The Getting in Shape Thread

[genkizen]

This is something I've actually learned recently, can't believe I havent found this out b4 since I get really Otaku when I get into something.

Most ppl would say that exercising and building muscle is good because muscle (specifically muscle that is active) burns fat... No, muscle doesn't burn fat, muscle burns sugars. Your liver turns the fat in your body into sugar so that your muscles have fuel to stay active. If your liver doesn't work properly then your muscles are going to just burn themselves out and you'll accomplish nothing. So if you don't eat well enough and have to much crap built up in your body, your liver won't work, which means it won't turn that fat into sugars, which means no fuel for your muscles, which means your not gonna accomplish your goals. So the basis of being fit and healthy is eating healthy, if you don't eat healthy enough the whole pyramind falls apart.

And keep in mind I said healthy enough. You don't have to live off of oranges and bananas for the rest of your life. THen again everybody's body is different so some ppl might actually have to live off of oranges and bananas .

[rabb]

an interesting topic, and one i think i can cantribute to. i'm sure a few of you have already heard me bragging but when i was in highschool i weighed almost 280 lbs. now, 2 years later, im just under 200 lbs, and still losing weight. now i had two keys, one, i gave up caffine and soda. soda is just bad for you, no matter how you look at it, it kills your teeth, makes them dirty, is full of sugar, it has caffine which retains fat, (and the crash that you get from caffine is not worth the few moments of being more alert). instead i only drink water now. someone else already went over the benefits of that, i beleive. and just for the teens in here, let me just say that after giving up soda, my skin has never been as clear.

the other thng i did, and this will sound weird, im sure, is give up tv for gaming. but im sure you all know the feeling when ou're sitting on the couch, watching w/e, and you decide "hey, i want something to eat!" even though you are not in the least bit hungry. i attribute that to your hands being bored. when i started gaming more, i almost never got up for a snack, so i was eating a lot better.

another thing that played a roll, but will be hard for many people in here to duplicate, was that my day shifted back about 6 hours. once i was out of school, and a closer at mcdonalds, i was able to go to bed and wake up 6 hours later, which made dinner, my biggest meal, right in the middle of my day, so i had plenty of time to burn the calories.

now as many of you know, i'm a DEP recruit in the US Navy, shipping to boot camp tuesday. that being said, i've been running my ass off, doing push-ups, sit-ups, stretches, w/e to get in better shape. and while i can say that im more physically fit now, it made no real impact on my weight, even with a 1200 calorie diet. but the reason for that is that muscle weighs more than fat. if you are excercising, and you don't see any real difference in your weight, don't get discouraged. also, being in the sunlight makes some chemicle that makes yu happier, or something like that, and it makes your body produce more B12 and B6, which makes your body burn fat, or so i'm told.

[Azurel]

Lol, burning fats by being under the sun. that's the 1st time I've heard that.. just don't get a heat stroke aite.. But I kinda understand abt the whole tv vs gaming thing. It's no good being a couch potato, becoz you literally turn into a potato. Everytime I wanna watch the telly, I feel like snacking at the same time too but I hard watch the tv so it doesn't happen often. Gaming is good but don't miss your meals like how I do Gamers usually eat right in front of their pc.

Well, for eating habits, I say just eat what you need, never over-eat. I eat about 2-3 times a day and when I feel like snacking, I eat an apple or some fruits. It's also very important to chew your food and eat it slowly, because when you eat too fast, your stomach don't register that its full and you will still feel hungry and will continue to eat more than you need. But when you eat slowly, you will easily feel full. Same goes for drinking water, just drink when you're thirsty. I've read somewhere that drinking too much water isn't good for the body either becoz it might just deteriorate the kidney's function to filter.

[TheGenius]

REVIVAL!!!

I know GK is going back to the healthy way of life so I'll give the tip that makes the difference between gaining and losing weight.

Eat slowly.

Your brain is like a sponge. It works tremendously well in specific circumstances.
I'm currently 24 yo, and 5'10. I never went over 165 pounds even when I COMPLETELY stop any kind of physical activities for a year. My childhood friends though gained tons though. While having a "community supper", I noticed that they ate like madmans.They were ingurging the food rather than taste it.
This cause the brain to get the "I'm full!!!" signal too late. Too late means that when you went over your eating limit. This causing an overdose of long and short energy that just end up accumulating in the places we all know of.

Just that and the tip that Kado gave abouut drinking tons of water will make a huge difference.

But Genius, can you prove your theory?

Ever notice that the French people(from France) are thinner? Italians , Arabs and Greek too? It's because they have the slow eating mentality. They eat food that are waayyy fatter than the typical American plate.(Which consist of white bread, wine, foie gras and all sorts of fatty foods)

They also do not eat as much red meat as we do here( Yes, I just threw in Canada along )

So....add 30 min exercise per day + goal setting, you'll get there!

Hope it helped.

EDIT: Meeeeeehh...didn't read the post that was before me.....It took time to write this...

[woofcat]

While I am thin as is (130 lbs 6'1") pushups are awesome, and burn calories.

Just recently I decided to take on 100 pushups in 6 weeks. Maybe i'll edit this post in a couple weeks or during the journey and see if I pass or fail.

[baboysai]

I'm actually interested to hear what changes had happened after your push-ups, woofcat ^^

[TheGenius]

Here is an interesting website;

http://stronglifts.com/

Very motivational and full of cheap and good ideas.

