Fitness/Diet Accountability Thread

[timewerx]

I'm going to give it more time and see what happens. I don't want to focus on weight loss right now so much as building muscle and increasing fitness. I have noticed cardio endurance on the treadmill has improved, my heart rate is lower than it used to be.

Dr. Gil Carvalho of Nutrition Made Simple on Youtube recently discussed a Japanese study of prediabetic people and insulin sensitivity, and weight training improved their A1C scores the most, compared to cardio. He talks about various reasons why that might be so. If you are only somewhat overweight, chances are you don't have alot of muscle mass, which you can lose further through dieting, so it might be a better strategy to gain muscle rather than focus on weight loss.

I haven't recently been tested for diabetes but last time I checked my blood sugar about three years ago, my blood sugar was normal. My mom is diabetic, though, and so was my grandmother. Both had more serious problems with weight, though.


I used to do intermittent fasting or time restricted eating several years ago in the middle of the pandemic, but for me it was part of my biofeedback and meditation routine. I was using the Muse headband at the time. I found fasting for several hours after I woke up in the morning gave me a window of time where it was easier to get a higher score, and I could practice for several sessions in a row that way and get decent scores. I haven't been using the Muse in about a year, though, I sort of got out of the habit. Practicing morning fasting didn't seem to result in any additional weight loss, I just ate a bigger meal later in the day.

Sounds like you have significant risk of diabetes from your gene pool. It's the same for me as well. I advise you get it checked again, soon. Covid/Covid vaccines have relatively large impact on the cardiovascular and the metabolic systems. An impaired metabolic system is where you can get prediabetes or diabetes.

Yeah I forgot to mention weight training. Since you're already doing it, I advise to keep at it, don't abandon it.

I also lift weights as part of my weekly routine.

My weight training is focused on the legs, hips, and core muscles - the biggest muscles in the body. So if you're looking for quicker gains in lean mass or reducing body fat % and to burn the most calories in strength training, those are the muscles to focus on workouts. They are essential for mobility as well if you're looking to "age-proof" yourself. Free weight exercises targeting these muscle groups are deadlifts, one-legged deadlifts, lunges, and squats/one legged squats.

You can still do upper body/arm workouts when your lower body is sore and need to give it rest.

Light/easy cardio won't make you lose muscle mass unless you're doing long cardio sessions over 2 hrs continuously. The key is that this needs to be easy so your body is metabolizing more fat and less glucose. This is the best way to actively burn fat.

What makes strength training also effective in burning fat is increasing lean mass and also damaged muscle tissues from workout increases your rest metabolism - which makes you burn more fat even during rest.

Strength training + cardio = best of both worlds.

Growing big muscles shouldn't be your goal though. Gaining muscle strength and reducing body fat % is essential however. Because an overweight power lifter even if their body fat % is <10% (Athletic) is still going to have higher mortality than another athlete (<10% body fat) but having much lower BMI. The difference between the two athletes is metabolic performance and the lower BMI athlete is going to have superior metabolism, and reduced all causes of mortality, including cardiovascular disease and cancer.

Losing body fat % isn't the end of the journey, you still need to drop down to the middle of "normal" BMI range to get yourself "age-proofed".

 

[timewerx]

I used to do intermittent fasting or time restricted eating several years ago in the middle of the pandemic, but for me it was part of my biofeedback and meditation routine. I was using the Muse headband at the time. I found fasting for several hours after I woke up in the morning gave me a window of time where it was easier to get a higher score, and I could practice for several sessions in a row that way and get decent scores. I haven't been using the Muse in about a year, though, I sort of got out of the habit. Practicing morning fasting didn't seem to result in any additional weight loss, I just ate a bigger meal later in the day.

A morning fast like you used to do is actually the easiest way to hold off from eating because your blood sugar have stabilized quite well from sleep.

It's okay to have a big meal as your first meal after a morning fast. I do exactly the same thing.

I have intermittent exercise sessions from 7am in the morning to 12pm at noon without eating anything since waking up and up to 12pm noon.

I'll eat shortly after that and it will be a big meal. My next meal would be evening but smaller in quantity.

I only eat twice a day. Noon and evening and absolutely no snacking/calories in between meals.

I also do some very short but intermittent exercise sessions between the noon and evening meal.

I'm not undercompensating calories anymore. However, the things I'm doing now are just what you call "maintenance routine" to maintain my low BMI and body fat % of ~7%. It's a lot easier now than the journey it took to getting here.

The biggest weigh loss I experienced is when I started doing long cardio exercises once a week on Saturday morning that amounted to at least 1,500 workout Calories burned in just one session. The equivalent of me cycling at least 30 miles up and down a mountain.

It went as long as 80 miles with over 3,500 workout Calories burned in just one long bicycle ride or nearly 5000 overall Calories burned in just one day.

I'm not asking you do do this but doing just one 2 hr cardio each week is a good start. To keep yourself from getting bored, find a cardio workout you'll find interesting. Cycling has been my favorite due to convenience and the chance to see some nice scenery and breath of fresh air in the mountains without spending a dime on gas! Others might find kayaking more interesting if they're just a short drive from a lake or hiking up a mountain if they have trails nearby.

 

[FireDragon76]

A morning fast like you used to do is actually the easiest way to hold off from eating because your blood sugar have stabilized quite well from sleep.

