Weekly Workout Thread 18th June till 24th June

[Mara]

welcome cello and kudos on the weight loss so far!! i also am 5'7" and don't have a tiny frame, it's not considered a 'large' frame, but i have wide shoulders and when i get too low i don't look as good as i get a little too bony...i was like 129 at my lowest and right now i am more like 134 and i have had multiple friends and family tell me i look better now than i did 2 months ago at 129. which is so funny to think that 5 lbs difference is so visible to people? so i am pretty happy now, it's just maintaining which was hard but i am finally getting the hang of it. i try to eat healthy like 90% of the time then have 10% to do whatever, because i do have a sweet tooth! and i try to stay really active. i work out like 5-6x a week. my husband fondly recalls when he met me and i think i was about 10 lbs heavier then so i know i have some leeway in terms of if i gain something back, he loved when i was more curvy too hehee.

anyhow, so i was eating well today and then BAM someone's bday and 2 cakes were here! and one was my fave...double chocolate from this local french bakery where my mom gets her cakes. so i had 2 thin slivers, lol! and then tomorrow i guess we are having another bday so another cake is coming! yikes. oh well. i am working out tonite and we'll have a lighter dinner most likely as well so it'll balance out.

danielle, good to see you back here again and kudos on some great progress!!

 

[cellososweet]

hi mara, thanks for the welcome. my frame is strange, i''m very broad on top. even at my lowest (when i wore a 0 on bottom) i still wore a medium on top. thanks in part to the boobs. But, it''s the shoulders, the back, everything on top is very big. I''m like an inverted triangle. I have a pretty nice curve to me, but the top will almost outweight the bottom proportion-wise. I will never have hips. my mum had two kids and still doesn''t have any.

Does anyone have any good butt exercises? I know that''s a funny question, but the machine at the gym get monotonous.

I''ve been doing squats, climbing a ton of stairs and the like, but I seriously have no behind! It doesn''t help with the whole proportion thing.

 

[KimberlyH]

Good Afternoon All!

Welcome, cello!

DeeJay, I signed up to work summer school, the more experience I gain and $$ I earn the better! I know for sure we''ll be eating at Everest and Cafe Spiaggia, we''ve been to both before and had amazing experiences, looking forward to enjoying their food again! We''re also going to Shaw''s Crab House, a new experience for us. Should be fun. We''re going to a White Sox/Cubbies game on Saturday and will probably have pizza that night.

Skippy, I so wish I was done with school. My estimated graduation date is April 2008. I can''t wait! The whole program is just under two years.

Danielle, welcome to you too! And thanks for the kind words. It''s been a fun journey!

Rod, HOORAY! So glad the order has been dropped.

I left early this morning, ran home to get the papers that needed notarized and have been writing a lesson plan ever since. I''m about 1/2 way through and my mind is saying "NO MORE!" No workout for me today. BUMMER! I''m sure that I''ve had less time for exercise lately is effecting my weight. Not extremely so (I was 126.2 this morning as opposed to my normal 125.4) but enough to bother me. Plus, I just miss exercising...it''s such a great outlet for me. Oh well, the kids kept me running today.

John is making pork chops, squash and fruit salad for dinner...sounds delicious!

Have a great evening all.

 

[marcy]

Hi!

Rod, the brownie bite was not as good as anticipated. I enjoyed the one I had though. It’ll last me for a long time. Sorry you didn’t sleep well. Glad to hear your former employer dropped their non-compete issue with you. That’s great.

Dee, I know what you mean about having to hold up your clothes. My old clothes become my PJ’s. They are nice and sloppy so they are comfortable. It’s a nice feeling though, huh? That is great you are at your all time low after eating some “goodies”.

Thank you for the kind words, NYC. I can’t believe it sometimes. Your grilled lemon chicken sounds yummy.

Mara, you walk sounds great. Too funny about thinking you’d be in traction in the morning. You’d still figure out a way to go drive around in your new mini.

Skippy, glad you lost your travel weight. Yeah!

PG, your new smaller clothes sound wonderful!

Hi, Cellososweet, congratulations on your marriage this year and loosing 20 pounds. Thank you for sharing some more “translations” for me. I enjoy them.

Danielle, good luck on your competition! It sounds like a great motivator.

Have a great evening everyone! I must go grade papers now so I have time to do stretches later.

 

[Dee*Jay]

I walked well over five miles today when you factor in my trip to and from work twice (once involving an unexpected trip to walk The Monster at lunch -- don't ask!) and hiking all over town to go to Whole Foods, Trader Joe's and Jewel (and still no damn chocolate toffuti cuties! What is this, like, a conspiracy? Every other flavor imaginable, but no chocolate... )

I was tempted to skip the gym but I talked myself into it finally and did 200 cals on the bike and 400 on the elliptical. I'm getting faster at this workout; it used to take me 35 mins each and now I'm down to 30 on the bike and 33 on the elliptical. Time to rachet up the calories!

