Let's drop the weight challenge

Poking around it seems diet soda is linked to increases in the chance of diabetes, high blood pressure, INCREASED weight gain, osteoporosis (same as regular soda), higher cholesterol, and it has no nutritional value. You tend to consume less water via diet soda. So you are getting less bang for your buck so to speak as opposed to just drinking water.

In some cases it has the exact same problems as regular soda. While most folks think it's better for them. So they may make worse choices in other areas because the diet soda is OK. Supersize that combo because I'm getting a diet soda! So there are both actual issues with the soda and some choice issues with folks that drink it.

FWIW, I have drank Sundrop since I can remember. I drank a lot when I was a kid. Before the diet I had cut to one a day. One of the reasons I dropped weight as fast as I did initially was cutting soda out completely. I'll have a sip of my kids Sprite occasional, and drank a little gatorade the other day; but they taste like cough syrup to me anymore. About the only thing I can tolerate is sweet tea, and I only get that if we go out to eat. I don't even bother to make it at home, and have not in probably a year. If I want to sweeten my coffee up I put vanilla latte protein powder in it, vanilla hazelnut MCT oil, or both.

The MIO I use in my water at work has sucralose in it. If I could find a better option I would probably try it. But it's got far less sugar and carbs than the gatorade I used to drink. I've looked into making my own, but most have a lot of sugar in them.

Why do you let your kids have Sprite? You're leading them down the path to obesity.
 
Why do you let your kids have Sprite? You're leading them down the path to obesity.

Ha! You have not seen my kids. And it's pretty rare actually. There is none in the house. But they can get it if we go out. My oldest is bordering on under weight. My youngest is just over acceptable and still on the small size.


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Some people propose that artificial sweeteners in soda can cause the same insulin response in your body as sugar. For a person who is highly insulin resistant, like most severely overweight people, this can cause your body to hold on to more fat.

This is what I had in mind when I typed what I did earlier. Plus diet sodas lull people into a false sense of how much they can consume. And I flat out refuse to believe that Coke Zero and other supposedly zero calorie drinks are what they claim to be. There is no way a soda containing dozens of chemicals has the same impact on your body as a glass of water. I call BS!

The more I see and the more I experience myself the more firmly I believe that everyone needs to make barbell strength training their top priority for at least the first three or four months of a fitness program. If you learn how to squat, overhead press, deadlift and bench press you can see progress in your strength in the first week. Once you are barbell strength training and eating single-ingredient foods like steak and tuna you may have to work hard to eat enough of the right foods to drive your progress in the gym, and believe me that lifting goals will become huge in your life.

I am right there with you! I've started using Starting Strength and am enjoying the hell out of it. I even convinced the wife to start doing it with me. I really like the back-to-basics aspect of focusing on a few compound movements. Plus with this program, thy're not promising you'll look like a fitness model with six pack abs, they just show you how to get stronger. Love it! Although I haven't been able to progress as much as I would like lately due to a torn back muscle. I'm trying not to push things too hard, too quickly. Have to keep reminding myself that it's not a race, and to take time to make sure everything is healed up properly.
 
@AD43576 What kind of rotation are you using on SS?


We're still just going the Novice routine (A/B). The wife has never lifted a weight in her life, so we're taking it slow. We haven't worked in cleans yet either. I'm not the most coordinated person in the world and the thought of throwing a heavy bar any where near my face is still a bit frightening.
 
Just as there a bunch of ways to get from NC to California, there are a bunch of ways from fat to fit. Many them don't include a single weight.

For the guys that DO lift and get results, good on ya, but let's not throw the baby out with the bath water.
 
But there's only one way to get strong, and that's by lifting heavy weights. When it came time to choose between getting fit and getting strong, I chose strong.

Absolutely lifting heavy stuff will make one stronger. And if one's desire is to get strong, the gym is certainly one way, a big way.
 
And lifting does not have to be in a gym, or even use a bar. If you want to gain a lot of muscle, that's the quickest route. But kettle bells are no joke. I'll be doing a set this evening with my wife. I've been adding reps to the normal routine and it's not unusual to be a bit sore the next day. I may end up in a gym at some point. But my normal workout plus the kettle bells twice a week and I have seen a noticeable increase in strength and ability to move things around at work.
 
I think there is a correlation/causation problem with most of those studies. Fat people drink diet soda, but they eat too much, so they're fat and they have diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and everything else. If they lost weight all that would get better, diet soda or not.

