I'm Improving Health; Need Suggestions!

[Stopspot]

it's yersel

 

[Crayo]

Depends what your intentions are. Are you hoping to cut significant weight? Is it simply a case of wanting to feel healthier to improve your chances of living longer? Both of them require dietary plans, but the latter is much more flexible. If weight cutting is involved then the amount of cheat sessions you have isn't really acceptable, lol.

 

[Wacokid27]

No offense to Brit, but the tea is important.

Black, green, or white tea are all acceptable, but it really depends on what you want. Green tea has more antioxidants in it while white tea has the most antioxidants (antioxidants are basically anti-cancer treatments and they're in a lot of things....if you're putting cinnamon in your tea, it really doesn't matter which tea, as cinnamon has more antioxidants than any type of tea and antioxidants don't get stronger by taking in more of them). Black tea with wild honey (watch the honey amount, no more than a teaspoon in a 16-20 oz. glass, half a teaspoon in a coffee/tea cup if you're drinking it hot) and cinnamon is a good combo (I like Irish Breakfast or Prince of Wales for the flavor, but English Breakfast is good, too.....if you're in America (I can't keep up with where everyone's from), you'd probably have to order Irish Breakfast or Prince of Wales from Twinings, but you can find English Breakfast at just about any grocery store; failing that, just get Lipton tea bags.

As for sugar, well, the First Lady disagrees with me (and my doctor and my ortho/podiatrist (who's a diabetes expert), and my infectious disease guy (who also is a diabetes expert)), there's nothing wrong with using a controlled amount of sugar. The point is not overdoing it with sugar, just like alcohol.

Count your carbs. Talk to your doctor. He/she might hook you up with a nutritionist, who can do a work up for you with how many carbs per meal and per day you should eat. I have diabetes (well under control since my accident and the attendant infections) and have a carb limit, but it becomes easy to manage when you know what your limits are and how you can meet them without going over while still getting the necessary carbs your body needs.

You also want to get a good 45 - 60 minutes (at least) once a day of solid exercise. That's where good cardio comes in. Getting your heartbeat up and getting a good sweat in 4 or 5 days a week is extremely important, even if you only lift weights (if you lift weights) two or three days a week.

Finally, like Crayo said, it really depends on what you're "improving health" for. It's really not a good idea to try to cut weight quickly, but to gradually bring your weight down (if that's your goal) in a controlled manner. That also makes it easier to maintain weight once you've gotten it to where you want it. If you just want to live healthily, moderation is basically the key....except in sex. Sex is good for you (in a protected, controlled, safe manner and a monogamous relationship....there's more to being healthy than just your physical health). It's a particularly good aerobic exercise.

wk

 

[ShaRpY HaRdY]

I'd like to sit here and quote all of you all; I've been reading this thoroughly and taking all of your suggestions into account.. I'll address a few ppl though whom I have further inquires..

Depends what your intentions are. Are you hoping to cut significant weight? Is it simply a case of wanting to feel healthier to improve your chances of living longer? Both of them require dietary plans, but the latter is much more flexible. If weight cutting is involved then the amount of cheat sessions you have isn't really acceptable, lol.

Well I'm 6'0 and I'd say a little under 275 (273 last measured) so yeah i'm looking to cut at least 30 lbs by like the end of the year, or at least turn half of it into muscle while still losing half.. if that makes any sense.

The Cheat sessions are more just like still counting calories not going completely over or even touching my daily counted limit but not necessarily eating the same healthy foods I would eat the rest of the week and I had it scheduled for once per like 10 days.. and it would only be one meal that was 'tampered'

And yes I am also wanting to feel healthier in order to improve my chances of living longer.

If you or anyone has the time to help me create some sort of basic outline for a dietary plan I would much appreciate it.. Normally I would contact a consultant but between purchasing the healthier foods for me as well as investing in other beneficial stuff to the whole crusade money isn't really able to be spent on professional consulting.. Or maybe you can point me in the direction of ones already established based on certain types of food, I tried looking at all the popular ones (ie: Atkins) and there was somethings that I could pull out of it but I'm definitely trying to avoid red meat as apart of the whole thing; soda/pop as well and then candy.

