The Simple Life Diet and WORKOUT thread!!

A forum for DIY, cars, pets and all things related to home life
paradoxbox
Posts: 255
Joined: Wed Sep 30, 2015 11:52 pm
Has thanked: 92 times
Been thanked: 261 times

The Simple Life Diet and WORKOUT thread!!

Post by paradoxbox »

Alright, I'm as guilty as anyone here, this winter I pretty much just stopped working out besides the occasional rage-blast on my punching bag. But it's time to get serious, you know, coz it's almost summer time.

So, who here is on a diet and or workout plan, and let's hear all the juicy details.

Here is a pic not to show off but to remind myself of where I was at in September, and where I need to be within the next month or two! It's going to take some hard work to get back to this but I think I can do it especially if I lower the bread and rice intake. Beer intake will continue interrupted. NOTHING gets between me and mah alcohol.

For anyone wondering what my training regimen and diet plan is, it's basically like this:

Every day:
33x3 lower leg raises (lie down on your back and stiffen your legs, raise them so you are bent 90 degrees at the waist, then lower down slowly.)
33x3 knee-touch crunches (just like normal crunches except you touch your knees with your hands.)
15x3 heel touch crunches (almost the same as above except touching your heels. this gets the sides/oblique muscles)
30x3 "good mornings" (this is an ass/back exercise. put hands on back of your head, stand up straight, then bend forward into an L shape without moving your legs or waist. slowly raise up using ass / back / leg muscles)
20x2 or 20x3 weighted squats (i carry 20kg of weight and just do slow squats. this hurts like hell and is my least favorite workout, but it does the most benefit to your body. realized this after destroying my friends while hiking mount mitake - everyone was almost dead but my legs were fine. do squats, they really work.)

upper body/arms:
20x3 bicep curls. pretty straightforward. sometimes i mix up the weight to make it harder.
20x3 side raises (hold dumbbells at your sides then raise out your straightened arms until your hands are shoulder height. don't bend, then lower back to start pos.)
20x3 front raises (same as last one except to the front instead of to the side. this builds shoulder muscle and back/neck muscle that will make you have a neck like hakuhou the yokozuna. it makes lifting heavy objects a lot easier in daily life)
15x3 french press (hold the dumbbell behind your head with your elbow bent and pointing at the ceiling. then extend your arm so it's straight. then return to start. this is hard and you probably will need to reduce weight at the beginning)

stabilization routine:
front, sides, rear planks: 2 x 1 minute each side. (you can plank with your elbows or your hands, it doesn't really matter much. just be careful to keep your body straight. if 1minute is too hard, start with 30 seconds once per day and work up.

as for diet, for ultra fast slimming, cut all carbs completely. but if you don't need to lose weight super quick, just limit your intake of carbs as much as possible. some carbs are okay but they are the number one food item that will fatten you. one chocolate bar is equivalent to nearly 30 mins of running. one bag of potato chips is about 1/2 a day's worth of calories.. be careful when pigging out!

Anyway, post up your successes or failures! Again, here's what I'm aiming to be at by next month or the following month!
Image

User avatar
Zasso Nouka
Tech Support
Tech Support
Posts: 5705
Joined: Wed Sep 23, 2015 9:37 am
Location: Chiba Prefecture
Has thanked: 4120 times
Been thanked: 3394 times

Re: The Simple Life Diet and WORKOUT thread!!

Post by Zasso Nouka »

Jeezuz man you look like a pro body builder there. I'm not going to post of picture of myself as I've no desire to gross anyone out but lets just say I could be in better shape :oops: . I believe that buried under layers of fat there are actually some muscles somewhere from all the manual work we do each day but they must be buried very deep :cry:

We have started an exercise regime of sorts and going swimming several nights a week, most of the food we eat is homegrown organic vegetables but it's the midnight runs to the conbini when the munchies strike that does the damage I guess. Mini Stop Halo Halo's are pretty hard to resist on a sweltering summer night :)

So would love to loose some weight and get more in shape.

User avatar
gonbechan
Founder
Founder
Posts: 2531
Joined: Wed Sep 23, 2015 9:10 am
Has thanked: 2687 times
Been thanked: 1436 times

Re: The Simple Life Diet and WORKOUT thread!!

Post by gonbechan »

I should drag Senor Gonbe in here.
He is a weight lifting fiend.
He does like to fatten up a little over the winter and then work it off come Summer.
He has some theory behind it, not sure I understand.
But I will point him in this general direction.

User avatar
Eric in Japan
Posts: 300
Joined: Wed Sep 23, 2015 4:21 pm
Has thanked: 190 times
Been thanked: 455 times

Re: The Simple Life Diet and WORKOUT thread!!

