Help getting physically fit

[eagl]

I find that swimming is a great all-around workout.  I feel great after a good swim workout.  It takes a bit of persistance to get into it if you haven't done a lot of swimming before, but it's hard to beat for a good workout.

If you need goals, consider going out for a biathalon or triathalon.

For diet, I lost 20 lbs in about a month on the south beach diet and found some other nice effects from the diet rules.  I usually get heartburn all the time (for the last 15 years or so), but when I cut processed carbs out of my meals, I find that the heartburn goes away completely.  As in 100% cured of heartburn.  Going back to a "normal" healthy diet has resulted in a 5 lb weight gain over 1 year and the heartburn is back after being gone for about 8 months.  So I'm slowly eliminating processed carbs again as I try to find a nice sustainable diet that has plenty of carbs to be healthy, but doesn't have processed ones like pasta, bread, etc. included.

[eagl]

Alright. So if I plan my meals something like...

• Breakfast : Bowl of Cereal, orange juice
• Lunch : Peanut Butter Jelly Sandwich, white milk, few crackers
• Dinner : Say...Maybe Bagel Bites and fruit?

And water, plenty of water...
Would that be alright?

If I eat mostly carbs for breakfast, I'm starving by about 10am.  I need some sort of protein in the morning.  I get the most bang for the buck out of what is essentially a low-grease egg mc-muffin...  An egg, a slice of reduced fat cheese, a slice of low fat ham, on some sort of whole grain bread.  That will last me until at least noon even when I'm exerting myself through the day.

Carb only diets work ok with some people, but my body just responds with an insulin rush so I get sleepy and really hungry a couple of hours later.  I've had that problem my whole life, and only in the last 2 years had the ability to really test it out and get definitive results.  Veggies and protein and limited fruit is the diet my body likes the best.  Any sugar or simple carbs like cereal, pasta, rice, most breads, etc go straight to fat, I fall asleep, and get hungry again soon after.

[eagl]

What I'm trying to do is get in shape from my current condition (chubby calves, thighs, abs, pecs, and arms), to average muscle mass, then to a little above average.

You may need a lifestyle change too.  If you are honestly serious about this, spend more time outdoors and less time watching TV, using the computer (or xbox), etc.  An active lifestyle will simply naturally give you a healthier body composition.  The time spent sitting down inside directly works against your goal, and if you're serious about changing things then you'll need to quit sitting around inside.

[EskimoJoe]

You may need a lifestyle change too.  If you are honestly serious about this, spend more time outdoors and less time watching TV, using the computer (or xbox), etc.  An active lifestyle will simply naturally give you a healthier body composition.  The time spent sitting down inside directly works against your goal, and if you're serious about changing things then you'll need to quit sitting around inside.

Oh, you'd love the outdoors when it's -50F wouldn't you?

Thanks for the help though, I will take your posts and use them to the best of my abilities.

[eagl]

Posting in the O' Club. What kind of idiot am I. I think I'm just gonna stick with my diet of rockstar, bagel bites, fruit, cereal, and pizza and workout for a couple hours at max intensity every other day...

Too many simple carbs.  Lots of bread.  Your body turns that stuff straight into sugar and then straight into fat if you don't metabolize it immediately.  If you're working out every other day but otherwise sitting around inside the house or at a desk somewhere, you'll end up with strong muscles but also have a lot of fat as well.

Some guys with naturally high metabolic rates can get away with that and stay skinny, but for the rest of us we have to remain active or we'll turn into lardballs in spite of going to the gym.

I'd try eating more lean protein and reducing processed carbs.  Your proposed diet is almost all bread and processed carbs... that's barely better than just eating spoonfuls of sugar and a multi-vitamin.

Try directly replacing breads with vegetables and fruits, if you don't want to shift to a higher ratio of protein.

