Earendil

Thanks for the input, folks. I'm not eating Paleo, but most of the stuff I've read comes from folks who eat Paleo... so I think I've come to think of starchy carbs as being "unclean" without particularly intending to. To clarify, starchy carbs include things like bread, pasta, etc., yes?

Thanks for saying that. I suppose part of this is that I'm not entirely sure what's normal and what's not. I started 292; I'm at 285; I'd like to get sub-200. Mid-term goal is 270 by November 1, and keep it there or lower during the holidays.

Lately, I've discovered something: I have a hard time getting sufficient calories for fuel when I'm eating healthy. I've been cooking most nights and eating leftovers for lunch... grilled/baked beef/pork/chicken/fish with a greens/tomatoes/bell-pepper/carrot salad and some fruit (400-700 calories, depending). My breakfast is either eggs and bacon (if I get up early enough; 450 calories) or fruit (if I slept in and have to run out the door; 150-250 calories). Given all this, there have been days that my logged calories come out to 1200-1400 at the end of the day, with MyFitnessPal listing my caloric stasis at 2400. Though I think that would make my weight plummet, it doesn't seem wise to be running on that little fuel, especially at the beginning of the school year (as a teacher). Hence, I've started getting chunks of calories from... less-than-good places, for the sake of having enough fuel and ending around 2000 cal. (Let's just say I need to cut soda out... again.) So here's what I'm wondering: What are good ways to get sufficient caloric intake with HEALTHY food? Or would a huge caloric deficit not be as bad as I'm thining? (There's my other recent thread for that though, I suppose...) Thoughts?

So here's the deal. My diet revamp started July 25-ish. Since then, I've lost 7-ish pounds. I'm wondering if I should be concerned about losing more. Here's my current thought process: I could definitely go down to 1200 calories a day and drop weight quickly, but there are two BIG problems with that: 1) It's not sustainable. 2) I wouldn't have enough fuel to get through the day, especially considering my job as a teacher just started back up and I've been under the requisite beginning-of-year stress. Therefore, I'm not incredibly concerned, and I'm hoping this is a "tortoise and the hare" case, where it's better for it to come off slowly and stay off than plummet and gain back. But it feels... wrong, to not be freaked out about it. **For reference: According to MyFitnessPal, caloric stasis for my activity level, weight, and height is 2400 calories. I'm currently eating 1900-2200/day. I'm also exercising regularly, so I think some of the lack of weight gain might be because my muscles are slowly growing? Maybe? Maybe not. I've been meaning to start taking body pictures every 2-3 weeks for reference, but I've not started yet. Thanks folks.

(I double-posted an I don't know how to delete it, so I'll just leave this addendum edit here in the post...)

So I read the articles. Seems like the big ideas are: 1) Sugar is fine, as long as it's not excessive (the definition of which varies depending on who you ask); and 2) It does need to be part of an intake that isn't "empty calories," like (I think) things with HFCS often are... intake that includes micronutrients. Valid takeaways?

I didn't consider that. I'll have to see if I can find a different brand somewhere in town. (We don't have Whole Foods, etc. around here.) Would somewhere like Drug Emporium have it?

[Yes, it's been awhile... teaching started back. lol] Flexibility is definitely an issue for deadlifts, but I think a poor understanding of form also plays into it. I've finally got my form decent from my current height, and I can feel my hamstrings are really tense when I do the exercise right. I've not actually thought about weight goals, as I have no clue what is feasible. Any suggestions?

