Health advice for the IT professional?

[Ikari Warrior]

I am an overweight male, 26 years old, weighing about 220 and I'm 5'6-5'7. I'm not grossly obese, but to say I'm not fat is a lie, and I'm not about to sugarcoat it.

I work 5 days a week, 8 hours, sitting on my arse doing tech support. I spend anywhere from 40-80 minutes in traffic, one way, daily (so about 2-2.5 hours in traffic daily). This adds up to me spending a guaranteed 10 hours on my butt. Add to that, I have an hour lunchbreak.

Currently, I am inactive up to 11 hours per day, plus time after I get home to eat dinner and play video games. You don't have to be a college grad to understand how grossly unhealthy this is.

I would like to get into a routine where I eat healthier, at the very least, without being hungry, and force myself (at first, but once it's a routine it likely won't require force) to do some exercise after work, if not before.

The good news is that there is a stove here at work, so if I need to cook some food, I don't have to microwave things.

Any suggestions to living a healthier life around this lifestyle? I'm beginning to come up with some semblance of a plan, but if you all gave me some input, I think I might be able to make a difference.

[tenshi_a]

A lot of people I know (IT professionals, since I work with them...) visit a local gym after work for a few nights a week, or play team sports on the weekend.

A lot of others preferred to take up climbing, as it suits their personality type - it's a challenge to the individual, and the way indoor climbing courses are set up, each course is a puzzle to solve as well as a challenge of physical fitness.

I wouldn't want to climb though; it messes up your hands and I like mine to remain nice and soft.

I just walk the 2 miles home every day, well, if it's not raining. Plus, I sometimes exercise at home. That's good enough for me, but I'm certainly no role model.

Also, a lot of people eat cereal and milk at their desk, or bread and soup for lunch, so it's not sandwiches every day. It seems to work for them. Work also provide a bowlful of fruit for the employees, though it usually runs out a few minutes after it's refilled. They also provide free water-cooler water, and tea and coffee, which is good - we're not living on caffiene-rich carbonated sugary drinks.

The hardest part of keeping your health as a young IT professional for me, was trying to avoid partaking in long and excessive drinking sessions out with the team...

(hah! I'm saying this like I'm not just 5 years older...)

...that and the donut policy, and free cake....

[Trefellin]

Kegel exercises. All day, everyday.

[KabukiSaMuRaI]

You may want to utilize your hour long lunch break and do some light exercise. Find a routine to suit your body type and then go with it. Increase intensity and coordinate that with your diet.

I rarely drink at all and limit it to mostly social type activities or sometimes house parties (I work with younger people).

You could probably find a gym with fair rates or maybe your company offers corporate discounts. Sitting, as relaxing as it is, seems to be detrimental to people's health and posture...that's a whole 'nother story buddy.

[Rinshikame]

Just buy a bicycle,find a few "action" hobbies and also it's important for you to eat normal food. I can't say anything more,because i don't have this problem and will never have... because of hobbies and biological specifies. P.S. Don't forget 1 thing- if you have a real will- you can do a lot=)

[master terrence]

if there's a hill nearby I suggest biking (with any safe bike) up and then back down :) start with 10 minutes (around the block) and work your way up to 30 minutes. Don't listen to music while you bike either and don't wear black (reflective clothing is best).

Another option is to buy running shoes, for your frame I suggest Nike new balance, but I don't know the exact anatomy of your foot so it's better to go to a running store on the weekend and ask for help. Running mixed with walking is good :)

maybe we can workout better exercise ideas if you give us a resting heart rate (when rested - which is not upon waking up but maybe 30 minutes after.) Count how many times your heart beats for 15 seconds and then multiply by 4 :) you don't have to post it if you don't want but you should know for your own personal health.

push-ups, pull-ups, squats, toe raises... all that stuff it important too. if you have a lot of books you can use them for weight and such...


and if you are eating fast food you should stop, **** is nasty. Enjoy some real food that doesn't involve large amounts of excessively reused grease.

dance workouts like zumba have become pretty popular recently, get some DVD's and learn how to move to different rhythms. Then when you go out to a bar instead of drinking you can dance but be prepared to wake up soar :)

what type of music do you listen to?

