Previous thread was closed and locked. Para agreed a new thread could be stared.

I mentioned earlier in that thread that I have been using ChatGPT as a fitness coach. Uploading my workout stats, and then sharing my sleep score, overnight HRV, and resting HR.

As a comparison, for the past couple of weeks I have been sharing equally with both GPT and Google’s Gemini. It’s been interesting to me that GPT has been much more of the opinion, “go go go, but proceed with caution!“ If I’ve had some rough sleep or back to back workouts.

Gemini on the other hand, has been much more, “all stop“ and directs me to essentially not work out until my sleep improves and my HRV begins to trend the other direction.

One interesting concept that Gemini shared with me that I have not seen from GPT, is the “weight tax“. That is where it tells me how many extra beats a day my heart is running based on the excess pounds I am carrying, and the milestones I should expect in “resting heart rate” for x amount of pounds reduced.

The extra heart beats thing is interesting. Some people don't understand that your heart doesn't grow after you reach adulthood.

I wouldn't base my workouts on sleep patterns. Maintain your workouts and figure the sleep part out separately.

Good luck in 2026.

One more recommendation to not stop working out if you miss a sleep goal. It's always tempting but consistency in workouts is the key.
Sleep issues are tough to deal with. It took me decades to sort out mine. I ended up doing a DNA test recently (MaxGen) which pointed out some recommended supplements (Phosphatidyl Choline, and methyl folate). I have been sleeping through the night almost immediately after starting them. Better sleep in turn makes recovery after workouts better so I have made more gains.

Eating light meals at night works super well. Almost all the calories eaten at night end up being stored as fat, unless you were super active during the day. By active, I mean cutting logs all day, doing construction, 15 mile hike, etc.

Also eat very little carbs and no sugar. Not much besides protein and vegetables is ideal.

I was wondering when this thread would restart. I posted on the original thread page 1. and pretty much failed to keep up with the nutrition and exercise.

Started again in Oct 2025. At Thanksgiving I used my dads glucose meter for fasting glucose. I was expecting a low number due to doing carnivore. But it was 150. So freaked out a little. Went in for a lab test and it was 124. 126 is considered diabetic. So I have switched to keto since then. Heaviest weight was 325 and I am down to 289. My goal weight is 240. I just need to be more consistant with the gym and make some different recipes. Being healthy is a lot of work!

Down slightly more than 100 since May.

A mix of IF/OMAD + 25ish min lifting + lots of incline weight vest walking seems to be the magic recipe for me.

Muscle is way up, fat is way down.

I went off the rails after losing around 20-30lbs before Halloween. Back at it and down about 5. My goal is to not have any chub before proposing to my girlfriend in June when we go on vacation. She's doing the diet and whatnot with me as well (but is unaware of my goal date) and is already down 10.

My ideal weight is around 50lbs less than what I'm at currently.

Random update…

Using GPT as a trainer is ridiculously effective, a lot of of what it recommends goes against everything I’ve ever thought I’ve known, but I’m seeing the results in countless ways; specifically in my resting heart rate and recovery time after a work out.

quote:

Originally posted by Ronin1069:
Random update…

Using GPT as a trainer is ridiculously effective, a lot of of what it recommends goes against everything I’ve ever thought I’ve known, but I’m seeing the results in countless ways; specifically in my resting heart rate and recovery time after a work out.

what paremeters do you give it? I am interested in this!

struggling but still at it.. down to 280. 40 more to go !!!

I don’t follow any formal regimen. I exercise for a little bit of muscle growth and more stamina / endurance. I use stairmaster and about 4 machines. But also sit-ups and push-ups.

Since august, I’ve gone from 170 to about 148. I’m eating less too, but not for diet but just not as hungry.

quote:

Originally posted by c1steve:
Eating light meals at night works super well. Almost all the calories eaten at night end up being stored as fat, unless you were super active during the day. By active, I mean cutting logs all day, doing construction, 15 mile hike, etc.

Also eat very little carbs and no sugar. Not much besides protein and vegetables is ideal.

That really varies based on the individual. DNA, workout regiment, diet etc. My opinion is keeping all meals to 500-600 calories give or take. I’ve always done 5-6 meals per day (6 weekday, 5 weekend) because the body can only process so much protein at a time and I need my daily intake of protein. So all my meals, day or night, are the same size in caloric content. I eat the same size meals at night as I do in the day. Carbs are fine for me in the daytime, even in the evening but I try to do protein/sweet potato at night or protein salads with fruit.

I’m active and need carbs. At night I taper them off slightly. I’m always in a state of hypertrophy so the recovering muscle tissue recovers at night and needs calories and protein. I literally have to eat before I go to bed or my metabolism will wake me up mid sleep. That’s why I think weight training is so important. If your muscles are sore, they are burning calories (and fat) at night as they recover. If you are training consistently, one muscle or muscle group, or another, is always in a state of recovery and burning fat for you when you sleep.

Goals are great and all, but consistency is the key to success. Consistency with your workouts, with your food (quality, total calories, protein content, etc), and do your best with your sleep. Consistency over time rids fat, builds muscle, and overall health. No alcohol. No fast food (protein salad is fine), and restaurant food is extremely calorie dense and portions too large so take 1/2 home or don’t waste your money. I rarely eat out of my kitchen and meal prep. So even if I’m gone for large portions of the day I’m packed with Tupperware, plastic cutlery if need be, and use a soft igloo with the re-freeze ice rectangle things.

I don’t believe in magic sauce, pills, or diets. Eat right, workout right, and be consistent. Flood your body with water all day every day. Get on some decent supplements of vitamins/minerals. Make protein the highest priority is regularly exercising. Sugar is fine in moderation, so in your morning coffee. Desserts, man made crap, avoid. Alcohol I follow Dr. Huberman’s advice 1-2 glasses per week but I decided better for me to just not drink it at all. Being in shape feels better than any food or alcohol tastes. Consistency just trumps everything else.

