3-4 months to get in shape.

[Big Gulp]

Did you miss the "Hey, sleep and nutrition, what a novel idea!" post by Lakov?  Did you miss the fact that more people are obese in the U.S. than not..? Let me rephrase: were you born an asshole or do you practice at it?

I weep for the obese people.  We had a way of taking care of them in the Army, and it we called it "The Fat Man's Farm".  Trust me when I say that you did not want to get sent there.  The drill sergeants that ran it weren't big on sleep, or easing your way into a fitness regimen.

So my advice if you're tubby is to get off your fat ass and run.  Yes, I know it will be unpleasant.  Get over it.

[SnakeCharmer]

What the fuck is wrong with some of you people?  A guy comes here to ask for help in attaining a goal and you toss out abuse. 

Christ, are you all really that insecure? 

Dude.  F13.  You seriously expected something else?

[rk47]

Just wondering if it's ok to have a small meal (cup of soup or bread w/ jam) before ending the day? I've had problems adapting to 'no meals after 8' rule since the pain is quite noticable.

[apocrypha]

Getting fit is like dieting and giving up smoking - you need to find a way that works for *you*.

What works for other people may work for you, it may not. You know what you can put up with and what you can't. Example - I hate gyms. Hate hate hate. Gym workouts bore me to tears. But I can use a cross-trainer in front of my own TV no problems.

Given the time pressure you're under you might need to push yourself a bit to overcome reluctances, for instance if you detest running, well, you're gonna have to bite that bullet given the entrance test requirements, but find a way to run that you hate the least. Whether that means running through a nice park with a mp3 player on or running in a gym being encouraged by an instructor, whatever, but find what causes you the least mental anguish.

[Nebu]

The reason that you don't want to eat before bed is that you will undergo your greatest conversion of food calories to stored fat while sleeping.  It's best, for weight loss, to go to sleep with no food in your stomach.  

Here's something I used to tell patients:  If you feel hungry, drink a glass of water.  If you still feel hungry, then eat something small until those feelings diminish.  Believe it or not, many people confuse the thirst and hunger sensations.  They also haven't learned to eat until you stop feeling hungry rather than eating until you feel full.  The first is the better way to go and can often be accomplished by eating high bulk, lower calorie foods (veggies or whole grains).  

Hope that helps.  

[Logik]

Just wondering if it's ok to have a small meal (cup of soup or bread w/ jam) before ending the day? I've had problems adapting to 'no meals after 8' rule since the pain is quite noticable.

If you're still hungry at night, I would stick to Nebu's advice and look to a glass of water.  I might follow that up with a few pieces of celery or carrots just to take up some space.

[Lakov_Sanite]

BTW stone mountain in Georgia is a great hike both going up and down. Kicked my ass in some really steep parts but it was really fun with all the different changes in terrain and a great view.

[rk47]

The reason that you don't want to eat before bed is that you will undergo your greatest conversion of food calories to stored fat while sleeping.  It's best, for weight loss, to go to sleep with no food in your stomach.  

Here's something I used to tell patients:  If you feel hungry, drink a glass of water.  If you still feel hungry, then eat something small until those feelings diminish.  Believe it or not, many people confuse the thirst and hunger sensations.  They also haven't learned to eat until you stop feeling hungry rather than eating until you feel full.  The first is the better way to go and can often be accomplished by eating high bulk, lower calorie foods (veggies or whole grains).  

Hope that helps.  

It's not just pain you see, I get really nauseous and suffer increasing headaches till i eat some bread at times.

[Nebu]

It's not just pain you see, I get really nauseous and suffer increasing headaches till i eat some bread at times.

See a physician.  You may be a diabetic. 

Humans (in good working order) can survive as many as 30 days without food.  A problem like you suggest means that you're suffering from an endocrine or metabolic disorder. 

[Sky]

I get a nice sugar crash if I eat a big bowl of cereal (maple shredded wheats) and then forget to eat lunch. I solve it by imbibing maple syrup, works every time! 

My fiancee gets horrified by this. Apparently I'm an elf.

[MrHat]

Nebu's advice regarding eating till you're no longer hungry is what helped me lose a ton of weight last year.

I was finding that 5-6 meals a day was working really well for me.  After a week of timing it (3 hours apart), I started finding that my body was naturally getting hungry every 2-3 hours anyways. 

Just eat enough till you don't feel those hunger pangs, and BOOM, you lose weight.

But God help you if one of your friends should own a bakery with her delicious fruit tarts....ugh.

[Lakov_Sanite]

Necro update!

So, just over two months...wow, I thought it was three!  First off let me thank everyone for their advice, some of it was invaluable.  Though the very first piece of advice should have been get an ipod(got a shuffle cheap) because treadmills irl like MMO's are painful without music.

It turns out that I didn't have three or four months to get in shape, I was contacted mid-july after having passed the background check to come in and take the physical. The bad news is at that point I wasn't quite ready but the good news is I was able to put my application on hold for up to a year if I needed it to get in shape.

