Author Topic: OK fitness buffs and lazy bums, chime in!  (Read 31846 times)

jeromedawg

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OK fitness buffs and lazy bums, chime in!
« on: December 23, 2014, 01:44:11 PM »
So I've unnecessarily gained a happy 15 or so lbs in my first 5 years of marriage. A slow but steady increase that definitely isn't warranted, even if "being happy" could be an excuse...lol. I think I took my crazy metabolism for granted when it was still crazy. After I hit 30 everything changed (I'm sure many of you can reminisce and relate).

I'm looking to drop around 20 or so for starters. It's really hard for me to be motivated to do anything these days though, which definitely doesn't help. There are a lot of things that I probably could do around the house that might help me shed off some lbs (e.g. laying pavers in our small yard, build out new shelving in the garage, build out a new kitchen pantry, etc). I could also bike into work as well. Now, I say all of these things very idealistically, thinking about how great it would be to accomplish each of these 'small' feats. But a combination of my laziness and fear (of the unknown) prevents me from doing any of it. And especially in the name of "fitness"

Outside of those things though, I have no routine. I never did growing up and even through a year of cross country (I was the slowest on the team, go figure). Basically, very little to no physical discipline has been instilled in me. Part of this I attribute to the lack of not participating in team sports in middle school or high school - that is one of my biggest regrets. In either case, I've been trying to identify sources of motivation to actually make me get off my lazy butt.

My wife and I tried a free group fitness thing last year that met down the street every other morning at like 6am. It was good but apparently not good enough for us to want to wake up that early. So many people in that group really LOVE it for the fact that it's free and offers opportunities for encouragement, support, etc. It's a really neat concept but after falling off that horse, I feel guilty about re-joining. I'm sure it's just a self-confidence/esteem/psychological thing ala that chance of being scornfully asked "where were you all this time?" In any case, we feel like there's something wrong with us with how much we hate exercising and fitness. I don't understand the people who get all crazy addicted to it... I guess if you see real tangible results though, that can be addictive - but everyone's body is different too when it comes to "results." I guess I'm just not one of those people who enjoys "challenging" myself or "pushing harder" at hard things.

I do like shooting hoops, kicking around a soccer ball, hackey sack, etc (anything requiring some form of coordination) but I'm not really into the competitive nature of sports as much either (again this comes from my lack of playing any team sports growing up). Even with this, it's really hard to get myself out of the house, and I barely keep in touch with friends who like to do any of those things.

So I've also started looking at [free] weight loss and fitness apps (Noom, My Diet Coach, Google Fit, Lose It!, etc) but there's so many of them and some seem overly complicated. I guess if you want to lose weight though, it takes the extra effort to count calories (outside of exercising). I've also thought about getting a FitBit device but wonder if it's really necessary (probably not when I can use my phone as a pedometer). I think I'm going to give Noom a try and get back into my daily walking routine (around 1.5 miles) at work - basically it's a 30-minute walk down the street and back that gives a mild sweat. I was doing this for a while but then it's so easy to sit here at the desk and keep working while ignoring taking longer breaks.

In any case, what works and what doesn't for you guys? Feel free to chime in with anything: methods, apps, programs, groups, etc... especially the FREE stuff.
« Last Edit: December 23, 2014, 01:50:02 PM by jplee3 »

attica

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Re: OK fitness buffs and lazy bums, chime in!
« Reply #1 on: December 23, 2014, 01:58:39 PM »
Are you me?

Philociraptor

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Re: OK fitness buffs and lazy bums, chime in!
« Reply #2 on: December 23, 2014, 02:00:50 PM »
For me:

Works: Paleo and Crossfit
Doesn't work: Counting calories and home gym

YMMV.

Scandium

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Re: OK fitness buffs and lazy bums, chime in!
« Reply #3 on: December 23, 2014, 02:01:42 PM »
Some of the things we do. Not a fitness buff, relatively lazy

Get a dog (not free). Walk it 30-60 min, twice a day. If not, a destructive dog and pee in the house will motivate you..
Crossfit (very not free!). Good general fitness workout. I like the no-bullshit strength training aspect. Good community, except some paleo/cult-like nonsense.
Basement gym (cheap-ish). Jumprope, sandbag for squats, some dumbbells. Do quick 20-30 min workouts. Require motivation, but smaller time investment.

I don't see much value in fitness band gizmos. Seems like a fad to me. My reasons for skipping workout is not that I can't count my calories..
« Last Edit: December 23, 2014, 02:03:32 PM by Scandium »

mm1970

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Re: OK fitness buffs and lazy bums, chime in!
« Reply #4 on: December 23, 2014, 02:36:37 PM »
You can't out exercise a bad diet.  After 30 it's 80% diet.

I've used Noom and My Fitness Pal.  I prefer My Fitness Pal.  Counting calories is good to get started and see where you are.

For fitness, you just have to find something you like and stick with it. I'm a joiner - I like group fitness, and I like the gym.  But I have kids, so the gym is my only "me" time.

I'm 44 and losing the 2nd baby weight and I have to say - I've had the most luck recently by doing high intensity intervals with weight training (mostly body weight training), and decreasing my carbohydrate intake.

So my workout today was swimming.

This afternoon I'll probably do:
50 burpees (5 sets of 10)
30 pushups
90 squats
90 seconds of planks (3x30?)
110 crunches

The burpees serve as intervals and the rest as strength training.


jeromedawg

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Re: OK fitness buffs and lazy bums, chime in!
« Reply #5 on: December 23, 2014, 02:44:44 PM »
Some of the things we do. Not a fitness buff, relatively lazy

Get a dog (not free). Walk it 30-60 min, twice a day. If not, a destructive dog and pee in the house will motivate you..
Crossfit (very not free!). Good general fitness workout. I like the no-bullshit strength training aspect. Good community, except some paleo/cult-like nonsense.
Basement gym (cheap-ish). Jumprope, sandbag for squats, some dumbbells. Do quick 20-30 min workouts. Require motivation, but smaller time investment.

