FAT CAMP (Fitness / Weight Loss / Diet / Exercise / Healthy Cooking MegaThread)

[NeedSpeed]

Ok, I have not visited this thread and I'm not really looking to loose weight. But my health sux. Doc said I'm a metabolic mess and a ticking time bomb. I've got high blood pressure, high chloestorol, vitamin definices, high BAC (), and other various issues.

So, downloaded MyFitnessPal to track my diet (Free Calorie Counter, Diet & Exercise Journal | MyFitnessPal.com).

Target 2100 calories to maintain.

Determined my primary problem is a complete lack of nutrition, not that I eat all that bad, I don't eat enough. My potassium is seriously lacking, especially in relation to sodium (thus blood pressure). I easily eat less than the 2100 necessary, and pretty much make up for that in beer.

It's not unusual for me to skip breakfast, eat lunch late, and snack for dinner and fill the void with beer. Normally lunch/dinner and that's it though. Often I can not eat all day, just drink coffee, and then have just dinner.

Of course, I'm not active at all. Well, just 12oz curls

So, I join this thread looking at my diet & exercise from a health perspective.

I think I qualify as "Skinny Fat Person" as the term's been coined.

We'll see how the lifestyle change goes . . . <-- pretend that's V8

[DAB]

Breakfast: granola and yogurt; or oatmeal ( not instant) with raisins and blueberries and honey on top; or fruit smoothie ( fruits, yogurt and milk, ice, wheat germ)

Lunch: leftovers if any; or salad; or fruit smoothie. Rarely have a sammich. Easy on the bread.

Dinner: chicken or fish or pork or deer. Very little beef. Shoot for 6 oz max. Plenty of veggies. Potatoes or rice or other grains. Maybe a slice of bread with honey.

Dessert: few pieces of dark chocolate (72%) or small bowl of ice cream.

Snacks: celery or carrot with hummus. Rice cakes with peanut butter. Dried fruit. Fresh fruit.

I use the app "lose it" to track weight. Can also track calories , but I've got a good handle on that, so I don't use that part anymore.

291 and in the ICU two years ago with a week heart down to the above today.

3-5 walks with doggie every day. 15-20 min each.

No gym, no running, no biking.

No booze.

Iron chef had a thread about 2 months ago detailing his weight loss and improved health.

[NeedSpeed]

I do remember reading some of those threads. I'm slowly experimenting and avoiding certain foods. Drinking less will take some effort, it's such a habit.

I like my sammiches, so that will be my weak point. I just need to work on healthy versions and find ways to avoid the sodium.

Dessert isn't a problem, I barley eat as it is and avoid sweets.

I only drink coffee, water, and beer. I've added V8, and V8 splash for nutrients. I've never been a big soda drinker, so if I did get one at a restaurant say, I'd sip on it at most.

Working on the snacks. Been eating more nuts like cashews, almonds, and pistachios.

I kinda have been trying the carrot/celery thing too. I like ranch with them though, but found that healthier version I posted in the cooking section.

I'm going to peruse these pages for food ideas and will post ones I find.

I like to cook, so this gives me a whole new direction to go in.

I like the app for the nutrient tracking more so than the calories, though it was an eye opener to just track my normal eating habits.

[DAB]

Should have added: reduce sodium too. It hides in all kinds of places. Particularly prepared foods.

[NeedSpeed]

Originally Posted by DAB

Should have added: reduce sodium too. It hides in all kinds of places. Particularly prepared foods.

Yeah, thanks to this app I've really noticed

[DAB]

It takes time and patience. Keep at it.

[LilRedCorvette]

Make small changes, slowly. Like DAB said, be patient. Making gradual changes will make the results stick in the long term. It's the people who go 'cold turkey' on stuff who generally fail/plateau/get frustrated and give up.

Find out what your biggest Achilles heel is, and work on it. One of the guys at the local car cruise-ins I go to absolutely loved sweet tea...had to have it every day. Well as you know, all that sugar adds up! So, he cut back gradually...to every other day, now just once a week at the Friday night cruise-in. By doing so, he lost 15 pounds very quickly, just from that change alone...and with it being a gradual reduction, he doesn't even miss it.

