![Hey redditor who asked for a poster for fitness motivation similar to the one that helped you quit smoking. I'm not a scientist so I didn't have a lot of sciency stuff to put in there, but I think this gets the point across in a similar vein.[pic]](/api/ImgurImages?id=p4fhv.jpg)
Posted Jul 26, 2010, 8:22 AM UTC
Golf isn't active. Now water polo or Keanu's personal jester. That's active.
They are playing bear golf.
The polar opposite of standard golf.
It helps prevent kodiak arrest.
Once you start running, don't turn black.
Hoooooohohoho XD
Have an upvote good sir.
Or perhaps the grizzly opposite.
Go on.
He obviously had no more words.
That's what happens when you lose at bear gol
Yea I was gonna comment on that, and then I was like, "Wtf! Thats a bear! Better friggin play through or you're a sissy!"
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Oh no!
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I dunno, Tiger Woods managed to be pretty active.
That's only because of all the women he's been screwing, though.
That's the joke.
i think you need to look at that picture again.
I admit, I missed the bear.
Came here to post the same exact thing. Maybe they meant the running away from the bear bit.
Also, join us!
Golf for 5 hours in 120 heat index is active.
Yup, walking in the sunshine. One hell of a workout.
H.O. Water Polo is the greatest of activities!
says someone whose never played 18 before
If you don't rent a golf cart and you don't have below 30 HCP it's pretty active. Easily walking between 20 and 30 km per round/18holes I imagine.
From wikianswers:
Multiply the distance (yards) of the golf course you are playing by 3, then divide by 5,280 feet (a mile). Example: 6,700 (yards) X 3 (feet in a yard) = 20,100 (feet) divided by 5,280 (feet in a mile) = 3.8 miles.
Of course, this assumes that you walk in straight line over the whole course. This of course is not true, golfers rarely hit the ball perfectly straight. It also does not take into account the amount a golfer walks looking for golf balls, as well as walking around the green (chipping and putting).
If we assume 100 yards between holes on average, that adds another 1800 yards to your walking distance. Then add 20% to the overall distance to take into account all of the extra walking above. Adding all that up, you get something around 10,000 yards. Now divide by 1760 yards per mile = about 5 1/2 miles total.
A little less than 20-30 km.
Hah, I guess you're right. Your miles and yards tell me nothing though - one norwegian/swedish mile equals 10km. :-)
Now take into account the majority of golfers use electric golf carts.
And drink 6-18 beers.
Good math. If you play the game the way it was meant to be played (i.e. walking the course) you're going to be spent at the end of a round. Especially if, like me, you're a bad golfer and have to swing a club 100 times rather than 72 times (not including practice swings). Also don't forget that unless you play at a country club, you're going to be carrying your 20-40 lb. golf bag for those 5 1/2 miles. Even if you use a pull cart, you're probably doing as much work (if not more) as someone who ran 5 1/2 miles.
Don't think so. When you run 5.5 miles it's non-stop and there is no break in activity, playing golf there is a lot of break time, and you don't move quite as fast.
Go play 18 holes while walking up and down hill, you might change your mind. Obviously it isn't going to compare to something like American football, or American soccer.
Oh shit, there are HILLS?! And they require WALKING?! Dayum, changing my opinion, those motherfuckers are hardcore.
You forgot the bag full of metal on your back, minor detail I know.
Yeah, the caddy must be exhausted.
That's why they invented these little cars.
Why would the sport need carts if it wasn't "active" ... Idk why your post upset me, you kind of backed me up in a way.
Because they aren't active. They ride around in little carts.
Thats like me saying that going to the store is good exercise because the road is long and hilly, but I only drive there.
After the 20 beers I consume over 18 holes I agree that golf gets pretty hard.
Ya, I don't know how I forgot to mention this.
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FFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUU ... thanks, and fixed :)
I take offense to the fat cartoon having glasses. Can someone make me a "If I stop wearing glasses..." motivational chart, with me collecting all 150 Pokemon at the end?
Those glasses are 3d glasses. It's the future!
Ugh they still have the glasses in 15 years? Fuck.
In the future you wear them because they're vintage. You know, you liked 3D back when it was red/blue.
yeah, I was totally disappointed in most of those submissions. There was only like one or two that tried follow what the op asked for. I left him a message, hopefully he likes mine.
Thank you most sincerely for sacrificing some of your time to create this. I appreciate it.
Cool. Good thing it makes sense, because I spent way too much time on it. There are some mistakes. Like the "Within in". haha, my bad
I feel like I should have polished it a bit more if I knew it was going to be upvoted so much.
Holy crap, you really are responding to every comment, that's so polite, I love it. You, sir, are my new favorite redditor.
