Fitness advice/suggestions

[TLB]

Ok, late to the game as well, but my experience...

First serious round of this was 18y ago in my mid-30's. Still eating like a 20yo and zero exercise allowed me to blow up = 5'9" at 243lbs (highest I've ever seen, probably was more, but refused to weigh myself). Diagnosed with pre-diabetes and it scared the hell our of me. 4 months of strict diet and steadily increasing exercise got me down to 193lbs, and blood sugars fell well in line. By 'strict diet' I was controlling my calories in (highly recommend the 'Lose It' app for those that care to track), keeping food on a 30% protein / 40% carbs / 30% (healthy) fats but restricting calories to about 1100/day. Exercise meant getting on the treadmill and building myself up from a half mile jog up to running 12.5 miles in 2h. It was flipping a switch, different lifestyle. I couldn't believe carrots were so sweet.

About then I felt like running that long/far was pointless AND I got a new job that had me living in a hotel for 2mo before the wife and kid could relocate to me. You would think that would allow me time to keep exercising and eat smart...instead, I went to fat again. Still, in my 30's I was able to lose 50lbs in 4mo with focus and will power. Then we turn the page on 2008.

2017 and I'm being told by my doc that my A1C is out of control. He loads me on meds and leaves it to me to follow through on lifestyle (diet & exercise) changes I keep talking about and not doing. I'm cruising around 222lbs most of the time, sometimes up to 228lbs, never below 220. This continues through to 2022, still no exercise and no diet. Now, I'm 53yo and the body ain't what it was. I've recently recovered from a broken ankle (kicking a stupid soccer ball at kids practice), and was trying to figure out why my rotator cuff hurt like hell to the point of a 'frozen (dead) arm'. I'm thinking there is no way I can exercise at this age. I go with diet changes. Reboot my 'Lose It' app (tracks meals in detail, but has additional features - mostly I wanted calorie count and protein/carb/fat counts).

For non-diabetics, they want your A1C under 6.0, and they consider 5.7-6.3 as 'pre-diabetic'. I'd been bouncing between 8.3 and 13.1 = very uncontrolled. For the mg/dl other measurement (from finger pricks) they want you under 120, and you are diabetic around 170 - I was bouncing between 200-300 with occasional meals shooting me to 400+. Doc offered a 'Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM)' which you stick on the back of your arm and can get 24/7 data on sugar levels as opposed to pricking your finger 3-4 times a day for snapshots of glucose level. I refused, stubborn old me said 'I can do this' and subsequently failed to manage anything over those recent years. In January of this year I went ahead and got the CGM. For those wondering = absolutely worth it, I can't recommend it enough. Hurts like a finger prick, but it's once every 2w rather than 4x/day. Fears over it coming off (I slept with a shirt so it wouldn't get pulled off/out in my sleep) for the first month...but reality is they seem to have perfected the adhesive. Good for sweating, exercising, showering, all life as normal. When it IS time to swap out, you can peel it off like a band-aid. But, the knowledge of where my sugar is before/after meals/exercise, or waking (it rises naturally in the AM), is a godsend for an engineering geek like me. The finger pricks were part punishment on myself, and part 'gotta study for the exam' pressure to eat right. Now, I'm eating even better and I know EXACTLY what's going on in my body. Ok, sorry for the diabetes tangent, but it is key to my current situation.

January 2023, I get the CGM and work the diet only as I'm rehabbing the ankle/rotator cuff. In 4 months I've been able to get the avg mg/dl down to 135 (A1C around 6.7). The blood sugar was my goal/measuring stick, and I figured the weight would come off as a secondary bonus. It has. I'm now down to 202lbs. Near term goal is under 200 with no set time frame. Next milestones would be to break 193 (over 20y since I've known I was under that), and then 180, and eventually 165-170 as a final goal. I'm focused on the diet, going 40% protein / 20% carb / 40% (healthy) fats, with at least one meal a weak were I 'splurge'. That night sugars shoot to 200-250, but with an insulin shot I'm back in range by morning, and the weight trend continues downward.

