I asked a friend of mine today, "What are your (fitness) goals?" His answer, "Stay consistent". I cringed, and said to myself, "self you got's to blog!"
Goals are essential to everything we do, especially fitness. But they are often misunderstood, set improperly and never re-evaluated. But first we need to know what is a goal? How do we define it. A goal is a result, that can be measured. This is really important. If you can't measure it, if it isn't tangible, you will never know when you have achieved it! If you can't measure it, you can't determine your progress towards it (or away from it). If you can't measure it, then it is a dream, a passing thought, and has no motivational value at all.
A dream: I want to go some where nice.
A Goal: This year for Spring Break, I am going to Florida. (you know when and where you are going)
A dream: I want to have better health.
A Goal: I want to reduce my blood pressure and lose weight.
A Better Goal: I want to reduce my blood pressure to 80/120 or less, and my weight to 180 lbs.
A dream: I want to get more fit.
Goals: I want to run a 5K, bench press more, and bicycle 100 miles.
Better Goals: I want to run a 5K in under 27 minutes, bench press 225 and bicycle 100 miles in under 6 hrs.
Goals get better the more specific they are. It makes them easier to measure progress. As you make progress your motivation goes up!
So let's go back to the goal, "Stay consistent". Yes we could turn this into a goal such as, "I want workout 3 times per week on average over 6 months." This would be a decent goal. However, maybe what we really want to do is look at this as not a goal or dream, but rather a method, or in other words a way we accomplish our real goals.
Let's take a look at a goal I actually have, "Barbell Bench Press 225 lbs by the end of 2013", this is really specific, I know what I can bench right now, I can measure my progress, I have a time frame in which I want to accomplish this, so it is a solid goal. Then I need to start looking at my training plan, what methods am I going to use. Here is what I have put together, and the current status of each one.
1. Research various upper body routines and exercises to maximize my bench press strength. - Complete
2. Based on #1, Evaluate my current bench press for weaknesses such as Triceps, Chest, LATs, low end, lockout, etc. - Complete (For those interested I have a terrible low end and form tends to flare elbows too much. LAT's and Triceps are strong points, Chest and shoulders are weak points")
3. Design training routine around evaluation in number 2. As a result:
Train Chest 2 times per week,
1- day with Barbell presses, Flat, Incline and Declines, these must pause at the chest.
1 - day with dumbbells presses, flyes and tricep extensions.
Train Shoulders and LATs each 1 day per week. (separate days, may be done on chest days as add-ons)
4. Re-evaluate every 6 weeks, look for weakness (go back to #2) and ultimate goal progress (max bench). This one is hard, because I tend to want to see quicker progress, but my research in # 1 tells me that I must be patient. (I am in week 3 of the current cycle).
One of the methods built into this is to "stay consistent." If I am true to # 3, I have to be. I also have some flexibility in that I can accomplish the workouts in #3 in as little as 2 days or as many as 4 by varying the length of the workouts and what is included in each. If I want that goal on 12/31/2012 of a 225 lb bench, then I have to stay consistent with my workout plan.
Also, have some milestones, these are more short term goals on the road to the big goals. They are spots you can tick off when you go by them.
Three other things about goals that are really helpful.
A) Track your goals, this will help motivate you as even the smallest gain is still a gain!
B) Declare them, publicly Tell people. As soon as you do, you have invited accountability. Someone who can ask "Hey Microe, how is that 225 lb bench going? " Because you have a plan, methods and are tracking you have he answer at ready, and you will feel good talking about it!
C) Goals must be attainable. If you have no chance of doing it, you will get discouraged and quit. They can be hard, push yourself, but be realistic. Thus you also need to re-evaluate them occasionally.
So define some goals, they aren't hard. Work toward them, track progress and re-evaluate occasionally. Success is yours!
Microe
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Fitness Tip - March 5, 2013
Missed last week, the world got in the way. Here are this weeks tips!
1) your body needs to by hydrated to function. It can't burn fat very well when it doesn't have enough water. It needs water to regulate temperature and to facilitate cell growth.