I try to yes, it just takes some time ;-)
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I nostalgia'd.... that guy in the "I Beat Anorexia" shirt. I was at that party. I think I might even be in the background of that image. Good times.
That 10 year one ... fuck... it's like you took a picture of me.... (that means that it's effective)
Dude, you were at an internet party? I never get invited to those!
sooo luuuuuuuckyyyyy
Do an IAMA
May I ask which of the two was you at the 10 year mark?
meh, it wasn't an "internet party". It was a function at Caltech in 2004 or 2005.
The one on the left, sadly.
That's such a perfect photo for that marker. I hope the guy in the photo sees this and gets mad at me for using it.
You talk about physically demanding sports and then show a picture of golf. Other than that good job.
I don't know of any other sport were grizzlies run out while you're trying to focus.
Walking 18 holes of golf is great exercise.
I won't disagree with that as I've walked many a golf course. But never did I feel it was physically demanding. And that was description given in the OP. If you never get close to out of breath that it's not physically demanding.
Fair enough. But to be even fairer, there's not a shortage of people around who would get winded walking 18 holes!
Also, pun intended: Short people have to put in more effort to walk the same distance.
Sadly, that is true.
No cart? Screw this, I'm staying in the club-house drinking my beers, thankyouverymuch!
Whoa! Slow down! We are talking about redditors here. Do they actually do real sports?
just kidding, I just threw it in there because I wanted it to be nation agnostic and throwing golf in there would spur some controversy over what sport people wanted to play.
Clearly, it was a toss up between golf and chess.
Came here to say this. Upvote!
I wondered the same thing although I do enjoy a good round of golf after work instead of going home to the computer/console game/tv.
I figure you didn't play bear-golf yet?
It's a pretty demanding sport.
If you don't know what I am talking about, look at the picture again.
Golf involves a LOT of walking.
Walking is a good, low impact starter sport.
But not physically demanding as the OP indicates. That's why I bring it up. I've golfed a lot... at no point have I ever thought it was demanding.
Speaking as a former fat guy on my way to becoming a regular guy....
You can make all the motivational posters in the world, you can get told by friends, colleagues and family for years on end, you can think about joining that local gym all you want...
At the end of the day you need will power, just like stopping smoking... its down to your own attitude and you have to make that choice.
Nobody who does it to get someone else off their back will succeed in meaningfull long term weight loss (and as a result remain in shape instead of piling it all back on).
I read a thread here on Reddit months ago... probably back in February/March and the next day i woke up with my then usual daily dose of heart burn.
Decided right there and then to just stop eating so much and to start being more active.
It worked out that my body needed 3000 calories per day to maintain my weight, cut that instantly down to 1200 per day, started walking my aunts dog when i could and going out on my bike whenever i couldnt walk the dog.
Its been tough at times, sitting late at night thinking "i could just go grab a bowl of cereal, or i could have a quick sandwich"... and having to basicly change my eating habbits as well.
To date ive lost 3.7 stone/24 kg/53 pounds and 8 inches off my waist alone.
Still got a while to go yet, but like i said... its got to be down to the actual person losing the weight if its going to be of any actual long term benefit.
Since i started ive not had a single case of Heart Burn, Ive had far less head aches, i dont need to drink as much when im out to have a good time, im looking a hell of a lot better than i was and generaly im in much better shape than i was.
Before hand i couldnt walk a mile without my legs killing me, yesterday i walked for 6 miles and then biked 10 more later that night without any problems.
I'm not overweight at all and I can't even do that many miles without any problems. So good on ya for keeping with it.
Also, thank you for converting your weight into multiple units. Saved me a google query.
Yeah i didnt know what weight most people would be familiar with so i put all of the common ones down.
For me its Stone but from what ive seen on TV Americans prefer Pounds.
The hardest part is disregarding excuses. Having a motivation is the most subtle and dangerous excuse I've come across.
Put a mirror on the wall in front of the place where you fail the most frequently.
refrigerator and pantry mirrors
I was tempted to do one of those "take a picture every day for X months" things but then i realised i didnt realy want pictures of my man tits floating around on the net regardless of wether i got rid of them or not.
Well my dad is on the same diet and what we did was put a large sheet of paper up on the fridge door and every Saturday we weigh ourselves and mark the results on the paper.
Makes you realy motived when you can physicaly see how many pounds you lost in the last X weeks compared to another time.
Try jogging. I mean light jogging, not running. Vault from one foot to the other in cadence.
In your head you'll realize about the same amount of work as walking but you'll burn twice the calories.
Anyone else notice it says an unnecessary "in" in "within in the next"? Sorry for the repetition.
oops
Thank you. I wanted to make sure someone else was bothered by this.