[EskimoJoe]

Could you recommend a diet for me? I'm rather picky, but I will eat it if it means getting physically fit. I'll show it to my mom and we could go buy some food. (Oh fun )

[eagl]

Could you recommend a diet for me? I'm rather picky, but I will eat it if it means getting physically fit. I'll show it to my mom and we could go buy some food. (Oh fun )

Do a google search for south beach diet phase 2. That's the part of the diet where you lose only about a pound a week at most.  There are plenty of online shopping lists and meal suggestions for phase 2 and 3 of south beach diet.  You probably don't want to do phase 1 of south beach without a doctor's approval since you're fairly young.

As an example, instead of a pizza for dinner, try a grilled marinated chicken breast with rice and broccoli (or whatever vegetable).  Maybe add a salad with tomato and low-sugar salad dressing (skip the croutons but low fat shredded cheese and sliced egg is ok).

"grilled chicken breast" sounds difficult, but they sell pre-marinated boneless skinless chicken breasts in most supermarkets and all you have to do is toss it in a frying pan with a tiny bit of olive oil to keep it from sticking.  Cook it over med heat (not hot enough to splatter the oil all over the place) for about 4-5 min, flip it over and go another 4-5 min.  Have some rice and veggies (I like broccoli but almost anything is fine) cooking on the side.  Season the rice and veggies with soy sauce or salt/pepper or even a bit of one of those low-cholesterol margarines.

You can get quite creative with dinner salads too.  Some ideas of what to put into a salad are chopped lettuce, sliced mushrooms, cherry tomatos, sliced sweet bell peppers, sliced sweet onion, sliced low-fat ham, sliced boiled eggs, reduced fat or non-fat shredded cheese, and light salad dressing. Check the carb counts on the salad dressing though...  Some of the low fat ones just add sugar to make them taste better.  Just add whatever you think might taste good into the salad, and leave out what doesn't.  Just don't add anything super high in fat or that has a lot of carbs (like croutons).

[EskimoJoe]

I did a quick search, it looks very promising. When my mom comes back from my brother's graduation from Bootcamp, I guess we're gonna go shopping 

Thanks for the help

[tapakeg]

Search out and record a show called

"You on a diet"

It is great. 

[nirvana]

4-5 servings of vegetables, 1 of which try to have it be leafy green vegetation
3-4 servings of fruit
5-6 servings of WHOLE grain foods, pasta, bead, cereal (not enriched)
2-3 servings of dairy
2-3 servings of protein-Lean meat like buffalo, skinless chicken breasts, fish, turkey

That's basically the food pyramid.  With your vegetables and fruits colour is GOOD.  You want to have a rainbow of food on your plate.  It's a lot of food so spread it out through the day to keep your energy and metabolism up.  Like I said, don't eat to excess and also as was previously mentioned, you need to know what YOUR caloric intake is.  The food pyramid is a general guideline but since everyone is different regarding their fitness levels and how much they work out etc. it fluctuates. 

Cooking method is also important.  You obviously don't want to be frying food as that shoots fat levels way up.  Try grilling or broiling, for the fish you can boil it if that suits your taste as well.  You want to leave the vegetables and fruits in a raw state as much as you can as cooking can tend to mess up the nutrients.  Once you've changed your diet away from salty and sweet foods for a few weeks you'll find the food to be much more flavourful.  Some stuff will be bland so it's okay to put a little salt on you just have to remember to keep the amounts low, portion control, portion control, portion control.

[Nilsen]

Hello AH Community 

I've been looking for some tips on good eating habits and good work-outs. I want to get more physically fit than I already am. I know that some of the community aren't "phat" nerds that sit on their behinds all day long, so, yeah.

I'm not looking for anything in particular, just general tips on good eating habits, and what type of workouts I should do, and when.

Thanks in advance, 
~EJ

Get a rope and tie it to to your hands and the rear bumper of your car. Let the missus know there is a sale on tupperware at WallMart two states over and give her your credit card.

Try to keep up with the car.

As for food, you can always hope there is some road kill next to a gas pump or near a STOP sign. If not, then you will get slim even faster.

Enjoy 

[Holden McGroin]

It is my philosophy that one should eat a natural diet.

What is a natural diet?

