Robert Stinnett

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Archive for category Get Fit

Looking Good and Feeling Great

Aug 1

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I thought it was about time I gave everyone an update on my weight loss and fitness journey.  It’s been a while, and a few folks have been asking.  So here goes – I’m doing TERRIFIC!  I have to tell you, I’ve never felt better in my life and knowing that it’s going to get even better down the road – man, it’s a total rush.

So here we are in July of 2010 (well technically as I write this the clock just ticked over to August, but we’ll call it July) and I’m down to…drum roll please… 287lbs!  To put it into perspective, I started 2010 clocking in at a gut busting 342lbs.  Wow!

How did I do it?  No magic diets, no magic pills, no self-help nonsense.  I did it by doing a lot of cardio exercise, lifting some weights and watching what I eat.  It was that simple.  I didn’t starve myself and I didn’t do some fad diet where I got rid of all the stuff I love to eat – I just watched the portions and tried to substitute healthy snacks and healthier alternatives in where I could.  So, for example, instead of eating french fries I switched to a nice baked sweet potato.  Instead of ice cream, frozen yogurt.  Simple things like that.  I also started reading the boxes of what I buy in the store and started steering clear of the high fructose corn syrup crap and started going for the whole grains and whole wheat.

So how about a picture?  They say a picture is worth a thousand words!

Look at that handsome guy!

I couldn’t even fit into those jeans and shirt back in January!

Now don’t get me wrong – I still got a ways to go.  My goal is 205lbs.  So I got another 82lbs to go and I know it’s going to take time.  However, I’m more motivated now than ever!

Getting fit and feeling great – it’s worth it folks, believe me.  If you need some motivation please, please contact me and let me be your motivator.  I’ll help you and along the way we can encourage each other!

Now if only I could find a sponsor to supply me with gym shoes – Finish Line or Reebok, you listening?  I’m going through gym shoes like crazy because of all the workouts I do.  You should change your shoes every 500 miles because they lose their support and comfort – and I’ve been through probably 3 pair so far!

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Breaking 300: A Reason to Celebrate

Apr 18

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About two weeks ago I celebrated a major milestone in my quest to get fit – I finally fell below 300!  As of today (April 18, 2010) I’m sitting at 294.5 – or roughly 50lbs lighter than when I started my journey in late December 2009.  Talk about a motivator – seeing those magical numbers on the scale really gave me a confidence boost!

Looking back so far, I’ve learned a few things – first, you really can enjoy what you eat, just as long as you enjoy it in moderation.  Starting out I told myself I wasn’t getting involved in any fad diet.  I’m always amazed at the amount of money people throw away on the “diet of the moment” thinking that by denying themselves something they are going to be able to take weight off and keep it off.  By watching what I eat I’ve managed to cut the calories and fat without really changing what I eat.  I still enjoy frozen yogurt, the occasional order of french fries (maybe once or twice a month!) and my favorite – baked potatoes.  The big difference between now and then is that I make better decisions instead of eliminating foods altogether.  For example, I love a good baked potato – but I will skip the sour cream and butter and instead sprinkle some olive oil on it and pile on the garlic and chives.  Mmmmm!

Secondly, no matter what you do, you have to get up and get moving.  There is no doubt in my mind at this stage of the game that without regular physical exercise any of this would have been possible.  Sure, there have been plenty of times when I was just wore out or just plain lazy and didn’t want to go to the gym – but I went anyway.  What I found out is that after my 40 minutes or so at the gym I had more energy than ever.  You just have to get motivated to do something – anything!  Sitting Pecan Saladaround watching TV doesn’t count!

It’s not an easy journey – nobody said it would be – but if you have the motivation and desire you can make it an exciting one.  If I could offer anyone advice to get them started it would be this:

  • Put down the processed foods (ready-to-eat meals in a box from the store, fast food burgers and sandwiches, etc.)
  • Get up and get active – even if it means just walking for 30 minutes a day
  • Add strength training to your exercise – lift some weights, you will be surprised how much it boosts your cardio routines!
  • Don’t sweat it when you fall off the wagon or indulge for a day; it’s OK to be bad once in a while as long as you keep moving towards your goal
  • Get creative in the kitchen – you’d be surprised what you can create at home that is far, far better than the fat-laden, calorie-laden meals you will get when you eat out.  Pecan salad anyone?

