New Years' Resolution physical fitness thread

[Fishwelding]

So in any given population, including ARC's, there's always the folks who say "starting 1 January, I'm getting in shape!" And as I think on it, ARC is ideal, with all the positive waves around here as well as resident gym rats and people with professional military fitness training and job requirements. In any event, it's not modeling but it is more productive than bellyaching about politics. If you have any thoughts on weight loss, strength training, or general physical fitness, I'd be glad to hear 'em, and I'm sure others would too.

Since about February, I lost 30+ pounds through a workout regime that was mostly anaerobic, and having switched to diet soft drinks. This was crude, unmeasured weight training involving machines. I know only enough to avoid getting hurt, and am a rank amateur. But the effect so far has led me to suspect that weight/resistance training involves some sort of magic. This year, I'm implementing more cardio and "calorie restriction," a technical euphemism that sounds Special-Forces-Michael-Bay-Movie-Awesome, and deftly side-steps that vicious word "diet."

I have learned stuff from ExRx. They get technical and scholarly too fast, but the basic instruction stuff is fairly clear. About.com also has a big thing on health and weight loss, that's generally pretty clear, although health pros might not approve of its oversimplification. Lastly, type "weight loss .gov" into Google. You'll be pleased and disgusted simultaneously to find out how much information and instruction for losing weight is put on the web courtesy of your tax dollars, in a welfare-state effort to save Americans from their hapless, obese selves.

The best piece of advice I've read for the out-of-shape, to use the parlance of the strategy and policy wonks, is that one needs to dislocate eating from both pleasure and stress. Stress should be answered and controlled through exercise. Get your jollies building models (or more exciting activities), and outside of occasional, modest splurges, eat generally to maintain yourself.

And lastly, from henceforth I expect the Dodgeball references to fly thick and fast:

"Here at Globo Gym, we understand that "ugliness" and "fatness" are genetic disorders, much like baldness or necrophilia, and it's only your fault if you don't hate yourself enough to do something about it."

Edited January 1, 2010 by Fishwelding

[Kevan Vogler]

Mine is not a resolution as such, but I have lost a bit of weight since September.

I took on a heavier than normal work schedule this year and one of the schools I work for has about five flights of stairs to get up tot he teacher's room and classrooms and NO LIFT.

I also do a fair bit of walking in a normal working day too and very rarely do I sit down when teaching.

My schedule is busy enough to cut a lot of idle snacking out of my routine too.

I had to buy new trousers toward the end of November and found I had dropped from a 36 inch waist toa 35 and came within a hair of making into 34.

The great thing is that a lot of my colleagues are female, have notice the weight loss and don't mind paying mea compliment here and there :wub: I tell my girlfriend that and she just rolls her eyes at me

Don't discount the kind of incentive that supportive friends and family can give you if they know you have weight loss as a goal.

My goal for the end of 2010 is to be in size 32 trousers, or as close as I can be to it. In the shorter term, I want to burn a bit of fat off and get nicely toned for a possible seaside holiday in the summer. If I'm going to be seen on the beach, I'm going to be something worth seeing.

I'm going to be increasing my time at the swimming pool a lot in the near future. Swimming has to be one of the best overall body workouts that there is. Not a single muscle group gets missed in that activity and the rush that comes from the endorphins it releases is seriously invigorating.

Jogging is also going to get an increase from me

I'm also going to spend more time on my fitness ball. Some folks laugh at it, but your core muscles couldn't hope for a better workout simply through keeping you balanced on it. Your muscles are working to one degree or another from the minute you get onto it and don't stop until you get off of it.

I'm also considering taking up yoga or tai chi for balance and tone.

I have no intrest in heavy body building, so I usually stick to the resistance type excercises and aim myself at overall healthy muscle tone.

As for that school with all the stairs that I work at; I started working there about three years ago and thought the stairs would kill me. These days I can do all five flights, two stairs at a time, and barely be breathing hard at the top.

Edited January 1, 2010 by Kevan Vogler

[SBARC]

I lost 30 pounds in 2009. I did the gym thing with very limited success....and I was going to the gym twice a day. Then I lowered my food intake and the weight started coming off. I also switched from the gym to walking and I try to walk 2 1/2 to 3 hours a day (15km) if I can find the time. This gives me the results.

