I am Ironman...

[fishnjeeps]

Hello all! I happened to find this site while looking up the paleo diet. I've been lurking for a couple of weeks now and decided to join up. My wife an I have decided to attempt the Paleo diet starting next week.

As for me, I'm 30 years old, and I weigh in at 236lbs. My doctor has been buggin me about my weight and working out has only dropped my weight by about a pound or two. I work as a security officer in downtown Chicago il. I love all kinds of outdoor activities including bikeing, hikeing, disc golf, archery,fishing(hence the first part of my name), and offroading. I love working on my Jeep (hence the last part of my name). I've always been a nerd and a gamer. I was the head of a gaming club when I was in school (that was a long time ago...) and I still play games whenever I can.

As for where I am, Considering the title of this thread, I'll keep myself within the various Ironman suits. Currently I'm at the MK1 stage, Oversized, low energy, and only good for short bursts of activity before crashing into the desert. My goal is to get to the next suit which is the MK2. I invision it as being 30lbs lighter and have more energy. Also it will be gold with hot rod red

a few final details:

Favorite movie: Ironman 2

Favorite TV show: Serenity & Big Bang Theory

Favorite board game: Risk

Favorite video game: Rockband, forza 3, and rapala bass fishing

Favorite book: Terry Brooks Sword of Shenara series.

Favorite Possesion: 89 Jeep Cherokee

Otherwise that's me. Let me know if there is anything else you'd like to know.

[Church]

Well I'll commend you on your book choice, Terry Brooks is a fantastic author I LOVE his work! and I'll also say that theres no better time than now to get you're health and fitness in check. Although I feel obligated to point out that The Avengers was BY FAR the superiour movie of that whole series, as well as being superiour to nearly every other movie ever made.

How do you intend to become the MK2 version of you? and what does that entail specifically? 30lbs lighter is a good start, but how do you define 'more energy'? Is that in how long you can workout, how far you can run without taking a break, how many pushups you can knock out in one set or just a generally feeling of improved vitality? Because I know when I say I want 'more energy' I mean that I want to feel like I've barely warmed up after killing a workout that would make most olympians blush. Although sometimes I also mean that I want to do a Kamahamaha... Or master the Avatar State..... lol.

[plantern]

MK2 was awesome!

Good luck building it, Mr. Stark.

The reactor is a bit tricky. In the past year, I had god damn low energy level. Coffee was the only thing keeping me alive. But getting up early and drinking a lot (water, and fruit juice and things) helped me. There are also a couple of instant refresh methods. When I feel tired, I just go wash my teeth, or change my socks, or do some jumping jacks. Helps a lot. Find your own ways to refill your reactor, and then you can get more energy during the day. And please keep us informed, 'cause I have run out of socks.

We need more superheroes, so keep it real and kill them workouts! Welcome to NF, soldier.

[Pat G]

Whats type suit does he use in Avengers, Mk VII?

Thats a good long line of progressively bettering yourself man. welcome.

[fishnjeeps]

Thanks all!

@Church, I agree the avengers movie was good, however I can relate to where Tony Stark was in Ironman 2. As far as bulding the MK2, I'm starting the Paleo Diet next week and working out 3 days a week. I curently walk about 1 mile to work from the train station and 1 mile home so I have some exercise every day. For the energy, I want to not feel like I need a nap after work. My job entails siitting and watching cameras (and playing games or videos;) ) so I don't have a physical job to make me as tired as I feel.

@plantern, I've switched from sodas to iced teas and that has helped a little. My wife bought me an tea infusing pitcher which works well. I just made my second pitcher last night. That being said, I do like socks, there's nothing like a brand new pair of socks...

@Pat G, Yea the Avengers Movie makes 7 suits. With Ironman 3 coming out in a year it'll add at least 2 more to the mix. I've got some catching up to do. Who knows, this may become a 12 suit program

[Church]

Just think, by the time you hit Mk12 you may actually BE Ironman. Flight and all. lol

[fishnjeeps]

Just think, by the time you hit Mk12 you may actually BE Ironman. Flight and all. lol

I am making an ironman costume so i'll have that done hopefully by MK4:playful: It will take about a year or so to finish, realistically close to 2 or 3 with all the moving parts planned. By then I hope to be thinner so the costume looks right.

[hannahhrpark]

I LOVE IRON MAN! That's my favorite super hero-- I got super excited when I saw the title of your thread. I have never read the actual comics but definitely love the movie. I personally like the first movie better but the second one was good too! I like it so much that I actually wrote a research paper about Iron Man the movie for my English literature class and Aced it! which boosted my C grade to B+. YAY!

That being said, setting your goals based on something you like is definitely a great idea. It is effective, and I think it helps boosting motivation when you're feeling like giving up. Good luck to you, Iron Man!

I love tea too! So Just a quick tips on iced tea-- If you knew about them already.. yay review time...!! (Sorry. :/)

I'm assuming that you're using tea leaves because you said your wife got you a tea infuser

1) When you brew ice tea with leaves, brew it hot first and then cool it--3 minutes of steeping results in maximum release of polyphenols--which are antioxidants in tea leaves that prevents heart disease and certain cancer. If you brew it cold or sun-brew it, you will get significantly less amount of polyphenols. Might as well as get most out of your tea, right?

2) Do not pour your hot tea over ice. This makes polyphenols tougher to be absorbed by your body-- so most of them do not get absorbed and end up in your bladder.. And you probably want them absorbed. So cool hot tea in refrigerator and then pour over ice right before drinking. I advise cooling it in room temperature first before you put it into refrigerator.

3) On the down side of drinking black tea, the leaves contain plant chemical called tannins that block absorption of iron. This can be solved by adding a bit of lemon juice. The vitamin C in lemon juice will counteract tannins-- so your body will absorb all the iron you need.

4) If you can find a nice quality matcha green tea powder, try them! They are known to boost your metabolism. However, poor quality green tea powder, will only provide you with caffeine.. So look for the "matcha." They are quite pricey though.. The reason why I use them so sparingly even though I love it so much.

Well, that's all for my tea tips! I don't drink coffee so I drink tea instead I think it's definitely healthier than coffee.. and coffee has a weird after taste that I really don't like.

In case you are wondering where I got these information: the first three tips are from a publication of a tea researcher at University of Arizona. His name is Iman Hakim. The fourth one is from Dr.Oz show.

So once again, good luck!

[fishnjeeps]

Thanks that's some good info there. I've only made 2 pitchers of tea with my new "toy" and the second batch didn't work right cold brewing. Luckily I got enough to make a second batch and will try the hot method next time for sure. I don't have an issue absorbing iron so I'm sure a few glasses of black tea in a week will probably not be that big of an issue either.

In the mean time, I've had to push back the Official start of my diet due to a particularly screwed up week next week.