2020 Fitness Adventures

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: 2020 Fitness Adventures

Probably a bit too anal for a lot of you guys, but I've been logging my weight right before every work out via a 90 Days Abs workout app I've been using. I've been doing the routines for almost a year (typically only do the first two months - third month the workouts start taking 15-25 minutes), but have only been logging my weight like this for the past 3-4 months.

It has helped A LOT with maintaining weight. I ended up losing like 5-7lbs when I had the flu for a week at the beginning of January and have actually kept it off. One of my goals for the first part of the year is to maintain a range of 180-185lb. So far so great and typically by the end of the week I'm done below 180 by a couple pounds.

And then the weekend hits and my eating habits change completely. That's probably the last refuge of my poor eating habits.

[LowerWolf]

Re: 2020 Fitness Adventures

The new gym is working out really well for me. I'm going 4-5 times a week consistently now. At the Y, I usually talked myself out of going and only went 1-2 times a week.

I'm mainly just walking on the treadmill for a half-hour to an hour. At 4 mph and an incline, I usually get my target heart rate up around 140. When the weather gets better, I'm going to start running outside again. I've just never liked running on a treadmill. And after months of avoiding them, I've also started back on the weight machines. That soreness feels really good.

Biggest change though has been my diet. I've pretty much eaten fast food my entire adult life. I tend to eat "better" fast food (grilled chicken at CFA or a local place rather than Big Macs) but decided that needed to change. So last month I signed up for one those food delivery services. I think I've had more vegetables in the last month than the rest of my life combined. And I've discovered I don't hate broccoli.

Feeling pretty good now, so I'm going to keep pressing to get even better.

[DJ]

Re: 2020 Fitness Adventures

The new gym is working out really well for me. I'm going 4-5 times a week consistently now. At the Y, I usually talked myself out of going and only went 1-2 times a week.

I'm mainly just walking on the treadmill for a half-hour to an hour. At 4 mph and an incline, I usually get my target heart rate up around 140. When the weather gets better, I'm going to start running outside again. I've just never liked running on a treadmill. And after months of avoiding them, I've also started back on the weight machines. That soreness feels really good.

Biggest change though has been my diet. I've pretty much eaten fast food my entire adult life. I tend to eat "better" fast food (grilled chicken at CFA or a local place rather than Big Macs) but decided that needed to change. So last month I signed up for one those food delivery services. I think I've had more vegetables in the last month than the rest of my life combined. And I've discovered I don't hate broccoli.

Feeling pretty good now, so I'm going to keep pressing to get even better.

Nice work!

I hear you 100% on running on the treadmill. I despise it; I'd rather run outdoors in the cold with multiple layers on than get on that thing.

My wife and I have been talking about one of those food services, too, especially now that she's working FT again. We try and prep a larger meal on Sunday that'll feed us for an additional 1-2 days during the week, but would be nice to have other options on hand for the rest of the week, especially when either of us isn't feeling motivated to cook.

[jeremym480]

Re: 2020 Fitness Adventures

The new gym is working out really well for me. I'm going 4-5 times a week consistently now. At the Y, I usually talked myself out of going and only went 1-2 times a week.

I'm mainly just walking on the treadmill for a half-hour to an hour. At 4 mph and an incline, I usually get my target heart rate up around 140. When the weather gets better, I'm going to start running outside again. I've just never liked running on a treadmill. And after months of avoiding them, I've also started back on the weight machines. That soreness feels really good.

Biggest change though has been my diet. I've pretty much eaten fast food my entire adult life. I tend to eat "better" fast food (grilled chicken at CFA or a local place rather than Big Macs) but decided that needed to change. So last month I signed up for one those food delivery services. I think I've had more vegetables in the last month than the rest of my life combined. And I've discovered I don't hate broccoli.

Feeling pretty good now, so I'm going to keep pressing to get even better.

In the past, we have used a local food delivery place that brings cooked meals out and all you do is warm them up but we eventually got tired of using they duplicated a lot of their meals.