I don't see much value in fitness band gizmos. Seems like a fad to me. My reasons for skipping workout is not that I can't count my calories..

LOL! I was trying to convince my wife to let me get a dog but she's not really onboard (though she says she'll let me if I really want it but I have to do all the work to clean up after it, etc). My parents and I also currently co-own and I don't think they're fully on board. But they are planning to transfer ownership on paper next year, as far as I know, in which case a dog may be on the horizon (barring the possibility of a baby)

I like the basement gym idea - although we have no basement. But I do have a jump rope, dumbbells and an EZ curl bar. I also have bag of rice for squats...LOL


It's good you're trying to get healthy.  One thing I notice is you're focused all on exercise.  I always look at fitness as 80% nutrition and 20% exercise.  Exercise is good and necessary, but to really see any results, you need to focus on what you're eating.  No amount of exercise is going to help if you're still eating fast food, pizza, drinking soda, etc. every day.

From my mid-20s until now (32) I have slowly been eating better and better.  The first thing I cut out was anything with high fructose corn syrup.  After that I started replacing processed foods with whole foods.  Finally I tried to "fine tune" a bit more as I gathered new information.  I don't really follow any particular diet, but the closest thing would be Wheat Belly.  If you follow along with what that book recommends, you should be able to drop a good amount of weight without even working out.  Of course you'll want to work out (right??) to help boost your metabolism and build muscle, but the main focus is your nutrition.

You're right - I think I often disregard the nutrition aspect of things. In many ways, that's much harder than the exercise part. I rarely drink soda and try to get in at least 8 glasses of water a day (I have a 64oz bottle that I fill twice during the work day usually). The food part I definitely need to watch out for - we don't eat a ton of fast food but will have our splurges. I have to be careful too because I have high cholesterol and blood pressure (I guess that *should* be motivation enough for all this but strangely it doesn't motivate me as much as it should). After getting married, my wife and I also cut out high fructose corn syrup and avoid anything with "hydrogenated oils" - I think there's more but we try to avoid that stuff if possible. It's hard when you eat out though because you can't really tell what kinds of things they make the food with.

Guizmo

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Re: OK fitness buffs and lazy bums, chime in!
« Reply #6 on: December 23, 2014, 03:13:15 PM »
Ain't nothing to it but to do it.


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Re: OK fitness buffs and lazy bums, chime in!
« Reply #7 on: December 23, 2014, 03:15:10 PM »
I have been working out for 5 years, the first 3 were my mistake years. I'm only 22 so maybe I'm wrong but I don't believe metabolisms slow, I think the explanation is as people get older they tend to become more sedentary, and make more money(=more food.) anyways, I guess that doesn't really matter. My goal when I started was to gain muscle, hopefully to someday look like a fitness model. I kept hearing muscle grows slowly, and you can't expect it overnight and give up, so I tried for 3 years and made hardly any gains. The problem was I told myself that because I was young (and likely had higher hormones) that I had the privilege to not worry about my diet. Didn't work, all those 3 years taught me was that your body works on an energy in energy out model. In order to gain weight I had to eat more food (calories is the measuring unit) otherwise those hours spent in the gym went to waste (as far as my goals.) To lose weight it is the same principle, in order to lose weight you need to eat less calories then you use. Once I found my fitness pal and began counting calories I found it liberating. Instead of feeling like it was tedious, I finally felt like I had control over my body weight. There are no longer excuses, simply a math formula that I can manipulate whichever way I choose, much like a budget.

big_owl

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Re: OK fitness buffs and lazy bums, chime in!
« Reply #8 on: December 23, 2014, 03:19:09 PM »
Sorry but hacky sack or bag of rice ain't gonna lose you 1lb, yet alone 20lbs.  Little owl and I are pretty big into lifting weights, we do it every week day.  No disrespect to anybody else (hey, whatever works) but fad workouts or burpees or fake chin-ups or whatever don't really do it for me.  What I've found for myself:

1. You have to work out at the same time every day and make it just as regular a routine as going to work or eating dinner.  It's gotta take priority and can't be something that you try to do in your spare time.  If you're serious about it then you have to treat it just as seriously as you would showing up to work on time every day. 

2. I find keeping the same weekly schedule helps since I know exactly what to expect every day of the week - Monday is chest/calves, Tuesday is back, Wednesday is shoulders, Thursday arms, and Friday legs.  On any given week I know exactly which day of the week it is just by knowing what workout I did in the morning.

3. The morning... I hate bodybuilding in the morning.  I'm tired, grumpy and relatively weak.  But it's the best time to do a workout on a busy schedule.  Since getting up and going to work every day is a routine, I just build that into my workout routine.  Wake up at 4:20am and be at the gym by 5:30am.  Work out, shower at the gym (save hot water$$$ at home), then go right to work.  It's a routine, part of my job - clockwork.  Then the afternoons are free.  Otherwise there are too many excuses not to work out after work.

4. Keep a workout log book.  Every rep of every set I do is recorded in the log - cardio too. My current log book goes all the way back to the year 2000.  I can seriously look back to march 1st, 2001 and see what chest workout I did on that day.  Tracking progress is critical every week.  You need to be fighting for every lb or every rep, week in and week out.  On Monday I can look back to last Monday's chest workout and know that I need to either do an extra rep or add a couple lbs onto my bench.  Without a workout log my workouts would be a waste of time.