2) You need water to flush out waste. If you are dehydrated, then your body doesn't get a chance to flush out all those bad things it is trying eliminate. If your not urinating or are constipated, you probably aren't getting enough water. Drink enough that your urine is light in color or colorless.
3) Thirst often manifests itself as hunger. You think you need food, when your body is really crying for water. Water doesn't cost any calories, so if you feel hunger, get a big drink and wait 10-15 minutes. That way you can be sure it wasn't just thirs messing with your head.
Ab Crunches - First let me say that you cannot, I repeat CANNOT, work off that beer gut by doing crunches or any other ab exercise. You will have to lose fat. However, you can build a six pack underneath that will be ready to show the world after you have lost the "bag" you are carrying that six pack in. Crunches are one way to start. Lie on your back, legs bent, lift shoulders off the floor bending in the middle of your abdomen, lie back down, repeat. These are safer for the back than straight leg situps. When you get good at these, add a challenge by holding some weight in your hands.
Planks - This one really works the abs. Assume the push-up position with either arms straight or bent resting on forearms. Keep your back straight, stomach off the floor. Hold the position for as long as you can, repeat. Keep your abs tight throughout.
Push-ups - Great for shoulders, chest and triceps. Change them up once in a while by widening your hands (works more chest) or close hands (works more triceps) If you have trouble at first, put your knees on the ground. Don't fret about only be able to do 1 or 2 when you start, keep doing them regularly, and you will be surprised how quickly your strength will grow.
Squats
Diet/WeightWatchers
This weeks diet tip is to drink water. Hydration is extremely important when you are trying to get fit and exercising, even more so when you are trying to lose weight. Three main reasons for this;1) your body needs to by hydrated to function. It can't burn fat very well when it doesn't have enough water. It needs water to regulate temperature and to facilitate cell growth.
2) You need water to flush out waste. If you are dehydrated, then your body doesn't get a chance to flush out all those bad things it is trying eliminate. If your not urinating or are constipated, you probably aren't getting enough water. Drink enough that your urine is light in color or colorless.
3) Thirst often manifests itself as hunger. You think you need food, when your body is really crying for water. Water doesn't cost any calories, so if you feel hunger, get a big drink and wait 10-15 minutes. That way you can be sure it wasn't just thirs messing with your head.
Exercise/Fitness
Let's talk about "body weight" exercises this week. These are strength training exercises that are done using no extra weight, just your own body. A good thing about them is that you can do them without going to a gym or purchasing extra equipment. This is a great way to start supplementing that cardio regime with some strength training.Ab Crunches - First let me say that you cannot, I repeat CANNOT, work off that beer gut by doing crunches or any other ab exercise. You will have to lose fat. However, you can build a six pack underneath that will be ready to show the world after you have lost the "bag" you are carrying that six pack in. Crunches are one way to start. Lie on your back, legs bent, lift shoulders off the floor bending in the middle of your abdomen, lie back down, repeat. These are safer for the back than straight leg situps. When you get good at these, add a challenge by holding some weight in your hands.Planks - This one really works the abs. Assume the push-up position with either arms straight or bent resting on forearms. Keep your back straight, stomach off the floor. Hold the position for as long as you can, repeat. Keep your abs tight throughout.Push-ups - Great for shoulders, chest and triceps. Change them up once in a while by widening your hands (works more chest) or close hands (works more triceps) If you have trouble at first, put your knees on the ground. Don't fret about only be able to do 1 or 2 when you start, keep doing them regularly, and you will be surprised how quickly your strength will grow.
Body Weight Squats/Lunges - These both work the legs and glutes (butt muscles). And who doesn't want nice tight glutes. When you master them with no weight, start holding heavy things in your hands, like a couple of gallons of milk, the baby, a bowling ball or water softener salt.
