Health quest/90 day challenge starts tomorrow

[sublime]

Okay so here is the short story behind this quest. I used to be a health nut and in great physical shape. Then I slowly decided that I could eat more junk food and my metabolism could handle the extra caloric intake and I could get away with it. Well I did get away with it. For a short while anyways, that is. Eventually a snack here and there turned into a way of life and I became lazy. I even stopped lifting weights, and as a result gained a LOT of un-wanted body fat. All this took place over the course of a year (starting last October and continuing until today) but it feels like a lifetime ago that I was so physically and mentally fit.

I woke up today and was disgusted at the shape I had allowed myself to get into and decided that changes HAD to be made or I was going to become a statistic in one of those obesity studies. I also needed the added motivation of being accountable to somebody or something and what a better place to choose than the OOT forum of 2+2. Sad to say, but this place is a significant part of my social life (I am introverted by nature) and I will be disappointed in myself if I post a goal here and don’t follow thru with it. So here goes.

Nutrition:
No fried food or red meat (fried food is a serious detriment to ones health and red meat is very tough on my digestive system anyways)

No candy/ice cream etc: Shitty food that I really don’t care for anyways. (well beside caramal lattes, but I can survive)

Plenty of greens, veggies, fruits, water, whole grains, fish, chicken, nuts etc.

Physical activity:
I am huge believer that one needs to focus on a couple of large movements (squats, dead lifts, military press, bent over rows, chin ups and some crunches) once a week and progressively adding weight to the bar will build a large muscular body. Most people are not aware of this, but before steroids were introduced to bodybuilding back in the 60’s(around that era) most “bodybuilders” worked out very infrequently and for very short, very intense sessions. Once steroids became popular, so did marathon workout sessions and cute exercises like the curl. Since I don’t ingest steroids I will stick to the big basics. (btw I don’t care to debate my workout routine in this thread, I am well read on the subject and have worked out like this in the past. So if you disagree with it, fine. Post your own thread).

I will have one day a week when I can eat what I want (Sundays) but other than that it’s nothing but wholesome foods. I will also pick my workout day (I am thinking Friday) and post how much I am lifting and how my mental and physical state has changed. I am not posting my weight and how much weight I have lost, because that’s really not important IMO. As long as I eat well and continuously lift heavier weights I will become leaner.

Wish me luck and get on my case if I screw up.

<font color="blue">90day clean living reward: A trip to Vegas or Cali </font> /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[FrankLu99]

best of luck
eating healthy is definitely positive EV. i hope the attitude lasts

[Oski]

Good luck: I am sure you will do fine.

I am also trying to make a few changes. I am interested in your workout routine (not debating, just want to know).

If I read correctly, you do that entire workout during one session, and just once per week? How many sets/reps would it take for each lift?

Thanks.

[sublime]

oski-

check out this site:

natural (http://www.naturalstrength.com/)

its geared towards drug free training and has some excellent articles on fitness. have a read of the stuff there and then i will be glad to discuss my training experiance with you

EDIT:
better website

[Uston]

Good luck. One thing to keep in mind: insulin sensitivity decreases as the day goes on so if you going to eat meal laden with simple carbs, try and make it your breakfast/early lunch.

[Cosimo]

[ QUOTE ]
No candy/ice cream etc: Shitty food that I really don’t care for anyways. (well beside caramal lattes, but I can survive)

Plenty of greens, veggies, fruits, water, whole grains, fish, chicken, nuts etc.


[/ QUOTE ]

A agree on the candy and ice cream. I don't normally eat them, and I don't normally miss them, either. A banana shake now and then (on cheat day, of course) might tempt me, but that's it.

Fruit is evil, though. Avoid it. Most are high in sugar. If you're getting a good range of veggies, fruit isn't going to go very far in completing nutritional intake.

