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well, every once in a while, we post up and ask people how their fitness plans are coming for the year.

Since it's just into the new year, I thought I'd ask folks for an update, or if they're getting started, what their plans are.

Me,

well, I've basically dropped 35 or so lbs over the last 3 years... while I tend to start the year off strong, things go awry over the summer leading into the winter months. Which means I've only dropped about 10lbs year-year.

which is fine if I wanted to wait 6 years to get back to fighting weight.

So this year, a buddy and I are kicking it up a notch with the fitness challenge. The challenge goes for 5 months, (till june 1st), with $500 on the line come judgement day. There's also $25/mo incentives as well...

With a chunk of cash on the line, and everything to lose, the motivation is definitely higher.... so here's seeing how things go.

The diet and fitness plan are simple... restrict caloric intake, and exercising a LOT...

starting weight: 285
currently: 283
June 1st goal : 245

I have started making an effort to do PT on my own time every day. I go to the gym on base on alternating evenings to lift weights, and I do cardio for 15-20 mins on my health rider daily.

I am currently 200 lbs, +/- a pound or so, and I'm interested in dropping down to about 185-190 (figure I'll still weigh a fair amount for a guy that's 5'6" if I keep lifting weights).

I think that I can do it, I'm mostly interested in burning off my waistline, and being leaner overall. Guess I need to up the veggie and fish eating...

L8tz

I've vowed not to drink any more beer for a while. This will make the crooked cue a tough night. (One won't kill me)

I'm back on weight watchers and watching my food like a hawk.

I'm bringing my own lunches to work instead of jumping down Yonge street to Popeye's Chicken :puke:

And I'm continuing to take the puppy for walks up to an hour after work.

Goal? Lose 20 lbs by March 1st.

Well, I've lost almost 10 lbs. in the past month!!!
And trust me, it's not because I wanted too.
Things are kinda complicated at home right now, which explains my sudden drop in weight.
Hopefully we can get back on track soon... which we are trying to do since about 3-4 days now.
I don't usually talk about these things, but it helps sometimes.
P.S. I'm 5'8" and weigh only 145 at the moment! skinny little s**t. lol

Still working my way through my regimen of 2 cardio sessions and 2 weight training sessions a week (each approx 40 minutes)

Christmas time makes it tough with all the places to go and food shoved in my face but now that things are mostly back to normal it shouldn't be a big issue and I should be able to maintain my weight at the 185 - 190 range (Bearing in mind that I'm 6'2.5", I'm a bit skinnier than I might otherwise be, but the less weight on my busted up leg, the better)

Now if only the "New Years resolution Warriors" would either get a clue or dissapear from the gym... I wince every time I hear the weight crash back down in the equipment because it means the equipment is that much closer to breaking down (which we all pay for in my condo :ph34r: )

NefCanuck

Well as the new years starts I've decided to go back to my healthy eating plan. Last year I lost 20 lbs with just eating right and getting more active. Christmas time sorta destroyed my healthy eating at the end of last year but i'm back on it now, bringing healthy lunches to work instead of eating fat burger everyday.

The goal is 20 lbs more by may, that'll put me about 255, which at 6'5 isn't bad and is alot better than the 295 i was at this time last year. I keep thinking about joining a gym but i know that that'll only last a month then i'll get bored and the novelty will have worn off and then i'll just be out the monthly fee every month for something i don't use. Thankfully tho my job is pretty physical so that'll have to substitute for the gym.

I'm training for an adventure race this summer... so I'm also training like a madwoman! I'm up to 5-6 cardio sessions per week, which each last at least an hour. I run incline and flat intervals at about 8mph to get the heart rate up. Then I do the arc trainer for about 35 minutes, finishing up with spinning at about 85-90 rpm.
I'm also starting to incorporate a lot more weight training into my program, and I'm taking the body pump class at goodlife almost religiously.
As for diet, I almost can't get enough calories... so I have to make sure I'm at least getting all my needed nutrients/vitamins on a daily basis. I'm also trying to eat a bit more red meat for that added iron intake.
On other days, the bf and I are at the climbing gym, and we're there for a few hours each time.

Good luck to all of you on your health resolutions for the year!!

Well, as most know... I wrenched my back just before Christmas so I'm really not "in shape" right now.

Last year started weak but ended well... we're playing ball hockey at lunch 2-3 times a week and on the days we're not playing, I'm in the gym at work.

I was back today at lunch to work out and felt surprisingly strong for the time I had been away from working out.

So far, so good.

