great job!!!Well I reached the lowest weight in years, 73.9 kg (162.9 lbs). I had a visit to my GP for other reasons today and he told me that 6 years ago (last time I was weighed at his office) I was 95 kg (207 lbs)! As I am 5' 6'' you can see that was no good. I have been working it off and on over the last few years but really the last year has helped in some ways.
Being concious of what I eat, at least most of the time is very important. Cutting way back on certain foods, like white bread, sweets except dark chocolate and limiting alcohol to once or twice a week as well as the quantities drunk then.
Also, I must thank the thief who stole my electric bike last July. I got an excellent manual bike and I live up a gentle hill and go almost everywhere by bike even in cold weather. Also the electric bike had a bad battery for which I had just lost the key so hope the d*** who stole it was annoyed.
The important thing now is to bulk up a bit muscle wise, not much, as I have been concentrating on cardio-type exercises.
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Health, Good Practises, and Exercise
- Thread starter Huntn
- Start date
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First week down:
The first week was intense and refreshing. I started every day at 1:30 AM and finished at 3:30 AM, with pre-and post stretching. I tried to pace myself, but I only know one speed with very little rest in between sets to shock the muscle. On opening day, I just worked arms {biceps}, where the brachialis muscles were so sore, I actually took an extra day off to recover properly.
Day 1: Arms {Biceps}
Day 2: Off-Recovering
Day 3: Chest/legs
Day 4: Triceps/back/shoulders
Day 5: Re-feed/recovery
Day 6: Re-feed/Recovery
Day 7: Re-feed/Recovery
The above supplement you’re seeing a picture of his creatine monohydrate manufactured by ‘Thorne.’ It’s Only one of two creatines on the market that is NSF certified. ($32.00 on Amazon).
So what’s the point of creatine for those who don’t know? Well, your body has to adapt to it appropriately, and not very one will benefit from it. It helps muscle recovery and fatigue, it actually will help build endurance to push through more intense lifting, and it does help promote and stimulate muscle growth. Pretty much every bodybuilder has creatine supplements built into their diet, as it does have its benefits.
Creatine does have a loading phase, so I started pre-work out and you do have to continually take it daily in order to sustain the effects. You can mix it with anything and it’s completely odorless/tasteless. [For the record, I’ve had no side effects whatsoever, and I can already feel the benefits personally.]
You do have to be careful, because there’s a lot of garbage products on the market and this is on the top one’s From a super reputable company, a bit pricey, but I only want the best for my body. Creatine can also be found in trace amounts in red meat.
I’m looking forward to my re-feed days when I’m off, that’s where you really grow, when you’re away from the gym. So lots of red meat, Quality carbs and dairy.
Next week:
Pics to come of the gym!
The first week was intense and refreshing. I started every day at 1:30 AM and finished at 3:30 AM, with pre-and post stretching. I tried to pace myself, but I only know one speed with very little rest in between sets to shock the muscle. On opening day, I just worked arms {biceps}, where the brachialis muscles were so sore, I actually took an extra day off to recover properly.
Day 1: Arms {Biceps}
Day 2: Off-Recovering
Day 3: Chest/legs
Day 4: Triceps/back/shoulders
Day 5: Re-feed/recovery
Day 6: Re-feed/Recovery
Day 7: Re-feed/Recovery
The above supplement you’re seeing a picture of his creatine monohydrate manufactured by ‘Thorne.’ It’s Only one of two creatines on the market that is NSF certified. ($32.00 on Amazon).
So what’s the point of creatine for those who don’t know? Well, your body has to adapt to it appropriately, and not very one will benefit from it. It helps muscle recovery and fatigue, it actually will help build endurance to push through more intense lifting, and it does help promote and stimulate muscle growth. Pretty much every bodybuilder has creatine supplements built into their diet, as it does have its benefits.
Creatine does have a loading phase, so I started pre-work out and you do have to continually take it daily in order to sustain the effects. You can mix it with anything and it’s completely odorless/tasteless. [For the record, I’ve had no side effects whatsoever, and I can already feel the benefits personally.]
You do have to be careful, because there’s a lot of garbage products on the market and this is on the top one’s From a super reputable company, a bit pricey, but I only want the best for my body. Creatine can also be found in trace amounts in red meat.
I’m looking forward to my re-feed days when I’m off, that’s where you really grow, when you’re away from the gym. So lots of red meat, Quality carbs and dairy.
Next week:
Pics to come of the gym!
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Optimum Nutrition is a decent brand, and affordable as well. I think that Amazons number one selling brand for creatine and other pre-workout supplements.
