Hello GlibFit friends! The time has finally come for our first fitness challenge. The purpose of this challenge is to each push ourselves to make and meet fitness goals with shared accountability among our community. Please recognize the fact that, given the nature of fitness challenges, it’s not going to be easy for most folks. Keeping that in mind, don’t be an asshole.
Here’s how it works. The challenge is ten weeks long, starting today and ending Friday April 13th. Every Friday, we’re going to have a GlibFit thread for discussing progress and as a general fitness open thread. For ease of access during the week, all the GlibFit posts will live in their own category index in the website footer.
At the end of the 10 weeks, we take a look back at what we’ve accomplished. Then, if people are still into it, we start again in May with a second session.
It’s not too late to join in, and it’s not too late to revise your goal for this session. We’re not keeping track of your goals, so it’s up to you to keep track of your goal and your progress. As mentioned before, the best goals are quantifiable and achievable. Something like “spend 30 minutes 3x per week on the treadmill and run a 5k on April 3rd in 25:00” is a great goal. “Eat less carbs and turn the TV off” is harder to hold yourself accountable to.
Part of fitness accountability sometimes includes tracking your food and exercise on a daily basis on your phone. At the very least, I try to track my weight daily. The most commonly used app for that is My Fitness Pal. If you have a MFP account, join our group and become friends with your fellow Glibs. If there are other apps that people are using, please share in the comments.
I need to revise my goal, but I need to think about it first.
A very bad case of the flu has changed my numbers a bit.
Recomp, recomp, recomp.
Fine, but I’m not giving up my weekend binges.
You misspelled weeklong.
I’m not that big a lush! I sometimes go for day without drinking.
Pro-tip: you can save money and cut calories by replacing meals with grain alcohol. It’s a more efficient blackout drunk and, as everyone knows, liquor calories aren’t real calories.
I’m thinking more like weekly than daily- my weight can fluctuate 3 or 4 pounds depending on if I’ve had a good dump.
My margin of error is five pounds before I declare a trend.
I find that weighing in daily is motivating for me. It’s a noisy graph, but you can see larger trends when you zoom out.
For example, I dropped into the 280s for the first time since 2014. I’m pretty pumped about that, and it motivated me to eat my packed lunch even though my coworkers were going to Chick-fil-A
It helped when the trend was going in the right direction, then led to a great deal of consternation when I couldn’t figure out why it had stopped and reversed.
Are you still lifting? You may just be putting on muscle. I’ve gained 10 lbs since I’ve started weight training.
With the exception of the last week, when I’ve been too sick.
I tried to factor in that possibility, but there was no way to measure it.
I’ve found using the mirror/clothes to be a better indicator than the scale. If you clothes are getting loose and you look trimmer, screw the scale.
I can’t tell – most of my attire was bought when I was at my haviest, then I went down seventy pounds before I started lifting.
I don’t want to sound like I’m being contrarian, but I need a quantitative metric, or I look at the mirror and go “still a fat bastard” regardless of the small differences.
I weigh myself every day out of curiosity, but I don’t really pay attention to the number. I find it’s more productive to gauge progress by how clothes are fitting and how lifting sessions are going. If I’m putting in really good sets and feeling like I’ve mastered the weight, that’s progress. If clothes fit like they should and I’m not in the “husky” section, I’m doing well.
You could look at a method to calculate your body fat percentage, that should tell you what you want.
I only weighed once a month when I was losing weight. I found it easier to focus on my diet without getting discouraged with the ups and downs.
. I was doing it every day, but now that I’ve gotten to where the weight loss has really come to a crawl, I’ve started weighing once every 3 or 4 days.
I have an exercise regimen that works for me. So if there is anything I could potentially change, is diet, or just stop drinking beer.
But then you’d have to stop the beer reviews, and that just isn’t an option for me.
I can review something else:
This is my review, of Keurig K-Cup Chai Tea…..
Keurig?!
**Points and screeches**
That’s a great way to get hot coffee thrown in your face.
Metaphorically, of course.
Metaphorical my ass!
Cool idea. I’m currently in keto, hoping to maintain that for a while. And my goal is lifting 3+ times per week.
I really should start running but I just fucking hate running so much.
I row 2x week for my cardio. Less impact on your joints, full body and burns more calories per unit time. I do stronglifts 3x week.
Yeah, i’m gonna be re-starting SL 5×5 this week I think. Rowing is a really good idea, i’ll have to look on craigslist and see if I can get a cheap rowing machine. I definitely need a low impact cardio option, running always messes up my knees and feet
I like to do interval rowing. 500 meters and then 1 minute rest. It burns 100 cal/10 minutes and no sore knees.
Oh yeah, interval training is the way to go. Saves a lot of time.
Do most rowing machines measure distance? The only one i ever used just had a timer on it
Many do, yes. Often to varied success.
I use the ones at the gym and they have all kinds of fancy settings.
I left 3 times per week as well. Got both my wife and stepson lifting.
Running isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. If you want to run a marathon, by all means. But, if you’re trying to get strong and/or lose weight, there are far better ways to do cardio.
I’ve lost ~7-10 pounds (depending on the time of day I weigh) since the beginning of the year. Sticking mostly to low-carb. Haven’t been exercising much, and for me, that is THE key.
