The HTF Weight Loss Support Group (1 Viewer)

[Bill Catherall]

This is going to sound odd, but I thought I might ask anyway: do you "feel" that your morning boosts your metabolism?

That's not odd. In fact that's the point of working out in the morning. I do actually feel more energized throughout the day. And by 10pm I'm ready for bed and sleep like a baby. After a workout your metabolism is much higher. And stays higher through the day. You will continue to burn fat for 3-4 hours after a cardio workout (2-3 hours after just weight training).
If you work out at night then you're going to have a harder time going to sleep because you've just excited your metabolism. Also, you'll cut your fat burning time down because when you do get to sleep you'll basically shut things down. By working out in the morning you can sustain the high metabolism for a much longer time period.
If you eat at night (after a workout) then it's going to sit in your stomach while you sleep. And because you're sleeping your body will just store those calories away as fat. That's why you want to eat less complex carbs and more fruits and vegetables for dinner and after dinner. They don't require as much "processing" to be broken down and absorbed by the body. So it's not going to sit in your stomach all night.
I used to dread waking up in the mornings. I'm not a morning person at all. In fact I used to set the alarm clock for 30 minutes early and hit the snooze 3-4 times before finally dragging myself out of bed. I actually look forward to my workouts now and it makes it easier to get out of bed. I'm still really groggy waking up and I stumble around getting dressed (I lay things out the night before so I can find them easier). I'm out the door in about 3 minutes and at the gym in 2. I feel tired until I hit the bike for my warm-up. Then about 2 minutes into it I'm fully awake and ready for the rest of the workout.

 

[Alex Spindler]

I just wanted to say that I have found this thread extremely useful. I am on the opposite end of the spectrum from all of you, but I try to ensure that I stay healthy in case my body decides it wants to behave like a normal person and gain some weight. I'm not much of a sleeper (2am to 7am is my current norm), and my exercise time has always been in the late evening (11pm or so) over an hour or two from when I eat. I typically focus on cardio, although I've thought about including some muscle building exercises.
I don't know if this is helpful to anyone, but I found that readjusting my conecpt of eating had a huge effect on my weight and my subsequent weight loss. The big change was when I decided I was no longer "hungry" I would stop eating, not when I was "full". The side effect is that you may eat more often, but as stated earlier, that may be a positive change. After the first month or so of that, I no longer gained any weight, and over the next several months, I started to get more refined in shape and lost a little weight. I would have to believe that someone more active than I was could convert that to some real weight reduction.
If you take this route, be prepared for smaller servings, doggie bags, or thrown away food. I started to choose foods that were good as leftovers or could be easily sized as well.
I don't know if any of this is helpful, but I wish you all luck on what I hope is a healthy change in your lifestyles.

 

[Samuel Des]

Bill - That was one of the better explanations RE eating habits and workout cycle. I am going to try to go to the gym in the morning tomorrow; I really hope that I will be bale to do it!
Sam.

 

[Bill Catherall]

Yeah, go for it! Give it a try for a few days and see how you feel. Remember...don't eat anything before you go. Just get up, go, workout. When you get home drink a shake and a glass of water, take a vitamin. Or if you don't want a shake then eat a healthy breakfast...just don't skip breakfast after your workout. If you workout after you eat breakfast then your body will just burn off what you ate instead of attacking the fat. Eating after you workout will also help to give your metabolism a good boost. You need the food to fuel your metabolism.
This morning my snack was a Balance Gold bar. Mmmm! Those things are good! I bought a box at Costco yesterday. I got a pack of 30 for $24. The best part is that they'll help me with my little sweet tooth problem too.

 

[Samuel Des]

Oh Gosh -- You've nailed my biggest problem. I never used to have problem, but now I've got the biggest sweet tooth. How do you control those cravings? I have been trying tons of water, but that never seems to work.
Looks like we're fattening this thread nicely.
EDIT -- BTW Bill -- I really appreciate your encouragement. It really really is helping me to concentrate better on my goal. I'd been getting a little discouraged!