I just mix mine with a shake or milk, but you can put it in anything.
Yes, as far as I know ON is not the best but it’s reliable and affordable, which is good for an amateur like me.
I usually put it in hot liquids, such as tea or coffee. Doesn’t change the flavor one iota, and I’ve read somewhere that creatine is absorbed much better.
I also use some flavored BCAA while I workout, it’s basically my own Gatorade. I think it does make a difference.
Gatorade is by far the best in terms of post work out replacing your electrolytes. There’s a lot of heated debates on Gatorade and the marketing that follows, and what it actually accomplishes in terms of ‘replenishment’, but Powerade is the one you want to stay away from, that has high fructose corn syrup
Anyways, at least two years ago in this very thread, I posted about different types of pre-workout powders that I would take, and this time I opted around not to spend my money on pre-workout powder, specifically what happens is, they do work initially, but your body builds a resistance like it does to everything and eventually those pre-workout powder won’t provide you the same affect with the ‘pump’ in the gym and/or you have to increase the dosage you’re taking, which probably isn’t the most healthy thing to do (Especially with caffeine) and it becomes exponentially more expensive, given a lot of quality powders are in the $40-$50 range or more.
So, what I have even using as of late for a pre-workout, it’s called ‘bubblr’ sparkling water, it’s actually an antioxidant with about 69Mg of caffeine [Slightly Less than a 8oz cup of coffee at 80Mg], and it uses a stevia extract, which I don’t have a problem with. There’s no affects in terms of jitters or anything like that, but it doesn’t have a sugary nuance and has a decent flavor, but without all the fillers that’s in some sodas and other powders. 5 Calories a can total.
They’ve grown in quite a bit of popularity, and a run for about $1.29 a can.
Anyways, at least two years ago in this very thread, I posted about different types of pre-workout powders that I would take, and this time I opted around not to spend my money on pre-workout powder, specifically what happens is, they do work initially, but your body builds a resistance like it does to everything and eventually those pre-workout powder won’t provide you the same affect with the ‘pump’ in the gym and/or you have to increase the dosage you’re taking, which probably isn’t the most healthy thing to do (Especially with caffeine) and it becomes exponentially more expensive, given a lot of quality powders are in the $40-$50 range or more.
So, what I have even using as of late for a pre-workout, it’s called ‘bubblr’ sparkling water, it’s actually an antioxidant with about 69Mg of caffeine [Slightly Less than a 8oz cup of coffee at 80Mg], and it uses a stevia extract, which I don’t have a problem with. There’s no affects in terms of jitters or anything like that, but it doesn’t have a sugary nuance and has a decent flavor, but without all the fillers that’s in some sodas and other powders. 5 Calories a can total.
They’ve grown in quite a bit of popularity, and a run for about $1.29 a can.
CDC Study Finds About 78% of People Hospitalized for Covid Were Overweight Or Obese
An overwhelming majority of people who have been hospitalized, needed a ventilator or died from Covid-19 have been overweight or obese, the CDC said.
www.nbcphiladelphia.com
Well, according to this link 74% of the US population is overweight (or more) anyway. And that was in 2017/8.
www.cdc.gov
FastStats
FastStats is an official application from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) and puts access to topic-specific statistics at your fingertips.
Yep. The stuff I have been seeing since I moved from Europe to Texas......Well, according to this link 74% of the US population is overweight (or more) anyway. And that was in 2017/8.
FastStats
FastStats is an official application from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) and puts access to topic-specific statistics at your fingertips.
Well, according to this link 74% of the US population is overweight (or more) anyway. And that was in 2017/8.
FastStats
FastStats is an official application from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) and puts access to topic-specific statistics at your fingertips.
Here’s the bulletin points I extracted from that article:
- Percent of adults aged 20 and over with obesity: 42.5% (2017-2018)
- Percent of adults aged 20 and over with overweight, including obesity: 73.6% (2017-2018)
Aside from actual health reasons for obesity, I still truly believe that the majority of what people lack is pure motivation to do anything about it, and it’s simple exercise and food moderation. It’s really unfortunate, because when you look at obesity in general, there’s so many other affects that are attached to being overweight, ultimately bearing down on somebody’s life span they could live longer and avoid the risks of heart issues, ect.
For the most part, I think it’s all about ‘free Will’ and making the changes where necessary.
The problem is, when the average person is overweight (which is the case if 3/4 of the population is!) then people who aren't look underweight and get told how slim they are. I've a good friend whose BMI is 19-20. He looks great (imo) and is athletic and strong. He's continually told to eat more and that he's too skinny.