I’ll restate my goals:
~20 grams carbs
5,000 steps/day per the Fitbit.
i don’t know if you’re familiar with the keto diet, but if you’re eating less than 25g’s of carbs per day, you’re probably in ketosis. Make sure you eat enough fat to keep up your energy levels.
Most definitely, that is extremely low carbs, not something one can probably do long term.
Oh, this is so old hat for me I can do it in my sleep. Did it for 2 years (lost a crap-ton of weight) then got pregnant, at which time I suddenly couldn’t stand the smell of meat.
I just remembered why I haven’t been exercising much. I have trochanteric pain after that takes a couple of days of rest.
2 years, that’s pretty impressive. You’ve got more willpower than I do haha
I was highly motivated and did not have a husband or children eating stuff I wanted but couldn’t have.
My willpower is stretched to its limit when there is crap in my cabinets and frankenfood in my fridge.
Case in point:
My 3 kids, 10 and under, put away 2 dominos’s pizzas last night.
It worked out in my favor because there was only 1 slice left for me.
Can confirm.
My son and I worked it out, though: I pick the pepperoni off his slices.
Teenagers? When I was 14 or 15 I could eat 3 huge double cheeseburgers with the fries. And I weighed maybe 130 lbs. It’s amazing how much little teenagers can eat, and never gain a pound.
Many girls don’t work that way. Mine (14yo) can put away 6 McDoubles, but she sees it in the scale. She’s got a little bit of a belly pooch. Fortunately, she can exercise it all away, but it takes some work.
I don’t say anything because why? She’s hungry and I am not about to add any angst to what body issues she does have.
Oh, I meant to say that right now, my goal is to get off my depression meds. I cannot overstate how much low-carb contributes to my mental health well-being.
I very often say that Dr. Atkins saved my life and it wasn’t because I had any disease indicators (although I do believe that those two years and my off-and-on since then has kept me protected against the Dread Diabeeeeeedus).
Exercise is critical to getting off the meds.
Physical exertion = serotonin release
I have a poster in my office:
“Food is the most abused anxiety drug. Exercise is the most underutilized antidepressant.”
Forgot to say: ~20g is Atkins induction. I never really went back up to the OWL (ongoing weight loss) level.
I’m sticking with my goal to lose another 10 kilos. I actually think it was 11.5 or something like that when this first came up, so I’ve made a little progress, but my weight has just flatlined where it’s at for the last couple of weeks. I have to cut alcohol intake, or I won’t make it. But I’m going to make it, so the alcohol cut down starts this weekend. Ok, I said that before, but I really mean it this time, damnit! I guress I still feel pretty good about losing 15 kilos or more than 30 lbs and not gaining any of it back. But this next 20-25 lbs is a must do.
My goals haven’t changed. 5 days per week of low carb (excepting my morning toast and an occasional rice packet). 4 days per week of physical activity (30 minutes or more walking/running/spin bike/weights/etc). Stretch goal is to lose 20 lbs over 10 weeks.
I lost 30 in about 3.5 months. The first 20 was really quick, probably 8 weeks, so definitely doable.
I’ll have to see how much this stupid business trip set me back before I commit to anything. No time to work out, and all day meetings with eating out for every meal does not help. As for apps to track, I do use RideWithGPS to track my actual cycling, but no doing that until the weather turns.
/grumbles about trainer
But two goals I can commit to for the year is to get in a century ride, and to hit 1,500 miles ridden in the season. Last year I had a 75 mile ride and hit ~1,100 miles ridden in the season.
I’ve finished the HH100 five times, mostly in my my forties.
The upside to living in a desert is that pretty normal accomplishments are rendered epic by 100F heat and 30MPH headwinds,
But I ain’t going back.
What trainer type do you ride? I use rollers (homemade) and they are slightly more engaging (need to maintain balance) than a bolt on mag or fluid. Perhaps the smart trainer / Zwift thing would be nicer, but I don’t have that kind of money.
I am currently getting ready for a 50 mile gravel ride in late April. route https://ridewithgps.com/routes/2321590
6 bodyweight exercises, at least 10 each every day:
Pushups, situps, squats, flutter kicks (4 count), mountain climbers (4 count), burpees
Since I went from 181+/2 to 174+/-2 due to a bout with the flu, I think I’m aiming down to 170 +/-2 since my pants fit so much better. Seriously, at 185, I was gonna have to give up and get new pants or buy one of those button extenders.
Heh, I went from 32 when I was in really good shape, to 34, then to 36, then to 38 and I was going to have to go to 40 and that’s when I decided I had to do something. Now I’m back to 34. I’d love to be back down to 175, but I’d be very happy just to get back to 180-185. 15-20 more pounds just to get in that range.
Please don’t tell me you’re 5’2″.
I was 32 up until I got out of academia (couldn’t afford to eat, biked everywhere). Then expanded over a few years to 40, fluctuated between 40 and 36, then got into great shape after my 50th birthday. Then left California, had to give up the 2 hours a day of hill climbing. Now I have a high stress job with a long commute that leaves me almost no time for exercise, living in a place that makes a pool table look like the Himalayas, and surprise, surprise, I’m back to a 40. So, if I can drop 20 pounds, I can squeeze into a 36 or do a 38 with some slack.