Back to the diabetes for a moment - in addition to meds for cholesterol and diabetes, I was prescribed insulin shots at night. I ideally want to be off ALL of that, and should start dropping cholesterol meds next time I see the doc. But without the CGM I had no idea what the diabetes meds were doing or the insulin shots (enough? too much? who knows). Once I got the CGM it set off alarms on my phone in the middle of the night when my sugars went too low (under 60-70) due to too much insulin. I was endangering my health and wouldn't have known without the CGM. Now, I can accurately estimate how much insulin to use each night, if any. Most nights I don't use any at all now that I know what's going on, thanks to the CGM.

Anyways, my bottom line is diabetes (and weight loss secondarily) is on track through diet only. I'm holding off on exercise until the diet causes a plateau, then I can use exercise to break through it.

= = = = = =

Things I found that worked for me:

2008 effort:

Very restrictive amount of calories (1100-1200, with an offset accounting for exercise burn)

• Lose It app for tracking every meal for calories/nutrition
• Weekly weigh in (not any more frequent, no discouragement if I gain or lose a lb, you can fluctuate 1-2lb any given day as it is...just watch for the steady trend).
• Not focus on any real 'measurement' of loss, just enjoy the surprise as we gain another notch tighter in the belt.

Exercise with a mixed plan, I think this also helped avoid plateaus

• alternate days of upper and lower weight routines, maybe 30-40min solid (get heart rate up)
• every other day treadmill 'High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)' of a steadily increasing duration (grew 20min up to 40min) with steadily increasing sprints (30sec every 5min, grew to 2.5min of every 5min)
• Sunday run for distance/duration (how I got up to 12.5mi)

I'll start working that exercise into the 2023 plan, accounting for old man injuries, and no real interest in marathons, but it's good to know that 'extra' is in my back pocket when I'm ready and need it.

 

[Concrete Helmet]

Ok, late to the game as well, but my experience...

First serious round of this was 18y ago in my mid-30's. Still eating like a 20yo and zero exercise allowed me to blow up = 5'9" at 243lbs (highest I've ever seen, probably was more, but refused to weigh myself). Diagnosed with pre-diabetes and it scared the hell our of me. 4 months of strict diet and steadily increasing exercise got me down to 193lbs, and blood sugars fell well in line. By 'strict diet' I was controlling my calories in (highly recommend the 'Lose It' app for those that care to track), keeping food on a 30% protein / 40% carbs / 30% (healthy) fats but restricting calories to about 1100/day. Exercise meant getting on the treadmill and building myself up from a half mile jog up to running 12.5 miles in 2h. It was flipping a switch, different lifestyle. I couldn't believe carrots were so sweet.

About then I felt like running that long/far was pointless AND I got a new job that had me living in a hotel for 2mo before the wife and kid could relocate to me. You would think that would allow me time to keep exercising and eat smart...instead, I went to fat again. Still, in my 30's I was able to lose 50lbs in 4mo with focus and will power. Then we turn the page on 2008.

2017 and I'm being told by my doc that my A1C is out of control. He loads me on meds and leaves it to me to follow through on lifestyle (diet & exercise) changes I keep talking about and not doing. I'm cruising around 222lbs most of the time, sometimes up to 228lbs, never below 220. This continues through to 2022, still no exercise and no diet. Now, I'm 53yo and the body ain't what it was. I've recently recovered from a broken ankle (kicking a stupid soccer ball at kids practice), and was trying to figure out why my rotator cuff hurt like hell to the point of a 'frozen (dead) arm'. I'm thinking there is no way I can exercise at this age. I go with diet changes. Reboot my 'Lose It' app (tracks meals in detail, but has additional features - mostly I wanted calorie count and protein/carb/fat counts).

