Diet & Fitness Support Thread

[RAMA]

^It definitely helps when the rest of your household are on a health kick too! Unfortunately, one of my roommies is a cradle-robber. She's 23 and her boyfriend is 19. He hasn't grown out of his teenage suburban boyhood. Our place is stocked up with mac and cheese, powdered mashed-potatoes, sunny d-lite, sugar cereals and the like. I think I'm the only one in this apartment who eats fresh vegetables!

I'm happy today. I kept my blood sugars in range all day.

Never underestimate the power of support from those around you. Your situation is unfortunate. Its bad when people do it callously, but what's worse, how often have you seen people thrust sweets or junk food in the face of people trying to eat healthy. I hate when I see this.

RAMA

 

[RAMA]

Hi everybody! I had trouble finding my favorite ol' fitness chicken thread after the board re-boot ... I'm assuming this is the place to go now?

I'm currently training for a half-marathon. I did 9.5 miles on my last long run (woo hoo!) and it's all going swimmingly. I'm really looking forward to this race in May - the Wine Country Half Marathon. it's right here in my neighborhood through some of the most gorgeous scenery on earth. And at the end, there's free winetasting & massages for all the finishers! Gotta love it.

I'm also doing the New Rules of Lifting for Women weight training program ... it's really challenging and it's definitely giving me muscles I never had before! I think it's helping with my running, too. I'm getting a lot fewer joint injuries, even with the really long distances.

I haven't been doing much in the supplement department ... Biotest's "Surge" post-workout mix on weight training days, and some Creatine. And a multi-vitamin. I should probably start watching what I eat, though. Even with all this running (18-25 miles/week) I haven't lost any weight, and I wouldn't mind dropping 5 pounds or so. (I blame the wine! )

Anyway, nice to see y'all again. I hope everyone is meeting their personal fitness goals! :thumbsup:

Two issues I just noticed in your post:

Jogging is an exercise where the full weight of the body is involved with every movement, in other words the weight must be supported. When exercising at higher levels of exertion the body tends to burn more carbs, so even though a jog would burn lots of calories it would be no use for losing fat weight if 90% of the calories burned are carbs! Jogging might be useful for maintaining weight, but if losing fat is your goal, you might want to lay off jogging till you are close to your goal weight.

Second, if you are an endurance athlete, creatine might not help you that much, its better for activities which require short bursts of energy/effort. Though its probably not completely useless...and some research shows that it actually helps heart health and lowers cholesterol. If you continue to take it, you might want to take kre-alkalyn, as 90% regular creatine monohydrate is converted to creatinine, a waste by product of its breakdown in the body. Also 1.5 grams of KA is equal to 10 of regular CM, and with no bloating.

Congrats on working on the marathon and the new routine. That book looks very interesting.

RAMA

 

[SmoothieX]

I would like to run a half this year myself. My goal last year was to do a 50 mile road bike trip. It's extremely hilly here so it was going to be a good challenge for me. I got into the low 40s, then hurt my elbow skipping a rock of all things.

I couldn't grip the handles so I started running more. Figured a half marathon would be a similar goal. I was comfortably doing 10 milers until my big toe flared up. Ramped up my miles too quick I think.

Then it was back to biking but too late in the season to work back up for a race. (We have a really short outdoor summer sports season up here.)

Ended up taking a cortisone shot in the toe which fixed that, and have now been slowly working back into running on the treadmill. The cardio was still in good shape but the muscles were fried. It's coming along though.

With daylight savings kicking in and the snow and ice finally melting off the shoulders of the roads, I should be able to get outside within a week. It'll still be a while before I can bike out there, because you really need to be sure all the crap has melted for that, but maybe I can work on my half. I've been looking for something to do in my spare time anyway!

 

[thestrangequark]

...one of my roommies is a cradle-robber. She's 23 and her boyfriend is 19.

No, she's a cougar! Awesome. It's what I aspire to be, as soon as I find the right pool boy to draw into my web.