After that the HH and I went to dinner at one of the restaurants in the gym where he belongs. I skipped the bread but I did have almost all of the carrot and celery sticks and about five olives. For dinner I had the pan seared tuna, grilled asparagus, and what they referred to as crab oscar, which were five sad little lumps of crab tempura battered and deep fried (but I ate them, LOL!). And only one glass of wine. I hope I didn't do too much damage since I was so good earlier in the day and I'm hoping for a good weigh in tomorrow.

Time to walk The Demon and The Monster and then I'm off to bed!

 

[Rod]

Evening Everyone.........

We didn''t get out of the gym until after 9 PM. I was determined to work my A$$ off so I would be worn out and sleep better tonight. Hopefully, I''ve accomplished my goal. Then we came home and had a protein shake (yummy). Oh, let me back up, sometimes at the gym they have vendors come in and give away samples of things (often food) and tonight, I noticed there was frozen yogurt, but I didn''t really pay much attention to it as I was intent on working out. So, I figured if there was any left when I was leaving, I''d try a sample. So, when I left the young lady said there was just one little sample of green tea frozen yogurt with active yogurt cultures left and offered it to me. Oh My God........it was the best tasting frozen yogurt I''ve EVER tried. And the shop is right down the street from OUR Starbucks. I can''t remember the name of the shop, it''s not a national chain, but I can''t wait for the weekend to go get some. YUMMMMYYYY.

Anyway, it was a great workout. There''s this couple at the gym, I call Lois and Clark. He look''s like Superman, down to the curl of hair on his forhead and of course he has Superman''s body. She is in Supergirl form herself, so they laugh when I say hey Lois and Clark when I see them. But, she wanted me to know that she and (his real name is Michael) had been watching me and Charlie do unassisted chinups and they think that we''ve made such tremendous progress since they first met us over a year ago at the gym. It''s really nice when people notice your hard work.

For dinner we had some homemade (nope we didn''t make it, but boy was it ever good) Cajun Cabbage and Sausage soup, with a slice of sourdough bread and I also had some left over shrimp from Sunday''s dinner. I figure my dinner was less than 300 calories, but super super good.

Skppy, you are too sweet. I do truly smile when your avatar pops up, so you must keep it.

Marcy, sometimes treats can be a letdown. I used to have Frappucino''s at Starbucks like everyday. Then I quit those because of the fat and calories, so after several months of not having any, I decided to splurge and have one and it was just such a letdown. It was too sweet and just not what I remembered. Anyway, mabye the brownie bite was the same thing for you. Perhaps the memory is better than reality.

DeeJay, the walk sounded great. A restaurant in the gym that serves food like pan seared tuna and crab oscar? Wow, that must be quite a gym!

Careful with all the Bday cakes Mara. Though I could not resist double chocolate anything for sure. I''m quite sure you''ll do extra pennance at the gym or a long walk with P and Greg to more than compensate for the extra calories.

I''ve just finished some work I needed to take care of and now I''m going to go wind down and get myself for a nice night''s sleep. I hope everyone has sweet dreams and is looking forward to a great Wednesday. Hump day! YAY.

 

[Mara]

cello, i hear ya on the body shape...my wider shoulders and stuff can sometimes be a little at odds with smaller hips. but oh well, we work with what we have right? hehee.

went to the gym and did 310 cals on the elliptical then 10 minutes of arm weights. dinner was leftovers from sunday''s BBQ...tasty!

rod, i just can''t turn me down cake some days...tomorrow is another bday but i tried to steer the cake buyer in the way of fresh white cake with fruit on it rather than double chocolate this time, hahaha. hope you sleep well tonite.

no workout for me tomorrow, i am meeting a girlfriend for sushi for dinner and a ride in the new wheels, whee!! then thursday it''s back to the trail for another hike..i can''t wait. anyhow, have a great night all!!

 

[monarch64]

I''m back...helped DH today with laundry and getting him packed for another trip...he''ll be in ATL for a couple days and then off for a fun weekend with one of his customers to see the college baseball world series (I think) and meeting some vip guy within that organization, which he''s looking forward to.

I got in a couple workouts on exerciseTV yesterday and today, I just love this stuff! So I feel good about moving around a bit within the comfort of my own home and I definitely felt y-day''s workout in my hips and thighs while doing today''s.

