Fitness (Diet/Exercise) 2015: Define Yourself.

[St. Clown]

Re: Fitness (Diet/Exercise) 2015: Define Yourself.

My doctor also wants me to go through weight management classes/support groups. She feels that I shouldn't weigh less than 200 pounds...

It would be good to know what your muscle mass is so you can know what your safe weight range would be. Without an actual test, for a man who's gone through such flux as you have, it would be relatively tough to know. I'm kind of surprised more doctors offices don't have bio-electric impedance analysis machines. They're not perfect, but they do give a really good idea as to what you should weigh. If you know that your lean mass is, say, 180lbs, then 15% body fat (in that healthy range) would put you right at 211-212lbs, and the doctor wouldn't have to use any sort of guesswork to give you some really good goal values.

 

[MissThundercat]

Re: Fitness (Diet/Exercise) 2015: Define Yourself.

It would be good to know what your muscle mass is so you can know what your safe weight range would be. Without an actual test, for a man who's gone through such flux as you have, it would be relatively tough to know. I'm kind of surprised more doctors offices don't have bio-electric impedance analysis machines. They're not perfect, but they do give a really good idea as to what you should weigh. If you know that your lean mass is, say, 180lbs, then 15% body fat (in that healthy range) would put you right at 211-212lbs, and the doctor wouldn't have to use any sort of guesswork to give you some really good goal values.

That would be nice. The last time I had my body fat tested, I was at 19%, which put my weight at 223 at the time. One thing that's helping me too is I have a physical job and I cross-train.

 

[MissThundercat]

Re: Fitness (Diet/Exercise) 2015: Define Yourself.

Those "weight management classes?" Turns out, it's all meal replacement shakes/entrees/bars, which I can buy each week for a $40 induction fee, buying the shakes, and a $20 weekly fee to make sure you're "keeping with the program."

At this point in my life, I can either lose weight, or run marathons and participate in endurance events. I cannot do both... I tried that once and it almost killed me.

 

[ericredaxe]

In terms of avoiding soda/pop, I've gotten better at avoiding the fountain machine at work, as well as the fountain at Meijer. It's much cheaper (and better) to bring a water bottle and fill it, rather than spending money on diet pop. Besides, diet pop has a funny taste to it...

I'm no dietician, but I would have to agree with this and with Fade To Black&Gold... Water is a healthier and cheaper choice then diet soda.

I've been trying to carry a water bottle more too... It is easy to become dehydrated.

 

[MissThundercat]

Re: Fitness (Diet/Exercise) 2015: Define Yourself.

Who needs meal replacement shakes anyway? There are plenty of things I can do right now that are of little to no cost to me:

1. Brown bag it at work. Cheaper and more nutritious.
2. Less liquid calories. We've talked about this.
3. Avoid the bulk buying trap. 6 pounds of apples or 2 pounds of quinoa is good; 12 sandwich croissants or a 3 pound bag of M&Ms is not so good.
4. Extra crunchy peanut butter is good, but I don't need to eat from the jar mindlessly with a spoon. Otherwise 200 calories per 2 tbsp serving can become 1,400 quickly.
5. Eat at home as often as possible. Average calorie intake per meal at home: 600. Average when I go out: 1,000 or more.
6. Continue taking my coffee black. When I spend good money on good beans, my morning brew needs nothing except a cup.

One book that talks about this at length is "Mindless Eating" by Cornell's own Dr. Brian Wansink.

 

[MissThundercat]

Re: Fitness (Diet/Exercise) 2015: Define Yourself.

Made this list of goals at the start of the year, and where I stand.

1. Maintain this weight of 220. I'm registered for the Grand Rapids Triathlon and Tri Del Sol as a Clydesdale (male athlete 220 and over), and I want to stay that way.
-Down to 217-ish. If I can control my snacking, it would be less. Then again, for what I do, I'm more concerned about maintenance.

2. Lose a couple more inches off my waist and hips. I'd like to wear a size 36 pair of jeans again and squeeze back into my size large shirts.
-Down to a 32" waist and 38" hips.

3. Finish my first two sprint triathlons (0.5 mile swim/12.75 mile bike/3.1 mile run).
-Got through Grand Rapids, but the run of Tri Del Sol was canceled due to a storm. Got the medal anyway.

4. Finish the Groundhog Marathon Whole Hog (1/6 moonlight marathon, 26.2 the next morning), the Fifth-Third River Bank Run 5K/25K combination, the Old Farts Trail Marathon, and the Twin Cities Marathon Ultra Loony Challenge (5K/10K/Marathon).
-Done, with the medals to show for it.