Once you get something under control, then work on something else. Like DAB said, you would be amazed how much salt/sugar is in stuff, how much it adds up, and how that gets in the way of losing weight or simply being healthy/feeling good.

Try to eat small portions of food, every three hours, rather than load up on fewer larger meals. Much better for your metabolism and much better for your heart. I eat 4, sometimes 5 times a day.

Also...if I don't absolutely love something, I won't eat it.

Hope this helps

[NeedSpeed]

Nifty breakfast. Saw this simple idea on FB. I 1/2 failed, but it has potential.

Fresh avocado, halved.
2 eggs.

season avocado, crack egg into hole (make hole bigger if necessary). Season to taste. Bake 10-15min to desired done-ness.

The recipe had a Mexican twist, used Mexican seasoning and added salsa at the end, but I thought it was good as is. I overcooked my egg, but will be doing it again.

It's kinda of a open slate, so it would be easy to add your own twist to it.

[Rob]

Originally Posted by NeedSpeed

Nifty breakfast. Saw this simple idea on FB. I 1/2 failed, but it has potential.

Fresh avocado, halved.
2 eggs.

season avocado, crack egg into hole (make hole bigger if necessary). Season to taste. Bake 10-15min to desired done-ness.

The recipe had a Mexican twist, used Mexican seasoning and added salsa at the end, but I thought it was good as is. I overcooked my egg, but will be doing it again.

It's kinda of a open slate, so it would be easy to add your own twist to it.

<nothealthy>

There is a restaurant here that slices open an avo, stuffs it with salsa and then puts it back together, batters and fries it, then plates it and then smothers the whole thing in cheese dip....It is out of this world

</nothealthy>

but damn good

[NeedSpeed]

Originally Posted by Dixievet

<nothealthy>

There is a restaurant here that slices open an avo, stuffs it with salsa and then puts it back together, batters and fries it, then plates it and then smothers the whole thing in cheese dip....It is out of this world

</nothealthy>

but damn good

Dam That sounds good.

Well, take out the fry part, easy on the cheese and it wouldn't be too bad.

[DAB]

i have about 2 max avocados a week. usually cut into a salad for lunch. they have good stuff in them, but also a lot of calories.

was a bad boy just now: 3 leftover pieces of pizza for lunch. i've been working my butt off all morning, so there. smoothie for breakfast: ice, wheat germ, milk, pineapple (fresh), strawberries, and a banana on the side.

[NeedSpeed]

[NeedSpeed]

Only eat your pasta as leftovers:

BBC News - Is reheated pasta less fattening?

Interesting read.

[BigJoe]

Just started counting calories and I am having some difficulties. Say I have a plate of spaghetti w/meat sauce and one Italian sausage in front of me and I know it weighs 8 oz. How do you figure out what that is in calories? (Besides "a lot". ) Is there a website that will estimate odd conglomerations of foods like that?

[Iron Chef]

Originally Posted by BigJoe

Just started counting calories and I am having some difficulties. Say I have a plate of spaghetti w/meat sauce and one Italian sausage in front of me and I know it weighs 8 oz. How do you figure out what that is in calories? (Besides "a lot". ) Is there a website that will estimate odd conglomerations of foods like that?

No offense Joe, but this is probably why you're big. You have a plate of spaghetti WITH meat sauce AND an Italian sausage that weighs 8 OZ????



You don't need a website to count up your calories...you need one to help you make better food choices. I think you need to start with portion control before you start counting calories. Servings of any kind of meat should total no more than 4oz, and I see no mention of vegetables of any kind. On top of that there is what is likely a huge plate of pasta. So yeah, you're going to have some difficulties here.

It might be helpful to decide on a goal for yourself, then you can target what you need to do to get there (e.g. "I want to be a size 38 waist" or "I want to lose XX pounds"). You might also want to look up how much you should weigh. No matter what, it'll require an entire change of mindset.

[Rob]

Now it is just getting silly....I signed up for a 1/2 marathon.



Someone needs to hide these damn shoes

[DropTheTop]

Ok, so ten of us in the office started our own little Biggest Loser competition. It's nothing crazy, and mainly started by a few women here that have some weddings to attend next year. A handful of big guys joined in, and here we are. We're doing it for 12 weeks, and tomorrow will be my third week in.

