Getting Functionally Fit

Coach, when I was in my 20's, I was so poor I was a farm worker for a while, making $13 a day. I was elated when I finally got a job in a steel mill for $4.50 an hour, shoving 800 lb. bars into a 10,000 degree furnace. I know it's tough, but one day you'll look back on this as a character building period in your life.

I'm sure once your mom sees how serious you are, she'll support you.
 
Well, I've been very fortunate in my life. The main thing is, I know how Coach is feeling, because I was very, very down in my twenties. At that age, you have a tendency to think it will be your permanent condition. But a LOT can happen, especially if you are determined to improve your lot in life.

And Coach seems to have the desire to do that, so I'm sure he'll succeed.
 
thanks for the support, tom and blancita, i appreciate it. I am making some progress financially, and am not really too worried about it anymore. though it does get depressing to hear about old high school friends, or family members who are younger than me, graduating college and getting into careers. especially this time of year, graduation time, lol. I was thinking about it, and really, it wouldnt seem so tight if i was getting paid on a regular basis for coaching, but they dont do it that way, i get a salary of $1,750 at the end of the season. kind of underpaid even by a small high school standard, but that will get me out of debt entirely, and set me up to really succeed for the summer. thanks again for the uplifting words, it helps me put things into more objective perspective. sorry for the lame rhyme... lol

as a side thought, i think it might be interesting to share some of our more... dirty work experiences, things we did before we started doing well, lol. Tom started off well with his steel mill story. personally, i can relate to that, i have worked in a plastics printing press factory, a glass factory, and an iron working factory. all in the same summer! lol, thats how bad it went. and ive done quite a few other things as well, but those are kind of the "highlights"...

oh, and about my mother. she is 5'9" and about 145 pounds, with a decent amount of muscle. She has OCD (not the kind that washes hands 10 times in a row, but more like crazed perfectionism) so she stays pretty active around the house and yard and such. in fact, no one else in my family has any serious weight problems, most of them are in pretty good shape, so none of them really understand what I am going through and thus arent exactly supportive in the right ways. anyways, mom doesnt really have to watch what she eats, which is weird because she has hypothyroidism (takes medication), and also has had some severe eating disorders (anorexia nervosa, where she starves most of them time, but then binges and throws it up). she is over those now though, and just somehow manages to eat what she wants without gaining weight. i suspect its because she eats so little during most of the day, and then just has what she wants for dinner. i think the reality of not being able to convince her that healthy food is worth it is because she wants to blame my issues on things i cannot control. she has had me tested for hypothyroidism numerous times, and comes up with all sorts of crazy things she is reading about (even suspecting me of having Cushing's). She has seen how incredibly crazy I have exercised (ive always been an athlete, except in the last year or so.) and yet never been lean. this time im just trying to convince her that even though i exercised in the past, i did not eat well enough, and that if i do both right, i can, just like normal people, lose weight naturally. i dont need some crazy diet pill, or fad diet, or surgery, etc. just healthy food and the right support system.

lastly, i just have to say, if i have made my mother seem like a bad person in these last couple of posts, i must stress this is only a very small part of the story, and she is in fact NOT a bad person. she is my best friend, and i love her very much. she does everything she can for me, and has sacrificed much in her life so i could have opportunity.

anyways, time for a nice healthy breakfast!
 
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Coach, it's great you have a good relationship with your mom. Naturally, though, she is going to look at the world of diet and exercise from her own perspective, as we all do. One of your biggest challenges will be to hold onto your truth, without hurting her. I think that's critical, because it's what you're going to have to live with the rest of your life. In the end, the motivation to get ourselves healthy can't be external; it must come from within. So even if you can't convince your mom of that, somehow you'll have to learn to hold onto that truth and live your life by it.

As for shitty jobs -- well, I've had some of the worst. In my teens, I was a night shift worker in a factory that made ammunition boxes for Vietnam. We had to load railroad cars with wooden boxes freshly coated with acetone preservative. By the end of the night, my arms would literally be numb -- no feeling whatsoever. I made $3.35 an hour doing that. I quit after 4 months, because I figured I would get cancer if I kept it up any longer. That was one of the worst jobs I had for sure!
 
