Springboarding off the numerous "down on fast foods" threads and avatar's recent healthy foods thread, allow me this inquiry:

How is your physical health?  This might be a prickly topic for some to tread, but for those who are open to sharing, let's.  Not looking for your entire history, but some basic questions, like:

-Are you your proper weight?
-Do you exercise regularly?  What sort of regimen are you on?
-What does your main diet consist of?
-Any bad habits you're trying to overcome, like drinking or smoking?

As I've done at the beginning of most every year, I've resolved to live a healthier lifestyle.  And while that resolve usually falls to the wayside as early as late February, it's June now, and I'd say I've been ridiculously good at keeping my health in check. 

I'll admit it, I was quite heavy toward the end of 2008, weighing close to 150 lbs.... unreasonably heavy for someone of my 5'3" stature.  Worse still, my doctor told me that I was showing early symptoms of high-blood pressure.  Things had to change, and fast.  So, through a super rigorous program of proportion eating and 1-2 hour long running and aerobics every day, I've managed to slim down to my normal BMI of 110 lbs.  It was then I started taking up light weight-training to tone up on muscle.  (To put a geeky spin on this, video games were my partial incentive to tone up.  Anticipating titles that featured well-toned characters like Street Fighter IV and Punch-Out!! were a great driving force so that I could 'live' those games as much as possible. :p)  I've mostly been working on the upper body areas, with a slighter emphasis on the legs.  I've now toned up to a lean 115; nothing grossly muscular, but there's definitely some definition to my body now. 

As far as my main diet, I'm on a strict home cooked grilled chicken/salmon and salad regimen for lunch and dinner.  (Once in a while, I'll go the sautéd route with my meats.)  Breakfast and snacks usually consist of fresh fruit, apple sauce, and yogurt.  I've cut out all sorts of decadent desserts, like cakes and pies.  Every once in a while, though, I'll treat myself to a big bowl of green tea-flavored ice cream.

I'll tell you though, the urge to indulge in some of favorite meals (like Italian and Chinese), which can be rich in carbs and calories, can get overbearingly powerful at times.  When that happens, I don't fight it.  What I'll do is buy or make the smallest dishes possible, and proportion that out for a couple of meals.  The body eventually reaches a point where it feels guilty for eating such foods in excess.  That's why when I do go for it, I go for the absolute best dishes.  If I'm getting a treat, it's gonna be one hell of a treat.  ^_^

As for bad habits, I don't drink or smoke, but I do continue to suffer from a shaky reliance on caffeine.  Coffee and sweetened beverages are still my Achilles' heel, but to be fair, I've been weaning off them with some measure of success.  I might have a cup of regular joe in the morning, balanced out with a cup of decaf or two later in the day.  And I've knocked down the number sodas I've been drinking a day from three cans to just one.  (Pepsi Max is my soda of choice -- artificial sweeteners be damned, I love it.)  I never touch those energy drinks, though - they're vile to the taste.

Aside from that, I think I've been in the best shape that I've ever been.  My blood pressure is back to normal, and I've got stamina to spare.  These last five months have been some of the hardest I've ever attempted at self-improvement, but I'm delighted with the results.  Keeping up the momentum is going to be the next difficult step, and one I hope I can manage.

For the last month or so, I have been subsisting on little more than bread, fruits and water. This is a conscious choice, I took a look at what I've been putting in my body lately, and I wasn't pleased. I been under a great deal of stress since Christmas, and as a result have had to go on some pretty strong anti-depressants, and because of this, I had lost a great deal of sleep, so energy drinks in the morning were pretty common.

I gained a slight amount of weight since Christmas, but have started to lose it. I do workouts at home regularly, several sets of push-ups and situps when I wake up in the morning, and have even started putting the scenic bike path near my house to good use (sans the bike, by which I mean running).

I currently weigh 150 right now, not bad, I'm 5'7. Am I where I want to be? No. Am I getting there? Most assuredly. Looking into getting a Wii Fit board to complement Punch-Out!!.

-Are you your proper weight?

I'd say. I'm almost 6" with what would be considered a "medium frame" and I weigh 152 lbs.

-Do you exercise regularly?  What sort of regimen are you on?

