Quote :

"Ultimately we're all competing with ourselves in some way: I'm competing with my ridiculous sweet tooth and never-ending stomach, Quinn is competing with his tiny stomach and lack of desire to eat, TKE-Teg and NyM410 seem to be competing with their love of beer, etc."

LOL, so true. And during these summer months I find myself exercising less and laying out in the sun a lot more...while drinking beer of course. Just returned from my 3rd beach trip of the month yesterday But I guess that's one of the reasons for this thread anyway, to look good at the beach.

In a few months I'll be changing my workout routine to prepare for ski season

8/2/2010 2:13:23 PM

Finally starting to feel my oblique muscles getting stronger. Not when I'm workin out - but just poking myself in the side. Kinda nice

Oh and mom bought me new workout clothes today. LOVE being excited about that

8/2/2010 2:56:17 PM

LiusClues used to bum on my dorm floor, I wish he would have got me off my fat ass earlier

8/2/2010 3:13:11 PM

Ha. So much Dead or Alive and bumming on your couch.

8/2/2010 4:18:55 PM

I'm almost at my goal... only 5.5lbs to go!!!!!! 35lbs in one year . I won't count it unless the bf machine says 7.50%!!

8/2/2010 7:40:12 PM

Quote :

"Ultimately we're all competing with ourselves in some way: I'm competing with my ridiculous sweet tooth and never-ending stomach"

Every day is already a competition for me to get things done... I've learned external motivators are about the only things that get me up and going, thus my desire for a competitor, especially when starting out before exercising has become a habit.

8/2/2010 7:45:22 PM

ok i have taken the past 2 weeks off and admittedly haven't been trying super hard this summer (besides getting my runs in for my race) because of the bar exam. but now that is over i'm really going to buckle down.

but i have a question about weight fluctuation and maybe it deals with water weight, but i don't really know.

what is a normal fluctuation range for day to day? i mean i can get on the scale on day and weigh X and then the next day i weigh 10lbs less. but then it will go up like 5lbs the next day. and its not the scale.

so i was thinking water but today i drank a SHITLOAD of water and ate my regular amount and was down like 8lbs from yesterday. is that normal? what is going on? i thought that maybe the up and down was due to water retention or something but i've eaten a normal (for me) amount of sodium today and drank more water than usual. i'm so confused.

and TMI, but no i haven't been bloated or constipated or anything either. i just don't understand the fluctuations. OR maybe that is normal but it seems like other people are +- 3-5lbs w/ water etc. not 10lbs.

8/2/2010 11:26:08 PM

you will do much better if you only weigh once a week or every two weeks and don't worry about numbers on a scale

srsly, put your scale in the closet

8/2/2010 11:33:26 PM

haha. well i only started doing it daily because i was so wowed by the ups and the downs

i've never really ever weighed myself (besides the doctor's office) until this year so i guess i'm just reading too much into things

8/2/2010 11:39:45 PM

khcadwal my weight has been doing the same thing. i gained 10 pounds in about 10 days and then it was a bitch to get my weight back down again. i vary way too much now - it's kind of freaky considering i am eating healthy everyday and avoiding alcohol. but now that it's down - i know it wont last. in a few days it'll spike back up again and then i'll start the battle all over again.

i made an appointment to see an endocrinologist/metabolism/diabetes specialist. i've been having some other issues and everytime i go to my general practioner, he always says i'm fine and tells me to see a specialist. nevermind the fact i've been tested for diabetes every year since i was 14 because i have all the symptoms.

8/3/2010 8:17:37 AM

Quote :

"TKE-Teg and NyM410 seem to be competing with their love of beer"

It's true. I think I might actually be winning, though. I'm not where I want to be yet (contrary to popular belief I'm not that skinny) but this thread has helped me, just by association, to continue running every day even though I hate it more than Shane Victorino's stupid fucking double-flapped helmet.

Last night I had six heavy beers. Oops. No more at all until Saturday, though.

8/3/2010 9:19:20 AM

Quote :

"Every day is already a competition for me to get things done... I've learned external motivators are about the only things that get me up and going, thus my desire for a competitor, especially when starting out before exercising has become a habit."

Let's start with these:

Why do you want to get in shape/lose weight?
If you were to compete, what sort of competition would you want?

8/3/2010 9:28:08 AM

Quote :

"you will do much better if you only weigh once a week or every two weeks and don't worry about numbers on a scale"

I agree, don't even bother with checking daily because it may just freak you out and affect how you would naturally want to eat/exercise.