But as I get closer to my goal weight the pounds are harder to shed. So I'm looking at trying foods that are low on the Glycemic Index. Major diet programs such as Jenny Craig etc involve food that are low on the Glycemic Index, so I figure they are on to something. I don't plan to buy their food etc, but I have found websites on the net that explain what low Glycemic Index food are. So I'm going to look into that further.

Weight loss is partly physical and partly mental. For me the issue is trying to avoid foods that are high on the Glycemic Index.....these food give me sugar highs and lows that cause me to get cravings whichs leads to more eating. Kicking the old eating habits is the trick and it is hard, so it is best to do it in small steps.

[Fishwelding]

I totally agree on the positive support thing. And I think the problem is basically mental; from attitude adjustment, everything follows. I strongly suspect that in regard to different diets and exercise regimes, people's relative success or failure will be highly dependent on their individual situations. Weight training did a lot for me, but for other folks it seems to offer very low return. I did little or no conscious dieting in 2009, and yet I lost weight, although that's not completely true because for some reason I just lost interest in sugar foods and drinks--getting older?--beyond a disgraceful binge over Halloween candy. I still crave the chips-type snack foods, however. My doctor told me "more cardio," which I despise, but I suspect he's probably right.

My big security blanket, however, is coffee. Reach to take that away from me, and you'll pull back a broken hand. But I might need to ditch it, because while the interwebs seem highly variable as to whether caffeine is good or bad for weight management, I very much doubt 4/5ths a pot of coffee a day counts as "healthy" on any account.

For measuring progress, I can safely use weight loss and Body Mass Index, but I also might use the US Navy's or USAF's current PFT as a guide.

Edited January 1, 2010 by Fishwelding

[Patrick_Nevin]

Yeah, OK, I plan to lose quite a bit of weight this year*. I put most of it down to happiness (unwilling to change this) desk job (hopefully this will remain) and hours spent reading the computer...between minutes gainfully spent modelling.

This next year I pledge to modify the entertainment with some exercise, actually use some of my gym membership and ideally get some miles on the pushbikes that are irritating me in my garage, getting between my paint station and motorbikes.

Patrick

* There's the longevity thing of course - I wince at the idea of my widow having a garage sale with the stash. But also (is this the same for other ARC members?) the life insurance I have to pay for owning my house is related to the figure on the scales. Eeek!

[Kevan Vogler]

My big security blanket, however, is coffee. Reach to take that away from me, and you'll pull back a broken hand. But I might need to ditch it, because while the interwebs seem highly variable as to whether caffeine is good or bad for weight management, I very much doubt 4/5ths a pot of coffee a day counts as "healthy" on any account.

I was much the same. I still drink, and enjoy, coffee, but I cut way back on it after changing my career about five years ago. I had an insanely high coffee intake when I was in graphic design. I have two or three normal sized cups a day now and I actaully enjoy the stuff now. Back then I was downing eight cups in an eight hour shift and not really enjoying, it was just keeping me going.

I'll also agree with what Steve said about changing eating habits. I don't eat half the fast food I used to when I was in graphic design, I actually have time for proper food these days. I was a lot more disciplined with my food intake this Christmas. Thankfully my girlfriend's mother understood and didn't push goodies on me too much.

[JasonB]

So in any given population, including ARC's, there's always the folks who say "starting 1 January, I'm getting in shape!" [snip]

In 2002-2003 I lost 60 lbs in one year. I did no exercise. The only type of exercise that I can stick to is weight lifting, and that will actually cause you to gain muscle weight, and I need to see the scale going down more than my waist size to feel like I am achieving something. So mine was all diet. For the first 3 months it was simple watching what I ate and replacing one meal with something really healthy, like a broiled chicken salad. After about 3 months and 15 pounds, I plateaued. So my wife and I both went on the Atkins diet. Worked like a charm. It took about a week to get accustomed to, but in about 6 month I lost another 30 lbs. But I am very sensitive to carbohydrate intake apparently, and adding hardly any carbs back into my meals kicked me out of the diet. So for that last 3 months I went on a very strict version of the diet, and by the end of the year I had went from 213 lbs to 153. I looked anorexic. Once I got off the Atkins diet, I still avoided sugar and high carb meals, and gained very little of the weight back for almost 3 years. Then because of life changes and stress, I started eating 'comfort' foods, and gained it all back. I just read recently that exercising while dieting can actually hurt your success, because the physical activity makes you hungry, and many people will burn off a couple hundred calories exercising, then eat a 1000 calorie meal instead of something good for them. When I was weight lifting, I would work out, then eat 2 power bars, which were probably 500 cals each. Getting off the sugary soda was a good choice, one that I made in the early 90's. If I hadn't, I would probably be consuming 1500-2000 cals in just soda every day. Now I am going to try these things as see how they work.