Wow, that's so Freakin' Epic, even I'm going to dig up my old weights. Tho I'm going in the other direction, 155lb right now at 5'10 =/
Oh, and thanks for the new wallpaper!
How tall is your monitor??
You probably know this but it's worth repeating:
If you want to put on weight, lifting alone won't do it. You have to make sure you're eating a calorie surplus as well. A pound a week means eating ~500 calories a day more than you need, bearing in mind you'll be burning more from doing the weights.
Where possible these should be "healthy" calories, with the bulk (pun intended) coming from protein.
In other words, NUTS
Jamming a bunch of calories into your diet will cause an endocrine imbalance.
Exercise first, add calories later. If you exercise enough the calories will come naturally.
I disagree sorry, and every single bodybuilder and powerlifter will too. So many thin guys hit the gym expecting to get big, but it's all about the diet.
The hamster inspires me too =)
I'm 6'3. A year ago when I was going through some things, I dropped to 140 pounds. At the beginning of the summer I started changing my diet and workout plan. Currently at 165. Still pretty skinny but I'm getting there.
The best advice I can give you is eat whenever you can. Are you hungry? Eat. Are you kind of hungry? Eat. Are you not really hungry but you could stomach something if you needed to? Eat. Also, if you have the money and can stomach them, protein shakes will do you a world of good. Just be careful what you buy, some taste worse than others. I had to try three different brands before I found one I could stomach. Creatine is also a great pre-workout supplement if you don't mind spending the extra money.
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As with you, I'm also going in the other direction. I started 11 weeks ago, and have gained 15 pounds (165 at 5'11 now, yay!)
Just remember... to gain proper weight, you have to eat a lot, and lift heavy weights.
this was well done subby. As someone who just joined a gym(about a month ago), is currently a shade under 300 at 6ft tall and on a path to try and loose 100lb in 12-15 months I salute you and all your weight loss. I reached the heaviest I have ever been (about 315) a few months ago and I had enough of being winded and worn out way to easily. I use to be overly active all through high school and college then when I got out on my own I started eating extremely poorly and dealing with my depression by eating which packed on the pounds pretty quickly.
I am lucky because I use to play a lot of sports and be pretty active in working out so the fat doesn't sit on my body like your typical Walmart land whale but it still doesn't look right or feel good to have. I am extremely excited to start my path down this long journey but I know in the end when I look back 100lbs lighter I will be more than thrilled and glad I did it. Right now I try to do an hour of work out at the gym and ride my bike about 3-4 miles at night which I hope will be a nice way to rapidly get those pounds off.
Also to all of those people saying golf isn't a sport or you can't loose weight playing it, try carrying a 20-30lb bag for 4-5 miles in 90 degree heat with 50-60% humidity. I use to walk 18-36 holes daily 3-4 times week when I had time and I was never in better shape. In fact I miss those days because it kept me so active and in shape on a regular basis and I got to do something I really enjoyed.
To all the people out there getting shape and trying to loose weight I wish you the best of luck and hope you all meet your goals.
keep it up, and remember "ain't nothing to it, but to do it"
Serious question: Does heat and humidity really have anything to do with weight loss?
Weigh loss, yes. Increasing fitness, no.
Sweating a lot causes you to lose retained water, which is the fastest way to lose weight. Calorie deficits also cause one to lose retained water (often by reduced salt intake), which is often why people lose 15 lbs right away at the beginning of a diet and then plateau. They're still losing fat, but their water balance is also re-adjusting back up to a normal set point, keeping them the same weight on the scale.
Water weight is also why your weight fluctuates around 2% daily.
Models will often salt-and-water-load for 2 weeks prior to a shoot, reaching a new water retention plateau, then cut back salt intake 3-4 days prior to a shoot. The resulting loss in water weight causes their muscles to "pop" and look even more defined. This may be an urban legend...
Interesting. Good to know
Joining a gym is a crutch for most people.
It gives them the satisfaction of doing a lot of work without actually doing any work.
It's a better idea to develop an exercise routine and then use the gym as an extension of it.
Some people also use the gym as an excuse to not exercise at all. They reason that a gym membership is too expensive, so they'll just be fat and unhealthy their whole life.
If you ache when you run or you have a tendency to get shin splints consider swimming.
I can get way more than 175 comment karma in two weeks.
not everyone's a power user
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Wrong. Jotate has WAY more karma than InAFewWords. (27k vs 17.5k)
Irony or hypocrisy?
Don't forget that they may not have been members for the same amount of time.
**Redditor for 1 year means: **
A lot of karma can be gained in 364 days.
edit: Wow. Nice job deleting your comment instead of standing up to your errors.
