The diet and exercise thread

[AndyNG]

Prioritize the eating better. Much easier to keep your intake low than to work out and burn off excess calories.

Working out has the benefit of allowing you to eat more before you gain weight.

[hornsup84]

Y'all are on seriously different levels than I am. I don't have time (or the motivation) to work out as much these days, so my goal as of late is to just get there a couple times a week and work on anything that I feel like. If that means I'm using 55/60 dumbbells for bench and focusing on slow reps, so be it. Now that the summer is winding up, I'm hoping I'll be in the gym more (as opposed to outside doing drinking-related things) and get back to more of a routine to start building back up. My girlfriend also re-committed to eating better and brought over her vitamix to my apartment, so I'm excited for getting some more home cooked meals in (and better shakes than my usual blender ball almond milk & protein powder ones).

[AndyNG]

You did it right. Eat big to get big. And you need to get big to get your bench up. I just .. don't want to be overweight again so I am taking it sloowwwwly. My bench sucks (285 at 175lbs) compared to my squat and dl (435 sq, 545 dl). Came from 190 solid lard when I was a youngn so I don't wanna go back.

My goal bench is 315.. sweet, sweet 3 plates..

[devastitis]

I want to be 175 lbs again lol..I spent the last 2 and a half months doing back to back Smolov Jr routines for bench, and eating everything I see. Now that I hit my goal bench, I need to cut again, and lose the 10 lbs I gained from this.

[AndyNG]

I realized a few weeks ago that I've probably been undereating, and forcing my body into low-grade starvation/fat retention mode, potentially for quite a long time. I bumped my caloric intake up by 500-800 calories per day, making sure to get ~150g of protein, ~40g of fiber, and no more than 25g of sugar per day, and have lost about 3 lbs over the past couple weeks. Plus I feel better and have more energy for my workouts (weightlifting 5x and HIIT 3-4x per week).

Kinda fun to be able to eat ALL the things....

Good job. I ate a deficit doing a similar routine a few years back and stopped losing weight even at 1800 kcal per day at 154 lbs. I basically destroyed my metabolism. Now I can eat 3,000 kcal a day and maintain my weight at 175 lbs even without HIIT.

[LesserBlackDog]

I realized a few weeks ago that I've probably been undereating, and forcing my body into low-grade starvation/fat retention mode, potentially for quite a long time. I bumped my caloric intake up by 500-800 calories per day, making sure to get ~150g of protein, ~40g of fiber, and no more than 25g of sugar per day, and have lost about 3 lbs over the past couple weeks. Plus I feel better and have more energy for my workouts (weightlifting 5x and HIIT 3-4x per week).

Kinda fun to be able to eat ALL the things....

[Rawfull]

I've lost almost 140 lbs. in about a year. I cut out fast food, sodas and I drink a lot more water. Fro exercise I mainly walk my dog who likes going on long walks, which usually last -1-2 hours so I easily walk 3-4 hours a day.

Congrats on the weight loss! Goes to show how important diet is. I got a puppy at the start of the summer and the little guy really tires me out, love every second of it though

[misterm]

I've lost almost 140 lbs. in about a year. I cut out fast food, sodas and I drink a lot more water. Fro exercise I mainly walk my dog who likes going on long walks, which usually last -1-2 hours so I easily walk 3-4 hours a day.

[aramainep]

I do Yoga and I try to cut off sugar from my diet but load up on protein. I also do the annual Bondi to Bronte Swim (not sure if anyone else is familiar with this) so I basically swim a lot yearround to prepare for that.

[connersw]

I'll throw my hat in for Chucks here, as well. Should be able to find a pair online some where for like $30-40.

It's Marshalls, so obviously stock will vary store-to-store, but was just in one in CNJ this morning, and they had Chucks for $30 (no white--blue, grey and random weird colors). Larger sizes (> 11) were on the discount rack for $24. I typically see them closer to $40 online.

Also, they might have picked up some of Sports Authority's going out of business stock, because they had a ton of Nike and Under Armour trainers and running shoes for $20-$40. All lower end/one-off stuff, but good enough for the weight room at $20. Also had a ton of soccer and baseball cleats for $14-$20 if you have kids. It was by far the largest athletic shoe selection I've ever seen in this particular store.

[Matchbook]

I just wear low-top chucks for leg day. Dunno if that'll work for you but they're cheap and have minimal soles.

Yep, Chucks or Vans slip ons. Flat sole and cheap. You can find the older models of the Crossfit reebok shoes. I have a pair and I wear them occasionally if I plan on doing some HIIT after my workout. Usually just Vans or barefoot

I'll throw my hat in for Chucks here, as well. Should be able to find a pair online some where for like $30-40. My go to workout shoe, outside of my Oly shoes.

[APinNC]

I just wear low-top chucks for leg day. Dunno if that'll work for you but they're cheap and have minimal soles.

Yep, Chucks or Vans slip ons. Flat sole and cheap. You can find the older models of the Crossfit reebok shoes. I have a pair and I wear them occasionally if I plan on doing some HIIT after my workout. Usually just Vans or barefoot

[Terminado]

Can anyone recommend some good minimal cushion or low profile sneakers that aren't 70+? My old reeboks i got for 20 bucks and were great for leg day with the minimal foam. Now it seems every pair has too much foam or is 70+.

I just wear low-top chucks for leg day. Dunno if that'll work for you but they're cheap and have minimal soles.

[JBarwick]

Full fat milk is delicious and full of nutrients. If you're worried about inflammation, nut butter may not be the best option, depending on how you tolerate it. I'd also disagree with the pasta recommendation since I prefer to stay away from processed foods. Pasta doesn't give you anything white rice wont.

I don't have much experience with endurance athlete nutrition (just running like you're doing). My thoughts however are that you should add in some weight training to keep the muscle that you have and fuel for the run properly. For endurance work, fueling off fats is optimal or muscle preservation from what I've seen. If you're losing weight, i'd be concerned as to what kind of weight it is (something you can track if you want). Also, if you are losing weight, try adding in more calories. make sure to have sufficient protein (not super high) and maybe try fueling with fats. Add 10% cals for a week or so and see how that does, if you're still dropping lbs then add in 10% more and so on.

Good job sticking to your goal with the running if that's what you want. Keep it rolling!

I am still running quite a bit but cut back as I cannot take in enough water to make up for what I sweat out. I have a very high sweat rate so endurance running in the South and during the summer just wasn't worth it. Plus when I went out for a run one day hoping to put in 15 miles, I got about 2 in and just wanted to hang out with my son. Maybe this fall I will start longer distances again but I am pretty happy where I'm at.

[hockeysc23]

Started looking into smolov. My major concerns are working it around my hockey schedule. I play 2-3x a week so my legs would never have a day off lol

Can anyone recommend some good minimal cushion or low profile sneakers that aren't 70+? My old reeboks i got for 20 bucks and were great for leg day with the minimal foam. Now it seems every pair has too much foam or is 70+.