Post by Eric in Japan »

Daaaaaaaaaammmmmnnnnnnnn...
I actually have time to do those....
Do you have any hints as to motivation and how to keep F O R E V E R ? ? ?

That is my downfall. I am the poster child for "三日坊主"
If I make it past one week, I can continue until I plateau, then I rebound (past two times experience.) 101Kg-92 (rebound) then 104-89 (rebound to current 104...)

any tips for an old man? :)
"... so, the cucumbers said to the cabbage, `Lettuce Go.`"

User avatar
xxxxtom
Posts: 95
Joined: Wed Nov 04, 2015 4:55 pm
Has thanked: 49 times
Been thanked: 115 times

Re: The Simple Life Diet and WORKOUT thread!!

Post by xxxxtom »

It's a good thing to look after your body. And I agree with you regarding alcohol my poison is beer, ( whats everyone elses weakness chocolate? ice cream?) OK and red wine .
Each morning I religiously do my workout which is,
Lying on my back feet pulled up to your butt raise your pelvis 30 times ( lower back and butt)
In the same position knees bent do 30 crunches.
Then lift your legs straight up and do 30 crunches touching your left foot and then your right.
Stay on your back legs off the ground and pull your legs back and then out back and forth parallel to the ground 30 times.
Same position on your back hold your legs off the ground and lift one leg at a time up and back down ( leg raises) each leg 30 times.
Then 30 more butt raises
Then do a one minute plank.
Then 45 push ups. ( it should be 55 my age )
That's it minus some stretches
For me it's all about core strength as I have a physical job.
As for weight loss I skip breakfast ,if I'm busy it's easy and I think it works ( but don't over eat at lunch).
Thats my thing
Cheers

iamsen
Posts: 40
Joined: Sun Jan 03, 2016 4:50 am
Has thanked: 23 times
Been thanked: 35 times

Re: The Simple Life Diet and WORKOUT thread!!

Post by iamsen »

I have Grave's disease that keeps me in a constant state of tiredness and I need to take meds to keep my metabolism low or I'll wear out my heart. Last year was a hectic one, what with the new job and moving to Tokyo and having to adjust to the kanto mindset. Health took a backseat and food became such a refuge for me that I put on almost 5 kilos. Since the new year, I've stopped eating either lunch or dinner, and get off 1 train earlier and jog-walk the rest of the way home, about 2.5km-ish depending on route.

I managed to lose what I gained but otherwise can't say I've noticed much difference.
I thought the exercise would help with the constant feeling of fatigue but I feel even more more tired than usual nowadays.

User avatar
Zasso Nouka
Tech Support
Tech Support
Posts: 5705
Joined: Wed Sep 23, 2015 9:37 am
Location: Chiba Prefecture
Has thanked: 4120 times
Been thanked: 3394 times

Re: The Simple Life Diet and WORKOUT thread!!

Post by Zasso Nouka »

xxxxtom wrote: I agree with you regarding alcohol my poison is beer, ( whats everyone elses weakness chocolate? ice cream?) OK and red wine .
All of the above and more :cry:

Can Chu-Hi count as part of a calorie controlled diet as it has less calories than beer ? :razz:
iamsen wrote:......and get off 1 train earlier and jog-walk the rest of the way home, about 2.5km-ish depending on route.
Sounds like a good idea.

User avatar
Funasshi
Posts: 92
Joined: Wed Mar 16, 2016 11:51 am
Location: Toke, Chiba
Has thanked: 61 times
Been thanked: 57 times
Contact:

Re: The Simple Life Diet and WORKOUT thread!!

Post by Funasshi »

Hmm, I supposed a farmer can adjust his/her body workout by choosing the amount of manual labor vs tractor riding. The diet I thought is naturally healthy... but I guess there is more to it or else you wouldn't be thinking about it. :think:
I don't go to gym now but when I did I noticed it was way easier to burn all the bad (yet sooo delicious) food when I was in my early 30's than 100 years later (I am 42 now and can not get rid of my beach ball of a belly). I didn't even need to work out that much to be in shape.
So, I guess age is the big culprit ... ;) ;)

paradoxbox
Posts: 255
Joined: Wed Sep 30, 2015 11:52 pm
Has thanked: 92 times
Been thanked: 261 times

Re: The Simple Life Diet and WORKOUT thread!!

Post by paradoxbox »

For me the biggest thing of all was change of diet.

Remember that a single can of chu-hi, or a single chocolate bar, or a bag of chips, is probably something like 200 to 600 calories. What that means is you'll need to run for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours at a fast pace to burn it off. Not likely most people are going to do that every day, so it makes sense to cut out other parts of your food.