SRS BIZNS
Setting things right on the internet!
lol, am I a power user? News to me.
Comment karma isn't hard. Hang out on the Top This Hour page between 8am-12pm EST. Toss a clever/insightful/bullshit comment on anything that breaks into the top 10.
I'm not saying I do that regularly, I'm just saying that's how you could do it.
I think most people just go around commenting on stuff they find interesting on their frontpage or in smaller reddits so naturally they only get a few upvotes.
I didn't want to use my own as an example. But you can tell my fitness level.
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It's really not as elusive as it sounds. He's completely right, if you want to farm comment karma, just one clever insightful or cheeky comment in these threads will grab that. It's very easy to find something that you find worth commenting on. I wouldn't consider him a "power user" at that rate too. So that's a bit condescending.
And chances are, most people are reading reddit while working, so it's not like they're doing that instead of working out.
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I downvoted you to slow your comment karma down like your metabolism!
Just kidding have an upvote.
Loved the ending pic of the fat stick man.
MrOhHai - priceless
I wanted feedback, but the thread was already old when I saw it.
*also this is my first rage comic if I can call it that
You can't call it that.
Then I won't. Problem solved?
How is the "close enough" guy I made? Is it not bad?
That'll do pig, that'll do.
The "Close enough" guy was my favourite part of the whole thing. Now please excuse me while I go grab something to eat. (Lunch, I swear it's time for it!)
I thought he was spot on!
I love it. I especially like the pics of the Hoff and the fat troll. Good job.
Since when is golf a physically demanding sport? When old, fat men are professionals I don't think athletes necessarily need apply.
Oh god I'm amazed I missed a freaking grizzly.
That does not bode well for your continued survival.
Considering all the time I've spent in the mountains without ever seeing a grizzly I think I'll do just fine. I've seen black/brown bears at the side of the road a bunch of times, they don't seem to give any kind of fuck.
Try the Awareness Test.
I didn't see the bear! I think I need to carry bear spray with me at all times..
Just do it for the chicks. Remember: muscles are like boobs for girls.
Anyone have the link to the quit smoking post?
http://i.imgur.com/mYt7J.gif Here ya go. Not sure why its a gif.
Golf is not a physically demanding sport... i'm sorry.
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This was really confusing since I was reading it left to right. I was thinking it correlated some how, "Within the next 20 minutes you will grab a snack, then workout"
So I asked, "Oh ok, then what will happen?.. I will over eat but I will have raised metabolism after my vigorous workout! Ah then I can splurge on fast food? I LOVE this plan!..."
Yeah, it seems kind of sloppy.
I feel famous for being in this picture.
haha, I thought it would lure you in here!
So, I'm about 50 pounds into a 90-pound losing streak, and while I'm kind of miserable due to the decreased diet and heightened metabolism, it's totally worth it.
To anybody interested in losing weight... it WILL suck. Your body doesn't want to give up its precious reserves of energy. It will fight you every step of the way. You will get cravings. You will feel tired and lethargic. But that day at the end when you look down and you can see your own dick without sucking your stomach in will be a glorious day indeed.
All it takes is some willpower, strength of character, time, and persistence.
Thanks, pencil.
He could be a pen you know. I've heard those are mightier.
Pens are mightier, but markers are magic.
You may be right about markers being magic, but spray paint will get you way more high.
Crayons are where it's at, yo.
The penis mightier!
The penis mightier.
Well, he's sitting on a goldmine!
It's not a product, Mr. Connery.
I was thinking a rawhide quill soaked in the blood of his enemies, but a pen is quaint I suppose.
Maybe it's a crayon. Or a quill. Or a tube of lipstick.
Thancil
He's so hot right now.
Something is wrong nutritionally. You should feel better and have more energy if you're doing it right.
Clearly you've never really been in poster's position. It's not as easy for everyone as it may be for you. And no, it's not just a question of "willpower" - although that is certainly a part of it; for some, losing weight goes against everything their body wants.
All that shit about a body "wanting to be healthy" only kicks in once you are within a certain range. "Out there", the body's first reaction to loss is sheer fucking panic.
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So you're aging backward and you've already lived longer than the average person twofold.
I think you've done your share of living.
For some people all that shit about "wanting to be healthy" never kicks in.
Some people are genetically fat. Their body and brain are only convinced that they are in a safe and comfortable space when they're over-eating or eating the wrong foods.
For those people, they could eat healthy and exercise for twenty years and then backslide just as easily as if they'd just started eating healthy and exercising yesterday.
Absolutely true. Right on the nose.
Another candidate: Bad supplements.
Yohimbine in particular can cause misery for some.