Today I was having one of those days where I just wasn''t hungry, nothing sounded good, etc. It''s unlike me to have those feelings, but I made myself eat some fresh strawberries and a banana this morning, with a small, 8 oz. glass of OJ, and then lunch was a Lean Cuisine butternut squash ravioli. Tonight I enjoyed a miller lite on the patio while playing with the dogs, and then ended up having about a cup of butoni tortellini chilled over italian salad mix and ff balsamic vinaigrette, which was really good and filling.

I''m sure I''ll be starving tomorrow, I didn''t even keep track of cals today but I know I didn''t even come close to my 1200 goal. It was sort of a weird day, I was busy and didn''t feel like snacking, and I was helping hubby and didn''t want to take a break, I guess. Maybe I''ll eat something else before I roll into bed...just reading through this thread and thinking about food kind of makes me hungry! LOL!

I also had appointments with both my oral surgeon (check up), and my orthodontist, today. I got a good report from the OS, and an adjustment on my braces from the ortho, so now my teeth are in slight agony...nothing a little Advil can''t cure, but still. A little discomfort going on, and I know both appt''s contributed to my not feeling like eating, especially the second one after which I just felt like I didn''t want to jar my teeth any further.

See you all tomorrow, and hopefully I''ll greet you with a more positive post!

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 6/19/2007 7:17:20 PM
Author: cellososweet
hi mara, thanks for the welcome. my frame is strange, i'm very broad on top. even at my lowest (when i wore a 0 on bottom) i still wore a medium on top. thanks in part to the boobs. But, it's the shoulders, the back, everything on top is very big. I'm like an inverted triangle. I have a pretty nice curve to me, but the top will almost outweight the bottom proportion-wise. I will never have hips. my mum had two kids and still doesn't have any.

Does anyone have any good butt exercises? I know that's a funny question, but the machine at the gym get monotonous.

I've been doing squats, climbing a ton of stairs and the like, but I seriously have no behind! It doesn't help with the whole proportion thing.

Celli - butts I find the incline on the treadmill is good for - ahem- perking it up a bit! Also the incline burns calories faster so a double bonus too. My backside is fairly firm and tight which is pleasing!

Dani welcome back! Thanks for the kudos Alj, sending mine to you too for your progress!

Monnie, I hope your teef feel better soon.

 

[Dee*Jay]

Date: 6/20/2007 8:32:44 AM
Author: Lorelei

Date: 6/19/2007 7:17:20 PM

Author: cellososweet

hi mara, thanks for the welcome. my frame is strange, i'm very broad on top. even at my lowest (when i wore a 0 on bottom) i still wore a medium on top. thanks in part to the boobs. But, it's the shoulders, the back, everything on top is very big. I'm like an inverted triangle. I have a pretty nice curve to me, but the top will almost outweight the bottom proportion-wise. I will never have hips. my mum had two kids and still doesn't have any.


Does anyone have any good butt exercises? I know that's a funny question, but the machine at the gym get monotonous.


I've been doing squats, climbing a ton of stairs and the like, but I seriously have no behind! It doesn't help with the whole proportion thing.

Celli - butts I find the incline on the treadmill is good for - ahem- perking it up a bit! Also the incline burns calories faster so a double bonus too. My backside is fairly firm and tight which is pleasing!

I found the treadmill on an incline to be a great butt workout too, but one caveat: Don't put the incline on too high or do it for too long in the beginning. Work up to it. There is a tendon on the back of my left knee that even two weeks later hurts like hell! I did an interval workout, alternating between flat and the highest incline every 10 minutes for an hour and it was TOO MUCH. The HH warned me (he's a long distance runner and is pretty much expert at this point in all types of sports related injuries) but noooooo, I had to do it MY way. So, just a word of caution, be careful and start out gently!


So I have a goofy weigh in this morning! The cleaning lady moved the scale to the other side of the bathroom yesterday (she does things like that--sometimes we come home and the whole living room is moved around

) so I hopped right on. It said I was three pounds lighter than yesterday. I knew that wasn't right so I scooted the scale into the middle of the bathroom floor (also not where it ususally is) and then it said I was 4.5 lbs lighter than yesterday. So finally I put the damn scale back where it usually is and it said I was 1 lb lighter. I got on and off three times, and even once more after I got out of the shower (and dried my hair of course--I'm not weighing *water* LOL!) and the number was consistent. SO.... I'm coming in at a new low of down 19.5 lbs!!! After that huge Mobey Dick sized piece of tuna I ate last night I was just amazed--call me Ishmael!

