Bad health, need to get better - exercise questions

[ericschand]

Just thought I would post an update, since there was lots of advice in the thread.

After a few months, I've lost 23lbs. The weight loss has slowed significantly, I've got
2 lbs to go. :-)

I walk 2 miles a day at a reasonably brisk pace, and run 1 mile. Is that a lot?
I don't think so. For example, I work downtown, and I get off the train at
Sunnyside, and walk in to work. The walk there and back is pretty much
what I need. Then I go home and run a mile, about 10 to 15 minutes.

I cut out all the junk food. No sugary drinks, snacks, whatever. Good healthy
food. STOP EATING OUT. Even to places like Joey's or Earls and especially to buffets!
Pack a lunch, pack some snacks.

Those numbers the government makes food producers put on the side of
the packaging actually do mean something! Learn about them, use them to
your advantage. I didn't count calories, or carbs, or anything like that. Just
made the very obvious decisions about food and what kinds to eat. It's really
not that difficult, which is what surprised me.

I lowered the amount of food I eat per meal, per day. This was the really tough one.
No gorging on food. Instead eating till I feel content, not full. 4 or 5 small meals a day.
At first this made me feel hungry all the time. But with some work I overcame
it. It's tough to function when you are always hungry.

That's it. 3 months, -23lbs.

Now, like a good little doggie, I get my treats and rewards. I get a few meals a week where I can
eat what I want (within some reason, of course). I can even have an occasional
small slurpee starting in a couple of weeks! The trick is to do that while
knowing that if I gorge again, I know where I'll end up.

So, thanks again for all the advice.

ers

[Bill Bumface]

Well done!

[Devils'Advocate]

Congratulations.

I'm at 190 and I'm trying to get to 178, but it's tough. I have exercise of some kind every day - ball hockey on Monday, cycling on Tuesday, kickboxing on Wednesday, tennis on Thursday, etc - and I'm still having trouble losing weight. So getting to goal (or in your case, close enough to goal) is quite an accomplishment. I was warned that the last 5 to 10 pounds would be the toughest.

[Cowperson]

Originally Posted by ericschand

Just thought I would post an update, since there was lots of advice in the thread.

After a few months, I've lost 23lbs. The weight loss has slowed significantly, I've got
2 lbs to go. :-)

I walk 2 miles a day at a reasonably brisk pace, and run 1 mile. Is that a lot?
I don't think so. For example, I work downtown, and I get off the train at
Sunnyside, and walk in to work. The walk there and back is pretty much
what I need. Then I go home and run a mile, about 10 to 15 minutes.

Time to start extending those runs. Your body will get used to the level you're at.

Your one mile run probably takes 10 minutes - guessing - so take it to 15 minutes and a week or two later, make it 20 minutes, which should be a couple of miles.

Sign yourself up for a 5 km run/walk somewhere as a goal as a late Spring/mid-summer goal. Have a target out there somewhere, an achievable goal to get to.

Then sometime in the later Fall, sign yourself up for a 10 km. Don't worry too much about the time or how you get there. Just get it done, get the t-shirt and the medal and slap yourself on the back.

Stretch after you run.

Start doing that universal equalizer, the common pushup as well. Start with one. Build from there.

Dieting is only going to take you so far.

My two cents.

Cowperson

[Devils'Advocate]

Originally Posted by Devils'Advocate

Congratulations.

I'm at 190 and I'm trying to get to 178, but it's tough. I have exercise of some kind every day - ball hockey on Monday, cycling on Tuesday, kickboxing on Wednesday, tennis on Thursday, etc - and I'm still having trouble losing weight. So getting to goal (or in your case, close enough to goal) is quite an accomplishment. I was warned that the last 5 to 10 pounds would be the toughest.

Okay.... I'm a little bit lost at this point.