Lunges
Pull-ups/Chin-ups - For these you will need a bar, any bar except the one serving cocktails. Pull-ups (palms facing away) and Chin-ups (palms facing toward you) work you back (lats) and biceps. And they are handy for rock climbing also. Again don't worry about only being able to do 1 or 2 at first. Keep doing them, simply hanging from them with your arms bent as long as possible will make you stronger.
Give them a try. Increasing your strength makes your cardio easier, increases your metabolism and gives you a sense of satisfaction knowing you can bang out a set of push-ups.
See you next week, stay fit and active,
Mike
Monday, February 25, 2013
Fitness Tip for Week ending February 23, 2013.
Yup, late again! Life has been busy. But his weeks blog is short, on purpose. I have a long one in the works, but the tips his week are just that, tips.
Diet/WeightWatchers
I get lots of questions from those starting out about being hungry. The typical one is " I am fine until about 2 hours after dinner, then I start to get hungry, by the time I go to bed I am starved! What do I do?" Simple answer is eat! But in control.
You probably have gotten in the habit of eating later at night, while winding down, maybe watching TV. And your body likes to fuel up every few hours. So expecting to go from say 7pm to 7am without eating, well yes a lot of us get hungry. So plan for it. Reserve part of your calorie/daily point intake for later evening. Now I am not talking about 800 cals or 10 pts, after all you are headed to bed and won't be burning off a lot. About 100 to 150 cals can often do the trick. And stay away from really sugary carbs. go for protein and a little fat. I like to have walnuts, or almonds, unsalted (salt will make you hungrier), only 5-8 nuts. Low fat string cheese isn't bad. A few pieces of beef jerky (low salt). Plan for it, and eat it slowly.
Also drink so water or non-caffeinated tea. Many times that hunger is really thirst. Staying hydrated helps keep hunger at bay.
Exercise/Fitness
Do you have fitness goals? If not you should have. Without goals, you can't measure progress, which means you can't tell if what you are doing is making a difference. You will find my goals for the year in an earlier post in this blog. But yours don't have to be as extensive. They can be simple as being able to do 5 pushups, to walk a 5K, or run a 5K without stopping. As soon as you start putting some goals together, they give you motivation and direction. When you achieve a goal you get that great feeling of accomplishment.
Don't keep your goals to yourself. Tell people. When you let others know what your goals are, they will ask about them, ask about your progress, and this builds in accountability. It also helps when you tell them you need to workout, or aren't eating something because you are trying to reach the goal.
That is all, just a few tips. See you next week.
Mike
Diet/WeightWatchers
I get lots of questions from those starting out about being hungry. The typical one is " I am fine until about 2 hours after dinner, then I start to get hungry, by the time I go to bed I am starved! What do I do?" Simple answer is eat! But in control.
You probably have gotten in the habit of eating later at night, while winding down, maybe watching TV. And your body likes to fuel up every few hours. So expecting to go from say 7pm to 7am without eating, well yes a lot of us get hungry. So plan for it. Reserve part of your calorie/daily point intake for later evening. Now I am not talking about 800 cals or 10 pts, after all you are headed to bed and won't be burning off a lot. About 100 to 150 cals can often do the trick. And stay away from really sugary carbs. go for protein and a little fat. I like to have walnuts, or almonds, unsalted (salt will make you hungrier), only 5-8 nuts. Low fat string cheese isn't bad. A few pieces of beef jerky (low salt). Plan for it, and eat it slowly.
Also drink so water or non-caffeinated tea. Many times that hunger is really thirst. Staying hydrated helps keep hunger at bay.
Exercise/Fitness
Do you have fitness goals? If not you should have. Without goals, you can't measure progress, which means you can't tell if what you are doing is making a difference. You will find my goals for the year in an earlier post in this blog. But yours don't have to be as extensive. They can be simple as being able to do 5 pushups, to walk a 5K, or run a 5K without stopping. As soon as you start putting some goals together, they give you motivation and direction. When you achieve a goal you get that great feeling of accomplishment.
Don't keep your goals to yourself. Tell people. When you let others know what your goals are, they will ask about them, ask about your progress, and this builds in accountability. It also helps when you tell them you need to workout, or aren't eating something because you are trying to reach the goal.
