The "I sometimes break a sweat" thread

[Eleven]

I think I speak for all gym regulars in saying that we dread the "New Years Resolutionists" who clog up the gym for the first couple of weeks of January every year then disappear.

 

I've only been a "regular" on this go-round for about six months, but I remember it from the last time I was a regular.

[Doohicksie]

Hey TBJ! Where would be my best shot at finding a rigid mid 1990s mountain bike, like a trek 820 or something similar. I'm feeling nostalgic and I want my childhood bike back. I would buy a new one except for the fact that they all come with suspension now. I strongly dislike bikes with shocks. They never felt right to me.

 

I figure eBay is my best chance, just wondering if you knew of any place else I should be looking?

 

Craigslist.  At least that way you can see the bike before handing over money and you don't have to pay for shipping.  I've gotten several pieces of bike gear through Craigslist (including the wheel with the 2-speed kickshift hub that's currently on the Marathon, and most of the Brooks leather saddles).

[JJFIVEOH]

Here's my chain store bike and where I went today.

 

I'd like to add 4 more, but I can't yet because of post merging.

Edited January 3, 2016 by JJFIVEOH

[JJFIVEOH]

 

 

Take this about 14 miles and you'll be at the BB&T Center.

 

 

Edited January 3, 2016 by JJFIVEOH

[Doohicksie]

Looks cool.  Watch out for those gators!

[Eleven]

Unfair.

[Doohicksie]

Does a ride count as a ride

 

 

...if you stop for pizza, wings and a Bills game in the middle of it?

 

Edited January 4, 2016 by The Big Johnson

[JJFIVEOH]

Unfair.

 

You can't get your hands on a mountain bike?  :P

Does a ride count as a ride

 

 

...if you stop for pizza, wings and a Bills game in the middle of it?

 

 

 

Of course it does! How else are you supposed to burn off them wings? 

[shrader]

Last year I set off on a mission to be super active at the gym.  It started well but then a really bad case of the flu sidelined me for close to a whole month in late February.  I never got back to the level I wanted to be after that.  This year, we start again, but it figures that I'm already under the weather to start out the year.  Screw that though, I'm fighting through it after work today.  No excuses this time around.  I could be in far worse shape than I am right now, but I want to get back to where I was about 5 or so years ago.  We talk about starting to have kids, so I want to be as healthy as humanly possible for any of those who may show up in the shrader household in the future.

[Doohicksie]

Well I'm down 2 pounds since the start of the year.  Not surprising really since I was eating like a pig over the holidays and started following my calories with a tracking app this week.  The depressing thing is the app projects forward and tells you what you'll weigh in 5 weeks and it's still nearly as heavy as I was previous to this peak.  But hay, every journey begins with a single step.

[JJFIVEOH]

What are you doing to lose weight? 

 

I'm thinking about trying some sort of meal replacement plan. Still researching.

Edited January 7, 2016 by JJFIVEOH

[Doohicksie]

What are you doing to lose weight? 

 

I'm thinking about trying some sort of meal replacement plan. Still researching.

 

Using MyFitnessPal calorie counter.  Everything that goes into my mouth goes into the tracker.  I put it in before I eat it, so I can stop before exceeding my limit for the day.  It has a phone app so I can take the calorie counter with me everywhere.

 

Breakfast and Lunch are easy; I pretty much have the same thing for breakfast most days- cereal and milk- and I pack a lunch for work (including some snacks for before and after lunch).  If it's not in my lunchbox, I don't eat it.  Typically I save half my calories or more for dinner and dessert which means I can eat a reasonable meal.

 

The other thing is I have my Strava activity tracker linked into it, so it gives me credit for bicycle rides or walking the dog to earn extra calories.  So even if I do go over I can still get back under the limit by riding my bike an hour or two or whatever.

 

I've used it before with decent success (dropped 30 lb.) but got lackadaisical about it after a while and just stopped doing it.  But I know if I stick with it, it works for me.