If I can do it – YOU can do it!

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You Wouldn’t Know It By Looking at Him

Mar 11

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It’s been almost three months now since I started working out and trying to get looking as good as I did back in college (the “good old days”).  One of the things I’ve learned – and something I’ve really known all along – is that what you put into your body is as important as what you do with your body.  Very few people would know it by looking at me, but throughout most of my college and 20’s I was a 99% vegetarian (I occasionally had chicken and turkey, but very rarely).  I actually enjoyed the food – and to this day I eat very little red meat.  My meat of choice is chicken and turkey – good sources of protein I might add.

However, the last thing I’m going to do is sit here and tell you that you have to be a vegetarian to get healthy, or you shouldn’t eat your steak or whatever food you enjoy.  Diets are nothing more than ways to make you feel miserable and set you up for certain failure.  We all remember the Atkins Diet right?  Eat no carbohydrates (no bread, potatoes, pasta etc.) and stuff all the meat you want into your mouth.  First of all – that just sounds disgusting.  Second, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out all that meat isn’t good for you.  Third, I don’t know about you – but no pasta? Forget it!  Not for this guy!  Julia Child said it best when she said “The only time to eat diet food is while you’re waiting for the steak to cook”.  I Love Julia Child

What I have learned in my journey so far is that the problem with most American diets is that we don’t know when to say when.  We eat delicious, hearty meals – three times a day!  The problem isn’t with what we are eating (for the most part), it’s with how much we are eating.

I’ll be the first one to stand up and say “Yep, that’s me!”  Of course my problem wasn’t that I was eating six-course meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner; my problem was that I was eating way too much throughout the day.  Cereal bars, peanut butter crackers, cookies, chips – anything pre-packaged and ready to go and I was all on it.  It’s not that you can’t enjoy a cereal bar or some cookies – it’s that you can’t enjoy them every day, multiple times per day.

We’re all in such a rush nowadays.  We all work longer and harder than our parents and grandparents did, and most of us wouldn’t know what a home cooked meal was.  We swing by to see the Colonel at Kentucky Friend Chicken and pick up a bucket of fried chicken and a box of biscuits and say “Bon Appetite!” Sure, our bodies think it’s delicious – and trust me, KFC now and then is a great treat – but when it becomes our regular dinner several times a month (or even a week) that is where the problem is at.

Of course when you start exercising – and start to see your body change – your whole mindset is going to change.  I used to go to Subway for lunch and have a turkey or chicken footlong sub on wheat bread.  No cheese, no mayo – but all the vegetables.  Yes, this is a great meal and its very healthy considering the other alternatives out there.  I would recommend Subway to anyone over McDonald’s or Burger King in a heartbeat.  However, as I started working out more and getting my body in shape I found my mindset changing.  No longer was I wanting a footlong – now I was content with a 6” sub (still no mayo or cheese, and still plenty of vegs) and some baked chips.  I was adding the baked chips to my diet, but getting rid of some of the sub.  I was seeing a net loss of about 200 calories in total and I was feeling full. 

Around the house as well I stopped eating peanut butter crackers in the evening and started eating more bananas and apples.  Instead of the two servings of baked chicken breast, I found myself feeling full after just one.  I started craving more vegetables – I just love steamed broccoli and corn – and found myself not so interested in the onion rings or meatballs so much anymore.

Again, it’s not that I am depriving myself of these foods – it’s that my mindset and appetite has changed.  It is simply amazing what a little bit of exercise can do for you.  I no longer reach for the cookies for a snack, I save them for a special treat!