[Ikari Warrior]

Thank you all for your input.

I am going to go grocery shopping and buy food consistent with the diet Reidar linked to in another thread (about getting a six pack). I have a bike, but I'm not losing weight, what am I doing wrong? Just kidding, I need to buy a pump, get some air in those tires, and ride around the lake near me.

The trick here is getting into a routine. If I can get into a routine where I shop the same day of the week, and buy the same things, and workout the same amount every day, I know I can start some really good habits.

If I'm eating small meals every day, then I'll be able to metabolize what I eat, better. If I'm bringing small meals to work every day, then I can eat on the clock and workout during lunch (there's a gym downstairs). By "work out" I mean go for a walk or hit the treadmill. Maybe lift weights or bring in my own.

I have all the basic pieces of a healthy lifestyle, I just haven't gotten into a routine yet. I want to make sure that when I start this, I stick to it for life. It's a huge commitment, but it's a commitment to myself.

And if Reidar can stay in shape and play video games, I have no excuses! :ssj:

I will update this thread when I start making lifestyle changes. Stay tuned!

[Holy Knight]

The trick here is getting into a routine. If I can get into a routine where I shop the same day of the week, and buy the same things, and workout the same amount every day, I know I can start some really good habits.

Yup, getting started is really all you need. You'd be surprised at what just 30 minutes of daily exercise can do.

[Ikari Warrior]

OK, so update on my progress.

I haven't been getting more exercise as of yet, but I have been buying fruits and vegetables from the store, and eating them throughout the course of my day.

I now work a 10 hour day with no lunch break, four days a week. I am eating whenever I'm hungry; going to the fridge to pick out part of my rations and then eating it at my desk. I typically bring spaghetti with meat sauce or some kind of meat/pasta dish to provide the necessary carbs and protein to get through my day 'til I get home.

My problem is, once I get home, I usually am too tired to cook, or I get a second wind and end up eating dinner at 9pm (and going to bed at 10 or 11). I know this is not right, and would like suggestions on 'fixing' it.

[Reidar]

Get a weightgainer to act as a meal replacement.

[taily]

Assuming those 40-80 mins in traffic are just waiting in a Jam in the rush hour, you could try cycling to work.

[Buzron]

http://liamrosen.com/fitness.html

Read it, love it, live it.

Also, it'll talk about starting strength in there, do it. If you can't get a membership to a gym, I'd recommend buying a barbell and some dumbbells. If you have questions about how much weight to get, just ask. Also, since I'm assuming you're trying to lose weight, use this http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml

So basically...lift weights 3x a week, cardio 3x a week, rest one day.

That's just a basic outline, if you have questions, just ask.

[Reidar]

That guide is pretty poor. Saturated fat is not unhealthy and the development of abdominal muscles does play part in their visibility. He also says "toning is a nonsense term" when tone means something very definable:

"The modern fitness industry's concept of 'toning' muscles is specious - it might sound cool, but it lacks any tangible and definable meaning. The term 'muscle tone' or tonus describes an electrophysiological phenomenon, a measure of ionic flow across muscle cell membranes. It can be thought of as the muscle's readiness to do anaerobic work. Most exercise programs that claim to improve muscle tone are actually lower-intensity hypertrophy programs and are only moderately effective for improving muscle tone. If 'tone' is the goal, strength is the method." -Practical Programming, pg. 60

Practical Programming, by the way, is the book sequel to Starting Strength.

[YourDaddy]

#1 is to get enough cardio during the week. Not just for weight loss, but just health in general. Like you, I've also been eating smaller meals, about four or five times a day. That along made me lose 10 lbs.

