90 Day Lifestyle Change
polycounter lvl 15
My bad habits have recently been spiralling out of control and I need to reign myself back in to a healthier, happier me. A few of my friends, and my wife have already jumped on board and agreed to do this with me for the next 90 days.
When I'm eating well and active, I not only feel better about myself, but I have more energy for everything. I do more things with my wife, I can work longer without losing focus. The benefits are numerous!
So all this is, is a committment to eat fresh, healthy foods, exercise regularly (30-60mins of cardio a day, and weights 4 times a week), and avoid any other vices you have. Soda, sugar (minus fruits) and beer are three things I'll be cutting from my diet.
I have created a public google doc spreadsheet for anyone who feels they need to make a change. Please feel free to enter in your starting weight, measurements, and goal weight. Every two weeks on Sunday there is a check-in day column where you will weigh, and remeasure yourself and enter those values into the corresponding date.
Please do not tamper with other peoples goals/weights etc.
Each check-in day I'll be posting an update on here, and using this as a discussion thread for anyone struggling to stick to what they set out to accomplish.
I took my measurements and weight today. I will be starting the 90 days tomorrow (July 23rd), if you read this late and still want to join thats ok! Just enter in your starting measures, and then start posting at the next check-in date. Its not a competition, its strictly a support group and a place to hold yourself accountable.
Hopefully people are interested in doing this with me! But if not thats ok. I still have a small support group on the side. Just wanted to see if we can help anyone else kickstart themselves to a better life.
Here is the link to the Google Doc:
Polycount 90 Day Lifestyle Change
TLDR:
- 90 days to change your bad habits and reach your health goals
- Join the Google Doc and enter in starting values
- update those values in the corresponding dates every 2 weeks
- Join late? No problem, just start using the current columns
- Polycount 90 Day Lifestyle Change
- Starts: July 23rd
- Goodluck!
When I'm eating well and active, I not only feel better about myself, but I have more energy for everything. I do more things with my wife, I can work longer without losing focus. The benefits are numerous!
So all this is, is a committment to eat fresh, healthy foods, exercise regularly (30-60mins of cardio a day, and weights 4 times a week), and avoid any other vices you have. Soda, sugar (minus fruits) and beer are three things I'll be cutting from my diet.
I have created a public google doc spreadsheet for anyone who feels they need to make a change. Please feel free to enter in your starting weight, measurements, and goal weight. Every two weeks on Sunday there is a check-in day column where you will weigh, and remeasure yourself and enter those values into the corresponding date.
Please do not tamper with other peoples goals/weights etc.
Each check-in day I'll be posting an update on here, and using this as a discussion thread for anyone struggling to stick to what they set out to accomplish.
I took my measurements and weight today. I will be starting the 90 days tomorrow (July 23rd), if you read this late and still want to join thats ok! Just enter in your starting measures, and then start posting at the next check-in date. Its not a competition, its strictly a support group and a place to hold yourself accountable.
Hopefully people are interested in doing this with me! But if not thats ok. I still have a small support group on the side. Just wanted to see if we can help anyone else kickstart themselves to a better life.
Here is the link to the Google Doc:
Polycount 90 Day Lifestyle Change
TLDR:
- 90 days to change your bad habits and reach your health goals
- Join the Google Doc and enter in starting values
- update those values in the corresponding dates every 2 weeks
- Join late? No problem, just start using the current columns
- Polycount 90 Day Lifestyle Change
- Starts: July 23rd
- Goodluck!
Replies
I reached and achieved my goals and wouldn't mind helping anyone that needs help if I can afford the time. I am not near anyone from PC but whatever I can do to help I wouldn't mind being approached, be it questions, pm's ect about what I did to over come an obstacle or loosing interest, ect, ect.
Good luck ladies and gents you are in for one hell of a ride and if you jump into the nutrition of food you'll see a lot wrong and it will be ...well... interesting to say the least at what you find out.
This is awesome shabba I hope a lot of people take you up on your offer I might also jump on just to reach a new goal for myself.
I can promise you all right off the bat though that you guys will not regret anything about doing this!
You should post your routine and diet, some links to things of that nature. Some people may not have a clue where to start.
You should start doing Yoga regularly, it is amazing. It makes you sweat like crazy and wakes you up and boosts your mood immediately.
@D4V1DC: I know I'd definitely like to hear about your previous successes, and how you achieved your goals!
@Isaiah Sherman: Thanks for the encouragement! I hope other people do too. I've always wanted to try Yoga, there is a Moksha Yoga studio right near by my place too. I'll let you know how it goes!
My Plan.
