How to stay in shape?

Food is full of salt, sugar, fat and additives. Peoples lives are less physically active. There is a big push in the UK now to address obesity. How do people in the US shape up in terms of healthy eating and regular exercise? What do you do to keep in shape and keep the garbage out of your bodies?

Personally Im lucky that I can work out 4 times a week whilst also watching what I eat but I do find in this line of work it's very easy to let a few weeks roll by and put on the pounds if you are not careful.

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Cessation

Turgon wrote:

Food is full of salt, sugar, fat and additives. Peoples lives are less physically active. There is a big push in the UK now to address obesity. How do people in the US shape up in terms of healthy eating and regular exercise? What do you do to keep in shape and keep the garbage out of your bodies?

Personally Im lucky that I can work out 4 times a week whilst also watching what I eat but I do find in this line of work it's very easy to let a few weeks roll by and put on the pounds if you are not careful.

Arent people in the US heavier than the UK? =P

sprkymrk

We get all the excersise we need over here by keeping the snack machines at least 30 paces from our offices. Walking before you get your hoho's or twinkies or doritos is good for you. Plus, we drink diet coke or pepsi. A diet soda cancels out the candy bar calories. Also, if you forget what you ate for lunch, the calories don't count either.

shednik

sprkymrk wrote:

We get all the excersise we need over here by keeping the snack machines at least 30 paces from our offices. Walking before you get your hoho's or twinkies or doritos is good for you. Plus, we drink diet coke or pepsi. A diet soda cancels out the candy bar calories. Also, if you forget what you ate for lunch, the calories don't count either.

LOL

dynamik

Turgon wrote:

How do people in the US shape up...

Round, for the most part.

Turgon wrote:

Personally Im lucky that I can work out 4 times a week whilst also watching what I eat but I do find in this line of work it's very easy to let a few weeks roll by and put on the pounds if you are not careful.

I hear you. Living in Minnesota doesn't help matters. It's difficult to get motivated when it's dark and -8 (Fahrenheit) outside. I try to hit the gym on the way back from work and go first thing on the morning in the weekends otherwise I typically don't go. I have three nights of school starting back up, so that's going to mess up my schedule. I'm actually trying to see if I can start work a couple hours earlier, so I have some time to squeeze in some exercise before class starts.

I'm personally cutting out the alcohol. Not only is alcohol a huge source of calories in itself, but it also makes me lose self-control around the junk food. Therefore, dropping the alcohol is a double-win for me. I'm also going to start studying at a coffee shop and just getting non-sweetened iced tea or something. It seems like I tend to snack more when I just sit around the house.

snadam

Cessation wrote:

Arent people in the US heavier than the UK? =P

actually, I think we are, on average, the fattest nation in the world...IMO, I notice The government focuses more on the fat kids of America. The 'fitness businesses' on the other hand, focuses more on the fat adults.

For most people, self control is key. You need to control your exercise activity and food intake. Weather you have a gene/glandular problem, I cant comment because I dont know enough about those issues.

Mishra

* Eat until you are comfortable, not full
* I eat a 90 calorie bar in the morning for breakfast, eat lunch, then dinner. I don't eat inbetween
* Only eat when you are hungry, don't eat on schedule
* I keep up on muscle density which helps my metabolism stay on the rise. No I don't work out everyday, but pushups or strength excersizes every now and then work wonders when you already have a good build. If you don't have the build, you have to get it.

Not too much else I do to stay fit.

mog27

The U.S. is the fattest nation in the world.

dtlokee

mog27 wrote:

The U.S. is the fattest nation in the world.

If you're going to do something might as well be the best at it.

doom969

dtlokee wrote:

mog27 wrote:

The U.S. is the fattest nation in the world.

If you're going to do something might as well be the best at it.

Lol

ilcram19-2

shednik wrote:

sprkymrk wrote:

We get all the excersise we need over here by keeping the snack machines at least 30 paces from our offices. Walking before you get your hoho's or twinkies or doritos is good for you. Plus, we drink diet coke or pepsi. A diet soda cancels out the candy bar calories. Also, if you forget what you ate for lunch, the calories don't count either.

LOL

actually eating often and on limited quantity will help your metabolism to work faster and loss some weight, is not what you eat is how often you eat, a person who eats 2 times a day will gain more wight than a person who eats 4 or more times a day, actually the person who eats more often wouldnt gain weight at all

Schluep

Simple answer for someone wanting to lose weight:

Exercise more, eat less, eat better.

Explanation of the simple answer:

I almost went into the Health and Fitness industry instead of IT because of how important it is to me and how much research I am continuing to do in that area. One thing I have learned is that it doesn't matter how many good statistics you provide to peope or how much you explain to them about high fructose corn syrup. The only thing that really matters is resolve. If someone truly wants to be healthy they will have to discipline themselves and overcome the temptations getting an extra hour of sleep instead of exercising or eating/drinking things drastically in excess because it feels good. In reality it comes down to the six word I posted in bold.