A year ago I asked my doctor what my weight should be. He said 179 MAXIMUM. But all he did was take my height (5ft, 10.5in) and look up a height/weight chart. I think he never actually expected me to GET to 179 so he didn't put much effort into giving me something accurate. But I don't want to call and book an appointment with a busy doctor just to ask what my weight should be. I'm just a little lost as to where to go now. Should I start maintaining at 179 or should I keep trying to lose more? Some of the charts I'm finding on the internet are suggesting that 5ft 10.5in should be at 141 pounds. I find that ridiculous.... (BTW - the 179 is with jean and runners on)

Thus far 157 pounds in 325 days ... and I got a big whopping $450 cheque back from my life insurance company.

[DownhillGoat]

Originally Posted by Devils'Advocate

Thus far 157 pounds in 325 days ... and I got a big whopping $450 cheque back from my life insurance company.

Wow! Congrats.
I'd go to a personal trainer or a nutritionalist, not a doctor. A doc is just going to go by BMI which is a horribly outdated way to judge correct weight. If you go to a trainer, they can do a caliper test and tell fat %. By using the BMI you could be 6', weight 220lbs, but be mostly muscle, have 5% body fat, and it would consider you overweight.

If you're worried about it, maintain around that 180 mark, and continue after seeing a trainer.

[DownhillGoat]

Originally Posted by ericschand

I walk 2 miles a day at a reasonably brisk pace, and run 1 mile. Is that a lot?
I don't think so. For example, I work downtown, and I get off the train at
Sunnyside, and walk in to work. The walk there and back is pretty much
what I need. Then I go home and run a mile, about 10 to 15 minutes.

Brisk walking won't actually do much. Don't get me wrong, it's a good place to start and it's certainly not going to hurt, but it burns few calories. You could try incorporating interval training into your run. I generally do 20-30 minutes of intervals (that includes the warm up/cool down periods) on the days I don't hit the weights.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by Devils'Advocate

Okay.... I'm a little bit lost at this point.

A year ago I asked my doctor what my weight should be. He said 179 MAXIMUM. But all he did was take my height (5ft, 10.5in) and look up a height/weight chart. I think he never actually expected me to GET to 179 so he didn't put much effort into giving me something accurate. But I don't want to call and book an appointment with a busy doctor just to ask what my weight should be. I'm just a little lost as to where to go now. Should I start maintaining at 179 or should I keep trying to lose more? Some of the charts I'm finding on the internet are suggesting that 5ft 10.5in should be at 141 pounds. I find that ridiculous.... (BTW - the 179 is with jean and runners on)

Thus far 157 pounds in 325 days ... and I got a big whopping $450 cheque back from my life insurance company.

Yeah, your doctor is using the BMI index, which is ridiculously stupid. 90% of NHL players would be considered overweight if you went by BMI.

What I would do is stand in front of the mirror and decide what you want. Still want to get rid of some fat? Or do you think that you're in pretty good shape, and would just like to stay the same?

Beyond that, start taking your blood pressure every couple weeks or so and monitor it. A certain percentage of people could stand to lose some weight in order to get their blood pressure down. That may or may not apply to you.

Cholesterol is another thing you should monitor, so I would suggest getting blood work done every 6 months or so. When I do my blood work, I'm in and out within 15 min if you time it right. From there my doctor calls me if there is something to be concerned about. Or I ask to book another appointment because I want to talk to him about some stuff. The doctors here in Pincher are actually very good that way.

If your cholesterol is too high, again you may need to lose some weight.

From reading your posts it sounds to me like you're pretty active already, and considering your weight loss(seriously impressive)....you OBVIOUSLY know what it means to eat right, so you got 2/3 down pat.

The other part is simply monitoring your health. HR, blood pressure, cholesterol, etc, etc. As you start getting older, or maybe even now having checks done for certain types of cancer, especially prostrate.

At the end of the day, if you're 190#, and you lead a very active lifestyle, your BF% is below 20%(might help to get someone to do this for you or look up online how to check it yourself), you eat right,....and your blood work and blood pressure are within healthy standards then you have nothing to worry about. Maintain, or maybe even begin lifting weights. I know I'm a little taller than you, and 220# isn't that big for my frame. I can easily be 240#.

