Do you try to "shape up" for Summer?

by Open mind 60 Replies latest social physical

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  SweetBabyCheezits

  Thanks, Lav, but trust me, FB pics are deceiving. I try not to post pics that betray the true condition of my skinny-fat ass when I've been neglecting it. haha

  Things go downhill fast when I stop eating right/getting exercise before it levels out. My weight may have fluctuated about 10lbs across a year and a half but as I'm sure you know, that number alone doesn't tell the whole story. ie, I might lose 10lbs of muscle and gain 20lbs of fat for a net increase of 10lbs of weight. But none of that fat goes to my arms... so they stay skinny whilst my tire expands. That whole schtick.
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  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  The really weird part about my getting in shape is that I look much better from the back than the front.

  Maybe I should try bending over backward to pick up the hay bales to build abs.
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  Think About It

  I am playing competitive softball for the first time in a very long time, and I am getting injured like crazy.

  Think About It
• 

  straightshooter

  I have finally joined an exercise gym. Though I have decreased my food intake and increased my exercise, I still don't see any difference. But I do feel better.
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  SweetBabyCheezits

  Billy: The really weird part about my getting in shape is that I look much better from the back than the front.

  Good work, Sir Williamof Bethel! You've done well and reaped the benefits of your work. I won't even ask why you're posing topless in front of a haystack. What happens on the farm stays on the farm.

  Alright, I'll share a pic. Keep in mind I look much better in a burka... these jeans aren't very flattering:
• 

  JRK

  Om,

  You might not recognize me any more, with some of the changes I've made since we met last year. I have lost about 30 lbs, and to celebrate the summer solstice I am cold turkeying the cigarettes. I weigh less than I did when I graduated high school!

  JK
• 

  Open mind

  Thanks for all the replies. I'll hopefully get back here later today to address this thread in a manner that Flipper would be proud of.

  om

  (Heading out to a no/low carb lunch with a still-in JW relative.)
• 

  laverite

  Billy - Yeah, what's up with the hay? Show us your front!

  SBC - That pic is hysterical. I understand exactly what you're saying though. It makes perfect sense. But you may have outrageously high standards for yourself. You may see flab and everyone else is thinking fit dude.
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  Open mind

  NomadSoul: Thanks for your suggestions. Wishing you success in your goals.

  Nambo: Thanks for that link to the Guardian article. It echoes the theme of a book I'm currently reading:

  "Why We Get Fat: and What To Do About It" by Gary Taubes.

  (I am not usually a reader of this type of thing. The only reason I took a look at it was because of a recommendation by a bicycle maker/rider who is very much a luddite and not usually swayed by fads and fashion.) The author is a contributing correspondent for Science magazine, as well as The Atlantic, NY Times Magazine and Esquire. While he is not a scientist personally, his conclusions are totally driven by data, not wishful thinking or anecdote.

  cult classic: "I think the best thing about summer is being comfortable and uninhibited." Agreed. I'm hoping to get there by the end of summer.

  om

  (gonna post these before Murphy's Law deletes them)
• 

  Open mind

  Billy the Ex: You gettin' your "personal" photos from the same place as Miz/NoRoomForGeorge?

  snowbird: Keep up the good fight. It beats the alternative.

  finally awake: "I've managed to lose about 90 pounds," Wow! Good for you.

  SBC: Your cycle of lack of motivation and hitting the burgers and bottle sound very familiar. LOL at the "cheesburger cummerbund"!.

  Also, you said: "I want to talk to the fool who manages to stick to it all year 'round." I'll be getting to that in a second.

  laverite: Nice compliment to SBC. I've heard similar things myself since I am blessed with genes that make me tall and slim as a general tendency. But what SBC said about fat vs. muscle hits the nail on the head for me. I'd like to lose about 20 lbs of fat and gain 10 lbs of muscle. I guess the only way to really document something like that is through body fat testing using a water tank.

  Think About It: "I am playing competitive softball for the first time in a very long time, and I am getting injured like crazy."

  This ties into what SBC said about "the fool who manages to stick to it all year 'round". I'm finding that the older I get, the more things can trip up a good fitness regimen. I'm thinking that I've really got to start making it a year-round lifestyle change or my "cummerbund" may be here to stay, along with all sorts of potential negative health side effects.

  straightshooter: "I have decreased my food intake and increased my exercise, I still don't see any difference." I'm no doctor, so just like any other unqualifed, anonymous, doofus on the internet, take this with a HUGE grain of salt, but...... from everything I've read, what you're doing probably isn't sustainable. Maybe decrease your "bad" calories (like sugar and refined flour or maybe cut out carbs almost completely) but keep enough good food coming in to keep up your energy levels for the exercise you're doing.

  JRK: "I have lost about 30 lbs, and to celebrate the summer solstice I am cold turkeying the cigarettes." Whoa! Good for you John! I just got done listening to a program by the Harvard Business Review about habits. They said that exercise is a "keystone habit". And that when you alter a keystone habit, other habits are easier to change. So hang in there with the exercise while trying to kick the cigs.

  SBC: @ your picture: . That's the picture of Open Mind Future in about 4-5 years if I don't start taking this more seriously. Thanks for the twisted motivation. Seriously.

  om