Edited January 7, 2016 by The Big Johnson

[MattPie]

I'll plug the "Alton Brown Diet" here, I lost 70-ish lbs on it a few years ago. I've been slipping back lately, however, mostly due to the holidays and stress of always behind on time. The cool concept is it isn't really about what you shouldn't eat, but a set of things you should eat and after that, you're not *that* hungry for the other stuff. Portion control helps a lot too. Also, being single made it a lot easier too.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RC9YqExnCk

[darksabre]

I love Alton Brown. Dude know's what's up. 

[Eleven]

Using MyFitnessPal calorie counter.  Everything that goes into my mouth goes into the tracker.  I put it in before I eat it, so I can stop before exceeding my limit for the day.  It has a phone app so I can take the calorie counter with me everywhere.

 

Breakfast and Lunch are easy; I pretty much have the same thing for breakfast most days- cereal and milk- and I pack a lunch for work (including some snacks for before and after lunch).  If it's not in my lunchbox, I don't eat it.  Typically I save half my calories or more for dinner and dessert which means I can eat a reasonable meal.

 

The other thing is I have my Strava activity tracker linked into it, so it gives me credit for bicycle rides or walking the dog to earn extra calories.  So even if I do go over I can still get back under the limit by riding my bike an hour or two or whatever.

 

I've used it before with decent success (dropped 30 lb.) but got lackadaisical about it after a while and just stopped doing it.  But I know if I stick with it, it works for me.

 

 

LoseIt!  is another great calorie counting app.

[MattPie]

LoseIt!  is another great calorie counting app.

 

I did loseit for awhile too. The only issue was if I did manage to come in ahead for a particular day, I'd take it as license to have a beer to get up to the calorie cap.

[josie]

Portion control is the biggie. D4rk loves cooking, and makes mostly healthy options. Good stuff, greens, lean meats, nothing fried up or slathered in butter. I always ate a smaller portion. And I started bulking up. We don't get rolls in my family, we just become lady linebackers. I was pretty upset, here I was working out regularly and eating well, and losing the battle of the bulge. 

 

Started the mycalories app and realized I put weight on if I eat more than about 900 calories a day (not counting the negative earned from working out via my fitbit or plugging it in). Just don't go the other way... I used to barely nudge 400 incoming calories at my craziest in high school, and be well in the negatives factoring in exercise. You'll drop weight alright, but also happiness, ability to do anything, sanity. 

 

You can really eat whatever you want as long as it's not a lot of it. Diet food sucks. 

[darksabre]

Portion control is the biggie. D4rk loves cooking, and makes mostly healthy options. Good stuff, greens, lean meats, nothing fried up or slathered in butter. I always ate a smaller portion. And I started bulking up. We don't get rolls in my family, we just become lady linebackers. I was pretty upset, here I was working out regularly and eating well, and losing the battle of the bulge.

 

Started the mycalories app and realized I put weight on if I eat more than about 900 calories a day (not counting the negative earned from working out via my fitbit or plugging it in). Just don't go the other way... I used to barely nudge 400 incoming calories at my craziest in high school, and be well in the negatives factoring in exercise. You'll drop weight alright, but also happiness, ability to do anything, sanity.

 

You can really eat whatever you want as long as it's not a lot of it. Diet food sucks.

High protein low carb is probably the best for you. The problem being that carbs are delicious.

 

I think both of us could stand to consume more leafy greens and other veggies. You can basically eat unlimited vegetables.

[TrueBlueGED]

^^^^^^^^^ What she said. Portion control.

 

Everything in moderation! If you pick a diet that deprives you of things you love, sure, you'll watch the weight fly off. But you'll also find it extremely difficult to maintain long term. Whatever anyone does, the focus should always be on a set of small but sustainable changes rather than a few major changes prone to relapse.

[Eleven]

I did loseit for awhile too. The only issue was if I did manage to come in ahead for a particular day, I'd take it as license to have a beer to get up to the calorie cap.

 

I am familiar with that problem.

