Getting in Shape for 2020 - What are you guys doing??

[GoGoErky]

IF doesn’t guarantee a deficit, one can over eat in an 8 hour window or even a 4 hour one.

IF is useful for those who are in a deficit to not feel as hungry thru the day due to reduced calories.

[PureSlice]

So your saying that you eat the same total calories during one meal as you would during an entire day over multiple meals because a caloric deficit matters "to an extent". That's really impressive, what are your total calories for a day?

[Phil_I_am 84]

Not necessarily. I don't really calorie count per say. I did at first but my diet doesn't change all that much each day so its easy to track without getting crazy about #s. Sometimes well find a specific recipe to make, one of our favorites is called egg roll in a bowl. Here is an example of my meals:

meal 1: 3 pieces of bacon(nitrate/sugar free), 4 pasture raised eggs, 1-2 cups of salad(kale mix) w/homemade bleu cheese dressing, a few ounces of non processed cheese, a handful of some seeds or pistachios.

meal 2: Protein(salmon, ribeye, chicken, shellfish), about 4 cups salad w/dressing, some olives, some cheese, maybe some avacado or homemade guac. Zevia soda to drink. Sometimes a keto approved dessert.

Morning: black coffee w/tbsp of MCT oil.

water w/ lite salt and stevia sweetener during the day

krill oil pills, multi viatmin

This adds up to around 1700 calories.

[Phil_I_am 84]

of course one can overeat during the eating window. but thats not the point of IF. IF is useful for anyone. Our bodies are not meant to process food constantly throughout the day. Then you are never burning your natural sugars and fats which for most, causes weight gain

[GoGoErky]

We definitely aren’t going to agree. IF is a tool for consuming calories. Yes there are health benefits like mental acuity, and such and there’s plenty of info out there showing that eating 3 meals a day or 6 doesn’t affect weight loss, maintenance or gain.

At the end of the day calories in vs calories out determines if one gains, loses or maintains weight. Just like there’s no such thing as clean or dirty food but rather nutrient dense foods vs non nutrient dense foods. Eating more nutrient dense foods compared to processed foods is obviously going to be better for people and there are studies that show those who utilize a flexible eating approach to some other form of diet tend to do better with weight loss and keeping it off.

[PureSlice]

My goals for this year are to regain strength I had when working out many years ago. Like many others I have gained fat and weight over the years. Currently I am 31 years old, 6 foot and about 245 lbs. I am not as concerned with weight as I am with strength at this point but the focus will change later in the year. I began the starting strength program in late December and my Squat, Deadlift and Bench 1RM total is roughly 900 pounds with a goal of being over 1k before I begin to cut. This may change as I approach my goal depending on how I feel and how my body looks. This goal has nothing to do with golf.

In addition to my strength training I am actively working to increase flexibility and mobility in my hips, back and shoulders. This goal is for overall health and golf specific.

[PureSlice]

You are essentially eating the amount of calories a 30 year old, 130 pound 5' 5" women with light activity would need to maintain or even drop some weight. Your weight loss success has everything to do with calories in vs out and to be completely honest are eating at an extreme deficit. Your best chances for success would be to eat at a smaller deficit to get to your goal weight so you can more easily adjust to maintenance level without exceeding it.

[GoGoErky]

Yup. At those calories weight loss is going to hit a stagnant point and then would end up having to be in poverty macros to hope to continue.

[Krt22]

Not "meant to" and not able to are two different things. If you are in a calorie deficit, your body has no choice but to tap into fat and glycogen stores.

[Dan Drake]

Diet changes - My wife and I eat healthy/very healthy, as a regular rule. But this year I'm going to try a few different diets and see if I can find one that makes my body operate better. First up is a largely plant-based diet. I'm on day 15 with a few pounds lost and I definitely don't feel quite as sluggish as before, although that could be quite a few other factors as well. Time will tell, but I want to feel better first, live longer second, and lose weight third.