I've noticed that if I eat higher sodium items or my mom's cooking (which has a lot of salt) then my weight skyrockets, but if I concentrate on lowering the sodium intake then the major fluctuation week-to-week is less than 1lb or a loss of more than a pound, depending on my goal that week.
Try not to eat out and instead cook your own foods for a week. Make sure to get lower sodium products (especially if you're buying canned veggies or chicken broth). You should notice within a week that your weight isn't fluctuating as much and you probably aren't getting as hungry as you normally would.

8/3/2010 9:31:00 AM

Quote :

"No fruit. Fruit is bad. Fruit is sugar. Wait! How can fruit be bad? Fruit is ok...you should be having some fruit. You don't have enough green vegies. Only leafy vegies. Green smoothies, oh wait, those are too high calorie. Splenda is bad. Stevia is unproven. Diet Soda is horrible, coffee is bad, dairy is bad, wheat is bad, flour is bad, sugar is bad, gluten is bad. Too much protein, not enough protein. Protein powder is helpful and the body absorbs it FASTER. Protein powder is BAD because the body burns more calories when you eat real food. Drink more water. Too much water is bad. Don't drink water with meals or it ruins digestion. Protein bars are a good snack, protein bars are bad for you. Meals have to be precisely 40/40/20 or no, wait, 40/30/30 no wait 60/20/20. Every 3 hours you must eat. Deli meat has sodium. Don't eat red meat. Go fat free. No, you need fat. This fat is ok, this fat is not ok. Count calories. Don't count calories, count fat grams. Eat salads, don't eat salads. You can't ever drink. Cheat days are bad. You must have a cheat day to confuse your body. No one needs dairy. Dairy helps with weight loss. Avoid everything white. Go on the Zone. Atkins always works. Shakes only. Slim-Fast. Frozen meals are the curse of the devil. Avoid salt. Only egg whites. A few egg yolks are ok. Carrots have too much sugar. Only eat clean. More fiber, less fiber. Lo-carb, moderate carb, high carb. Calories: don't count calories. Calories don't count, fat counts. Calories don't count, carbs count. Shoot for 2200 calories if you are training that hard!! No! You still have to keep calories LOW even if you are working out. Stagger calories. Stagger carbs. Cheat day vs. Cheat meal. Do you see the madness here? There are all these opinions and ideas about what works best- and I am not saying that the people that told me this or that were WRONG. For THEM, a certain way works. WE HAVE TO FIND A WAY OF EATING AND "DIETING" AND TRAINING THAT IS SUSTAINABLE LONG TERM FOR US. ONLY FOR US. What works for ME might not work for you. What works for you might sound hideous to me. ""

Hahaha, in my quest to gain weight over the past several years I think I have gone through and believed almost every one of these at some point.

8/3/2010 9:45:54 AM

If you're going to use weight as a metric then I hate the advice of only weighing yourself once a week or fewer. If you tend to fluctuate +/- 10 pounds then the last thing you want is to go two weeks and see a 20 pounds difference because of when you weighed in. How does weighing yourself infrequently eliminate fluctuations in your measurements?

Weigh yourself everyday at the same time and at the end of the week take the average.

8/3/2010 12:11:44 PM

Swam 450 yards very slowly. Something like 11 minutes and change.

8/3/2010 12:19:21 PM

Swam 1200m this morning.

8/3/2010 1:33:56 PM

Ran four miles this morning, going to lift weights tonight. I'm starting to see some definite changes in my upper body, so that's exciting.

sylvershadow, I'll try to gain more pounds than you lose. Whoever has the most change in the right direction wins.

8/3/2010 2:38:28 PM

Quote :

"Ran four miles this morning, going to lift weights tonight. I'm starting to see some definite changes in my upper body, so that's exciting."

Nice job. It's always nice to see results. It helps motivate you to keep going.

8/3/2010 2:58:01 PM

^ that would be an awesome bet, but I won't have a scale until mid sept I'm going to have to rely on measurements

8/3/2010 9:45:40 PM

^^^ Your height makes you intimidating enough. I am afraid to ponder how formidable you'd seem with more mass!

8/3/2010 10:06:26 PM

How's this for progress?

Over the past 2 months, I've lost ~10-14 lbs., depending on when I start.



