(God I forgot MFP censors my foul mouth)

Hey everyone and welcome to the group!

I'm going to try and be active on here since I have been banned from the forums for FOREVER, and normally I don't bother with groups. I do find that I often post large walls of texts to my profile when probably a group or a blog with consolidated posts would be better.

So why do I say so often "*kitten* cardio"?

When I started focusing on getting healthy and in better shape I operated on a good foundation but still assumed that because of the fact I was so f*cking fat that I just needed to do cardio cardio cardio and lift some to keep existing muscle. This was only half true, and it is a mistake anyone can make and many people do. As harsh as I am I do not fault people for taking this same approach to things. I do however fault people for not being willing and able to take advantage of the vast amount of information that is out there to build a better understanding of all things nutrition, fitness, and general health. Nothing lets me down more than seeing people set themselves up for failure by insisting on doing what I consider self torture.

So I lifted on a half *kitten* routine that I devised on my own and did anywhere from 40-80 minutes of walking/jogging a day, before lifting and on off days. I ate anywhere from 1800 to 2200 calories a day. Did I lose weight? Sure. Was I enjoying myself? Not really. This is likely what I attribute to the time where I can describe using everyone's favorite phrase; I fell off the wagon folks! Tail end of 2011 and into 2012 I actually gained back much of the weight I lost, going from 390 to 412 (having started at 425 in 2011). It wasn't until March of 2012 that I got started again and with tighter focus on fat loss, and not just weight loss.

Read that again and remember it; fat loss, not weight loss.

I focused more on diet, and eating the right amount of calories for the results I wanted. I have to give credit where it is due here, and advise anyone who has not already read this topic to become friends with Dan and pay attention to the information he has generously put out there for this community: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

Thanks to Dan I figured out that I was not eating enough calories to lose fat as efficiently as I wanted. Sure I had an advantage of having so MUCH body fat, but I was likely losing muscle as well and sometimes it just became restrictive to eat so much less. In addition to that I realized that maybe I didn't need to worry so much about cardio, and just iron out a lifting routine that was ideal to retain strength and maybe build some. So I went from what I had been doing prior, to just 3 days a week of lifting heavy weights, followed by a 20 minute walk on a treadmill after each session. Days inbetween I rested completely or just did something like if I felt like it. The results were that I was losing weight at the same exact rate. This is important though because remember; by all standards I was eating more, being LESS active, and getting the exact same results as all that hard work. Not only that but I felt better, stronger, and mentally I was happier with this whole fitness thing.


To quote a link I shared out a while ago and personally love (http://www.theiflife.com/cardio-priority-fat-loss/):

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There are also downsides to being a “cardio” junkie…..remember more is not better in most cases….here’s a couple good points from Steve Maxwell on some of his top 10 reasons he doesn’t do aerobics:
Oxidative Stress – Which causes a breakdown of tissues. It also predisposes one to cancer and heart attack.

Elevated cortisol production – Which causes a breakdown of muscle tissue and increases fat storage or depot fat. People do aerobics to alleviate stress yet end up creating more stress.

Lowered testosterone and HGH levels - For men, aerobics are a form of chemical castration. Low T-levels are associated with lowered libido, depression, anxiety, increased body fat and decreased muscle tissue. This contributes to muscle-wasting and lowers the basal metabolic rate.

Increased appetite and a tendency toward binge eating patterns Aerobic exercise makes people hungry!

Burns a relatively small amount of calories vs. the time spent One large meal completely offsets the pitiful amount of calories burned in an hour aerobics session. This is exacerbated by over-engineered running shoes which cushion the feet in such a way to create a neural amnesia.

Adrenal burnout A consequence of the ‘feel good’ neurotransmitters which also stimulate the release of adrenaline. Adrenaline is the fight or flight hormone. Excessive adrenaline creates an addictive response and people going routinely for the so called ‘high’ of running end up with adrenal burnout, e.g., chronic fatigue and depression.

Dr. Kenneth Cooper, the father of aerobic exercise (and the person who coined the term) completely recanted his assertions regarding aerobic exercise. After observing a disproportionate number of his aerobic-enthusiast friends die of cancer and heart disease, he reversed his ideas on the benefits of excessive aerobic exercise. He now claims anything in excess of 20 minutes has greatly diminishing returns. In fact, he’s now an advocate of scientific weight training.

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One of the most overlooked reasons though is that most times?

Traditional Cardio is f*cking boring, and if you associate exercise with boredom; guess what? You won't want to f*cking exercise.

My take on cardio is that it should be something you enjoy if at all possible. You will feel better for doing it, both mentally and physically, and it will be something that you are more likely to stick to doing. I see the occasional person tell me that they actually enjoy Zumba, and I try to give them the benefit of the doubt, but I could think of more entertaining things to do personally (like martial arts or f*cking myself with a rake). So swim, play a sport, learn how to kill people with your palms and various choke holds; find an activity you like and turn it into part of your lifestyle. If you do enjoy walking or running because it clears your head and keeps you from becoming an axe murderer? Great, do it but keep it realistic. Above all else though? Lift weights and get your nutrition in order.

So with this board folks, I'll do my best to post useful links, info, and make it a good source of factual information, motivation, profanity and occasional sexual humor.