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[Drama Queen]

Nothing makes me smile more than when I finally get to glance at my phone during a hectic morning at work and see that there's a new face in this thread. Welcome aboard bam bam!

As far as any tips? Well you mentioned trying to replace certain foods with healthier alternatives... Let me ask you... Do you have a blender? Because that is by far the easiest way for me to get my share of fruits and veg (and the most tolerable method for my taste buds).

Track everything, there are a bunch of free tools online for that, I used to use MyFitnessPal. It tracks so much more than just calories, it tracks everything that is required by law to be on a nutrition label... Ie fats (including saturated and trans), carbs (including fiber and sugars), protein, sodium, potassium, vitamins a and c, iron and calcium. So useful. I specifically monitored my sodium one time when I was told I had high blood pressure, could clearly see by using this, what the main culprits were, and three weeks later my pressure was perfect.

[Duckman]

Welcome to the crew Bammer!!  You've come to the right place for advice, support and motivation.

I'm currently going through a bit of a food revolution myself - decided to give a low carb diet a try.  My main vices are crisps and bread.  I counted up between breakfast, lunch and supper, I was eating at least 4-6 slices of bread a day!  Which is a lot of carbs.  Add in a couple of packet of crisps a day and that's a ton!

I don't really have any major tips or advice.  All I will echo is something Ian and others have said - change has to be for you.  You have to want and almost need to do this.  Don't do it for anyone else other than you, because at the end of the day the only person who can make that change, is you.  Sounds so simple, but it's so true.

I'm making these changes for a couple of reasons (two big health ones - high blood sugar and high blood pressure) and also because I felt it was time to stop putting things off, to stop lying to myself and to test myself to become fitter and healthier.

The guys here and this thread has (despite my initial feelings) become a really important part of that.  Even just for motivation to think, "those guys can do that, so can I."

But everything you do is going to come from within and you need self discipline, self respect and inner strength to make any kind of lifestyle change.

I've been smoke free since 1st Jan.  Sugar free since the end of Jan.  I've found addressing each change as a separate challenge has helped.  I've also found that stumbling or slipping up isn't the end of the world, just go back to it the following day and try to keep that resolve and determination going.

When my Dad was giving up smoking, he never said he was giving up, or trying to give up - he just said he was a non-smoker.  That was 20 years ago and he's never smoked since. 

It's all in the mind buddy, and being a stubborn sob is going to help a lot.

Keep posting, keeping communicating and the people here will keep supporting you!

[BamBamBunglow]

Thanks guys

Drama - I do have a blender (All hail MagiMix!), though it'll probably only get used infrequently. I work as a programmer, so I'm sat infront of a computer screen most of the day - that's where most of my snacking happens - so i'm hoping to substitute all those snacks (crisps, chocolate, cereal bars, whatever) with more fruit, nuts, cucumber/carrot sticks etc. That'll go a long, long way way to starting   I'll definitely keep the idea in mind though - at LARP weekends the food tends to be kinda.... burger van-ish, so making some form of veggie/fruit smoothies and freezing them could actually really help!

Duckers - Bread is my downfall too Sandwiches are just too damned convenient. There's a ridiculous amount of sugar in bread too, so that's another big one to tackle (I've heard lettuce leaves make a substitute... not a good one, but a substitute)

Thanks for the words guys, I'll keep you updated, even it's just "I WANT CHOCOLATE SO BAD I WILL SUCK YOUR DICK FOR A CANDY BAAAAAAR" lol

[Dorling]

Good on you Bam!

I too am a massive fan of cake, chocolate, crisps etc. Easiest way to not eat them is to not buy them. Don't have them at home. Don't take them to work. The ship has made it easy for me because the food is prepared everyday - there are no chocolate bars or crisps on board. I eat one sweet thing a day when I run, and nothing on a rest day.

What it has made me realise is that I don't miss the rubbish food - once you get into the mindset of working out and seeing the results, you yearn for more substantial food and you feel like you deserve it when you eat it.

Mentally, once you start seeing positive results, it will surprise you how quickly you switch to an attitude where you don't want to cheat yourself because what you really, really want to see is lower numbers on the scale or faster numbers on the treadmill or whatever it is you want.

DDP Yoga is a great starting point. It will strengthen you in all the right places and start taking some fat off so that when/if you want to increase cardio work your body will be better prepared and cope with it so much better. I honestly can't believe that I've been able to run 45km in 12 days - that would have had me stuck in bed before DDP Yoga but you can do it.

Go for it man and let us know how you get on.

[Duckman]

I second the DDP Yoga - it's changed my life completely.  I had no exercise for years (office job, sit at desk all day, come home and sit in front of TV - for years) and it's been an amazing way to get back into exercising regularly.  I love it and it's making me so much fitter and stronger.  It's been brilliant for me.  Absolutely brilliant.

[Ian "Wolfie" Trumps]

Visual motivation ordered...MFX Crew shirt has been dispatched. Hurdles hit this week, but Sir Ian gets up and never gives up #cml

[Sgt. Josh Underpants]

I think it's time to hop on the health wagon here. I bought the ea sports active thing for playstation a few years ago but haven't touched it going to start using it tonight and try to get back in shape

[Justin]

I think it's time to hop on the health wagon here. I bought the ea sports active thing for playstation a few years ago but haven't touched it going to start using it tonight and try to get back in shape

That's great bro!  Just start out slow and work yourself into it.

[Drama Queen]

I have to decide really soon if I'm going to do the New Jersey marathon on 26th of this month!

