Bad health, need to get better - exercise questions

[BOSSY]

Originally Posted by Devils'Advocate

In July I was 340 pounds, taking 3 different heart medications, was tired all the time and was exhausted just going up one flight of stairs. I'm now at 225, I'm off the heart medications and feeling much better. I still have a ways to go before I'm at where my doctor wants me to be (190, so I have more to lose than you), but I can definitely feel the effects.

#1 - FIND SOMETHING YOU ENJOY DOING FOR EXERCISE!!! I love swimming... so once I closed my pool in the fall, I joined the rec centre and use the pool there three times a week. I get there at 6:30am and swim with the seniors that are up early so I feel pumped up about going faster than everybody there.

#2 - If you can't find something that you enjoy doing, DISTRACT YOURSELF. I have a treadmill and an exercise bike planted in front of my 50in plasma downstairs. I'll throw in a DVD of Criminal Minds and not notice that 40 minutes of cycling has passed.

#3 - Keep a log of your food and exercise. I'm using an app on my iPhone, but pen and paper works just as well. Make sure that you are burning more calories than you are eating. I'm burning at least 1000 more each day than eating. 1000 x 7 = 7000 = 2lb per week.

Wow! That`s quite an accomplishment - good for you!

[Phaneuf3]

Originally Posted by Devils'Advocate

Now, I'm certainly not against being hydrated, especially if you are building up a sweat and losing water during exercise. And the added benefit is that water tends to make you "feel full" even when you are not.

Even if you don't buy that your body needs quite that much water there are other benefits. On top of the feeling full, it'll do a couple other things. Drinking that much water will prevent you from constantly going for something like juice (high in calories) or coffee (lots of caffeine which actually dehydrates you) or coke (high in both calories and caffeine).

It's surprising how much your drinks can effect your health. Most people only think about the food and don't realize how much damage a whipped Mocha Malt Frappuccino will do to you.

[PowerPlayoffs06]

Originally Posted by Devils'Advocate

#3 - Keep a log of your food and exercise. I'm using an app on my iPhone, but pen and paper works just as well. Make sure that you are burning more calories than you are eating. I'm burning at least 1000 more each day than eating. 1000 x 7 = 7000 = 2lb per week.

What app is that?

[transplant99]

DA....huge applause from me...well done.

[Devils'Advocate]

Originally Posted by PowerPlayoffs06

What app is that?

LoseIt

It's very easy to use. And the nice thing is that it does all the adding for you. And it changes the calculations for you. For example, if my goal is to lose 2 pounds per week, it will gradually lower the amount of calories I am allotted each day. So when I started, it set me at 2200. Now it gives me 1400. Now if I exercise and burn 700, that brings me up to 2100.

Most people say that LoseIt, the free app, is much better than the Weight Watchers App that costs money. Never understood Weight Watchers. You pay a lot of money to lose weight, when one should SAVE a lot of money on food. (Though I have spent quite a bit on clothes.... fortunately I'm a pack rat and saved all my clothes from university that I now fit into again).

[Azure]

Loosing weight is all about the diet.

Being a healthy person is all about having fun.

You really, really need to find something you like. Swimming, walking, hockey, whatever....just find a 'sport' or activity you like and stick with it.

As for the diet....well, I would suggest you stick with lean protein and lots of fruits and veggies. Limit yourself on how much grains you consume, but make sure you still get fiber.

I'm not saying go Atkins crazy and stay below 20g of carbs. Just don't binge out on 500-600g of carbs which is very easy to do if you don't watch what you eat.

I try to stay below 200g at least, and I find my body responds best that way.

[Devils'Advocate]

Originally Posted by Phaneuf3

Even if you don't buy that your body needs quite that much water there are other benefits. On top of the feeling full, it'll do a couple other things. Drinking that much water will prevent you from constantly going for something like juice (high in calories) or coffee (lots of caffeine which actually dehydrates you) or coke (high in both calories and caffeine).

Absolutely. If you need a drink, water is the best thing for you. I used to have a high-calorie/high-carb V8-Fusion at break and have switched to water instead. I'm just of the mind of "drink enough water to keep yourself well hydrated" vs "force yourself to have 8 8oz glasses of water every day even if you don't need it".

[Russic]

Originally Posted by Devils'Advocate

LoseIt

It's very easy to use. And the nice thing is that it does all the adding for you. And it changes the calculations for you. For example, if my goal is to lose 2 pounds per week, it will gradually lower the amount of calories I am allotted each day. So when I started, it set me at 2200. Now it gives me 1400. Now if I exercise and burn 700, that brings me up to 2100.

Most people say that LoseIt, the free app, is much better than the Weight Watchers App that costs money. Never understood Weight Watchers. You pay a lot of money to lose weight, when one should SAVE a lot of money on food. (Though I have spent quite a bit on clothes.... fortunately I'm a pack rat and saved all my clothes from university that I now fit into again).

Big fan of LoseIt. I'm in the "could stand to lose 10 lbs." category, so I tried for a couple weeks to just see if I could alter my diet to lose weight. As mentioned in the 1st response I was shocked to see how far over my calorie limit I was going (and how easy it was to do so).

LoseIt has a big database of all sorts of foods. Of course it isn't 100% accurate, but it's the best and easiest to use resource I've found.

[OutOfTheCube]

Change your food, that's a big one. My dad had a heart attack/heart surgery in the summer and the whole family went low-fat, low-sodium, mostly organic, smaller portions, way less red meat. We didn't care about any of this stuff before.

