Healthy Living 101

[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

[Fluid Power]

I made a change in life style about 7 months ago. 193 lbs at 5'8". I didn't want to go on meds for cholesterol (it was border line on my last check up) The thing that helped me the most is exactly what Todd did, is write everything down that you eat. It is a huge PITA, however, if you use myfitnesspal.com (it is free!) you can create a profile for yourself, your target weight and the time frame you want to lose the weight and it will do the rest. The beauty of this website (besides being free) is that it also has a mobile app. Download to your phone and use the barcode scanner to import foods that you eat. Log in to myfitnesspal, tap input foods, scan the label of your yogurt and boom, it shows up in your foods. Exercise in the morning? Make a note of it. (You should eat your exercise calories btw) I am down 20lbs and using MFP has been a lifestyle change for me because of the portion control. Do I still eat potato chips? Every now and then and I eat the portion size on the bag. If it is 12 chips, I have 12 chips. The motivator for me has been the exercise. Since you eat the calories, I work my butt off and then I eat pizza on Friday night (without guilt) The key for me was never letting myself get to hungry. I eat tons of fruits and vegetables and I always carry them with me. Pack my lunch for work, etc. I am amazed that for lunch I can get by with a turkey on wheat, 1 oz of cheese, a huge bag of carrots, and diet Pepsi and I am full! Check it out. I think it will work for a lot of people.

Darren

[Vegas69]

Originally Posted by Track Junky

Great thread Todd!! I was bike riding 20 miles every other day and doing push ups and sit ups for the days in between. I always watch what I eat but sometimes cheat and eat too many sweets. I am now in a slump and haven't been working out for over a month and am having a hard time breaking out.
Now that you have started this thread you have given me motivation to get started again. Thanks

Gaetano, the problem I see with you is exactly as I described earlier in the thread. Who has time to ride a bike 20 miles every other day? The first day your schedule is to busy, you sweep it aside and pin it on time. Stretch, ride for a half hour, and stretch again and move forward with your day. If you have extra time, you can ride longer. Just don't think you need to ride 20 miles everytime. Some excercise is way better than none.

[Vegas69]

One thing I want to caution about is reducing your calorie intake to much. That leads to quick weight loss but it also leads to gaining the weight back since it will be tough to sustain. Here's my diet from last Tuesday.


AM-
Coffee
Jazz Apple
3 Mile Run
Egg White Omelet(Fresh Onion, Jalapeno, Spinach, Red Pepper, Zuccini, Tomato in Omelet)
One piece of whole grain toast(No butter or Jelly)
-----
Lunch
Chicken Salad(Whole wheat rice, black beans, corn, pico salsa, peppers)
----
Afternoon Snack
Handful of Carrots
Handful of Raw Almonds
----
Dinner
Seared Ahi Tuna Steak(Salt and Pepper)
Salad/1/2 Spinach with FRESH Onion, Tomato, Radish, Red Pepper, Cucumber (Reasonable amount of dressing)
One Dinner Roll(No Butter)
-----
Desert
FRESH Strawberries/1/2 Banana Mixed in a Bowl
A few spoonfuls of SKIM Cottage Cheese

Estimated Calories: 1700-1800

I lost .6 of a lb on the scale the following day. A super healthy fulfilling diet packed with enery and low enough calorie intake to lose weight. 200-300 additional calories would still net me a small weight loss.

[OLDFLM]

One word... Paleo.

[sniper]

Quick back drop. I am 36, I hadn't been to a gym in the 10 years since leaving the Army. I was always a solid 215, I'm 5'9". 2 years ago I quit drinking all soda. I loved Coke and drank a lot of it. Last Dec my wife got me a planet fitness membership but it was until Feb that my car broke down and I walked/ran home. That was 4.5 miles and I was wasted. But even beyond that I just felt sluggish, sleep was all over the place. I just did not feel "good". I was getting a beer belly and I have never had a beer. I really hated that.

So started back in the gym in late FEB. I lift weights and do abs in the morning, and 3-5 times a week I go back in the evenings for cardio and abs. My miles are down to 7:20ish for up to 5 miles. But frankly running does and always has bored me to death, so I usually don't go over 5 miles. But I mix it up and hit the stair climber, bike and eliptical. I try to do at least 30 -45 minutes of cardio per session. Pick a tv episode and watch it through, it goes pretty fast.

The best thing I have done though is I started doing obstacle course races. The first was a spartan race sprint in April at the whitewater center. It was phenominal. I have and try to hit at least one per month, two if I can find them .

I've said all that to say this. My start weight in Feb was right at 255. Today I am 217. I don't have a target weight, whatever I end up at that I can easily maintain without eating like a rabbit is fine with me. Diets are made to start and stop. I am not on a diet, just life changes. I eat pretty good but I still have some of those "bad" things too. The difference is instead of 5,6 or more cookies I have 1 or 2. Things like that are easy to do. Lot's of water. And if I have say sweet tea/lemonade at lunch I only have water for dinner or the opposite. Americans get so much sugar and empty calories from the drinks we consume, that it is an easy place to cut back. An 8oz soda has 50g of sugar. That's crazy!

I don't believe "working out" will payoff necessarily in a longer life, but I feel (literally) it will lead to better years no matter how long or short they are.

[Track Junky]

This thread is building great momentum. This is awesome guys!!

Even though it has already been said I just want to say how important diet is. In the word diet, I dont mean diet literally. To me a diet is just watching calorie intake and watching what you eat. Staying away from soda's at our age is important. Soda's go straight to the gut. We all know the gut is the hardest to lose. Stay away from chips and foods that are high in saturated fats.....bad for the heart and also goes straight to the gut. Staying hydrated helps the joints in our bodies. I noticed that when I dont drink alot of water my lower back starts to hurt.

One more thing.....try and get your family involved....being healthy is a life style. Good luck to all and try and stay motivated!!

[toy71camaro]

OP. Good timing of this thread! I started about 2 weeks ago doing 10 minutes on the new elliptical we got each morning before work, and on non work days increasing it slowly. Today and Yesterday i hit the 20 minute mark. Also started being more careful about what choices of food I eat.

Originally Posted by Fluid Power

The thing that helped me the most is exactly what Todd did, is write everything down that you eat. It is a huge PITA, however, if you use myfitnesspal.com (it is free!) you can create a profile for yourself, your target weight and the time frame you want to lose the weight and it will do the rest. The beauty of this website (besides being free) is that it also has a mobile app. Download to your phone and use the barcode scanner to import foods that you eat. Log in to myfitnesspal, tap input foods, scan the label of your yogurt and boom, it shows up in your foods. Exercise in the morning? Make a note of it. (You should eat your exercise calories btw)
Darren

Thanks for sharing this.. Im a techie. Love gadgets like this. Just signed up and my my entries for this morning. Hopefully this helps keep on track.


Little background, I'm 32. 5'7", 175. I want to be around the 155 range, but more importantly, healthy and fit. Always been athletic, but as i've got older, you generally lose that side of things.

I see there is a "Friends" option on the myfitnesspal app, if anyone wants to join up for some extra tracking/motivation, feel free: toy71camaro is my username.

[Shmoov69]

Todd, regarding the company we keep... I'll share a quote that my dad always told me and it is pretty good. The company you keep WILL influence you in time, no matter what!
"if you live (or spend your time) with dogs, you're gonna get fleas".

Thanks!
Jimmy