Over it

[lm.banse]

Hello. I'm not new, but I sure haven't been here in like a year. And in that year, the only thing I have accomplished is to have not gained any weight. Awesome, but not awesome. Know what I mean? 

 

My husband and I are paying $40 a month for a gym that we do not use. I have to get back to it. I need help. And to talk to people who are dealing with the same things I am (more or less). 

 

I am a Type 2 diabetic - have been for a while. And the medicine isn't working all that well any longer. I do not want to go on insulin (frankly, I cannot as my insurance won't cover it). 

 

So here I am. A piece of clay. Ready for help with the remolding. 

 

I especially need help with the gym stuff. Love Planet Fitness but the personal trainers all tell you that cardio is #1. 

 

 

[wildross]

Welcome back....so where are you now?  What have you done before and what types of things interest you?  Overweight/underweight, etc.

[lm.banse]

I am at 290 pounds. Way overweight - type 2 diabetic. 

We have done the basic cardio, especially since my doctor told me I need to work up to walking for 1 hour every day. Um, recently we've totally fallen in love with the Arc Trainer...

We have also tried the 30 minute circuit workout, along with a full body workout. 
 

Here's what we are going to start doing:

 

Stronglifts 5x5 on MWF along with 30 minutes of cardio

 

plus 60 minutes of cardio on TTh (alternating between bike, treadmill, and arc) and outside stuff on weekends. Which might mean strictly chasing my dog around the yard for 10 minutes. I'm too fat for extended heat exposure. 

 

And where I am now is right where I started, with the added bonus of being able to DO cardio for 30 minutes, which is a feat. 

Last weekend, I got on a bicycle for the first time in at least 23 years, but I only lasted about 30 minutes. And no hills. 

So those are my goals: 10% body weight loss to start, and to be able to bike up a slight incline. 

[Liberator]

What are you working on with your diet?

[El Exorcisto]

The two biggest movements that I am not seeing are table push-aways and fork put-downs. Run and lift as much as you want, it won't do a damn thing to cut weight unless you are eating less than you need. Track your calories for a week, average them per day, and slash at least 1000 off the top. Track like a neurotic, don't cheat, and watch the weight fall off.

 

Continue to lift. Strength training increases insulin sensitivity and somewhaht reverses the type 2 beetus. Do conditioning work if you enjoy it, but it certainly isn't necessary at this point.

[lm.banse]

The two biggest movements that I am not seeing are table push-aways and fork put-downs. Run and lift as much as you want, it won't do a damn thing to cut weight unless you are eating less than you need. Track your calories for a week, average them per day, and slash at least 1000 off the top. Track like a neurotic, don't cheat, and watch the weight fall off.

 

Continue to lift. Strength training increases insulin sensitivity and somewhaht reverses the type 2 beetus. Do conditioning work if you enjoy it, but it certainly isn't necessary at this point.

 

You'll have to forgive me, but since I haven't addressed our dietary concerns, you can cut the condescension. When I have a discussion about my eating habits, then you can come in and talk about my eating habits. But first, perhaps you should remember that jumping to conclusions about things people are or not doing based upon things they did not say is, well; it just is not cool. 

I don't expect this level of rudeness and judgment here. If this is typical, I'll find my way out.  

[El Exorcisto]

I didn't think I was being condescending, and if you took it that way I'm sorry you are so sensitive to humor and critique. With that said, you came saying that for a year your weight hasn't moved. I was simply informing you that training and diet have two very different effects, and since you are trying to address your insulin resistance then attacking from both sides would be more optimal. I'll step away now, before I say anything else that could be taken as an insult. Best of luck.

[Raev]

You'll have to forgive me, but since I haven't addressed our dietary concerns, you can cut the condescension. When I have a discussion about my eating habits, then you can come in and talk about my eating habits. But first, perhaps you should remember that jumping to conclusions about things people are or not doing based upon things they did not say is, well; it just is not cool. 

I don't expect this level of rudeness and judgment here. If this is typical, I'll find my way out.  

 

I don't think El Ex was intending to come across as condescending.  I think he was picking up something that I noticed as well and opted to try and be proactive by bringing it up to try to help you achieve your goals.  He can be a little blunt and has a quirky sense of humor to him but he's actually a very knowledgeable and helpful person.  His knowledge of anatomy and health is quite extensive, which leads me to suspect he works as a medical professional.

 

 

the only thing I have accomplished is to have not gained any weight

 

I am at 290 pounds. Way overweight - type 2 diabetic. 

