Man to Man: A Support System for Men

whyflysouth

Bump. Man my legs are sore. I've been cutting my cardio sessions down in time and just increasing the intensity. Jogging daily alternating between 5 and 8 mph on the treadmill with a 2-4% incline for about 20 minutes, that's been it for the cardio, and I was able to keep it up until the weekend. But my quads are pretty darn sore these last two days so I feel like it's best to give it a rest.

eh, not much really interesting about that one. What do you think - higher intensity + less time vs. lower intensity more time, which is the better way to go?

CasperO

Well what are you trying to do? If you're strictly interested in cardiovascular health and getting that resting pulse down to 50, then the sustained exercise for the longer period of time is the way to go. If you're trying to build strength and stamina then the blasts of high intensity exercise will get you there. Have you considered alternating days?


Hey, last night's dinner:

Dinner
Certified Angus Beef - Ground Beef Chuck - 6 oz. 354 36 22 0 128 0
Smoked Pork Sausage, 2 oz 130 8 10 0 35 0
Kroger - Kaiser Roll, 1 roll 200 6 2 36 0 1
Kroger Brand - Swiss Cheese Slice, 1 slice 80 11 10 0 35 0
Generic - Iceberg Lettuce, Raw, 1 ounce 1/2 cup (28 g) 4 0 0 1 0 0
Generic - Tomato - Large Whole (3" Dia), 45.5 g 8 1 0 2 0 1
Mister Bee - Original Potato Chips, 1.5 oz 210 3 15 23 0 2
Beer - Sam Adams Light, 12 oz 119 1 0 10 0 0
Add Food | Remember Meal 1,105 66 59 72 198 4

1105 calories, and worth it. Ah,,, once in a while. Normally I'd do an 1-1/2 hour on the bike to pay for that, but it was rainy yesterday. Oooh! I'm up a pound!!! :sad: :bigsmile:

FORKDOWN

I am back after a weekk off of no logging or dieting. April was not good so May I am back on it.

Oh I too wish to remove my Moobies but its not gonna happen overnight. :grumble:

I say we all kick butt in May 254.5 this morning for me. :embarassed:

gr8dad1975

I am back after a weekk off of no logging or dieting. April was not good so May I am back on it.

Oh I too wish to remove my Moobies but its not gonna happen overnight. :grumble:

I say we all kick butt in May 254.5 this morning for me. :embarassed:

After a week off, you probably have moobies and the matching booty...lol! :laugh:

But hang in there, hardwork really does pay off :drinker:

gr8dad1975

Well what are you trying to do? If you're strictly interested in cardiovascular health and getting that resting pulse down to 50, then the sustained exercise for the longer period of time is the way to go. If you're trying to build strength and stamina then the blasts of high intensity exercise will get you there. Have you considered alternating days?


Hey, last night's dinner:

Dinner
Certified Angus Beef - Ground Beef Chuck - 6 oz. 354 36 22 0 128 0
Smoked Pork Sausage, 2 oz 130 8 10 0 35 0
Kroger - Kaiser Roll, 1 roll 200 6 2 36 0 1
Kroger Brand - Swiss Cheese Slice, 1 slice 80 11 10 0 35 0
Generic - Iceberg Lettuce, Raw, 1 ounce 1/2 cup (28 g) 4 0 0 1 0 0
Generic - Tomato - Large Whole (3" Dia), 45.5 g 8 1 0 2 0 1
Mister Bee - Original Potato Chips, 1.5 oz 210 3 15 23 0 2
Beer - Sam Adams Light, 12 oz 119 1 0 10 0 0
Add Food | Remember Meal 1,105 66 59 72 198 4

1105 calories, and worth it. Ah,,, once in a while. Normally I'd do an 1-1/2 hour on the bike to pay for that, but it was rainy yesterday. Oooh! I'm up a pound!!! :sad: :bigsmile:

Hey Casper,

Can I come to dinner?

CasperO

Sure, swing by the next time I do something like that... probably about a month. Probably do a big pasta w/meatballs next time, I haven't done that in a while.

Did you dig that the 6 ounces of beef and 2 ounces of pork sausage were combined to make one 8 ounce patty?,,, Great old cooks trick to combine the 2 diff meats. Made a patty 6" around and well over an inch thick. Took 20 minutes to cook, drained off about a gallon of greas. Good good good,,, I had juice dripping off my elbows at the end of that meal.

gr8dad1975

Good good good,,, I had juice dripping off my elbows at the end of that meal.

You make me sick!!! LOL

whyflysouth

Dang, that's one insane dinner. I don't think I've got the stomach to eat like that anymore, but hey, call it the zig-zag diet and eat a little under your daily req for today and you'll be good. Lately I've been pretty successful avoiding the breads, rice, and pastas and just getting in tons of veges so I've been under my goals daily, which might not be a good thing, but eh...

