Gotta lose some LB's

[BOBOT]

Well, one of my goals in ER is better fitness (I'm sure I'm not alone here), & the most urgent for me is to try to shed at least 30 lbs (how'd they get there?).
I have access to great gym facilities & go fairly regularly, as well as walking a fair amount, so my cardio is pretty good, but the weight is a problem. Also want to tone up & work on flexibility. So with all the free time I'll soon have, I'll have no excuses.

Is anyone following an exercise routine - specifically, can you point me to a self-directed program, book, website, etc., that tailors a reasonable program to the individual? I tend to stick to the same routine at the gym, & I need a checklist kind of program to stick to.

As for the intake part of the problem, I'm thinking that I generally eat less & better when at home than during the work day, so I hope ER will help out there.

Any suggestions? Thanks.....

[wabmester]

Each pound of fat represents 3500 calories. So, if you want to lose 1lb / week, for example, you need a calorie deficit of 3500/week or 500/day.

It's easier to create that deficit on the intake side than it is on the output (exercise) side of the equation, but you should do both. Jogging for 30 minutes burns around 200-300 calories -- about the same as a single high-caloric snack adds to your waist.

So, do strength training to increase your basal metabolism, do aerobic exercise to burn calories, and eat less. Pick any mix that works for you and that you can actually sustain.

[Martha]

To add to what Wab says, I also think it is a good idea to eat smaller "meals" more frequently. Maybe 5 times a day. It makes it less likely you will over eat when meal time comes.

[haha]

I've lost 5 pounds in the last 10 days, from eating less, drinking less, and walking >= 7 miles a day. My goal is a 31" waist, which I last had in 2002.

I also do something called heavy-hands, which is basically walking enhanced by swinging dumbbells. Mine are bright orange, so this isn't a stealth activity. But the park where I walk is full of middle aged Asians doing tai chi and various overt exercise activities so the embarrassment factor is low.

If you try this, start with light 'bells, or it can be easy to get tendonitis in the elbow.

I hope to be healthier, and I know I will be prettier when I make this goal.

Whoops, time to get off my ass and get down to 24 hour fitness!

Ha

[mb]

There are many good programs. The health/sports/outdoor magazines have regular articles on the "New Best way to Fitness and Weight Lose." Sort of their version of the "10 Stocks that you have to buy Today" stories in the financial magazine. Except that IMHO the fitness articles usually have some value other than selling magazines.

Outside Magazine had a very good one a couple of years ago. It won an award of some kind. It was spread out over about six issues and each one emphasized a different aspect of fitness (endurance, strength, flexibililty, sport specific training) and built on the previous issues and then the final issue tied it all togeather. It was also on their web site so you might want to check it out to see if it is still there.

The current alpha-male surfer, the guy that gets all the credit for pioneering big wave surfing and married the "blonde goddess" pro volley ball player and is in all the commercials was featured in it. Don't remember his name but Nords or T-Al or one of the other "surfer boys " on this site will know it.

It was oriented more towards sports fitness, i.e. getting in shape to do a tri, or ski the black diamonds or climbing a 14in'er rather than losing weight so it may not be exactly what you want.

But the best program is not the one that is the most scientific or the one that Lance endorses or the one that worked for Opra. The best one especially since you are doing this yourself is the one that you will stick with and unless your are super disciplined that means that you have to like it or at least not hate it.

I'm an endurance sports addict. I absolutely love 5 hour bike rides and two hour trail runs through the mountains. I like going to the track and doing intervals to the point that my fingers and hands go numb. I hate going more than a day without doing something. But at best I only tolerate the treadmills and the exercise bikes in the gym. After 10-15 minutes on one of these machines I'm looking at my watch figuring how much longer I have to be on this thing. The point is I have found things that I like and that is why it works for me.

My advice is:

- Find an aerobic sport or two such as running, biking, roller blading, hiking (preferably with hills), etc. that you like and do it 3-4 times a week. Cross-country skiing is great if you live in snow country. Walking is good and many will tell you that is all that you need but I like something that gets my heart rate up a bit more. To build on Wabs comments, the rule of thumb is that you burn about 100 calories/mile (this ignores the effects of individual size and exercise intensity but it is still a pretty good first approximation) and so you have to walk/run/jog 35 miles to burn a pound of fat. I can run comfortably at a 7 minute/mile pace and therefore burn about twice as many calories per unit time as someone walking at a 15 minute/mile pace. Unfortunately the human body is a very efficient energy storage machine. That is great if you are a cave man trying to survive an ice age winter but not so good for those of us in the modern world trying to lose weight.

