The get fit, stay fit thread

[Aufc]

Two or three times a week for that workout is plenty. Just add it in to what you are already doing or stick it on at the end of a weights session and youll be stripping off any fat youve got.

Haha why the face?

Yeah I am going to give that a twirl twice a week i think. Its fucking horrific. Although it is pretty short which is a bonus!

[yoda]

My stepdad is well into his cycling so I've sort of taken up HIIT on the bike after he recommended it.

I think he recommended it to cause me pain.

[Reynard]

Haha why the face?

Yeah I am going to give that a twirl twice a week i think. Its fucking horrific. Although it is pretty short which is a bonus!

Theres a reasonable chance that you'd barf. Didn't want to put you off. It is fucking horrible, like some sort of torture device, but its fantastic afterwards.

[philpy]

Going to start playing fives once a week, along with 2 trips to the gym, maybe a Tuesday then again on a Saturday.

[Aufc]

Theres a reasonable chance that you'd barf. Didn't want to put you off. It is fucking horrible, like some sort of torture device, but its fantastic afterwards.

Aye i feel magic! Definately a new addition to the workout.

[Reynard]

Aye i feel magic! Definately a new addition to the workout.

I found it weird afterwards when you have been sitting down recovering for five or ten minutes before you start sweating!

[Stagmaster]

Strong patronise.

What you're basically saying here is that there's no evidence, but that some doctors and surgeons are wary of it. What you're then going on to do is dismiss anyone who disagrees with that assessment as being on the payroll of companies which make a profit from artificial sweeteners. Has it struck you that there's a flipside to this? I could say that the doctors arguing against artificial sweeteners are all on the payroll of Tate & Lyle, Silver Spoon and so on. I'm not going to, though, because then I'd look as stupid as you do.

As it happens, some studies have shown these sweeteners to be linked to long term health problems. Correlation doesn't equal causation, though, and the best advice in this instance would seem to be to encourage moderation rather than abstinence. Issues arise when people like you make claims which, at this stage at least, just aren't backed up by evidence. At this point, that equates to spreading misinformation.

It's funny that you're getting so sanctimonious over this point when you've already admitted to having an unhealthy diet consisting mainly of quick, easy food and chocolate bars (presumably artificial trans fats are okay, even though there's far more evidence against them than there is against artificial sweeteners). I suspect that in your case this is a way of trying to pretend that just having the full sugar versions is somehow 'healthy'.

Oh, btw: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0273230002915424

Okay, my bad. I should have said that many people, including me, believe these artificial sweeteners to be neurotoxins. I do have that right to believe this, as you have the right to disbelieve it. Regarding the chocolate I eat, it does not contain trans fats (hydrogenated vegetable oil) - for the record, Lindt chocolate. Regarding the rest of my diet, I am careful to read all labeling and I don't buy anything with hydrogenated vegetable oils or hydrolised proteins. Might seem extreme, but that's the way I am.

Didn't want to come across as patronising or sanctimonious and if I did, I apologise.

Anyway, for other "stupid" people like me, they may be interested in this link:

http://www.rejuvinstitute.com/excitotoxins-chemicals-destroy-health#.UPmng8ryTsA

[Aufc]

I found it weird afterwards when you have been sitting down recovering for five or ten minutes before you start sweating!

Haha aye i didnt sweat until i sat down in the changing rooms. Then spewed! Yum

[Maxriddles]

Just drop the weight down to something you are happy with and maybe slow your reps right down? I sometimes do that with lighter weight and it really burns like f**k.

Think I'm going to give this a go starting from tomorrow for 6 to 8 weeks and will move to a full upper body session rather than the back & bi, chest & tri, and shoulder sessions I normally do.

I'm planning to do Tough Mudder this year so going to gear my cardio training towards that.My cardio fitness levels at the moment are very good but I will have to train differently to prepare for this. Oh and when I say I'm planning to do Tough Mudder I actually mean that my girlfriend has already signed up and asked me to join their team meaning that I am going to look a bit of a wimp if I don't do it.

