THESE FORUMS NOW CLOSED (read only)
Fun Stuff => CHATTER => Topic started by: J-cob9000 on 10 Dec 2008, 14:23
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I was thinking today how out of shape I am. I could stand to be skinnier. In fact, I am not comfortable with my body at all. I would very much like to be skinnier and more healthy. Sometimes my stomach just feels... nasty.
I've dieted and tried exercising before. I failed. I thought, maybe, just maybe it's because I didn't have anyone who cared or at least acted like they did to cheer me on and tell me not to quit. So I made this thread since people in real life would just forget about it or make fun of me.
This thread isn't just for me. Anyone here who wants to get healthy with me, post along with me. Tell us what you had for lunch, how much exercise you did. We'll all encourage each other and we just might get somewhere.
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This is about 3 weeks early this year. Usually this thread appears in the form of New Years resolutions. I could afford to get into a bit better shape, but that would require giving up my unhealthy lifestyle, and I am not ready to do as such.
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I like the thread idea! I have often thought about how maybe getting into shape would be easier if I wasn't completely alone in it, so I guess a thread like this could be beneficial. I was in a fairly decent exercise routine for a little while, but exams came and ruined it all for me. But when I get home, we have a stationary bike in the basement that I am planning on utilizing, so I at least don't gain the weight associated with Christmas food. I would benefit greatly in oh so many ways from getting into shape and losing some weight.
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I've been thinking bout making this same thread for a while now.
Around mid-april this year I went to the doctor and weighed in 244 lbs, which is the most I've ever weighed. My weight had gone up 85 lbs in the past 5-6 years. After exercising on and off for the past 8 months or so I've managed to get down to 205ish. Now I want to drop the last 15 lbs and then get really toned up, so count me in.
I think every time a forum member hits the gym or works out they should post. If people see others are working out they'll feel inclined to do so as well.
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Were there any sports you did when you were younger? That might help, to do something that you are already used to doing a lot of. Like, I would totally give up after two days if I tried to run for exercise, but it was pretty easy for me to get back into swimming when I decided to start exercising again because I was on the swim team in hs.
Meanwhile, a large part of why I never bothered to exercise before, and why I started exercising again recently, is because before I only thought of it as something people did to lose weight and I have no need to lose weight. However, I've had a number of health issues recently, so when I started thinking of exercise as important to overall well-being I suddenly felt a great need to exercise. I guess what I'm saying is to consider your own motivations, because having the right reason will help you stick with it.
Also, having a gym across the street from me helps a lot, but that probably doesn't help you any now does it.
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i'm going to get in shape after i finish my finals too. i keep using the excuse that the reason i've gotten squishy is because i've been too busy with school, but really lots of people are able to find a balance and i'm just horrible at scheduling and time management. next january, a new tania.
i gots a lot of stuff to say about exercise but i don't really know how to sort it all out so this will be a relatively disorganized and scattered post. sorry! i hope it is still helpful regardless.
- if you find it hard to keep excercising, i find it really helps to make a schedule for working out and try to build your entire day around that. this way you're less likely to forget about it, as it'll become routine, and it doesn't really feel so much like it's taking up your entire day cos you can see it in comparison with everything else. normally i try to exercise in the morning and it only takes up an hour at the most, then i have the rest of my day ahead of me.
- if you are poor like me, there are a lot of really good ways to exercise that don't involve going to a gym (but still may involve a few initial purchases). normally i run or do aerobics but i also started skipping this summer and it fucking rocks. a good skip rope is only about $10 and it'll last a long time. it's also a really short, really intense workout for when you are under time constraints. i know it feels kind of girly at first, even i felt really ridiculous doing it but once you get it the habit and start thinking of boxers instead of elementary school kids it is just wonderful. running/walking is also good, but i find this is better more as a maintenance thing. i tend to walk everywhere already by default, and then i set aside a certain amount of time every day to work out on top of that.
- if you want to lose weight, it is better to do both cardio and muscle-building exercises. building muscle helps because the more muscle you have, the more efficient your body will be at burning fat and cardio helps cos it burns fat. i was told the best thing you can do is try to find a way to alternate back and forth between the two. for example, lift weights for 5 minutes, then skip for five minutes, then do push-ups for five minutes, then skip for five minutes, and so on. you end up getting the most out of each activity that way.
- set goals for yourself to try to improve every time you exercise but also be very realistic about them or else you will end up seriously hurting yourself, or feeling shitty when you inevitably cannot meet said goals even though you are only human. i went from never running to learning how to run 10km in about two months and ended up fucking up my legs so bad i could not walk for days, and also feeling like a failure even though it was actually remarkable i was able to do this (but also insane and stupid). be nice to your body, if you are in a lot of pain you should listen to it.
- don't exercise before going to bed! if possible try to do it at least 3-4 hours before sleeping. any later than that and your heart rate will be too high for you to get a good night's sleep. also, you lose weight better when you have a good healthy sleep pattern, so it's essentially all a big circle.
- other good reasons to exercise are that it releases hormones that make you happier and less imbalanced/crazy, it helps you sleep better at night, and the sweat clears up your skin (some people say it doesn't, but it definitely works for me).
these are all things very athletic friends have told me that i have found work really well, but if anyone has better advice or thinks anything i've said is horribly inaccurate or unhelpful, please correct me! i don't want to be responsible for injuring anyone.
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Uuuh! Like the thread!
I'm 6,6 and have 210 lb (until 8 weeks ago I had ~235 lb) - my recepee (I guess that's the word) (which is working for some time already) -
for loosing weight:
1. If possible, walk to everywhere you go (while being late 15-20 mins, you'll get that power stepping effect - if you walk slow and casually, nothing sweats off)
2. don't trash yourself with food, just eat until you are not hungry anymore (3-5 times a day)
3. if you decide to go jogging - don't run for a whole day, just go for a 30sec sprint(as fast as you can), 30 sec slow run, until you feel exausted
4. do a little research which kinds of food are energy rich, but have low ...uhm... levels of trash? (can't think of the translation, I'll edit this afterwards), and try to replace trash food with it
5. try to minimize sugar rich drinks
6. have something resembeling college obligations hanging over your head
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the closest thing i can think would be "fiber" and "fat". food that are low in fat and high in fiber are your best bet.
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Eating until you aren't hungry anymore is actually one of the most terrible ways to fuck up your metabolism. Routine meals at a set time of day every day is much healthier. The human body thrives on routine. Eating whenever you get hungry, sleeping whenever you get tired, shit like that is terrible for you. You need to be in control of your body's internal mechanisms and training yourself when and how much you are going to eat or sleep is much better for you than letting your body dictate it for you.
Also, shit a lot.
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M.U.
...Dude you are way to young to be worried about crap like this. For all the younger people out there:
-Screw diets and exercise. Eat healthy and find some sort of sport you find fun. Don't eat fast food and for God's sakes don't drink soda or energy drinks. You will be fine.
-If you want to do more develop a routine of situps and pushups that you do everyday no matter what is happening. I did that when I was swimming and it helped out a lot.
Isn't a thread like this supposed to be started by an 27 year old like me who used to be a collegiate swimmer and now is out of shape?
I have been trying to get in 30 minutes of cardio workout 4 times a week on top of walking to work, swimming occasionally and lifting weights.
I have also discovered the joy of egg whites. No fat, no carbs and very little sodium. Egg whites rule.
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For me, the biggest problems are that healthy food is expensive (but I still try to eat relatively okay) and that I basically suck at anything cardio-related. I'm in an awfully bad shape, and it frustrates me to no end that I can barely run for a couple of minutes without getting too tired. I know that this is something that will improve if I just take things slowly and work at it regularly, but the annoyance and lack of results in the beginning tend to make me give up, which is something I need to change. So I guess my first goals would be to stick with it, and not try to rationalize my dumb behaviour to myself. There is no reason my overall form shouldn't improve if I actually exercise regularly, so why give up too soon when I know that it's just a matter of time?
And if I manage to get into my bunad (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunad) by May, then that would be awesome.
Also, Jon, I'm guessing he was saying that when you do eat (regularly), you shouldn't stuff yourself until you are absolutely full, but stop when you are no longer hungry/feel satisfied, not that you should just not eat until you are super hungry, and not have any rythm in when you eat at all.
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Eating until you aren't hungry anymore is actually one of the most terrible ways to fuck up your metabolism. Routine meals at a set time of day every day is much healthier. The human body thrives on routine. Eating whenever you get hungry, sleeping whenever you get tired, shit like that is terrible for you. You need to be in control of your body's internal mechanisms and training yourself when and how much you are going to eat or sleep is much better for you than letting your body dictate it for you.
Also, shit a lot.
Hm... Could be that I am wrong, but it worked for me so far. But - open to suggestions. For now, I've found that I have boosted my condition (uhm - I think it's not the correct term - endurance? I think that's that), and burned the fat (belly and around ribs).
What to do next?
Also, Jon, I'm guessing he was saying that when you do eat (regularly), you shouldn't stuff yourself until you are absolutely full, but stop when you are no longer hungry/feel satisfied, not that you should just not eat until you are super hungry, and not have any rythm in when you eat at all.
Also, that.
I'm sorry for my poor english, I am trying to improve.
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I basically suck at anything cardio-related. I
I have the same problem. I hate running and stuff. I like swimming a lot more. I was the same way even back in college when I was in insane good shape.
I solved this problem by doing different stuff in shorter periods until my body got used to it.
I would use an elliptical machine for 10 minutes, jog for 10 minutes and the use a stationary bike for ten minutes. Eventually I got to the point where I could do longer periods of time.
Of course this advice is useless without access to a workout center.
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the best way i can think of to describe it is with a chart showing blood sugar levels. when you eat massive meals once or twice a day or go long periods without eating or crazy things like that your blood sugar looks like this -
(http://img243.imageshack.us/img243/4836/blood1fi1.png)
meanwhile if you eat a few meals a day and have small snacks in between, it'll look more like this -
(http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/6930/blood2wm6.png)
which is where your metabolism ends up functioning best. basically, you want to keep it as close to that stable, middle line as possible, which is done better though frequent, small meals rather than massive ones once in a while.
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What to do next?
Flexibility is also very important. Active stretching, such as power yoga, dance, or pilates provides, can really help tone your physique and make you look awesome.
I should get back into dance or yoga, yeah. Damn. After I move, then I'll worry about my body.
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Power yoga? Sounds fun!:-)
I'll look it up...
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My friend has started helping me train with weights and core so I can build some muscle, It is really fun and is actually helping keep me from being really restless and bored, plus hopefully by february or so I will start looking like a lean mean sexy machine.
Also I cannot lift my arms above my shoulders today, I would be defenceless against koala attacks.
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Ah, I likes this thread. I went from doing 2-3 hours of intense exercise (kickboxing) 6 days a week, to doing little-to-nothing, a couple of kilometers walking to work, a couple of kilometers to walk the dogs a day.
Now, 3 years later I've started kickboxing again, twice a week, which is fucking hard but feels amazing, and am currently trying to fit in yoga and swimming. Can I say I highly recommend Astanga Yoga for anyone like me who fucking hates stretching and is inflexible? It's very dynamic and strength-based but makes an incredible difference to your flexibility remarkable quickly. None of this sitting-in-one-shitty-pose-for-20-minutes crap.
But I have real problems with diet. I want to be healthier, have more energy, and if I want to fight again I need to lose at least 20 kg/44lbs. :( (I'm 85kg/187lbs, last fought at 67kg/148lbs, ideally should try and get down to something like 62kg/137lbs but that would be like 12% bodyfat :P). What makes it harder is I'm having real trouble with depression at the moment, I feel I should try medication but am a bit scared of it, and self-medicate with caffeine and alcohol. This, along with my difficulty concentrating on anything for an extended period makes it really hard to try and eat decent food that will actually make me feel less like shit.
So anyone who feels like making some sort of half-arsed diary of their progress on here, that'd be pretty sweet.
P.S. FYI I'm not looking for sympathy, just explaining where I'm coming from.
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M.U.
...Dude you are way to young to be worried about crap like this. For all the younger people out there:
I don't think there's an age limit for worrying about your health. Clearly, I have made some bad decisions regarding my health. I don't exercise enough and I eat junk food. Not a lot, but enough to be unhealthy. I'm not.. fat. I'm just chubby and out of shape. I'm 6'2-3" and 180 pounds. None of that is muscle. I would like to be somewhere around 155-160. First of all, I'm going to get to 175.
I know it's funny for a 14 year old to be worry about his weight, but I figure that even if it's not a problem now, it could become one if I don't do something about it.
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On running, I know loads of people who say "I am going to start running" and then try to just go run a mile or three. This is not a good idea, and it's probably why a lot of people think that they hate running and give up quickly. If you stick with it, it can be even worse. Running if you are not used to it is bad news, because even if you are in decent shape and have good cardiovascular fitness, you can easily wreck your joints or sustain myriad other injuries.
Most trainers recommend that people start with a run/walk program. Hal Higdon (http://www.halhigdon.com/beginrunner/plan.htm) has one that is very relaxed, and is designed so that you advance safely at your own pace. One from Runner's World (http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-238-261--9397-2-1X5-3,00.html) has a set plan, for those who want a more guidance. The idea with these is that you start out mostly walking for thirty minutes, and gradually run a little more each time until you are running for a full half hour. Then you can start going longer and faster, but again, slowly.
EDIT: There is no problem with wanting to be healthier at a young age. Learning decent eating habits when you are younger is a good thing. It's the thirteen year old girls on Yahoo! Answers with their "How cn i loose 20 lb by nxt week? i h8 evrything about my body n i want 2 have no fat except for b00bs! I m 100 lbs im such a cow!" posts that worry me.
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Seriously? I feel a bit dumb asking that... but when I was fighting last I was pretty damn fit but I've never really been a distance runner and I was pushed into running for an hour, with stairs at the end. I subsequently decided running was the devil and my trainer was a cunt because my ankles are now incredibly weak and achy and because they don't seem to do their job any more my knees have started aching regularly... and I'm 23.
Now I do walk on hills a fair amount but I pretty much went from just sprint-style training to having to jog for 5 miles over hills (I know it's not that far but it is for me!) and it really stuffed my joints.
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the closest thing i can think would be "fiber" and "fat". food that are low in fat and high in fiber are your best bet.
I think fat is good for you, actually? Fat is satisfying, like fiber. Also you don't really get fat from eating fat. Rather it is refined carbs that fuck up your blood sugar level to make you hungrier and more likely to store fat.
Still, the best thing is to think of your diet in terms of whole foods rather than nutrients, macro or otherwise.
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i like this thread. i need someone to cheer me on, too.
i acknowledge my utter laziness. in fact, i think i'll walk home today. at least part-way. (it's about 40 min of flat road, about 3 km. that's canadian for less-than-half-a-mile.) it's easy.
i never liked running. it always feels like my ankles or knees are just going to crumble and fall apart. (damn the flat foot gene.)
i need to move more, just move. i play a lot of world of warcraft and i work in IT. this = sedentary lifestyle. i also have habits that make me want to eat food when i'm not hungry. i plan on watching my intake of food. observing it is the first step, altering/controlling the intake is the next step.
the simplest, easiest thing to do for people like me is to eat slower and stop eating when you're full (or, as many diets suggest, when you feel satisfied but before you are "full".) it is true that it takes time for your stomach to say "ok that's enough", about 20 minutes, so if you inhale your food you've eaten much more than you need to by the time you feel full. (i got this from my psych classes in university, not some interweb diet thing.)
if i don't leave now, i won't be walking. good luck to everyone! post again soon.
(sorry if someone else said the same things.)
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Could I just posit the notion that the frequency of meals doesn't make a great deal of difference to a) blood sugar and b) your metabolism (putting aside the massive vaguaries of that term). I support this idea with two lines of argument.
Firstly, tania, i believe your graphs are only partly right. Obviously your blood sugar spikes after a meal but i don't think it ever really falls below the required concentration, unless you're in a starvation state. The whole point of the insulin/glucagon system is to store glucose when it's in excess and release it slowly so that you've got enough to fuel your body at all times. It's a groovy system that works pretty well.
Secondly, most of the tissues of the body don't use glucose as a primary energy source. Only the brain and the red blood cells use it exclusively. Your other tissues (particularly the muscles, given that we're talking about exercise) will use it initially for short periods of stress because it's more rapidly broken down than fats, but in the longer term - say a period of exercise more than a couple of minutes - you start to use fat anyway. Fat metabolism is way complicated but in brief it can't be done by a cell in the same manner as glucose. It has to come from fatty acid stores, not just from free fat floating around in the blood as would happen after a meal, and so the use of fat as an energy source is less effected by frequency of meals than glucose.
On an unrelated note i think the key to exercising is to do something that you actually enjoy. If you like running then that's pretty great for you but a lot of people don't. I keep pretty trim by fencing three times a week because I look forward to doing it and it's great fun as well as being exercise.
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^
What Peet said. I enjoy the exercise I do because it's either casual football (soccer) games in the park, or riding my bike, both of which I genuinely enjoy. Also the latter activity is my main form of transport around the city, which helps.
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sorry, if this has already been mentioned, but i didn't see it and it needs to be said.
after you work out, drink chocolate milk! unless you are lactose intolerant or something (obviously).
there were several studies done recently that showed chocolate milk to be the best thing for muscle recovery after a work out. better than water, sports drinks, and whatever else people might be trying to sell you.
plus it's delicious.
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Chocolate milk is good for recovery why? Not disagreeing, just would like some clarification. :)
OK I think it's pretty generally accepted that eating every 2 hours is the way to go (ideally of course, it's not the only way). Obviously just because it's generally accepted doesn't mean it's guaranteed to be right but I'm pretty confident it is. Apparently:
So then are frequent meals important?
The answer to this is a big YES. But it requires a bit of extra effort on your part. Research has shown that people who eat five to six meals per day are able to lose more fat and stay leaner than those people who only consume three meals a day.
The absence of food causes the stomach to secrete a hormone called ghrelin. Ghrelin is referred to as the “hunger hormone”. It exerts its effects by slowing down fat utilization and increasing appetite. Without consistent food consumption, ghrelin levels remain elevated for extended periods of time, increasing the urge to eat. Frequent meals counteract these negative effects Blood sugar is better regulated and because there is an almost constant flow of food into the stomach the hunger-inducing effects of ghrelin are suppressed, reducing the urge to binge-out
and
When we eat small frequent meals, we derive the following benefits:
* Increased metabolism.
* Increased energy level via regulated blood sugar and insulin levels.
* Because we're not hungry when we eat frequently throughout the day, we have increased ability to avoid binge eating.
Let's look a bit more closely at the "increased metabolism" effect of frequent meals.
When we eat, we experience "diet-induced thermogenesis", or "DIT". Thermogenesis is the process by which our bodies produce heat. The energy required to produce this heat comes from the food we eat.
DIT comes from two components. One is the energy our bodies require to digest the food we consume. This component is called "obligatory thermogenesis". The second component of DIT -- called "facultative thermogenesis -- is due to the activation of the sympathetic nervous system and the stimulating effect it has on the body's metabolic rate.
The magnitude of thermogenesis is generally between 10 and 30% of the calories we eat, depending on the amount and type of food we eat. Protein, carbohydrates, and fat each have different thermic effects. That of protein is the highest. For example, about 25% of the calories in a skinned chicken breast would be consumed in the resulting thermic effect.
And agree 110% re: finding exercise you like. I strongly believe everyone enjoys something, but have this image in their head that exercise = weights/running for miles/something else they can't stand.
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There is a lot of good points mentioned in this thread.
Lately, I've been rather sick, and it is pretty much been figured out that I am intolerant to some types of foods, but we are yet to figure out exactly what those foods are. So, to help the dietitian figure this out, I have to keep a food diary. I have to write down everything I eat, for every meal and every snack and anything I drink (that isn't water) throughout the day and write down how I felt that day in regards to being sick and stuff.
What I have noticed by doing this is it makes me want to eat healthier. Because oh god I just ate an entire packet of tim tams and I must look like a huge fatty if I write that down and OMG. It doesn't mean you should starve yourself, but I've found it's encouraged me to reach for an afternoon snack of fruit rather than stuffing my face with chips or cookies.
