[geowak]

I am helping a friend lose some weight and get healthy. I have been running, biking and doing a fitness regime of Spartacus (Men's Fitness) and alternate with weight training. Also, trying to eat more healthy foods and diet.

So do you have a fitness plan? Do you have a special kind of diet (you like)? I'd like to know.

I know I am going to get alot of smart a** answers, so to share with all of you, my weakness now is Oktoberfest beer by the Great Lakes Brewing company. I sure wish I could drink more of it.....

[thunderbrick]

What's a "fitness plan?"

[geowak]

What's a "fitness plan?"

 

[WGH]

Yes, what is a fitness plan? Your friend has to decide to make a life style change. Here is what I did:

1.) Hire a personal trainer that concentrates on perfect form first.

Over half the trainers I have seen allow their clients to workout with such bad form we cringe knowing it's an injury just waiting to happen.

2.) Budget enough money to work with a personal trainer 3 times a week for at least year but it will take 5 years before good form happens naturally.

3.) Start with baby weights and work up.

4.) Warm up and stretch for 45 minutes before a workout. Intervals on the stairmaster are a great cardio warmup.

5.) Screw the diet thing, just eat a little of everything. Cut back on carbs and beer except on Fridays.

6.) Hike in the wilderness once a week with a good friend, away from people, cell phones, the news and noise. A healthy mind leads to a healthy body.

[WireNut]

Lifting pizza and beer is about it lately.

[G Georgopoulos]

vegetables and fruits,eat as much as you can...you'll lose weight for sure...

[mamba315]

For me, feeling great inside your own skin is the greatest goal for any fitness plan.  I like feeling strong, light, explosive, and flexible.  Other people may have different goals.  It's good to know what you're aiming for, since it will affect everything else.

Diet is the make or break element.  I know lots of people who work out and stay active, but they never really get anywhere physically because their diet is working against them.  Diet can sabotage any exercise plan, no matter how rigorous!  Been there, done that...

You want to get stronger and leaner with the minimal amount of effort?  Stop eating so many carbs and refined sugars.  You should be able to make an educated guess on how many grams of carbs you consume daily.  Most people really have no idea.  In such cases, it's almost invariably way more than they realize.

In general, it's not healthy to average over 70-100 grams/carbs per day.  50 grams/day is a better goal for most people.  This will cause significant fat and excess water loss, and will actually increase strength even if you don't do any training.  With exercise added, it becomes very easy to "get in shape" with very little effort.

Ribeyes are one of my dietary staples.  I have at least one a day.  Other things I keep in the house include pistachios, almonds, mango or berries, eggs, butter, full fat yogurt, and sometimes cheese.  At work, I'll also eat other types of meat plus sauteed onions, cabbage, and certain greens.  These items form the vast majority of my diet.

Things I avoid include almost anything with grain (no matter how "whole"), refined sugar, starchy root vegetables, alcohol, vegetable oils, and anything artificial.

I walk about 40 miles/week for my job.  I also do a variety of yoga/martial art inspired movements on a near-daily basis to maintain strength, symmetry, and range of motion.  That's pretty much it.  If I get a chance, I'll also include swimming.

This keeps me feeling extremely good with the minimal amount of time and effort invested.  It is also what I'd recommend for anyone who wants to lose weight and look great without spending all their free time in the gym.  Even I am a little surprised at how well it works, and I've been doing it for years.

With all the time you save, you can spend more time with family, friends, or even your stereo 

[geowak]

Great suggestions on diet. You guys are on it. Of course I don't think any of you know how good Oktoberfest beer really tastes. Should it be my one pleasure after a week of working out and eating smart??

[SteveFord]

I drink a lot of coffee, smoke a lot of pipe tobacco and play the guitar while sitting down.
Works for me!

I also try and avoid booze, sugar, flour, red meat and fried food which cuts out a surprising amount of food that everyone eats.
Cereal is my weakness but you can't be good all of the time.

[ctviggen]

I basically do exactly the opposite of what the gov't recommends via the food pyramid/plate/whatever it is these days.  I eat as much fat as possible and avoid all high carbohydrate items, including most fruits.  I eat the fattiest meat possible.  I do not avoid red meat and eat a lot of it.  I add fats to my diet, including "bullet proof" coffee or tea with butter from grass-fed cows and coconut oil. I avoid vegetable oils at all costs.  I avoid eating any "whole grain" product and try never to eat wheat or corn except in rare circumstances (I'll have a pizza maybe once every two to three months).  I avoid all sugar.  I eat whole foods, paleo as much as possible.  I eat a lot of vegetables.

I workout about four days a week now, three aerobics and one lifting weights.  I do not believe, however, that exercise causes long term weight loss and exercise for enjoyment.  I've bought a stand up desk at work and stand up for around 2-2.5 hours each day.   

I still drink a bit though, although I avoid l beer because it's way, way too high in carbohydrates.  I drink maybe three times a week, 1-1.5 drinks per night. 

Basically everything I used to believe (I used to count calories and keep my fat content under 10% by calories, I ate a high carbohydrate diet, I thought exercise meant weight loss) I now think is not scientifically sound and is most likely wrong.  I've done a complete 180, after reading probably 10 books that analyzed these issues in a scientific manner. 

[rockadanny]

Protein (chicken, fish, Kefir, legumes) + complex carbs + fresh veggies and fruit.

[MtnHam]

My daily regime is a 45 minute/3 mile trail hike that includes 20 minutes of serious uphill. Additionally, 3-4 times/week, a 1/2 mile of lap swimming. Diet consists of fresh whole foods, lots of vegetables and fruit, whole grains, almost no sugar, maximum of a 4oz meat serving 2-3 days/week. At age 70, I am in as fit as I was in my youth, and weigh less than I did at 18. And I should add, no prescribed drugs and no supplements whatsoever.

