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<p>Today, 3.25 miles on the treadmill: Walk 5 min, run 20 min, walk 3, run 8:36. Total time 36:36. And then some planks.</p>
<p>idad:</p>
<p>We know you used to smoke and you used to weigh 90 pounds more. What was it that created the motivation to change?</p>
<p>In the United States, the increasing rates of obesity would mean 7.8 million extra cases of diabetes, 6.8 million extra cases of coronary heart disease and stroke, and 539,000 extra cancer cases by 2030. The U.K. would see 668,000 extra cases of diabetes, 461,000 extra cases of coronary heart disease and 130,000 extra cases of cancer.</p>
<p>Losing just a little weight could offset those increases. The report noted that a 1 percent population-wide decrease in body-mass index (just 1.9 pounds for an average 198-pound adult) would prevent more than 2 million cases of diabetes, roughly 1.5 million cases of heart disease and stroke, and 73,000 to 127,000 cancer cases in the United States.</p>
<p>That same amount of weight loss in the U.K. would cut between 179,000 and 202,000 diabetes cases, 120,000 cases of heart disease and stroke, and 32,000 cancer cases.</p>
<p>[Obesity</a> Continues to Balloon in U.S. and U.K.: Study - US News and World Report](<a href=“http://health.usnews.com/health-news/diet-fitness/diabetes/articles/2011/08/26/obesity-continues-to-balloon-in-us-and-uk-study]Obesity”>http://health.usnews.com/health-news/diet-fitness/diabetes/articles/2011/08/26/obesity-continues-to-balloon-in-us-and-uk-study)</p>
<p>Today’s workout: hefting gallon jugs of water into/out of the shopping cart & car; dodging other shoppers while stretching for batteries, bread, PB&J and canned tuna, and lifting various boxes and bins looking for oil lamps, flashlights, etc.</p>
<p>We’re still at the beach, because of H’s (stupid) sailboat. He didn’t get on a hauling list in time, and now he won’t leave so he can get back to it as soon as the storm passes. (Of course all the roads to get to where he’s moored will likely be flooded, but …) I’d rather be in Cambridge, but here we are. Also worried about D in New Haven.</p>
<p>If we lose power, I definitely won’t be on any sort of low carb diet … Sigh.</p>
<p>Oh no, hang in there CBBlinker. I think stressing out must burn off a few calories, right?</p>
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<p>Pure happenstance on the smoking. I got a flu bug with a really scratchy sore throat. Smoking hurt my sore throat, so I didn’t smoke all day when I was cuddled under a down sleeping bag with the flu. At the end of the day, I realized that I had just gone 24 hours without nicotine for the first time since Nixon was in the White House. I knew that I probably would never be presented with an opportunity like that again, so I decided to try for a second day, just to see if one day was a fluke. After 48 hours without nicotine, I new that it was now or never. On the morning of the third day, I knew that I would never take another puff. It was a very miserable week. The first flu bug without smoking is notoriously nasty as the symptoms of quitting smoking, nicotine withdrawal, and flu all converge, but I also knew that you just don’t get many three day head starts on kicking nicotine addiction. It’s always easier to just “git 'er done” than throw in the towel and pretend that you’ll try again someday.</p>
<p>The eating and fitness was two years later. The slowly increasing weight and lack of exercise was starting to really take a toll. Not only couldn’t I enjoy exercise, I was starting to struggle with just day to day stuff. Walking a half mile from a parking lot to a concert had me sweating and huffin’ and puffin’. I was at the point where the clothes I could wear were disgusting – huge baggy sweaters, expand-a-waist pants. I had been inching up in size for over ten years. I was at the point where I uncomfortably fat for an airline seat (not that they are ever comfortable). It was hard getting in and out of the car. It had reached the point of no-return. It was either just accept being an ol’ fat guy or start to do something about it. So, I just used the same approach I had learned from kicking nicotine addiction: set small short-term goals – one hour, one day, one workout, one can of Pringles – and let the progress be the motivation to keep it going. Initially, I just want to stop gaining weight and maybe lose 20 pounds to get back down to 230 pounds. I really didn’t have any idea at all that the journey would take me this far. I figured I could drop 20 pounds.</p>
<p>So, it all started on a fluke, I guess. I’m not a big believe that you can plan ahead to quit smoking or lose weight. I think you just have to be on the lookout for, or receptive to, an opportunity to seize the moment and get started.</p>
<p>Was at Trader Joes last night and stopped in the samples booth. The had Edamame Hummus. I generally hate Edamame but it’s supposed to be good for you. The Edamame Hummus was wonderful - very similar to chick peas, only green.</p>
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<p>And yet, despite this, the health agencies continue three decades of telling people they need to eat more carbs. It really is enough to make you scream, to have the health policy recommending something that is specifically optimized for fattening up. Imagine how many Americans would be absolutely shocked to find out that “eating a lot of whole grains” is going to make them put on weight, not lose it? Or, that a nice grilled pork chop and a green veggie would be a better dinner for fat loss than a plate of “healthy” pasta?</p>
<p>^And despite all the “Low Fat!” goodies from Snackwell and the like. </p>
<p>DH suffers from an excess of good food, like many in this country. Too much eating out (business travel) and cleaning his plate. Not to mention drugs that fix the cholesterol, BP, and blood sugar issues, but have the side effect of making it difficult to lose weight!</p>
<p>IDdad–But opportunity comes to those who are prepared to accept it. :)</p>
<p>I think that companies like Weight Watchers acknowledging the benefits of low-carb helps but there is a ton of marketing out there by food producers and it is hard to fight the marketing. My general feeling is that most people do not understand or know about low-carb.</p>
