Getting back in shape and changing my life! At home!

Well i've been reading all these new threads about getting healthy recently and I think its time for a change for me. I am not overweight, probably underweight by 10 or 15 lbs in actuality and am looking for AT HOME ways of eating right and excercising! I've been a smoker for 5 years, dont eat regularly and not the right things when I do. I've also done my fair share of partying in the past and have overcome that so i know this is in the right direction.

So my questions for you ATS'ers, is what are some simple at home i could start doing (no gym memberships or weights)? Situps and pushups are a good idea (i will be doing those), but im more interested in any other techniques and ideas! Please post any good routines and ideas! Im looking to really clense myself as well! Thanks everybody!

BTW- I am quitting smoking, so please dont throw that at me

well I did the P90X program and it changed my life. I lost about 20-25 pounds in 3 months, went down 4 belt holes, feel great, built muscles I have never had visible, my self confidence is sky high, all my back pains went away, I have 4 bulging disc in the lower back, I have tons of energy and eat alot more healthy. You can do the whole program with nothing more than a set of excersize bands and a DVD player. Its completely worth the 100.00 price tag. I smoke also, havent stopped that yet, but i am working on it.good luck

reply to post by ringing


I have been hearing a lot about this p90x. I may have to give that a look.I I HAVE to quit smoking though, i can just feel it tearing me up inside and out. Thanks for your advice ringing. Anyone else have any ideas?

I run 9Kms per day, have reduced my food consumption by 60%, and eat only healthy locally grown produce mixed with standard carbs, (pasta rice ec) eat fruit regularly and basically, preparing physically for anything that comes my way. Build up your core strength, and importantly, stamina.

I also strongly recommend testing your ability to live off-grid for a week: Turn off your power and water (having ample stores already prepared) . see how you are after 6-7 days. Very eye opening, and will answer all your immediate questions about what to prepare for in case of Grid shutdown or worse.

Either way, the effects of exercise on the body are well known, but its effects on the mind are remarkable.

Get in shape now, while it's still a choice, the future will not be kind to the unfit.




peace.

at home the push ups and sit ups is good you can add in pull ups if you can. If you have and unfinished basement you can use a doorway. Yhey will increase your strength in your biceps and forearms. You can do lunges without weights and they will increase you leg muscles. Underweight is as bad as over weight so I would recommend an increase in the amount of good food you eat. Protein content every meal and you should eat 5 times a day. Protein is the building block of muscle so you need a good amount of it daily. If you want to stop smoking, wind sprints will help because your lungs will expand and contract causing you to cough more when you smoke. However, wind sprints and other cardiovascular activities are counter productive to gaining muscle weight if you do them on the same day as muscle building exercise.

My advice. If you have a scale at home, throw it out. Then learn to love food. Seriously. After that start working. If you can't find a physical job, find a physical hobby. Working out 30 mins a day may help tone but it is those hours a day of physical labor that will make you strong and give you stamina. Stamina is where it is at for the day to day feeling good.

Why love food you ask? Well if you learn to enjoy all foods, not just what comes in a box you will eat from a wider variety. And then next you will be tempted to try actually cooking some of these things yourself. Next thing you know you are at home eating fresh prepared yum-yums on a daily basis with the interesting side effect of not over eating.

Why throw out the scale? Because health is not based on how much you way. It is more about how you look and how you feel. If you think you look good, and you feel good, then you weigh the right amount.

Originally posted by Trunkeight
I run 9Kms per day, have reduced my food consumption by 60%, and eat only healthy locally grown produce mixed with standard carbs, (pasta rice ec) eat fruit regularly and basically, preparing physically for anything that comes my way. Build up your core strength, and importantly, stamina.

I also strongly recommend testing your ability to live off-grid for a week: Turn off your power and water (having ample stores already prepared) . see how you are after 6-7 days. Very eye opening, and will answer all your immediate questions about what to prepare for in case of Grid shutdown or worse.

Either way, the effects of exercise on the body are well known, but its effects on the mind are remarkable.

Get in shape now, while it's still a choice, the future will not be kind to the unfit.




peace.

Your regimen although good for you, may not be good for the OP. Being under weight and running 9 km's is not a good combo.

Originally posted by Histopherness
My advice. If you have a scale at home, throw it out. Then learn to love food. Seriously. After that start working. If you can't find a physical job, find a physical hobby. Working out 30 mins a day may help tone but it is those hours a day of physical labor that will make you strong and give you stamina. Stamina is where it is at for the day to day feeling good.

Why love food you ask? Well if you learn to enjoy all foods, not just what comes in a box you will eat from a wider variety. And then next you will be tempted to try actually cooking some of these things yourself. Next thing you know you are at home eating fresh prepared yum-yums on a daily basis with the interesting side effect of not over eating.

