Take care of yourself

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

My suggestion is to keep it simple. I met with a trainer and she set me up on a cardio plan that will push me but not kill me. You'll be amazed at how quickly you see gains if you raise your heart rate just enough.

My plan is as follows:

Sunday-Tuesday-Thursday - Treadmill (all walking at 3.2 mph) 5 min@6 deg...15-25 min@12 degree... 5 min@16 deg....5 min@6 deg....tailor the speed and incline to your level. I'm still young...less time with more incline is infinitely better than an hour flat.

Monday-Wed-Fri..pool...intervals...start with a long swim and take it down from there...when you're swimming long, say 100 yards (yes, that's long for me)...take a longer rest...then as you go less distance, rest less. Swimming is the best full body cardio workout I've found yet...plus it's really hard to get bored in the pool

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

Thanks everyone for the advice. I've decided to start drinking more beer. No just kidding. After talking about this with a couple of knowledgable people, they've told me that gaining weight in the first 4-6 weeks is normal. So maybe I didn't really lose weight, I was just losing that initial weight gain from eating more as a result of being hungry from my workouts.

I'll monitor my weight for the next 4-6 weeks and if continue to lose weight, I'll give those Met-Rx shake things another try.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

I cooked up four bowls of the stuff for the kids this morning in about three minutes. Tossed in a couple of chocolate chips instead of brown sugar for a change and everyone was happy. Took about two minutes longer than pouring them bowls of Cookie Crisp or whatever box of sugar they would have picked out.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

As far as heart rate, can't champion that enough. I got a heart-rate belt. I found ways to keep my HR in the 145-165 range (I'm 34) for at least 25 minutes at a time. That's the perfect zone for me. I can get there by running fast (7 mph) on a 0.0 slope, running slowly (5 mph) on a 4% incline or on the arc trainer at 6 height and 70-80% resistance.

I know some people here run >9 mph. Big deal.

I love love love the arc trainer. Joints don't ache afterward.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

You're such a fucking bad ass.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

I'm aghast after discovering today that I'm clocking in at 208!
That's ridiculous! A year ago I weighed 180.
I'm only 5-11. I'm too short to weigh 200-plus.
I knew I'd been slacking the last year, but now there are some serious changes ahead.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

I think it's the earring. It's stimulating your appetite.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

I think it was cutting back on smoking and drinking. Nicotine and hangovers are powerful appetite suppressants.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

Not to be preachy, rather to be encouraging, I wouldn't worry as much about the weight gain if it's come as a result of cutting back on smoking and drinking. Nicotine and hangovers may have suppressed your appetite, therefore you didn't put on weight, but you also have to consider that wasn't very healthy for your body. 180 pounds, smoking, drinking and not eating healthy < 208 and not drinking and smoking as much. The key is that you probably do need to exercise more/eat better (don't we all), but I wouldn't get to hung up on the weight too much. I'd be much more concerned with the overall health. I think that's the issue, had you gained 30 lbs of muscle I doubt you'd have a problem. So I'd say keep with the cutback on smoking and drinking and just focus on getting to the point where you feel healthy/ better about yourself, and don't get hung up on the number on the scale.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

Thanks, Miles.
I was just kidding around, though. Other than needing to lose weight, I'm in excellent health. Just had a check up today.
I just need to lose 25-plus pounds.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

Hop on the bike, I'll meet you in Winnemucca