Since I last posted here I've been going to the local gym in my apt complex 6 days a week no exceptions. I do 45min on the treadmill and elliptical, going as hard as I can then slow but not stopping then at home doing as many sit-ups, push-ups and curls(20lb, then 30lb dumb bells) as I could.  

I think I've pulled and sprained every part of my legs at some point but they've healed and I'm feeling a lot better, I've also been eating right(cut out all restaurant food but subway specials) and I'm down from 220lbs to 192-93

Now I can
-run a mile and a half in 14:29(I just sort of figured out how to breathe right in the last couple days)
-Do 29 sit ups in a minute(probably 35-40)
-Deadlift 70% of my weight(at first I read it as bench press....apparently there's a HUGE difference there)
-Reach two inches past my toes(surprisingly still not easy)

So, with all this I'm going to give the investigator a call next friday and tell them to re-activate me which will means I'll be taking the physical right after...

Wish me luck?

[K9]

That's great progress, well done! It sounds like you have put in the effort and it's paying off, I wish you good luck with your coming test.

[stray]

Hell yeah, that's awesome. Good luck!

[Tale]

Well done man. That is good progress and I bet you also feel better mentally for having done it.

I know what you mean about learning to breathe right. In climbing hills on a bicycle, out of the saddle, keeping up cadence, I've learned that my breathing is driven by exhalation, not inhalation. Each breath for me is about expelling carbon dioxide, then my lungs just suck fresh air in.

Good luck with the physical.

[Bunk]

I'll wish you good luck as well, and thanks for necro'ing this as I missed it the first time through.

I found Nebu's comment on the immune system really interesting, as I have always found that anytime I'd start up a new exercise regimine I'd usually end up catching a cold. I always assumed it was just due to exposing myself to a gym environment and everyone's germs.

So what's the simplest advice for boosting one's immune system before starting up a new routine? I'm seriously considering it, as I helped some friends push a car about 300 feet yesterday and nearly collapsed from the effort. Yay, office job!

[Cyrrex]

Protein, which a lot of people use as a supplement for muscle building, has been shown to boost immune system performance.  I don't know how much you need for you immune system, but experts recommend somewhere around 1 to 1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight per day.  So if you weigh 150 pounds, you would take between 150 and 225 grams per day.  You won't likely get that much via a normal diet, but shakes and/or protein bars will help you get there.  Be aware that there is an associated increase in cholesterol intake.

[Tale]

Also eat your greens and fruit, i.e. keep up a balanced diet. Eating fruit is also good before/during exercise because researchers say fructose (the sugar in fruit) is preferable to sucrose (standard sugar). See the old sporting standard of sucking on quarter oranges at half time. Cycling tip: bananas!

[Cyrrex]

Another great thing about fruit is that it tends to be very low density calories...i.e. you can eat a shitload of it without actually consuming a lot of calories.  Good for getting rid of the hungry feeling when you're trying to trim down.

[Nebu]

Eating fruit is also good before/during exercise because researchers say fructose (the sugar in fruit) is preferable to sucrose (standard sugar). See the old sporting standard of sucking on quarter oranges at half time. Cycling tip: bananas!

I can agree with this before exercise, but after exercise I would think that glucose is preferred.  You need the quick spike in blood glucose to minimize catabolism of muscle. 

[Lakov_Sanite]

Status report.

Sept 8th was my physical.

Weighing in at 190 with clothes and shoes(down from 220)

First up was bench pressing 70% of my weight(not dead lift as i thought)  138lbs was surprisingly easy and since I only had to do it once, was no big deal. However of the four people taking the test that day, the woman who was there was unable to complete it, very embarrassing situation.

After that is was the sit and reach. Two inches past your toes....though I'd been stretching, this was a lot harder than I'd thought. I hit the mark exactly but just barely. I could have taken off my shoes to help though, so not too bad I suppose.

Then it was the sit ups, 29 in one minute.  By far the easiest, since I am now doing 70 sit ups a night. So nothing eventful there, though since ive still got fat to work off, i think i started surprising the others there.

After all that we drove from the headquarters to a nearby school to use their track. Only three of the applicants were there, the lady having been disqualified. So myself at 29 years, an older man, perhaps 40 with a gut and a younger, buff asian kid.  The goal was doing a mile and a half in the afternoon sun in under 14:29 seconds, which was 6 laps around the track. 

This was actually much harder than I thought and by far the hardest thing about this test. Running outside in the sun is much MUCH harder than on a treadmill, to a degree I was not expecting. After 3 months, 45 min a day, 6 days a week on the gym though my muscles were ready enough. I kept pace with the younger asian guy most of the time, the older gent behind us.  At about the third and fifth lap I did have to slow, walk for 15sec and catch my breath but even after that, I was able to keep up with the asian kid since my strides were quicker overall.

