Healthy Living 101

[Vegas69]

There has been some talk of this thread so I thought I'd fire it up. The financial thread has proved to be a very good source for information and different perspective. In my mind, life all starts with health. With great health, happiness, success, and wealth will be much easier to achieve.

Around 30 days ago I decided to change my life. I've weight trained for 17 years but I've never had the diet and lifestyle to match. Now at 35 years old, my bad habits of my twenties were catching up to me. Drinking to much, not eating terribly but way to much and far from a well rounded diet. I'd sleep 8 hours everynight and NEVER feel well rested. I have a messed up nose from a break in a car accident and some allergies that make sleeping a task. Needless to say, it compounded into no energy and a real lack of motivation.

I picked up two books to read. The Compound Effect and Live Young Forever. The Compound Effect is an excellent life book that takes simple ideas and changes to your lifestyle for a more positive direction. I highly recommend it to everyone and I'll go deeper into it as the thread progresses. In fact, I've already passed them out to 4 friends and I'm ordering more. The Jack Lallane book, Live Young Forever, has some similar messages but really focuses on excercise and diet.

One of my first goals was to start shedding weight. I've achieved that two ways. I'm now running 7-10 miles a week and weights on the odd days. Whether it's weights of running, I'm done in 30-40 minutes. It's all high intensity. I ran a mile in 7:45 last week which is faster than I did in high school. With the diet, I'm writing down EVERYTHING I eat EVERYDAY. I research the calories and content. It's a very very heavy vegetable/fruit/nuts and good proteins diet.(Fish/Chicken) Writing down everything does two things: 1. It makes you responsible for your calorie intake. 2. It educates you on calorie and nutrition. You need to establish the right amount of calories for you based on your size, age, and activity level.

I 'm down over 8 lbs and adding muscle at the same time. On top of that, I've been waking up NATURALLY at 5-6 in the morning. I've been feeling better than I have in a long long time. I'm focused and sharper. I'm dedicated to making these changes my new GOOD habits and erasing the BAD habits of my past.

What are you doing to stay healthy? What tips can you share?

Watch this video on the home page of Jack's website and tell me he didn't hit the nail on the head 50-60 years ago.
http://www.jacklalanne.com/

[hifi875]

Could be the 2nd best thread behind investing 102. I've been running/lifting consistently for the past 8 years and it makes me feel great. Get all my work done early in the morning. Run about 25-30 miles a week and lift 2-3 days a week. I'm 46 and in the best shape of my life and training for my first marathon. I'm not really on a diet per se but I pay attention to what I eat. The more miles you put on the more weight will come off of course. It does afford you to eat more, because you need fuel. My diet is my weakness. I'm just not into fruits and veggies that much other than potatoes and corn. Just don't get to obsessed or you will burn out. Sounds like you are on your way and you seem to be very driven, so you will be fine.

[Shmoov69]

I've always been a lazy bum that didn't eat right!! Well maybe not "always", because being a roofer for 15 years pretty much kept me in shape!! But the last 7-8 years I've been office/estimating and management bound. Which in all honesty sucks for my body! I've had nothing but back pain since and although I'm still skinny, I've turned into a flabby no muscle stick, in comparison to a ZERO fat and very solid stick!! LOL!

Well, it finally got me and my wife found this on the web and we have started doing this mini "workout" two weeks ago and we've only took off one day of the week to rest. I know that it is just a "warmup" for people that REALLY workout, but for us softies, it is pretty crazy! Have the phone nearby the first time so you can call 911!!! LOL!
http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/shaun...minute-workout

Maybe someday I'll start eating right...I'm still on the North-beach diet, lots of carbs and sweets!!! Nothing but fat people!! LOL. South-beach is low carbs and skinny people I guess!!

[Vegas69]

You can work out all you want but getting in great shape is largely DIET. I was 23, 175 lbs, benching 345 but still didn't have a six pack. I cut down by diminishing my calorie intake way to low and ate like crap when I wasn't cutting. Fruits and Veggies are great for you and don't have that many calories. I'm losing it slowly eating the right foods, that's the way to sustain.

You must choose a work out plan that you can stick with. I was a gym rat for 1 to 1.5 hours for years. I spent way to much time between sets. Now I go hard for .5 and I can stick with that for life and be in BETTER shape. If your gym is to far from your house, no good. If you work out 6-7 days a week, to much. If you are just starting and working out 2 hours a day, you will never make it. Walk before you run. Don't expect results overnight, it takes time. How long did it take you to pack on the lbs?

[Vegas69]

Originally Posted by hifi875

Could be the 2nd best thread behind investing 102. I've been running/lifting consistently for the past 8 years and it makes me feel great. Get all my work done early in the morning. Run about 25-30 miles a week and lift 2-3 days a week. I'm 46 and in the best shape of my life and training for my first marathon. I'm not really on a diet per se but I pay attention to what I eat. The more miles you put on the more weight will come off of course. It does afford you to eat more, because you need fuel. My diet is my weakness. I'm just not into fruits and veggies that much other than potatoes and corn. Just don't get to obsessed or you will burn out. Sounds like you are on your way and you seem to be very driven, so you will be fine.

Wow, my body is no where near ready for those distances. I ran into a lady last week that runs 50 mile trails. My foot starts going numb at the 3 mile mark. I'm not sure I'll ever get to that level. I'm just not a natural runner but I really enjoy it. I'd like to run a half marathon eventually at a respectable time. Dropping the weight certainly won't hurt. Changing your diet will take you to the next level.