I found it helpful for what I was doing (meditation). I suspect because eating takes away energy from the brain. It actually takes energy to digest food. Also, when you eat, there's alot of neurological and hormonal stuff happening with nerves and hormones affecting the brain.

It's okay to have a big meal as your first meal after a morning fast. I do exactly the same thing.

I have intermittent exercise sessions from 7am in the morning to 12pm at noon without eating anything since waking up and up to 12pm noon.

I'll eat shortly after that and it will be a big meal. My next meal would be evening but smaller in quantity.

I only eat twice a day. Noon and evening and absolutely no snacking/calories in between meals.

I also do some very short but intermittent exercise sessions between the noon and evening meal.

I'm not undercompensating calories anymore. However, the things I'm doing now are just what you call "maintenance routine" to maintain my low BMI and body fat % of ~7%. It's a lot easier now than the journey it took to getting here.

The biggest weigh loss I experienced is when I started doing long cardio exercises once a week on Saturday morning that amounted to at least 1,500 workout Calories burned in just one session. The equivalent of me cycling at least 30 miles up and down a mountain.

It went as long as 80 miles with over 3,500 workout Calories burned in just one long bicycle ride or nearly 5000 overall Calories burned in just one day.

I'm not asking you do do this but doing just one 2 hr cardio each week is a good start. To keep yourself from getting bored, find a cardio workout you'll find interesting. Cycling has been my favorite due to convenience and the chance to see some nice scenery and breath of fresh air in the mountains without spending a dime on gas! Others might find kayaking more interesting if they're just a short drive from a lake or hiking up a mountain if they have trails nearby.

I used to be into cycling when I lived in England, but where I live now (Orlando), it's just too dangerous. (America in general is pretty bad for cycling) All the good cycling trails are in the richer parts of town. I live in a working-class neighborhood. Not much real crime (thankfully), but people are working poor and amenities are minimal.

Last winter we went on walks a few times a week in a nearby nature preserve. Winter is usually the time I slim down in Florida, in the summer it's harder because we spend alot of time indoors with air conditioning. In the summer, if I can manage a ride to a local mall, sometimes we will go and walk around for about an hour. It's barely air conditioned, but better than walking outdoors here.

Losing weight of course helps deal with heat alot. Another thing I have found helps is consuming hot peppers. One morning this summer, our air conditioning went out and consuming some hot pepper in large quantities made it manageable until the maintanence guy could swap in a new capacitor. I think hot peppers can also help with weight loss but you have to eat them consistently.

I have been just treating my time on the treadmill as a meditation experience. I don't really care that it's boring, it's a chance to not have to think about anything in particular. My biggest concern I suppose is that walking on a treadmill doesn't burn enough calories. I am trying to work up to using the eliptical regularly, since it burns more calories. So far I can do about five minutes intense exercise on the medium resistance setting before my leg muscles start to get alot of burn (I have short legs for my height so sometimes exercises like this are sometimes harder, as I don't get the same amount of leverage).

 

[timewerx]

I found it helpful for what I was doing (meditation). I suspect because eating takes away energy from the brain. It actually takes energy to digest food. Also, when you eat, there's alot of neurological and hormonal stuff happening with nerves and hormones affecting the brain.

The brain switches to an alternative energy mode in the fasting window. It gets energy from ketones (fat) instead of glucose (sugar).

This is when your body is in "ketosis" that is achievable with ketogenic diet but I won't recommend ketogenic diet. There are so many complications and more experts seem leaning towards Intermittent Fasting (IF) to achieve ketosis as its simpler and you are much less likely to deny yourself of essential nutrients - food supplements isn't the best solution to get all your essential nutrients. The concentrated nutrients in food supplements works the kidneys too hard and there are risks to the fact.

The body develops adaptations to IF and exercise and includes changes to the genetic expression of fat tissues. Your body is starting to figure out how to effectively use body fat in place of glucose for fuel.

I used to be into cycling when I lived in England, but where I live now (Orlando), it's just too dangerous. (America in general is pretty bad for cycling) All the good cycling trails are in the richer parts of town. I live in a working-class neighborhood. Not much real crime (thankfully), but people are working poor and amenities are minimal.

Oh good! If you can get to those good trails on a car or public transportation + walking then you may have a solution.

There are very good folding bikes out there in the road configuration. Drop bars and probably the strongest folding mechanism. If you ever heard of Pacific brand of folding bikes under their "Reach" models. The European car manufacturer Peugeot used to carry their "Birdy" line so it's high quality product. Best folding bikes I ever road-tested. You can probably still see Peugeot branded Birdies in the used bike market.

My biggest concern I suppose is that walking on a treadmill doesn't burn enough calories. I am trying to work up to using the eliptical regularly, since it burns more calories. So far I can do about five minutes intense exercise on the medium resistance setting before my leg muscles start to get alot of burn (I have short legs for my height so sometimes exercises like this are sometimes harder, as I don't get the same amount of leverage).

You maybe right about walking. How about running on the treadmill?

A very important thing you should know about cardio exercise is the body burns a higher proportion of fat vs glucose during low-intensity efforts (low or easy resistance level).

If you have time to spare on the weekends or days off from work, doesn't matter if morning or afternoon or evening as long as you have enough free time. Try doing at least 2 hrs continuously on the elliptical bike on the lowest resistance setting. If you can do this at least once a week, it will be good enough.

