Posted on 08/17/2009 10:30:29 AM PDT by BellStar
As I write this, tomorrow is Tuesday, which is a cardio day. I'll spend five minutes warming up on the VersaClimber, a towering machine that requires you to move your arms and legs simultaneously. Then I'll do 30 minutes on a stair mill. On Wednesday a personal trainer will work me like a farm animal for an hour, sometimes to the point that I am dizzy — an abuse for which I pay as much as I spend on groceries in a week. Thursday is "body wedge" class, which involves another exercise contraption, this one a large foam wedge from which I will push myself up in various hateful ways for an hour. Friday will bring a 5.5-mile run, the extra half-mile my grueling expiation of any gastronomical indulgences during the week.
(Excerpt) Read more at time.com ...
Yeah, going hard for 3 hours is going to put your body in a catabolic state. That is not good, unless you want to be a stick with no muscle mass whatsoever.
Lydia - I broke my foot last fall, too. And I live in a hillside home with many stairs. Unfun, to say the least! I cut back on my calories and still gained weight. It is obvious to me that exercise and proper diet go hand in hand.
Oh, sure. But litheness is the leading cause of jelliness in the spelling center of the brain. Always the first to go. ;^)
I eat 12,000 calories a day but really don’t like to move much.
Coupla grams of Pink Peruvian Flake a day will make you thin as a willow.
If you want to get thin, do like some women, acquire a bad meth and heroin habit.
I made a spreadsheet to do the calculations, but here’s the breakdown of it:
BMR= 66+(6.165 x weight in lbs.)+(12.7 x height in inches)-(6.8 x age)
Then take the BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) and multiply by activity level:
1 -Sedentary-(do nothing all day but eat potato chips and watch TV)
1.2 -Very Light- (desk job, no training, some walking)
1.4 -Light (no training, job might require some light physical labor)
1.6 -Moderate -(a physically undemanding job, but training on a regular basis)
1.8 -High - (daily training plus a somewhat physically active job or lifestyle)
2 -Very High -(twice-a-day training, sports + training. or training + a very demanding job)
BMR x activity level = daily Energy Expenditure (DEE)
This will give you the amount of calories you will burn through during a day. Once you know this, you can have a good idea at what caloric levels will enable weight gain or loss.
The article that lays all of this out can be found here:
Congratulations!
I’m down 50lbs since January now sitting in the low 190’s and a 34 inch waist but cannot seem to lose the last 15 lbs and associated love handles.
I run 5 miles 3 times a week and lift on the other days. I eat 6 meals a day and try to stay around 1500 to 1800 calories a day.
Those last few pounds are a bitch...
I would have to really cut back to get to 12,000 cal/day. I don't think I am ready to make that kind of sacrifice.
It's not hard; just lose 5 cheesecakes and the steaming hot gallon of bacon grease.
The cheesecake and bacon grease diet. Yum!!!
While you had the boobs, I would have dated ya.
I run about 6.5 miles three times a week. I ws up around 7.0 miles three times a week but I'm getting old.
My shins ache from reading that...
Working out won’t make you thin. But it will add to muscle mass and that eats more calories than fatty tissue. Between working out and eating less you will lose weight and feel better, too.
But ultimately it comes down to burning more calories that you consume.
In February 2005, my doctor diagnosed type 2 diabetes, based on an elevated A1C level and nerve damage (neuropathy) in my feet and legs. He handed me a few copied sheets of a “diabetic” diet and a prescription for a glucose meter. I was 60, weighed 245 pounds, and was taking 3 BP drugs, Lasix, and gabapentin for the damaged nerves.
The meter showed me that in addition to desserts and anything containing sugar or HFCS, rice and potatoes were my worst enemies, with bread and pasta not far behind. Based on that knowledge, I decided that the diabetic diet was NOT appropriate - I could do better on a low-carb/low glycemic diet instead. Over the next six months I lost about 10 pounds, and reduced my A1C back just within normal range.
But the neuropathy remained, and even worsened over the next 3 1/2 years, and my weight remained at about 235. My neuropathy made running - or even vigorous walking - impossible, because I could not keep my balance. And I began to have arthritic pains in my hips and legs that were bad enough that I started taking Celebrex, to be able to walk up stairs. The Dr. told me that my hips were OK, but my lower spine was in bad shape for my age. He prescribed physical therapy to try to lessen the pain.
The therapist gave me some mobility exercises, and also put me on a recumbent stationary bike and a treadmill for a few minutes each. That was where I discovered that I could use a treadmill without fear of falling, which was a constant fear walking in my neighborhood.
My wife and I joined the Jewish Community Center (at the “senior couple” bargain rate) on August 1, 2008. I weighed 235, and I could walk 3 mph for 20 minutes with the treadmill level, but I had to sit and rest afterward for 10-15 minutes to recover - NOT a problem any more.
Yesterday - and every day but Saturday and the Jewish holidays - I “walked” 1.77 miles in 35 minutes on an elliptical machine (504 calories) and I walked 2.81 miles on a treadmill in 35 more minutes, at 13% elevation (617 calories.)
I weigh 170 (down 65 pounds,) and plan to take off another 10 pounds. My feet are still numb, but but the neuropathy in my legs seem to have improved somewhat. My glucose readings average under 100, morning and night, but if I cheat on my diet it can jump 40 points - like last week, when I had three servings of (breaded) fried catfish.
I have discarded my support hose, beta blocker, and lasix, and reduced dosage of the alpha blocker, because my BP was dropping too low with the increased exercise and lost weight. The lowest was 74/42, but since adjustments it stays above 85/48, which does not bother me at all.
Other than the low-glycemic constraints, I do NOT diet, in the sense of counting calories or planning meals. I am VERY hungry after workouts, but an apple and lots of water fixes that.
I will be 70 in about 6 weeks, and feeling pretty good about it.
I am just a big guy; played football, 2 years NFL, that sort of thing. Big dumb redneck.
I tried running, it just hurt me. I could do intervals, but steady-state cardio was not for me.
So I went back to what I knew:
1. Stopped drinking beer and eating tortilla chips and bread. Ate meat and vegitables till sated. Drank whiskey when I wanted a drink, Friday and Saturday only.
2. Four full-body workouts a week: Big, heavy compound exercises: deadlifts (405lbs for 10), deep squats, weighted chinups/pullups, dips, row, bench.
3. Two moderate stairmaster or whatever per week.
Lost just shy of 100 lbs in one year. Still 240, mind you, but at 8-9% bodyfat. Just a big guy. Age 45.
Maintaining going on a year with 3 full body-workouts and 3 cardio. Still no beer.
That is fantastic! Way to go! I’ve seen too many diabetic patients just stuck either because they don’t have the will, or they’re hurting too bad already.
By the time he is 40 years old he will probably weigh 350 lbs.
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