The bottom line is you really can eat what you want.  If you like coconut cream pie (and I do!) then you can have it.  You should have it.  However, once you get into the fitness mindset you will find that you just don’t want it as often.  It really does become that special treat you have now and then.  You will find that your body tells you “no pie tonight, I’m full!” and you won’t even miss it.

So to all of you out there who are in the same boat as I am – keep at it!  Keep exercising and keep lifting those weights and running those miles.  You are going to find out soon (if you haven’t already) once you make it past the first few hurdles your body is going to go into auto-pilot mode and the changes you have been craving are going to come natural.

Best part about it – you’ll still enjoy that ice cream waffle cone from the ice cream parlor this summer and you won’t feel one bit guilty about it!

 

Photo Credit: Rakka via Flickr.

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(Sometimes) Life Comes Easy

Feb 26

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It’s been a little over two months now since I started my fitness routine.  I’m pleased to say that I’ve been able to, with only a brief 5-day interruption due to being ill, hit the gym at least 5 nights a week.  There was a short period of time when I was hitting it up every day, but I soon learned that your body needs rest.  Breaking up the week into one or two day routines with a one day break has really helped.  So many times in our quest to get fit we push ourselves too much – and forget that in order to build muscle our muscles need a day (or even two!) to repair themselves.

One thing I’ve noticed lately is that despite doing some rather intense workouts – especially cardio workouts – that they are becoming easier and I’m not exerting myself like I was in the beginning.  I can easily do a 3.5mph @ 10% incline without getting my heart rate above 125.  When I first started something like that would have shot my heart rate up into the high 140’s and I’d have to back down a little because I knew that it was too much.  Not anymore – now I find it’s not only easier, but that I can recoup much faster.

Of course this is a good thing – it means my cardio system is getting in better shape.  My resting heart rate has dropped and my body is building up the muscle that let’s me do more while not wearing myself out as much.  My heart muscles are strengthening which means I can do more work while spending less energy.  Nothing wrong with any of that!

This also means it’s time to take it to the next level.  If I continue along at this rate I’ll be doing my body good – but I won’t gain more muscle and I’ll basically plateau.  Who knew I’d ever get to the point where I would have to worry about not working myself hard enough!

cardio So I’ve introduced a few things to help me get to the next level.  First, I’m moving away from a “steady state” cardio workout where I’d chose an incline and stay with it and now moving towards a variable workout.  Increasing the incline throughout the workout, with periods of rest in there where I bring the incline down.  I’m also varying the speed – starting out at around 3.0, going to 3.5 and then peaking around 4.0 to 4.1mph.  There are numerous studies that show that this type of interval training is very good for you and in fact can help you build more muscle and expend more calories in the long run than just doing a steady state workout.

Speaking of studies, I ran across this article yesterday about how intense sessions of interval training can really benefit you and could possibly mean you can get the benefits of doing longer workouts in shorter periods of time.  It’s an interesting read and has a lot of good points.  I know after I took a week off from the gym due to being under the weather I actually was able to go back and felt better than ever before.  I credit some of that with giving my body time to repair all of my muscles while I was resting instead of constantly pushing myself without letting them fully repair.  I’ve even read some articles that suggest every month or two you should take an entire week off just to let your body rebuild itself fully.

I’m willing to try anything once – so I’ll be incorporating more intensity into the workouts in the coming weeks and let you know what happens.  I’ve also got some exciting news that I’ll share next week as well as a few new pictures of me so you can judge for yourself how things are going.

Keep motivated!

 

Photo Credit:  sportsandsocial via Flickr.

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Top 10 Reasons The Gym Is Less Crowded

Feb 1

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Well folks, its February and you know what that means – lots of people are giving up on those New Year resolutions to lose weight.  Suddenly all those new faces at the gym start disappearing, and you find the crowds aren’t so bad as they were a mere month ago.  Now, I know you have a strong will, so I know you aren’t one of them that has given up and thrown in the towel after a mere month.  Don’t let me down, I’m counting on you!