[Greg from Aus]

I just got back from a mountain bike ride, first in 2 years, oh my legs are tired. I haven't done much over the last 5 years. Some due to injury, but mostly due to lack of enthusiasm, I tore my hamstring completely of the bone 2 years ago and had to have it reattached. before I got slack I took up Ironman triathlon at the age of 42 and did 3 off them. now at the age of 51 I need to lose 40 pounds and get fit, myself and my wife started 2 weeks ago, I bought a Cross trainer and a home gym. It's all going great, we have both lost weight and are sticking to our nutrition changes,

Greg

[intocarss]

From my late 20's I partied hard into my 30's, and at 37 I quit my addictions all on my own, cold turkey and been 100% sober ever since (I'm now 51 but still smoke cigs). I starting gaining weight and In 2001, I weighed 217# I'm 5'7". I decided to change my "eating habits". I did research on the net and started working out with weights, Mtn & street biking, walking and swimming. I lifted weights 3-4 days a week alt upper and lower work outs and I rode 10-15 miles street or dirt. I would also walk every night carrying those little 3lbs weights. All this time I still smoked cigs . I'm also a beach bum, so I loved to walk in the sand & swim in the ocean, which really works you good.

I also parked my car and walked or biked everywhere I could and when I did drive... I would park as far as I could from somewhere. so it forced me to get in a little exercise no matter what. I also would ride or walk in areas that made it fun so it made me want to do it and didn't feel like work..

My "eating healthy" ( I don't believe in the word "DIET") IMOHO 90% of "diets" fail.. So I replaced that word with "Eating healthy" ..because losing weight and being fit and staying that way is as much a mental thing as it is physical. I also would only get on a scale once or only twice a month, so I would see bigger weight loss which would motivate me more. I also learned that getting fit and seeing more muscles is an addiction and a good one at that !! My eating consisted of course.. watching calories and carbs. Believe it or not I started with slim fast for breakfast then a 30 min walk , and lunch would be a slim fast, fruit and a granola bar.

Dinners were chicken and vegetables or a baked pork chop. and never ate after 7pm. I ate a lot of salads too with a little low cal dressing. I would also still eat what I craved once in a while, but in very light moderation, this way I could control my cravings.. I lost 50-60# in around 9-10 months and got to my goal of around 165#. I kept it off for 4 years and I felt better then I ever did. Todd's right..when you feel good about yourself life is a breeze!

The negative side to this Is.. at the end of 07 I started gaining the weight back and fell into my old eating habits (I'm at 230 # now).. I do have some bad physical issues now but I am going to follow this thread and hope it gets me back on track,,



THANKS for posting this thread Todd !! Can it be made a STICKY?

[Sieg]

About 5.5 years ago I saw 217 lbs. on the scale, looked in the mirror and said enough! My off-road racing weight in '84 at the age of 26 at 5'-11" was 172 lbs. Initially I started on my own version of the Atkin's Diet since I like protein it was pretty easy to drop 25 lbs quickly. At the end of a year I had dropped 40 lbs.

Running doesn't work for me due to a lower back injury when I was 18 so I walk 15-25 miles a week on natural terrain every morning and do a fast 20 minute weight workout at lunch that is basically non-stop crunches, leg press, lat pull downs, chest press, triceps, biceps, and side bends for a total of 450-500 reps.

The biggest change involved shrinking my stomach, I cut my food volume down at least 50%. I nibble on select healthier snack food all through the day and never eat a large meal. Breakfast is a NutraGrain Oat & Honey 2 bar pack and maybe some yogurt, lunch is a 12 oz. cup of soup or a scoop of tuna sandwich mix and a scoop of cottage cheese. Dinner involves some sort of protein and vegitable. Last Friday I saw 170.8 on the scale.

I look at food like I look at fuel for my motors, reasonable quality and properly metered amounts for the activity level. Eating meals is not an event for me, it's a maintenance procedure. In humor - Most people have small block bodies and their mouth feeds their motor like a Pro-Stock carb and in some cases one with a stuck float.

Everyone's motor is different so you need to experiment with what food and activity works for your body and lifestyle. Your self-esteem, energy level, and an accurate scale and good mirror are good motivators.

Just Do It, you won't regret it.

[legend]

Good to see healthy efforts here folks

the mainstream media seems to get "healthy" wrong. If you want to be fit and active for a long time you need a mix of weight training and cardio. Don't go overboard on the high impact cardio. Cycling and rowing machines hurt your body a lot less than running and still have strong heart/CV beneficial effects.

I've found prowler pushing to be an amazing exercise as I don't have enough patience for long drawn out cardio

http://youtu.be/47gZpYUyCAQ like this

Take a multivit/mineral, get lots of fish oil, enough vitamin d [5000iu] per day seems to be good and get your free testosterone checked out

[srh3trinity]

I have got some catching up to do on this thread. I am 32 and recently finished Family Medicine residency and currently practice hospital medicine. I am glad to see some dialogue about making good decisions. Most of what I deal with in patients is self-inflicted on some level. Sure, there is a genetic component to many issues, but on some level you can beat genetics or at least delay their effects with good choices. As for me, I try to eat balanced as much as possible, drink plenty of water, eat plenty of fiber (filling and low calories) and practice intuitive eating. With intuitive eating I choose where and how I spend my calories. If I really want some ice cream at the end of the day, I will cut out calories on the front end throughout the day and allow for a small portion of ice cream. With intuitive eating, you have to really ask yourself do I want it bad enough to make some sacrifices and justify it to yourself, but if you find that you really do want something, it is probably better to allow for a small portion and satisfy the craving. If the craving passes, then you probably didn't really want it anyway. If it hangs around, you may splurge and go overboard in a moment of weakness.

I am working on trying to figure out a good exercise regimen with my bizarre schedule. That is the next step for me.