Why throw out the scale? Because health is not based on how much you way. It is more about how you look and how you feel. If you think you look good, and you feel good, then you weigh the right amount.

Enjoying good food is very important while not over eating. The physical labor part can misinterpreted though as we must continually change and increase to keep the muscel growing and changing or we will start to conserve energy and store body fat.

reply to post by habfan1968

The physical labor part can misinterpreted though as we must continually change and increase to keep the muscel growing and changing or we will start to conserve energy and store body fat.

Big reason why I choose a physical hobby. As you get better you are able to work hard and longer.

wow thanks for all the replies! Maybe i should break it down a little more as well. I am definately underweight after looking up height, weight and age for myself. Im not looking to become Mr. Muscles, but just getting back to a healthy weight and filling out again. I would like to add running in my regimen, but i dont know about 9km

Its also a self esteem issue because everyone says to me, "your so skinny" blah blah blah and being a 23 yr old guy, that doesnt always make you feel great about yourself or getting the ladies . So what i want to know is some good foods for cleansing your body to begin with, then a good diet to gain weight (my metabolism is crazy) while working out and stopping smoking altogether. This isnt a 1 month workout i want to do, this is somethng i want to do to change my life altogether. seriously.

Can't stress whole grains enough. I know everyone else says the same thing, but for good reason. Don't forget the fruits. Everyone already hypes on veggies but fruits have many water soluble fibers as well as the anti-oxidents. Fruits and grains will clean out your system like a broom. Eat fats. Good fats. Even for people looking to lose weight I suggest a moderate amount of fats, as you want to gain weight even more so. Nuts, oily fish, use EVO or canola oil in foods.

The bonus of nuts and oily fish is they also provide the protein you need. Not just to build muscle but active people pump more enzymes and hormones through their body, both composed of proteins.

I can't really give you a specific diet as people like different things, and limiting your allowable food is one of the biggest reasons diets fail. Just have to learn to eat a variety. I can suggest staying away from sugar and refined starches. Potatoes and rice should also be moderated. I have seen a potato spike a diabetics blood sugar, the starch is that easily digested.

reply to post by ringing


I went to P90X site and found it really helpful. I also clicked on the link to SparkPeople and there is an online personalized health and exercize plan the OP might find useful. It's free to join. i 'm going to give it a shot myself.

reply to post by ziggyproductions05

Star for you! thanks for the thread. You might like the SparkPeople site I mentioned in the previous post.

Get one of those big inflatable rubber balls people use to do pilates, and sit on it any time you watch tv or read.

This will give your core a HUGE boost, and it's really that simple. Just sit on it. All of your back, stomach, side, and leg muscles will get a workout the whole time you are just sitting there enjoying your regular sit-down activities.

This is one of the most valuable and easy to stick to routines you can try, and it isn't hard to do it everyday, vs the 3-5 times a week for most things.


Something great you can try diet-wise:

Get a tub of yogurt at the store, plain, and NOT fat free.

In a pan, mix one cup water and three cups whole milk. You can also stir in a little powdered milk.

Heat your water/milk just until a skin develops on top.

Let it cool to about 115 degrees, then add in a few tablespoons of your yogurt. Stir it in, then dump your liquid into a pitcher or jug with a lid. Quickly cover it, wrap it in a towel, and put it in a cooler.

Add about 3 cups of water to your pan, and bring it to a boil. Let it cool just a bit, then pour it into a heat-safe container, then place it in your cooler next to the yogurt.

Come back in 2 or 3 hours, and you have a jug of homemade yogurt. This is extremely good for you, and there are numerous good bacteria that thrive in yogurt, that you can buy cultures of at health food stores. It sounds like a pain in the butt, but once you are used to it, it's almost as easy as ramen noodles. You can use a few tablespoons from each batch to create the next, so you can invest in probiotics once and keep them alive for many generations.

The BEST thing to do with your yogurt, especially in the summer, is buy some popsicle molds and make yogurt pops. You can put yogurt in the blender with any and every kind of fresh fruit and some honey, or you can blend just the fruit and honey and fold it into the yogurt.

Either way they are fantastic, will help you gain weight, and help you more properly metabolize and absorb nutrients.

Take it from another "dude, go eat a sandwich" guy, these two things will make fantastic differences that far exceed the effort required.

[edit on 10-7-2009 by maus80]

reply to post by maus80


Ha!

I actually just got one of those... doing back bends over it at the gym did more for my spine than a year of chiropractic ever did...

The just sitting on it is BRILLIANT

Hardest part of my routine is that I am on the computer so much... can't thank you more for that Idea!!!!

I'd also add Meditate

Pranayama Breath, get your energy up, especially if you smoke, you'll think better your hormones will regulate. And you can do it at home any time which is what your looking for.

