Quote from: He Man on May 23, 2011, 01:43:36 PM
that is supercool!  i HATE the host of the product review enough to make me have to tell everyone. aside from weight management/weight lost (which is about the most important thing for people using this i think) it seems like its great for seeing your progress of strength and endurance training. Less energy spent doing the same activity = better endurance.
http://my.apexfitness.com/products/product_details.php?item=6009&isbb=Y

A really good point that I hadn't thought about in regards to my earlier posting. What I really want is to pull all of my data, compare it to last year, and then work up a new training routine to accommodate me "now" rather than me "then". Endurance has been a priority since last years goal was the 234 mile Cochise Classic which I completed 175 miles - this year is to complete the full 234.

Quote from: Monster Dave on May 23, 2011, 01:08:40 PM
My HR monitor has 2 sensors and goes around the torso. I find it to be quite accurate.

The database that I built will accommodate meal info as well as activity info too. It's an easy way to monitor what I put in, what I burn, and what I end up with as net calories at the end of the day.

sounds like a good system you have going with the HR moniter.


a couple cool things about the bodybugg/gowearfit is that they will also tell you what you're burning at rest and exactly what each activity burns for the duration. In addition it will tell you how many hours you're sleeping at night, which is a good thing to know.

Quote from: pitbull on May 24, 2011, 05:29:17 PM
sounds like a good system you have going with the HR moniter.


a couple cool things about the bodybugg/gowearfit is that they will also tell you what you're burning at rest and exactly what each activity burns for the duration. In addition it will tell you how many hours you're sleeping at night, which is a good thing to know.

haha, i would wear it all the time just to see how much i'm burning doing different things.
i always wanteds to know how many calories getting up and going to the fridge burns.

Got up this morning and did the same 25.5 mile route that I did on Monday but really focused on increasing my overall effort. I've never trained like this before, so it was a bit challenging trying to keep a higher overall increase in effort rather than just doing spurts and short runs. As a result though, my average heart rate went from 159 to 165 (peaked at 182) and I burned 28 more calories while maintaining the an overall average speed of 19.2mph. To put into perspective the increase in effort, my normal resting HR is 42bpm - so when I peak between 185-187 I'm almost on the verge of tossing my cookies.

It was a good ride and a beautiful morning!  

42bpm!!! that is very low and impressive. i can get to the 50s only if im meditating.
and at 180bpm, you might be spinning a rod bearing! watch out!

Quote from: He Man on May 25, 2011, 07:24:13 AM
42bpm!!! that is very low and impressive. i can get to the 50s only if im meditating.
and at 180bpm, you might be spinning a rod bearing! watch out!

Thanks! My resting HR has always been pretty good, but it dropped dramatically when I started cycling.

I'll be sure not to go to far into my heart's rev limiter!!  

Quote from: KnightofNi on May 25, 2011, 07:08:38 AM
haha, i would wear it all the time just to see how much i'm burning doing different things.
i always wanteds to know how many calories getting up and going to the fridge burns.

that's actually the idea.........you wear it for a good week straight to get an idea what you're burning during all activities, including rest. It's a great eye opener as to how much you have to move along with your diet to create a calorie deficit.

Quote from: pitbull on May 25, 2011, 09:32:13 AM
that's actually the idea.........you wear it for a good week straight to get an idea what you're burning during all activities, including rest. It's a great eye opener as to how much you have to move along with your diet to create a calorie deficit.

i dont' care about baselines. i just want to know the numbers. 

i want to put all the mundane daily things in a spreadsheet.

Quote from: pitbull on May 25, 2011, 09:32:13 AM
that's actually the idea.........you wear it for a good week straight to get an idea what you're burning during all activities, including rest. It's a great eye opener as to how much you have to move along with your diet to create a calorie deficit.

What's really sad is how disconnected people tend to be regarding the nutritional values of the foods that they put in their mouth. Though I am only generalizing, the tendency (at least in the USA) is for people to eat so much more than they actually need that they quite frequently trespass into the area of gluttony. As such, it's become normal for the scales to tip in favor of caloric surplus versus caloric deficit.

