Starting my lifestyle change

When I camp travel over long distances, I picture myself as an ant on a page of my Rand Mcnally atlas. I have camped this way through 23 states and across Canada, in times past.


If we are lucky, no day passes without learning.


If you think that choices get any easier as you get older ... no deal. No deal.

See yourself as you want to be ... steady as she goes, lots of time, slips come and go, goal in sight and getting closer ...

See yourself as a great person and strive comfortably ... like all the rest of us do. The path to 'where I want to be' is fairly crowded, so enjoy the fine company.
 
You might want to consider adding kefir to your diet. It is a type of drinkable yogurt that is high in protein and will help to counteract yeast infections and certain intestinal imbalances.

Also, consider making big pots of homemade vegetable soup and eating a salad every day. I knew a guy who restricted his diet to nothing but homemade vegetable soup and salad for 6 months and lost a ton of weight, but he was also lifting daily. With vegetables, you can pretty much eat all you want and lose weight, as long as you aren't deep frying them or dumping ranch dressing on them.
 
Clinto. said:
KrabbyKakes, you must be my separated at birth, fitness twin. :)

I agree 100% with everything you said. Cardio is only good for wasting time and feeling like crap. Don't do it. Simply hit the weights. And have fun doing. It is very enjoyable.
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Me and my calves hate cardio. I can lift on the other hand for hours at a time it feels like. I would be perfectly happy to keep going after an hour lifting session (extremely high intensity; 6 or so excersizes without breaks. We get strapped for time at school) but good luck getting me to finish the last mile on a run.
 
KrabbyKakes said:
Alright, I have nothing to say about your sickness, depression, or your new diet.

BUT...



DO THIS!

Depending on how fat you are, you will lose weight by eating better, but eventually, you are going to have to start excersizing. Everyone is gonna jump on a treadmill, but cardio SUCKS. The only reason I do it is because I have to for football. O would much rather just lift.

Lifting is also going to be a lot better for you. Your a big guy, so you should be able to get decently strong faster than most. Now, don't expect to walk in and start repping 225 on bench the first day, but at the beginning, your strength is gonna shoot up. Also, your physique will improve quicker if you get muscular and skinnier instead of just skinnier.

A word of advice though:
If you do lift, don't pay attention to the number on the scale. You might gain, you might lose when you start. Just look at yourself in the mirror instead. Weight isn't going to continuously drop either, you might lose 5 pounds one day, gain two the next, and lose 3 the next one. Just keep going.

EDIT: If you do lift, ignore the supplements. You don't need creatine, BCAAs, or pre-workout to weightlift. Hell, you don't even need protein that lots of people swear by. Just go into a gym and lift. Don't worry about muscle building excersize and complex plans that you see on Bodybuilding and those websites. Just find a nice simple routine and stick to it. Best of luck!
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Lifting is great, but you really, really need to incorporate other forms of exercise into your routine as well. Lifting does not, for example, give you long term staminia, nor will you lose weight quickly. In fact, I gained weight. Yes, it was muscle, but it was muscle under fat. You need to do cardio as well. Sorry.
 
David Stifle said:
Lifting is great, but you really, really need to incorporate other forms of exercise into your routine as well. Lifting does not, for example, give you long term staminia, nor will you lose weight quickly. In fact, I gained weight. Yes, it was muscle, but it was muscle under fat. You need to do cardio as well. Sorry.
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As I re-read my post it did seem like I meant that he never needed to do cardio, but that isn't what I meant at all. Yes, cardio is important in a healthy lifestyle, that's why pretty much any active person does it haha. I'm by no means an expert by the way. Just an ex-fat, still-kinda-fat-but-in-good-shape-and-conditioning kid who wanted to give some advice.