Supplements are a scam, just eat a balanced diet meaning eat vegetables and fruit and less bread....you know, stop eating every piece of meat with breading on it. Eat a ton of nuts, have them always on hand and drink water.
Don't know why you got downvoted but yes, supplements are way overrated. Focus on diet first, over 90% of you're gains/loss (muscle/fat) are a result of diet. A small portion is supplements.
I would recommend the zone diet and dropping most supplements. Whey protein shakes and a few basic nutrients wouldn't hurt but aren't necessary.
The necessity of supplements really depends on the diet. I followed a low-carb diet known as "Protein Sparing Modified Fast", which is basically "eat good quality, low-fat meat, unlimited amounts of green vegetables, and stay the hell away from carbs" from October till early July, losing 50kg (~ 110lbs).
I early realised that ignoring the recommended supplements will cause major pain in the form of intense cramps. As soon as I started taking supplements of calcium and magnesium the cramps disappeared. A supplement of Omega 3 (seal oil in my case) also helps with joint pains etc.
On a crazy low-everything diet like the one I followed, I strongly recommend eating supplements.
It's improving with time. It was just a radical change from before (garbage food + inactive to really carefully portioned food + running 5 days / week + lifting 4 days / week + martial arts + hiking + rock climbing + kayaking weekly) that I still think I'm adjusting.
Each meal has protein, fat, and carbohydrates, lots of veggies and fruit. I will admit to taking a multivitamin though.
if you are running 5 days, lifting for 4 and also doing martial arts, hiking, rock climbing and kayaking in the same week of course you will always be tired!
Let your body rest for a few days and you will feel how much better you actually feel.
Yeah, a few-days-rest might be worthwhile at some point. Maybe this weekend, I'm going to a resort. Because, well, why not.
Eating the right foods is more important than portioning.
If you're having trouble with portions try the cabbage soup trick.
Make a gigantic pot of cabbage soup and every time you want to eat more food than your diet guidelines suggest, eat cabbage soup until you can't eat anymore.
It's not that I'm hungry, it's that I miss certain (fried) foods.
You start feeling better when you go back to being calorie neutral, but to lose weight you have to be calorie negitive multiple days in a row. If you are losing ~5-7 pounds a week, it is probabally going to cause some irratibility and depression. It's much nicer to lose ~2-3 pounds per week, then the increased blood flow makes up for it.
This is false.
To lose weight you need a balanced diet and an active lifestyle.
Being "calorie negitive" [sp] causes your body to consume muscle tissue to provide energy.
The balanced diet, and active life style results in days of negative calories for most people. This is what keeps them reasonably skinny. We can claim that there are partitioning effects that can occur in a positive energy balance, but it has a minimal effect. You can't sit on "neutral". It's either positive or negative. If you want to lose weight, negative is where you need to be. It's a fact, the rather conservative Dietetics association acknowledges the negative calorie requirements. They just use the message of "balanced diet and lifestyle" (a rather wishy washy phrase) to make it simple for the general public.
Not if you're a big fatass.
If you're a big fatass, changing your diet makes you unhappy. If it didn't, you wouldn't be a big fatass.
For some people, if they're a big fatass, their endocrine system depends on a constant deluge of sugar, fat and starch and when that coca-cola river dries up they experience a sugar crash that lasts for weeks.
For some people, food is like crack. When they stop eating unhealthy foods all they can think about and all they dream about is unhealthy foods.
Or he/she may have cancer. He failed to mention this.
Although it sucks that this person may have cancer, there's no reason to convince others that this process sucks. We know it's great and you get results quickly.
It doesn't suck. Its awesome! LIFT HEAVY SHIT
I am heavy Shit
PUT YOURSELF ON THE GROUND AND LIFT HEAVY SHIT
BAAAAAAA
this made me laugh really hard.
same here.
My weight loss experience was nothing like that. I always felt super-charged; both physically from the exercise and mentally from the constant progress I observed. If you're getting cravings, you're probably not eating enough. If you're eating lean meat and veggies, your portion sizes are pretty freaking big
Don't pretend that apple pie ain't attractive.
Yep, but the naughty smile from the blonde next door spotting your guns and abs wins over that one any time.
No, no it doesn't. And if you don't understand that, you don't understand the mind of an obese person.
I'm kind of in this boat: I'm 38 lbs into a 55 lb plan, and the apple pie is very attractive.
But, according to my doctor, it will be the thing that kills me if I keep eating it.
Getting that association locked in has been key for me: decadent food is toxic to me, and should be avoided. The rest was pretty simple, frankly. Although I fully understand how tough it can be to keep that in mind.
You're one of those people with overly sensitive palettes.
I had a roommate like that. He would refuse to eat anything I cooked that wasn't an explosion of flavor so rich and decadent that it would make your average person gag.
