# Fitness



## koukouvagia (Apr 3, 2008)

Just talking about all this delicious food makes me gain pounds. I was wondering if anyone would like to share what your fitness plan is. In calories go, out they must come. 

I hit the tennis ball around at the local handball court when it's not too cold out. I attend 3 yoga classes a week, and the rest of the time I just walk everywhere I can or take leisurely walks after dinner.

All that so I can continue to cook cook cook and eat eat eat and not gain weight. So how do you support your eating habit?


----------



## ishbel (Jan 5, 2007)

Long country walks, sailing (only in summer, I'm not keen on really cold water) and gardening.

I don't diet and I don't do gym type classes!


----------



## dillbert (Jul 2, 2008)

the best exercise is pushing yourself away from the table.


----------



## jbd (Mar 17, 2008)

My current fitness plan consists of much manual labor type stuff here on my property which is roughly 15 acres. The place has become much overgrown and nasty looking from the last several years of working too many hours, too far from home.

List of hand tools includes scythe, grass whip, weed whip, long handled shovel, double bit ax, bush blade, clamshell posthole digger, a steel post driver and a one man loggers crosscut saw. For the lawn(just under 2 acres) I use one of the old time reel mowers, when the grass grows. The grass hasn't grown here since mid June due to the lack of rainfall.

Additionally I am walking the hills here one to two hours per day in preparation for an 85 mile backpacking trip next spring. Following that trip I looking at a 190 mile back pack trip.


----------



## willie24 (Aug 13, 2008)

I walk two miles each morning by myself. Then mid morning I take both of my dogs ( seperately - they're a handful ) for a mile walk and my wife and I take the dogs again after dinner.

The dogs are in great shape - I'm still a work in progress...


Willie


----------



## maryb (Mar 21, 2008)

Couple laps around campus for me is enough exercise :lol: went back to college at 48 to change careers.


----------



## amazingrace (Jul 28, 2006)

Does running at the mouth, pushing your luck, and jumping to conclusions count? :look:


----------



## tessa (Sep 9, 2007)

:talk::talk::talk::talk::talk::talk::smiles::smile s::smiles::roll::roll::roll::roll:

I am starting up water walkingagain, and going to talk Brucemy partner in to going for walks now that the days are getting longer, and i am going to see if i can walk my brothers dog a couple days a week


----------



## koukouvagia (Apr 3, 2008)

So jealous your days are getting longer while ours are getting shorter! I love doing outdoor activities while the weather is good.


----------



## chefelle (Feb 17, 2007)

I need to start doing something again. I used to run on the treadmill every day. And I have two Jack Russell terriers so I have NO EXCUSES for not getting my butt out there and moving. 

It's the age old excuse for me--too busy. But I'm never too busy to stuff my face so I think I better suck it up and get back to running!!! 

I think the truth is lately I've been too unmotivated (aka lazy!). Alright--you've convinced me--I'm going for a run on the treadmill tonight FOR SURE.


----------



## koukouvagia (Apr 3, 2008)

This is going on my daily affirmation wall!


----------



## cabooseof9 (May 7, 2008)

I used to get on the treadmill at least every other day too, but haven't done it lately. The weather has been pretty nice here so I try to get out and walk when I can. Recently took a 3 mile walk in the rain.....and loved it! By the time I got home, I looked like I had jumped in a swimming pool fully clothed. :bounce:
I have 3 kids and do LOTS of laundry. One way I fit in some exercise......instead of putting the laundry in a basket and taking it all up in one trip, I take each person's stack of clothing upstairs seperately. So by the time I take the stack of towels up...I've gone up and down the stairs an extra 6 times.

Feeding the neighbors helps too! You have to walk the food over to their house AND you get the satisfaction us foodies get when we feed others.


----------



## even stephen (Oct 10, 2005)

Although it might sound impossible for most who cook for a living.....don't eat anything after 5pm....or much anyway....if your slightly overweight....you will shed about 25 pound....of course you have to eat, as a rule, in moderation.
Anyone else ever heard of not eating in the evening?


----------



## jbd (Mar 17, 2008)

I have heard the recommendation to not eat anything after 7:00 pm to 7:30 pm. Never heard anything about the 5:00 pm thing.

One of the sayings I heard many many years ago was, eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and supper like a pauper. 

It seems to me that we eat in the reverse order i.e. breakfast like a pauper, lunch like prince and supper like a king and then its off to bed fairly soon which means that the larger meal gets stored as fat for another day.

Speaking of fitness, there is 17 lbs less of me today than there was on January 1st of this year.:bounce:


----------



## koukouvagia (Apr 3, 2008)

Yey! Congrats on minus 17lbs!!

I have often thought about simply cutting out dinner altogether and replacing it with a snack like fruit or some peanuts or yogurt. But too often I have found myself in the thrusts of a late-night yearning for junk and the evil side of me takes over. Must find way to calm the beast!


----------



## jbd (Mar 17, 2008)

Thank you!!

I used to not eat breakfast even though I love breakfast foods:crazy:. This year I have made sure to eat breakfast every day within the first hour I am up. That simple change has helped a lot with controlling urge to over eat later in the day. Lunch, I have cut way back on compared to the good old days. Supper is much easier now that the kids are grown and gone. I cook just enough for the wife and I to have one serving of each item of the meal. I also always include fruit as dessert. Later in the evening, if I really need to calm that evil craving beast I have a measure serving of pecans and/or raisins; sometimes crackers with a little peanut butter. Breakfast and lunch are never over 500 calories and supper runs between 500 and 700 calories. Late snack if I have one runs between 150 and 300 calories.