So since you and I’ve stuck it out together, let’s take a few moments to poke some fun at those quitters.  That’s right, say it loud and say it proud with me — “Quitter! Quitter!”

 

Top 10 Reasons the Gym is Less Crowded Nowadays

10.  A Baskin Robbins opened up shop right across the street from the gym.  31 flavors!?  One for each day of the month!baskin robbins

9.  People just couldn’t figure out how to get their no-show socks to stop showing at the gym.

8.  “Nudie Night” just wasn’t quite the success the gym owners thought it would be.

gay gym hotties 7.  People got mad when they were told that no, you cannot wear rollerblades on the treadmills.

6.  Turns out that yeah, all the good looking guys at the gym really are gay! (Oh the social events you are going to miss!)

5.  They went 5 times the first week and got upset they weren’t toned up on day 5.  Headed to Baskin Robbins instead.fast food

4.  Got warned numerous times about eating Monster Burgers and fries while using the equipment. 

3.  Didn’t realize that one year membership included months other than those that start with “Jan”.

2.  Turns out that it IS impossible to work out and then pig out.  Who would have thought it?

1.  They broke a sweat and decided it was too much work – they never broke a sweat watching TV, and they weren’t starting now!

 

Photo Credits:  Baskin Robbins by lordog; Crunch Gym Hotties by Walter Parenteau; Fast Food by Christian Cable.

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Now, Before or After – Working Out and Munching Down

Jan 27

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I see a lot of advice floating around about when to eat if you are working out.  Everything from don’t eat before a workout for optimal fat burning to eat a light snack an hour beforehand to build up reserves – and everything in between (sorry folks, but the one thing I haven’t seen is the one that says to eat a Kit Kat bar during the workout!).  Armed with all this conflicting information I set about to pull it all together and see what makes sense and what doesn’t.

I found out that, really, it just doesn’t matter.  The truth of the matter is this – if you workout and burn 500 calories then your body “subtracts” 500 calories.  At the end of the day, when you tote everything up, if your body needs more fuel it will simply get those 500 calories form your fat reserves.  It’s as simple as that.  I can find no scientific evidence that any special type of meal or time of day is going to increase or decrease calories.  At the end of the day what matters for weight loss is calories –plain and simple.

Realize to that everyone is different.  What works for me may not work for you.  Personally I feel like I get a nice post-workout “high” by eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich when I come back from the gym.  This isn’t “free” food calorie wise, it’s still part of my daily meals – but I find by having it within an hour of working out I get a nice, natural high.  It’s just how my body responds.  I know some people who eat about 60 minutes pre-workout to build up the sugar and energy in them to help motivate them to workout.  Like I said, whatever works for you GO FOR IT!

About the only thing I ever take with me to the gym and consume during workouts is Propel water.  I don’t know about you – but I have to have some flavor in my water.  Plain water never has done much for me.  When you are working out and doing cardio you need to make sure you keep yourself hydrated, so find some type of water and take it with you.  Stay away from sodas and teas which can actually dehydrate you.

Oh, and for those of you who like those energy bars and such – hey, it’s your calories, but I would like to point out that most of those things are just sugar and protein (sometimes and most often just sugar).  Why not save yourself some money and pack you some Ritz crackers with peanut butter or make you some Rice Krispie treats instead?  How about peanut butter on the Rice Krispie treats?  Sounds good to me!  Either way, you will be saving money and controlling how much sugar and fat go into your mouth!

So there you have it – 100’s of thousands of Google hits boiled down to a simple statement.  Eat when you feel like it, eat right and drink plenty of liquids.  Solid advice for anyone whether they are trying to lose weight or not.

 

Photo Credit: Drunken Monkey on Flickr.

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Got Sweat?

Jan 26

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One of the most often asked questions, and one I asked myself a lot when first starting out, was how do I know when I’m doing cardio exercises right?  There are a plethora of charts out there that show you your target heart rate given your age and what “zone” you want to be in.  There is also the age old advice of “If you can hold a conversation with the person next to you, you aren’t working out too hard”.  I find that is good advice, but I’ve also discovered when you are trying to lose weight (and not just maintain fitness) there is one sure fire way to know you are burning off the calories and fat and working in your “zone”…

 

You have to sweat.

