What do you do to keep in shape?

Al said:

Healthy sex (Nobody wants to say it) And a couple of natural items that I don't push on anybody, works for us period.

Al-Ketchikan

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Just sayin'

I refuse to have a beer before 3pm week days and before 10am weekends .

I run 2-3 miles 2-3x a week out at a local park. It's hard on my feet and knees, and it damn near kills me while I'm doing it, but it sure feels good the rest of the day.

I'm not fat at 6'2" and 185lbs, but I'm not liking what gravity (and too much beer) is starting to do to my body. ?

For exercise, I walk, bike, and scuba dive. Spearfishing and lobstering while cold water scuba diving is a strenuous workout. Eat a simple healthy balanced diet with lots of fish during the summer (go figure). Don't smoke, watch no more than 1 hour of TV per day and limit alcohol to no more than one beer per day.....usually. Drink lots of water. Avoid pain killers, vaccines, and sanitizers unless absolutely necessary. At 6' and 165 lbs., it still works for me.

Ted

cardude01 said:

I run 2-3 miles 2-3x a week out at a local park. It's hard on my feet and knees, and it damn near kills me while I'm doing it, but it sure feels good the rest of the day.

I'm not fat at 6'2" and 185lbs, but I'm not liking what gravity (and too much beer) is starting to do to my body. ��

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I'm a runner, about 15 to 30 miles a week, depending on how busy my work schedule is and if I am at home or on the road. I'm 50 years old. I run in Vibram five fingers. I've been doing it now since 2007 with no running related injuries.

Cardude, and the others that say jogging/running is hard on the joints, that is old school thinking that is not based on any sort of fact. Most modern studies actually show that running is good for your knees.

If 2 to 3 miles is tough on your feet and knees, you should consider trying some simple exercises to strengthen your lower extremities. Stand on a step with your heels hanging over the edge and lift up onto your toes. Do 25 reps before and after you run. Do 20 squats twice a week, keeping your knees behind your shoe laces. Stand barefoot on an old towel and wad it up with your toes.

Get someone to look at your form and give you some pointers. That does NOT mean to go to your local running store and run on the treadmill while they video your feet. Look for a coach. Or, here is a great site. Dr. Nick's Running Blog - Running injuries, foot pain, shoes, heel pain - Your source for all running related questions!

Then ditch your big stiff shoes that some shoe company with a vested interest told you were the latest, greatest thing.

Over time, arch support makes your feet weak and should only be used while you are rehabbing an injury. Too much cushioning makes a shoe unstable causing twisting which IS hard on the knees.

Gradually transition into as light/thin/flexible shoe as you can. It's tough in the beginning but oh so worth it in the end.

This unsolicited advice holds true for all you walkers out there as well, it's just not as critical.

I'll get off my soapbox now. Thanks for listening, I hope I helped at least one person.

I think diet is primary.
Read the book "Wheat Belly" and buy into it considerably. Eating more meat now less wheat. Two slices of whole wheat bread produces more shugar in the blood than one full sized Snickers bar. Once sugar and wheat is largely gone healthy eating is mostly achieved. I never drink pop and rarely eat deep fried things. Wine and beer once and awhile (every month about) and lots of apples and oranges. At least half our fruit is organic and Chris has a big garden so kale, carrots, grapes, kiwis, mulberries, zucchini, corn and potatoes are frequently eaten .. especially in the summer.

My sin diet wise is that I miss the most important meal .. mid day about half the time. Very few restaurants offer healthy food. I'm drinking too much coffee again .. not more than one cup a day though. However it's almost always at Starbucks so not weak coffee. Boat work dosn't help.

We read labels on food packages and know carrots contain lots of shugar and celery lots of salt ect.

I was working out at least three times a week. I like what I call the muscle machines. I use about 15 of them and it's great that we use lots of muscles that otherwise don't get used or used very little. When I was young I thought cardio was where it was at but now I feel mussels and mobility is more important. Need to get back into the gym regularly. The gym isn't boring to me as I work at it some and only spend about 15 minutes a visit. No significant sweating so I'm in and out quickly. They say every other day is best.

The rest is mostly work around the house (built several car ports) and work on the boat. With my arthritis work on the boat frequently isn't good for me. Now if I can get back into the gym and do lunch every day .............

