Fighting the battle of the bulge

Today marks the midpoint of my 12 week,cardiac rehab program at the University of Michigan. I had bypass surgery in August and have spent more time in a gym since then than I had in the previous 58 years.They have me working with light weights, nothing heavier than 10 lb.per hand yet. They also have me on lots of different equipment.I can hit ,and sustain my target heart rate on the treadmill by walking briskly. You don't have to run if your knees won't take the abuse. The recumbent bikes are good,too, but I have tendonitis in both elbows and the bikes bother me (these are bikes with arm exercisers). They are good to use otherwise because you can change how much effort you put in with your arms or legs at will. My personal favourite however, is the rowing machine. So far , I have no tendonitis issues with it and it works arms and legs, while elevating my heart rate to the target. the weights are toning up my upper body nicely, in preperation for a return to playing hockey in a couple of months. Since starting the exercise I have only lost 3 or 4 lb, but I feel so much better. I had lost 20 lb shortly after the surgery simply by dieting. watch the carbs and keep yourself below 2000 calories a day and the weight should come off.

joey48442 wrote:

pigeon wrote:

Streetwiseguy wrote: I drank, up until the end of November, at least a liter of Dr.Pepper a day. I quit cold turkey, replaced it with water, which was actually a lot easier than I thought, and over the last month I lost exactly no weight. Even before Christmas. I know I should feel better and stuff, but my life has changed exactly none at all from giving up that sugary goodness.

QFT I did the same with a liter+ a day Coke habit - cut it back to at most 12oz a day and had zero weight loss. I started a running program today designed to take my fat lazy ass from zero to 2 miles in 8 weeks. I did road bike for about a year but a fall with concussion to end my '09 outdoor riding season (yes I had on a good helmet) and increased neck pain on the indoor trainer has kept me off the bike for the past year. Hopefully the running will help me lose the 10 pounds I've found in the last 6 weeks.

I cut nearly all pop a couple years ago, still don't drink hardly any, and lost no weight. None. But my cavities haven't gotten any worse!

All of my fluid intake used to be soda and juice, and all of my snacking had been chocolate candy and refined carbs like crackers and chips. After a year of little results at the gym, I stopped working out regularly and instead changed my diet. Now I'm 25 pounds lighter than I was last fall, and down to 14% body fat. I'm trimmer now then I was in college a decade and a half ago.

Osterkraut wrote: Tone, trim, and bulk! We have our first winner in fitness buzzword bingo. Sans being an extreme genetic outlier, you have to eat pretty much 24/7 to "bulk." Trim and Tone are just Women's Health words for low body-fat. Also the go-to descriptors for us 150lb ectomorphs.

Not necessarily. I'm a rock climber and that's what I use to describe a climber or gymnast type physique, as opposed to say, a lifter or football player physique.

I think of "Bulk" as large bulging muscles good for lifting big weights, but not great for lifting themselves. A gymnast won't ever bench 400#, but a power lifter won't ever do an iron cross, and probably not even ring dips.

Different kinds of "strong" for different applications.

Salanis wrote:

Osterkraut wrote: Tone, trim, and bulk! We have our first winner in fitness buzzword bingo. Sans being an extreme genetic outlier, you have to eat pretty much 24/7 to "bulk." Trim and Tone are just Women's Health words for low body-fat. Also the go-to descriptors for us 150lb ectomorphs.

Not necessarily. I'm a rock climber and that's what I use to describe a climber or gymnast type physique, as opposed to say, a lifter or football player physique. I think of "Bulk" as large bulging muscles good for lifting big weights, but not great for lifting themselves. A gymnast won't ever bench 400#, but a power lifter won't ever do an iron cross, and probably not even ring dips. Different kinds of "strong" for different applications.

I'm willing to bet if you got a (if you could find one) 120lb Olympic-caliber powerlifter on the rings he could do an iron cross. Hell, Google tells me the 240lb Bert Assirati could do one!

We're not talking strength though, we're talking mass (often correlated). Food builds mass. Telling a guy who's attempting to diet to skip the weights because he'll "bulk" is a little silly. He won't, and you're doing him a huge disservice.

Osterkraut wrote: We're not talking strength though, we're talking mass (often correlated). Food builds mass. Telling a guy who's attempting to diet to skip the weights because he'll "bulk" is a little silly. He won't, and you're doing him a huge disservice.

Okay, let me clarify by saying that I'm not telling him to skip the weights. I'm just directing him towards bodyweight exercises as being very good for strength training and generally free. It is my unscientific perception that people's bodies do react differently to lifting objects vs. lifting themselves.

I would say to skip most exercise machines though. They limit range of motion and don't strengthen supplementary control muscles.

Mostly, I was just returning you interwebforum griefing to be contrary at this point.

A recently retired friend had an arythmia a few days after Thanksgiving, and the treating doc asked him if he got any exercise. Hell yes, says the friend; I reload about 300 rounds a day. Doc says that's great for the arms, not so much for the rest of the body. So the friend asked the doc what he could do, and the doc asked if he has a dog. Why yes, yes he does! Doc told him to take the dog for a walk around his block; just keep it simple for now until the heart calms down. The friend hasn't yet done it, as of the last I spoke with him 10 days ago. This friend is way overweight and has been for years, and loathes walking because it makes his knees hurt. He lives on a small hill, and walking around the block would get him both uphill and downhill walking, and a fair amount of cardio in the bargain. But he hasn't yet been converted to the idea. I guess a pacemaker isn't reason enough yet... And his wife's an RN. She hasn't got him motivated yet.