For non-diabetics, they want your A1C under 6.0, and they consider 5.7-6.3 as 'pre-diabetic'. I'd been bouncing between 8.3 and 13.1 = very uncontrolled. For the mg/dl other measurement (from finger pricks) they want you under 120, and you are diabetic around 170 - I was bouncing between 200-300 with occasional meals shooting me to 400+. Doc offered a 'Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM)' which you stick on the back of your arm and can get 24/7 data on sugar levels as opposed to pricking your finger 3-4 times a day for snapshots of glucose level. I refused, stubborn old me said 'I can do this' and subsequently failed to manage anything over those recent years. In January of this year I went ahead and got the CGM. For those wondering = absolutely worth it, I can't recommend it enough. Hurts like a finger prick, but it's once every 2w rather than 4x/day. Fears over it coming off (I slept with a shirt so it wouldn't get pulled off/out in my sleep) for the first month...but reality is they seem to have perfected the adhesive. Good for sweating, exercising, showering, all life as normal. When it IS time to swap out, you can peel it off like a band-aid. But, the knowledge of where my sugar is before/after meals/exercise, or waking (it rises naturally in the AM), is a godsend for an engineering geek like me. The finger pricks were part punishment on myself, and part 'gotta study for the exam' pressure to eat right. Now, I'm eating even better and I know EXACTLY what's going on in my body. Ok, sorry for the diabetes tangent, but it is key to my current situation.

January 2023, I get the CGM and work the diet only as I'm rehabbing the ankle/rotator cuff. In 4 months I've been able to get the avg mg/dl down to 135 (A1C around 6.7). The blood sugar was my goal/measuring stick, and I figured the weight would come off as a secondary bonus. It has. I'm now down to 202lbs. Near term goal is under 200 with no set time frame. Next milestones would be to break 193 (over 20y since I've known I was under that), and then 180, and eventually 165-170 as a final goal. I'm focused on the diet, going 40% protein / 20% carb / 40% (healthy) fats, with at least one meal a weak were I 'splurge'. That night sugars shoot to 200-250, but with an insulin shot I'm back in range by morning, and the weight trend continues downward.

Back to the diabetes for a moment - in addition to meds for cholesterol and diabetes, I was prescribed insulin shots at night. I ideally want to be off ALL of that, and should start dropping cholesterol meds next time I see the doc. But without the CGM I had no idea what the diabetes meds were doing or the insulin shots (enough? too much? who knows). Once I got the CGM it set off alarms on my phone in the middle of the night when my sugars went too low (under 60-70) due to too much insulin. I was endangering my health and wouldn't have known without the CGM. Now, I can accurately estimate how much insulin to use each night, if any. Most nights I don't use any at all now that I know what's going on, thanks to the CGM.

Anyways, my bottom line is diabetes (and weight loss secondarily) is on track through diet only. I'm holding off on exercise until the diet causes a plateau, then I can use exercise to break through it.

= = = = = =

Things I found that worked for me:

2008 effort:

Very restrictive amount of calories (1100-1200, with an offset accounting for exercise burn)

• Lose It app for tracking every meal for calories/nutrition
• Weekly weigh in (not any more frequent, no discouragement if I gain or lose a lb, you can fluctuate 1-2lb any given day as it is...just watch for the steady trend).
• Not focus on any real 'measurement' of loss, just enjoy the surprise as we gain another notch tighter in the belt.

Exercise with a mixed plan, I think this also helped avoid plateaus

• alternate days of upper and lower weight routines, maybe 30-40min solid (get heart rate up)
• every other day treadmill 'High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)' of a steadily increasing duration (grew 20min up to 40min) with steadily increasing sprints (30sec every 5min, grew to 2.5min of every 5min)
• Sunday run for distance/duration (how I got up to 12.5mi)

I'll start working that exercise into the 2023 plan, accounting for old man injuries, and no real interest in marathons, but it's good to know that 'extra' is in my back pocket when I'm ready and need it.

Thanks for sharing. One thing that seems certain to me is that as we age DIET is probably 70-80 of the total key to remaining healthy and losing or maintaining a proper weight. I've started and stopped exercising on and off but dumbass me always had the mindset of a 20-30 year old thinking that hard exercise was an excuse to eat more....that quit working in my 40's and surely is not going to work now closing in on 60....

