What do you do for diet and exercise?

Diet?

I just eat Mexican food. I figure my body is gentically pre-configured to utilize it's nutritional value.

 

old....but true

HEY !
Round is a shape
I like Mike's regimen.
Mexican Food for me too.
and....
Beers. ::

 

Jiggling blob is a shape too but not one I'd like to aspire to.

 

I commend those of you actually working towards better health. I'm a sorry excuse for an athlete but a great example of an ex-athlete who has let himself go. Honestly, I've got to step my game up. I've got to get back on the wagon!

 

I know the feeling. I used to be a competitive power lifter and let myself go after going through and injury and some health problems as a result of my workouts and diet back then.

It's hard to imagine going back knowing how good you used to be.

 

That is really funny - Carne Asada Baby!

 

You can do it. It starts with walking a 1/4 mile. Then a 1/2 mile and so on. I have found that you can eat the foods you enjoy while you do this. In fact, denying yourself just makes it worse because all you think about is when your next meal is. just do one taco less. Ease up on the cheese. Fruit or side salad instead of the refried beans. Keep the rice. Little things. Buy the large sub sandwich, cut it in half and save the other half for tomorrow.

 

I have been waiting to join in on the weight loss goodness, however Canada Post has yet to deliver my Cellerciser. Almost a month now... :mad:

At least I can be proud I hit the *6* Month mark of NO Wendy's/McDonald's/Fast food burger joint foods. Today is also the 3rd year anniversary of my swearing off ALL Sodas/Soft Drinks/Pop/Whatever you call it. Been drinking water since then and have never looked back!

 

Unfortunately, in my house, that's just not happening. I get a phone call on the way home for fast food delivery since nothing has been made for dinner. However, I've gotten pretty good at picking some decent alternatives from the fast food places. Wendy's is easy. Southwest Taco Salad. Hold the dressing and sour cream. They add no flavor. Plain Baked Potato topped with a small chili. McDonald's Grilled Chicken Wrap. Hold the sauce or go for the BBQ or Honey Mustard or Sweet & Sour sauce. Small fries and a hamburger with just ketchup/Mustard. Caesar Salad with grilled chicken and Balsamic Vinegar dressing.

 

Yeah no question it is easier to get different options at these places nowadays, however in the end I almost couldn't trust myself with the better options so I quit completely cold turkey. Maybe once I get my weight back down to where I want it to be the better self-control will come too, but I am certainly not going to complain if I never have McDonald's/Wendy's again

 

Sorry to hear that Telly and Mike.
What a bummer Mike, I know the feeling I got plenty of fatty around my waisteline when I had a severe neck injury from Martial Arts . now im using weight training to actually get back into shape fast and I love it.

To those who dont have time or place for your own gymn I recommend the fastest recovery possible its called Power of 10 and I notice it major change in my physical appearance. I also trian weight in my own garage and rebound everyday that helps too.

I must take it very easy with Aikido it could be if I snap my neck a 2nd time it could def.be the end in training Aikido.

Telly your welcome to join our little private club here... there is always someone here to Spot.

 

excellent advice thats the way to tackle it ,a little bit at a time. remember though I started with my come back around februari this year ! and lot had to do with switching it in the brain at one point the switch has to click to GO GO.

 

I have just read this entire thread because I'm keen to learn about different ways of losing weight and trimming down, because at the moment I need all the help I can get.

A bit about myself, 52 yrs old and over the last 18 months have lost about 90Lbs. I was becoming very unhealthy and was just a heart attack and diabetic waiting to happen.

I have lost this weight strictly with diet, and with absolutely no exercise involved at all. Problem is my resolve is now starting to wane, and for whatever reason I'm constantly craving sweet food, ie icecream or chocolates or candy or whichever is not good for me.

Over the last 3 or 4 weeks I have noticed a tightening of the belt buckle, and true I have no one else to blame but myself. I still essentially eat nothing for most of the day. I rise before 4am daily and will have a health drink at 10am and then a cup of rice and bit of fruit for lunch. Followed by rice crackers and a hearty cup of vegetable soup for dinner. This has been my daily diet for 18 months day in day out, and yes occasionally I may vary it, but only for special occasions.

It's after I settle for the evening in front of the telly that I then get these sweet cravings and suddenly still feel hungry for the wrong foods and things.

I think my biggest major problem is the total lack of exercise. I just find it hard to even think about it, and I am so unmotivated by it all. I do need to still lose another 30Lbs to become within my optimal weight range, so I do have some more work to do.

One of my problems with the thought of exercise is the boredom factor, it just totally does not interest me. How do you guys zone out and just do this stuff? I think I have an ADD thing happening!

I do have a rather old treadmill at home which I have made the odd attempt on, but it's just hard work. Because of my lack of exercise I do still carry most of my extra weight around my waist.

As a child I suffered from asthma so never had any lung capacity to speak of, and so therefore I have never had the ability to pound out those miles like most other people seem to be able to do.

Well that's my story, thanks for letting me vent, I know what I need to do, it's just a matter of how?