I’m 5’8″ probably, maybe a little over that, but I’m not a thin built person either. Still 230 lbs for someone who’s no taller than that is terrible. My perfect weight, judging from when I was in my best shape, is about 175. I was up to 185 actually, but I don’t have all the muscle mass I had at 30 years old and probably couldn’t put it all back on at 58.
Yeah, 185 was about best for me as well (6′, but not a linebacker build).
If you want to be totally discouraged, spend some time with Warty. Holy shit, he’s not even the same species as us.
I’m 5’8 and was down to 155 with diet. I’m up to 165 after 6 months of weight training. I started at 200lbs.
Last time I was 155 lbs was right out of high school. About 150 actually, but I was about as low body fat as possible and didn’t have nearly the muscle that I put on by the time I was 30.
My “ideal weight” is 205. I’m 6’1″ and it’s quite apparent that I come from farmer stock. The lowest I’ve ever been in my adult life was 192, and that took 6 hours of manual labor per day. People thought I was dying i was so skinny.
Goals:
20 pounds off
BP diastolic down by 10
Resting heart rate down by 5
I’m going for a 100% reduction in the latter two of those parameters. I’m guaranteed to succeed, eventually.
Have you tried a carbon monoxide sauna?
Helium balloon facial.
The odd thing about heart rate and blood pressure – I have freakishly good values of both. Especially for how much extra weight I have. When the doctor measured the values, I figured his BP/heartrate meter must be broken, but it wasn’t.
My heart rate is pretty good- 64-ish- but when I’m in good aerobic condition, it runs mid 50s.
Nah, I’m substantially overweight, Until recently, this was a high stress job, blah blah blah. A few injuries from rugby days that slow me down a bit, but my readings for blood, heartrate and lipds are are really good. My diet is pretty much anything I want other than heavily processed concentrated carbs like pasta. I try and maintain ketosis until 11AM in the morning, which is tough.
I barely exercise, and aside from trying real hard at portion control and staving myself of heavily processed carbs … I’m managing to lose a few pounds a week, which I’d like to crank up to 5/week for a month or so.
I have high blood pressure, but it’s all because of my weight. It went down quite a bit after I lost weight, but it’s still high. My blood sugar however, is rock solid now, where I was pre-diabetic before. I’m sure thanks to the low carb diet. Despite to much beer.
I love these kinds of goals
Goals:
Go run 1mile, walk back
I’ll keep you posted.
You can do it
Done and done. Success!!!
New Goal
Shower
Walk to store Buy celebratory 6 pack walk back.
Done and Done again
I haven’t been a member of a gym in 20 years. Where is a good place to start? Big box, or boutique?
I’ve heard nightmare stories about how they keep charging your bank account long after you’ve quit.
My husband goes to Planet Fitness. He really loves it. It’s not for weight loss; it’s to keep his new-ish fake knee supple and strong.
It’s only $10 a month.
10 bucks a month? Wow. I haven’t found anything remotely in that ball park around here.
My preference has always been to work out at home. Just a weight bench, some weights and some videos for cardio and areobic will save a lot of money. Unless you’re a poser, if you must go the gym to pose, well then. We have equipment down at the clubhouse anyway, I could just walk down there and pose for all the old retired ladies in their old lady workout clothes, get them all hot and bothered.
I can’t lift anymore (torn rotator cuffs), but when I did, I pretty much only did squats. It wasn’t worth paying to go to a gym for squats.
Actually, you can lift after a rotator cuff injury. You just need to do a little work on recovery This is a bit long (30 mins.) but very informative on what to do:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFt0IECBwdo
I have not personally dealt with that. The issue I have, is the bigger the gym the more likely I will find other patrons, shall we say, distracting with their affinity for yoga pants.
See if you can find a city rec center or one affiliated with a hospital. Much more amenable than the other options.
Ha! I got burned by exactly that 2 years ago.
We had one that was run by the Beach Cities Health District (a long story all by itself). It was pretty nice, and only 3 blocks from my house.
I go and sign up, and they make me pay for a whole year in advance by check. And then…. they closed 9 days later.
I forgot you’re in CA.
Is there a YMCA nearby with free weights?
Whatever you do, make sure the gym you go to has at least a couple squat racks, and will let you use chalk when lifting.
I’ve been learning a lot through the Barbell Logic podcast.
There are now 2 gyms in my area that are $10/month that have decent weight setups. Not sure if either is a chain.
Buy your own squat rack, clown.
And put it in one of the kids’ rooms?
Step 1: move to a state where it isn’t devastatingly expensive to have a spare room
Step 2: buy a friggin’ rack
Step 3: gainz all day
Step 3 requires using it…
It does? Well, blow me down.
STEVE SMITH ACCEPT CHALLENGE!
I have a room, but since I’m 6’3″, the ceiling’s too low.
What is the ceiling height? I’m also only 6’3″, and the code-standard 8 foot ceiling had enough room for a rack in my house.
7ft 6in, less a fraction. The garage is the same, otherwise I could do a 3 season gym.
Connecticut midgets.
Oh, AND we have floor loading issues. Antique houses suck.
Check your Montana-Privilege.
