Fitness and Motivation

[kathyt]

My recipe has helped me drop from 20% body fat to 12.5% (as of last measure, 11/1/13) in 4 months. Phases 1 and 2 were mostly focused on fat loss while phase 3 focuses mainly on strength training to add muscle and bulk, phase 3 is where I am now.

Phase 1 (2 MTHS): 2 days metabolic/high intensity full-body strength cardio every week and 1 day strength training every week (@ 45-60min per day). 1550 calorie per day diet with 174g protein and 91g carbs per day along with a GNC Vitapak supplement
Phase 2 (1 MNTH): 1 day metabolic/high intensity full-body strength cardio every week and 2 days strength training every week (@ 45-60min per day). 1550 calorie per day diet with 174g protein and 91g carbs per day along with a GNC Vitapak supplement + Creatine on workout days
Phase 3 (1.5 MTHS so far): 1 day metabolic/high intensity full-body strength cardio every 2 weeks and 3 days strength training every week (@ 45-60min per day). 1550 calorie per day diet with 174g protein and 91g carbs per day along with a GNC Vitapak supplement + Creatine on workout days + BCAA on workout days

My next goal is to very soon add a 10-minute high intensity cardio session (such as 10mph sprints, 30sec on/10sec off) on 1 of my 3 off days while adding a 60-minute low intensity cardio session (such as a walk or slow bike) on the 2nd of my 3 off days leaving me with just 1 off day. This will help keep my endurance where I want it and keep the fat low.

*Disclaimer, the above diet regimen is for my body in particular and will not necessarily work for others. It is important to determine what is realistic and beneficial to oneself and implement that, you cannot always carbon-copy one's diet and expect it to work since everyone's makeup is different.

As far as my food intake, I've cut all pop, candy and other junk out. I still enjoy my meats, however one tip I heard from a trainer is the fewer legs an animal has the better it is for you. Obviously fish is the best, then foul (chicken, etc.) and lastly the least healthy being beef, pork and the like. I've personally found the rule of replacement to help me a great deal, I.E. exchanging pop with an occasional energy drink or water with a splash of flavor, exchange candy for a little fruit, etc. I know its been mentioned before but as little processed foods possible, buy your food on the edge of your average supermarket (fresh meat, produce, etc.) as opposed to in the middle (boxed food). Don't eat it if it will not spoil in 1-2 weeks!

I posted this on the other thread but here is a photo of my results as of a month ago:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ozuc50fq1pg5wer/IMG_0365-S.JPG

Keep up the great work everyone! Thanks for letting me join this challenge.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[Tiller]

I did P90X the summer after high school and lost 40 pounds.

I've kept off the 40 lbs, but I too would to be more active. One of my goals is to run a half marathon. My fiancé is skinny by nature and never works out, so I don't have a partner in "real life" to do it with.

I've tried to get threads like this started at other forums I'm a part of, but they've never worked for me.

I'd be down for a go at it. I'm getting married in June, so this is the perfect time

 

[limr]

*Disclaimer, the above diet regimen is for my body in particular and will not necessarily work for others. It is important to determine what is realistic and beneficial to oneself and implement that, you cannot always carbon-copy one's diet and expect it to work since everyone's makeup is different.
...
Keep up the great work everyone! Thanks for letting me join this challenge.

Truth!

(And thanks for joining us!)

I think it's important to not only know what works for your body, but also to understand what your goals are (that's a 'you' in a general sense, not speaking to anyone in particular.) For my purposes, lifestyle, and needs, for example, 2-3 hours in a gym every night would be quite unnecessary. I do want to lose weight, so I keep that goal in mind when I try to figure out the best ways for me to do so. But I also want to just have more energy in general to be more active in my daily life, so again, I need to plan my exercise and diet in such a way as to accomplish those goals. I have to be realistic about what I can achieve, both in terms of the end goal and of the means to get to that end goal.

I am NOT a morning person at all, so I know that attempting to wake up early in order to get a workout in is not going to work for me in the long term. I might be able to suck it up a couple of mornings for a finite period of time, but if I want to make a lasting lifestyle change, that is not going to be it.

Instead, on the days when I'm out of my house for 10-12 hours, I try to sneak in as much activity as I can. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, for example, I've been taking advantage of a 2-hour break and also the park that is 5 minutes from my job and go for a brisk walk. Here are a couple of crappy cell phone pictures from yesterday's walk (you know there were going to be pictures at some point )

There's a walkway all around the plaza:



There's also a road that leads to the top of the dam. This is my favorite part of the walk:


This is a very recent thing - a public fitness circuit. I'm usually in my work clothes so I haven't tried it yet, but soon I might bring some workout clothes, change at work, and then use the showers in the gym to get ready for classes (I've got evening classes this semester)


And then, when I got back to campus, this is what I saw:

 

[DanielLewis76]

I have a home gym with foam flooring, kick bags etc but I also go to a member gym so that I can train in the dance studio etc. I do train most days and try to eat a balanced diet (although I am partial to a nice glass of red).

