So I started working out

Yup, this pale fat boy has taken his first steps getting rid of the car tire around his waist! Bring the steroids!!

Good for you! Are you lifting and doing cardio?

tohostudios wrote:

Good for you! Are you lifting and doing cardio?

Yeah, the standard routine, I guess.

I started about 25 years ago. I was fat kid until my freshman year in college. Once I got the weight off, I swore I'd never be like that again.

I still HATE cardio but I love lifting weights; great stress relief. My biggest advice would be start slowly and don't overdo it if you're just starting.

Congrats dude. I love to hear this kind of thing!!

I need to start as well. But I am the biggest procrastinator ever.

Yeah, do not—I repeat, DO NOT—leg press over 800lbs just to see if you can do it. Well, not unless you want to be able to walk, or even stand up, two days later.

tohostudios wrote:

..... My biggest advice would be start slowly and don't overdo it if you're just starting.

Yeah, the instructor won't even give me a proper routine 'til I've done the initial "warm-up" one 30 times! But I'm not complaining. I'm a wuzz, so I like taking it easy!

Good to hear Kmorg.Stick with it man.I've been lifting for the past 6 or 7 years.Its alot of fun once you get into the habit.

i am doin' it 5 yrs - 4x per week.

it's about time that you put down that box of little debbies & got active.

Good for you kmorg. I love working out now. I thought I would hate it when I started, but now it's such a part of my life, I couldn't imagine NOT working out. I actually look forward to going to the gym each day. Getting a workout partner can really help that too. Gives you a bit of a push and some healthy competition in the gym. I actually have two right now.

Let us know how you are progressing.

ult

But I wouldn't know what I am doing. It's not bench press and such. It different machines for different parts/muscle groups on the body. The while body gets a work out every time, no particular groups. I'm not trying to get big, just fit!

kmorg wrote:

But I wouldn't know what I am doing. It's not bench press and such. It different machines for different parts/muscle groups on the body. The whole body gets a work out every time, no particular groups. I'm not trying to get big, just fit!

Uh huh. That's how I started.

That's a good way to lose weight and tighten up. A good diet, cardiovascular exercise and a good circuit training program. It worked for me. I went from 215lbs. to a slim 185lbs. in about a year.

IT TAKES A YEAR!!!!!!

kmorg wrote:

IT TAKES A YEAR!!!!!!

To do it right it does. Fad diets and quick weight loss programs don't tend to work in the long run. You end up gaining the weight back quickly and most times gain more weight than you started.

Real weight loss for those pushing the end of their 30's and into their 40's takes a life style change. Workout needs to become part of life, not just something to do for a few weeks to lose a few pounds.

Amen to that! Once I realized that I got a handle on my weight. Lifestyle.....

So what do you muscle heads eat? I need a good motivating starting point, and I don't want a heart attack to be that motivation.

spectrefate wrote:

So what do you muscle heads eat? I need a good motivating starting point, and I don't want a heart attack to be that motivation.

Eat several small meals each day. I eat every few hours. Skipping meals is not good as it causes your body to store up fat. Eating several meals (5-7 meals a day) will help keep up your body's metabolism.

Whole grain breads and cereals. Oatmeal is great. Avoid processed foods and breads/pastas that are made from "bleached flour".

Lean meats like chicken and fish. Beef is ok too from time to time, but red meat in excess is bad for you. Eggs are a good source of protein as well. Some say that the yellows of the eggs are high in cholesterol, but I've read differing reports on this. Personally I like Egg Beaters. High in protein, low in cholesterol and fat.

Avoid fatty foods, deep fried food and most fast food joints.

Fruits and vegetables are great.

Fruit juices on the other hand are generally not all that good as they are usually just concentrated sugar. Even pure orange juice has more sugar than you should take in for an entire day.

Stay away from food with "high fructose corn syrup".

A big no-no, and one that I am guilty of, is SODA! STAY AWAY from that crap. It's just plain bad for you. I drink Diet Soda, but it's still full of sodium and other chemicals that aren't good for you.