I just meant that he shouldn't limkt himself to running. A lot of people seem to be afraid of weightlifting because they think it is overly hard or dangerous, but in actuality, it might be healthier for someone extremely overweight. As long as you have correct form (YOUR FORM HAS TO BE CORRECT. OTHERWISE YOU WILL GET HURT), you should have no problems with joints or pulled muscles. I'm 6' 2" and 220 and I feel every single step I take when I run. Weightlifting, not so much. I just wanted to open up his mind to other forms of excersize. I know I would quit if all I did was run.
 
KrabbyKakes said:
As I re-read my post it did seem like I meant that he never needed to do cardio, but that isn't what I meant at all. Yes, cardio is important in a healthy lifestyle, that's why pretty much any active person does it haha. I'm by no means an expert by the way. Just an ex-fat, still-kinda-fat-but-in-good-shape-and-conditioning kid who wanted to give some advice.

I just meant that he shouldn't limkt himself to running. A lot of people seem to be afraid of weightlifting because they think it is overly hard or dangerous, but in actuality, it might be healthier for someone extremely overweight. As long as you have correct form (YOUR FORM HAS TO BE CORRECT. OTHERWISE YOU WILL GET HURT), you should have no problems with joints or pulled muscles. I'm 6' 2" and 220 and I feel every single step I take when I run. Weightlifting, not so much. I just wanted to open up his mind to other forms of excersize. I know I would quit if all I did was run.
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I understand, and you make some excellent points. I lift myself, and couple it with floor exercise, military style calisthenics, and work on the cross-country ski machine.
 
I advise people on fitness & musculoskeletal issues.
My basic piece of advice on exercising to improve health is: choose something you like the sound of.
Doesn't matter what it is, but you have to stick with it for years, so choose what you are interested in.

The next piece of advice is in reply to "walking is great, isn't it?"
Walking is what they give 60yo recovering from a heart attack. If you are not rrecovering from a heart attack, walking will quickly become too easy. If walking is your thing, take a backpack with water bottles in it, & add more water as you need it.
 
mtangent said:
I advise people on fitness & musculoskeletal issues.
My basic piece of advice on exercising to improve health is: choose something you like the sound of.
Doesn't matter what it is, but you have to stick with it for years, so choose what you are interested in.

The next piece of advice is in reply to "walking is great, isn't it?"
Walking is what they give 60yo recovering from a heart attack. If you are not rrecovering from a heart attack, walking will quickly become too easy. If walking is your thing, take a backpack with water bottles in it, & add more water as you need it.
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That's good advice. My wife swims, loves it, and is in great shape. I hate it, too much work. Each to their own.:thumbup:
 
David Stifle said:
That's good advice. My wife swims, loves it, and is in great shape. I hate it, too much work. Each to their own.:thumbup:
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Thanks.
Just to clear up my previous comment, water in the backpack is purely for weight. I'm not suggesting anybody drink 5 litres of water every time they go for a walk. Plastic water bottles are comfortable, whereas hand weights aren't.
 
Good for you man. I gained 25 pounds the in the year after I got married. Cutting the sodas was the biggest help for me. I didn't quit cold turkey though. I was drinking 3 or 4 a day. I got it to 1 a day, then 2 a week. Now none. If I drink one I feel sick because it's so sugary!! Oh yea and I lost 15 pounds in 6 months quitting sodas.
 
Everyone has to start somewhere. Your best gains will come in the kitchen and during resting periods. You can't outrun an unhealthy lifestyle.

There is nothing wrong with walking. We did a lot of hiking in the beginning of boot camp and peoples still got injured. Shin splints suck. You have to progress at your own pace and settle in for the long haul.