LOL! I'm 47 and my husband is 45 ... does that make me a cougar, or do I need a younger pool boy to qualify?

Well, she'd be a cougar if the boy didn't spend all his time playing World of Warcraft and blasting Happy Hardcore (the most pathetic, offensive, unredeemable "music" in the world), and not doing his dishes!

I'm happy today. I kept my blood sugars in range all day.

Good for you, tsq!

Thank you! It's two days in a row now! One very mild high, but nothing to write home about. And that's with real vigilance in testing. I usually test 4-6 times daily, before meals and bedtime and sometimes once or twice in between. To really regulate my sugars I've been testing before meals and two hours after, before bed, and waking up in the middle of the night for a night test. It's a pain in the ass (especially waking up at night because I'm not very cogent when I'm half asleep), but hopefully the information I gather over 4 weeks of such diligence, I'll have a better understanding of my cycles and how to control them without such drastic efforts.
What I really need to do is limit my carbs. If I keep it under 100-150g a day it really helps me to keep my sugars in range. The truth is that it's been 4 years since I was really careful. Since I counted all my carbs diligently and kept to a strict eating schedule. I'm more than out of practice, it's like I've been living in a completely different world.
Fortunately, I eat very healthy the majority of the time (save for those periods I mentioned when I completely stop eating for days or eat too much or just ridiculous foods).

I just finished 3.1 miles with a mile of interval work in the middle. Time to shower and dash to work! See you fitness chickens later ...

Nice! I used to run, but I can't in this neighborhood. I really admire your commitment!

^It definitely helps when the rest of your household are on a health kick too! Unfortunately, one of my roommies is a cradle-robber. She's 23 and her boyfriend is 19. He hasn't grown out of his teenage suburban boyhood. Our place is stocked up with mac and cheese, powdered mashed-potatoes, sunny d-lite, sugar cereals and the like. I think I'm the only one in this apartment who eats fresh vegetables!

I'm happy today. I kept my blood sugars in range all day.

Never underestimate the power of support from those around you. Your situation is unfortunate. Its bad when people do it callously, but what's worse, how often have you seen people thrust sweets or junk food in the face of people trying to eat healthy. I hate when I see this.

RAMA

Well, fortunately I find all that food appalling. Even when I eat junk food it's the all natural Newman's Own chocolate creme "Oreos", Annie's Organic Mac and Cheese, etc. I've also had years to get used to being unable to eat what others eat. And when you're the kid who has to scrape the frosting off a slice of birthday cake a quarter of the size of all the other kids', well, that's about as bad as it gets.
But, yeah, it is really cruel when people sabotage others' efforts.

 

[RoJoHen]

I have recently discovered the awesomeness of heavy deadlifts. I feel like death for 2 days afterward, but I've been growing like mad!

In the last 6 months, I've gained about 40 lbs, most of which is muscle...except for that stuff around my gut. But I'm ignoring that for now. I'm gonna start cutting closer to summertime.

 

[RAMA]

Well, fortunately I find all that food appalling. Even when I eat junk food it's the all natural Newman's Own chocolate creme "Oreos", Annie's Organic Mac and Cheese, etc. I've also had years to get used to being unable to eat what others eat. And when you're the kid who has to scrape the frosting off a slice of birthday cake a quarter of the size of all the other kids', well, that's about as bad as it gets.
But, yeah, it is really cruel when people sabotage others' efforts.

You seriously need to move if you are afraid to jog btw.

I have recently discovered the awesomeness of heavy deadlifts. I feel like death for 2 days afterward, but I've been growing like mad!

In the last 6 months, I've gained about 40 lbs, most of which is muscle...except for that stuff around my gut. But I'm ignoring that for now. I'm gonna start cutting closer to summertime.

Deadlifts are awesome, though I stopped doing anything more than partial deadlifts years ago. A strong lower back combined with the frontal abs, supports almost everything you do.