No comfort food at all in the house-If its there, I will eventually eat it

No fast food if at all if possible

Put the food on a plate then get it out of sight. Leaving food in serving dishes at the table causes people to eat more of it.

Find more things to keep me interested. I eat because I am bored.

Eating better can become A habit. If you get used to not eating stuff like chocolate, you can do without it. But for me, having just a little makes me want to have a lot, so its all or nothing. So nothing like counting points type diets work for me, I would be in points hell after the first day.

BTW, walking, though probably good for your heart, won't help you much with losing weight. Its not aerobic enough and most people wouldn't do it enough for significant calorie loss. It can help maintain weight loss, though. Same thing with the PFT. It may help some, or it may make you hungrier. When I was in, I knew many guys that were considered overweight and on special weight loss programs, and they could get a max score on the PFT.

Its very hard to not only lose the weight but keep it off. Most people fail because they think the ultimate goal is the number on the scale when the finish the diet, not the one 2 years later.

Edited January 1, 2010 by JasonB

[SBARC]

I do know I feel much better getting the weight off and going from 36" pants to 32" pants. Plus not carrying around the extra 30lbs. I'm shooting for a target weight of about 185 for now. I use walking to keep the weight off and I enjoy walking as my route is far from cars and traffic as I walk through a forest on an old railway right of way that is a 10' wide walking /cycling path........very peaceful and an excellent way to collect my thoughts......although this time of year does involved driving rain etc so it is less enjoyable.

[Fishwelding]

I've been doing weight training and limited cardio for about nine months, lost some weight, and haven't noticed a major appetite jump so far. In part, I think, this was because I discovered that water could comfortably replace a lot of eating. My "Calorie Restriction" amounts to changing my understanding of food, from a pass-time to a necessity, like taking out the garbage or brushing my teeth. I agree on the junk food. My most reliable method of self-control on potato chips is to not go near them. This holiday season, I ate raw vegetables before any event where there was going to be junk food, and only had a catastrophic Christmas-cookie lapse once. (Oh, you sugar-coated little land-mines!)

I did find, as you suggest, walking to be a big waste of time. A day's route-march in full pack is one thing; strolling around the block is for retirees. It's probably going to be running and machine-work for cardio. The PFT is more for measurement, alongside other indicators, than a program by itself. I'm not simply going for personal appearance, but rather instead seek more livability. Endure more stress on less sleep. Gain greater awareness, mental performance, physical strength and endurance, etc.

[SBARC]

I've been doing weight training and limited cardio for about nine months, lost some weight, and haven't noticed a major appetite jump so far. In part, I think, this was because I discovered that water could comfortably replace a lot of eating. My "Calorie Restriction" amounts to changing my understanding of food, from a pass-time to a necessity, like taking out the garbage or brushing my teeth. I agree on the junk food. My most reliable method of self-control on potato chips is to not go near them. This holiday season, I ate raw vegetables before any event where there was going to be junk food, and only had a catastrophic Christmas-cookie lapse once. (Oh, you sugar-coated little land-mines!)

I did find, as you suggest, walking to be a big waste of time. A day's route-march in full pack is one thing; strolling around the block is for retirees. It's probably going to be running and machine-work for cardio. The PFT is more for measurement, alongside other indicators, than a program by itself. I'm not simply going for personal appearance, but rather instead seek more livability. Endure more stress on less sleep. Gain greater awareness, mental performance, physical strength and endurance, etc.

