Health & Fitness • Page 142

What was the workout?

 

Uh, squats, leaps, jumping jacks, push ups and planks

 

My muscles are so sore now lol Should I do it again today anyway?

 

I’d work another muscle group. You said you did squats, leaps, jumping jacks, push ups and planks, so I’d leave those muscles alone to rest. You could try shoulders, back or arms.

I try to divide up my workouts by days; for example

Mon - Pull (shoulders/back)
Tues - Chest
Weds - legs
Thurs - Arms
Fri - Chest day two
Sat - cardio
Sun - rest

I change it up every couple weeks though

 

Very helpful, thanks! I guess it’s mostly thighs that are hurting, the rest is more mild

 

What’d they do

 

Anyone have any success gaining weight. I'd like to bulk up but I have a hard time putting so much food down.

 

I’ve been able to gain close to 5 pounds in a few months. I’ve been eating more inbetween meals than I did previously. Protein oat bowls, protein bars, etc. I also lowered my cardio days from two a week to only 1 a week.

 

Thanks, that's helpful. I think I need to be more mindful of this stuff instead of just imagining I'm eating more haha.

What are you doing for cardio?

 

Lately I’ve been walking at 10.0 incline and 3.0 speed on treadmills for 20 minutes and then cycling 2.5 miles. If I go jogging outside then I’ll usually jog for an hour and the distance I run varies. I mostly just try to jog at a consistent speed for an hour and only taking 30 second breaks every 15 minutes or so. Usually I don’t run outside unless it’s on a padded track or on dirt so the treadmills at the gym I go to have been my go to.

 

Man I remember posting in here a while back bummed the weather was getting bad and I would have to move my jogs on to the treadmill instead of outside. I tried running outside recently and hated it lol. I'm all about the treadmill now

 

I pretty much exclusively do walking for cardio now, besides riding our peloton a couple times a week but i dont go hard on it. I've found lifting has made me drop weight an insane amount more than when i'd do HIIT/cardio.

 

Your mileage may vary, but I've found that drinking my extra calories is a lot easier than trying to eat a ton of food. There are a ton of flavored protein shakes that actually taste good if you're willing to spend a little money on them.

 

yeah i typically try to consume around 3200 calories a day to maintain weight and shakes help a lot.

 

Conversely, I've found the most success in prioritizing whole food sources first and using liquid calories as a last resort. I find that encourages better overall nutrition and eating habits. But a shake definitely has its place.

@LightWithoutHeat, what are you currently eating? And what's your current exercise like?

 

Food is definitely better for getting nutrition in, but i dont see a problem supplementing with shakes and things like that. As long as they aremt your primary source for it.

 

Don’t post here much but I am very excited about this:

If the body fat caliper reading I just did is correct, I’ve dropped from 26% on Jan 2 to 16% on April 8.

 

Started counting calories a week or so ago after realizing I eclipsed 300 Lbs at my last doctor's appointment (Gained 90lbs in 3 years!!!), I used to weigh 160 before college so it was eye opening to be nearly done that weight.

Suggested to eat less than 2600 calories a day and I've been usually 300-500 under that except for a cheat day. But I've noticed that my sodium intake is sky-high, already over the daily recommendation with lunch today and was over 3000mg higher yesterday!!! Any tips on reducing sodium intake, gradually?

Also gonna start doing the elliptical again a few times a week soon, used to do an hour every other day but definitely gonna have to work up to that.

I was eating fast food nearly every say (probably eating 3500+ calories a day with ease) but I'm doing it every other day now, with better moderation, so proud of that already.

Edit: Forgot to mention I am already down 6 lbs as of yesterday, which seems unreal so maybe that weigh-in at the doctor was me at a particularly heavy day.

 

Try to get away from processed foods, preserved foods, sauces, and dressings. They’re loaded with sodium.

 

I have a couple thoughts if you're open to them:

Where is your daily sodium recommendation coming from?

Elliptical is excellent for getting the body conditioned again, especially at that weight. How tall are you, and have you considered resistance training? What's your goal weight?

