Workout and diet accountability thread

MiddleMan

I'm in a similar boat as @HappyTrail‌, looking to gain as opposed to lose. I don't have a number as a goal; it's going to be visible in the mirror. 

As of today, 1/6/15, I'm at 6'0" and 181. 

SaigoTakamori

1/6/2015
6'2"
 54.5 around belly button. 
I got work to do fellas and fellettes.  Hard to fathom it was 63"nov 2013.

Hold me accountable.

Map on

HappyTrail

Mark72 said:

I'm looking at this one @HappyTrail:

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/mercier/galaxy_tour.htm

@Mark72‌ ;
I dont know anything about that brand. All depends on your desires. I wanted a carbon road bike with at least Shimano 105 level hardware (huge jump up-smooth and dependable). You're gonna spend 2,500 for that usually. My friend is on a pro staff/race team and was able to help me pick out mine and get it for 1700. I could only afford that by using two years of my bass tournament winnings that I had been saving. If you have no desire to do races, triathlons, or really long rides (50+ miles) an entry level bike like that is sufficient. I personally would rather try bikes out at local bike shops, have them set it up right, and have a place to go back to for accessories or repairs. Giant, Trek, Specialized are all good brands. Fuji has been coming on strong and is aggressively getting in the game by being priced better than the big boys. Just my 2 cents.

Re: Protein shakes, IMO they are only useful if you're not eating right to begin with. I did do a lot of research a couple years ago though, and concluded the following: Jay Robb brand (order it online) is an excellent choice. Compare ingredients and nutrition label and you will find a HUGE difference between brands. They also blend well - not chalky - and good flavors. Second, if you're like my wife and study about cancer, animal proteins have been proven to promote the growth of cancer cells. While some may dismiss this, the facts remain. (I even asked my wife's cancer doctor and nutritionist about it last year during her treatment and they agreed). You might consider a natural plant based protein powder instead of whey. There are less options and they tend to be chalky, but you get used to it. Again, just something to consider.

RebuildingHusband

Mark72 said:
I am wanting to weight train and I'm in the mindset of protein shakes over pasta and cereal...

Protein shakes are meant to make up for dietary deficiencies and being lazy (or really not having enough time to prepare real food which is rare). You're going to get much better results from eating real, whole foods rather than drinking a shake. You need micronutrients that a protein shake isn't going to deliver. Eat a chicken breast and some mashed sweet potato after a workout. Or hummus and pita as a quick snack after a workout but before your real dinner. Or however it fits into your schedule. 

If you're training fasted (first thing in the AM) then there are different considerations. You need to figure out what your plan is and build from there. Regardless, there's no shake or supplement that is going to be an appropriate substitute for eating real, whole, minimally processed foods. The only supplements im bothering with these days are ZMA and creatine because I can measure results and know they work for me. 

RebuildingHusband

I didn't run this morning but I did get in some mattress cardio. 

Diet is on point so far. One day at a time. I love sausage and eggs for breakfast. Plus my 2 year old climbs in my lap and eats half my eggs. 

Pirouette

RebuildingHusband said:
I didn't run this morning but I did get in some mattress cardio. 
Diet is on point so far. One day at a time. I love sausage and eggs for breakfast. Plus my 2 year old climbs in my lap and eats half my eggs.

@eightbit and I looked it up and found that sex doesn't burn that many calories although some days we beg to differ. 

Rorschach

RebuildingHusband said:

Mark72 said:

That's what I need!! I bought a blender to make milkshakes. Gotta make protein shakes instead. GNC has some that taste better than the stuff I got from Walmart, and much better for me too.

Why do you think you need protein shakes?  You should be able to consume plenty of protein through your diet. A target of 150g protein is more than adequate for most men. More or less depending on your lean body mass (not what you actually weigh on the scale). 

If you still feel the need to supplement, go with something that is 100% whey (assuming no dairy sensitivities). Optimum Nutrition 100% natural whey was my preferred protein before I focused more on my diet.

Whey protein is a very useful supplement, primarily post-workout, because it is very quickly absorbed in liquid form.
Guys here working with weights to gain mass should get hold of a copy of Nutrient Timing (authors names escape me at the moment, but it's a short scientific book available on Amazon). There is plenty of info in there that will help with diet if your goal is to gain lean mass.
Casein or a blend of casein and other proteins is better if you're going to supplement with protein at other than post-workout times, because it's more slowly digested.
Also FYI be careful using any discount brands of protein to try to save $. A number of manufacturers have been accused of "spiking" their products with impurities (there are a number off class actions).