That is all, just a few tips. See you next week.
Mike
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Friday, February 15, 2013
Fitness Tip for Week ending February 16, 2013.
Let's get this one out early.
Diet/Weight Watchers
So you are on your way, got the diet going, tracking in WW and things are great those first few days. Maybe the enthusiasm lasts for a couple of weeks. Then you start to get into the drudgery of how many points is it? What the heck am I going to eat today? So planning is key. Making sure you got plenty of good food choices in the fridge and pantry. But still it takes more time to make your meal than to grab that Quarter Pounder w/Cheese (14pts), Medium Fries (10pts) and a 16oz Coke (6pts). That is 30pts. I currently have only 36 daily, and my wife has 26. That is a whole day in one meal!!!! OF course you are dieting sooooo....... instead you order a Premium Grilled Chicken Classic, w/o mayo (9pts), Small Fries (6pts) and a Diet Coke (0pts). That is still 15 points!! So, if you are serious you need to do two things.
First do your homework. Find out what are high point items and low point alternatives. I made the mistake after being on WW for about 2 months of going into a Jimmy Johns and ordering a Totally Tuna Sub on French Bread, - 17 pts!!!! I thought I'll never eat at that place again. I'll go to Subway that is where "Jarod" eats. But Subway 6" Oven Roasted Chicken Sandwich on 9-Grain Wheat Bread with no cheese or mayo is 8 pts. Ahhh but I found a great alternative, and guess where, Jimmy John's. See they make these things called Unwiches. Take any sub they have and turn it into and Unwich. They replace the bread with big leaves of Iceberg lettuce, lots of it. Take A #2 Big John Unwich, 2 pts. #14 Bootlegger (roast beef and turkey) they are 4 pts. Just leave the cheese off everything. They are great tasting and filling.
Get the point calculator app for you smart phone. It will tell you what anything is point wise from the nutrition info on the package. What you find out will surprise you. Stop in at most convience stores and you will find convience gets you FAT. Not much good to eat, though you can usually find a banana, apple or some unsalted dry roasted nuts (get the smallest bag you can find). Small Packages (1.5 oz) make good snacks, 3pts per serving.
Second, stay out of any fast food restaurant that doesn't server Unwiches. There are just not many good food choices there, really, so why waste your time eating where you will be tempted to eat something you shouldn't.
Exercise & Fitness
Let's talk about Cardio this week. In my opinion there are 3 stages of cardio, beginning, cruising and flying.
Beginning Cardio is what you do when you have been sedentary for too long and are just starting out (like duh Mike, I got the from the term beginning!). Three main concerns here finding exercises that you like, art raise your heart rate and doesn't over stress joints & muscles. If you don't like it, you won't do it. If it doesn't raise your heart rate, it doesn't do you any good. If it over stresses your joints or muscles you will be sidelined with an injury which just defeats the purpose. WW Activity points 1-10 per workout Good beginning exercises include:
Walking - outdoors, indoors, treadmill - < 30 mins, < 3mph
Hiking
Bike Riding - leisure rides < 30 minutes, < 12 mph.
Exercise Bike in gym < 30 min
Elliptical trainer < 30 min
Swimming.
These get you moving, burn fat and help you start to get some muscle tone and endurance.
Cruising Cardio kind of just happens. You go along doing your beginning exercise and you start to tone up. You can do more and more each time you exercise. Pretty soon you have gone past that 30 minute mark. Walking is at 3 mph or above, cycling goes past the 12 mph mark. You feel good and want to do more. Fact is that now you have toned up and have some endurance so chances of injury go down because muscles and joints are now getting in shape and your weight has gone down. What you need to add to the list of things to look for in the exercise, is it challenging. Now is the time to start challenging yourself to get to a higher level. WW Activity points 10+ per workout Exercises to consider adding:
Speed Walking - speed > 3 mph, durations > 45 min
Backpacking - turn that hike into an event with a pack on your back.
