New Year, New You.

I basically took the month of January off to nurse some nagging injuries and things that were holding me back so...with that said.

What's everyone looking at as far as goals this year and feel free to ask questions!

1/23/2015 5:31:22 PM

Same goal as last year. Just can't seem to hit the 155lb mark I've been aiming for. I've gotten into the upper 150s but nothing below 158lbs. I have a new tool this year though, my Polar Loop which I freakin love. Back to calories counting, tracking macros, fasted workouts lifting 4 days a week with one day of running. On a 500 cal/day deficit so we'll see if I can hit my target by May. Currently at 164lbs so 10 lbs in 16 weeks should def be doable.

1/23/2015 6:13:07 PM

My goals are to not ruin all the good progress I made in 2014 and slightly add some lean mass and slightly lose some overall weight. Having my first kiddo soon so I have no clue what that is going to do to my diet and gym time. My free time to cook and workout is going to be a lot less to say the least.

1/23/2015 7:58:53 PM

I'm back down to 155 at 5'9" and that is the smallest I've been since middle school I think. Not really concerned about losing any weight but would love to tone my butt, thighs, and baby belly. Might act try to work on that since I don't feel like complete ass anymore. I'm still fighting the thyroid beast and insulin resistance, but I no longer have the restraint of a displaced jaw with pinched nerve (and subsequent tmjd and broken tooth that led to a massive infection in my tooth and jaw) that made eating a miserable experience.

So my real goal this year is to not gain all the weight back, and maybe I will try to tone a little But probably not.

1/24/2015 11:34:41 AM

I've been suffering pain from AC joint separation (separated shoulder) over the last few weeks. It's very painful during bench press, military press, butterflies and some other shoulder exercises. I had to cut my gym time short today due to the pain. I think I'm just going to bite the bullet and take a couple weeks off from weight lifting. Instead I'll run. Right now I run 3 to 3.5 miles once a week. I'm actually interested to see what kind of changes i'll see with running 3 to 3.5 miles 5 times a week.

1/26/2015 4:22:23 PM

Crushed it last week. Had four good runs and I'm cranking out my push up and pull/chin up routines...did 20 full extension chin-ups yesterday...was very pleased. Cutting out alcohol during the week is also helping.

Trying to get down to my lowest weight possible before we head to Aruba in two weeks. It will be all-out eating and drinking for eight days and I don't want to come back a blimp. Looking good so far.

1/26/2015 4:33:15 PM

6 ft 4, 195 pounds.

Thin guy, but always got that 30+ belly I inherited/from my bad eating and drinking.

Run tons of 5k,8k,10ks, get abs, stay at 195. My problem is the eating...

1/27/2015 2:03:03 AM

holy fuck i hit the wall hard and fast when running fasted.....damn!

1/28/2015 7:03:14 PM

I don't think you could effectively do more than a light jog while fasted, and even that would be a struggle. Personally, I don't buy into fasted lifting; I at least want some kind of snack within an hour of working out.

1/28/2015 8:31:29 PM

I agree. I did fasting lifting for a few months and felt weak at the gym and couldn't show any gains. Started back eating normally and have made more gains at the gym in a few weeks than the prior three months. May just be a mental thing, but I never felt I had any energy to go heavy while fasted.

1/28/2015 9:41:56 PM

This semester's schedule has enabled me to get back into lifting, and I bought myself some Fat Gripz for my birthday. Holy moly my forearms burn!

1/28/2015 9:52:03 PM

^i have a pair of fat gripz. those things definitely work.

currently about 200 lbs, trying to hit 185-190.

1/28/2015 10:36:06 PM

Lurked last year, going to try and post this year to add to all the positivity and inspiration.

Three days straight without any candy - which is big for me, especially with an almost full bag of Lindors in the drawer from Christmas. I've also started going black coffee only this week, even though I never used much cream/sugar to begin with.

1/29/2015 10:12:10 AM

Sugar is my weakness too. Not big on fried foods.

1/29/2015 10:50:30 AM

I have to end dinner on a sweet note. I buy the tiny reese's peanut butter cups or whatever is at the counter at Trader Joe's and I'll have one or two after dinner. Not enough to fuck up my diet, but enough to satisfy my stupid ass sweet tooth.

Alcohol is my big weakness. I love wine and good beer. Cutting out most weekday alcohol has made a huge difference. These past few years I just thought I was getting older and my metabolism was slowing doing rapidly. Turns out I was just consuming thousands of calories of alcohol every week.

Only problem is that my tolerance is now going down...

