.

[BamBamBunglow]

As mentioned I've been doing a little lifting and while I still have a long way to go, the way I feel has improved dramatically. The past few days, while jogging I can feel a drastic difference, especially when going up hills and my overall speed has improved a lot.

Great to see all the guys who fell off the wagon getting back on. Once we're all shredded we'll have to have and MFX Fit Club Calendar! 

+1

[Dorling]

After 10 consecutive days of running 5k daily, I had a rest day on Friday. Saturday I ran the easiest 5k of my life. A leisurely 25 minutes and my heart rate was comfortable throughout and I felt great during and afterwards.

Today I started with the same idea but felt excellent so pushed up the speed and came in with a new PB. Finally cracked that 23 minute mark and ran it in 22:51. That puts me at 60k in the last 13 days, with one 5k left to run tomorrow morning before arriving in bonny Scotland.

[Duckman]

Not really a fit thread thing, but along with my blood sugar levels dropping like a stone, my blood pressure is also going down and I'm almost back into the 'healthy' range.

It's amazing what eating clean and exercising regularly can do.  When I first went to the doctor and she told me what was wrong with me, I thought the absolute worst.  Now, after six months hard work, I'm almost in the clear.

I'm in for the long haul though.  Just cause I've dodged a couple of bullets doesn't mean I'm going back to being the wreck of a human I was before.  This life changing stuff is hard work, takes a long time, but I'm really feeling and seeing the benefits now. 

A big part of that has been the support and inspiriation I've taken from this thread.  So thanks for that lads!

Everyone keep up the good work and keep changing your lives for the better.

[BamBamBunglow]

Full week without sugar. Had a serious "I'll fucking cut you" when someone brought a giant triple chocolate cake in to work on friday, but got through it.

Carb intake is reduced to minimal levels.

Have taken a different approach to DDP yoga - have done "Stand up" workout three times in the last week. Am having to take an extended break - it's improved my posture so much in just three sessions that the muscles in my left shoulder (which has always been a problem joint for me) are in lots of pain - they've shrunk and distorted so much over the years due to overcompensating/general slouchiness that they're being stretched brutally. I still view this as a good thing.

I've also picked up the book "Becoming a supple leopard" by Kelly Starrett - the man is a genius. his method (which at the minimum require just a lacrosse ball - £2.00 baby!) have put me through minor agony this weekend, but sweet jesus it's helped my flexibility and just general movement!

All in all, so far, so good.

[Drama Queen]

Very proud of everyone in here, especially Duckman though, that is a HUGE turnaround dude, and I'm so glad, because you deserve it man. Like I mentioned before, you're always respectful of others, you deserve the same respect yourself, FROM yourself.

Way to go Bam Bam, cutting sugar is not easy. I'm struggling with it myself, although I feel this week is becoming a turning point. And yeah, posture makes an amazing difference. So many people have made surprised comments if I had to tell them my height for some reason, everyone thinks I'm much taller than I am. A little trick I learned from one of my favorite yoga instructors is walk and/or stand with your palms facing forward as often as possible... it automatically pulls your shoulders back (though you may look a bit psychotic walking in public that way... but what do you care, you're an axe-wielding maniac anyway)

Dorling, isn't it so good be at a stage when you can breeze to a time that you used to really struggle to get anywhere near. Keep up the good work man, and take it off the treadmill if you get the opportunity. Do you have a GPS watch or app on your phone by any chance? Very useful (though the watches are expensive... not sure about phone apps)

Cory, that's a really impressive time for someone in that range... your legs must be fucking ripped dude!

Jack, the biggest difference I find that lifting helps with is in the shoulders... I used to feel them ache with every bounce when I ran, not any more. On a sidenote, did P90X chest and back for the first time in ages on Monday. Damn, I cant do as many push-ups or pull-ups as I used to... bit of a wake-up call there!

How is the real people food thing going Tritch? Its not easy, I know. Lately I've been using the running as an excuse to eat what I like. I've since been reminded of the saying "you cant outrun a bad diet". Try being as creative as you can with vegetables, and a blender is your friend for fruit and veg intake.

Tonecold, thank you for the top ten list in your journal! Quite inspiring, reminded me of some of my favorites. Except swimming. I will only do that if I'm drowning. and even then, I'm like "meh, I'm sure someone will jump in and save me!"