A six-pound drop in that timeframe is actually very normal, as typically water weight is what goes first with reduced intake, to say nothing of different conditions at your doctor's weigh-in v. now. (But that's pretty cool—it's encouraging to see such a severe drop at the outset.)

Excellent job getting started though dude. I weighed about what you do when I realized I needed to make changes, and losing weight and getting in better shape was literally life-changing, so keep it up!

 

To add to the above, if you’re able, I would try and completely eliminate fast food. I know its hard but when I cut out fast food and started making food at home (grilled chicken, salmon, seafood) it made an absolutely enormous difference. At one point of my life, I was eating fast food at least once a day. Normally multiple times per day.

As mentioned above too, processed foods are killer. I used to eat like, 15 deli sandwiches a week. I cut it all out and also cut out the majority of bread.

About 15 years ago, I completely cut out pop. I used to drink 5-6 pops a day.

Add fruits and veggies to your diet. I used to never eat either but now I eat grapes, apples, peaches, strawberries, blackberries and bananas daily. I started to snack on radishes, celery, broccoli, etc. sounds boring, but I’ve honestly developed a taste for all of it.

Sounds like you’re off to a good start. Just trying to throw some things in there from my experience. I lost 46 pounds after college after developing some really bad eating habits during and soon after college. I also struggle with high cholesterol which is why I stick to mostly grilled chicken and salmon for dinner most nights.

 

I counted calories to lose weight and I don't count them anymore but have maintained so far. It was def a gradual process. I have never cut out fast food but started getting small combo meals instead of larges and diet soda or water instead of soda. Or just getting the veggie burger with no sides. And then yeah I started adding things in my diet instead of taking them away. Adding in the fruits and veggies like mentioned above. If I am craving something I add it to something with protein so I don't overeat it, like if I want some ice cream I'll make a milkshake with a protein shake as the base to make it filling so i dont eat a ton, or if I want oreos I'd like crumble them into some light and fit dannon yogurt. Or if I want a sandwich with awesome great carb-filled bread, I just make sure to load it with greens and veggies. Then gradually I just stopped craving the junk or salty things as much. I still eat them sometimes but more in moderation. Sometimes I still do too much sodium tho and just cut my losses. Like if I'm busy I'll make a frozen microwave meal at work for lunch that's still a bit lower in calories and has a decent protein ratio because even tho it's still high in sodium and processed junk probably it's still better than the alternative of me going to mcdonalds or something.

Some people are all or nothing but I started doing a lot better once I realized I can count calories and still eat things I want, just in moderation. I started rebelling less against it and it eased my mind just knowing I could have those things if I want to, and now yeah I don't crave them as often and naturally tend to reach for healthier snacks. But it was a loooong process to get there and I had to confront a lot if psychological issues with food, and still do

 

Also I've been breezing thru the peloton 30 min treadmill runs so I tried a 45min one and I remember trying one in the past and it was hard but was like nah I've made endurance progress since then. The way I almost died. They had me fast jogging up an 8 incline and then taking it down to 0 and doing a fast run and then sprinting and I thought I was gonna puke. I can always count on excercise to humble me.

 

Thanks for all the words of encouragement folks! :)

I work at Chick-Fil-A and we get free lunches so trying to avoid the worst of the worst is a tall task hah. Definitely been opting for more grilled items the past 2 weeks, I grabbed a Spicy Southwest Salad for lunch today, and only used half of the creamy salsa dressing (since it's very calorie rich at 290), and am pretty proud of that. Had a deficit of 800ish calories today (still ate 1600 calories so it's not like I was cutting too deep, I'd normally hover around the 1300 mark when I was at my most active/health-conscious in college)

It already feels really rewarding, so that's great!

Just grabbing the sodium rec from myfitnesspal's listing of 2300, though I think it's supposed to be even lower than that

I'm 5'11, and definitely interested in getting back to the gym but might be a bit before I'm ready. I don't really have a clear goal besides getting under 300 and then going from there, most ideal would be around 260 which I was around at 18 months ago.

 

hit the 30 lbs. lost mark and man do I feel good. Lets keep this train rollin!