Set the resistance to ZERO the first week doing >2 hrs continuous workout on the elliptical bike. The next week, increase the resistance from zero very slightly. The week after that, increase the resistance setting very slightly again.

Be sure to record the resistance levels on a notebook or whatever you use because you'd want to increase the resistance levels very slightly each week or two. If you're starting to feel discomfort on the next harder resistance level then go back to the previous resistance setting and stick to that resistance level for the whole week and try increasing again next week.. It may surprise you this long cardio workout should feel easy, NOT hard!

Another way is use a heart rate monitor and keep your heart rate from 65 to 75% of maximum heart rate during the long cardio workout. Your maximum heart rate is 220-age. If you're struggling or uncomfortable with 75% back it off a little by easing the resistance a little bit.

The heart rate monitor is also useful in case you decide to do the long cardio riding a bicycle outdoors. Same rules here, keep your heart rate 65 to 75%. You'll eventually get faster and stronger as weeks go by maintaining the same heart rate. If you like to do some short, fast-paced efforts on the bicycle, do it all near the end of the ride, not the beginning. The entirely of the ride should feel easy and you're not exhausted at the end of the ride.

If you want to do strength training and calisthenics on the same day, do it after the long cardio. Also spend a short period of time running on the treadmill, this will help you adapt strong bones to your legs. A short run won't wear down your joints unless you have joint issues like arthritis.

Avoid getting your legs feel sore on the long cardio especially if you're doing leg strength training or running on the treadmill afterwards.

After a couple months, you should start getting results on the long cardio that is your body responds quicker to changes in your calorie intake, including losing weight fast!

 

[FireDragon76]

The brain switches to an alternative energy mode in the fasting window. It gets energy from ketones (fat) instead of glucose (sugar).

Maybe. I've never really tested to see if I was in ketosis. At the time I was just eating a normal diet.

You maybe right about walking. How about running on the treadmill?

I am a bit concerned about running for alot of reasons. For one thing, my joints aren't as healthy as they could be. A bike or an eliptical machine would be alot lower impact. For another thing, I think it's too intense at the moment it terms of cardiovascular exercise. Running doesn't have alot of appeal to me in terms of athletics, it never really has. I simply don't have the physiology for it. I am not particularly tall as far as an American goes and my legs aren't very long.

If you have time to spare on the weekends or days off from work, doesn't matter if morning or afternoon or evening as long as you have enough free time. Try doing at least 2 hrs continuously on the elliptical bike on the lowest resistance setting. If you can do this at least once a week, it will be good enough.

Are you talking about a stationary bicycle? That's a different machine, alot less effort.

What I'm talking about is more like running up a hill of sand or a beach, or running up stairs, in terms of the sensation. You use these peddles with a circular stepping motion to drive a really big flywheel that has some resistance to varying degrees. It works most of the major muscles in your body, too (even your arms, since the arms can also help spin the wheel). It's really intense. I can't imagine doing two hours on an eliptical machine, that sounds really excessive. My heart rate gets up to about 124 just on the low setting after a few minutes, and there's quite a bit of resistance. After five minutes of that, my legs are really shot and I can barely stand up. But it seems to be fairly low impact on the joints.

The heart rate monitor is also useful in case you decide to do the long cardio riding a bicycle outdoors. Same rules here, keep your heart rate 65 to 75%. You'll eventually get faster and stronger as weeks go by maintaining the same heart rate. If you like to do some short, fast-paced efforts on the bicycle, do it all near the end of the ride, not the beginning. The entirely of the ride should feel easy and you're not exhausted at the end of the ride.

I might look into a heart rate monitor just to make sure my heart rate variability stays high. Low heart rate variability can be a sign your are overdoing it.

 

[RDKirk]

I might look into a heart rate monitor just to make sure my heart rate variability stays high. Low heart rate variability can be a sign your are overdoing it.

I've been using a heart rate monitor for over thirty years now. I wouldn't do cardio without it. To me, doing cardio without a heartrate monitor is like doing weight training without having the numbers on the weights and then not even counting reps.

When you have used it long enough to know how your heart reacts to various levels and durations of exercise, it becomes amazingly useful and informative. It can even tell you when you're coming down with an illness before you feel it any other way. It can tell you immediately if you're having a cardio reaction to a new medication or supplement. Often such a reaction isn't apparent until you begin to exert yourself and know what your heart ought to be doing at that level of exertion.

I check periodically (once or twice a year) to determine my personal maximum heartrate (the thumb rule can be horribly wrong). That's not something you have to hit very often in regular exercise, but knowing what percentage of that you're reaching in normal exercise is useful. Your heartrate is the real indication of whether you're working hard or just breathing hard, which makes a big difference when you're doing wind sprints. It helps you equate speed and effort on machines that have difficulty levels. And on rest days, it helps you make sure you're not overdoing it.

One effect I always get a kick out of seeing is when first adrenaline and then serotonin kick in as I'm doing fairly lengthy cardio. In both cases, my heart rate suddenly drops about three beats, then I can feel the difference. I can also see the how controlling my breathing affects my heart rate while exercising and immediately after exercising to recover.

 

[timewerx]

Maybe. I've never really tested to see if I was in ketosis. At the time I was just eating a normal diet.