Perhaps if you guys have troubles with making yourself eat healthy, maybe writing it all down will help? Looking back on two weeks worth of things I have eaten and realised I had KFC and junk food more often then I should was a bit of a wake up call
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Yeah, the food diary thing can be a brilliant tool. I've been doing it (trying to, at least, so nearly every day and nearly everything, but not quite) for a few months now, and it sort of works, when I put my mind to it. I use MacJournal for keeping a sort of diary (which means I only see titles of older entries, and not the food diary content), but I've been thinking of actually just using an Excel spreadsheet or something, so that I couldn't "hide" previous days so easily, but even just writing everything down sort of brings perspective and makes me want to eat healthier, even if I am the only one who will potentially read it.
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admittedly i don't know too much about the blood sugar thing aside from those mental images i was given, so thank you peet for clearing it up. mostly it is meant to be an illustration of why eating one massive meal a day or going really long periods of time without food is not very likely to help most people lose weight. if you go long enough, it actually makes your body think it is starving and the next meal you eat gets stored in a much higher proportion as fat instead of being used as energy like it normally would.
i also realized the fat/fiber thing i posted was overly generalizing and incorrect too. you are right, ruyi, fat is important. what i meant, i now realize, is that it's the proportion of fat/fiber that is important, not just eating one and eliminating the other. basically it's good to keep an eye on the amount of fiber in what you eat and make sure you get a good amount of it every day. this doesn't necessarily have to be all bran cereal, vegetables are pretty good.
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Lately, I've been rather sick, and it is pretty much been figured out that I am intolerant to some types of foods, but we are yet to figure out exactly what those foods are. So, to help the dietitian figure this out, I have to keep a food diary. I have to write down everything I eat, for every meal and every snack and anything I drink (that isn't water) throughout the day and write down how I felt that day in regards to being sick and stuff.
They really can't test that shit can they? *sigh* I'm definitely lactose intolerant, possibly wheat intolerant and possibly allergic to sugar. I just want a test damn it! So are you going to be doing the elimination thing? God I need to get off my lazy arse wrt the diet thing.
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Dancing for five hours straight is also great exercise. People should go clubbing more.
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Um, yeah, they can test for food allergies. They can't really cure them, but they can figure out what you're allergic to.
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Chocolate milk is good for recovery why?
i don't know the details, i'm not a scientist. but apparently it contains all kinds of great nutrients and stuff that help your muscles repair themselves much quicker, which reduces soreness/pain after working out and could, conceivably, make it easier to build muscle i guess.
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Ah, but Google is your friend (more social to ask the person who mentioned it though): "To summarize, “adding protein and antioxidants to a carbohydrate beverage could help to decrease muscle soreness which also could help with recovery.”"
Pretty cool, but even if I wasn't lactose intolerant the idea of something sweet and creamy after training makes me feel unwell.
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I am very fit, I work out every day, I am 5'10, 160 lb with 8% bodyfat. I think fitness is an admirable goal and that there is never too early an age to start pursuing it.
If there is one thing you need to do when you start a new excercise program, it is to work your way in. If you go straight in to a high intensity workout without any prior muscle conditioning, you will be seriously sore the next few days, and unless you are incredibly motivated, your new fitness goals will probably stop right there. DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) can be a seriously painful thing, and you will probably experience it no matter how soft you start, but if you go all in, there is a good chance you will not be able to even straighten your limbs for a week - I've seen it many times before.
Second, if you make it through those first few workouts, but find yourself struggling during your excercise - don't worry. At the early stages of excercise, a lot of your problems will be neuromuscular - your body will need to 'learn' how to do the exercise, and after a week or so, and it has learned, you will find that exercising is a lot easier, and you may even start enjoying it (endorphins people!).
Also, on the food/drink after excercise issue, it is a myth that eating or drinking a certain substance after excercise will decrease soreness. A high protein / carbohydrate substance will give your body the necessary nutrients it needs to build muscle, but it will have no noticeable effect on soreness. For every study you find saying "xxxx will decrease DOMS symptoms", there are 2 saying that it won't. The only real cure to soreness after excercise is for your body to become more conditioned, which means more excercise. After your body gets used to your routine, soreness will be minimal - it will show up for a little while again you change routines, but this is a good thing. It means that your body is constantly being shocked into developing muscle / burning fat.
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doing something you love while working out is maybe the most important thing. i know this sounds really self-explanatory, but it is so easy when you make it a really routine thing and start setting goals for yourself to get into a mindset where all you do is push yourself harder and harder, until eventually you are working out not because you love it but because it's the only way to not feel like a fat failure and completely hate yourself. the irony is that this often happens to the people who are incredibly healthy and really not fat at all, but it's just a mental perfectionist thing.
so be nice to yourself! you are only human! and if you can't really run that far or work out for that long without getting tired it is okay because you are still exercising and trying and that is the best and most important thing.
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Lately, I've been rather sick, and it is pretty much been figured out that I am intolerant to some types of foods, but we are yet to figure out exactly what those foods are. So, to help the dietitian figure this out, I have to keep a food diary. I have to write down everything I eat, for every meal and every snack and anything I drink (that isn't water) throughout the day and write down how I felt that day in regards to being sick and stuff.
They really can't test that shit can they? *sigh* I'm definitely lactose intolerant, possibly wheat intolerant and possibly allergic to sugar. I just want a test damn it! So are you going to be doing the elimination thing? God I need to get off my lazy arse wrt the diet thing.
YES! They can! This is the process I went through:
1. Went to my normal GP, explained all my symptoms and she sent me for blood tests.
2. Blood tests came back, noted I had problems with my B12 and Iron (which was causing other problems, so we fixed these).
3. Sent me to an immunologist who asked a bunch of questions about the type of reactions I've been having and how I feel and blah blah blah and then his assistant did a test to see what I reacted to. She tested for dust and animal hair and all sorts of things. She put little drops of liquid on my arm and then poked me with a little thinger and I had to wait to see what reacted and what didn't. Nothing reacted, which meant I wasn't allergic to anything so the next step is the diagnostic dietitian.
4. This is where the food diary comes in. As far as I am aware what she will do is look at this and then adjust my diet and see what happens. Apparently there are special tablets you get made up now so that you don't have to gorge on one type of food like you used to. According to my immunologist, due to the work that this lady does with her patients, she has gotten people to the point where they can eat normally and where their tolerance increases. I get to see her on the 16th of this month.
Basically, I suggest - go to your GP first and explain all your symptoms. Start keeping a food diary and make note of what you eat. This will help if you get sent to a specialist.
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I have trouble with exercise because a) I am really lazy, b) My back makes me overly cautious about higher-impact exercise, and c) I get nervous when I drop under 50kg (my weight now), a result of me being very underweight and being too skinny to look at myself in the mirror.
I used to go to Curves with my mother for the sole reason of getting fitter. Both mum and I figured it would be less of a thing if we went together (gyms scare me because everyone is so into it, and I feel a bit silly), so we were moral support for each other. If I could afford it I would probably go back by myself, because I toned up nicely and it wasn't a chore after a while, because of the short time I would be there. My problem at the moment is that I want to tone up my stomach, but can't do sit-ups or crunches because of my back, and haven't really worked out a suitable replacement. Reading this thread has reminded me how much I liked skipping when I did taekwondo, so I think I will go buy one today. Thanks, healthy thread!
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Went to the gym for the first time in almost a month. Had a rather shitty workout where everything hurt and I couldn't put up much weight.
Its good to be back.
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Do you see anyone about your back Eris? I have a pretty shit back but I found a combination of going to a chiropractor and being very active really helped. I'm currently going to a masseuse once a month and while I don't think it does a huge amount alone is certainly helps with stress levels and going fairly regularly definitely has some impact on the pain (I get constant low-level pain).
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possibly allergic to sugar
this is horrible to contemplate
re what I eat after working out: I've gotten in the habit of eating a tin of vienna sausages after I get home from swimming. I started doing this figuring I need protein, and a tin of vienna sausages is a pretty convenient package of protein. Is this weird?
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My problem at the moment is that I want to tone up my stomach, but can't do sit-ups or crunches because of my back, and haven't really worked out a suitable replacement. Reading this thread has reminded me how much I liked skipping when I did taekwondo, so I think I will go buy one today. Thanks, healthy thread!
Pretty much any cardio will 'tone' up your stomach. Doing sit ups/crunches to tone up your stomach are not necessary, as you cannot spot reduce fat (ie. doing sit ups will not make you loser stomach fat), and tone is just muscle combined with low fat. You will almost certainly already have muscle, and if you don't, most cardio will require you to use you core muscles to keep your posture and will therefore build enough muscle to look good whilst reducing any fat you have across your stomach.
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this is horrible to contemplate
It's particularly horrible to contemplate because it basically means ideally I should be eating only whole foods. No wheat. No lactose. No sugar. Veges, rice, meat. That's my life should I choose to try and be genuinely healthy. *fear*
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Fenris, the problem with my back is that most of it is fused, so I can't bend it where I would need to in order to do crunches. When I need to bend over I used my lower back, hips and legs, rather than bending most of my back like most people. I only have a few vertebrae at the top and bottom that are unfused, so I don't want to screw them up. It is also a very easy excuse to not do anything, though.
Spluff, that is why I figured skipping would be a good thing to do that doesn't mean I have to go anywhere other than the backyard. The main problem I have with this stuff is that I generally can't be bothered going out and doing exercise; if it's jsut at home then I will probably do it, because no one is looking at me and straight after I have done it I can flop onto the couch.
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Most of it is fused? :-o That suuuuucks.
If you're into skipping though you could buy a thai rope, dunno if you've ever used one but they're heavy so a bit more of a work out.
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yeah, I have scoliosis, and two big curves (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v663/Lapuz/before.jpg) means lots to be fixed (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v663/Lapuz/after.jpg) so I have three vertebrae at the bottom and four at the top that are still able to move. Lots of metal in my back now, though!
I wish I was at home, because I could get Mum to get me a skipping rope from school. Those ropes are awesome, just right to whip your legs something shocking if you're skipping fast enough. Maybe I could ask her to get me one for christmas....
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Oh my, how old are you?? Yay skipping ropes for xmas, I reckon you can swing it. :mrgreen:
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i guess i have a little more to offer this thread than i thought, considering i pretty much grew up in a gymnastics center and could do most kinds of flips before i could spell so...
one of the most surprisingly effective workouts for me was simply finding something really squishy that wasn't bouncy and just jumping up and down on it for a while. your legs will be so unbelievably sore, you won't even know what to do with yourself. take it easy at first though because that wore me out and i have very very strong legs.
i'm trying to think of something a "normal" person could use for this purpose and i'm having a hard time. i always just used the big "whale" mats in the gym that we use for landing on (they are about three feet thick and about as wide/long as a small sedan). maybe a couch or bed that doesn't have springs? i dunno, use your imagination.
also, i don't recommend lifting weights (much) because that builds big muscles but it's more important to have the right sized muscles for your body, so lifting your own body weight is more important IMO. do chinups, situps, jumping jacks, jump in place, handstands, handstand walking (if you can balance)....that sort of thing. variety is important if you don't to become unbalanced and really fuck up something up.
and for godssake stretch!!!! Both before and after a work out.
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YES! They can! This is the process I went through:
1. Went to my normal GP, explained all my symptoms and she sent me for blood tests.
2. Blood tests came back, noted I had problems with my B12 and Iron (which was causing other problems, so we fixed these).
3. Sent me to an immunologist who asked a bunch of questions about the type of reactions I've been having and how I feel and blah blah blah and then his assistant did a test to see what I reacted to. She tested for dust and animal hair and all sorts of things. She put little drops of liquid on my arm and then poked me with a little thinger and I had to wait to see what reacted and what didn't. Nothing reacted, which meant I wasn't allergic to anything so the next step is the diagnostic dietitian.
4. This is where the food diary comes in. As far as I am aware what she will do is look at this and then adjust my diet and see what happens. Apparently there are special tablets you get made up now so that you don't have to gorge on one type of food like you used to. According to my immunologist, due to the work that this lady does with her patients, she has gotten people to the point where they can eat normally and where their tolerance increases. I get to see her on the 16th of this month.
Basically, I suggest - go to your GP first and explain all your symptoms. Start keeping a food diary and make note of what you eat. This will help if you get sent to a specialist.
Oo, I missed this somehow. I'm slightly excited now... now I know you can do the inject-under-the-skin thing for allergies, but what about intolerance? I guess I should suck it up and go to the doctor. Bah.
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also, i don't recommend lifting weights (much) because that builds big muscles but it's more important to have the right sized muscles for your body, so lifting your own body weight is more important IMO. do chinups, situps, jumping jacks, jump in place, handstands, handstand walking (if you can balance)....that sort of thing. variety is important if you don't to become unbalanced and really fuck up something up.
I disagree. It is difficult (nigh impossible) to get a full body workout with just bodyweight - and many of the excercises are much too light to get any real benefits from it. I think a lot of people have some kind of worry that they will suddenly turn into a bodybuilder if they start lifting weights - the thing is, most people couldn't even nearly develop a bodybuilders physique even if they trained with a five day split for ten years. Lifting weights will not make your muscles impractically large. Practically every single professional athlete uses heavy resistance training to increase their abilities (and this includes gymnasts).
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Yes, it was a huge step forward in international Judo when a western judoka decided that doing weights could benefit his training.
And yes about building bulky muscle - there are lots of different ways to train with weights for different results. My partner is very ectomorphic and despite training compulsively for nearly 20 years and putting a lot of work into his diet he only gained about 20kg (44lbs). Nothing he does with the exception of taking steroids is going to make him look like a bodybuilder, and even then he wouldn't do that well in competition. Genetics are a powerful thing.
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So any opinions about the vienna sausages?
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lol Yes, that. I don't have a very informed opinion on this but I would say yes it's weird but no it's probably not bad.
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to the person with the fused back:
some ab exercises do no require curling or bending your back at all, such as leg lifts, leg raises, scissor raises etc
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Well. I'm glad I got everyone worked up about health and stuff. This always happens to me and I exercise a bit and eat healthier and then lose all my steam. We can't let this happen!
Who else thinks we should post in this thread after going to the gym/exercising, eating something especially healthy, etc? It would be a diary of sorts. We'd be all like..
Weight This Morning: ###
Today I did this, this and this. Blah, blah, blah.
Although, I'm sure most of you were thinking this already.
I'm going to drink lots of water. Get a bottle of water and take it with me everywhere pretty much.
Why do I keep wanting to spell exercise like excercise?
So any opinions about the vienna sausages?
Other than the fact that they are awesome? And that you really don't want to know what they are made of?
I don't know much about their health benefits.
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:? What's wrong with Tommy?
Who else thinks we should post in this thread after going to the gym/exercising, eating something especially healthy, etc? It would be a diary of sorts. We'd be all like..
Weight This Morning: ###
Today I did this, this and this. Blah, blah, blah.
Although, I'm sure most of you were thinking this already.
Yup, I concur. Though there shall be no more exercising for me until next Monday and currently I'm drinking my 4th Red Bull. Hmm.
Also, I need to try drinking water. You are not alone in this.
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I'm going to drink lots of water. Get a bottle of water and take it with me everywhere pretty much.
oh yeah I've started drinking tons of water lately. About a month ago I had a spell of several days straight where I was light-headed, and my sister (who's in med school) pointed out that it might be low-blood pressure and that I should drink more water. My fiancee bought me a Camelbak (http://www.camelbak.com/index.cfm) to carry around at work so now I look like a baby constantly sucking on my bottle.
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Those things are pretty cool, I want one.
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yeah it is way better than any other water bottle I've ever used. It surprised me greatly, because I was not expecting that water bottles have any room for innovation.
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Don't you find it tastes like plastic though? I find no matter what you do it still kinda tastes like crap. :-(
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Speaking of light-headed-ness, have any of you ever been sitting for a while and stood up to fast and had all of these sparkly light shows go around in your eyes and make you feel dizzy? What is the cause of this? Dehydration? Not enough protein?
Don't you find it tastes like plastic though? I find no matter what you do it still kinda tastes like crap. :-(
Water? I can't stand lukewarm water but I love cold water. Cold water has flavor that lukewarm water can never have!
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Don't you find it tastes like plastic though? I find no matter what you do it still kinda tastes like crap. :-(
*shrug* Perhaps I'm just less sensitive to the taste than you are. After running it through the dishwasher once I didn't notice any taste from the bottle.
Speaking of light-headed-ness, have any of you ever been sitting for a while and stood up to fast and had all of these sparkly light shows go around in your eyes and make you feel dizzy? What is the cause of this? Dehydration? Not enough protein?
That's called a head rush. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head_rush) And yeah, it's mostly a hydration thing (for the exact same reason I mentioned for drinking more water, low blood pressure.)
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lol Not water, water out of a Camelbak or suchlike. Although water in my city does taste like fluorine, dammit all to hell. You do absorb lukewarm water quicker than cold but it's sooo not worth it, you are correct about delicious cold water.
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Thanks, Joe. I guess I don't drink enough water.
And. I just realized how awful of a time this is to be trying to get healthy. Christmas is full of unhealthy foods.
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I've got one, and it does taste like plastic more than my nalgene does. I keep a 3.5 gallon water dispenser by my desk, I usually go through one a week or so.
I'm currently somewhere between 6'1" and 6'3", and weigh in at 155 pounds. Not happy with it, though, because I have a very thin frame, so while for the most part I look skinny, my belly is larger than it should be. I want to put on weight, but replace some of the fat I have on my stomach and legs with muscle on my stomach and arms. I used to lift weights when I was 10 or 11, just legs, I was able to do a set of 410 pound leg presses in 6th grade, but after the machine ran out of weights to add, I got bored and got in worse shape. I need to do more bicycling, when the snow is gone and the weather is warmer. I used to get a good work-out on my arms and my legs with that, because I would be pulling at the bike with my arms to keep it more even when I was stomping on the pedals in the highest gear to get moving.
I think I'm going to mainly do sit-ups and push-ups, I used to do sit-ups a lot as well, but I have very weak abdominal muscles right now, so I need to get consistent. I'm going to mix in some work on the weight machine as well, someone ought to get some use out of it. I've been meaning to do it a lot for the past few days, maybe this will actually get me to do it.
I would also like to emphasize how good it is to eat frequent small amounts. I subsist on snacks pretty much, but they are usually more or less healthy, I think that along with my youthful metabolism is why despite being so sedentary, I have only gained 10 or so pounds in the last two years.
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At that weight/height with a reasonably healthy diet I wouldn't think it'd take too much for you to gain a bit of muscle and lose the belly. You know you'll feel better too.
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Yep, especially while exercising. And I want to airsoft this summer (like paintball except with realistic guns, gear, and BBs rather than paintballs), but I don't know how well I will do with the whole lugging around 15-20 pounds all day, so I want to be more fit for that. Depending on how I play, it ought to be good exercise as well, especially if I play up in the mountains, 6-7000 feet rather than 5000 feet should make a difference.
Really, the difficulty for me will be sticking to it, so I hope this thread does well. Now, I'm off to stop procrastinating.
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Yes, you should be able to do that quite easily (well, compared to somebody with a severe fitness issue). Changing a routine is never easy, in my experience.
Speaking of light-headed-ness, have any of you ever been sitting for a while and stood up to fast and had all of these sparkly light shows go around in your eyes and make you feel dizzy? What is the cause of this? Dehydration? Not enough protein?
As Joe said, one of the most common causes of this is dehydration. It may also be caused by being extremely unfit. It results from not enough blood being pumped around the body into the necessary areas so theres a lack of blood going to your head (I experience it when doing heavy compound lifts, because most of the blood in my body is being pumped into the muscles).
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Yep, especially while exercising. And I want to airsoft this summer (like paintball except with realistic guns, gear, and BBs rather than paintballs), but I don't know how well I will do with the whole lugging around 15-20 pounds all day, so I want to be more fit for that. Depending on how I play, it ought to be good exercise as well, especially if I play up in the mountains, 6-7000 feet rather than 5000 feet should make a difference.
Really, the difficulty for me will be sticking to it, so I hope this thread does well. Now, I'm off to stop procrastinating.
