Suffering from mirroritis, going to the gym

[platgof]

The holidays have not been good to me. I gained several pounds, many several pounds, and have had enough. Starting to add more salads to the diet and joined the local Planet Fitness to bring the weight down and get back in shape. I am also doing this to improve my strength on the golf course as my iron game has been suffering a lot lately. With the cold weather I figure this is the perfect time to get in shape and add some oxygen and muscle to the golf game.

[elwhippy]

Salad? Is that new invention? 

[j.b.newton]

1 hour ago, elwhippy said:

Salad? Is that new invention? 

I thought it was a typo and he meant "SALUD"...

[Pepperturbo]

2 hours ago, platgof said:

The holidays have not been good to me. I gained several pounds, many several pounds, and have had enough. Starting to add more salads to the diet and joined the local Planet Fitness to bring the weight down and get back in shape. I am also doing this to improve my strength on the golf course as my iron game has been suffering a lot lately. With the cold weather I figure this is the perfect time to get in shape and add some oxygen and muscle to the golf game.

I am glad the holidays been good to your eating habits.  But damn, you gotta not use big words, just say the looking glass pondo. LOL

[jordan2240]

Just keep in mind that the key to losing weight is the eating, though doing some weight work in the gym has other benefits.

[platgof]

26 minutes ago, jordan2240 said:

Just keep in mind that the key to losing weight is the eating, though doing some weight work in the gym has other benefits.

I am working out to lesson chances of getting sick all the time. Plus, if it helps the golf game, which I know it will, it is worth it. My friends are going too, so that really helps as we can encourage each other. It only costs $99 a year for membership, less than a new club, what a bargain!

[naval2006]

19 hours ago, platgof said:

The holidays have not been good to me. I gained several pounds, many several pounds, and have had enough. Starting to add more salads to the diet and joined the local Planet Fitness to bring the weight down and get back in shape. I am also doing this to improve my strength on the golf course as my iron game has been suffering a lot lately. With the cold weather I figure this is the perfect time to get in shape and add some oxygen and muscle to the golf game.

The other day I played with a friend I don't see often.  I always tell him he started hitting it really long in his 30's.  He has played since he was a kid but took it seriously later in life.  He explained to me that his distance increased so much after he began going to the gym to work on stretching and core strength.  During 2021 lockdown he stopped going altogether and he says he no longer feels as strong as in his peak.

[bluedot]

14 hours ago, jordan2240 said:

Just keep in mind that the key to losing weight is the eating, though doing some weight work in the gym has other benefits.

100% correct. 
 

You can sit down to a plate of pasta, add some alcohol and dessert, and consume more calories than you could ever work off in the weight room.  If you haven’t, consider using a calorie tracker like MyFitnessPal; it can help.

 

A good diet (NOT “dieting!”) and portion control are the key to losing weight and/or maintaining a proper weight.  Exercise helps, for sure, but you can’t exercise your way to your correct weight.

Edited January 27, 2023 by bluedot

[Mitchell]

Rooting for you, as others have stated- can’t out train a poor diet. At same time, you will still end up with a “bad” meal during week. The point is to limit amount of those calories and only splurge for said meal in moderation with something that may crave as a small reward for sticking to your program. As you get accustomed to a lifestyle change, you will definitely find a reduction or possible elimination of stuff that is not nutritionally beneficial.

Edited January 27, 2023 by nochrome

[jordan2240]

18 hours ago, platgof said:

I am working out to lesson chances of getting sick all the time. Plus, if it helps the golf game, which I know it will, it is worth it. My friends are going too, so that really helps as we can encourage each other. It only costs $99 a year for membership, less than a new club, what a bargain!

Oh yeah, you definitely benefit from working out with resistance.  Hopefully no one inferred I was against such.  I hit the gym 3 times a week myself to do both weights and some cardio, and I do them with enough intensity to struggle a bit and have to shower afterward.  But the gut will still start to hide my feet if I get lax on the nutrition.

[PhillipG78]

Former collegiate strength coach here I would definitely recommend this program

 

https://theprehabguys.com/program-golf-prehab/

[TiScape]

On 1/26/2023 at 9:28 AM, platgof said:

The holidays have not been good to me. I gained several pounds, many several pounds, and have had enough. Starting to add more salads to the diet and joined the local Planet Fitness to bring the weight down and get back in shape. I am also doing this to improve my strength on the golf course as my iron game has been suffering a lot lately. With the cold weather I figure this is the perfect time to get in shape and add some oxygen and muscle to the golf game.

Good for you! Be careful not to set off the ‘Lunk alarm’!

[platgof]

6 hours ago, TiScape said:

Good for you! Be careful not to set off the ‘Lunk alarm’!

I'm the casual gym user, no grunting, just panting.