Quote from: Monster Dave on May 25, 2011, 11:08:08 AM
What's really sad is how disconnected people tend to be regarding the nutritional values of the foods that they put in their mouth. Though I am only generalizing, the tendency (at least in the USA) is for people to eat so much more than they actually need that they quite frequently trespass into the area of gluttony. As such, it's become normal for the scales to tip in favor of caloric surplus versus caloric deficit.

all very true.

In fact I have to make a very conscious effort to count calories to not gain weight and I've been at it enough years that I know the nutritional value and macronutrient breakdown of most common foods. I can even usually accurately guess the portion size of the food by weight just eyeballing it.

If I'm actively dieting I have to weigh everything I eat

Quote from: KnightofNi on May 25, 2011, 10:59:26 AM
i dont' care about baselines. i just want to know the numbers. 

i want to put all the mundane daily things in a spreadsheet.

It's certainly a fun tool for those who dig on charting stuff and creating spreadsheets. It actually can trigger some people's ocd behaviour if they're prone to it.

Quote from: pitbull on May 25, 2011, 12:54:04 PM
all very true.

In fact I have to make a very conscious effort to count calories to not gain weight and I've been at it enough years that I know the nutritional value and macronutrient breakdown of most common foods. I can even usually accurately guess the portion size of the food by weight just eyeballing it.

If I'm actively dieting I have to weigh everything I eat

It's great that you can do that   - but I'm talking on much simpler terms. Most 'standard' portion sizes could just be cut in 1/2 and people would get much closer to what they 'need' to eat rather than what they 'want' to eat.

Quote from: Monster Dave on May 25, 2011, 12:57:05 PM
It's great that you can do that   - but I'm talking on much simpler terms. Most 'standard' portion sizes could just be cut in 1/2 and people would get much closer to what they 'need' to eat rather than what they 'want' to eat.

this has been the hardest thing for me.
i have never been "fat" but i have been a little heavier than i would like. for the majority of my life i was way too skinny and could eat everything in sight and not gain any weight. i had under 6% body fat and had decently bad eating habits (i say decently bad because i still ate my veggies and leafy greens  )
When i broke my hand arund 8 years ago i went from 185ish to the 220 range in a few months thanks to the inability to do anything more physical than walking. (i had pins in my hand and it hurt like a pregnant dog)
When i met my ex and we moved in together i was more sedentary and just put on more weight. when i hit 250 i knew i had to do something. it has taken me since i broke my hand and realized what is goping on to get used to smaller portions. on a regular basis. the point is, when you are used to somethign and then suddenly it changes you don't always know how to deal with it. also, i REALLY like eating. i love tasting new foods and i rarely actually count calories. it's an exercise in futility for me. I just work out harder later to account for it. 

Quote from: KnightofNi on May 25, 2011, 01:44:13 PM
it has taken me since i broke my hand and realized what is goping on to get used to smaller portions. on a regular basis. the point is, when you are used to somethign and then suddenly it changes you don't always know how to deal with it. also, i REALLY like eating. i love tasting new foods and i rarely actually count calories. it's an exercise in futility for me. I just work out harder later to account for it. 

I understand what you're saying.

I've always thought that there was a big difference between "living to eat" and "eating to live" - it's surprising to me how many people simply just 'like to eat' (no offense intended).

I like food too, but I find that overall I'm happier with things in moderation. My cycling performance relies so heavily on the 'fuel' that I put in my 'tank', and I believe that I can really tell a difference if I ate a healthy dinner the night before a training ride. The same goes for breakfast. I think that you do get out what you put in.

Quote from: Monster Dave on May 25, 2011, 12:57:05 PM
It's great that you can do that   - but I'm talking on much simpler terms. Most 'standard' portion sizes could just be cut in 1/2 and people would get much closer to what they 'need' to eat rather than what they 'want' to eat.

depending on the goal, yes.