Good man. I must comment on the awesomeness of airsoft. I want to play that badly. Played paintball the other day on a rather large, hilly, bushy course on a really hot day and felt like I was going to die. Really need to do that again once I've got some fitness going.
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We got DDR a week ago and I've been on it at least a half hour every day. I haven't weighed in yet (nothing kills a healthy attitude more than standing on a scale, BAN SCALES), but I'm feeling more energized, and less stiff/sedentary. Cheaper than a stationary bike and way more fun.
Personally, I think having any kind of a "plan" is a recipe for failure. I can't possibly stick to doing 100 push-ups or a food diary or whatever a day. But I CAN stick to bringing fun exercise stuff into the house, or eating tasty healthy food (but not counting calories or hating myself for eating a cookie), or taking a walk using the excuse that I can listen to a new album while I'm doing it. It's not about crafting a structure that you (or at least me) will inevitably fail at or get obsessive over, it's about making gradual yet important changes to your lifestyle. I hate formal exercise but I think nothing of walking a mile or two. (Not driving helps with this too.)
Maybe TMI question for the lactose intolerant folks: do you find that dairy makes you gassy and have to poo a lot? I've never been a big milk drinker, but lately when I have any kind of dairy (even yogurt) my belly swells up and I spend 15 minutes in the bathroom. I'm not diagnosed as intolerant and don't need a formal diagnosis, but if this is going to continue I'm going to substitute with soy and/or take Lactaid.
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Speaking of light-headed-ness, have any of you ever been sitting for a while and stood up to fast and had all of these sparkly light shows go around in your eyes and make you feel dizzy? What is the cause of this? Dehydration? Not enough protein?
This sort of thing is caused by dehydration AND low blood pressure. My wife was diagnosed with a condition called syncope. Essentially this is a fainting spell caused by dehydration and low blood pressure Syncope Information (http://my.clevelandclinic.org/heart/disorders/electric/syncope.aspx), among other things. There is usually no preliminary notice, she just falls over and it looks like she is having a seizure of some sort.
Stay hydrated, you fools!!
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Lactose intolerance does indeed give you gas and diarrhoea. It also can give you excruciating cramps from said gas. Hence the joy of lactose-free milk (I can't stand soy milk so I get processed milk for my coffee. It's actually strangely creamy, which is unfortunate as I don't actually like the taste of milk).
As for "plans" not working, I think that depends on the person. They have to be reasonable goals, but a lot of people do better at sticking to anything (exercise, studying, whatever) with goals to achieve and a plan.
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Before you say that you can't stand soy milk, try 8th Continent brand, especially their chocolate and vanilla flavors. That is the only soy milk that I can stomach.
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I used to have something that people insist can't be lactose intolerance, since I am fine now. I tend to think it was lactose intolerance, seeing as that is what all my doctors called it. It left around 5, but before then, I used to have to take a lactaid pill every time I had ice cream, otherwise I would get gassy and runny. Vanilla Rice dream is some good rice milk, my dad gets soy dream or silk.
I haven't ever fainted, but I get the light-headedness sometimes, when I stand up too quickly. I do have low blood pressure, I can thank my mother for that. It doesn't happen all that much, usually when I have just woken up, or have been sitting for a long time (road trips mainly, watching movies at the theatre or being on the plane do it less severely).
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Before you say that you can't stand soy milk, try 8th Continent brand, especially their chocolate and vanilla flavors. That is the only soy milk that I can stomach.
No really. I've tried lots. My mother worked for a health food/organic place so they have really good quality stuff and honestly it makes me gag. I've also tried the half-arsed, trying-not-to-taste-like-soy-milk soy milk and doesn't work for me either.
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Welp, I just finished my 700+ page book while polishing off the last of a bucket of fried chicken from KFC I split with my boyfriend, and now I have alcohol and eggnog. I'm feeling pretty good right now.
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Cycling has been my fitness savior. I've always been a burly dude - I got most of my genes from my mom's side, and all of her brothers are 6'2"+ and built like oxen. I played baseball from pretty early (maybe 4? 5?) until I got into high school. Being the super competitive types who won league championships and such, I made the team but was deemed one of the benchwarmers. So I just quit and stopped playing sports all together. I did keep riding my bike, but I never got into it enough to keep my weight steady (nor did I care about what I ate), and by the time I graduated I was pushing 240. Moved away to college and brought my bike with me, and instead of gaining those freshman 15 I lost them and then some. At that point I was still pretty lousy with my diet, and even though I was pretty fit, I didn't look or feel it. I think my sophomore year (about two years ago) was when I really started to make changes. It started when the old mountain bike I was using had to be put down, and I started riding my mom's old road bike. The difference between regular cruiser/mountain bike and road bikes are night and day! I felt like I was flying whenever I was riding. I really started getting serious with riding and started training for speed and stamina, and eventually I started racing. Two new racing bikes and sixty pounds lighter, I am happier and healthier than I've ever been. What used to be impossible 25 mile rides are now warmups for me, and my regular rides now are 40, 50, 60+ miles. On weekends I regularly do 100+ mile rides. On another but similar note: my metabolism has increased so much that I can burn more than my daily intake of calories (2500+) on a single ride, so that means more food! :lol: - Note that this doesn't mean junk food - but good, fuel-packed food with lots of carbs and protein (pasta, chicken, more pasta, burgers, even more pasta).
It has gotten to the point where if I don't ride, I feel bad. So I ride. Fast. Sometimes I even win:
(http://img68.imageshack.us/img68/885/veloac0.jpg) :laugh:
For those who are afraid of starting a cardio exercise regimine: look into cycling. It's not nearly as weight bearing or intimidating as running, and you go way faster. :-D
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Nice! That's a cool picture. I live in a city where quite a few people cycle, but there is no casual cycling - it is windy, and it is hilly. Everywhere. :cry:
Nonetheless I've been thinking about it because I used to enjoy it back when I lived somewhere flat and hell I have a mountain bike I never use and lots of time on my hands... Tis hard on the legs though when it's all hills. *sigh*
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Mountain bikes are great for hilly areas because they have those super low gears for climbing stuff. :-) And climbing hills (and mountains) is great cardio. When your legs are burning and your heart feels like it's going to explode, it's all worth it when you get to the best part: the top of the climb - and the descent down. :laugh:
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Lets see.
Yesterday I did 35 minutes on the elliptical machine then ran/jogged for 10 minutes keeping my heartrate in cardio range then did 10 leg presses, extends and curls at 100 pounds. I finished off by doing 40 situps.
This morning I swam for about 40 minutes. I did mostly freestyle with some breaststroke in between sets. I didn't keep track of yardage, which I probably should have. I didn't stretch properly either.
I should workout tonight but I only have 2 hours of free time before I got to go to bed and my laundry needs to get done.
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What is the opinion on sodas like Coke Zero? That's mostly what I drink in terms of soda. I mean, they're still sodas, but they don't have any carbohydrates or sugars. Just wondering if I should stop drinking soda altogether or if this could be considered playing it safe.
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I got a 12-pack of Coke Zero a year or two back. Had my first can, I was all like "hey, this tastes just like normal coke!"
Then I drank more of it, became accustomed to it. And that facade vanished. It tasted a thousand times worse than Diet Coke. I actually threw up.
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soda is alright in small doses i guess, generally it's got so much sugar and crap in it that it dehydrates you more than anything. really everyone should just drink a lot more water.
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Yeah, I drink way too much soda. Used to go through a 12-pack a day, gave me kidney stones. I've been trying to displace the thirst onto juices and the like, but apparently even that's not very good for your teeth. You're supposed to water down your juices. I'd rather take the occasional cavity or two.
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Diet soda might not be good for you. (http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/OnCall/Story?id=4271246&page=1)
I dunno. If you want to drink less sugary beverages, try forcing yourself to only drink water for a week, maybe? Then if you try soda afterward you will notice how it is way too sweet.
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i don't know much about soda in terms of carbs or sugers or anything like that but i do know that most sodas wreak havok on your ph balance.
then again, i don't really know what your ph balance determines exactly so i still drink soda. no cola though, cola is the worst (plus i personally find it disgusting; well, unless there's whiskey in it :-D).
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I think the real hidden danger in some sodas is the sodium content.
In most diet sodas it's pretty low but in others it's pretty high.
For example in Diet Sunkist it's: 130mg or 5% of your DRA.
So down like 2 cans of that and you just took in as much salt as two slices of wheat bread.
Or you are like me and have no self control and drink like 5 of them per day. That's like a quarter of your salt intake.
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My tastes as far as drink are kinda unusual. Like, in college I used to drink like a case of Mountain Dew a week, but it was no trouble at all for me to just switch one day to only drinking water. Same for milk; used to drink a ton, just decided one day not to drink it anymore, and that was that, I never missed it or anything. Not only have I drank water almost exclusively for as long as I can remember, I prefer it room temperature. People think I'm weird because I keep jugs of water on top of the fridge rather than inside, but I really do prefer room temperature water.
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I do too! People always give me odd looks when I buy room temperature water instead of the cold stuff out of the coolers.
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That's because it's fucking weird. :wink:
Meh, nothing wrong with it and you're probably more easily pleased than people who prefer really cold water. I wish I wasn't so damn weird about water. I come from a city with natural aquifers and the water is gooood, then moved up here where it's out of a river with added fluoride. Seriously, I hate it and only drink it after training. Tasty after training.
Personally everything I've read says that realistically you're best off drinking only water and maybe some herbal tea (oh and be aware that green tea has ~25-30mg/8oz cup of caffeine in it so if you drink enough you may as well be drinking back to back coffees in terms of caffeine - coffee has ~90mg/8oz cup), and soda is the devil. Nothing wrong with a cheat here and there but it's really pretty shit for you.
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it's all about aquifers!
i get my water from a well on the property and it's all delicious glacier runoff, with no nasty chemicals. i never thought much of it until i went to Arizona and tried the tap water there....UGH....made me want to puke.
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Oh yum, you have your own well. Nice. I was spoilt down in Christchurch, you don't need your own well to have tasty tasty water. Wellington on the other hand... :cry:
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I was referring specifically to the zero-calorie brands, which have no sugar, carbs, and barely any sodium. Those are mostly the sodas I drink. Maybe one a day. As far as water goes, I try to drink at least 2 liters a day.
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I was referring specifically to the zero-calorie brands, which have no sugar, carbs, and barely any sodium. Those are mostly the sodas I drink. Maybe one a day. As far as water goes, I try to drink at least 2 liters a day.
I did not realise they were no sugar, carbs etc. Weird. You may find this interesting anyway: http://www.thezeromovement.org/coke_zero_ingredients.html (http://www.thezeromovement.org/coke_zero_ingredients.html).
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Maybe I should stop drinking soda.
And replace it with whiskey.
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Wow. Counting up what I ate today made me realize how awful my eating habits are. I couldn't run or bike today because of the tornado watch.
I didn't really start my diet today. For one thing I couldn't afford anything but fries at lunch today. List of food I had today...
Breakfast - Poptart
Lunch - Fries
Snack - Egg
Dinner - 1/2 slice of pizza
All Day - Bottle of shitty flavored water because regular was sold out. Tomorrow, I'm back to regular!
Even though I did not eat hardly anything. I don't feel hungry in the slightest. My stomach is content but not stuffed. I should weigh myself in the morning and not at night but I'll do it anyway.
Weight with jeans and shirt is exactly 180.
I need suggestions for a quick breakfast. I need to stop eating Poptarts in the morning once I get to school. Do you have any reccomendations for something quick-- perhaps microwavable-- healthy, but still tasty?
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Well if I'm in a hurry in the morning I like cinnamon oatmeal with fresh blueberries sprinkled in, but I don't know if you would find that tasty. Besides that, all the breakfast foods I eat are pretty time-consuming to prepare, and anyway they aren't particularly healthy because it's a lot of fried stuff like over-hard eggs.
Are bagels healthy? Come to think of it, I should go get some bagels, I haven't had any in a long time.
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Oats, weetbix, cereal, all of those things are good breakfast choices. A two weetbix (I think in America they are known as weetabix) breakfast takes a minimal amount of time to prepare and eat (put weetbix in bowl, pour milk on, devour) and is pretty damn healthy.
Bagels are pretty unhealthy - they have almost the same amount of calories as donuts or muffins, but they do have a lot less fat than the other two options (but that doesn't count toppings, unfortunately). But hey, they do taste good.
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See my idea of "healthy" is different from most people, because I actually want a lot of calories. Even when I wasn't exercising I had a relatively high metabolism, and now I practically starve to death after swimming. When I'm thinking healthy I'm paying attention to nutritional content, like fiber or protein.
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I'm in the same case as you then, I pretty much eat everything I can, because I use up calories like it's nobodies business. I really only pay attention to my protein intake, which I try to maximize.
A bagel has about 1 g of protein for 10 g of food, and I think it's got pretty high sodium. It's still not great for you.
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Maybe I should stop drinking soda.
And replace it with whiskey.
Drink enough, and you will lose weight pretty fast, like bulimia but without the binging.
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Mmm, bagels. They may not be perfect food but I wouldn't be too worried about bagels so long as they're not with every meal.
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Nah, I'm probably just gonna cut out soda. Used to have a can of Coke Zero a day, but I keep hearing about how some of the additives form carcinogens when combined with other things, like Vitamin C.
Besides, I can't drink any liquor that isn't watered down or mixed with something else because my gag reflex is pretty much shot. Except for the ones that are so ridiculously high in sugar I don't think I want to drink them anymore anyways (Aftershock and Ice 101 and schnapps in general).
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Gah, I thought my gag reflex was bad. No pun intended. :-P
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I mean, it used to be fine, and then one night I had something like half a bottle of some rotgut (Bocador 151. It's strong, it's green, it's 11$/Liter) against my better judgement. Next time I tried to take a shot, it was really hard. So I've stopped drinking as much and generally stick to imported/microbrew beers for now.
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Interesting. I used to drink a lot, used to drink lots of tequila because it never really did me over. One night I was having shots and a guy made a foolish comment about women not being able to keep up. I skulled somewhere in the region of a bottle of cheap tequila, grinned at him, and wandered off. Apparently he kept saying to my boyfriend "how is she still standing up??" Well I wasn't a few hours later, nor a couple of days later, and to this day tequila makes me gag - though I can do shots, it's just no fun. ANYWAY, point being that it's always been alcohol-specific rather than all alcohol (I also can't drink gin any more).
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i had a similar tragic night with bicardi and can no longer touch rum
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Yep, a night of tequila shot pong is enough to keep me far far away. I can't even drink the more expensive stuff- I tried to take a shot of Patron Silver and barely chocked it down.
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This is such a great discussion for the "I Feel Like Being Healthier" Thread.
White Zinfandel makes me vomit.
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that is an evolutionary thing too apparantly! i am on fire with this stuff lately.
when something makes you ill, instinct kicks in and tells you it was poison so you automatically stay away from and feel ill thinking about it from that point on even if you know it was only a one time thing. the idea is that if it was poison, it prevents you from forgetting about it then eating/drinking the same thing again and accidently dying.
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I stay healthy by doing Kung Fu.
I eat fast food a lot but I have only gained muscles because I do Kung Fu.
What I'm saying is that if you want to be healthier, do Kung Fu.
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Tania, that makes loads of sense! Chris can't eat couscous anymore for that same reason, which is really entertaining me- whose body would be convinced that something as bland as couscous is poisonous?
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that is an evolutionary thing too apparantly! i am on fire with this stuff lately.
when something makes you ill, instinct kicks in and tells you it was poison so you automatically stay away from and feel ill thinking about it from that point on even if you know it was only a one time thing. the idea is that if it was poison, it prevents you from forgetting about it then eating/drinking the same thing again and accidently dying.
This is why I was so afraid I would stop liking lobster after getting food poisoning once. Fortunately, I still love lobster!
Also, I haven't drunk any alcohol in a couple years, but it's not just a psychosomatic thing, my body really can't take any more alcohol after I overdid it before.
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Ice 101 is what killed it for me. But I can't touch any alcohol period anymore. I vomit after 2 sips of beer that was before the Ice 101 incident, afterwards, I haven't really touched alcohol. If I had a really bad day there are times when I can stomach one shot of straight vodka, and I'll choke down one glass of red wine once in a blue moon.
The fear of being in the position I was in back then keeps me away from all alcohol. Nothing like downing about one liter of Ice 101, Vodka and OJ, and this crazy concoction my friend made by combing the remnants of all the bottles with just sips left (Jack Daniels, Aristocrat, other vodka's and whiskeys). "Hell if it makes ya drunk it's okay!"
The only time I really had fun drunk was with Early Times, and a campfire. And after we ran out of it, some moron got me to drink a beer, so I puked. And now the thought of Early Times even makes me sick.
(Edit for typo)
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Oh, man. I just ate 5 slices of pizza. This was a mistake. Never again, even if it was to help a friend.
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Alchohol is nasty anyway. I can't stand it. I like wine coolers and Woodchuck ciders. That is all. Perhaps it's just my undeveloped tastebuds.
Anyway.
I hate that there is no daylight this time of year at all once I get home from school. I get home and get a snack and then it's dark. No time to ride my bicycle to burn my extra skin off! Ugh. Tomorrow. Hopefully.
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Most of the stuff we were talking about is pretty nasty. Either really strong and just about flavorless, or really strong and so full of sugar it just makes you feel funny. Woodchucks are pretty good.
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Rum at least seems like it should taste good. It smells like cough syrup, but a bit harsher. I don't drink, though. My father is paranoid about me starting drinking, and he has unknowingly helped keep me from drinking, he buys bud light, and I'll be damned if the first time I drink, it's going to be near-frozen gnat piss.
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Rum tastes similar to whiskey, but a bit stronger, in my experience.
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Never had whiskey, so I don't really know what that tastes like.
The whole be healthy thing isn't working out as well as it could so far, I need to work out in the morning rather than the evening, my evenings have been too busy and too short recently, since I have been going to bed before midnight. At least tomorrow I work most of the day, that will get me some exercise. And some money.
This whole "diurnal" thing has been interesting, but I still don't see why people prefer it to nocturnal.
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I've found working out in the morning to be better than during the day or at night. It's a lot easier to get into a routine in the morning, just slot it in before showering - during the day you tend to get distracted, and a night I'm just too tired.
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I'm just not used to having a morning. I mean, besides 12:01 to 4:00 or so.
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I will disagree with you about the rum and whiskey tasting similar, but to me it's like saying a chicken breast tastes like a steak. I guess they're both meat, so they'll be pretty similar in some ways but they are dramatically different to a person who eats meat. (I do)
My new job gives a $10/month reimbursement for fitness centers; I am for sure going to at least try to hit that up.
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This thread kind of makes me feel bad about my lifestyle, but not enough to actually do anything to change it.
The only thing I drink is water. Not even fancy flavoured water, just plain tap water. I'll buy bottled water if I feel the need to but I don't really drink anything other than water. Occasionally if I'm out at a cafe I will drink a milkshake but that's about it. I guess this is pretty healthy? Probably one of the reasons I have pretty ok teeth.
In terms of diet I'm surprised I'm not dead yet. I haven't eaten fruit for the last 20 years or so so it's amazing I don't have scurvy or something. I mainly survive on meat and grain (either pasta or rice) and I very occasionally (read: when I can afford to) eat vegetables like potatoes, onions, sweet potato and spinach.
My exercise is also pretty limited in that I work a sedentary job (call centre, yay!) and by the time I get home I usually don't feel like doing much. Especially now that it is getting hotter, soon I won't be able to move during the daylight hours without having really heavy nosebleeds and massive headaches. I deal with heat incredibly badly so that's no good. In the evenings I will usually do some work with the hand weights I keep in my room but essentially I am weak as shit and unhealthy to boot. I would like to lose some weight but that's difficult to do when I can't afford better food and going for runs or even long walks is difficult given that my right knee is fucked from when I used to work in a warehouse.
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Damn Jimmy that sucks about the knee.
Have you ever considered swimming? It's pretty low impact and it's a good way to start getting back into shape. Maybe there is a pool near you?
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Are vegetables more expensive than meat in Australia?