5. Be objective about your goals.  If genetics have given you a milquetoast physique and skeletal structure then you're not going to look like an IFBB pro bodybuilder no matter how much you work out.  Have a strong vision of what you realistically want your body to look like.  Remember your vision and turn yourself into it over time.

6. Working out is easy - diet is the hard part.  If you're serious about looking better then get serious about your diet.  If you can't show enough discipline to reform your diet then you have nobody to blame but yourself when you work out an hour a day but still look in the mirror and see a tub-o-lard staring back at you.  If it was easy then everybody would look like Schwarzenegger.
« Last Edit: December 23, 2014, 03:21:37 PM by big_owl »

Future Lazy

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Re: OK fitness buffs and lazy bums, chime in!
« Reply #9 on: December 23, 2014, 03:21:16 PM »
I've never been at my "goal weight", ever in my life. I've tackled the 'home gym' idea from multiple angles, and found that I usually don't stick to it on my own. I do best when using the buddy system. Here are the things I've done that dropped the pounds:

Works for me:
Active Job - I worked in the Garden department at Home Depot over one summer and lost 20-30lbs. I walked 2 miles to work, 8 hour shifts moving dirt bags and stones, walked 2 miles home, for five days a week. Maybe a part time active job is in order? Best part: No cost - earns $$$ :)
Rec Center Classes - I did aquacise three nights a week last winter/spring and lost 10lbs in a few months. I went to the evening class with an older instructor and lots of older people, so the work out wasn't even that intense. Some days I came early or stayed later and practiced some of the workout moves I learned in the class. Cost: To pay for my admission and my mom's/husband's admission 12 times a month came out to like $30-40, similar to a gym membership but more 'pay as you go'.
Bodyweight exercises - Free! Do them at home. I use this chart to figure out where I am, and what move I should switch to when something gets too easy:
http://strength.stack52.com/periodic-table-of-bodyweight-exercises/
Tip: Click on the exercises you don't know how to do to be redirected to a Youtube instructional.

Doesn't work for me:
Home treadmill - I just don't get on it. I feel more like a hamster on a wheel than anything else, it it breaks my heart more than being a fatty.

Recommended in any case: Track what you eat and all of your exercise using something like MyFitnessPal's app. I find that even if I'm not working out, I can usually completely halt any weight gain by using this app daily. There's a barcode scanner and a recipe builder, so no excuse not to track everything. While you are working out, this app will tell you what your net calorie goal is, and calculate how much more you can eat based on how much you've been exercising - just like FutureNurse says above is 100% true and excellent advice, you actually have to eat while you work out. Likewise, MyFitnessPal has great forums where you can make weight loss buddies and get lots of support and help. :)
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/

Good luck!

mxt0133

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Re: OK fitness buffs and lazy bums, chime in!
« Reply #10 on: December 23, 2014, 03:30:39 PM »
It's hard when you eat out though because you can't really tell what kinds of things they make the food with.

BINGO!  This to me is half the battle of weight loss.  The act of preparing your own food I feel will make one naturally want to eat healthier foods.  I mean I can't imagine anyone wanting to put all the lard, fats, salt, preservatives, and other chemicals in their own food if they had to prepare most of the processed foods sold in fast food and some restaurants.

Future Lazy

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Re: OK fitness buffs and lazy bums, chime in!
« Reply #11 on: December 23, 2014, 03:40:49 PM »
It's hard when you eat out though because you can't really tell what kinds of things they make the food with.

BINGO!  This to me is half the battle of weight loss.  The act of preparing your own food I feel will make one naturally want to eat healthier foods.  I mean I can't imagine anyone wanting to put all the lard, fats, salt, preservatives, and other chemicals in their own food if they had to prepare most of the processed foods sold in fast food and some restaurants.

My personal story with this is finding out that the entire Big Daddy Bacon Cheeseburger meal (large fry, spoonbender ice cream follow up) from Good Times tops out at over 2500 calories, thanks to MyFitnessPal having that info on file. I wouldn't buy a $500 Gucci handbag ever in my life, so why in the hell was I eating a day's worth of calories in one sitting!? Tracking stuff puts that in perspective!
« Last Edit: December 23, 2014, 03:43:45 PM by KaylaEM »

jeromedawg

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Re: OK fitness buffs and lazy bums, chime in!
« Reply #12 on: December 23, 2014, 03:41:31 PM »
Speaking of calorie-counting, how do you guys track foods in Myfitnesspal, etc that don't show up in the database? For example, I really like the Chinese green scallion pancakes from the shop around the corner and had some the other night (you will NOT find that in any of these food databases I'm pretty sure). How do you go about determining how many calories, etc it is? Just guess? And if you are guessing, how you come up with a guess that is actually accurate?

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Re: OK fitness buffs and lazy bums, chime in!
« Reply #13 on: December 23, 2014, 03:43:22 PM »
Just echoing what others have already said-

Works for me-
Paleo (primal Blueprint specifically)- low carb
Lifting weights 2-3 times a week
Mountain biking and skiing - my 2 favorite past times - do not feel like "exercise" feels like fun

Does not work for me-
low fat - always hungry can't sustain
running - makes me crave carbs too much; gets me in shape for a race maybe but never helps me lose any weight as I just eat too much with it

Absolutely believe it's 80% diet and 20% exercise.  New years 2012 I pledged to lose 42 lbs (was at 242). I proceeded to brake my foot in a bachelor party accident on the first Saturday in January. Was a couch potato in  a boot for 8 weeks and lost 22 pounds on the Primal diet. That's when I became a believer.  I hit 195 lbs by mid June (I'm 6' 2") and have stayed around 200 lbs ever since.

