Getting into shape

[tlombard]

I previously donated to Planet Fitness for a little over two years and went three or four times total. I'm giving it another shot but this time I'm trying Club Fitness.

Last time I thought Planet Fitness would be the most convenient for me but I was very wrong. It turned out to be more of a hassle to get there than I thought. This time I'm trying Club Fitness and signed up for the plan that gives me 24 hour access at all of their locations in the area. There are multiple locations that are convenient for me depending on the day of the week and what other things I need (Target = Hampton Village, grocery store = Hampton Village or Brentwood, etc.) which is much better than the Planet Fitness membership I had.

The other thing I'm hoping helps is that unlike Planet Fitness, they didn't let me get out of there without scheduling a fitness assessment with a trainer. I know it is their way of trying to convince me to pay for a trainer and I thought about trying to get out of it but I decided before I walked in to just suck it up and seriously consider paying for the service. Maybe having more money invested will help get me to make use of the gym. The $10/month at Planet Fitness was just too easy to let go unused. I honestly forgot I even had a membership for long periods of time.

The assessment is at 1pm on Saturday. That should be fun. I can just imagine the guy shaking his head at me and wondering how I'm even still alive when I am gasping for breath within the first two minutes.

[tlombard]

So, my two minute prediction that I meant as a joke was actually pretty accurate last night. Within the first three minutes on the elliptical, I was ready to quit. I managed to hang in there for 20 minutes on the elliptical but called it a day after that. I could barely stand for a few minutes with my legs being pretty much rubber.

My legs feel good today so I may go back tonight but my biggest hurdle is getting into a routine where I make the time to go to the gym regularly so in the early stages, I'm not going to worry too much about how much work I put in at the gym as long as it is at least 20 minutes and I actually go to the gym and quit making excuses like I always do.

I think I might try another location next and see if the one on Loughborough is a little less intimidating. The people in the Brentwood Club Fitness were all very fit. It won't keep me from going there but I would feel a little less self conscious at a gym where even the 60 year old guys aren't completely ripped. I'm not kidding about that either. There was an older man with full grey hair wearing one of those tank tops that are slit almost all the way down the side and this guy was cut. I would work out and eat right the for the next 20 years (when I'll be 60) and not get to where he's at.

[Jocephus]

i hate to say it but i may be in the best shape of my life. well probably not best all time but best in the last few years. i actually have some definition in arms, chest, stomach, back and legs. the last 3-4 months i've been way more strict on diet and exercise. have to do 30-40 mins of weights and cardio everyday and really hate it when i don't. think i've had...around 5 skip days total in that time period? nothing crazy but i like the steady progress i've made (i remember being frustrated early on for not seeing much change but just kept at it and now i do). i hate vanity yet feel compelled to take effort to look "good" (puke) and being single it seems a requirement but i also feel good and that is more important to me. not that i felt bad but i feel better, if that makes sense.

i've really had to re-calibrate my brain re: food (and booze) and how my body processes what i take in during this time. a lot of it was just ignorance/laziness. i'm at a point where i know how i like/want to look and i know the effort i've put in and so having "bad food" is less appealing. this is also my 6th (?) year doing the dry-january and it certainly helps not getting those booze calories. i know booze is a huge culprit for me as far as not feeling like i make any progress. booze fat sucks. i know ricky gervais has said/joked he started exercising more as he aged just so he could continue to drink. there's definitely truth to that but i sometimes think i could just completely give it up. weed is the only vice i need. (great way to end my getting into shape post, right).

[Freed Roger]

booze fat sucks.

dude I know is a distance runner, but was still overweight. Turns out he was an alcoholic enroute to liver disease. Anyway - he's lost a healthy 70lbs in last couple years. He talked about how his liver overworked and troubled processing the alcohol, and this was just messing him up fat wise. Anyway, he is doing great now.

I'm modified drynuaring it. Modified to just the social beer on weekend (was too neurotic with it last year). I ended 2017 kicked off '18 with a lot of exercise/running to start the year and not drinking. Last weekend, I ran on a bitter cold day and then went out that evening and man, the social beers clobbered my ass. Got a weird hangover, no real headache or stomach ache - just zip energy - like a bonk. Anyways, I'm going to modified January v2. Social drink but just 2 max.