Hope that helps.

ult

scottmitchell74 wrote:

Amen to that! Once I realized that I got a handle on my weight. Lifestyle.....

I've actually got several handles.....

ultmetal wrote:

spectrefate wrote:

So what do you muscle heads eat? I need a good motivating starting point, and I don't want a heart attack to be that motivation.

Eat several small meals each day. I eat every few hours. Skipping meals is not good as it causes your body to store up fat. Eating several meals (5-7 meals a day) will help keep up your body's metabolism.

Whole grain breads and cereals. Oatmeal is great. Avoid processed foods and breads/pastas that are made from "bleached flour".

Lean meats like chicken and fish. Beef is ok too from time to time, but red meat in excess is bad for you. Eggs are a good source of protein as well. Some say that the yellows of the eggs are high in cholesterol, but I've read differing reports on this. Personally I like Egg Beaters. High in protein, low in cholesterol and fat.

Avoid fatty foods, deep fried food and most fast food joints.

Fruits and vegetables are great.

Fruit juices on the other hand are generally not all that good as they are usually just concentrated sugar. Even pure orange juice has more sugar than you should take in for an entire day.

Stay away from food with "high fructose corn syrup".

A big no-no, and one that I am guilty of, is SODA! STAY AWAY from that crap. It's just plain bad for you. I drink Diet Soda, but it's still full of sodium and other chemicals that aren't good for you.

Hope that helps.

ult

Okay, got a few SERIOUS issues with this diet Ult:
1. "Avoid processed foods and breads/pastas that are made from "bleached flour".
2. "but red meat in excess is bad for you."
3. "Avoid fatty foods, deep fried food...."
4. "Stay away from food with "high fructose corn syrup"
5. " SODA! STAY AWAY from that crap. It's just plain bad for you"

What the hell am I suppose to eat/drink/poop?!?!

That's very variable......

I have a slow metabolism and beside big fires, we really don't work hard from day to day so I don't have a high caloric demand.

SO, my intake is fairly low (it's not easy at first but once you find your groove and what works for you it's not that bad, really. It does help to be borderline OCD and like repetitive things)

Breakfast 1 - Breakfast for me is always the same. Immediately upon waking. I love oatmeal. The nuts and raisins (in small doses) have great nutrients.
One serving of Oatmeal in 8 oz of skim milk. 1 1/2 tablesspoons of mixed nuts and 1 tablespoon of raisins. Coffee

The rest of the day will look like this:

One can of Chunky Soup. I always get a kind that the full can is under 300 calories.

Protein supplement. 16 oz of skim milk and 1 1/2 scoops Musclemilk. This is post-workout

One bag of coleslaw cabbage and maybe just a wee bit of chopped meat or some nuts for flavor and texture. I fry the cabbage in Zero calorie butter flavored Wal-Mart brand spam. The whole bag is 100 calories and fills me big time. I get some ruffage, too. You can replace the cabbage with a bag of frozen veggies, a couple cans of green bean or whatever non-starch veggies you like.

Two fruits per day. Banana, apple, orange etc.....

One can of Campbell's chicken noodle soup. 150 calories and filling.

Protien bar OR another Veggie and meat meal. This will have much more meat but still keep it lean.

Also in rotation (in moderation) Eggs, Yogurt & Nuts, Popcorn (once popped and not dripping with butter it's a good fiber snack), granola bars



Oatmeal is ALWAYS on my personal list because I love it.

A big plate of veggies is always there because of the fiber, vitamins and what not I get out of it and the calories are low.

Protein drink or bars (or both) because that's the one big easy way I get my protein.

**** I used to buy into the theory that I had to have TONS of protein. I'd try to stuff 250-300 grams a day into m y diet without having too many calories. It made for a horrible diet and led to boredome.

I've learned (at least for me) that 100-120 grams a protein a day is just fine. For MY needs that's plenty. In fact, I'm leaner AND more muscular than when I was force-feeding all that protein. Go figure.....

SOMETHING BIG I had to learn.

