Mother, mother, mother - there's too many of you crying.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Interesting to hear about everyone's different regimes, and I'm envious of the time many of you have to work out. My commute is probably worse than anyone else's, and there's just no way I could get to a gym for any length of time on a weekday. Mostly I run and do cardio stuff at the gym. If I can get three workouts in during the week, thats great, and I typically run 3-4 miles or do 30-40 minutes on an elliptical machine. Longer runs on the weekend, weather permitting.

Due to a health scare (major to me, but totally minor compared to what other people here have been through), I've been focused on losing weight and getting healthier, and most of that is diet. I am pretty skeptical of diet fads and people who suggest one-size-fit-all regimes -- I think everyone has to find something that works for them, which is hard. The single best thing I've read on the subject is this book review, which I found totally fascinating. (I bought the book but haven't gotten to it yet.) I have a friend whose wife has them fasting all day one or two days a week, which sounds faddish and miserable to me, but different strokes, amiright?

[Adder]

Originally Posted by Tyrone Slothrop

Interesting to hear about everyone's different regimes, and I'm envious of the time many of you have to work out. My commute is probably worse than anyone else's, and there's just no way I could get to a gym for any length of time on a weekday. Mostly I run and do cardio stuff at the gym. If I can get three workouts in during the week, thats great, and I typically run 3-4 miles or do 30-40 minutes on an elliptical machine. Longer runs on the weekend, weather permitting.

Probably not at all useful for you, but as I've certainly said before (many times on other fora for sure), I hate going to the gym and prefer instead to try to be active in my daily routine. I barely drive a car and bike or walk for anything I can, generally with some extra walking thrown in.

Where you live is particularly not suited to that, I think, but my baseline goal is to bike ten miles a day and walk 10,000 steps. Lately, I've been biking more like 15 miles a day and walking 6,000 steps. I'll have to walk a lot more in the winter when it's hard to bike.

When I was really trying to lose weight I was also swimming daily, but we don't live in a building with a pool anymore. Started out swimming doing ten minutes or so and got up to doing as much as 40.

The single best thing I've read on the subject is this book review, which I found totally fascinating. (I bought the book but haven't gotten to it yet.) I have a friend whose wife has them fasting all day one or two days a week, which sounds faddish and miserable to me, but different strokes, amiright?

The wife reads way too many of these books (which I guess I'd say is any more than one) and I've very much not a fan of the thinking behind them, which tends to come down to just doing this one thing or eating these particular things. Having a different one every few months can wind up being an excuse for why you're not making progress.

As you say, different things work for different people, but for me it's really about carbs and sugar. I'm not sure it's possible to gain weight eating meat, nuts and vegetables so I try to eat focus on eating those things. I always cooks dinner, which is meat and many veggies (I crave veggies when we go on vacation or otherwise eat out a lot). Not eating many grains (I do have a low sugar cereal for breakfast because it's easy, and I do have a sandwich on low-sugar bread at lunch a lot), helps on restricting calories, but from personal experience, strictly CICO isn't true. A calorie deficit certainly helps, but isn't necessary for me to lose weight if the calories are from fat or protein.

I have zero willpower so I try to keep things like salty snacks and candy out of the house.

Anyway, I dropped about 75 pounds, which exceeded my goals, but have lost some of my discipline (stupid beer) and put 25 or so back on. Need to get back on the horse and shed half of that and I'll call it good.

ETA: Also, having skimmed that book review a bit, I also agree that a handful of carrots or almonds can be satisfying when you're used to not eating a handful of M&Ms instead. Not sure whether that makes them a "food reward" or not.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally Posted by Tyrone Slothrop

Interesting to hear about everyone's different regimes, and I'm envious of the time many of you have to work out. My commute is probably worse than anyone else's, and there's just no way I could get to a gym for any length of time on a weekday. Mostly I run and do cardio stuff at the gym. If I can get three workouts in during the week, thats great, and I typically run 3-4 miles or do 30-40 minutes on an elliptical machine. Longer runs on the weekend, weather permitting.