June 1st, I was 214, June 2nd, I was 217.4

This past Sunday, I was 204.1

I try not to worry about what the scale says, but I know for a fact that my clothes fit much better and by the questions and compliments from friends about looking like I've lost weight keep coming.

Also, I was 228 in April of 2009.

I have started using 2 new holes on my belt.

These are some of my measurements from just 2 months of keeping track:

-3" from my waist
-1.5" from my hips
-1.25" from my left thigh
-1.5" from my right thigh
+1.75 to my chest

here are the before and after shots, sorry for the crappy photos:



My diet and my knowledge have improved considerably, many thanks to the people in this thread

8/4/2010 12:26:19 AM

^Impressive!

Ugh I REALLY hurt my right bicep. I must've done it during the Back & Biceps workout of P90X on Monday. I woke up tonight and suddenly it's extremely painful to my arm in most any direction. Any ideas on how to fix this? I'm thinking about running a hot bath based on some searches on Google.

8/4/2010 4:34:42 AM

just finished a long, hot soak in the tub. It seems to have mostly done the trick.

8/4/2010 5:35:13 AM

It's most likely DOMS. Just rest, stretch and let your body do it's thing.

8/4/2010 6:02:05 AM

awesome work H8R

8/4/2010 7:19:57 AM

how many calories do you eat a day abe? 5k?

8/4/2010 7:57:15 AM

Nice job, b00bear!

8/4/2010 8:21:12 AM

I mentioned this to Quinn the other day, but every time I see H8R I expect him to have some Russell Crowe-like Australian accent.

8/4/2010 9:14:58 AM

my P90X start date was supposed to be yesterday but I'm still not all unpacked I think I will start Monday once things get settled... until then, I'm going to take my puppy for a run

[Edited on August 4, 2010 at 9:40 AM. Reason : oh and great job H8R! ]

8/4/2010 9:37:06 AM

nice job H8R!!!
seriously, its amazing!

8/4/2010 9:37:34 AM

^^ i think that's a good idea... you've got to give yourself some time mentally and emotionally to adjust to your new place

8/4/2010 10:02:49 AM

Quote :

"I mentioned this to Quinn the other day, but every time I see H8R I expect him to have some Russell Crowe-like Australian accent."

We always think Subarus are Australian as well....so maybe that is why?

8/4/2010 10:19:23 AM

^This.

8/4/2010 10:30:36 AM

Quote :

"how many calories do you eat a day abe? 5k?"

I eat 5 or more depending on how much and hard I am training. On brutal days, I've eaten almost 8,000. But, I'd say 5 is about my daily average for me.

God help me when I stop doing this. Instant diabetes.

8/4/2010 10:46:16 AM

Swam a continuous 1650 yards. Now I've got to mow the lawn and clip a few bushes.

[Edited on August 4, 2010 at 11:52 AM. Reason : .]

8/4/2010 11:52:22 AM

The past few weeks or so I seem to be in that perfect place where I have a lot of energy during the day and do everything I need to do and work out... and I get tired at the perfect time for me (10ish).

I'd imagine I'm the "good zone" where what I'm eating and the way I'm exercising are optimal when I feel like that?

Also, I definitely feel like my clothes fit a bit different and I think I'm starting to see some noticeable changes in my body... it's nice sticking to a plan and seeing a change, every so slight of course...

[Edited on August 4, 2010 at 12:38 PM. Reason : x]

8/4/2010 12:37:10 PM

Quote :

"I eat 5 or more depending on how much and hard I am training. On brutal days, I've eaten almost 8,000. But, I'd say 5 is about my daily average for me. God help me when I stop doing this. Instant diabetes."

I think I'll need 4-5 to maintain 165lbs. How much do you weigh? Do you struggle to do it daily? I finally got 3000-4000 a day handled so I've been growing.

8/4/2010 5:03:48 PM

h8r lookin like al bundy in the first pic

8/4/2010 5:34:49 PM

Quinn, the hardest part of maintaining my diet isn't just hitting the number of Calories but putting the right fuel into my body. The ideal ratio of carbs/protein. Complex vs simple carbs. The timing before certain workouts, the recovery meal. The portion sizes. It's very tough to manage and you need to be on the ball.

If you mess up on a meal, it can ruin the rest of the training plan for the day.

Personally, most of my diet consists of gels, bars and sports drinks. It's a lot of sugar, but since I'm training 6-10 hours a day it's important to keep my blood sugar from crashing. I eat protein, but not really much. I don't take supplements or protein shakes. I have done a diet with supplements and shakes and without them, and I'm still dropping times without them.