I've also decided on my own to temporarily quit the massive dose of lipitor (prescribe for hereditary high cholestorol but my tests have been great lately). I think it was overkill, hurting my liver process. Been reading things and talking with family in the same boat but with different doctors. I'll re-address it with my doctor here soon.

i've really had to re-calibrate my brain re: food (and booze) and how my body processes what i take in during this time.

I'm back on track, and starting to drop the 7lbs or so i got on over the holidays (we travel a lot over the holidays, so even eating right doesn't seem to help, with all that sitting). I'll echo your point, it can be frustrating at first, takes a while to kick in and see results.

In my case, I prefer to use running as my barometer, rather than how weight or looks. But it's extra hard to quantify results in this cold. Usually I can gauge how I'm doing by how i feel, relative to time it takes on one of my standard routes.Lately, it's just a matter of getting it done and not looking at how my garmin reads.
as you say, it's about knowing yourself, believing in what your doing, and don't eat or drink things that make you feel lousy.

Oh yeah, and sleep is completely underrated as far as getting into shape and losing weight.

[MrCrowesGarden]

i hate to say it but i may be in the best shape of my life. well probably not best all time but best in the last few years. i actually have some definition in arms, chest, stomach, back and legs. the last 3-4 months i've been way more strict on diet and exercise. have to do 30-40 mins of weights and cardio everyday and really hate it when i don't. think i've had...around 5 skip days total in that time period? nothing crazy but i like the steady progress i've made (i remember being frustrated early on for not seeing much change but just kept at it and now i do). i hate vanity yet feel compelled to take effort to look "good" (puke) and being single it seems a requirement but i also feel good and that is more important to me. not that i felt bad but i feel better, if that makes sense.

i've really had to re-calibrate my brain re: food (and booze) and how my body processes what i take in during this time. a lot of it was just ignorance/laziness. i'm at a point where i know how i like/want to look and i know the effort i've put in and so having "bad food" is less appealing. this is also my 6th (?) year doing the dry-january and it certainly helps not getting those booze calories. i know booze is a huge culprit for me as far as not feeling like i make any progress. booze fat sucks. i know ricky gervais has said/joked he started exercising more as he aged just so he could continue to drink. there's definitely truth to that but i sometimes think i could just completely give it up. weed is the only vice i need. (great way to end my getting into shape post, right).

Keep it up dude.

I can't say I'm in the best shape of my life now, but I was definitely in the worst shape of my life just about a year ago. I always knew I was obese, but a doctor's appointment last summer showed me just how bad it really was. Since then, I've lost a hundred pounds (and still have a way to go to be at a healthy weight, if you want to know how bad it was.) For me, it's been primarily cardio-- I routinely get to the gym to do three miles of walking four times a week and am trying to get up to five with consistency (I'm well on my way this week.) It works best for me to go when I get off work at 10. I've also mixed it up a little bit with some uphill walking and very sparingly jog although I still feel extremely self-conscious doing it.

Changing diet was a big one for me. My workplace offered four free months of coaching sessions with Kurbo-- which was originally designed for kids but has proven to be successful with adults too. Basically you track your "red light" or bad foods each week, but you can budget how you want to use them. You can spread out your budget throughout the week or you can do like I do and save them for a day when you just want to stuff yourself with pizza or fries or whatever. My coaching sessions are about to end but the app is free to use forever. Keeping a food diary has really helped. Big one for me was cutting out soda since I probably only drink alcohol about once a month. Switching to water plus eating a lot more fruit and finding healthy-ish options on the occasions when I do eat fast food has done wonders.

[Jocephus]

i hate to say it but i may be in the best shape of my life. well probably not best all time but best in the last few years. i actually have some definition in arms, chest, stomach, back and legs. the last 3-4 months i've been way more strict on diet and exercise. have to do 30-40 mins of weights and cardio everyday and really hate it when i don't. think i've had...around 5 skip days total in that time period? nothing crazy but i like the steady progress i've made (i remember being frustrated early on for not seeing much change but just kept at it and now i do). i hate vanity yet feel compelled to take effort to look "good" (puke) and being single it seems a requirement but i also feel good and that is more important to me. not that i felt bad but i feel better, if that makes sense.

i've really had to re-calibrate my brain re: food (and booze) and how my body processes what i take in during this time. a lot of it was just ignorance/laziness. i'm at a point where i know how i like/want to look and i know the effort i've put in and so having "bad food" is less appealing. this is also my 6th (?) year doing the dry-january and it certainly helps not getting those booze calories. i know booze is a huge culprit for me as far as not feeling like i make any progress. booze fat sucks. i know ricky gervais has said/joked he started exercising more as he aged just so he could continue to drink. there's definitely truth to that but i sometimes think i could just completely give it up. weed is the only vice i need. (great way to end my getting into shape post, right).