Fitness changes - Continuing with the mobility work that I started last year. Lots (daily) of foam rolling, lacrosse ball work, and working on range of motion. If I feel stiff as a board, no other fitness work will be attempted, so this has to be fitness priority #1. Priority #2 will be more speed work, just like last year. MPH gainz are fun! #3 will be actually getting my lazy rear end to do something, anything really, that constitutes an actual WORK-out. We'll see how that goes.

Additional changes - More meditation as well as more dedication to stoic philosophy. I assign far too much negative emotion to things that are so close to the absolute outer limit of my control that they might as well be uncontrollable. Time to simply (lol) adjust what reaction I assign to them to one that lessens my self flagellation and stress levels.

So year, simply put, I just want to feel better, mentally and physically, in 2020.

(And hit it farther as well, you know, in case the swing speed genie is actually reading this thread)

[Phil_I_am 84]

Who would of thought all these professional golfers would hijack a thread disguised as Nutritionists.

[Phil_I_am 84]

I am 35, 5'11 and 283 lbs and sit at my home office desk all day. I have a slow enough metabolism and carrying around enough calories of fat to supplement any "calorie deficiency" you think I have. Once I start increasing physical activity I am sure my calories will increase some. If I finished one of my meals and wasn't satisfied I could have easily eaten more. I'm not starving myself.

[GoGoErky]

One doesn’t have to be a swing coach to understand the golf swing and one doesn’t have to be a nutritionist to understand how caloric intake impacts weight management. There are plenty of guys here who lift and train and track calories/macros and like golf have read up on nutrition and training.

we are also trying to help those looking to make changes be successful with their goals. There’s a lot of old school mentality around the web and in this thread and some mis information as well. Just like in any thread there are those with knowledge who try to help and steer things with correct info.

I wish you success with your goals.

[meliason_14]

Trying lots of core work and stretching. Less heavy lifting. Has been helping swing speed, aches and pains etc.

[meliason_14]

We've also notice the older members at our club who walk are healthier. Riders not so much...

[PureSlice]

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[PureSlice]

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[mantan]

Fun thread. Just breezing through, I saw all the January hits, low carb, 5x5, Pelaton, IF, counting calories, new gym memberships, lol.

Just like golf swings, there are many ways to lose weight, all of them effective. And people are quick to dismiss one method they don't know about for something that's worked for them. I'm in the same weight loss boat as many of you. I need to drop about 20-25 lbs by spring. The good news is I've been down this road 3 times in the the last 12 years and did it lots of different ways.

The first time I did Atkins. That was 12 years ago before Keto made low carb cool and too many people thought a low carb diet was 'dangerous'. The science of ketosis is undeniable. I stuck to it religiously and the weight melted off in 3 months. I kept it off or a few years by just watching carbs. Eventually old habits came back and the weight slowly crept back on.

The second time I decided to do the old age counting calories. Stay at a calorie deficit each day and eat fairly clean. It worked. It took a bit longer, but it was nice to have a wider menu than low carb. The hardest part was staying t a defecit when eating out. Restaurant portions in the US are WAY too big. I decided to exercise more to give myself more calories to each. Walking turned into C25K. That turned into running 3, 4, then 5 days a week and doing half marathons. The weight flew stayed off...and I could eat a wide menu.

A job change and some family changes led to me to stop running. Unfortunately the weight came back. A couple of years ago I tried IF. Started with a 16:8 and then went to 18:6. Lost the winter weight fairly steadily.

And again...I let it creep on. Currently doing OMAD (one meal a day) fasting and back to low carb. The one thing I love about low carb is once your body is that controlling your insulin controls your hunger. I eat one low carb meal for dinner on weekdays and do an 18:6 on weekend. The weight is coming off again. You'd think I'd learn to stop yo-yoing.

But it's finding what works for you and sticking with it....

 

 

[Bingone]

And that last sentence is exactly it. In my experience, if you have to wait for an arbitrary date in the calendar to make a lifestyle change, then it won't stick.

Stick to the basics of healthy eating - 5 fruit and veg, avoid red meats and don't eat too much cake always hold true, and doing 30 minutes of exercise a day is always a good start. Find something you enjoy doing physically and try and prioritise it in your life - could be weights, could be cycling, could be rock climbing - you are far better doing something than nothing.