I rather doubt you can't hit the gym if you really want to. From leaving an hour early in the morning to coming home a bit late one or two nights a week. It can be done it you really want to do it.

My patented high-tech aproach to weight loss and physical fitness "eat less, move more".

I wouldn't go buying a machine right now. None are on sale because everyone is buying them in a fit of new years resolution. Come March, hundreds of near new machines will be for sale on Craigs list.

The gym is a great place to dry different machines and see what you like, and don't like. They all fit and work differently. Some will fit you better than others. The gym membership has the advantage of letting you use various ones to help combat boredom, fatique and injury.

General things. Don't supersize the meals, use the stairs not the elevator, park on the far side of the lot, skip the chips and sodas, do it with people that want to lose weight like you, learn about the foods you eat.

RedS13Coupe wrote: Get a road bike. They are tons of fun, and damn good cardio. Who doesn't need another way to go fast?

Agreed. Get a bike and a trainer (can be a mtb just need a cheap slick tire to use w/ the trainer). Easy set up in front of a tv, no impact, and can use the bike for fun exercise year round 8)

Hmmm...didn't think about putting my fuji on a trainer. that I'll look into as well.

We finally got snow here, so 100psi road tires aren't going to work well outside.

Zip tie snow tires.

http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2010/12/17/snow_rclose_blog_270x203.jpg

My exercise equipment:

Walking shoes

Dog and leash set. Pepper spray optional.

Huffy mountain bike. Nice and heavy, for a good workout at any speed.

Basic weight set and bench.

Best and hardest exercise: Push Aways. As in, push away from the dinner table.

Salanis wrote: I would say to skip most exercise machines though. They limit range of motion and don't strengthen supplementary control muscles.

Well now we agree! You know what they say about blind mice, etc, etc. Guess I should throw a smilie in there.

In reply to Osterkraut:

I really like exercise machines. I mainly use them for big weight exercises, like bench press and incline. They lessen my chance of dying when I work out alone.

Can't add much here, But I lost 30 pounds in 3 months by just changing my diet. I still eat as much as I want, but I drink water or un-sweet tea. I stopped eating so much red meat and started eating more chicken and tuna, Egg whites for breakfast every morning even if I'm not hungry.. I do run but not very much. I was floored by the transition

It's a fairly simple process to get started, even with a sedentary job. First is your diet. "Diet" doesn't mean eating nothing but salad. It's eating the right foods and the right amounts. Healthy fats, carbs and protein in the right portions. Don't starve yourself, because your metabolism will slow down. Then, I second the idea of hitting the weights. Some cardio is fine, but if you do all cardio, the weight you lose may be muscle tissue. You don't need a fancy set up. As others here have said, simple dumbbells can give you all kinds of options. You can also do pushups, sit ups, crunches, and countless other body weight exercises.

Good luck!

Otto Maddox wrote: In reply to Osterkraut: I really like exercise machines. I mainly use them for big weight exercises, like bench press and incline. They lessen my chance of dying when I work out alone.

Same here.

I'd really, REALLY like to be able to do the Bill Starr 5x5 program. But I'm not comfotable trying maxing sets on squats/dead lifts/bench press, etc without a spotter/trainer.

In reply to z31maniac:

Ya'll should try to put together some sort of GRM workout buddy mailing list.

If you have the high end cable, you know where there's a hundred or so stations of 24 hour Country, 24 hour, R&B etc., there's a bunch of workout videos.

Jillian Michaels is a bitch.

Hey, where's the filter?

914Driver wrote: Jillian Michaels is a bitch.

QFT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Blitzed306 wrote:

914Driver wrote: Jillian Michaels is a man.

QFT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

FIXED

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote:

Blitzed306 wrote:

914Driver wrote: Jillian Michaels is more man than most men.

QFT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

FIXED

RE-FIXED

Running is good. Get fitted for a decent pair of shoes and go to town. You want to make your heart and lungs stronger. Complement this with weights. You can actually work on your cardio by cutting down on your rest time between sets to keep your heart pumping. Cardio is important. You want a healthy heart and lungs. If you have kids, take a look at them and realize that you want to be there for grandchildren, college graduation, and the flying car. On the other hand, it's probably in my best interests for you guys to be lazy and fat; replacement body parts will be worth a pretty penny one day.

Calories in, calories out. Log your weight and calories consumed every day and take it from there. If you don't lose weight fast enough, modify your diet until you do. I got rid of the weight I'd gained over the last 3 years in just a couple months. Tracking stuff obsessively made it a lot less psychologically awful for me. The progress was easy to see and I could tell myself that there was an end in sight. Counting calories made it clear what was and wasn't worth eating. Do I want to waste 200 calories now on a pathetically small pile of doritos, or would I rather have a beer? Will 100 calories worth of skittles satisfy me like 100 calories worth of carrots? Holy E36 M3, I can eat TWENTY motherberkeleying pickles rather than a fun size snickers bar?

My 'diet' was to stop eating before 6:00 pm and severely restrict calories (from 3400 down to 1500-2000) while I was over weight. Too harsh for some people, but it worked for me. No extra exercise required, though I've walked to work (3 miles round trip) and run 10-12 miles a week for the last 5 years. The weight came off FAST.

Now my method is to skip breakfast and lunch on any day I'm over 165lbs. Obviously the trick is keeping that up for the next 50 or so years.

eastsidemav wrote: I've got a recumbant exercise bike. Its easier to read or watch TV on it that with a traditional exercise bike.

Me too. It's also good for those of us with bad backs.