I also try to substitute more veggies and lean meat wherever I can. I cut out most junk food, though my wife doesn't help me with that. :)

[Buzron]

That guide is pretty poor. Saturated fat is not unhealthy and the development of abdominal muscles does play part in their visibility. He also says "toning is a nonsense term" when tone means something very definable:

"The modern fitness industry's concept of 'toning' muscles is specious - it might sound cool, but it lacks any tangible and definable meaning. The term 'muscle tone' or tonus describes an electrophysiological phenomenon, a measure of ionic flow across muscle cell membranes. It can be thought of as the muscle's readiness to do anaerobic work. Most exercise programs that claim to improve muscle tone are actually lower-intensity hypertrophy programs and are only moderately effective for improving muscle tone. If 'tone' is the goal, strength is the method." -Practical Programming, pg. 60

Practical Programming, by the way, is the book sequel to Starting Strength.

It's been a while since I've read it all, but I'm pretty sure he says that you have to lower your body fat to reveal abdominal muscles and that doing sit ups won't do anything for visibility. I'll check, though.

For someone new to fitness as a whole, the word is probably somewhat confusing given the numerous connotations and denotations attributed to it. I haven't read Practical Programming.

[Reidar]

He says: "Having visible abs has very little to do with doing abdominal exercises, and a whole lot to do with how much body fat you have."

Obviously, he means that resistance training won't catabolize fat, which is what he should have said. If you're very ectomorphic, though, body fat isn't your problem - underdeveloped muscles are.

[Buzron]

He says: "Having visible abs has very little to do with doing abdominal exercises, and a whole lot to do with how much body fat you have."

Obviously, he means that resistance training won't catabolize fat, which is what he should have said. If you're very ectomorphic, though, body fat isn't your problem - underdeveloped muscles are.

Well, yes depending on if you're skinnyfat or just really skinny.

For most people, it's hard to not have ab muscles show through with a low bf%.

[Reidar]

It isn't. Plenty of trainees are ecto and even those who aren't would further their cause by building up the rectus abdominis. More muscle = less body fat percentage because more of the physique would be comprised of mass that isn't adipose tissue. If you kept every ounce of body fat on you but increased your musculature, your body fat percentage, as the ratio quantity, would decrease despite not having actually catabolized any fat.

[Buzron]

It isn't. Plenty of trainees are ecto and even those who aren't would further their cause by building up the rectus abdominis. More muscle = less body fat percentage because more of the physique would be comprised of mass that isn't adipose tissue. If you kept every ounce of body fat on you but increased your musculature, your body fat percentage, as the ratio quantity, would decrease despite not having actually catabolized any fat.

Realistically speaking, I find it very difficult, if not impossible to believe that one could go from 30% bf% to less than 8% by strictly increasing your muscle mass. On top of that, in order to gain muscle mass, don't you need more calories than it takes to sustain your current weight? You can't live off of whey. It'd be extremely costly to eat 5000 calories of lean chicken and fish every day, so you'd probably have to eat a lot of cheap foods, which have protein, which are usually greasy cheeseburgers and fried chicken, so your body would gain tons of muscle mass, but also tons of fat. Your bf% if you tried that would probably increase, but then again I've never tried it.

I'm just making a general assumption here, but many truly skinny ectomorphs who get into fitness are usually driven to get stronger, and will bulk up to gain muscle mass. Most of them aren't interested in lowering their bf% at first. That's just a generalization, though. I could be wrong. Maybe I'm just taking my gorilla abs for granted, haha.

[Reidar]

Realistically speaking, I find it very difficult, if not impossible to believe that one could go from 30% bf% to less than 8% by strictly increasing your muscle mass.

That would be an extremely endomorphic body type and the increase in musculature would decrease the percentage, yes. Of course there's a point of diminishing returns and this cannot go on ad infinitum.