Get an East Asian girlfriend who grew up there and let her do the cooking. Fresh meat, seafood, vegetables and a little rice. No cheese, no processed food, no deep fried potatoes with cheese. Bacon is fine, as god intended. Eat the portions she does, but maybe a little more.

My girl is 5'3", 108 lbs, solid toned muscle, and at the lower end of BMI for a woman at 42 years old. On her own I see her eat avocados with bread, and Chinese dishes with meat and hot peppers and vegetables. She can make authentic Sichuan hot pot too. She's from Guangxi province which borders on Vietnam

I'm down 15 pounds without any real effort or feeling hungry or feeling the need to eat junk food or overeat in general.

I started CrossFit + weightlifting about 18 months ago, and have seen a significant increase in muscle mass. To the point I need new pants because my thighs have gotten too big for my old ones.

I fell into the “hell, I can eat this because I workout like a mofo” thing for a while though. Was not gaining fat but was not losing it really either.

Switched back to low carb/no sugar or processed foods as of February first. Feeling better already but no real change on the scale yet.

If I can lose 20 pounds of fat I believe I’ll be good. Damned love handles. I’m in the gym usually 5 days a week so that part is solid.

Sleep is important to me. If I get less than 5-6 hours two nights in a row I’m worthless. Generally I’m good, but some weeks it’s challenging between work and kids.

I was 173 on the scale yesterday. That's 17 pounds less than I was a little while ago.

I'd like to be 160 lb.

Wanna know a secret?

Doing planks again after a few months of not doing planks, makes you remember that you just did planks!

quote:

Originally posted by Lefty Sig:
Get an East Asian girlfriend who grew up there and let her do the cooking. Fresh meat, seafood, vegetables and a little rice. No cheese, no processed food, no deep fried potatoes with cheese. Bacon is fine, as god intended. Eat the portions she does, but maybe a little more.

My girl is 5'3", 108 lbs, solid toned muscle, and at the lower end of BMI for a woman at 42 years old. On her own I see her eat avocados with bread, and Chinese dishes with meat and hot peppers and vegetables. She can make authentic Sichuan hot pot too. She's from Guangxi province which borders on Vietnam

I'm down 15 pounds without any real effort or feeling hungry or feeling the need to eat junk food or overeat in general.

It's good advice. I noticed over the years that as various western foods come into SE Asia, they start having American body shapes. Thailand and China in particular have changed. Vietnam isn't there yet but Japan is. Want to see a photo of the checkout of Costco in Hiroshima? My wife pointed it out to me, now I can't unsee it. Now you can buy chips, cokes, and even bread just about everywhere in most of those countries.

It's a difficult thing to change our food patterns, even if we all know what proper and healthy eating is. It's a stuggle, best wishes and strength to all who work on their weight. It's a worthy thing to attack.

I'm on ketovore, still and have stalled for the past six months. I'm stuck at 215 +/- a pound or two. I'm still the lightest I've been in 25 years. I've got a little too relaxed in my routine.

My Apple watch recently told me that my resting heart rate has trended down from 75 BPM to 65 BPM, so that's great! My arms are noticeably more vascular than they were before.

I'm back to being really disciplined about my max calories and macros per day. I'm cutting down to ~1,700 calories down from 2,000 a day. I don't have time to exercise, but I still walk 10,000 to 14,000 steps a day. My goal is 185.

I'm cutting down on the heavy cream I usually have in my morning coffee. I ate one meal today at a Brazilian steakhouse after church and am now on a modified fast. I'll probably just have a coffee tomorrow morning but no actual food until at least Tuesday. The longest fast I've done has been 96 hours. I do a multi-day fast once or twice a month.

I still cut out almost all carbs and intake maybe 35 grams or less a day.

I'm butchering my own meat and I cook briskets a lot and that gets us by for multiple days. I recently bought a strip roll and a chuck roll and butchered them at home and also bought a meat grinder attachment for my Kitchen Aid so I can ground my own beef from the primal cut leftovers.

I spend $5.99 a pound for brisket, $6.99 a pound for a chuck roll and $9.99 a pound for a New York Strip roll.

Tony.

quote:

Originally posted by jimb888:
It's good advice. I noticed over the years that as various western foods come into SE Asia, they start having American body shapes. Thailand and China in particular have changed. Vietnam isn't there yet but Japan is. Want to see a photo of the checkout of Costco in Hiroshima? My wife pointed it out to me, now I can't unsee it. Now you can buy chips, cokes, and even bread just about everywhere in most of those countries.

It's a difficult thing to change our food patterns, even if we all know what proper and healthy eating is. It's a stuggle, best wishes and strength to all who work on their weight. It's a worthy thing to attack.

Traveling all over China, a few cities in South Korea, and Japan in Tokyo, north of Tokyo, Nagoya, and Toyota City, I saw the same thing. The more American fast food has taken hold, the more fat people I saw. Still, it's an order of magnitude better than the U.S. Some of that might be because smoking is very common in East Asia, which helps keep you thinner, and somehow doesn't effect their long lifespan. Perhaps their cigarettes have less harmful chemicals in them...

But the girl likes Pizza now, and it's fast and easy. But out of a 12" frozen pizza she might have 3/8ths of it and I have 5/8ths of it. That's a lot better than eating the whole thing myself.

It really helps to have someone that eats less with you, to remind you that you don't need to eat as much as we think we do.

Tonight she will make Chinese food with some whole shrimp we got at Costco. Thankfully she will shell and clean them and not serve them whole with shell like in China. We almost always just have protein and vegetable when she cooks, we don't make any rice.