FAT

[Andrew]

Eating healthy is expensive compared to cheap calories like fast food.  With the kids, it's not unusual for us to go to the local produce market and spend $50 on fruits and vegetables that last about a week.  That's in addition to the other costs, like yogurt, eggs, lean meats (and poultry, and fish), and avoiding cheap sugary calories.  We have very little junk food in the house.  Part of the very little is to keep it from becoming forbidden fruit, and something that the kids will feel the need to gorge on later in life since it was denied when they were kids.

As a result, we have three very active kids who absolutely run amok.  We've also been blessed with them being very healthy, so I think that it is working.

Of all things, Katie probably eats the worst out of all of us.  She has a difficult time not going after the junk food snack foods, but has been making attempts at eating more fruit and vegetables in their place.

[Mofo Rising]

Resurrecting this thread because I recently started an exercise program with the specific idea to lose some of this ridiculous weight I've packed on myself.

So what I did is start keeping track of all the calories I ingest. I also started exercising, mostly biking with a bit of running. Here are my notes.

Dieting is useless in itself. If you're a sedentary sort, your body burns up about 2000 calories a day. So if you want to lose weight, you would have to eat less than that every day. 2000 calories is nothing! It is so easy to eat 2000 calories before you even make it halfway through your day.

Dieting is useless without exercise. You have to exercise to lose weight. So I started exercising again, which was a quick wake-me-up. I was recalling my young self who had a body that could do anything I told it to do. I would take an hour run, and then my body was pretty much useless for exercise for several days. I wanted to run again, but I simply could not do it. It wasn't a matter of mental fortitude, my body could not do it.

But I kept at it, and I am now in a very good place regarding extended exercise. I've recently started going on long bike rides to local mountains which I then hike. 20 mile bike rides punctuated by a hike up a mountain, and I love doing it.

So when I started, I was a 5'8" guy who weighed about 185 pounds. Do you know how much weight I've lost through three solid months of this exercise. About 8 pounds. Now that's better than nothing, and I'm in a good to go sort of athletic shape, but as far as losing weight it is very disappointing.

Burning fat is very difficult. Much harder than I would have expected.

[claws]

My once chubby niece lost 33 lbs in three months this summer, thanks to the Dukan Diet.
I'm still impressed.

[Andrew]

As part of my present duties, I help Marines who want to return to the Corps with this often.

The rule of thumb is that you need a 3500 calorie deficit to burn 1 pound of fat.  That's taking in 500 calories less per day than you use for a week for a pound of loss.  This isn't exact, so for some people the number is lower or higher, and also it matters when you take in your calories.  Count your calories by writing everything you eat and drink down.  The only thing you don't have to keep track of is water.

Taking in a lot of calories shortly before bed means your body has 1 thing to do with them:  store them.  Try to eat a good breakfast, good lunch, sensible dinner that is at least 3 hours prior to bedtime, and nothing but water after dinner.  If you have to snack after dinner, then go for something like fruit.

Allow yourself a luxury once a week though, so you don't feel trapped by the dieting.  You know, something you like that you shouldn't eat or eating at a time you normally wouldn't.

For exercise, the mantra is "no challenge, no change."  You can get your exercise by doing it for a longer period of time (or more reps) or increase the intensity.  You want to do at least 30 minutes of cardio (walk, run, bike, swim, etc.) at least 5 days a week.  Change up your cardio so your body doesn't get too used to it, and push yourself so you feel it.  You also want to do core exercise (check crossfit and P90x) for at least 30 minutes at least 3 days a week.  Get more than just your legs burning calories for you.

I highly recommend these exercises:

Lunges
Squats
Bicycle crunch
Oblique crunch
Pull-ups (or pull-down machine)
Push-ups
Dips
Military press with a dumbbell or barbell.

Actually, there are LOTS of exercises you can do with a set of dumbbells.  Dumbbells and resistance bands will give you a lot of options for working out.  While dumbbells can get expensive if you are not using a gym, resistance bands are cheap.

Katie got serious about exercise and losing weight around the spring.  She lost 17 lbs in 3 months doing cardio 6 days a week and a crossfit style workout 3 days a week.

[Flick James]

Actually, there are LOTS of exercises you can do with a set of dumbbells.  Dumbbells and resistance bands will give you a lot of options for working out.  While dumbbells can get expensive if you are not using a gym, resistance bands are cheap.

I have to agree with that. Dumbbells are one of the most versatile exercise aids there are. Of course, there are plenty of exercises one can do without ANY aids whatsoever.

I am currently looking for a standalone punching bag. I used to have a punching bag and talk about a great way to burn energy and frustration at the same time. I used to walk away from an intense session with the bag feeling magnificent. My wife and I are both dealing with a good deal of stress lately and I told her "we need to get a punching bag."

I'm telling you, if you want to get some good exercise and get rid of some stress at the same time, get a punching bag.

[Hammock Rider]

Actually, there are LOTS of exercises you can do with a set of dumbbells.  Dumbbells and resistance bands will give you a lot of options for working out.  While dumbbells can get expensive if you are not using a gym, resistance bands are cheap.

I have to agree with that. Dumbbells are one of the most versatile exercise aids there are. Of course, there are plenty of exercises one can do without ANY aids whatsoever.

I am currently looking for a standalone punching bag. I used to have a punching bag and talk about a great way to burn energy and frustration at the same time. I used to walk away from an intense session with the bag feeling magnificent. My wife and I are both dealing with a good deal of stress lately and I told her "we need to get a punching bag."