I could tell that your mother cares a lot about you, that was obvious from your posts. It would be nice to have someone around here that needed to do it all, clean house and yard. Lucky you :). I think its great that you're trying to get healthy rather than focusing on your weight being a result of a health problem. For many people its highly possible their weight is due to a health problem, but more so its probably just a function of what they eat and how much they move around like you said.

I guess food is more key than exercise, supposedly 80/20 by some measure I think. Maybe it would be interesting for you to calculate up a typical day's calories when you're not trying to lose or be healthy and share with your mom how much more caloric unhealthy foods tend to be. And since you're not one who can go the whole day without eating, and just eat at night like her, you need to find a different strategy that works for you (i.e. substituting healthy lower calorie foods for higher cal foods so you get to eat all day).
 
people always seem to think that having an OCD person around the house would be beneficial, but believe me, it is more a pain than it is a pleasure. by far...

mom is currently on board in full with this new movement to change, and I believe she will be at least for as long as I am making some progress. and progress in any sense, weight loss, smaller clothes, leaner looking, etc. even just better blood test numbers and such will be considered progress to her. This time around Im not making her change what we eat for dinners, so the impact to others lifestyles in our house will be minimal, if any at all. Ive acquired foods for me for the day, and I will count and portion dinners properly (they are usually pretty decent anyways, lean meats, veggies, sometimes a starch, i just always ate way too much). And i dont have to eat the crap they do after dinner while they sit around watching TV. i think the plan this time around has the best chance for success because it doesnt effect anyone else hardly at all, other than a minor increase in food costs (relative to the normal budget). So as long as i show some progress, they will make the necessary purchases, and then i can make the right decisions and continue making progress. for once the "viscious cycle" is starting to turn in my favor, lol.

anyways, today, got up, had good breakfast, small snack, good lunch, will eat again before heading off to todays meet, and then have dinner and perhaps another snack if i need the calories after getting home from the meet. Since we werent able to get the treadmill on saturday like planned, I improvised today and did some cardio by playing DDR. Since i play alone, and am actually fairly good, i can keep the game going, and work it similar to interval training. hard, fast song for 1.5 mins, then a slow song for 1.5 mins. and i can vary the intensity by choosing slightly easier or harder songs based on how i feel. and its a hell of a lot more fun than going for a walk outside. im not in great shape so i cant keep my heart rate at 90%+ for long right now, but i did get a few intervals in where my heart rate was way up there for at least a short bit, and my total time exercising was about 30 mins. as i continue working out, ill be able to do more.
 
Coach, I'm in love with your DDR workout! Sometimes we make it so complicated (I'm #1 guilty in doing that to myself) that we forget our bodies are just basically meant to move. Good for you and it sounds like fun - makes me wanna dance:jump:
 
DDR really is a lot of fun, and even though im supposed to be this big, burly, tough looking guy. i love to dance. and i often find that with DDR, my workouts go longer than i am planning for, which is pretty friggin kickass. And the nice thing is, the more you play it, the better you get, and the more fun it becomes because you can challenge yourself more, and can do more songs on more difficulty levels. you can play one song on easy to warm-up, and then play the exact same song again on expert and get your heart rate up over 85% pretty quick, lol. however, i would offer a piece of advice to anyone who is new to it: definitely do the training mode first and get the general idea of how to move around the dance pad. its a lot more frustrating at first if you dont have the general concept of weight shifting and rhythm.

anywho, its 11pm here, and i have logged in a full day with no slip-ups, recording every single thing i have eaten, as well as my exercise. Though I dont plan on listing every single days macros and calories, etc, i will for today because i need someone to supply me with some science. so here is what today looks like:

Total Calories: 2310 (range set at 2200-2700)
Fat: 65g (21g saturated) 25%
Carbs: 224g (19g fiber) 37%
Protein: 206g 36%

My supposed calorie expenditure per day is 4300, which puts me at a deficit of about 2000 calories. seems kinda high, but i think the expenditure is high too. what i need some science on is this: almost half my calories came from dinner alone, but i did eat throughout the entire day. is there anything scientific about calories per hour? Is it harmful, even though my total calories is low enough, to eat so much of my daily calories in one meal?

i dont think all my dinners will be that large, but heck, i was eating all day, nice and healthy, and dammit it is hard to eat 2500 clean calories. its a lot of friggin food. what are the effects of eating alot of calories at once? ive had my own theories, but i am wondering if science has done any actual testing regarding quantity consumed in shorter terms than per day.
 
