JCC 2016 Fitness Goals

Please no one do this.

 

To be fair, I don't recommend anyone do that. I have a hectic schedule which leads many people I work with towards late night fast food. I prefer to be hungry than stopping for food after midnight.

However, to reduce waist size, one needs to burn overall body fat. You can try running a few times a week as opposed to the hiking. Or combine the two and run at intervals.

 

My sister uses work-out videos, and they seem to do the trick. Years ago when I was a skinny guy with a ridiculous amount of flab around my waist I used to use an exercise bike - it had very little effect. Running, in my experience, is better. Anything that works out several groups of muscles has to be good, too.

 

Running and chopping wood are the best methods if you don't want to spend money.

 

Ah yes, the rogue lumberjack lifestyle!

 

Strange thing: a former coworker saw that Spider-Man picture on his Facebook and his sister saw it too. He just told me that she asked him to set us up on a date together.

 

Ezio, do you always start long runs with a first mile in 5:30? If you want to keep going for a long run, try keeping your pace more even right from the start. Fall into a sustainable rhythm early and stay there. Big changes in pace are great exercise and variety, but not so good for covering long distances. If you care more about the workout than the distance, do it your way and have fun with it. It's up to you which way you choose to run and what you get out of it.

 

While I do care more about the workout than the distance, that 5:30 mile seemed like a one time event. My friend and I haven't been able to do that again. We typically pace ourselves rather well since we still want to achieve a good distance. I've even tried to do it again on my own during long runs and haven't been able to. Now, if I'm only going to run a mile or two, then I can probably get around 6 minutes.

But that day we did 5:30, we were aiming for 7 miles (as is usually our goal). So I don't see that happening again. Still, it was a pretty awesome achievement. Back in college, when I used to run all the time, my best mile was something like 6:20. I never thought I'd get that good again.

 

Yesterday while at the grocery store (Publix, a fantastic grocery chain down here), I could not resist the delicious smell of their fried chicken. As previously mentioned, my diet typically consists of one salad and some fruit and nuts per day. But I couldn't resist. I got a box of 8 pieces and though I shared them with my son (my daughter is apparently too picky for fried chicken), I still ate enough to feel guilty (plus a leftover piece today).

Anyone else feel this way if/when indulging in foods not typically allowed in your diet? And what foods typically tempt you to break your diet? Back in the day, ice cream used to be my big weakness, but now it's fried food apparently. I've been generally good at resisting (partially because I hate this wave of guilt that I feel immediately afterwards ).

 

Nothing wrong with an occasional indulgence, as long as it stays occasional and not habitual. And if you're craving some particular food, it's often - not always - something your body actually needs more of. Do you get enough protein with your usual diet?

 

I couldn't give up fried chicken, it's a staple of my diet.

I've been eating ice cream recently, a tub a week. Been eating far too much chocolate, too. Both my sister's fault.

I've also been snacking on crisps (potato chips if you're American) for the first time in years. That one is totally down to me, however.

 

I assume so. I take a protein powder mix every morning and add chicken to my salad.

 

I've gone almost a week without fast food. Not because I'm trying to eat healthy but because I really can't afford it. I've stayed around 140-150 lbs since I worked in a greenhouse last summer, I thought I'd be fat by now with the way I've been eating the last couple months but nope. It doesn't hurt that I walk for hours on end for no reason every day because I've got too much free time.

 

It's actually getting warm here in the UK, so I'm having to remember to keep myself well hydrated before a run. On Saturday I was lax in that area, and consequently the usually gentle 7k run was kind of brutal by the end.

Everybody who's running in the warmer weather needs to remembr to drink that little bit more.

 

Yes, and hydration means drinking water. Some Gatorade with the water is okay. Stay away from soda, coffee, tea, energy drinks, and alcohol; they just make you pee and then you're still dehydrated, so drink water.

 

Even walking in the warmer weather, it's helpful to keep hydrated. I'll never forget I nearly collapsed after walking a mile from the job to my train home on one particularly humid evening. Bought a bottle of water and immediately felt better. Never going to go without some water in that kind of heat again.

 

Did 7 miles at 9'14 a mile today. Been running a few months. Not sure if I'll ever end up doing any races or anything but I feel good running everyday.

 

I very slowly building up my stamina by doing elementary calisthenics; jumping jacks, sit ups, push ups, squat thrusts, a couple of laps around the block, etc.

Also I've been eating smaller portions when eating meals, as well as cutting down on sugar.

 

Alright, I'm now down to 196 lbs as of weighing myself this morning.

I got this really cool app that tracks how many calories I've consumed per day that's really helped me with my dieting.

I'm trying to limit my calorie intake to around 500 or less per meal, but it's really hard for me not to eat more than I should at dinner because I'm always so hungry at the end of the day. ESPECIALLY if I've worked out.

Been eating lots of salads.

 

3 or 4 kilos to go.

Setting a rule for myself whenever I see fattening food:

"Would that look anywhere near as good in me as a Tom Ford suit would look on me?"

 

This year I've been talking it fairly easily on the exercise front due to some other life priorities, but I have been giving a bit more thought to the dietary side of things, an in particular reducing sugar. I have to say that it's made a huge difference to general well-being. I eat pretty much exactly what I always did at meals, but just substituted sugary snacks and drinks with protein and water. Energy levels are far more steady, without the peaks and troughs that I used to get. Feel much more energised in the mornings and my mood's more even. I'd highly recommend it!