[Dindeleux]

If you want to shift the weight from your abdomen you need to keep away from the stuff listed in bold. Be careful with your sugar intake and read food labelling religiously.

Cheers buddy.

I've managed to cut the crisps down totally for the last couple of weeks - I've got 3 tubs of uneaten pringles from Christmas if anyone wants them?

Bread is a big issue though, I try to stick to the best of both wholemeal bread but I'm probably eating between 4-6 slices a day. Love the stuff.

As for the chinese food - its once a week so I won't worry too much about it, although does anyone know if any other sort of takeaway food is better for you? Indian perhaps?

[Dindeleux]

Nothing is 'bad for you' in moderation.

Also, what kind of hippy retard told you coffee, bread, rice and potatoes were bad for you? FFS, I despair.

No one did, I was simply listing the stuff that I like the most.

My diet, usually, consists of the following. Not every week will I follow the same but this is usually how I vary, ignore the days:

Monday: Toast with butter, sandwiches for lunch (tescos light choice usually), chicken with either potatoes/rice. Couple of glasses of water and maybe 6 - 10 cups of coffee (I know). Tuesday: Cereal (no sugar). , soup for lunch, chicken with rice or potatoes.

Wed: Toast again, rice with some chorizo for lunch, pizza for dinner

Thurs: cereal, soup, pasta (with meatballs or some kind of filling), and usually a dolmio pasta sauce

Fri: Cereal, sandwiches for lunch and chicken with potatoes/rice for dinner

Sat: 2 rolls and sausage, pie at the football (or sandwiches/soup etc at home) Chinese for dinner

Sun: rolls and bacon/sausage for breakfast, light lunch and then Sunday dinner.

In addition to the above my snacks are probably 75% crap (biscuits etc) and 25% fruit

I gym it 3 times a week and feel in reasonable shape. 17% body fat according to that link.

[Stagmaster]

Replace your breakfasts with porridge using skimmed milk, or evem better, water for a healthier alternative. Chop a banana in too if you want a bit sweeter. For an extra bit of protein a teaspoon of peanut butter (as it is breakfast time I wouldn't worry about the little amount of fat from the pb). I know it is difficult but if you replace 90% of your coffee intake with water you will notice a hell of a difference in your self. I'm veggie but you may want to mix up your mealtimes by having tuna instead of chicken sometimes and have it with wholemeal pasta. I know i'm a.fine one to talk given my diet ar the moment (dictated by circimstance) but you may need to work on your snack intake. Before having the wee man my snacks consisted of pumpkin seeds or small amounts of nuts and dried fruit. You really want to avoid the crisps if you are shifting weight.

[Dindeleux]

Replace your breakfasts with porridge using skimmed milk, or evem better, water for a healthier alternative. Chop a banana in too if you want a bit sweeter. For an extra bit of protein a teaspoon of peanut butter (as it is breakfast time I wouldn't worry about the little amount of fat from the pb). I know it is difficult but if you replace 90% of your coffee intake with water you will notice a hell of a difference in your self. I'm veggie but you may want to mix up your mealtimes by having tuna instead of chicken sometimes and have it with wholemeal pasta. I know i'm a.fine one to talk given my diet ar the moment (dictated by circimstance) but you may need to work on your snack intake. Before having the wee man my snacks consisted of pumpkin seeds or small amounts of nuts and dried fruit. You really want to avoid the crisps if you are shifting weight.

Thanks again. I'm not really looking to shift much weight, I'm 13 stone and 6"2 so probably the right weight I just want rid of this stupid little pouch at my waistline.

I'm going to try and cut my coffee down to 1 in the morning, 1 during the day and 1 later on at night. Totally addicted to coffee though.