I don't do too much diet type food as I personally think its not sustainable over a long period and so leads to people slipping back into old ways after they have lost the weight.

That said I tend to eat something like scrambled eggs for breakfast (after a nice run), protein shake mid morning, sushi for a later lunch, normal dinner (non fatty though like burger and fries), gym/train then protein shake after. Also drinking a glass of cold water within 10 mins of waking up kick starts the metabolism and makes you burn fuel faster!

 

[Rocketman1978]

What does everyone think about Creatine as a supplement? I know many take it, including myself, but I recently heard I should be doing a 6-week on regime followed by 6-weeks off for maximum effectiveness. What I heard was it loses its effectiveness if taken continually without a break. This does make sense to me as I know antibiotics are the same way as are other medicines, I just never applied the thought to Creatine.

 

[DanielLewis76]

Yes you need to load up and then do it in sprints giving a break. 6 weeks off is a bit long though. I would give 2/3 weeks off.

 

[IByte]

What does everyone think about Creatine as a supplement? I know many take it, including myself, but I recently heard I should be doing a 6-week on regime followed by 6-weeks off for maximum effectiveness. What I heard was it loses its effectiveness if taken continually without a break. This does make sense to me as I know antibiotics are the same way as are other medicines, I just never applied the thought to Creatine.

Creatine is a good pre/post supplilement to muscle hydration. Search products that gives you less bloating.

 

[Rocketman1978]

Yes you need to load up and then do it in sprints giving a break. 6 weeks off is a bit long though. I would give 2/3 weeks off.

Awesome, I was regretting 6 weeks off, I want the most out of my efforts but am willing to do what's necessary. I've been on it for about 6 weeks. So you think 2-3 on, 2-3 off?

What does everyone think about Creatine as a supplement? I know many take it, including myself, but I recently heard I should be doing a 6-week on regime followed by 6-weeks off for maximum effectiveness. What I heard was it loses its effectiveness if taken continually without a break. This does make sense to me as I know antibiotics are the same way as are other medicines, I just never applied the thought to Creatine.

Creatine is a good pre/post supplilement to muscle hydration. Search products that gives you less bloating.

The one I'm taking now is perfect for me, no issues whatsoever.

 

[limr]

How do we feel about periodic challenges for each other - y'know, to continue motivating each other?

Thanksgiving is coming up in a couple of weeks. I think of it as the start of the madness. It's always hard to stick to a fitness regime during the holidays, but I've done it before with specific strategies, so I can do it again! That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

For the last several years, I've been spending Thanksgiving with my boyfriend's family while my own immediate family scatters to their related in-laws' houses. One tradition they have is to always serve Pillsbury Grand biscuits. Now, I'm a sucker for a buttermilk biscuit, but they're not exactly health food, now are they?

The year that I was in the middle of my weight loss, I decided that I was going to have a damn biscuit and not worry about it, but I would account for it preemptively by going for a run in the morning and tacking on an extra mile. Later that day, I was telling my boyfriend's sister-in-law what I'd done, and she said, "So you ran for the biscuit?"

From then on, whenever I did extra exercise before I was in a situation when I knew it would be difficult to resist empty calories, it was called 'running for the biscuit.'

So, here's my challenge: who wants to join me in the Thanksgiving Day Run for the Biscuit challenge? I know it's hard with family obligations, but I plan on going jogging that morning. I like to jog but I haven't in a long time, so even a couple of miles is going to be difficult, but I'm going to do it. It doesn't have to be jogging, but let's say whoever raises their hands will have to do some kind of exercise on Thanksgiving morning AND will have to report in on the day after (ah, a new definition for Black Friday! ) to say whether or not you ran for the biscuit.

Qualifications:
--Exercise should be intense enough to get you pantin' and sweatin'!
--The day before Thanksgiving is fine if you have too much cooking or traveling or cleaning to do on the day itself.

Anyone want to take the challenge?

 

[IByte]

How do we feel about periodic challenges for each other - y'know, to continue motivating each other?

Thanksgiving is coming up in a couple of weeks. I think of it as the start of the madness. It's always hard to stick to a fitness regime during the holidays, but I've done it before with specific strategies, so I can do it again! That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

For the last several years, I've been spending Thanksgiving with my boyfriend's family while my own immediate family scatters to their related in-laws' houses. One tradition they have is to always serve Pillsbury Grand biscuits. Now, I'm a sucker for a buttermilk biscuit, but they're not exactly health food, now are they?