Yep. I hike and power-walk a lot (upwards of 2 hours per session), and I do crunches/sit-ups/push-ups and various free weight exercises a few times a week to keep my body toned. I'm currently looking for a good bike so I can ride around instead of drive, which would not only cut my cost of gas down, but it would be doing my part both for the environment and for my health!

-What does your main diet consist of?

This. To put it shortly I am a complete and ethical/nutritional vegan that eats lots of veggies, whole grains, fruit, water, soymilk, smoothies and the occasional Newman's Ginger-O as a treat for good behavior.

-Any bad habits you're trying to overcome, like drinking or smoking?

I have already conquered my smoking habit - I was pretty hardcore for a few years and on-and-off for a while after, but I've been clean for almost four years now - and I am currently off the booze and am conquering that habit. My bottom line is this: if it's not healthy or natural, your body really doesn't *need* it. Luckily I have the willpower to fight these addictions and the dedication to live a healthy and nutritional life.

I'm at a good weight. Not sure what proper means. There is a BMI which most people should fall under, but it's only approximate. If you're lean and muscular, or just muscular, it won't really apply to you. Myself, I'm also a runner and do various other activities (such as martial arts) so fairly lean

I exercise 5-6 days a week. Not sure what you mean by "regimen"? It varies, but always involves strength training and cardio. I tend to enter road races about once a month, so it's fun to keep training for those. Also love hiking, kayaking, and most outdoor activities during summer!

Diet is mainly fish, chicken, turkey, yogurt, grains, with lots of veggies and fruits! There's actually a huge selection to choose from, and it's SUPER yummy! I don't know why people associate healthy food with poor taste, because it's absolutely not true. Eating out can be problematic, since you don't know what crap they put in food. Still, I eat out about 1 a week at Indian with mi amigos.

Bad habits? Are video games a bad habit? I don't smoke, don't drink (maybe 3 or 4 times a year I'll have some wine), don't drink coffee, can't stand soda or any sweetened crap... but no one is perfect. Diets can always be improved, depending on what you want to do.

cheers,

-avatar!

I'm not doing too great lately, currently at 213 lbs which is more than i need for my height.

I don't smoke on a regular daily basis anymore, but i'll still have one or two here and there, every now and then when i'm feeling bored and/or stressed out.

I'm pretty sure my drinking and drugging days are catching up with me, I just don't seem to have the energy and motivation that i used to have.
I've cut back quite a bit on both, but i'm not totally ready to give up on either of them completely.

Like i've talked about in the past, I get bored very easily and consequently turn to substances to fill that void when i get to a certain point.

Well, whatever happens to me in the future from it, so be it.
It may not be the path that appeals to the majority here, but it's the one that I've become accustomed to and the one that I choose.

I can at least say at the end (whenever that may happen to come), that I had some enjoyment living like that, and that it was fun while it lasted.

Such is Life.

I'm... well, definitely not my proper weight. I spent a good chunk of my 20s with a chronic illness that left me mostly bedridden. I gained forty pounds during the ordeal and while I'm finally getting my health back, the pounds aren't going to go away without some work.

I've been thinking about joining the local gym. The first thing I need to do is actually get into some form of shape. If the weather was more consistent, I'd take daily walks but often than not, it's pouring here.

My diet varies. I usually start the day with a protein shake (milk, whey powder and a banana). Turkey sandwiches make for a good lunch (or Subway, if I have the money to spare). Dinner is where I tend to slip up because I'm a terrible cook and I'll rely on whatever I can find in the freezer.

As for bad habits, I don't smoke and while I drink, it's not very often. A glass of wine maybe once a week, sometimes a cocktail (or my personal guilty pleasure, a margarita).

Call me 'buffat'. I've the legs, butt, and forearms of a football player, but the paunchy middle of a football spectator. Most of that's due to my line of work, which mostly involves constant walking, carrying and shoving for close to 40 hours a week (would that count as a 'regimen'?), but relatively little ab work. So numerically-speaking I'm heavy, but don't have as much flab as the numbers might suggest. On the other hand, back around '05, when I'd been unemployed for about 4 years? Completely different story.
Outside of staying clean though, I don't give my appearance much mind. I figure how I look is everyone else's problem, you know?

My diet, such as it is, is pretty loose. I don't often eat breakfast, but I'll usually have some Ritz or a light lunch before work, a good-sized dinner after work, and snacks as I feel the urge until I retire (my chief weakness is gummi bears). My blood pressure's pretty good, even as my favorite meals are chicken, pasta, and steak. But I do drink a lot of Pepsi and dehydrate quickly.