^ This gal gets it ^
I can’t decide which spare room to set up my bike in. 🙁
Damn right! All y’all could have this, too. All you have to do is live in a state that isn’t insane.
Any room in the garage? That’s where I put mine.
Wife and I couldn’t really afford/justify buying a Rogue rack, so we got one from Titan Fitness. It fits against the back wall of the garage. Barbell and bench is from Rogue. Apart from fractionals and a couple of 10 lbs, we got all the Olympic weight plates used on Craigslist.
Lots of good links here on what to buy for a home gym, and how to build a lifting platform.
https://startingstrengthonlinecoaching.com/barbell-logic-podcast-episode-13-beginner-equipment/
I also bought my rack from Titan. Not sure what they cost now, but mine was $280 w/ free shipping 3 years ago. It was definitely a great deal.
Just checked the Titan site and the T3 squat rack is $271 w/free shipping.
I got to the Y. Mostly because my wife likes all the classes.
Big box, or boutique?
Depends on what kind of person you are and how much money you have to plow into it.
If you’re comfortable running your own show by planning workouts and executing them without assistance, go big box. You’ll get a better deal.
If you don’t really know where to start or you’re motivated by working out in a group, look at the boutiques.
My wife is an Orange Theory fitness coach, and I used to get free classes there as a spousal benefit. It’s a much different experience than running on the treadmill for an hour at Lifetime Fitness.
Best place to start is with whichever gym has the most convenient location(s) for you.
If you want to trade an up-front commitment for worrying about bank account shenanigans, Costco sells 2-year 24-Hour Fitness memberships.
My goals are:
Lose 15 pounds
Ride bike 5 days a week for at least 15 minutes.
I am already Adonis.
*squints suspiciously*
All hail lord adonis!
He’s not much to look at.
I’ve been doing my routine for a little over a year and just switched to a different program to keep things interesting.
Maintenance Goals:
– 5 days of weight lifting: A light day, a medium day, and a heavy day, with light variety days in between
– 200g protein a day
Benchmark Goals:
Pass the “Simple” test of the “Simple and Sinister” program
– 100 one-handed kettlebell swings in 5 minutes with a 32kg kettlebell
– 1 minute rest
– 10 (5 per side) kettlebell get-ups with a 32kg kettlebell in 5 minutes
I’m close to knocking out the swing portion, but I need work on the TGUs.
How are you doing on the 1 minute rest?
Oddly, that’s not as easy as you’d think.
I like lemon. I like lemon sugar cookies. I make KILLER lemon sugar cookies. Obviously, this is contraindicated. But I crave citrus the way other people crave chocolate. (There is no such thing as too much lemon.)
I ran an experiment. Got some sugar-free lemon jello, mixed it up with a teensy weensy bit of hot water just enough to dissolve it completely. Whipped some heavy cream till it was stiff-ish, added the jello and whipped it some more until it was stiff but not quite butter. Voila, lemon mousse. The gelatin made it set up instead of watering down like whipped cream will do. The hot water is essential because it’ll be gritty if you don’t. There was a teensy tinsy aftertaste, but I didn’t mind.
Yesterday I did the same thing, only with a package of sugar-free chocolate jello. It tasted like brownie batter. No aftertaste.
What this is really going to entail for me:
Cutting way back on beer.
Dammit.
Just buy light beer, or skip a meal.
*blinks*
Light? I haven’t seen any helium infused beers yet…
That’s another hot cup in the face.
I’m starting an official tally.
I’ll go for the trifecta.
#triggering
Just picked up more heady topper.
I should probably do some push ups
I lift weights and generally eat well specifically so I CAN still enjoy good craft beer. Granted, I only have a few pints each night on the weekends. Can’t do the kind of drinking I did in my 20s, nor am I really interested in that. I’d rather drink really tasty beer, and occasionally get a mild to decent buzz.
My goal is to get 18 5-gallon batches of mead and 7 5-gallon batches of sour ale into bottles by the end of February.
Good god, your brew days must be brew weeks!
Sour ales are from Sep 16 to Nov 16. Mead is from Jan 17 to April 17.
Prior to my daughter I was doing ales from late September into April so I could take advantage of the colder weather. I don’t have a good, reliable cooling system for fermentation in the summer but I can keep my office in the mid-50s thanks to bad insulation and drafty windows during the late fall into early spring.
-7 lbs.
I’m so sorry about your penis.
It was all those helium injections
How much does a cat butt weigh?
+15 pounds.
I need at least 10 according to my doctor.
This is the oldest excuse around, I know, but I don’t know where I could find the time to work out unless I start going at like 5 in the morning.
So? Put it on your schedule for 5am and start working.
I get little enough sleep as it is
That in itself could be a major contributing factor if you’re too chunky.
Lack of sleep drastically impacts your metabolism, and increases the mechanism that makes it store fat…
I was swimming at 5 every morning for a while. That is very hard to maintain when you’ve got kids.
I go at 6am with the wife even though I work from 1-11pm.
I usually workout or run right when I get home from work. But I usually leave the office at 4:15 so there is a nice bit of time there to get things done before dinner.