[platgof]

My buddies are killing it on the tread mill, not me. I don't need to impress anyone right now, just looking for more energy for this tired old body. I see others there at my age, doing the same thing. I am starting to feel the soreness now, but that will be fine. 

[againstthegrain]

After cracking my pelvis skiing in April of 2021 I was couch-bound for 2 months and ate way too much.  Needless to say I gained a lot of weight and lost muscle too.  I started going back to the gym July, 2021 and have worked hard since.  My overall fitness is better and strength is back but I'm still only 80% of the way there wrt to weight. And the last pounds are the hardest ones to get rid of especially as we get up in years as I am.  

 

Recently I've decided to improve my diet by eliminating white processed carbs and sweets, making substitutions such as brown rice for white, for instance.  Another goal is making half the lunch and dinner plates vegetables.  While all the focus has been on food resulting in me eating more of the "good stuff" these past few weeks.  LOL  So today I've got the calorie counter and food scale out recording every calorie.  The calorie counting is a crutch to use on the way to re-educating myself.  I really hate this part, but I'm going to do it. 

 

My advice is you can do it, but give yourself some time.  Work hard, do something every day, no matter how small, and build a lasting fitness and eating pattern that doesn't leave you in the same boat this time next year.  

 

https://caloriecontrol.org/healthy-weight-tool-kit/food-calorie-calculator/?

 

My old trainer has subscription plan for those that may need some inspiration.

 

www.50for50.fit 

Edited January 28, 2023 by againstthegrain

[Krt22]

Just extend your irons another 1/2"

[pgdean]

On 1/27/2023 at 8:12 AM, bluedot said:

100% correct. 
 

You can sit down to a plate of pasta, add some alcohol and dessert, and consume more calories than you could ever work off in the weight room.  If you haven’t, consider using a calorie tracker like MyFitnessPal; it can help.

 

A good diet (NOT “dieting!”) and portion control are the key to losing weight and/or maintaining a proper weight.  Exercise helps, for sure, but you can’t exercise your way to your correct weight.

Very true. Exercise is great for many things, but losing weight is not one of them. 

[platgof]

So far, I am going to the gym regularly. The comment about losing weight at the gym seems true, but changing fat for muscle is okay with me. I did not know how weak I was until the gym. No wonder I struggle with the clubs. I worked through a sore right knee, and now it is getting better. I use a lot of machines there, so a very good workout. I can already feel the difference as I have more energy. Time will tell on the club distance. Since retiring I was gaining a lot of weight due to inactivity. The gym is awesome where I go, it is very large, and bad weather is no problem at all. I have weak hips and am doing three exercises to help with it. My biggest problem is my right shoulder/arm, as it is torn somehow. Hope to work it out.

[betarhoalphadelta]

On 1/27/2023 at 5:12 AM, bluedot said:

100% correct. 
 

You can sit down to a plate of pasta, add some alcohol and dessert, and consume more calories than you could ever work off in the weight room.  If you haven’t, consider using a calorie tracker like MyFitnessPal; it can help.

 

A good diet (NOT “dieting!”) and portion control are the key to losing weight and/or maintaining a proper weight.  Exercise helps, for sure, but you can’t exercise your way to your correct weight.

 

On 1/27/2023 at 5:46 AM, nochrome said:

Rooting for you, as others have stated- can’t out train a poor diet. At same time, you will still end up with a “bad” meal during week. The point is to limit amount of those calories and only splurge for said meal in moderation with something that may crave as a small reward for sticking to your program. As you get accustomed to a lifestyle change, you will definitely find a reduction or possible elimination of stuff that is not nutritionally beneficial.

 

I get this, but according to my Garmin watch with HR tracking and app, I've burned 4,318 calories today. 1,853 resting and 2,465 active. At ~4:30 PM. Granted, that was a 90 minute endurance ride on the Peloton, a 20 minute chest & back strength workout, and a 10 minute stretch. My HR is running a little hot today as a result. I'm a big guy so my BMR is probably 2700 calories a day, but with adding exercise I can dramatically increase the daily number. 

 

I've lost a little over 15 lbs since getting the bike in June 2022. I've done this with absolutely no attention paid to the diet. In fact, I'm probably eating more carbs than I was before. 

 

The key to me is that if you're at a stasis weight, neither gaining or losing, adding exercise without changing your calorie intake will result in weight loss. The problem is that most people who don't focus on the eating side of it naturally increase their calorie intake to match what they're putting out, because, well, we're freakin' hungrier! But if you can avoid that (or in my case, add calories but make that number added fewer than the new calories being burned), you can bring that weight down. 

[bluedot]

12 hours ago, betarhoalphadelta said:

 

 

I get this, but according to my Garmin watch with HR tracking and app, I've burned 4,318 calories today. 1,853 resting and 2,465 active. At ~4:30 PM. Granted, that was a 90 minute endurance ride on the Peloton, a 20 minute chest & back strength workout, and a 10 minute stretch. My HR is running a little hot today as a result. I'm a big guy so my BMR is probably 2700 calories a day, but with adding exercise I can dramatically increase the daily number. 

