Take care of yourself

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

Bored and killing time in a hotel room, I decided to read this baby from the top.

Wow. Great stuff. Very motivating--I've been really sick of working out lately, and this got me cranked up again.

Did not stop me from eating seven Charleston Chews just now, but tomorrow will get that all straightened out.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)


My New Year's resolution is to get back into the gym after a three-month layoff, and I'm re-evaluating my whole routine.

So here's my question for you all... What do you like to eat/drink prior to hitting the gym for some fuel, and what do you eat/drink upon finishing your workouts?

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

Protein shakes. One about 30-40 minutes beforehand and one immediately afterward. One thing that's gotten me in trouble lately is that I've been eating too many carbs before working out (think more granola bars and things like that) instead of protein. Just hit up GNC last night and picked up a big tub of whey protein, so hopefully that gets me back on track.

I'd like to forget the entire month of December in terms of my eating. Got real busy, which gave me a convenient excuse to eat like crap.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

And to follow up my last post, here's hokie's healthy dinner recipe of the day:

I got inspired by watching so much damn Food Network that I kind of made a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants meal tonight.

It's a basic beef and vegetables recipe. I'm trying to drop a few pounds by eating better (less mac and cheese, more veggies) and this dish bursts with flavor, is filling and doesn't have a lot of bad stuff. Here it is:

Cut up one onion, one green pepper, one red pepper, a box of mushrooms (kill the stems) and two zucchini squashes. Set aside.

Heat a large skillet on medium-high heat. Add enough extra virgin olive oil to coat the pan. Drop in the vegetables and let them sautee. Season with salt, pepper, parsley flakes, basil and oregano to taste. Season some prepared sirloin strips (either cut yourself or buy the package of pre-cut beef in the grocery store) with lemon pepper.

Once the veggies start to soften, add the beef to the pan and cook until done. Serve immediately.

You can substitute different veggies if you like, I suppose. Again, I just made this up off the top of my head and it absolutely tastes great. Hard to believe you're eating this many veggies, it tastes so good. And EVOO is the good healthy stuff, the one with all the heart-healthy monounsaturated fats.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

I hate the idea of New Year's Resolutions, but since I received a YMCA membership for Christmas, I'm trying to get back into shape. I''m just out of college and 6-foot-3 and 185 pounds, but I'm all fat, no muscle. Never lifted weights before, but trying to wiil myself into going to the gym now.

Two days into doing cardio and some minor lifting (maybe 20 minutes of each)... and my body is unbelievably sore. I'm pretty weak as it is, but I didn't think I was doing anything partiicularly strenuous.

I expected it to be hard starting out, but I haven't been to the gym in two days and it's still hard to move my arms.

Any suggestions to deal with this?

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

Rest, lots of water, lots of protein. What you're doing is tearing muscle apart that hasn't been worked in a while, so it's responding by getting sore.

Hell, I just took nine days off from the gym, went back yesterday and today, and I'm sore as hell. So it happens. You can battle through muscle soreness. Just dont' try to battle through something that may be more serious (a strained back or a sprained knee, for example).

Basically, you're muscles are rebuilding themselves. Don't quit now. It'll only get better, trust me.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)


Walter,

Stretching helps too.

Not only right before your workout. If you are sore, I'd especially make sure I stretch twice a day, morning and night, even if I'm not working out that day.

Hokie,

Good recipe. I tried something similiar a few weeks ago that I saw on the Food Network. Basically, cut up 1/2 onion, some mushrooms, green and red peppers and tomatoes. Saute.

Add tomato sauce and then throw some turkey sausage in a skillet. and then combine them.

It looked fairly disgusting halfway through, the first time I made it. But it turned out well.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

I agree with the stretching. Do it when you wake up and before you go to bed. When you sleep and your body relaxes in one position is when your body gets the most sore.
Try drinking about a gallon of water a day if possible, too. But those first two weeks are the hardest, especially if you're just starting out. Get through those and you should be okay.
Heck, I took a week off at Christmas and lifted legs on Thursday. I'm still feeling the effects of squats and it's Monday.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

Well, I need to lose weight, badly...I gained 20 lbs last year, and no longer can I just dump 10 lbs in a week when I feel like it. Man, being 30-plus really does suck.

So I figured a good way to stay inspired would be to keep a running track of my weight loss in my sig. Not that anybody gives a shit about my weight loss, of course, but if I have to keep a running count of it, perhaps it'll keep me inspired.

Down 2.5 so far, not bad considering I ate like a pig at a birthday party New Year's Day. No more sugary soda for me, no more gluttonous Italian meals, no more desserts, just smaller, healthier meals and more exercise. We'll see how long it works.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

Wow, I've never been quoted by anyone in their sig before. Cool.

Same deal, BYH - calories in versus calories out. And do give yourself a day to eat that gluttonous Italian meal. It'll help keep you on track.

I'm on a crusade to drop 10 pounds, so I'm eating more veggies and less carbs. Should have picked up some beano for those veggie heavy meals, though. [/poot]

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

Hokie, every time I see that comment about Van Oy, I laugh. So it's worthy of sig inclusion. I just wish I had room for the picture.

As for the weight loss, I know what you're saying about treating yourself once in a while...but my problem is I've been treating myself for a long while. Like Starman, I feel as if I need to go cold turkey for a while. If I can dump 20 lbs, maybe I'll go apeshit after that.

All I know right now is I could go for some dessert or some M&Ms or some sugary stuff. Damnit!!!

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)


For all the Resolutionists heading back to the gym this week, what brand of protein powder do you use?

I just picked up Apex from the 24-Hour Fitness I go to. It is wretched.

Not only does it taste like chalk, but the crap won't even dissolve when I try to blend it into a shake. It congeals together, and I therefore I get big clumps of powder instead of a nice, smooth shake. I guess I'll use it until it's done since I paid 30 bucks for it, but there's got to be something better out there.