Robert Showing off his Sweat!

Yes folks, you may not want to hear it – but if you want to get those pounds off you have to get sweaty.  Which is why the second most commonly heard statement in any gym is, “please be sure to wear deodorant!”

If you find yourself on the treadmill going along at a good pace but are relatively dry then you aren’t in your zone.  What’s more, as you get fit you will find that your zone changes.  The stronger your heart gets thanks to all that exercise you will find that it will beat slower at the same intensity over time.  So that 4mph @ 6% incline that caused you to get drenched a few months ago now may be a piece of cake – time to turn it up a notch!

I had firsthand experience with why it’s important to sweat when doing cardio last summer.  I was walking almost everyday a good 3 miles around town.  For the first month or two the weight came off, but then I hit a plateau.  My body had build up muscle and now when I was doing the same walk around town I wasn’t exerting myself as much and I stopped sweating.  The end result was that I wasn’t burning as many calories and so I began maintaining my weight instead of losing. 

One of the curious things I find out about people (and I hear this a lot as an excuse as to why people don’t want to exercise) is that people for some reason hate sweating.  Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to be stuck on a plane next to some sweaty person anymore than the next guy, but in a gym everybody is sweating so there is no need to be embarrassed or self-conscious about it.  In fact, you should think of it as your personal badge of honor to finish up your workout sweaty.

There is a saying I heard that I think is quite appropriate here – you can eat ANYTHING you want, just as long as you are prepared to sweat every last calorie of it out later!

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I Indulged on Cheetos – And I Feel Good!

Jan 25

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Last night I ate almost 3/4th of a bag of Cheetos.  Why?  Because I had a craving for them and they were in the kitchen.  Now this wasn’t some huge 50-lb bag, but still it was a good 6 servings worth probably.  I blame my craving for not eating properly during the day.  I had been over at a friend’s house watching football and had just snacked on the typical football food and earlier in the day I had a peanut butter & jelly sandwich.  Aside from the sandwich, it was a pretty unhealthy day food wise.

Yet, I don’t feel guilty.  Not one bit.

I know a lot of people who just beat themselves up when they indulge on something – especially when they are trying to lose weight or get in shape.  Often times they will indulge for whatever reason (maybe they went to a friend’s house or out on the town for a night, or maybe they just felt like ice cream) and that is the breaking point for their fitness goals.  They throw up their hands in the air the next day and just say “I can’t do it!” 

It’s easy to give up, but I have found it’s even easier to say “Yeah, I ate it – so what?” and move on.  Let’s face it folks if you try to take away all the foods that are bad for you, or take away all the foods you love the most you are just setting yourself up for failure.  That’s a primary reason why I never believed in any type of diet – take away the food people enjoy and they are already 99% of the way to failure.

I subscribe to the fact that as a general rule you should include a wide variety of foods in your diet.  Make your meals well-balanced and include fruits and vegetables aplenty in your daily intake.  Personally, I just love steamed broccoli on the vegetable side and apples on the fruit side.  Mix it up – but don’t run away from food.

Now before you think I’m saying to just eat anything you want, in whatever quantities you want let me stop you right there.  I’m not saying sit down everyday and just stuff yourself or run to McDonald’s or Burger King and think you are going to lose weight.  What I am saying is that McDonald’s and Burger King are OK once or twice a month.  The other 28 days in the month you have to practice self-control and know that these are “treats” and not everyday meals.  Have a craving for a hamburger?  Instead of the the calorie-rich, fat-laden Double Whopper w/ Cheese, why not make a turkey burger at home with some avocado on a wheat bun, or how about cooking up a lean hamburger and dressing it up with some salsa, lettuce and even a few olives thrown on for good measure?  Not only are you going to cut your calorie consumption by 66%, these burgers are going to be so good and so delicious that you may swear of Burger King forever! 