[sublime]

Fruit is evil, though. Avoid it. Most are high in sugar. If you're getting a good range of veggies, fruit isn't going to go very far in completing nutritional intake.

fruits are high in fiber and loaded with vitamins. as long as i am not dipping it in liquid sugar or frying it i am not to concerned /images/graemlins/grin.gif

I /images/graemlins/heart.gif fruit

[ThaSaltCracka]

skipping out on fried food is good, but red meat is a bit excessive. It has a lot of protein(maybe not as much as poultry but still a lot) as well as a lot of amino acids. Red meat is good for you as long as you stay away from fatty cuts.

go for items with a lot of fiber, and don't forget brekfast(sp??? I can't believe I can't spell this right /images/graemlins/shocked.gif)

[vulturesrow]

[ QUOTE ]
go for items with a lot of fiber, and don't forget brekfast(sp??? I can't believe I can't spell this right )


[/ QUOTE ]

You're probably the only regular poster in this forum who finds that hard to believe. /images/graemlins/laugh.gif

[ThaSaltCracka]

booooo you vulture /images/graemlins/mad.gif

[vulturesrow]

[ QUOTE ]
booooo you vulture /images/graemlins/mad.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Hehe couldnt resist.

P.S. (breakfast)

[ThaSaltCracka]

[ QUOTE ]
P.S. (breakfast)

[/ QUOTE ]
Haha, there you go, yeah eat breakfast!

[lu_hawk]

You're just doing one day a week workouts? In the past I've focused on the large ones but split it 3 days, chest/back/legs. How long are your workouts, how many sets/reps/etc.? I would probably feel lazy if i only worked out one day though.

[mmbt0ne]

I notice no mention of alcohol. What about that? Are you still gonna be getting hammered regularly, or just on Sundays?

[sublime]

I don't drink anymore

[mmbt0ne]

Oh, ok then. Good luck on the challenge btw, since I forgot to throw that in last time. It's something that I would really like to do also, but I never seem to last longer than a month on a regular diet/workout plan. Hopefully, watching you succeed can inspire me to stay on track.

[liquidboss]

[ QUOTE ]
I don't drink anymore

[/ QUOTE ]

/images/graemlins/frown.gif Statments like this make me sad...

[Boris]

I'm right there with ya bro. I've turned in to a [censored] lard ass and I feel disgusting. I'm in the process of trying to get back on track. lots of 24Hour fitness.

[turnipmonster]

why not throw some running/swimming/biking or other cardio into the mix? if you're really wanting to lose weight I think at least some cardio would certainly make it a lot easier. after years of distance running I have switched to mostly swimming and I love it.

--turnipmonster

[Diplomat]

break/fast

breaking fast (you haven't eaten in 10+ hours).

-Diplomat

[ThaSaltCracka]

thanks man, I was really tired last night when I typed it, so I didn't care if I typed it wrong.

[Topflight]

I am in the exact same situation. I think my gf is even a little disappointed. I was a rock when we first met, now I'm squishy.

You've inspired me to clean out my fridge tonight and head to the grocery store for a healthy selection of foods.

[Blarg]

Good luck.

The nice thing about eating really healthy is you can actually eat more. At one point I went about 9 months without eating any red meat, mostly eating just fish and fruits and vegetables and grains, and sometimes chicken. That stuff is so easily digested compared to red meat and processed foods and fried foods that I could eat like crazy.

When I eventually broke the diet, the first time I ate red meat it made me sick to my stomach.

The only problem is, you have to be careful about protein. Most vegetarians I've known eat very unbalanced meals, and I've read that's actually the norm with vegetarians. Some of them don't look particularly healthy because of it, and some of the real nutty ones, like the Fit for Life types, have almost no endurance at all. A friend of mine was on that and he often looked like he was going to faint, like a diabetic needing sugar or something, if he didn't immediately get something in his system. He lost a ton of weight, but almost all his muscle too. I was worried he was going to kill himself. If he did any physical exertion at all, he would tire out immediately and be near collapse. It was absurd and scary; I felt bad for the guy, and it was like he had joined a religious cult that was slowly killing him.

Be sure you get your beans and peas and whatever protein sources in, too. Tofu is an excellent way to do that. It blends invisibly into everything; I rarely even notice that I'm eating tofu when I'm eating it in pasta, salads, and many other things. It just takes on the flavor of everything else.

There's definitely no point in killing yourself just to get healthier.

[J.R.]

daily cardio is missing, as your goal isn't primarily mass/strength. And lifting only once a week is too infrequent.

[BottlesOf]

[ QUOTE ]
nuts etc.

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree. Today, I consumed a lot of second nuts, and it didn't sit well.

[sublime]

And lifting only once a week is too infrequent.

for once JR i dont agree with you. lifting once a week is fine as long as you are adding either weight to the bar or reps to a set (overload) and doing that on a progressive basis. of course you can disagree, and i will respect that.