What I did was cut out carbs completely to lose most of my weight, and then introduced them back into my diet after I had reached my target weight and body fat levels. I went from 84kg to 56kg in a period of about 6 months. I have confidence that it works..!

Carb counting (loosely) really does work at slimming you down. If you want to lose weight try to eat around 1500-1700kcal per day. Get a rough idea of how many calories are in your food by checking the label. You don't need to be an accountant about it.. Rough accuracy is fine.

Example, 2 slices of white bread is around 350kcal. So if you want to eat toast with butter for breakfast, count on that being around 450kcal-ish.

If you're going to have lunch, figure a sandwich probably also has around 300 to 700kcal depending on the variety. You're getting close to your daily calorie limit now. You need to watch what you eat in the evening. So let's say you're at 500+500 for lunch and breakfast, now you can have another 500 to 700kcal for dinner. That means a small beer and a very light, high protein dinner, or a high carb (high calorie) pasta dinner with no beer.

It all sounds like a lot of work but if you do this for about a week you will start to know very quickly what foods are high in carbs and what foods are high calorie. You'll be able to choose foods that will fatten you less and yet still taste good. You do NOT need to be on an all salad diet to lose weight. You can eat damn near as much meat as you want. But remember that carbs are loaded with energy and if you're not burning that energy off, it's contributing to your pants size every year you age...!!

As for keeping motivated in both diet and exercise, all I can say is... DO.NOT.STOP.

The first week to two weeks is tough if you're really out of shape. But once you break that first point, you will start to enter the "runner's high" zone, where every workout gives you a rush. You will not feel tired after working out anymore, you'll feel good, aggressive and ready for anything. I don't really feel there is a "best time" for working out. Do it when you've got time. But I do recommend working out EVERY DAY. This is a chore in the beginning but it gets to be an easy routine as you get into better shape. You can do most exercises I listed, and the ones Tom listed, while watching TV or youtube or whatever.

Alternate your upper body, and lower body workouts so you're only doing the same muscles every 2 to 3 days.

Example:
Monday: Arms, shoulders, back and core training (Only takes around 15-20minutes at most)
Tuesday: Legs, abs, buttocks training (Again, takes only about 15 minutes. They can all be done while watching TV too)
Weds: Cardio (Running 30 minutes, 300 jumping jacks, boxing 5-10 rounds - sometimes I take it easy, sometimes I do 'em all in the same day. This is the hardest session for me. I'm not good at cardio stuff)
Thurs: repeat Monday
Fri: Repeat Tuesday
Sat: Repeat Weds or take the day off
Sun: Repeat Monday or take the day off
If you want to lose weight faster and look better quickly, don't take any days off - workout every day. After the first month or so you will not want to take off days because working out feels so good and the results are so obvious - your muscles will be getting bigger and (for the men) women will check you out when you walk around and it just feels nice to look good and healthy. It is within your reach! Just do it for a month and you'll see. Even if you're the most unmotivated sloth like I was, if you just DO IT! for one month, you won't fall off the wagon.

Cheat days for your diet are not a good idea IMO. Stick to your calorie counting or carb cutting principles as much as possible. The reason I say this is because most people do not have the willpower to just stop eating something. If you are the kind of guy who could go without ANY food for 20 days and not bat an eye, then by all means have a cheat day, but if you don't have that kind of willpower, don't tempt yourself, it will break you.

Last point: Don't fret the fat in winter. Eat more calories without too much worry. If you are ultra lean all winter you are going to freeze your arse off, it really does feel colder without that fat.. But keep up the workouts or you'll lose everything in 2-3 months.

User avatar
Zasso Nouka
Tech Support
Tech Support
Posts: 5705
Joined: Wed Sep 23, 2015 9:37 am
Location: Chiba Prefecture
Has thanked: 4120 times
Been thanked: 3394 times

Re: The Simple Life Diet and WORKOUT thread!!

Post by Zasso Nouka »

Some questions if you don't mind.

Zucchini, nasu and cauliflower, are these carbohydrate rich vegetables or are they more like green leafy vegetables ? We have a lot of these growing so tend to eat a lot of them during the summer.

How does fruit fit into a low carb diet ? I'm guessing that banana is carbohydrate rich but what about other fruit like apples, oranges or pineapple ? What about the fruit sugars that make them taste sweet ?

Potatoes and white rice are probably carbohydrate rich right but what about genmai ? Can you eat that or should it be avoided ?

On the alcohol front is it better to switch over to drinking sake or shochu neat rather than mixed to avoid carbs ?

Post Reply