The tea thing helps with weight loss. It is more about the raw honey and cinnamon combo. The tea itself doesn't matter. And for exercise, do body weight resistance. You basically use you own weight to build muscle. So do like squats, push ups, crunches, things of that nature. Once they seem easy, then you can add in weights. I can do 1000 straight crunches, you pretty much get past the burn and it don't hurt anymore but you will feel like you got your butt kicked the next day. lol but I can't do push ups for the life of me. hahaha If you can swing it, buy a rebounder and do that 30 minutes a day three times a week. the other days do the strength training. You don't have to get fancy. Getting in shape is easy, it is maintaining or growing mass muscle that is hard. Just do whatever you are comfortable with. If you over tear the muscle or over work it, it won't grow. Keep that in mind. The healing process is what makes muscles grow.

Fair enough; will definitely have to invest.. I've already took the time to research and then decided to purchase those organic chia seeds (friend works as a manager at Whole Foods Market here and was able to swing me a 25% discount so they were relatively cheap in comparison to some of the bulk pricing I could've got online.. and definitely cheaper than other stores..

I have to ask this about the strength training and this isn't directly for you but you may be able to help.. there comes a few days where I'll have to find other strength sizes that don't require any bending forward or strain on my chest; my xiphoid process sticks out a bit and that area can sometimes develop tenderness or a bump.





This whole thing started because I wanted to quit smoking and then I got sick with the stomach flu and had already lost weight from that and felt good after my strength was all recovered because I was 13 lbs less and could tell for sure.. plus turning 23 years old on Sunday this week so I'm not necessarily getting any younger and have lived a decent portion of my latter life unhealthy so better change things now rather than later when it could be too late.

 

[Solid Snake]

I'd like to sit here and quote all of you all; I've been reading this thoroughly and taking all of your suggestions into account.. I'll address a few ppl though whom I have further inquires..

Well I'm 6'0 and I'd say a little under 275 (273 last measured) so yeah i'm looking to cut at least 30 lbs by like the end of the year, or at least turn half of it into muscle while still losing half.. if that makes any sense.

The Cheat sessions are more just like still counting calories not going completely over or even touching my daily counted limit but not necessarily eating the same healthy foods I would eat the rest of the week and I had it scheduled for once per like 10 days.. and it would only be one meal that was 'tampered'

And yes I am also wanting to feel healthier in order to improve my chances of living longer.

If you or anyone has the time to help me create some sort of basic outline for a dietary plan I would much appreciate it.. Normally I would contact a consultant but between purchasing the healthier foods for me as well as investing in other beneficial stuff to the whole crusade money isn't really able to be spent on professional consulting.. Or maybe you can point me in the direction of ones already established based on certain types of food, I tried looking at all the popular ones (ie: Atkins) and there was somethings that I could pull out of it but I'm definitely trying to avoid red meat as apart of the whole thing; soda/pop as well and then candy.



Fair enough; will definitely have to invest.. I've already took the time to research and then decided to purchase those organic chia seeds (friend works as a manager at Whole Foods Market here and was able to swing me a 25% discount so they were relatively cheap in comparison to some of the bulk pricing I could've got online.. and definitely cheaper than other stores..

I have to ask this about the strength training and this isn't directly for you but you may be able to help.. there comes a few days where I'll have to find other strength sizes that don't require any bending forward or strain on my chest; my xiphoid process sticks out a bit and that area can sometimes develop tenderness or a bump.





This whole thing started because I wanted to quit smoking and then I got sick with the stomach flu and had already lost weight from that and felt good after my strength was all recovered because I was 13 lbs less and could tell for sure.. plus turning 23 years old on Sunday this week so I'm not necessarily getting any younger and have lived a decent portion of my latter life unhealthy so better change things now rather than later when it could be too late.

