The Official Health and Fitness Thread

[Manson]

I think there's absolutely no reason to treat carbs as if they're some kind of health menace, it's what kind of carbs and how much you eat and as long as you burn it off before it gets stored as fat then you're golden.

Well said.

 

[Leafaholic99]

I've lost about 20lbs over the last 5 months, I haven't really changed that much in my life except being out of the north for training for my job. I am more active when I am not stuck up north and tend to eat better as well, never thought that'd be enough of a change to drop that much weight.

 

[TheMightyOdin]

I've lost about 20lbs over the last 5 months, I haven't really changed that much in my life except being out of the north for training for my job. I am more active when I am not stuck up north and tend to eat better as well, never thought that'd be enough of a change to drop that much weight.

That's an average of a pound a week. Just a little change can add up over time.

This was a problem for me when I was gaining weight. Just gaining a pound in a week is no big deal but Living that way for years will obviously cause many problems.

 

[maplesyrup]

I'm down to 165 lbs! I don't think I've weighed that since grade 11, like 23 years ago! Like I've said here, I don't lift weights. Just run and surge train which includes sit-ups but I still have this wee gut that I'd like to trim off a bit. Can anyone recommend anything other than sit-ups and general cardio for that?

 

[Bullfrog]

First off, stop with the sit ups. They'll just make make your ab muscles bigger!  (kinda true, but I'm joking, don't stop.)

Start lifting weights. The added muscle will burn more calories.

 

[maplesyrup]

First off, stop with the sit ups. They'll just make make your ab muscles bigger!  (kinda true, but I'm joking, don't stop.)

Start lifting weights. The added muscle will burn more calories.

I don't want to add weight. Now that I'm at a weight that I'd like, I'd just like to kind of stay there. I kind like myself lean and I'm not really concerned how big my arms or legs are. The only thing I'd obviously like to build upon is my endurance but if I can, I'd just like a flatter tummy too. I know I've lost a bunch of bulk there but it seems the lion's share is off the sides.  :-\

 

[Bullfrog]

Why are you concerned about your weight? Adding muscle will only improve your health. You won't get big like Odin unless you start consuming whole, live chickens for breakfast and lifting for four hours a day.

Weights should definitely be a part of your fitness regime.

Just my opinion.

Congrats on the success by the way.

 

[Erndog]

I'm down to 165 lbs! I don't think I've weighed that since grade 11, like 23 years ago! Like I've said here, I don't lift weights. Just run and surge train which includes sit-ups but I still have this wee gut that I'd like to trim off a bit. Can anyone recommend anything other than sit-ups and general cardio for that?

Congrulations!  Thats great.  What did you start at?  And how long ago?

 

[maplesyrup]

Why are you concerned about your weight? Adding muscle will only improve your health. You won't get big like Odin unless you start consuming whole, live chickens for breakfast and lifting for four hours a day.

Weights should definitely be a part of your fitness regime.

Just my opinion.

Congrats on the success by the way.

I'm afraid mass will hurt my running - which isn't great in the first place. I don't know, I look at the runners ahead of me and they're all rather lean.

 

[maplesyrup]

I'm down to 165 lbs! I don't think I've weighed that since grade 11, like 23 years ago! Like I've said here, I don't lift weights. Just run and surge train which includes sit-ups but I still have this wee gut that I'd like to trim off a bit. Can anyone recommend anything other than sit-ups and general cardio for that?

Congrulations!  Thats great.  What did you start at?  And how long ago?

Thanks. 2.5 years ago I smoked and weighed ~ 190. I quit smoking and decided to shape up. I've been ~ 170 for a while now (maybe 9-12 months?) and was happy with that but I really think it watching the sugar intake that took the extra 5/10 lbs off.

 

[Tigger]

It takes a long time to put on lean muscle mass, won't hurt you at all to lift some weights and they'll burn more calories while you're at it.

 

[Erndog]

I'm down to 165 lbs! I don't think I've weighed that since grade 11, like 23 years ago! Like I've said here, I don't lift weights. Just run and surge train which includes sit-ups but I still have this wee gut that I'd like to trim off a bit. Can anyone recommend anything other than sit-ups and general cardio for that?