The year that I was in the middle of my weight loss, I decided that I was going to have a damn biscuit and not worry about it, but I would account for it preemptively by going for a run in the morning and tacking on an extra mile. Later that day, I was telling my boyfriend's sister-in-law what I'd done, and she said, "So you ran for the biscuit?"

From then on, whenever I did extra exercise before I was in a situation when I knew it would be difficult to resist empty calories, it was called 'running for the biscuit.'

So, here's my challenge: who wants to join me in the Thanksgiving Day Run for the Biscuit challenge? I know it's hard with family obligations, but I plan on going jogging that morning. I like to jog but I haven't in a long time, so even a couple of miles is going to be difficult, but I'm going to do it. It doesn't have to be jogging, but let's say whoever raises their hands will have to do some kind of exercise on Thanksgiving morning AND will have to report in on the day after (ah, a new definition for Black Friday! ) to say whether or not you ran for the biscuit.

Qualifications:
--Exercise should be intense enough to get you pantin' and sweatin'!
--The day before Thanksgiving is fine if you have too much cooking or traveling or cleaning to do on the day itself.

Anyone want to take the challenge?

225 clean & snatches tomorrow. ..who's with me!!

 

[Tiller]

Count me in! I always have to eat 2 dinners. With my family and my fiance's family.

Does that mean I have to do two exercises? Or will one Plyometrics from P90X be enough? Maybe some Insanity? Hmm....

 

[limr]

Count me in! I always have to eat 2 dinners. With my family and my fiance's family.

Does that mean I have to do two exercises? Or will one Plyometrics from P90X be enough? Maybe some Insanity? Hmm....

Oh god, that Pylo workout will be plenty! That one kills me.

 

[limr]

How do we feel about periodic challenges for each other - y'know, to continue motivating each other?

Thanksgiving is coming up in a couple of weeks. I think of it as the start of the madness. It's always hard to stick to a fitness regime during the holidays, but I've done it before with specific strategies, so I can do it again! That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

For the last several years, I've been spending Thanksgiving with my boyfriend's family while my own immediate family scatters to their related in-laws' houses. One tradition they have is to always serve Pillsbury Grand biscuits. Now, I'm a sucker for a buttermilk biscuit, but they're not exactly health food, now are they?

The year that I was in the middle of my weight loss, I decided that I was going to have a damn biscuit and not worry about it, but I would account for it preemptively by going for a run in the morning and tacking on an extra mile. Later that day, I was telling my boyfriend's sister-in-law what I'd done, and she said, "So you ran for the biscuit?"

From then on, whenever I did extra exercise before I was in a situation when I knew it would be difficult to resist empty calories, it was called 'running for the biscuit.'

So, here's my challenge: who wants to join me in the Thanksgiving Day Run for the Biscuit challenge? I know it's hard with family obligations, but I plan on going jogging that morning. I like to jog but I haven't in a long time, so even a couple of miles is going to be difficult, but I'm going to do it. It doesn't have to be jogging, but let's say whoever raises their hands will have to do some kind of exercise on Thanksgiving morning AND will have to report in on the day after (ah, a new definition for Black Friday! ) to say whether or not you ran for the biscuit.

Qualifications:
--Exercise should be intense enough to get you pantin' and sweatin'!
--The day before Thanksgiving is fine if you have too much cooking or traveling or cleaning to do on the day itself.

Anyone want to take the challenge?

225 clean & snatches tomorrow. ..who's with me!!

I don't think I even know what a clean and snatch is!

Actually, it does remind me of one of the funniest things I've seen on television. It was during one of the summer Olympics and I was watching some BBC coverage/report on the day's results. They were talking about a female weight lifter. One of the announcers said, "Well, she's got a good chance tonight. I've seen her snatch and it was quite good!"

FYI, 'snatch' is British slang for lady parts

 

[IByte]

I don't think I even know what a clean and snatch is!

Actually, it does remind me of one of the funniest things I've seen on television. It was during one of the summer Olympics and I was watching some BBC coverage/report on the day's results. They were talking about a female weight lifter. One of the announcers said, "Well, she's got a good chance tonight. I've seen her snatch and it was quite good!"

FYI, 'snatch' is British slang for lady parts

Basically you're doing a deadlift, front squat, overhead press all in one fluid motion

 

[IByte]

I don't think I even know what a clean and snatch is!

Actually, it does remind me of one of the funniest things I've seen on television. It was during one of the summer Olympics and I was watching some BBC coverage/report on the day's results. They were talking about a female weight lifter. One of the announcers said, "Well, she's got a good chance tonight. I've seen her snatch and it was quite good!"

FYI, 'snatch' is British slang for lady parts

That was a good movie btw