Fitness thread? Fitness thread.

Some of you may remember that I got really fat. Then I got really thin. Now I'm kinda fat again. I'm trying to start working out again and eating a little better to get back to a good weight (or at least a good pant size).

My goal right now is 5k Errday [that I work out] (usually split cardio between morning/evening) and a 5-day split weight routine to build strength and burn fat.

Anyone else got any plans/routines, future or present?

Right now I just do 3 sets of 10 for 3 different kinds of pullups before I hop in the shower every day.
Back when I went to the gym my schedule was Back/Shoulders, Chest/Arms, Core, Legs, day off, repeat.

Honestly diet is the most important factor regardless of whether you're trying to lose weight or gain weight, so make sure you've got that locked down.

I'm going light paleo after I get back from Ohio. The fridge is empty right now. We got this, dawg.

I can't say that I'm very savvy when it comes to exercise, but I started working out about 8 years ago hoping a better body would help me meet someone. I am still single... I still do workout though, but it's become just a new routine in my life.

As for my workout routine:

First I usually get up really early in the morning before work at around 5 am and do a morning run (30 minutes, I don't go by the miles I just run the whole time). If I'm not tired I might carry some small weights while I run.

When I get home I usually do 15 or 30 minutes of strength training (Lifting weights, Squats, Basic exercises)

After that, I'm usually not that hungry so I have a light breakfast.

When I get back home from work I usually just do the same exercises from the morning again.

Also I am not sure if my exercising is killing my appetite, but whenever I don't workout I usually eat a lot more.

If you're running to lose weight, then min/max, or interval training, is the best way to go. 5k is a lot to jump into right from the start. Here's what I did:

First, start by eating regular, small meals. For breakfast I would have a bowl of bran cereal with skim milk. Lunch, a grilled chicken salad, or something else with a balance of protein and fiber. Then, later in the day, a small bowl of oatmeal. If I get hungry in the middle, some raw almonds are really good for you. Omega-3s and all.

Second, cut out as much sugar as you can. Eating fat doesn't make you fat, but eating sugar does. The biggest culprits are drinks. Water, coffee, and red bull total zero are about all I drink now.

Third, start out walking. I started with 2 miles a day, walking, for a week.

Fourth, when you begin running, do intervals. Warm up walking for 10 minutes. Then run as fast as you can for a minute. Then walk for a minute. Alternate these two things. Over time, increase the amount of running that you do in between walking segments. I now do 2.5 - 3 miles a day of interval running.

Fifth, get stronger. Do some lifting, too. This helps your body turn the food that you eat into muscle instead of fat. DO NOT LIFT EVERY DAY. This is a common mistake, but all you end up doing is tearing down muscle without giving it a chance to grow. I lift every 2 - 3 days.

Sixth, sleep regularly. In combination with everything else, sleep burns fat, but only if you get enough.

Seventh, don't give up. Results come slowly, but they do come. There have been a few times where I've said, "Fuck this, its not working." But then people tell me that I look like I'm losing weight, and I see pictures of the change over time. It does work. Its just not an instant thing.

PS. Don't stop before you hit the point where you're body is actually getting exercise. What I mean is, when you're running, you'll hit this point where you don't think you can keep going for another step. You have to push past that. That's when you really start doing some work. Same with lifting. If you're lifting weights until the reps get hard, and then being done, that isn't doing anything. The most important reps are the ones where it feels like you can't possibly lift anymore. That's when you're breaking down the muscle. The day of rest is when you're building them back up.

Also, I was always the type of person that hated this shit. I didn't like running. I thought lifting was stupid. Now, I feel so great when I do it that I love it. So don't get discouraged. I even feel bad if I have to miss a day running.

I lost around 100lb in less than a year ;P I know about working out to lose weight...and I used to run xcountry. I don't think 5k split between 2 sessions is that much of a big deal.

The 5 day split for weights that I'm doing works pretty decently. 1 muscle group/day with 7 days of rest for that muscle group. Can't make any gainz without any rest! Also where sleep comes in. Sleeping more regularly will also make you less stressed, and help get your cortisol levels in check.