5. Keep up the yoga and cross-training. Cross-Training will be essential in keeping resolution #1.
-Yoga, cycling, swimming, kickboxing, plyo...

6. Bring more whole food snacks to work instead of relying on Clif bars for breaks.
-Still bringing Clif bars. They're not a terrible option...

7. Curb caffeine after noon.
-Getting better at this. After noon, it's water/Gatorade.

8. Stop dining out as much. I have a slow cooker, and I can use it for nights I close at work, instead of going to the Subway or Panera Bread across the street from work.
-It helps that I'm now on opening shift. Also, Sam's Club has stuff like ravioli, soup, and chicken salad in their fresh/deli case. Cheaper to grab that on the way out than to come home, then go out.

That's it for me... you?

 

[leswp1]

Re: Fitness (Diet/Exercise) 2015: Define Yourself.

http://nautil.us/issue/30/identity/how-the-western-diet-has-derailed-our-evolution
From the cooking thread, forgot this thread was around.

Les
Can you give me a basic outline as to what this GI recommends, maybe move it to diet and exercise thread to not screw this one up, thanks

Recap- I have a friend who has a GI practice. There are a lot of evidence based medicine people who will admit this is right but the to set the gut right is very labor intensive and they can't get reimbursed in a way that makes it feasible. Add that to the patients just wanting to take a pill and not change anything ang Bob's your uncle.

This gal averages 2 hrs for the first visit and follow up visits usually at least 1 hr. I tell people don't bother to go unless you are serious because she is very intense and the lifestyle changes are intense. I have, however, seen people who have been incapacitated by their health who have become new people after getting their leaky gut straightened out.

So- She is very specific in her recommendations but they are individualized. She does a ton of work before making recommendation including stool samples that are analyzed at a lab, labs, deep history. After all that is taken into consideration she gives a plan. This is WAY over my head as far as how to even start explaining to people what she does. I understand the concept but it is not something that can be done in a generic way.

Her website: http://www.uniquehealthnh.com/contact-us/

 

[Timothy A]

Re: Fitness (Diet/Exercise) 2015: Define Yourself.

My eldest son, my wife and I have all cracked down on how we eat, lots of fruit, veggies and protein (mostly non-dairy). Starches/carbs have been reduced by 90%, milk consumption by at least 50% ( I drank ALOT of milk @ supper, 4 to 6 cups a day, plus more on the weekend). Over the last 6 months my son has dropped 50#, I have dropped 20# and the wife has dropped 25#. I'm the only one over 200#, @ 203#. Supper includes no starch at all, just meat and 2 veggies or 1 veggie and 1 fruit and 1 cup of milk. We do have desert once a week and pizza once every 2 weeks or so. The carbs end up coming from a sandwich at lunch once and a while and a little snack at night, along with fruit. I allow my self 1 soda a week. Maintaining this lifestyle will be the big challenge. We still go a little crazy on birthdays and holidays, but that's maybe once a month. You have to live a little.

 

[MissThundercat]

Re: Fitness (Diet/Exercise) 2015: Define Yourself.

I finished writing my running schedule for next year.

So now, the challenge isn't losing weight. Quite honestly, as long as I stay between 210-220, I'm cool with that. The challenge now is eating smart and eating enough to fuel all those miles and all those races. It's easy to get calories from junk food. My diet needs to look like this:

12 oz grains, preferably whole
6 cups of dairy (this excludes cream and half-and-half)
3.5 cups of fruit
5 cups of vegetables
10.5 oz of meat/beans
11 tsp of added fat/oils
462 extra/discretionary calories (sports bars, gels, Gatorade, etc)

 

[St. Clown]

Re: Fitness (Diet/Exercise) 2015: Define Yourself.

I'm suffering through a case of plantar fasciitis right now. My leg was feeling really good when I got home from work yesterday, so I went for a run. It turns out that I wasn't in as good a place as I thought, and my calf muscle has been telling me all about it sine I finished the run. This has not been good for my waistline.

The only solace I can take in this is that plantar fasciitis doesn't impact my ability to skate. It turns out that the hockey skate is the magical boot. That means I need it to get cold outside so I can start using the outdoor rinks for the winter.

 

[5mn_Major]

Re: Fitness (Diet/Exercise) 2015: Define Yourself.

I'm suffering through a case of plantar fasciitis right now. My leg was feeling really good when I got home from work yesterday, so I went for a run. It turns out that I wasn't in as good a place as I thought, and my calf muscle has been telling me all about it sine I finished the run. This has not been good for my waistline.

