Spornosexuality

Low-carb seems to jump start me any time I need a jump start.

I peaked at 215 pounds in my mid-20s, on a 5-9 frame. It was awful. I looked and felt terrible - and this was after I had run a couple marathons. I think I got burned out and complacent. I buckled down and got down to the high 160s. Then I ballooned up to the mid-180s after kid No. 1. Then I got down to, I remember it clear as day, 146 four summers ago. Ballooned up to the low 170s over the last couple years. Now I'm back down to 162 at least check, a week ago, so I lost 10 pounds over the last 2-3 months. It was not easy. I've got a few more to go, but alcohol is probably the biggest issue with me. Couple hundred extra calories a few times a week adds up.

 

I, too, face the struggle of a skinny wife who cooks.

 

Me, too. I like when the weather warms up because I can take over the cooking. Some combination of chicken, steak, pork chop, and asparagus, for months on end.

 

Low-carb, high protein was my strategy. Ate lots of chicken, supplemented with a protein shake after a workout. I consumed usually around 200-250 grams of protein per day and kept carbs below 50 grams, IIRC. Never had to count calories.

 

Same here when I cut the carbs. I lose, seemingly, no matter how much I eat. That was especially true when I was at my heaviest. After two days I'd be down like seven pounds.

 

Same here. We grill a lot, which also means less glazes, sauces and other such flavorings that add up to weight gain. Lots of fish (salmon and swordfish, in particular), chicken and shrimp as the weather warms.

 

I'm slowly but surely getting back into a routine, although I'll never be back to my pre-family heyday of working out 28 days a month. I'm not losing weight yet, but I've slimmed down by a couple of inches. The problem I'm running into is stiff hips, which leads to a sore back. I need to find something low impact that will help me with that in-between my regular workouts.

 

That's the best part, is I was never hungry. In fact, I probably ate way more than I do now, which is problematic in itself. I should be eating five smaller meals per day with a couple of healthy snacks. I remember people in my office being like, "Do you ever stop eating? How the hell are you getting skinnier?"

 

Dick,
How'd you kick-start yourself on the early morning routine? Wife just went back to work recently after kid #1, and now I pick him up from daycare after work and watch him in the evening. Starting that killed my workout schedule (I'd usually go right after work). The obvious thing to do is to get my #$@ up in the morning and go to the gym. But damn I'm really struggling.
I know the answer is probably, "just make yourself do it, wuss" but that's turned out to be easier said than done. Any tips for moving to the early am workout schedule?

 

My wife sees me do it, sees the results, and she's still so conditioned to old-time thinking about this that I'll toss a steak on the grill and she'll say, "You're not going to regret that later, right?"

 

When I was at my heaviest, I found the elliptical was great for a low-impact, high-intensity workout. As I shed weight, my knees got better and I moved to the treadmill (which I found worked better for me than the elliptical once I was at a decent weight).

I recently found out that I have a shitload of polyps in my nasal passages, that have effectively blocked me from breathing through nose since I was a teenager (I'm a literal mouthbreather, not just a figurative one ). The doctor asked if I've ever played sports or exercised and he was surprised when I said yes. He wondered how the hell I was able to get enough oxygen to run 10 miles. I'm excited to get them removed this week and get back to the gym. Doctor thinks I'll be better than I ever have been.

 

It really just has to become a habit, and I know, like you said, that's a lot easier said than done. I set my alarm to go off at three different times, usually something like 3:51, 3:54, and 3:58. Some variation of that, depending on what time I get up to bed.

You do have to get to bed early enough. I get six hours of sleep, pretty much, each night. Maybe slightly less. I usually put my clothes in the workout room the night before, and grab a Diet Coke out of the refrigerator on the way down. I down that while catching up with the news for about 20 minutes, then usually get going at 4:20, 4:30, 4:40, depending on that day's workout.

Once you get used to it, you'll love it. It kind of sucks because I don't get to run outside, but I get to work out without any concerns about being interrupted. I'm not trying to squeeze it in. To me, it's the only way that is actually sustainable. Just wake up before everyone else. (It was rough in my daughter's first year, I'll admit, because the night was unpredictable.)