My main failing before was losing a lot of weight and then not sticking with a routine to maintain, and then eating like shit and excusing it with "my job sucks, I have no time, I'm stressed"

There's also plenty of walking and more running than just 5k involved, usually. I know results don't tend to come right away. Especially when you start running, that's true. If you start running a lot after a long time of inactivity, your body views it as "trauma" and start conserving water, so you get bloaty for a while after you start running, too.

Yeah, totally. And I have to do stuff to keep myself pumped up, too. Listening to metal, or watching stand-up comedy are the two things that make me get into it even more. I didn't see that you split 5k. That's not a big deal at all. 5k is only like 3.5 miles or something, which is what I'm working toward in a single session right now. I hope to be there by December 16. You definitely didn't gain all of your weight back though. You still look good.

It's still ridiculously hot here, so I don't have the benefit of wearing winter clothes to hide the extra chub I packed on.

I normally split 5k, but if I can, I'll try to get a full 5k in during one session. My mile time isn't great, but I "stay running" the entire time (even if it's that sort of dorky/pathetic running-motion-while-you're-actually-sort-of-speedwalking motion).

I get more excited about lifting, though. My gym is unfortunately one of those with a no-deadlifting policy

Also thanks for the compliment ;_; You can tell that you're losing weight also!

I echo the diet. Forget sodas and cokes.

I'm a runner. I haven't ever lifted weights so I can't offer advice there.

On good weeks I get 3 miles every other day. Time constraints keep me from doing much more!

Much luck to you as you trim down!

If you're running to lose weight, then min/max, or interval training, is the best way to go. 5k is a lot to jump into right from the start. Here's what I did:

First, start by eating regular, small meals. For breakfast I would have a bowl of bran cereal with skim milk. Lunch, a grilled chicken salad, or something else with a balance of protein and fiber. Then, later in the day, a small bowl of oatmeal. If I get hungry in the middle, some raw almonds are really good for you. Omega-3s and all.

Second, cut out as much sugar as you can. Eating fat doesn't make you fat, but eating sugar does. The biggest culprits are drinks. Water, coffee, and red bull total zero are about all I drink now.

Third, start out walking. I started with 2 miles a day, walking, for a week.

Fourth, when you begin running, do intervals. Warm up walking for 10 minutes. Then run as fast as you can for a minute. Then walk for a minute. Alternate these two things. Over time, increase the amount of running that you do in between walking segments. I now do 2.5 - 3 miles a day of interval running.

Fifth, get stronger. Do some lifting, too. This helps your body turn the food that you eat into muscle instead of fat. DO NOT LIFT EVERY DAY. This is a common mistake, but all you end up doing is tearing down muscle without giving it a chance to grow. I lift every 2 - 3 days.

Sixth, sleep regularly. In combination with everything else, sleep burns fat, but only if you get enough.

Seventh, don't give up. Results come slowly, but they do come. There have been a few times where I've said, "Fuck this, its not working." But then people tell me that I look like I'm losing weight, and I see pictures of the change over time. It does work. Its just not an instant thing.

Well that will help me at least

The only problem I have with running is honestly no time. I go to bed anywhere from midnight to 1 am and am back up at 6 am.  Getting up an hour earlier isn't really an option for me cause I'm pooped as it is. I try to go to the gym every other day and basically I keep moving throughout the day.  I lost about 30 lbs but then hit a stressful time and ate (I'm a stress eater) my way back up 10 lbs >_<   I can't really do the mini-meals. I feel like I am starving and tend to overeat to compensate. What I have been doing, and has been working so far is :
~ cut out soda
~ cut out candy
~ eat 3 400 calorie meals per day + 2 100 calorie snacks.

Normally I have breakfast, snack, lunch, dinner, dessert (last snack).  When I actually followed this I always felt full and satisfied and was dropping the weight pretty well.  I have just started getting back on track to be honest.  My biggest goal for right now is just to get more rest. I want to try and get my work and things I have to do finished earlier so that I can go to bed at a decent hour. I noticed that when I am tired I tend to move less and eat more >_<   

Eating small amounts all through the day is definitely better than a few large meals! Its also good to switch up the time that you exercise during the day. It keeps your body guessing, and can stave off the dreaded plateau~

What I'd really like to do is gain weight, preferably through developing some muscle or something. I'm underweight but still look a little flabby in the stomach. I drink water, coffee, and the very occasional Mountain Dew, and I really hate food. (Apparently you're supposed to get 2,000 calories a day; I hardly ever break 1,000.)