Human being ae been around for some 50 million years, and only in the last 3 or 4 thousand have we been eating a diet that has been agricultural.  Only I the last 100 years have we been eating a diet that is industrial. 

The modern diet is not all bad, but we developed on the hunter-gatherer lifestyle, and it was more gatherer-hunter.  Consider a primitive man walking across the African plains and what we would eat. Would his first choice be to develop  a hunting party, strategize how to take down a wildebeest, guard the carcass against competitors while slaughtering, bring back pieces to the village cook and dry the meat so it could last….

Or would he just pick some fruit off a tree and take a bite?

Fruits first, then other stuff like yams and potatoes, vegetables, then probably meats like fish and chicken:  After all a snare set for a small game was probably much more common that to slaughter of larger beasts.

Breads and cereals were probably last developed, as you need an ordered society before you can raise acres of wheat.

Lastly, chemical enhancements of the last several decades were developed.  Some are good, using such knowledge of vitamins and such to build better foods.  Some like HF Corn syrup, maybe not the best, as it was developed not for enhanced nutrition, but for enhanced profits in the sweetened food industry.

Teeth of ancient man show little decay.  They didn’t eat refined sugar.

It all comes back to understanding the fuel the engine is designed for. Using regular gas in an engine designed for premium is generally not a good idea.

As for exercise, we were developed for walking and running, but or chassis was only guaranteed for a few decades.  Most runners have to give up when knees and hips degenerate.  Aerobic something every day is a good thing, weight training a few times a week is a good thing, but small weights and high reps is probably better than a bodybuilding regimen.

I row.  It is an aerobic weightlifting activity and I can get my HR up to 180 if I want to. I cannot remember a single injury I have suffered in the boat.

[Hornet33]

Well everyone has given really good advice on the diet side of things so I wont comment on that.

As far as working out, have you looked into any of the martial arts? I've studied Muay Thai (Thai kick boxing) for about 3.5 years now. During that time I've lost over 30 pounds of fat 4 inches off my waist, and gained considerable muscle mass, not to mention the dramatic increase to my cardio circualtion.

When I started I was borderline overweight, out of shape, and had already suffered a heart attack at age 30. My blood pressure had more to do with it than anything else, but it was a wakeup call. For several years after that I'd go to the gym every now and then, maybe walk or ride my bike around the neighborhood but nothing I was doing was fun for me so I never stuck with anything for very long. When my kids started taking classes in Muay Thai I started watching them, asking questions and within a couple of months signed up to take the adult class in the evening. It's the only workout that I've found that keeps me interested. It's NEVER the same thing and it's plain FUN, not to mention a great stress reliever. I'm almost in as good shape now as I was when I went through Army basic at the age of 17. I had a doctors appointment with my Cardioligist about 9 months after I started and he was amazed how well I was doing. My last stress test and echo cardiogram 4 months ago showed that my cardio output has increased by over 65% from where it was a year after my heart attack. Those are serious results, and I'm not even into it that hardcore. I have class a couple nights a week and once in a while we have a weekend seminar with some of the Masters in the art.

That's what I do and I can't complain about the results. The trick to working out is finding something you'll enjoy doing. For me, swimming laps, pumping iron, or any of the other "traditional" workouts just didn't work for me. They were boring and I just couldn't muster the energy to keep doing something that I didn't enjoy. My martial arts on the other hand, well it's more of a social gathering with my friends in the class. We have allot of fun and get a great workout, not to mention that everything we learn has a practical value in the area of self defense.

Look into some of the martial arts studios in your area. Go in and watch a couple of classes, ask the instructors and other students questions. Many studios will offer a free trial period of some sort. Mine gave me the first month free, and a huge discount because I signed on with a family plan with me and my kids.

Hope this helps.

[Curval]

Personally I use sex to stay in shape.

...that's what I tell my wife anyway.

[Bruv119]

lol curval true!

When I was your age eskimo I ate the worst food imaginable but never put on a pound.

Sport, exercise, hardly ever being sat infront of a computer.

Diet and exercise is about 50/50 everyone has their own balance.  Don't starve yourself!