Keep in mind health is about a lot more than just weight even though that is a very important factor. Even if you are at a healthy weight does not mean you are healthy or will remain healthy long term.

There are some days that with my hectic schedule I end up missing my work-out. I still squeeze in some light exercise throughout the day though to at least do something. It may not replace running for an hour or gettng a strenuous work-out, but those push-ups or stretches in your office do more than get you odd looks from those passing by in the hallway.

Darthn3ss

doom969 wrote:

dtlokee wrote:

mog27 wrote:

The U.S. is the fattest nation in the world.

If you're going to do something might as well be the best at it.

Lol

+1.

interesting this topic came up, i work at walmart, primarily in the frozen food area. Some lady came up to me th eother day asking where the garlic bread with fat in it was. WTF? (she had found some bread that had no fat... )

Sie

Work some night shifts!!

I find on a night shift of 12 hours I eat one meal then I go home and sleep for about 5 hours so in a 17 hour period I only eat once, this is only two days a week normally i eat three meals a day.

Actually i find my smoking breaks help my health

They have placed us out of the way in the furthest office from the smoking area so the walk there and back each time is good exercise..... or atleast thats my excuse.

Normally i just eat normally, thou normally for me is to not eat crisps and chips and chocolate.
I feel im in good shape now, lets see what time brings thou!

End of the day aslong as your happy with yourself does it matter?

networker050184

Lift weights 5 days a week

Run 3-5 days a week

Eat what ever, when ever I'm hungry.

With that routine I don't get ripped or six pack abs (probably from the eating what ever when ever part) but helps me stay in great shape. I work out so I don't have to watch what I eat! I don't really have bad eating habbits anyway though. I do eat dessert with almost every meal but I'm no where near over weight.

Lee H

Hi

If you are fat and feel you cannot cope with it then give Richard Simmons a call he will help you out

If you have the inner strength to get slim do what Schluep said Exercise more, eat less, eat better

Thats it in a nutshell

Lee H

Mrock4

I find that at a very minimum, it is best to develop a routine of some kind of cardio workout (swimming, running, etc) in the morning, and then fit what else you can fit in throughout the day. Even if you're only running a mile, it helps. Keeping a regular workout is what it's all about...

nel

If you are fat and feel you cannot cope with it then give Richard Simmons a call he will help you out

If you have the inner strength to get slim do what Schluep said Exercise more, eat less, eat better

Thats it in a nutshell

isnt richard simmons that celebrity weight expert from the US?

I can remember watching a documentary on channel 4 about a woman who weighed a tonne or something - she was 60 stone i think- from the US. im pretty sure richard simmons tried to help her when she went on a show like oprah or something but he failed to do so.

Sadly in the end she had a massive operation to loose weight and she died from heart failure shortly after.

Lee H

Nice story nel, lol

I think there is definitely a line that is crossed when a person reaches a certain weight and no amount of exercise or Richard Simmons enthusiasm can reduce it, it becomes something much more.

I hope i never reach that kind of weight or feel the need to see Richard Simmons, lmao

Lee H

sprkymrk

Watch this one all the way to the surprise ending.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SCJLlSf21Y

dave0212

ilcram19-2 wrote:

shednik wrote:

sprkymrk wrote:

We get all the excersise we need over here by keeping the snack machines at least 30 paces from our offices. Walking before you get your hoho's or twinkies or doritos is good for you. Plus, we drink diet coke or pepsi. A diet soda cancels out the candy bar calories. Also, if you forget what you ate for lunch, the calories don't count either.

LOL

actually eating often and on limited quantity will help your metabolism to work faster and loss some weight, is not what you eat is how often you eat, a person who eats 2 times a day will gain more wight than a person who eats 4 or more times a day, actually the person who eats more often wouldnt gain weight at all

Simple calories in vs. calories out, Ideal is to eat up to 6 small meals a day rather than the traditional 3 meals as this will maintain your metabolic rate preventing your body from entering a hibernation state. You would still have to eat sensibly and exercise to lose body fat (not weight).

ally_uk

I agree with the 6 small meals per day to help boost your metabolism. Also drink 2 litre's of water per day.

As for exercise lift weights but go with compound exercise i.e bench press, Squats, dead lifts,
after all the more muscle you build the more calories you will burn off doing day to day tasks i.e picking up objects and walking.

Protein is essential to put it in perspective you can lift all the weights in the world but if your diet is junk and doesn't contain enough gun powder ( protein ) you might aswell quit when your ahead.

my ideal diet for a day

Morning

Porridge small handful of blueberries and a scoop of Whey Protein, glass of water

Mid Morning Snack

Small handful of Mixed nuts or can of tuna

Lunch

Salad no dressing , chooped cucumber , chicken breast,

Mid afternoon snack,

Small handful nuts or 2 oatcakes with low fat cottage cheese

Dinner

2 portions of fish steamed or grilled and as much veg as you can consume

Late snack

Protein Shake or can of tuna

That would be my eating plan for the day