Jogging/Running - Ease into it, but this can put into shape to maybe try out a 5K run.
Spin Class - just when you thought you had mastered the exercise bike, let a class push you for 45+ min.
StairMaster - this is a beast in the gym.
Mountain Biking - Off the pavement into the dirt. Sand, mud, hills.
Road Cycling - Get out of town and off the sidewalks. 12 - 15 mph, hills, distances up to 35 miles.
Advanced swimming - start working on times and strokes.
What you will find with all of these is that no longer will your heart rate just go up, it will jump, workouts that put you in the Anaerobic Zone (>85% heart rate) are common. The sweat starts to roll, feels like fat dripping off. Endurance and muscle tone starts to get at a level that will surprise you.
FLYING: The last step is flying, I call if flying for 2 reasons, your speed and endurance go up and you feel like you are flying. You start to really crave the activity. At this point your exercise usually becomes very specialized, doing something you completely enjoy and doing it a a lot! All other exercise seems to be dialed in to improve your performance in your favorite. WW Activity points 20+ per workout. These exercises include:
Long Distance Running > 5K, half and full marathons
Sprinting
Cyclo-cross a combination Mountain biking, road riding and sometime running while carrying your bike.
Long Distance Road Cycling or Racing - Distances > 100K (62 miles) with 100 mi rides common, > 16 mph
Triathlons
Your body gets tuned in, you actually are now training for specific events. Duration's of activity rise, 3, 4, 6+ hours of exercise. At this point your endurance has gone past that of most people, and you are enjoying the rush. The sky is the limit when you are flying.
I have managed to get to that last level. It took me a long time. Remember, I started at 327lbs. Here is what I did:
Beginning Cardio - 7 months (Aug 2011 - Feb 2012) starting weight 327 lbs
Walking Outdoors
Leisure bicycling - transitioned to exercise bike in gym during winter.
Cruising Cardio - 5 months (Feb - July 2012) - 254 lbs
Walking Outdoors - 10,000 steps a day at 3 mph
Spinning Classes twice a week
StairMaster - up to 30 minutes (110 floors)
Road Cycling - 12 - 15 mph, up to 50 miles
Flying - 5 months (July 2012 to present) present weight 190 lbs on 2/15/13
Long Distance Road Cycling, first 100K 4th of July week. first 100 mi ride Aug 31, avg long
distance speed at end of season 16.7 mph
Spinning Class twice a week
Running - occasional events ran in One One Run on 1/1/2013, 2.2 miles speed 5 mph.
Walk everywhere I can.
Currently training for first race, 3/23/2013, a Roubaix (gravel road ride).
One last point, age is not a factor. Nor is starting health. I'm 54 years old. When I started this I had High Blood Pressure and Sleep Apnea. Both are gone, no meds, no CPAP pump. And I feel great. See you next week!
Diet/Weight Watchers
So you are on your way, got the diet going, tracking in WW and things are great those first few days. Maybe the enthusiasm lasts for a couple of weeks. Then you start to get into the drudgery of how many points is it? What the heck am I going to eat today? So planning is key. Making sure you got plenty of good food choices in the fridge and pantry. But still it takes more time to make your meal than to grab that Quarter Pounder w/Cheese (14pts), Medium Fries (10pts) and a 16oz Coke (6pts). That is 30pts. I currently have only 36 daily, and my wife has 26. That is a whole day in one meal!!!! OF course you are dieting sooooo....... instead you order a Premium Grilled Chicken Classic, w/o mayo (9pts), Small Fries (6pts) and a Diet Coke (0pts). That is still 15 points!! So, if you are serious you need to do two things.
First do your homework. Find out what are high point items and low point alternatives. I made the mistake after being on WW for about 2 months of going into a Jimmy Johns and ordering a Totally Tuna Sub on French Bread, - 17 pts!!!! I thought I'll never eat at that place again. I'll go to Subway that is where "Jarod" eats. But Subway 6" Oven Roasted Chicken Sandwich on 9-Grain Wheat Bread with no cheese or mayo is 8 pts. Ahhh but I found a great alternative, and guess where, Jimmy John's. See they make these things called Unwiches. Take any sub they have and turn it into and Unwich. They replace the bread with big leaves of Iceberg lettuce, lots of it. Take A #2 Big John Unwich, 2 pts. #14 Bootlegger (roast beef and turkey) they are 4 pts. Just leave the cheese off everything. They are great tasting and filling.