I don't drink alcohol or smoke - my worst habit is my admittedly abysmal sleep schedule. Sometimes I'll go through three days on 8 hours' sleep total. I know, I know...

What brand of gummi?

Black Forest?

I completely agree... but there's a little science here, I think. I read somewhere that your taste buds acclimate to new foods or tastes in about three weeks. So if you're on a high-sugar, super-sweet diet and you eat some organic sprouted grain bread (which I have seriously considered putting a hole through and taking sexual advantage of a slice) it's going to taste "bland". Like dirt, plain bread, boring. Where's the taste? WELL, when your tastebuds are used to being assaulted by artificial and sugary flavors, your 'buds won't really appreciate the taste of something more natural. Think of it as listening to music really loud for a really long time and then trying to hear someone speak softly; over time, you'll be able to hear someone speaking softly quite fine, and may even prefer that because then the loud music will just sound that much louder.

I know that if I ever tried anything super and artificially sweet, like Skittles or sour candy or Mountain Dew, my tastebuds would probably leave my mouth in mass exodus and my tongue, throat and brain would explode and the inside of my head would be full of mush (more than there already is). But for now, I'll just continue eating (and molesting) that organic sprouted bread.

Black Forest are fantastic, yes. I'm also fond of the Great Value brand from (I think) Wal-Mart. Excellent apple flover, and the watermelon ones are a nice touch.

The only place i know that still stocks Black Forest around here is Best Buy..

A fork can come up on any given path.  It may take some distance to get there, but it can come.  And even if it doesn't, you can always attempt to forge your own.

I hope you get to that fork someday -- and decide to take it.

Are you your proper weight?

Yes, I'm about 5'9 and weigh 150, I have more of a boxer physique.  I'd like to put on a few more pounds of muscle, but I recently checked my body fat and it was 8%, so I'm not dissatisfied with that. 

-Do you exercise regularly?  What sort of regimen are you on?

4-5 times a week for strength training, and try to mix in some cardio (running, cycling) as well. 

-What does your main diet consist of?

Lots of protein, complex carbs, whole foods and green veggies.

-Any bad habits you're trying to overcome, like drinking or smoking?

Just an inconsistent sleep pattern due to an overwhelming work schedule and trying to cram in all the things I want to do and experience in life.  Hence why video games have been put on the back burner the last few years.

a fork on the path means someone up ahead of you will be eating their lunch with their hands...

Lot of skinny folks around here - I didn't expect to be made to feel fat at 165!

Don't worry I'll represent for the 200 Club, at 6 foot tall.

I'm similar to Panda in that I have a lot of muscle strength in my arms and legs due to a physical job with lots of lifting (I'm on my feet for 8 hours), but it's the midsection where the pudge collects, just too many calories in general even though it's semi-healthy stuff.   

I eat microwave meals daily for lunches though, so even though they are Lean Cuisines or Smart Ones meals (hence the semi-healthy) it's not the un-processed fare that  others are praising. 

My brain thinks in terms of food rewards though, for example for every couple of days where I'm eating carrots and salads and apples, I then think I've "earned" a splurge on chips and ice cream, so I end up negating any benefits.

I still love you, Angela.

And i always will...

As far as rationalizations go, this is pretty piss-poor.

Well, Shoe, I appreciate your honesty and your seeming comfort in the choices you've made (just as I admire the discipline and choices everyone else here is capable of maintaining). Not everyone has the discipline or even the inclination to become a model of human health, and personally I don't think there's anything wrong with that. Making all of the optimal choices is certainly beneficial, but much like a game, I'm not after a 100% score, I'm after an enjoyable experience. For me that experience includes a walk in the morning and a Chick-fil-A meal once a week or so, a liquid diet of mostly water and a weakness for chocolate. I don't have a physique or a regimen that's going turn heads or impress anyone, but that's not what I'm after. If anyone thinks less of me for it, it's not a concern, for how much I weigh or bench press aren't factors I value (or care if others value).

I'm happy with myself, so I'd say my health is pretty good.

