Our Physical Fitness

[Kramodlog]

Whoa. Maybe I'd be able to function on that diet after a while, but I know that anything below 1,800 makes me dizzy. Or maybe you have super efficiant metabolism.

 

[EricNoah]

I run about 4 days a week, 2.5 to 3.5 miles per run. Try to keep my calories to 2000 a day. Been maintaining a weight that is just shy of overweight for about five years now. I also bike in the summer.

 

[JamesonCourage]

How are you not miserable and starving? I'd be a wreck.

It just gave me more energy. It was just eating away at my fat. I still have some stomach fat, but I'd like to get rid of that, so I'm still in the negatives for now (as far as calorie intake vs what I burn). We'll see how getting rid of that goes.

I'm 5'11", 150#, and I need 2000 calories a day. Yes, I track every calorie, every day, for 3 years.

I'm also 5'11", though I'm 166 currently (went up about 2 pounds this past week with my new 1,600 calorie diet / pushing at the gym). I'm also planning on continuing to track my calories, but I'd like to burn off the only real visible spot of fat I have left (stomach) and get a little more muscle. I think my weight will increase a little as I push at the gym, but I'm hoping my stomach will also shrink. We'll see.

But, yeah, like I said: when I decreased my calories, it only increased my energy. My father -who started a similar diet almost 3 months ago when he saw what I was doing, and my new energy- started at 296 pounds, and he's down to about 254 pounds now. His doctor also pulled him off of his diabetes medicine (after cutting it several times), so he's just about beaten his diabetes after 10 years. His feet don't hurt anymore, and he has a lot of energy, so he's walking around a bunch, now, too (in SF, at that, so there's a lot of hills). I guess burning that fat just gives you energy. I dunno. However it works, it works for me.

But, I did just start a new job, and it's more physical than what I've been doing. I've done it before, so I know I can do it, but I might reevaluate my diet once I settle into work, to see if I need to increase my calories. We'll see.

 

[Bullgrit]

I'm also 5'11", though I'm 166 currently (went up about 2 pounds this past week with my new 1,600 calorie diet / pushing at the gym). I'm also planning on continuing to track my calories, but I'd like to burn off the only real visible spot of fat I have left (stomach) and get a little more muscle. I think my weight will increase a little as I push at the gym, but I'm hoping my stomach will also shrink. We'll see.

3.5 years ago I weighed 195#. I figured I had 15 pounds to lose, and I started extreme workouts, (P90X, Insanity, etc.), to get into shape. I ended up losing 45 pounds! I was shocked!


I'm always interested to see people's body pictures if they have their height and weight given. I'm amazed at the variations a little more or less muscle or fat can make on different frames. I've seen pics of people my height who weigh 15 pounds more, but they're totally ripped, (very low body fat percentage). In my searching for such photos, I found a couple of sites showing men and women with height and weight: www.mybodygallery.com and http://www.cockeyed.com/photos/bodies/heightweight.html -- don't worry, (or get your hopes up it's SFW, (no nudity; bikinis/underwear, at worst).

Bullgrit

 

[JamesonCourage]

3.5 years ago I weighed 195#. I figured I had 15 pounds to lose, and I started extreme workouts, (P90X, Insanity, etc.), to get into shape. I ended up losing 45 pounds! I was shocked!

Nice! That's a lot of weight to lose. As I'm also 5'11", I thought I'd go from 225 to about 180. I was surprised that I went down to 164.

I'm always interested to see people's body pictures if they have their height and weight given. I'm amazed at the variations a little more or less muscle or fat can make on different frames. I've seen pics of people my height who weigh 15 pounds more, but they're totally ripped, (very low body fat percentage).

I could post a picture of myself, but I'm not one for being shirtless (never have been, even when I'd go swimming as a kid). It is interesting to see the variations of people at a certain height and weight, though.

I'm not trying to get ripped or anything, but it'd be nice to build up some muscle, since I've never really tried to before. Luckily, my asthma shouldn't really get in the way of that too much. Have you done standard weights, etc? Or did you just do those extreme workouts? How do they help you with muscle as compared to burning fat?

 

[Bullgrit]

Have you done standard weights, etc? Or did you just do those extreme workouts? How do they help you with muscle as compared to burning fat?

I'd rate P90X as the best of the workouts I've done, for all around fitness -- fat loss and muscle gain. It is half weight lifting, (dumb bells and body weight), and half cardio. Here are my results: http://www.totalbullgrit.com/blog/forty-frickin-five/

I was not going for big muscles, I just wanted lean fitness. But now I'm going for more muscles.

Bullgrit

 

[JamesonCourage]

I'd rate P90X as the best of the workouts I've done, for all around fitness -- fat loss and muscle gain. It is half weight lifting, (dumb bells and body weight), and half cardio. Here are my results: http://www.totalbullgrit.com/blog/forty-frickin-five/

Nice. That was a year ago, though

I'd be okay ending up at that physique. I don't want to get big, personally. How much room does that workout take? I'm in a cramped apartment right now. And how often did you workout? No offense, but I'm not going to sift over your blog for that information.