Get the point calculator app for you smart phone. It will tell you what anything is point wise from the nutrition info on the package. What you find out will surprise you. Stop in at most convience stores and you will find convience gets you FAT. Not much good to eat, though you can usually find a banana, apple or some unsalted dry roasted nuts (get the smallest bag you can find). Small Packages (1.5 oz) make good snacks, 3pts per serving.
Second, stay out of any fast food restaurant that doesn't server Unwiches. There are just not many good food choices there, really, so why waste your time eating where you will be tempted to eat something you shouldn't.
Exercise & Fitness
Let's talk about Cardio this week. In my opinion there are 3 stages of cardio, beginning, cruising and flying.
Beginning Cardio is what you do when you have been sedentary for too long and are just starting out (like duh Mike, I got the from the term beginning!). Three main concerns here finding exercises that you like, art raise your heart rate and doesn't over stress joints & muscles. If you don't like it, you won't do it. If it doesn't raise your heart rate, it doesn't do you any good. If it over stresses your joints or muscles you will be sidelined with an injury which just defeats the purpose. WW Activity points 1-10 per workout Good beginning exercises include:
Walking - outdoors, indoors, treadmill - < 30 mins, < 3mph
Hiking
Bike Riding - leisure rides < 30 minutes, < 12 mph.
Exercise Bike in gym < 30 min
Elliptical trainer < 30 min
Swimming.
These get you moving, burn fat and help you start to get some muscle tone and endurance.
Cruising Cardio kind of just happens. You go along doing your beginning exercise and you start to tone up. You can do more and more each time you exercise. Pretty soon you have gone past that 30 minute mark. Walking is at 3 mph or above, cycling goes past the 12 mph mark. You feel good and want to do more. Fact is that now you have toned up and have some endurance so chances of injury go down because muscles and joints are now getting in shape and your weight has gone down. What you need to add to the list of things to look for in the exercise, is it challenging. Now is the time to start challenging yourself to get to a higher level. WW Activity points 10+ per workout Exercises to consider adding:
Speed Walking - speed > 3 mph, durations > 45 min
Backpacking - turn that hike into an event with a pack on your back.
Jogging/Running - Ease into it, but this can put into shape to maybe try out a 5K run.
Spin Class - just when you thought you had mastered the exercise bike, let a class push you for 45+ min.
StairMaster - this is a beast in the gym.
Mountain Biking - Off the pavement into the dirt. Sand, mud, hills.
Road Cycling - Get out of town and off the sidewalks. 12 - 15 mph, hills, distances up to 35 miles.
Advanced swimming - start working on times and strokes.
What you will find with all of these is that no longer will your heart rate just go up, it will jump, workouts that put you in the Anaerobic Zone (>85% heart rate) are common. The sweat starts to roll, feels like fat dripping off. Endurance and muscle tone starts to get at a level that will surprise you.
FLYING: The last step is flying, I call if flying for 2 reasons, your speed and endurance go up and you feel like you are flying. You start to really crave the activity. At this point your exercise usually becomes very specialized, doing something you completely enjoy and doing it a a lot! All other exercise seems to be dialed in to improve your performance in your favorite. WW Activity points 20+ per workout. These exercises include:
Long Distance Running > 5K, half and full marathons
Sprinting
Cyclo-cross a combination Mountain biking, road riding and sometime running while carrying your bike.
Long Distance Road Cycling or Racing - Distances > 100K (62 miles) with 100 mi rides common, > 16 mph
Triathlons
Your body gets tuned in, you actually are now training for specific events. Duration's of activity rise, 3, 4, 6+ hours of exercise. At this point your endurance has gone past that of most people, and you are enjoying the rush. The sky is the limit when you are flying.