Hi folks, Really long post. Sorry. Background: 27yo male, 5'11'' 290. Exercised sparsely before; started regular exercising three weeks ago. Diet recently improved drastically; if I continue cooking when work starts (I"m a teacher), I should be fine there. (I have a plan to make that happen.) I'm very inflexible. Here's what I've started with for my goals. Bench press: stay at current weight (75lbs) but increase reps until form is consistent and small stabilizer muscles are strengthened. Current rep max is 4x8 + 1x5.Bent-over rows, focus on keeping traps tight and performing full rep each time.Increase flexibility of chest & shoulders so I can perform a squat. I'm using a Smith machine as a stable bar to stretch out... but I'm not doing a squat yet. (And I'll use freeweights once I start the lifting.)Increase flexibility of hamstrings so I can perform a deadlift. I'm stretching at the end of each workout, though I don't know if I'm doing the most effective stretches possible.Practice deadlift form with the lighter-weight bar, raised off the ground. I'm aiming to start the bar high enough that I'm purely using the hip hinge until I get those muscles trained right, and then lower the bar progressively until I'm doing a full deadlift. Only then will I start adding weight.Work out 2-3 days/wk (min. 1 day between workouts). First order of business: What do you think of this plan and goals? Should I modify them in some way? Follows is where I want to finish. The weights will of course be variable, but these are the exercises I'd eventually like to incorporate. Three sets of exercises, one set per day; work out 4-5 times/week, rotating through sets each day: Deadlifts and squats (lower body)Benchpress and overhead press (upper body press)Bent-over rows (eventually pull-ups) for weight and row machine for cardio (upper body pull)Second order of business: Does this seem wise? Feasible? Remember that this is what I want to end at, nowhere near where I am now lol. Finally: this is the progression of goals I'm thinking to get from where I am to where I need to be. As mentioned above, start deadlifts with raised bar to where I only have to use the hip hinge. As my muscles get more trained and I become more flexible, progressively lower the bar. After the bar is lowered to the height of a 45lb plate's radius, start adding weight.Squats: I'm flexible enough now! Start training with lightweight bar, mastering form. Video regualrly and post in Form Check forum intermittently. Once form is mastered, go to regular bar and start adding weight.Benchpress: After form is consistent, start adding weight.Bent-over rows: Add weight until I can to a bodyweight row using a Smith machine bar. Progressively lower Smith machine bar until I can to a pull-up.Overhead press: After mastering squat form, my stabilizer muscles should be strong enough to begin OH press. Start with lightweight bar and master form; then add weight.Rowing machine: Row at a consistent meters/hr rate for a set amount of time. Increase rate intermittently.Last order of business: What do you think of my progression of goals? Thanks for all your help, folks! --Ea

I'm glad someone asked (and you answered) the question about sleep apnea. Something to think about: sometimes my sleep apnea manifests as less of a snore and more of a stop breathing, then a gasp of air. It's not snoring... it feels and sounds more like a heavy mouth-breather. (Like the kid from Hey Arnold that always hears Helga talking about her love, and then she smashes him in the face... Does that make sense to anyone? Anyone??) Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that if I'm thinking correctly, sleep apnea can happen when you're not per se snoring. Anyway... there's that. I know that a lot of my sleep issues have been because I just went to bed too late! If you can create a routine where you're in bed at the same time every night, that might help some with the sleep stuff. But if you're like me, you've done all the research about sleep issues and roll your eyes when people tell it to you like it's something brand new, so I'll go on. :-) For veggies, I roast mine a lot. A number of the veggies you mentioned are great roasted! Mushrooms, onions, broccoli... chop, coat with olive oil and some spices, and stick in the oven at 400 F for 40-45 min.... then go do something else while they cook. :-) Another option is to chop them, coat them, and portion them in plastic bags... and ask your mom to put a portion in the oven about 45 min before you usually get home. Voila, it's ready when you get there! Lining the baking sheet with aluminum foil makes cleaning one-step: throw the foil away! Also, here's something I like to do: Sautee chopped spinach, onion, and mushroom with butter (or olive oil) and Herbs de Provance (you can find it in the spice aisle). Then use some eggs and cheese to create an omelette! Not that hard... or pour the eggs over the veggies, let it cook, flip it over to cook on the other side, then slide onto a plate and sprinkle with cheese. (This is assuming eggs and cheese are vegetarian... I think they are?) Anyway, there's some ideas. I hope they help! :-)

I love everyone's suggestions (which might end up duplicated on my newly posted topic lol). I think my favorite is a combo of Tanuki and JustPam. Figure out what your average sugar intake is right now (using something like MyFitnessPal, which incidentally has a "weekly average" viewmode). Then start getting the same amount of sugar from only fruit. Then slowly wean yourself off the sugar by replacing higher-sugar fruit with a similar volume of lower-sugar fruit (like Pam said). Of course, this approach takes a lot of quantitative evaluation and lots of planning, so it isn't for everyone. :-) Lastly: Tanuki, I saw you say .8g protein /lb bodyweight up top and in another thread, and in the other thread you said you aim for 92g. Does that mean you weigh 115lb? As a big guy myself (5'11'' 290lbs), that's so crazy to me! In related craziness: That calculation would have me eating 232g of protien per day. I ate a 12oz NY strip, 12oz pork chops, 3 eggs, and 3 slices of bacon yesterday... and still only ended up at 173g. Does that ratio hold when weight is drastically more than yours? Does it vary depending on calories vs. macros and/or fitness goals?