Last last year we switched to Hello Fresh and they actually have some really good recipes but you have to cook them yourself. It's actually pretty easy since they have everything included. Plus, it's a great way to get ideas rather than just a meat and a couple of vegetables that I normally have eaten while on diets in the past. They have some things that have things that we would never think to cook on our own.

When I decided to go on my diet we switch to Green Chef's Keto plan. It's basically around 500 calories per meal (some of HF's was 800+) and I've actually found some great recipes there, as well. I've had some things that I was like "I don't know about this" and it's actually really good. Plus, if you really like something it's easy to remake it yourself since you have the recipe.

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: 2020 Fitness Adventures

With those food services - do they package all ingredients separately (ie: seasonings, sugar, salt, etc)? I'm curious how much extra salt and sugar they throw in those things.

[jeremym480]

Re: 2020 Fitness Adventures

With those food services - do they package all ingredients separately (ie: seasonings, sugar, salt, etc)? I'm curious how much extra salt and sugar they throw in those things.

The only thing not included is salt, pepper, and olive oil - everything else is packaged separately. Here's a link to a sample recipe that I have coming this week. https://cdn2.greenchef.com/uploaded/...0014f88fa6.pdf

[pietasterp]

Re: 2020 Fitness Adventures

In an effort to be more efficient in the gym, I've resorted to guided workouts. I'm doing the P90X thing, not because I think it will be life-changing but mostly because it's a contained 1-hour of exercise and I know there's a definite start and end to each workout (as opposed to my self-directed workouts that tended to meander and weren't "tight" enough).

It's okay, I guess. I'm only a month into it. There's a lot of pull-ups involved (!). It's also a little unreasonable in that the program has you working out 6 days a week every week for like 12 weeks in a row, which is ridiculous for any working person to stick to. They say you can do it at home but I don't know many people that have homes with enough space and gym equipment to do the workouts, so I just go to the gym and do them.

I honestly have pretty low expectations, and to be fair I'm not exactly following the workout plan religiously (I mean, if you have to travel for work it's not really feasible to not be skipping days here and there), but I figure it's a change of pace from my usual workout for a few months, so it's worth a shot. I'll let you know when (if) I finish if it seemed worth it or not....but I suppose if you just do anything 5-6 times a week you'll probably get in better shape in general.

[LowerWolf]

Re: 2020 Fitness Adventures

I'm using Freshly. Their meals come pre-cooked, so all I have to do is heat them up. But they're not frozen and have no preservatives. I keep them in my fridge and have 4-5 days to eat them.

I've been pretty happy with it so far. I'm trying to watch my sodium intake, so I like that I can sort the meals by sodium.

[pietasterp]

Re: 2020 Fitness Adventures

I'm using Freshly. Their meals come pre-cooked, so all I have to do is heat them up. But they're not frozen and have no preservatives. I keep them in my fridge and have 4-5 days to eat them.

I've been pretty happy with it so far. I'm trying to watch my sodium intake, so I like that I can sort the meals by sodium.

Are they tasty? My experience is that most people can adhere to any diet restriction for a limited amount of time, but after a few weeks/months, if you aren't looking forward to eating, it's not sustainable.

Let's face it, once you reach adulthood, there are a limited number of things that give you pleasure on a day-to-day basis. I would argue there are maybe 2, and only 1 is entirely within your control....if you take away the pleasure of eating, it makes for a tough life.

My hypothesis is that people that can adhere to really healthy restrictive diets are people that just naturally don't enjoy food or eating, and therefore it's not a sacrifice for them to eat a plain chicken breast and broccoli every day. For everyone else, you fall off the wagon pretty quickly....

[LowerWolf]

Re: 2020 Fitness Adventures

Are they tasty? My experience is that most people can adhere to any diet restriction for a limited amount of time, but after a few weeks/months, if you aren't looking forward to eating, it's not sustainable.