Would love to do Crossfit but just cannot afford it at this point. But I have tried to model my workouts around some of its principles.

Future Lazy

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Re: OK fitness buffs and lazy bums, chime in!
« Reply #14 on: December 23, 2014, 03:52:05 PM »
Speaking of calorie-counting, how do you guys track foods in Myfitnesspal, etc that don't show up in the database? For example, I really like the Chinese green scallion pancakes from the shop around the corner and had some the other night (you will NOT find that in any of these food databases I'm pretty sure). How do you go about determining how many calories, etc it is? Just guess? And if you are guessing, how you come up with a guess that is actually accurate?

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/en/food/calories/114989000
Like this? I usually find something similar, and go with that. This might not be Chinese Scallion Pancakes from Pang Huang's Thousand Walking Woks in Metropolis, USA, but I bet you can find a "Chinese pancake" that is similar to what you're buying. Basic recipes don't vary that much. Ask how it's made/what's in it if you want to, and weigh it before you eat it to get a good idea of how much you're eating (how many servings/weight in grams). For things I make at home, I can usually find my ingredients easily by scanning barcodes or finding similar entries from other users, compile them into a recipe and I'm good to go. 

Edit: Then again, if you don't know what's in it and how many servings of it you're really eating, maybe you should rethink that decision all together? I mean, would you ever buy with something with hard working dollars you didn't actually know the full cost of?
« Last Edit: December 23, 2014, 03:57:38 PM by KaylaEM »

Kmp2

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Re: OK fitness buffs and lazy bums, chime in!
« Reply #15 on: December 23, 2014, 03:52:29 PM »
Here's what works for me now (this has changed over my life - I went from team sports to running to just being active)

1) Eat food, real food and not too much.
2) Build as much 'active' into daily life as possible, take the stairs, situps/pushups during tv, walking further, and biking everywhere I can.
3) for a planned workout - do the first 5 minutes no matter what, if you still want to quit then quit guilt free... I have turned around after a few blocks into a run but it is rare! Strapping on your shoes and getting going is the hard part of the battle.

I used to work out because I played team sports and it sucks to suck wind and let a team down
Then I trained and ran races, you start out making yourself do it, then it becomes habit, and then you miss it when you don't do it. But this unconscious habit of just walking to the grocery store, running around playing with my kid, and biking to work are really working AWESOME!

Now if I could cure my alcohol habit I could probably cure my extra 10lbs...

r3dt4rget

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« Last Edit: December 23, 2014, 04:09:36 PM by r3dt4rget »

jeromedawg

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Re: OK fitness buffs and lazy bums, chime in!
« Reply #17 on: December 23, 2014, 04:07:35 PM »
Speaking of calorie-counting, how do you guys track foods in Myfitnesspal, etc that don't show up in the database? For example, I really like the Chinese green scallion pancakes from the shop around the corner and had some the other night (you will NOT find that in any of these food databases I'm pretty sure). How do you go about determining how many calories, etc it is? Just guess? And if you are guessing, how you come up with a guess that is actually accurate?

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/en/food/calories/114989000
Like this? I usually find something similar, and go with that. This might not be Chinese Scallion Pancakes from Pang Huang's Thousand Walking Woks in Metropolis, USA, but I bet you can find a "Chinese pancake" that is similar to what you're buying. Basic recipes don't vary that much. Ask how it's made/what's in it if you want to, and weigh it before you eat it to get a good idea of how much you're eating (how many servings/weight in grams). For things I make at home, I can usually find my ingredients easily by scanning barcodes or finding similar entries from other users, compile them into a recipe and I'm good to go. 

Edit: Then again, if you don't know what's in it and how many servings of it you're really eating, maybe you should rethink that decision all together? I mean, would you ever buy with something with hard working dollars you didn't actually know the full cost of?

Thanks! I don't know why I didn't see it last night when I was searching. Maybe I thought I was searching for it when I was looking for something else. Ah well, good to know they pretty much have almost everything out there.

Murse

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Re: OK fitness buffs and lazy bums, chime in!
« Reply #18 on: December 23, 2014, 04:21:59 PM »
As the saying goes, you exercise 1 hour/day, what do you do with the other 23? (Referring to diet being 80%)

r3dt4rget

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Re: OK fitness buffs and lazy bums, chime in!
« Reply #19 on: December 23, 2014, 04:29:20 PM »
BTW, buy a food scale to help you track calories. After a week or two of learning to use it efficiently, you'll wonder how you ever lived without it.

Jon_Snow

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Re: OK fitness buffs and lazy bums, chime in!
« Reply #20 on: December 23, 2014, 04:32:02 PM »
Well, having lost 50 pounds and more or less transforming my body in the last several months, I'll share the basics of how I did it. I basically started this the moment I ER'ed...

My diet completely changed. Zero fast food. Less processed food. Tons of whole wheat pasta, breads. Fruit and vegetable intake way up. Cut alcohol consumption by about 90% (I drank WAY too much). In the initial 2 months of my "new life" I probably ran a large caloric deficit on most days. I tried to be OKAY with feel a little bit hungry most of the time.

In terms of exercise, I signed up for the gym a few blocks away and went EVERYDAY... except Sundays. Typically a gym session for me in my "lose fat fast" phase was 90 minutes of intense cardio. I did not touch weights for many months. Now, that I've lost the excess body fat, I've reduced my cardio to around 30 to 45 minutes, and will weight train for 45 minutes to an hour. The need to pack on some muscle is obvious - I was so strict with my calorie intake in my first few months of weight loss, that I lost a fair bit of muscle mass. I'm now into the protein powder/supplement thing, and my muscle strength is now responding.