ZX5chica,Jan 10 2007, 12:22 PM Wrote:I'm training for an adventure race this summer... so I'm also training like a madwoman! I'm up to 5-6 cardio sessions per week, which each last at least an hour. I run incline and flat intervals at about 8mph to get the heart rate up. Then I do the arc trainer for about 35 minutes, finishing up with spinning at about 85-90 rpm.
I'm also starting to incorporate a lot more weight training into my program, and I'm taking the body pump class at goodlife almost religiously.
As for diet, I almost can't get enough calories... so I have to make sure I'm at least getting all my needed nutrients/vitamins on a daily basis. I'm also trying to eat a bit more red meat for that added iron intake.
On other days, the bf and I are at the climbing gym, and we're there for a few hours each time.

Good luck to all of you on your health resolutions for the year!!
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sweet.. which adventure race you looking to do?

I did a Raid The North race up in Elliot Lake a few years back... tonnes of fun, if exhausting (for a fat guy like me). -- we came in a spot before a team consisting of canadian armed forces.. they passed us about 6 times and kept getting lost. So remember, orienteering skills > outright physical fitness.

darkpuppet,Jan 10 2007, 02:01 PM Wrote:sweet.. which adventure race you looking to do?

I did a Raid The North race up in Elliot Lake a few years back... tonnes of fun, if exhausting (for a fat guy like me). -- we came in a spot before a team consisting of canadian armed forces.. they passed us about 6 times and kept getting lost.  So remember, orienteering skills > outright physical fitness.
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lol... I'm going to try the Solomen series Raid the North race. There is one held up here near the Ottawa river. I'm pretty good at orienteering, so that shouldn't be a problem.. it's the trail running that I'm concerned about. I'm not a runner at all, and that's what's held me back year after year in the triathlon attempts.
I always start training for tri's, but I find running so bleedy boring that I don't continue with the training at all. In any case, I hope that the group I'm with are actually serious about this, because when I start something, I have to finish on top! No last place for me!

a couple of pointers that'll help
1 ) get out canoeing with your team... make sure they know how to paddle properly, switch properly, and steer the boat properly.
2 ) to save on blisters (your shoes are nearly guaranteed to get wet), wear day hikers with a medium-soft sole with wool socks. They are heavier than runners, but you're a lot less likely to blister. Or at least test out your shoes/socks combo wet on a cross country run to identify the hot spots so you can wrap ahead of time.
3 ) The RtN organizers are devious.. don't be surprised if there are some 'surprises' along the way -- I don't want to ruin it if it's your first.
4 ) you may want to skip synthetics and see if you can get a light wool bottom layer. I was wearing MEC 'dry-fit' shirts and chafed an outline of my camelback on myself.
5 ) get on your 'adventure race diet' a week before the event. Putting your intestines into distress the day of the event sucks.
6 ) if you're not sure of your direction, stop running... you'll miss less checkpoints this way.

oh, and are you doing the 8 hour, or the longer races? the 8 hour race tends to use less accurate maps -- no biggie, but it means you need to keep your eyes open for checkpoints you may be passing by inadvertently.

All in all, it's a great time. YOu should have lots of fun...

darkpuppet,Jan 10 2007, 02:35 PM Wrote:a couple of pointers that'll help
1 ) get out canoeing with your team... make sure they know how to paddle properly, switch properly, and steer the boat properly.
2 ) to save on blisters (your shoes are nearly guaranteed to get wet), wear day hikers with a medium-soft sole with wool socks.  They are heavier than runners, but you're a lot less likely to blister.  Or at least test out your shoes/socks combo wet on a cross country run to identify the hot spots so you can wrap ahead of time.
3 ) The RtN organizers are devious.. don't be surprised if there are some 'surprises' along the way -- I don't want to ruin it if it's your first.
4 ) you may want to skip synthetics and see if you can get a light wool bottom layer.  I was wearing MEC 'dry-fit' shirts and chafed an outline of my camelback on myself.
5 ) get on your 'adventure race diet' a week before the event.  Putting your intestines into distress the day of the event sucks.
6 ) if you're not sure of your direction, stop running... you'll miss less checkpoints this way.

oh, and are you doing the 8 hour, or the longer races?  the 8 hour race tends to use less accurate maps -- no biggie, but it means you need to keep your eyes open for checkpoints you may be passing by inadvertently.