Due to a health scare (major to me, but totally minor compared to what other people here have been through), I've been focused on losing weight and getting healthier, and most of that is diet. I am pretty skeptical of diet fads and people who suggest one-size-fit-all regimes -- I think everyone has to find something that works for them, which is hard. The single best thing I've read on the subject is this book review, which I found totally fascinating. (I bought the book but haven't gotten to it yet.) I have a friend whose wife has them fasting all day one or two days a week, which sounds faddish and miserable to me, but different strokes, amiright?

where you live/work I'm surprised you couldn't run at lunch?

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally Posted by Adder

Probably not at all useful for you, but as I've certainly said before (many times on other fora for sure), I hate going to the gym and prefer instead to try to be active in my daily routine. I barely drive a car and bike or walk for anything I can, generally with some extra walking thrown in.

Where you live is particularly not suited to that, I think, but my baseline goal is to bike ten miles a day and walk 10,000 steps. Lately, I've been biking more like 15 miles a day and walking 6,000 steps. I'll have to walk a lot more in the winter when it's hard to bike.

When I was really trying to lose weight I was also swimming daily, but we don't live in a building with a pool anymore. Started out swimming doing ten minutes or so and got up to doing as much as 40.

Where I live is great for biking, but not where I work. I don't want to bike to the train station because I don't want to have to leave that much earlier, though I love the idea. I don't bike from the train station to my office though I've thought about it a lot, but I almost always walk 25 minutes from the office to the station in the afternoon.

The wife reads way too many of these books (which I guess I'd say is any more than one) and I've very much not a fan of the thinking behind them, which tends to come down to just doing this one thing or eating these particular things. Having a different one every few months can wind up being an excuse for why you're not making progress.

As you say, different things work for different people, but for me it's really about carbs and sugar. I'm not sure it's possible to gain weight eating meat, nuts and vegetables so I try to eat focus on eating those things. I always cooks dinner, which is meat and many veggies (I crave veggies when we go on vacation or otherwise eat out a lot). Not eating many grains (I do have a low sugar cereal for breakfast because it's easy, and I do have a sandwich on low-sugar bread at lunch a lot), helps on restricting calories, but from personal experience, strictly CICO isn't true. A calorie deficit certainly helps, but isn't necessary for me to lose weight if the calories are from fat or protein.

I have zero willpower so I try to keep things like salty snacks and candy out of the house.

Anyway, I dropped about 75 pounds, which exceeded my goals, but have lost some of my discipline (stupid beer) and put 25 or so back on. Need to get back on the horse and shed half of that and I'll call it good.

Congratulations on that, and you should read that book review (and maybe the book) and see what you think.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally Posted by Hank Chinaski

where you live/work I'm surprised you couldn't run at lunch?

When I worked at a downtown law firm, I had a great 4.1 mile loop around the ballpark and back and I could use a shower in our offices. No shower in my current offices, and the nearest health club is not near. My kids have soccer practice three-four times a week at a park with a nice dirt track around the outside, and if I go to pick them up half an hour earlier I can do a 5K.

[Icky Thump]

Originally Posted by Tyrone Slothrop

Interesting to hear about everyone's different regimes, and I'm envious of the time many of you have to work out. My commute is probably worse than anyone else's, and there's just no way I could get to a gym for any length of time on a weekday. Mostly I run and do cardio stuff at the gym. If I can get three workouts in during the week, thats great, and I typically run 3-4 miles or do 30-40 minutes on an elliptical machine. Longer runs on the weekend, weather permitting.

Due to a health scare (major to me, but totally minor compared to what other people here have been through), I've been focused on losing weight and getting healthier, and most of that is diet. I am pretty skeptical of diet fads and people who suggest one-size-fit-all regimes -- I think everyone has to find something that works for them, which is hard. The single best thing I've read on the subject is this book review, which I found totally fascinating. (I bought the book but haven't gotten to it yet.) I have a friend whose wife has them fasting all day one or two days a week, which sounds faddish and miserable to me, but different strokes, amiright?

What has helped me drop 45 lbs in a year was this radical thing. Counting calories. Limit of 1700 calories a day. Every day.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally Posted by Icky Thump

What has helped me drop 45 lbs in a year was this radical thing. Counting calories. Limit of 1700 calories a day. Every day.

