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).

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!