Good eating and exercise are now a part of my life as sleeping is... I feel great. My wife also approves. :)

Future Lazy

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Re: OK fitness buffs and lazy bums, chime in!
« Reply #21 on: December 23, 2014, 04:34:19 PM »
BTW, buy a food scale to help you track calories. After a week or two of learning to use it efficiently, you'll wonder how you ever lived without it.
+1,000,000

It took a food scale to show me that one chicken breast weighs, on average, 9 ounces, and is therefore 2.25 servings of meat, not one.

jeromedawg

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Re: OK fitness buffs and lazy bums, chime in!
« Reply #22 on: December 23, 2014, 04:42:45 PM »
BTW, buy a food scale to help you track calories. After a week or two of learning to use it efficiently, you'll wonder how you ever lived without it.
+1,000,000

It took a food scale to show me that one chicken breast weighs, on average, 9 ounces, and is therefore 2.25 servings of meat, not one.

I purchased a scale not too long ago for weighing packages. I'm wondering if this would work... I think there's a setting to change the units of measurement but will have to double-check.

Cressida

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Re: OK fitness buffs and lazy bums, chime in!
« Reply #23 on: December 23, 2014, 04:46:15 PM »
I've mentioned this before on this forum, so at the risk of being a broken record: I learned a lot from The Hacker's Diet book, available here (there's a PDF link if you scroll down a ways). http://www.fourmilab.ch/hackdiet/ It does a good job of explaining how people will inevitably gain weight over time if they're not vigilant. It starts slow, but if you get past the first chapter I think it's worth it.

As always, shoutout to forum member ohyonghao for the reference.

AlanStache

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Re: OK fitness buffs and lazy bums, chime in!
« Reply #24 on: December 23, 2014, 06:18:45 PM »
Exercise has to be consistent.  Most any workout plain will get some results if done daily, no exercise plain will work if done once per week.  Track it in some way, even just a simple note in your calendar, so you can look back and see for no shit what you did last week.

Can you get a stand up desk at work, love mine?  1/3 of the people have them where I work.  amazon: "MultiTable ModTable Adjustable Height Standing Desk with Manual Base" 500$ is not cheap but it is how you spend half your waking day.  (manufacturer direct has a volume discounts.)

You cant out exercise bad diet.  Bad diet will harm exercise.  I gorged on Chinese takeout at lunch today and had a shit run because of it.  yeah I know fuck me in two ways...

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Re: OK fitness buffs and lazy bums, chime in!
« Reply #25 on: December 23, 2014, 06:32:56 PM »
I lost 30 lbs by doing Turbo Jam.  I bought the DVDs off eBay for $9 and used them for about three years.  Then, I got involved in taekwondo.  That's an expensive hobby, but it got to the point where now I get paid for teaching the classes.  The most important thing is to make sure you have a workout buddy to push you and keep you honest (and motivate you to keep going.)

babysnowbyrd

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Re: OK fitness buffs and lazy bums, chime in!
« Reply #26 on: December 23, 2014, 06:44:20 PM »
Are you me?

+ 1.

I was wondering the same thing!

I'm not sure I"m really qualified to answer this, but things that have helped me in the past were:

(1) Awesome music for boring things like treadmills and bikes. Could almost forget I was exercising.

(2) A fun activity that disguises the exercise. I took a fencing class once that I enjoyed. I'd practice that until exhaustion but would wimp out super early on weights. I also like rock-climbing, so I plan on trying to get into that a little more.

(3) Riding a real bike outside is way funner than a spin class. Plus, there can be "extra" cycling built in because once you feel tired, there's still the ride back home!

DSKla

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Re: OK fitness buffs and lazy bums, chime in!
« Reply #27 on: December 23, 2014, 07:18:16 PM »
I'm a CSCS and work in the fitness industry, and I can assure you diet is way more important for weight loss. I highly recommend Chris Kresser's website and book. The book will help you figure out what works best for you, personally. Not just give you generic advice. If you want to save money, you could start with a paleo diet and just read everything on the website to fine-tune it without buying the book.

I am unaffiliated with Kresser, just a fan.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/031632289X/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=031632289X&linkCode=as2&tag=chrikres-20

http://chriskresser.com

I also do not recommend crossfit. There are some very good crossfit coaches out there, but they make up such a small percentage of the community. The only qualifications you need to be a certified CF coach are $1000 and a weekend seminar. It's a sick joke. You could research it and find a great coach with an onramp program, but otherwise it's a crapshoot. For fitness, if you really want to be serious about it, you need to become a researcher and learn about it yourself. People whose work I like include: Ido Portal for overall movement/philosophy, Eric Cressey and Justin Lascek for more traditional lifting and strength & conditioning for performance. All of these three have websites and materials available for an interested researcher.

Another mustachian option would be to purchase Christopher Sommer's Foundation 1 and Handstand 1 series. I don't think they're perfect, but they're a really great resource that outlines your program very clearly based on your performance, and it starts at square 1, not square 247 like crossfit. It'll likely take you a year or two to exhaust Foundation 1 as a newbie, maybe more. Lots of bang for your buck.

My favorite resource and I believe the guy who sees the biggest picture of the human body is Ido Portal. Sadly, he is quite expensive, but you can learn a lot from watching his interviews and videos.
« Last Edit: December 23, 2014, 07:20:47 PM by DSKla »

dungoofed

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Re: OK fitness buffs and lazy bums, chime in!
« Reply #28 on: December 23, 2014, 07:43:16 PM »
+1 for Primal.