Two thoughts: 1) I think the most important aspect for you goes back to something Steve says often: "The best diet or exercise plan is the one you stick with." Once you find something that works for you, keep it up! (I'm telling myself this too, because this is always a problem for me lol.) 2) If you have an Aldi supermarket anywhere near you, check it out! They're insanely cheap (as in a dozen eggs for $.70) and also have a wide variety of stuff, including meat. --Ea

I'm interested to see what more experienced folks have to say, as I've been asking this question myself. Though I'm pretty new to this, I've been roasting veggies quite a bit over the past month. 400 F, 40-45 minutes. I usually coat them with olive oil and then dust them with garlic powder and paprika... but I've been looking for more variety, so bring it on, folks!

I usually use brown mustard or Dijon mustard. (Make sure to look at the labels first, obviously... as usual, some brands are crap.) Avocado is a great idea, but I've never tried it. If you're thinking of getting rid of the toast (like some have suggested), consider adding chopped pecans or walnuts, or maybe cubed pickles, if you still want a bit of crunch.

Hey folks, I'm traking all my food intake using MyFitnessPal. It's been good for me to quantify how much food I eat and what the calories and macro breakdown are for each food. For context... For my eating plan, I'm doing healthy qualitative strategies: mostly home-cooked, lots of lean meat, and significant veggies (usually either roasted veggies or a salad with a low- or no-sugar vinaigrette dressing). Quantitatively, I'm attempting to keep my calories at 2000 max and my carb macro at <30%. Right now, I'm wondering (in general) about sugar. I know that it's best to get it from natural sources (e.g. fruit, occasionally honey), but I'm wanting a guideline (not hard-and-fast rule) for how much it's healthy to eat. For reference, my mean daily sugar intake over the past three weeks (most recent first) have been 72g, 48g, and 84g, with medians of 30g, 31g, 60g for the respective weeks. You'll see the medians have gotten better, but the means haven't. For the most recent week (mean 72g, median 30g), I had four days of <40g and three days of >85g, so that affected the average. There have been two days in the three weeks that I broke down and had two sodas (apiece... sad face). Otherwise, I've gotten most sugar from yogurt (which I'm eliminating - I eat it compulsively) and fresh fruit (generally berries, grapes, and bananas, usually in moderation). _____________________ I'm also wondering specifically about kombucha, which I've found to combine with coffee as a decent (and tastier!) substitute for soda. For those who don't know, kombucha is fermented tea (think beer, but with tea leaves instead of wheat). It's not nearly as acidic as soda. It has 112 calories/16oz, so large, not exceedingly huge. But one thing I noticed is there's 20g of sugar/16oz... which is part of why I asked the question above. The sugar is from "evaporated cane juice" used to react with the yeast for fermentation. So for the question: Is this something I need to think about avoiding since it's liquid calories w/o much other nutritional content? Or is it one of those things where if you already don't eat much sugar daily, it's acceptable in moderation, or maybe as a treat? Thanks for your input, folks. -Ea

A few notes, all riffing of what others have said: 1) I've enjoyed Munchkin with my game group. We have 5 versions that we mix together to play with at the same time. We also play the Epic variation, where there are 20 levels instead of 10 (11-20 being "Epic"), you can't die while Epic, and you draw two door cars instead of one on Epic. We really enjoy screwing each other over. 2) If you enjoy Settlers of Catan, look into getting the expansion, Cities and Knights. It adds quite a bit to the game, and gives an extra layer of strategy to it. 3) If you like Eldritch Horror, definitely check out Arkham Horror. The former is inspired by the latter, and both are based off H.P. Lovecraft's books. It's still cooperative. There are a large number of expansions for it, as well.

Evening, folks. Would yall be willing to troubleshoot my deadlift form? It seemed especially bad today (see video via link to youtube at the bottom). Things I know: 1) My mid back was strained today after the deadlifts, which I know is a big flashing siren of "YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG!!" 2) I notice in the video that when I get to the top position, my back is rounded so that my shoulders are behind my feet. I think my knees also aren't in line with my ankes. 3) I also notice in the video that the top of my chest is consistently rounded down. That being said, though I noticed all those things, I don't know how to fix them! Any comments about what I said or other things you notice in the video are greatly appreciated. https://youtu.be/nbBO6k-3KLU --Earendil

This, a million times this. I'm 290 right now. I got from 270 (my starting point) two years ago to 255, then went back to 270, then up to 290. The difference? I ate well for a few months, then went to eating more fast food, cooking less, and not tracking anything (which isn't everyone's thing, but is one of mine), then to lots of fast food and almost no cooking. And then poof... before I knew it, the weight was back. As Steve often says, the best workout and nutrition plans are the ones you actually stick with.

Thaaaaat is a great idea. Flexibility is definitely a problem for me right now. Thanks!

I was afraid of that. I'll have to figure out a way to get a decent video with my phone.