[vikingTON]

I'm a half stone lighter than Dindeleux and around the same height, but there's still plenty that you can lose depending on muscle mass. I'm just going to the gym and eating slightly healthier in order to gain a little tone. Poached eggs on proper bread for breakfast is a nice and filling way to get through until lunch. Lots of veggies with every meal, same with water. I've been drinking a little too much good beer and will try to get back to the spirit/diet mixer trick instead.

[stimpy]

I weighed myself a little before Xmas then kind of forgot about it and was really worried about the Xmas fat and my "I'll start dieting properly next week" attitude. However I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I had lost a stone when I weighed myself yesterday. I think the big help has been exercise, I hate the gym with a vengeance because of the boring repetivness of it all so paid for my monthly b active thing at the sporty and never went. Through one thing and another I've started playing badminton twice a week and my friend is keen as mustard and although we are both novices and generally shite at it we've started playing squash with a bouncy beginners ball. It's great fun and gets a sweat up, having a go at short tennis next week to see how we get on with that.

Finding a sport that's fun and someone to go as often as I do has been great and the weight loss has spured me on to eat better so it's all good.

[Benjamin_Nevis]

I weighed myself a little before Xmas then kind of forgot about it and was really worried about the Xmas fat and my "I'll start dieting properly next week" attitude. However I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I had lost a stone when I weighed myself yesterday. I think the big help has been exercise, I hate the gym with a vengeance because of the boring repetivness of it all so paid for my monthly b active thing at the sporty and never went. Through one thing and another I've started playing badminton twice a week and my friend is keen as mustard and although we are both novices and generally shite at it we've started playing squash with a bouncy beginners ball. It's great fun and gets a sweat up, having a go at short tennis next week to see how we get on with that.

Finding a sport that's fun and someone to go as often as I do has been great and the weight loss has spured me on to eat better so it's all good.

B-Active is fucking tremendous like. £22.50 for unlimited use of everything in Angus, including classes. I just got back into badminton over the last few months as well. Great fun

[stimpy]

Being old, single and in full time employment I pay £32 (or around that) for my B active but as you say it's still great value. I was trying to book a squash court for Thursday next week but there was none to be had so that's when we are doing the short tennis, just having a bash at the different things cause we can.

[Benjamin_Nevis]

Being old, single and in full time employment I pay £32 (or around that) for my B active but as you say it's still great value. I was trying to book a squash court for Thursday next week but there was none to be had so that's when we are doing the short tennis, just having a bash at the different things cause we can.

I get Council employee cheapness

Not been to the Montrose Centre yet, but i've heard it's quite tremendous. Fancy-assed new Spin bikes are no bad, we're getting the same ones in Forfar I think.

[Mak]

Okay, my bad. I should have said that many people, including me, believe these artificial sweeteners to be neurotoxins. I do have that right to believe this, as you have the right to disbelieve it. Regarding the chocolate I eat, it does not contain trans fats (hydrogenated vegetable oil) - for the record, Lindt chocolate. Regarding the rest of my diet, I am careful to read all labeling and I don't buy anything with hydrogenated vegetable oils or hydrolised proteins. Might seem extreme, but that's the way I am.

Didn't want to come across as patronising or sanctimonious and if I did, I apologise.

Anyway, for other "stupid" people like me, they may be interested in this link:

http://www.rejuvins...th#.UPmng8ryTsA

Thanks for the measured response. It was certainly a lot more civil than mine, for which I apologise.

For what it's worth, I don't necessarily disagree with you regarding artificial sweeteners; I just don't think that anyone should be stating their views as fact at this stage, as the jury's still out. In my opinion, the best advice at the moment is to keep any consumption of them minimal, but not necessarily to entirely cut out enjoyable foods which contain them. Moderation in all things tends to be good advice, and is also the easiest strategy to stick to.

I'm pretty much the same as far as the trans fats go; they're the only thing that can't really be justified using the 'moderation' line, as any research that I've seen to date would seem to indicate that the only safe level is zero. That's not to say that people should never eat foods containing them - in my opinion, complete abstinence from foods one enjoys only tends to lead to bingeing/restriction cycles - but that they should be occasional treats as opposed to store cupboard staples.