Keep it up dude.

I can't say I'm in the best shape of my life now, but I was definitely in the worst shape of my life just about a year ago. I always knew I was obese, but a doctor's appointment last summer showed me just how bad it really was. Since then, I've lost a hundred pounds (and still have a way to go to be at a healthy weight, if you want to know how bad it was.) For me, it's been primarily cardio-- I routinely get to the gym to do three miles of walking four times a week and am trying to get up to five with consistency (I'm well on my way this week.) It works best for me to go when I get off work at 10. I've also mixed it up a little bit with some uphill walking and very sparingly jog although I still feel extremely self-conscious doing it.

Changing diet was a big one for me. My workplace offered four free months of coaching sessions with Kurbo-- which was originally designed for kids but has proven to be successful with adults too. Basically you track your "red light" or bad foods each week, but you can budget how you want to use them. You can spread out your budget throughout the week or you can do like I do and save them for a day when you just want to stuff yourself with pizza or fries or whatever. My coaching sessions are about to end but the app is free to use forever. Keeping a food diary has really helped. Big one for me was cutting out soda since I probably only drink alcohol about once a month. Switching to water plus eating a lot more fruit and finding healthy-ish options on the occasions when I do eat fast food has done wonders.

thanks and right back at you. losing 100lbs is tremendous.

i had a similar "revelation" last year too. on valentines day i thought i was about to have a heart attack (or some issue). felt like something was coming on. elevated blood pressure has been my main difficulty as an adult (prescribed meds) and i had been feeling weird the previous weeks and just knew something was coming on. so i leave work at noon, go to the ER ("they" say don't F around with heart issues, get to a dr asap, so instead of trying to get in with my regular doc i went to the ER), get the tests and other than my higher-ish blood pressure, everything was fine. as i was getting checked out by the staff i was tearing up, cursing myself in my head for not taking better care of myself and giving me this scare. I'm 6'2 and was probably around 220lbs at the time. not terrible but not good and since i didn't exercise regularly it was like an out of shape wrestler with booze flab. i think the highest weight i've had was close to 250 but that was probably at least 6 years ago. over the years, as i've known/had my blood pressure "issues" i've taken steps to slow it down and/or improve my health but exercise was always a lesser focus. i was like "i'll cut out meat!", "no more fast food!" (easy when you go vegetarian), "no more sugary drinks!", "i'll convert my cubicle to a standing station!", "dry january!". all of these things helped and i'm glad i've incorporated them in my life but without the consistent exercise (i'd have like, 2 weeks were i was all about it then just stop. cold for months) it never seemed to really change things. like most people, as a kid, exercise came naturally/easy and it never felt like exercise. neighborhood bball game, gym class, helping dad with yard work, hiking, etc. when i started working full time, however, i stopped moving. it took me awhile but i finally learned i've got to put the work in, every day. it doesn't just happen. i guess your mind lets you think like that sometimes.

the big reason i started pumping up the exercise and eating better? i got my ER bill. while my insurance paid a whole bunch of it, i was still stuck with $1000 i had to pay out of pocket. here i am thinking i'm going to die and like a week later the hospital wants its [expletive] money or they'll consider me a delinquent payer or whatever. F that. i'm not trying to go into the healthcare issues but damn...what a terrible feeling and i'm someone who can pay it off without *too* much difficulty (finished it off in november). i can't imagine folks who have major medical issues. must be scary to think about the cost side. anyways, i basically decided i won't give another penny to our healthcare system unless i have to ($40 copay just to see my doctor? really?) and i can prevent doing that by taking simple steps to take better care of myself.

one thing i've enjoyed is i didn't pay for a gym membership or go all p90x. i'm really just doing things i learned in gym class many years ago. pushups, jumping jacks, high knees, mountain climbers, planking (sit ups hurt my back) and a few simple weight lifting repetitions with a 25lb dumbbell. it's really made a huge difference and it's fun when you notice it. has made me want to continue to push further. the consistent exercise and simply looking at the nutrition panel on my food has made all the difference. if you want it, it's pretty simple.