1/29/2015 10:55:01 AM

I, too, have cut out the weeknight beer (or two) bc the calories can add up unless you're drinking Zima or Mich Ultras.

I've also tried to make my daily walks around the office complex an actual daily walk around the office complex. My workout time has decreased and I keep reading about how we're all going to die from sitting too much, so I just turn on a podcast and take a walk after lunch - which is usually eaten at my desk 90% of the time thereby increasing my sitting time.

[Edited on January 29, 2015 at 11:57 AM. Reason : ...]

1/29/2015 11:51:43 AM

I'm doing about a 10min mile while fasted and running 3 to 3.5 miles. I've also been doing fasted lifting for a while. I do take a C4 pre-workout drink before my workouts to give me a bit of a boost but it doesn't have any carbs or calories. I'm not trying to make gains but am working on cutting.

[Edited on January 29, 2015 at 2:49 PM. Reason : e]

1/29/2015 2:49:13 PM

If I can get myself down below 220 or so I will probably be happy. Been slacking big time on going to the gym since Christmas time. Hopefully gonna try to get back at it next week and get a more set routine.

1/29/2015 3:28:55 PM

Quote :

"I have to end dinner on a sweet note. I buy the tiny reese's peanut butter cups or whatever is at the counter at Trader Joe's and I'll have one or two after dinner. Not enough to fuck up my diet, but enough to satisfy my stupid ass sweet tooth."

Me too. Ugh I made strawberry shortcake yesterday. I want to justify it today because I burned 630cals according to my Polar watch.

HELP

[Edited on January 29, 2015 at 5:56 PM. Reason : .]

1/29/2015 5:55:54 PM

When I have a sweet tooth craving I eat a skinny cow ice cream bar. Only like 120 calories or something like that and those things taste great.

1/29/2015 7:40:25 PM

I don't crave ice cream in the winter very much. When I do bake though, I try to cut down the fat and sugar whenever I can.

1/29/2015 9:11:18 PM

almond milk and a banana do away with my sweet cravings

I also found a recipe for healthy oatmeal cookies using whey protein cream

1/30/2015 12:20:42 AM

Short term goal: Trying to get down to about 9% Body Fat by next week....

Going to Costa Rica to surf and adventure for 16 days and want to be shredded for the photo ops.

Currently 171 and probably around 10.5% BF. The hunger is real

This is a shot from the mansion we're staying at the first week




[Edited on January 30, 2015 at 7:15 PM. Reason : ;]

1/30/2015 7:13:39 PM

Umm, honestly Matt, who can tell the difference 10.5 to 9%? I don't think I could...

1/30/2015 7:57:05 PM

10.5%? What bake sale are you training for, fatty?

1/30/2015 11:03:10 PM

Thats about 2.5lbs of fat... So maybe the difference between cut and shred?

I fouled up and had a half pound burger, fries, and a beer last night. Definitely not conducive to my fat loss goals.

1/31/2015 7:53:40 AM

That place in CR looks sick!!

2/2/2015 11:07:32 AM

so I"m not a runner but because i've been laying off the weights due to a separated shoulder i've been running 3 to 3.5 miles monday - friday. fasted runs at that. i finally broke into the 9min/mile time today. it's tough though. the wall comes hard and fast.

2/4/2015 4:53:18 PM

^Are you trying to waste away muscle?

Fasted cardio 5 days/week + no strength training = bye bye gainz.

2/4/2015 4:59:43 PM

Yeah i'm trying to loose some mass but would prefer for most of that to be fat. I'm aware that in my efforts to slim down I'll be loosing some muscle. I'll hit the weights again starting late February. I'm tracking my macros and am still heavy on the protein so hoping not to loose too much muscle. My macros are P 50%, F 30%, C 20%. Doesn't the body prefer to burn covert fat to glucose instead of muscle protein?

2/4/2015 5:26:40 PM

Anyone have good resources for non-beginner flexibility training?

My current routine does well for my strength training, but I'd like to step it up a little and see if I can make some gains in flexibility in other areas. I've checked r/flexibility but its either super advanced stuff or routines for increasing flexibility with 30+ minutes a day.

I've been doing the same stretch routine since high school and have finally been consistent with it. Over the course of a few months I've seen some improvement in certain stretches, like going from touching my toes in hamstring stretch to wrapping both hands around my foot.
I'd like to add in a few advanced stretches and build some goals towards increased flexibility, like splits.

Currently I'm stretching 10 minutes, 4 days a week prior to strength training and then yoga on Fridays, though the yoga has been hit or miss this winter.