I generally don't eat fruits and vegetables as much as I'm supposed to largely because of the aforementioned need for tons of calories; the period where I consciously ate more vegetables I ended up dangerously underweight so I went back to focusing on substantial foods and eat fruits (especially tangerines, I fucking love tangerines) as just occasional snacks.
Incidentally, of the vegetables you listed spinach is by far the most nutritious, so maybe try throwing that in with your pasta. I like to make pasta with pesto sauce and mix in chunks of chicken and a handful of spinach. I don't know if there are food manufacturers in Australia that package chicken in pre-cooked chunks, but there are a couple brands that do here so that makes preparing the aforementioned dinner piss easy. Boil the pasta, microwave everything else, poof healthy dinner!
Also, swimming is perfect for getting exercise when you feel too hot to do anything else. One of the main reasons I like swimming is because I hate the feeling of being sweaty. But yeah, the main issue for you will be if there is a pool nearby.
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Well today I have to work more unpaid overtime so the gym will be closed when I get done. Dammit.
Well I did work out Mon-Fri so maybe having Sat and Sun off will be a good thing. I will have to do some situps and some barbell lifting. I don't feel like going out into the cold.
Yesterday I did 35 minutes on the Elliptical Machine and 10 minutes running. I worked on my shoulders with lat pull, inclined press and something else. I finished off with 40 situps. Man I remember when I could do 100 situps without even really feeling it. Now 40 is the max before I cramp up.
I ate a can of low sodium progresso soup with a can of no-salt green beans for lunch. I also had some small bits of leftover chicken and steak. Finished off with some of the awesome trail mix I got at Target with the sunflower seeds and apricots in it.
I just need to try like hell to keep my dinner low sodium and high in protein.
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Swimming would probably be perfect, except for the fact that due to traumatic childhood experiences, I'm quite scared of water and not that strong a swimmer. However, I just weighed myself on my girlfriend's bathroom scales and I weigh 106kg and jesus shit that is just unacceptable. I'm going to have to start looking at my exercise options.
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Ugh. My internet is broken until tomorrow and I have lost all dieting and exercise that I have done so far. This thread really does encourage me.
I'll get back on it tomorrow.
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Jimmy, how are vegetables more expensive than meat? Particularly now when things are locally in season, they should be pretty cheap. Around here, you can get a pound of green beans for 1.50, a head of broccoli for 1.70ish, ect. Meat is like 3USD a pound!
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Also, you can steal fruit from trees.
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I think it's mostly a cultural thing where you need red meat every day because that is how things are done thankyouverymuch. Vegies are not in general more expensive (though crappy meat is not terribly expensive either).
Over the last week I have had 10 decent meals. I need to eat more (I feel like crap and ribs aren't hot) but really I just do not want to. I only really eat when I know it'll be damn tasty and it is something like going out for lunch. I guess I don't really dig eating. This is bad for me but I don't care enough to even start trying to find something to do about it.
blogging
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We have weetabix? I don't know what those are.
Most hot cereal is quick to prepare in the microwave. I like to put an egg in a pan of water on the stove as soon as I get up, then take a shower, get dressed, and go crack and eat the egg with a dab of hot sauce and a glass of milk. Sometimes I add a piece of toast because it's good to have a little bit of carbs. The milk and egg proteins give me plenty of energy to get through until lunch.
Today I had a bacon, egg, and cheese Lean Pocket. It was kind of nasty. There are three more in the box. Less sugar than a pop-tart, though.
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i have been exercising! i went running yesterday and the day before but could only do about 5k (usually i run about 10) because i am way out of shape. it felt pretty good though, i feel alright. lucky for me too, the weather hasn't been too cold so i can actually run without feeling like pieces of me are freezing and chipping off.
i also started doing pilates again to get rid of my belly. i hate workout dvds because of the way these goddamn people smile at you in their bright spandex and act like the hardest things on earth are completely easy to do and you suck for not being able to do them ("now make your body into a W... and place the bottom of your foot on the small of your back! and relax!"), but with pilates i suck it up cos it is actually incredible for abs. i used to do it every other day a couple of years ago and had the raddest stomach ever. i don't think i can get back to that level but hopefully i can get close. my abs are pretty sore today so i think it is working! goodbye, stomach squish.
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My plan right now is to gain weight (hopefully mostly muscle) in the winter, then slim down a bit before summer. I like the weightlifting/getting stronger but hate the fact that I actually tend to look worse in the short term from also gaining fat. It's a hell of a lot better than lifting and potentially having a calorie deficit though, because that just makes you feel terrible.
Diet wise I just try to eat protein throughout the day, and also eat my fruits and vegetables.
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Today I had a bacon, egg, and cheese Lean Pocket. It was kind of nasty.
Lean Pockets and Hot Pockets are all sorts of horrible. Processed cheese and meat. Way to much sodium.
I still am in love with no yolk eggs with Franks red hot. Little carbs, no fats. My sister cooks her eggs and gives the yolk to her German Shepard. I just buy the little cartons of no-yolks.
Today I went to see the doctor and found out I lost 6 pounds in a month. Which was actually wasn't that great since I have been really hitting the gym lately and eating right. But then he took biomass readings and I found out that I actually dropped a good 2.5 percent body fat which for a guy like me means I lost about 5 pounds of pure fat which is awesome. Blood pressure was 125 over 77. Kick ass.
I went swimming on Monday, did running and elliptical yesterday and today I will do some running and light weights.
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Losing 6 pounds in a month is pretty much ideal, actually. If you lose more than 1-2 per week, you're less likely to keep it off.
I've been really unhealthy for a while now. I've gone through spurts at the gym which I really do enjoy, but once I give myself a "day off," it all goes to shit. I get incredibly lazy and think how wonderful that extra hour of sleep was in the morning, and it's super hard for me to get the motivation to go back even though my pants are getting tighter.
Today I've eaten Raisin Bran with skim milk and Spaghettios for lunch.... and a couple packets of Smarties. It doesn't help that my new work building has a coca cola machine about 20 feet from my desk. Soda is my worst battle...
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I'm pretty damn chunky right now. I'm going to fix it, but it really just reinforces the fact that my real bugbears are a kind of a pervasive apathy and convenience foods. Too often in the past I've just eaten whatever was most readily available. It is a real shame because I'm blessed with a disposition and tastebuds that'll accept vegetables, lean protein and oatmeal as readily as a heart attack inducing fastfood cheeseburger. Gaining OR losing weight has never been a problem for me, I just too often let it slide in favor of other interests. And really, that's the only part of it that makes me feel bad; maintaining a healthy weight is at worst only a mild inconvenience for me while I've known plenty of other people in my life who put in twice the effort for half the results.
Anyway, as you might guess, my only real battle will be simple consistency. It's all a matter of replacements and playing the eat-this-not-that game at restaurants in order to avoid the big ticket items when I do get convenience foods. I mean, McDonald's is never really the greatest choice in the world, but a grilled chicken wrap, fruit & walnut salad and a bottled water still beats the shit out of a quarter pounder with cheese, fries and a coke. Weight loss battles are often won or lost by two or three hundred calories a day, after all.
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i have to get a bit fatter to be honest. I'm basically borderline underweight
I'm currently standing on 127.6 lbs with a height of 6 feet
I used a converter cause i usually work with meters and kilo's (1m82 and 58 kilos) , so if i mixed up stuff, like an English type height thingy and an American weight thingy. I apologize..
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I haven't been able to weigh myself for several months now because our scales are broken, and to be honest I'm very glad because I hate to even think about how much weight I've put on lately.
The problem is two-fold: the first is that since I started working, I'm eating after 8pm at least three times a week and twice a week it's after 10pm. This is abysmally bad for your body and it mostly goes straight to fat, I'm told. There are no real alternatives; I can't eat while I'm working and there's only a small microwave which I could get to before I started work. Also I'm not taking a full meal to college with me.
The second part of the problem is that I've been missing hockey practice for a few weeks, due to parents' evening and weather and stuff. I should have been there tonight but I couldn't get there or back again. That should be fixed after Christmas but I need to start running again or it won't do much good.
Oh and I guess the fact that I only eat two meals a day and tend to eat crisps and chocolate at college is a biggie too.
I'm so unhealthy at the moment. It's a complete contrast to how I was for a while before but to be honest I've always had problems with food.
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I used a converter cause i usually work with meters and kilo's (1m82 and 58 kilos) , so if i mixed up stuff, like an English type height thingy and an American weight thingy. I apologize..
Holy crap, that weight at that height would be more than borderline underweight on most people. You must be naturally incredibly skinny anyway.
I don't know if it's because you can't be arsed, are not really into food or if you just don't keep on weight but you'll sometimes find that eating shit makes you feel like shit and you still stay skinny, whereas eating proper regular meals with whole foods and whole fats like actual minimally-processed butter or ghee and olive oil, fresh veges and meat will help you gain weight quicker and feel better.
Of course at the moment I'm on a bit of a whole food kick because I'm trying to convince myself to eat properly, take my dietary intolerances into consideration and still enjoy food.
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I don't know if it's because you can't be arsed, are not really into food or if you just don't keep on weight but you'll sometimes find that eating shit makes you feel like shit and you still stay skinny, whereas eating proper regular meals with whole foods and whole fats like actual minimally-processed butter or ghee and olive oil, fresh veges and meat will help you gain weight quicker and feel better.
Honestly, i eat very normally, Healthier than the average guy of my age, and vegetarian to a slight extent (more a matter of taste than principle), but when i'm out with friends or something, i won't say no to a hamburger, or anything of the kind. I just don't get fatter.. At all... I've had times that 2 days after Christmas dinner, i lost every gram gained from that big ass diner. It's kinda fun cause i don't have to care about weight, it's also a bitch cause everybody thinks i'm a health freak... Also, yeah, i'm built rather skinny
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Ugh. Why do I have no self control? I have broken the diet again. Actually, I never really started. I need to get breakfast somehow. Something other than a Poptart at school. I'm going to start getting up at 6 instead of 6:30 and eating an actual breakfast. Either oatmeal, an egg and toast or something. I'll keep a water bottle with me and have a salad or a chicken sandwich at lunch. For dinner, I'll have whatever Mom fixes unless it's too unhealthy. I'll come home and bike until dark and then come in and do what I usually do.
Hmm. At first I thought the musical might screw up the biking but after looking at the schedule, I guess it won't.
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It's alright, couldn't have much less self control than me. Rather than eating healthier I'm eating worse (ie: living on red bull until I can be bothered making toast and/or tinned spaghetti then waiting mournfully for whatever my partner cooks me for dinner), and have skipped out on one kickboxing class, swimming and yoga this week. *sigh*
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I've had ups and downs. If I recall correctly, I first posted on thursday, and did some weight lifting, push-ups, and sit-ups. Then I did nothing until yesterday, when I did a few push ups and a few sit ups. Today, I have done push ups, sit ups, and weights. I have found that I really do need the weights, as I am now, I can't do a decent amount of push ups, so I'm thinking about not doing those, just doing sit ups and some weights for the arms. Butterflies, whatever you call the thing where you pull down on the bar above your head, and whatever you call it when you pull on something in front of you and bring it in towards your belly. The muscles I've noticed the most trouble with are my biceps, in that they are weaker than I can believe is even possible, so I'm trying to do a good amount of work on those, to get to the point where I can do push ups in sets larger than 5.
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Your biceps shouldn't have any affect on whether you can do pushups, pushups primarily utilize the chest, triceps and anterior deltoid. Also, I'm not sure if you meant those exercises would do your arms, because if they are what I am thinking of (I don't do isolation / machine exercises, and even then the description is kind of vague), but the exercises you listed work the chest, lats and back, respectively.
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i have to get a bit fatter to be honest. I'm basically borderline underweight
I'm currently standing on 127.6 lbs with a height of 6 feet
damn and people tell me I'm skinny (145lb 6 feet.)
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For the past couple of weeks, I've mostly fixed a tiny setback in my weight loss, so now I'm back at the lowest I've been in about 2 years. Losing weight over Christmas sounds kind of impossible (..traditional Norwegian food isn't exactly all that healthy, and Christmas is all about traditional Norwegian food and candy), so I'm thinking my goal will be to not gain any weight.
I haven't worked out (properly) for a few weeks now, but I've at least cut back on the amount of crap I eat. Still not exactly a healthy diet, but healthier. And it feels good to eat stuff like salad and salmon or chicken filet for dinner, because it's so tasty and not entirely unhealthy crap, but it costs way more money than, say, a frozen pizza or pasta. I need to figure out some cheap, healthy dinners.
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Why is everything against my dieting? All three bikes that we have in the garage are all dead. One of them, the handlebar is loose and it's dangerous to use. The other, the tire is flat and won't fill back up. Last, I can't even find it.
I did eat healthy today though. For breakfast, I had steel cut oats with a little brown sugar on top. Lunch I had a salad which I ruined the healthy-ness of by putting ranch on it. After school, my sister went by Zaxby's. I had a 5 piece chicken finger box. No fries or drink. Zaxby's is reasonably healthy for fast food but I shall avoid it in the future.
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Your biceps shouldn't have any affect on whether you can do pushups, pushups primarily utilize the chest, triceps and anterior deltoid. Also, I'm not sure if you meant those exercises would do your arms, because if they are what I am thinking of (I don't do isolation / machine exercises, and even then the description is kind of vague), but the exercises you listed work the chest, lats and back, respectively.
Well, I know that when I do push-ups, it is muscles in my arms hurting, they might not be biceps, but they are in the same part of the arm. My stomach also ends up hurting, hopefully the sit-ups will help the condition of those muscles.
In regards to the machine exercises, the first two you are right, but they also strengthen my arms, the latter strengthens my lower arm, but I like that one, and I need to switch around the muscles I am using anyway. The latter one, I think I ended up describing the wrong exercise, I'm talking about taking hold of a couple of handles and pulling them towards myself, I don't like that one all that much, though. Could just have to do with needing to not be barefoot on tile while trying it. I also started doing the machine's equivalent of bench press, with a weight around 1/3 my body weight. I can comfortably do sets of 20, but it still takes a decent amount of effort, so I'm sticking with that until it gets easy.
I am very happy that I'm not having to watch what I eat for this, I'm not pigging out on sweets or anything, but I'm not having to be careful with my food either.
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It would be your triceps, your tricep is the muscle that extends your arm.
If the exercises you are talking about are this (http://www.exrx.net/AnimatedEx/PectoralSternal/LVFly.gif), this (http://www.exrx.net/AnimatedEx/LatissimusDorsi/CBPulldownFront.gif), and this (http://www.exrx.net/AnimatedEx/BackGeneral/CBSeatedRow.gif), there will be little to no arm development in those exercises, as the muscles in the arm are only used as synergists or stabilizers, if at all (they are not used in the first exercise at all).
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Those pictures don't work. The last one isn't what I am talking about, just by the name. The first one is, and I guess you are right in it not being on the arm that it gets, it is more of the very edge of the chest, another place that I have had issues with being too weak. I managed to find the second one on the website, and that isn't what I am talking about, it uses the same bar, though. When I do it, the only part of my body moving is my arms, so I would be very surprised if it isn't working my arms.
Oh, and if the muscle chart I am looking at is correct, I am talking about the biceps, I have more issue doing the down part of the push up than the up part, the down part I have trouble not just dropping to the floor.
edit: having just looked at the chart on the wall, I see a lot that agrees with what you were saying, but my body is still telling me that my arms are getting the exercise. I think I am doing it wrong, and getting exercise on muscles that wouldn't normally get it, at least for some of it. Also, I found what the muscles I was talking about are. Biceps and Deltoids, deltoids are what most of those exercise, I will need to find a new one to exercise biceps.
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I've decided I'm going to jump on the healthy train, or thread, as it were.
My problem is that I don't really know what to do in order to lose a little weight and become overall healthier. As it is, I'm basically a vegetarian, and I walk to class and work everyday (Technically they're in the same place, but still). I'm cutting down on soda, mainly because I'm too poor to buy it.
We have a Rec Center on campus where I could go to work out, but I have no clue what I should do once I get there. I know running is a good place to start, but I lack the ability to run, for unknown reasons. I'd ride my bike, except there's a foot or so of snow on the ground. Any suggestions on what I should do?
For reference, I'm female (if you didn't know), 5 foot 7, and 135-40 lbs. I don't own a scale, so I can't be sure. My driver's license (which I got 4 years ago, when I was 17) says I weigh 125, which I did at the time, so I know it's possible. I would like my license to stop lying.
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One of them, the handlebar is loose and it's dangerous to use.
There should be 2 bolts on the handlebar where it meets the fork shaft. Tighten those and it should be fine. If it's tightened all the way, you may need to either shim it, grind some of the metal away to make the gap between the sides larger, or replace the part it tightens to.
The other, the tire is flat and won't fill back up.
Is the tire itself fine? (No giant slashes in it?) If so, you just need a new inner tube. $5 and 20 minutes will fix it, even if it's your first time changing one. 8-)
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aargh fucking postal service is pissing me off by not delivering the fucking package
I will complain about them more in the blog thread, but the reason it's relevant here is because I couldn't work out today because I spent the entire day sitting around waiting for the delivery guy.
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You could have done jumping jacks while waiting.
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In retrospect, there are a lot of things I could have done while waiting. But I mean, I didn't expect the delivery to be so late in the day, so I didn't expect to start doing anything until after the delivery was made.
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We have a Rec Center on campus where I could go to work out, but I have no clue what I should do once I get there. I know running is a good place to start, but I lack the ability to run, for unknown reasons. I'd ride my bike, except there's a foot or so of snow on the ground. Any suggestions on what I should do?
Does your REC center have elliptical machines? Most usually do, and they look something like this:
(http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p316/darkbluerabbit/elliptical_machine_white.jpg)
Some also have handles that work your arms too. My campus has a few of each. They're way more fun than a treadmill, and it's really easy to work at your own pace. I think they're a great way to start doing cardio. If you have a hard time running, it's a similar movement but without the impact on your joints.
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I just realized what would be amazing. A treadmill with a table sort of thing. I could just put my computer up there and walk while using it. That would be perfect.
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I'm jumping on the healthy train.
There was a time I worked out everyday, but due to my inconsistant work schedule (opening the store at 5:30 in the morning, getting off at 1:30 or 2) I find myself coming home and just simply passing out. I work at a Panera Bread, with a 65% discount I still struggle to eat decently (Bread store=Fat). I'm a bit of a gluttonous person, I indulge in food until I feel as if I'm going to vomit. Then at times I forget to eat, don't have time to or just cannot afford it. Lately, after reading this thread I've tried the small meals idea. I feel a whole lot better after trying it, it's hard to stick with though.
I'm not an outdoors type person, I do love to float around my swimming pool, using my arms to hold me up and curl my legs into my chest tightening my stomach muscles, but it's winter and I'm moving from my parents house at the end of January. I want to get rid of my little "pouch" on my stomach, tighten my thighs (I'm about to turn 20 and have noticed I'm getting cellulite), under my arms, my lower back (muffin top), and my "armpit area" (don't know a decent term for that). I've noticed when wearing tank tops my arms appear huge, and I'm self consious of the extra tiny folds I have in the arm pit area. I look about 20 pounds bigger than what I really am.
Ugh those arms:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v98/crimsonstitches/me-1.jpg)
Thing is, no matter what I do I cannot lose that pouch, my stomach is flat until about an inch before my belly button then it's like a akward bump. I can sit there and do 200 crunches (I don't feel anything when I do sit ups) almost every day, it does not go away. I know I have really strong stomach muscles, it's just getting rid of that little sack of annoying fat I've been trying to lose since I was 17.
I have DDR, and I have a exercise ball. DDR is my way of doing atleast some cardio. I don't make enough money to go to a gym, I have fit tv.. I used to do Gileads Body Sculpt, I loved it. I wanted to buy the DVDs but never really did, and I'm not financially able to at this point.
My diet is horrible which may be why I have a hard time losing the tummy fat. I've cut back on fast food and soda, mcdonalds maybe once a month when I'm in desperate need of food.