Doctors rarely look at the big picture.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by kunkstyle

Brisk walking won't actually do much. Don't get me wrong, it's a good place to start and it's certainly not going to hurt, but it burns few calories. You could try incorporating interval training into your run. I generally do 20-30 minutes of intervals (that includes the warm up/cool down periods) on the days I don't hit the weights.

All things considered it is still more than what 75% of the population gets today.

Interval training is awesome. But for a lot of people it may be boring.

Joining a sports team is a lot better.

Playing hockey in the winter is enjoyable plus it burns a ton of calories. And in Canada you can play from Sep-March.

[MJK]

I know I have said this before and someone has probably already said it in this thread BUT...

One of the best ways to keep a log of your food is with LoseIT on the ipod touch. It works wonders. I have lost 30lbs in 3 months. When I lost that much I stopped using the LoseIT program and tried to eat good by myself and I have been unable to lose anymore. It is amazing how good that program works and you can easily track your food and calorie intake.

Try it!

[Azure]

Originally Posted by MJK

I know I have said this before and someone has probably already said it in this thread BUT...

One of the best ways to keep a log of your food is with LoseIT on the ipod touch. It works wonders. I have lost 30lbs in 3 months. When I lost that much I stopped using the LoseIT program and tried to eat good by myself and I have been unable to lose anymore. It is amazing how good that program works and you can easily track your food and calorie intake.

Try it!

I don't know if LoseIT has a vitamin tracking feature, but Fitday and a couple others keep track of your vitamin intake. Its important to watch not only what you eat by monitoring calories and macros, but also monitoring your vitamin intake and making sure you're getting the required levels.

I always say if you RDA is 200, you can easily go 25% higher than that.

Vitamin D for example is something a lot of people lack because of our lifestyles these days. I took 10,000UI for 3 months, and am now taking 5,000UI every single day. Thats 5-10x more than what is suggested and I have never felt any side effects.

[ma-skis.com]

Originally Posted by ericschand

J

I cut out all the junk food. No sugary drinks, snacks, whatever. Good healthy
food. STOP EATING OUT. Even to places like Joey's or Earls and especially to buffets!

I used to cook at Joey's, nothing there is healthy for you, everything tastes good because of the amount of sugar, flour, cream, oil, grease they put in it. that molten souffle thing is half butter half chocolate, half sugar. the ceasar salad is worse than the fries for calories because of the amount of oil in the dressing.

great work though on your weight loss, as far as improving (since those last couple pounds are always tough) i found the nike+ thing on the ipod to be a strong motivating factor, since when i run, the timer makes me want to compete and improve everytime i run.

[Devils'Advocate]

Originally Posted by MJK

I know I have said this before and someone has probably already said it in this thread BUT...

One of the best ways to keep a log of your food is with LoseIT on the ipod touch. It works wonders. I have lost 30lbs in 3 months. When I lost that much I stopped using the LoseIT program and tried to eat good by myself and I have been unable to lose anymore. It is amazing how good that program works and you can easily track your food and calorie intake.

Try it!

Yes, I did mention it right off the start of the thread because it KICKS ASS. But it definitely deserves a second mention. It is amazing how well it works and how it adjusts along the way. When I started, 1 hour of swimming would burn 650 calories, now it burns 400. When I started, if I wanted to burn 2 pounds in a week I had to stick to 2000 calories over what I burned exercising, now it's 1,000 over.

My BP is now at 96 over 65. Cholesterol was always low since I'm a vegetarian. I have a body fat measuring scale that says I'm at 17%.

I don't know how accurate the caliper test would be considering that I have a LOT of loose skin from losing the weight. I was thinking about getting a tummy-tuck until I saw I could buy a small car with the cost of the procedure.

I might take the route of going to a personal trainer anyhow. At least someone that specializes in fitness rather than my doctor....