Also, dirty bulking doesn't have to lead to fat gain. I gained over 100 lbs. with no visible body fat by dining "dirty". When cardio is added to compensate, this creates an extremely high level of g-flux, or energy turnover. More calories ingested + more calories burned = a faster metabolism. High fats have shown, again, to have lipolytic properties.

Ectomorphs who bulk will find their abdominals getting more pronounced without having burned off what little fat they already had, which invalidates the statement that "having visible abs has very little to do with doing abdominal exercises, and a whole lot to do with how much body fat you have."

[Buzron]

Also, dirty bulking doesn't have to lead to fat gain. I gained over 100 lbs. with no visible body fat by dining "dirty". When cardio is added to compensate, this creates an extremely high level of g-flux, or energy turnover. More calories ingested + more calories burned = a faster metabolism. High fats have shown, again, to have lipolytic properties.

Ectomorphs who bulk will find their abdominals getting more pronounced without having burned off what little fat they already had, which invalidates the statement that "having visible abs has very little to do with doing abdominal exercises, and a whole lot to do with how much body fat you have."

While it doesn't have to, it often does.

Endomorphs and mesomorphs will probably have to cut to get the results an ectomorph might get while bulking. Also, the majority of the people who will read this guide, are more likely than not, endomorphic. I still say it's a good guide for beginners.

[Reidar]

While it doesn't have to, it often does.

Endomorphs and mesomorphs will probably have to cut to get the results an ectomorph might get while bulking. Also, the majority of the people who will read this guide, are more likely than not, endomorphic. I still say it's a good guide for beginners.

If it doesn't have to in any aspect, then the entirety of the statement is invalidated. It only takes one line with true premises and a false conclusion to establish the invalidity of an invalid inference. And there's no reasoning to posit that most of the readership would be endomorphs. Skinny, lanky teenagers ask me how to get abs all the time.

It's a poor guide, and that reason was just one of many. He gives a bad impression of saturated fats and only contributes to the confusion of what "tone" means. If he advocates Starting Strength then he should read Practical Programming to make the correction.

[Buzron]

If it doesn't have to in any aspect, then the entirety of the statement is invalidated. It only takes one line with true premises and a false conclusion to establish the invalidity of an invalid inference. And there's no reasoning to posit that most of the readership would be endomorphs. Skinny, lanky teenagers ask me how to get abs all the time.

It's a poor guide, and that reason was just one of many. He gives a bad impression of saturated fats and only contributes to the confusion of what "tone" means. If he advocates Starting Strength then he should read Practical Programming to make the correction.

If it often does, then...I'd say it has validity. Cardio is typically used for weight loss, not weight gain. I'm speaking from personal experience. My fat peers at school ask me how to get abs, so I tell them to lower their body fat...If someone has lower than 8% body fat yet no abdominal muscles show through, tell them to do squats, you know? I've never encountered that, though.

I don't know much about macronutrients, I just typically avoid fat while cutting. I still say it's a useful guide that has definitely helped me.

[Reidar]

Is has no validity if the statement has any false application whatsoever. If I say that "blacks are African-American", it would be invalid. Some blacks may be American, but not all are, so the remaining falsity makes the totality of the statement illegitimate.

Fat should not be avoided while cutting. Besides encouraging body fat loss, dietary fats also help increase serum testosterone levels, which is important for warding off catabolism on a calorie deficit.

If someone has lower than 8% body fat yet no abdominal muscles show through, tell them to do squats, you know? I've never encountered that, though.

It's encountered with pretty much every ecto who wants to bulk. I only had pronounced abdominals after bulking from 120 to 175 (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v441/Hormuz/100_0126.jpg). Now that I'm at 235, they're more endowed than ever (not that I care about aesthetics - I'm a powerlifter and fighter, not a bodybuilder).

[Buzron]

Is has no validity if the statement has any false application whatsoever. If I say that "blacks are African-American", it would be invalid. Some blacks may be American, but not all are, so the remaining falsity makes the totality of the statement illegitimate.

