My most recent journey to fitness began, as has happened before, with dog-sitting. I watched my grandson's dog for a few days when my grandson and his mother went on a brief vacation. Suki is a five-pound terror-terrier who thinks she is 500 pounds. She killed me. I had to walk her several times a day. I was in such lousy shape that even ten minutes had me out of breath.
The looks she would give me were very embarrassing.
So when Suki returned home, I began daily walks on my own until I could walk 20 minutes without keeling over. This was in July, so that did almost happen a few times. As I grew more and more accustomed to these walks, I made them longer or went twice a day. And just like in the past, I gradually began to eat more healthy foods. DA John Morganelli, who is remarkably fit for a man of 90, told me that he had stopped drinking soft drinks and lost a ton of weight. I decided to try that and it does work.
About a month after I started, I woke up one morning with severe back pain (sciatica, I think). This made it impossible to walk. I tried, believe me. But I stayed on my diet, and in a few days, I could walk again, and began making them longer. And then the pain would return.
You know what that means. Unable to exercise, I would lose my interest in healthy eating. This is where the arc trainer rescued me. It's similar to an elliptical, but I find I can really push myself on it and without paying the price I do when I walk or run. Yesterday, for example, I burned 746 calories in 60 minutes. The day before, in a high intensity workout, I burned 410 calories in a half hour. The best news of all is that there is no pain. So I have actually been able to return to walking, but now I am trying to focus more on the arc trainer
Thanks to the arc trainer, I have been able to stick to my diet and exercise regimen. So far, I have lost 58 pounds. Granted, 58 pounds is not a lot when you weigh a ton, but this seems to be working.
Most of you are much better than I at controlling your weight. I'm interested in your suggestions. Let me give you my routine:
- I start every morning with 16 ounces of water with a little bit of apple cider vinegar. I find this does curb my appetite. I try to drink 80 oz, but rarely make it.
- Contrary to the view that you should start each day with a healthy breakfast, I skip it. I start eating at lunchtime.
- I eat whatever I want, but have reduced calories to 1,800 per day. I count them on an app called My Fitness Pal.
- I lift weights once every three days.
- I do the plank daily for one minute.
- I do 30-60 minutes of cardio daily. With the arc trainer, I can get to 70% of my maximum heart rate in about five minutes.
- I stretch daily.
- I stop eating at 8 pm.
The ONLY time I have really been hungry was last week. I went out with friends and had a 10 oz filet mignon, salad and a baked potato. When I got home that night, I was starving, which makes no sense.
If you have advice, feel free to share. Forget masking tape. I tried that and ate it.
If you want to lose twenty pounds of ugly fat immediately......cut off your head.
ReplyDeleteHokie Joe
Doesn't apple cider make you shit like a goose? Also where is this arc trainer? Are they in gyms?
ReplyDeleteHocus pocus. . Does not matter. Reference surgeon generals chart ( which is too lean) for age ,sex ,gender and height - then plug in 10 cal per pound of “ ideal body weight “. Per day and it just comes off. No butter,on cooking oils no beagles ,greasy Greek diners , so stay out of them - moderate exercise- drink water . It becomes a mind set ,a religious type mind set.
ReplyDeleteLooks like a fancy stationary bike. What is the difference?
ReplyDeleteJoin a gym it's more fun and efficient.When You lose too much weight the skin sags
ReplyDeleteHi Bernie. Good for you for continuing to try to maintain good health. I'll pass on to you the two best pieces of advice I got from those who helped me: 1. It all starts with what you put in your mouth. If you eat healthy, you'll have less need to rely on exercise strictly for weight loss (though you'll want to continue it for overall health.) and, 2: If it comes from a plant, eat it. If it was made in a plant, don't eat it. Eat whole foods, in other words. Good luck
ReplyDeleteCalories in Calories out, you can eat anything you want so long as you don't go over what you expend. Great idea using my fitness pal app to keep track. Everything sounds good...lose the Apple Cider..from what I've read it actually can cause more harm then good.
ReplyDeleteAgree with Huck Join a gym Any kind of gym Don't worry about fancy fitness clothes folks wear old baggy stuff a lot. Great about your new you!
ReplyDeleteDo I have a suggestion for you! My advice - utilize a sauna. The Nordic folks have been using them for centuries for fitness and health. And it fits your lifestyle. All you have to do, is sit there and sweat. Naked! You will burn calories, but don't forget to hydrate. Be sure to consult a doctor, as well.
ReplyDeleteNow, if you will kindly excuse me, I am going to gouge out my eyes and puke after getting a mental picture of you, naked in a sauna.
Great news Bernie! Its Christmas, so you deserve a "gift" from Pizza Joe's!
ReplyDeleteBernie, Is when your standing in front of the mirror naked and looking like the Capitol letter Q a bad thing?
ReplyDeleteI have never heard f 16 oz of water and apple cider vinegar to cure Erectile Dysfunction... Who Knew? :P
ReplyDeleteGreat job Bernie.
ReplyDeleteAs a middle-aged guy myself, look into joining Planet Fitness. It's $10 a month and there's a positive vibe in the room. Lots of cardio machines and the weight machines aren't designed for the power-lifer types. All manageable and easy to do. It's a gym that I don't mind going to unlike the meathead gyms where a guy stays on a bench for 2 hours while he texts and checks his instagram account.
"If you want to lose twenty pounds of ugly fat immediately......cut off your head."
ReplyDeleteI did that, but it grew back.
"Doesn't apple cider make you shit like a goose"
I imagine that it could, but that has not been my experience. I dilute it in 16 oz of cold water. One of my buddies had that problem in the beginning, but was not diluting it. Once he started to dilute, the problem went away. I take it bc it really does help me to feel full.