I’m just gonna repeat myself again for the sake of repeating...😁
There’s nothing wrong with eating what you want to eat, and I won’t short sell myself of lifes ‘food pleasures’ unless I’m absolutely restricted not to have it, (which I don’t have any restrictions).
But, what I mentioned about —free will— above, is for those who actually think ‘I’m only going to eat half of this’, [or] ‘Once I eat this XYZ food’, I’m going to make sure I exercise. It’s just holding yourself accountable, that’s a large part of why we see obesity, there’s no accountability held to a higher standard. Then when you start eating poorly without exercise, that type of food takes away your natural stamina and makes you feel lethargic and lackadaisical, and what do people resort to boost their energy? Sugary energy drinks. It Really is a vicious cycle that only becomes more of a burden as you get older, because it’s harder to lose that weight, especially if you have other handicaps like asthma that slow your progress of maintaining a healthy body. It’s a total domino effect when you look at the spectrum of losing control of your physical being.
There’s nothing wrong with eating what you want to eat, and I won’t short sell myself of lifes ‘food pleasures’ unless I’m absolutely restricted not to have it, (which I don’t have any restrictions).
But, what I mentioned about —free will— above, is for those who actually think ‘I’m only going to eat half of this’, [or] ‘Once I eat this XYZ food’, I’m going to make sure I exercise. It’s just holding yourself accountable, that’s a large part of why we see obesity, there’s no accountability held to a higher standard. Then when you start eating poorly without exercise, that type of food takes away your natural stamina and makes you feel lethargic and lackadaisical, and what do people resort to boost their energy? Sugary energy drinks. It Really is a vicious cycle that only becomes more of a burden as you get older, because it’s harder to lose that weight, especially if you have other handicaps like asthma that slow your progress of maintaining a healthy body. It’s a total domino effect when you look at the spectrum of losing control of your physical being.
Precisely. I remember getting scared when I noticed that a couple of flights of stairs were becoming more challenging, with elevated heart rate. Going up the stairs should be an easy task, especially below 40 (heck, below 60 and barred some serious injury of course). I noticed a deterioration of my ability to do basic tasks, and a deterioration of my willpower. Of course, it's when I decided to step on the scale just to read one nine nine (!) that I decided to take it seriously. As far as I know I never left onederland, but considering that weight fluctuates it's quite possible that I did.
I also noticed that when I give up for some treat at work (e.g. mini kit kat that inevitably show up after Halloween) I start craving more and more junk food. Even one mini kit kat can be a true gateway towards junk food.
Just to give an update, and hopefully encourage more people to keep in their journey to healthier habits: I've lost another 4 kg (about 9 pounds) in the last 3 months. I'm no longer grade 2 obese, and I'm only 4 units of BMI from getting to "only overweight". I'm coming closer to my lowest weight in the last 20 years.
This last month has been the greatest, since I went from a BMI of 34.89 to 34.02 in just 4 weeks! Also, my body fat percentage decreased from 38% in November 2020 to 29.5% in February.
I still indulge from time to time, living through a pandemic and working in a covid19 contaminated area places some restrictions on our diets, but I try to compensate on a daily basis and I try to get as close to my nutritionist plan as I can.
It's showing, and it's really satisfying ☺️
This last month has been the greatest, since I went from a BMI of 34.89 to 34.02 in just 4 weeks! Also, my body fat percentage decreased from 38% in November 2020 to 29.5% in February.
I still indulge from time to time, living through a pandemic and working in a covid19 contaminated area places some restrictions on our diets, but I try to compensate on a daily basis and I try to get as close to my nutritionist plan as I can.
It's showing, and it's really satisfying ☺️
NICE JOB! For real, nice job! We're in your corner! Keep us updated, it's inspiring!
Do you notice a difference in your daily life, like more energy, better mood etc.?
Body Mass Index and Risk for COVID-19–Related Hospitalization, Intensive Care Unit Admission, Invasive Mechanical Ventilation, and Death — United States, March–December 2020
"Among 71,491 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 (48.1% of all COVID-19 patients), 34,896 (48.8%) required ICU admission, 9,525 (13.3%) required invasive mechanical ventilation, and 8,348 (11.7%) died. Approximately 1.8% of patients had underweight, 28.3% had overweight, and 50.8% had obesity."
"Among 71,491 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 (48.1% of all COVID-19 patients), 34,896 (48.8%) required ICU admission, 9,525 (13.3%) required invasive mechanical ventilation, and 8,348 (11.7%) died. Approximately 1.8% of patients had underweight, 28.3% had overweight, and 50.8% had obesity."
