All-Purpose Health and Fitness Thread

[Buy Me a Burrito]

I've been doing my DDPYoga, but I slowed down on running over Christmas due to some pretty intense cramping in my left leg once I hit mile four. I kept up with the weights but that even made me feel listless and directionless.

 

Then my wife talked me into signing up for a CrossFit class last week.

 

Holy fuck I am in pain. My legs feel like they are made of fettuccine and my arms ache every time I bend them. But the weird thing is that I kind of dig it. I've had two days off from my classes, and the soreness is pretty much gone. I go back on Monday and I am really excited about it. What the fuck is wrong with me?

[Tele-Viper]

As a personal proof that diet, exercise, and lifestyle alone can make the changes you need without medication, I went for my annual physical last night and my blood pressure was 108/60. Previously, I'd had readings in the 140/90 range and my Doctor was encouraging me to get on meds for it. Instead, I dedicated myself to stress management, nutrition, and balanced exercise. The results speak for themselves, as my cholesterol levels are great too and already he was impressed with my readings.

 

My goals now are to just continue ahead with slowly increasing my exercise gains, putting on some more lean muscle mass, and increasing my flexibility and proprioception/balance. Thinking about taking back up with slacklining, which I did a lot in my 20's. And if I can get my arms strong enough, maybe archery.

[The Damn Yeti]

Weight had slowly crept back up above 300 lbs. over the last few months, so my wife and I decided to try a juice fast.  Today is day 3.  I'd say smooth sailing so far, although I definitely feel a little hungry all the time.  The worst part is how much time it takes to juice for the next day each night.  About an hour right now, but I'm sure it will get easier as time passes.  I think I'll try to ride this out for 10 days before I take my first break, but I'm excited about the possibilities for short term health and weight loss.

[Craig H]

I'm now 3 solid weeks and a 1 day in on doing Power 90, DDP Yoga, and resistance bands. I get in 5 to 6 workouts a week, but the last week and a half I've really stepped it up. First, I learned that diet, crunches and cardio won't get rid of love handles, but resistance bands will. Since I hooked up the door anchor and started doing wood cutters (12 reps per set, 3 sets) I've notice a drastic reduction in my waist. I do DDP Yoga damn near every morning, even if it's just the diamond dozen. Holy shit, DDP Yoga is awesome. That is some Jedi mind shit there because you're basically tricking your body that you're lifting or pushing really heavy shit when there's norm thing there. Then for 5 to 6 nights a week I alternate between cardio and sculpting with Power 90. Over 3 weeks, I've only dropped maybe 15 lbs., but I feel slimmer than that and I'm getting fucking huge. I've never had my shoulders, chest, neck, lats, etc built like this, not even when I weighed 195 and I'm at 233 now.

I have a long journey to drop back down to 195, but I already feel fucking amazing.

[Kevin Wilson]

I'm now 3 solid weeks and a 1 day in on doing Power 90, DDP Yoga, and resistance bands. I get in 5 to 6 workouts a week, but the last week and a half I've really stepped it up. First, I learned that diet, crunches and cardio won't get rid of love handles, but resistance bands will. Since I hooked up the door anchor and started doing wood cutters (12 reps per set, 3 sets) I've notice a drastic reduction in my waist. I do DDP Yoga damn near every morning, even if it's just the diamond dozen. Holy shit, DDP Yoga is awesome. That is some Jedi mind shit there because you're basically tricking your body that you're lifting or pushing really heavy shit when there's norm thing there. Then for 5 to 6 nights a week I alternate between cardio and sculpting with Power 90. Over 3 weeks, I've only dropped maybe 15 lbs., but I feel slimmer than that and I'm getting fucking huge. I've never had my shoulders, chest, neck, lats, etc built like this, not even when I weighed 195 and I'm at 233 now.

I have a long journey to drop back down to 195, but I already feel fucking amazing.