Here is a good tip. Do not take your nutrition and exercise tips from random foruminites. Good luck.:thumbup:
 
I.N.F.K said:
Okay so since 2012 I have been plagued with chronic yeast infections due to terrible health choices. Basically I weigh 330 pounds right now, at 5' 11" and I'm only 22 years old. I know that it is because of my eating and one would think that after just one infection I would have changed my lifestyle by now. Especially since it sent to the hospital once and has racked up many bills from a multitude of doctors. It's like my body is saying to me that "this is not you, you don't need this" But no, in my own stupidity I just kept shoveling all this crap down my throat and chased it all down with nothing but liquor & soda. But I have had enough. So that's, why no more than ten minutes ago, I went in my pantry and threw out all my junk food and grains. I have left myself with nothing but lean meat, fish, veggies, and fruit. After three years of putting up with the recurring infections, depression, being criticised, friend zoned by ladies, and finding solace in junk food I'm done. I know that my quality of life could be so much more better if I was only fit, because being healthy isn't what I want. I want to be fit, I want to be able to walk around the pool without a shirt on. I want to be able to walk into a department store and buy off the rack, instead of having to go to a big and tall store. I want to change my god dang life
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I wish you the best of luck! Anything can be achieved if you're willing to put forth the effort. :)
 
been nearly a month now since I've been eating right , and so far so good. I still eat grains as I have found it is nearly impossible to eat a complete meal without them, but for the most parts I only eat them in the morning. I also aim for maximum of 30g of sugar a day to reduce the chances of a flare up. I started the gym a week ago as well to help move things along. For the most part I have established a routine with some cheating when I feel like. Which usually results in popcorn, ginger ale, but still little sweet stuff.

I haven't weighed myself though, because I much prefer counting notches on my belt.
 
I.N.F.K said:
been nearly a month now since I've been eating right , and so far so good. I still eat grains as I have found it is nearly impossible to eat a complete meal without them, but for the most parts I only eat them in the morning. I also aim for maximum of 30g of sugar a day to reduce the chances of a flare up. I started the gym a week ago as well to help move things along. For the most part I have established a routine with some cheating when I feel like. Which usually results in popcorn, ginger ale, but still little sweet stuff.

I haven't weighed myself though, because I much prefer counting notches on my belt.
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Sounds like you're doing great, man. Keep it up, and you rock!
 
I.N.F.K said:
been nearly a month now since I've been eating right , and so far so good. I still eat grains as I have found it is nearly impossible to eat a complete meal without them, but for the most parts I only eat them in the morning. I also aim for maximum of 30g of sugar a day to reduce the chances of a flare up. I started the gym a week ago as well to help move things along. For the most part I have established a routine with some cheating when I feel like. Which usually results in popcorn, ginger ale, but still little sweet stuff.

I haven't weighed myself though, because I much prefer counting notches on my belt.
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Keep it up! Remember that diet is as important, if not more than hitting the gym! Stay strong and disciplined, brother!
 
"Notches on the belt" ... you've mastered the physical sense of accomplishment and need no other. It will take you home. Steady as she goes. You may say "oops" occasionally and roll your eyes at the the odd lapse... laugh a little ... you are one heck of an old soul with a lot of mileage ahead.

Susan
 
I.N.F.K., good luck to you.

Maintaining a healthy diet will be the hardest part. My advice, you don't have to be a "monk", but completely cut out soft drinks & chain fast foods.

Exercise, once you get into it, will be the easy part. Regarding exercise, don't bite off more than you can chew in the beginning. That's the major reason why people stop after a "gung ho" start. Your body hurts & you'll dread doing it again. It's all a state of mind. Start of slowly...10 minutes, 3 to 4 times a week. Add 2 more minutes the next week, so on & so forth. Leave yourself looking forward to your next exercise session. I believe someone here already mentioned it, but find a physical activity you enjoy doing. Biking, walking, shooting some hoops, it doesn't matter as long as you break a sweat. If you start doing some weight training, use weights you can easily handle. Again, increase slowly. It's all about slow & steady. Don't think you have to train like a pro athlete or body builder. After a month or two, it'll become routine.
 
I wish you the best of luck, it's always a battle but if you make a little progress and keep a long term goal in mind you'll make it. Just remember every moment you get to choose what you put into your mouth, if you need up its ok just make the Next choice a wise one.
 
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