You'll smell it it when you're in ketosis. Your body will either have that sweet fruity smell or that wild/weed flower smell. I get the wild/weed/desert flower smell which which used to be just the fruity smell.

I am a bit concerned about running for alot of reasons. For one thing, my joints aren't as healthy as they could be. A bike or an eliptical machine would be alot lower impact. For another thing, I think it's too intense at the moment it terms of cardiovascular exercise. Running doesn't have alot of appeal to me in terms of athletics, it never really has. I simply don't have the physiology for it. I am not particularly tall as far as an American goes and my legs aren't very long.

Understood. Then you can till do "progressive" free weight workouts that does the legs (one-legged deadlifts, lunges, and one-legged squats) - this will help strengthen the connective tissues and muscles around the joints on your legs, hips, and spine. These are relatively short sessions. 15 minutes a day in 3 days per week would suffice. Progressive means you start with little or no weight the first week, then add small amount of additional weight the next week or two. I think you know this already.

Are you talking about a stationary bicycle? That's a different machine, alot less effort.

What I'm talking about is more like running up a hill of sand or a beach, or running up stairs, in terms of the sensation. You use these peddles with a circular stepping motion to drive a really big flywheel that has some resistance to varying degrees. It works most of the major muscles in your body, too (even your arms, since the arms can also help spin the wheel). It's really intense. I can't imagine doing two hours on an eliptical machine, that sounds really excessive. My heart rate gets up to about 124 just on the low setting after a few minutes, and there's quite a bit of resistance. After five minutes of that, my legs are really shot and I can barely stand up. But it seems to be fairly low impact on the joints.

I have an elliptical bike at home. A very cheap one. The simple resistance mechanism allow a setting of zero resistance. My senior mom does the zero resistance.

If the stationary bike is the only machine in the gym allowing zero to little resistance, then use it instead. Your long continuous cardio should be easy enough to do continuously for at least two hours.

Here's the proper effort should feel like to maximize fat burning during the long cardio (after an easy warm up session):
- After 30 minutes of continuous effort, your muscles should not be sore or only mildly sore at most. It shouldn't be causing discomfort.
- Your breathing is not labored and you can still talk to the guy or gal right next to you without difficulty.
- You feel absolutely confident you can continue the effort for two hours more comfortably.

Take note of your average heart rate once you established the effort level above^ because you need to stick to this heart rate every time you do a long and easy cardio session. Don't let your heart rate wander too much during the long cardio effort. Keep it to a tight range.

Avoid any high intensity efforts at any time during the long cardio session, this will force your body to switch to glucose metabolism and it will take some delay before the body switches back to fat metabolism.

If you wish to do high intensity intervals or weight training, do it all AFTER your long cardio session. You can still do high intensity workouts on the elliptical bike but do this after the long cardio session.

I might look into a heart rate monitor just to make sure my heart rate variability stays high. Low heart rate variability can be a sign your are overdoing it.

True. When you start doing those long cardio exercises, you resting heart rate will start dropping little by little.

It's best to get the resting heart rate after two days of rest (with very little other physical activity) in the morning, shortly after waking up from sleep.

My lowest resting heart rate so far is 36 since I do up to 6 hrs of continuous cycling ride each Saturday and only short sessions of high intensity and weight training on weekdays. You don't have to go to such extreme lengths. At least 2 hrs long continuous cardio once per week would suffice.

Another thing I have found helps is consuming hot peppers.

Those red and very hot Thai chili peppers is always part of my meals!

They're not actually the main reason why Thais are skinny but probably from eating just two meals a day. Because I didn't note any difference when I started eating Thai chili on a regular basis other than slightly lower blood pressure. I simply loved the taste and aroma. I didn't do it to try to lose even more weight.

I also eat only two meals a day with no snacking in between meals and with Intermittent fasting, the dinner and the next meal on the next day, there's a gap of 12 to 15 hrs. I also workout between meals, after food has been fully digested to maximize fat burn.

 

[FireDragon76]

You'll smell it it when you're in ketosis.

Only if ketone levels are relatively high. Mine are usually 1 mmol/dL, at most. I try to drink enough water, too, so that ketones are flushed out.

Here's the proper effort should feel like to maximize fat burning during the long cardio (after an easy warm up session):
- After 30 minutes of continuous effort, your muscles should not be sore or only mildly sore at most. It shouldn't be causing discomfort.
- Your breathing is not labored and you can still talk to the guy or gal right next to you without difficulty.
- You feel absolutely confident you can continue the effort for two hours more comfortably.

I could only manage something like that on a treadmill at walking pace, at the moment, and only for about thirty minutes at most.

They're not actually the main reason why Thais are skinny but probably from eating just two meals a day. Because I didn't note any difference when I started eating Thai chili on a regular basis other than slightly lower blood pressure. I simply loved the taste and aroma. I didn't do it to try to lose even more weight.

Asian people in general tend to have thinner frames or skeletons than Europeans or Americans, from what I have read. As a result, the Japanese government now consider a BMI over 23 to be overweight, for instance, whereas in the US it's still 25.

My BMI is about 26. I suspect it's always going to tend to be higher, just because I come from lines of heavy-framed people, for the most part.

I also eat only two meals a day with no snacking in between meals and with Intermittent fasting, the dinner and the next meal on the next day, there's a gap of 12 to 15 hrs. I also workout between meals, after food has been fully digested to maximize fat burn.

