GWestphal's 2012 Fitness Reporting/Accountability Thread

[GWestphal]

It's time for me to get serious about my fitness and health, so I'm going to track my progress and hopefully get support and advice from you guys!


Stats: Male, 26 yrs, 6'3", 205.5 lbs, Body Fat 47.9 lb/23.3%, Body water 56%, Bone Mass 8.9%, BMI 25.2

Biceps: 15 in
Chest: 38 in
Waist: 40 in
Thigh: 25 3/4 in


I don't have a weight goal, but I want to lose the love handles, tone/rip, and maybe bulk up a little depending how things look when I've cut a lot of fat.

Immediate goal: Exercise consistency! Run/Bike each morning and evening, gym minium of 3 times per week. Eat healthier, slight caloric deficit 1800-ish calories per day with more veggies and chicken, while reducing intake of pre-processed foods and alcohol. Perhaps try gluten and dairy restricted meal plan. Sleep better, more regular.

Long term (6-12 months)- Get Body Fat to 12-14% range, reduce waist size by 8 inches, increase biceps by 4 inches, increase chest by 6 inches, toned abs, develop some muscles so you can see them.


I know I'm overweight, but if you have comments on my body, posture, whatever that would be beneficial, feel free to shoot me something.

Things I'd love input on:

1. Food allergies? My aunt is borderline homeopathy crazy, but she had her kids tested somewhere and they were at least mildly allergic to pretty much everything. Is that legit or is she just being gamed by these energy healers and homeopathic folks giving her tinctures?

2. Toxins (Heavy metals)- Same crazy aunt does chelations with her kids to remove mercury, lead, etc. I've heard that can actually be quite bad, since it leaches calcium. Is there anything to toxins, chelation etc or is it something your body will do on it's own. I do have several (7 or 8) and have had plenty of vaccines (thimerisol adjuvants).

3. Biotics- how to keep a healthy gut microbe load. I've had some issues the past few weeks with terrible, terrible room clearing gas and breath that never seems neutral even though I brush, floss, and tongue scrape regularly. I assume antibiotics are a bad deal. How do you get all the right ones back? I assume there is more than just acidophilus and bacciphilus. More efficient nutrient uptake and faster metabolism is the name of the game. I've also heard that bad bacteria can be the culprit, but you'd have to wipe out everything to get rid of the bad.

4. Intestine flushes- I recall reading somewhere that there is 4-6 lbs of fecal matter trapped in the crevasses of a normal persons digestive track that isn't actively moving and is blocking nutrient uptake. Is there anything to the enema, colon flush, diet/systems?

5. Macro/Micro nutrients, supplements, fiber, omega oils, vitamins, protein. Which ones are good, which are bogus?

6. Regular chiropractic adjustment/acupuncture/massage- I've gone a few times when I've injured myself and they always stress setting up regular sessions, will this actually do anything for a healthy person? I can believe that most diseases are either neuronal or immunological, but how much of it real and how much is it a chiro wanting a new Lexus? I suppose some of this is involved with posture, which mine probably isn't the best.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

That 1-6 left me scratching my head.

Take a multi-vitamin every other day. If you can get multivitamins without iron or a minimal amount of iron, get those instead.

I take fish oil pills. They are a good compliment to nuts if you eat those.

As for motivation, I am 6'. In less than a year (2011) I went from 230 pounds and a 40" waist to 212 pounds and a 34" waist. It is doable. Just stick to the program.

Read the sticky in this forum for weight loss and muscle gains. It's the only sticky.

Do a weight lifting program. Stronglifts or Starting Strength. Read about both. Choose one and stick to it. It doesn't matter which one. What is important is that you choose one and stick to it.

As for running/cardio. Do those opposite weight lifting days. 30 minutes is plenty. But mostly, do cardio if your goal is to be able to run a mile or something. The couch25k (pronounced couch to 5K) program is awesome for novice runners that can't run more than 5 minutes non stop. I could only run for 90 seconds at a time a year ago. Sunday I did a nearly non stop 3.66 mile run. Took one 1 minute break about 2.5 miles in and a handful of 15 foot walks every once in a while.