We have done the basic cardio, especially since my doctor told me I need to work up to walking for 1 hour every day. Um, recently we've totally fallen in love with the Arc Trainer...

We have also tried the 30 minute circuit workout, along with a full body workout

 

Those two statements raise an eyebrow is all.  You haven't mentioned diet yet but that is something we actually tend to watch for around here, because nutritional information can be very misleading and hard to interpret.  When we see statements like the above mentioned, we tend to want to start really probing into the diet because it is easily 70% of health and fitness.

[Liberator]

You'll have to forgive me, but since I haven't addressed our dietary concerns, you can cut the condescension. When I have a discussion about my eating habits, then you can come in and talk about my eating habits. But first, perhaps you should remember that jumping to conclusions about things people are or not doing based upon things they did not say is, well; it just is not cool. 

I don't expect this level of rudeness and judgment here. If this is typical, I'll find my way out.  

No judgment here at NF, but in my opinion, diet is more important for weight-control and weight-loss than exercise. Often I would exercise more and then eat more because I worked up an appetite and figured I worked out I had calories to spare.

 

Getting the diet under first control is the more effective approach. Change in your diet and your relationship to food takes time and effort, but well spent effort. Exercise can stress and injure a body that is not custom to physical conditioning. Light, fun activity is a good idea, major stress could work against you.

 

El Exorcisto may have a blunt way of responding but he was on the mark with the importance of diet over exercise, which is why I was asking what you are working on with your diet. There are so many approaches to diet you need to work through what works best for your body and your life style. 

[Machete]

I'm a certified personal trainer, and low intensity cardio is indeed what is emphasized by organizations when training inexperienced individuals. Also, low-intensity resistance training, especially when working with diabetics. It probably has to do with all the safety concerns with the effects on blood sugar and blood pressure and everything.

 

Definitely track your food and drink intake. A lot of people eat a lot more than they think, and simply keeping accountability of what goes inside you is a big part of the effort. It doesn't even have to be as precise as calories if that's not your thing; I've had success with people just writing down everything they consume in a notebook. Because it's quite harder to deal with the guilt trip from eating an Oreo ice cream cake when you have to look at it in your log for the next few weeks. I'd also recommend a good dose of Fish Oil. One of the theories behind the increasing body fat levels is the low ratio of Omega-3:Omega-6 Fatty Acids in modern food sources, therefore the body stores more total fat to reach the required levels. Aside from that, it's also good for your heart, your circulation, and your joints.

 

Your Basal Metabolic Rate is what accounts for around 70% of your expenditure. 20% is your lifestyle, and only 10% for exercise. Reducing caloric intake to an adequate amount where it is just enough to sustain normal function would probably be the biggest step you can take. Then you can adjust your lifestyle by walking more, parking farther, taking the stairs, sitting less, etc. (One thing that I've been told was to get a pedometer and make sure you log in 10'000 steps every day.)

 

I've worked with an obese diabetic, and SL5x5 worked really well. I limited her running though, as it was hard on her joints at her size, so it's mostly intervals on the stationary bike.

 

Also, you might want to monitor your glucose levels before, during, and after workouts to keep track.

[RedPandaOne]

Welcome back!

 

I just want to say, going a year and being able to not gain any weight is a good thing. It means that you are starting on the right path. I've read a lot of articles out there about fitness and health. Some were good and some were just baloney. One was a study between losing weight then taking the steps to maintaining vs maintaining weight and then taking the next step and losing it. I wish I could remember where I read it. But this study leaned more towards maintaining first since it taught people the good practices first and then they could use them to lose the weight instead of losing weight and having people struggle to keep it off.

 

^^^and that was my long winded way of saying you have the building blocks to move forward. You're already moving and getting exercise, good for you! That's a better start than most people, including me. My first challenge (which was this last one) was designed around getting me just to move!

 

I'm also going to suggest looking at your diet. At my heaviest I was 215 pounds. Just by tracking what I ate, cutting back and eating healthier stuff I was able to lose 40 pounds (no exercise). I've then gained 10 of those pounds back, but I started eating like crap again. You don't need to track every calorie, but just writing down what you ate can help. If you are interested in tracking calories/protein/carbs etc I would suggest either Sparkpeople or MyFitnessPal. Those two seem to be the best. I'm personally on Sparkpeople.

 

I have found this community to be full of supportive people and I'm sure you'll find a great group to talk to and who will support you on your way. You can consider me one of those. I hope you stick around.