I always give myself one “indulge” day a week.  I know this is my day to have a special treat for myself, or maybe to eat a little unhealthy.  The great part about it is when it’s all said and done – I don’t beat myself up over it!  In fact, I usually feel pretty good about myself because I know overall I’m still zooming right along towards my goal.

In fact, today, the day after my Cheetos episode, I planned my day around my indulgence.  I added an extra apple as a snack, and ate a very low-fat lunch.  For breakfast I had my usual banana and toast with a little bit of peanut butter.  Here it is 6:00PM and I’m not starving at all – I’ll have some chicken and other vegetables and a salad for dinner and be fine.

So stop beating yourself up and enjoy food like Julia Child told us to do.  As long as you are making steady progress towards your goals it is all good.  Just make sure that your indulgences don’t turn into an everyday affair and you will be just fine. 

We all need some McDonald’s fries at least once every few months!

Photo courtesy of Apple Blossom Photography on Flickr

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It only gets easier

Jan 24

Posted by Robert Stinnett in Get Fit | No Comments

Here we are, roughly 28 days into my undertaking to turn a new leaf and get fit.  It seems like a short period of time, but in those 28 days I’ve celebrated a birthday (I’m now 36 for those of you keeping score), we’ve entered a new decade and most of all – I’ve found that when you put your mind to doing something, that thing you dreaded the most becomes second nature and the dread turns into, dare I say it, a love affair.

Ok, so maybe I don’t have a love affair going with the gym, but you get my drift.

I commented on Facebook the other day that when I started I was able to run around 3.0mph on a 4% incline.  Today I discovered that I can now maintain a 4mph run at a 6.5% incline – a dramatic improvement.  I also find myself no longer making excuses for being too busy, too tired, too [insert excuse here] for working out.  I find that if I miss a day (other than scheduled days off) I really feel bad about it.  Most of all, I find that going to the gym is something that relaxes me – and is a great way to blow of steam and the stress of everyday life.

If you are reading this chances are you want to lose some weight yourself; I’m willing to bet as well that you are like me – you see this monumental task in front of you and come up with 1,001 excuses about why you can’t do it today, but by golly you will get to it tomorrow!  Funny thing is, tomorrow just never seems to come.

My advice to you is simple – just do it.  Don’t be scared to go to the gym.  For so long I didn’t want to go because I thought I’d be the laughing stock of the whole place.  You know what I discovered?  There was a whole gym full of people just like me.  Sure, there are the gym jocks – but even they flash a smile when they see a “regular” like me walk in nowadays.  You will find that once you get past the first week or two, and become a regular face that your whole attitude is going to change.  Instead of dreading it, you will think of it as “your place” where you can escape from the real world and blow of some steam.  You will start to get to know faces, and you will start to make friends.  Heck, I even ran into an old work colleague from 10 years ago the other day!

I know what helped me a lot, and still does, is to bring along a few podcasts.  Get yourself an iPod or a Zune and load it up with music and podcasts.  I love to listen to Cartalk and Leo Laporte while working out.  Not only does it take your mind off what you are doing, but it lets you focus in on yourself and drown out the world around you.  You don’t even need to get a fancy one, the cheap iPod shuffle works just fine for the gym!

It only gets easier folks – no matter how out of shape you are, no matter what fears you have, just get out there and start doing it and you are going to be amazed at how your attitude changes in just a few short weeks.  Your body will thank you for it!

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More 411 on Peanut Butter

Jan 9

Posted by Robert Stinnett in Get Fit | No Comments

What can I say, it’s truly a food that everyone should have in their kitchen – especially people trying to get healthy.  I wrote about my cardio exercise the other day and how good peanut butter was, and stumbled upon a few more articles worth reading about this delicious treat.  Peter Pan always has an open invitation to stay at my place!

Grab you a spoonful and give these a read:

Now don’t just sit there, get some whole wheat bread and grape jelly and dig on in!

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