I have a hard time finding energy to do anything, and I have constant migraines. So going to the store to shop for simple things, or cooking a meal is hard for me. I'm not lazy, I want to do all of these things, I went to a club with a friend a few months ago and all I wanted to do was sit there because I was so tired I couldn't dance or anything. My boyfriend pointed out to me that I may have bad blood circulation, we were in bed on night and his feet touched mine and he about jumped out of bed. My legs have a tendancy to be cold from the knees down. At work I'm very active, I'm running back and forth, making orders, lifting things, climbing shelves, but I get faint feeling I guess. I just feel like falling over and sleeping. I can get a full nights rest and I'm still incredibly tired, caffeine doesn't help me at all. I took a 5 hour energy shot once during my 4.5 hour drive to see my boyfriend and all it did was give me the shakes so bad I had to pull over. I'm very against energy drinks, I'd say maybe once every 6 months I'll try em, I'll be disgusted and I get no energy from them. I get shooting pains from behind my head near my ears, I get thrown off balance. When I have those pains I usually just lean against whatever is closest to me until it goes away. A girl I work with has the same problem as I do with the migraines, but I'm going to a doctor sometime soon to be sure. She said it was due to stress and the brain will shut down. I try not to stress so much, but I'm stressing over work, health, financial issues, and my dad has cancer. Found out a few days ago it's benign though. =]
All of this is causing me to gain more weight. So I'm trying to eat egg white, two pieces of bacon and a slice of toast in the mornings at work. I'll snack on some yogurt and a fruit cup. I'll eat half a salad for lunch maybe, and sometimes half a sandwich if I get hungry again. Hard to diet when I'm around pastries, making sandwhiches, salads, and pouring soups. I get one smell of one of my favorites, and it's all over.
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I wouldn't really be comfortable recommending any courses of action to lose that extra fat until you've seen a doctor about your headaches. That really doesn't sound good for you.
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I used to get migraines all the time in college. I found out that my sporadic eating and sleeping habits were exacerbating the problem. You said that you're going to the doctor soon, and that's great because you really want to get an official diagnosis, but in the meantime you might find that it helps to stabilize your meals (as in at least three per day instead of forgetting to eat or not having time).
Also, doing crunches won't get rid of your belly fat. Crunches will tone and strengthen your abdominal muscles but the only way to lose the pouch is to lower your overall body fat. I'm really jealous that you have DDR. I would love to buy that for myself but I live on the second floor of a two family house and I don't think the landlady would really appreciate me stomping around like a maniac every other day.
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to minimize that paunchy area below your belly button, you gots to do exercises that work the lower abdominal muscles. crunches work the upper abdominals more than the lower ones.
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You can't spot reduce fat anyway, so it doesn't really matter what area you hit with your crunches.
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After a certain point stomach & abs is more about diet. My house mate is a very fit guy, exercises every day running, weights or ju jitsu. He's been doing all this for probably about ten years and it's only been in the last say, six months when he decided to also get a bit more serious about his diet that he has started to get muscle definition on his stomach. I mean, he's never been fat, it's just that he's still had he little stomach flab that everyone has. It is hard to get rid of!
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Re: Runa's problems
Obviously seeing the doctor is the best course of action, but in the meantime I'd consider trying to drink more water (slowly) as well. There's various ways a person can have unusual amounts of fluid loss (which is exactly why you still need to see a doctor even if the more water thing helps; there'd still be something weird causing the fluid loss) and prolonged mild dehydration can lead to mild hypotension (low blood pressure), and that's certainly capable of causing the symptoms you're talking about. Of course, since I'm not a doctor or any sort of medical professional, odds are I am completely and horribly wrong, and even as a layman I can think of all sorts of other things that could be causing the problem. The nice thing about suggesting water (and frankly, the only reason I'd feel comfortable giving advice at all) though is that out of all the temporary quack home remedies out there in the world, it's easily one of the most harmless.
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I do drink a lot of water. I'm constantly thirsty no matter how much water I drink. They joke on me at work because I'm running to the bathroom 3 times an hour. Me being a smoker doesn't help much either. Smoking decreases oxygen flow to the brain, and can cause poor blood circulation. I am cutting back on my smoking, limiting myself a certain amount a day. It's hard, people say "oh it's just a mental thing, you just think you need them." but no, when I've tried to quit cold turkey (I hate being a smoker and hate wasting money on cigarettes) the withdrawls are hell for me.
I've had these migraines since I was 12, at that time everyone shrugged it off assuming it was just me hitting puberty and my hormones being out of whack but I'm 19 now and still have them. It's just gotten worse with stress, and they may be worse now because of my wisdom teeth.
As for lower abdominal workouts, Gilead's show taught me how to do those a while back. I do those as well. Guess I gotta stop caving once a month and giving in to the McDonalds temptation, it won't be easy since I'm moving in with a guy that I call the human garbage disposal. I met him about 6 months ago, and he's gained some weight since then. He loves to eat, and doesn't eat healthy anymore. Said he gave up on eating healthy after he had major knee surgery about a year ago.
Motivation to quit smoking: I spend about $800 a year on little sticks that will eventually kill me.
@Katherine:
I sprained my ankle a few years ago, and it's the only "running" active thing I can do without my ankle giving out on me. I love it. Plus, I kick some ass at DDR. I can do some Heavy, but everyone else I know can only do light so I look totally cool next to em. :-D
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I'm going to come down and get all serious regarding Runa's dilemma, just because a few alarms went off when I was reading it. I developed some disordered eating habits when I was about seventeen, and I recognize some of the thoughts and behaviors.
In the picture you posted, you do not strike me as a big girl at all, in fact I think you look pretty. Yet, you can pinpoint everything you hate about your body. You mentioned that you sometimes eat until you are sick. In most cases that's not gluttony, that's a sign of a bad relationship with food. Feeling tired and having headaches can be related to diet, definitely, but you also seem to be under a lot of stress and feeling badly about yourself. Talk to your doctor soon, and not just about nutrition, but about what you are thinking. It's possible that you are sick, or not getting enough of certain nutrients, but it's also possible that you could be depressed.
Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but I just thought I'd mention that side of things. The mind/body connection is pretty strong.
I will stop being such a downer now. Hooray workouts?
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the way i've lost some of my gut is working everything but my abs. doing shoulder, leg, chest, arm, and back work outs cut out the fattiness in those parts and i've started running an playing basketball. having more muscle boosts your metabolism because it takes more calories to maintain a more muscular body.
and when it comes to eating, you shouldn't' be so strict. If you don't eat enough calories your body goes into shut down mode where it'll hold on to whatever reserve fat you have. so i encourage you to eat often and eat healthy, and if you want to exercise do some strength training along with your DDR.
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The low blood pressure, constant thirst even when drinking a lot and migraines makes me think of diabetes. I am pretty sure they can be symptoms that are indicators that someone has diabetes (I'm not saying that's what it is, but it was just something that jumped out at me.
Also, about the "pouch". I have that exact same thing, and I have had it all my life, even when I was down to about 40/45kg and a walking skeleton. It got to the point that I have just learned to deal with having it; it's not that it is not annoying, but I have to remember that most people have it and that it doesn't mean I am a fatty or anything.
I couldn't find anywhere where you mentioned your height/weight, so I don't know for sure, but you look like you have a similar body shape to someone I know (although you look taller), and she is a stocky lady; not fat, more solid, I guess. The good thing about her shape is she is curvy; she can wear things I sure can't because she fills them out better. Every body shape has its positives.
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Yeah, adding excessive thirst to the feeling ravenous is kind of a red flag.
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I've thought diabetes too as well, mainly because a lot of people in my family have it. My insurance just kicked in yesterday, so after making a dentists appointment I will call about a doctors visit.
I have curves, I'm 5 foot 4 and a half inches, last time I weighed myself I was 141 lbs. I'll post a full body shot in the picture thread I don't wanna flood this thread with my face.
@ Darkblue:
I do have personal problems, but I try to overlook them. I draw and make stuff in order to make myself feel better. I do hurt a lot, past friendships and relationship still affect me in a negative manner. I've been taken advantage of, lied to, cheated on, mentally abused in almost every relationship and I'm happy to have found my current boyfriend, he is the sweetest guy I have ever met and he's a gentleman to me. Regardless of him being almost perfect I still have a fear of him lying, or cheating. I ignore that fear and tell myself I'm being silly, but it's always there in the back of my mind.
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and when it comes to eating, you shouldn't' be so strict. If you don't eat enough calories your body goes into shut down mode where it'll hold on to whatever reserve fat you have. so i encourage you to eat often and eat healthy, and if you want to exercise do some strength training along with your DDR.
This, particularly in Midnight Umbreon's case since he very well might not be done growing yet. It's a lot better to hit all of your nutritional bases and then working on a mild calorie deficit via exercise and cutting out the "empty" foods than it is to just cut down on eating in general. I mean, really, my weight loss plan basically consists of exercising a bit more and trimming off about 200 calories per day from my diet; that's so little that cutting out a can of coke a day from my diet gets me 3/4s of the way there. Over a week though that's over a 1,000 less calories going to fat.
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Good lord, I hope I'm done growing. I don't want to be any taller. 6'1" is just right.
DIET NEWS. *fancy CNN music!*
Jacob is going to hold back on his dieting and just get exercise somehow while Christmas and stuff is going on. Once school starts back, he will back in the diet routine.
I just can't diet with all of this wonderfully unhealthy food around me. I won't eat too much though. I'll watch my portion sizes.
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@ Darkbluerabbit: There is a good chance that we have elliptical machines. I'll have to go try that after Christmas break (I'm leaving the day after tomorrow).
They also have stationary bikes that I tried once, and it wasn't too bad. The machines seemed to be smarter than me, though. But I'll probably give that another go, too.
My big problem with the Rec Center is that people are always staring at me. I have no idea what their problem is, it's not like I wear neon spandex or anything (more like a grey tank top and black knee-length shorts). Whatever, I'll just have to work on ignoring them, I guess. I shouldn't let other people get in my way.
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Runa, I'm the same height, weight and body type as you almost exactly, and I'm in great shape! You look great in your picture, so don't get in shape for other people. If you want to be healthier because it makes you happy, go for it. but don't do it for other people, or for looks, because you already look great. Also, it's a good thing that you're seeing a doctor because I think your trouble exercising has nothing to do with your personal determination!
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Regarding the stomach "pouch." With some people, that's just the way your body is shaped. It isn't necessarily fat, it's just your internal organs and such. Some people are just meant to look this way, so it's not something you should worry about unless you're genuinely overweight.
Last weekend I was up at my parent's house for Christmas lunch with the extended family, and I noticed that everyone was fat except me (and except for my three cousins, who're all little girls). When did my whole family get fat? Why have I only just noticed?
Hmm.
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Here's a pretty handy tip people who are going to work out on any sort of workout machine:
Don't sit there and watch TV or listen to music that has words you know, you need to focus your mind, that way, you'll feel a lot more rested at the end of the day. If you've ever wondered why you work out and don't feel any better, the reason is that you are working out your body while keeping your mind preoccupied. Focus on your workout and don't think about anything else while you are working out. That will help your mind as much as your body.
For example. I'm probably going to go home and go through the Five Element punches with the 10/10/10 method.
Thats 100 punches, 10 pushups, 10 sit ups, and 10 leg presses. Then another 100 punches, 10, 10, 10. Then 60 punches, 10 10 10. 100 punches, 10 10 10. 100 punches (since this is the last set) 15, 15, 15.
From there, I'm going to work on my form. This whole process will take me less than an hour, and I'll feel great afterward.
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Honestly, if you can concentrate on something else whilst excercising, you aren't working hard enough.
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I agree with spluff. The only thing on my mind while working out is how much pain i'm in, how far i can push myself, and how good it all feels.
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My big problem with the Rec Center is that people are always staring at me.
At Carnegie Mellon the workout rooms were right next to the food court, separated by enormous glass walls. You would have loved that!
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Yeah, back when I was less lazy, I found that two hard, focused sessions of 20 minute interval cardio (with half of that merely as warm up/cool down time) a few times a week actually did more for me than fucking around for an hour a day with an ipod and channel surfing. Fair warning; you do have to learn how to push yourself a bit though for it to work, but when you do, it works very well.
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Honestly, if you can concentrate on something else whilst excercising, you aren't working hard enough.
Depends on what your goals are. That vigorous exercise unnecessary (er, so to speak) if you just want the basic health benefits.
My minor contribution to the advice list:
1. Take all fitness and health tips and advice you come across--in magazines, on the internet, from friends, even from medical professionals--with a large pinch of salt.
2. Set realistic and reasonable long-term goals for yourself. If your primary concern is health, then it might be helpful to remember that being active and round is hella better than inactive and slim. If your primary concern is changing the way you look, then it might be helpful to remember that you can only do so much in the long term by putting in a reasonable amount of effort. If you find yourself at a point where you feel you can't dedicate any of your time and energy to working out, then try to be okay with it :P
Runa, hopefully you'll be able to rule out diabetes by the time you read this :) the problems you describe may certainly all be related to diabetes, but I've had two teachers note that excessive fluid intake (and consequent polyuria :P) is related to disordered eating, and frequently occurs in young women such as yourself.
Episodes of excessive eating can sometimes precede migraines (ie. it can be a part of the migraine prodrome). Have you noticed such a pattern?
Until you have yourself checked out, the single most important thing you can do to improve your physical health is to quit smoking. Now may not be the right time, but when you feel you can give it a serious shot then I hope you do.
One very good thing you may be able to do right now is something you've already tried out... work out a good routine for your daily life. You can't influence everything, but you can and should make sure you can regularly destress. Chronic stress--without sufficient time to relax and recuperate--is bad for your health. There's a lot going on, there're a lot of demands on you, but see if you can take the time to wind down at the end of each day.
You get plenty of physical activity from your job. Routine and relaxation should be more pressing concerns.
You look great, hope you feel great too in a not-too-distant future :)
Cheers.
-- P, who's finally been able to return to an ordered and healthy life :o
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Yeah, back when I was less lazy, I found that two hard, focused sessions of 20 minute interval cardio (with half of that merely as warm up/cool down time) a few times a week actually did more for me than fucking around for an hour a day with an ipod and channel surfing. Fair warning; you do have to learn how to push yourself a bit though for it to work, but when you do, it works very well.
Many studies have shown that short periods of high intensity cardio will be much more effective than a long period of low intensity cardio. 20 minutes of HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training), including warm up and cool down, every second day is much more effective than doing an hour or more low intensity cardio every day. It burns more fat whilst burning less muscle.
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Many studies have shown that short periods of high intensity cardio will be much more effective than a long period of low intensity cardio. 20 minutes of HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training), including warm up and cool down, every second day is much more effective than doing an hour or more low intensity cardio every day. It burns more fat whilst burning less muscle.
Er, what do you mean with "more effective" and what do you mean with "burning muscle"?
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More Effective:
By more effective I mean that it will burn-up/utilize a greater total amount of calories compared to standard low intensity aerobic excercise, whilst also giving greater benefits to your cardiovascular system.
Burning Muscle:
During cardio, your body will utilizes energy from various sources. When the body is running low on energy, the body will start getting energy from alternate (non standard, as in not from carhbohydrates/fat) and start cannibalizing muscle to break down the muscle proteins within for energy. So essentially the body starts 'burning' or breaking down muscle for energy. It's not really that much of an issue in most people, unless you are attempting to gain strength or size.
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More Effective:
By more effective I mean that it will burn-up/utilize a greater total amount of calories compared to standard low intensity aerobic excercise, whilst also giving greater benefits to your cardiovascular system.
Which benefits, exactly? :)
You may burn a greater total amount of calories, but if you're training anaerobically (which I'm guessing you will be, if you're talking high-intensity interval training) then you'll be utilising your carbohydrate reserves throughout. Reducing those reserves won't automatically reduce your fat reserves.
During cardio, your body will utilizes energy from various sources. When the body is running low on energy, the body will start getting energy from alternate (non standard, as in not from carhbohydrates/fat) and start cannibalizing muscle to break down the muscle proteins within for energy. So essentially the body starts 'burning' or breaking down muscle for energy. It's not really that much of an issue in most people, unless you are attempting to gain strength or size.
Your body is continuously breaking down protein from muscles. They become particularly important fuel sources during anaerobic training, because they (like lactate) can be converted to glucose and that's what your muscles can use under those conditions.
It's not some form of cannibalisation, such as what occurs during prolonged starvation, uncontrolled diabetes, etc, where you have actual muscle-wasting due to the breakdown of important structural proteins.
What you're speaking of is a normal and natural adaptation to aerobic training, where your skeletal muscle fibres change to work better at moderate intensity under aerobic conditions. So yeah, their cross-sectional area goes down--reducing muscle size and "strength"--but that's not a bad thing unless your goal is specifically to increase muscle size and explosive power. In principle, it's just like the way your body adapts to other forms of training by getting bigger and more butch.
It's all about what your goals are. There haven't been many high-quality studies done on normal people comparing eg. HIIT with other forms of exercise. HIIT seems to be great for well-trained people, though :)
[EDIT] To clarify: HIT is useful for increasing performance, but that doesn't mean it's a better option for someone whose primary concern is eg. losing weight rather than becoming eg. a better athlete.
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Ok, it took me a while, but I finally bought a skipping rope today. I had to go to a sporting goods store to find one that is plastic and simple, rather than pink and sparkly, but it is worth it, it is just what I wanted (well technically not exactly what I wanted, but they didn't have a school skipping rope that wasn't ridiculously long). I will start my skipping regime tomorrow and work my way back up to the speed skipping that I used to do years ago.
I also got a cold and have been eating junk recently, but hey, I eat junk all the time anyway and have been the same weight for years, so it's not that big a deal.
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You may burn a greater total amount of calories, but if you're training anaerobically (which I'm guessing you will be, if you're talking high-intensity interval training) then you'll be utilising your carbohydrate reserves throughout. Reducing those reserves won't automatically reduce your fat reserves.
You may not reduce your fat reserves during the excercise, but because of the high intensity of the excercise you undertook, you will end up using those reserves later on during the day due to EPOC (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption), which means, due to the large metabolic increase, you can burn up to eight or nine times as much fat as if you had done a moderate-intensity set of exercise for twice as long as you did HIIT.
Your body is continuously breaking down protein from muscles. They become particularly important fuel sources during anaerobic training, because they (like lactate) can be converted to glucose and that's what your muscles can use under those conditions.
It's not some form of cannibalisation, such as what occurs during prolonged starvation, uncontrolled diabetes, etc, where you have actual muscle-wasting due to the breakdown of important structural proteins.
Whilst this is true, that muscle protein is being utilized at any point in the time, the amount is significantly increased during long term aerobic excercise - because of the long duration of the excercise, the body can run out of it's standard energy reserves and enter a catabolic state where it is actively breaking down muscle tissue for fuel.
What you're speaking of is a normal and natural adaptation to aerobic training, where your skeletal muscle fibres change to work better at moderate intensity under aerobic conditions. So yeah, their cross-sectional area goes down--reducing muscle size and "strength"--but that's not a bad thing unless your goal is specifically to increase muscle size and explosive power. In principle, it's just like the way your body adapts to other forms of training by getting bigger and more butch.
To clarify: HIT is useful for increasing performance, but that doesn't mean it's a better option for someone whose primary concern is eg. losing weight rather than becoming eg. a better athlete.
I agree that it is "not really that much of an issue in most people, unless you are attempting to gain strength or size", as I posted earlier. I would, however, argue that it is still relevant to the average person. HIIT is a very effective way of burning fat and increasing overall cardiovascular fitness in a short period of time (not everybody has enough time to go out and run for an hour or more a day).
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[Edit] Also, hey, that is pretty fantastic Hannah. Skipping is fun.
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You may not reduce your fat reserves during the excercise, but because of the high intensity of the excercise you undertook, you will end up using those reserves later on during the day due to EPOC (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption), which means, due to the large metabolic increase, you can burn up to eight or nine times as much fat as if you had done a moderate-intensity set of exercise for twice as long as you did HIIT.
Esp. in fitness circles, it's often hard to get info on the applicability--not to mention the validity!--of the research being referenced. So, small, short, limited, poorly controlled and unverified studies end up getting the same amount of attention and credibility as more thorough research.
I sometimes have a tendency to talk out of my ass, so this time I went ahead and looked at the literature before replying. The number you cite is interesting, because studies looking at EPOC after different kinds of exercise at different intensities have yielded very inconsistent results wrt magnitude and duration. Few studies have directly compared different regimens, and none have been long-term.