EDIT: not only is it "fine" its optimal. resting your body after lifting heavy weights is almost as improtant as the work itself. to prove my point look at it this way:

if you are deadlifting 200lbs for 10 reps today and 12 weeks from now are deadlifting 215 lbs for 10 reps, logic would say your muscles would be bigger. contrary to popular belief, you cant train for "strenght" without getting bigger and vice versa. they are both a byproduct of one another.

[sublime]

woke up at about 12:30 pm and had some grapes and orange juice. had a strong desire for a caramel latte from dunkins, but it passed and i brewed some regular coffee. it was good /images/graemlins/smile.gif

other than that i didnt really crave any bad food. i kinda feel like i started a new chapter in my life today and forgave myself for going from rock solid to fat in a year. now that i have accepted that i am very out of shape (well for me anyways, i guess i have a somewhat typical body for a 25 year old male) i can take the needed steps to change what i dont like.

anyways, went to the celtics first game tonight and members of the red sox were there (as was the trophy) and they did this whole pregame "thank you" to the sox. the place went insane. we had great seats (2 rows from the basket) and i got to see some sweet moves by AI and some nifty shooting by pierce. gary payton whas quite a mouth on him /images/graemlins/shocked.gif i might actually like this guy.

i take public transportation to the game and live within walking distance of the train, so got in plenty of walking today /images/graemlins/laugh.gif

had a grilled chicken salad for dinner and just finished a bowl of cereal for the night. yum

i feel like i accomplished a mini-goal today and have some momentum going forward

thanks for your support guys /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[J.R.]

No doubt. I train naturally, always have, and agree you need rest. But everything I have read suggests between 48 to 72 hours between workouts, do you have any links to info suggesting you need/should be resting 168 hours between workouts?

I was a big mike mentzer proponent, and still am. Work hard, fast, and get out there. Granted its more bodybuilding than pure strength, but, as you allude, the two are intertwined. Good luck and congrats with your quest.

[sublime]

I was a big mike mentzer proponent, and still am.

i believe there were times in mentzers life that he only lifted once a week, i think i read that in his last book "HIT the mentzer way". i see that you are familier with the HIT style of training /images/graemlins/grin.gif. very well versed you are, i am impressed /images/graemlins/smile.gif

i like reading articles from bob whelans site(naturalstrenght.com) and have the book beyond brawn by stuart mcrobert. while resting a week may be on the extreme end, i doubt it will detrimental to my progress and in my experiance the more i rested the more i grew/stronger "i" got(i should have included that in my original response, sorry /images/graemlins/frown.gif).

thanks for your support

[craig r]

There is also the little things also Sublime. For example, eating brown rice instead of white rice. Try to make sure all juice that you drink is 100% (concentrate is fine though). I would also say avoid dairy (i know it has protein and calcium, but there are plenty of healthier ways to get these).

craig

[Lawrence Ng]

Congratulations on a challenge well worth pursuing.

[ QUOTE ]
Nutrition:
No fried food or red meat (fried food is a serious detriment to ones health and red meat is very tough on my digestive system anyways)

No candy/ice cream etc: Shitty food that I really don’t care for anyways. (well beside caramal lattes, but I can survive)

Plenty of greens, veggies, fruits, water, whole grains, fish, chicken, nuts etc.


[/ QUOTE ]

If you want to eat better and healthier you must include red meats. I would eat lean steak/beef about once a week. Failure to do so will result in a lot of iron deficencies. Too much protein (aka the Atkins diet thing) will result in overworking the liver and kidneys. You need to balance out protein with some natural/unprocessed carbs. Things like pototoes, rice are good carbs. Things like cookies, pastas, bagels are bad carbs.

In short you want to eat more natural and/or organic foods so your body will process and break down the compounds more easily. Try to stay away from hydrogenated, processed, preserved foods if you can. But you have to cheat once in a while otherwise you won't satisfy your cravings and you'll wind up over eating too much of one thing. So do eat fried chicken once in a while, or some candy. Mentally it will do good for you. And stay away from soda and pop.

[ QUOTE ]
As long as I eat well and continuously lift heavier weights I will become leaner.