RAMA

 

[thestrangequark]

^Well, it's not so much that I fear for my safety, my neighborhood is actually pretty safe. It's just that I receive enough harassment from men when I'm just walking (which will happen anywhere, though some places are better than others). It makes me self conscious and upset enough as it is, and I feel it will be doubly so if I am running. I'd like to join a gym, but I don't think that would be wise, financially, at the moment. What I really need is a male running partner, but I don't know of anyone who'd be interested.

My blood sugar was a little high this morning, at 223, and I think that's largely to do with my sleeping as I ate 40g carbs at dinner. I slept in really late, so didn't take my long-lasting insulin as early in the day.

 

[galleywest]

^Well, it's not so much that I fear for my safety, my neighborhood is actually pretty safe. It's just that I receive enough harassment from men when I'm just walking (which will happen anywhere, though some places are better than others). It makes me self conscious and upset enough as it is, and I feel it will be doubly so if I am running. I'd like to join a gym, but I don't think that would be wise, financially, at the moment. What I really need is a male running partner, but I don't know of anyone who'd be interested.

My blood sugar was a little high this morning, at 223, and I think that's largely to do with my sleeping as I ate 40g carbs at dinner. I slept in really late, so didn't take my long-lasting insulin as early in the day.

Your area might have a running, walking, or hiking club you could join. I've looked into joining runners clubs, but I've put it off until summer now! Otherwise, my opinion about exercise is to find the thing that works for you. If you're uncomfortable running outside, then it will become a chore that you don't want to do, and there's no sense in that. There are plenty of things you can do, from DVDs with exercise routines to biking to jumping rope to weights in your home to yoga classes...all kinds of things.

And you don't have to have a cute young poolboy to be a cougar...but it doesn't hurt! I think all the poolboys here have gone into winter storage.

 

[thestrangequark]

^Thanks for the advice about checking into a running club. I do get a lot of exercise, though. I do hatha yoga several times a week, added to my morning routine of 15 minutes or so. I walk everywhere, and at least 3 times a week I walk home from Manhattan to Brooklyn (about 4 miles) -- I usually do that every day. And, of course, teaching art and movement to 2nd graders means I never sit down at work. When spring comes my bike will be back in action (the West Side highway has a gorgeous bike trail that runs almost all the way up the island).

It's just that I sometimes miss running. I love the feeling when you find the exact right speed and rhythm, and you feel like you could stay in that state forever.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

I have a question if anyone is knowledgable about such things. I've been trying to lose weight, I've been doing the treadmill (low intensity) and taking a Team Weight Loss class at the gym.

My question is how low can I go in calories to lose weight? I want to do it right but at the same time I want to do it as fast as I can. I know my RMR (resting metabolic rate) and there's conflicting opinions I hear. Can you go below your RMR? How far below? Do you have to put back some of what you burned in exercise? I don't want to lose muscle mass or go into "starvation mode" but I find it depressing to only lose a pound a week.

I weigh 275 right now so it's not like I'm just trying to lose 20 or 30 pounds and I'd rather not have to take years to get to my goal weight. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[RAMA]

I have a question if anyone is knowledgable about such things. I've been trying to lose weight, I've been doing the treadmill (low intensity) and taking a Team Weight Loss class at the gym.

My question is how low can I go in calories to lose weight? I want to do it right but at the same time I want to do it as fast as I can. I know my RMR (resting metabolic rate) and there's conflicting opinions I hear. Can you go below your RMR? How far below? Do you have to put back some of what you burned in exercise? I don't want to lose muscle mass or go into "starvation mode" but I find it depressing to only lose a pound a week.