[Forever_Melody]

The trick is to balance what goes in and what comes out of your system in terms of energy. If you eat for x amount o calories, try to approach that amount of calories spent in that day. Any large excess won't be healthy.

Another simple trick is transportation. I know people are very fond of cars, but sitting in traffic isn't much exercise. Walk or bike to places close by. For me, any place I know could be reached by car in less than 15min, I bike to(assuming I don't need to take the highway or any kind of large bridge or something). This is a simple, yet effective way to at the very least be a bit healthier. It's nothing huge, but it does make a different, even if minimal. It's noticed by a few studies(I'll try and find a link) that suburban kids who bike to places are healthier than kids in the city who take the bus or drive.

Sports are also an easy way of getting fit. If you're still in the age, subscribe to sports teams in your town/community. Most are pretty cheap if not free(if you're a resident normally) so money wouldn't be a huge issue. Even if you're not any good, they'll place you in a team of according strength(at least that's how it works here). If you're older, you can always coach or do other things. And it's not just a question of physical health anymore, sports help relieve tension(what better tension reliever than hitting/kicking into something?), stress and create social interaction which contributes to better psychological and mental health. It's not just about looking/feeling good, it's about the good balance.

Aside from that, everything else people have said are very good examples ^.^

[blai]

Omg I didn't knew this thread existed...

Thaaaaanks baboysai!! *hugs*

So any veggies here that got some tips on how to have a varied diet while still getting all the important proteins? With the 4-hour method and a diet that's not for loosing weight but neither to build muscle-mass... Mainly to keep in shape while working out/fitness training...

[baboysai]

blai, i dunno about this 4-hour method, but I've heard about it.

My usual diet would consist of high-fiber (veggies, etc) low carb diet. I avoid white breads, sodas, etc. And I do cardio work-out when I feel like it. it's generally 2 hours a week, but I want to increase it.

anyway, dieters, here's my review and experience with the GM diet, a 7-day diet that could supposedly make you lose 7-10 lbs.

[blai]

Ah cool. Yeah the 4-hour method is awesome since it increases your metabolism. If you eat twice or three times a day. For example 7am, 1pm and 7pm your body "thinks" that it is going to start after approx 4hours after your 7am and 1pm meal. It will disturb your metabolism and it will decrease. If you eat every 4th hour but small meals you will have a constant metabolism during daytime and that will lead to a higher energy-need and if you keep your healthy diet during those 4weeks your body will get rid of the fat instead of the muscles that it normally do if you're not eating at all/eating a lot but at a few occasions or if you eat the "wrong" food that doesn't give the needed energy.

edit: I'll check that review-thing out!

[Weapon_X]

To me eating junk food doesn't make any difference to me whatsoever. Actually the more I eat, the more muscles I tend to get when I workout like every single day.

My workout routine is=

Monday = Stretches, Cardio (Upper Abs workout ) + Weight Building
Tuesday= Stretches, Cardio (Upper Abs, Lower Abs workout + Step Machine(30 mins)
Wednesday= Stretches, Cardio (Upper Abs+ Side Abs workout) + Weight Building
Thursday= Stretches, Cardio (Upper Abs, Lower Abs workout + Step Machine(30 mins)
Friday= Stretches, Cardio (Upper Abs + Side Abs workout + Step Machine(30 mins) + Weight Building
Saturday= Stretches, Cardio (Step Machine (30mins)
Sunday= Rest Day

If you follow this routine, you'll get in shape. I've been doing it for like 3 months and the difference is great. To me the "having rest between days " doesn't effect me for some reason. So I just go full out.

Nice thread btw.

[oomba.boomba]

Diet is such a hard thing for me. I can easily work out and I love doing it, but it's always eating right and efficiently that costs me in the end.

Now, I'm not big by any chance (5'10" and weigh 168 lbs) so I appear to look pretty fit and muscular, but I sure don't feel healthy due to all the junk food I eat and little nutrients I receive from meals. Also havn't regularly exercised in more than 6 months.

So it's always good to see a thread like this. Good advice everyone. Going to try to write down a good meal plan and re-ignite my old exercise routine.

[Arrogance]

DRINK WATER!!!! I've always been a big guy (240-260) yet Ive also been athletic. I played football(American) in high school and was an Offensive lineman so I was gaining weight yet still remained fit due to all the activity. Then I sufferent a football carear ending knee injury, which lead me to getting surgery. After this it took me over a year to get back to being active again, yet in that time I had put on so much weight and lost muscle. Getting back working out wasn't hard, yet I was so used to being able to have a high calorie diet due to me being a football player and being able to burn a lot of that off during games and practices. One thing I tried to get rid of some of the extra weight was to just drink water. Instead of having a soda during meals, I would drink water which cut down on so many of my calories you wouldn't believe. Plus, if your still thirsty, ITS OK TO DRINK MORE! Honestly, by doing this I've felt the best I've ever did and did manage to lose a little more weight in the meantime. So next time you go out for a meal, and the waiter asks you what you want to drink, pass on the beer and soda and just say WATER, plus it can save you some money as well. =)

[blai]

Ah yeah, good tip Arrogance, the simplest and best thing to do. Water does not have any real substance innit either so it just runs straight through your body and that's way better than like coke for instance that contains ridiculously much calories.
Make sure it's water with ice, or cold water so that it costs more energy to heat it up in your body when you've drank it. Since according to some pyysic law (can't remember who's) if you have a cold and a hot body the hot body is releasing energy to give the cold body he same temperature as the hot one.

So, cool advice Arrogance! Almost forgot that one!