I was worried about that at first. I would go out on weekends and drink myself into a coma, eat trash, and then go to class and live the sedentary lifestyle.

Starting in about mid-October, I just found the time (it wasn't very hard- an hour less facebook chatting a day was all it took) to run 7 miles a day. Everyday. I never miss a day of running. I run marathons, so for me, running is cathartic.

I also started eating really healthy stuff again; at the end of the week, I used to reward myself with a day of eating whatever I wanted. However, once I purged my system of all the unhealthy crap, the day of eating whatever I wanted turned into a night of paying for what I ate, and I've since abandoned that routine. It's so much better just to stay healthy; once you're used to it, you'll never be able to deviate.

Umm, I don't think that running 7 miles a day, every day, is healthy. As a serious runner (assuming like you), its best for your body's health and fitness to run only 4 or 5 days a week, with only 1 particularly long run, staggering the longer ones with shorter ones. Seriously, your body (muscles, joints, etc.) need time to recover after longer runs, and if you run everyday your body isn't going to have a chance to do this. Eventually this will lead to generally worse physical health as well as a proneness to injury. Just my $0.02....

That's generally good advice. My rule of thumb is to do what's comfortable- I also stretch a LOT after I run; if running leaves me sore the next day, I know that I'm overexerting myself, and I'll immediately take a day off. If I'm doing a distance run (over 12 miles), I obviously won't run for a day or two after, depending on my needs. Seven miles as a baseline is pretty comfortable though; what I really should've said is that I do between 42 and 50 a week, which is admittedly on the high side, but this is for marathon training.

To follow-up on my previous post, after having not stepped on a scale since starting law school in august, i got on a scale for the first time the other day and found out that i lost 20 pounds ... sweet! I was never really overweight in the first place. My diet consisted mostly of soda, 7-eleven taquitos, and $1 mcdonald double cheeseburgers (I am dead serious ... crazy).

Lost 5 lbs my first semester, most of it from finals. Down over 15 lbs from this time last year.

I lost 25 pounds in 4 months. Apparently law schools means you still have time to exercise, but not to eat.

I put on about 3 or 4 lbs of muscle and didn't gain or lose any weight.

Before finals (up until about 3 weeks before finals) I had gained 5 pounds of mostly fat. I lost 13 pounds during the last 3 weeks. 75% fat and 25% muscle (an approximation of course).

The lesson learned is that unless I bring food with me to the library I am probably not going to eat until I go home (the cafeteria in the law school is way too pricey for me).

It was my understanding that a belly that shakes like a bowl full of jelly was desirable this time of year.

If you have time to read this thread, you have time to exercise.

I have noticed that a # of males have all commented on shedding a few points this semester, while some females have gained (quite) a few pounds!

Long distance running is generally pretty terrible for your body and not necessary for weight loss. If you enjoy it, then fine, but if you hate it and are just doing it for weight loss, then there's much better activities.

Read everything you can here: http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/articles

Run calorie deficits, set your protein levels high, run calorie deficits, set adequate carbohydrate and fat levels, run calorie deficits and you will lose weight.

Also strength train appropriately: http://www.amazon.com/Starting-Strength ... 0976805421 (this goes for both men and women)

Cardio is helpful, but only marginally so and is not essential. I dropped 75 lbs this summer doing minimal cardio. I only engaged in HIIT (high intensity interval training): http://musclemedia.com/training/hiit.asp

It's a good kind of running because the intervals will stress your body more than 60 minutes on a treadmill/general running and it keeps the running to a very small amount of time, limiting the amount of damage running will do to your body (and running will damage your body).

If you MUST do long distance cardio for whatever reason (and there are some good reasons, but, again, it's not essential for weight loss), try to stick to low/no impact activities like swimming and biking.

Running is my favorite form of exercise and I have run a few half marathons and a marathon in the past year. I really hope to continue running marathons but I am afraid I won't have time for the training once I start law school. Any marathon runners out there that can comment on this? I really would love to continue making time for it, especially because it is a big stress release for me which I figure will be necessary throughout the stress of law school.

Good stuff.

I'll add/re-emphasize 1 point:

eat whatever this man tells you to eat
http://robbwolf.com/


lift whatever this man tells you to lift (as posted above)
http://www.amazon.com/Starting-Strength ... 0976805421
and read this
http://startingstrength.com/articles/co ... ppetoe.pdf

and if you dont want to listen to him because you think you can squat then do this stuff:
http://www.cathletics.com/


If you do that and in 3 months dont feel and look better then then go see a doctor because there is probably something seriously wrong with your health.

Wake up, eat breakfast. Eat oatmeal or a protein shake or something -- not fat ass food (skip the waffles/pancakes/biscuits/etc.) Replace your fatass milk with 1% milk. Carbs give you more energy through the day and eating breakfast actually makes you lose more weight than skipping breakfast.

Pick up a pound of Kroger sliced deli turkey or chicken breast once every couple weeks. Make sandwiches out of them on wheat bread. You can eat pretty much all the lean meat you want and still lose weight.

