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  1. #41
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Wilmington, NC
    Quote Originally Posted by BD80 View Post
    You can't believe any of this stuff - until you see it on a poster ...

    My Fitness Pal is probably the single most effective weight loss tool, if used diligently. It makes you aware of every choice you make throughout the day. Particularly that time at night when we all too often ingest meaningless calories.

    Just by thinking about the caloric impact a handful of chips will make on an otherwise successful healthy-eating day will often eliminate the craving.

    Sometimes just not wanting to go through the hassle of finding your phone and logging another entry will convince you to forego a snack.

    The app is now owned by Under Armour, so it is more robust than in the past, but there is more UA advertising.
    I've started using this too and it's amazing how your attitude towards eating changes when you put a number to everything that goes in your belly. I also like that it tells you additional information about the food you're eating to keep in your mind...

    ex: I put in something that's only 150 calories. Great, low calories. But the app might say, "this food in high in sodium. Your goal for today is less than "x"

    Or conversely, I eat plain tuna like yesterday. 150 calories "This food is high in protein"

    So it not only counts the calories to keep you on track to make a calorie deficit, but it guides you on how healthy the low calorie food is.

  2. #42
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Raleigh, NC
    Quote Originally Posted by left_hook_lacey View Post
    I've started using this too and it's amazing how your attitude towards eating changes when you put a number to everything that goes in your belly. I also like that it tells you additional information about the food you're eating to keep in your mind...

    ex: I put in something that's only 150 calories. Great, low calories. But the app might say, "this food in high in sodium. Your goal for today is less than "x"

    Or conversely, I eat plain tuna like yesterday. 150 calories "This food is high in protein"

    So it not only counts the calories to keep you on track to make a calorie deficit, but it guides you on how healthy the low calorie food is.
    I've been using My Fitness Pal on and off for years. It really is a great tool and I like that it syncs with my Fitbit. I know I'm getting serious about getting in shape when I start doing a good job of putting what I eat and drink into the app. Once you use it for a while and it starts to remember your food, it gets that much easier to use.

    Of course, sometimes, when I'm not too serious about my fitness, I just don't use it because I already know my diet is out of control and don't want to witness the horror :-)

  3. #43
    I need to start following everyone's advice on this thread. My brother-in-law is the poster boy for why you want to stay in shape. He fell on the ice on 1/7 and broke his hip - age 77. (Fortunate - not the socket, it was the femur just below the socket) He is currently getting around with just a cane. The walker is available if needed. There are still lots he can't do but the surgeon and therapists are impressed with his progress. He typically rides about 5,000 miles a year on his bicycle and works out a couple times a week.

  4. #44
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Raleigh, NC
    If someone wants an alternative to MyFitnessPal, I really like SparkPeople.com. It pulls exercise information with Garmin, Fitbit, and others, but doesn't seem to share nutrition information. I started using SparkPeople before I got a Garmin and before I found MyFitnessPal. I had been using SparkPeople for about a year, so I was really comfortable with it. I had a significant number of recipes put in (and SparkPeople allows you to add the complete recipe with instructions, which I think MyFitnessPal does not). I might be biased against changing to something new, but I like SparkPeople a little better (particularly for recipes).

    I ran both of them in parallel for a couple of weeks (that was A LOT of data). I found that the MyFitnessPal usually recorded slightly fewer calories for me than SparkPeople. And I liked the interface to SparkPeople better (was it because I had used it for a year? I dunno). It doesn't bother me that I can't go into Garmin Connect and see what it says about my food; SparkPeople, however, will grab the exercise info and pull it in. (I also don't change my intake based on small changes in exercise, only if there's a long cycling ride or a brick workout that exceeds about 800 calories.)

    If you've tried MyFitnessPal and don't like it, try SparkPeople. Either of them require LOTS of data entry. But different interfaces agree with different people. It's another option, with pros and cons.

  5. #45
    Quote Originally Posted by luburch View Post
    ... Occasionally I'll have a coffee at the office. One soda every Sunday. Otherwise I strictly drink water ...
    I hope you're not recklessly doing that before the Sunday-only crank of the car and weekly drive to church.

  6. #46
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Undisclosed
    I gave up soda thirteen months ago. Was a two-or-three Diet Coke’s a day guy during the week.

  7. #47
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Deeetroit City
    Quote Originally Posted by elvis14 View Post
    ... Of course, sometimes, when I'm not too serious about my fitness, I just don't use it because I already know my diet is out of control and don't want to witness the horror :-)
    What a familiar feeling ...

    Quote Originally Posted by devil84 View Post
    If someone wants an alternative to MyFitnessPal, I really like SparkPeople.com. ... Either of them require LOTS of data entry. But different interfaces agree with different people. It's another option, with pros and cons.
    Does SparkPeople have bar code reading? A nice feature in MFP.

