New Year's resolution

[Michchamp]

This New Year, I've resolved to forego all ad hominem attacks, and keep things civil no matter ****ing idiotic someone or their thoughts or ideas might be.

We all deserve to be treated with respect (in theory), and I'm going to act according to that principle from now on.

 

[tinselwolverine]

Me as well.

I resolve to be much more measured, tolerant and moderated.

 

[thewolverines24]

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[Michchamp]

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you're right to be suspect, since new years resolutions are notoriously unreliable, but I plan to give it my best shot.

 

[thewolverines24]

I'm just joking around

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[Gulo Blue]

Eh, I don't think I make too many people too angry, so I'll probably continue to post as I have. I'll resume my diet, which I take a break from about Thanksgiving through New Years. I've gained 7 lbs this holiday season, but I'm still 20 lbs under my Christmas 2015 peak. What I haven't done is any regular working out. I'll probably wait until February so my neighbors don't think it's a New Year's resolution, but I might start jogging again.

 

[UMRules06]

Been on a diet/exercise program since early November. Down right around 30 lbs so far. Only want to keep it going from here.

I have been doing just straight cardio/treadmill throughout but want to start incorporating more weight training soon. I'm like a total newbie to all things healthy living, so taking it one step at a time here.

 

[hungry]

weight training>cardio

you'll find that weight training is better than cardio for losing weight. Sounds odd, but it is true. When I want to lose weight, i use moderate intensity weight training and calorie manipulation. I rarely do any cardio.

 

[dubbsco]

If you do cardio, do high intensity stuff. I play indoor soccer which requires a s*** ton of sprints. I also discovered the risers at the gym and do a ton of plyo and up/downs on those which has given me a better sweat than just running on the tread.

The problem with standard cardio is that, a)it gets very repetitive and boring, b)your body settles into the routine and the weight loss slows down unless you constantly adjust things. It's much better to walk a minute and then sprint a minute, rinse and repeat rather than running a flat 6.0 on the treadmill for 20 minutes.

But ultimately, it's 95 percent diet. You can be a fiend at the gym but come home and eat crap and it doesn't really matter.

 

[Michchamp]

If you do cardio, do high intensity stuff. I play indoor soccer which requires a s*** ton of sprints. I also discovered the risers at the gym and do a ton of plyo and up/downs on those which has given me a better sweat than just running on the tread.

The problem with standard cardio is that, a)it gets very repetitive and boring, b)your body settles into the routine and the weight loss slows down unless you constantly adjust things. It's much better to walk a minute and then sprint a minute, rinse and repeat rather than running a flat 6.0 on the treadmill for 20 minutes.

But ultimately, it's 95 percent diet. You can be a fiend at the gym but come home and eat crap and it doesn't really matter.

I've been reading a lot about how bad refined sugar is. I think cutting that out of your diet is a big win. of all food products, refined sugar packs a ton of calories per gram.

it's hard though because its almost added to every processed food we eat, including almost every single item at most fast food places. its in almost everything on McDonald's menu, including the ketchup, buns, dips, BBQ sauce...

fruit drinks, pop, etc. are also LOADED with sugar. it's really insane. I've cut those out completely, and have generally cut down on sugars/sweets at other times, but it's hard. I think most of us who grew up here are somewhat addicted to it. I know at the end of a meal, I crave something sweet. It's hard to fight the urge.

 

[dubbsco]

Yeah, if you are able to cut out basically all fast food, you'll notice a huge change in your life. I'm not the pinnacle of great eating, but I have honestly not touched Taco Bell, McDonalds, BK, Wendy's in probably a decade. Going out to restaurants a lot is also a recipe for failure. Just doing some meal prep a few days before your work week and taking good stuff to your job is going to help a lot.

I won't lie and say I don't indulge in a coke zero every now and again, because I do. But it's maybe once/twice a week. Gotta drink a lot of water.

 

[hungry]

I drink one 20 oz thing of water a day and am just fine. I don't believe in the water craze.

Never drink any pop. Diet and regular are both just horrible for you. Back 30 years ago, when I was a teen, i used to drink a lot of soda pop, but today's soda pop is very different from what we drank back then. This new stuff is terrible on your body.

Cut out shit beer. I only drink beer straight from the brewery. I find it's so much better and you drink less. Bud, Miller, Busch are all horrible and mostly fermented corn nowadays.

Don't even step into a fast food place. Those places are horrible. Nothing good comes from them. Dubbs is right. If you want to lose weight/be more healthy, quit or limit eating out. It's more expensive and you never know what they are putting in there.

 

[dubbsco]

I don't mean you need to sit there and chug 90 glasses of water a day. But it's the lifeblood of your body. Everything has to work harder to process if you don't have water in your system. It also helps you to feel full and is a great natural hunger cleanse. If I drink a good amount of water before lunch, I don't eat nearly as much.

