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2024 Weight Loss/Exercise Thread


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33 minutes ago, 4th&Five said:

Achieved my original goal from the first of the year this morning. Setting a new goal to lose 4 more by my birthday in mid-May. Down 27 total since 1/2. 

You should celebrate with a cheeseburger and a beer!

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I like to mix up my proteins. Plant-based proteins have a better overall nutrient profile than just whey, and some particular brands have a good amount of fiber. 

But it’s all about macros, and there’s mixed research on whether fast-digesting (whey) proteins are really better for your muscle growth than slow-digesting proteins (casein and plant). Consume your daily protein goal however you can get it.

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I like to mix up my proteins. Plant-based proteins have a better overall nutrient profile than just whey, and some particular brands have a good amount of fiber. 
But it’s all about macros, and there’s mixed research on whether fast-digesting (whey) proteins are really better for your muscle growth than slow-digesting proteins (casein and plant). Consume your daily protein goal however you can get it.

Please explain what you mean here, because studies have consistently shown you have to consume somewhere in the range of 30% more plant based protein in order to get the same amount of leucine and AA’s. They’ve also shown a better overall response at the cellular level to whey vs plant.


As far as slow or fast digesting, while that is correct it really is unnecessary for 97% of the population. The only people that this really applies to are the elite athletes that are training hours per day and trying to gain the tiniest of advantages. The average gym goer has no need to worry about the differences in casein or whey
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7 minutes ago, Herbie Hancock said:

Please explain what you mean here, because studies have consistently shown you have to consume somewhere in the range of 30% more plant based protein in order to get the same amount of leucine and AA’s. They’ve also shown a better overall response at the cellular level to whey vs plant.

My point was about overall nutrients, not just the amino acid profile. If you mix in plant protein powder with your daily consumption of whey and other protein sources, I don’t think the difference in amino acids is going to have any real impact in your level of swoleness.

And I might be wrong, but I’m think I’m speaking to the majority of posters on this thread, who are more concerned with losing weight, building some lean muscle, and overall nutrition, and less concerned with looking like an elite bodybuilder. For them, I don’t think the 30% difference you cite means all that much.

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Figured I would offer some reviews of various lifting/fitness apps here in case folks are looking at some to use:

SmartGym:

Offers ability to customize based on your equipment but does not offer pre-set changes (example having home gym static and then just updating hotel gym on road)

Lots of pre built routines and also allows you to customize routines. Poor animations for workout examples (maybe poor is strong word, just animated vs videos). Different settings in terms of doing more endurance based (lighter weight, more reps) vs Strength gain (heavy weight fewer) as well as a couple of others.

This is one that I started out with and it is good from stand point of a sizeable workout library, routines based on other activities (cycling/running etc). If this is app you choose you won't be unhappy, I just like mixing them up so I don't get bored of them. Syncs to Apple Health/Watch.

Hevy:

This one requires most up front set up in terms of routines/weights. It has some prebuilt routine types (push/pull/legs or 5x5 eg (along with several others)) but doesn't do any weight or rep seeding so you have to do some manual entry of your weights/reps (and there isn't a way to auto populate the rest of the sets once you enter it in once - so you end up having to key in several rounds of same stuff). I just started using this one this week and by and large I like it but it is the most rudimentary that I have seen. No animations/videos of workouts, just static step 1, step 2 drawings. I do like it so far and will be curious to see over time if it recommends additional weight/reps once I have gone through a couple of iterations of routines. Syncs to AH/Watch

FitBod:

This is probably the easiest one to use out of the box and has the most complete and best video library of exercises from multiple angles. One complaint I have is that sometimes the number of reps/weights aren't congruent with settings I have put in or prior work. So I find myself having to go back and increase weight or decrease reps as it seems to go off rails one way or other. All in all though I like this app as I can set my home gym and then add a setting for hotels I frequent on road and not have to mess with constantly changing/updating equipment. If you were starting to lift fresh I would start here as it is most intuitive/easy to get going.

Syncs to AH/Watch.

I have some others that I have used in past:

SmartWOD is a Crossfit centric one that you can put what equipment you have and it will build a WOD for you. If you hate CF you will hate this app as it is a CF app. I liked it, I just am steering away from some of the Olympic lift/jerking movements that CF can do as I am in my 50s and don't want to get hurt.

SweatDeck - is a Deck of Cards workout generator. Pretty basic but good if you are on road and want to workout outside, you can set different workouts by suit and then go through the Deck of Cards workout. Has decent library of exercises and you can also customize and add your own

SworkIt - This is mostly for me when I used it a bodyweight/HIIT I am taking the day off from lifting and just want to move my body type deal. Pretty good library of stuff and fairly low impact. They have lots of stretching/yoga type options as well.