 

High protein low carb is probably the best for you. The problem being that carbs are ###### delicious.

 

I think both of us could stand to consume more leafy greens and other veggies. You can basically eat unlimited vegetables.

 

You can drink unlimited veggies, too--the veggies themselves, with the fiber, and not just juice.  NutriBullet is amazing.

Portion control is the biggie. D4rk loves cooking, and makes mostly healthy options. Good stuff, greens, lean meats, nothing fried up or slathered in butter. I always ate a smaller portion. And I started bulking up. We don't get rolls in my family, we just become lady linebackers. I was pretty upset, here I was working out regularly and eating well, and losing the battle of the bulge. 

 

Started the mycalories app and realized I put weight on if I eat more than about 900 calories a day (not counting the negative earned from working out via my fitbit or plugging it in). Just don't go the other way... I used to barely nudge 400 incoming calories at my craziest in high school, and be well in the negatives factoring in exercise. You'll drop weight alright, but also happiness, ability to do anything, sanity. 

 

You can really eat whatever you want as long as it's not a lot of it. Diet food sucks. 

 

 

Geez, 900?!

[josie]

I am familiar with that problem.

 

 

You can drink unlimited veggies, too--the veggies themselves, with the fiber, and not just juice.  NutriBullet is amazing.

 

 

Geez, 900?!

Probably only ever going to get worse, too. I guess I'm just destined to be fat someday. :( 

[Derrico]

I had a wake up call a couple of years ago about my blood pressure.  Have been swimming 3 times a week ever since and it's really helped bring it back down to closer to normal range.  Still a bit overweight though and this year I've finally got the motivation to really do something about it.  But I'm learning not to read the scales every morning.  Yesterday I went for a half hour swim on my lunch and then a 4 km run at night.  During the day I had one piece of toast and an apple for breakfast, a salad for lunch, cottage cheese and blueberries for a snack and then some chicken and whole wheat pasta for dinner.  Checked the scales this morning and it read back the same number as yesterday morning.  So disheartening.  Just got to keep at it I guess. 

[TrueBlueGED]

I had a wake up call a couple of years ago about my blood pressure. Have been swimming 3 times a week ever since and it's really helped bring it back down to closer to normal range. Still a bit overweight though and this year I've finally got the motivation to really do something about it. But I'm learning not to read the scales every morning. Yesterday I went for a half hour swim on my lunch and then a 4 km run at night. During the day I had one piece of toast and an apple for breakfast, a salad for lunch, cottage cheese and blueberries for a snack and then some chicken and whole wheat pasta for dinner. Checked the scales this morning and it read back the same number as yesterday morning. So disheartening. Just got to keep at it I guess.

There's a ton of regular weight fluctuations on a day-to-day basis. My advice is to weigh yourself every morning and record it, but don't pay attention to it. Then after each week, average the weight for that week and that should be a reasonable estimate of your true weight (and thus weight loss) while minimizing the daily anxiety over the number.

[Derrico]

There's a ton of regular weight fluctuations on a day-to-day basis. My advice is to weigh yourself every morning and record it, but don't pay attention to it. Then after each week, average the weight for that week and that should be a reasonable estimate of your true weight (and thus weight loss) while minimizing the daily anxiety over the number.

That's what I'll start doing.  Thanks.

[josie]

There's a ton of regular weight fluctuations on a day-to-day basis. My advice is to weigh yourself every morning and record it, but don't pay attention to it. Then after each week, average the weight for that week and that should be a reasonable estimate of your true weight (and thus weight loss) while minimizing the daily anxiety over the number.

Absolutely absolutely do this. It's so much healthier than freaking out about "weight gain" when all you really need to do is take a big crap. Water weight adds a lot.

 

Judge by your clothing fit, and by sight, provided you can see unbiased. I cannot. I actually refuse to weigh myself much anymore, as well. Makes me crazy. BMI numbers don't help. Don't let it play mind games with you. Set a goal weight that seems reasonable, average your weight, and feel good about it.