Cutting Out:
- Soda
- Sugar (fruits excluded)
- Beer/Alcohol
Routine:
Cardio 6 times per week (medium/goal)
- running 5km until I can do it without stopping sub 30mins
- rowing 10km at 2:00min/500m pace without stopping
Strength Training (Main exercises/ Goal)
- deadlifts (1RM 500lbs)
- pullups (20 pullups w/o dropping)
- bench press (225lbs x 5reps)
- squats[/url] (1RM 385lbs)
- clean (1RM 225lbs)
- snatch (1RM 205lbs)
- push press (1RM 225lbs)
Foods:
- Paleo foods in Zone diet quantities
- To expand on this a bit and give an overview of how the two work together and how i'll be using them:
"Eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch, no sugar. Keep intake to levels that support exercise but not body fat."
Paleo foods are really anything natural that a caveman would have had access to, that they could kill or forage. There are some strange exceptions in the list, but typically you avoid things like Dairy, Grains, Sugar, Legumes and can eat as much meat protein, vegetables, and starches (I will only be consuming sweet potatoe for starch).
Fruits are also allowed... but a wise man once told me "You have to earn your fruit." So I will only be consuming an apple or banana POST workout.
Zone Diet is a fairly simple diet (thats why i like it alot) and it encourages you to actually eat food unlike most other diets. So the zone diet uses this idea of "Blocks". In the link there is a chart that you use to figure out how many blocks you get at each meal or snack. For example, I am 226lbs, lead a fairly sedentary lifestyle, so I would be considered a large or extra large male. That means that I get 4 blocks at each feeding time.
So the way the block system works: Each type of food listed has a measurement value associated with it. That amount of that particular food equals 1 block. Example: 1oz of chicken breast = 1 block of Protein
At each feeding I need to consume 4 blocks each of Protein, Carbs, and Fat.
Example Meal:
- 4oz chicken breast (protein)
- 2/5cup of mashed sweet potatoe (carb)
- 1 1/4cup broccoli (carb)
- 1 cup green beens (carb)
- 12 almonds (fat)
So the goal here is to only eat Paleo foods, in the quantities of the Zone diet. Refer to the links above for more info!
Video Links:
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- pullups (20 pullups w/o dropping)
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185cm/79kg.
Reg workout - 0615 I do a 6km run 4 days a week. Takes about 30 minutes.
At gym 2000-2200: 2 hours. 5 (Wed/Sun off) days a week.
Diet -
I always try to limit what I eat. Some boxers crash for a diet to make weight. I like to maintain and train at my fight weight year round.
In the winter I watch more of what I eat because it is hard to work it off. Basic intake per day is sub 2000 calories. That is not a lot. Weekends are kinda like a day off. But I eat things like tuna, salads, minced meats, rice... whatever. I`ll have a pie/cakes every now and then. Some times I will eat two huge hamburgers w/fries. For drinks I have tea, juice (500ml), water. I just try to not over-do it.
Now I am prepping for a fight, so my diet is sub 1100 calories per day Mon - Sat. It keeps me at my weight. I am quite use to this. So I work and sleep like normal.
Today I had:
After Aug 10 I will change my diners to tuna and salads, going to work on chest buildup. Morning will be the same (easy to do), lunch, I will stop doing 1/2 portions and just do full.
I do not have a car. I walk everywhere. At home I will do shadow for like 30 minutes or so off and on.
This is an extremely easy way to control one's diet, while keeping it balanced. And from there on, since eating less for lunch prevents bloating and food coma, you'll naturally be more inclined to work out more often. Easy ! (now of course it is a given that crappy food and sodas should be avoided, but that kinda goes without saying.)
On top of that I do light cardio every morning and evening by simply riding a bike to work, and hit the pool at least once a week. I know I should do more, but that would be hard to fit in the schedule.
Would you mind expanding on the movements you do for abs?
Pior, I like that idea for portion control! I'm definitely going to try it when I'm not at home and able to weigh what I'm taking in. Thanks! I've never really considered swimming for cardio, but I gym at the YMCA and I know they have public pool hours. So this might be something I try too!
:P In all seriousness though, good job! Im joining. Ive fallen outta the routine recently as well. But man. 10km rowing at 2:00/500m pace? That's tough! Rowing is what I do when I exercise. Right now I can barely keep that pace for 5 minutes, and BARELY hit the 5k mark in 20 minutes last time I rowed. But I love rowing. I have one of those older machines that is just a giant fan with one tension setting. I find it much harder than the ones I use at the gym, even when they are on the hardest tension.
Not sure if the goal weight is for the 90 days, or over all, but I set it for the 90 days. 50lbs loss.