Well, cut out beer entirely lol. But if you are going to drink yeah, that's probably the best way to go.

It's just way too easy to swing through and grab a burger on the way home and time is always referenced as the #1 reason. But then you scarf your food and go sit on the couch for two hours thinking, damn I could have taken an extra 15 minutes to cook. Hell, I used to be the master of buying turkey meatballs or chicken, throwing a 2 minute pouch of rice in the microwave and getting some frozen veggies. You don't have to spend an hour making a healthy meal.

 

[Gulo Blue]

I tried what I thought were equal levels of effort put into exercise, diet + exercise, and just dieting and if all you want to do is lose weight, it's easiest just dieting. There's no mystery for 90% of us. You eat X calories, you will weigh Y lbs. I'm in that 90%. But I'm not "on a diet" like it's a temporary thing. I just learned what the right number of calories are for me and it took a couple months for me to learn to eat the right amount. This is my life now. It's impossible through the holidays, but then I bust out my calorie tracking app for a month or so to get an annual checkup on what I think is the right amount of food for a day. The crazy thing is that if you change your diet, it takes 3 years for your weight to fully adjust.

30 lbs since November seems pretty intense. On track to lose well over 100 lbs if the diet can be maintained.

BUT while I'm happy with the weight progress, I've noticed doing chores in the yard my fitness isn't where I'd like it to be. I think cardio is more important for long term health, but I'd also like to get around to doing some weight training for the yard work. I shouldn't feel sore on Monday because of chores.

 

[thewolverines24]

I'm lucky. All I have to do is work out and I can eat whatever I want and I don't gain weight. My dad is the same way.

Now I definitely eat better than I used to because I know eating like crap is bad for me whether I'm gaining weight or not. I never eat fast food and I actually hate sweets/desserts. Key Lime Pie or something with peanut butter are the only desserts I will eat and that is on a rare occasion. Pizza is probably my worst food habit. I have a local pizza place by me that makes everything in house and it's delicious. I want it once a week, every week.

 

[Gulo Blue]

I eat fast food some. The thing you notice if you're tracking everything is that you're weight will spike if you go from no fast food to a bunch of it, more than the calories can explain. It's water weight retained to maintain proper salinity in reaction to the high levels of salt in the fast food.

Similarly, in the first week of a diet, you see a lot of weight drop that's not real weight loss. Less food = less salt = less water needed. I think it's a big reason why people stop dieting early on. They see the big drop as indicative of what it's going to be like and then they feel like it's not working after they've adjusted to the lower salt intake.

 

[dubbsco]

Cardio is absolutely great for your cardiovascular system and your heart. There's no doubt about it. I went through the whole personal training class (still have to finish the hours, but no motivation lol). But if you want to build lean muscle mass, your cardio needs to be high intensity, short interval stuff. Static running/walking won't get you there.

Now, to your point Wolverines, I know plenty of people like that. Just because they are skinny doesn't mean they are healthy. You can be 80 lbs and constantly eat pizza, and your body fat percentage will be higher than say a linebacker or an athletic, heavier guy who works out all the time and eats great. I've never related being skinny to being healthy. I think having a great metabolism throughout your life can be misleading for long term health.

 

[Gulo Blue]

Here's what I used to find my target and create reasonable expectations (which is important for sticking with it). This link, and then click 'switch to expert mode'

https://www.supertracker.usda.gov/bwp/index.html

 

[thewolverines24]

Cardio is absolutely great for your cardiovascular system and your heart. There's no doubt about it. I went through the whole personal training class (still have to finish the hours, but no motivation lol). But if you want to build lean muscle mass, your cardio needs to be high intensity, short interval stuff. Static running/walking won't get you there.

Now, to your point Wolverines, I know plenty of people like that. Just because they are skinny doesn't mean they are healthy. You can be 80 lbs and constantly eat pizza, and your body fat percentage will be higher than say a linebacker or an athletic, heavier guy who works out all the time and eats great. I've never related being skinny to being healthy. I think having a great metabolism throughout your life can be misleading for long term health.

I agree with you. Thankfully, I get a thorough check up every year and all of my numbers are always great. I've never had a high percentage of body fat because I stay active. I'm not as active as when I used to play basketball every day of my life, but I do work out 4-5 times a week on top of owning a husky. She needs plenty of activity every day.

 

[dubbsco]

Yeah, for the last few months I played indoor soccer twice a week and basketball once a week in competitive leagues. Now I trimmed it down to indoor soccer once a week and I'll just play pickup ball whenever. I played basketball religiously the last few years and it has absolutely ravaged my knees.