[HighGain510]

I'm very proud of myself right now guys! I have been feeling rather shitty lately and I think I can chalk it up to being overweight and a poor diet. Everything else in my life is good... great girl... good money... nice gear. Happy Matt! However as of late I've been kinda down, just feeling sluggish and whatnot.

Well, anyone who has talked to me offline (urklvt in particular, we are in the same boat pretty much) knows that my Crohn's Disease has fucked up my stomach and health pretty badly. Running for me is REALLY difficult and it's one of the best ways to lose the weight unfortunately. My healthy weight (according to my doctor, by height) at 5'10" should be like around 155-165 lbs and right now I'm tipping the scale at 230 lbs.

I've been trying to convince myself to do something about it and I guess today was the day. I ate a decent-sized dinner, let it settle and then strapped on my running shoes. I ran about a mile or so then I walked back most of the way home. I got in and immediately sat down because if I didn't I was probably going to toss up all over the place, and that's not the way I want to lose the weight! After about 5 minutes of rest I got up and did a set of 20 pushups and about 100 crunches (no situps for me, that much pressure on my stomach makes me get sick), then back to pushups and another round of crunches! I got a REALLY good sweat going, arms dripping and sweat running down the side of my face, haven't done something like this in so long it felt like I did twice as much. I'm proud of myself because I've WANTED this workout for so long but I finally got motivated to do so today. Random, eh? I feel pretty good now that my stomach is settling down too! Now the hard part will be keeping this up.... I'm hoping to get down to like 190 lbs or lower by Christmas! Wish me luck gents....



P.S. I can feel the endorphins again... I'm feeling relaxed and happy right now! Tomorrow will most likely be another story....

[ohio_eric]

I'm trying to lose some weight and it's pretty rough.

Good luck.

[Drew]

I struggled for ages trying to turn myself into a runner. Like, the better part of two years. However, finally I came to the realization that I just hate running and I won't do it to stay fit because I don't enjoy it. I do,however, love niking. Think that'd be any easier on your stomache?

[OzzyC]

Originally Posted by Drew

I struggled for ages trying to turn myself into a runner. Like, the better part of two years. However, finally I came to the realization that I just hate running and I won't do it to stay fit because I don't enjoy it. I do,however, love niking. Think that'd be any easier on your stomache?

Niking? Never heard of that before. :P

I'm in the same boat, about 5'10" and 230 lbs, also. (Although most people are surprised to hear that I weigh that much, most guess that I would be about 200.) I recently began walking to and from school each day. It's about a mile each way, and I take anywhere from 13-20 mins (lowest and highest clocked times so far.) to do it one way.



I wish you luck.

[HighGain510]

Originally Posted by Drew

I struggled for ages trying to turn myself into a runner. Like, the better part of two years. However, finally I came to the realization that I just hate running and I won't do it to stay fit because I don't enjoy it. I do,however, love niking. Think that'd be any easier on your stomache?

LOL I won't be a smartass (like Ozzy... ) and I'll just say it's a given you mean biking, right? I think that might be easier on both my stomach as well as my ankles/knees. I have been meaning to go bike shopping but just haven't done it. I was waiting to have my girlfriend's mom help me pick one out as she's somewhat of a biking enthusiast and knows more about bikes these days than I do. Any suggestions on brands/styles/models I should look into? Most of the stuff I would be riding would either be paved paths or slightly dusty trails (weeeeelp, looks like it's time to hit the old duuusty trail... /family guy quote). I think there is something called a "hybrid" style bike out now? I think that's what she recommended but I'm open to any helpful information.

Originally Posted by OzzyC

Niking? Never heard of that before. :P

I'm in the same boat, about 5'10" and 230 lbs, also. (Although most people are surprised to hear that I weigh that much, most guess that I would be about 200.) I recently began walking to and from school each day. It's about a mile each way, and I take anywhere from 13-20 mins (lowest and highest clocked times so far.) to do it one way.



I wish you luck.

Yeah a lot of people don't really believe me when I tell them I weigh that much... guess I wear it well. It's quite obvious if I go swimming or anything without a shirt though! lol Moobs worse than NLB! I just need to keep with SOME kind of cardio and light strength training I think. The nice thing is that even with my crappy immune system (thanks steroids and immuno-suppresant medication! ) my frame is rather large so when I get to exercising and trim down, I don't become a twig. My older brother lifts pretty hardcore and he's always told me he is jealous of my body-type over his. We both wrestled in high school and when I got ripped (and I was, believe it or not hehe) it was a lot easier for me because I was just shedding baby fat. He was thin so it was harder to build muscle. Thanks for the well-wishes Ozzy!