Dougcole said:

I'm a runner, about 15 to 30 miles a week, depending on how busy my work schedule is and if I am at home or on the road. I'm 50 years old. I run in Vibram five fingers. I've been doing it now since 2007 with no running related injuries.

Cardude, and the others that say jogging/running is hard on the joints, that is old school thinking that is not based on any sort of fact. Most modern studies actually show that running is good for your knees.

If 2 to 3 miles is tough on your feet and knees, you should consider trying some simple exercises to strengthen your lower extremities. Stand on a step with your heels hanging over the edge and lift up onto your toes. Do 25 reps before and after you run. Do 20 squats twice a week, keeping your knees behind your shoe laces. Stand barefoot on an old towel and wad it up with your toes.

Get someone to look at your form and give you some pointers. That does NOT mean to go to your local running store and run on the treadmill while they video your feet. Look for a coach. Or, here is a great site. Dr. Nick's Running Blog - Running injuries, foot pain, shoes, heel pain - Your source for all running related questions!

Then ditch your big stiff shoes that some shoe company with a vested interest told you were the latest, greatest thing.

Over time, arch support makes your feet weak and should only be used while you are rehabbing an injury. Too much cushioning makes a shoe unstable causing twisting which IS hard on the knees.

Gradually transition into as light/thin/flexible shoe as you can. It's tough in the beginning but oh so worth it in the end.

This unsolicited advice holds true for all you walkers out there as well, it's just not as critical.

I'll get off my soapbox now. Thanks for listening, I hope I helped at least one person.

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Thanks for this tips.

As far as form, I do think this is part of the problem. I catch myself "plodding"at times and extending my feet too far in front of my body I think. A running coach would probably help.

I run in some Asics shoes. Pretty big looking.
But they have "Gel Cumulous" and "fluidride"! ?

To be clear, I'm NOT a runner by nature and don't usually enjoy it, unless the weather is nice and not 100% humidity like it was today. It just seems to be the best exercise I can do in the least amount of time. I hate walking for hours. And when I say "running" I'm really just jogging at a 8-9 min mile pace.

cardude01 said:

Thanks for this tips.
I run in some Asics shoes. Pretty big looking. View attachment 44885
But they have "Gel Cumulous" and "fluidride"! ?

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One more tip, Bill. It would probably not be a good idea to parade around in front of Oliver with those shoes.

I've kept the same shape for about the last ten years , 20 lbs overweight .I work for a lumber company and I ride this bike at work . It's the best way to get around here . I work on the boat a bunch and that helps keep my limbered up somewhat , but I hurt like hell when thru with a project . I should walk more .

a good guide to follow

mahal said:

View attachment 44887

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Shoot man , I must 40 lbs over Maybe I should ride the bike to and from work also .

I've dropped almost 30 pounds since early June. It was surprisingly easy, just a number of little things that add up. I didn't cut out anything, but cut down on a lot of things, especially booze. Continued to walk the dog 2 miles/day and, after a 10 year hiatus, got back on the NordiTrac skier for 30 minutes and a few exercises on the SoloFlex 5 days/week.

As most folks here surely know, it's amazing what you can do if you are determined to do it.

cardude01 said:

Thanks for this tips.

As far as form, I do think this is part of the problem. I catch myself "plodding"at times and extending my feet too far in front of my body I think. A running coach would probably help.

I run in some Asics shoes. Pretty big looking. View attachment 44885
But they have "Gel Cumulous" and "fluidride"! ?

To be clear, I'm NOT a runner by nature and don't usually enjoy it, unless the weather is nice and not 100% humidity like it was today. It just seems to be the best exercise I can do in the least amount of time. I hate walking for hours. And when I say "running" I'm really just jogging at a 8-9 min mile pace.

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Ah, I don't about that, there is nothing wrong with sub 9 for a middling aged person who is running for fitness. Give yourself some credit.

Stepping too far forward is generally called overstriding. It leads to heel striking and causes greater impact and less stability. Next time you run try leaning forward from your waist just a little bit. You'll go faster with the same effort and won't overstride.

Personally, I enjoy running more when I'm doing it well. I also like to mix up my runs. If I'm going to run 3 times in a week I do one longer slower one, one short faster one and one in the middle.