From our discussion in private message

Here's an interesting one with regards to why infrequent feeding might actually be a benefit.... nothing to go hog-wild over.... but still interesting:

Annu Rev Nutr. 2005;25:237-60. Links
Energy intake, meal frequency, and health: a neurobiological perspective.

* Mattson MP.

Laboratory of Neurosciences, National Institute on Aging Intramural Research Program, and Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA. mattsonm@grc.nia.nih.gov

The size and frequency of meals are fundamental aspects of nutrition that can have profound effects on the health and longevity of laboratory animals. In humans, excessive energy intake is associated with increased incidence of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and certain cancers and is a major cause of disability and death in industrialized countries. On the other hand, the influence of meal frequency on human health and longevity is unclear. Both caloric (energy) restriction (CR) and reduced meal frequency/intermittent fasting can suppress the development of various diseases and can increase life span in rodents by mechanisms involving reduced oxidative damage and increased stress resistance. Many of the beneficial effects of CR and fasting appear to be mediated by the nervous system. For example, intermittent fasting results in increased production of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which increases the resistance of neurons in the brain to dysfunction and degeneration in animal models of neurodegenerative disorders; BDNF signaling may also mediate beneficial effects of intermittent fasting on glucose regulation and cardiovascular function. A better understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms by which meal size and frequency affect human health may lead to novel approaches for disease prevention and treatment.

Another:

1: Br J Nutr. 1997 Apr;77 Suppl 1:S57-70. Links
Meal frequency and energy balance.Bellisle F, McDevitt R, Prentice AM.
INSERM U341, Hotel Dieu de Paris, France.

Several epidemiological studies have observed an inverse relationship between people's habitual frequency of eating and body weight, leading to the suggestion that a 'nibbling' meal pattern may help in the avoidance of obesity. A review of all pertinent studies shows that, although many fail to find any significant relationship, the relationship is consistently inverse in those that do observe a relationship. However, this finding is highly vulnerable to the probable confounding effects of post hoc changes in dietary patterns as a consequence of weight gain and to dietary under-reporting which undoubtedly invalidates some of the studies. We conclude that the epidemiological evidence is at best very weak, and almost certainly represents an artefact. A detailed review of the possible mechanistic explanations for a metabolic advantage of nibbling meal patterns failed to reveal significant benefits in respect of energy expenditure. Although some short-term studies suggest that the thermic effect of feeding is higher when an isoenergetic test load is divided into multiple small meals, other studies refute this, and most are neutral. More importantly, studies using whole-body calorimetry and doubly-labelled water to assess total 24 h energy expenditure find no difference between nibbling and gorging. Finally, with the exception of a single study, there is no evidence that weight loss on hypoenergetic regimens is altered by meal frequency. We conclude that any effects of meal pattern on the regulation of body weight are likely to be mediated through effects on the food intake side of the energy balance equation.

PMID: 9155494 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

ANOTHER:

1: Hum Nutr Clin Nutr. 1982;36C(1):25-39. Links
Feeding frequency and energy balance in adult males.Dallosso HM, Murgatroyd PR, James WP.
Eight young adult males were fed isoenergetic diets of similar composition either in two meals or in six meals per day at defined times. While on each dietary regimen for two weeks the subjects occupied a whole body calorimeter for two 31-h periods, during which they followed a prescribed activity pattern. For each individual the 24-h energy expenditure in the calorimeter was highly reproducible and no discernible effect of meal frequency was observed under these controlled conditions. The total expenditure in the calorimeter on both regimens was substantially less than the energy intake and a progressive small weight gain was observed throughout the 2-week period on the two-meal-a-day system. If feeding frequency alters metabolic efficiency then it does so by mechanisms not readily discernible in a whole body calorimeter.

