Fitness and being Healthy

Hey guys,

So as of January I made a resolution to take back my body and go back to feeling and looking like I was before I got pregnant. I did manage to lose most of the baby weight from my first daughter until I found out, soon after, that I was again pregnant with our second daughter. After the birth of my second I found myself distracted and gained weight. As of February I started working out about 3-4 times a week to Tae Bo Extreme and Tae Bo Abs, I also joined weight watchers. I am pleased to say that I've lost almost 20 pounds and only have 10 pounds to go until i reach my actual pre-marriage weight. I have been using some weights on my arms, and I feel better then ever, and I am starting to enjoy wearing cute clothes again.

I want this to be a lifestyle though, that's why I am not doing that P90X. I have to do something I can sustain, like I can totally see myself able to work out 2-3 times a week forever, and I think the weight watchers is totally doable since I get to eat whatever I want but in balance. I also have trained myself to drink more water throughout the day, as compared to before where I pretty much only drank diet coke.

I am asking for your advice and life tips on how to sustain feeling fit and looking healthy as part of your everyday life. I have started drinking green tea during dinner and I think that is helping me too.

Over all, tips for fun workouts, healthy but yummy cooking, vitamin talk etc.

Thanks.

been trying to run a mile every morning before I leave, but I keep sleeping in too late and running out of time.

Back in school I made sure I always had a PE class to keep myself from becoming a fatass. My metabolism is frighteningly high though, so it ended up being just a break from sitting in a classroom. Right now I just walk to and from work, that's about a mile total, about 5 days a week. When I move to Florida, I might pick up running again. And if I get around to moving in with some friends, we'll probably buy some free weights to share.

I eat fairly healthy. Good balance of fruits, vegetables, and different sorts of meat. I don't do salad or fish, so that restricts things a bit, but I've found ways to get around it. I don't really count calories or anything like that. Just eat in proportion to how much energy I use that day.

Grats! I'm proud of you

A bunch of us on the Blizzcon forums are doing fitness blogs using the con as a goal. http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/threa ... 4905&sid=1
You should make one and join in.

I've actually been having some trouble losing weight this time around (this is like my 5th time losing weight I gained back) In January I decided to go back to the gym, I haven't gained any weight since then. But since April I've been more consistent about going to the gym and watching what I eat as well and I have gained 2 lbs. I can lift a lot more than I used to, my shoulders are doing great, I can run faster, I can punch and kick stronger, I'm more flexible, all that stuff, but I haven't noticed any visible physical improvement I think I am just being impatient, but it has been a whole month.
I am going to go through all my blog entries and re-read them to get a feel of how much I actually break from my diet. I think the problem is that I let myself slowly get in to the dieting and I also let myself break from it too much. I think, for some reason, this time is a lot harder than last time for me to lose weight. But I am also doing a lot more weights this time than last, I just don't know how quick it is to put on muscle and if there has even been sufficient time for me to put on 2-3 lbs of muscle weight or if I have been somehow just gaining fat.

You have to find an exercise that you enjoy. Are there any sports that you like (swimming, basketball, running, volleyball, soccer, etc)? If so, try to pick those up. I don't know how old your kids are but I'm pretty sure they walk and run and stuff right? You should try to play sports with them like soccer or whatever kids these days play. Also switch up your exercise methods so you don't get bored (so like do one thing one day and a different thing the next day if you have multiple exercises that you enjoy).

Eating is the hard part for me I hear calorie counting is always the way to go. Similar with the exercise, try to find foods that you enjoy that aren't bad for you and eat more of those (like working more vegetables you like in to meals and less dark meat). Oh, another thing that is really helping me are the 100 calorie packs of cookies and other snacks.

I think you have the right idea already though. Find your balance between "having" to do it (it=diet and exercise) and things you actually enjoy doing.

I have lost 3 stone since November. I want to lose another 3 stone before I will be happy again with my weight.

All I do now is walk to work every day, occasionally use the Wii Fit or rowing machine and watch what I eat - ie don't sit down to watch a film and eat a bag of crisps, instead I will have an apple or a low fat muller thingy. We also plan to start swimming again as we stupidly stopped after getting back upto swimming a mile and a half to 2 miles on a sunday morning. Swimming is very relaxing and I found it gave me lots of time to think uninterupted.

I am determined that my weight is not going to yoyo like a lot of my friends who diet, then put it on, then diet etc. It is about a lifestyle change for us and we determined early on we would do it right and just do it the once.