 

This is very similar to what I plan on starting soon.  I wanted to get my cardio up first since I was out of shape so I decided to do the C25K before I started with the P90 (and then ideally going to P90X) and I already ordered DDP Yoga.  I am on Week 5, Day 3 of C2K so I think that puts it right around March 1st I will be done.  I already have my eating right (we talked about it a lot on the old board but I am a big fan of myfitnesspal.com and I also use a fitbit) and between just eating right and running I have lost 15 pounds in the last month.  But I am looking forward to starting P90 and DDP Yoga to further me along, currently I am my lowest weight since 2003 but I still have about 25 pounds to go.

[Mike Campbell]

We bought a floor model, clearance treadmill from Sears in order to try to get in better shape and drop some weight. I've been lax with it over the last couple of weeks due to a nagging cold. But, even my sporadic treading and improved diet has dropped me six pounds.

[Control]

I'm now 3 solid weeks and a 1 day in on doing Power 90, DDP Yoga, and resistance bands. I get in 5 to 6 workouts a week, but the last week and a half I've really stepped it up. First, I learned that diet, crunches and cardio won't get rid of love handles, but resistance bands will. Since I hooked up the door anchor and started doing wood cutters (12 reps per set, 3 sets) I've notice a drastic reduction in my waist. I do DDP Yoga damn near every morning, even if it's just the diamond dozen. Holy shit, DDP Yoga is awesome. That is some Jedi mind shit there because you're basically tricking your body that you're lifting or pushing really heavy shit when there's norm thing there. Then for 5 to 6 nights a week I alternate between cardio and sculpting with Power 90. Over 3 weeks, I've only dropped maybe 15 lbs., but I feel slimmer than that and I'm getting fucking huge. I've never had my shoulders, chest, neck, lats, etc built like this, not even when I weighed 195 and I'm at 233 now.

I have a long journey to drop back down to 195, but I already feel fucking amazing.

Tell me more about these resistance bands/door anchor doohickeys.

[Tabe]

With our Hawaii vacation looming very close on the horizon, my wife and I have joined a gym together.  Not so much for the "get sculpted for the beach photos" aspect - since that ain't gonna happen - but to just generally build endurance and conditioning for all the walking we're going to be doing.  We're doing 30 minutes of cardio nightly now, me on the elliptical, her on the treadmill and/or elliptical. 

 

I lost 43 lbs in 2012 during an 11-week contest at work.  I've since regained all of it, which sucks.  I allowed some bad habits to creep back in and also allowed myself to become far too sedentary thanks to (often excruciating) back pain.  I've decided to try and push through the pain and again lose some weight.  I'm not trying to be a maniac like before but I'd like to at least drop a size or two.

[Petey]

I feel like posting here will help motivate me with my fitness goals.

 

Back story:

When I was 20, I was around 270+ lbs (this was back in March-April 2008). I'm 5'6... so that's a lot of weight, especially for my frame. My blood pressure was increasing (I worked full time or near it at GameStop at the time and it was actually stressful despite being just a retail job, and was also going to school) and I had the absolute worst diet. Fast food or eating out like 4-5 nights a week and just eating a ton while not getting any physical fitness in.

 

My doctor encouraged me to start getting in shape or I'd be at high risk for heart disease and other stuff since it's somewhat common on each side of my family. So I did. I started eating healthier (completely cut out fast food, either stopped going out to eat at restaurants or just made better food choices... I didn't drink alcohol at all at the time and didn't even drink soda, only water, so that helped the transition) By the end of 2009/beginning of 2010, I had dropped to under 160 lbs and lost about 115 lbs total. When I started, I wore a pant size 44 and XXL shirt size. By the time I was under 160, I was a 32 pant size and wearing medium shirts. It was actually a pretty stark contrast when all was said and done because I waited a long time before getting appropriately fitting clothes (I'm cheap). So I basically went from a size 44, to a size 40 and then to a size 32 and an XXL shirt to an XL and then a medium. So even people that I saw somewhat often made notice of my body change.