He would buy extra butter microwave popcorn and then put butter and salt on it.
You will struggle with your craving for rich foods your entire life.
As a person who doesn't like apple pie...
I dunno, I just felt like saying I don't like apple pie.
apple pie, that dirty slut!
That's so much stuff.
hard stuff.
Got agree with the others, dunno why you are miserable.
It is miserable the first few weeks when you have massive DOMS because your muscles aren't used to working out, but once they get used to it, it is awesome.
I've lost ~50 lb too and I feel fantastic.
Remember that I'm still only halfway-done. I'm sure when I'm at my magical correct weight and damn sexy (and am able to enjoy foods I love in moderation rather than cold turkey), and no longer on a caloric deficit, I'll feel fantastic too. =P
Yeah I get that (I still have another 10lb to go) that there are some foods you are cutting out, but being "kind of miserable" means you won't be able to keep it up.
Maybe you are over-working or cutting too hard. Or maybe your diet just ain't right.
Wouldn't surprise me if I'm overdoing it, but I can't quite argue with results. My motivation is stronger than the misery.
After you're done shaping your body your skin will sag on your bones like a trash bag.
The next step after losing weight is to either have skin reduction surgery or do lots of toning exercises.
Go back and calculate how much you lost in fat and how much you lost in muscle mass.
Word. I lost 75 pounds in a year, and although it was a difficult, grouchy experience, it was totally worth it for the things I can do now compared to when I started. My cholesterol went down to 76 - that's right 76 from the 200 it was, my blood pressure last week was 120/60, not 160/100, I sleep through most nights without snoring too much, and I feel great. I've gained a little bit of it back, but now that it's gone I can take it off just by increasing my exercise a little.
Exercise is the key to keeping it off. And if you start to gain weight, do some weight lifting, so that the weight you add comes on as muscle. I've done a few cycles of weight loss, followed by weight gain and lots of lifting, and now, I'm almost back to my record high of 250lbs, but I look awesome instead of a flabby sack.
Thanks, that's good advice. I lose my weight mostly in Spring and Fall by doing very heavy outdoor work: rock wall projects that last about a month.
Four years ago I went from 260 to 190 with an embarrassment-based supervised diet program (Diet Center of Northampton, with twice-weekly checkins). It was a lot easier to do because I did it with my college-age son, who unfortunately has the same body size tendencies that my father and I share. It keeps creeping back up, especially over the winter.
This Spring I lost 15 lbs (220 back to 205) with rock wall work (Here's a photo) and if it starts to creep back up again, I know what to do.
How about doing that now?
Congratulations on your progress! I'm at about the same point, and yeah. It does suck. Sometimes I think I'm a masochist to keep pushing and pushing, but I know the end result is worth it.
I just find some dark humor in the fact that taking these health and life improving steps just makes everything suck harder. Quit smoking, alcohol, and junk food? Welcome to insomnia! Start lifting? Hello cramps! Start running? Aches and pains!
Can't say I don't enjoy catching more eyes out there, though.
I hate being tired, but oddly enough, I sort of like the aches and pains, as long as they're dull enough not to interfere with my life. It feels a reward for actually doing shit. Plus, they go away soon enough. :)
Use ibuprofen.
The insomnia is cured by working out. Make your body tired, and it will sleep. I suffered from insomnia pretty bad for years. Started working out, and I was too tired to think enough to keep myself awake.
Every time I work out, my body seems to get a huge adrenaline dump for the entire day that keeps me awake until it subsides. I agree that it works for most people, but it just makes me toss and turn.
Thanks for the advice, but I am already working out to near my maximum. I'm sure it'll eventually level out, and I do mostly blame it on quitting the alcohol. The exercise actually seems to make me more awake in the long run. I guess it's hard to complain with more wakeful and usable hours in the day, but sometimes sleep would be so welcome.
Okay, this is going to sound weird, because it's counter-intuitive, but here goes: when I first started working out again, I would work out after the work day, shower, have dinner and not be able to sleep that night. What I incorporated that helped a lot was a short workout before sleep. All I do is dumbbells for that workout. 10 minutes tops, curls and tricep presses. I found that that broke the "can't sleep" cycle, for me. I'm not saying it will work for you, but it might be worth a shot.
I don't do it anymore, unless I lay in bed for an hour and can't sleep. On those rare occasions, I'll actually get out of bed, work out for ten minutes and fall fast asleep. I find that it's the mind that keeps me awake (thoughts of the next day, work stresses, etc.), and once I've done that brief workout it's the last thing on my mind and I can sleep. It's better (for me) to get up and work out for ten minutes than to toss and turn and end up with 4 or less hours of sleep.