2/4/2015 6:01:31 PM

^^http://examine.com/faq/how-much-protein-do-i-need-every-day.html

.7-1g per pound is the bottom line.

2/7/2015 3:08:48 AM

Yeah I'm taking about 175grams/day which is just over 1gm/lb bodyweight per day

2/9/2015 5:11:34 PM

so anyone have recommendations for elliptical machines? my schedule has killed getting to the gym during the day at the new job and, with a 2nd child on the way, i'm going to need flexibility in getting cardio in. i had a stress fracture in my foot running a couple summers back and it's never been the same, so I need low impact. and my wife wants an elliptical over a stationary bike.

2/17/2015 4:34:53 PM

I have a Life Fitness X1 at the apartment, and I would recommend it to anyone. It's the quietest machine you will ever get on, so you can easily watch TV on it without having to adjust the volume. It still feels just as solid and sturdy as when I bought it 4 years ago, which is something I can't say for the lower end equipment sold by places like Dick's and Sears.

Life fitness is excellent to work with over warranty issues too. I had trouble getting a belt to track right on a Life Fitness T3 treadmill I bought 10 years ago. The warranty repair guy came out to the house with a new belt, assuming it was an issue with the belt since the thing had just been purchased and installed by the dealer. It turned out to just be an issue with the dealer not setting the belt tight enough initially, but he gave me the belt anyway so that I'd have one whenever the original belt wore out.

2/18/2015 9:24:00 AM

Quote :

"Doesn't the body prefer to burn covert fat to glucose instead of muscle protein?"

The body breaks down muscle and dietary protein to use the amino acids in gluconeogenesis.

If you eat plenty of protein it will help, but not as well if you are also signaling protein synthesis through strength training.

2/25/2015 11:12:28 AM

not as much movement i see this year in this thread. my and my fiance just started the 24 Day Challenge from AdvoCare. It's expensive but the products seem to work pretty good with diet and exercise.

My girl started taking some of the supplements about a month ago. she had plateaued and couldn't lose anymore weight for some reason and found out another friend of our was having a lot of gains using this stuff and it worked for her too.

Phillip Rivers is a sponsor haha but anyways, anyone else every tried this stuff?

If you want to give is a shot you can get a package from our friend, who earns a little on the side. most people get into selling this stuff not to make money but to get a bigger discount on the products because they cost so much - which i found funny for a multi level marketing business. https://www.advocare.com/150395694/

anyways, giving this a challenge because im tired of being fat and want to get in shape before i get married. we even joined the YMCA

[Edited on April 6, 2015 at 4:03 PM. Reason : dfg]

4/6/2015 4:00:27 PM

Because everything has been recycled/repeated. We fall off the wagon, we get back on the wagon. Maybe we can share healthy recipes.

4/6/2015 7:16:43 PM

i see, makes sense.

im pretty stoked. i've lost 3.5 pounds since Monday

that being said, i'd about murder someone for a diet pepsi and some chocolate

[Edited on April 8, 2015 at 11:24 AM. Reason : sdf]

4/8/2015 11:23:13 AM

I've stuck with the significant reduction in daily candy intake since my last few posts in January. I, too, would also love to walk down to the vending machine and grab a cold Mt. Dew - which is weird bc I never really drank much soda anyways, but I guess being disciplined increases the desire? Also doing better with portion control - e.g., actually measuring out my Harris Teeter spicy trail mix instead of just dumping some into a bag for the day.

I still haven't gotten back to consistent workouts, however, but I am at least still doing my daily pushups and (sometimes) situps.

4/9/2015 4:18:16 PM

Plankers watch out, it can mess you up bad!

I had no clue this could result from planking, but apparently it is not that uncommon. Anybody experienced it or know or heard of someone who experienced it?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3030983/The-ultra-competitive-exercise-fad-ruin-health-called-planking-suddenly-sweeping-gyms-Pilates-classes.html

Quote :

"She examined me and sent me for an ultrasound. Neither found evidence of cancer. But then she asked me a strange question. Did I do Pilates, particularly the plank? ‘Yes,’ I told her, proud of the fact that I exercise regularly. In fact, I was about to tell her about my two-minute victory when she suddenly pressed down on my rib. I yelped. ‘That’s it, that’s the exact pain,’ I managed to squeak. ‘You’ve got costochondritis, an inflammation of the cartilage that joins the ribs to the breastbone,’ she told me. ‘Every week, I see one or two women presenting with costochondritis, and the most common cause is Pilates and yoga.’ As I sat there stunned, she explained that every time someone does a plank, they tense the intercostal muscles between the ribs, and the pectoral muscles of the chest. This puts pressure on the costochondral joint — the area of cartilage joining the ribs to the breastbone. [...] ‘Planks put a searing pressure into the costochondral joint as you lift up. As you hold the body from the floor, there is tremendous pressure on all the rib joints as well as the shoulder joint. ‘Patients with loose ligaments or joint instability will find this a potentially upsetting exercise, as it can inflame joints quickly. ‘Costochondritis can cause months of agony — you can’t sleep, turn or lift. Nauseating pain goes across the ribs, into the pectoral muscles, across the shoulder, down the arm and up into the neck.’"