I expect that they have controlled for obvious variables like those. They aren't climate scientists after all :)
 
Meal prep like a carnivore on my morning off work. Stopped eating cheese and mayo on burgers, started mixing chopped jalapenos in the meat
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Love me some burgers!

Hardest part of any diet for MOST people is meal prep. You can't expect successful results without being prepared for the week ahead. Plan ahead, purchase what you need and prepare accordingly. I have to cook twice a week and it's time consuming. The results are worth it IMO
 
We don't prep for the week. But my wife knows what she want's to fix and shops for that, with a few extras thrown in just in case. I can say that daily meal prep time has gone up for us. It happens when you have to do more than open a box to cook. It's been so worth it though. Although the last 2 weeks has been all over the place. Our girls have been in summer camp for the last 2 weeks. 4 trips to camp, 3 hours each way and trying to take each one out on the Tuesday we have them to do what they want too. Been a lot more eating out and less exercise. And it shows just a bit. Gotta get back on it.
 
Dammit. Progress stalled, I didn't drop my pound this week. I knew making those crackers would be my downfall, I'm back to over-snacking again.

OK, back to our regularly scheduled hunger. 5 more pounds to go.
 
Dammit. Progress stalled, I didn't drop my pound this week. I knew making those crackers would be my downfall, I'm back to over-snacking again.

OK, back to our regularly scheduled hunger. 5 more pounds to go.

Progress is never linear; it's up and down.

That's why I think the first rule of weight loss is to throw away the scale.
 
Dammit. Progress stalled, I didn't drop my pound this week. I knew making those crackers would be my downfall, I'm back to over-snacking again.

OK, back to our regularly scheduled hunger. 5 more pounds to go.


Are you keeping a five day rolling average of your weight? My weight is all over the map throughout a day depending on how much I'm eating and how much I'm drinking or if I've been to the bathroom or not. But a rolling average over five days or a week allows you to see a trend instead of a snapshot.
 
Are you keeping a five day rolling average of your weight? My weight is all over the map throughout a day depending on how much I'm eating and how much I'm drinking or if I've been to the bathroom or not. But a rolling average over five days or a week allows you to see a trend instead of a snapshot.

No, I've just been doing a weigh-in at the same time on the same day every week. So far every week has shown gains (er, loss) so day-to-day variance may have been there but weekly I was always winning. This was the first time that nothing happened so it was a little disheartening.
 
No, I've just been doing a weigh-in at the same time on the same day every week. So far every week has shown gains (er, loss) so day-to-day variance may have been there but weekly I was always winning. This was the first time that nothing happened so it was a little disheartening.

There comes a few times when the body has adjusted to a change in diet and metabolism, the dreaded "P" word: plateau. If you haven't moved in a couple weeks, change up your routines...do boot camp-type/Spartan-type exercises for a week or two. It'll re-energize your body.
 
If you aren't losing weight, it's because you calories in and out are at equilibrium. If you take in more protein your body will burn more calories just to process the proteins; if you keep your workload roughly the same, you'll start losing weight again. Or increase your workload in the gym by reducing your rest intervals between exercises or with high intensity intervals on a bike or rowing machine.
 
I've been slack the last couple of weeks as far as eating right, this week I haven't lifted, and my shoulder is killing me. I fell well coming off a pole in Mississippi after Katrina, and it's never been right since for 12 years. Multiple MRIs and crap. It doesn't bother me if I've worked it.
 
I've been slack the last couple of weeks as far as eating right, this week I haven't lifted, and my shoulder is killing me. I fell well coming off a pole in Mississippi after Katrina, and it's never been right since for 12 years. Multiple MRIs and crap. It doesn't bother me if I've worked it.

Look into neuro muscular reprogramming message. I can ask around to see if I can get a recommendation around you. They test your muscles to find out which are weak and work on turning them back on. My friend worked on my shoulders last session. I could feel the muscles turning on and off based on her testing them. She would work an area and it would get weaker. Then go back and work another group and get a stronger test the next time. Craziest thing. It's also taught me that I've been focused on where the pain is, but not where the problem is.


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Hurt my knee, so I took the last 2 weeks off from Crossfit and just did light cardio going into the Spartan Sprint in Asheville this past Sunday. Had a great time and only had issues with the hanging obstacles (Twister and Rings). Had such a good time, my oldest and I signed up for the Fayetteville Super on Sept 23. Crap just got real, so I will be doing Crossfit 2 days a week, strength training 2 days and cardio 4-5 days until the week before (I will be taking the week of off). After that, I am not sure which program I will be doing but leaning towards FST 7 for the winter.
 