Try a little melatonin. You might need to vary the dose to see what's enough. Too much can cause a mild hangover feeling.
I have had the same experience as HeliosTrick. I was not overweight, but I drank way too much, had smoked cigarettes for 13 years, and was generally lazy. For about 6 weeks now I have been lifting 3 days a week, doing HIIT 3 days a week, and doing some sort of sport or outdoor activity on the other day. I feel great, my body is shaping up nicely, I do still drink but I drink less, and I barely smoke. I usually have more energy during the day and feel more alert, but DAMN I can't sleep for shit. I have slept like a rock all my life until now, but lately it is hard to fall asleep, and I toss and turn sometimes, and usually wake up a couple of times in the night. I wouldn't call it outright insomnia, but I definitely sleep less restfully than before I began working out.
Your brain is adjusting to the lack of the constant presence of a depressant. It is trying to find equilibrium again. It will take time. Insomnia is a reason many alcoholics relapse. Hang in there. When you get through this you will be not just sleeping but truly resting.
The day I look down and can't see my dick is the day I start giving a damn about fitness. Until then, I let my metabolism carry me.
Luckily, I have a massive penis, so I can continue to not give a damn.
You know, it doesn't work that way for everybody.
I just decided one day that I was going to eat healthy and start running, and I did.
There wasn't any "craving" or fighting my own personal habits to become more active or any of that shit, I just looked up a walk/run program on the Internet, went outside and started running.
Then when I got back I looked up a bunch of healthy recipes and made a meal plan.
I'm just saying, getting started with exercise isn't like climbing a mountain, all you have to do is go outside and run.
It didn't suck, I didn't experience my body fighting my desire to exercise, I didn't get any cravings, I didn't feel tired and/or lethargic.
I now weigh 118 lbs at 5'5" and I can run for half an hour without feeling tired.
Oh and this helped.
Part of my exercise plan is something similar. I'm aiming for a 30-minutes-of-running thing, along with being able to do 20 pullups, 30 dips, and 100 pushups. Let's just say it's a tad exhausting.
You cannn do it!
Combined with a sizable amount of running - or some other endurance sport, let's say 45mn a day on average - it's not that much an issue at all :)
edit: and i'd add the same observations as pharmacykeys.
this is really interesting to me. i'm "naturally" thin and i always think that my body would freak out if it got too big. that it would feel good to lose weight and feel freeing.
You can diet without the cravings too, if you make those cravings work for you. Your body is not your enemy.
I lost 25kgs in 9-10 months with the Warrior Diet, where the point is basically that you should be eating as much (healthy) food as you can, but only after a full day working out and eating only little during the day.
You should check it out. Cutting weight with it was a breeze.
I DONT HAVE ANY OF THOSE THINGS =(
Way to go calculator!
I prefer losing weight slowly and still eat what I like over losing weight fast and suffering for it.
If you check out some of the other posts here, I can't eat what I like for other medical reasons, so I'm taking advantage of it for weight loss. Before the medical reasons, I was a subscriber to your weight loss newsletter.
I find it's much easier to lose weight if I can make it enjoyable in the short term. Two years ago I dropped ~30lbs in the space of 8 months. Pretty slow, but far from being a struggle, it was fun every step of the way. I didn't count calories or bust my ass on the treadmill. I just cut out the junk/fast food and made sure to exercise every day. Working out felt so good that I couldn't wait to get to the gym!
That said, perhaps it comes down to a difference in physiology. Whatever the case, I salute you sir! Losing 50lbs is an impressive achievement.
Yeah, I was following your train of thought until my diet was forcibly changed from under me, so I figured I'd take advantage of it. Normally I would do it your way, and made some progress that way (20 lbs in 6 months or so)
It doesn't have to be that bad. Try reading "Mindless eating" by Brian Wansink, it explains why we get fat and what changes in our eating habits we should make to eat healthier and lose weight steadily and for good without feeling like crap every day. Of course, exercising plays its part too, but the author focuses mainly on eating. It's a really good book however you take it.
Being healthy requires equal parts healthy eating and active lifestyle
I wish we could trick it to do so, but alas I'm not a science magician.
What about gaining weight? I'm underweight, weak and in poor shape, though I'm reasonably athletic. What would getting more healthy do to me?
Eat a lot and lift. If you have a thin body type, it won't be easy to put on muscle.
You don't have to lift heavy stuff to gain weight.
Eat a balanced diet and exercise. Always eat at the same time of day.
Also, consider a warm room yoga glass. Do meditation as well.