I've seen evidence that if you exercise in a fasted state in the morning before breakfast, you burn alot more body fat, and the increase in appetite is small. That's what I'm going to try to do in the future to maximize fat burn. Exercising after meals seems to be best for glucose control.

Exercise Training and Fasting: Current Insights

Fasting is defined as the abstinence from consuming food and/or beverages for different periods of time. Both traditional and modern healthcare systems recommend fasting as a therapeutic intervention for the management of several chronic, non-infectious ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[timewerx]

I could only manage something like that on a treadmill at walking pace, at the moment, and only for about thirty minutes at most.

Try zero resistance on the stationary bike. It shouldn't give you joint issues for two hours unless you set the saddle too high.

Two hours continuously before your next meal. Let's say you eat at 12 pm (noon) then do the long cardio exercise starting at 9:30 am. You'll finish at 11:30 am, shower, then have your meal at 12 pm.

Asian people in general tend to have thinner frames or skeletons than Europeans or Americans, from what I have read. As a result, the Japanese government now consider a BMI over 23 to be overweight, for instance, whereas in the US it's still 25.

My BMI is about 26. I suspect it's always going to tend to be higher, just because I come from lines of heavy-framed people, for the most part.

We're not any better, people in USA who develops health problems at a certain high BMI, we Asians get the same problem at a lower BMI.

So we're in no advantage at all.

I've seen evidence that if you exercise in a fasted state in the morning before breakfast, you burn alot more body fat, and the increase in appetite is small. That's what I'm going to try to do in the future to maximize fat burn. Exercising after meals seems to be best for glucose control.

That's what I do PLUS, I don't do breakfast! Definitely helped get my body fat % as low as athletic level and the long cardio training once a week.

My first meal of the day usually starts at 11 am or 12 pm and it's lunch! I exercise right up to before the first meal of the day.

I don't exercise right after meals in fact, it is prohibited as it can cause digestion problems. Athletes who do this don't eat regular food before exercise. They eat easily digestible high carb food like rice cakes, banana and avoid things like protein and fiber-rich foods like milk, meat, and vegetables.

Or wait at least 2 hrs after eating regular food before you exercise.

Intermittent fasting and eating only two meals a day with no snacking in between could potentially lower your appetite. You are allowed to eat as much food as you can, especially on the first meal of the day, and then less calories on the 2nd meal (dinner).

 

[YorkieGal]

Not much to report - I have been sore from practicing break falls in Krav Maga last Saturday and only recovered today enough for a 2 mile run!

Think I've also gained 10lbs in the last 2 months and it's definitely not from muscle replacing fat.

Giving myself permission for late night snacking, due to comfort eating from not sleeping, is derailing my goals!

Gotta try harder, stay more focused and sleep more!

 

[FireDragon76]

As it stands now, I'm only about eight pounds over my "ideal" of 18 percent body fat, which is really not a bad place to be. I used to think I needed to lose twenty pounds, but I was going off my BMI and not thinking about my overall body composition.


I think what I have learned through this experience in the last couple of years is that your scale weight or BMI isn't necessarily a good indicator of how overweight you are. Some people are merely "skinny fat" and out of shape, and actually trying to aggressively lose weight in such a case is counterproductive and leads to unhealthy body composition (too little lean mass), yo-yo dieting and a bad relationship with food, and is less healthy than having a few pounds of extra fat.

Today I am going back to just maintenance calories and I'm going to see what happens in the next few weeks. I'm also going to try adding small amounts of nuts, seeds, and oil back in my diet, as I think maybe I was going a bit too low in fat at times: I was starting to feel unusually fatigued. A few days ago I tried a new smoothie (OWYN, "Only What You Need", this particular one was non-animal whey protein and greens) after a workout and that had quite a bit of fat and I felt like I had more energy, so that leads me to think maybe fat has been too low. I also ate a few pumpkin and chia seeds yesterday.

 

[FireDragon76]

You'll smell it it when you're in ketosis. Your body will either have that sweet fruity smell or that wild/weed flower smell. I get the wild/weed/desert flower smell which which used to be just the fruity smell.


Understood. Then you can till do "progressive" free weight workouts that does the legs (one-legged deadlifts, lunges, and one-legged squats) - this will help strengthen the connective tissues and muscles around the joints on your legs, hips, and spine. These are relatively short sessions. 15 minutes a day in 3 days per week would suffice. Progressive means you start with little or no weight the first week, then add small amount of additional weight the next week or two. I think you know this already.



I have an elliptical bike at home. A very cheap one. The simple resistance mechanism allow a setting of zero resistance. My senior mom does the zero resistance.

If the stationary bike is the only machine in the gym allowing zero to little resistance, then use it instead. Your long continuous cardio should be easy enough to do continuously for at least two hours.

Here's the proper effort should feel like to maximize fat burning during the long cardio (after an easy warm up session):
- After 30 minutes of continuous effort, your muscles should not be sore or only mildly sore at most. It shouldn't be causing discomfort.
- Your breathing is not labored and you can still talk to the guy or gal right next to you without difficulty.
- You feel absolutely confident you can continue the effort for two hours more comfortably.

Take note of your average heart rate once you established the effort level above^ because you need to stick to this heart rate every time you do a long and easy cardio session. Don't let your heart rate wander too much during the long cardio effort. Keep it to a tight range.