Fat should not be avoided while cutting. Besides encouraging body fat loss, dietary fats also help increase serum testosterone levels, which is important for warding off catabolism on a calorie deficit.



It's encountered with pretty much every ecto who wants to bulk. I only had pronounced abdominals after bulking from 120 to 175 (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v441/Hormuz/100_0126.jpg). Now that I'm at 235, they're more endowed than ever (not that I care about aesthetics - I'm a powerlifter and fighter, not a bodybuilder).

Well, I drink 2% milk mixed with whey after lifting and then...other dairy products throughout the day with meals. (Milk with cereal etc.)

What would you recommend I eat fat wise if it's not to be avoided? I usually just eat lean chicken, turkey or fish like tilapia for meat.

Most ectos get bigger ab muscles through compound workouts while they're bulking.

That's really impressive. 120 to 235? How long have you been lifting? I weigh about 235 right now, but I haven't cut for a long time. I just started cutting 2 weeks ago.

[Reidar]

After your workout is like the one time you shouldn't be ingesting any fat. Milk also contains slow-absorbing casein protein, which is the antithesis to whey since it coagulates in the stomach and slows down absorption. Whey should be taken with water, along with dextrose, maltodextrin, and some salt (only applies to post-workout, which is a critical recovery period).

Fat can come from red meat, butter, peanut butter, fish, fish oil, olive oil, etc. The only unequivocal "bad" fats are the unnatural trans fats in hydrogenated oils (natural trans fats are healthy, like conjugated linoleic acid).

I've been lifting since 13, so 9 years.

[Buzron]

After your workout is like the one time you shouldn't be ingesting any fat. Milk also contains slow-absorbing casein protein, which is the antithesis to whey since it coagulates in the stomach and slows down absorption. Whey should be taken with water, along with dextrose, maltodextrin, and some salt (only applies to post-workout, which is a critical recovery period).

Fat can come from red meat, butter, peanut butter, fish, fish oil, olive oil, etc. The only unequivocal "bad" fats are the unnatural trans fats in hydrogenated oils (natural trans fats are healthy, like conjugated linoleic acid).

I've been lifting since 13, so 9 years.

I'll try and choke it down in water if I can.

Those are the only places I get fat from typically, so I'm good.

I've only been lifting less than a year now.

[Reidar]

Only a year and you already know about Starting Strength and Mark Rippetoe? Not bad. When I was a year into lifting, I was doing machines for 4 hours a day.

[Buzron]

Only a year and you already know about Starting Strength and Mark Rippetoe? Not bad. When I was a year into lifting, I was doing machines for 4 hours a day.

Thanks. I had been doing body weight exercises for a couple months before my friend turned me onto starting strength and got me interested in lurking /fit/. And 4 hours of machines a day? That seems suicidal.

[neonpatrick]

A good health is very important for living long and happy life. Not only in IT profession but in all fields and in our life a good health is required. For maintaining and gaining good health the most important things to do is take a balance diet and do exercise and Yoga regularly. Take consumption of water more and eat mote fruits and green vegetable.

[Gibb]

So Ikari, it's been almost exact 2 years since you made this original post. Did you find a routine to stick to? Any changes in your health?

[Jon]

I have some input, if anyone cares.

Drinking lots of water is not only healthy but helps in weight loss, try always having a bottle of water with you and instead of can of pop. There's really nothing good about pop...just cutting that out will shave off the pounds.

Eat 4-5 small meals a day, and wait 2-3 meals in between meals. DO NOT SKIP BREAKFAST. The idea here is to keep your body's metabolism constantly active, which helps burn calories faster and your body doesn't go to into "survival mode" which basically starts storing fats.

Drinking water (again) will not only help you with exercise but it also helps flush toxins out of your body. Once you start drinking lots of water, you'll have to pee (AND A LOT) but this is natural, as your body is replacing all of that water that is been stored for ages with new, fresh water. You'll have much more energy throughout the day, then say a caffeine beverage.

Just my 2cents.