[Other] Dave's Quest for Health. (aka Help a fat guy get thin.)

Dave

Staff member
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.
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.
 
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.
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. :p

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]
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. :)
:puke:
 
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.
 
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.

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]
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.
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.
 

doomdragon6

Staff member
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 :eek:)
 
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.
 

doomdragon6

Staff member
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.
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. :)
 
B

BErt

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!
 

doomdragon6

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

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]
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. :)
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.
 
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.
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
 
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.
 

Dave

Staff member
Dave. I forgot.

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



Hi tempo stuff that gets you PUMPED!
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.
 

Dave

Staff member
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.
 

doomdragon6

Staff member
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?!
 
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!
I'm 2 weeks without soda now.
 

Dave

Staff member
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.
 
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.
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.)
 
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.)

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.
 
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