In the end, turning the last corner i saw the finish and sprint the last quarter of the sixth lap. Irt wasn't a race but my mind said "fuck it, win this" and so i pushed myself hard.

In the end, I got a time of 13:13 and I passed the physical!


Afterwards it was a very stressful and intense question and answer session with four senior officers. Mostly about morals and ethics, I believe I did well but I won't know for a couple weeks if I go on to the next phase.  Until then, thanks for all the help!

[MrHat]

Congrats man.  Way to stick with it.

[slog]

Even if you don't get the job it sounds like this was a worthwhile experience.

[Ookii]

Can't wait for the rookie cop/training academy stories.

[Cheddar]

This was actually much harder than I thought and by far the hardest thing about this test. Running outside in the sun is much MUCH harder than on a treadmill, to a degree I was not expecting. After 3 months, 45 min a day, 6 days a week on the gym though my muscles were ready enough. I kept pace with the younger asian guy most of the time, the older gent behind us.  At about the third and fifth lap I did have to slow, walk for 15sec and catch my breath but even after that, I was able to keep up with the asian kid since my strides were quicker overall.

Running on a treadmill and running outside are two completely different things.  I am surprised no one mentioned this.

[bhodi]

It's one of those things that you "know", like the fact that every year or two, god decends in texas and destroys a few thousand cars and building windows with hail.

That's terrific, I also can't wait for the cop stories.

[Nebu]

Running on a treadmill and running outside are two completely different things.  I am surprised no one mentioned this.

I find running on a treadmill much harder than running outdoors.  I think boredom plays a large role. 

[Mosesandstick]

Good going lakov!

I also find running on a treadmill harder, though that may be because I have to keep pace; when outside I have natural breaks at traffic lights, whenever a car tries to run  me over, etc.

[Arnold]

Running on a treadmill and running outside are two completely different things.  I am surprised no one mentioned this.

I find running on a treadmill much harder than running outdoors.  I think boredom plays a large role. 

Why anyone would pay a gym membership to run on a treadmill is beyond me.  I could see it if the streets were frozen or something, but running outside is more enjoyable and free.

[Lakov_Sanite]

Running on a treadmill and running outside are two completely different things.  I am surprised no one mentioned this.

I find running on a treadmill much harder than running outdoors.  I think boredom plays a large role. 

Why anyone would pay a gym membership to run on a treadmill is beyond me.  I could see it if the streets were frozen or something, but running outside is more enjoyable and free.

For me personally, I find having music and a bit of solitude relaxing.

[Righ]

Why anyone would pay a gym membership to run on a treadmill is beyond me.  I could see it if the streets were frozen or something, but running outside is more enjoyable and free.

Presumably because you don't live in typical modern American suburban sprawl, where the town planners (and I use that term loosely) have decided - possibly with a little help from some automobile industry lobbyists - that since everybody has cars it isn't worth spending the money on amenities for pedestrians. Around here there are many gyms closer than the nearest public park or indeed anywhere that has sidewalks. You can literally blame thousands of heart attacks per year on a lack of decent suburban planning during the last 50 years.

[Lantyssa]

Why anyone would pay a gym membership to run on a treadmill is beyond me.  I could see it if the streets were frozen or something, but running outside is more enjoyable and free.

I take it you don't live along the Gulf Coast.

First up was bench pressing 70% of my weight(not dead lift as i thought)  138lbs was surprisingly easy and since I only had to do it once, was no big deal. However of the four people taking the test that day, the woman who was there was unable to complete it, very embarrassing situation.

Even women have to bench 70% of their body weight?  I cannot imagine ever being able to bench that much, even with training.  At my peak that would be at least 90 pounds, probably more because I'd need to put on a ton of muscle.

[Arnold]

Running on a treadmill and running outside are two completely different things.  I am surprised no one mentioned this.

I find running on a treadmill much harder than running outdoors.  I think boredom plays a large role. 

Why anyone would pay a gym membership to run on a treadmill is beyond me.  I could see it if the streets were frozen or something, but running outside is more enjoyable and free.

For me personally, I find having music and a bit of solitude relaxing.

You go to a gym for solitude?  What gym are you going to?  I find a lot more solitude taking walks or running along the river parkway, listening to and smelling nature.

[Lakov_Sanite]

I go to the tiny gym in my apt complex. It's usually empty or just has a few people in the weight room.  The treadmills and elliptical are usually ignored that...and i can ocassionally watch tv, so that's nice.

Oh and yes, the test is the same for men and women. I found out though that the actual test differs from county to county with each police dept making up their own standard but I could only imagine that for legal reasons they can't have it different based on gender.

[K9]

I use the treadmills at my gym for incline walking sometimes, since there are no hills in the middle of London. I also use it for warm up/down from time to time, although I prefer the bikes or ellipticals.

I really really hate running around cities too; even in the parks it isn't great. Back home I run the paths through the woods around where my folks live and that's fine though. Anything to get off hard surfaces really.