- Supplement it with sports that you like such as tennis, down-hill skiing, golf or surfing. DS is on the JH B-ball team and DD is on the HS tennis team so I try to get out and play B-ball and tennis with them. Good exercise and fun and it also counts as family time. (Only problem is that unlike a couple of years ago I'm now starting to lose even when I don't want to ) I think they also help reduce running injuries because they work and strengthen the "go side ways and backwards muscles" that you don't work much running but help stabilize your stride.

- Add weight/resistance training 2-3 times a week. This is particularly important for those over 35-40 because at that age you start to lose muscle mass and as Wab mentioned more muscle increases you base metabolic rate. I particularly like the recent excercies where they add a balance component. Many of us have balance problems as we age and my feeling is that these excercises might retard that decline.

Good luck,

MB

Wab is exactly correct in his math. Exercise is important, but eating is where you really make it or break it!

I have successfully maintained my weight for 30 years, but I end up having to eat less as each decade goes by. When people say to me 'That I don't have to worry about my weight' , It's not true! - I watch my weight every day. It's very much like saving for retirement. In fact it's even more difficult!

I have talked to body builders at the Gym and they all pretty much agree that the weight lifting is the easy part - It's the eating that is the real killer.

To lose the weight, you are going to have to count calories. You will proably have to stay in the 1200 Calorie a day range with exercise to lose the weight. - After the weight is lost, you can ramp up to the 2,000 calorie a day range. If you don't, you will put the weight back on within a year or 2. You have about a 20% chance of actually keeping the weight off.

If you want to keep it off for life - Think Lifestyle Change for the rest of your life! Do it for 4 or 5 years and you will make it. Good Luck!

[Helen]

http://www.weight-loss-institute.com/zone_diet.htm

I follow a modified zone diet to help with my vestibular disorder. I eat six small meals a day. It's a pretty restrictive diet, basically it's low glycemic foods.

Personally, I think it's too restrictive to be practical. I don't know if I'll stay on it, but I'm giving it a try.

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mb The current alpha-male surfer, the guy that gets all the credit for pioneering big wave surfing and married the "blonde goddess" pro volley ball player and is in all the commercials was featured in it. Don't remember his name but Nords or T-Al or one of the other "surfer boys " on this site will know it.

Ye gods, man, have you never gazed upon a photo of Gabby Reece or read her writings? She never returns my calls, but as soon as she dumps that loser Laird Hamilton...

Actually Laird has become less of a bad boy and more of a productive member of society. He must've taken a page from Bill Gates' publicist book.

As for the exercise program... if "eat less & exercise more" was so simple or enjoyable then everyone would be doing it. But if there has to be a guide upon the path to fitness, then I guess that Bill Phillips' "Body For Life" is enduring the test of time.

After three or four decades, I've suddenly realized that the incremental pleasure of a second serving of chocolate (or ice cream or beer or...) is much lower than the first serving. It's also becoming more important to me to minimze the load on my knees than it is to sample every dessert on the island. I'm sure I'll eventually strike a harmonious balance.

Another option would be a workout buddy or a personal trainer. The social interaction is a big plus... I rarely feel like hauling my butt out of my recliner for tae kwon do three evenings a week, but what would my kid think of my example if I didn't? And when we get to the dojong and start socializing, suddenly I'm halfway through the workout.

Finally, my eating habits improved tremendously with ER. It's a lot easier to eat a number of small & healthy meals every day when you don't have to do it at the cubicle farm.

[eyeonFI]

I lost 20 lbs last year without actually trying. One day after looking at a food lablel listing everything based on a 2000 calorie diet I wondered how many calories I actually eat in a day. So being the compulsive spreadsheet type, I decided to keep track for a while and see.

I found it was pretty easy to come up with a reasonable calorie count for everything I ate by just googling it (e.g. Google "Panera nutrition", or "carrot calories"). I think just doing this must have caused me to immediately start consuming a lot fewer calories, and I lost about a pound a week for 20 weeks, then stabilized and I've been the same weight (thinnest in ~10 years) for about 10 months now. So I didn't consciously decide to diet, just becoming aware of the fact that the cookies I was about to eat were more calories than the lunch itself, I started wanting less cookies.

Of course, some might find it an excruciating pain in the a** to track the calories for everything they consume. For me, it was not work since I'm on the computer all the time anyway, was curious to know, and get some warped pleasure out of keeping spreadsheets.

[mb]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nords Ye gods, man, have you never gazed upon a photo of Gabby Reece or read her writings? She never returns my calls, but as soon as she dumps that loser Laird Hamilton...