[OzzyC]

Originally Posted by HighGain510

Yeah a lot of people don't really believe me when I tell them I weigh that much... guess I wear it well. It's quite obvious if I go swimming or anything without a shirt though! lol Moobs worse than NLB! I just need to keep with SOME kind of cardio and light strength training I think. The nice thing is that even with my crappy immune system (thanks steroids and immuno-suppresant medication! ) my frame is rather large so when I get to exercising and trim down, I don't become a twig. My older brother lifts pretty hardcore and he's always told me he is jealous of my body-type over his. We both wrestled in high school and when I got ripped (and I was, believe it or not hehe) it was a lot easier for me because I was just shedding baby fat. He was thin so it was harder to build muscle. Thanks for the well-wishes Ozzy!

I'm a shirt-in-the-pool guy, too. I've never met a person to admit any joying in the viewing of moobs.
I think 'roids had a lot to do my weight gain, also. I have had dermatitis for a number of years, and one of the treatments (which didn't necessarily help the symptoms. ) that I was subjected to involved 'em. Now I just don't worry about it until it gets dry/cracked then use some moisturisers on it. No more side-affects-worse-then-the-symptoms crap for me.

And as far as build goes, I've always been the guy who looks a bit stronger then he really is.

I think I forgot what else I was going to say...so, um...yeah.

[neon_black88]

2 sets of 20 pushups and 2 sets of 100 crunches??? Thats pretty fucking good for an "overwieght" dude. I can't do that many

[HighGain510]

Originally Posted by neon_black88

2 sets of 20 pushups and 2 sets of 100 crunches??? Thats pretty fucking good for an "overwieght" dude. I can't do that many

I still have muscle... it's just buried under some thick fat! Like I said before I started getting really messed up by Crohn's/steroids/immunosuppresants I wrestled for 2 years in high school and was in Army ROTC my freshman year of college. I'm just overweight now... too much sitting in a computer chair all day and eating bad food, plus not exercising hardly enough (other than moving PCs and monitors etc. at work) can kill that pretty fast.

[Drew]

yeah, I meant biking but am as typo prone as they come, especially hung over.

For me, it's just way more enjoyable, and it's less of a jarring motion so while I've never personally had knee/stomache problems, I could see that it'd be a lot easier for you on your stomache, and will help you avoid knee problems down the road.

For bikes, I'm probably not the best person to talk to either. I personally ride an older Voodoo Cycles Bantu - the frame kicks ass, but the componentry is a couple years old so I need to upgrade from 24 to 28, and I might want to upgrade the Manitou Mach 5 fork too...

If you're just riding for fun/exersize, then it doesn't matter that much what you buy. a road cycle will be faster and more efficient on pavement, but if you don't care about speed/aren't riding with anyone else on a road cycle, a mountain bike can be ridden comfortably on pavement but can also handle anything else you throw at it. A hybrid is an option too - it won't be as fast on pavement or as smooth on dirt, but it's designed to be serviceable on either and will work well for what you're trying to do.

I've been meanign to grab an entry level road bike for some time though - Colin rides a road frame so I have to work my ass off to keep up with him when he's just out cruising, and living in Boston 90% of my riding is going to be on pavement. If you're on asphalt all the time and pushing hard, a road cycle is just way more comfortable.

[shadowgenesis]

errr.. forgive my youthful impatience - i have not read the whole thread.

but swimming is shown to be one of the best forms of exercise, because it works more muscle groups at once and it doesn't beat the shit out of your joints (running = not good for your knees and feet).

i kinda like biking.. but i just don't like exercise for the sake of exercise. Biking somewhere new is great, but I get tired of a routine where i go out and i know the roads/paths and i've seen all the sites.
I have found that doing manual labor in the yard has been good for me physically and mentally and kicking a hackey sack for an extended period of time seems to be quite a workout for me too. At least doing that shit i don't get bored to death.

oh. and hybrid bikes seem like the most practical if you're planning on using your bike just for general biking (i.e. not specifically mountain biking or specifically road biking).

my 2 cents. Good luck!