How do you do the counting for complicated recipes/weird ingredients/unclear portion sizes/eating out? I have never wanted to try that because the concept is simple but the execution strikes me as a nightmare.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally Posted by Tyrone Slothrop

When I worked at a downtown law firm, I had a great 4.1 mile loop around the ballpark and back and I could use a shower in our offices. No shower in my current offices, and the nearest health club is not near. My kids have soccer practice three-four times a week at a park with a nice dirt track around the outside, and if I go to pick them up half an hour earlier I can do a 5K.

We took over space 15 years ago and suddenly had 2 kitchens. Against some partners protests I turned one into a shower room. I told the firm, "me being healthy is the most important thing." I run almost every day now. But before I would run late in the afternoon and sit at my desk sweaty. Screw convention, I need to run.

While at big law, w young kids, I bought a Nordik Track and put a TV in front of it. do that? 40 minutes a day for you is important. I want to make a Ty at 70 sock someday.


EDIT: serious shit: 35 years ago I moved to DC. The Pentagon realized if its workers exercised at lunch they would be more productive in the afternoon. Ronald. Reagan's. Pentagon. How can you not convince your company to shoe horn in a shower?

[Icky Thump]

Originally Posted by Tyrone Slothrop

How do you do the counting for complicated recipes/weird ingredients/unclear portion sizes/eating out? I have never wanted to try that because the concept is simple but the execution strikes me as a nightmare.

Generally, I use the "Lose It" app which has most everything in it. Plus, in NY every menu item has a calorie count. In addition, most supermarket food, you scan the barcode.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally Posted by Icky Thump

Generally, I use the "Lose It" app which has most everything in it. Plus, in NY every menu item has a calorie count. In addition, most supermarket food, you scan the barcode.

how does that fit into fam dinners?

[Icky Thump]

Originally Posted by Hank Chinaski

how does that fit into fam dinners?

Whatever it is you put it in there. For a while you measure the food, then know how much a cup of cheerios is.

You also quickly realize that certain things like pasta, multiple beers etc. are just not doable.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally Posted by Icky Thump

pasta, multiple beers etc. are just not doable.

Intermediate step? I quit beer 20 years ago: Wine or booze. But pasta? Io sono Calabrese. No

[Did you just call me Coltrane?]

Originally Posted by Icky Thump

What has helped me drop 45 lbs in a year was this radical thing. Counting calories. Limit of 1700 calories a day. Every day.

It really is as simple as calories in/calories out. But people don't want to hear it. And we (most Americans) overestimate the amount of calories in. I know I do.

When I lived in France for a mere 2 months I lost 15 lbs - and barely exercised at all. And the French eat carbs, sugars, fatty meats, etc. They just eat less of it.

Look at bodybuilders: when they want to gain weight they eat in a calorie surplus; when they want to lose it they eat in a calorie deficit. And it works every time.

[Icky Thump]

Originally Posted by Did you just call me Coltrane?

It really is as simple as calories in/calories out. But people don't want to hear it. And we (most Americans) overestimate the amount of calories in. I know I do.

When I lived in France for a mere 2 months I lost 15 lbs - and barely exercised at all. And the French eat carbs, sugars, fatty meats, etc. They just eat less of it.

Look at bodybuilders: when they want to gain weight they eat in a calorie surplus; when they want to lose it they eat in a calorie deficit. And it works every time.

So true. Once I started recording every single thing that went into my mouth the whole thing clicked.

[Replaced_Texan]

Originally Posted by Icky Thump

Generally, I use the "Lose It" app which has most everything in it. Plus, in NY every menu item has a calorie count. In addition, most supermarket food, you scan the barcode.

I've lost 55 pounds since February using the Sparkpeople app. I limit to no more than 1500 calories a day (and I pretty much eat the same thing for breakfast and lunch every day during the week and my kitchen scale and I are pretty close during dinner). I have a much better sense of what portion sizes are now.

I go to yoga about three times a week, run two or three times a week and go to a spin class once a week. I'm stupid religious about getting 10,000 steps a day. I track fitness through my polar heart rate monitor, my Up fitness tracker and my nike+ ipod running tracker.