Diet - I avoid fast food, soft drinks, sugar, potatoes and flour. I'am going to join the Y to get more options to exercise, there is one near home and a new one where I keep the boat. I can't ride a bike because a knee doesn't bend far enough to peddle, I wish it would. I do most all the work on the boat and like Pack Mule it helps keep me limber but can make my back really ache.


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Physical and mental condition play a role in every medical challenge we face. Our strength and mental state make the difference often in how we handle a surgery. Weight increases the risk factor of almost all procedures. I knew a lady waiting for her lung transplant and she still had physical rehab coming to her house. Her exercise was doing laps around her living room at a snail's pace. But it got her up and able to walk sooner post transplant.

You find what you can do regularly and tolerate. We love music and competitive sports in tennis and basketball. We don't play either if hurt though. I hated exercise before my wife simply because I found it so terribly boring. Well, never a boring minute when she's doing it with me. On the other hand I know some who like solitary exercise and find that to be their escape.

I'm a numbers geek so pay attention to statistics. I read them on things like smoking and weight and I know not to smoke and to control my weight. I know today we're both very active, but when the time comes we're less so, then our diets will have to change as well. We had a lady say recently, "If I ate like the two of you I'd weigh twice what I do." While twice might be an exaggeration, the rest of her statement is very true. I see that as one of the most difficult challenges we'll face, adjusting our eating habits to match our activity. I had a cousin my age who played three sports in college, but then took a job selling, spending hours in a car, staying in motels, and eating in restaurants. Suddenly we'd get in the yard to play touch football and he'd have to quit 30 minutes into the game. Today I'm 5 inches taller than him and he outweighs me by 40 lbs. I only see him once a year and each time I'm shocked how much he's aged and wonder if I've done the same, but I see I haven't. He doesn't just look 15 years older than I do, he acts it. Last Christmas I asked him if he was doing any of this, any of that, any of another that. The answers were all, "no" or in more cases, "I'm too old for that."

I feel like this group on TF is in general younger than their chronological age. Boating may play some role. Leading an active lifestyle. Time outdoors. The gist of this question was to find out what we're doing so we can boat forever (or as nearly forever as possible).

BaltimoreLurker said:

As most folks here surely know, it's amazing what you can do if you are determined to do it.

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Agree Just find something you like and DO IT! - Helps to have a friend(s) to make it FUN (Some of the activities mentioned almost require a "friend")

Nobody mentioned age - which I think has some bearing on activities & level

I used to be a runner - loved it and truly miss it... just can't take the pounding on my knees but at 65+ I play racquetball 3x / wk plus a little stretching & wts but much rather playing vs working out!
One of my friends is 80+ still plays racquetball 3-4x/wk and snow skies 4 days / wk in season -

Exercise v/s diet.

Both are good of course but on average 75% of weight loss is diet and 25% is exercise. In short you can't work off much fat. But you can loose lots of weight through diet.

But there's more to good health and good shape than diet. Cardio vascular is very important and exercise that promotes heavy breathing and elevated hart rates is very good for almost anyone.

Bacchus,
Re that last guy you mentioned ... You actually know him and speak to him? He'd make me look like a real slob.

My routine changes often, but right now I bicycle, jog/walk, and paddleboard on alternating days. I find exercise more enjoyable when the scenery changes.

I've also been doing a lot of sit-ups to strengthen my "core" on my doctor's recommendation due to some lower back issues.

As many here have pointed out, a good diet is key along with moderate exercise. For me personally, I go by the program, if it's white try to eliminate it or severely reduce it from my diet.

Explanation.... One of the best things one can do diet wise it to drastically reduce your intake of sugar, flour, salt and cocaine (joke, remember I live in Colombia ). All kidding aside, if you can significantly reduce your intake of those items (sugar, flour and salt) you will be amazed at the weight loss you'll experience without even increasing your exercise regime. Not as easy as it sounds I realize, but definitely doable with effort and determination.

Here's a thought.... Start a friendly competition between TF members to see who loses the most weight (percentage wise) in the next year.

Diesel Duck 492 said:

As many here have pointed out, a good diet is key along with moderate exercise. For me personally, I go by the program, if it's white try to eliminate it or severely reduce it from my diet.

Explanation.... One of the best things one can do diet wise it to drastically reduce your intake of sugar, flour, salt and cocaine (joke, remember I live in Colombia ). All kidding aside, if you can significantly reduce your intake of those items (sugar, flour and salt) you will be amazed at the weight loss you'll experience without even increasing your exercise regime. Not as easy as it sounds I realize, but definitely doable with effort and determination.