 

I've lost a little over 15 lbs since getting the bike in June 2022. I've done this with absolutely no attention paid to the diet. In fact, I'm probably eating more carbs than I was before. 

 

The key to me is that if you're at a stasis weight, neither gaining or losing, adding exercise without changing your calorie intake will result in weight loss. The problem is that most people who don't focus on the eating side of it naturally increase their calorie intake to match what they're putting out, because, well, we're freakin' hungrier! But if you can avoid that (or in my case, add calories but make that number added fewer than the new calories being burned), you can bring that weight down. 

First of all, sincere congratulations on both the weight and fitness, and also for the dedication to your workouts. Regardless of what you weighed when you started in June of 2022, it’s impressive stuff.

 

The OP was talking about going to the weight room; I think a 90 minute endurance ride on a Peloton, PLUS a workout, exceed that by a good bit.  Your total routine, including stretching, was at least 2 hours.  That isn’t an ordinary routine that most people will be able to replicate, for several reasons.

 

IN GENERAL, I’ll stand by what I said, allowing for some rare exceptions like yourself.  The vast majority of people just aren’t able to overcome bad eating habits thru exercise alone.  I’ve been working out religiously for nearly 50 years; I was a runner until two years ago, and at age 70 I still walk 18 holes 3 or 4 times a week. I’m 6-1 and weigh 180 right now, and I’ve never been above 190 in my life.
 

That said, if I pick up a few lbs and/or need to drop a few, it’s NEVER about exercise or the lack of; I’ve got to cut down on bread, sugar, and alcohol.  I think that is pretty typical of most people, and I think most people get FAR less exercise than either you or I, which ratchets up the importance of their eating habits.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

6 hours ago, bluedot said:

First of all, sincere congratulations on both the weight and fitness, and also for the dedication to your workouts. Regardless of what you weighed when you started in June of 2022, it’s impressive stuff.

 

The OP was talking about going to the weight room; I think a 90 minute endurance ride on a Peloton, PLUS a workout, exceed that by a good bit.  Your total routine, including stretching, was at least 2 hours.  That isn’t an ordinary routine that most people will be able to replicate, for several reasons.

 

IN GENERAL, I’ll stand by what I said, allowing for some rare exceptions like yourself.  The vast majority of people just aren’t able to overcome bad eating habits thru exercise alone.  I’ve been working out religiously for nearly 50 years; I was a runner until two years ago, and at age 70 I still walk 18 holes 3 or 4 times a week. I’m 6-1 and weigh 180 right now, and I’ve never been above 190 in my life.
 

That said, if I pick up a few lbs and/or need to drop a few, it’s NEVER about exercise or the lack of; I’ve got to cut down on bread, sugar, and alcohol.  I think that is pretty typical of most people, and I think most people get FAR less exercise than either you or I, which ratchets up the importance of their eating habits.

 

 

Totally with you. And to be fair, yesterday was a severe outlier in my workout regimen. My BMR is 2700 calories and I'm probably averaging total of 3300-3500/day burn depending on the day. I don't have 5K burn days very often lol!

 

My point was that I hear the old "you can't outrun your fork" all the time, and it's true. You can ALWAYS find a way to eat more than you burn. But that doesn't mean that you need to change your eating habits to lose weight. In fact if you add exercise and DON'T change your diet, you'll lose weight. 

 

I.e. if you're holding at a constant weight w/o exercise, your calories are pretty much balanced. If you change your habits to add, say, 500 calories of burn per day without changing your diet, you'll start losing weight. You've increased your burn and haven't changed your intake. Estimated 1lb down per week at a 500 cal/day deficit. 

 

The issue is that whole "without changing your diet" bit is REALLY hard if you're not actually paying VERY close attention to your diet. Slight increase in portion size for one meal? An extra snack because you're hungry and "because I earned it on that workout", and maybe an extra beer or glass of wine with dinner? Yeah, you just added 500 (or more) calories to your day. You didn't THINK you were changing your diet for the worse, but you were. 

 

So I totally agree with you that for a lot of people, just focusing on the output doesn't work well. I've actually used MyFitnessPal in the past when I was trying to lose weight via calorie counting, and successfully. I'd track everything I ate, knew my BMR, and was able to estimate the calorie impact of what little fitness I was doing at the time. I actually lost weight during that effort significantly more quickly than what I'm doing now and focusing only on the exercise, because I *know* I'm compensating for all that extra workout by adding calories. But I'm still at a net burn. If my weight plateaus and I reach a point where focusing on the exercise stops working, I'm going to have to watch things closer. 

 

So yeah, I can't outrun my fork. But I can live my life pretty normally, diet-wise, if I simply try to not let my fork outrun me.

