Getting back at it.

[J]

Have finally gotten my mind right to get myself back into decent shape. Almost a year ago, I took a new job that basically glued my @ss to a chair and have had to readjust my excercise schedule to make up for it. Also, the last few months have had me on some meds that tend to make you gain weight. Needless to say, I have some pounds to shed and muscle to rebuild.

The opening sentence is telling for me, as I tend to inwardly cringe knowing the amount of work it is going to take to get myself back to where I feel I need to be. I am not one to go to GNC and load up on a bunch of snake-oil type fat burners and protein supplements in an attempt to miracle cure my waistline and delude myself into thinking I will have a six pack and look totally shredded.

What I have begun to do is simply get moving whenever I can. Also getting started with basic excercises remembered fondly from boot camp. My biggest problem now is not taking on too much at once and simply overdoing myself. I am not 18 anymore, being able to run till I puke and shake it off 10 minutes later. Then again, I dont think any of us are! 🙂

Anyway, by putting it up here, I am effectively not letting myself off the hook. The choice is either get in shape or buy bigger clothes, in some cases, and I am too cheap to take that way out lol.

Wish me luck, I might post continued progress on this here, depending on how I feel about it. Dont want to bore everyone with it lol.

[Echo5Charlie]

I went through this last year and as funny as it sounds the straw for me was not buying bigger clothes. I noticed big gains or err loses by dropping sugar. Also things that turn to sugar quickly, most breads and simple carbs. No milk, minimal cheese as possible. I’m active at work, but I added runs/jogs and some bike time and the weight dropped fast.

We started shopping the perimeter of the store, veggies, meats, not much processed food. Huge difference.

Good luck bud. You’ve been through this before, you can do it.

[J]

Thanks. I know what i have to do, it is just finding the motivation to make it happen. One good thing is that I am at work in the office by myself for several hours of the evenings; am starting to use that time to get reacquainted with Mr. Pushup and Madame Flutter Kick :).

The diet part I can generally handle as well, i stay away from sugar as much as possible, and dont do fast foods much at all.

Am hoping to get off the freaking meds I have been on, they really screwed with my equilibrium and mad eme want to eat everything down to my shoes.

I really hate taking stuff like that.

Anyway, weight will come off, it just takes time and plain hard work.

[Echo5Charlie]

Yeah, you got it. Keep us posted on your experience. As you’ve said, it’s different when we get older. I’m not a fan of meds either, sometimes we can use them for a period of time to get over a hump and then ween them back. In some cases thats not possible, so try to find ways to minimize their negative effects.

Either way, stay the course!

[PJ]

J and E5C, great stuff! Don’t mind if I interject a few thoughts.

– Everyone is different, what works for some might not work for others…we need to find what we like to do with respect to working out and that will increase the probability of sticking with it

– Although we are all different the concept remains the same: burn more than you take in and hopefully the results will come

– Consistency is key. One hard workout a week offset by pizza and beer is almost meaningless

– I hate calorie counting, if you are a Marine you know what’s good and what isn’t. Eat SMART, try to limit your carb intake throughout the day and go no carbs after 4pm. THAT will make a difference.

– Remember much of what the military teaches is decent but some of it is old school, don’t be afraid to try new things. I haven’t done a flutter kick in years but there are alternate exercises which accomplish the same thing

– Don’t try to kill yourself too soon, it will only bring about discouragement. Set small achievable goals and work toward a 6 month end state

Hope that helps!

[J]

Guys,

Thanks, we are on the same page. A couple of things I did before that worked well for me as far as eating habits

– Before a meal, I drink a medium sized glass of water. This will help with feeling full while actually eating less.

– Dont eat until you are full. One thing I have learned is that it takes about 10 minutes for your brain to register your stomach is full and communicate it to you. Instead of diving in straight for seconds, I am getting up from the table and waiting about 10 minutes. Only then am i going back for more if need be. Usually, it isnt necessary.

