Health, Food and Exercise thread

I got really fat hitting my peak last year at 350. I was sick all the time had acid reflux , heart burn and after eating i'd be in the bathroom all the time. So I've started and failed the 5k training multiple times but while doing it from nov till june I droped 50lbs and I've been kinda stuck at that. BBQs and then my B-Day will do it lol. However I signed myself up for the Disney 5k and 10k to force myself to stick with it. I was going to go and spend all that money to simply fail. So I've kept with it. I am going to be able to fully run the 5k but the 10k I will walk and run most of it.

The Idea for me is that when I go for the 5/10k in Nov I will be completed with the 5k training and a week or two into the 10k training. I figure I finish out the 10k training before the end of the year and just run 10ks 3 times a week. Since it will be cold and stuff here in the NE I will do this inside . Once it gets nice I will then start training for the half which is 13.1 miles. But by then I will be running 6.2 miles for a few months . I will then have from around May/ June till Nov to up my mileage for the Half. I also plan to be another 50lbs less for the Half (250lbs).

But I am worried about injuries and I have an older cousin who runs a lot . He is actually doing the challenge at Disney which is the 5k,10k ,Half one day after the other. So he has been giving advice of what to do and what to avoid and so far so good. If I can't' finish the run for that day of the program I drop back to the day before and run that the next time. Then I try again to pass the day I had problems with. So far so good. I also know if I get a pain that isn't normal to stop. I've fucked my body up enough at this point
AFAIK you should not run marathons even at 250lbs, due to high impact and its effects on your lower joints. It's better to just walk and do some low impact exercises in order to drop your weight to around 200lbs before trying to run. At least that's what the doctor (an orthopedist with supposedly lots of experience in sports medicine) told me when I was around 250lbs. But I'm 5'9 tall, so if you happen to be much taller than me then I guess all bets are off.
I would also recommend a low carb diet (paleo diet bordering on ketogenic diet) to speedup the initial weight loss.
 
AFAIK you should not run marathons even at 250lbs, due to high impact and its effects on your lower joints. It's better to just walk and do some low impact exercises in order to drop your weight to around 200lbs before trying to run. At least that's what the doctor (an orthopedist with supposedly lots of experience in sports medicine) told me when I was around 250lbs. But I'm 5'9 tall, so if you happen to be much taller than me then I guess all bets are off.
I would also recommend a low carb diet (paleo diet bordering on ketogenic diet) to speedup the initial weight loss.

I'm 6'4 doc told me i'm fine once I get below 250lbs. I wouldn't run half marathons every day. I would stick with 10ks and only increase my mileage the 2 months leading up to the half. I'm on the eat less diet. I cut all my portions in size and it seems to have worked well. I also replaced bad food with better choices. I went to taco bell twice in the last two weeks but that's all the fast food I've had in thel ast 3 months. I used to hit up a fast food place 3-5 times a week.
 
Have you tried "fasting"? I'm experimenting with it. I was on a diet for a little less than six months with little results (5Kg), too many extra, etc. I've tried fasting for a week and I lost 2.5KG. I fast for at least 14 hours (including the night) and I stick to 1 meal and a half (+/-). Whenever I can I go for swimming before eating, which is noce as I'm not sure I coud do more energy demanding activities.
The body is adapting pretty well, I read that the hormones levels raise a little which is good. So far I eat in reasonable quantity but I do not pay as much attention to what I eat compared to a standard diet. I see it as sugar "rehab", in fact we are never really "hungry". When I go for swimming I felt a little hungry but as the energy usage is moderate the body simply start to pump into its storage, so far no munchies or feeling weak.
 
One of the better thing I did was to walk up hill. A long, really long, unending up hill. I did expect it would be a work out but it's mildly surprising.
Otherwise, I only walk on flat (mostly) and I do bicycle on flat and mild or short up hill. Cycling up hill is "too easy" for me, if you're a big guy it could be a big cardio ordeal but I'm not big and so even there, cycling saves me energy over walking.

So, walking seems to work out relatively unused muscles.