Yep. I lift after work, three times a week. I can usually get it done in about 75 minutes. Granted, I pretty much follow the Starting Strength program, which is, as they say, simple, hard, and effective.
my goal is to get my deadlift up to 400 lbs, and squat to 350. I’m nearly 48, and am trying to gain muscle mass to get to that goal. About 6′, currently weigh 196. I think if I get up to 205 or 210, that will give me the muscle mass I need. I can work off any excess weight once I get the muscle mass I need.
It’s very hard. That’s a big reason why I got so into kettlebells; they don’t take up much space, they’re versatile, and they’re well-suited to a lot of full-body exercises. Dumbbells are great, too, but I prefer kettlebells because the usual routines only require one, and they go in 8kg increments. I can bang out a full-body routine in around 30 minutes, and that includes conditioning stuff, usually in the form of swings.
Still, I’ve got to fight to get that 30-45 minutes, and it’s not always possible. If you really can’t find the time then your first goal should be to figure out how to sort your routine such that you can carve some out. Believe it or not you can still get some decent results by doing a set here and a set there throughout the day. In fact, that’s one training strategy for getting able to lift heavy weights or do particularly challenging bodyweight exercises.
My goal? World domination, opening camps for “needy” people where they can concentrate on their work, and a fleet of attack submarines.
Don’t forget a reliable supply of high-octane guzzoline …
How much credit do you get if you have five orphans and each loses three pounds?
They told me there would be no math! Unfair!
Reality: I’m kinda-sorta getting ready for a local charity run in March. 5K or 3.something miles. Right now I’m running (and sometimes walking) 2.5-3.5 miles, three times a week.
I’ve already lost – thanks to some lifestyle and diet changes – 25 pounds and counting in the past three months.
On top of all that, I work out with resistance tubes 2X a week. I’m waiting for warmer weather to start using my unheated garage gym again. The tubes are a cheap and portable way to get in some sort of resistance training. I bring them with me on vacation or if you need a quick lunchtime workout.
Walmart carries these for less than $15.
I’m trying to eat More, and a goal of, 145 lb, so 8 lbs. But consistent. I also do resistance training every morning with TeufelHund 5 rounds of 5 minutes each, good for the Upper body, and I need that too.
I hit the gym every weekday AM @ 6:30, do an hour on the treadmill to burn 1100 calories (fast walk at max incline since I can’t run anymore unless I have knee surgery to replace my artificial joint), alternate depending on the days of the week what weight routine I am doing for 20 mins, and follow that up with 30 mins on the cycle machine to do 8 miles if time permits. Nice steam room and shower after, and off to work. On weekends, and during the summer after work, I hike. To the tune of some 12-40 miles a weekend (more miles when it is nice weather, and about 4 -6 miles when I hike on summer eves). I watch what I eat, drink to excess, and the ladies tell me that for a 54 year old man, I am a in unbelievable shape (both psychically, financially, and emotionally). What am I to do with this challenge?
Fund some female company that isn’t batshit crazy?
Whether “fund” was intentional or not, I had a good chortle
If you fund it, you can find it.
The answer is unfortunately still no.
You could work on your low self-esteem issues.
Oh, I do plenty of that…..
I want to get back to a 34″ waist and not run out of breath going up stairs.
Since I retired from the Marines a year and a half ago, I still weigh about the same (215lbs at 5’10”) but my jeans are a lot tighter around the waist then they used to be.
I haven’t worked out since August, I have been too lazy.
I will start going to bed earlier so I can wake up at 5 and go to the gym for a round of P90X starting Monday.
I just weighed myself, 209.7 in shorts and a t-shirt.
I’d like to get down to 190, which involves taking off >20lbs of fat since I’d like to put on a pound or two of muscle in the process.
Plan:
Fewer carbs
Avoid late-night snacking. Which, since I tend to do that when I drink, means I’ll probably need to cut back on late-night drinking. This is probably my main dietary enemy.
Bodyweight exercises 3-5x/week. I’m thinking something simple, like 100 pushups, 100 squats, 100 let-me-ins, 5 minutes of planking, all broken up across however many sets it takes.
Walking 30-60 minutes/day.
This probably isn’t enough to achieve the above goal, but I think I can stick with this for a while and try to ramp things up when I stall out.
What are “let-me-ins”?
Banging on the door after late-night drinking, after you crawl home at 3AM.
Exhausting.
This, but I do them holding onto a railing rather than door handles.
Let me ins.
Adjusting the diet is the first and foremost consideration, probably 80% of the equation. Losing weight and alcohol do not go together at all.
Drop the carbs to next to zero and up the fat intake. You’ll be amazed at how fast it comes off.
Now he tells me!
::looking down at 12oz chinese take-out carton with about 6oz of brown rice still in it::
Carbs are a big weakness for me in that advice – I start to crave them in any form (and they’re everywhere to boot)
I missed the first post, but I’ve been working on my health since Dec 1. What happened on Dec 1? I had a physical. Most of those go “you are really fat, but all your health markers are really good.” Not this year. I had elevated blood sugar and was on my way to diabetes. My blood lipids went to shit compared to the year before. I was diagnosed with NAFLDS. My blood pressure moved firmly into 140/100 territory, while on a cocktail of meds. My weight hit pot-joke territory (420 lbs).
Since then, I’ve dropped 42 lbs before getting the flu this week. My last bp reading was 110/72. Blood sugar back to normal.