 

[RafaelB]

Hey All,
I just recently started working out with a trainer for about a month and I've got first-hand experience that you should eat a little something (like a powerbar) before you work out with weights, because your body needsa bit of fuel in the mornings. It's fine to do cardio in the mornings before you eat something, but not the other way around.
Rafael

 

[Bill Catherall]

Rafael - So you're saying a little something before weights but not cardio, eh? Hmmm...I hadn't heard that before. I can see how it makes sense though. If I were doing a day of strictly weights with no cardio then I'd eat something, but since I do both weights and cardio then I'll stick to working out on an empty stomach. Thanks for the tip!
Sam - Since I'm just getting started and I'm feeling very motivated it's pretty easy to resist the cravings. Just in the past couple of days I've been offered a Krispy Kreme (my Kryptonite) and a piece of cake that I've successfully resisted with no regret or second thoughts. I'm sure as things continue it will get harder, so you'll probably have plenty of opportunity to return the encouragement. (Although you may not think so, you and everyone else who is participating is really encouraging to me. It's not easy going alone on this. Thanks everyone!)
Chocolate flavored shakes and now those Balance Gold bars (with a nice chocolate outside layer) are pretty good at feeding my chocolate craving. And I'll probably allow myself to "endulge" once every 1 or 2 weeks just to keep me from going nuts and going on a binge, or giving up completely. Plus, the meals so far have been leaving me pretty satisfied. The hardest part of the day is at night when I sit down to watch TV. I'm used to really packing in the snacks while watching TV. Just watching the tube makes me want to break out the cookies and chips even if I'm not hungry. The first couple of days I found myself pacing the kitchen during every commercial break looking at everything I couldn't eat. :frowning: But then my wife went grocery shopping and bought a bunch of good fruit. So I sip water and eat a banana instead.
Also, knowing I have to come on here and make an account of everything I eat helps quite a bit!

 

[FredHD]

Alex has a good point. Eating until "you are not hungry" is a very good eating habit. I was morbidly obese until 3 years ago when I lost 235 #. In addition to ppor food choices most of my life, I also was an overeater. Overeating is very common. I still struggle with it every day. You just have to be very conscious when eating. Also I would have to concur that hydration is important. Most people do not drink enough water. To know how much water you should be drinking go to water.com and click on "Learn About Water" then click on "Hydration Calculator". Enter you stats and this thing will tell you how much water you should be drinking. This of course is straight water, no sodas, coffee, tea, etc. instead. I personally drink anywhere between a gallon to 1.5 gallons a day. I work out 4 times a week cardio, 3 times weights, and judo twice. As much as the folks on here work out, we should all be drinking plenty of water.

My typical menu (Today so far )

B - Bowl of shredded Wheat with 2 scoops of Oat Bran on top, two teaspoons of fructose, and a handful of blackberries.

S - Two handfuls of raisins

L - Raw Spinach with FF catalina dressing, Small stuffed bell pepper (stuffed with rice, peas, tvp and some tomatoes), small serving of plain pasta with FF catalina dressing, very small glass of peach soda.

S - Probably will be large navel orange

D - Don't know yet, probably a veggie taco (lettuce, tomato, beans, and guacamole) and a few chips with salsa.

S - Bartlett Pear

I wish everyone luck. Keep up the good work.

 

[Bill Catherall]

Wow Jackson! 235 lbs!! Excellent! Please post more of your daily menus. Obviously you've got some good experience in this.
Since you've taken a very vegetarian approach to weight loss, those interested could benefit from your experience.

 

[FredHD]

Well, Bill to be honest, losing the weight was the easy part. Keeping it off is where most people run into trouble. I lost 200 of the 235 over the course of 9 1/2 months on Medifast, a liquid diet. I lost the other 35 after I started eating again. I'll keep posting my menus.