I'm a lazy exerciser - lots of walking and really short weight training sessions.

r3dt4rget

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Re: OK fitness buffs and lazy bums, chime in!
« Reply #29 on: December 23, 2014, 07:53:14 PM »
BTW, buy a food scale to help you track calories. After a week or two of learning to use it efficiently, you'll wonder how you ever lived without it.
+1,000,000

It took a food scale to show me that one chicken breast weighs, on average, 9 ounces, and is therefore 2.25 servings of meat, not one.

I purchased a scale not too long ago for weighing packages. I'm wondering if this would work... I think there's a setting to change the units of measurement but will have to double-check.
I use a postage scale bought off Amazon, so it will work if it's designed to measure small items (like letters).

MrsCoolCat

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Re: OK fitness buffs and lazy bums, chime in!
« Reply #30 on: December 23, 2014, 07:55:26 PM »
It's good you're trying to get healthy.  One thing I notice is you're focused all on exercise.  I always look at fitness as 80% nutrition and 20% exercise.  Exercise is good and necessary, but to really see any results, you need to focus on what you're eating.  No amount of exercise is going to help if you're still eating fast food, pizza, drinking soda, etc. every day.

Agreed esp on 80/20 but for me it's more 70/30. Diet is more diet than exercise but it helps to have more muscle than fat. It all takes trial and error. It took a quarter century for most of us to learn how we currently eat. It will likewise take time to re-learn how you really should eat. I believe most people with desk jobs consume far too many carbs and do not make it a priority to use it. Aside from that, use IG. Lots of helpful FREE recipe and exercise stuff. That's what I use it for! I'm aiming to do a free standing handstand for 2015!

brooklynmoney

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Re: OK fitness buffs and lazy bums, chime in!
« Reply #31 on: December 23, 2014, 08:04:31 PM »
I find when I am exercising I actually weigh more but feel better than when I'm just watching what I eat. The thing that motivates me is training for races and having a training partner. Nothing will get me to run 10 miles except knowing that if I dont I am screwed on race day. It's also a lot harder to not train when there is someone counting on you to train with them. Besides racing, finding a fun class at the gym that works for my schedule helps.

lielec11

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Re: OK fitness buffs and lazy bums, chime in!
« Reply #32 on: December 23, 2014, 08:08:44 PM »
body weight exercises, body weight exercised, body weight exercises.... did i say body weight exercises? Get a cheap pull up bar and do 10-20 sets of the following: 5 pull ups, 10 push ups, 15 air squats. You'll be sweating before you know it an it doesn't take much time. I have been trying to do it every day when i get home from work. Usually work up a sweat fairly quickly.

Also, try a diet higher in fats (think avocados). Monosaturated fats seem to provide better energy than carbs and help me build muscle faster.

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Re: OK fitness buffs and lazy bums, chime in!
« Reply #33 on: December 23, 2014, 08:21:49 PM »
There's a husband wife team who as a site called fitness blender.    Some seriously intense exercises.   

http://www.fitnessblender.com/
« Last Edit: December 24, 2014, 12:13:16 AM by surfhb »

thismuch

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Re: OK fitness buffs and lazy bums, chime in!
« Reply #34 on: December 23, 2014, 08:28:33 PM »
Might have missed it but didn't see anyone mention P90X. Started a couple years ago with my wife and we have seen great results (lost weight, gained muscle and strength, improved overall fitness). We love it because we don't have to go the gym - which with two young kids and two careers is near impossible - there just isn't enough time in the day. And with a relatively modest upfront cost (videos, some dumbbells or bands, exercise mat and a pull up bar) we have saved thousands of dollars over the cost of gym membership. Very mustachian.

If I have one complaint its that Beachbody is constantly trying to sell extremely overpriced supplements to go with the exercise program. Avoid those silly extras, stick with program, get a decent protein powder supplement and you will see results.

Curious - anyone had good / bad experience with P90X?

Cressida

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Re: OK fitness buffs and lazy bums, chime in!
« Reply #35 on: December 23, 2014, 08:41:04 PM »
I tried to be OKAY with feel a little bit hungry most of the time.
This.  I've lost 4 pounds lately with little else beyond purposefully letting myself be hungry and really noticing when I wanted to snack and not doing so.

FWIW this has also been my experience. If you're going to lose weight, you have to completely lose the mindset that you can eat whenever you're hungry. You can't. It sucks but you can't.

(With the caveat that of course not everyone is the same. But the above was definitely exactly what I experienced.)

darkadams00

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Re: OK fitness buffs and lazy bums, chime in!
« Reply #36 on: December 23, 2014, 09:10:11 PM »
Ride a bike to work. Ride a bike to the grocery store. Ride a bike to the library. Ride a bike to the park. Ride a bike to church. Ride a bike to school. Ride a bike to the bus stop, ride the bus, and ride the bike to the museum. Ride a bike to the lake. Ride a bike to get your hair cut. Ride a bike to pick up the dry cleaning. Ride a bike to pick up your prescriptions. Ride a bike to the bank. Ride a bike to go shopping. Ride a bike to a friend's house. Ride a bike to go house hunting. Ride a bike to a local community farm.

I lost 35 pounds and barely touched my food intake. I didn't have to schedule workouts. The pounds didn't melt off in a flash, but the scales gradually eased down a pound at the time until I had lost a shirt size and a pants size.