I weigh 275 right now so it's not like I'm just trying to lose 20 or 30 pounds and I'd rather not have to take years to get to my goal weight. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

BMR is more accurate is a good place to start. Generally speaking, you should lower your calories 500-700 calories below the resulting total (if it is accurate) to lose weight. Here's a calculator:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/issa64.htm

After that you can plug in your macronutrients. This is essential to maintaining or increasing lean mass.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/idssports3.htm

You don't have to be a bodybuilder to follow the numbers. A good food list to choose from is here:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/bbinfo.php?page=FoodIndexes

 

[TJinLOCA]

Two issues I just noticed in your post:

Jogging is an exercise where the full weight of the body is involved with every movement, in other words the weight must be supported. When exercising at higher levels of exertion the body tends to burn more carbs, so even though a jog would burn lots of calories it would be no use for losing fat weight if 90% of the calories burned are carbs! Jogging might be useful for maintaining weight, but if losing fat is your goal, you might want to lay off jogging till you are close to your goal weight.

Thanks for the comments, RAMA. I know jogging alone is ineffective for weight loss ... although in the past when I've been doing distances of 15+ miles/week I always seem to drop weight without trying. However, as I'm currently training for a half-marathon I'm not about to stop running! The weight loss is definitely a secondary goal to my race training ATM. So I'm not worrying too much about it.

Second, if you are an endurance athlete, creatine might not help you that much, its better for activities which require short bursts of energy/effort. Though its probably not completely useless...and some research shows that it actually helps heart health and lowers cholesterol. If you continue to take it, you might want to take kre-alkalyn, as 90% regular creatine monohydrate is converted to creatinine, a waste by product of its breakdown in the body. Also 1.5 grams of KA is equal to 10 of regular CM, and with no bloating.

I'll look into kre-alkalyn. I've been taking Creatine because I'm also weight training, and what I've read says that it's particularly effective for women at helping increase muscle mass.

I know it's tough to do both endurance and strength conditioning at the same time. It's not likely that I'll excel at one without the other suffering, so I just try to keep my goals moderate. I'm happy as long as I'm running longer distances and lifting heavier weights - so far, that's working!

 

[What's his face]

I'm in my sedentary winter stage. The part of the year where you spend 23.5 hours a day sitting or lying down. Unfortunately, while lots of fun I've also gained quite a bit of weight. I'm at 205 lbs, up from my summer peak of 179.5, when I was doing manual labour for a summer job. I'm trying hard to get exercise but it's very hard to get motivated. However, I am adjusting my diet. I've cut out fast food like McD's compeltely, and I'm treating myself to less bad stuff like Subway or the like only once a week. Also, when I feel the urge to go snacking I help myself to cut up pieces of broccoli, carrots and cauliflower with some dip.

I'm hoping to be around 185-190 by the end of April.

I just came up with a brilliant idea for getting my cardio back up to snuff.

I've never liked treadmills. Too boring, and it's too easy to quit. Also, there's 40 cm on snow on the ground outside so going for runs is out.

When I worked in Ottawa I used to take the stairs instead of the elevator when making my way around the Confederation Bldg. (one of the Parliamentary office buildings) What I've decided to do is start running the stairs of the office building at my school. 14 stories high, not including the basement level.

Also next time I visit my mom I'm sooo bringing my Wii back with me to school. Boxing for 1/2 hr a night will do a lot of good.

Does anyone else do this? Any advice on how to re-jigger my fitness level?

 

[SmoothieX]

^ I'm no personal trainer, but somehow I don't think playing more Wii is going to get you down to your fighting weight.

 

[What's his face]

^ I'm no personal trainer, but somehow I don't think playing more Wii is going to get you down to your fighting weight.

Well obviously that would be just a minor part, but it couldn't hurt. I'd be focusing mostly on other stuff.

Also, I did that run up the tower. It was harder than I thought. I was running at full speed, jumping up 2 stairs at once. By the 9th floor I had to take a 45 sec. break, and then I just walked quickly up to the 14th floor, and then back down. I plan on doing that each day so that by the end of April, it'd be a cinch.