 

I had been overweight for pretty much all my life and this was the first time I had ever been considered "fit" or even "average" sized. It was great. I felt great and confident. But what happened was that I lost my edge/desire to constantly be dieting and healthy. Everyone complimenting me and all that wound up having an adverse effect. I've always been a big eater but I was often self conscious about it public because I figured people would look at me as the fat kid stuffing his face. So once I was no longer the fat kid, I actually went to town with food. Getting three separate appetizers from Crapplebee's or eating entire pizza pies (not Domino's baby pies either), just shoving my face. I was still working out and I'd generally keep these eating outbursts to once or twice a week, but it was enough that I was eating to the point where I was no longer losing weight. It was OK because really, when you're 157 lbs, it's not like you're in terrible shape. Of course, I didn't have much muscle under all my fat so I wanted to keep losing weight until I got more defined.

 

The most troubling thing for me that developed was my inability to control my diet. When I was in the midst of losing weight and had the "I'm out of shape, I need to stay the track" mentality, it was actually easy for me to "just say no" to shoving my face with super high caloric foods. But once I lost my edge, I couldn't really get it back and it frustrated me that mentally, I wasn't as strong as I had been. Eventually, one terrible food day became two, which became three, which became I was eating whatever I wanted. I could make excuses for different life circumstances that allowed me to really fall off the healthy bandwagon (started to get bad towards the fall of 2011 and continued to get worse into 2012 and really until now), but they were ultimately avoidable and I'd choose or rationalize my non-healthy eating habits. I was also starting to get lazy with working out.

 

So that brings us to today. I'm a little under 185 right now. My 32/33 pants are tight and my shirts, while they still fit, show off a rather round stomach that I didn't have just a couple of years ago. I'm doing better. I'm working out more consistently again and my edge is slowly returning. I think my issue that led me to falling off was that for so long, I identified certain foods as "bad" or that I couldn't eat them because I'd get fat. Once I was "thin", I just started freely eating everything that was "bad" for me. I learned the hard way... moderation is the key. Or at least for me.

 

Sorry I wrote a novel here. I could actually go into even more detail but I've written enough as it is. I guess what I ultimately want to say is that anything is possible. Back in the beginning of '08, if you told me that a year or two later I'd lose over 10 inches off my waist and be wearing medium shirts, I'd have thought you were nuts. But also, don't necessarily hate the food that you try to restrict yourself from eating. It can be a damaging thought process in the long term. I know it's cliche, but it's not a diet, it's a lifestyle change. Enjoy being healthy. Pride yourself on it. But don't go a year without eating Taco Bell unless you legitimately don't want it. Don't eat it everyday... just don't go nuts. Or else you'll be a sad panda.

[Tabe]

So, what do you guys suggest for big, filling foods that are still pretty low in calories?  I'm a big fan of omelettes - four eggs + 4 oz of chicken = 400 calories - but can't eat those every night.  Not talking salads here either. 

 

Whatcha got?

[Petey]

Veggies in general are usually very low in calories and often high in fiber. Fiber=filling. If you're a bread guy, look for Fiber One bread or bread in general that's Double Fiber or something similar. It helps.

 

Also, skinless chicken breasts are very low in calories, high in protein, low in fat and carb free. Protein tends to also be filling.

 

If you like the option of having a quick snack if you're on the go, check out Quest Bars. They're pretty good tasting protein bars that are surprisingly low in calories (sub-200 calories per bar) and don't have nearly the same amount of filler ingredients as most protein bars.

[Tabe]

Yeah, chicken breasts are my go-to food, that's for sure.  At 30 calories an ounce, I can fill up big-time up on those. 

 

I am something of a bread guy, will look into the Fiber One bread.  I have not had good success with Fiber One bars, they tend to make me ill

 

Will also check out the Quest Bars.  Finding good snack bars is NOT easy.

 

Thanks!