That must have been a reality check.
Garmin Connect Insights reports that I run farther than 98% of other users. That's at 18 miles per week which isn't that much for a runner.
I see mostly that I'm on a better mood, and although I don't see that much of a difference on the daily energy level, I notice I can run faster and longer without that much effort. I've also been running up stairs with much more easiness.
When it comes to junk food, sometimes I think if you don’t give into your cravings, you end up just binging all out one day and then you regret it afterwards. So that’s why I don’t think there’s anything wrong with taming your cravings with something sugary once in a while. I see it where some people have these amazing success stories where they don’t eat anything that’s processed or artificial, and then all the sudden they completely crash and go AWOL eating everything in sight. So I’m under the mindset to temper your cravings, just nitpick when you can, but don’t go crazy. (And I love Kitkats!....And Twix.....and Caramellos...well anything chocolate.)
BTW, thanks for all your positivity in this thread and your support not just to me, but to everybody else. Never stop being you, as I always appreciate your good attitude and optimism.
You mentioned Gatoerade being best for electrolytes but im wondering if there's anything better than that. what about something like Pedyalyte?
I doubt if Pedialyte is significantly better than Gatorade. After all they were both developed in the mid-Sixties. One was developed for cranky babies. The other was developed for cranky athletes (some of whom could arguably be called babies).
If Pedialyte was significantly better than Gatorade for post-exercise rehydration, I'm sure someone would have figured this out in the past 55+ years that both drinks have been in existence.
NFL players still use Gatorade. That's the professional sport with the most money flowing in and out of it per player. If a particular sports drink provided a 0.25% performance improvement in NFL players, I'm pretty sure it would be favored.
Joe Consumer is probably better off adding an extra quart/litre of water in daily consumption rather than debating electrolyte rehydration brands.
Personally I favor Pedialyte, mostly because I despise the flavor of Gatorade. While I occasionally take Pedialyte on the hotter days of the summer, I mostly take Pedialyte when I travel because my water consumption during my vacations is often not the same as when I'm at home (plus I walk a lot more when I'm on vacation).
If Pedialyte was significantly better than Gatorade for post-exercise rehydration, I'm sure someone would have figured this out in the past 55+ years that both drinks have been in existence.
NFL players still use Gatorade. That's the professional sport with the most money flowing in and out of it per player. If a particular sports drink provided a 0.25% performance improvement in NFL players, I'm pretty sure it would be favored.
Joe Consumer is probably better off adding an extra quart/litre of water in daily consumption rather than debating electrolyte rehydration brands.
Personally I favor Pedialyte, mostly because I despise the flavor of Gatorade. While I occasionally take Pedialyte on the hotter days of the summer, I mostly take Pedialyte when I travel because my water consumption during my vacations is often not the same as when I'm at home (plus I walk a lot more when I'm on vacation).
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I'd love to know what the Association of Tennis Pros uses. They provide players with different-colored drinks in bottles. There's no label on the bottles so I assume that they mix it themselves or buy it unbranded. The players can pick which drinks they want and I assume that the colors indicate what's in the drinks. They also have water and many bring foods like bananas or sports gels.
Agreed. We should also point out that it depends on the person. Some people are much better at self-control, and some are great at knowing which food to avoid at all costs. While a KitKat can lead me to overindulgence for a bit, I am certainly not a sweet tooth kind of person (my wife is). However, if I can make some popcorn... I can have several cups per night, without interruption. Hence, I don't buy them anymore if not as a special occasion treat (and a very limited quantity).
Thank you for your kind words. And thank your for being a big inspiration in this thread and elsewhere. I love seeing people focusing on their goals and work towards success, relentlessly (hence your name on here
). I will admit that a couple of times when I felt not going to the gym I thought "what would RP think?" I came home last night from the gym about 3 AM, I replenished with four eggs, 6 ounce steak, two bananas, three waffles and a few glasses of 2% milk. But I needed that one last thing for some sweetness, and I had half of a candy bar, (‘Whatchamacallit’), I could’ve eaten the whole thing, but I didn’t. But to your point, self-control is a big part of it. I think if you train your mindset you have a trigger point where you limit your enjoyment eating , it’s easier that way. But if you’re somebody that gives in easily or you don’t have that self-control, that’s where things get dangerous, especially depending if you overindulge. It helps that you keep sanity by allowing to give your body something you crave, but to a lesser degree with knowing when to stop.