"Working out" is just that for most folks---work. For many, the enjoyment is in the abstract, an image one wants to achieve at some point in the future by doing this routine today. This is a hard sell for the majority of people. Going for a ride is more pleasurable in the moment, less strain. No hamster-in-a-wheel feeling when you're outdoors running errands or riding through the countryside. No need for a TV distraction. Nature is a better distraction without the CNN drama and negativity.

horsepoor

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Re: OK fitness buffs and lazy bums, chime in!
« Reply #37 on: December 23, 2014, 09:49:43 PM »
I tried to be OKAY with feel a little bit hungry most of the time.
This.  I've lost 4 pounds lately with little else beyond purposefully letting myself be hungry and really noticing when I wanted to snack and not doing so.

FWIW this has also been my experience. If you're going to lose weight, you have to completely lose the mindset that you can eat whenever you're hungry. You can't. It sucks but you can't.

(With the caveat that of course not everyone is the same. But the above was definitely exactly what I experienced.)

I did this too, when I was in weight loss phase.  Lately I've noticed that I'll maybe eat like, 2 bites of a carrot when I'm hungry, go ride my horse (because I'm at the stable and stealing their carrots), and totally forget that I was hungry at all for another two hours.  It's when I'm sitting around at my desk that I want to eat All The Things and have a harder time ignoring hunger.  However, gnawing on a couple raw veggies works really well for this if I can remember to keep them around.

The first suggestion that came to me when I read your OP, is for you to take up a running or walking streak.  Get inspired by MMM's blog post today, and challenge yourself to walk (or jog if you want) for a minimum distance each day for as many days in a row as you can.  I did this last winter as a running streak with a 2-mile minimum.  It's a good way to just get the exercise habit ingrained, and get off the couch and get the blood flowing each night (or morning), and impress upon yourself that you won't die if you go outside and exercise in the rain or wind or whatever.

There are lots of good ideas in this thread, but my suggestion is don't start out too big.  Just aim for one or two humble goals at a time, and then build on them once sticking to them starts feeling easy.  This is how I lost 50# over about 18 months (and have kept it off for about two years).  First I quit soda and challenged myself to get 20 minutes of any kind of exercise each day, and just built from there with little dietary and exercise tweaks.  Now I run, lift weights and eat a somewhat paleo diet and it feels easy and habitual.  Good luck!

iwasjustwondering

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Re: OK fitness buffs and lazy bums, chime in!
« Reply #38 on: December 24, 2014, 06:22:14 AM »
I agree with what others have said, but I also want to say that fitness really starts in the grocery store.  You have to have enough healthy food on hand to be able to control your eating.  If there's nothing in the house but peanut butter crackers, I'll eat my weight in peanut butter crackers.  ITA with whoever said that fitness is 80% nutrition, 20% exercise.  It's the sad fact of the matter.  Hunger is not an emergency, and fear of hunger is what used to keep me fat.  I used to eat before going somewhere, "in case I got hungry."  That really doesn't work. 

I have a home treadmill and I hate it. It's in our furnished basement, which has a low ceiling, so my head is about two inches away from the ceiling.  I much prefer going to my work gym in the morning.  My main issue right now is that the work gym is closed on the weekends.  When I belonged to a gym, weekends were when I would get my long, hard workouts in.  So I really do miss that.  I quit my regular gym when the work gym opened.  I am thinking about joining a cheap gym just for the weekends.

iwasjustwondering

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Re: OK fitness buffs and lazy bums, chime in!
« Reply #39 on: December 24, 2014, 06:32:22 AM »
I tried to be OKAY with feel a little bit hungry most of the time.
This.  I've lost 4 pounds lately with little else beyond purposefully letting myself be hungry and really noticing when I wanted to snack and not doing so.

FWIW this has also been my experience. If you're going to lose weight, you have to completely lose the mindset that you can eat whenever you're hungry. You can't. It sucks but you can't.

(With the caveat that of course not everyone is the same. But the above was definitely exactly what I experienced.)

So true.  So sad.  When I lost 40 lbs two years ago, I was somewhere where we were asked to come up with a native American name that fits us.  The one I chose was Sits with Hunger.

gatorNic

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Re: OK fitness buffs and lazy bums, chime in!
« Reply #40 on: December 24, 2014, 07:01:25 AM »
I did really well on T25. Liked it better than P90x because 30 mins daily is more convenient to my schedule.  It isn't easy,  certainly I had to work my way up with the modifiers but in the end lost 20lbs and continuing to maintain.  As others have said diet is extremely important. It is a pain the first couple of weeks to count the calories but once I had the meals down I stopped having to count because I knew about how much I had to eat.

savedough

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Re: OK fitness buffs and lazy bums, chime in!
« Reply #41 on: December 24, 2014, 07:24:05 AM »
I've found I'm more of a stick than a carrot type person when it comes to exercise, so I joined PactApp.   For every time I do not work out that I committed to, the App will charge me $5.   If I meet my goal for the week, I get a small reward ($1.62 last week).  I do not like paying fees, so I work out :).  When my rewards build up to a goal I've set, I buy it - could be a race entry or a piece of clothing or equipment.   I just got a foam roller with my rewards for my aching pregnant hips.

I use my fitbit that we got as a promo for work to track steps when I don't make it to the gym.  You can also use the run keeper or map my fitness apps for walks and bike rides.

I didn't like P90X, but I do like Insanity and running.  I also love soccer, but there is no adult league where we live.  We do play volleyball with a team.   There are usually rec level teams that anyone can join, no experience required.

tnrunner

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Re: OK fitness buffs and lazy bums, chime in!
« Reply #42 on: December 24, 2014, 08:03:34 AM »
Youtube: You can search just about any workout routine that you can think of.
Personally I search High Intensity Training (HIT) cardio, kickboxing and ab routines but you can narrow it down to HIT upper, lower or total body routines. These are great, vary in length, and you don't have to leave the house.