Unrelated, I know. First: I've found that every time I go a week or so without soda, I start craving it. I'm incredibly thirsty, but water doesn't satiate the thirst. My mouth likes yogurt because it's wet and sweet, but is immediately disappointed that it isn't fizzy. I've tried to use flavored sparkling water (La Croix) to help, but it seems either to only hlep for a short time or to actually increase the cravings. Any hints for how to get through this? Or is this just a "tough it out" type thing? (For reference, scaling down on soda doesn't work for me... I'm addicted enough that it's all-or-nothing.) Second: Deadlifts. I thought about posting this under "form check," but I didn't since I don't have a video. I think I'm taking a position on my deadlifts that is more akin to a squat... hips tend to get too low, knees bend too much. What's the best way to alleviate this? I think part of the issue may be lack of hamstring flexibility, which I'm working on. Thanks! -he who sailed into the west with the last Silmaril on his brow

Both times I read LOTR, I struggled through Fellowship. It picks up slightly after Rivendell, but it's still incredibly slow. The Two Towers is a much quicker and more immersive read, and Return of the King was rapid and engrossing. Still, I much prefer The Silmarillion to LOTR (hence my username lol). I like it because of the mythology more than the narration. It would be insufferable as an audiobook, though. Related: Yraen, I'm ashamed I had to look up what Engwar means. lol

Hi! I'm Earendil. I've been following NerdFitness for a little over two years. There have been various reasons I've not joined the Rebellion until now (ranging from "I don't have internet" to "I forgot"), but I'm here now! Here's some of my story... I'm a teacher. I spent the past two years teaching high school math, and I'll spend the next year teaching middle school.I recently moved! I spent seven years in the city I'm now in before I moved away for work. I spent two years in that city and then moved back here.I'm using my move to hack my habits. Referencing Steve's 1/19/15 Matrix post, it's as if huge chunks of my life's source code are suddenly cut. I have the option to paste them back in, but I'm rewriting from scratch instead.I'm a smidge under 5'11'' and about 292 lbs.I have an above-average knowledge base for someone of my weight. This is mostly from reading (but not practicing) NerdFitness for two years. I know (in general) what stuff I need to eat (lots of protein; tons and tons of veggies; fat isn't bad; processed foods are Glaurung [look it up lol]). I know what exercises are best for building muscle, burning calores, and getting cardio at the same time (deadlifts, squats, lunges, bench press or pushups, overhead press, pull-ups or bent-over rows, planks; machines are bad).At the same time, I don't have much first-hand experience of my knowledge. E.g., I know what to eat, but don't have much experience cooking to make it palatable; I know facts about good deadlift form, but I have a difficult time performing it consistently.Nerdy stuff (skip if you prefer): I prefer The Silmarillion to Lord of the Rings (cc: earlier Glaurung reference). I'm a huge Doctor Who fan, but I've seen miniscule amounts of pre-Eccleston Who. I love coffee: my tasting and brewing is on the upper tail of the general populace bell curve, but on the lower tail of the craft coffee bell curve. I don't play video games because I get too addicted too quickly. Other TV shows I like are Avatar/Legend of Korra, Arrow, and Flash.Given those as my starting point, here are some of my short-term and long-term goals: Short-term (3-4 weeks): Get up at 6am each morning. (Huge for me, especially during summer break.)Eat one homemade, non-breakfast meal at least 5 days a week. (Leftovers and frozen homecooked meals count.)Eat at least one serving of veggies at least once a day.No soda.Track food using MyFitnessPal.Expand flexibility so that back squats are doable. (I currently can't get my arms far enough back to rest the bar on my traps rather than my neck. It's getting better, but not there yet. I'm using the Smith machine as a stable, neck-level bar for stretching. I'll use freeweights once I get to actual squats.)Master deadlift and bench press form. (Deadlift must be mastered before I add large amounts of weight - I don't want to strain my back. Bench press form is mostly to strengthen stabalizer muscles before adding weight.)Find my upper weight limit for bent-over rows. (I currently know that 30lbs is doable.)Work out at least four times a week. (Goal: two days deadlift, two days bench + bent-over rows.)Note: Though this is a lot to do at one time, I've found that due to my move and the fact that I'm in summer vacation, it's actually not unfeasible. Long-term (continual) Form new goals each time a goal is reached.Research gym options. (I'm currently in my apartment complex's gym, which has enough for my starting point, but not as much as I'll eventually need.Get a calendar to track goals.Create a reward system for goals.Reach 270lbs by November 1 and stay at or below that weight over the holidays. (I think I can probably get below that... I have before. The big part for me is sustaining the loss.) So that's it for me. Introduce yourself, and let me know what you think!