PMID: 7076516 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

ANOTHER:

1: Ann Nutr Metab. 1987;31(2):88-97. Links
[Thermogenesis in humans after varying meal time frequency][Article in German]
Wolfram G, Kirchgessner M, Muller HL, Hollomey S.
To a group of 8 healthy persons a slightly hypocaloric diet with protein (13% of energy), carbohydrates (46% of energy) and fat (41% of energy) was given as one meal or as five meals in a change-over trial. Each person was 2 weeks on each regimen. Under the conditions of slight undernutrition and neutral temperature the balances of nitrogen, carbon and energy were assessed in 7-day collection periods, and according to 48-hour measurements of gaseous exchange (carbon-nitrogen balance method) by the procedures of indirect calorimetry. Changes of body weight were statistically not significant. At isocaloric supply of metabolizable energy with exactly the same foods in different meal frequencies no differences were found in the retention of carbon and energy. Urinary nitrogen excretion was slightly greater with a single daily meal, indicating influences on protein metabolism. The protein-derived energy was compensated by a decrease in the fat oxidation. The heat production calculated by indirect calorimetry was not significantly different with either meal frequency. Water, sodium and potassium balances were not different. The plasma concentrations of cholesterol and uric acid were not influenced by meal frequency, glucose and triglycerides showed typical behaviour depending on the time interval to the last meal. The results demonstrate that the meal frequency did not influence the energy balance.

PMID: 3592618 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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I could keep going, there are a lot of studies on the topic... but you get the point.

Studies aside... I have experimented plenty with myself and clients. It really doesn't have a significant impact. It, being meal frequency.
 
thank you for posting those Steve.

it is nice to know that eating lots of meals a day is not absolutely necessary, and that eating a couple of larger meals is ok in terms of energy balance. takes some stress off on those days where i have to compensate at one meal or another because i cannot get enough calories in on normal schedule.

it is still worth noting that there are some other benefits to eating more frequently, even if it isnt in energy balance. more stable blood glucose levels has nice perks even by itself. so, even though more meals doesnt contribute in any energy balance methods, it may still at least make it easier to eat the right number of calories per day.
 
ok, another pretty darn good day food wise. hit the low end of my range again, but was able to keep the calories a little more even throughout the day. also, my macronutrient ratios are staying pretty good too, with 30/30/40 F/C/P. No worries here about fat being equal to carbs, since it was a lot of healthy fats, and sat fats were kept to under 10% of total calories.

and nice thing is, i am making a strong physiological attack against hunger and binges. havent felt anything more than a "ready for the next healthy meal" hunger (which isnt really even a hunger at all, lol), and thus am realizing that avoiding binges is remarkably easier. i think im kind of lucky that my binging isnt associated with taste too, because i dont really get cravings for particular things, and that makes avoiding the binge easier. however, i think my first real challenge is going to be this saturday, will be away at a meet from about 630am to 7pm or so. going to try and pack enough food for the whole day, and take a watch so i can eat at regular intervals. Nice thing is, Ill get a decent amount exercise just from walking all over the place the whole day. and if i get stuck marking distances in the shotput or discus, ill be moving even more. just have to make sure i plan ahead of time and get as much ready early as i can, and get up with enough time to grab the rest of what i need.

i am a little sad that i havent been able to hit the weights as much as i usually like to though. When im really hitting them hard, i do a 2 on 1 off split, upper/lower/off, and periodize between sets of 3, 5, and 8 reps. And I am able to gain alot of strength that way, without overloading my system. and it feels friggin amazing too. cant wait to get back into it full swing here soon.
 
ok, about 3 days of strict eating gone by, and im down almost 5 pounds. nice to see the numbers drop, and i know not to get all freaked out by 5 in 3 days, except, im not on a low carb diet, and i dont really have any water weight to lose because i have been drinking nothing but lots of water for years now, so water weight shouldnt really change. maybe i really am at a 2000 calorie per day deficit... though 5 pounds in 3 days is more than 2000 per day, lol. ill just have to see where i am at the end of next week and gauge things from there. if im losing weight too quick over the span of 2 weeks, then ill add a few calories (dont know how, 2500 clean calories is friggin hard already). if it levels out, ill stay where i am.
 