I have done this all with diet, and haven’t had any problem sticking to it until the flu. This is due to a combination of a few things – food tracking, eliminating carbs (thus increasing fat intake, thus increasing satiety), drinking meal replacement shakes for lunch.
Daily targets:
1800 kCal or less per day
20 Carbs or less per day
135 protein daily average
I fell off the wagon when i got the flu. Calorie restriction increases flu intensity and duration in mice, so I went up to 2000 cal per day and ate carbs to get energy spikes for a few hours of work every day. 2000 is still less than my TDEE, so I should still be losing body fat. But eating carbs means that I probably am retaining water again. I’ll do a week of low carb and weigh myself then.
I have an appointment with a bariatric surgeon in a week and a half. I fully expect them to tell me not to get surgery if I can continue to drop weight like this.
So, I guess I’ll throw my hat in the ring and say my goal is to stick to those intake goals listed above.
Congrats, man. Good on you for getting on top of things. The keto thing flat out works.
Good for you Leap! Nothing is more important than your health and it’s great to see you taking control. You will feel better and better as the weight comes off.
I have been starting to feel a lot better, but I don’t have nearly as much fat to get off as a lot of people my weight. With 20% body fat, I’ll be 280 lbs or so. I am a big fucking dude.
I have been keto since August 2016 and I will never go back (aside from occasionally cheating on holidays and vacations). It has been a major boon to me and burns fat like crazy. Buy the sticks, they help.
My starting stats: 5′ 10″, 190 lbs, 13% body fat.
Current regimen: Cardio 2x/week, Lifting 3x/week
Up until this past September I was doing a 5×5 Stronglifts program of exclusively barbell and was at:
Bench: 225 x 3
Squat: 385 x 3
Deadlift: 245 x 5
HOWEVER, in September I began experiencing back pain that wouldn’t go away and went in for an MRI. Turns out, I have genetic spondylolysis and the lifting lead to an anteriolisthesis (basically my L5 has slightly dislocated from S1, not good). All this means: no more 5×5 power lifting, no more barbell.
SO, my GlibFit goals will include:
Completing PT
Working with dumbbells and machines (PT/neurosurgeon approved exercise) to gain back the strength I’ve lost since September
Continue being keto
Get down to 10-11% body fat if possible
Keep my back healthy and adjust to having a genetic defect that I didn’t know about until now
I already only drink once per week and that’s all low carb stuff (red wine, hard liquor) and I’ll allow myself one fancy beer so as not to drop out of ketosis. Eat more salad.
Buy the sticks, they help.
What do you do with the info?
Not sure what you’re asking, but you pee on them to see if you’re in ketosis or not. As long as the sticks turn pink (or purple) you’re burning primarily fat for energy. Getting into keto is tough, you will feel like crap for a week or so, but after that you’ll feel way better than you did before. I have way more energy since going keto and I dropped from 205 to 190 in 2 months. It really works.
So do you routinely test, or just while you’re going in?
Going in, and if I have a meal that I think might be questionable, I’ll check.
I don’t think you should use them. Stick to 20 g of carbs a day, and you’ll be in ketosis after an average of 3 days, but no more than 7. Its impossible to not be in ketosis if you eat 20 or 30g of carbs a day for a week. But the ketones only go in your pee if you have an over supply of them. You can have all the ketones your brain needs in your blood without any extra spilling into your pee. In those cases, you won’t get a response from the sticks even though you are in ketosis.
A more accurate test, if you really need one, is to look for physical symptoms of being in ketosis. Metallic taste in your mouth and/or fruity breath. Change in energy levels through the day. Things like that.
I think they only thing they are good for is a positive visual stimulus. Seeing health changes can take a long time. Pissing on a paper and turning it purple provides feedback in seconds. The problem is that its false negative rate is high, and if you don’t happen to have the excess ketones, that doesn’t mean you don’t have sufficient ketones.
This is true. I found it to be a good motivator in my case, but the main thing is watching your diet. Lots of salads, meat, dairy and low carb nuts. Fat = good. It’s much more satisfying as well. Anytime I eat a meal with carbs in it now I not only feel lethargic and semi-ill, I’m not satiated. Keto/low carb really is the way to go.
Yeah, it’s weird, when I first go back into ketosis, I don’t feel shitty, I feel stupid for letting it lapse. I sleep better, more energy, the works.
Fucking beer…
“I found it to be a good motivator in my case”
This absolutely, 100%, overrides every one of my concerns. Human motivation is a really, really complex thing. Human hunger and satiety are too. They are both chaotic systems in the strictest sense of the word. If something is working for someone, they should hug it and love it and use it for all its worth, even if it doesn’t work for many or most other people.
I still wouldn’t recommend the stix, because I think they won’t work for some large % of people the way they do for you. But lets say that’s 80%. There are still 20% of the people that it will work for, and those people absolutely exist.
And yes, the diet is full of stupidly good food if you can handle giving up bread, rice, pasta and most sweets. Salads, sausage, cheese, etc? Those are all my favorite foods.
5’10” and 160. Since high school.
Soo …. your objective is to … stay smug and despised?
I’m trying To get 145, from 138 I need to Eat more..