[/ QUOTE ]

Lifting heavy weights in short sessions will build muscle and strength, but will do squat for increasing your metabolism which is the key to losing your fat and breaking down the food you eat quicker. YOu need to incorporate some form of cardio excercise in your workout combined with the weight lifts to maximize your full potential lose weights.

How do I know all this? I'm a health nut. I can't stand losing my 6 pack. I work out at the gym 6 times a week and I study nutrition and health fitness more so than I study the game of poker. Besides, chicks dig the 6 pack..turns 'em on!! /images/graemlins/grin.gif

Good luck with your challenge and I hope you reach your goals.

[CCass]

Good luck with your quest, I am sure you will do well.

I came to a similar conclusion about my weight/physical shape about 6 months ago. I am 5'11 tall with a medium to small build. When I graduated HS, I might have weighed 155lbs soaking wet. A little on the skinny side, but in great shape physically (worked on the family farm, earned multiple letters in track and basketball). Off to college I go, and I remained pretty active while I was there, but weighed about 165lbs when I left (probably the beer /images/graemlins/grin.gif). From the time I left college (14 years ago) until now, my level of exercise has continued to decrease, while I didn't change my eating habits (in fact I was probably eating less healthy). So in May of this year, my wife said she was going to lose some weight (she is in pretty good shape), and I decided to join her as I was topping the scales at 195+lbs.

We began by following the Atkins diet very strictly (I highly recommend taking multi-vitamins to anyone on a low carb diet), and I set my goal at 170-175lbs. After about 6 weeks of Atkins, we "morphed our diet to more closely resemble the South Beach diet, which doesn't claim that all carbs are bad, but tries to group foods based upon how fast the "sugar" get processed into your bloodstream. I liked this for a couple of reasons. First, not all carbs are created equall. There are good carbs and bad carbs. The SBD opened up our menu, which was nice after 6 weeks of meat and eggs. Second, diabetes runs in my family, and I believe the SBD will lesson my chances of developing diabetes.

Fast forward to now. I quickly dropped the 20+lbs I had set as my goal, and am now working on my long term "maintenance" diet. What I have found so far is that there are really only a few changes that I am going to have to make. I only drink diet sodas (took some getting used to, but they are ok), I don't snack on candy at work every day / all day, I have cut back on potatoes and corn (but still eat some ocassionaly), and I don't snack on M&amp;M's at night while playing poker. I have been following this "maintenance" diet for a couple of months now, and I am holding my weight at 170lbs.

A quick note about my weight. I believe that if I were in very good physical condition, the 195lbs would have been OK. However, I have neither the time nor the inclination to work out every day/week, so I thought that ~170lbs was a much more realistic weight for my level of physical activity.

[Topflight]

Why would one weight be any easier to maintain than another. If you drop down to 170 and are able to maintain it, why not drop down to 160 and maintain that.

[Boris]

Don't be a pussy. No pain no gain.

[CCass]

[ QUOTE ]
Why would one weight be any easier to maintain than another. If you drop down to 170 and are able to maintain it, why not drop down to 160 and maintain that.

[/ QUOTE ]

I could drop down to 160 just as easy. My Dr. and I both felt that with my height/build/level of exercise 170 was a reasonable weight. I think I start looking a little thin at 160... /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[sublime]

my poker game has been robot like and i have not been playing well (not bad but not really good either) and a trip to foxwoods with joetall is in order.

i am heading down now and will take the same desire to eat well with me.

i will post how i fared when i get back (who knows when that will be) and fill everybody in.

looks like monday i will get back to the gym

[sublime]

trip to foxwoods went well. i ate a couple of fruit cups and garden salad with chicken over a 13 hour session. also a turkey sandwich. it was goooot

funny moment is when joetall needs to yell over to me "MIKE!, you do realize that is salad you are eating, right? hahahaha" then i hear him telling his whole table how funny it was watching me eat bacon chessebugers for 3 days straight at the borgata (they were yummy) joe doesnt realize i got my revenge by telling my table that joe hasnt had sex in a year and reads poker books to make up for that. i think i got more laughs /images/graemlins/grin.gif

im gonna "cheat" from 6pm tonight to 6pm tomoroow. i am going over the GF's house and feel this would be the best 24 hour period to eat what i feel like (within reason fo course)

back to the gym on monday or tuesday. cant friggin wait /images/graemlins/blush.gif