If you're really interested in the current literature, I can send you this article:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17101527?ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DiscoveryPanel.Pubmed_Discovery_RA&linkpos=4&log$=relatedreviews&logdbfrom=pubmed
[...]Notwithstanding the aforementioned, the earlier research optimism regarding an important role for the EPOC in weight loss is generally unfounded. This is further reinforced by acknowledging that the exercise stimuli required to promote a prolonged EPOC are unlikely to be tolerated by non-athletic individuals. The role of exercise in the maintenance of body mass is therefore predominantly mediated via the cumulative effect of the energy expenditure during the actual exercise.
It's good reading if you're interested in sports science :)
I didn't realise HIIT has a large aerobic component, however. And I'll concede that it may have an advantage in that the short duration may make it easier to adhere to.
Whilst this is true, that muscle protein is being utilized at any point in the time, the amount is significantly increased during long term aerobic excercise - because of the long duration of the excercise, the body can run out of it's standard energy reserves and enter a catabolic state where it is actively breaking down muscle tissue for fuel.
Your muscles preferentially burn fat, and during aerobic exercise they burn more fat. Can you think of a normal scenario where a normally trained individual, during normal aerobic exercise, depletes both his fat reserves and his glycogen reserves--to the point where the body can't keep up the blood-sugar without breaking down muscle fibres?
The protein the body breaks down under normal circumstances to get glucose doesn't come from the cannibalisation of muscle fibres. It's better to think of it as "excess" protein, that continually flows between muscles and the liver.
If you're talking about a skinny person who goes for a long run after a long overnight fast then I'm with you.
I agree that it is "not really that much of an issue in most people, unless you are attempting to gain strength or size", as I posted earlier. I would, however, argue that it is still relevant to the average person. HIIT is a very effective way of burning fat and increasing overall cardiovascular fitness in a short period of time (not everybody has enough time to go out and run for an hour or more a day).
They should start skipping instead :D that IS fun.
Thanks for bringing up EPOC btw. The sports physiology dept. at my uni is prolly the best in Sweden, and I'm thinking it might be fun to do a project with them on this very matter :)
cheers
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Today is the day I start going to the gym again!
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Way to go, RedLion!
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I hate skipping and definitely don't think it's fun, but hey, whatever, I think pretty much all exercise sucks. That's why I used to go heavy on the brutally effective but short options, since pretty much all exercise fits under the "Time I'd rather be doing something else with" category.
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I always say I'm going to start eating healthier, although I don't know why. Then people tell me I'm not fat and I need to stop being so insecure about myself. *goes back to looking in the mirror and /wrists*
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exercise and good diet isn't just about losing weight and being skinnier. skinny people can still have high cholesterol, and being healthy is good for your mental + emotional well being. often when people are depressed or feel like they can't concentrate one of the main questions they are asked is, what is your diet like and how often do you exercise? obviously there is still such a thing as clinical depression which affects a lot of people and for which the only treatment that works is medication, but for others just having a healthier lifestyle can make a pretty big difference in how their brain functions.
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Absolutely! Being active and in control of your life can do so much for your happiness.
But there's a down-side as well. I think most of us know at least one person who's slim and fit and healthy and active, and still obsesses about food, saying he can't eat this or that and has to work out if he even looks at a chocolate bar (eg. because of cholesterol, and never mind that in the absence of other risk-factors they have no medical reason to worry about it). Okay so maybe that's what works for them, maybe they aren't stressed and unhappy, but that kinda stuff affects people around them too.
There's just no point in being obsessive.
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So I really did go to the gym yesterday! For two hours! But, having not worked out for ages, it took me 12 minutes to run one mile. :-( And, having foolishly decided to pick up where I left off 6 months ago in terms of weight lifting, my muscles are killing me today. I should have re-started at a lower weight, obviously. Oh well! It felt good to sweat and get my blood pumping again.
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Runa, I'm the same height, weight and body type as you almost exactly, and I'm in great shape! You look great in your picture, so don't get in shape for other people. If you want to be healthier because it makes you happy, go for it. but don't do it for other people, or for looks, because you already look great. Also, it's a good thing that you're seeing a doctor because I think your trouble exercising has nothing to do with your personal determination!
@Juxtaposition:
I'm not doing it for anyone but myself. I feel loads better exersizing, and I've always wanted to be the proud owner of a flat toned tummy. I've been close before but when "that time of the month" comes I definitely do not feel like lifting a finger and then I just stop.
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Ahhh getting in shape.
Pretty much, when I went into rehab I gained like...10 pounds. It's pretty horrible, since I'm used to being pretty fit. We weren't allowed to do much. Mostly because I was in a unit with a couple self injurers and a few kids who were suicidal and obviously you are going to try to kill yourself with weights. Does anyone have any at home exercises? Mostly for core, since I Irish dance my legs are pretty toned.
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I got tons of exercises you can do without weights if you are interested PM me.
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Why don't you post it?
OH! It's something like..
Your dominatrix makes you run naked in her dungeon and she won't let you stop. That's how you get your exercise but you can't post it because it's innapropriate. And now you are soliciting her because she makes you.
I'm sorry that was stupid and useless ignore it please.
BUT. On topic.
I haven't gained any weight over Christmas break. Woot.
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Ahhh getting in shape.
Pretty much, when I went into rehab I gained like...10 pounds. It's pretty horrible, since I'm used to being pretty fit. We weren't allowed to do much. Mostly because I was in a unit with a couple self injurers and a few kids who were suicidal and obviously you are going to try to kill yourself with weights.
Wow... I am so glad that I have never had to be in that situation, or anywhere else where I'm under the complete control of someone with their head so far up their ass their voice comes though their ribcage. Exercising causes the release of endorphins, that's why doctors tend to recommend exercise along with whatever medicine they give you for depression. At least, mine does.
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We did have yoga, and 10 minute walks (unless a new kid came, then they were a flight risk and we couldn't leave). But a 10 minute walk around a hospital is pretty lame. And the room we used for yoga was actually intended to be a regular hospital room, so it was pretty ridiculous with 8 kids and 1 adult.
And Masterbainter, if your exercises are appropriate for the forum, maybe you should post them for all of us? If not...umm...that's kind of strange..
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Well.. It's never simple as a set of exercises that cover all people.
What are you trying to do? Gain Strength, Gain looks, Be healthier, or be happier?
if it's purely a start, because it's been a while since you've worked out.
You'll want to make sure you don't burn out. So for the first two weeks workout every other day. Simple exercise like this.
with no breaks in between any of these exercises...
Jumping jacks for 2 minutes
10 to 30 pushups(if you haven't worked out in a long while it'll be the lesser)
25 to 50 crunches(not sit-ups, just raising up enough to bring your shoulder blades off the ground)
Stand up and stop hopping for 2 minutes
and repeat... turn on some music and try to keep this up for 30 minutes straight.
It'll be very hard the first few times because your cardio will most likely be weak.
Towards the end of the 2 week cycle you'll notice how it is becomming easier.
I suggest if you can to do walk/sprints if you don't like the pushup and crunches.
Again. There is so many different exercises tailored for people with different goals and levels of fitness.
I can usually put together routines off the top of my head, but I will probably leave someone out... Which is why i requested PMs.
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Wow... I am so glad that I have never had to be in that situation, or anywhere else where I'm under the complete control of someone with their head so far up their ass their voice comes though their ribcage. Exercising causes the release of endorphins, that's why doctors tend to recommend exercise along with whatever medicine they give you for depression. At least, mine does.
Uh, see, you're not properly accounting for the fact that with enough determination people have managed to kill themselves with their own shoelaces. My aunt is a social worker specializing in troubled teens and she's got a bridge in her mouth from when an angry youth hit her in the face with a dumbell when she stopped by their place to check in. Another time, a young lady actually managed to kick out the windshield in her car. Apparently it's easier to do from the inside provided you apply steady pressure. I guess the trick is to either break the seal that actually keeps the glass in place or to be a 17 year old meth addict fueled by pure, unfocused rage. Young people who are going in and out of rehab do crazy things sometimes.
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Yes, but see, here's the thing. If they can kill themselves with shoelaces, they can find some way to do it, barring you rubber rooming them in a straitjacket, and even then they might be able to choke themselves on their own blood, don't know if that's actually possible, haven't tried it or looked it up. If you don't want them using dumbbells, how about a weight machine with the pulley system? They might be able to smash their heads with the weights, but that would be difficult, and I'm certain there would be an easier way to do it.
And are suicide rehab places and drug rehab places the same thing? I honestly don't know many details, I never asked, probably for my own mental health.
Honestly, speaking as a person with clinical depression, the description of the way things seem like they work in rehab makes me think that unless you stuffed me with enough happy pills to kill an elephant, I would just end up more depressed, therefore more pissed off, therefore more likely to be violent. Hopefully they would notice that and adjust the treatment so that I wouldn't try to repaint the walls of the rehab home, but I have no confidence whatsoever in any programs to help minors with issues, having seen a couple of them (not attending, knowing people that are in them).
The situation Hartley was in appears to be somewhat different than I thought it was, though. I thought they didn't let them exercise at all, no weights is better than no exercise.
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The important distinction I'm trying to make here is that limiting the scope of activities in the name of tighter supervision isn't just a case of people at these facilities having their heads up their asses. And yes, there can be an awful lot of overlap between the behaviors that happen at a rehab clinic and a mental health ward, since many people turn to drugs because that's their misguided way of coping with their problems. For example, my former stepfather suffered from depression, and drugs and alcohol was part of how he attempted to cope with it. Many of these people have a whole grab bag of issues to contend with and trying to deal with one issue at a time can be a recipe for failure. In my stepfather's case, his inability to deal with his issues never led to a suicide attempt, but it did lead to suicidal ideation and a stint at a rehab clinic with some suicide precautions. After all, he had a failed marriage, a drug habit and enough moral fiber to be deeply, deeply ashamed of what this put his family through. Honestly, he was a wreck, and I kind of doubt he would have got much exercise even if they had personal trainers on staff.
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Sitting here extremely bored at work. So, I decided to give a *core workout for ya. *=midsection: mostly abs, olbiques(sides) and lower back.
I'll explain each exercise at the end so there is minimal confusion.
Exercise Reps(how many times you perform the action) Sets(how many times you do the set of reps)
(1)Crunches 35 - 60 3
(2)side Crunches 20 - 40 2 each side
(3)Skydiver 10 reps each side 4
(4)suck ins hold for 10 seconds, 10 times 2
(5)full leg lifts 5 seconds up, 5 seconds down, 10 - 20 3
(1) Crunches - Laying flat on your back with your feet flat on the floor (knees bent). You may either cross your arms over your chest and hold your hands on your shoulders(sorry if ya got big boobs it may not work as easy for ya) or for more resistance clasp hands behind your head like you are a prisoner of war. Lift you shoulders up off the ground. Your shoulder blades should just come up off the ground and you should fell it right in your gut. It's especially important to feel the muscle working to you can even place your hands on your belly the first few times to help yourself to learn to isolate that area while doing the crunch.
(2) Side Crunch - Lay exactly like you were during the crunches, but act as though you have tipped over. Which ever side is on the ground place that arm out along the ground with the hand flat on the ground. The other hand should be on the back of your head. You will squeeze with your sides (feeling the squeeze between your bottom ribs and your upper hips). You should only be moving 3 inches, it's not alot of movement but you will feel it. Again, if you are having trouble isolation it, try placing your hand on your side to help your body figure out where it should be putting the stress of the movement.
(3)Skydiver - This one will feel goofy the first few times you do it and guys you might have to adjust your junk before you do it as well. The Exercise involves strattling a pole naked and.. haha jk.. You will actually be laying on your belly flat with your hands above you head and your legs straight. You will lift up your right arm and left leg for 1 second and then lift you left arm and right leg for 1 second. Your whole chest on the side you lift should come off the ground and the opposite hip and leg should be rais completely off the ground as well. You will feel it in those little back straps you have above the sensative area above your buttocks. (its the little area where your hip connects to your backbone)
(4)Suck ins - This one is done because people that are out of shape or not strong in the mid section (or any female that's had a baby) can delvelope Diastacis Recti(DR) It's the seperation of the two "6 pack muscles" where you get a gap starting above your belly button up to your strenum. You can have a ripped stomach and have this, and it's hard to treat but if you do this exercise every time you work your abs you can prevent or stop it from getting worse. Lay on your back just like you did with the crunchs feet flat and all. Place your two pointer and middle finger right below your belly button. Now imagine a string pulling your belly button down to the floor. As you suck in continue to breath normally with yoru diaphram. You won't have to suck in much. Once you feel the muscle below your belly button tighten (if you can feel through whatever may be between your skin and muscle :) ), Hold it and count to 10 breathing normally. Release and repeat. It really doesn't feel like you are doing a lot, In fact it's not really a muscle you can feel unless someone socks you in the gut really hard and you are not flexing.. That sick feeling is related to this "inner ab" muscle.
(5) Full Legs lifts - (DISCLAIMER - IF YOU DO THIS IMPROPERLY YOU WILL HURT YOUR BACK AND POSSIBLE CAUSE YOURSELF DR) Lay flat on back with hands under your buttox to help support your back. legs straight. Lift legs up slowly till you are almost making and "L" You will do this slowly. again just saying slowly so you get my point. Count to five like this: one-one-thousand, two-one-thousand, ect, on the way up and once you reach the peak count the same way to five on the way down. If you do it right you'll feel it and hate it. If you do it wrong you'll be thinking this is too EZ and eventually end up having back problems months later.
I hope this helps some of you that don't have axcess to machines/weights. I do have plenty more exercises you can do right in your own home that requires no weights. Feel free to ask!
Edit: shitty spelling and spaces and stuff...
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(1) Crunches - Laying flat on your back with your feet flat on the floor (knees bent). You may either cross your arms over your chest and hold your hands on your shoulders(sorry if ya got big boobs it may not work as easy for ya) or for more resistance clasp hands behind your head like you are a prisoner of war. Lift you shoulders up off the ground. Your shoulder blades should just come up off the ground and you should fell it right in your gut. It's especially important to feel the muscle working to you can even place your hands on your belly the first few times to help yourself to learn to isolate that area while doing the crunch.
I wanna nitpick this:
You should not put your hands behind your head. That is a fantastic way of messing up your neck because your instinct while doing that exercise is to force yourself up, especially as you begin to get more tired.
What you can do is have your hands in "guards up." This is basically if you were trying not to get punched in the ears, your hands are in fists near your temples, with your elbows down. That way you don't strain your neck.
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(1) Crunches - Laying flat on your back with your feet flat on the floor (knees bent). You may either cross your arms over your chest and hold your hands on your shoulders(sorry if ya got big boobs it may not work as easy for ya) or for more resistance clasp hands behind your head like you are a prisoner of war. Lift you shoulders up off the ground. Your shoulder blades should just come up off the ground and you should fell it right in your gut. It's especially important to feel the muscle working to you can even place your hands on your belly the first few times to help yourself to learn to isolate that area while doing the crunch.
I wanna nitpick this:
You should not put your hands behind your head. That is a fantastic way of messing up your neck because your instinct while doing that exercise is to force yourself up, especially as you begin to get more tired.
What you can do is have your hands in "guards up." This is basically if you were trying not to get punched in the ears, your hands are in fists near your temples, with your elbows down. That way you don't strain your neck.
sounds good to me. It just depends on the dicipline of the person doing them. But some do tend to pull on their head if they clasp behind the head.
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Honestly, the extra resistance from arm location is almost negligible.
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I always do sit ups and crunches with my hands in front of my face.
I figure you use the wrong muscles if you have your hands in the back of your neck.
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How are you using the wrong muscles? It seems to make it "burn" more for me when I put my hands behind my head, and I see better results from it.
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Honestly, the extra resistance from arm location is almost negligible.
True to a point.. really depends on the shape you are in and how many reps you are pulling.
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Honestly, the extra resistance from arm location is almost negligible.
not true.
i have a problem with tossing my arms forward to get momentum when i'm not consciously keeping them by my head. its enough to make a pretty big difference.
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That's not about the extra resistance of your arms, that is a matter of form. If you don't do it correctly obviously it's going to make a difference.
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Huuuuuh. I'm going to need the hit the gym extra hard tomorrow and start getting rid of this holiday flub.
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That's not about the extra resistance of your arms, that is a matter of form. If you don't do it correctly obviously it's going to make a difference.
Technique(form) is key so this is exactly right. I would have to say when I do put hands behind my head it deffinately adds resistance.. but sometimes I hold a medicine ball when doing inclines or wear weighted gloves.. So it all depends what you are doing.
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Huuuuuh. I'm going to need the hit the gym extra hard tomorrow and start getting rid of this holiday flub.
My sister went to the gym the day after Christmas. She reported that the place was packed. I'm guessing it was lots of people with the exact same thought, that they need to work off their holiday flab. I would imagine maybe 10% will still be hitting the gym after New Year's.
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I'm sure a lot more will be, due to new years resolutions.
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oh yeah right. So give it two weeks for the numbers to settle.
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Runa, I'm the same height, weight and body type as you almost exactly, and I'm in great shape! You look great in your picture, so don't get in shape for other people. If you want to be healthier because it makes you happy, go for it. but don't do it for other people, or for looks, because you already look great. Also, it's a good thing that you're seeing a doctor because I think your trouble exercising has nothing to do with your personal determination!
@Juxtaposition:
I'm not doing it for anyone but myself. I feel loads better exersizing, and I've always wanted to be the proud owner of a flat toned tummy. I've been close before but when "that time of the month" comes I definitely do not feel like lifting a finger and then I just stop.
Completely agreed. I'd love a six pack, just for my own personal happiness, but I just don't have the genetics to be much thinner than I am without being unhealthy. I'm always going to have that little muffin top, and I'm probably the only one who will ever notice.
Right now I'm doing a silly loophole filled diet with my mom just to support her. It's called the "no S diet", and the rules go like this: No sweets, snacks or seconds except on days starting with an s or special occasions. I've found this works pretty well if I don't go crazy on the weekends and I eat 5-6 small meals a day. The best thing it's done for me, I think, is encourage me to eat more small meals, which considering my borderline hypoglycemia I really should be doing anyway. Also, it keeps me from sitting down to a whole bag of salt and vinegar chips, which is my biggest weakness.
Also, I'm trying to ride my bike every morning. It'll be hard with the fact that I'll be leaving for school at 7:30 every day soon. I'm doing a 10 minute abs every day and at least an hour (two or three is better) of something else (bike riding, bellydance, bellydance fitness videos, skiing when portland has incredible crazy snowstorms, hiking with a weighted pack, aerial dance, contra dance, whatever else is going on.) I'm doing pretty ok at this, though mostly these days it's the videos at home with my family, because I'm too lazy to go out.
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january tends to be the busiest month for most gyms as so many people make it their new year's resolution to get healthy. you may be better off exercising some other way. the good news is that most of the aforementioned people abandon their resolutions pretty quick, so by february or even the end of january you should have much better luck.
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I'd love a six pack, just for my own personal happiness, but I just don't have the genetics to be much thinner than I am without being unhealthy.
That's just a cop out. Everybody can get get a six pack, it's just a matter of frequent, hard excercise (provided you've gotta a pretty okay diet, anyway).
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Well, I eat collard greens and brussels sprouts and brown rice because I like them, I excercise 2+ hours a day with no more than one day off a week, and I just spent 11 weeks living outside and doing hard physical labor 40+ hours a week while also doing daily push ups and 5+ miles a day of walking (to and from work) as well as trail running, pull ups, partner acrobatics on the weekend and occasional yogo. While I was doing this I ate muesli, pbjs and beans & rice almost exclusively (since that's what was available.) I started off in decent shape and lost 20 lbs-ish. But I still have a layer of fat over my stomach. I'm beginning to think that it really is just genetics, since many people I know can get rid of belly fat pretty quickly and easily. crunches for a month? tada - instant abs! Genetics does come into play.
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I'd love a six pack, just for my own personal happiness, but I just don't have the genetics to be much thinner than I am without being unhealthy.