Have you tried "fasting"? I'm experimenting with it. I was on a diet for a little less than six months with little results (5Kg), too many extra, etc. I've tried fasting for a week and I lost 2.5KG. I fast for at least 14 hours (including the night) and I stick to 1 meal and a half (+/-). Whenever I can I go for swimming before eating, which is noce as I'm not sure I coud do more energy demanding activities.
The body is adapting pretty well, I read that the hormones levels raise a little which is good. So far I eat in reasonable quantity but I do not pay as much attention to what I eat compared to a standard diet. I see it as sugar "rehab", in fact we are never really "hungry". When I go for swimming I felt a little hungry but as the energy usage is moderate the body simply start to pump into its storage, so far no munchies or feeling weak.

I found out there are at least two other ways of "fasting" : get in money trouble (I don't recommend this), or get a raging toothache where something inflates and makes it imposible to open the mouth wide enough to feast on munchies and anything that comes by.
If you manage without a raging toothache I won't fault you, that seems quite nice. 1 meal and a half is about it.
 
Actually those are bigger meals than what the diet previously followed were allowing, I suspect the number of calories is close to even. I change the ordering of eating too, I try to start with proteïne with or shortly followed with vegetable and finish the filling with carbs, overall I eat more fat too. The nice things about it is that quantity seems less of an issue than in standard diet, when you eat you eat, it is not a constant effort (and I don't plan doing it longer in such a strict way, only 10 KG to lose some already gone, not much by dieting standard).

Walking is underrated, it is more akin to swimming than running, lower intensity, mower impact than running, the calories consumption is closer to swimming than running. It takes time, and it is not rewarded by those pesky addictive neuro-transmitter but overall most likely the best activity around.
 
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Have you tried "fasting"? I'm experimenting with it. I was on a diet for a little less than six months with little results (5Kg), too many extra, etc. I've tried fasting for a week and I lost 2.5KG. I fast for at least 14 hours (including the night) and I stick to 1 meal and a half (+/-). Whenever I can I go for swimming before eating, which is noce as I'm not sure I coud do more energy demanding activities.
The body is adapting pretty well, I read that the hormones levels raise a little which is good. So far I eat in reasonable quantity but I do not pay as much attention to what I eat compared to a standard diet. I see it as sugar "rehab", in fact we are never really "hungry". When I go for swimming I felt a little hungry but as the energy usage is moderate the body simply start to pump into its storage, so far no munchies or feeling weak.

I do at least one zero calorie 24h fast every week regardless of whether I'm trying to lose weight or not. Usually from Sunday 6pm to Monday 6pm (right now actually :D), then I'll do one about a 700-800 calorie meal, the only food on Monday. Now I am losing weight and I'll do 2-3 additional 16-18h fasts during the week, while doing low intensity exercise. 3 days if I only do cardio and 2 days if I do some long rep weight training also.

My calories are very low on Monday-Thursday. I do carb heavy refeeds during the weekend (starting Friday at around 7pm, so around 48h of high calories) and I do my hard/heavy weight training during that period also.

Fasting is good because it let's your digestive system rest a bit and there are some cell level metabolism changes during that period also. It's a bit like "service" mode for your body. I believe it's a good tool to prevent some health issues and once your body adapts to it, you can be very productive/energetic/focused during this time.
 
I do at least one zero calorie 24h fast every week regardless of whether I'm trying to lose weight or not. Usually from Sunday 6pm to Monday 6pm (right now actually :D), then I'll do one about a 700-800 calorie meal, the only food on Monday. Now I am losing weight and I'll do 2-3 additional 16-18h fasts during the week, while doing low intensity exercise. 3 days if I only do cardio and 2 days if I do some long rep weight training also.

My calories are very low on Monday-Thursday. I do carb heavy refeeds during the weekend (starting Friday at around 7pm, so around 48h of high calories) and I do my hard/heavy weight training during that period also.

Fasting is good because it let's your digestive system rest a bit and there are some cell level metabolism changes during that period also. It's a bit like "service" mode for your body. I believe it's a good tool to prevent some health issues and once your body adapts to it, you can be very productive/energetic/focused during this time.
Nassim Nicholas taleb often uses waters and food to exemplify how complex systems react to various things. Dietetics are not his thing but his way of thinking does more to validate the idea than lots of so called dietetics experts that keeps changing opinions and have a living to make on the topic (at least that is my pov).
Our body might not be meant to dealt with sustained amount of food. I'm going to experiment further while carefully avoiding the ones that are getting mystic about it (long fast not good).
I should do the lent, contrary to the ramadan the timing makes sense during the slow months when resources get scarce. I could try removing most carbs during that period, read some researchers suspects that such short period of fast (with low carbs) could protect the brain from degenerative disease (then there is gene / luck...).