"oin a gym Any kind of gym Don't worry about fancy fitness clothes folks wear old baggy stuff a lot."
I do belong to PF in Naz. That's where I lift and use the arc trainer. I really prefer being alone, even when running, but no longer have the luxury of solitude. What I like about PF is they really make an effort to keep it clean and are pleasant. What I dislike are loud people who insist on talking real loud inside the gym, and people who bang weights to show off. Also, it is easier to get a cold in there.
" If it comes from a plant, eat it. If it was made in a plant, don't eat it. Eat whole foods, in other words. "
Good. I can still eat fries! And I do. The courthouse cafeteria makes the best fries in the LV, and I refuse to give them up. But I only eat 3/4 of them and share the rest. Actually,it is very weird how this happens, but whenever I start exercising, my diet naturally begins to change to like less processed food. But this time around, I notice I eat more meat and eggs.
"Now, if you will kindly excuse me, I am going to gouge out my eyes and puke after getting a mental picture of you, naked in a sauna. "
Hey, I wouldn't bother you bc all the hair hides everything.
"Looks like a fancy stationary bike. What is the difference "
Big difference. Google it. It is like a combo cross-county skier, elliptical and stair climber. I burn more calories on that machine than I do at any other activity and in far less time, so it is efficient. Also, no injury.
That's a good trick to grow your head back like the frogs, was that a side effect from from the poison they put in our water to sterilize?
ReplyDeleteWhen you feel a hunger pain coming on, look in the mirror, you'll get fed up...
ReplyDeleteGood for you, Bernie. You have a solid plan in place -- good cardio at a good heart rate, strength training to maintain muscle mass, stretching and some core. My only suggestions would be to extended your plank time (I'd suggest 4 x 30 seconds vs 1 x 60 seconds) and a small carb/protein breakfast after your workout as opposed to waiting until lunch. Maybe half a bagel with peanut butter or a banana and a handful of almonds. Your body wants to replenish carbs and protein in the first 15 minutes after a workout. Good to hear you found something pain-free. Keep it up!
ReplyDeleteMichael, My original thought was to keep extending the time, but I read that even really fit people lose their form after about a minute. So I have recently added a second plank in the push-up position. Thanks to you and everyone.
ReplyDeleteGood for you Bernie...low impact exercise is the way to go...yoga or stretching is underrated!
ReplyDeleteIt was the potato that made you hungry, give your pancreas a rest you have all the carbs you need in your fat ...intermittent fasting is helpful for me. water, water, water.
To all those that think yoga is silly, you need to watch this soldier's story.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIXOo8D9Qsc
The potato, eh? Interesting. I believe I do intermittent fasting. I only eat between 1-8 pm. I do make an effort to drink lots of water. I agree with you completely about stretching and yoga. I have had enough injuries to know what happens when you don't. Part of my stretching includes the plank and modified-for-fat-guy yoga poses. I do not think yoga is silly.
ReplyDeleteAs an auto-didactic polymath I am unqualified in any traditional sense, so there is your pinch of salt.
ReplyDeleteIf you would have eaten two steaks fat and all,(although excess fat should be avoided) and skipped the potato, you MAY have ingested more calories, however, the process of metabolizing protein and fats into useable sugar is energy intensive and requires lots of water to limit metabolic acidosis.
This also avoids and insulin response that carbs, simple or complex, will cause the pancreas to secrete. It was the insulin response to the potato that lowered your blood sugar and made you feel hungry.
You, like me, are northern European, black Irish not withstanding, for hundreds of thousands of years, meats and fats were the only food available most of the year, carbs make us fat, more carbs more fat. Carbs also turn off fat burning because carbs can be metabolized quickly into readily available blood sugar and the cycle starts all over again.
Everyone is different, one diet doesn't fit all, exercise however, has been shown to be beneficial no matter who you are or where you're from historical.
I'm glad you found something you like. I wish I could run again. I may try it.
ReplyDeleteI really miss running too. I also love the bicycle.
ReplyDeleteWhen do the "G" string and banana thong calendars hit the press?
ReplyDeleteLooks like someone swiped the seat on that contraption!
ReplyDeleteYou're doing great.
ReplyDeleteI've found that writing down what I do every day helps me stick to my regimen, and also it's nice to look back and track progress.
If you wanted to improve the diet you could eliminate all the heavier carb foods like white bread, white rice, white pasta, white potatoes, if you haven't already. If you miss these foods you can swap in high-fiber substitutes like sugar-free whole wheat seed bread, brown rice, whole wheat pasta, and occasionally a sweet potato. But a protein/veggie mix, aka the paleo diet, is better if you can. No sugar whatsoever except as occurs naturally in fruit -- after a week or so on this regimen, your body will recalibrate and fruit will taste sinfully sweet.
Also, skipping breakfast is almost certainly working against all the good stuff you're doing. Maintaining a stable blood sugar while awake is important for weight loss and helps avoid unhealthy cravings. This is easily done by eating high-fiber food or protein the moment you feel the least bit hungry. When I don't eat for a long period, then when I finally do eat, my blood sugar spikes and then crashes just as quickly, and I crave unhealthy food. Spike/crash was probably at play with that baked potato. You could try a bowl of bran cereal with a banana in the AM and see what happens.
Bernie , explore new book available the 31 st of Dec,18 ,National Geographic Books ,Shoping.com/books. What to eat When is title .
ReplyDeleteNot to beat it to death but, Canary 3:44PM, is on point. What was written about fruit is so true for me, red grapes and honey crisp apples become amazing treats.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard this time of year with long held traditions of feasting...come January I go full caveman and it melts.