Jogging was out for me due to bad knees. My Dad went through this when he was middle aged. He modified his diet......limited his portions and took up walking. Usually 1 to 2 hours a day. He walked everywhere and at a fast pace and he became very lean and maintined a lean healthy weight until he died of cancer 30 years later. So I chose to use his exapmle for myself as I ahve seen it works.......but all this depends on the indivduals. What works for one person doesn't work for another.

[Fishwelding]

Jogging was out for me due to bad knees.

Yea, that's the killer with running--high impact. I'm going to try and use some sort of other cardio in conjunction with it so my knees don't crumble. And no doubt as you say, I expect people will have a wide variety of experiences, depending on their circumstances.

[JasonB]

Jogging might be good for cardio, but bad for about everything else in your body. Its frightening the number of runners I have known that have had total hip or knee replacement. You should try something like an elliptical machine, that gives about the same workout for no impact. My wife wants to get one, but considering our history of unused exercise equipment (including bike, ski machine and treadmill, plus I had an entire Smith machine/free weight home gym) all of which ended up collecting dust, I am a little hesitant about going down that path again.

When I first started my diet, it was inspired by one event. I was picking up a bag of dog food and complaining about how heavy it was. Then I realized that the 60lb bag that I was throwing over my shoulder was the same amount of excess weight I was carrying. LIGHTBULB! I actually got down to 33 inch waist, which is where I was after boot camp. I am well north of that now!

[RockyController]

Don't always judge your success on the scale but by the size of your clothing especially if you are lifting weights as you will be building muscle and burning fat and muscle weighs more that fat.

[Fishwelding]

Don't always judge your success on the scale but by the size of your clothing especially if you are lifting weights as you will be building muscle and burning fat and muscle weighs more that fat.

Yea, I've already noticed that. My shirts feel different, and I've dropped some waist size, yet my weight loss (30lbs) isn't exactly radical, especially averaged at my size. (Actually, one measurement that was something was a mild drop in average blood pressure). I need to lose weight to be in the proper Body Mass Index range, but at the same time, I am (like Eric Cartman!) big-framed, so no, I probably will never be safely under 200lbs unless I suddenly turn into a Health Nazi.

Edited January 1, 2010 by Fishwelding

[JasonB]

The funny thing is, when I reached 153 lbs, which is firmly in the middle of my suggested weight range, I kept getting asked if I was sick! Funny how the perception of healthy and unhealthy changes, and overweight is no longer really looked at as unhealthy by many people. Then again, at 153 and a melon head the size of mine, it was sort of like that Seinfeld episode:

"What giant freak-head?"

"The one that sits atop my disproportionately puny body . I'm a walking candy apple!"

[RockyController]

I as well try and strive to get more physically fit (especially since its a job requirement) and just basically get more tone and lean. Only time will tell to see how well I do this year.

[Andy Gudbergsson]

I plan on losing about 10- 15 pounds in the coming months, need to start walking again my 6 1/2 miles on my days off, which due to my working schedule adds to 15 days a month. Have not been able to walk in the last few months because of my back but everything is getting back to normal.

My 36 size jeans are just a little snug for comfort. Would like to get back into my size 34 jeans again and that is the goal.

Cheers

Andy G

[Fishwelding]

The decaffeinization effort is already killing me. I'm allowed one cup of coffee this morning; I already drank it and want to punch someone.

[Kevan Vogler]

Jogging might be good for cardio, but bad for about everything else in your body. Its frightening the number of runners I have known that have had total hip or knee replacement. You should try something like an elliptical machine, that gives about the same workout for no impact.

Jogging is like everything else, there is a right and a wrong way to do it and it isn't as simple as slipping on a set of sneakers and hitting the road.

Technique and shoes are critical to it. You don't cheap on jogging shoes, comparison shop and buy the best your finances will permit you too. Cheap jogging shoes are a sure ticket to shin splints and all sorts of joint ailments that will make the activity far more detrimental than beneficial for you.

From a technique point of view, you should take the longest stride comfortable for you and land your stride around the front half of your foot, letting the ball and arch do the work. If you're the sort who lets their heel take the impact, you won't be jogging for long.

Also, a lot of joggers I've met really overdo it. Like other things, it should be moderated and balanced with other activities. I jog once or twice a week and then balance it out by working on my stepper machine on other days.