One thing that I cannot endorse enough is if you start resistance training again please do yourself and your joints/injuries a favor and use the bands for as many excercises as possible. It may feel a little wonky at first but after a couple weeks you will "get it" without aggravating your wrist, elbows, and rotator cuffs and in my case my knee(I'm doing 130-150 reps of squats per workout 2-3 times a week)...just adjust the resistance by adding bands to the handles if needed......drop your ego at the door at first. You'll thank me later

 

[TLB]

One thing that I cannot endorse enough is if you start resistance training again please do yourself and your joints/injuries a favor and use the bands for as many excercises as possible.

Fully agree. Bands were a key tool in the rehab of the ankle and rotator, so I bought a set for home. Just not doing them like I need to though.

First introduced to them with my son's soccer team - coach has them all do bands as part of their stretching and warm up.

 

[TLB]

Other small changes, looking back:

• Broke my meals into 4 smaller ones throughout the day, each around ~250-300 calories. Helped drive portion size, avoided any one 'heavy' meal.
• Last meal no later than 7pm (everyone says 6...whatever).
• 1 liter bottle of water always in hand with a goal to down it every 2h. Not sure how much that helped, as the doc asked if I was leaching out nutrients at that point. It did help keep down the hunger during the day, and broke up my work as well (between filling, chugging if I was behind schedule, and peeing). This go, I'm just doing 2 large coffee in the morning, then either tea or water the rest of the day (no 2h requirements) - need coffee to get going, but haven't had beer-alcohol in about a year or so, wasn't much of a drinker since my college days.
• 5lb bag of almonds centrally located - I keep an open bag by my kitchen island, I walk past it all the time. Grab 3-6 nuts (I don't count these in the diet) if I think I might get hungry soon, or a fistful (~1oz) if I want a dedicated 'snack' that I'm recording in my diet. Almonds are awesome - healthy fat, and some fiber, great snack.
• Added blackberries to my diet this go - has some carbs, but also helps me meet daily fiber goals (need about 20 with breakfast, and another 20 later in the day). Better than raspberries in terms of the carbs they bring, so I stuck with these.

By nature, I'm wired to want to eat out a lot. In 2008, I became almost religious about food an would only eat what I had added to my menu of acceptable foods, which meant eating at home almost all the time. This time I'm still eating out occasionally, but not nearly as much as usual. Majority of the meals are at home, off my (limited) menu with occasional experiments to see if I can add something into the mix.

• Breakfasts = Coffee, Blackberries, Sausage, Hard boiled eggs (some mix thereof)
• Lunch = Sausage, HB Eggs, Meatballs, Chicken, Deli meat, Steak
• Snacks = Almonds, Blackberries, select (low carb) protein bars
• Dinner = Chicken, Deli meat, Steak, Shrimp (Costco frozen bags)
• Dining out = Omelets (occasional dry toast if I am willing to take the carbs), Chicken fingers (with buffalo sauce), Salad with chicken (grilled/fried usually with buffalo sauce for flavor, laughably pitiful effort at veggies/greens). Those are the go-to, though sometimes I'll explore a steak or chicken dish, just have to order the sides to be handed off to others.

Ya'll may not need to watch carbs like I do, but I aim for under 30g each meal. Then push hard on the fats and protein to fill the calories. Dinner at home is nearly all protein, looking to have low sugars by bedtime and avoid insulin.

 

[Concrete Helmet]

Carbs have been my weakness for years....everytime I drop them from my diet or cut way back I will lose 8-10# in a week or so. For now the only carbs I take in on a usual daily basis are the flour tortilla used for my Turkey wrap, what little are in the sleeve of spicy peanuts, about 20 grams in my plant based protein bar, handful of croutons in my dinner salad, and raw baby carrots that I eat as a pre dinner snack and of course the few that are in the 2 Mich Ultra's I have in the evening. I've always been a big water drinker even when being unhealthy....in fact I was drinking so much at night that it was interrupting my sleep because I'd have to get up once or twice to pee during the night sometimes taking an hour or so to get back to bed.

