Diet and Exercise?

mtn wrote: My fiance runs what she calls Obesity clinics for obese children. The real name is something politically correct. She says that she has kids in there that don't know what hungry feels like. They have never had a pang of hunger in their memory; they don't know the slightly painful, uncomfortable feeling of being hungry. They literally just eat all the time.

I can imagine the hardest part of doing something like that is the support system...or lack thereof...at home. You can teach them until the cows come home, but they go home and the house is stocked with Twinkies. Like you said, they eat all the time and are never told to stop. It's sad, when you look around at a very heavy kid, very often the apple hasn't fallen far from the tree.

Zomby Woof wrote: I'm double your age and a little more. I ended up 20% overweight by eating poorly, and not getting enough exercise, but finally did something about it 3-4 years ago. Mtn knows what he is talking about. Strength training, calorie counting, and lot's of fruits and vegetables. It really is as simple as calories in < calories out, and unless you count them properly, you're wasting your time. This was an excellent resource for me. I signed up and never received a single spam email. I thought I knew my calories, but I couldn't have been more wrong, and soon realized that I could wipe out a lot of hard work with a single stupid mistake.

This!!!!!!!

Calories in, calories out. It's really that simple. No really. Yes, eat healthy if you want, in the long run you'll be happier. Exercise and weightlifting are nice, as it helps the in/out ratio and makes you feel better.

You are eating far more calories than you think. Been there, done that.

Klayfish wrote:

mtn wrote: My fiance runs what she calls Obesity clinics for obese children. The real name is something politically correct. She says that she has kids in there that don't know what hungry feels like. They have never had a pang of hunger in their memory; they don't know the slightly painful, uncomfortable feeling of being hungry. They literally just eat all the time.

I can imagine the hardest part of doing something like that is the support system...or lack thereof...at home. You can teach them until the cows come home, but they go home and the house is stocked with Twinkies. Like you said, they eat all the time and are never told to stop. It's sad, when you look around at a very heavy kid, very often the apple hasn't fallen far from the tree.

She says that there are basically two kinds of kids that she sees: Those with a pretty bad home life, and are eating as a way of dealing with things, and those with parents who honestly just don't get it--they are uneducated. A lot of these folks are Mexicans; they cook everything in corn oil, they eat a lot of pork and cheese, and the idea of a healthy lifestyle never mattered in Mexico because they probably couldn't afford anything more than rice and beans on a regular basis until they came to the US.

madmallard wrote: from what i can see, there's only 2 ways long term success happens for folks. this is purely observational, so take it as you like... 1: incremental planning for success. this is true on both the diet side and the exercise side. Replace coffee with herbal tea, then water. park futher away intentionally, then add a lap to the parking lot. but you have to plan them with purpose or you wont incorporate them into your lifestyle long term 2: inflicted lifestyle change. This is where something as proportionately drastic as your current problem enters your life and can't be ignored. receiving a bad diagnosis tends to go with this one, but it can also include those who try 'cold turkey' changes with no other prep.

http://www.cracked.com/blog/5-ways-youre-sabotaging-your-own-life-without-knowing-it/

I've bookmarked this link. It basically is essential to explaining the "human condition". It neatly, and simply (dumbed down of course) explains why we do things the way we do. And we all know this, we just hide and obfuscate it.

can you give me highlights? cracked is blocked by work firewall...

Wow, this blew up a lot bigger than I ever thought it would. There's a TON of great info here.

I started using the Calorie counter today, can't believe how even a "healthy" meal from Subway out on the road was truly utter E36 M3. I figured this, plus getting into the habit of rising early is a good start. My goal is to start spending an hour at the gym every morning, even if it's just walking.

Hockey starts in a month. My problem is when I say competitively, I was skating no less than 5 nights per week. Now that I'm an adult, that shrinks down to 1 night (if school or real life doesn't conflict).

I feel I was possibly jumping in a bit too deep looking at workout regimens and such this time around. Maybe it is best to start like one said, incrementally, and go from there.

I have 2 bicycles: a fixie which needs a freewheel (bad knees) and a beach cruiser. It might be time to start riding a bit in the evenings. MTB trails are a bit far off, but I do live in suburbia hell so riding might be fun.

Mazda787b wrote: Wow, this blew up a lot bigger than I ever thought it would.