All in all, it's a great time.  YOu should have lots of fun...
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The canoeing is not a problem, cause my team mates and I are all experienced white water paddlers. And luckily we all have pretty good gear. One thing that I swear by when on trip are amphibian shoes. They're like hikers, but they have a neoprene lining, so they can get wet, yet still maintain their shape. I was in them for about 1 week straight last summer when I paddled the DuMoine, and they were wonderful!
I'm more concerned about the race diet, and the checkpoints, to be honest. Although, we're only doing the 8 hour, so I guess we could even get by without ingesting anything. Or maybe even some gel packs or something? This I'm not sure on. I've never done an extended race like this.
What did you do for diet/food intake during your race?

well for me eveyone knows I joined Goodlife back in December, and have been seeing my trainer once or twice a week, and so far with her help I have been working out correctly again and I have noticed an overall gain to my muscle mass and I'm no longer flabby in the arms or legs again. I've been doing cardio 4 - 5 times a week for about 40 minutes to 2 hours depending on how much time I have. My goal for weight loss is about 50lbs.

Diet, I have cut out 70% of bad fast food places like Mc donald's etc...and changed them to either Pita Places or Subs with low fat, and I'm slowly adding more veggies to my plate, and I'm trying to eat more fruits but I tend to foget about them after I buy them... and I have reduced my pop intake, I'm slowly reducing it till I stop and I'm almost there... as it's like coffee to me.

Starting weight: back in Dec was 297 lbs
Currently : 290 Lbs
Goal : December 2007.

I rejoined the gym just before Christmas as the bowflex I inherited wasn't really working for me and I wasn't getting my cardio like I used to. Really watched myself over the holidays and ended up continuing to lose weight rather than the usual holiday fat pack that people usually end up putting on. Had a wicked fever last week that's still kicking my ass 3 ways from Sunday but hit back to the gym last night.

We'll see what happens but my goal is 250 by June and by Sept I'd like to try for 225 to 230 but I'm building a lot of muscle with work and training with weights. If I hit that goal, that will be 100 lbs in about 2.5 yrs and I will be very happy.

I had a moment 2 weeks ago now when I went shopping with Amanda and bought a pair of size 40 jeans and needed the xxl shirt for the shoulders not the gut. I can imagine some of you thinking that size 40 isn't such a big deal but when a year and a half ago I was a tight 48 it's a bit of a deal. When I came out of the changeroom in the GAP wearing the jeans, she jumped on me and gave me a huge hug and we stood there crying, it looked kinda funny to other people who were standing there but then she told the 2 workers why we were so excited. That gave me huge motivation to keep going hard. I haven't fit a size 40 or smaller since I was about 21, so damn near 10yrs.

ZX5chica,Jan 10 2007, 03:41 PM Wrote:The canoeing is not a problem, cause my team mates and I are all experienced white water paddlers. And luckily we all have pretty good gear. One thing that I swear by when on trip are amphibian shoes. They're like hikers, but they have a neoprene lining, so they can get wet, yet still maintain their shape. I was in them for about 1 week straight last summer when I paddled the DuMoine, and they were wonderful!
I'm more concerned about the race diet, and the checkpoints, to be honest. Although, we're only doing the 8 hour, so I guess we could even get by without ingesting anything. Or maybe even some gel packs or something? This I'm not sure on. I've never done an extended race like this.
What did you do for diet/food intake during your race?
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If it's aquatic shoes I'm thinking about, you might want to try running in them when wet.. the problem is that most people got their feet wet in the 1st hour, which turns the next 6 into agony.

I'm not sure how the course is laid out in ottawa, but the 8 hour race in eliot lake was completed in about 5 hours by some locals... they kicked everyone's butt.

Race diet.. definitely take food along with you. Rules say you carry your own garbage, I had a breakfast consisting of eggs, toast, and Tang... 2 waterbottles of gatorade on my bike, and my camelback was full of gatorade... I also packed bananas and peanut butter sandwiches... definitely needed food over the course of the race.. I've never been a big fan of gels, but I nearly doubled my caloric intake that day (at 270lbs).

and yes, I got the, "wow, you move pretty good for such a big guy" from the locals... not quite as bad as the king kong remark in vancouver tho.. :P

Well I way about 155 and I am hoping to but on 25-30 pounds. Not having my car makes it hard cause I have to walk everywhere and thats making me burn calories. I am not down with walking.

Lost 52lbs last year. Looking to "keep up the good work"

meford4u,Jan 10 2007, 07:47 PM Wrote:Lost 52lbs last year.  Looking to "keep up the good work"
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Congratulations, just think, you've lost the weight equivalent of two well stocked golf bags ;)

NefCanuck

i would like to try and gain some weight not to much ho maybe like 40 lbs, but im having a really hard time...have tried the weight gainner shakes and things but can't do it.. looks like i will have to buy another tub of that stuff and try agian

meford4u,Jan 10 2007, 07:47 PM Wrote:Lost 52lbs last year.  Looking to "keep up the good work"
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That's impressive, man. Nice work!