Feeling a bit of stiffness and soreness, but just enough to know I am actually working more than I am used to. It isnt an over night process and am keeping the motivation levels up.

[Echo5Charlie]

Due to advice from the back pain post on the website, I added 100 pushups to my routine today and tomorrow I will be adding 200 situps. So just know you arnt suffering alone. Honestly it felt good.

The last month I was very busy and therefore in a lot of pain. This week was very light for several reasons, so it’s easy to add these in. Next week will be a challenge for me since I will be roofing again. I’m going to try and stay with it though.

[J]

Am hoping to get off these d@mned meds soon; I hate taking them and the side effects tend to facilitate weight gain. Finally getting myself into a steady routine again and it feels really good to be toning up. Going to start running again soon, that has always been the best way to burn calories for me.

[Echo5Charlie]

I do well with running as well. Just jog until you adjust to it.

I think I’m going to start adding sprints to mix things up and shock the muscles. I can marine corps shuffle all day long, but I think that’s not as affective as the sprints for what I’m trying to do now.

Good luck with the meds, be safe.

[J]

not on anything too intense as far as meds, Doc gave me a short term steroid prescription; they tend to make me want to eat everything in sight :). just trying to kick a chronic annoyance type thing, not a major life or death issue. Doctors, in my experience, though, really tend to puch meds. I hate taking stuff and try to get off of them as soon as possible.

Doc and I disagree sometimes 🙂

One thing I wanted to mention I have been trying out and having some decent results with is an ab roller. It isnt something that will shred you to a 6 pack but definitely targets your abs and works your shoulders a bit too. Anyone with back pain that might have a problem with situps or crunches might want to look into them. I got one for about 20 Bucks at a sports equipment store. After a few sets of 20 or so with it, you will feel the targeted areas.

[Echo5Charlie]

That’s a good idea. I mentioned it to my wife and she reminded me about the exercise ball she has. I’m going to give that a try tonight and see if that works with the pain I’m in. I’ll be keeping an eye out for the ab roller too.

[PJ]

reference running, and longer distance “jogs.” I hate it personally and while it makes me sweaty I usually get bored and finish feeling like I just wasted a whole lot of time. Instead I usually try to run 2 miles as hard as I can, and then include a 3rd mile of interval sprints using stoplights or other landmarks. Really good stuff…

[Clarity Jane]

When I was girl I used to HATE being tall.

If I hear one more twerp say “You’re tall aren’t you!” I shall throw them through a window! I usually just smile politely unless I’m in a bad mood (rare) then I reply “Yes, I first heard that in 1976.”

Recently, however I have come to realise the potential advantages of being a tall, and to be honest rather ‘solidly made’ woman. If I stopped eating rubbish and strengthened my muscles a bit I would feel more confident about my ability to protect myself, my loved ones and others in need, in certain situations should TSHTF.

In all seriousness, when law and order break down – even for a little while – it can be extremely dangerous for women in particular. Life is never 100% safe but I’ll never complain about being tall again.

[Echo5Charlie]

Jane-

Being tall is not a bad thing. It doesn’t take total societal collapse to find yourself in a bad spot, and being fit is another tool in your tool box to get you out of that. There is no one tool for every shtf scenario, but fitness will help in most of them. In most large scale shtf events, I believe a huge amount of energy will be expended at the beginning of it. If we don’t have what it takes to push through that and adjust, we won’t be in it very long.

I was doing some outreach work in the city not to long ago and it struck me. These people have been living shtf. They barter, they rummage, they help each other, they use whatever they can to improve their situation. Honestly, I think the homeless population will survive total shtf at a much higher percentage than suburbanites. They are already prepped, in a sense.

[Brandon]

As I was reading through this thread, I thought, “Oh, crap, these guys are motivating me.” Haha!

Anyways, I’m in, guys. I’m going to get back on track working out. I’ve already cleaned up my eating quite a bit, and have reduced my food intake. I’ve been looking for the motivation to actually start working out again, and you guys have provided it. So, thanks!

[Author]

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