For snacks buy lots of nuts, low fat popcorn, quality health bars, lowfat yogurt, fruit, vegetables, hummus, etc. You'll forget about the shitty food fairly quickly.

For dinner try and eat some kind of lean meat. Chicken is the best. Mix it with rice and/or a vegetable and you're set. It's really not a big deal to cook 5 or 6 chicken breasts at once and eat them as you go.

Try to eat 5 medium-sized meals a day instead of 2 big ones. You'll kick your metabolism and actually lose weight/tone up with exercise despite taking in more calories. Eating 2 meals a day on the reg is a death sentence for being healthy.

Also, skip the vanilla bullshits (thank you Curb your enthusiasm) at Starbucks. Those things are expensive and full of fat. Man up and drink real coffee or tea.

And drink water. There's nothing worse for you than downing sodas throughout the day. If you have to have one, make it a diet coke. It still has a shit load of sugar, but it's good for a binge. Get a can and not a bottle.

This is the hardest one -- try and cut down on your drinking. I know it goes against everything law-related, but it will help keep you in shape. I have been a border-line alcoholic for the past couple of years, so what I do is try to cut my downtown drinking in half when I go. Drink slower and drink half as much as you normally want. Helps with hangovers, too, which fuck up your studying and working out the next day.

As for exercise -- stop being lazy and just do it. You probably say you don't have enough energy at the end of the day to exercise, but that's just your excuse. You'll end up having twice the energy you have now if you workout. Try to start by running twice a week and lifting once a week. Then slowly start to kick it up. There's no reason you can't spare ~3 hours a week to get yourself into decent shape.

Find something you like doing and exercising won't become a big deal. Play racquetball. Run while watching TV or reading. It's all decently fun. Try boxing or something of the sort -- it's kept me sane and fit for the past semester. I actually went through the day dying to work out because it's something I actually enjoy doing.

Forget distance road running. If you seriously get into running you'll plateau and see no gains once you start making regular distance runs. Plus you'll fuck up your knees on the pavement. Mix moderate running with weight training and some kind of a real sport. Cardio + muscle mass > cardio and squirmy "distance runner" body. Everyone hates the guy/girl who makes it a point to brag about their next 5k in the morning or how they're planning on running their first half-marathon in the summer.

It's not hard to not be a fat ass. In fact, it's actually kind of fun. Plus nobody likes fat people. It's a sign of laziness and inferior breeding capacity. Being in shape also makes you better at law school, because, as we all know, a healthy body is a healthy mind (or is it the other way around?)

The above diet is a little tough getting used to, but you won't miss shitty food after a couple of weeks. Plus you can pretty much eat whatever you want for dinner if you're actually exercising regularly. In my last month of school I ate pizza/burgers/shit pretty much every night and still didn't gain weight.

Hope this helps.

The post above is alright, but it gives some iffy advice.

The whole "eat 5 meals a day to boost your metabolism" stuff is myth. See: http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/resear ... eview.html


Perhaps one of the longest standing dogmas in the weight loss and bodybuilding world is the absolute necessity of eating frequently for various reasons. Specific to weight loss, how many times have you heard something along the lines of “Eating 6 times per day stokes the metabolic fire.” or “You must eat 6 times per day to lose fat effectively.” or “Skipping even one meal per day will slow your metabolic rate and you’ll hoard fat.” Probably a lot

Well, guess what. The idea is primarily based on awful observational studies and direct research (where meal frequency is varied within the context of an identical number of calories under controlled conditions) says that it’s all basically nonsense. The basic premise came, essentially out of a misunderstanding of the thermic effect of food (TEF) also called dietary induced thermogenesis (DIT) which are the calories burned in processing of the food you eat.

Also there is no reason to replace whole milk if you enjoy it. One of the other myths of weight loss is that you have to eat a low fat diet. You do need to monitor your fats (so you may have to make sacrifices elsewhere), but the fat in milk really is quite healthy for you. Same with the fat in mixed nuts. However, you should try to limit the amount of processed foods in your diet. I try to keep 90 % of my diet to non-processed foods. The other 10 % is usually occupied with dairy.

Basically just read everything Lyle McDonald writes.

if you dont want to listen to mark rippetoe then you have already lost the battle

It's not if you're supplementing it with exercise. If you're working out you should always have nutrients for your body to burn to rebuild itself. If you're eating 2 meals a day you're first depriving your body of nutrients and then overloading it.

Sure you can lose weight by limiting yourself to 1 meal a day, but there's no way in hell you're going to gain any muscle or strength. And the last time I checked looking like a POW was about as desirable as being a fat ass.

As for the milk thing, it's just a tip to help someone who's overweight lose weight. If you're a smaller person and working out, whole milk is fine. But if you want a simple and effective way to lose a little more weight without even noticing, cutting back to 1% milk is a good step.