[Duckman]

Been a while since we posted in here.  I'm still doing DDP Yoga 3 times a week.  Really feeling and seeing the difference now.  Dropped a ton of weight and forming some serious muscles in place of all that nasty flab!  I've moved up to including the below the belt work out, which is all about the legs and lower body.  Lots of crunching and balance work, a total killer when I first did it but it's really good and I'm enjoying it.

Also going to start doing some more walking on the days I don't do DDP yoga.  When I move into my new place, which is hopefully soon, I've got a really nice area near me which has a canal, so I'm planning on working out a circuit from my new place, around the canal for a couple of miles and will do that as many nights a week as I can.

Still bringing the blood sugar and pressure down - the improvement in how I feel is remarkable now I'm getting both of those under control.  Sucks having to take medication every day, but I'm keeping in mind is reversable and temporary and that's keeping me positive.

Also still doing the low carb thing - which has really helped in losing weight.  I've cut out bread (expect on weekends when I have some toast in the mornings and maybe a sandwhich for lunch) and I haven't eaten any crisps, chips or much else.  Still have carbs with dinner once or twice a week, but sticking to thinks like cous-cous or rice.  Getting a bit sick of eating salads for lunch every day, but I'm looking at it more like fuel, as opposed to a pleasurable thing.  Just shovel it down and get on with my day!

Anyway, got a long way to go yet, but I'm still at it and really feeling/seeing the benefits of this lifestyle change.

Hope you guys are too and would be great to hear from you all!

Cheers.

[BamBamBunglow]

Good point Duckers, haven't posted this in a while! Good to hear you're doing well with it - keep it up

Currently I'm at week 6 of "not quite sugar free". I had some very nasty "I WILL FUCKING CUT YOU" moments, so I'm having a lunchtime yoghurt once a day to take the edge off the sugar cravings. Aside from that... nada except beer & mead, of course!

Carb intake has gone down significantly. No bread, no crisps, no chips. Alot of salad & greens + protein & cheese. Oh, lots of nuts too. will usually have brown rice once a week.

I've stopped doing DDP yoga - I genuinely just don't have the time at home to do it nowadays (yup, I don't even have half an hour, that's how busy my life is) - when things get less crazy I'm intending to get back into it. For now, I've fixed up my bike  and cycling to work & back every day. That's approximately a 6 mile round trip - not that much, but it's still 30 miles a week that I'm cycling. All adds up

As to weight, I've lost around a stone at this point - so down from about 20 to about 19. Currently on about a 44"-46" waist, my aim is to get to 38.

An odd statement here - but my torso is kinda like Mark Henry - I'm very barrel chested, making my moobs rather prrominent. This time, my weight seems to be coming off my "pectoral meat" instead of my waist - this is good, as a 52" chest and a 38" waist would give me the appearance of a carrot.

Just gonna keep plugging away at it

[BamBamBunglow]

Good job on the ~30 drop Jack! I know what you mean with the diet, alot of people (myself included in this) fail at a too-strict diet. Switching it to a more healthy eating regime with some nice stuff in there stops you resenting it and, ultimately, helps you succeed further. Keep it up dude

[Drama Queen]

I've been switching off all electronics by 8p.m.each night over the past week and in bed by nine, reading (actual print on paper) for a while (hour max). I end up sleeping like a log and get a solid 7-8 hours.

I believe I owe duckman a thanks for that, he posted that advice in this thread a while ago, and I'm happy to report it works.

[Drama Queen]

I'm tapering.

Basically for about a month I was running 22-24 miles on a Saturday morning, and a decent 5-8 on a Sunday as well as 2-3 every other day of the week.

And then the dreaded taper began... Down to 16 on Saturday, then 12, and then 8... And only a mile a day the rest of the week.... And I am bouncing off the fucking walls. God damn I'm so restless. But it all ends tomorrow with the twin cities marathon.

After that I'll be in recovery mode... Still not running as many miles but I'll be to tired to care haha. (and I won't be able to build back up to soon because I have the ny marathon four weeks later.

After that I'm probably just owing todo the bare minimum to keep both streaks going over the winter and concentrate more on strength and yoga.

[Drama Queen]

3:29:12

Despite completely blowing it from a strategy point of view. (I crossed the 13.1 mark two minutes ahead of my half marathon best!)