[skifasterslc]

Good thread,  I started cycling (road bike) in June this year and have became addicted.  About 3 rides per week 15-30 miles per ride average.  I am 60 and have always enjoyed spinning classes at the gym so i decided to kick it up a notch. I hate running.  I life weights about 1 - 2 per week as well.  The cycling really gets my metabolism up and has melted my middle age belly fat.

I drink regularly and my diet is varied but I stay away from junk food, NO soda,  red meat about 1-2 a week, other quality protein and veggies.  I do eat some bread and pasta but limit that compared to 10 years ago.
Feeling stronger and better than ever!
Cheers ---- Mark

[soundbitten1]

I have a bunch of exercise equipment in the basement that I rotate using. An old Soloflex machine for the upper body, exercise bike, rowing machine, stair stepper and a Nortic Track ski thing. When the weather permits I like to kayak and outdoor bike. Have to be careful because I have a faulty lower back and achilles tendonitis which caused me to stop jogging a few years ago.  Really don't have a set plan or goal other than trying to be healthy.

[Folsom]

Generally I ride my bicycle around, walk a fair bit, and like to go for a hike too. I'd like to incorporate Yoga but the times are a bit inaccessible at times. Depending on the day that I'm working, I might be lifting a bunch of heavy boxes or carrying them around for an hour or so; so I guess that counts.

Food wise, I follow Dr. D'Adamo. I've tried it all. Many of the diets in this thread would kill me. Also I know intense exercise doesn't work for me. Both of those things were true independent of Dr. D'Adamo; however my inability to lose weight or benefit from everyone's diet and exercise plan was simply reconfirmed by him and pointed me towards the things that did work for me. The versions of atkins/paleo/whatever screw me up bad. I can run and bike more than most humans ever do, and sometimes faster than some very fit looking people, and lose no weight except some muscle. It wasn't because I was unaware of any of the important things to do while exercising, before and after.

In fact right now I've been rapidly recovering from a poisoning of sorts, by very specifically in-taking things that are good for my phenotype. If I didn't have a clue what I specifically need, I'd probably have had a heart attack and stints, because the affects of the issue made for a lot of congestion that was very hard to deal with nutritionally and left me looking towards supplementation. The ones that worked well I often found within Dr. D'Adamo's lists of things that are good for cardiovascular, as a health protocol. However until the poisoning stopped it was always a battle of nothing truly making me "right".

[Larkston Zinaspic]

Fitness plan? In my current state it's more like physical therapy.

Just like audio, I don't think there's a one-size-fits-all approach to health and well-being. We can only start from where we are, and I don't think everyone needs to train like an athlete, nor should they starve or torture themselves with the latest fad diet or fad insanity workout. This is often the fast track to burn-out, more than anything.

I find myself gravitating to resistance training more these days, but I'm not the type who will do thirty exercises in a workout, because...I wanna get it over with eventually. I focus usually on about four compound movements and will add certain "ancillary" exercises as I have more time/energy. I'll do several 'warm-up' sets, and try to lift as heavy as I can, but won't be setting any records anytime soon.

Refined carbs in any configuration are an enemy I try to avoid, sometimes successfully. I don't drink, but I'm starting to think the world might be more tolerable if I was at least slightly medicated.

[I.Greyhound Fan]

I eat my meals on a  treadmill and use a 25 pound fork.

I try and eat a low carb diet and I bike and use an elliptical and stationary cycle machine in bad weather.

[Devil Doc]

I used to be a gym rat, and I'm paying for it today. I got more aches and pains than you need to know about. Too many curls, bench presses, squats and dead lifts and I ran 5mi. every morning before chow. Today, I eat what I damn please, smoke 2 or 3 cigars a day and walk about 30 min. a day. I've got lipid and cholesterol levels that a long distance runner would be proud of. It's got more to do with genes than anything else.

Doc

[BobM]

Everything in moderation. That's what my parents did and it's worked for me so far.. But that means ...

- Moderate exercise at least 3 times per week. Treadmill, hiking, cardio of some sort is a must. Weight training to keep muscle tone and stretching for flexibility become so much more important as you age.
- Eat anything you want in moderation but make sure you consume a wide variety of food types. This doesn't mean a hamburger once a week or a hero for lunch all the time is OK. Try and keep the carbs down and stay away from processed foods as much as possible.
- Save the alcohol for the weekends, but that also doesn;t mean binging on Friday-Sunday is OK either.
- Drink lots of water daily. If you aren;t peeing once every 2 hours or so then you are not drinking enough water. Stay away from soda or sugary drinks of any kind.
- Watch your weight. If you go off because of a party or a vacation then bring things back to normal for the next week by being conscious of your choices.

[Guy 13]

Hi all.
I am diabetes type 2 and I have anemia, 
both under control with pills
and good eating habit and daily exercise.
First, no regime for me. 
I eat everything with moderation, even chocolate,
dark chocolate that is and just a little at the time,
lots of fruits and vegetable, plenty of water,
some juices and tea, very little meat
and once in a while some fast food.
No soft drink, never, everything with sugar or equivalent
or hidden is taboo for me.
A very easy regime for me, I eat almost as much as I want
and I feel good, I went from 69Kg to a very stable 65Kg now.
I do light exercise and walking 10 minutes every day and sometimes,
twice a day when time permit.
At first, I never thought it would be that easy,
no real motivation required for me.
I don’t smoke, never did, I don’t drink beer, wine and alcohol.
Got drunk and sick two or three times when I was 20,
but after that, I realize it was not fun,
because when you are drunk you miss all the fun
and after that you get sick and pay for it.
That’s it and that’s all.

Guy 13