Avoid any high intensity efforts at any time during the long cardio session, this will force your body to switch to glucose metabolism and it will take some delay before the body switches back to fat metabolism.

If you wish to do high intensity intervals or weight training, do it all AFTER your long cardio session. You can still do high intensity workouts on the elliptical bike but do this after the long cardio session.



True. When you start doing those long cardio exercises, you resting heart rate will start dropping little by little.

It's best to get the resting heart rate after two days of rest (with very little other physical activity) in the morning, shortly after waking up from sleep.

My lowest resting heart rate so far is 36 since I do up to 6 hrs of continuous cycling ride each Saturday and only short sessions of high intensity and weight training on weekdays. You don't have to go to such extreme lengths. At least 2 hrs long continuous cardio once per week would suffice.


Those red and very hot Thai chili peppers is always part of my meals!

They're not actually the main reason why Thais are skinny but probably from eating just two meals a day. Because I didn't note any difference when I started eating Thai chili on a regular basis other than slightly lower blood pressure. I simply loved the taste and aroma. I didn't do it to try to lose even more weight.

I also eat only two meals a day with no snacking in between meals and with Intermittent fasting, the dinner and the next meal on the next day, there's a gap of 12 to 15 hrs. I also workout between meals, after food has been fully digested to maximize fat burn.

I've been doing some cardio but mostly I'm focused on developing power in my legs, so I'm doing short, high intensity sessions and going to gradually increase them over time. My calves look small as compared to years ago. We went walking during the pandemic somewhat, but I focused alot on weight loss over other considerations (which I regained when it ended, the opposite of what probably happened for most people).

When I actually got COVID, BTW, it was like the worst flu or cold I ever had. I was given a prescription of antivirals but it didn't seem to be much additional help: I ended up relying alot on just taking Alka-Seltzer, Asprin, or Acetomenophen to control the pain and fever. I also took some Chinese medicine that helped keeep my lungs clear (it was a Forsythia blend, I forgot the exact name but it's usually used for colds). However, I started developing long COVID symptoms after a week (really bad headaches in the morning that didn't go away after a week or two), so I went on a low-calorie fast (800 calories a day) plus taking tumeric pills for about a week and the long COVID symptoms went away and never came back.

The good thing was I never lost my sense of smell or anything like that.

 

[FireDragon76]

I think I have bitten off too much, too fast. I'm noticing poorer quality sleep gradually creeping in. Vivid and strange dreams in particular and waking up more sore than usual. Maybe some sympathetic nervous system dominance too (based off HRV scores and just generally feeling a bit too wired or strung out at times). My hormones also feel out of whack alot of the time, and I've had periods of acne flareups in the past month. I'm taking steps to reduce the soreness by taking black cherry pills and tumeric, and using magnesium oil, and it does help, but I think it still leaves my recovery lacking.

I was diagnosed with fibromyagia in my mid 30's (I'm 47). Poor quality sleep and disrupted sleep architecture went along with the usual symptoms of feeling random muscle soreness, brain fog, and nerve pain. It improved on a plant-based diet a great deal (most of the symptoms went away 90 percent of the time), but I'm not sure I'm completely past its effects.

I think I need to get in a bit of a different headspace about fitness. Maybe lower intensity activities would suit me better, with gradual increase in intensity over months, not weeks. Less heavy weights, more lighter weights, therabands and dumbells. More walking and focus on practical mobility exercises (core strengthening and that sort of thing). I have made a decent start at body recomposition, but it has to be sustainable.

 

[YorkieGal]

Chest, triceps and abs today - done.
Food plan done and executed - 36 hour fast commencing.
Krav training later.
Pretty boring but discipline and consistency isn't glamorous.
I like Dave Goggins!

 

[timewerx]

I think I have bitten off too much, too fast. I'm noticing poorer quality sleep gradually creeping in. Vivid and strange dreams in particular and waking up more sore than usual. Maybe some sympathetic nervous system dominance too (based off HRV scores and just generally feeling a bit too wired or strung out at times). My hormones also feel out of whack alot of the time, and I've had periods of acne flareups in the past month. I'm taking steps to reduce the soreness by taking black cherry pills and tumeric, and using magnesium oil, and it does help, but I think it still leaves my recovery lacking.

I was diagnosed with fibromyagia in my mid 30's (I'm 47). Poor quality sleep and disrupted sleep architecture went along with the usual symptoms of feeling random muscle soreness, brain fog, and nerve pain. It improved on a plant-based diet a great deal (most of the symptoms went away 90 percent of the time), but I'm not sure I'm completely past its effects.

I think I need to get in a bit of a different headspace about fitness. Maybe lower intensity activities would suit me better, with gradual increase in intensity over months, not weeks. Less heavy weights, more lighter weights, therabands and dumbells. More walking and focus on practical mobility exercises (core strengthening and that sort of thing). I have made a decent start at body recomposition, but it has to be sustainable.

Couple of months ago I reset my strength training for mobility strength (Legs, hips, and core).

Squats, lunges, deadlifts, and one-legged deadlifts. First without weights. In the 3rd week, I started using 3 lb dumbbells. The week after that, it became 4.5 lb dumbbells. Adding weights little by little per week.

Couple of months later, now, I'm doing these exercises with 40 lb dumbbells each (80 lbs total). I can't add any more weights because I've already maxed them out unless I buy heavier set of dumbbells or barbell.