The key to it all is simple, do things you enjoy and don't make it regimented. Look for treats that are tasty but low in fat and sugar so if you want a treat you don't crave it and then binge.

I wish I had done this sooner but am determined to make it work now.

Barathorn

Between work, raiding and other commitements I've had to replace dinner with a banana. Not exactly healthy I guess but I lost 10kg over the past 3 months, need to find time to eat more again. (I don't actually want to lose weight)

Well, as far as I can tell, if you commit yourself to a half hour of exercise every day, that's a good start.
Breakfast is more important than lunch that is more important than dinner.
Snacking between meals is bad
Sodas are worse
Sleeping adequate amounts of hours per day is very important too. To most people that's 8 hours. Skipping sleep, akin to skipping meals, contributes towards a few health problems, including accumulating more fat.

What worked for me, since I have yet to find a gym that works when I can go to one, was to hang on a personal trainer's shoulder till I knew enough to get by myself. Another good thing is to try and maximize your movement over the day. Need to buy some milk, or a missing good to cook today's lunch? It's a 10 minutes walk to the store.

If you're trying to lose weight, running is a great way to do it - I've just gotten back into working out as well...

doing Interval Running is actually shown to burn more fat than endurance running is... so basically you run for a set time (I usually do 2 1/2 minutes) then you walk/power walk for a set time (again I do 2 1/2 minutes) and alternate like this for your workout

As far as eating healthy - one thing you should try to do is to eat a 5-6 smaller meals, as it allows your metabolism to be constantly running, helping you to use the food as energy instead of storing it...
Also, doing the best you can to avoid things with "High Fructose Corn Syrup" is very good for you... natural sugar is much better, studies have shown that High Fructose Corn Syrup actually causes your body to store more fat.

I'm also trying to tone up a bit (maybe get back down to 210lbs or so). I've been lifting weights a lot more so my apetite has skyrocketed, but I find that when my stomach complains I can fix the issue with a big cup of coffee and a pep talk of "Shut the fuck up, stomach, you do what I say."

I generally find a fitness plan of 'Put down the fork and get up off your ass' is quite effective.

I know that sleep is important, but I was recently reading a study that pointed to 6 hours a night instead of 8 for the average person. There was some link between the extra 2 hours and likelihood of heart issues. I've got to try and find that link...

There's a limit to how much I care about the potential problems caused by everyfuckingthing. 6hours minimum is what the brain needs to properly assimilate the previous day's worth of knowledge(hence why cramming is bad), and the comfortable amount of rest does tend to call for more than that minimum.

I think it's more important to just find the number of hours at which you have little trouble waking up in the morning and feel rested throughout the day. I just thought it was an interesting study as we seldom look at the implications of 'too much' sleep.

Something I have found extremely important (for me at least) is going to the gym even if I feel too tired or sore. If I at least drag myself there and walk on a treadmill for 30 minutes it keeps the habit of driving to the gym straight from work on that day. The little bit of exercise from the walk sometimes even wakes me up/takes away some soreness. Breaking the physical habit of driving straight to the gym after work is a big thing for keeping the pattern up.

Generally speaking the tiredness and laziness I fel over the day is over as soon as I recover from the exercises. It's a good thing it makes you think clearer too.

Snake-Aes wrote:Snacking between meals is bad

I've always heard the opposite. Eating a healthy snack between meals helps your metabolism so your body doesn't want to store as much excess from the meals, it also helps keep you from being quite as hungry at mealtimes so you dont over eat when the time comes around.


Granted, I'm not exactly in the best of shape myself, so I may be wrong.

Arnock wrote:

Snake-Aes wrote:Snacking between meals is bad

I've always heard the opposite. Eating a healthy snack between meals helps your metabolism so your body doesn't want to store as much excess from the meals, it also helps keep you from being quite as hungry at mealtimes so you dont over eat when the time comes around.


Granted, I'm not exactly in the best of shape myself, so I may be wrong.

Those two things can get mixed up rather easily. It's one thing to organize yourself to eat 4 or 5 times a day. You spread the whole process better. Eating inbetween programmed meals is what kills. Especially since it's more than likely to be trash food.

Snake-Aes wrote:

Arnock wrote:

Snake-Aes wrote:Snacking between meals is bad

I've always heard the opposite. Eating a healthy snack between meals helps your metabolism so your body doesn't want to store as much excess from the meals, it also helps keep you from being quite as hungry at mealtimes so you dont over eat when the time comes around.