So the first day I weighed in at 234.4, and my goal is to be 180 ish. So far I don't think anyone has added exercise, and it seems most people are either starving themselves or doing good one day then cheating big time the next. The top 3 are big dudes, likely losing a bunch of initial water weight. As of last week I'm #4 in the standings (week before I was #5), and have basically just changed my diet immensely. I might not hit my goal in the 12 weeks, but I think if I keep doing what I'm doing I will feel a hell of a lot better, and be losing fat steadily along the way.

My typical day starts with 2% yogurt with a small handful of granola mixed in. A couple cups of coffee using Truvia as a sweetener, and a couple cups of water. A multi vitamin, fish oil capsule and then a Nature Valley bar mid morning.

Lunch is a 1 pint mason jar of salad. I make a week's worth of salad on Sunday, and they stay very fresh inside mason jars with the air sucked out - even avocado! Ok, so first goes in a half avocado, green onions, carrots, broccoli cauliflower blend, baby bella shrooms, roasted red peppers and sweet peppers, sugar snap peas, chicken and finally either spinach or mixed greens. The toppings that don't get packed in the jar are a half hard boiled egg, cherry tomatoes, craisins and some trail mix w/nuts. I use a small amount of homemade dressing consisting of garlic, olive oil, vinegar, water and black pepper.

Mid afternoon snack is a sliced apple and some cheese.

Dinner varies, and usually consists of chicken, salmon or egg salad & veggie (carb balance) wraps. Basmati rice & veggie stir fries, Flatbread pizzas w/ fresh ingredients or even grilled cheese w/ tomato soup have made the list a well. I've been buying a fresh chicken from my local butcher, and beer can cooking it on Sundays. It portions out in the salads and other random recipes and lasts all week long. I also get the wild caught salmon from the butcher.

Night time snack is a pickle, and sometimes a tbsp of crunchy peanut butter. We call it a peanut butter popsicle in our house .

So far I'm averaging 4 lbs. weight loss a week, so tomorrow hopefully I'll be down 12 lbs. I want to start adding in 30 minutes of elliptical next.

I'm not counting calories, filling out charts or obsessing over phone apps, because I feel that if I do that it will feel like a job and I'm really just trying to improve my health and improve my eating habits. I've been taking a generic form of Prevacid for several years now. After the first week I decided to see what would happen if I stopped taking them, and I seem to no longer need them! I did have a relapse after about 4-5 days, but figured out that minimizing raw onion did the trick. Now if I start having symptoms, I drink a little pickle juice and it goes away. Also I have noticed my blood sugar must really be improving, because a morning meal that would have left me feeling light headed, dizzy and weak before, is now perfect and keeps me going just fine.

Booze is strictly for the weekend now, and in moderation - mostly because I'm feeling pretty good after only a couple few now. I also still partake in a donut on fridays. Call it a reward, something to feel normal - whatever. It's the only sweet treat all week I've been eating.

[NeedSpeed]

Originally Posted by BigJoe

Just started counting calories and I am having some difficulties. Say I have a plate of spaghetti w/meat sauce and one Italian sausage in front of me and I know it weighs 8 oz. How do you figure out what that is in calories? (Besides "a lot". ) Is there a website that will estimate odd conglomerations of foods like that?

Well, if it's home made, you can use an app like myfitnesspal (website as well). You can bar code scan (or look up) all the ingredients you're putting in it, then calculate how many portions of each you've had.

Any major restaurant foods are generally lookup-able on their websites.

You can also lookup generic versions of your meal and estimate portion size. Not very accurate, but you'll be in the ballpark.

[DropTheTop]

Third week weigh in, and I'm officially down 12 lbs.

That puts me at 5.12% loss, and I moved up to third place.

I'm feeling great, and started on the elliptical this morning. Just a nice 12 min. 1.5 mile cruise. By the end of next week I'm shooting for 20 min. and at least 3 miles. I'm just easing in to it.

[LilRedCorvette]

Well, the jeans posted almost a year ago are now falling down...time to go down a size...

Before anyone flips out, I am very short/small-framed, have had blood work done and thyroid checked just to be on the safe side, everything is fine there. Not starving myself, I eat 4-5 times a day, small meals to keep myself fueled...and yes, I do treat myself to dessert on occasion.