Sometimes, a reset is useful just to make sure, you're not pushing yourself too hard.

I've been doing some cardio but mostly I'm focused on developing power in my legs, so I'm doing short, high intensity sessions

High intensity cardio is risky. For most people, it should only be undertaken 3 days per week at most. That's 3 consecutive days and the next four days should only be low intensity / easy cardio.

Because you already do strength training with weights, you can keep your cardio workouts simple and even avoid high intensity cardio.

Do low intensity cardio on the treadmill. You can make it uphill if you want to but bottom line is that is that the effort feels easy enough. Easy means easy and that means you can sustain the effort in 2 to 3 hrs non-stop and finish fresh and not like you're about to call 911 and be rushed to the ER.

Record your Heart Rate on that session because it will be the Heart Rate you will maintain for All your low intensity cardio.

You'll get stronger just by doing these long but easy cardio workouts, maintaining the same heart rate. You have to trust me on this because it worked so well for me and many professional endurance athletes have similar training schedule for a year. After several months or one year of doing this then maybe, you'll be strong enough to do high intensity cardio without suffering too much.

At least once a week of 2 to 3 hrs of continuous low intensity cardio would do well for you. Do this on your day off, weekend, Friday night, doesn't matter as long as you do this once a week.

On weekdays, you can still do at least 15 minutes of light cardio. Do all your strength-training sessions AFTER the cardio workouts and never before.

 

[FireDragon76]

Couple of months ago I reset my strength training for mobility strength (Legs, hips, and core).

I have been watching a Youtube channel called Bioneer. The channel focuses alot on calisthenics. It suggests simple versions of exercises sometimes. One exercise recommend was simply sitting down (like on a bench) and standing up. I have found that helpful, and more practical.

I'm thinking of getting some kettle bells or something similar just to do things like farmer's carry and functional exercises like that.

Sometimes, a reset is useful just to make sure, you're not pushing yourself too hard.

I have been thinking about trying fasting once in a while, like for a day or two every month or so.

High intensity cardio is risky. For most people, it should only be undertaken 3 days per week at most. That's 3 consecutive days and the next four days should only be low intensity / easy cardio.

What I notice is that it can be exhausting and it can flare up my fibromyalgia, in a way that low intensity cardio doesn't. It feels great at first, then I crash in the evening or next day.

There's a sugar called ribose that's been researched in heart failure and fibromyalgia. I've started experimenting with it (in the US, it's not considered a drug, just a diet supplement... though diabetics shouldn't take it without talking to a doctor since it can cause hypoglycemia). Yesterday I took some, and it did help reduce the pain and fatigue, but I still didn't feel quite up to going out for exercise.

Do low intensity cardio on the treadmill. You can make it uphill if you want to but bottom line is that is that the effort feels easy enough. Easy means easy and that means you can sustain the effort in 2 to 3 hrs non-stop and finish fresh and not like you're about to call 911 and be rushed to the ER.

I'm still at the 20 minute limit. For one thing, the treadmill shuts off after about twenty minutes. I'm out of shape (most Americans are, especially after COVID), and still working on building up endurance. Sometimes I just do a ten minute walk on the treadmill.

On weekdays, you can still do at least 15 minutes of light cardio. Do all your strength-training sessions AFTER the cardio workouts and never before.

That's mostly how I've done it in the past.

If I do weights again, I plan to separate exercises out more, doing different exercises on different days, with alot more rest. I can't do full body workouts at any kind of serious intensity like a normal bodybuilder might do.

Some other folks with fibromyalgia have suggested heavy weights and very low reps (3 - 4) and only doing one set per session. I might give that a try. I had been doing 3-4 sets of 20 reps using 8 lbs weights.

 

[timewerx]

I have been thinking about trying fasting once in a while, like for a day or two every month or so.

Every Saturday, I burn a total of 3,500 to >5000 Calories in a day due to the long bike ride while only eating 2000 Calories on that day, leaving me in a huge Calorie deficit. I lose 8 lbs on that day. The next day, I'll still be a couple lbs lighter. It's like the equivalent of two-days fast for me each week.

Everyday, I have meal gap of 14 to 16 hrs between dinner the previous day and lunch and I only eat two meals a day - this would be the "Intermittent Fasting" eating routine.

Fasting is hard. But some very short and easy intermittent exercising during fasting can ironically make things easier by suppressing hunger cravings or specifically, the hunger hormones for a few hours after each exercise.

I'm still at the 20 minute limit. For one thing, the treadmill shuts off after about twenty minutes. I'm out of shape (most Americans are, especially after COVID), and still working on building up endurance. Sometimes I just do a ten minute walk on the treadmill.

Covid itself and/or the vaccines have really bad long term side effect to the cardiovascular system. It gave me hypertension and it took almost two years for me to regain my endurance back.

I think you should try the stationary bike if it's easier and enable you to last longer. It's okay to go super easy on the resistance if it makes you hang on for longer because building endurance is all about the duration of the workout, not the intensity.

Yet, you still need to do time on the treadmill. If you're using the stationary bike, then spare a couple of minutes at the end for the treadmill. Walking / running helps build strong bones and strong joints and this is something you can't gain on the stationary bike.

Some other folks with fibromyalgia have suggested heavy weights and very low reps (3 - 4) and only doing one set per session. I might give that a try. I had been doing 3-4 sets of 20 reps using 8 lbs weights.

