The TFP Health Club

My wrists are fine by the way. I've been lifting for over 30 years and have progressed fairly slowly. My worst problems come from running, and a couple of auto accidents. Bad knees and my back has 2 herniated disks. My ortho said the back was most likely genetic. Seems to be true, since my parents aren't at all athletic and they both have the same thing.

 

I've lost about 5 pounds this last week, using the myfitnesspal app to track my calories. It's pretty easy, so far.

 

i was a fat fuck before this last year. im 5'8" and at my worst was ~260. what got me going is i was finally starting to suffer because of it. sleep apnea and gout were the worst of it. the gout flareups were horrible; worse than sprained ankles.

since then i haven't joined a program or followed a routine. i've always done things my own way and just figured my way through this in a way that i was changing my lifestyle permanently as opposed to taking it on as a project. i started taking long walks on the beach. gave up soda for water and low-cal gatorade. stopped the drive throughs and made the effort to go to whole foods every day. since i don't cook, whole foods has been great because i can get an eggwhite omelette or salad there and they charge me by weight, making my spending pretty close to what i was dropping on takeout.

anyway, now i'm hovering around 200lbs, but look pretty good there. in spite of 200 being a slightly large # for my height, my pant size is down to ~34 (from 44) and i'm jogging on the beach instead of walking now and even playing some basketball again, which i thought i'd been forced to retire from.

on gout-

i researched a lot on gout for selfish reasons and found a few natural food remedies i can share if you guys flareup again. one big one is coffee. they've done studies and for some reason people that drink ~4 cups of coffee a day get less flareups. thats my preventative advice. as for treating an actually flareup, of all things raw cherries brought mine down a lot. go figure.

 

did you find black cherries do anything for gout? i dont have gout but i've heard they can be helpful.

 

Over the course of a few years, I've dropped ~70lbs. I simply watch my calorie intake, and make sure I get my ass to the gym every day. Cardio 6 days a week burrning 450 to 550 cals in 45 minutes (I vary the intensity and the type), and weights 3x weekly for 30 minutes, and I keep it intense. It helps to work with a trainer, they can mix it up and keep you from being repetitive.

I found a free app on myfitnesspal.com that makes counting calories easy as pie (pun intended....)

 

I've just been reading that cherries have anti-inflammatory properties. I guess I should start eating them, since inflammation has been my constant companion this year.

 

for me it was any kind of cherries, barring the maraschino(sp) ones you put in cocktails haha. i would get raw ones in season (black or otherwise) and if they weren't in season i'd get dried ones at trader joes.

 

Moderation, take your time working back into it!

 

It's important to be on tune with the body. It does feel good after a workout.

 

So it's been a while since i checked in here - or anywhere on the TFP. I guess time flies and I just don't check in enough.

I'm down to 226 and have leveled off a bit... meaning less rapid weight loss, but healthier process. Apparently I was going too far too fast, and where a younger version of myself was just fine with a rapid diet like that, me at 39 was not doing well. I'm also starting tomorrow with a "personal trainer." OK, he's not a personal trainer, but he is a dude I work with who obviously knows a lot about health and nutrition. He's super buff and a totally cool guy, I'm sure he won't steer me wrong. I really need to tone up, because the weight is coming off, but I'm not happy with the way look naked.

As for gout, it'm still having flare-ups. I've had a total of 3, each one less severe than the last. I figure I just can feel it coming and have the anti-inflamatory meds at-the-ready. They seem to knock it down. Also I'm discovering that there are far more "rules" to eating that I keep breaking, despite attempting to be healthy. Oatmeal is bad for gout??? Go figure, and here I thought I found a nice, healthy breakfast.

 

That is great, you lost another 22 lbs. You must be feeling pretty good overall.

I think most people don't like the way they look naked.

 

I benched 335 for 8 reps the other night. I'm keeping up with my calories and have been slowly losing some weight too. I was finally under 240 on Saturday morning. I'm hoping to lose about 20 more by summer.

Now if I can just find some cardio that I can do without hurting my knees and Achilles tendons, then I'll be happy. Recumbent bike machine so far is the only thing that I can do, but it's hard to bring up my HR much on it.

 

How about a rowing machine or would that be too much on your knees?

 

Müsli, skim milk, water.

Perfect diet. Remixer approves.