[MrCrowesGarden]

I actually am glad that I have my gym membership because I'm not sure I'd have done it without it. That said, I do like my gym--open 24 hours, lots of options beyond just the treadmill when I do feel like it (usually the sauna or basketball for me), and generally supportive people. I always felt afraid to go to the gym because I knew I was in horrible shape and was afraid I'd be made fun of. Wasn't the case though. I do have a set of 10 lb. dumbbells at home that I should do a little more regularly, even if it's just for 10-15 minutes on my rest days.

I don't want to say the food part is simple because it's not for me (hell, someone brought cheesecake and muffins into work tonight and I'm fighting like hell not to have one), but it does get easier. Water/coffee/tea to drink, only eat breads that are whole wheat, more fruits and vegetables, etc. Having that app has been huge for me because I feel it both challenges me and holds me accountable. If I'm given 16 red lights in a week (where I am now), I keep it in my mind that I won't go over. The good part about Kurbo too is that you gradually work your way down on red lights but the lowest your bar will ever get is 14 reds per week (obviously, you can do less if you want.) I have to plan ahead a lot as a result, but it is worth it-- and because of how I budget, I can still have my comfort foods, just not as often. I took a picture of myself this weekend and actually liked the way I looked. I'm down two jeans sizes and pretty soon won't have to buy my clothes exclusively at the big & tall store. I give myself credit for going to the gym on nights when I really don't want to because I'm not giving up. It's actually a really good feeling that I know I've earned.

[Arthur Dent]

i know booze is a huge culprit for me as far as not feeling like i make any progress. booze fat sucks. i know ricky gervais has said/joked he started exercising more as he aged just so he could continue to drink. there's definitely truth to that but i sometimes think i could just completely give it up. weed is the only vice i need. (great way to end my getting into shape post, right).

I'm pretty sure legalizing weed would be quite good for my health for this reason.

[Jocephus]

i know booze is a huge culprit for me as far as not feeling like i make any progress. booze fat sucks. i know ricky gervais has said/joked he started exercising more as he aged just so he could continue to drink. there's definitely truth to that but i sometimes think i could just completely give it up. weed is the only vice i need. (great way to end my getting into shape post, right).

I'm pretty sure legalizing weed would be quite good for my health for this reason.

I feel pretty confident i'd smoke a lot less if it was legalized. even outside dry january i don't keep alcohol in the apt regularly. if i buy some, i'm planning on consuming it in the next few days. perhaps that's an addiction component but when i don't have it on hand i don't think about it. it's not something i struggle with. when i see it in the fridge, it's just more likely to be consumed. with weed, i always have it on hand because i don't know the next time i'm going to get some. my herb lady goes thru dry spells and that always feels crappy that i can't have any for X amount of days. if i knew i could always get some when the mood struck, it wouldn't be a huge concern to not have it on hand because i know it's there if/when i wanted.

obviously weed and alcohol have their pros(?) and cons health wise but my body absolutely responds better to weed. as i get older, booze gets less and less appealing/fun but weed always satisfies me in the right way and doesn't interfere like booze does. i've said before but the first drink after a dry january always tastes retched to me. i can feel, smell and taste the singe of alcohol burning down my throat as if its a poison.

[Jocephus]

I don't want to say the food part is simple because it's not for me (hell, someone brought cheesecake and muffins into work tonight and I'm fighting like hell not to have one), but it does get easier. Water/coffee/tea to drink, only eat breads that are whole wheat, more fruits and vegetables, etc. Having that app has been huge for me because I feel it both challenges me and holds me accountable. If I'm given 16 red lights in a week (where I am now), I keep it in my mind that I won't go over. The good part about Kurbo too is that you gradually work your way down on red lights but the lowest your bar will ever get is 14 reds per week (obviously, you can do less if you want.) I have to plan ahead a lot as a result, but it is worth it-- and because of how I budget, I can still have my comfort foods, just not as often.

i made the mistake of thinking that since i'd removed some bad food choices (sodas, fast food/meat, candies, etc) that i could still (over)indulge on other things, particularly bread and cheese. how i love bread and cheese, hah...but that's what i mean about re-calibrating how i look at food. bread in particular gives me the puffy look/feeling and it took me awhile to realize that it did and i can't remove something from my diet and be free to just increase others. it's gotta be moderated. i'd always heard people talk about this stuff (how the body processes food types etc) but never really paid attention to how i myself was eating...i guess i chose to ignore it. i'm not explaining it well but something clicked and i feel i have a much stronger mental focus and approach to food. like a...respect it and it will respect me kind of thing.