If you're coming from 2x8 lbs dumbbells, I would strongly advice you to increase weights very progressively over a period of couple of months if you wish to do heavier weights at very low reps.

I started from no weights and then 2x3 lbs dumbbells and then +1.5 to +2 lbs additional weight each dumbbell per week. Couple of months from 3 lbs to 40 lbs each.

I could still do much heavier but I've already maxed out the weight of my dumbbell set and now the 2x40 lbs feels too easy for resistance training and doing far more reps than you would expect from proper resistance training.

 

[RDKirk]

When I was actively cycling, it wasn't hard for me to do several hours on the road. I put about an hour on the road nearly every day of the year (this was while I was in the Philippines, Okinawa, and Hawaii) and did 75-100 miles every Saturday morning 4.5 to 5.5 hours).

These days, my cardio is the elliptical machine indoors. I have it kind of rigged to mimic bicycling: I removed the tall handles and mounted bicycle handlebars. I set the stride length short so the movement is circular.

But try as I might, I can't put more than an hour on an indoor machine, not even with my favorite music. Being retired, I can put in time whenever I want, so rather than "long, slow distance" (LSD), I do multiple sprints through the day, getting up to 80-90 percent of my maximum heartrate several times a day.

Four days a week, I'll also do weight training. I do upper body on Monday and Thursday, legs on Tuesday and Friday. I train to failure in three sets, then drop-weight to failure on three more sets for each body part. I use a weight that lets me get 8-12 reps in a set. I think, though, I may have reached the best my body can do at my age...my work from now on may be just to maintain as much as possible as long as possible.

Form is exceedingly important at my age. I can't afford an injury (which is the reason I gave up cycling on the road)...injuries are too regressive.

 

[timewerx]

When I was actively cycling, it wasn't hard for me to do several hours on the road. I put about an hour on the road nearly every day of the year (this was while I was in the Philippines, Okinawa, and Hawaii) and did 75-100 miles every Saturday morning 4.5 to 5.5 hours).

These days, my cardio is the elliptical machine indoors. I have it kind of rigged to mimic bicycling: I removed the tall handles and mounted bicycle handlebars. I set the stride length short so the movement is circular.

But try as I might, I can't put more than an hour on an indoor machine, not even with my favorite music. Being retired, I can put in time whenever I want, so rather than "long, slow distance" (LSD), I do multiple sprints through the day, getting up to 80-90 percent of my maximum heartrate several times a day.

Four days a week, I'll also do weight training. I do upper body on Monday and Thursday, legs on Tuesday and Friday. I train to failure in three sets, then drop-weight to failure on three more sets for each body part. I use a weight that lets me get 8-12 reps in a set. I think, though, I may have reached the best my body can do at my age...my work from now on may be just to maintain as much as possible as long as possible.

Form is exceedingly important at my age. I can't afford an injury (which is the reason I gave up cycling on the road)...injuries are too regressive.

It's gotten a lot worse cycling in the Philippines. First time I hit the road, 2 hrs at a time back in 1994 and I'm only 13 years old. Conditions are far better from far lower traffic volume, nicer and clean roads, nicer drivers, cleaner air, and slightly cooler temperatures. Everything got a lot worse today and even early Saturday morning won't spare you from high traffic volume

I wear elbow and knee pads in addition to helmet as extra layer of protection from injuries. I also wear face mask, not for Covid but to reduce inhalation of soot from vehicle exhaust.

I also lift weights in addition as part of my personal program to "age-proof" myself. I am probably going to spend my old age completely alone and I don't to become a burden to my other relatives and I have to as independent as possible for as long as possible.

 

[FireDragon76]

Yesterday, I just did arms only, I did one set of tricep pulldowns and bicep curls. I used about 65 lbs for the tricep extensions, and about 45 lbs for the bicep curls, and only did about 4 repetitions. The next-day soreness seems more manageable. I think that's a better approach that going for alot of volume, in my case, but I'm going to try slightly less weight and more volume next time and/or using a warm up with lighter weight.

I went to a discount sporting goods store and bought some equipment- dumbells to use for farmer's carry type exercises, an ab roller, and a lacrosse ball (for pressure point release- I have an old foam roller but it can't do everything). Inflation has gotten into everything, it seems, as the prices for the weights involved alot of sticker shock. But I rationalized that it was cheaper than a gym membership. Just carrying the weights home was a workout in itself.

There has been some tightness in my calves and I tried putting them in cold water in the bathtub just to try to keep any inflammation down. Having your whole lower body immersed in colder water is harder than it looks. I'm going to have to keep an eye on my legs- the muscles are probably growing but I might have tight fascia and that can lead to compartment syndrome if the fascia don't stretch.

I've been using creatine for the past month. I use ordinary creatine monohydrate, about 1.5 grams per day. I also have been using citruline also, and a little bit of beet powder in the mornings. The combination of diet and the supplements does seem to be giving me the most muscle gains I've experienced ever. Over the past few days, lean body mass has also increased by about one percent, while weight has stayed about the same: I increased calories to a maintanence level, maybe sometimes eating a slight deficit.

The ribose sugar does seem to help with fibromyalgia pain and lower energy. I'm taking about 1/2 a teaspoon twice a day. I'll have to see if sleep improves after a few days.