One thing is sure we eat too much, with too much sugars and food too easy to for the body to process.
 
Here are three short videos (50min total) about the many names of sugars and how they are hidden in vast quantities in pretty much all processed foods, even those foods labeled as "healthy", "light" or "diet".

Sugars (particularly refined and fructose-rich sugars) are the main reason why people get fat and why most weight-loss diets fail. But people will then blame excess "calories", fats or insufficient exercise.



 
I'm happy two weeks ago I could not really "really" swim freestyle for any length of time (misplaced muscular pains and bad breathing) An I've made significant breakthrough so I could swim 1km today without actually dying, I could have swum more.
There are still issues but I know how to fix them. Bad recovery on the left arm and stalling a little too long when I'm breathing have me to over work my left shoulder muscles but I can fix it if I pay attention, it is mostly in the rythme.
I will make it consistent before I try another "long" distance training sessions, I'm still "new" to swimming so I think I've room to get things right before they get consolidated in my muscles memory though mindless exercising.
 
hit w7d1 ran 25 mins strait . Gotta do that 2 more times this week. Then next week is 28 mins. I'm feeling good . It was a hard run a really hard run but i'm hoping the next two are easier
 
Mission complete , I ran a 5k and 10k in Disney world on Fri and Sat. My time sucked 42 minutes for the 5k and 1:23 for the 10k. But I loved every minute of it so I'm going to do a 5,10 and half in August in Disneyland this time. I'm hoping to be down to a 30m 5k , 1hour 10k and 2:15 for the half. I have about a year to train now. I am super excited
 
Still swimming I love it. I had to spae the training as my neck show showing its limits (too much breaststroke).
I found out that i have a (not too bad) cervical herniation in C7, I've to be careful about what I'm doing (swimming) right. Not too much volume.

But water is salvation... my bad knee never that good, the mood and stress level, etc. I'm impressed by its virtues.
 
Bought a bench, a pair of adjustable dumbbells (5 to 35 kilograms each), resistance bands and a stability ball last spring. Have been exercising 3 to 4 times a week fairly consistently, with each session lasting between 30 and 60 minutes. Thought about doing the whole meal plan stuff, but I'm just not willing to go down the pitiful rabbit hole of eating chicken and sweet potatoes with different seasonings each day. I'm making decent progress regardless.
 
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I joined a gym recently to try and attack some weight loss from the moving around more angle, as well as the food one. I cycle for 30-60 mins, starting quite hard for the first 10 (for me) to get my heart rate up, then the remainder at a constant achievable pace.

Currently doing every day where I can, but I'm ill at the moment and while I can do a session like this, the day after is crappy and I don't feel like it's helping me get better, so I've not been for a few days.

It's quite the energiser. If I go before I sit down to work, I feel more focused and up for it. Wasn't expecting that side effect. The weight is coming off too. Should have done it a long time ago really. Hindsight.
 
Im doing this for exercising while playing PSVR


It's quite the energiser. If I go before I sit down to work, I feel more focused and up for it. Wasn't expecting that side effect. The weight is coming off too. Should have done it a long time ago really. Hindsight.

me too, when i forgot or have no time to do some sport, i will be less energetic for that whole day. But about weight, sports actually increases my weight from 55Kg to 60 Kg :D

still too thin for my 175cm-ish height tho :(
 
Still swimming I love it. I had to spae the training as my neck show showing its limits (too much breaststroke).
I found out that i have a (not too bad) cervical herniation in C7, I've to be careful about what I'm doing (swimming) right. Not too much volume.

But water is salvation... my bad knee never that good, the mood and stress level, etc. I'm impressed by its virtues.
I feel really good. My endurance improved a lot.
I do some quick (20 minutes) resistance band training two times a week at home.
The focus is strength for swimming.

Now my daughter and wife are swimming too.
 
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