I'm basically doing a daily modified fast as I only eat twice a day....once between 11.00am and noon and then again between 6.30-7.00pm. In the morning I don't eat except sometimes on the weekend I have a bowl of Oatmeal with a banana smashed up in it and a packet of Equal sweetener. Eating on this schedule allows me to have my early meal pretty much digested before working out between 4-5pm which is supposed to help you burn calories from fat rather than from your blood sugar which is elevated for several hours after eating....I've had ZERO cravings doing this and no hunger pains.

 

[Concrete Helmet]

Alright time to ask the resident training guru @soflagator a question.
So I'm still doing well with my resistance training after separating my upper and lower body into 2 different workouts still using the rapid fire pace(supersetting or tri sets) with little or no rest between sets. I'm making strength gains by adding reps or more bands on almost all of my body parts/exercises....except one.....shoulders.

I've been doing standing military presses superstted with bicep curls at the end of my workout but I've barely been able to add resistance or reps since I started this program. I understand that they will be somewhat fatigued from the push up's, rows then chest press/lat pulls that I do earlier in the workout but I get to 11 or 12 reps with almost the same resistance and they are giving out.....today I even switched to lateral raises with some 15# dumbells I have and they were begging for mercy just to get 8-10 reps for the 6sets I do....

Any ideas?

 

[soflagator]

Alright time to ask the resident training guru @soflagator a question.
So I'm still doing well with my resistance training after separating my upper and lower body into 2 different workouts still using the rapid fire pace(supersetting or tri sets) with little or no rest between sets. I'm making strength gains by adding reps or more bands on almost all of my body parts/exercises....except one.....shoulders.

I've been doing standing military presses superstted with bicep curls at the end of my workout but I've barely been able to add resistance or reps since I started this program. I understand that they will be somewhat fatigued from the push up's, rows then chest press/lat pulls that I do earlier in the workout but I get to 11 or 12 reps with almost the same resistance and they are giving out.....today I even switched to lateral raises with some 15# dumbells I have and they were begging for mercy just to get 8-10 reps for the 6sets I do....

Any ideas?

Well I don’t know that I’m a guru, but I’ll give you my best ideas based on my experience. Obviously shoulders take on a lot of work throughout workouts because of how centrally involved they are. And I’ve found that they gain strength very differently than other areas of the body. So in short, you’re not alone there. Especially on straight lateral raises. To be fair, having had some injuries(think you mentioned some as well), I’m really cautious with them. As I said earlier, ability to go again is much more critical for me than to go big. But still, they’ve always been a challenge for me as well.

One small suggestion is not combining shoulders with anything chest/back related. Personally I’ve never subscribed to the upper/lower approach. I split chest/back/part-legs into one day, and arms/shoulders/part-legs the other day. I find it helps my shoulders to be a little less exhausted when I’m focusing there. Also mentally, keeps me from skipping the “other day” because it’s not just a lower body or leg day. It’s a second half day that’s just as important. Not right or wrong, just my way.

Also, while I do some sets of traditional military presses, my uncle always taught me, and I’ve found, that Arnold presses are best for building shoulders. In terms of definition, you can see a noticeable difference between people who do them and those who do not.

 

[Concrete Helmet]

Well I don’t know that I’m a guru, but I’ll give you my best ideas based on my experience. Obviously shoulders take on a lot of work throughout workouts because of how centrally involved they are. And I’ve found that they gain strength very differently than other areas of the body. So in short, you’re not alone there. Especially on straight lateral raises. To be fair, having had some injuries(think you mentioned some as well), I’m really cautious with them. As I said earlier, ability to go again is much more critical for me than to go big. But still, they’ve always been a challenge for me as well.