As far as the vegetarian part, I became a vegetarian about 14 mo. ago and vegan about 2 months ago. I have never felt better. I have endless energy, but still sleep like a baby when I go to bed. And I know that I'm greatly lowering my risks of cancer, heart disease, and diabetes, all of which I was on a collision course with before I turned things around.

 

[Samuel Des]

a healthy stir-fry chicken really isn't hard to make...

mmm.... I am going to have to get some today... that just sounds too good... to give you an idea of how good, I haven't been able to get the thought of good stirf fry out of my mind since reading that!
Well, I just got into work from the gym, and will report more once I get back from a meeting. I just wanted to check in, and say hi and congratulate Jackson! Good job!

 

[FredHD]

Thanks Samuel, I never would have done it without support from others. I always like to give support to those trying to lose(or maintain) weight or get in shape(or stay in shape). I ended up finishing my menu up last night as follows:

D - veggie burrito (cayenne tortilla, rice, beans, tomato, onion, pico, onions and peppers, guacamole, and topped off with some habanero sauce.

S - Small bowl of COCO-ROOS(my "recreational" cereal) with soy milk.

For exercise, played basketball and touch football at the park for a couple of hours last night (gotta love Daylight Savings Time)

 

[Lisel]

I've lost 15 pounds since January through a combination of changing my eating habits and going to the gym 3-4 times a week for cardio and circuit weight training. I fell off the wagon, so to speak, and didn't go to the gym for over a month but continued to lose weight. I started going back to the gym this week though, after I get out of work. I also just got a mountain bike which I hope to take out on trails on weekends.
I'm asthmatic (I've had one asthma attack and two bouts of bronchitis this year) and when I started in January I could barely jog two minutes at 4.5 MPH without being winded. I'd peaked at about 9 minutes before I stopped going to the gym, and now have to work back up to it and beyond. Last night I did 5 minutes. So I'd like to burn fat (another 40 pounds should get me back to the size 4 I once was ) and improve my cardio conditioning.
So I got this new Mio watch, which incorporates a heart rate monitor. I understand that your heart rate should be at 75% max to burn fat, but you burn more calories at a higher heart rate. I dunno, it seems counterintuitive. When I'm at 75% I feel as if I should be pushing myself harder instead of trying to keep my heart rate down. I guess I just need reassurance that I should concentrate on the zone instead of on racking up the calories.
Thanks for the advice.
Lisel

 

[Gary Hensley]

Everyone is right. Losing weight is easy, keeping off is the hard part. After my wife and I split up about 2 years ago I dropped about 35-40 lbs. I kept it off for about a year and then met somone new and put 30 of it back on in what seems like a blink of they eye. I have lost nearly all of it again but I have to be careful not to fall into the same trap. The hard part for me is I have to be one of the world's pickiest eaters so eating right is very difficult.

 

[Bill Catherall]

I think the reason it's "easy to lose but hard to keep off" is because most people seem to have a "diet mentality." Meaning they go on and off diets. I think it's important that when we make the decision to lose weight and adjust our eating habits we do so with the goal of maintaining such a diet for the rest of our lives. If we make fitness and nutrition a lifestyle instead of a "diet" wouldn't it be easier to maintain our weight once we reach our goals?
I actually like my current eating habits much better than my old ones. So it really doesn't feel much like a "diet."
Yesterday's menu:
Breakfast: 1 shake
Snack: 1 Balance bar
Lunch: 1 skinless/boneless chicken breast, 1 apple
Snack: 1/2 cup applesauce, 1 banana
Dinner: 1 cup chicken and rice with white alfredo sauce, 1 cup green beens
Snack: 4 strawberries, 2 kiwi
I've figured out how to track my caloric intake on the 24 Hour Fitness online fitness tracker. They have many foods already listed with their nutritional information and they do the math for you. You can also add custom foods like the shakes or the bars. So yesterday's breakdown is:
Calories: 1530
Carbohydrates: 199 g
Fat: 21.4 g
Dietary Fiber: 21.3 g
Protein: 135 g
Also, I got the results back from from my cholesterol test yesterday. I had never had a cholesterol test done so I went in last week to get my first one. Everything looks good. All the levels are just were they should be. But I'm sure I could still improve them a bit.
Edit: I should add that I drink water with every meal, and in between meals. I feel like I'm drinking so much water I'm turning into a fish. Just thought I'd let all the "water advocates" know, since I won't be including it in all my menus. It will always be implied.
Edit2: Had to change calorie information. Forgot to add green beans to my chart.