[MJK]

Where I live it is difficult to get beer. Always being a big beer drinker, I have attributed my non drinking lately to be a major part of my success. Last summer I went back to NL (2 months) and gained 30lbs mostly becuase of beer.

If anyone is going on a diet or if you want to feel better, cutting out the beers/rum and coke is a big part of it.

[ericschand]

Originally Posted by Devils'Advocate

Okay.... I'm a little bit lost at this point.

A year ago I asked my doctor what my weight should be. He said 179 MAXIMUM. But all he did was take my height (5ft, 10.5in) and look up a height/weight chart. I think he never actually expected me to GET to 179 so he didn't put much effort into giving me something accurate. But I don't want to call and book an appointment with a busy doctor just to ask what my weight should be. I'm just a little lost as to where to go now. Should I start maintaining at 179 or should I keep trying to lose more? Some of the charts I'm finding on the internet are suggesting that 5ft 10.5in should be at 141 pounds. I find that ridiculous.... (BTW - the 179 is with jean and runners on)

Thus far 157 pounds in 325 days ... and I got a big whopping $450 cheque back from my life insurance company.

Wow, that's amazing. Congrats. But isn't a BP of 95/65 too low??


I'm still alive, that's good. I have lots of energy, I don't feel tired all the time.
Even friends say I'm more energetic and alive than I have been in a long time.

Also, the past couple of weekends I went and dropped $400 on clothes. I've moved
down sizes in clothes, I can only imagine what your 157 pounds must've done to
your clothes budget!

Vip

[Wookie]

Originally Posted by ericschand

Wow, that's amazing. Congrats. But isn't a BP of 95/65 too low??


I'm still alive, that's good. I have lots of energy, I don't feel tired all the time.
Even friends say I'm more energetic and alive than I have been in a long time.

Also, the past couple of weekends I went and dropped $400 on clothes. I've moved
down sizes in clothes, I can only imagine what your 157 pounds must've done to
your clothes budget!

Vip

Good job to both of you!! That's great to read about!!

A specific weight goal is good for starters, but like everyone said. BMI is pretty much nothing but a general number and not good for everyone. I'm fat according to my BMI.

I'll also echo what Cowperson said. Sign up for some sort of event and bump up your distances a bit. I once got dragged out to a 10km race 5 years ago and it has changed my life. I was in great shape before but now I am pretty competitive in some new sports, which gives inspiration to work hard.

Maybe you'll hate it, but the experience is great regardless. Just a big happy fest - it's really pretty entertaining. Old/young/fat/skinny/athletic/not athletic/cowpeople show up at races and everyone is generally having a great time, it's infectious!

[Devils'Advocate]

I usually hate bumping old threads, but didn't want to start a new one just for an update.

I did as was suggested and went to see a dietitian. Not only did we set a new goal weight, we worked on creating a vegetarian diet that meets my needs. Considering that I have an extra 500 calories to play with each day now that I'm not trying to lose weight, I didn't want to fill that up with 500 calories of cheesecake. Even if that IS what I did last night.

Last night I celebrated graduating going from "Taking Off Pounds" to "Keeping Off Pounds":



The next goal is to get "in shape". There are hordes of people that are at the proper weight, but can't go a flight of stairs without being out of breath. I'm close to being in that group. I've joined a beginners running club and am thinking of getting a trainer....

So NOW I can put that ad in the paper saying "I lost 170 pounds in 1 year and didn't give a red cent to Dr. Bernsteins".

[worth]

170lbs holy man. That's more than I weigh. Congrats.

[Scoopdogg]

Holy Fack dude! 170 lbs in a year... that is crazy. I've been losing weight since the new year but no where near that pace. I'm down 30 lbs since January and would like to lose another 10-15 lbs. Congrats on the weight loss!

[DuffMan]

You lost 170 lbs?? Holy crap, that must feel pretty awesome?
You did it all by diet without exercise?