I ran 18 miles today, I ran 18 last Sunday also (at least it didn't leave me in as much pain this week). with this winter being as long and drawn out as it was, it was really hard to get long runs in.

I'm really on the fence about it... I think I can do 26.2 if I go at a more moderate pace, and don't even attempt to match the time I got in Philly.

One piece of motivation is, if I do get it done, and then NY in autumn, that will be PA, NJ and NY covered... three down, 47 to go

Welcome aboard Josh, if the EA active for the PlayStation is anything like it was for the Wii, I recommend it. Its very funny you mention it, because I'm working on a blog about something similar. The Wii was my introduction to fitness believe it or not, and well... now, read above, I'm deciding whether to do one or two marathons this year!

EA Active really worked my legs more than anything and made me very conscious.... for example, if I drop anything nowadays, even if its something light, like a piece of paper, I bend my knees to pick it up instead of stooping over. But yeah, my legs got strong on that, and this was long before I did any of the intense programs like P90X or Insanity. In fact Josh, I would love to read a review of it in your blog at some point.

#CML... F'ing LOVE it Ian.

Bam Bam, Yeah, for me the blender is put to use in the evenings when Im home from work.

Heres a typical list of what I bring to work.... see which ones appeal to you, or are appropriate (remember I do a lot of carbs, which works for me, but not for everyone)

2 PB & FF sandwiches - I can find organic bread and organic PB, but jam/jelly is harder to find and more expensive... so I get a bag of organic frozen berries (berries have less sugar than other fruits) and place them on the bread the night before and keep them in the fridge... I eat them during my 10am break the next morning, and they are fucking divine... the actual fruit thawed out is so much better than jelly. The bread is obviously whole grain.

1 hard boiled egg

1 bag of edamame - its like a Japanese soybean... I keep it in the freezer at home right until I'm leaving for work... I eat this later in the day, its thawed out, just squeeze them from the pods into your mouth... all protein

1/3 cup (roughly) of an organic trail mix that has pumpkin seeds, toasted soy nuts, sunflower seeds, cranberries, dates and dark raisins.... this one comes ready made where I am, but the thing about trail mix is its easy to put it together yourself, then you have full control over the ingredients.

1 apple (I like Pink Lady, but that's just taste preference, an apple is an apple)

1 banana

That keeps me going most of the day. I'm thinking of adding something else, because I do end up getting a muffin from the roach coach in the mornings. (Dorling, that's my sweet thing for running, lol)

Anyway, the whole organic thing is important to me, if you don't care about that (maybe pesticides and gmos aren't as predominant in Britain, I'm not sure), then these kinds of foods will be even easier and cheaper.

Like I say, they might not all appeal to you, especially the sandwiches as you mentioned you are trying to cut down on bread, and you mentioned you don't like apples.

I used to prepare a salad and bring it everyday, but I found both the preparation and the actual eating to be hard work (unless I used dressing, but dressing is not healthy and defeats the purpose of salads, and that's when I decided I would rather get those important nutrients in other forms such as chili and smoothies.

Also, did you check my recipe for the veg chili in my blog? I make enough for a couple of weeks at a time (or at least one week if I eat every day) and whilst I prefer to heat it up each time, it is also quite tasty cold. Not sure if it might be a bit messy to eat by a computer though.

[J-Reb]

Spartan race in the books.

It was brutal.  4.5 miles of some of the most difficult challenges that I've ever done.  Atlas stone (125 lbs) carries, carrying 5 gallon bucket of rocks (had to easy be 75-85 lbs) up and down challenging terrain, rope climbs, rope swings, cargo climbs, and about 300 yards of Army crawling through mud underneath barbwire are just a few of the highlights.  It really kicked my butt - I finished at 2 hours, 8 minutes which so far has me in the top 1400 for the event and somewhere in the top 50% for my age bracket.  So, for a first attempt, I'm pleased with the outcome! 

[Drama Queen]

Wow, Spartan sounds way more intense than mudman x. Way to go j-reb. You've earned a major cheat day lol. Seriously though, isn't it amazingly satisfying to finish one of those things. And finish quite well by the sounds of it.

Oh I hear you Jack, all of my hangovers these days are from food. My first blog entry is about a recent chocolate hangover!

[BamBamBunglow]

Thanks for all the tips DQ - currently in work with a bag of edamame, 2 bananas and about 1/3rd of a cup of raisins for snacks. Lets see if it works!

Sadly I can't take your chilli advice - Chilli has a tendency to send me into anaphylactic shock and I like breathing

I have found a damned good recipe to substitute though, which was "Italian Stew" - basically chopped tomato, diced lean beef, yellow pepper, onion & garlic (with some herbs in). Freezes well, tastes decent, fills you up pretty damned well when coupled with green beans

Current plan is to find 5-6 recipes like this, make a giant batch of one of them on a sunday, freeze them and just reheat them in work. Theory would go, this should help ALOT as I'm a horrific eater when in work

[Judge]

Sadly I can't take your chilli advice - Chilli has a tendency to send me into anaphylactic shock and I like breathing

What in the chilli sets it off?  Wouldn't it be easy to avoid that?

[BamBamBunglow]

Capsaicin - basically the chemical that makes chillies hot. Makes the throat close up and subsequently need an EpiPen quickly after. Or a purple crazy straw stuck down my throat by a panicking friend.

[Judge]

Capsaicin - basically the chemical that makes chillies hot. Makes the throat close up and subsequently need an EpiPen quickly after. Or a purple crazy straw stuck down my throat by a panicking friend.

Jesus.  That takes the joy right out of eating.  I'm sorry.