Cutting out: Pop (even diet)
Cutting back on Beer (cept for the PC meetup). Switching to mostly vodka and G2 (fantastic drink with low calories... AND it helps avoid hang overs! Seriously, try it).
Exercise: Rowing at least 4x a week for 20 minutes minimum.
Sleep: Go to bed before midnight. That means turning the tv off as well. No more staying up till 2am on a work night watching movies. Class days excluded because sometimes class goes past midnight. Nothing I can do about that.
Food: Im not one for specific diets. I find they dont work for me. So Im going to just say no more fast food. Subway is allowed once a week as a treat. not a dietary staple. besides that, its all portion control. eat what I want, but smaller portions. And no food after 9pm.
I'll do as you did "Beer(cept for the PC meetup)." A nice little addendum.
Oh thats awesome that you Row. I know 10k at 2/500m is going to be tough, I was trying to set difficult 3month goals. (might be too hard..) I used to row awhile ago on a C2 rower at the Y. So I'm hoping I'll be able to get back into it. Its great cardio!
My goal weight is for the 90 days.
I like your approach better because they are more rules/guidelines you'll be able to continue with even after this. But I think if I'm not strict with myself, I'll bend my own rules too much. Goodluck Slipsius! And see ya saturday!
I've also stopped drinking milk over a year ago, insta-gift for my stomach.
My starting weight was 220lbs and I'm now down to 200lbs. I'm 6'2, so this is an okay weight...but I'd really like to be at 185lbs. Both my wife and I have plateaued the past 2-3 months, so I'm pretty convinced it's our diet holding us back. We've been doing P90X the past 3 months and it demands a lot out of us, so we don't slack on the workouts. We workout 6 days a week from anywhere from an hour to almost 1.5 hours. Not sure if anyone is familiar with the P90X workout, but it covers all grounds. Cardio, strength training, high interval shit and they mix in some kenpo. We just finished that up literally yesterday, so we're going to be taking our measurements tonight...so hopefully they wont disappoint or I will go into all out raGE! haha...I burn anywhere from 600-900 calories each workout..so it's pretty intense. Some workouts, I literally have to squeeze the sweat out of my shirt because it's completely drenched.
For our diet, this is typically what I have on a dialy basis:
Breakfast: Grilled cheese or eggs or cheerios. Yea, not that great for the most important meal of the day...gotta switch that up.
Lunch: Sandwich on wheat bread with turkey or lean roast beef with american cheese and mustard. A few (15-20) pops chips (low in calorie alternative chips..really good) and 4-5 wheat ritz crackers with peanut butter.
Dinner: We tend to have a lot of "croc-pot" meals that always has chicken. So with all meals, we have on average 1 chicken breast each with either 1-1.5 cups of brown rice -OR- black beans with corn. We love these two recipes so we don't deviate away from it too much. If anyone wants those recipes, lemme know! Also, when we dont eat those meals, we opt out for subway. I get the 6" steak & cheese on wheat with mustard. And on nights when we don't want to cook or go anywhere, I just eat a sammich.
We also stopped drinking soda all together. I drink mostly water, but just started buying "Mio." No calories and really good. My favorite is Berry Blast...shit is good soN! On Saturdays, we have our "cheat days" where we just eat whatever. BuuuuT, like I mentioned earlier...something has to change in our diet. Feels like we're just breaking even for some reason. I suck when it comes to dieting so this is entirely new territory for me. I've always been skinny as crap, so I'm having to learn all of this from new like I'm sure most of us are.
If you're looking to cut something from your diet, I'd vote for the cheese. Actually, being vegan I'd cut out the meat too but I'm not going to get preachy. Cheese, like all dairy, is just fat with little else and not the good kind of fat.
I guarantee, drop the cheese (and dairy too please!) and you'll drop 5 pounds super quick.
Abs - I do 60 sit-ups, then do 60 for left side, 60 for right, then do it again with 10kg rocking side to side. Then have legs off the ground and do crossing motion with my legs and upper body off the ground. Sometimes we do this thing where we lay on our backs with feet in the air and have to lift our midsection to touch someones hand held above. Finally, I just hold 10kg and slowly dip to left or the right for 2-3 rounds.
I say do any sport. I felt I could not get into shape without a goal with a routine. If it was just "go to the gym" I would have quit a month into it.
So slow down and when you hit the mid point, talk to someone for a bit, take a small walk, hit the bathroom, do some sketching, or just stare at the ceiling, whatever, just give your body a few minutes to catch up.
Also stomachs are good at measuring volume not caloric intake and some aren't good at volume control if they've been stretched out. But what Pior said is a smart move if you're trying to cut portions down, just remember to take a break and let your body catch up and tell you its done.