 

[Krt22]

Avoid red meats is as misguided as keep your head down

[Bingone]

Fair enough - maybe I should have said everything in moderation. I don't think that there is any settled science either way :)

[GoGoErky]

The vast majority of experts I have seen talk/write on the subject are in the calories in vs calories out of as something say energy in vs energy out and eating in a deficit will lose weight, eating in a surplus will gain weight and obviously eating at a maintenance will maintain weight.

Theres definitely still the debate on keto vs non keto, plant based diets and any other diets that are being pushed by celebs and fitspos.

[InZeroGravity]

 

Be careful with those. Some of them have surprisingly high amounts of sugar even though they don't taste particularly sweet. http://sweetspotnutrition.ca/san_pellegrino/

[Warrior42111]

I usually go with Polar from my old stomping grounds in Worcester (bonus points to those who can pronounce that correctly)

[InZeroGravity]

My other summer big activity is cycling. For me nothing beats getting out for a few hours on my own on my bike, and I am way "better" at cycling than golf. Being in a northern clime, weather dictates indoor training for at least half the year. I have a dedicated bike set up on a smart trainer (power measurement and resistance control through an app) and use a structured training app called TrainerRoad. Unlike other platforms (i.e. Peleton or Zwift), it is strictly a workout app, no social, no music, no videos, no gamification. Boring, hell yes, but picking the right movies or TV series to stream is crucial and it is focused on structured training to make one a faster cyclist. Using TrainerRoad, I increased my functional power output from ~150W in an untrained state to over 260W and along with conscious monitoring of diet, dropped from 172lbs to 150-152ish, which while skinny, is best suited for cycling.

[Phil_I_am 84]

I've been liking Zevia which is sweetened only with Stevia extract. Haven't tried all of the flavors, but I enjoy the ginger ale and root beer. Whole foods seems to carry to most variety aside from buying online.

[bortass]

Wister.... At least if you are talking about the city near Boston.

Back on topic: There are a lot of good points and opinions in this thread. I believe an important one that's been mentioned is there is no silver bullet. There are some 'absolutes' like you need a deficit to lose weight but the best way to get fit or lose weight, which isn't always the same thing, are varied and probably have more to do with the individual than anything else. I'm not sure how I'd handle a plant based diet for example. I like my beef. I did a low carb diet, South Beach, back in 2006, and it was one of the easiest ways I ever lost weight but I let it slip. My personal unicorn is finding a mix of exercise and eating that is healthy and I can stick with long term. I've yet to find that unfortunately.

[Warrior42111]

Points to you !

To you main point yeah it is difficult to find what works and sticks for a person. IMO when finding a diet it's good one or two months in to do a maintenance check. By that I mean can you follow the diet and up the calories correctly and be able to hold your weight. If not like many of us you'll end up yo-yoing . One thing that I have done and seems to be working, is really tracking my food and BMR. this way I can completely mix up food you eat and still drop/maintain. Doing this I found some surprises. I drank coffee with those half & half little containers each was 60 cal, 2 per cur and 3 cups per day is the equivalent of 3/4lb a week. Going to black was easy and literally didn't starve myself in any way

[GoGoErky]

Knowing BMR/tdee and tracking how many calories you consume goes along way.

Using some form of flexible eating so that one can enjoy going out to dinner or their favorite snack works for many.

[bortass]

@GoGoErky Flexible eating is very helpful, at least I know it help me in the past. It's not the end of the world if you have a drink or eat some cake, if it's in your allowance. Knowing roughly how many calories a day you have to play with to get to where you want to go and then looking at one's eating habits can really shed some light on things too. @Warrior42111 has a great example with his coffee. Something seemingly small adds up in the course of a week.
I used to burn close to 3K calories a day a couple years ago because I played volleyball for a few hours 2 - 3 times a week and also went to the gym. I don't do either anymore but I never changed my eating habits, so I blimped up. It's embarrassing how I feel about my clothes and how I look, but it's hasn't been enough for me to pull my head outta my @ss and do anything about it.