I should alternate days, it just seems like I'm reverting to my old self who was a person who enjoyed pushing himself in short bursts but wasn't much of a long endurance sort of guy. I'm doing this for the sake of saving time, since the baby's come along I haven't been able to put in the hour long brisk walks or trips on the elliptical.

Forkdown, what happened bro? You wanna talk about it? :huh:

CasperO

At this point I'm just almost on maintenance. I'm pretty much at my goal, I feel great, I look not too bad. As long as the scale's somewhere around 205 and I can see ribs when I raise my arms I'm a happy guy. Now I'm not relapsing or yo-yoing or doing anything stupid,,, but I am eating a nice big hamburger once in a while. :bigsmile:

I've been doing it about this way for a couple months, and it's working.

whyflysouth

At this point I'm just almost on maintenance. I'm pretty much at my goal, I feel great, I look not too bad. As long as the scale's somewhere around 205 and I can see ribs when I raise my arms I'm a happy guy. Now I'm not relapsing or yo-yoing or doing anything stupid,,, but I am eating a nice big hamburger once in a while. :bigsmile:

I've been doing it about this way for a couple months, and it's working.

Maintenance, Nice! I still got a ways to go before I can get to maintenance. I'm almost at my goal weight but not at my goal bf% so I'm not sure I guess I should just keep setting a lower weight goal. The last time I checked my bf% was at 16% and I'd need it to go down to 13% before I think about maintenance. I'm not sure what I'm losing exactly, how much of it being muscle loss vs fat loss.

BullDozier

Whew, glad I found this thread. I've been wondering where all the men are around here.

gr8dad1975

Welcome djdozier!!!

Glad to have you here at the Man-to-Man Forum!

BullDozier

Bad day yesterday. Ate junk, no exercise. Ending up losing a pound. I hate when that happens.

Back on the horse today, though.

gr8dad1975

Bad day yesterday. Ate junk, no exercise. Ending up losing a pound. I hate when that happens.

Back on the horse today, though.

Hey man, it happens to the best of us. But your attitude is awesome!! Way to go!!

onwisconsn

So, I have jumped in to following the rules of MFP with both feet, but here is my dilema - my wife, also pretty overweight, has not shown any interest in weight loss via diet or excercise. She continues to bring that junk food into the house that tastes so good. I've asked her to be sensitive to my situation when she buys stuff, so that I am not tempted, but no dice. My questions are #1 - what are good strategies for avoiding the food when it is in your house? And #2 - Is there a tactful way to suggest that she follow my lead, or do I just need to wait until she decides to do it for herself? She is well aware of her weight and isn't happy about it. The only commentary she has made is that she is worried (wrongly) that when I get in shape I will not want her anymore. Maybe the second question should be posed on a women-centric list instead, but I thought some of you may have experienced these issues.

BullDozier

So, I have jumped in to following the rules of MFP with both feet, but here is my dilema - my wife, also pretty overweight, has not shown any interest in weight loss via diet or excercise. She continues to bring that junk food into the house that tastes so good. I've asked her to be sensitive to my situation when she buys stuff, so that I am not tempted, but no dice. My questions are #1 - what are good strategies for avoiding the food when it is in your house? And #2 - Is there a tactful way to suggest that she follow my lead, or do I just need to wait until she decides to do it for herself? She is well aware of her weight and isn't happy about it. The only commentary she has made is that she is worried (wrongly) that when I get in shape I will not want her anymore. Maybe the second question should be posed on a women-centric list instead, but I thought some of you may have experienced these issues.

The issue of having the food in the house is tough. It makes things a lot easier when you get can rid of it all and avoid the constant temptation. However, even when you do that, you're still faced with temptation, whether it is the vending maching at work, the candy section in the checkout line, parties, whatever. It is still going to come down to being able to resist the temptation. I have young kids in the house, and it seems they are always having candy be it from Easter, Halloween, or bringing something home from school. Chocolate is my weakness, but eventually, especially after starting to lose a few pounds, I was able to resist. For me, it is simple willpower. I'm a stubborn person, so I make it a competition with the food, and I make sure the food doesn't win.

As to your wife, that is a trickier situation. My only suggestion is to give her a lot of encouragement to join you. Tell her how doing it together you'll be able to help each other along the way. As it sounds like she might be insecure, definitely up-play the health aspects of it, and down play doing it to "look better." Don't stress the weight loss to her, but put emphasis on eating better and exercising for a longer, healthier life. The weight loss would follow naturally.

CasperO

Welcome aboard Mr. Wisconsin. We midwestern boys do like our chow, don't we?

About the temptation with her junk food,,, well, it's there, but you don't have to eat it. 2 things - #1, you're an adult, nobody makes you do anything. Choose not to eat that crap, and don't eat it. Simple. Not easy,,, but simple. #2, don't be hungry and don't be bored. Eat good stuff when you're hungry, and then go do something so you're not bored. Watching television is not "doing something".