Let's face it, once you reach adulthood, there are a limited number of things that give you pleasure on a day-to-day basis. I would argue there are maybe 2, and only 1 is entirely within your control....if you take away the pleasure of eating, it makes for a tough life.

My hypothesis is that people that can adhere to really healthy restrictive diets are people that just naturally don't enjoy food or eating, and therefore it's not a sacrifice for them to eat a plain chicken breast and broccoli every day. For everyone else, you fall off the wagon pretty quickly....

So far, I've liked them. They're a definite step up from frozen meals, though not as good as home cooked. And there's been enough variety for me so far. I've only been doing it for a month, so we'll see how I feel in another month or two. But I've been happy with it to this point.

Edit: I guess I should add that as a single guy, single-meal deliveries work well for me. Even if I wanted to actually cook, I think I'd be eating leftovers an awful lot and wouldn't get as much variety.

[Sinner]

Re: 2020 Fitness Adventures

I joined Planet Fitness last weekend and actually like it, I go Saturday and Sunday morning and try to pick a day or 2 during the week which is REALLY big for me cause I'm such a introvert...do not like being around many people at all and haven't worked out in a public place like that before.

I was originally 295 a few years ago and have been around 250 for awhile now. When I go to the gym I hit the treadmill first and have gotten to where I can jog for about 20 min or so at 4.5-5 spd. Then I hit some weights which I also really like.

I bought me a Vitamix late last year mainly for making my cheesecakes but love this thing for making smoothies. Tried a new smoothie today I got from Harris Teeter online

Winter Sunshine Smoothie

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups Harris Teeter Organic Baby Carrots
1 cup chopped fresh pineapple
1/3 cup Harris Teeter Orange Juice
1/2 ripe banana
3/4 cup water


Combine all ingredients in a blender. Puree until smooth. Divide into glasses and serve immediately.

This one is added to the rotation cause it was really good

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: 2020 Fitness Adventures

Is anybody else working from home? If so - has your routine changed any? How is everybody doing? I know anxiety and uncertainty can kill motivation - especially for physical activities. It's important to keep your head clear and continue to take care of yourselves during this situation.

Godspeed, fellas.

[DJ]

Re: 2020 Fitness Adventures

Is anybody else working from home? If so - has your routine changed any? How is everybody doing? I know anxiety and uncertainty can kill motivation - especially for physical activities. It's important to keep your head clear and continue to take care of yourselves during this situation.

Godspeed, fellas.

Yep, been at home for 11 days now. Self-quarantining after a trip. Our office hasn't fully closed, but we've moved to get as many people working from home as possible. I've worked remotely before, so I am able to get back into that routine pretty well, but there are times that I am probably tied to my laptop too much and need to step away and do something else to break up the day.

Workout routine is about the same for me, as we're pretty isolated here in the country as-is. I had purchased Les Mills On Demand a couple of months ago; who knew at the time how handy that'd be? I'm able to go for walks/runs/bike rides when the weather allows, too, as the trail near our house is empty 99% of the time.

[pietasterp]

Re: 2020 Fitness Adventures

I was doing great through week 1 of shelter-in-place, but week 2 is off to a sub-optimal start. Motivation is low and working out in my place is not a particularly attractive proposition. Will have to power through and do the best I can, though, because this ain't ending anytime soon based on the current projections...

Hang in there, fellas.

[LowerWolf]

Re: 2020 Fitness Adventures

My gym is - shockingly - still open. I think it's the last place in town doing business as usual. My plan a couple of weeks ago was to keep going and make sure I wiped everything down extra clean before and after use. They've sent out emails that they've stepped up cleaning, but I've decided I'm going to pass on the gym until we get things under control.

In the meantime, I've taken my dog on longer walks each day. I'll probably start trying to run outside too. I'll just skip working with weights for the time being. I think I've actually lost weight since I started working from home. Eating lunch at home has been healthier than eating out at work.

I'm naturally introverted so outside of not driving to work every day, my life really hasn't changed all that much. I guess this is one time lack of social life is a good thing ... lol.