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All-Purpose Health and Fitness Thread


Super Ape

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If your physician is telling you to lose weight based solely on BMI, that's problematic. Body Mass Index is pretty much just your mass/weight divided by the square of your height in metric (in standard, you have to multiply your mass by 703 to make the numbers line up). It's NOT a helpful determination of your health because a Brock Lesnar probably has roughly the same BMI as a Michael Moore. The BMI assigns 'bands' of relative health and unhealth based solely on that one number; if you're over 25, you need to lose weight. If you're over 30, you're obese. You can see the problem with that.

 

Fat percentage is easier in that it's "how much of your body is fat, not counting things like the fatty bits of bone marrow?" It's harder in that there are several ways to measure it and most of them are either of marginal accuracy (scales and handheld devices which measure electrostatic resistance in your body to figure out how much fat is in you) or complicated and expensive (shit with x-rays and submerging you completely in a tank to get both your weight and the weight and volume of water you displace to figure your density and thus how fat you are, or having an observer measure skin folds in various places with a caliper). The federal govt's chart says that for men, obesity starts at 25%; most other scales say this is true below a certain age but starts sliding outward as you get older. My talking scale measures body fat, and while I know it's not a hundred percent accurate it's the best measurement I have.

Edited by Cliff Hanger
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After a month and a half off, I started back at the CrossFit gym last week. 

 

 

First and foremost, I'm sore. It hurts to sit on the toilet. But, it's getting better and easier. Tonight I even set a personal best in the lifting portion: 125 lbs for a clean and jerk.  

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Additionally: Study: Overweight and Grade 1 Obese People Outlive "Normal" Weighted People

 

"Fitness" is such an astonishing sham. I'm am not saying that there's no legitimate basis to it:like the author of the above article, I merely acknowledge that

Anyone familiar with history will not be surprised to learn that “facts” have been enlisted before to confirm the legitimacy of a cultural obsession and to advance the economic interests of those who profit from that obsession.

 

And also I just typed this after working out.

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No doubt about it. But increased "fitness" does not necessarily equate to better quality of life. The pursuit of a culturally accepted ideal, or even a "norm," for body fitness can result in all sorts of discomforts and health problems, both long and short term, from suffering through restrictive diets and fitness regimes, plus muscle pulls and strains (in the very short term), to fucked up joints, hernias, broken bones, and the existential feeling of despair you encounter when you realize that instead of enjoying life--friends, family, food, travel--you spent all your time preparing to run a barefoot marathon, like an asshole.

 

You should absolutely get fit if you're actually doing it to feel better and enjoy life more, and not just to make your body fit into some kind of cookie-cutter notion of what the fitness industry and our shitty media tells you your body should look like. However, you should reconsider it if all that's happening is that you end up missing out on life to count calories and talk ceaselessly about your paleo diet and your iron man workout regime and basically turn into an intolerable bore.

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Considering this is a wrasslin' board, I don't think we should be criticizing people who are "missing out on life to count calories and talk ceaselessly about your paleo diet and your iron man workout regime and basically turn into an intolerable bore," as much as I agree with that statement. If a persons hobbies include rock hard abs and a 40-40-20 diet, good for them. If anything, regarding that NYT article, my point of contention would be that people who are 30-40ish lbs overweight don't suffer from any sort of "condition," all the required "treatment" would simply be altering their diet a little and incorporating more physical activity. Now, once you're 50+ over (which is where the study's weight spectrum ends, at type 1 obese, and where "morbidly obese" begins), the host of medical issues that accompanies such a lifestyle, from diabetes to cardiovascular strain to GI problems certainly have a deleterious effect on your mortality.

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I enjoy being healthy. I enjoy how I feel due to eating healthy (I count my calories and keep my macros in check). Back before I started eating healthy and working out, I didn't have the energy and happiness I now possess.

 

That said, I'm no longer the person who is a bore to be around because of health. When I was obese and initially trying to get myself in shape, I was the person who would go out to eat with their friends but not order food or whatever because I was hardcore dieting. Now, I allow myself a little more flexibility with life so that I can enjoy it. I find it to be a better balance. I'm not trying to be sub-10% bodyfat because although I have all the respect in the world for the few who are able to achieve that level, the life that I'd have to live in order to even dream of it, is just not for me.

 

I also enjoy that I don't have to be on any health-related medications which back a few years ago was about to not be the case (I had high blood pressure at 20 but once I dropped the weight, based off my blood work and all that, I couldn't be healthier).

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Petey pretty much explains what I want too.  I'll be happy at 20% bodyfat myself, or even 25%, because while I am a fat fuck, I'm also built like a football player underneath the flab, so I'd be surprised if I weighed less than 200 pounds on 20% BF.

 

Now I'm just working on not being winded at the simplest things and this lower back pain.

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I am not even worried about my weight. I threw out the scale in the house.

I just know that I look better and feel better if I go to the gym 3 times a week. I know that I feel better if I don't drink soda. I know I feel better if I control my diet.

If I loose 1 pound or gain ten it doesn't matter. I am up and moving around instead of being so sedentary. That is what matters.

Plus my wife said a few weeks ago that my body looked like a condom full of walnuts. That means it's time to go back to the gym.