#1 - I'm a lazy man. So, I've found the prepackaged soups, bags of cabbage, oatmeal, nuts, protein bars, etc....work for me because then I WILL eat them. If I had to cook 6 times a day I'd grow weary (GREW weary in the past) and eventually just not do it and then in a hungry rush eat crap.

#2 - You HAVE to find the foods and protein supplements that you like. If you have two choices and one is super healthy but tastes like crap you'll probably not stick to it. If the other isn't quite as healthy (but still a healthy choice) but you like how it tastes you're about ONE MILLION times more likely to stick to it.

#3 - We folks in "Western Civilization" and especially in North America have an ABSURD idea of what a normal portion of food is and what "I'm full" means.
Coming to grips with that personally was big for me. My wife and I now can get Chinese take out for ONE and make it last for the two of us at least two meals. Portion sizes - especially at restaurants - are absurd. I like to get my money's worth, but we take home at least half our food each time we eat out. (Which is rare and that's part of the deal, too )

#4 - Still allow yourself to enjoy a good meal once or twice a week without guilt. Don't go NUTS, but don't worry about what your eating. (Everything is premissable in moderation )

#5 - It's SO much easier to drink calories than to eat them. Soft drinks, alchohol, etc.....moderation...

I shoot for 1800 calories per day. Not a lot I know, that's my needs. You may need 2500 (or 1500 ) to get a handle on things. I've settled on 1800 balance calories.


That's my take. I'm weak and still don't have my 6 pack but I was 5'8" 209 (sloppy) when I graduated from Rookie School nearly 8 years ago. That summer in 103 degree Abilene heat we had a day time fire. When we got back to the Station I was exhausted and thought two things "I couldn't do that again if we had another fire" and "I'm not too young to have a heart attack". Then and there I decided to do something.
NOW, it was a transition and there have been stops and starts but it's my lifestyle now.


Here's something else.

Give yourself a carrot.

For me it's Powerlifting and Softball. I get too fat at 198 so I lift and train for 181. That's my goal. To get as strong as I can at 181 pounds. I sign up and pay for 181 weight class. That's my "carrot". It keeps me honest and so I eat and train for 181.

In the past when I needed a motivator I've made monetary bets. BIG! I once bet my Mom I could get to 177 (from the high 190's - the very bet that got me where I am today) in a certain amount of time or I owed her $200. That's 20 friggin CDS!!! Guess what I weighed on weigh in day?

I then used Softball and later Powerlifting as my carrots. I'm actually pretty fast runner but can be more so when I'm 180 so I used the two sports combined as my "carrots".

One time my former LT and I made a bet on who would have the best fitness test when it came around the next time. One month of cooking duty was on the line. I didn't cook a meal for more than a month, baby!



SOOO, that's a book but I LOVE to hear my friends and brothers get interested in their fitness.

We're in our 30's so we're in that danger zone for men.

I've given you MY template. Ult has a different one that works for him. Arttie has what works for him. I'd say look at them all and cobble together what works for you.

Remember - moderation and lifestyle. You must also move more. Automation and not having to actually hunt and gather our food means we have to artificially "move". I say move because the words "workout" or "exercise" are too narrow. I play softball and lift. Maybe you'd prefer riding or climbing. When the weather is nicer wifey and I also walk and play racquetball. My Vintage Base Ball season starts soon. You might like to take up running. Play basketball. Whatever, just move more.



Alrighty. I truly hope you fellas stick with it. I promise you feeling good, being healthy (and knowing it) looking good in the mirror (though somewhat vain ) etc...all of that feels better than the 37 seconds it takes to eat a yummy donut.

I was typing my book while Ult wrote his novel-ette. I can be long winded on subjects I love. As you can see independantly we've actually written similar things. It's not easy but it's very doable.

I love working out. I changed my routine big time 5 or 6 months ago and I've lost around 40 pounds since then. Before, I was just getting strong and getting fat at the same time. I didn't like that, so I switched things up, including my diet, and I'm digging it a lot more now.