I'm assuming you're just trying to put on lean muscle mass? What does you usually eat?

8/4/2010 7:11:29 PM

ground beef, whole milk, and anything else without a ton of sugar

8/4/2010 7:39:10 PM

Thanks for the kind words, everyone! I appreciate the compliments and LOL'd at the Al Bundy comment. Believe me, I am not proud of how I let myself get to that point and worse. I'm just glad to see and feel the real life improvements

And Stein, my alter ego is from down unda


I have a question:

What is good to eat before and after a workout. My energy levels are seriously sapped lately because of caloric restriction (~1975 calories/day). I can probably shift some calories / meals around, but I'm kinda not sure which ones. I have had success with a pre-workout protein shake lately, but I'm hungry 2 hours into running full court or playing other sports.

8/5/2010 12:15:03 AM

I have the same question, and with that. What type of time frame do you guys usually shoot for? How long before a workout do you eat, and afterwards? Immediate? 1 hr? more?

8/5/2010 1:32:02 AM

H8R, it's important to know what type of activity you're tackling when you consider pre-workout fuel.

What you eat that may be suitable for a work out in the weight room will not be necessarily be suitable for a ten mile run.

If you feel that your "energy levels are seriously sapped" it's very likely that you aren't fueling properly.

I don't recommend a heavy protein diet before a workout. Carbs should be your main fuel before and during exercise. Heavy protein consumption should be primarily reserved post-workout. Again, it's all based on what type of activities you have planned.

Get some carbs into your body before and during a workout. Your body has a much easier time using carbs as fuel during exercise then breaking down protein. Also don't forget carbohydrates are also important after you work out as well, although the ratio of protein to carbs can be significantly higher at this point.

Try it out, see if you don't feel like you have more sustained energy.

Quote :

"I have the same question, and with that. What type of time frame do you guys usually shoot for? How long before a workout do you eat, and afterwards? Immediate? 1 hr? more?"

Timing is just as important as the type of fuel source you consume.

You should generally avoid eating heavy meals before intense physical activity. Snacks are suitable. Keep yourself sated, avoid hunger pangs. It's not beneficial to start working out on a half-empty tank.

The intensity, duration and type of workout will all impact your timing. If you were going to do high intensity intervals, you might expect to throw up if you fuck up your timing and don't let things settle in your stomach. Likewise, if you wait too long between eating and working out, you might find yourself hitting a wall in the middle of your work out.

Brand name sports drinks aren't bad to keep your energy stores topped off during exercise. It is essentially sugar water, but it's done in a way that helps your body readily absorb the carbohydrates and use as working fuel. If you find that they're too strong for you, you can water them down.

As for timing recovery meals. The sooner you get your recovery meal, the sooner you recover. Simple. It's not ideal to wait to eat after you workout.

[Edited on August 5, 2010 at 1:52 AM. Reason : .]

8/5/2010 1:39:03 AM

I've actually found no significant difference if I wait longer after a workout to eat anything. I think the "post workout window" is a bit overhyped.

8/5/2010 5:21:58 AM

i ALWAYS drink some form of protein/recovery drink within 15-20 minutes of finishing a workout, usually with some form of quickly broken down carb.

as for eating a meal ill agree that the post workout window may be slightly overhyped, but from personal experience and client's experiences i will say that there is a benefit to it

some days when im not able to eat within a reasonable amount of time post workout i will feel the effects of such...but then again this may just be a perception thing

8/5/2010 9:06:15 AM

has anyone who goes to the Y on hillsborough st. tried out the toning classes? i'm gonna check out my first one tonight and was wondering just what all is involved

8/5/2010 9:24:19 AM

LiusClues, are you a professional athlete? I'd go crazy if I was only eating that stuff instead of real meals

[Edited on August 5, 2010 at 9:27 AM. Reason : u]

8/5/2010 9:27:41 AM

^On that note back to the caveman thing. I think you're truly healthy and in shape when you can eat what you want, not worry about your weight, not worry about getting so and so worth of grams in a day. All while getting plenty of exercise in.

Now if you're competing or a professional athlete that's a different story. The only reason i'm tracking my diet and trying to lose weight is so I know how everything works and how to eat right so i can stop worrying about it in the future and just eat healthy naturally.

8/5/2010 9:34:30 AM

is it too late to start contributing/join?

8/5/2010 9:47:26 AM