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Weigh-in today had me at 194.4 with 18.4 percent body fat. Still a ways off from my goal (if I were to not add any muscle, 15% would mean 182) but I'm getting there. Changing my workout regimen and going more toward free weights instead of the nautilus in my complex gym has hugely kickstarted me, and gotten me over the plateau I'd been on for three months.

 

ETA: This is an accomplishment for me because it's the first time in about 17 years I haven't been "overweight" in either BMI or body fat percentage.

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  • 1 month later...

Okay, I am trying to help my fiance get on an exercise routine/improved diet. (She actually wants to do this now).

She is wanting to find some supplements to use.

 

Now, I know what I look for and need, but my needs as a more in-shape male and as a male are different than hers.

 

What would you recommend for someone trying to help his lady? She is maybe even looking to go meal replacement once a day, but I am finding that most of what you find there tends to be pyramid scam stuff like Body by Vi.

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Tell her to start by cutting out all fried foods, sodas, beer, etc.  Replace with water and fruit.  

 

Diet has to come first.  If you keep stuffing yourself with bad foods the exercise routine will be more difficult.

 

Figure out what you want to accomplish and tailor your routine around that.

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Remember that any routine that involves either giving up something you love or doing something you hate isn't going to work. That seems common sense, but I think it's a pretty common failing. Figure out what physical activity she enjoys, and try to make time to do it more often/better. Limit "guilty pleasure" foods instead of removing them from her diet.

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I wouldn't really get too caught up with supplements. A good multivitamin (especially if she isn't big on fruits and veggies) and fish oil is all she needs. I recommend Orange Triad for the multi and OxiMega for the fish oil (both are made by the same company). Weight loss supplements/fat burners are generally garbage and often just glorified caffeine pills. Stuff like protein shakes or whatever are OK if you're in a time crunch but when you're trying to lose weight and satisfy hunger, I'd rather just have 250 calories of real food.

 

I would say that the best thing is to make sure it's a lifestyle change (having no idea what your fiance's dietary habits are like, but I'm just gonna assume they're not all that different from mine). I've always found it easier to lose weight/remain healthy by priding myself on actually being healthy as opposed to punishing myself for being out of shape. For most people, the issue is portion control and eating out of boredom and/or because it makes you happy. Eating fixed portions can go a long way in helping with not overeating. Mashed potatoes are not the end of the world, but if you make enough potatoes to eat 5 serving's worth, that's not gonna help.

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I wouldn't really get too caught up with supplements. A good multivitamin (especially if she isn't big on fruits and veggies) and fish oil is all she needs. I recommend Orange Triad for the multi and OxiMega for the fish oil (both are made by the same company). Weight loss supplements/fat burners are generally garbage and often just glorified caffeine pills. Stuff like protein shakes or whatever are OK if you're in a time crunch but when you're trying to lose weight and satisfy hunger, I'd rather just have 250 calories of real food.

 

I would say that the best thing is to make sure it's a lifestyle change (having no idea what your fiance's dietary habits are like, but I'm just gonna assume they're not all that different from mine). I've always found it easier to lose weight/remain healthy by priding myself on actually being healthy as opposed to punishing myself for being out of shape. For most people, the issue is portion control and eating out of boredom and/or because it makes you happy. Eating fixed portions can go a long way in helping with not overeating. Mashed potatoes are not the end of the world, but if you make enough potatoes to eat 5 serving's worth, that's not gonna help.

 

Yeah. I think her thing is that she thinks she needs to do a meal replacement shake to help with her diet. Part of that might be with me, and the fact that I am big on protein shakes. I personally have a big jug of optimum nutrition protein, a thing of fish oil, and a musclepharm multivitamin. I was also using some pre-workout supplements, but I have not used them as much as of late as I think I need to limit my caffeine intake and try to develop my energy/heart rate more naturally. Years of energy drinks have taken their toll I think.

 

She works at a job that brings in food almost every day, and it's always unhealthy stuff like Moe's Southwestern Grill or a local place here that's called Zack's (Basically like a southern food line place) with fried chicken or whatever.

 

I keep telling her that we would both be smarter to just meal prep twice a week. Prep food on Sunday for Monday through Wednesday for the days, and then on Wednesday night do the exact same thing.

 

She also has a bad habit of not being consistent with her eating schedule. She'll sometimes only eat once or twice a day, and I keep telling her that she needs to eat consistently at aroud the same times every day at least 3 times a day, but preferably 5-6 times.

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It's not exciting but I always bring a peanut butter sandwich to me with work, just about everyday. Of course, I'm in love with peanut butter and would eat it out of the jar in public if it were socially acceptable.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I don't know if any of you guys might be able to help, but whenever I work my biceps I don't feel any soreness in them the next day. I've done normal bicep curls, preacher curls, and the freemotion machine at about 3 sets of 20 in total. But the next day I won't feel any soreness at all. This has been happening for about a month now. When I first started I used to get DOMS in my biceps after working them. Is this normal?

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It is perfectly normal. The idea is that after a week or two (at most), your body grows accustomed to being worked and the soreness goes away. It doesn't mean you're not working them hard enough or anything, that's just how it is with any body part you regularly work.

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