    I have also noticed that, since the Under Armour acquisition, MFP has more commercial restaurant foods in its database. It helps keeping you on track; rather than feeling you will have to miss entering a significant meal which in turn leads to missing other entries. Moreover, restaurant meals are usually something you want to be able to "work off," so it is nice to have a fairly accurate idea of how bad the indulgence has been.

  8. #48
    Quote Originally Posted by elvis14 View Post
    ... Of course, sometimes, when I'm not too serious about my fitness, I just don't use it because I already know my diet is out of control and don't want to witness the horror ...
    A couple years ago, a friend got serious about getting healthy, even hired a trainer/nutritionist woman. She told him to keep a food journal. So he did, and went to his next appointment. She was looking over his journal and came to this entry: "11 beers - snack." He said she just dropped her head and shook it side to side and said, "at least you're honest."

  9. #49
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Raleigh, NC
    Quote Originally Posted by BD80 View Post
    Does SparkPeople have bar code reading? A nice feature in MFP.

    I have also noticed that, since the Under Armour acquisition, MFP has more commercial restaurant foods in its database. It helps keeping you on track; rather than feeling you will have to miss entering a significant meal which in turn leads to missing other entries. Moreover, restaurant meals are usually something you want to be able to "work off," so it is nice to have a fairly accurate idea of how bad the indulgence has been.
    Yes, SP has bar code reading. Admittedly, I don't use it really at all, since the vast majority of what I eat doesn't have a barcode on it.

    SP has a pretty vast selection of restaurant food, too. It has a crowd-sourcing feature, where you can offer corrections to their database, and you can enter your own foods. When you enter a food, others can have access to that entry. (You can also enter recipes, which can be marked private. The recipe feature is really nice.) It's easy to tell which is a SP entry and which is a user-entered entry (the username shows). There are sometimes multiple user entries for the same food. Some people will enter only the calories, some will also enter the macronutrients, (fat, protein, carbs), and others will enter as much as available (sodium, vitamin C, iron, etc). I've found that about 85% of user entries are complete enough for people tracking macronutrients and sodium. And for that remaining 15%, there's almost always another person who entered the same thing and did it completely. In tracking for over 8 years, I've only had to enter a handful of foods. Dozens of recipes, but only a handful of foods.

    Yeah...it's difficult to eat out. Portion sizes are way too large and contain unnecessary amounts of fat and sodium. Many entrees contain an entire day's worth of calories for someone on a low calorie diet.

  10. #50
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Vermont
    walk. a lot.

  11. #51
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Summerville ,S.C.
    Quote Originally Posted by budwom View Post
    walk. a lot.
    Not good for osteoarthritis ☺

  12. #52
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Vermont
    Quote Originally Posted by wavedukefan70s View Post
    Not good for osteoarthritis ☺
    up to a point it's pretty good for it, but I hear ya. My wife is going in for a new hip soon at Dartmouth due to said affliction...

  13. #53
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Raleigh, NC
    Quote Originally Posted by wavedukefan70s View Post
    Not good for osteoarthritis ☺
    Depends on where your osteoarthritis is, I guess. I have it in my lower back. Walking, running, and swimming actually help a lot. Core exercises might be the most important -- I feel best when I do core exercises twice a week, swimming twice a week, running twice a week, and cycling twice a week (and a sprint triathlon several times a summer). All of it relies on a good core, and each of the three cardio disciplines uses core muscles slightly differently. I'll lose weight, my back doesn't ache, I have more energy, I don't get bored doing the same exercise every day, and I'm outside for much of it and the sunshine makes me happy. (So does crossing the finish line in a tri -- elvis14, you'll see!)

    Unfortunately, hip bursitis derailed me about 2.5 years ago. The PT people told me to completely stop all other exercise except PT. Unfortunately, they spent years treating the wrong things. First hip, then lower back. Turns out, it's the curve in my upper back. Now I've gained back all the weight because I've been told not to exercise (and I can't eat any less than an already very low calorie diet), I'm out of shape, and starting back from square one. I've seen two family practitioners, four orthopedic surgeons (two are supposed to be spine specialists), and the thirteenth PT person was able to fix the initial problem. That's OK, I did it before, I'll do it again. I wish I wouldn't have listened and kept doing at least the non-impact cardio (cycling, swimming) and core exercises as my gut told me. I probably would have worked through it.

  14. #54
    Quote Originally Posted by devil84 View Post
    I wish I wouldn't have listened and kept doing at least the non-impact cardio (cycling, swimming) and core exercises as my gut told me. I probably would have worked through it.
    I don't know - I find that my gut has a vested interest in derailing my exercise plans...

    More seriously, back injuries are the worst and I am glad someone has figured out how to get you back on the path to sprint triathlon glory.