Cheers
John

 

Ah yes, the elusive Go Button. I'm waiting for my body to give me a certain signal. The gauge is the amount my body resists exercise. That resistance was quite high when I first started. It is almost to the tipping point. The reason I know that is last week, I had a day when my body said, "piece of cake, go for it." I did and away I went. The resistance now much smaller and I feel it weakening steadily.

I'll give a comparison. I started the whole thing 6 weeks ago.


Treadmill
First Week:
Treadmill - 30 minutes of easy difficulty hill climbing program. Max speed of 3.6mph and Max incline of 7%.

Now (6 weeks later):
Treadmill - 30 minutes of hard difficulty hill climbing program. Max speed of 4.0mph and Max incline of 15% with 5.5mph jogging for the last 5 minutes.


Weight-Reps (3 sets)
First Week:
Chest Press - 95-10/80-10/65-10
Lat Pulldown - 95-10/80-10/65-10
Overhead Press - 40-10/30-10/20-10
Bicep Curl - 50-10/40-10/30-10
Tricep Extension - 30-10/20-10/10-10

Note: This was not to failure but it was a challenge to complete for a week.

Now (6 weeks later):
Chest Press - 110-10/110-10/140-10
Lat Pulldown - 110-10/110-10/140-8
Overhead Press - 60-10/60-10/100-5
Bicep Curl - 70-10/70-10/90-5
Tricep Extension - 55-10/55-10/70-7

Note: Now, it's to failure on the last set. I have some wiggle room on the Chest Press but I'm going to let the other exercises catch up a little first.

Situps:
First week - 2x10 flat situps
6th week - 4x12 inclined situps

I am showing steady progress across the board. Not time yet to mix it up with interval and circuit training. Sucks getting old and being so overweight but I'll do it.

 

For me, its all about having good music playing

 

Put a tv/dvd player and a radio where the treadmill is and you'll be surprised how fast the time goes. It starts with 10 minutes and goes from there.

 

I need the music going when I'm on the treadmill because it is SO boring, give me a good live bicycle ride any day.

Just got a book "The Workout" by Gunnar Peterson. Really goes into all the basics of getting fit, written well with a lot of humour as well. He even confesses to being a chubby guy for a large part of his life, which is refreshingly honest. He emphasizes that you need to mix aerobic exercise, resistance training, nutrition, and rest to be truly fit. I read it on the way to work this morning and am fired up from it.

Gym is going well, they suggested a personal trainer, but haven't pushed it, which is good.

 

Good to hear you're fired up. A personal couch is nice. They can push and support you better than you can yourself at times but not needed. Sometimes a coach can misjudge you and de-motivate you though. Like anything there are good and not so good coaches out there. I agree with your book about a combination of aerobic exercise, resistance training, nutrition, and rest to be truly fit. I don't have any diet books. I have a nutrition book instead. It's written by Jane Brody and very old but has good basic information. A book I've been meaning to get that looks interesting is written by Walter Millett, M.D. "Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy: The Harvard Medical School Guide to Healthy Eating "

 

Thanks Rich. I'm trying to build up some motivation first. I put a picture of myself in just shorts as my desktop wallaper. It'll be my constant reminder of what I'm trying to change.
Anthony Robbins - "Nothing tastes as good as thin feels."

+1

I still have the Bowflex X2 and an elliptical trainer but I'm so bored with them. They work perfectly but I don't ever feel like using them. I was in great shape in college because working out never felt like it was working out. Basketball was just fun. I'm thinking of joining a bball league for the winter. You give me a basketball and a hoop and I'll show you a flat stomach faster than Paris Hilton can strike a pose.

Until then, I'm going to stay away from the Bowflex and the elliptical trainer and simply start a running regimen. I can do running. My problem is I go to bed too late. I don't have the energy to wake up early to work out. If I wait till the afternoon/evening, I don't trust myself to do it either. Something always comes up. Serious weightlifters always tell me how important it is to get at least 8 hours of sleep to let your muscles rest. I don't get that so muscle failure kicks in too early. I wind up quitting earlier than I otherwise would have.

 

Well the day has finally arrived. My Cellerciser after a WHOLE MONTH of waiting has finally arrived and today I started my beginners routine.

I wrote down a couple of stats that I am going to track, specifically weight and total body fat. Since I am not so much going for muscle and just weight loss and fat loss it should be rather easy to track.

I have to say, I played a little on it yesterday, and today I started the morning with a solid 2 minutes of just the simple health bounce. I have to say I feel.. a little different already. Don't exactly know how to explain it but I feel something.

Without further adieu, here are my beginning stats.

(In Metric and US Measurement so everyone can understand ) Oh, and despite the horrible numbers.. I do not look THAT bad.. but not that great either.. so here we go!

As of October 31st, 2007:
Height: 5 Feet 11 1/2 Inches, 181 Cm.
Weight: 227.5 Lbs, 103 Kilograms
Total Body Fat: 42%

I will take these measurements again after one week to see what happens.