Get you a pair of 20 pound dumbbells.

That is all you need to get into shape. You can pretty much eat any type of foods you want as long as they are in a reseanable portions.

For cardio walk a few miles every other day until it becomes easy and then jog a mile every other day and work your way up from there.

What about my situation... I'm currently 5'8'... 22 yrs old.. and 148 lbs..I used to be about 230 lbs years ago, but lost the weight through yo yo dieting and a lot of cardio... (I went through severe depression and repetitively gained and lost the weight). I've been weightlifting in the past year and eating better. However, my skin is already screwed...I have some flabby/fatty skin in a lot of areas (love handles, inner thighs, buttocks) and a lot of stretch marks. What can a person in my situation do? What can I do when change isn't possible no matter how hard I exercise or how well I eat ?

[edit on 10-7-2009 by ogund.3]

[edit on 10-7-2009 by ogund.3]

What maus80 said about getting the ball is a great piece of advice, they really do a great job at strengthing your core. Take a nice brisk walk everyday for 1/2 hour - 1 hour good for cardio, legs, waist. Another good thing for your legs (well your calves) is to stand on the stairs with the back of your feet hanging over the step and slowly raise up on your toes and then lower back down. Do as many reps as your comfortable with and add more as you go, you don't need wieghts but it works the muscles.

As far as gaining a little wieght, you will probably start putting wieght on after you stop smoking, and also when you start toning up your muscles you will gain wieght fron muscle mass.

Since you said your really not overweight the best thing for you would to be Swimming, pushup, situp, crunches, maybe martial arts if your into that. You can walk/jog/run. When you swim you can burn alot of calories, and you use all of your muscles and develop alot of upper body strength. If you find a decent size pool that has lanes, at your starting point swim away to the other side and back to where you started at. That's one lap. You will lose weight and tone up fast like this. It helps control your breathing so much, and helps you with running, as swimming is a better than running and is great cardio.

Remember running/walking/jogging also helps. But remember for every mile you run or walk you only burn 100 calories.

Push ups are easy to build up quick as long as you stay motivated in doing them.

You can start off doing like 10/20 normal push ups, then close hand/diamond push ups, then wide arm push ups. Until you can get to where you can do up to at least 60 push ups.

To help also with doing more push ups are elevated push ups. Just prop your feet up on something higher off the ground and do as many as you can in sets.

Sit ups are great but you want to do something else besides sit ups. So switch doing something like sit ups, and then crunches. A good form of crunches is where you lay on your back of course with your legs in the air above your head, knees bent and legs crossed like in an ex, and raise your upper body up to where you chest touch your knees. and do go so fast, just slowly go up and hold for a second then go down.

In martial arts you can burn up to 800 calories per hour.

Pull ups are great to. However to get better at them if they are hard at first just go to the gym and work out, start out with low weight but high reps to turn that fat into muscle. Don't start out heave you want to get rip and tight first. Then build yourself up. Working out at the gym helps tremendously build your push ups, and pull ups.

Another great exercise are dips they help out as well. You can do them off the back of a chair, or a bench.

Also you can drink muscle milk before you start, that gives you a tremendous amount of energy, and helps keep your muscles oxidated as well as a boost to gain more muscle. And you can drink muscle milk after your workout to speed up the recovery rate of your muscles.

Drink lots of water. You want to always keep your body hydrated when you workout and do a lot of cardio because you could pass out if you don't.

Watch the calories and saturated fat in foods. Fat content normally has double the calories then the calories you are eating. Didn't know that did you? Don't eat a lot of sugar and sodium as well. Don't eat greasy food like hot pockets/lean pockets or any kind of lean pockets. Just because it says lean doesn't mean it is. To greasy.

You can start out by going to the gym and work on your muscles, and pushups, crunches, then go swim/run/jog/walk the next day. Just rotate so you don't over exert your body. Your body needs lots of recovery time in between. You need at least a good 8-9 hours of sleep each day. Your muscles build and strengthen in your sleep, they don't do that when you work out. You have to sleep in order to build them.

You can also work on your core/abs by doing flutter kicks/leg raises. Lay on your back and hold your feet six inches off the ground and start kicking your legs up and down. Left leg up first and as its coming down your right leg comes up and so on and so forth.

You can do what we do in the Army and smoke yourself. And do something called the hurricane where you are at a standing position, then quickly move to a squatting position with your hands on the ground, and kick your feet back at the same time going into the push up position and quickly jump back up into a squat that quickly goes back to the standing position and repeat.

Helps with cardio. There are lots of things to do. But going swimming and going to the gym are the most effective as they help you get better at doing non weight exercise.

Try not to drink cokes, I know its hard, but try and substitute soda for like juice, water, and Gatorade instead.

Anyways I hope this helps. Good luck, and have a great weekend!