I was not going for big muscles, I just wanted lean fitness. But now I'm going for more muscles.

I don't really want big muscles right now. Who knows, though. Once I find I'm happy with my fat ratio, I might go for it. Not worried about it at all, yet, though.

 

[Grehnhewe]

I have found after reaching an ideal BMI and wanting to gain muscle, I need to eat a lot. If you are active and have increased your metabolism, you are burning a lot of calories. If you are doing strength and weight training on top of that, you need even more, in particular protein. I do not go for protein shakes and supplements, but I eat a lot of fish, turkey and Greek yogurt as well as a lot of other good stuff. Sucks losing muscle because you are not eating enough.

So with a healthy diet, it is great to have a sin food you eat every once and a while. For me it is French fries...a couple times a week!

 

[Bullgrit]

Nice. That was a year ago, though

Last month: http://www.totalbullgrit.com/blog/continuing-fitness-now-at-46-years-old/ Exactly the same.

How much room does that workout take? I'm in a cramped apartment right now. And how often did you workout?

1-1.5 hours a day, 6 days a week, for 9 months got me here. I've maintained since then. I do the workouts in front of the TV in my den. Without measuring, I'd say I use about 10'x10' of the space. For a visual of my workout space, here are some pics, (you don't have to read the post): http://www.totalbullgrit.com/blog/more-on-my-workouts/

Bullgrit

 

[JamesonCourage]

Last month: http://www.totalbullgrit.com/blog/continuing-fitness-now-at-46-years-old/ Exactly the same.

Nice! Keep it up.

1-1.5 hours a day, 6 days a week, for 9 months got me here. I've maintained since then. I do the workouts in front of the TV in my den. Without measuring, I'd say I use about 10'x10' of the space. For a visual of my workout space, here are some pics, (you don't have to read the post): http://www.totalbullgrit.com/blog/more-on-my-workouts/

Hmm, that's a lot of time invested. I might give something like that a try. I definitely don't have the room for it; in my room, I have enough for push-ups, maybe some jump rope, etc., but not a lot of side-to-side movement. Unfortunately, the rest of the apartment is pretty well packed with stuff that was here when I moved in last month (I have roommates), and I don't think it's going anywhere.

Thanks for the links, too. What stuff do you have at home for the workouts (other than space / DVDs)? I imagine some weights, but what else do you need? If nothing else I could pick some of that stuff up. New job = more spending money, so at least I have that going for me. Might as well spend some of it to keep up with my momentum to getting lean. Though, to be honest, I don't know if I want to sink the time in. The diet is easy; that's just willing myself not to eat certain foods. But, the amount of time I'd need to spend on something to get those results is honestly rather daunting. Do I want to lose 1-1½ hours basically every day of the week on it? Not really.

Maybe if I find myself liking the workout, it won't be so bad. I used to absolutely love playing basketball. Maybe if I like the workout (just like I like my diet), I'll be more into it. From the outside, though, it doesn't sound that appealing to me. So, I guess another question: which exercise routine is the most fun for you? And what kind of other activities do you enjoy (so I can see if I can relate)?

I have found after reaching an ideal BMI and wanting to gain muscle, I need to eat a lot. If you are active and have increased your metabolism, you are burning a lot of calories. If you are doing strength and weight training on top of that, you need even more, in particular protein.

Yep. I'm still low on calories, but I do want to burn the rest of my stomach fat. I just don't want to lose muscle, so I am trying to eat a lot of protein (like I said, about 150 grams / day) and I did increase my calorie intake.

I do not go for protein shakes and supplements, but I eat a lot of fish, turkey and Greek yogurt as well as a lot of other good stuff. Sucks losing muscle because you are not eating enough.

Yeah, I don't like basically all seafood, but I like tuna, so I've been having a lot of that. And a lot of grilled chicken. Delicious stuff

So with a healthy diet, it is great to have a sin food you eat every once and a while. For me it is French fries...a couple times a week!

I'm good without cheating. I've only cheated on my diet on one day (my birthday), and even then I only went up to 1,700 calories. I don't get food urges (though other food still looks good), and I rarely feel hungry, so it's easy to stick to the diet. The biggest thing I had to break at first was my constant snacking, but once I did that, the food bit was easy.

My father / friend are both losing weight (42 pounds for my father and 70 for my friend), and they both give themselves "cheat" days every now and then (every 2-4 weeks, I think). I think that this concept of a "cheat day" or "cheat meal" is probably a good policy for a lot of people, as it gives them something to look forward to. I'm lucky in that I avoided that, but I'm unlucky in that I really don't want to spend that much time on exercising when it doesn't look that fun. Oh well, you can't have everything for free, I guess