That's just a cop out. Everybody can get get a six pack, it's just a matter of frequent, hard excercise (provided you've gotta a pretty okay diet, anyway).
Yeah not exactly. Lots of people have great difficulty getting abs, some people have difficulty building any bulk or definition though they'll get stronger and more "in shape". Abs do seem to be a lot to do with genetics, both natural fat distribution and how your abs are shaped. If you've ever looked at a whole lot of fitness models/bodybuilders you'll know what I mean about different shaped abs, it's quite interesting.
The the OK diet + frequent hard exercise won't even make some people look slim (no really, I know some incredibly fit people with good diets who look chubby and unassuming. Sucks man.). That's not to say that people with unhelpful genetics can't necessarily get a fitness-esque body or abs but it might be more effort than it's worth.
Interestingly my partner's sister only really got proper abs after she had kids. She's very skinny (they all are, stringbeans!), very active, fairly muscular arms and legs but never had any definition until after having babies. Obviously it's a lot harder for women anyway. :-P
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Completely agreed. I'd love a six pack, just for my own personal happiness, but I just don't have the genetics to be much thinner than I am without being unhealthy. I'm always going to have that little muffin top, and I'm probably the only one who will ever notice.
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Girls with 6 Packs can be attractive but usually for them to get to that they lose alot of the "good" fat that males like. I much rather have a curveous female that isn't too chunky than a super thin stick with no booty, if ya catch my drift ;)
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I've got a six pack.
Who am I kidding.
I've got an eight pack.
I do a lot of sit ups.
I did 85 today mixed in with 85 pushups and 85 leg presses. Also, between that, there was first doing the Tiger Crane 108, and doing punches. Then we learned how to choke and strangle people.
Acutally, if I'm gonna be honest about this work out...
We did 25 punch-kick-punch combos on each side (right leg, then left)
Then we did 25 push ups, held at halfway down for 25 seconds, then did 100 kicks (kicking down the wall)
After that 25 knee ups on each side, then 25 lock leg kicks.
Also, I'm not including when we held positions.
Then we did Poison Hands/Iron body. 10 pushups/situps/leg presses. Leopard, 10 pushups/situps/leg presses. Snake, 10 pushups/situps/leg presses.. Tiger, 10 pushups/situps/leg presses.. Backwards to snake again, 15 pushups/situps/leg presses.
And that was just the first class.
In the second class (the beginners class) which I stayed for because I'm an assistant and a badass, we did 100s of punches with push ups and situps and leg presses. And I love the feeling of being sore. It means I got better.
What I am saying is that if you want a good workout, do Kung Fu.
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I've got a six pack.
Who am I kidding.
I've got an eight pack.
I do a lot of sit ups.
I did 85 today mixed in with 85 pushups and 85 leg presses. Also, between that, there was first doing the Tiger Crane 108, and doing punches. Then we learned how to choke and strangle people.
Acutally, if I'm gonna be honest about this work out...
We did 25 punch-kick-punch combos on each side (right leg, then left)
Then we did 25 push ups, held at halfway down for 25 seconds, then did 100 kicks (kicking down the wall)
After that 25 knee ups on each side, then 25 lock leg kicks.
Also, I'm not including when we held positions.
Then we did Poison Hands/Iron body. 10 pushups/situps/leg presses. Leopard, 10 pushups/situps/leg presses. Snake, 10 pushups/situps/leg presses.. Tiger, 10 pushups/situps/leg presses.. Backwards to snake again, 15 pushups/situps/leg presses.
And that was just the first class.
In the second class (the beginners class) which I stayed for because I'm an assistant and a badass, we did 100s of punches with push ups and situps and leg presses. And I love the feeling of being sore. It means I got better.
What I am saying is that if you want a good workout, do Kung Fu.
EDIT: I'M A DICK
I hear ya.. I always feel so good for like a day after working out, why i'm addictied to hitting the gym.
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So for the last few months I'd been feeling pretty gross, physically. The onset of Winter caused me to stay at home and stationary for prolonged periods of time, and I began to feel fat. I'm not terribly overweight, but I probably qualify for the title. This feeling of fatness contributed to my usual psychological doldrum periods. So after the holidays (the family dinner feast of which was canceled, luckily for me but unluckily for my cousin who suffered an aneurysm Christmas morn) I made a new year's resolution, like millions of others, to take better care of myself.
I've been doing alright so far. Every 2-3 days I undergo a workout regimen of my own rather uninformed design. I will ride our stationary bike over random simulated terrain for 15 minutes (covering about 4 miles, and burning around 90 calories) and then run a mile and a half on the treadmill. I have tried running outside, but I invariably slow down to a jog. The treadmill forces me to maintain a constant speed, so it is preferable. I start off at an amiable pace then after a minute thirty I increase the speed by a mile an hour and keep that up for a minute and a half. After that I slow down by half a mile an hour for a minute, then the cycle repeats itself. The slower intervals allow me to water myself as needed. As I near the end of my run I will generally wing it and go for longer periods at the faster speed. I started out running about a mile (+.2 miles cooldown) but tania was typing about her 5k runs and I felt that I should aspire to that, so I've been adding .1 or .2 miles to the run every time I start, and I haven't worn myself out yet. Currently I am at 1.8 miles (not including cooldown)
I try to run / bike every day, but on odd numbered days I add some various weight exercises as well.
I used to do things this way but it was not particularly enjoyable for me. I worked out in anticipation of a trip, during which I did a lot of physical labor. The workouts did not end up helping. So in addition to my routine being broken for an extended period I returned feeling rather discouraged about what exercise was doing for me, although I had noticeable increases in muscle tone, particularly in my shoulders for whatever reason.
But this time it's actually been enjoyable for me, because I've been doing things differently. Change #1, by far the most important, is that I've been keeping myself hydrated. Before I didn't even drink water in anticipation of exercise, sticking to sugary teas and sodas. As I strained during exercise I became dehydrated and supremely uncomfortable. Drinking lots of water has improved my stamina tremendously. Change #2 is that I'm stretching now, if to a limited degree, and it's kept my muscles from being sore and increased my stamina to some degree. Always before, after when I remember to do so. Change #3 is that I'm not running under the influence of sleeping pills.
There are a number of obstacles to overcome in order for me to get in shape. The biggest ones are the most obvious and common ones. I have to stay on routine, and I have to watch what I eat. The latter is going to be very difficult, as the stomach wants what it wants. Generally what it wants isn't usually terrible, but it's not often good. Lately I've developed a taste for salad, salmon and vermicelli pasta, which is beneficial, but I still have my lapses. With school coming up and the free time / sleep deficits that will bring, my regimen will come under further jeopardy.
One thing I've noticed is that after my workouts I have an irresistible sweet tooth. I guess my body needs to rebound from all the calorie burning. I'm trying to steer myself towards sugary cereals instead of ice cream and candy, trying to meet myself halfway, heh.
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I guess it's also worth mentioning that I experienced the fabled "runner's high" tonight. I ran my allotted 1.7 miles, stopped, refilled my water, and found myself feeling surprisingly not tired, and conscious of my love handles. So after a short breather I got back on the old 'mill and hammered out an extra 2 miles, essentially exceeding my 5k goal several weeks ahead of schedule. And I had a lot of fun doing it, and I felt really great. If I can replicate that consistently (I'm hoping to run 30 minutes every day even into the semester, which with the new job is going to be tough) I stand to gain quite a bit.
The soles of my feet, meanwhile, are furious.
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Health thread, I am going to build myself a squat rack (with safety rails). This is something I am pretty excited about - I'm aiming to make it hold about 400 lb which shouldn't be too hard, provided I can get the joints together right.
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Health thread, I've changed my diet to help me lose more weight and be healthier. I'm gonna try and cut down on my dairy, and I've already cut out red meat because eurgh. I've also stopped having cereal for breakfast and instead am starting my day with a "green juice" smoothie, which is really tasty and I can feel the difference in how energised I am through the day. So January is looking to be a really healthy month for me, except for the cookie dough ice cream I had last night, but everyone has to treat themselves occasionally.
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Health thread, I've changed my diet to help me lose more weight and be healthier. I'm gonna try and cut down on my dairy, and I've already cut out red meat because eurgh. I've also stopped having cereal for breakfast and instead am starting my day with a "green juice" smoothie, which is really tasty and I can feel the difference in how energised I am through the day. So January is looking to be a really healthy month for me, except for the cookie dough ice cream I had last night, but everyone has to treat themselves occasionally.
Hey, I'm really interested in stuff that is healthy for food. If anyone has some great nutritional knowledge. Please let us know some easy but healthy things we can drink eat!
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Oh hey, this thread. I need to get back to it, I was gone for 10 days and didn't do any exercising, and haven't done any since I got back. I was thinking about bringing this thread back, so I would be reminded more often.
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juice tends to have a lot of calories and a LOT of sugar. you can get a lot of vitamins from juice but you don't really need a full glass, especially with something like orange juice where just 250 ml (one cup) will probably have all the vitamic c you need for the day. drink a smaller amount of juice diluted with water instead.
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Does anyone know if there's a similar program for improving cardio? Like, I know what the end goal would probably be, but I don't really know how I would increment between steps.
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I have heard good things about the Couch to 5K running plan (http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml), and considered trying it myself more than once.
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Through another forum some of you will be familiar with, I found this. (http://hundredpushups.com/index.html) I ended up in column three. I'm starting tomorrow!
Man, I hate to break it to you, but that is a silly website.
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I have heard good things about the Couch to 5K running plan (http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml), and considered trying it myself more than once.
I did this one summer.
It worked.
I was shocked and awed. I went from never having run a kilometer in my entire life to 5K. It was awesome.
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Doing 100 push ups is pretty useless. Sets of 20 are the best. And if you only do push ups for excersize you'll build up some muscle but not really get any cardiovascular excersize from it. Its best to put push ups into another work out routine to help build your arm and chest muscles.
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You can improve your attitude towards working out and still do something that will actually be useful, dude. There's no need to just do pushups before you feel like your attitude is good enough to do something that will actually help you out. If you tailor your workout to your own body you shouldn't have any problems with a real routine.
If you are already heaving for air at the end of the 15 minutes, than consider your workout finished, or, take a decent break before doing the same thing again - don't ramp up the intensity when what you are already doing is clearly having effects.
The easiest (and most accurate) way of knowing what is right for your body is by paying attention to the signs it is giving you. For example, there are people I know who do ten rep sets of 150 kg bench presses - which is too heavy for me. On the other side, there are people who do ten rep sets of 70 kg, which is too light. By knowing my bodies limits, and listening to the signals it gives me, I can determine how hard I should be working.
The same applies to cardiovascular fitness - if your heart rate is at a high level, then you don't need to push any harder. An exercise program might be a good reference to base your own program on, but you should adapt it to fit your needs. Push yourself only as hard as you feel comfortable, at least to begin. When you've gotten a bit fitter is when you can start going about trying to hit your workout as hard as you possibly can - provided you want to, that is.
That said, after the first one or two workouts, you will be sore. That is just a fact of life, I'm afraid - and it applies to running, lifting, doing 100 pushups, whatever.
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If you think the 100 Pushups site is going to motivate you to get into a regular workout routine, then go for it Jeans! At the very least, it is going to have you moving more than you were before you started it so it is a win/win situation.
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The program that set fifteen minutes as an initial warmup exercise was a general fitness thing, not just cardio - and it was set up by a personal trainer (it came free with the most useless gym membership I ever signed). I dunno. I just figured that if this is how professional fitness trainers do it, it would be the right thing to do. Maybe not, though.
Wow, that person sounds like an absolutely terrible personal trainer. If you're too incapacitated to finish a workout during the warm up, they are telling you something wrong and should modify the instructions they give you. A warm up is supposed to warm you up, increasing blood flow to your muscles so you are less likely to get injured during the rest of your workout. A trainer should also know that most people do best with brisk walking, adding running as their body adapts to it. It's their job to make you work hard, not to make you hate exercise and possibly injure you.
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Did my first leg workout in about 2 months yesterday. 3 sets each of squats, leg press, lunges, leg extensions, leg curls, and calf raises.
It now hurts to sit, stand, move and lay on my back. I haven't felt this good in a really long time.
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I can finally do pullups now. No more than 3 at a time and with some leg lifting (not swinging), but still. :mrgreen:
Also, the gym I go to has some of those ab-wheel things as seen on so many infomercials, and damn that thing is for real. I think I have a pretty strong core but I can only really do it from the knees, but then again my long arms and legs probably add some difficulty.
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Recently I've just been swimming and surfing like a bitch. Doesn't really do shit on land, but it's one hell of a lot more fun then normal exercising and I can now swim a lap of an olympic pool, underwater, with no fins. Still a heavy dude, but now heavy dude that can swim well and look all manly and tough when I'm in big waves.
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Guys, did you see the picture of me in the tattoo thread? That's what my core looks like. I've got freaking ridiculous solarplexes. I did not know that there were even muscles there until like a month ago. They just sorta appeared. Also, if I can, I'll see about getting a picture of the RIDONKULOUS dimple between the two muscles on my forearm.
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What? The solar plexus isn't a muscle, it's a group of nerves, and you look pretty normal to me.
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Fuckin, there's muscles in that area that developed. I don't know what they are called. This probably doesn't mean a lot to most of you because you didn't see what I used to look like (same size, no muscles). But YEAH, I used to look fucking terrible.
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Today was basketball + 80 minute leg work out and 10 minute stationary bike. I predict an incredibly sore set of legs until thursday at least.
How are you guys holding up?
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I haven't even tried to exercise after Christmas due to having the flu (except riding a stationary bike a couple of times right after New Years), but between pre-Christmas and now, I have lost 1 pound. Which, you know, isn't really a big deal, but it's so much better than gaining weight, which is what I'd usually do over Christmas. That being said, once my throat gets better, I will start going to the gym! I have my membership ready and everything, it's just a matter of being able to do anything but breathe normally without having a coughing fit.
Plus, I finally gave in and set up an appointment with the doctor (or, well, I'm waiting for the response and details), so I can figure out some issues. Which I guess counts as trying to be healthier, maybe, except I'm sort of worried.
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Once my cold clears up I'm going to start that couch to 5k plan. So, hopefully tomorrow.
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It's a really good plan, I'm having a lot of fun with it.
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Some guy on Slate has tips for starting and keeping up with your workouts (http://www.slate.com/blogs/blogs/happinessproject/)
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30 degree F, off to play some bball outside :-D
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so... the year is about 1/5 of the way done. how many have given up on this resolution?
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I've started eating healthier (which didn't mean much while in America, really) and I've started walking halfway home when I finish work before 8pm. it's about a 40 minute walk and then I catch the bus for the last few k's. In the last week I've lost about 3kg or 6.75lbs. Honestly I wasn't really doing anything for the first few months but then I found out that my older brother, who has always been a big guy and has been above 100kg since he started high school has now started taking care of himself and actually weighs less than I do. I don't know if that makes me a bad person or whatever but knowing that I was heavier than him (and still am actually) gave me the impetus to start getting serious about losing weight and being healthier. This week my housemate is going to be picking up our new benchpress and we're going to start working out together and getting all manly and shit.
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i actually totally forgot about the resolution but i have been working out with my housemate. she's on some crazy fitness program that targets basically every part of your body and i'm not at home as much as she is, but i do the tapes with her when i have time, usually 3-4 days a week.
i have triceps! i've never had triceps before! it's so cool!
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Since this thread began I have gained the ability to military press more than my own weight. I'm sure this will come in handy one day.
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Pretty much any cardio will 'tone' up your stomach. Doing sit ups/crunches to tone up your stomach are not necessary, as you cannot spot reduce fat (ie. doing sit ups will not make you loser stomach fat), and tone is just muscle combined with low fat. You will almost certainly already have muscle, and if you don't, most cardio will require you to use you core muscles to keep your posture and will therefore build enough muscle to look good whilst reducing any fat you have across your stomach.
I just want to make sure, are you saying that just running/swimming/other cardio will give me abs? i hope that's true, because i'm cool with running and swimming, but i hate sit-ups, and i want to have nice abs for the ladies. and how does it work?
also, what exactly is conditioning? i do parkour (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkour), and i always hear about conditioning conditioning conditioning. i'd like to know what it is, because i need to get in really good shape for my parkour and related activities.
and last question, how exactly should i be stretching before and after workouts/running/etc.? i've heard differing stories, but the general consensus is to stretch both before and afterwards, because when you don't stretch before, your muscles are cold and easier to injure. is this true?
thank you good people of healthy thread.
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I have worked out less since the new year began. Stupid jobs keeping me from wanting to wake up.
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My only form of working out is walking. Everywhere. Especially at work.
I work on the floor in a night club, which involves walking up and down stairs with baskets full of glasses and bottles for around 5-6 hours straight. I'm starting to get guns, which is nice until I start looking like I could kill a man with will power.
I'm also eating about one meal a day and some snacking, but not through choice. Working nights means I have dinner, then leave and then i'm shattered by the time I get home.
I guess my point is walking is awesome? I don't have a car, so that might help too.
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I have mostly only made diet modifications. I still eat ham, salami and cheese sandwiches everyday, but I otherwise only eat red meat one or two meals a week. I only drink water, beer, and the occasional cup of tea/soda/glass of juice once a week. I'm also getting a little better about drinking enough water (still not 8 oz. all the time, but usually at least 5-6, whereas before that was maybe 3-4) and eating enough fiber, eating more fruits and veggies instead of things with chocolate in them, etc. I want to start the couch to 5k thing, but I need to get the next month or so's schoolwork out of the way otherwise I will get really stressed out. Also I have been at least trying to at least get out more.
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couch to 5k, stretches and all, doesn't take up more than 21 minutes every 2 days at the start. At its most intense it takes up 35 minutes every 2 days. I have no trouble integrating it with work and school (pro-tip: run before you shower). It's the lifting that I have a hard time applying.
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I have an avalanche of assignments I have to do in the next couple of weeks, which is pretty much what's keeping me from starting right now. Also, my best friend is leaving for Arizona in a few weeks and I'm trying to hang out with him as much as I can. When he's finally off (which is more or less when my assignments start to thin out again), I will at least give it a shot.
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I have been doing..better than before Christmas, but not great. I've only lost about 6 pounds post-New Years, but I guess that's something, at least. As soon as the roads here get ice-free (they're almost there), I'm planning on starting walking a lot more, and maaybe do the couch to 5K-thing. I do have an access card to a gym, but I fucking hate going there. I much prefer walking/jogging outside, at least for now, when I'm in a pretty bad shape.
And hey, I just realized that apples are actually pretty damn tasty. I hadn't had one in a long time, but bought one tonight instead of chocolate!
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I'm proud that I've finally forced myself to get up off my ass and start working out. I was getting flabby and tubby, where I used to have not-quite-a-six-pack-let's-call-it-a-four-pack. It was sad that I could only run about 1/3 of a mile, but seeing as how I haven't exercised for months now, I'd say that was pretty good! It felt good to be sweaty and tired again, as weird as it sounds.
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I just want to make sure, are you saying that just running/swimming/other cardio will give me abs? i hope that's true, because i'm cool with running and swimming, but i hate sit-ups, and i want to have nice abs for the ladies. and how does it work?
Pretty much. Cardio and a good diet will give you what you want.
also, what exactly is conditioning? i do parkour (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkour), and i always hear about conditioning conditioning conditioning. i'd like to know what it is, because i need to get in really good shape for my parkour and related activities.
Conditioning is essentially improving your fitness levels. It's a bit of a buzzword, it just implies that your body is adapting to different physical conditions.
and last question, how exactly should i be stretching before and after workouts/running/etc.? i've heard differing stories, but the general consensus is to stretch both before and afterwards, because when you don't stretch before, your muscles are cold and easier to injure. is this true?
There is a lot of debate over static stretching, and studies have shown that it can be actually detrimental. I would recommend doing a few warm up and cool down sets/laps instead, or some dynamic stretching.
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RedLion, I am really envious of you. I went from running 5k races weekly to being completely sedentary over the course of this fall, due to a fence injury, and now where I used to have a six-pack I am getting flab. I keep promising myself I will become more active but then convincing myself I am too busy, therefore, I have not run since last fall.
Internets, this is a promise that by this time next week I will have run at least a mile.
