I CAN HAS FAT?

This thing has a pretty unfortunate name and heritage but I've been doing it since Stool showed it to me and it's been pretty sweet. I don't have to run any more, which is meep, cause running takes 45 sweat-drenched minutes, means I have to do gym-clothes laundry out the meep, and is meeping boring. This meep you can do in 15-20 minutes a couple times a week in between meepting and showering.

P90X is gimmicky. strenuous compound lifts for 45 mins/day, 3-4 days/week will get you the same results. if you don't know the form or have never lifted, get a trainer for a few sessions and have them show you. it'll be worth more than paying for P90X.

however, diet is more important than exercise for body composition. get a good night's sleep, maybe on a saturday, then get up and eat a big stack of pancakes. if you feel like you're going into diabetic coma and want to sleep, i can send you links to low carb cookbooks. if you're not carb tolerant, you'll feel great and lose weight by cutting them.

I most certainly feel sleepy after eating a meep ton of pancakes and don't need to experiment to know that because I probably do it twice a month, with bacon etc. PX90is free via succulent internets, but it seems time consuming and silly(no doubt you get results if you follow the regiment but, meh.)

Links to low carb cookin' are appreciated and I think I recall a fit thread or some such that you started a while back that touched on similar ideas.

Considering how thin and long you were before, a little weight would look good on you. Middle age is when you slow your metabolism, and start to enjoy food and beer more than meep & drugs. Enjoy it.

That said, good for your efforts, awareness, and concern for your health. You'll most likely outlive me.

Running is a great way to burn calories, as is hard biking... yadda yadda, but as Vas says, it's boring, time consuming and creates a lot of funky clothing.

Push-ups, lunges, deep knee bends, arm circles (military style), chin-ups, vertical presses with a pair of chairs, etc, are all great ways to workout when you've just had your morning meep and need to kill 20 minutes before jumping into your morning shower/primping routine.

ProTips:

1- Buy a cheap curling barbell and some inexpensive weights (100 lb set is more than enough). You can curl while doing deep knee bends. Or hold the bar across your shoulders to intensify lunges and/or deep knee bends.

2- Working the largest muscles in your body helps burn more calories. Bigger muscles need more energy to operate. Squats and lunges will burn some serious energy if you're serious about it.

3- meep some crunches or other abdominal meeps. Sure, you want to work on those muscle groups because a strong core is important later in life (read: avoid back problems) but don't focus all your energy on working abs. You won't burn much energy and you won't see the results until after you've worked off the spare tire by focusing on the larger muscles (legs, meep, shoulders, arms, chest). Focus on working the biggest muscles with intense 20 minute sessions until they burn hard, and you'll see the most progress in the shortest amount of time.

4- Eat fresh everything. Eat nothing that is factory made if you can avoid it.

5- Just remember to be dedicated. It took you years to get yourself into this shape, you're not going to fix it overnight.

6- There is no such thing as a magic fat-remover pill; no matter what your wife's friend says.

if your aim is to improve body composition (ie look less fat & more muscular) i wouldn't pursue jogging. it's not beneficial, it's meep the body (joints, adrenal glands) and can actually result in fat gain due to cortisol production etc.

that said, it can't hurt to play soccer, basketball, or whatever; sprints are good for you if you know what you're doing; jumping rope is good and easy to figure out. HOWEVER, diet is more important. and weightlifting is a close second.

it isn't strictly about calories. do a quick search about how modern super-huge bodybuilders abuse insulin to gain weight. carbohydrates effect insulin.

gourmet nutrition vol. 1 has good recipes. vol 2 i can't find on the internet, but i've ordered it and should see it pretty soon.

linda's low carb has a ton of recipes that she reviews, and they're divided thoughtfully into sections so that you can easily find what you're looking for.

give up white flour (preferably all flour), as much sugar as you can (including fruit besides berries), and you'll see that...it's not that hard. eat eggs, bacon, a steak, some sausage, and wash it down with some water. easy to do at home, at restaurants, and while traveling.

You have best information. Will be expecting update in 1 year.

(Also, you forgot the BEFORE pic. Plz include raw belly shots, front view and side, for future reference to AFTER pics. kthnx)

Nocal: "if your aim is to improve body composition (ie look less fat & more muscular) i wouldn't pursue jogging. it's not beneficial, it's meep the body (joints, adrenal glands) and can actually result in fat gain due to cortisol production etc."

I need to tell this to all the fat girls I know who run lots and swear by it.

if women were aware that the absolute hottest women in film all lift weights, then fewer women would have the idiotic fear that they'll wake up one day looking like a pro wrestler

Would a treadmill fall under the no running rule? The only time I've ever lost weight was running on one, and I'm pretty close to buying one now.

You can lose weight by running. Treadmill or raw street pounding. Problem is, running (jogging) tends to teach your body to conserve energy for those long workouts. In my opinion it actually tends to train your body to slow down it's metabolism.

Now running is a different story. Really running (sprinting) is a lot like lifting weights. You force your body to burn a meepton of energy in a short span of time... that said, unless your young and on a track team, sprinting through your local streets is going to be a bit uncomfortable. It's also meeping meep your back and knees, especially for us older guys.

Now, biking (hard, as if your sprinting) is a primo option for those that are uninterested in pumping iron. It's also a lot easier on your knees and back.

If you're thinking about buying some workout gear for your haus, you'd be better off with a really nice stationary bike that you can peddle as hard as possible for 20 minutes than you would be wasting those same bucks on a treadmill.

i like my elliptical, you've just gotta use proper form. shrug

10/8/10

I weighed 194lb at 11:00am.

Changed my diet only. Aside from 2 gnarly surf sessions I haven't really been working out.