I've also got a spare tire to lose. I'd love to drop 15 pounds, so I spent some time surfing around, looking at weightlifting weight loss plans. What's missing for me is cardio and diet.
I hate cardio. I just hate it. Even with a good book or playlist, sitting on a bike pedaling to nowhere drives me bonkers. I'm fine lifting for over an hour, but I can't do much more than ten minutes of cardio before I want to hang myself. It also seems like a total waste of time. Dig this chart. Here's the payoff comparison.
- Elliptical, 1 hour = 365 calories burned
- Walking, 1 hour = 314 calories burned
Besides, my problem isn't calorie burning so much as it is calorie intake. Looking at various nutritional advice, I find that carbs, fats, sugars and alcohol are problematic. I have no great passion for sugar or carbs, so those aren't a problem. I love to cook Southern food, so fats are a weakness, but I can work those out of my cuisine fairly easily.
It's the beer that's killing me.
One Lagunitas IPA has 180 calories. 3 of them have 540. That's about 90 minutes of walking. That's not going to happen so the beer has to go.
I've heard people say that a good way to give up a vice is to substitute something else for it. That's nonsense. It's never worked for me. "In exchange for giving up beer, I'll reward myself with (something)." I've yet to find the substitute for beer. That's because it doesn't exist. I love the taste of a good IPA or double IPA as well as the buzz from the alcohol. You aren't going to replace that with some crackers and cheese.
Nope, you just have to set your jaw and grimly fight the impulse to pop open a cold one. Every day.
Yurgh. What a pain. Looks like I need to channel my inner Stonewall Jackson.
3 comments:
I'm a sucker for sugars and carbs. Don't drink much anymore. Though with number 2 son living at home this winter, there is more beer available in the house.
Anyway, I do 45 minutes on the treadmill with a high incline (17 of 20 or higher), at 3.7 to 4.0 mph. I get 700-800 calories burned.
That said, I haven't been successful losing weight. And I am more of the 35-40 to loose.
Dang. And here I had you pegged as a buff, Viking warrior, just like the old days!
;-)
Sometimes you can help the cravings with nutrition help-- fiber and the b-complex energy, for example. (Theory is that's part of why nuts are such a popular snack-urge killer.)
I agree, though, no substitute for a nice drink. Diet pepsi highball, for me.
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