[platgof]

Whether I lose weight or not, the exercise sure feels good on my body. I am more in this for strength playing golf than anything else. As a senior I have lost a lot of strength since retiring, I can really tell it at the gym. I am not doing the heavy stuff, not interested. I start out with a 25-minute run on the tread mill, then shoulder stretches, hip stretches, and the 30 minute weight machines at Planet Fitness. The stationary bike comes next, 4 miles. After that the tread mill again for another 25 minutes, and I am pooped. That takes about 2 hours for me. I will not hit the gym the day I play 18. 

[RmoorePE]

I listen to a lot of fitness and human biology/phsychology type podcsts. Huberman Lab, etc. Working out with friends after retirement is like the #1 way to extend your life. I listened to a study about it a couple of weeks ago and the Phd talking about it stated that exercise particularly with a group of friends is shown in studies as the best thing you can do for yourself, especially as your work/social life winds down after retirement.

So good for you!

[againstthegrain]

14 minutes ago, RmoorePE said:

I listen to a lot of fitness and human biology/phsychology type podcsts. Huberman Lab, etc. Working out with friends after retirement is like the #1 way to extend your life. I listened to a study about it a couple of weeks ago and the Phd talking about it stated that exercise particularly with a group of friends is shown in studies as the best thing you can do for yourself, especially as your work/social life winds down after retirement.

So good for you!

 

As we enter geezerhood eventually we may all come to same conclusion that working out is the #1 way to extend your life and I might add enjoy all that physical movement has to offer.  Until we come to that point working out to lose weight, gain strength, hit the ball the further, etc, etc will have to provide the motivation.  

[getitdaily]

Good for you. Just don't lift too heavy at PF or you'll get kicked out...

 

PF motto "workout but not too much". Be sure to enjoy pizza night there too...

[platgof]

On 2/3/2023 at 6:18 PM, getitdaily said:

Good for you. Just don't lift too heavy at PF or you'll get kicked out...

 

PF motto "workout but not too much". Be sure to enjoy pizza night there too...

What!!! No pizza night that I know of! Must be another package?

Edited February 5, 2023 by platgof
forgot something

[againstthegrain]

On 2/3/2023 at 2:21 PM, platgof said:

Whether I lose weight or not, the exercise sure feels good on my body. I am more in this for strength playing golf than anything else. As a senior I have lost a lot of strength since retiring, I can really tell it at the gym. I am not doing the heavy stuff, not interested. I start out with a 25-minute run on the tread mill, then shoulder stretches, hip stretches, and the 30 minute weight machines at Planet Fitness. The stationary bike comes next, 4 miles. After that the tread mill again for another 25 minutes, and I am pooped. That takes about 2 hours for me. I will not hit the gym the day I play 18. 

TPI on gaining strength

 

 

[ezra76]

Keep at it. Muscle eats fat. I just hit a 350lb. deadlift and 102.5 mph swing speed. Up from 305 and 96mph. 2 months ago. Goblet squats are king for the swing. 

 

I went from 193 to 187 to start with lighter weight workouts and more cardio but then started doing heavier workouts and upping the calories. Back to 191-192 but can see the muscle building. 

 

I don't have the greatest/strictest diet but in order to "reward" myself with a big tasty meal I have to go destruct some muscle fibers. After my deadlifts I went to Chili's for the full rack, subbed spanish rice for fries and a side of broccoli. 

Edited February 6, 2023 by ezra76

[johnrobison]

On 2/3/2023 at 1:21 PM, platgof said:

Whether I lose weight or not, the exercise sure feels good on my body. I am more in this for strength playing golf than anything else. As a senior I have lost a lot of strength since retiring, I can really tell it at the gym. I am not doing the heavy stuff, not interested. I start out with a 25-minute run on the tread mill, then shoulder stretches, hip stretches, and the 30 minute weight machines at Planet Fitness. The stationary bike comes next, 4 miles. After that the tread mill again for another 25 minutes, and I am pooped. That takes about 2 hours for me. I will not hit the gym the day I play 18. 

If it's strength that you're in it for, I strongly encourage doing heavy work. Especially as we age, building and maintaining muscle and bone density should be a priority. 

[MK7Golf21]

55 minutes ago, johnrobison said:

If it's strength that you're in it for, I strongly encourage doing heavy work. Especially as we age, building and maintaining muscle and bone density should be a priority. 

 

I think as you age you should be more careful against using heavy work. Just because you are "working out" doesn't make everything beneficial. Granted you get stronger but you are also putting wear and tear on the body when you go heavy, especially on joints, muscle, tendons, ligaments etc. and they wear down which is how injuries happen. As you get older need find a balance of not putting too much wear and tear which can cause injury and keeping muscle healthy and strong, it doesn't require heavy stuff for this.