Hurt my knee, so I took the last 2 weeks off from Crossfit and just did light cardio going into the Spartan Sprint in Asheville this past Sunday. Had a great time and only had issues with the hanging obstacles (Twister and Rings). Had such a good time, my oldest and I signed up for the Fayetteville Super on Sept 23. Crap just got real, so I will be doing Crossfit 2 days a week, strength training 2 days and cardio 4-5 days until the week before (I will be taking the week of off). After that, I am not sure which program I will be doing but leaning towards FST 7 for the winter.

I will down there on the 24th....
 
Yes. My workout group has almost 50 guys signed up for it.

Nice! The 8 other people that were supposed to run with my daughter and I flaked out, so it was just us (and will probably happen again this race). Wasn't bad, though, as we took our time, talked about life, etc the whole time.
 
Nice! The 8 other people that were supposed to run with my daughter and I flaked out, so it was just us (and will probably happen again this race). Wasn't bad, though, as we took our time, talked about life, etc the whole time.

I really like the Spartan...so laid back, everyone is cool, it's all about fun and camaraderie. We do have a couple guys doing the national event in Killington, but I have zero desire to do anything beyond a fun Sprint.
 
I really like the Spartan...so laid back, everyone is cool, it's all about fun and camaraderie. We do have a couple guys doing the national event in Killington, but I have zero desire to do anything beyond a fun Sprint.

I don't really want to do the Super but I made a promise to my 17 yr old that we would get our trifecta before Christmas next year. Last year was just a Sprint. This year is a Sprint and Super. Next year is the trifecta (Sprint, Super and Beast). If anyone else had asked me to do this, I would have laughed. But I needed to get into shape, so this helps motivate me. Plus, she is developing knowledge about eating, cardio and fitness that will, hopefully, last her a lifetime, so I guess it is worth it in the long run :)
 
I don't really want to do the Super but I made a promise to my 17 yr old that we would get our trifecta before Christmas next year. Last year was just a Sprint. This year is a Sprint and Super. Next year is the trifecta (Sprint, Super and Beast). If anyone else had asked me to do this, I would have laughed. But I needed to get into shape, so this helps motivate me. Plus, she is developing knowledge about eating, cardio and fitness that will, hopefully, last her a lifetime, so I guess it is worth it in the long run :)

I think it's a great activity for kids, and Spartan is very kid-friendly. I think the pass-down benefits for kids are great!

Good luck with the Trifecta. I just don't have the desire to do anything that punishing anymore lol. Thanks to Uncle Sam my knees, hips, and back aren't what they used to be and the Sprint alone will have me eating ibuprofen for days.
 
I was thinking yesterday (I'm on a schedule, used up a whole weeks worth of brainpower) and something occurred to me that I hadn't ever articulated before: I ran for 45 minutes or more every day for more than 4 years and wasn't able to cause the kind of changes in my body composition that I've seen in the last 6 months of lifting heavy weights. In December last year I was jogging five miles every day and I wasn't eating enough to build muscle. I looked skinny, which is better than looking fat but wasn't what I wanted. I stopped running in January and started eating and lifting heavy. Now I look more like I've always wanted to look, and I can't tell any real difference in my general physical fitness level. Plus my waist is the same size it was last year but my chest and arms are a lot bigger.

Eat meat, lift heavy weights, crush your goals, look like a man.
 
I am 240 lbs at 5ft 7inches. Sendetary life style. Alcohol with dinner every evening, not much, only about 6 ounces of red wine. I just started this road Saturday last. This is not easy. I admire you guys for your commitment and diligence. Keep up the good work.

How's it going, Elenaidan? Still fighting the good fight? Didn't mean to call you out; just thought about this post and wanted to check
 
How's it going, Elenaidan? Still fighting the good fight? Didn't mean to call you out; just thought about this post and wanted to check

It is good to be called out. I am down to 222 lbs as of this morning. A big thanks to @Chuckman for lots of encouragement and getting me to work out. The last five pounds came off slow. I guess I need to up my game. Thanks for checking up on me.
 
It is good to be called out. I am down to 222 lbs as of this morning. A big thanks to @Chuckman for lots of encouragement and getting me to work out. The last five pounds came off slow. I guess I need to up my game. Thanks for checking up on me.

18 lbs is awesome! Keep up the great work.

As for the last 5 lbs, your body may have gotten used to the workouts or it may be time to tweak your diet.
 
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