I'm telling you, if you want to get some good exercise and get rid of some stress at the same time, get a punching bag.

  I hear you FJ and I totally agree. It's amazing how something so simple can do you so much good. What kind pf punching bag do you use.? Right now I drop by a friend's house and work on his heavy bag. I'd like to try a speed bag to some time too. I could never get the hang of it though.

[Psycho Circus]

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3757881/Worlds-fattest-mum-vows-I-want-to-weigh-one-ton.html

Why!? 

[Flick James]

Actually, there are LOTS of exercises you can do with a set of dumbbells.  Dumbbells and resistance bands will give you a lot of options for working out.  While dumbbells can get expensive if you are not using a gym, resistance bands are cheap.

I have to agree with that. Dumbbells are one of the most versatile exercise aids there are. Of course, there are plenty of exercises one can do without ANY aids whatsoever.

I am currently looking for a standalone punching bag. I used to have a punching bag and talk about a great way to burn energy and frustration at the same time. I used to walk away from an intense session with the bag feeling magnificent. My wife and I are both dealing with a good deal of stress lately and I told her "we need to get a punching bag."

I'm telling you, if you want to get some good exercise and get rid of some stress at the same time, get a punching bag.

  I hear you FJ and I totally agree. It's amazing how something so simple can do you so much good. What kind pf punching bag do you use.? Right now I drop by a friend's house and work on his heavy bag. I'd like to try a speed bag to some time too. I could never get the hang of it though.

Oh, I'm in the process of looking for one locally on craigslist. I don't know if I'm going to go for a standalone or a hanging heavy bag.

[wickednick]

I never thought about that before but its really interesting now that I think of it. How did we go from a society where seeing someone that fat was an oddity to a society where its normal? Its very disturbing and disheartening when you think of it. Oh well when the zombies start eating people all the fat people will die first and then there will be just really slow fat zombies.

[Andrew]

Actually, there are LOTS of exercises you can do with a set of dumbbells.  Dumbbells and resistance bands will give you a lot of options for working out.  While dumbbells can get expensive if you are not using a gym, resistance bands are cheap.

I have to agree with that. Dumbbells are one of the most versatile exercise aids there are. Of course, there are plenty of exercises one can do without ANY aids whatsoever.

I am currently looking for a standalone punching bag. I used to have a punching bag and talk about a great way to burn energy and frustration at the same time. I used to walk away from an intense session with the bag feeling magnificent. My wife and I are both dealing with a good deal of stress lately and I told her "we need to get a punching bag."

I'm telling you, if you want to get some good exercise and get rid of some stress at the same time, get a punching bag.

I have a heavy bag in the basement.  Either need to get a stand for it or else get a plate to mount it to the ceiling.  Prefer the stand, but most of the time you need some weights or sandbags to get decent stability.

[Trevor]

I used to walk away from an intense session with the bag feeling magnificent.

How did the bag feel?  

[The Burgomaster]

Actually, there are LOTS of exercises you can do with a set of dumbbells. 

Absolutely.  I bought the Bowflex Selectech dumbells (90 lbs each, adjustable to lower weights simply by turning dials on the ends of the bars).  When I work out at home rather than the gym, I spend most of my non-cardio time using these dumbbells.  A typical non-cardio workout for me would be about 2/3 dumbbell work, 1/6 Bowflex resistance work, and 1/6 Total Gym work.  Stationary bike and/or treadmill would be in addition to this.  The Selectech weights come with a DVD that has an impressive number of exercises (some using a bench, some with no bench required).   

[Jim H]

About 8 pounds. Now that's better than nothing, and I'm in a good to go sort of athletic shape, but as far as losing weight it is very disappointing.

You probably thought about it, but I'd say it's likely you also gained significant amounts of muscle.  Keep it up though - it's worth noting that even maintaining muscles burns calories, much more so than maintaining fat.

[Mofo Rising]

About 8 pounds. Now that's better than nothing, and I'm in a good to go sort of athletic shape, but as far as losing weight it is very disappointing.

You probably thought about it, but I'd say it's likely you also gained significant amounts of muscle.  Keep it up though - it's worth noting that even maintaining muscles burns calories, much more so than maintaining fat.

Oh I think that's what's happening. I can see the difference, but the numbers on the scale don't decrease. I'm not really focusing on the weight, more on being able be athletic again. Getting back into running was a real wake-me-up. It was stumble and go for a while. Now I'm at a point where I can really enjoy just being able to run, and I really enjoy running.

Here's a trick that has really worked for me. I now keep track of all the calories I take in, but I don't think of it as something like "If I eat this I will have to exercise so much to burn it off." It's rather the opposite point, where if I work out during the day, I earn myself more calories I can eat. I also make it a point to eat after I go on an extended work out. I've pretty much burned off all my body's available energy, and I think it's a good idea to replenish that, just as a day to day thing.

Other than that, I just try to make exercise fun. The main reason I focused on biking is that it is one of the few exercises you can do in Phoenix during the summer. Biking has a built in breeze, and you can do it for miles. Keeping cool in Phoenix is a pretty legitimate concern, and it's not something you can do easily by running. Biking you can do, but it still requires extra steps.

Also, it is a lot of fun. The sensation of speed is a sort of pretty universal fun thing. I bought a stationary bike with idea that I would peddle while watching TV or reading a book. It's a chore, and no fun. But if you are out there in the world it is incredibly fun. I've been going on long bike rides that bring me to the base of a good hiking trail. I ride the bike out, climb a mountain, and ride the bike out. Great way to spend a day off.