We talk about the fitness of our audio video systems all the time. What about the fitness of our most complex machine? Our bodies. Only you know where you are at in that greatest race of all, the race against time. we all know like the movie "In Time" our clocks will run out someday. I say, let's not make that day any quicker than it has to be!
If you smoke, quit. If you drink, please, only in moderation. How's your weight today vs where you were a year, 5 years, 10 years ago? Are you doing anything about your cardio fitness? The heart is the most important muscle in the body, if we don't take care of it, how do we expect it to take care of us?
I'm the first to admit, I have abused my body over the years, and with a birthday here, turning 57, I realized, with the help of my Dr, it was time for me to try to roll back the clock for the future and start thinking about my health TODAY, before it is to late.
I have responded myself. I log into www.loseit.com and I log every food I eat, every day. Another popular site is www.myfitnesspal.com. You could take your pick if you want to see exactly what you are doing to yourself every day. I picked up the book "Lose it", is how I found Loseit.com. I logged into myfitnesspal the other day, but decided for now I will stay with loseit. I like certain features of it.
So, I set a personal plan for where I want to be, as a start point. I weighed 238. I want to be at 200, and much fitter than I was on June 15, when I made up my mind to start this process. At that time, I began using my elliptical machine for a cardio workout. I do that 6 days a week, now up to 30, sometimes 40 minutes at a time. I work to get my heart rate up to 130 or so for me, that is a pretty good workout target. By all means, check with your Doctor before developing a plan for you, but the basic guideline is for people in average good health anyway, to take the number 220, subtract your age, and then take 80% of that to find your cardio workout heart rate. 220 - your age is your max heart rate your body can normally endure without causing you problems. Of course, this varies by person, and by age. A younger person's heart rate is likely able to sustain higher number for longer without issue than someone that is aging more.
I personally got a cardio wristwatch, that I can watch my heart rate on, it is imperative to know where you are at, so you can stay within safe ranges for your workout. I have since added some light weight lifting to my workout, but resting 2 days between lifts. I am mostly working my arms, and core body structures. Not worrying about as much leg and other difficult weight exercises, yet...
This is a marathon, not a sprint. I don't expect myself to be at my top form just starting out a month ago, but I have come a long way in just over 35 days. I continue to work out 6 days a week for cardio, ,then rest a day. I continue to do some other walking, and weight lifting. My body is FEELING better. It takes time to reach weight targets. Honestly, I am not even worrying about that so much, other than a general calorie intake watch. loseit helps me with that. I still eat foods I like, and yes, the more I work out, the more great foods I can enjoy, because a body needs fuel. The more you make the engine work, the more fuel you need. Good fuel, not junk from fast food and processed foods isle.
I shop at a gormet foods store for the best meats I can buy. I'm eating more lettuce, carrots, good grains, and such. Less processed foods. I Still enjoy apple pie! I still enjoy an ice cream sandwich! I still enjoy some caramel chocolate balls that are delicious! But I don't eat fried fries, I don't eat a lot of butter, I don't eat a lot of potato chips, and other chips, greasy foods, etc... What I enjoy, I make it count! I do enjoy fresh market's apple pies, and I enjoyed a piece last night. But I stayed in budget. I have reduced a baked potato to eating half one night, and refrigerating the other half for the next night or so. You know what? I don't even miss that other half, and I save that many calories.
I am also taking 2400mg of fish oil pills, Vitamin B6 and B12, Magnesium, drinking lots of water, less sodas. I am hoping to add a treadmill soon, to vary and increase the intensity of my home based workout. I detest the idea of going to a gym. I don't like other people's sweat and I like the convenience of doing it at home. I can go straight to my own shower afterwards and combine it with other workout stuff like yardwork before my shower! uhhhg.
So, that's what Lex has been up to. I now weigh 230, and have turned some fat to muscle. I'm hoping for more real progress in the weeks ahead. Join me for this fitness and wellness challenge?
Doug
If you smoke, quit. If you drink, please, only in moderation. How's your weight today vs where you were a year, 5 years, 10 years ago? Are you doing anything about your cardio fitness? The heart is the most important muscle in the body, if we don't take care of it, how do we expect it to take care of us?
I'm the first to admit, I have abused my body over the years, and with a birthday here, turning 57, I realized, with the help of my Dr, it was time for me to try to roll back the clock for the future and start thinking about my health TODAY, before it is to late.
I have responded myself. I log into www.loseit.com and I log every food I eat, every day. Another popular site is www.myfitnesspal.com. You could take your pick if you want to see exactly what you are doing to yourself every day. I picked up the book "Lose it", is how I found Loseit.com. I logged into myfitnesspal the other day, but decided for now I will stay with loseit. I like certain features of it.
So, I set a personal plan for where I want to be, as a start point. I weighed 238. I want to be at 200, and much fitter than I was on June 15, when I made up my mind to start this process. At that time, I began using my elliptical machine for a cardio workout. I do that 6 days a week, now up to 30, sometimes 40 minutes at a time. I work to get my heart rate up to 130 or so for me, that is a pretty good workout target. By all means, check with your Doctor before developing a plan for you, but the basic guideline is for people in average good health anyway, to take the number 220, subtract your age, and then take 80% of that to find your cardio workout heart rate. 220 - your age is your max heart rate your body can normally endure without causing you problems. Of course, this varies by person, and by age. A younger person's heart rate is likely able to sustain higher number for longer without issue than someone that is aging more.
I personally got a cardio wristwatch, that I can watch my heart rate on, it is imperative to know where you are at, so you can stay within safe ranges for your workout. I have since added some light weight lifting to my workout, but resting 2 days between lifts. I am mostly working my arms, and core body structures. Not worrying about as much leg and other difficult weight exercises, yet...
This is a marathon, not a sprint. I don't expect myself to be at my top form just starting out a month ago, but I have come a long way in just over 35 days. I continue to work out 6 days a week for cardio, ,then rest a day. I continue to do some other walking, and weight lifting. My body is FEELING better. It takes time to reach weight targets. Honestly, I am not even worrying about that so much, other than a general calorie intake watch. loseit helps me with that. I still eat foods I like, and yes, the more I work out, the more great foods I can enjoy, because a body needs fuel. The more you make the engine work, the more fuel you need. Good fuel, not junk from fast food and processed foods isle.
I shop at a gormet foods store for the best meats I can buy. I'm eating more lettuce, carrots, good grains, and such. Less processed foods. I Still enjoy apple pie! I still enjoy an ice cream sandwich! I still enjoy some caramel chocolate balls that are delicious! But I don't eat fried fries, I don't eat a lot of butter, I don't eat a lot of potato chips, and other chips, greasy foods, etc... What I enjoy, I make it count! I do enjoy fresh market's apple pies, and I enjoyed a piece last night. But I stayed in budget. I have reduced a baked potato to eating half one night, and refrigerating the other half for the next night or so. You know what? I don't even miss that other half, and I save that many calories.
I am also taking 2400mg of fish oil pills, Vitamin B6 and B12, Magnesium, drinking lots of water, less sodas. I am hoping to add a treadmill soon, to vary and increase the intensity of my home based workout. I detest the idea of going to a gym. I don't like other people's sweat and I like the convenience of doing it at home. I can go straight to my own shower afterwards and combine it with other workout stuff like yardwork before my shower! uhhhg.
So, that's what Lex has been up to. I now weigh 230, and have turned some fat to muscle. I'm hoping for more real progress in the weeks ahead. Join me for this fitness and wellness challenge?
Doug
Comment