No one did, I was simply listing the stuff that I like the most.

My diet, usually, consists of the following. Not every week will I follow the same but this is usually how I vary, ignore the days:

Monday: Toast with butter, sandwiches for lunch (tescos light choice usually), chicken with either potatoes/rice. Couple of glasses of water and maybe 6 - 10 cups of coffee (I know). Tuesday: Cereal (no sugar). , soup for lunch, chicken with rice or potatoes.

Wed: Toast again, rice with some chorizo for lunch, pizza for dinner

Thurs: cereal, soup, pasta (with meatballs or some kind of filling), and usually a dolmio pasta sauce

Fri: Cereal, sandwiches for lunch and chicken with potatoes/rice for dinner

Sat: 2 rolls and sausage, pie at the football (or sandwiches/soup etc at home) Chinese for dinner

Sun: rolls and bacon/sausage for breakfast, light lunch and then Sunday dinner.

In addition to the above my snacks are probably 75% crap (biscuits etc) and 25% fruit

I gym it 3 times a week and feel in reasonable shape. 17% body fat according to that link.

The link is totally useless. You'd be as well using a random number generator.

Stagmaster has given some decent advice, but I'd like to make a couple of comments of my own (Stagmaster, please don't take any of this as a dig at you).

Peanut butter (natural peanut butter, no added sweeteners or fat) is a very good source of healthy fats, but I wouldn't personally call it a protein source. The amount it contains is pretty minimal. Having said that, most people are already consuming enough protein anyway so I wouldn't bother too much.

As far as coffee goes, there are negative effects associated with caffeine but also significant positives. There's a bit of back and forth on the matter, but I really don't know why you think it's 'unhealthy'. Coffee's associated with (again, correlation doesn't equal causation) a reduced risk of cancer for one, and caffeine's an effective appetite suppressant. Again, moderation blah blah etc. Don't drink eight cups a day, but don't feel that you have to cut it out either. Replacing some with water and/or green tea is still a good suggestion.

Also, I'd take care with the tuna suggestion: it's very high in mercury, and I don't think it's a good idea to consume it more than 1-2 times a week. The foods you've listed as being things you enjoy aren't negative in themselves, but some are quite calorie dense (eg bread and pasta), so cut back on portion sizes. If you replace things with 'healthy' alternatives such as nuts, seeds etc that's fine but remember that these things are also extremely calorie dense. The fact that they're 'healthy' won't stop you putting on weight if you eat too many of them (which isn't to say that they aren't healthy).

It isn't in this post, but I also think I saw you asking about 'healthy' take away options elsewhere in the thread. I personally don't feel that it's unhealthy to have a takeaway once a week, but if you mean low calorie options then you can't really categorise them by type of takeaway. Stuff like chicken chop suey or king prawn in black bean sauce from the Chinese are low calorie options, so are some meals from an Indian such as chicken bhuna. On the other hand, some things are extremely high calorie, such as lemon chicken or any Indian meal with a creamy sauce. If you want to avoid weight gain you can go for lower calorie options or alternatively eat a lower amount of calories through the day before getting a higher calorie one.

You'll notice that I'm talking almost entirely about calories here rather than 'healthiness', and that's because the term is problematic in terms of how it applies to takeaways. With proper portioning they're no more likely to make you fat than any other food, but often contain a lot of dodgy additives as well as almost invariably being very high in sodium. Is that healthy? On the other hand, a lot of Chinese and Indian meals contain a lot of vegetables that their typical consumer possibly wouldn't eat otherwise, so are they still unhealthy? The term just isn't helpful in relation to individual foods; you can have a healthy or unhealthy diet, but the term means nothing outside that context.

I've gone off at a massive tangent here. Apologies.

[ShakehandsTom - DFC]

In addition to my first 5's of this year on Monday, I went on my first run of 2013 too and did a 4.18km run which felt good. It's just a start on the way back to health and fitness, but it's a decent start.