I'm with shotgun in swearing off milk. If you look into it, most animals and people lose the ability to process baby food (milk) as they get older. The microbes needed to break it down, start to decline later in life unless you really keep up on your milk intake, its natural, we learn to eat other things.
If you take a broad spectrum antibiotic you'll do most of them in or if you take a break from milk for a few months, you'll kill them off that way too. You might also eat something else that goes to war with milk eating microbes killing them off that way too.
If you drink unfiltered beer you might line your gut and intestines with live yeast which will throw off the balance and make digestion a difficult process. YOu can starve it out or eat things that eat the yeast, just know if you have issues and you're an unfiltered beer drinker it might be a source.
Good point man! Never really thought about just how much cheese I actually consume on a weekly basis. One-two slices a day + the cheese I consume on the weekends is actually pretty excessive. On our cheat days, we usually have like a hamburger (with cheese) or pizza (obviously with cheese) or BBQ (with mac & cheese.) So yea...starting now I'm cutting that out. Aside from that and an occasional bowl of cheerios in the AM, I really dont consume too much dairy thankfully.
Also, just throwing this out there as info in case someone has similar issues as I did...I developed really bad acid reflux from all the junk I was eating. I had to take a prilosec each day to help fight it off. I also was put on lexapro (to fight anxiety & depression.) Since working out, I feel so much better from the endorphins and serotonin that my body is naturally producing that I no longer need to take it. There was also something up with my GI tract and how my body was digesting everything. I had like crazy bubble guts all the time and even had a colonoscopy to figure out what was going on. The dr said I was clean as a whistle (yea..he actually referred to my ass as a whistle) and said he has no idea what was wrong. Since dieting, this has gone away also. Pretty crazy how all of that was remedied just from eating better and exercising. Huge life improvements that are worth your time.
i don't have much time for a gym...so i'll be sticking to running and simple home workouts.
Unfortunately I've come to realize that I really can't eat much of anything that isn't paleo-friendly, though I do still include certain dairy products. Very little bread, rice, pasta, potatoes, etc. I've found that I am most successful when I have one cheat day a week. Any time I'm feeling tempted, I can just tell myself I'll eat the shit out of that donut on Saturday, rather than thinking "I CAN NEVERRRR EAT DONUTS AGAINNNNN." The ominous "NEVER" eating x or y is a little too depressing for me, haha! After satiating my sweet tooth, I feel a lot more driven about eating healthy food for the rest of the week. It works for me.
Before I started eating clean and exercising regularly, I had headaches nearly every day. I had dealt with them for as long as I could remember, and just accepted frequent headaches as a fact of life. Pop the advil, suck it up, and get over it; my life motto. Now I never have headaches!
hahaha...AwesomE! I'm the same way though. I'll have a couple of cravings during the week, and having that 1 cheat day is like a "reward." But yea, if I had to go my entire life without a donut or a freakin' cookie dough blizzard from DQ, I dont wanna live! haha
Just noticed there isn't a column for bicep measurements in the google doc. Seems like something worth keeping track.
I'm really happy to see a bunch more people joining in on this! Thats freakin awesome.
NyneDown: If you want to adjust the spacing under your name for more measurements thats cool too. Or you can add it to everyones, I'll probably just stick to measuring my core as I'm interested in dropping bodyfat and getting strong. So if I'm able to lift more and more weight, I would just assume my arms would get bigger. But if you wanna add it then by all means dude! Have at it
Lamont: Thats awesome man! I saw your sig said you work for Ubi Osaka! I loved Osaka when I visited Japan last year. It was such an experience. and the night life!!! Are you bilingual? How long have you lived in Japan?
I'm going for my run now. Hope the first day for people is going well! All this water has me pissing like a race horse..
the health side of things is just like working out. when you start it feels horrible and lame and you want to say fuck it and go back to your old bad habits but after 2-3 weeks of self discipline it becomes almost a new set of habits, and you look forward to the gym and eating well because you feel the results.
oh and on the water thing, hell yea better skin and improved workout stamina by atleast double.
Good luck!
strictly speaking the body doesn't require any carbohydrate at all to live / grow / repair / function. if you never consumed a single gram your entire life you'd be tip top
so long as you got your dose of fats and protein
.
would fully recommend going full blown keto ( remove as much carbohydrate ( sugars ) as possible from the diet. including fruit ) with intermittent fasting ( at least 16 hours a day ). then introduce carbs after you've dropped all your weight as treat and cheat days etc
The best part is that you're not really giving up anything since you can eat your normal amount of calories during your eating window - just don't eat MORE than what you need.
Working out on an empty stomach turns the body in a fat burning furnace.
