done differently since starting this running program is to make myself think positively about my performance. I have also come to realize my biggest competition is me. I don't have to beat anyone else. I only have to do my own best. Once I discovered that, I started to feel more focused and that voice in my head that keeps trying to make me give up didn't seem quite as loud.

I thought some people might like this website. Choose how many calories per day you want, choose how many meals per day you want, and it spits out a meal plan for you. There are also a bunch of options: you can adjust foods, carb/protein/fat ratios, free time available for cooking, etc. There's also some options available only if you sign up, like adding custom recipes and saving your meal plan.

Hey, Dave . It's been a couple weeks, how goes the battle?

--Patrick

Doing a real huge thread necro. Got an email today (now that I'm getting emails again!) and it seems that a link on the second page of this thread is defunct. Someone has written an article about Rodale and thought it might be an interesting update. Plus if you are still into health stuff, this link may help you out.

https://leftcoastperformance.com/blogs/news/what-happened-to-rodale