My dad's lost 30 pounds, my mom has lost 20. I've lost 25 now, and I was fairly thin at 185 lbs at 5' 11" tall to begin with. Food makes a HUGE difference. If you combine it with exercise to strengthen your heart and muscles things will only get better from there too.

[Azure]

Take CQ10.

Especially if you're on heart pills.

[TheSutterDynasty]

Originally Posted by Azure

Being a healthy person is all about having fun.

[more anti-carb conspiracy crap]

Not that you would know :X

[troutman]

Wii Fit and Wii Active are okay for times you can't get outside or to the gym. They can provide a decent work-out, and you can add your own weights to make it harder. No substitute for a proper work-out.

You can do a decent home workout with a medicine ball, dumb-bells, stretch band, bench and swiss ball (?). If you are disciplined. If not, start with a trainer or take group classes/ boot camps. I refer to some Men's Health special additions, that are full of home exercises and diet advice.

I'm reading more and more that weights combined with short bursts of hard cardio, works better than long cardio at a slower pace. Mix it up.

I agree that a multi-vitamin, vitamin D, and fish oil, are beneficial. 5-10 fruits/vegs per day. Rarely have dessert, pop, junk food. Cut out beer. Fatty fish 2-3X per week (salmon/tuna).

Every morning for breakfast I make a smoothie - usually banana, orange/pineapple/watermelon, mixed frozen berries. Blend with a bit of juice, and it makes enough for two days. With that I have some kind of oats - granola, oat bran, cheerios. I have a V8 on days I don't have salad.

[Traditional_Ale]

DA, did you seriously go from 340 to 225 in like five months?

It has to be some kind of world record!

[Devils'Advocate]

Originally Posted by Traditional_Ale

DA, did you seriously go from 340 to 225 in like five months? It has to be some kind of world record!

Me thinks your math is bad.

July, August, September, October, November, December, January = 7 months.

And the Dr. Bernstein ads whip my numbers. 193 in 9 months?!? But I want to hit my goal and put an ad up on the buses "I lost 150 pounds in x months and didn't give a red cent to Dr. Bernstein."

[Traditional_Ale]

Originally Posted by Devils'Advocate

And the Dr. Bernstein ads whip my numbers. 193 in 9 months?!? But I want to hit my goal and put an ad up on the buses "I lost 150 pounds in x months and didn't give a red cent to Dr. Bernstein."

Priceless. New sig!

[jolinar of malkshor]

Buy the book called "Transcend" by Ray Kurzweil and Terry Grossman. I am not quite done it yet but they go in a lot of detail on how to live properly and healthy. Their idea is that if you start now, you can add enough years on to your life so you can reap the benifits of the medical breakthroughs within the next 20-25 years. They believe that advances in medicine are directly related to the advancement of computer tech and biological tech and that we will eventually hit a point that we can extend our life indefinately.

The key is to live long enough to get to that point and they believe that most people can.

[Dion]

I swim laps at the pool daily. I also belong to a gym where i spend time on the treadmil and bikes.

I've also gone to the small plate rule. Bought smaller dinner plates and follow the don't fill up your plate with seconds. Of course that means also eating the proper foods and lots of veggies.

With all of the above i've lost 20lbs since mid November

[Winsor_Pilates]

Originally Posted by DuffMan

- check this out. You might be interested. I've done it and it works well.

I'm doing this right now and second the recommendation. Best of all, it's FREE!

I'm in fairly decent shape already, but need to shed that last stubborn few pounds on the gut and this system hopefully will get me there. I'm not 100% following the workouts because I have slightly different goals, but the diet alone is a great starting point.

I've always eaten fairly healthy, but never really monitored my overall intake or times for eating. I'm 1.5 wks in to this 8 wk program and already feel the difference in doing those 2 simple things.

Having every meal mapped out for the week is surprisingly easy, not restrictive and makes grocery shopping simple as well. The recipes they give you for dinner are tasty as well.

[troutman]

Originally Posted by jolinar of malkshor

we will eventually hit a point that we can extend our life indefinately.

What would we do with all the people? There would have to be a limit on new births. A planet with few children.

Are our brains equipped to handle centuries of living? There are many science fiction stories on this topic.

[Displaced Flames fan]

Originally Posted by Devils'Advocate

In July I was 340 pounds, taking 3 different heart medications, was tired all the time and was exhausted just going up one flight of stairs. I'm now at 225, I'm off the heart medications and feeling much better. I still have a ways to go before I'm at where my doctor wants me to be (190, so I have more to lose than you), but I can definitely feel the effects.

#1 - FIND SOMETHING YOU ENJOY DOING FOR EXERCISE!!! I love swimming... so once I closed my pool in the fall, I joined the rec centre and use the pool there three times a week. I get there at 6:30am and swim with the seniors that are up early so I feel pumped up about going faster than everybody there.

#2 - If you can't find something that you enjoy doing, DISTRACT YOURSELF. I have a treadmill and an exercise bike planted in front of my 50in plasma downstairs. I'll throw in a DVD of Criminal Minds and not notice that 40 minutes of cycling has passed.

#3 - Keep a log of your food and exercise. I'm using an app on my iPhone, but pen and paper works just as well. Make sure that you are burning more calories than you are eating. I'm burning at least 1000 more each day than eating. 1000 x 7 = 7000 = 2lb per week.

Wow, that's impressive man! Well done.

I'm in a similar situation without the nastier side effects. I know, though, that the longer I wait the more chance I have of those coming. I'm at 295 and think ideally I would like to be around 210. I know that I am uncomfortable at the very least.

Blood pressure is consistently normal and my heart rate is as well. Cholesterol is low. I think I'm pretty damn lucky that's the case.

Inspirational post. I appreciate you sharing!