That's what my wife said. Starting small was the only way I could do it. Any time I started out gung ho I fizzled out in a couple weeks.

Like several folks said, if you get into a routine it gets easier because you stop thinking about other options. Also, any way that you can make it "better" than an alternative helps. I switched my work hours so that if I don't walk after work I have to sit in traffic to go home. Makes blowing it off less desirable so I tend to stay & walk. Even when it's raining (because the rain sure doesn't make rush hour any better).

Mazda787b wrote: Hockey starts in a month. My problem is when I say competitively, I was skating no less than 5 nights per week. Now that I'm an adult, that shrinks down to 1 night (if school or real life doesn't conflict).

Obviously don't know your situation, but look into reffing. I sign up for as few or many games as I want--right now I haven't reffed a game since May, but come November I'll have a couple of 5-8 game days. Obviously not a workout regimen, but it lets me eat whatever the hell I want on those days.

Mazda787b wrote: I started using the Calorie counter today, can't believe how even a "healthy" meal from Subway out on the road was truly utter E36 M3. I figured this, plus getting into the habit of rising early is a good start. My goal is to start spending an hour at the gym every morning, even if it's just walking.

Great to get started on a calorie counter, it can be a real eye opener. As you use it more, you'll really get the feel for what you should and shouldn't eat. For example, Subway isn't necessarily utter E36 M3. It's all about how you make the sandwich. Sure, if you cover it with extra cheese and heavy on the high fat dressing, it's junk food. But they have plenty of choices that aren't junk, you just have to chose it. Hell, coming home from a LeMons race a few weeks ago, I was stranded in Philly airport for 14 hours. Food choices in an airport aren't exactly health food. I wound up eating at McDonals, but I had a grilled chicken salad for lunch (no dressing) and a grilled chicken sandwich for dinner (only mustard for dressing).

And if you're going to get up extra early to hit the gym, try to make the most of it. Sure, walking is good, but the more you can use your muscles, the more calories you'll burn.

In reply to Mazda787b:

Re- calorie counter- I've used an App called MyFitnessPal, and really like it. The database is pretty large, so has a lot of stuff that you probably eat. It also track how many calories that you theoretically burn, too.

That latter part- eh- maybe I'm stuck in a rut- but while it says I should burn about a lb a week or more, I'm not. And I was not cheating. Perahaps the workout estimates for burnt were hight.

But for a basic food tracker, it was really good. I should start it back up.

alfadriver wrote: In reply to Mazda787b: That latter part- eh- maybe I'm stuck in a rut- but while it says I should burn about a lb a week or more, I'm not. And I was not cheating. Perahaps the workout estimates for burnt were hight.

That is the hard part, estimating how many calories you've actually used. I have short legs for someone my size. While I wouldn't bet money on it, I would guess that I burn a lot more calories running for 10 minutes than someone with longer legs.

Except now that I've said that, I don't think it makes sense--I would likely burn the same amount of calories, but have gone a shorter distance.

madmallard wrote: can you give me highlights? cracked is blocked by work firewall...

Its basically "you are who you are because thats who you want to be. If you truly wanted to change, you'd do so. You wouldn't make excuses. You wouldn't say "I want that". You'd start on a course to do it".

Of course, it is simplified, but it is true. At the end of the day, its all excuses from ALL of us of why we are (here) instead of (there). The perfect example is exercising. You're sitting on the couch instead of exercising because you WANT to sit on the couch and play video games. You don't WANT to go run for a hour, even if you should.

As others have said, literally, to lose weight, you simply eat less/fewer calories. It is THAT SIMPLE. If you do not eat less, OR burn more calories by exercising, you won't lose weight. If you want to exercise, find the thing you can tolerate the most. Aerobic or strength training, whatever. Just do it as much as you can will yourself to. And then call it a day.

Edit- On top of all this, DO NOT EXPECT INSTANT RESULTS. It took a lifetime for (any of us) to get fat. It'll take a long time to get skinnier/healthier. The first 5 pounds don't even count, as your weight naturally fluctuates almost that much weekly. Once you've lost 15lbs, you'll notice. But that is 3+ months of following a good diet. Its tough! I'm 5' 8". I'm not fat, but at 170lbs, I am overweight (32" waist still). I'd like to lose 15-20lbs. I am currently on month 2 and have lost 5lbs, simply because my lifestyle is so hard to manage eating healthy/at home with. But I'll get there :)