CoachCrimson said:
ok, about 3 days of strict eating gone by, and im down almost 5 pounds... if im losing weight too quick over the span of 2 weeks, then ill add a few calories (dont know how, 2500 clean calories is friggin hard already). if it levels out, ill stay where i am.
Click to expand...

Congrats on the first five down...if you decide to bump the cals up think nuts, olive oil, bananas:)
 
Hey, Coach, congrats on the loss. You've been working hard, and now you're seeing some results. Well deserved.
 
thanks for the kind words guys, day 4 is going strong already too. havent been getting much work as a substitute lately, and while thats not so great for me financially, its been good for me health wise. not having much to do other than eat right and exercise (and a few hours of coaching each day), means i get to really focus proper at the start here and get myself set up and going in the right direction. wonder if this would help others, maybe everyone should take a little vacation time to start their first few days, lol...
 
another great day down, stayed strict even in the face of temptation. family made tacos tonight, which are not by standard healthy, lol. so i only had two, no sour cream, no cheese, 1oz beef per taco and just the shell. kept it simple, and by the time i added up the calories, i had room to spare for dinner. so i got my first day where dinner was well proportioned to the rest of the meals. and, still needed to eat more after for another meal to get near to where i need to be. in fact, if i get hungry again before bed, i might have some protein, because i am only at 2,133 calories, and still have room to spare.

which reminds me, my protein is still averaging slightly low, and im having a hard time finding stuff to help keep it up. i can only eat just so much chicken per day, tuna is gross (ate way too much in the past), and i cant afford to buy whey right now. i need some ideas for other things that can be prepped ahead of time and kept in the fridge for easy access at a later point in the week. and things that have close to no carbs, and preferrably at least a 4:1 protein to fat ratio. i know, its a pretty strict limitation, but any ideas would help greatly to fill a slot that is pretty much my only current difficulty. currently, i do chicken and egg whites, and will get shrimp next time it goes buy one get one free.

also, my counselor cancelled my appointment for tomorrow, and re-scheduled me for 2 weeks out, which puts me at 3 weeks between sessions. she had emphasized a once per week routine right now, so i am a little confused as to why she had them push me so far back. maybe its a good sign, lol. also, why is it that we get flamed and penalized for not cancelling at least 24 hours in advance, but they can cancel in less that time with no issues? lol, funny thought i think. after all, just like them, i am losing money when i miss work and they cancel too late as to allow me to adjust my schedule.

thats about it for today, curious to see if the scale makes anymore weird drops tomorrow morning. (side note: shortly after i weighed this morning, i went boom boom, and decided to re-weigh myself for shits and giggles, no pun intended. lost a pound just from empyting out, lol.)
 
You're doing great Coach. It really doesn't matter if the first five includes water and fat since all diets seem to start off with the necessary decrease of water weight, but water weight sure shows up on me so I'd be glad to get rid of that too. At the rate you're going, what with the healthy eating and not binging or starving, you're bound to lose lots of fat over the coming months!

Glad mom is on board with the get healthy plan. And very good of you to avoid eating the night time TV snacks while they're all munching out. Where are you finding the will power..and send some my way..??

How much is the DDR? Do you just buy a DVD or what is it? Sounds like a fun thing to do. Maybe H will compete with me, though he tries NOT to burn calories because he's very slim to begin with (once while trying my elliptical for about 3 minutes he saw the calories burned and said "but what if you don't want to burn any calories" before thinking duh, you dont have a choice if you're exercising buddy; that was the end of him using the elliptical).
 
Good for you, Coach! I hear you on that cancellation stuff. I've had doctors who made me wait before, and after 30 minutes, I went to the receptionist and told them my time was just as valuable as the doc's, and I was leaving, and they better not charge me for it. When I pick docs now, how long they make people wait is an important criterion for me.

How about hummus? I'm not sure about the ratios, but it does have a fair amount of protein, and it's great on whole wheat bread, or you can bring along a bag of cauliflower and broccoli, and dip them in the hummus.
 
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