Couch to 5k

[BanzaiCat]

Appreciate it JD. Thing is I wasn't that far from what you're describing just two months ago. No curbing to my eating or snacking. I was probably easily 80 pounds overweight and when my 'big' jeans started cutting me in half, and my wife started on this 'Plexus' diet supplement, I decided it was time for a change.

I don't generally take supplements, but that Plexus stuff is great for curbing my appetite. At first though, even though I wasn't hungry my mind was still working on me - "hey brah, shouldn't you be chewing right now?" It took a week or two to get that voice to shut up.

And even though I was that far overweight I began the C25K anyway. I've lost about 22 pounds now (was 285 this morning), but I'm still a good 60-65 pounds overweight. I've always been overweight, since I got married, for just over 20 years now. If that's not some wear and tear on the joints, I don't know what is. But I'm managing the running with little problem.

The progression is pretty easy to manage, from small to increasing increments. I think though that you need more than one cardio type of exercise to help get in shape. When I was running 3 miles a day a few years back my weight loss plateaued at a point and that was highly discouraging. As others have said here, running on a treadmill kind of sucks, especially for three miles. It's very boring. But I don't really live in an area that makes running outside an attractive option.

Also when I worked the ramp for United Airlines back in 1999-2000, I lost quite a bit of weight but plateaued at a point because as you said, I wasn't changing my diet. I still ate crap and once my body got 'used' to the physical activity and strain I was putting on it, the weight stopped coming off. Changing it up every so often helps a lot I think. An elliptical machine is a great option for cardio if you don't want to put pressure on your knees.

[JudgeDredd]

Inspiring.

And that damned voice in the head - I wish he would just STFU! :-)

[Gusington]

I can't get it through my skull that I should be mixing it up. All I do is run and its probably hurting me.

[Staggerwing]

I'm looking at getting a treadmill myself since I used to walk at the beach and on hiking trails a lot but in the last three years I've pretty much had to stop (and gained about 25-30 lbs). I figure that if I spend some money on a big piece of equipment I might actually use it since I can walk in my living room and still be there to deal with whatever mischief my kids get into. My budget is rather meager (about 3-4 hundred tops since I'll have to charge it) so what should I look for when evaluating a cheap treadmill? I think the widest band would be one of the first things I'd probably look for, not knowing what else  to consider.

Anybody have thoughts on this one?

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Exerpeutic-440XL-Super-Heavy-Duty-Walking-Treadmill-with-Wide-Belt/14705401

[BanzaiCat]

You're going to get what you pay for when it comes to treadmills. I'd avoid Wal-Mart personally, just because they really could care less about me or my dollars. I'd rather go to an Academy Sports, to be honest. To be further honest, I worked for their corporate HQ about a year ago, but I'm not being a shill; I don't work for them anymore. if you have an Academy near you, you might try one. (I helped put their training together to get new employees up to speed on cardio equipment.)

[Gusington]

^Totally agree there. Save up some money and spring for a better treadmill. You don't want to skimp on something you can get very injured on.

[jejo68]

bah wimps.
Start doing some muay thai, that burns the fat right off way faster  ;D

[Gusington]

Wtf is muay thai?

[Mr. Bigglesworth]

Wtf is muay thai?

You know, the hot green curry stuff. j/k
It is a very effective martial art using a lot of clinching while driving knees into the opponent.

[Mr. Bigglesworth]

Why buy a treadmill when you can just do squats to a sitting position at no cost. try 120 per day. 1 per second, done in 2 minutes.

[Gusington]

I rock at squats. I think it's one of those exercises that is easier the shorter you are.

[jejo68]

Wtf is muay thai?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2jbynE9PkE

Started with my son and quickly got in better shape then I have been in the last 10 years.

[JudgeDredd]

How's it going Banzai Cat?

[Mr. Bigglesworth]

I rock at squats. I think it's one of those exercises that is easier the shorter you are.

Try 10 minutes of squats.

[jejo68]

kettlebells are really good