/also 5’10”
Apparently it is
Yes. And finish splitting all of my firewood.
Actually the truth is that I have been very lucky in many ways. I get to enjoy a lot of hiking and strenuous work that is more like play to me. If I had to force myself to ‘exercise’ I would never do it. If I didn’t have the time and opportunities that I have I would be a fat slob. I have a lot of respect for people that can discipline themselves to do things they dont want to on top of all the other crap life requires. I have particular respect for Derpetologist. That guy took charge of his life, a life he hated, and made it something he loves. He was working a job he didn’t like, for a boss he hated, and he was in pretty bad physical shape for a guy his age. He seemed pretty depressed to me. He sucked it up, lost a ton of weight, got himself in good shape and joined the military. Now he is putting his sharp intellect to work on something he obviously enjoys while making a substantial contribution to the rest of us. He took a 180 from where he was headed before.
That guy deserves a medal.
Hey wait a minute. Just because I praised someone else doesnt mean y’all can stop despising me.
My primary goal is to not have lower back issues like I did last summer. I’m currently doing the Rocky IV workout – getting an early start on firewood for next winter. Running a chainsaw and splitting maul while running around in snow a couple feet deep (snowshoes help) has been pretty good exercise.
A few people here recommended deadlifts for my back issues before. So getting a bar and weights, as well as actually using them, is my next goal. What should I look for? Any specific brand or style? Are there complimentary lifts I must do with deadlifting?
Or complementary lifts…
Complementary lifts:
If you want to do barbell work, bench, squats, upright rows and standing military press. That will hit all your major muscle groups. Supplement with curls, dips and pull-ups to get everything else. I’m not big on isolated ab exercises since the above lifts should engage your abs anyway if you’re doing them correctly. However, if you insist on abs, I’d do planks and Roman chair, not crunches.
I eventually want to get a squat rack and bench for a stronglifts type of program, but that won’t happen until after summer at the earliest. So I’ll just have a bar and plates at first.
As someone who has done a lot of barbell work; especially since you already have lower back issues, I’d hire a trainer for at least a couple of sessions to make sure you’ve got your form 100% solid. Big, multi-joint, multi-muscle group exercises like that will work magic on issues like that, but *only* if done properly. If you screw your form up, you will make your injuries a lot worse. Start with very light weight and work up in small increments too.
A trainer is not a practical option for me, same for going to a gym. I live out in the sticks in North Idaho. My plan was to start with very light weight and progress very slowly at first while recording video of my lifts to review for form issues.
I don’t really have chronic back issues, but right after finishing my bachelor’s while working full time I did something to my back and couldn’t walk right for a week or so. I suspect my back muscles just got weak from sitting at a desk day and night. No problems since and I’m working my back hard now, so I’m not too worried.
I had something similar happen to me from an extended period of long hours at a desk with bad seated posture. KB swings did it for me, because in my case it was a combo of the lower back and the hips, but I would think anything that strengthens your back and helps posture would do the same. Deadlifts and deep squats would be a good combo, possibly with planks and/or pull-ups thrown in.
OK. Making videos is a good Idea. Watch a lot of youtube tutorials. All you really need is an Olympic barbell, a plate set, a bench and a power rack and you can do 90% of anything you would ever want to do. Roman chair isn’t a good option since you need a gym for that. Planks and yoga/pilates body weight exercises for abs are good. I can’t stress enough to focus on form, not weight. Work your way up slowly using proper form and I promise that doing these kinds of Olympic powerlifts will give you astonishingly good results.
Also, really jealous of the Northern Idaho sticks thing; second favorite place in the US (after Alaska).
Ya i love it up here. The best part is that I’m on 20 acres and I only have about a 5 minute commute to work. Anything else is about 30 minutes away though.
Hudson, I’d strongly recommend Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe. I really learned a lot and still refer to it when I feel that my form isn’t right. He also has a ton of videos out to help with setup and form cues.
Deadlifting is my absolute favorite workout. Since I started five years ago, I have had zero back issues. Great exercise.
Ya, I’ll be sure to pick it up. I like Rip – listened to him on a podcast not too long ago. Straight shooter that guy.
Seconded. It’s easily the best book in strength training and lifting.
Do NOT skimp on the barbell. Spend the $300 for a really good one. It’ll out last you. I have B&R bar from Rogue and love it.
plates can be found used on places like Craigslist. Unless you’re doing power cleans, you don’t need bumper plates. Just good old fashioned iron. Just make sure you build a simple platform to protect your floor.
Right now I’m in the middle of sled hockey season so I’m sticking with my current program. At the end of the season (in April) I’ll probably get a trainer and put together an off-season program. I want to get faster (+ strength to weight ratio), and have more endurance. I am currently at 18% body fat (good for age 46), but I want to lower that.
Currently I eat pretty much Keto, and my routine looks like this:
Free weights 2x/week
Cardio (HIIT) 1-2x/week
Practice (1.5 hours) 1-2x/week
I have 9 weekend tournaments this season, usually 3-5 games across 2-3 days.
Prior to 2 years ago, I worked out just for fitness. To me it makes a huge difference when you are training for a sport, both in motivation and in routine. I also have to make sure I’m not wearing myself out on outside training, and I have energy for practice.
