Help me get healthy

Did anybody who has gone through the process feel really self concious when they started? That is not the reason I am having trouble getting started (I am fat and I am lazy...those are the reasons), but when I go to the gym I kinda don't want to be the guy everyone looks at while I am doing my "just getting started" workout.

 

Eat less. Move more.

 

Good tip, plus a lot of honey mustards add a ton of sugar. Right now I've got some good stuff from Whole Foods, but I usually just make my own with 0g fat French's and regular honey. Sugar content is a high because of the honey, but at least you know what's in it.

 

Read this thread. It might take you all night, but you'll be glad you did.

http://www.sportsjournalists.com/forum/threads/1265/

 

Let's hope that thread never drops off ...

Should I bump it to make sure it stays near the front of the rotation, not the dangerous back end?

Answer: Yes.

I did it anyway.

 

Weight loss is easy in theory. Each extra mile you move burns 100 calories or about a beer, an apple, a half bowl of cereal. 3500 calories equals a pound. A little weight lifting increases metabolism and can increase that 100cal/mile a little. Be proud of each mile you walk, jog or run. And don't sweat an occasional indiscretion with food.

And post a motivational message on your fridge.

 

An apple is 100 calories?

 

dirk, as someone who is a regular gym-goer i can assure you that no one is looking at you. ok, some people are looking at you and quietly mocking you, but so what? unless you're a complete ass grunting like a steroid freak while lifting the 5-pound dumbell or using a cybex with your arms flailing around wildly slamming the plates up and down, people are not judging you.

 

I'm not saying this is for everybody -- it doesn't follow conventional wisdom -- but it has helped me lose weight and get to kind of close to where I'd like to be, although I certainly could be better. It might help those who work nights.

I hit the bar after work pretty much every night, and the byproduct of that is I'm likely to eat after the bar. So I was finding myself eating lunch at 11 a .m. or so, fast-food takeout (modest, but still) at about 6 or so, and STILL eating late. When I was married, it was leftovers from their dinner. Lately, it had been bar food (burger or whatever).

OK, I know I'm not supposed to eat late, but that's reality.

So what I did is this: I eat my lunch, but now I take a single (small) sandwich of roast beef or tuna salad and one of those 100 calorie packs of Pringles to work. I eat that at 6 p.m. instead of a larger dinner and then, yes, I eat late. But because I love it, I'm as likely as not to make that late meal (10-10:30 or so) a quarter broiled chicken and some corn and tomatoes in balsamic from Pollo Tropicale. And I almost always eat an apple. And it's helping, because since I was bound to eat late anyway, I cut the middle meal way down, and a cut is a cut (I tried not eating it at all, but I just got too hungry).

Oh, and I drink my Absolut with soda now instead of tonic.

Beyond that, Pilot, joining the club is indeed an incentive. But I have found another one works, too (even though I haven't had the discipline to do it lately), and that's to write down a week's worth of workouts a week ahead of time.

So get a workout or weight or cross training or whatever you want to do, figure out how you're going to approach it, and then write (not scientific, just loose examples):

M: Upper body weights.
Tue: Run three miles
Wed: Lower body weights.
Thur: Walk an hour.
Friday: Upper body weights
Saturday: Rest (golf)
Sunday: 4 mile run

Or whatever you want. I've found that by writing things down, and having something that you look at knowing you're going to do when you wake up, that it's a tremendous help.

The last time I worked my way into racing shape, that's how I did it. The only deterrent was the breakdowns that come with getting older.

 

I prefer exercising outside, but one of the benefits of using machines like a treadmill or stationary bike is that you can see exactly what you're accomplishing because the monitor tells you how many calories you've burned.

On the days when I don't feel like being there, seeing those numbers helps me keep going.

 

An apple is approximately 50 calories.

The major truths about keeping your body in shape:

--Do not ever 'diet.' Diets make you fat. You do all this great eating chemistry and follow all the rules for the whole three weeks.....lose the 10 lbs....and then go back to your old eating habits and gain 15. This is specifically true of the 'WE MAKE THE FOOD!' diet services....they bring you perfect food for a month, but when they stop bringing it, what are you going to eat? Same old food with the same bad habits. So learn about food and what it really does to you, and for you.

--What worked for the guy in your office may not work for you. Different bodies, different tolerance for sugar, different rate of metabolism. If you're trying some regimen for three weeks and nothing changes, try something else.

--Eat all day. Eat small. Eat protein. Protein is the answer to all dietary questions. It keeps your blood sugar from rocking, and stops your cravings. It burns calories as you digest it. It keeps you feeling full longer. It does not turn into sugar and make you fat.

--If you must, pick one day a week and eat whatever the hell you want. You won't die or get fat in one day. But after a month of really clean eating, you won't want to.

--Exercise is exercise....if you're elevating your heart rate and sustaining it for more than 30 minutes, 3-4x a week, it really doesn't matter if you're jogging in the park or riding the bike. But the key is to lift weights--it jacks up your metabolism, and burns up excess sugars before they turn to fat. And no matter what you were taught--LIFT BEFORE YOU DO CARDIO. Weightlifting is anaerobic, thus depleting your stored sugars...so when you get to the cardio, you are burning pure fat. Otherwise, it can take 30 minutes of cardio to get through that sugar, and you never get to the fat.

--Don't wear cheap shoes. The money you save will end up buying the orthopedist a nice BMW.

 

What 21 said.

*****

If there's two things you do and nothing else, I would suggest 1) Stop drinking soda. Regular, diet or whatever. Just stop. 2) Eat smaller meals more frequently through the day.