Here's a thought.... Start a friendly competition between TF members to see who loses the most weight (percentage wise) in the next year.

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Your last paragraph does point to the value of support groups to some in losing weight or just exercising or following a diet.

Your idea of eliminating one thing has done wonders for us I think, in more than just weight. Sometimes it's a trade-off too. Soft drinks. Let's see. I was Coke Classic, then the sugar was the root of all evil, so went to Diet Coke and suddenly it was worse. Easier to forego them all. I don't miss them. I grew up in a family where every dinner had a potato of some sort. Baked, mashed, new potatoes, fries. It wasn't a meal without a meat, a potato, and a bean or pea. So, we decided we could live fine without fries, still occasional baked and mashed with chicken. Didn't give up fast food although we don't do much of it. All meals had to have bread. Well, now we very seldom eat bread at home or on the boat. Didn't eliminate all bread, just that we could easily do without. We have a friend who loves sandwiches. Would eat one for every meal. Well, now she's gone to lettuce wraps. Still gets that sandwich pleasure, whatever it is.

This is a strange recent one for us. Ice Cream. We love it. We neither one drink milk so that was our excuse. But we'd not just eat a couple of scoops. Every port we reach, we find the ice cream. But then we'd have it in the freezer too. Well, we've decided ice cream only socially with others. So if everyone wants to go find ice cream we're all in. But we're not going to sit by ourselves and devour a quart. Last time we had a pack of six Klondike bars, they didn't last a day. Now only two scoops at a time as well.

We also very seldom buy candy now. We love chocolate. But we have enough desserts with chocolate, we don't need to snack on it too.

It's all a continuous learning process, but I think most of us know what our real food weaknesses are.

I'm a letter carrier with 550 houses on my route so I walk about 10k a day, 50k a week, 200k a month, or about 2,200k a year if you factor in holidays.

That, and I chose my genetic heritage well (Can still wear the suit I graduated high school in, although the late seventies humungo lapels are a tab out of date).

Also quit smoking about 15 years ago and haven't had a drop of alcohol in over 5 years

manyboats said:

Bacchus,
Re that last guy you mentioned ... You actually know him and speak to him?

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You bet... like I said I try to emulate him when / where possible...
A few yrs ago he was the one looking for a partner to do a 100 white water trip w/ and that was on my "bucket list"
I'll attach / include some info - premier white water rafting in Idaho - River of No Return
He's in yellow slicker - in action and taking a break.
Tried top include a .wmv file of the trip but couldn't make it work - let me know if anyone is interested I'll email it.

Isn't round a shape ?

I text.

Greetings,
Mr. 13. Re-read post #9.

RT Firefly said:

Greetings,
Mr. 13. Re-read post #9.

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Wifey B: He thought you might be joking.....

The 4 big lies:

1. Eat more protein, eat less carbohydrates.
This started because of the Atkins diet in the 1970's which had no scientific evidence and only leads to increased cardiac disease. Atkins himself died obese, at 72, with heart disease. The Atkins/ketogenic diet is well known as pure snake oil for losing weight and keeping it off. It will make you lose weight but nearly no one can keep it off.

Even worse, consider the evidence today linking smoking to lung cancer. The repeated, scientific evidence is stronger associating increased protein consumption with cancer. The leading cause of cancer is too much protein - remember that you heard it here first! "The China Study," the largest nutrition study ever conducted over 30 years between Cornell University, Cambridge University, and the government of China released their findings in 2011. The book is widely available. The evidence is overwhelming and has gone undisputed over 4 years.

2. Milk and dairy is critical for strong bones and calcium.
The fact is that hip fractures and rates of osteoporosis by country exactly match the dairy intake per capita of those countries. Milk is cow growth fluid. It's designed to turn a 65 lb calf into a 400 lb cow with hormones, growth factors, protein, and other growth facilitators. So why would anyone think that having any type of dairy product would be healthy and a means for nutritional health and weight control?

3. Sugar is bad.
Sugar has relatively a small caloric footprint. Sugar makes things taste pretty good and although it's not a great source of nutrition, it doesn't have much to fear. Of course, having an extra 400 calories of a high fructose corn syrup Big Gulp isn't going to do anything good. But adding a couple of 16 calorie teaspoons of sugar isn't going to hurt anyone's diet.