I used to have trouble keeping weight on and I found out there were problems stacked upon problems:
I wasn't active enough, so I wasn't getting hungry often enough, so I wasn't eating enough, so I didn't know I was eating a bad diet of foods that weren't good for me. I also didn't realize that not getting out and being active was causing depression and anxiety.
After I started running I started eating more and I felt more vibrant, and I gained weight. But my weight fluctuated because I was still in the same mental state. I started going out to do things like taking yoga classes and practicing meditation, which I thought was a bunch of bullshit until I actually did it and it helped.
Yoga and meditation force you to focus on the same thing for an extended period of time, which fixes the problem that things like spending hours on Reddit breaks: lack of attention and lack of attention span (resulting in ADD).
TL;DR: Active lifestyle, healthy diet, yoga, meditate.
You are overdoing it. If you aren't feeling better as you lose weight then you are probably losing the weight too fast/the wrong way. Don't try to lose more than 1-2 pounds per week. The first giveaway is "decreased diet." You can always substitute something healthy and still become full. Having a target weight is probably not the best idea either. The changes you've made should be permanent and sustainable.
This is, of course, only my opinion based on personal experience.
After the first few weeks, I am feeling full with my smaller amounts. I am eating 5 times per day. Regardless, my real goal is to "not have a gut.", but at my height, that seems to be at around 180-ish. The exercise is absolutely sustainable, but in order for weight to be lost there needs to be a caloric deficit somewhere.
That's good. The "not have a gut" sentiment is a great idea. Just don't get too caught up in weighing yourself constantly. There is no "ideal weight" printed somewhere on your DNA. And most importantly, don't be afraid to gain weight back (as long as it's healthy). In regards to the caloric deficit, I found it immensely helpful to eat foods with a lower Glycemic index. I started feeling full for many hours after eating using this alone.
One last thing to note is that it takes more willpower to eat certain foods in moderation than to cut them out of your diet altogether. You should keep that in mind for when you are around where you want to be and decide to take up some of your old vices.
All of the food I eat is measured on the Glycemic index as having a low glycemic index. That just happened to line up with my other medical concerns listed elsewhere in this tree of comments.
My plan, if it works out, is when all is said and done, I will cut all that stuff out of my diet entirely, except for dinner per week. And I won't eat it at my home, that way my home never contains it.
I used the zone diet plus exercise to lose weight, and I felt great almost the entire time. The first few days of the diet weren't awesome, but after that I wondered how I ever functioned before.
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Wow, you're quite the accusatory young man. My diet is restricted because my doctors are afraid I might have cancer, and I threw exercise in there for fat loss because I'm vain. It's not a "cycle." Don't be such a presumptuous ass.
If I don't need to go into chemotherapy, I'm pretty sure the exercise is here to stay because while it's incredibly painful still, it's fun because I exercise with supportive friends. As far as the diet goes, it wouldn't kill me to increase my portions and reintroduce things like "complex carbohydrates" in moderation, now would it?
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What doesn't appear true about it? I weighed 270 when I started, I weigh 217 now.
Not everyone has the same body type, and while it's true that there's a threshold where things fall in place, that's different for everybody. You really can't undo a lifetime of eating fast food with a month of proper diet. It takes willpower to get over that hurdle, and that hurdle is where everyone I know who has failed, well, failed. For some people, like me, that hurdle is disproportionately long. For some like you and the others who verbally disagree with me, it was probably much shorter. We can all agree that the results are worth it, but until you hit that magical point, it's not a walk in the park.
Logged in to call you out on your bullshit...
Changing your life is HARD. Changing your lifestyle is HARD. Changing your most powerfully ingrained habits is HARD.
If it was easy, everyone would do it.
It's simple, sure, but it's also hard as fuck all. Your mind, your body, has been conditioned for years on a certain pattern. When you change that pattern, your mind rails against you to change it back!
WritingImplement, don't listen to this guy. Keep pushing, keep telling your truth. You've set goals, you're realizing those goals, you're chasing bigger ones now, and you're become a more powerful human being with every step along the way.
See you in the winner's circle m8.
haha, more like globs of useless gunk
Remember though, our bodies haven't significantly evolved in over 10,000 years. That's why our bodies love the taste of fatty and sugary foods. In case we don't come across many food sources in the immediate future, our bodies just use the reserve energy to keep us ticking. So even though humans in wealthy countries tend to think that stored fat reserves are just
starving oedema-ridden children in Chad might disagree. And yes I am a fucking riot at parties FYI
To summarize... fat is useful because in olden times we would burn it off.
I'd invite you to my parties.... if I threw any...
I am going to assume that someone asking for a motivational graphic to lose weight on the internet is not a starving child in Chad. but I may be wrong
Haha, you're an idiot.
EAT SHIT AND DIE FAGGOT
Internet Tough Guy!