Congrulations!  Thats great.  What did you start at?  And how long ago?

Thanks. 2.5 years ago I smoked and weighed ~ 190. I quit smoking and decided to shape up. I've been ~ 170 for a while now (maybe 9-12 months?) and was happy with that but I really think it watching the sugar intake that took the extra 5/10 lbs off.

Yeah eh?  I dont have much sugar but I've been meaning to try and cut it out of my coffee altogether (I usually have 1 & 1/2 in my coffee every morning).  I dont eat many sweets though.  Still, you've given me a bit of inspriration to try my coffee black.  It will add it thats for sure.

 

[Tigger]

It took me a few days to get used to it but I haven't had milk or sugar in my coffee or tea in a long time, can't stand it now.

 

[maplesyrup]

I'm down to 165 lbs! I don't think I've weighed that since grade 11, like 23 years ago! Like I've said here, I don't lift weights. Just run and surge train which includes sit-ups but I still have this wee gut that I'd like to trim off a bit. Can anyone recommend anything other than sit-ups and general cardio for that?

Congrulations!  Thats great.  What did you start at?  And how long ago?

Thanks. 2.5 years ago I smoked and weighed ~ 190. I quit smoking and decided to shape up. I've been ~ 170 for a while now (maybe 9-12 months?) and was happy with that but I really think it watching the sugar intake that took the extra 5/10 lbs off.

Yeah eh?  I dont have much sugar but I've been meaning to try and cut it out of my coffee altogether (I usually have 1 & 1/2 in my coffee every morning).  I dont eat many sweets though.  Still, you've given me a bit of inspriration to try my coffee black.  It will add it thats for sure.

Yeah. - and I haven't gone all crazy with it either. No sugar in my coffee. I usually take it black but when I crave something sweet in the morning, I sometimes put almond or rice milk flavoured with vanilla in my coffee - It's quite good.  I might have a dessert once or twice a week (I had a chocolate sunday last night - a small one.) When I shop and given the choice of two brands, I take the one with the least amount of sugar. - That sort of thing. I can't avoid it all together but I really credit making a reasonable effort to cut a lot of it out to my weight loss. - Imagine if I made more of an effort!   

 

[Erndog]

It took me a few days to get used to it but I haven't had milk or sugar in my coffee or tea in a long time, can't stand it now.

I'm going to try it.  I know I will hate it at first but it will just take some time.

 

[maplesyrup]

Oh, and I forgot to add. - No pop whatsoever. I'd say 90% or more of what I drink is just plain old water. The rest is either wine or beer or something else when the mood strikes. Ordering just water at restaurants works nice too.... Usually means I can go for a more fancy/spendy entree. 

 

[Tigger]

Pop and beer gets me sometimes, superfluous calories for sure.

 

[maplesyrup]

Pop and beer gets me sometimes, superfluous calories for sure.

The largest portion of the average North American's sugar intake comes from pop. 20% I think the figure is? Just cut it out all together. Like I said, I'd rather drink water and eat better. - Put your pop money towards your beer. 

 

[db54]

Why are you concerned about your weight? Adding muscle will only improve your health. You won't get big like Odin unless you start consuming whole, live chickens for breakfast and lifting for four hours a day.

Weights should definitely be a part of your fitness regime.

Just my opinion.

Congrats on the success by the way.

I'm afraid mass will hurt my running - which isn't great in the first place. I don't know, I look at the runners ahead of me and they're all rather lean.

Weight training or resistance training wont always result in adding size.  You could train with more focus on improving muscular endurance, which could help with running. This can be done by doing exercises with lighter weight and more reps. So aim for about 15 reps per set of each exercise. You could also do circuit training. So choose a number of exercises that cover all the major muscle groups, do one set of each with little to no rest in between.  Then take a short break and repeat it once or twice.  This also add a cardio challenge to weight training , which I always like.  I've recently started doing this and I've really enjoyed it.

 

[maplesyrup]

Thanks, I'll consider that... Now, what about this (almost) 40 year-old gut? Just more of the same over time?