LibrarIan

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Re: OK fitness buffs and lazy bums, chime in!
« Reply #43 on: December 24, 2014, 08:36:30 AM »
I'm purely a work-out-at-home kind of guy. A few years ago someone gave me P90X and I have found them to cover the bases very well. Obviously that is not a free option, but with some digging you can find rips online (not recommended) or you can get used copies. Right now I'm focusing on the strength aspect of the program.

I'm also a vegetarian. This has helped me really think about my diet on all levels. Will this food provide me with enough fiber, energy, protein and other nutrients? And so forth.

All I drink is water, save the occasional beer. No soda, coffee, tea, energy drinks, lattes, sugary juices, etc. Water gives you life, detoxes your system, keeps your immune system up and all sorts of things. Why not make it the primary beverage of choice?

I also bicycle to a certain degree, which I'm sure doesn't hurt.

MrsK

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Re: OK fitness buffs and lazy bums, chime in!
« Reply #44 on: December 24, 2014, 09:21:17 AM »
Embrace a bit of daily hunger.  As others have said, this is a lifetime practice in self-awareness.  Many of us fear hunger, yet regularly eat ourselves into a state of real discomfort.  Why are we OK with the pain of too much food, but not a few stabs of hunger?

Spend some time researching your own hunger--you may be surprised to find out how it feels and how long it takes to actually kick in.

I also find that all food tastes better after you have allowed yourself to feel hunger. 

bythesea

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Re: OK fitness buffs and lazy bums, chime in!
« Reply #45 on: December 24, 2014, 09:39:00 AM »
I stay healthy by eating very little processed food.  I'm allergic to gluten, so that also helps keep my food choices in line.  No goodies for me!  I also run 4 times a week with my dog for at least an hour and then have a long run on my own.  I occasionally lift light weights and admit I should do this more often, but am currently recovering from a shoulder injury and have been hesitant to push it.  I also try to bike when I run close errands and to work whenever I can.

I've never liked the gym and do not like working out/running with other people.  It is so peaceful to just throw on my shoes, grab the leash and my dog, and head out the door.  If I hit the beach just at the right time, it can just be me, my dog, and the birds.  Lovely!

Lis

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Re: OK fitness buffs and lazy bums, chime in!
« Reply #46 on: December 24, 2014, 09:45:56 AM »
I'm gonna get a few facepunches for this, but I went and bought myself a fitness tracker. I need something to hold me accountable, since I've tried and failed too many times just on my own. I got the the jawbone up move on Amazon with some Christmas gift money for $50. It tracks your steps, exercise, sleep, and if you sync if up with MyFitnessPal (free), your food score. I've only had it for about a week but it's already motivated me to wake up early, work out, and take an extra walk if I'm below my step goal. I've lived a very sedentary life, so for me it really helped me become aware how inactive I am. Perhaps it's not the most mustachian method, but I needed something to kick me in the ass. Reviews say it's just as good as the more expensive options, and it's certainly cheaper than getting a trainer to yell at me.

MgoSam

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Re: OK fitness buffs and lazy bums, chime in!
« Reply #47 on: December 24, 2014, 10:11:53 AM »
I'm not in the best of shape, and my goal is to drop 20 pounds. What has held me back is a lack of consistency, so definitely recommend that no matter what plans you make, if you can't stick to them they will not help.

I love going for walks and running when it is nice out. Minnesota winters aren't conducive to this, so I will use my gym's treadmill instead. If I get a really interesting audiobook, I can generally zone out and just move, which makes it far more enjoyable. If I have to think too much while I am on the treadmill, then I will hate it and be counting seconds. That in general is my thoughts on exercise, if you have to force yourself to do it, you won't do it long-term. If you enjoy it, you will be more likely to do it.

My goal for the rest of the year and for 2015 is to go to the gym at least 3 times a week and spend a minimum of 30 minutes there. This is deliberate, that isn't enough time by itself for me to get a good workout in, but getting in is the hardest thing for me. Once I am there, I don't mind spending extra time to lift weights. My biggest hesitation to working out is the time factor, so by telling myself that I can be done in 30 minutes, I know that I am more likely to actually go.  I do need to check out the spin classes and other classes that they offer.

ketchup

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Re: OK fitness buffs and lazy bums, chime in!
« Reply #48 on: December 24, 2014, 10:25:08 AM »
My girlfriend is down about 50lbs from her "official start weight" (which was definitely lower than her peak before that) when she went 100%.  Still losing weight.  And her skin has improved, and is overall healthier and happier.

What's worked for her:
Eating real food.  95% homemade.  Minimal "snacks" (even healthy snacks).  Lots of vegetables and (pasture-raised) meat/eggs.  Some fruit.  Some high-fat dairy.  No grains/sugar/juice/soy/junk.  Paleo/primal essentially.
The best exercise for her in terms of weight loss results has been consistent daily walking.  It's the main exercise that doesn't for her stimulate additional hunger afterwards to "make up for it."  She's also done some barbell weight training with me.

In the past, she'd tried things that didn't work for her at all (or lost her 5lbs and then nothing else):
Low-fat diet
Strict low-carb diet with no attention to quality/nutrition of food.
Calorie counting
Cardio
Some sketchy caffeine appetite suppressant pills from her wacko younger sister

kib

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Re: OK fitness buffs and lazy bums, chime in!
« Reply #49 on: December 24, 2014, 10:30:41 AM »
Not what you asked for, but I found joining an actual gym to be useful, primarily because it is NOT free.  I do take my showers there so I get some small financial benefit, but the main driver for going to the gym is my mustachian determination that since I've PAID for this damn thing, it's going to pay me back, big time.