 

[RafaelB]

Bill- You wrote:
"So you're saying a little something before weights but not cardio, eh? Hmmm...I hadn't heard that before. I can see how it makes sense though. If I were doing a day of strictly weights with no cardio then I'd eat something, but since I do both weights and cardio then I'll stick to working out on an empty stomach."
I Reply:
Actually, what happened to me was I didn't eat before a workout with my trainer in the AM and, about halfway through my weight training (mind you I do 10 mins. of cardio before and after my weights), I felt really dizzy and had to lay down with an ice pack. Which is why my trainer stressed that it's okay to not eat before an all-cardio workout, but if you include weights in with that your body needs a little fuel in the AM.
Sorry to be so wordy.
Oh, and congratulations, Jackson, that's an amazing feat! I know a few people who've lost that much weight but they were so overweight they had to have that stomach operation.
Rafael

 

[FredHD]

Bill, what was your cholesterol level if you do not mind my asking? The reason I ask is that many doctors consider certain cholesterol levels "normal" higher than others do.

Why you may ask? Because many MDs only have to take one nutrition class in med school. You'd be surprised how many doctors have poor diets and eating habits. Especially my doctor. I love the guy, he saved my life by getting me to lose weight, but he really isn't that well versed in nutrition.

 

[Bill Catherall]

Jackson,
Cholesterol: 189
Triglycerides: 183
HDL: 47
LDL: 125
(Ratio: 2.67)
I don't remember by blood pressure, but both the doctor (actually the nurse), and the trainer said that it's good.
From the info I've found on many sites on the internet, cholesterol should be below 200, HDL should be above 40 (minimum, preferably above 60, so I could improve there), and LDL below 150. These tests were taken before I started any new diet habits. So this would be a reflection on my old way of eating (lots of junk). And I'm not eating any more animal products now then I was then. So I can only forecast an improvement as I lose weight and exercise more.
Rafael - Thanks for the clarification. I'll keep that in mind. Are you sure your trainer's advice wasn't just for your benefit since you had a fainting spell? I don't tend to feel dizzy as I workout, and my workouts are focused more on the cardio than the weights.
Oh, and I'm entitled to 2 free introductory trainer sessions coming up (hopefully it will be with one of the 2 cute female trainers that's there in the mornings ). I'll be sure to ask all kinds of questions. My previous interaction with the trainer was when I was getting all my initial measurements. He also tested my fitness level (poor) and gave me some advice about weight training and eating habits.

 

[RafaelB]

Bill - My trainer I think just generalised it to mean "one should eat something...". And aside from the warm-up cool-down cardio, we focus on weights for about 40-50 minutes per session, so it's strictly a weightlifting thing, I think.
Whenever I do cardio in the mornings, I don't eat anything and I feel fine and I don't think that I'll try doing weights on an empty stomach again- just in case.
Rafael

 

[Samuel Des]

Lisel

Quote:

Hm... I have noticed that my workouts are better with a meal before working out... but this has not been universally true. In fact, some of my best (i.e., performance wise -- faster, farther, &c.) have been on an empty stomach.
The thing I am worried about are my cholesterol and glycerides. I know that both are very high for me. I have 266 cholesterol right now; it was 260 six months before... don't have the glycerides level right now. The tests were after fasting. My doctor says that I have a one percent of heart attack, &c. I wasn't so sure, but I haven't been able to get a recommendation from any co-workers for another doctor.