Yesterday I seemed to be suffering from some sort of emotional turmoil. Not sure if this is something else or if it's a marathon thing... This did not happen to me with Philly or NJ.

It could account for why I stormed out the gate at a pace I could not hope to maintain.

I got the night before/morning of nutrition part right... Took I enough to stay hydrated and have something to burn, but for the first time ever, did not have to relieve myself during the race.

I misjudged the weather.... Ended up having to discard my Philly shirt (my first marathon shirt!) six miles in... Hope it goes to somebody who needs it.

The hair and beard must be coming along nicely, at least three different people yelled "run Forrest run" at me during the course

I'm stuck in the airport now my flight back is delayed... Not that I'm in a hurry to spend three hours in a cramped plane tbh!

[Duckman]

Great work DQ.  How many of those do you run a year?  Do you just build up to one a year, or is it a year round thing?

After coming up with some excuses - moving house, injured foot etc.  I'm back on the health kick.  Cleaned up my diet over the past few weeks - although I was still on a low carb, no sugar diet to bring my blood sugar and blood pressure down.

Incorporated a brisk walk into my exercise now.  Managed to do a couple of miles a night for the first few nights.

Did my first DDP Yoga work out for a few weeks last night.  Blasted through fat burner and while it was a bit tough to get going, I was surprised how my body reacted and how familiar it felt.  Feeling good today, so going back for round 2 after work tonight.

It's tough to keep things going in the winter months - especially getting out walking or running after work when it's dark and cold - but I'm giving it another push to build on the good work I did in the early part of the year.

What about the rest of you guys?

[Drama Queen]

Thanks Sam. Minnesota was my third and I'm doing NY Nov 1st (shit... only eight days away). Technically all four have been within a calendar year. I don't have a set schedule, but like to at least get a spring one and an autumn one done each year.

I'm starting to seriously consider Philly on Nov 22! It's not to late to sign up... I'm debating with myself whether that's insane or whether I should just go for it.

It's been tough lately because September and October are the two months of the year when I referee soccer games. The running involved in that is way to much stop-and-start to consider it as adequate training for my marathons, yet it is running nonetheless. So basically, as it coincides with marathon season, Everything is running... I can't wait to get back to yoga and weights and become a bit more balanced from a fitness point of view.

It really IS tough to keep going through the colder and darker months. But even more important. I can't speak for others but for myself, this is the time of year I am more susceptible to mental and emotional issues. I rely a lot on the endorphins from working out.

Having said that, I believe getting more sleep is crucial this time of year also. Our bodies are crying out for rest, but sometimes I think I'm resting by watching Netflix or playing online, when really I should be turning everything off and sleeping more.

Good stuff with the lifting Jack, what a boost it is when somebody notices.

As for the dietary side of things, still strictly vegetarian, and now eggs are also off the menu. Dairy is the only difference between what I'm doing and outright veganism at this point. Though the reasons for this are not all health-based.

[Duckman]

Hey DQ, just with you mentioning about feeling particular bad in the winter months, when it comes to your mental health, you could be suffering something my Dad has - Seasonal Affective Disorder.

While this article talks about it being more prevalent in women (mainly because men normally don't seek help for mental health issues, or self medicate) this might be an interesting read for you:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-health/11951327/SAD-Seasonal-Affective-Disorder-How-it-affects-women.html

I know when my Dad got a SAD lamp during the winter months, it really helped improve his over all mood and well being.

[Dorling]

As I'm up at maritime college and only have myself to cater for, for the last couple of weeks and until christmas I had made a lot of changes to my diet. I have a lot of friends that are gluten or lacto free for various reasons and they all rave about how good it makes them feel, so for for now and until christmas I am:

- avoiding lactose so eating lactose free cheese and using almond milk (which is delicious)
- avoiding most wheat and gluten (but I love my Weetabix in the morning so that stays)
- not eating meat (and have enjoyed a lot of vegetarian alternatives to my favourite meals)

So far I've lost a couple of pounds with minimal exercise and I've noticed that I can maintain alertness in class more and I have been completely headache free for weeks (I have in the past had problems with headaches and even migraines (that got really bad at one point). In general I feel pretty energised, find it easy to get up and go about my business, like the food I eat and all in all am happy with how it's going.