[Petey]

No problem. I haven't found Quest Bars at any Supermarkets, but I've seen them at some 7-11's and they're almost always sold at any Vitamin Shoppe or GNC.

[Antacular]

Eggs, chicken, and beans, with the latter having the highest calorie content. Egg whites also do the trick pretty well. Sushi is pretty filing, but the rice is carb-heavy, so should probably save it for a post-workout meal.

[Tabe]

Beans are a non-starter but I'm all about the eggs and chicken.

[Kevin Wilson]

I have a bunch of bison meat coming in today, I like red meat a few times a week (chicken the other days) but was trying to find something healthier.  Anyone ever cooked with it before?  I have heard it has to be cooked on a lower temperature and watched closely since it cooks quicker than cow beef.  My current plan is just to cook 4 oz of it and plop a poached egg on top, I try to save my bread intake for the day for hummus toast.  I am getting hungry just thinking about it.

 

My go-to meal this month has been salad with chicken tenderloins cut up into it, but with a slight twist.  Before I cook the chicken I do a dry rub of berbere spice, so when I mix the chicken with the romaine lettuce and light olive oil dressing, it makes the whole salad slightly spicy and gives the whole dish a good kick.  The whole thing is right at 200 calories and is quite tasty, that with a piece of toast with hummus just about fills me up for lunch.

 

Amazon sells quest bars if there aren't any GNC nearby.

[Antacular]

Greek yogurt, but beware the sugar.

[Craig H]

I was introduced to tuna steak last night and that was delicious. I now have something else to add to my lean diet.

 

EDIT: Brussel sprouts too. The new girl oven roasted them and they were awesome. I've never had them before, but now I can see myself eating them all the time.

[Tabe]

Amazon sells quest bars if there aren't any GNC nearby.

Thanks.  At two bucks a pop, these are pretty much a non-starter for me.

[Kevin Wilson]

I agree, I couldn't ever justify those types of bars because I eat "easy to grab" snack food way too fast and it gets expensive.  I can't keep that stuff in my house or I go through it like a tornado.

[Craig H]

Yeah, it's tough, but I find that if the only snack food you keep is something that requires even a small amount of prep work, like slicing up some cucumbers, then that's a good way to break the habit of overeating/compulsive eating. I know it's helping for me because I could sometimes eat through 2 boxes of Cheez-Its and my brain would just never tell me to stop. Now, I pour some in a bowl if I even have any and that's it.

[CSC]

I've kind of gone off the rails the last couple weeks. 

 

I usually work out in the morning before work, but with Olympic viewing, my workouts and egg white omelets have been replaced by pots of coffee and fatty breakfast burritos from the Mexican takeout place down the street. 

 

Unfortunately, this has also lined up with our new Biggest Loser competition at work so I've had to pay a few bucks into the pot.  While I've only gained a couple pounds, it feels like a lot more than that. 

[RIPPA]

For those of you who have been doing DDP Yoga - here is my question

 

How "noisy" of a workout is it?

 

I ask because my problem is I live in a 3rd Floor Apartment so what I can actually do in my place is limited (since I really don't want the neighbors to complain of the elephant living above them)

 

I have seriously considered getting it but I dont want to waste my money if I can't use it for like another 6 months (when we possibly move)

[CSC]

It's not noisy at all.

 

So far, it's been mostly about slow, controlled movements rather than any sort of apartment shaking jumping around.  There are a couple instances where you "explode" out of lunges, but even those don't seem like they would be too bad. 

 

I live on a second floor apartment over a garage and walking around briskly will shake the walls, but DDPYoga doesn't even do that.

[Phil Schneider]

I had one of my great athletic achievements Wed as me and buddy (a 40 something short Philly guy) beat one of the crazy fit trainers and an ex-NBA point guard at two on two. Your boy Phil had his back to the basket turn around hook game popping, and got one of the last baskets on a drive and up and under flip shot. I need to hang up my Nike outlet basketball shoes.