Man, my arms ache just watching sled hockey.
… or “sledge hockey” where you live. Is it somewhat visible in Canada? Here very few people know about it.
Yes, that’s what they call it here. Yes it is. Stick hockey into anything and Canadians pay attention. I think TSN or Sportsnet even picks up the odd tournament. I know it gets air time on reports.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHFJU0YD43Y
Nice. In Chicago one of the banks is running a series of ads featuring Olympic athletes, including Paralympics. It’s cool to see some of my teammates on those.
I’m still pissed I didn’t get to come and heckle you when you were in town!
I’m still kicking myself for that one. My remaining tournaments are in Grand Rapids MI, Fort Wayne IN, and Chicago (twice).
Fffffffffffffffffffat.
Just came back from a 40min cross-country skiing session.
/stretches, plops down on couch, enjoys a Kit-Kat break.
Assuming it looked something like this.
https://youtu.be/TDC8-ld5eyk
Something like that.
As my dear uncle was fond of saying, “I used to have the body of a Greek God. Now I just look like a goddamn Greek.”
As Benny Hill used to say:
“My doctor says I have the body of an 18 year old.”
“Why don’t you give it back? You’re getting it all wrinkled!”
I used to be a male model. I did all the BEFORE pics for diet pill ads.
This is the Nick Gillespie of threads. No girly pics, no hot takes, just discussions about exercising. Am I in the Shape Magazine comment section again?
You’re supposed to GO TO THE GYM to see the hot girls!
Would spot.
Almost time for PM links
lol dongs
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, you are the Nick Gillespie of commentators.
Harsh, but fair
Fine. Here. On topic girly pics.
https://archive.is/Y2VsK
That.
Is.
AWESOME!
Thanks, Q! And guys, this is why I belong to a gym.
My weight hasn’t changed, but I’m not in as nearly good as shape as just a couple years ago. As my free time decreased and my discretionary income increased, I’ve started hiring out the more labor-intensive jobs around the farm. I need to start taking some of these responsibilities back on myself. Curls are good, but nothing quite works the arms like slamming home 1,000 t-posts.
I lift three times a week and play hockey once or twice. I started early since I have to go to the beach at the end of March. I’m going to drop 15 or so. My training gains have been decent, but I got sloppy with the diet and am carrying too much around the middle.
So, keto and more waking for me.
*waves goodbye to beer cooler*
I’ve always been able to drink a few beers on Saturday and not have it affect my waist, but now that I crossed 45, I’m not sure that will work any more.
Is keto that effective?
How hard is it to maintain?
I’m 50 and had the same experience. Carbs are a killer for me.
Keto is easy, really. Maintaining is more difficult, not because of the diet, but because of temptation!
Thanks, I’m going to look into it.
Here’s a great place to start.
I did 150 hammer drops last night. I may do 150 tonight.
I do 250 push ups in sets of 50 every night too…
Totally OT but Steve Smith has a fathom event coming up soon. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qIOgrq1982g
So my goal still stands at: Lose 1lb per week. I will be measuring each day at 8:15AM after my morning dump, so this will be consistent.
Starting today @ 190lbs. Goal is to be at 180lbs by April 13.
Goal: Lose 21 lbs.
Part of a larger goal of losing 100 lbs. within 1 year of my starting date.
On track so far: down 14 lbs. since my start date in December.
My goals:
Do weight work 2x a week at the office gym along with 20 min of cardio warm up. Heavy weight with low reps to build strength.
Supliment it with body weight exercises nightly (push ups mainly)
Goal is to maintain and build strength and keep from porking up as I age.
So mine was running a continuous mile, and a hundred push-ups challenge.
I started the pushups challenge on Jan 15
Baseline was about 24 max in a set at the start, and 60 total over 5 sets
Now in the 3rd week (repeating week 2 since I donated blood on Monday) my last round was 82 total in 5 sets and 28 in the final set.
I’m sticking to my goal of a loss of 10 pounds. Starting weight is 293 lbs.
Lose 10-15 more pounds.
Stretch / aerobic workout 30 minutes 6 days a week.
I must be a little different than most people. I dropped 13-14 pounds in January living almost exclusively on Italian food – pastas (raviolis, lasagnas, gnocci) and pizzas, lots of bread loaded with butter, various stinky cheeses, and lots of meatballs. This seems to work for me because it satiates my appetite. For snacks it’s mostly combinations of fruits, peanut butter, honey, and toast. All the above are easy to prepare, so I’ve stopped eating out so much and loading food up with ranch dressing and mayo. I’ve also cut out the ice cream.
Newly diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. Dropped 33 lbs in the last few months. Eating better than ever. Feel great. 44- but I’m back to the weight I was when I was 24. No family history, so the diagnosis was a kick in the balls. Trying to stay positive. May just end up healthier in the long run. That’s my attitude anyway. Stay strong, you Glib motherfuckers!
I’m looking to get in 15-20 minutes of exercise 3x a week, and lose 10-15 pounds. Just diagnosed with severe sleep apnea, and have a family history of diabeetus so I need to get my ass in gear. Finally have a CPAP machine and am sleeping way better, so I should have the energy to start getting in better shape.
Forgot to mention that I’m starting at 283 lbs.