Bro, that makes perfect sense!
Except for the bread-sex... I'm doing my best not to picture that

I don't think you have to be extremely strict on diet if you exercise everyday.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26623057/

There is a guy who has eaten a Big Mac and fries everyday for 30 years and he is alive and in good health.  He walks 10 miles a day. 

Exercise appears to be the key as studies have shown for years.

That's true, but I'm sure the healthy food doesn't hurt.

This is true as exercise can negate some of the crap we put in our bodies (or at least mask it), but if you want to be truly healthy and fit (and ripped), putting pure things in your body is essential.  If someone who doesn't exercise and doesn't care about what they eat is at the bottom of the mountain, and someone who does exercise but isn't concerned about their diet can reach the middle of the mountain, seems logical to just make the total commitment to exercise and nutrition so you can reach the top of the mountain.

Being ripped is not the same thing as being healthy. Many doctors will tell you that being ripped is an indication that you've dropped your body's fat level below healthy. Even professional athletes who often appear ripped, are typically in that shape for a very short period of time (typically because they're competing and burning up their stored energy). Also, I think that nutrition is a HUGE part of health. In fact, a person can be healthy and not do more than just go out for walks. On the other hand, a person can exercise all the time and not be healthy, and in fact a person can be ripped and not be healthy. Also, people have different ideas of what healthy is of course. You just have to find what's right for you... although I personally agree that it's important to push yourself.

cheers,

-avatar!

The reason it's called "health food" is that you've got to be in near-perfect health to survive eating it.

A healthy body fat % for a male athlete is 5-12%, getting below that is nigh impossible unless you're starving yourself, in which case you would have no muscle mass either.  So it's all about your level of activity.  Certainly it takes a lot of dedication to maintain a level of peak performance, but it's a pinnacle, so the only place to go from there is down.  I'm sure there are people out there that are ripped that live unhealthy lifestyles, but they are the exception not the rule.

I have no clue where you're getting your numbers from! 5% is NOT healthy! WHO says that healthy males at the age of 18 should be around 10-20% body fat. Also, studies have conclusively shown that too little body fat often leads to very serious health problems. People don't have to be around 20% bodyfat to be healthy, but 10-15% is often ideal for a healthy, fit, individual (male). If you're consistently lower than that, you're asking for problems!

Here's a couple sources:

http://www.healthchecksystems.com/bodyfat.htm

http://ask.yahoo.com/20020327.html

http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com/bo … ntage.html

The last site is nice because it actually breaks down the different ranges depending on the type of activity you're involved in instead of making a broad generalization because it doesn't make sense to compare a Triathlon athlete to the guy who plays in a rec softball league, even when talking about "athletes".

-Are you your proper weight?

Not quite.  As of two months ago, I was 183lbs (at 5'7"), but have knocked that down to 166lbs in that time.  The main culprit of my problem was sleep apnea, for which I had my tonsils removed last year.  I still had some form of it because of all the weight around my neck, so I never quite got past the initial issues that come along with it.  I'm a medium/heavy framed person, and my ideal weight is somewhere in the 150lbs range.

-Do you exercise regularly?  What sort of regimen are you on?

I'm getting better about it, but want to go see a cardiologist before I get into anything more hardcore than what I'm doing now.  I do HIIT (high intensity interval training) 1-2 times a week, then moderate weight lifting/situps/etc 2-3 times a week, but plan to do more cardio work.  My reason for going to a cardiologist is that, because of the sleep apnea, I've had heart arrhythmias for a couple decades and want to be sure no other issues exist.  I've never been the most cardiovascularly fit person in the world, and was usually the kid who got winded first playing sports or lagged behind when we ran a mile in school, so I want to know if that's just conditioning or something else.

-What does your main diet consist of?

Slim Fast or a similar meal-drink for breakfast or sometimes grape nuts, a moderate lunch (either made at home or purchased in Honda's surprisingly not bad cafeteria), then usually protein for dinner.  Roasted a chicken the other day in my crock pot and have salmon in the fridge/freezer at all times.

-Any bad habits you're trying to overcome, like drinking or smoking?

I don't drink much and never smoked, so those aren't any big issue.  When I was in college I was an idiot when it came to alcohol and food, but I'm doing much better with it now.  I'm a big diet soda drinker which I'm trying to curb, but that's probably it.

Make that 162.  Butterflies over a girl really diminishes the appetite, boy.

Going to be setting up a cardiologist appointment soon, too.