One small suggestion is not combining shoulders with anything chest/back related. Personally I’ve never subscribed to the upper/lower approach. I split chest/back/part-legs into one day, and arms/shoulders/part-legs the other day. I find it helps my shoulders to be a little less exhausted when I’m focusing there. Also mentally, keeps me from skipping the “other day” because it’s not just a lower body or leg day. It’s a second half day that’s just as important. Not right or wrong, just my way.

Also, while I do some sets of traditional military presses, my uncle always taught me, and I’ve found, that Arnold presses are best for building shoulders. In terms of definition, you can see a noticeable difference between people who do them and those who do not.

Thanks, I' had forgotten about Arnold presses completely. Last night after watching some surfing conditioning videos I think I may have found part of the issue. Posture. Hurrying to get to a certain number of reps is causing me to throw my belly out.

Yes I do have a touch of slight damage in my rotator cuffs probably from doing bench presses at 5AM without a proper warm up when I was younger and foolish. And like you said the ability to go again and endurance for paddling are more of my main goal this go around.

I may just add a few sets of external/internal rotations and a couple sets of Arnold presses with very light weight on a cardio day and remove them from my upper body routine replacing them with some direct triceps work which I have not been doing since I vary the width of my push ups. I'm also thinking of starting to do 15-20 minutes of swimming/treading water after cardio days which might help shoulder endurance.

 

[soflagator]

Thanks, I' had forgotten about Arnold presses completely. Last night after watching some surfing conditioning videos I think I may have found part of the issue. Posture. Hurrying to get to a certain number of reps is causing me to throw my belly out.

Yes I do have a touch of slight damage in my rotator cuffs probably from doing bench presses at 5AM without a proper warm up when I was younger and foolish. And like you said the ability to go again and endurance for paddling are more of my main goal this go around.

I may just add a few sets of external/internal rotations and a couple sets of Arnold presses with very light weight on a cardio day and remove them from my upper body routine replacing them with some direct triceps work which I have not been doing since I vary the width of my push ups. I'm also thinking of starting to do 15-20 minutes of swimming/treading water after cardio days which might help shoulder endurance.

I have considerably better overall shoulder flexibility and much less discomfort during the summer months, where I swim often, than I do during the winter. No question water is a huge asset in that regard.

 

[Detroitgator]

buncha f'n broke dicks!

 

[Concrete Helmet]

239.5 this morning. Felt like breaking 240 was taking forever so I've decided to add 2 HIIT sessions a week in the morning before work to my routine. Did one on Friday and now I remember how much I hate them especially on the Airdyne because you can't lower the tension during the recovery periods....I nearly had to use my arms to push down on my quads they were burning so bad by the 10 minute mark....

I have definitely put on muscle size especially in the quads, upper and lower arms and slipped pretty easily into a pair of jeans that I had given up on probably 5-6 years ago. Really wish I had taken measurements before beginning this. The bath towel and belt is telling me I've lost about 5 inches in the waist so far.

 

[TLB]

buncha f'n broke dicks!

 

[Concrete Helmet]

236.4# this morning. I've dumped the HIIT after 4 sessions. I think it was pushing me into "over trained" state a week to a week and a half ago....Short/uneasy sleep, weird dreams, and a higher level of agitation. My knee and other joints were aching more than usual too.

This week seems to be much better, more refreshed and some decent burst of strength in resistance training, I've lessened the intensity of the cardio a little too and am trying to get up to an hour at a 5-6 intensity level 4-5 times a week. Before I was doing 35-40 minutes a day 4-5 times a week at about a 7-8.5 constant intensity level but I'm seeing a lot of material that says constant medium to high level cardio for that long can produce excess cortisol and inhibit weight loss in the mid section.. My biggest problem making the transition to longer is fighting boredom for close to an hour. It's not the exertion, quite the opposite.

I've given some thought to doing about 30 minutes on the Airdyne and then just going for a walk for another 30-40 minutes to break it up but walking seems to aggravate my knee more than the bike or any of the leg exercises I do... plus it's boring as hell. Any other ideas not requiring a gym membership?