Getting control of my eating was the hardest part and took about four months. Adding in enough physical activity took about 2 months.


----------



## salliem (Nov 3, 2006)

Congrats jbd on the weight loss! I joined a gym about 2 years ago and get to go about 5 to 6 days a week (open 24 hours)..I am 20 pounds lighter an many inches smaller...I eat healthy; veggies, fiberous carbs, almost nothing that is white except for my yogurt. Have just started using whey as a protein 2x a day.


----------



## teamfat (Nov 5, 2007)

Dry roasted, unsalted almonds can help. They aren't listed as a 'superfood' like walnuts, but they are apparently similar in nutrition. And I like them, too!

mjb.


----------



## jbd (Mar 17, 2008)

I think this is the key to the sucess you are having and that I am now having after many years of struggling with my weight. Overall activity level has got to go up on pretty much every day of the week. Like you, I am careful about what I eat most every day of the week. Even on the days I go overboard(today specifically) with the eating, its nowhere near the excess that it used to be. Today was a low activity day coupled with a dinner out with some friends I have not seen in a few years. I had chicken marsala served on a bed of fettucine. I would have preferred something besides pasta but that was not an option from what I could tell. I could have peicked something else altogether but I am searching for a really good chicken marsala. I'm guessing dinner tonight was in the 1100-1200 calorie range. I'll have to work a bit harder tomorrow to burn the excess off.


----------



## jbd (Mar 17, 2008)

I agree. Overall I think nuts are good at taming the evening cravings and IMO its wise to mix up the selection of nuts from time to time.


----------



## tessa (Sep 9, 2007)

ooohhh im a bit stiff and sore going from not much exercise to over the last 3 days dancing for 30 mins fast, then going for a brisk walk and then doing water walking today the muscles are protesting a bit.

boy im going to sleep well tonight


----------



## jbd (Mar 17, 2008)

Maybe not!?!?! 

One thing I have noticed now that my activity level has gone up is that I seem to not sleep well. I feel like I am awake all night long :crazy: I noticed the same thing early this year when I was swimming for an hour a day.

I wonder if it is the increased metabolic rate after the exercise??

Keep up the good work and soon enough the muscles won't protest as much :bounce:


----------



## shel (Dec 20, 2006)

They are on some sites, such as www.whfoods.com, although they advocate raw, unpasteurized almonds iirc.


----------



## koukouvagia (Apr 3, 2008)

This is not unusual. Exercising late in the day can rev up your metabolism so that you're all worked up. That's why I don't do serious exercise late in the afternoon or evening aside from a pleasant walk. You may want to look into doing deep breathing exercises or yoga.


----------



## jbd (Mar 17, 2008)

I do the deep breathing exercises/meditation thing both at night and in the morning.

Even though I feel I have been awake all night I don't feel tired in the morning, so I must be getting plenty of rest. I do a few little piddly things in the morning but don't really get moving until way late in the morning. After that I can easily go like crazy until 2 or 3 in the morning.


----------



## yuns555 (Mar 6, 2006)

i do weights 4x and cardio 1-2x a week. it's a lot of time but i love to eat :lol:


----------



## heidih (Sep 29, 2008)

Hi,

I fluctuate between my ideal weight and 20 lbs over. If my clothes are feeling tight, big clue to stop slacking and get to work. For me also, if I don't like what I see in the mirror, it's a huge blow to my self esteem.

What helps me the most is to try for 2-3 x per week of cardio (which for me is hiking in the mountains outside my door), and, more importantly, lifting weights twice per week. I am a petite girl for the most part, so I use wimpy 10 lb weights, and use a dvd for a guide. Recommended to me by a friend, the one I have been using lately is called "the abs diet 2 workout". It goes through a series of squats, lunges, arms etc excercises and I find the visual guidance really helpful. A whey protein shake before and after the weights is part of my routine. 

Pilates is also really helpful for core muscle strength and to prevent back pain at work for those who are standing all day. (My real job is as a nurse, and I am on my feet for 12 hour shifts). Again, I hate the gym, and I use a dvd. I like anything by the Giam company (not cheesey, often filmed outdoors, nice new agey music), and my favorite instructor is a Giam instructor named Ana Caban, you can check her dvd's and reviews at Amazon. Pilates will change your entire posture and the way you carry yourself, and I think helps prevent back injuries at work.

I've been slacking lately and feel awful about it, and have just started up again my routine 2 weeks ago, after a lapse. Already I am looking and feeling better.


----------



## jbd (Mar 17, 2008)

Yesterday evening I walked with my backpack on. The backpack weighed 25 lbs. Walked for 6.1 miles non-stop. The eye opener was in weighing the pack while it was on me. At my heaviest weight I weighed 5 lbs more than what I weighed with the pack on!!

One other eye opener. The backpacks waist strap was still set to the last time I used it in 1992. It wouldn't buckle this time by about 5 inches!!! If I can get back to that 1992 setting I will have lost 10 inches from my waist.

This alone has really shown me just how much weight I had put on over the years.


----------



## jbd (Mar 17, 2008)

A quick update-- I reached an interim goal a little early :bounce: The goal was to be under 250 lbs by my birthday which is Friday of this week. I came in at 249.5 lbs today. Waist measurement has gone down to just under 40".


----------



## kuan (Jun 11, 2001)

Right on JBD!


----------



## koukouvagia (Apr 3, 2008)

Congrats! Keep at it!


----------