4/9/2015 4:55:37 PM

i've also started measuring out my meals and snacks and everything. it's expensive in time and money to be healthy that's for sure. we joined the ymca in Jan and have been going regularly but we're not using all the amenties that i'm paying for so, and i think it's too much gym for us.

We really just need a place to go when it's raining and we we want to get out to the house it seems as we prefer to exercise outside as much as possible.

the hunger is killing me though...im so hungry since really reducing my calories and drinking a shit ton of water

also like these advocare products. the spark drinks are great and im pretty excited to start the meal replacement shakes.

[Edited on April 10, 2015 at 12:09 PM. Reason : sdf]

4/10/2015 12:09:08 PM

A meal replacement shake won't help with hunger issues. Liquid calories are much less satiating than solid foods.

4/10/2015 12:15:47 PM

It's taken a while, but I've gotten to the point where I just don't eat as much food anymore. It probably took about a year of just dealing with hunger before my body got use to it. Now I didn't starve myself...I just skipped or had a really small breakfast for a long period of time. Small breakfast would be a piece of toast with peanut butter and/or jam, or a small balance bar, or maybe a banana or apple with peanut butter, sometimes a low-cal cereal with almond milk. For lunches I would do a half sandwich with chips...or at least something along that scale. This wasn't a daily thing...I sometimes have to meet people for lunch and its just impossible to keep that going....but I would say 80% of my days I would eat like this.

Then I just have normal dinners. I don't go nuts for dinner, but I don't hold back either. Other than that...I don't eat shit snacks (little debbies, candy bars, doughnuts, etc).

I feel like I'm in the best shape of my life and I barely work out (at least compared to what I use to). I run maybe twice a week...three times if its a good week and I'm not slammed. Not long runs...three miles at the most, with several stops for my dog to play at a park or something. I pretty much work out just once...sometimes twice if its a good week. And the workout just consists of push-ups and pull-ups.


I guess the point I'm trying to make is that its all about eating less on a consistent basis (and not eating shit, of course). I've talked to a lot of people that say that they couldn't give up breakfast and all that stuff....I use to be the same way. I use to eat eggs and bacon everyday. I'd pick up breakfast sandwiches on my way to work. You just have to start incrementally reducing things. Yeah, you have to deal with hunger for a little bit, but I found drinking more water and coffee helps...and it ultimately gets easier and easier. And my lunches, although small, are still really tasty. And my dinners are always good. I like to think that I'm definitely not punishing myself if I get to eat a really good dinner every day...and have some good wine and beer.

Anyways...that's all I have to add to this thread. I've been saying this a lot the last couple years...but it's finally become a lifestyle instead of just a diet here and there where I just skip breakfast for a couple weeks. I've finally been consistently at my desired weight for the past 6 months and it's been great.

4/10/2015 12:20:53 PM

So paleo is not in anymore? "Flexible dieting" is all the rage now.

4/12/2015 11:44:01 PM

paleo with cheese is in

4/13/2015 12:06:56 AM

^^ that's because people realized there was no reason to cut out foods arbitrarily from their diet if they don't have a food allergy

4/13/2015 8:40:10 AM

Im down almost 10 lbs from when starting the challenge. Still feeling the hunger and that jbrick said it took about a year to go away. that sucks

and yeah, the replacement shake is really not doing as much as much as i thought. I'm going to try and make a coffee cup brownie out of one tonight

4/18/2015 6:32:21 PM

any recommendations for interlocking exercise mats for use on a concrete slab basement floor?

4/23/2015 10:14:26 PM

I never understood programming like this. I know it's relatively low weight but don't understand how a high volume like this is considered a 'recovery' day.

And before you say anything, nope, it's not even Crossfit programming. It's people under Gym Jones.

https://instagram.com/p/uwpdHblMjm/?taken-by=pdeliverance

4/23/2015 11:23:12 PM