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Hey health thread, I am trying to cut sugary drinks and caffiene out of my diet, which is tricky because I am a barista and surrounded by coffee and assorted other drinks for seven hours a day. I have been two weeks without a coffee so far, surviving by having one cup of caffienated tea first thing in the morning, and then lemongrass tea with honey for the rest of the day.
I don't drink too much water because I dislike the taste of it and it always seems to make my stomach gurgle, but I am trying to drink a few glasses a day.
What are some other delicious things I can drink that are not awful for me?
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I drink Izzes in lieu of soda. they're basically sparkling water with juice from concentrate. You could try that maybe! Or just juice in general.
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Try to get used to water. If you don't like the taste, add a little something (lemon), or make some lemonade/iced tea with it. Stay away from artificially oversweetened drinks. Juice is good. You don't really need to cut caffeine completely out - I use it to wake up, and after a hard workout - just don't rely on it completely.
I drink close to a gallon of water in a day if I go on a long bike ride (4+ hours) - about a 24oz bottle an hour roughly depending on the temperature outside. I also like to use sports drink mix - it's a lot cheaper in the long run than buying Gatorade by the bottle every time you work out.
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also, what exactly is conditioning? i do parkour (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkour), and i always hear about conditioning conditioning conditioning. i'd like to know what it is, because i need to get in really good shape for my parkour and related activities.
Conditioning is essentially improving your fitness levels. It's a bit of a buzzword, it just implies that your body is adapting to different physical conditions.
I don't know if this will help or not, LittleKey, but I actually took a parkour class (http://www.pkcali.com/parkour_plugins/content/content.php?content.6) once last year, and the conditioning they had us do was all about building up the muscles needed to do the leaps, etc. involved in parkour. There was a fair amount of pull up / push up / sit up kind of stuff, plus walking on balance beams (on feet, on all fours), yoga-style stretching, and some typical aerobic jumping jacks / jogging. Only then, after all of that, did we get into doing rolls. It might also be good to note that the guys teaching the class all did some other athletic activity outside of parkour: some of them taught gymnastics, others worked out out gyms, one guy was ex-military, I think.
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also if you quit drinking bottled water (and you should cos if you really think about it privately owned water might be the scariest thing in the world) and drink tap water whenever you are thirsty instead you will save so much crazy money.
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There is like bleach and shit in the water where I live. It apparently tastes horrible to out of towners. I have never noticed.
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I have one of those refrigerators that turns ice into cold water and I'm spoiled by it.
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I used to be chubby and out of shape, but then I went vegan. So I can still be lazy and not exercise and eat all I want and maintain a healthy weight!
Although I'm considering signing up at a yoga studio or taking pilates classes or something. :/ It is really depressing to be out of breath after walking up three flights of stairs.
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Well I have been trying to work out every single day for 30 minutes. No excuses!
So far I have done really well. I usually have been able to run/bike/elliptical for 30 minutes. Sometimes I swim or lift some weights as a bonus. I always try to do some situps afterword.
In Feb I pretty much didn't miss a day. (excepting work days when I worked all through gym hours). In march I skipped for 2 days in a row and one day when I fell asleep and didn't wake up in time.
I lost 5 pounds in Jan and 3 pounds in Feb. I have gained back a ton of muscle mass.
I can do 50 situps with ease again! I am happy about this. Hopefully I will get back to the point where I can do 100 without feeling it. (Not likely since that was when I was on the college swim team and all)
Eating well has also been a issue. I have tried to only eat whole wheat bread and eat more oatmeal. I have tried to eat more vegetables and stuff. Less meat.
Has anyone heard anything bad/good about the "steam in" microwavable frozen vegetables? I have been eating some of those because they are just so convenient. The ones with soy beans are great.
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Eating well has also been a issue. I have tried to only eat whole wheat bread and eat more oatmeal. I have tried to eat more vegetables and stuff. Less meat.
You're doing it right and doing it wrong. Oatmeal is good, so are more vegetables. However, it sounds like you're eating a fairly high-carb diet. Unfortunately, you won't lose weight or gain strength on such a diet (unless, perhaps, you're an ultramarathoner.) Eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and no sugar. I personally prefer high fat, high protein, low carb diet balances, but most people are successful with a 40/40/30 split. If you keep your caloric intake to appropriate levels, you'll burn fat and build muscle.
Don't eat less meat, but eat healthier meat. Avoid too much smoked meat. Fish and grassfeed, hormone-free beef is your best bet for relatively lean, healthy meats. Up your fiber intake too.
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Eating well has also been a issue. I have tried to only eat whole wheat bread and eat more oatmeal. I have tried to eat more vegetables and stuff. Less meat.
However, it sounds like you're eating a fairly high-carb diet. Unfortunately, you won't lose weight or gain strength on such a diet (unless, perhaps, you're an ultramarathoner.)
Yeah this is true. I have done better though. I have cut down on my sugar intake and I most of the carbs I eat are from the whole grain breads (I have cut out all white bread). I have been eating a ton of raw and natural no-salt nuts which are great. I am doing well on the fruit front.
The real problem is eating more fresh vegetables and more lean meat and fish. I think I just need to put aside more time to cook stuff.
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I'm going to hang a sign over my bed, and write "20 sit-ups, 20 push-ups" on it. Then I will do this every night until my arms are not puny and stuff. Then I will move on to something harder. And I will start running again in summer.
I will weigh more than 70 kilos! I'm bloody 190cm tall, and my BMI is 19.4. Being good at something physical is bloody fun, so I'm going to aim for that. Biceps will also help me not get so god damned many bruises when fencing. Before I learned to block properly, my arms and thighs made me look like a victim of some serious abuse.
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Finals ended day before yesterday, and school had me so stressed that I ended up eating way worse than usual. It's hard when you're in a house with people and you're craving things like mad and everyone's too exhausted to cook and someone suggests pizza again. But now finals are over and I'm back on caveman on monday. If anyone doesn't know about the caveman diet, it's pretty strict but when I follow it I feel so excellent. Healthy, energized, and it does wonders for my mental health and even my social phobias! It's hard to keep up with, though, so I add in a few "allowed vices" like salt and vinegar potato chips in moderation once or twice a week. Also, raw veggies are delicous, and the farmers market is open soon!
But the excercise is going great. I've been biking 5+ days a week for 3 weeks now, almost perfectly! I rode 15 miles yesterday, at a speed of about 12-13 mph, which is kinda wimpy for a portlander, but not that bad considering that a week ago it was more like 9-10 mph. I bellydance once a week, walk about 3x a week (usually for about an hour, 4 miles or so), and I'm thinking of graduating to weighted hikes (with a 30-40 pound pack) for training.
It's been a week since I did my morning 10 minute abs training though. I'm pretty dissapointed in myself for letting that slip. I'll start again on monday, I swear.
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I gained 2 kilo's.. This is a good thing by the way, as i am pretty darn skinny.. Also, 20 minutes of workout every day, and a new job 5 km away.. Go go gadget bloody bike with a flat..
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Biceps will also help me not get so god damned many bruises when fencing.
Actually triceps make your arms look bigger. The biceps are just the frosting.
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Triceps are easily on the same level as biceps in terms of actual functional strength as well. I've noticed that many amateur bodybuilders will have the stereotypical pumped biceps but that athletes like high level rugby and football players end up with ridiculous triceps to go along with their biceps whether they mean to develop them or not. It's particularly noticeable if you see them with a shirt off; pads and short sleeves sometimes do a surprisingly good job obscuring just how much muscle those guys are packing just below the shoulders.
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The triceps are actually much greater in terms of functional strength; almost all upper body compound movements utilize your triceps in one way or another.
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Yeah, that makes sense. I sorta figured it must be that way just from what I've seen but it's not like I've ever really studied anatamy or anything.
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the caveman diet
I was just reading up on this, and it's amazing the amount of bullshit that people will spout to justify their particular diet.
"There are races of people who are all slim, who are stronger and faster than us. They all have straight teeth and perfect eyesight. Arthritis, diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, stroke, depression, schizophrenia and cancer are absolute rarities for them. These people are the last 84 tribes of hunter-gatherers in the world."
Yes, because in general hunter-gatherer societies have slightly lower levels of medical care than us.
"Around 10,000 years ago, an enormous breakthrough was made- a breakthrough that was to change the course of history, and our diet, forever. This breakthrough was the discovery that cooking these foods made them edible- the heat destroyed enough toxins to render them edible."
Cooking could have started as early as two million years ago, but probably more like 250,000 to 50,000 years ago. 10,000 years ago we discovered farming these crops - and the thing is, hunter gatherers had been eating these things for a long time, because hunter-gatherers will eat things that provide high calories for low effort, because it's most efficient. That's how crops evolved - hunter gatherers ate them!
Now this is not knocking any actual benefits the caveman diet might have for you - if it works for you, awesome! But I hate the justifications that people use for such stuff. It's pseudo-scientific and dishonest. (I'm rereading Guns, Germss and Steel and the stuff I read on the caveman diet annoyed me by being wrong.)
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God... they have websites for it? You might be reading about an entirely different thing... What I mean by caveman diet is a return to really simple foods. Like brown rice and meat and fish and vegetables and corn and whole wheat and such. Nothing that's very processed or chemical or high fat (though high protein is ok.) and not very much sugar outside of fruit and such.
When I was 4 my appendix exploded, and antibiotics destroyed my immune system. I was allergic to over 100 different foods. I ate pretty much brown rice, veggies, chicken and fish for 2 years. Hated it, but it worked, now I have almost no food allergies!
Anyway, all the psuedo-scientific stuff sounds like BS, but eating simple not overprocessed foods is pretty obviously going to be a healthy choice!
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My wrestling season ended about two months ago, I was cut, healthy, energetic, and could probably run a marathon with a midget tied to each leg. I've had a break from all enforced exercise due to bruising my rib, to such a circumstance that I had trouble getting out of bed. I intend to start running again, adding at least half a mile weekly. Cardio follows that I'd probably do some kind of lifting program, so I'm just gonna' do the basics until the summer lifting program starts again to hopefully get my abdominals back. I intend to diet but not the way I did during the season. I still haven't touched a soda in months and haven't eaten fast food in close to a year. Only problem is encouragement, I had at least three hours of exercise daily before, not it's less than a half hour now. I guess I just need a pep talk.
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Anyway, all the psuedo-scientific stuff sounds like BS, but eating simple not overprocessed foods is pretty obviously going to be a healthy choice!
Have to be careful with thoughts like that. It's fairly true since our bodies have adapted to various food sources over time, but taking it as an absolute is the sort of thing that encourages a lot of the pseudo-science that is flying around out there. It depends a lot on what you consider to be "overprocessed." For example, using calcium carbonate in maize preparation was vital to the survival of Mesoamericans in order to help stave off pellagra, a condition that typically ends in dementia and death.
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You're going to die alone in the wilderness.
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I should clarify that when I say alone I really mean "alone with the bears."
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Depends really, are you planning to go alone?
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this is a pretty funny book about an out of shape guy that tries to hike the trail (http://www.amazon.com/Walk-Woods-Rediscovering-America-Appalachian/dp/0307279464/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1237764394&sr=8-1)
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If you intend to hike for an extrended period of time, exercise shouldn't be a question of what, but when.
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Cardio is a given. I would also suggest building up some good leg strength (which can be as simple as using your own body weight - squats, lunges, etc) and hiking varied terrain to strengthen your other leg muscles. That will help prevent ankle injuries.
I really hope you get to do this. I have been to Baxter State Park in Maine where the trail starts and always wanted to hike Katahdin. It is absolutely gorgeous there.
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So, uh, guys. I want to hike the Appalachian trail (http://www.appalachiantrail.org/site/c.mqLTIYOwGlF/b.4805859/k.BFA3/Home.htm) at some point. I am thinking in two to four years, depending on whether or not I go for a BA in literature. At this point it's little more than an idea, but that is where things start, right? I imagine some program to get in better shape would be a good thing, although being in top shape to begin with probably isn't necessary - I'll be walking in rough terrain for five to seven months, after all.
Do any of you trek a lot, and have advice as to what kind of exercises I should be doing? Gear suggestions?
(I'd take it as a kindness if y'all didn't wail on how I'll never be able to pull it off, like everyone else I have talked about this to has done you pessimistic bastards)
Do it. I've done a bunch of smaller hikes (a few two, three week jaunts), and for my first 300km hike I wasn't remotely fit. The first few days will be absolute hell, but if you're a persistent sort it shouldn't be too hard. One kind of cool thing is the isolation; no need to try to suck it up if you're struggling. Just pant away and stagger around for a bit!
Having said that, I've always been pretty strong, so a 40kg pack didn't bother me too much. if you're a lightweight, bulking up might be a good idea. So, pro tips:
Some core strength would be a good idea. Sit ups, Push ups. You'll struggle with the pack regardless, but some extra muscle won't hurt.
I don't think you need to be absolutely fit, but if you've never done any hiking then a few short trips would be a good idea.
Make sure you have a good tent and sleeping bag (obvious, but people can be stupid)..
Be prepared to spend a lot more money on gear then you originally thought.
I love the isolation of camping/hiking in the wilderness, just make sure you don't mind it. Again, doing a few short trips might be a good way to decide if you can go all feral for a few months.
The best exercise for hiking would be hiking.
Also: bears! Fuck! Seriously, I'm really glad we don't have large land carnivores in australia.
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Jokes aside, I have an older cousin who did the Pacific Crest Trail a few years back, and from what he said it really does seem like the best preparation for hiking is well, hiking, just like Caspian said. He did many shorter trips throughout the country as well as a quarter of the Pacific Crest twice before committing to doing the whole thing in one go, and he didn't regret any of the preparation, particularly since one of his first real hikes revealed that he had some structural issues with his feet that required some special inserts to go along with his boots if he intended to actually finish a long hike in anything approximating comfort.
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So I'm going to start climbing in the next couple of weeks, once training starts back (college is on a break at the moment). I assume that core and upper-body strength is important, right? Any other tips folk have for me?
Also, I tried to do sit-ups for the Two Hundred Sit-ups (http://www.twohundredsitups.com/) test, and I couldn't manage a single one. Wow.
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You couldn't do a normal sit-up like the ones explained here (http://www.twohundredsitups.com/what.html), or you couldn't do a traditional one where you lay on your back and then sit all the way up?
This has inspired me, so I'll try the one hundred push ups programme. Wish me luck. It should be possible to do both programmes at the same time, right? I'm really enduring, just not strong anywhere. I'll try both and see if I can do them. Woo woo.
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So I'm going to start climbing in the next couple of weeks, once training starts back (college is on a break at the moment). I assume that core and upper-body strength is important, right? Any other tips folk have for me?
Also, I tried to do sit-ups for the Two Hundred Sit-ups (http://www.twohundredsitups.com/) test, and I couldn't manage a single one. Wow.
There is legitimate reason for not being able to do a sit up as i have the same problem. Apparently it has something to do with lack of spinal curvature which can be helped through several stretching exercises, a medicine ball being a great help with the majority.
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I used to be able to do them, but I'd say I need some form of thing to hold my feet down to get back in the swing of things. Howandever, links to info on those exercises would be mad appreciated.
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Supersheep, honestly if you are climbing correctly, you are mostly using your legs for power and arms for balance. Some harder routes will require you to be able to pull up with your arms, but legs are muy importante.
Working on your grip would be helpful, and pull-ups, but really do not neglect leg work.
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Supersheep, these are some lower back exercises that i do to help me. Some exercises obviously work better for others but these were recommended for back/lower back. Also, i was told it is best to not use weights when stretching the spine (not sure why but i guess it could strain too much).
Back Hyperextensions (http://www.myfit.ca/exercisedatabase/viewanexercise.asp?exercise=Back+Hyperextentions&table=exercises&ID=7)
Back Hyperextensions on Ball (http://www.myfit.ca/exercisedatabase/viewanexercise.asp?exercise=Ball+Back+Hyperextensions+(Lower+Back)&table=exercises&ID=91)
Lower Back Extensions on Ball (http://www.myfit.ca/exercisedatabase/viewanexercise.asp?exercise=Exercise+Ball+Lower+Back+Extensions&table=exercises&ID=165)
Lying Leg Raises (http://www.myfit.ca/exercisedatabase/viewanexercise.asp?exercise=Lying+Leg+Raises+%2F+Throwdowns&table=exercises&ID=97)
General List of Back Exercises (http://www.bigbackpain.com/back_exercises.html#backstretchingexercises)
Personally, i would recommend the Basic Twist from the General List first. Hope this helps.
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If you're working on your abdonimals, I wouldn't just do sit ups. It's actually bad to just train one set of muscles, if you're looking for a legit six pack I'd add variety making sure that you're in pain after every exercise. Give yourself minumum breaks and try to do 30-40 reps of a specific exercise, works wonders once you can do it consecutively.
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i am a REET FAT LAD, and i'm gonna do something about it, starting now, as it's the easter holidays so i've got plenty of spare time to get a bit of a head-start in terms of fitness.
the plan:
* lots of cycling. i used to cycle all the time, but a combination of a bike seat that feels like sitting on a brick, and the fact that i had a bit of an accident that resulted in a £200 dental bill kinda put me off. i've always been a pretty decent cyclist though, i could go for hours without getting tired. so i figure i'll get a new bike seat and see how that goes.
* i plan on cycling the few miles to my friend's house AT LEAST every other day, where he's mapped out a route around some country lanes that's about 3miles. we'll start off jogging and see what we can build to from there. then i'll bike home afterwards.
* if all the cycling goes well, i also plan on cycling to skegness, which is about 20miles away from where i live in boston, at some point during the fortnight i'm back at home, possibly more than once.
* gonna start trying to get a regular sleeping pattern going, rather than constantly staying up til the early hours and sleeping in late.
* i'm also going to start doing situps and lifting small weights (by small i mean hand-weights, as opposed to weight benches and powerlifting).
* on top of all that, i'm going to try to eat a bit healthier - main areas being cutting down a lot on snacking, and having smaller portions at mealtimes.
...having typed all that out, i'm now actually feeling quite enthusiastic about doing all this!
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having smaller portions at mealtimes.
This part caught my eye because for the best results, I'd eat a lot of little meals during the course of the day, instead of just riducing how much you eat in the course of three. This is to keep up your metabolism, hopefully shedding a few pounds, or even getting you a healthier diet you don't have to force yourself into. So technically you're not sitting down at seven to a big steak or something, you're eating little things, like some boiled potatoes with other veggies at four, and maybe you'll have some stir fried shrimp at six, and so on. Do you get the idea? I've gotten myself used to the intervals of eating, so it's something I'm used to. Give it a try.
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that's something i've heard a lot about, and something i've considered eventually moving towards, but the reason i mentioned reducing portions is because i generally eat too much anyway. the whole "eyes-bigger-than-belly" thing. i tend to cook too much and keep on eating for the taste, past the point that i'm actually hungry anymore.
but yeah, once i've cut down my overall food intake to a more sensible level, i'll try spreading that intake out over more smaller meals and see how it goes, thanks for the tip :-)
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I think if you work out hard enough, and don't eat past let's say nine o'clock. I think you'll notice results.
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I think if you work out hard enough, and don't eat past let's say nine o'clock. I think you'll notice results.
that's gonna be a BIG part of it i think. with my uni timetable allowing me to stay up til the early hours and sleep in late most days, i find myself doing that a lot and snacking late at night.
whenever i've tried to get fit before, i've kinda viewed it as a temporary "repair-job" in a way (probably why it's never worked hehe!). this time i'm actually going to make it a lifestyle change.
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It doesn't necessarily have to be 9:30, my rule of thumb on that is at least 4 hours before you plan on falling asleep. The idea is to have more time to burn off those calories instead of letting them settle by sleeping right afterwards.
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I went on a run for the first time in a month and a half. Beat my last time by 13 minutes, would've gone longer but I had things to do. The soles of my feet are fucking mad right now.
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Sounds awesome! How long did you run for/how far did you go? I haven't run in too long and should really pick it up again. I think I need new sneakers first, though.
On the good side of things, I've started eating a lot healthier and have been going to the gym at least 3 times a week (except this week because I've been too sick). I've lost 12lbs in the last 9 weeks. =)