My user name comes from two-parts, Relentless is just for things I want to achieve, and that’s just the nature of how I’m programmed. And the ‘Power’, literally refers to my appreciation for tech products.Thank you for your kind words. And thank your for being a big inspiration in this thread and elsewhere. I love seeing people focusing on their goals and work towards success, relentlessly (hence your name on here
Part of me that wishes that I had a workout partner, that can monitor my form, help spot me or point out things I need to improve upon, but I realize it doesn’t really work like that for everybody, and it’s nice to find others online and share your passion, where we can all learn from each other, even though we don’t have the capability of living next-door to each other. Everybody learns differently, how we all apply different things to our lives in terms of how we eat and exercise, so I’ve learned things from others on here over the years as well.
Story time:
I frequent a gas station (It’s More like a mini grocery store) that’s about a mile or so from my house, they have a lot of produce that I can purchase versus going to the grocery store, like bananas, milk, they even have a full poultry/meat department that I pick items up at. I Usually stop by a minimum of four days a week there late at night after work, there’s no one around. And there’s one particular employee (He’s 22), Who is very much overweight, but I strike conversations with them every time about fitness, and he’s super knowledgeable on supplements and has decent lifting ‘know-how’. Every time I see him, he says, “I need to get back to the gym”, but he lacks the motivational drive. (Maybe suffers from energy issues, maybe low testosterone because of his weight, etc.)
So what I told him to do, get out a notepad of paper, pick one day next week that you’re off work, write down what day you’re going, what time and what you want to do/accomplish in that 1.5 hours. So why a piece of paper? I told him to tape it to his bathroom mirror and you can use that as motivation of what you need to accomplish to start small and build a curriculum to get to where you want to be. And then you keep adding to that piece of paper of day two, followed by day three, followed by day four, and that’s how it starts when he sees that piece of paper in the morning.
Really what that employee is missing, is someone to help encourage him to reach where we needs to be, maybe where doesn’t have that structural figure around him to make the changes.
My point is, we all need that little motivation of whatever it is, maybe it’s when you don’t want to go to the gym and you think of something you read or heard that you knew you would be thankful later on that you did it versus saying ‘Nah’.
When We start to see improvements from your progress, that would encourage you even more, because you know you’re on the right path.
Press on Yaxo!
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Meet the new gym:
Second week down. Finished off with back and shoulders.
The advantage of working out at 1 AM, there’s nobody here, and I literally have the entire gym to myself as you can see. -Pure Bliss-.
The gym itself is actually combination of CrossFit, powerlifting, bodybuilding and even MMA training. All the artwork you see on the walls is custom painted, which really gives this gym the ‘kingdom vibe’ that it’s known for. This Is raw as a gym as you’re going to find, especially the rarity that it combines specialized sports. (Not pictured is the cardio section, but it does have everything you would expect.)
By far the ‘Keiser pneumatic machines’ are my favorite. Most gyms don’t carry these machines, because they’re extremely expensive, so this would be worth the price of admission alone for my membership fee.Pneumatics are air controlled for resistance and isotonic repetitions based on your performance. It’s Using the inertia and acceleration from the resistance of the air controller versus using actual steel weights, thus digs much deeper into the muscle fascia, causing a much greater stimuli you’re performing the exercise with good form, and if course controlling the contraction. What you’re seeing here is two leg machines and then a crossover cable variation [Which can be converted into like 15 different types of exercises.] You can literally control the resistance from the air regulation so whatever degree you want.
Second week down. Finished off with back and shoulders.
The advantage of working out at 1 AM, there’s nobody here, and I literally have the entire gym to myself as you can see. -Pure Bliss-.
The gym itself is actually combination of CrossFit, powerlifting, bodybuilding and even MMA training. All the artwork you see on the walls is custom painted, which really gives this gym the ‘kingdom vibe’ that it’s known for. This Is raw as a gym as you’re going to find, especially the rarity that it combines specialized sports. (Not pictured is the cardio section, but it does have everything you would expect.)
By far the ‘Keiser pneumatic machines’ are my favorite. Most gyms don’t carry these machines, because they’re extremely expensive, so this would be worth the price of admission alone for my membership fee.Pneumatics are air controlled for resistance and isotonic repetitions based on your performance. It’s Using the inertia and acceleration from the resistance of the air controller versus using actual steel weights, thus digs much deeper into the muscle fascia, causing a much greater stimuli you’re performing the exercise with good form, and if course controlling the contraction. What you’re seeing here is two leg machines and then a crossover cable variation [Which can be converted into like 15 different types of exercises.] You can literally control the resistance from the air regulation so whatever degree you want.
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