Granted, I'm not exactly in the best of shape myself, so I may be wrong.

Those two things can get mixed up rather easily. It's one thing to organize yourself to eat 4 or 5 times a day. You spread the whole process better. Eating inbetween programmed meals is what kills. Especially since it's more than likely to be trash food.

I was going to quote the original "Snacking between meals is bad" and reply "Wrong.". I think it's as simple as "eat healthy snacks between meals", but you do want to eat smaller, healthy things, throughout the day even if you aren't on a schedule (still watch your caloric intake).

Swimming is amazing. Probably the best form of exercise you can get. It is an intense full body workout, it isn't straining on your joints, and it's fun.

firstamendme wrote:I'm also trying to tone up a bit (maybe get back down to 210lbs or so). I've been lifting weights a lot more so my apetite has skyrocketed, but I find that when my stomach complains I can fix the issue with a big cup of coffee and a pep talk of "Shut the fuck up, stomach, you do what I say."

Have you tried drinking a lot of water when you feel hungry? I think that might be my problem, when I get hungry during work before or after lunch I throw a granola bar at it instead of drinking water. I know no one wants to look supermodel-thin but I hear that is what they do; they drink a lot of water before meals so they end up feeling full.

mew wrote:Have you tried drinking a lot of water when you feel hungry? I think that might be my problem, when I get hungry during work before or after lunch I throw a granola bar at it instead of drinking water. I know no one wants to look supermodel-thin but I hear that is what they do; they drink a lot of water before meals so they end up feeling full.

I read somewhere (though I can't remember where, exactly) that this is actually good practice, because you can sometimes feel hungry when your body really just needs some fluids. But since I have no idea of the source, take that with a giant grain of salt. And maybe a glass of water.

Cake and ice cream is a healthy breakfast right guys? Right?? Omnomnomnom

theckhd wrote:

mew wrote:Have you tried drinking a lot of water when you feel hungry? I think that might be my problem, when I get hungry during work before or after lunch I throw a granola bar at it instead of drinking water. I know no one wants to look supermodel-thin but I hear that is what they do; they drink a lot of water before meals so they end up feeling full.

I read somewhere (though I can't remember where, exactly) that this is actually good practice, because you can sometimes feel hungry when your body really just needs some fluids. But since I have no idea of the source, take that with a giant grain of salt. And maybe a glass of water.

I have also heard that. That sometimes your body is just thirsty and not hungry.

Grehn|Skipjack wrote:Cake and ice cream is a healthy breakfast right guys? Right?? Omnomnomnom

I almost went to my favorite frozen custard place earlier this week, but then I looked up their nutrition facts online and it scared me away. One scoop of vanilla is 300 calories. So given that the concretes are at least 2 scoops plus candy topping, that's about half a day's worth of calories.

http://thisiswhyyourefat.com
I discovered this website yesterday and it is my new favorite website I can't stop looking and it makes me so hungry. Fortunately most of their sweets just look disgustingly sugary (I prefer softer sweets), but some of their meat-related stuff looks so tasty.
But yeah, I guess that's another health tip, don't eat anything that resembles anything on that website

Does anyone know of a good/reliable natural metabolism calculator? Like, something where you can input your gender, height, weight, activity level, and it will tell you the approximate calorie usage of your body?
I saw one in a pamphlet once that said, according to my age and activity level, my body should be burning about 2400 calories a day. But that seems a bit high.

On the topic of healthy living: I'm terrible about exercise. I used to play badminton twice weekly with some of my co-workers, but that slowly dwindled to nothing once I got back into WoW. Now I don't get much exercise at all, which I don't like, but also can't really find time for. I don't particularly like exercise for the sake of exercise, I usually need a goal or game mechanic to keep me invested in it.

Either way, I've managed to slim back down a bit just from dietary and behavioral adjustments. I had high cholesterol and was up to around 155 lbs 3 or so years ago, which is what prompted the badminton habit. For reference, my college weight was around 135-140, and I'm now back down to around 140-145.

The biggest change I made was the amount I ate. I tend to eat quickly, and that causes me to eat more than I need to. It takes your body a few minutes to figure out it feels full, and I would still be eating during that period, which meant that I'd always feel stuffed (i.e. over-full) at the end of meals. The solution to that was behavioral - force yourself to eat more slowly and pick smaller portions, then make sure you wait a few minutes before going back for seconds. I didn't take data (the horror!), but I'd estimate my consumption went down by 30-50% at dinnertime just from that alone (i.e. a whole chicken breast to half a breast, and half as much of side dishes). Lunch and breakfast were mostly unaffected since I ration those more strictly.