I think it's doable, depending on what else you want to do. I don't know about you, but I imagine you do a long run on Sundays usually? That's quite easy to do still. And it's doable to spare an hour three other days out of the week, if that's what your training schedule is. You'll likely have to decide between that and some other recreational activity, but if you like it and want to do it, I think you could do it. We are lucky enough to have showers at our school so you can get up from the library, run, and be sitting back down in 90 minutes. One problem I could see is wear and tear on your body if you don't get enough sleep, but that's also a choice. If you're OK with running, doing your work, and getting to sleep - which means giving up other recreational activities - then you should be fine.

OMG crossfits are sooooo evil... I played soccer in college and in spring training we would do 4-5 a week...
but its true it will get you in amazing shape....

if any of you TLS'ers are workout junkies I can tell you about a few killer workouts that take 15 minutes or less, but ensure you being a skinny/hot law student

Thanks for the advice. I wouldn't mind sacrificing running for other recreational activities. I try not to do too much in the way of other sports when I am training so as to not increase my risk of injury. Maybe I'll find even be able to find a running partner

Eh... Thats not quite true. If you eat enough in 1 or 2 meals, you don't need to spread it out over 5. From an evolutionary perspective, your body probably developed to only eat in quick bursts once or twice a day. Thats why there are all sorts of warrior diets that work really well. http://www.stronglifts.com has a whole bunch on that as well. You can get really strong and eat less meals as long as you eat right.

The 5 or 6 meals a day I think just makes it easier to eat right for people who have a habit of eating 2 or 3 very unhealthy meals a day (or dont eat enough). I personally hate eating 2 big meals a day so I try to split it up and I snack a decent amount. I'm not a really big guy but for me to get enough calories in 2 or 3 meals is just too difficult.

If you're really worried about spiking blood sugar and such, then go paleo or zone and don't eat any processed food.


edit: and milk. okay. If you're skinny, drink real full fat, straight from the cow milk. Its the only milk that can be described as good for you - better than any protein shake if you're trying to build muscle. Best thing to drink after a work out. GOMAD for the skinnies.

If you're fat, stop drinking milk period or go down to fat free milk. There is a reason why such a large percentage of the population is lactose intolerant....in other words, you shouldn't really be consuming it.

2L here, FWIW....

Taking 30 minutes of your day to exercise isn't much. If you don't have 30 minutes of free time per day, then you're studying horribly inefficiently. The law isn't rocket science. You're being tested on rather basic concepts, and the law merely builds upon these basic concepts. The key to studying is quality, not quantity.

I found that when I exercised at least 3-4 times per week, I could read much faster and more efficiently, as I had much more energy. It really is amazing.

The hard part, however, is making it a habit to exercise. Law school can be stressful, and your free time is precious, so pick an activity that you really enjoy doing. And find a partner! That'll keep you honest, when you don't feel like working out (and vice versa). It doesn't have to be a law student, but I find that helpful because they'll understand your "crazy" schedule and are more willing to be flexible.

people said girls were gaining weight, but i probably ended up losing weight this semester, and i definitely would have a net lose if finals didn't come along and destroy my schedule. this is what i did during the semester and it seemed to work.

first, stop making excuses not to work out. if you want to be healthy, you will make it a priority no matter how busy you are. you need to work it into your schedule though. i work out 3-4 days a week for about an hour (before finals came along). i picked the days where i had a less busy schedule the next day (so for me it just happened to be mon, tues, and thurs, and 1 day of the weekend). i will not wake up earlier than i have to in the morning, so i work out in the evening. i would leave the library by 7 on those days, so i know i would get my workout in no matter how much i had to study. if for whatever reason i couldn't make it into the gym that night due to homework, i knew i had to make up for it by going some other night that week.
using an elliptical or stationary bike while you read is not hard. that way the only time you will lose is travel time to the gym. i keep a bag with my gym stuff in the car so i can just change at the gym.
the trick is, if you work working out into your routine, after a while you will want to work out. it just makes you feel better.

second, eating healthy takes no more time than eating unhealthy. i eat some dry cereal and a fruit (apple or banana) on my way to class. don't pick a cereal that is high in sugar but one that is high in fiber. also, look at the calories. try to pick one that is in the 100's. those granola cereals are like 300 calories - ridiculous. or, like nickwar said, oatmeal is fantastic.
i bring my lunch. sandwich, fruit, nuts, carrots...something along those lines depending on what i have in my kitchen. you probably notice that i can just throw these foods into my lunchbox. making my lunch is never a long, elaborate process. if i am feeling too lazy to make a sandwich, i throw a wheat pita and some hummus in my lunch box instead.
for dinner, i either mix a bunch of veggies and olive oil with some wheat pasta or make some chicken and veggies. i like working raw spinach into my dinner. it is a super food. basically, if you want to lose weight but are not eating a lot of veggies and lean meats, you are doing something wrong.
also, even if you get more expensive veggies or whatever, you will still end up spending less on food than if you eat out all the time. win/win!

it really is quite easy

eat dead (non-starchy) plants or things that had to be chased around and killed

you'll lose weight