  15. #55
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Summerville ,S.C.
    Quote Originally Posted by devil84 View Post
    Depends on where your osteoarthritis is, I guess. I have it in my lower back. Walking, running, and swimming actually help a lot. Core exercises might be the most important -- I feel best when I do core exercises twice a week, swimming twice a week, running twice a week, and cycling twice a week (and a sprint triathlon several times a summer). All of it relies on a good core, and each of the three cardio disciplines uses core muscles slightly differently. I'll lose weight, my back doesn't ache, I have more energy, I don't get bored doing the same exercise every day, and I'm outside for much of it and the sunshine makes me happy. (So does crossing the finish line in a tri -- elvis14, you'll see!)

    Unfortunately, hip bursitis derailed me about 2.5 years ago. The PT people told me to completely stop all other exercise except PT. Unfortunately, they spent years treating the wrong things. First hip, then lower back. Turns out, it's the curve in my upper back. Now I've gained back all the weight because I've been told not to exercise (and I can't eat any less than an already very low calorie diet), I'm out of shape, and starting back from square one. I've seen two family practitioners, four orthopedic surgeons (two are supposed to be spine specialists), and the thirteenth PT person was able to fix the initial problem. That's OK, I did it before, I'll do it again. I wish I wouldn't have listened and kept doing at least the non-impact cardio (cycling, swimming) and core exercises as my gut told me. I probably would have worked through it.
    knees and shoulders.i just started a diet.my profession is hard on the above mentioned joints. I slowed down a bunch.i wish I would have taken it a little easier decades ago.
    I got a mountain bike to ride also.
    To be honest.the turning point for me was canceling a Disney trip.my wife loves all things disney.i couldn't do it.i don't particularly like Disney .but it makes her happy.
    my wife was wanting me to get a scooter to go to disney.so my knees wouldn't hurt.id rather be shot.my plan is to lose what wieght I can.get into the best shape I can.then see where I am at.

  16. #56
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Undisclosed
    Quote Originally Posted by wavedukefan70s View Post
    knees and shoulders.i just started a diet.my profession is hard on the above mentioned joints. I slowed down a bunch.i wish I would have taken it a little easier decades ago.
    I got a mountain bike to ride also.
    To be honest.the turning point for me was canceling a Disney trip.my wife loves all things disney.i couldn't do it.i don't particularly like Disney .but it makes her happy.
    my wife was wanting me to get a scooter to go to disney.so my knees wouldn't hurt.id rather be shot.my plan is to lose what wieght I can.get into the best shape I can.then see where I am at.
    "It's a small world, after all."

    Good luck, sounds like a worthy reason.

  17. #57
    I guess I owe this thread, and matches, a thank you. I said “forget the rest day), and ran every day this week. No issues so far, so maybe it is no longer needed.

  18. #58
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Raleigh
    I'll echo the sentiments about this thread-excellent discussion. (Anyone listen to the Beatles and/or The Rolling Stones and/or The Who while carrying a firearm while they work out? )

    I'm a fairly simple (minded) work-out/diet person. A bit of history.

    Kinda/sorta fat kid growing up (think husky clothes) and really didn't exercise much until I reached a point my first semester of medical school where I couldn't climb 2 flights of stairs without getting short of breath (no tobacco history) and reached my maximum weight of 175 pounds (I'm about 69.5 inches tall barefoot with about the same wingspan or less, can run about a 5 minute 40 yard dash and have a 3-4" vertical. No cinder block measurements available.) I started running at the beginning of 2nd semester, lost 15-20 pounds in the next 8 months and ran my first 10K, finishing in 48:00 on an 85 degree day in early September. There were about 10-12 of us who became "competitive" runners and ran races regularly for the next 3.5 year. Best achievements? An 89 minute half-marathon and three sub- 40 minute 10K races. Probably averaged 20-25 miles/week, maxing out at 30-35 miles/week training for 8-10 weeks for the 13.1 miler. Fun stuff. My wife beat me once in about 20-25 races. Hit my low weight of 147 pounds when I graduated from medical school. I looked like I was malnourished.

    Continued running 20-25 miles/week but no racing until 2009 when I had minor hernia surgery and my wife had her knee scoped for a minor meniscus tear. The devildeacs walking era begins. My wife has a FitBit and I simply keep track of steps on my iPhone, averaging about 20.5K steps or 9.4 miles daily over the last ~2.5 years. That step count also includes day-to-day activities and ballroom dancing, sometimes reaching 6-7K steps with 2 hours or more of dancing once or twice weekly. No gyms. We used to walk at about a 4 MPH pace but now it's more like 3.5 MPH, some flats/some neighborhood hills. Rarely miss a day of walking, even when it's a repulsive 90 degrees and 80% humidity in the summer or 7 degrees in the winter like last month, rain or shine, clear sidewalks or snow-covered.