The dietary changes were pretty simple. I still eat mostly what I want, but I try and cut red meat down to once or twice a week, and have chicken more often. We only go out to eat or get takeout once or twice a week, so I don't restrict myself on those nights. Luckily I like chicken and pasta, so it's not hard to fill out the week's menu with various baked chicken and pasta recipes.

Breakfast and Lunch have always been pretty static - I have a granola bar for breakfast in the morning, and a turkey sandwich with some baby carrots and veggie dip for lunch. I used to have a small candy bar instead of the carrots, but that's the only change I made there.

It seems to be working. My fiancee always gives me crap about being so skinny, but I think that might have more to do with her feeling uncomfortable with her body. She's not actually much heavier than she was in college (maybe 5 or 10 lbs at the absolute max), but her weight is redistributing as she gets older and she doesn't like it.

mew wrote:

theckhd wrote:

mew wrote:Have you tried drinking a lot of water when you feel hungry? I think that might be my problem, when I get hungry during work before or after lunch I throw a granola bar at it instead of drinking water. I know no one wants to look supermodel-thin but I hear that is what they do; they drink a lot of water before meals so they end up feeling full.

I read somewhere (though I can't remember where, exactly) that this is actually good practice, because you can sometimes feel hungry when your body really just needs some fluids. But since I have no idea of the source, take that with a giant grain of salt. And maybe a glass of water.

I have also heard that. That sometimes your body is just thirsty and not hungry.

I have a 32oz water bottle that I bring to work with me and throughout the work day I drink 2-3 full of water, then another 1-2 between gym and home. If im not getting hydrated from that then something is very wrong.

firstamendme wrote:I have a 32oz water bottle that I bring to work with me and throughout the work day I drink 2-3 full of water, then another 1-2 between gym and home. If im not getting hydrated from that then something is very wrong.

Well of course you'll be hydrated But I mean trying to focus the drinking before meals or when hungry as an appetite suppressant. I have a 1.5L bottle I keep at my work desk, I am going to try to make sure to go through half of it a day (and then I have giant cups at home that I keep full of water at my desk while I play WoW.



If you have trouble getting exercise time but play WoW, you might want to look in to one of these:
http://www.fitnessgiant.com/stinstcyxl.html
I got one and like it a lot for weekends. It is a bit hard to get set up right at the computer, so don't buy one unless you can get a satisfaction guarantee (or trial period) because you might not be able to set it up right. It would be much easier to use in front of the TV. I ended up having to raise my keyboard and mouse higher and turn my chair sideways. The resistance doesn't go too high but if you want more of a workout you can focus on smoothly pedaling faster. I use it on Saturdays while I spend all afternoon grinding heroics. Pedaling every 10 minutes and breaking for 30 adds up when you are playing WoW for 4+ hours.

High cholesterol sucks balls Mine was a little high last time I had it done and I want to get it tested again closer to August after I've been healthier for a bit. Is your cholesterol back down now too?
Turkey sandwiches are great.

mew wrote:

firstamendme wrote:If you have trouble getting exercise time but play WoW, you might want to look in to one of these:
http://www.fitnessgiant.com/stinstcyxl.html

Stuff like that is awesome. When I was raiding a lot I actually replaced my desk chair with an exercise ball. I would sit on it indian-style and balance myself sitting up straight moving back and forth while I was tanking/healing for at least some core exercise.

Well, until my wife adopted the habit of kicking the ball because she thought it was funny when I panicked to recover mid-fight.

firstamendme wrote:

mew wrote:

firstamendme wrote:If you have trouble getting exercise time but play WoW, you might want to look in to one of these:
http://www.fitnessgiant.com/stinstcyxl.html

Stuff like that is awesome. When I was raiding a lot I actually replaced my desk chair with an exercise ball. I would sit on it indian-style and balance myself sitting up straight moving back and forth while I was tanking/healing for at least some core exercise.

Well, until my wife adopted the habit of kicking the ball because she thought it was funny when I panicked to recover mid-fight.

Ooooo, that sounds like both a fun and a good idea. I hear there are tons of exercises you can do on those, and I think one of them is just keeping your back and core straight and just bouncing up and down. I seriously might break down and get one now, I think my desk is low enough. What size would you recommend? Are the larger ones better/harder?