I have managed to get to that last level. It took me a long time. Remember, I started at 327lbs. Here is what I did:
Beginning Cardio - 7 months (Aug 2011 - Feb 2012) starting weight 327 lbs
Walking Outdoors
Leisure bicycling - transitioned to exercise bike in gym during winter.
Cruising Cardio - 5 months (Feb - July 2012) - 254 lbs
Walking Outdoors - 10,000 steps a day at 3 mph
Spinning Classes twice a week
StairMaster - up to 30 minutes (110 floors)
Road Cycling - 12 - 15 mph, up to 50 miles
Flying - 5 months (July 2012 to present) present weight 190 lbs on 2/15/13
Long Distance Road Cycling, first 100K 4th of July week. first 100 mi ride Aug 31, avg long
distance speed at end of season 16.7 mph
Spinning Class twice a week
Running - occasional events ran in One One Run on 1/1/2013, 2.2 miles speed 5 mph.
Walk everywhere I can.
Currently training for first race, 3/23/2013, a Roubaix (gravel road ride).
On my Mountain Bike Trainer in my basement.
One last point, age is not a factor. Nor is starting health. I'm 54 years old. When I started this I had High Blood Pressure and Sleep Apnea. Both are gone, no meds, no CPAP pump. And I feel great. See you next week!
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Fitness Tip for Week ending February 9, 2013.
Ok Folks, sorry this one is a little late, been hectic around here.
Diet/Weight Watchers
The simple fact of the matter is that if you are really looking for substantial weight loss and have it be sustained over the long haul, this isn't a "diet" but a life style change. You have to change your eating habits Permanently! One of the things you will have to do is give up eating some things on a regular basis. And yes there will be a list. Mine list is long, but includes things like pizza, mac-n-cheese, macaroni salad, potato chips,,,, and it goes on. Yes, occasionally (like once a month or two) you can have these, but they need to leave not just the daily diet, but the weekly also, (if not the monthly). So when you are making this list, find one or two foods that you really like and figure out how to fit them into your diet.
My 2 are beer and chocolate. I fit them in this way. With beer, I like all kinds, dark beers, pilsners, ambers, stouts, IPAs, every last one of them. So once a week I allow myself one mug of beer at my favorite brewery. Now a mug is 20 oz, and that figures to be 7 WW Points, so I drink one. This is where my wife helps, she reminds me, just one. If we go somewhere else I am remain very conscious of the qty/points ratio. If I run into a plateau (like right now) beer gets removed completely.
For chocolate, we buy really really good dark chocolate, and have it as a treat most nights, 1 oz or less. But it is worth it, and it is only a 3-4 points.
Treat yourself, but plan your treats, make it part of your plan. And through the rest out! You won't miss them.
Exercise & Fitness
There has been a lot written about what type of exercise you should do to lose weight. Here is my experience. When I started out I needed an exercise to make me work, break a sweat and start improving my cardio vascular system. That mean't cardio, increasing the number of calories I was burning was first and foremost. I liked walking, but my knees and feet were under too much stress at my starting weight. So I got out my mountain bike. Less joint stress, no foot pain. I could work up a good sweat, and my endurance started to go up.
Cycling turned into Spinning classes in the winter, and then in the spring it went to a whole new level. I bought a road bike and it got serious, rides over 4 hours and over 50 miles. But the bottom line was these big time cardio workouts were transforming my whole cardio vascular system. My weight went down, as did my blood pressure. Endurance has gone through the roof. This fall, after the cycling season I I went back to spinning and started adding a lot of strength training. Increasing muscle mass now helps fuel my metabolism.
I truly believe this is the correct order. You have to get your weight down by burning lots of calories, and increase your stamina and endurance before you can reap the full benefits of strength training. My weight workouts now are killer. But without the cardio to get me to this point they would have never happened.