About getting her on board. Well now,,, that's a toughie. About 18 months ago I decided I'd had enough of being the big guy and feeling like crap etc. etc.,,, so I googled "free calorie diary" or something and found this site and got started. Now I didn't think my wife really needed to lose any weight and I still don't - so I didn't really try to get her involved. I do 80% of the cooking in my house, so I just adjusted the menu a bit and concentrated on my portions and left everybody else in the house alone.

In a couple of months I'd dropped 20# and a lot of inches, and my wife saw that and asked,, "Hey, what's that website thingie you're using?" Then she got started, and now she's more dedicated than I am. She's dropped a ton of weight and got off of some meds and is just about ready for a bikini and life is good :-)

So - my suggestion and what worked in my house was for me to not make a big deal out of it and not try to recruit anyone else. Trying to get somebody else to lose weight is a losing proposition, and insulting to your partner and it's just not going to work. When she sees you sitting there at the table with her and just eating a little differently, but nothing nasty and nothing crazy, and you're shrinking like an ice sculpture in July, she'll probably want to get in on it too. Or not,,, it's all good.

Welcome aboard. Something amazing is about to happen to you. Trust me amigo, you have no idea how lousy you feel now and how much better you might be feeling in a couple months. You might be able to do amazing things and have more energy than you've had in 20 years very soon. 18 months ago I could barely get off of the couch, and tonight I've planned about 25 miles on the bicycle, and it will be easy and fun and just oh yeah wow

FORKDOWN

Welcome aboard Mr. Wisconsin. We midwestern boys do like our chow, don't we?

About the temptation with her junk food,,, well, it's there, but you don't have to eat it. 2 things - #1, you're an adult, nobody makes you do anything. Choose not to eat that crap, and don't eat it. Simple. Not easy,,, but simple. #2, don't be hungry and don't be bored. Eat good stuff when you're hungry, and then go do something so you're not bored. Watching television is not "doing something".

About getting her on board. Well now,,, that's a toughie. About 18 months ago I decided I'd had enough of being the big guy and feeling like crap etc. etc.,,, so I googled "free calorie diary" or something and found this site and got started. Now I didn't think my wife really needed to lose any weight and I still don't - so I didn't really try to get her involved. I do 80% of the cooking in my house, so I just adjusted the menu a bit and concentrated on my portions and left everybody else in the house alone.

In a couple of months I'd dropped 20# and a lot of inches, and my wife saw that and asked,, "Hey, what's that website thingie you're using?" Then she got started, and now she's more dedicated than I am. She's dropped a ton of weight and got off of some meds and is just about ready for a bikini and life is good :-)

So - my suggestion and what worked in my house was for me to not make a big deal out of it and not try to recruit anyone else. Trying to get somebody else to lose weight is a losing proposition, and insulting to your partner and it's just not going to work. When she sees you sitting there at the table with her and just eating a little differently, but nothing nasty and nothing crazy, and you're shrinking like an ice sculpture in July, she'll probably want to get in on it too. Or not,,, it's all good.

Welcome aboard. Something amazing is about to happen to you. Trust me amigo, you have no idea how lousy you feel now and how much better you might be feeling in a couple months. You might be able to do amazing things and have more energy than you've had in 20 years very soon. 18 months ago I could barely get off of the couch, and tonight I've planned about 25 miles on the bicycle, and it will be easy and fun and just oh yeah wow

I agree Casper, I am an adult and no one makes my decision for me. I am the only one dieting in my house so, I just try to portion control and make good choices when eating out. I am also interested in being more involved with the cooking too. It is an adjustment Wis and does take time. Hang in there bro.

cmw72

So, I have jumped in to following the rules of MFP with both feet, but here is my dilema - my wife, also pretty overweight, has not shown any interest in weight loss via diet or excercise. She continues to bring that junk food into the house that tastes so good. I've asked her to be sensitive to my situation when she buys stuff, so that I am not tempted, but no dice. My questions are #1 - what are good strategies for avoiding the food when it is in your house? And #2 - Is there a tactful way to suggest that she follow my lead, or do I just need to wait until she decides to do it for herself? She is well aware of her weight and isn't happy about it. The only commentary she has made is that she is worried (wrongly) that when I get in shape I will not want her anymore. Maybe the second question should be posed on a women-centric list instead, but I thought some of you may have experienced these issues.

The only thing I can suggest is that by maintaining a positive attitude towards health and fitness, hopefully it will rub off on your wife. The more enthusiastic and positive you are about the changes you are making in your life, the more others around will want to follow suit. I've noticed the effect my weight loss, and my obsession with fitness these days has had on my coworkers. The more I talk about exercise and dieting, the more they want to do it too.

It can be a hard first step to take. Sometimes we just don't think we have it in us to succeed, so we don't give ourselves the chance to fail. With a little reassurance and some gentle encouragement, hopefully she'll come around!