Yup, to the former. No to the later. So she apparently has talents other than beach volleyball and looking great in front of a camera?

[mb]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nords As for the exercise program... if "eat less & exercise more" was so simple or enjoyable then everyone would be doing it. But if there has to be a guide upon the path to fitness, then I guess that Bill Phillips' "Body For Life" is enduring the test of time.

I agree with this only to a point. I grant that the obesity data for the US and the number of weight loss programs certainly seems to supports it.

Where I disagree is that it becomes much easier and much simpler if you do things that you like to do.

MB

[marty]

The"secret" to reaching and maintaining your ideal weight is to consume high nutrient high volume foods

http://www.vegsource.com/articles2/fuhrman06.htm

[Patrick]

Body For Life. http://product.half.ebay.com/Body-fo...33795QQtgZinfo

[Khan]

I've lost 50# in the last year (about 1# per week).

Light exercising.

Taking the time to buy, prepare, and present food.

[haha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Khan I've lost 50# in the last year (about 1# per week).

Congratulations, that is a very impressive result.

Ha

[Alex]

I say, the hell with restrictive diets and sweaty exercise!!! Just go out and buy some really really large pants at least 4 sizes bigger than you normally wear. Put 'em on, then go around and show your friends how 'loose fitting' they are......works everytime!

[Sheryl]

Congrats to all of you who have succeeded in loosing weight or keeping it off.

I have always been a person who could eat whatever I wanted - ice cream, candy, etc. From age 17 to age 44 I went from 120 to 125 lbs. Suddenly from age 44 to now (46) I have jumped up to the mid 130's and even hit 140 a month or so ago.

So I started half-heartedly trying to get back to 125.

And I've learned just how hard it is!!

I thought passing up candy and cutting out alcohol (not entirely but cutting back) and sweet drinks - along with jogging 30 minutes about 3 days a week would do it.

It didn't accomplish ANYTHING! At least I hope I've built up more muscle mass...

[Patrick]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alex I say, the hell with restricve diets and sweaty exercise!!! Just go out and buy some really reallt large pants at least 4 sizes bigger than you normally wear. Put 'em on, then go around and show your friends how 'loose fitting' they are......works everytime!

Yeah, wear 'em so they're just about to fall off your butt with your underwear showing and you'll be a "gangsta."

[Khan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sheryl Congrats to all of you who have succeeded in loosing weight or keeping it off. I have always been a person who could eat whatever I wanted - ice cream, candy, etc. From age 17 to age 44 I went from 120 to 125 lbs. Suddenly from age 44 to now (46) I have jumped up to the mid 130's and even hit 140 a month or so ago. So I started half-heartedly trying to get back to 125. And I've learned just how hard it is!! I thought passing up candy and cutting out alcohol (not entirely but cutting back) and sweet drinks - along with jogging 30 minutes about 3 days a week would do it. It didn't accomplish ANYTHING! At least I hope I've built up more muscle mass...

Remove all refined carbs, transfats, sweetened soft drinks.

If you are exercising, you could be gaining muscle pounds faster than losing fat pounds.

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mb Yup, to the former. No to the later. So she apparently has talents other than beach volleyball and looking great in front of a camera?

Well, she domesticated Laird for starters.

She's written magazine columns... mostly travel, advice, & fitness. And believe it or not, she has a blog.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sheryl I have always been a person who could eat whatever I wanted - ice cream, candy, etc. From age 17 to age 44 I went from 120 to 125 lbs. Suddenly from age 44 to now (46) I have jumped up to the mid 130's and even hit 140 a month or so ago.

Some of us might see this as long-overdue vengeance!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sheryl I thought passing up candy and cutting out alcohol (not entirely but cutting back) and sweet drinks - along with jogging 30 minutes about 3 days a week would do it. It didn't accomplish ANYTHING! At least I hope I've built up more muscle mass...

Like Khan says, you're building denser muscle faster than you're shedding fat. The good news is that some parts of your body are probably shrinking. Measurements are probably a better indicator of progress than weight.

When I retired and started working out more frequently I went up to about 205. When I started tae kwon do I shed 30 pounds over the next 18 months and then slowly started gaining them back. The difference is that I've shrunk my hamstrings (hyperdeveloped by 10,000 miles of bicycling) and I've added a lot of muscle to my trunk & shoulders, yet my waist is skinnier than I was even at 175. These days I'm between 185-190 and may or may not lose any more weight, but I'm still getting skinnier in the waist.