The only solace I can take in this is that plantar fasciitis doesn't impact my ability to skate. It turns out that the hockey skate is the magical boot. That means I need it to get cold outside so I can start using the outdoor rinks for the winter.

Seems there's a lot of exercise you could try. Sure running is full body movement and the most rigorous. But I would imagine...the multitude of other forms can deliver a similar outcome if time lengths are increased. I've run my whole life...and switched to elliptical about 2 years ago. I get that thing rocking. At mayo, I was told my goal was to slowly increase my heart rate to 170 for a couple of minutes. That my not be the best plan if you're goal is to burn calories. But there's got to be something else that could get you there.

 

[St. Clown]

Re: Fitness (Diet/Exercise) 2015: Define Yourself.

Seems there's a lot of exercise you could try. Sure running is full body movement and the most rigorous. But I would imagine...the multitude of other forms can deliver a similar outcome if time lengths are increased. I've run my whole life...and switched to elliptical about 2 years ago. I get that thing rocking. At mayo, I was told my goal was to slowly increase my heart rate to 170 for a couple of minutes. That my not be the best plan if you're goal is to burn calories. But there's got to be something else that could get you there.

Now you're talking about solutions with dollar signs attached. I'm not interested in buying equipment or signing up for a gym. I still have my Olympic weights in the basement, barbell, rack, adjustable bench and dumbbells. It's time to up my game there, adding more exercises to make up for the decrease in aerobic exercise. My shoulder should be able to handle it by now.

 

[5mn_Major]

Re: Fitness (Diet/Exercise) 2015: Define Yourself.

Now you're talking about solutions with dollar signs attached. I'm not interested in buying equipment or signing up for a gym. I still have my Olympic weights in the basement, barbell, rack, adjustable bench and dumbbells. It's time to up my game there, adding more exercises to make up for the decrease in aerobic exercise. My shoulder should be able to handle it by now.

Ah. Gotcha. That's tough then unless you have a bike or better yet rollerblades and its summer.

 

[MissThundercat]

Re: Fitness (Diet/Exercise) 2015: Define Yourself.

Until I get to the dietitian on January 4, I picked up Endurance Sports Nutrition by Suzanne Eberle, a registered sports dietitian.

 

[MissThundercat]

Re: Fitness (Diet/Exercise) 2015: Define Yourself.

Until I get to the dietitian on January 4, I picked up Endurance Sports Nutrition by Suzanne Eberle, a registered sports dietitian.

Just started reading. A few things I have picked up already:

-2 tbsp of peanut butter is equal to 4 tsp of fat/oil. (So spooning it out of the jar is bad)
-I apparently do not get enough dairy. (She's big on low-fat dairy)
-Eat a lot of fruits and vegetables. (Really? I needed a book to tell me this?)
-Athletes and fitness enthusiasts over-estimate how many calories they really need.

In terms of low-fat dairy, I try to avoid it because it tastes like chewing on plastic. I'd rather have a small amount of the good stuff.

 

[Lady wore Black]

Re: Fitness (Diet/Exercise) 2015: Define Yourself.

Increased time from 1 minute run/3 minute walk to 1.5 minute run/3 minute walk. Knees are feeling good.

 

[MissThundercat]

Re: Fitness (Diet/Exercise) 2015: Define Yourself.

Increased time from 1 minute run/3 minute walk to 1.5 minute run/3 minute walk. Knees are feeling good.

You are doing great!

 

[MissThundercat]

Re: Fitness (Diet/Exercise) 2015: Define Yourself.

I was given Run Less, Run Faster from Runner's World as a present; it's basically a way to optimize marathon training on three days a week.

Has a plan to help me qualify for Boston, but at 4:50:00, I am a long way away from Boston. At 34, I would need to run less than 3:05:00.

 

[unofan]

Re: Fitness (Diet/Exercise) 2015: Define Yourself.

I'm a little annoyed at 2xu right now (think Aussie version of Under Armor). Bought a bunch of stuff during their Cyber Monday sale, and only about a third of it arrived today, over two weeks later. The rest is back ordered with no expected shipping date. But my credit card was charged right away for it all. Yay...

 

[MissThundercat]

Re: Fitness (Diet/Exercise) 2015: Define Yourself.

I also picked up "Relentless Forward Progress," a guide to ultra-marathon training. If my 50 mile goes well, and I think it will, I will attempt a 100 mile.