But read hte sticky. Weight training will add muscle and burn fat. Cardio actually has some consequences to be aware of.

 

[GWestphal]

Time to report:

1/5: 20 min biking, 1hr weights
1/8: 20 min biking, 1hr weights
1/10: 20 min run, 30 min cals

 

[bhanson]

As for running/cardio. Do those opposite weight lifting days. 30 minutes is plenty.

I'm pretty sure the guys at Starting Strength suggest doing no additional cardio unless absolutely necessary while on the program.

Recovery is as important as working out and if you're constantly hammering your body you limit gains.

 

[bhanson]

Time to report:

1/5: 20 min biking, 1hr weights
1/8: 20 min biking, 1hr weights
1/10: 20 min run, 30 min cals

Are you squatting, benching, and deadlifting?

 

[prism]

Adding 4 inches to your biceps within a year is extremely unlikely to happen. Don't want to sound negative, but make sure your goals are reasonable.

 

[tedrodai]

Things I'd love input on:

1. Food allergies
2. Toxins (Heavy metals)
3. Biotics
4. Intestine flushes
5. Macro/Micro nutrients
6. Regular chiropractic adjustment/acupuncture/massage

I try not to judge about stuff like this, because there's not a strictly cut and dry answer for most of this stuff you're asking about. These treatments might help some people, though there's very little data to suggest an average healthy individual will benefit from them. Hypochondriacs are definitely nutty, but even the most sensible person can become worried by all the data and 'studies' people throw around these days, when health information spreads like wildfire but there is very little conclusive proof supporting various recommendations. So, do what you feel you need to do, but try not to go to extremes unless it involves a trusted doctor's prescription.

Also, beware trying to over-diagnose symptoms (and then trying to treat yourself for problems you don't have). Medical students are notorious for exibiting a little hypochondria at times because they're exposed to a LOT of medical knowledge, and so many symptoms can share a multitude of possible causes.

(1) Where did she get them tested? If you go to a doctor's office (an allergy doc or general practice who has a lot of experience with allergies) and they do a blood test, the results are pretty darn cut-and-dry. It is definitely possible for someone to be allergic to pretty much anything (and everything if they're really unlucky lol), but if she didn't have blood tests done (or the infamous old scratch test), there's a very high probability she's being gamed. A default allergy test isn't perfect, however, because they test for the 'X' most common allergies, and people can have or acquire allergies to some obscure things.

(2) Well, chelation is used by doctors for acute heavy metal poisoning...not for 'oh you might possibly been exposed to heavy metals because it's found everywhere these days so lets do this just do be safe'. They'll first do one or more tests to determine the level of heavy metals in your body; then if needed they'll prescribe a treament, and they'll test you again after X amount of time before continuing or declaring it a successful treatment. If your aunt and her kids have valid medical reasons and a prescribed treatment plan, then great. If not, and she's doing it just from a fear of heavy metals, she's playing with fire and might cause problems rather than alleviating them.

(3) The state of bacteria in your digestive system generally takes care of itself, though some people might have problems with it and require extra attention. I'd first examine your diet (high in fiber or protein?, etc) and any supplements (fish oil, etc) you may be taking to rule out those factors.

(4) The average person has zero reason to actively flush out their intestinal tract, save before certain medical procedures. It generally takes care of itself. If one has constant bowel movement problems, I'd first examine dietary changes that can help (example: more fiber and fluids).

(5) It depends on what type of diet you get, and if you personally find benefits to certain supplements. ALL supplements you find in the store are there to make money...they don't sell them out of the kindness of their hearts. There is no master list of "this supplement is actually good for you, this one isn't".

(6) Again, they all are trying to make money lol. Some people find benefits to treatments such as those, while some don't. You'll have to evaluate how much they seem to help you specifically. If it makes you more relaxed (or whatever you're going for specifically), and you can afford it, then it's probably worthwhile. I personally find spending tons of money on that kind of stuff more stressful than the relaxation I get from them 😀, except for maybe a massage every so often (like every five years hahah).