It's shocking how many people are out there doing excercise in totally ignorant ways. Jogging is a very good way to stay in shape but it's also a very good way to give yourself chronic leg injuries if you underestimate the complexity of the activity.

It's not just a nice run in the park that any idiot can do; it's a proper combination of technique, equipment and moderation.

[JasonB]

The decaffeinization effort is already killing me. I'm allowed one cup of coffee this morning; I already drank it and want to punch someone.

Just so happens I went through that as well.Even though I might drink 6 -8 cans of diet Pepsi a day, I found that I could get by with one in the morning, one in the mid afternoon, and one at night, and that was enough to keep the headaches away. I filled in the others with non-caffeine. So I started there, then weaned myself off the 3 leaded Pepsi's. It took a little while and I did have to go through some mild headaches, but I made it. Cold turkey is no way to go. Anyhow, I didn't see any health improvements or changes after a year, so I went back to the regular stuff, it tastes better. But I did like the fact that I wasn't a slave to the need for caffeine.

[Fishwelding]

Just so happens I went through that as well.Even though I might drink 6 -8 cans of diet Pepsi a day, I found that I could get by with one in the morning, one in the mid afternoon, and one at night, and that was enough to keep the headaches away. I filled in the others with non-caffeine. So I started there, then weaned myself off the 3 leaded Pepsi's. It took a little while and I did have to go through some mild headaches, but I made it. Cold turkey is no way to go. Anyhow, I didn't see any health improvements or changes after a year, so I went back to the regular stuff, it tastes better. But I did like the fact that I wasn't a slave to the need for caffeine.

I'm allowed another cup this afternoon, too. I hope I make it. I'm starting to hallucinate. Or I should begin listening to this North American Grizzly Bear who's sitting to my left lecturing me about the development of American foreign trade policy, because maybe he really does have two graduate degrees from Dartmouth, and knows his stuff.

[JasonB]

I'm allowed another cup this afternoon, too. I hope I make it. I'm starting to hallucinate. Or I should begin listening to this North American Grizzly Bear who's sitting to my left lecturing me about the development of American foreign trade policy, because maybe he really does have two graduate degrees from Dartmouth, and knows his stuff.

Wait, that was a hallucination??? He's the one that advised me on my 401k investments!

[Fishwelding]

Well, week one of 'calorie restriction' appears to be a success. It's amazing how much I don't have to eat that a previously did. I'm somewhat confused as to why I wasn't gaining more weight then. About my worst moment was a bit of homemade Chicken Pot Pie. But homemade, if done properly, isn't the war-crime that the store-bought pies are. I think those things are illegal under arms limitation treaties.

Need to diversify cardio training, however. I'm running a lot more, and am suffering no ill-effects, but I need to break that up.

So is anyone else still on their crazy New Year's Resolution health-kick? Or have you all since come to your senses?

Edited January 8, 2010 by Fishwelding

[Big Texan]

I lost 30 pounds in 2009. I did the gym thing with very limited success....and I was going to the gym twice a day. Then I lowered my food intake and the weight started coming off. I also switched from the gym to walking and I try to walk 2 1/2 to 3 hours a day (15km) if I can find the time. This gives me the results.

But as I get closer to my goal weight the pounds are harder to shed. So I'm looking at trying foods that are low on the Glycemic Index. Major diet programs such as Jenny Craig etc involve food that are low on the Glycemic Index, so I figure they are on to something. I don't plan to buy their food etc, but I have found websites on the net that explain what low Glycemic Index food are. So I'm going to look into that further.

Weight loss is partly physical and partly mental. For me the issue is trying to avoid foods that are high on the Glycemic Index.....these food give me sugar highs and lows that cause me to get cravings whichs leads to more eating. Kicking the old eating habits is the trick and it is hard, so it is best to do it in small steps.

Steve, when you go walking, have a 3lbs dumb bell in each hand. This will take those last few pounds off. Add ankle weights and that will help the lower part of your trunk and legs.

[SBARC]

Steve, when you go walking, have a 3lbs dumb bell in each hand. This will take those last few pounds off. Add ankle weights and that will help the lower part of your trunk and legs.

Actually that's a very good idea. I do have a set of wrap around ankle weights as well a s aset of wrap around wrist weights. I'll have to dig them out. Thanks.