One thing to call out if you are on road and in hotel that offers Netflix is that Nike Training has a ton of free classes on Netflix that aren't bad and you can knock out a workout that way (some folks like more instructor lead stuff)

Hope this is helpful. Now hit the gym

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  • 2 weeks later...

May update:

From the beginning of the year, I'm down 16 lbs, 4.5" from the waist, and 2" off the hips.  I'm pretty much on the pace for fat loss that I set for myself.  I'm a little behind on lean gains.  Not really worried about it, I'm focusing more on health and athleticism more than hitting certain numbers or bulking up.  I'm pretty sure I'm thinner than I was on my wedding day a decade and half ago.

I've been getting to the gym a lot more last month - I'm going during lunch, which limits time but greatly improves with consistency (4 kids and a lot of after school activities).

I want to be more deliberate about diversifying workouts: zone 2 and zone 3 cardio, plyometrics, and white-fiber focused weight workouts into my schedule.  I'm thinking about turning every 3rd workout into a revolving door.  Will essentially one day per month actually going to be enough to get anything out of these?  I was doing zone 3 once a week in the fall and didn't feel it was doing much.

---

Commenting on the protein talk: it don't make a shit.  Studies that identify a certain chemistry/mechanism in the body almost always fall flat when follow ups measure the actual final outcomes, or there's like one or two genetic outliers that carry the average.  This goes beyond the body: complex systems generally don't produce the overall outcomes intuited from first-order results.  If it is working for you, don't fix it.

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May update: I’m solidly in the 216 - 218 range and working towards the next step down. I’m down 3” in the belly since Jan.

More important - my joints are doing much better this time around. I’m working out 4 days a week and upping that to 6 (only lifting 4). Basically, I’m adding cycling back in.

For the gym, I joined the Ladder app. It’s working for me.

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Looks like I am consistently losing about 0.7 pounds per week. Essentially I am eating really well, moving around a lot but not doing much cardio, and I am lifting every day. I’ve been at it since mid December. I thought the weight would drop faster than it has, but at this point I can tell a pretty clear trend. 
 

I have a decent amount more weight loss to go. I would say at least another 10-15 pounds. 

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On 3/4/2024 at 3:00 PM, Storm the Field said:

As tends to happen about once or twice a year, tweaked my lower back 3 Fridays ago on the 2nd to last rep of a hard workout. Wasn't particularly bad and was still able to do so most of my workouts the following week, but then I totally re-aggravated it on the crunch machine last Monday, just when I thought I was fully 100% again. Had some rough days last week and was only able to do low-impact cardio and light lifting that didn't involve bending my back too much. Feeling pretty good again, but definitely gonna ease back into the routine this week. Still kinda stiff when I get up from sitting too long or riding in my truck.

Last time I really had this issue was around Memorial Day last year, and then I started getting much better about stretching every day. Had 7-8 months with no issues, which of course led to getting lazy about my stretching. I just have to drill it in my head that I'm damn near 40, and despite having a pretty consistent exercise routine, I simply have to do things properly or I'm gonna keep having problems.

Knock on wood, but I've had a good run since this post. No injuries or illnesses since then and been averaging 5 days/week in the gym. 

I've been working out pretty steadily for close to a year and half, and I've pretty much giving up on "losing weight" and am fully focused on body recomposition. Started out around 210 (6'0) and probably close to 30% body fat. Just plain out of shape. I've plateau'd right around 195 for close to 6 months now, but slowly, steadily increasing the share that is muscle vs. fat. I'm never going to be described as "slim," but that's really not the look I'm going for anyways. At my age and build, I'd be quite happy with ~190 and ~18%. Not there yet, but a lot closer than I used to be.

Edited by Storm the Field
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I started running (again) about a year ago and built up to a marathon training block and a marathon in January.  Weight melted off from about 230 beforehand to 160 at my lowest.  I had been running 40-50 miles per week through March when my right knee started hurting in the last mile of a half marathon.  It never got better and the MRI showed a significant cartilage defect.  Surgery (OATS procedure) was described as three weeks on crutches, three on a stationary bike and then introduction of regular running.

So that didn't happen.  I woke up from surgery in a full knee brace and now it's 4-6 week with no weight on the leg at all, then a reintroduction of weight in 25% increments.  So 4-6 months of recovery.  And I'm told my marathon running days may be over if I don't want to risk a total knee replacement.  So beware overtaxing your old ass bodies.  I ran through a number of injuries and it caught up with me.

The good news is my weight has been stable at about 170 without real exercise for the last two months.

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