Just do whatever is comfortable. You don't want to strain your body. Yoga is a great alternative for building strength and depending on what you use, it can kick your butt and really build up good muscle and strength. DDP yoga made me feel like I got hit by a car. lmao

 

[Solid Snake]

No offense to Brit, but the tea is important.

Black, green, or white tea are all acceptable, but it really depends on what you want. Green tea has more antioxidants in it while white tea has the most antioxidants (antioxidants are basically anti-cancer treatments and they're in a lot of things....if you're putting cinnamon in your tea, it really doesn't matter which tea, as cinnamon has more antioxidants than any type of tea and antioxidants don't get stronger by taking in more of them). Black tea with wild honey (watch the honey amount, no more than a teaspoon in a 16-20 oz. glass, half a teaspoon in a coffee/tea cup if you're drinking it hot) and cinnamon is a good combo (I like Irish Breakfast or Prince of Wales for the flavor, but English Breakfast is good, too.....if you're in America (I can't keep up with where everyone's from), you'd probably have to order Irish Breakfast or Prince of Wales from Twinings, but you can find English Breakfast at just about any grocery store; failing that, just get Lipton tea bags.

As for sugar, well, the First Lady disagrees with me (and my doctor and my ortho/podiatrist (who's a diabetes expert), and my infectious disease guy (who also is a diabetes expert)), there's nothing wrong with using a controlled amount of sugar. The point is not overdoing it with sugar, just like alcohol.

Count your carbs. Talk to your doctor. He/she might hook you up with a nutritionist, who can do a work up for you with how many carbs per meal and per day you should eat. I have diabetes (well under control since my accident and the attendant infections) and have a carb limit, but it becomes easy to manage when you know what your limits are and how you can meet them without going over while still getting the necessary carbs your body needs.

You also want to get a good 45 - 60 minutes (at least) once a day of solid exercise. That's where good cardio comes in. Getting your heartbeat up and getting a good sweat in 4 or 5 days a week is extremely important, even if you only lift weights (if you lift weights) two or three days a week.

Finally, like Crayo said, it really depends on what you're "improving health" for. It's really not a good idea to try to cut weight quickly, but to gradually bring your weight down (if that's your goal) in a controlled manner. That also makes it easier to maintain weight once you've gotten it to where you want it. If you just want to live healthily, moderation is basically the key....except in sex. Sex is good for you (in a protected, controlled, safe manner and a monogamous relationship....there's more to being healthy than just your physical health). It's a particularly good aerobic exercise.

wk

I meant in the sense that the honey and cinnamon drink is normally used with water but it works better with tea, hence the tea doesn't matter BUT I am all about herb teas. Ginger root, raspberry leaf, chamomile, ect I have boxes of the stuff lol

 

[Aids Johnson]

Go to a grocer or in the summer the market every other day, it helps you keep your kitchen mostly clean and your diet simple.
What I did was get rid of most of my bagged and boxed foods over the course of a week....meals for myself and had friends or family over for random deals. I got chicken breasts for cheap when they went on sale (50lbs for 105$) and bought good seasoning. As for breakfast, i snagged some flax seed high fiber okay tasting shit and got some quality yogurt from walmart for $2 that isnt the best for you.

As for dinner? Salad lettuce. I snagged a mixed green plant for 10$ and i've already gotten 4 meals out of it - the shit grows all summer. Anything you can do outside can save you a ton. I don't even like tomatoes, but i've got 3 of the hanging plants going right now, it'll make for some dank pasta sauce.

 

[Wacokid27]

I meant in the sense that the honey and cinnamon drink is normally used with water but it works better with tea, hence the tea doesn't matter BUT I am all about herb teas. Ginger root, raspberry leaf, chamomile, ect I have boxes of the stuff lol

Oh, I see. That makes more sense now.

I'm not a big herb tea fan, prefer black teas, but that's just me.

wk