What can I do that will help me in these areas? I've heard about /r/fitness's obsession with GOMAD, but like hell if I can drink that much milk in a week, let alone a day.

LIFT. Make sure you get plenty of protein, though. other than that I don't know anything about gaining weight in a healthy way ;_;

You will not ever gain weight if you don't even hit 2000 calories. 2k is like the older woman who doesn't want to change their body diet. Protein is essential, but it's better to get it from uncooked sources unless you down 20lbs of steak every day. If you don't want to eat much more, take supplements, but you gotta get nutrients somehow. I recommend you find a full body workout you like, but the essentials are squats and bench. It seems impossible to gain weight with body types like we have, but with the right workout I managed to gain 8lbs my first week and a half.

^ yeah what they said .-. eat moar pls ;_;

As for toning up, I'd suggest Pilates. :> They worked really well for me, but sadly I've packed on some weight since then.


I can't tell if I need some good cardio or to simply cut back on the types of foods I'm eating. Since I started working, I began to drink soda again to keep me energized (during work, about 1 bottle a day when I'm working, which is typically about 3-4 days a week). Sprite, to be exact, because there's no Dr.Pepper machines at my work and Sprite feels as close to healthy as soda can get, I think. Normally, I drink Sweet Tea. But that's not much better. Right now I'm drinking water, so that helps.

I feel like I've been eating less food in general since I started working, but more unhealthy food. For example: I'm just an hour or two under the 8hrs I need to get a 30 min lunch break on most my work days. So, I end up eating some candy during my break. It's an awful feeling, because I really don't want to be eating a candy bar for lunch everyday. So, typically its: Cereal for breakfast. Candy bar for lunch. Whatever dinner is for dinner. I might grab a midnight snack before crashing. I really wish there was a way to fit in something healthier and more filling at work, but I'm typically a very slow eater (sometimes), so it's not easy for me to eat something nice in the 15 minute breaks I normally get.

As for exercise...well, I stand a lot at work. But I could probably work on that, too. It's tough to find the time, because after work my legs are really tired and I just wanna chill. I guess this is better than how I ate before I started working, but it's too soon to tell if it's helped me or not yet. It's still not healthy, lol.

I eat healthy because my wife cooks healthy 

That said yuyu, carry around almonds and/or trail mix. It's really designed to give you calories and energy as a snack.

Then hit these up for lunch. Most are delicious!

http://www.shape.com/healthy-eating/meal-ideas/10-quick-and-healthy-brown-bag-lunches

haha, thanks for the tips! I'm actually shooting for lower amounts of calories, but overall healthier and more filling food. I'm tall and have a bigger bone-structure, which helps a bit, since I'm supposed to weigh more than most girls. =o However, I'm not content with my current numbers. Nope.

haha, thanks for the tips! I'm actually shooting for lower amounts of calories, but overall healthier and more filling food. I'm tall and have a bigger bone-structure, which helps a bit, since I'm supposed to weigh more than most girls. =o However, I'm not content with my current numbers. Nope.

poo on numbers

I don't focus on numbers, really. At my most recent "smallest" I weighed around 150, but I was between a size 8-10 pants with no belly. It's all about how you look and feel

That makes sense haha xD It's true that I've been a little concerned with my numbers, but in the past I still weighed more than I wanted to, but I looked better because I had built one some muscle from Pilates, so I didn't give a damn. To everyone else, it had looked like I lost weight.

So, I guess I need to remove this feeling that numbers matter, because I keep forgetting that at that time, my numbers didn't mean anything. O.o Okay, then by looks, I wouldn't mind slimming down a bit! xD Haha, that's more spot-on~

What hope is there for someone who thinks most healthy foods tasty nasty? Like, oh god I'm going to vomit uncontrollably nasty.

I'm not overweight at all (just got over being 1 1/2 stone underweight ;w;) but all I eat nowadays is noodles and basically eating nothing but noodles, bacon and eggs can't be good for me (student diet if you were wondering) so I'm just wondering if someone who's very very particular about what they like to eat and can afford can still eat reasonably healthy.

Well, eggs are a pretty good start. What do you NOT like?