Search for "fastingtwins" on YouTube. They are hilarious AND informative... I like advice like theirs since they've tried it and are talking about results they've seen in their own bodies.
Also, I recently went Gluten-free for medical reasons, and I have to say I feel amazing, and it forces me to eat better. I was having a lot of problems I didn't know were being caused by it, but now that I'm off I've already dropped 3 lbs (I'm already relatively thin, but not where I'd like to be.) It's not for everyone, but I'd give it a try for a month and see if you feel more energized/less bloated.
@WarrenM I've actually heard that too, no idea where from, but I've switched to trying to get my proteins at breakfast, carbs at lunch, veggies/lean protein for dinner, with fruits in-between, seems to be working, I have much more energy.
Can your body be addicted to sugar? Its only day 3 and the headaches I am experiencing can only be explained by cutting out all the shit food I eat. I'm still consuming the same amount of caffiene, so I am curious if these "withdrawal symptoms" can be caused by cutting sugar?
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Knocking out sugar seems to be the smartest move I've made yet in this lifestyle change.
Furthermore, in the long term, you will hit plateaus every so often. Maintenance will be relatively easy when at a plateau, but you just won't get any gains. The easiest way to get past a plateau is to switch something up. Be sure to pay attention to your body, as some changes can have very surprising effects.
Another point is to know what your physical goals are. If you're looking to build strength, I don't recommend a low carb/fat diet. Low carb/fat diets will definitely allow you to drop weight quickly, but if you're doing anything other than low-medium intensity workouts, you're likely going to end up cannibalizing muscle mass in recovery.
Most importantly, educate yourself as much as possible. There is a lot of information out there, but not all of it may align with your situation and goals. What you eat, when you eat, how you sleep, when you workout, how you workout all make pretty huge differences in results.
Dfacto: Thanks
I don't know what routine you're doing. or planning to do, but I've found Madcow to be very effective for strength gains, and 5/3/1 is apparently quite good too.
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/nutrition/how-many-carbohydrates-do-you-need.html
His books are quite informative, if you have the spare cash I would give them a read. His site has a bunch of really great info too.
As for the intermittent fasting, its not for everyone, but for me its worked better than any thing else Ive ever tried... If you're interested in IF my rec would be Martin Berkhan's LeanGains.com site...great info there
Deadlift: Old max = 455, current = 405
Bench: Old max 235, current = 195
squat: old max = 385, current, 315
I've lost a ton in a few short months.
I've always thought about doing the 5/3/1 Wendler program! I haven't heard of Madcow though i'm gonna give it a read now. Thanks!
Also I don't know how comfortable you are with it, but the snatch is kinda risky for what you get from doing it. Might honestly be better to just incorporate front squats into your routine and do power cleans.
EDIT: actually, come to think of it, my bench is probably too high compared to my squat and deadlift and yours is the normal one... not sure if my legs and back are shitty, or if my chest is an overachiever.
I think this guy's day job is as a web portal video editor (my impression from his twitter account).
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I had a late start. Didnt really start the rowing i said i would till monday. Just finished my second day of it. Feels good to be back at it, as tough as it it.
At work-I walk 3 blocks plus 4 floors of stairs to the office. I try and take the stairs whenever we go for coffee or lunch/fresh air. I started doing pushups every hour or so- pushing for max every set. I keep a set of relatively heavy dumbells at my desk and try and do curls when not doing push ups. So far my collegues have been cool with it- as a few of them workout frequently. I try and continue doing pushups, sittups and generally anything I can for the rest of the evening. I try and do this everyday unless I feel my body is healing and then I switch to more cardio/legs. So far I'm down about 15 pnds in about 5 weeks- with pretty apparent strength/energy gains.
I do monday - thursday Chest + back / Legs / Arms / Shoulders, then on saturday I do cardio, it seems to be a good balance.
Doing ok so far, focusing my efforts again. My biggest problem is avoiding snacks at work.
@Slipsius - It is tough! I am trying my luck at a new gym tomorrow, so I'll give a decent update on the weekend.
Dan! Thats some great progress with some simple changes. Good work sir! I love the strength and energy gains too. Keep at it! Fill out the Google Doc if you wanna stick with us!
On a more successful note: I have accomplished a 12km run in 1hr:22min. Definitely not a world record, but thats the longest I've ever gone running for. Next up is my rowing goal, and I'll get to start working on that next week as my start at Crossfit has been delayed a week.
Trying to jump back on but man have I been lazy going on about 3 weeks now.
Invest in some good shoes. It will save your back, feet and bring more comfort and improve your running.
Falling off the wagon, just get back on!!