DaddyOh

My transformation started 16 months ago.
When I started -5'8 182LBS
Currently 5'8 169LBS

Few Goals. Want to drop below 160. Run a sub 1:40 half marathon this year. Wear 30 inch waist pants (almost there)

I pay attention to my diet (process food kept to a minimum), crossfit 5 days a week. I'm also looking to sign up for MMA.

Serenity

@DaddyOh  My husband loves his MMA class. It's done more for his leadership/confidence/dominance/fitness than any single other activity he's done. 

And I ..... really like the results. 

Highly recommend it.

DaddyOh said:

I'm also looking to sign up for MMA.

Serenity

Glad it helped, MU. I haven't added celery yet. That will be my next step.

Green smoothies aren't perfect, but they're better than not getting any veggies.

Monkeys_Uncle said:

I have a hard time getting enough green veggies because I just generally don't like them.  I've been doing breakfast shakes 2-3 days per week where I throw a large handful of spinach, celery, and cucumbers in the blender along with frozen straw/blue/black-berries + a banana or an apple or an orange... add an ounce of pecans and an ounce of pumpkin seed for some extra fiber.  If I didn't get much protein the previous day, I'll add a scoop of whey powder.   Add a cup of milk or yogurt for some fat, and blend away...

It's about a 700 calorie breakfast, very filling, and gets a few servings of greens down my gullet to start the day.  

Hat tip to @Serenity for the idea:  http://lowtwife.com/i-hate-all-that-green-crap/

SaigoTakamori

Second Serenity's site!  Great stuff.

MMA is great class bubba.

Mr_Brown

Salad for lunch and my power rack gets delivered tomorrow... Craigslist purchase for a bench didn't go well... On to the next one. 

Another note... A lot of us have big goals... Learning from MAPping for a while I've learned its best to break the goals down to smaller goals/baby steps. Celebrate 52 smaller wins this year instead of 1 big win!! 

So instead of losing 40 lbs. this year, I want to workout 3 times this week, and have 6 servings of veggies/fruits a day. Anything extra is a bonus! 

SaigoTakamori

hip sled  and incline dumbells,

then 4 set 3o sec on 1 min rest intervals

Salad now for lunch

MrGrimm

I had a salad today, unfortunately it was seven layer salad, so probably not quite so healthy.  It was a fairly small portion at least. 

Tennee

@Jek‌ Sadly, this morning I discovered I'm also victim to the  DPRK's insidious scale hack. What else could explain a reading of 203?  Certainly not the Holiday Feedbag I apparently strapped on at some point.  Those bastards!

I'll probably do a weekly Friday update here, but thus far:  gym 3X (2 lift days/1 cardio), on track for 5x this week.  No crap eaten.  

Mark72

I have been reducing my portion size. Tossing some of the packaged processed foods. Eating less of some of the others. Next payday I am going to get some green stuff and protein shakes from GNC. I have a food saver so I can portion out salads for a couple weeks.
I would love some green smoothie recipes. I have had some with spinach and kale and yogurt. They weren't bad. Wife has a good blender doohickey for them. I just have the regular old raggedy blender. But chunky style smoothies may work too, right?

MrGrimm

I'm not sure I'm capable of doing healthy smoothies.  I think if I got out the blender, stuff like milk, ice cream and Hersheys would probably magically appear.

Serenity

You could always do what I do ...

Put in fresh, plump strawberries, squeeze some whole oranges and add all that lovely Vitamin C, then pour in some fresh lime juice for the anti-oxidants and phyto-nutrients. See? All nutritious and delicious. And then, at the very last minute .....

You add some tequila. I call it a Smoothie Plus.

What?  It's healthy.

Chief_TC said:

MrGrimm said:

I'm not sure I'm capable of doing healthy smoothies.  I think if I got out the blender, stuff like milk, ice cream and Hersheys would probably magically appear.

I never knew you could legally put anything else in a blender.

Mark72

Serenity said:

You could always do what I do ...

Put in fresh, plump strawberries, squeeze some whole oranges and add all that lovely Vitamin C, then pour in some fresh lime juice for the anti-oxidants and phyto-nutrients. See? All nutritious and delicious. And then, at the very last minute .....

You add some tequila. I call it a Smoothie Plus.

What?  It's healthy.

my answer/

frillyfun

Best Korea also sabotaged my scale (it has absolutely nothing to do with baking my Great Grandmother's holiday recipes).  All meals are now 50% veggies/legumes until further notice.

For smoothies I do frozen banana, blueberries, soy milk, and protein powder.  I'm not sure what kind of booze though- maybe amaretto?