 

[thestrangequark]

I did kind of miserably as far as my blood sugars went yesterday. I ate well, but for some reason they just kept shooting up and crashing down. I tested at 59 once and 367 another time. That sucks.
Anyway, new day. And no birthday cake for this strange quark.

 

[RAMA]

I'm in my sedentary winter stage. The part of the year where you spend 23.5 hours a day sitting or lying down. Unfortunately, while lots of fun I've also gained quite a bit of weight. I'm at 205 lbs, up from my summer peak of 179.5, when I was doing manual labour for a summer job. I'm trying hard to get exercise but it's very hard to get motivated. However, I am adjusting my diet. I've cut out fast food like McD's compeltely, and I'm treating myself to less bad stuff like Subway or the like only once a week. Also, when I feel the urge to go snacking I help myself to cut up pieces of broccoli, carrots and cauliflower with some dip.

I'm hoping to be around 185-190 by the end of April.

I just came up with a brilliant idea for getting my cardio back up to snuff.

I've never liked treadmills. Too boring, and it's too easy to quit. Also, there's 40 cm on snow on the ground outside so going for runs is out.

When I worked in Ottawa I used to take the stairs instead of the elevator when making my way around the Confederation Bldg. (one of the Parliamentary office buildings) What I've decided to do is start running the stairs of the office building at my school. 14 stories high, not including the basement level.

Also next time I visit my mom I'm sooo bringing my Wii back with me to school. Boxing for 1/2 hr a night will do a lot of good.

Does anyone else do this? Any advice on how to re-jigger my fitness level?

You have to look at times you are less likely to exercise/diet as a challenge. Make winter time the time you get escalate your fitness rather than the reverse. After all if you are a member of a health club, you are more likely to be inside during the winter anyway...then establish some new goal.

RAMA

 

[galleywest]

Hey, it's not as crazy as you think! If it's what you like, make it work for you! But my exercise philosophy is that it should be something fun, so I guess it would depend on your own personal philosophy and goals.

I did the bike tonight, the gym was packed. Ugh. It wasn't a great workout, for sure, but considering that I almost didn't go at all, it wasn't bad. At least I did it, right? I really wish our gym was open just a little bit later.

 

[TheSeeker]

^ There was also the wii sports experiment where the guy lost 9 lbs in 6 weeks playing wii sports.

 

[RoJoHen]

I'm in my sedentary winter stage. The part of the year where you spend 23.5 hours a day sitting or lying down. Unfortunately, while lots of fun I've also gained quite a bit of weight. I'm at 205 lbs, up from my summer peak of 179.5, when I was doing manual labour for a summer job. I'm trying hard to get exercise but it's very hard to get motivated. However, I am adjusting my diet. I've cut out fast food like McD's compeltely, and I'm treating myself to less bad stuff like Subway or the like only once a week. Also, when I feel the urge to go snacking I help myself to cut up pieces of broccoli, carrots and cauliflower with some dip.

I'm hoping to be around 185-190 by the end of April.

I just came up with a brilliant idea for getting my cardio back up to snuff.

I've never liked treadmills. Too boring, and it's too easy to quit. Also, there's 40 cm on snow on the ground outside so going for runs is out.

When I worked in Ottawa I used to take the stairs instead of the elevator when making my way around the Confederation Bldg. (one of the Parliamentary office buildings) What I've decided to do is start running the stairs of the office building at my school. 14 stories high, not including the basement level.

Also next time I visit my mom I'm sooo bringing my Wii back with me to school. Boxing for 1/2 hr a night will do a lot of good.

Does anyone else do this? Any advice on how to re-jigger my fitness level?

You have to look at times you are less likely to exercise/diet as a challenge. Make winter time the time you get escalate your fitness rather than the reverse. After all if you are a member of a health club, you are more likely to be inside during the winter anyway...then establish some new goal.

RAMA

I imagine it is harder for people trying to lose weight.

I, however, love winter because it's the perfect time to bulk. I'm gonna start cutting in May, though, which will be less fun.