 

[TLB]

My biggest problem making the transition to longer is fighting boredom for close to an hour. It's not the exertion, quite the opposite.

That's where I got with the treadmill. Even your favorite playlist gets old after awhile.

 

[LaylaGator]

236.4# this morning. I've dumped the HIIT after 4 sessions. I think it was pushing me into "over trained" state a week to a week and a half ago....Short/uneasy sleep, weird dreams, and a higher level of agitation. My knee and other joints were aching more than usual too.

This week seems to be much better, more refreshed and some decent burst of strength in resistance training, I've lessened the intensity of the cardio a little too and am trying to get up to an hour at a 5-6 intensity level 4-5 times a week. Before I was doing 35-40 minutes a day 4-5 times a week at about a 7-8.5 constant intensity level but I'm seeing a lot of material that says constant medium to high level cardio for that long can produce excess cortisol and inhibit weight loss in the mid section.. My biggest problem making the transition to longer is fighting boredom for close to an hour. It's not the exertion, quite the opposite.

I've given some thought to doing about 30 minutes on the Airdyne and then just going for a walk for another 30-40 minutes to break it up but walking seems to aggravate my knee more than the bike or any of the leg exercises I do... plus it's boring as hell. Any other ideas not requiring a gym membership?

You may want to check out Les Mills On Demand: Les Mills+ At Home Workouts

They offer a HUGE variety of workout options to do at home. They offer strength training, HIIT, aerobics, stretching, etc. It's quite impressive, and the instructors are awesome. The workouts are all set to music, and you can choose 20 minute, 30 minute, 45 minute, or 60 minute classes. I love Les Mills.

 

[stephenPE]

My boredom is solved by music and reading on my machine. I get LOTS of reading done there. You can read on a treadmill its just a little harder.

 

[Concrete Helmet]

Hit the scale at 236 even this morning after eating "extra' last night. The past week I've been upping my food intake to try and offset a little resistance I'm having getting to the 234# mark(50# lost) It seems I've been around only a pound or so a week since I last posted my weight.

Still no food cravings or binges. About the worst I've eaten was a 14oz Prime Rib and whole baked potato a week or so back when we had family over. I occasionally have one of the tiny bags of snacks(Cheetos or Doritos) at work in the afternoon but only maybe once or twice a week.

Walking is boring me to tears and I can't seem to do it for more than 30-35 minutes so I'm still hoping on the Airdyne for 20 minutes or so after walking to get to the 1-hour mark....I really miss my 30-35 minute higher intensity cardio sessions and walking seems to bother my knees even more that peddling hard on the bike.

Weight/resistance training is going pretty well....Still using mostly supersets and tri sets to get the workouts done in around 35-38 minutes.....not sure why but my mind seems to wander after about that long. Legs are doing great and I would almost bet I've added 1.5-2" on my upper thighs over the last couple of months doing 12 sets of squats(6 medium width and 6 wider stance Goblet squats) per workout with Romanian deadlifts, reverse lunges, calf raises all supersetted with core/ab exercises like Bird dogs, planks, glute bridges, and of course crunches...

Upper body is also coming along and my arms, chest, back all seemed to stay pumped with my pipes starting to fill out the sleeves on my shirts better now that I'm back to wearing mostly XL instead of doubleXLT...The only issue is I am feeling a little impingement in my shoulder area. Not sure what's causing it but it's manageable and the weird thing is I notice it more after my leg workout than my upper body day...

Anyway, hope some of ya'll that have not been active are at least trying to get back into it...I feel 80% better than I did 5 months ago and that's not an exaggeration...If anyone has any suggestions or questions post them up.

 

[URGatorBait]

Still no food cravings or binges. About the worst I've eaten was a 14oz Prime Rib and whole baked potato a week or so back when we had family over. I occasionally have one of the tiny bags of snacks(Cheetos or Doritos) at work in the afternoon but only maybe once or twice a week.

There's nothing wrong with that if only done in moderation.
You could even just try to have a little smaller potato and smaller steak, but the same food...any reduction is still a reduction.