<p>Well, I’m probably among them. I love carbs and eat them with gusto every day.</p>
<p>But I’m by no means overweight, so what the heck.</p>
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<p>It’s not even low carb. It’s the public health policy makers actively pushing people to increase their carb consumption for the last 35 years. The effort has been successful. The American public has significantly increased its percentage of calories from carbohydrates over that time frame – an increase that follows the same timeline as the increase in obesity and diabetes. Forget suggesting that obese people and Type 2 diabetics decrease their carb intake. Just stop telling them to eat more carbs. That’s what you do when you want to fatten cattle for market.</p>
<p>I agree that there are small glimmers of sanity in the nutrition advice. At least there is an emerging concensus that maybe we should tell people to eat and drink less sugar to prevent getting fat (now there’s a shocking revelation!)</p>
<p>The crazy thing is that the scientific breakthroughs that allowed researchers to finally understand the biochemistry of insulin resistance and fat metabolism were occuring in the 1960s when a small handful of (mostly Harvard ) nutitionists threw all that out the window in favor of the low-fat jihad and blaming obesity on psychological failings. The McGovern committee locked government policy in place in 1977, the media jumped on the bandwagon, and we are now paying the price for bad policy.</p>
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<p>It’s fat people and type 2 diabetics and people headed that direction with metabolic syndrome/insuliin resistance who cannot handle high levels of carbohydrate consumption. The only way they can handle carbs without getting fatter is to starve themselves with ultra-low calorie intake, but then they get in a viscious cycle of lower and lower metabolism rates. At that point, the simple notion of “eat less/move more” just doesn’t work because the body is going into all kinds of protection modes against starvation. So much of what these people eat is going directly into fat storage (due to the high insulin levels) that they have no fuel to burn and spend all day desperately craving more carbs. Misery. Torture.</p>
<p>The current health recommendations are to eat at least 60% of your daily calories in carbohydrates. Even a moderate reduction to just 40% of calories would make a huge difference for anyone with any degree of insulin resistance (basically most overweight people). 40% is not very restrictive. I eat 20% to 25% carbs on a typical day and I’m only borderline “low-carb”.</p>
<p>Workout today:</p>
<p>10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 Bench Press @95 pounds</p>
<p>10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 KB Swings @50 pounds</p>
<p>Now I’m considering a run because in the last hour I’ve gotten very frustrated and mad. Got a text halfway through my KB swings that set me off… that 'bell bounced a few times when I was finishing reps! I definitely left a few marks on the floor…</p>
<p>Now that my running issue is resolved, I’m going back to around 25% - 30% carbs.</p>
<p>Cardio Dance Fitness class early this morning.</p>
<p>Then I told myself when I got back I would just have to do the dynamic warm up portion of the New Rules regimen. After that I would call it a day. I mean there is really no exertion for that and I would do it outside in the sunshine.</p>
<p>After I did that, I told myself I would only have to do the core exercises. Just head downstairs to the gym and get those done. Call it a day, skip the strength portion. </p>
<p>Then I after I finished those and was already in the gym, I told myself I only needed to do 1 strength exercise, etc. You get the picture.</p>
<p>So, yay me, did my first New Rules workout. I didn’t notice until afterwards that I started on “B” instead of “A”, but no big deal, right?</p>
<p>So, after 40 minutes of cardio, Workout today:</p>
<p>Dynamic warm up:
all of the exercises - bent over thoracic extension and rotations, squat to stands, forward/backward jumps, crossover walking toe touch, lateral jumps, seal jacks, reverse inchworms (ugh!), forward-backward hop, curtsey lunges, straight leg runs, side shuffles, butt kicks</p>
<p>2 sets of the anti rotation static holds
10 sets of the elevated planks
5 sets each side elevated side planks</p>
<p>15# DB single leg Romanian dead lifts 3 sets, 12 reps
15# DB alternating shoulder press, 3 sets, 12 reps</p>
<p>did not do overhead squat, did front squats instead - 45# bar 3 sets of 12</p>
<p>Cable kneeling pull downs 70# 3 sets of 12</p>
<p>Amazing the mind games it took, but at least I got the first one done!</p>
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<p>At least it didn’t ruin your workout, seems like it put a little oomph into the kb swings. But I am sorry for the aggravation.</p>
<p>Jane, it looks like you had a good day.</p>
<p>CJ:</p>
<p>Fantastic. Now, you are making me want to start NROL4A again. All those favorites. The kneeling cable holds (stretchy bands in my case) had me sweating buckets. What I found was that the workouts went quickly because of the way they are divided into discrete sections. Each section is over in just a few minutes and then it’s on to the next one. It never really gets boring.</p>
<p>Starting with Workout B makes no difference. Workout A and B are equivalent. You just alternate back and forth between them until you’ve done each one six or eight times – a couple of times to get the hang the exercises, check your form if there’s anything you need to look up, and generally get organized with the right weights. Then, a few times to crank up the weight or intensity and couple of auto-pilot workouts at the end to consolidate before moving on.</p>
<p>Front squat should be just fine as a substitute for the overhead squat. It’s really an exercise in Phase I to nail proper squat form, weight balance, and core engagement. Any variation that forces you into good upright posture, chest up, weight back on heels, etc. will accomplish the goal. The thing that I really like about that whole program is that every exercise has a teaching component in addition to just being a good exercise.</p>