4. Salt is bad and reducing it will lower blood pressure.
This is a ridiculous lie. Over and over again, reducing salt intake lowers systolic/diastolic blood pressure by about 6-8 points. That's nothing especially when reducing the amount of fat and protein in the diet reduces the same subject's blood pressures by 20+ points. A 20 point reduction halves most cardiac and stroke risks. Keep the salt and enjoy the food. Reduce the protein and fat, naturally lose the weight, and your blood pressure drops significantly especially if it's high.

These lies are promoted by the largest food industries in the world.

Don't believe me. Don't argue with me. Just watch the film, "Forks Over Knives" and read "The China Study." Then watch the newly released Netflix version of Cowspiracy to see the other realities of diet. The conspiracy talked about in Cowspiracy isn't what you think. It shows how very left wing organization like the Sierra Club, Greenpeace, NRDC, and others, are being paid to not promote facts because of funding. If you'd like to watch the left wing environmental organizations squirm, watch that movie. It just become public and free last week.

Another exceptional online resource is nutritionfacts.org - they take no funding from industry. You always have to watch where the money comes from...

In 2007, before I understood this, I was 5'11 and weighed 199 lbs. I'm still 5'11 now but weigh 152 lbs with no effort to lose weight. I've also managed to get into the best shape of my life (while cruising and living onboard).

Don't buy into the low carb, high protein, no bread, no potatoes, no wheat, and other garbage generally promoted by people selling diet books. While anything can work in the short term to make you lose weight, stick with the long-term, scientific, repeated studies, and realize that there is a concerted effort to hide most of the information when it conflicts with certain businesses. But science and the truth usually can't be hidden for very long.

I've watched a few of those netflix diet documentaries and I would advise to watch them skeptically. They all have an angle they are pushing, and all that I can remember cited the "China Study" to support there ideals (from High carb to Keto). They are also geared towards those who might buy into conspiracies.

An interesting and fun, albeit low budget documentary is "Meat Head". More of a rebuttal to the documentary "Super Size Me", but has the best layman's explanation of the insulin response and insulin resistance. . .

I've lost ~ 47 pounds over the last 2 years. 40 of those was diet alone, mostly some version of low carb whatever. I've gone through my food journals and there wasn't anything special about the low carb except the extra satiety of eating a lot of fat and protein. All the weight loss came from a calorie deficit. Of course, low carb your not starving 24/7. I will say though that swapping processed carbs and sugar for veggies eliminated several digestive issues I've always had.

Only lost 7 lbs so far at the gym since January. Definitely changing shape and size though This is still a low to moderate carb diet, protein in the 150g range.

Greetings,
As I mentioned in the She Kon thread (post #348) portion control is the most significant aspect of weight control. Those with hypertension (high blood pressure) should watch their salt intake. One should be aware of the "hidden" salt in everyday foods. Quiz: What has more salt? A serving of Cheerios or a bag of chips?

Jeffrey S said:

Just watch the film, "Forks Over Knives" and read "The China Study." Then watch the newly released Netflix version of Cowspiracy to see the other realities of diet. The conspiracy talked about in Cowspiracy isn't what you think. It shows how very left wing organization like the Sierra Club, Greenpeace, NRDC, and others, are being paid to not promote facts because of funding. If you'd like to watch the left wing environmental organizations squirm, watch that movie. It just become public and free last week.

Another exceptional online resource is nutritionfacts.org - they take no funding from industry. You always have to watch where the money comes from...

In 2007, before I understood this, I was 5'11 and weighed 199 lbs. I'm still 5'11 now but weigh 152 lbs with no effort to lose weight. I've also managed to get into the best shape of my life (while cruising and living onboard).

Don't buy into the low carb, high protein, no bread, no potatoes, no wheat, and other garbage generally promoted by people selling diet books. While anything can work in the short term to make you lose weight, stick with the long-term, scientific, repeated studies, and realize that there is a concerted effort to hide most of the information when it conflicts with certain businesses. But science and the truth usually can't be hidden for very long.

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Spot on, vegan 5 years now, anyone that does watch that movie and doesn't realize how easy it is to get healthy, is really missing out.