Find that exercise that you like, that you can really push yourself with. Walking, cycling, running, rowing, Zumba, etc. This burns big time BTU's. If you are doing WW, try and increase your activity points 5-10 points each week until you get them up over 75/week. Now your burning some real calories!
Then as your endurance goes up and weight down, start to add the strength training in. It will make your cardio better, make you less prone to injury and increase your metabolism. When you get to that point where it is all in balance, diet, cardio and strength training, you are going wonder why you didn't do it long ago!
Keep working! - Microe
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Fitness tip of the week
I thought I would try and post a fitness tip of the week for a while. This not only is for the benefit of those that would like to lose weight and get fit, but for my own benefit as it reminds me of the basics. I am no means an expert, but I have come a long way down this road and these are my experiences and things that worked for me. I am going to try and do two categories with each post - Diet/WeightWatchers and Exercise.
Week of January 27th, 2013
Diet/WeightWatchers:
For those who are new to WeightWatchers online, be especially aware of your starting daily points. When I first joined, I got 63 daily points. I read all the wonderful things you could eat and off I went. Seemed like I was eating a lot and I was. Second week I gained 4 lbs! Opps. This is where tracking, experimenting, and learning what your body is sensitive to really comes into play. I quickly learned that 63 was way too high for me (even though some well meaning women on WW online said I "needed" to eat all my points). I lost weight consistently with a max of daily 50pts at first.
As you lose your daily points go down. I am now at 36 daily. If I want to lose more I need to be under that, by a few points everyday. Another thing about points is always convert Activity Points first. I never eat any of the additional weekly points. Just added calories to sabotage your diet. I had to remind myself of this recently.
Exercise: Support in exercise is as important as much as with your diet. Being able to have others to challenge you and cheer you on is a great motivator to go beyond what you will accomplish on your own. Our daughter, Becky, introduced me last fall to a social network based on exercise, fitness and working out called https://www.fitocracy.com Think of facebook + a method for tracking your workouts + points awarded for your workouts + fitness challenges. They even have iPhone and Andriod apps. You can join for free, and get tons of support for all around the world. Cool site. I track my gym workouts with my phone right while I am doing them. Even interfaces with MapMyRun if you run.
Another cool app I use on my phone is Endomondo (endomondo.com) I use it mainly to track my rides and walking, it creates a map using the GPS on your phone, gives you times and splits. Lots of cool features. Ok, those are my fitness tech tips, next week no tech stuff ;-)
More next week, stay fit!
Week of January 27th, 2013
Diet/WeightWatchers:
For those who are new to WeightWatchers online, be especially aware of your starting daily points. When I first joined, I got 63 daily points. I read all the wonderful things you could eat and off I went. Seemed like I was eating a lot and I was. Second week I gained 4 lbs! Opps. This is where tracking, experimenting, and learning what your body is sensitive to really comes into play. I quickly learned that 63 was way too high for me (even though some well meaning women on WW online said I "needed" to eat all my points). I lost weight consistently with a max of daily 50pts at first.
As you lose your daily points go down. I am now at 36 daily. If I want to lose more I need to be under that, by a few points everyday. Another thing about points is always convert Activity Points first. I never eat any of the additional weekly points. Just added calories to sabotage your diet. I had to remind myself of this recently.
Exercise: Support in exercise is as important as much as with your diet. Being able to have others to challenge you and cheer you on is a great motivator to go beyond what you will accomplish on your own. Our daughter, Becky, introduced me last fall to a social network based on exercise, fitness and working out called https://www.fitocracy.com Think of facebook + a method for tracking your workouts + points awarded for your workouts + fitness challenges. They even have iPhone and Andriod apps. You can join for free, and get tons of support for all around the world. Cool site. I track my gym workouts with my phone right while I am doing them. Even interfaces with MapMyRun if you run.
Another cool app I use on my phone is Endomondo (endomondo.com) I use it mainly to track my rides and walking, it creates a map using the GPS on your phone, gives you times and splits. Lots of cool features. Ok, those are my fitness tech tips, next week no tech stuff ;-)
More next week, stay fit!
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