Posts by adamcz1973

I have a 16 oz glass of skim milk with sugar free chocolate syrup. About 160 cals, 18 g of protein, no fat and tastes pretty good.  Cheap too!

$350 bucks every two weeks for a family of four.  Lots of fruits and veggies and fish and assorted meats.

Ended up getting the soup/sandwich combo at Panera, and a muffin!  All together it was about 1800 cals!  So of course I was still stuffed and only made a smoothie for dinner and didn't even finish it.  Total deficit for the day was 1200 cals.  But today is back to normal and a nice healthy breakfast!

I don't think in coordinated enough to jump on and off the moving treadmill!  I tried doing interval training like that a few months ago and it almost killed me.  I can see how it is so effective, but it just kicked my butt. I was doing 10mph sprints for 30 seconds and walking fast for 90 for 20 minutes.

If you have a scale, weigh it all dry.  Then weigh it when its cooked.  The weight should go up about 3x or so.  So 2 before is 6oz. after.  But thats if you have a scale.  If you don't have a scale.....get a scale, you'll need it anyway.

Now I want spaghetti!

Bon appetit!

So, I get it.  Start sooner rather than later.  Does anyone do single sets?  I was reading an article that beginners can benefit from doing just one set instead of three.  Does anyone have experience with that?  I haven't lift any weights in 17 years and I'm sure training methods have changed since high school.

dbackerfan - you made me laugh! when someone tells me i look much skinnier, im going to tell them "oh yeah! you should see the muscles under this fat!"

thanks all!

I was just thinking about the difference between the two.  If i start hitting the weights, I'll be doing less cardio.  I know that building muscle burns more fat, but right away?  I'm doing so well and the weight loss has not slowed down.  Either way, I'll be adding in weight training eventually.  So I'll count you as a vote for starting now then.  Thanks!

Is it a bad thing that I did the math to figure out that I can eat 400 grams of peanut m&m's and still be on target for calorie intake?

i feel yor pain.

tomorrow the treadmill.

Hi,  Floggingsully is right.  You are going to need alot more veggies on average, and don't forget the fruit.  Natural sugar and fiber and vitamins and minerals galore!  Also if your at such a low calorie total, I hope you are taking a multivitamin at least.

Ok, more questions.

Morning vs evening workouts?  I am very much not a morning person.  My wife is usually up at 5:30am or so and I get up at about 6:45, then we have to get us and the kids ready for work and school.  So I'd have to get up at 5:30 to get to the gym (which is only about 5 minutes away) workout for 45 mins and get back.  Or, workout after homework is done and bedtime stories are told and songs are sung, about 9:30pm to go to the gym.  I ride my bike now after dinner from about 6:30 for 30 - 40 minutes.  On the weekends I ride in the morning.  I feel like I get more out of the morning ride because I feel more energetic.  But the evening rides are a workout and a major stress reducer.

In spinning classes, how do you set your own pace?  I'm concerned that if I have to keep pace with a class I will not be able to keep up, or if I do keep up that I will get worn out to soon?

Yes the free weights vs machines argument sounds familiar, I guess it just seems so old school.  Thats funny I love the heart rate monitor and the data it provides.  I have a Polar F11, it gives heart rate, calories and alot more.  My reasoning was that I can't be concerned with how fast or far I'm going.  I needed to focus on my heartrate and not over doing it, which is what usually happened.  The cadence feature is something that I have thought about, but I'll worry about that when I can cover 12 miles in an hour (my initial goal)

Souther Cali? Been to L.A. and Anaheim a few times.  The weather is ....well you know

thanks

I was thinking of buying a machine, but it's a waste unless you get a good one at least in my experience.  A good quality machine will cost a good amount of money, so in that respect it makes sense to join a gym.  There is even one nearby that is open 24 hours a day.

mewapiti - Do you use a heart rate monitor when you ride?  I love gadgets and it has helped so much in not letting me push to hard or go to easy.  I think clharr has a point though, a gym has so many tools to use plus you don't have to buy it all yourself. 

Do you think using the weight machines are not as good as free weights?  The machines may be able to keep a novice like me in proper form.

Yes, the blood pressure medication was very much a wake-up call.  I have never maintained a healthy diet so I was just a matter of time, but I guess that is what it takes.  My father has the same issues and now he has diabetes and his liver is failing, even more of a wake-up!  It's hard to change your attitude when you feel indestructible.

Do you think the meds have to do with the appetite issue?  That is really one of my main motivations, to not have to take a pill every morning!  I am on my second medication, the first one made me have a dry cough all day for a month.  The second one seems to be doing fine with no side effects.  Loss of appetite is not common for this one. (But neither was coughing for the first!)

It's also funny to have to think to eat "oh yeah I forgot to have breakfast!"  Thinking that I have to focus on higher calorie foods is too much for me to get my head around just yet.  But I have been enjoying lots of bananas and other fruits.  Nuts make me worry about sodium and fat, but in time I guess.

My wife and I think it it funny that my initial goal is to get to 230 pounds.  That is when my BMI goes from "obese" to "overweight".  For now I strive to be just fat, ha!

Thanks for the replies!

I just finished an article in the August issue of Scientific American about the growing field of "flavor modification".  Where food makers will be able to make food more nutritious and mask the flavor by adding compounds that fool the tast receptors.  Interesting things soy products that taste good?  These products are already in use.  "Natural foods" are a thing of the past, unless you hide in the woods and like to whittle.