    Try to keep my weight under 160 pounds now. Weaknesses? Snacks (sometimes mid-morning, mid-afternoon, evening but rarely all 3. Sometimes healthy: fruits, nuts, whole grain crackers. Sometimes not so healthy: cheese, ice cream, other desserts and peanut M&Ms) and http://forums.dukebasketballreport.c...?3840-Ymm-Beer, averaging 1-2 beers/day. Lots of whole grain cereals (try to stay gluten-free on DBR however), breads, yogurt, veggies, fish, poultry with occasional beef and pork in the diet but rarely meat-free. Could we be more disciplined? Sure, but we both like food. A lot.

    Sorry so long. We both try to set examples for our patients, family and friends and think we do reasonably well.

    Great discussion.
    Last edited by devildeac; 02-17-2018 at 11:30 AM.
    [redacted] them and the horses they rode in on.

  19. #59
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Undisclosed
    Beautiful morning for a five mile walk (about 3.6 mph) on the river. Cherry trees already in pretty full bloom.

  20. #60
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Vermont
    Quote Originally Posted by devildeac View Post
    I'll echo the sentiments about this thread-excellent discussion. (Anyone listen to the Beatles and/or The Rolling Stones and/or The Who while carrying a firearm while they work out? )

    I'm a fairly simple (minded) work-out/diet person. A bit of history.

    Kinda/sorta fat kid growing up (think husky clothes) and really didn't exercise much until I reached a point my first semester of medical school where I couldn't climb 2 flights of stairs without getting short of breath (no tobacco history) and reached my maximum weight of 175 pounds (I'm about 69.5 inches tall barefoot with about the same wingspan or less, can run about a 5 minute 40 yard dash and have a 3-4" vertical. No cinder block measurements available.) I started running at the beginning of 2nd semester, lost 15-20 pounds in the next 8 months and ran my first 10K, finishing in 48:00 on an 85 degree day in early September. There were about 10-12 of us who became "competitive" runners and ran races regularly for the next 3.5 year. Best achievements? An 89 minute half-marathon and three sub- 40 minute 10K races. Probably averaged 20-25 miles/week, maxing out at 30-35 miles/week training for 8-10 weeks for the 13.1 miler. Fun stuff. My wife beat me once in about 20-25 races. Hit my low weight of 147 pounds when I graduated from medical school. I looked like I was malnourished.

    Continued running 20-25 miles/week but no racing until 2009 when I had minor hernia surgery and my wife had her knee scoped for a minor meniscus tear. The devildeacs walking era begins. My wife has a FitBit and I simply keep track of steps on my iPhone, averaging about 20.5K steps or 9.4 miles daily over the last ~2.5 years. That step count also includes day-to-day activities and ballroom dancing, sometimes reaching 6-7K steps with 2 hours or more of dancing once or twice weekly. No gyms. We used to walk at about a 4 MPH pace but now it's more like 3.5 MPH, some flats/some neighborhood hills. Rarely miss a day of walking, even when it's a repulsive 90 degrees and 80% humidity in the summer or 7 degrees in the winter like last month, rain or shine, clear sidewalks or snow-covered.

    Try to keep my weight under 160 pounds now. Weaknesses? Snacks (sometimes mid-morning, mid-afternoon, evening but rarely all 3. Sometimes healthy: fruits, nuts, whole grain crackers. Sometimes not so healthy: cheese, ice cream, other desserts and peanut M&Ms) and http://forums.dukebasketballreport.c...?3840-Ymm-Beer, averaging 1-2 beers/day. Lots of whole grain cereals (try to stay gluten-free on DBR however), breads, yogurt, veggies, fish, poultry with occasional beef and pork in the diet but rarely meat-free. Could we be more disciplined? Sure, but we both like food. A lot.

    Sorry so long. We both try to set examples for our patients, family and friends and think we do reasonably well.

    Great discussion.
    very similar history for me. Used to run 10k races at your pace, but gave that up in my late forties. Now I walk 5-6 miles at 4.0 mph every day of the week (with major hills), fortunate that it works for me. Good for mental health, too (accompanied by dog or dogs). I do notice anecdotally that many of the people I ran with who continued to run eventually sustained a lot of wear and tear on knees, hips and backs, often necessitating replacement parts...I've been very fortunate that brisk walking works for me, and thus far my joints and back are holding together (though my wife is in the market for a new hip).
    My goal is to continue to walk as long as I can...we'll see how that works out.
    I do a wee bit of weight work with a machine we bought at an exercise store just so my upper body is strong enough to flip burgers and chicken on the grill...
    p.s. we have had the distinct pleasure of some nice walks with mr and mrs devildeac..

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