And time for Dee's stupid question of the day: When you're calculating the cals on something that you cook, do you use the before weight or the after weight? For example, I made ground up turkey with salsa for breakfast. The weight of the turkey was 8 oz before I cooked it but 6 oz after I cooked it. So when I put the cals in the calculator do I use 8 oz or 6 oz? I think 6 but I'm not entirely sure...

Have to hop right now for an early morning meeting, but I'll check in later.

 

[marcy]

Good morning. This morning I’m still at a loss of 104 pounds. Not that it’s a bad thing or anything. I started taking pictures of myself once a month in March to track my progress. I wish now I started as soon as I started my diet but I wasn’t too thrilled about having pictures of myself then. I did find a picture of me from May of 2006 which would have been right before I started loosing weight. It’s amazing to see the change.

Rod, I have to agree the memories of treats don’t meet with reality. Like popcorn, it smells better than it tastes. The hardest thing I had to give up was coca-cola. I still have about 4 to 6 oz with tacos or pizza (when I get them) but it just doesn’t taste as good as I remember. Thank goodness my chocolate treats at night are still a delight. I think my favorite treat right now is the 100 calorie snack pack shortbread sandies. Your work outs sound so intense, I wish I was able to do that much. I’m slowly working at getting more active.

Dee, I would be excited if I could walk as much as you do. I enjoy your Demon stories. That’s great you weighed in lighter this morning.

Cellososweet and Mara, I am completely opposite of you. My bottom is large compared to my waist and top. Oh well, like Mara said you work with what you’ve got.

Monarch, sorry to hear your teeth hurt. That just makes you hurt all over. I hope they get better soon. Having a sore mouth is not a fun way to diet.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

 

[Lorelei]

Not a silly question at all Dee - I normally go by cooked weights for calories as that is what you are actually eating, like with the ground turkey, it is probably less cooked as some fat escapes. Of course with some foods the count can be the same like a hard boiled egg eaten plain, but a fried egg would be more.

 

[Lorelei]

* threadjack* Marcy, I wonder if we have any more astronomy fans here? I haven''t done any telescope stuff for a while, but I still enjoy reading my books etc.

 

[marcy]

Lorelei, I hope there are more astronomy fans here. It is so cool. I am very excited to go observing this summer. My husband built a 20" telescope last summer and now that I am more fit I will be able to climb the ladder and look at things through it. For years I''ve enjoyed the sky from a chair; not this summer.

I''ll be able to walk around and look through telescopes.

 

[KimberlyH]

Morning WWTers!

DeeJay, I''m the opposite of Lorelei, I use the precooking weight. I''d rather overestimate calories than underestimate. I never thought about which was the correct way...hers probably is!

Mara, enjoy sushi with your friend.

Rod, glad you had a great workout and a wonderful compliment!

DeeJay, John suprised me and made ressies on the night we go to the game. I thought for sure it would be a baseball and pizza day. We''re going to Bin 36, another new place for us...so lots of great food (I hope!) including the restaurants I listed in my previous post...what fun!

Today is the last day of school. The kids get out at 11:05 and all of the teachers are going to Chevy''s (local Tex-Mex chain place) for a celebration lunch. The teacher I''ve been working with paid for all of her aides, including me, to go as a suprise, so even though I''d like to I can''t opt out. I don''t like Chevy''s at all and don''t know what our meal options are going to be. Tonight John will probably make dinner as I''ve got to do as much school work as I can before we leave tomorrow.

Here''s my weigh in today. I really need to get to a place where when the scale reads 126 I don''t freak as I am back to normal today. I need to focus on returning to more of an exercise routine when I get home. I''m not doing terribly but I could do better.

Week 24 Week 25
Height: 5''5" Height: 5''5"
Weight: 124.8 Weight: 125.0
Bust: 31" Bust: 31"
Waist: 26.25" Waist: 26.5"
Lower Waist: 31.5" Lower Waist: 31.5"
Bicep: 12" Bicep: 12"
Hips: 35” Hips: 35.5”
Thigh: 20" Thigh: 20.5"


Have a wonderful day all!

 

[Rod]

Morning WWT''ers

I did sleep better last night. Not great, but definitely better. I''m not best sleeper in the world to begin with, so hopefully, tonight will be even better.

Marcy, you''re right our workouts are pretty intense. But they didn''t start off that way. We''ve built up gradually over the last 18 or so months and have just added more "stuff" to our workouts as we''ve advanced. We find we hit plateaus and stop making progress, which is pretty common, so we have to mix it up and add intensity to continue making progress. Having a good trainer really helps, so if you feel you need guidance, I can''t recommend having a trainer enough.

Monnie, sorry to your teeth are sore. Good job on the workouts at home. Don''t get lonely with hubby on the road.

Ishmael (too funny) I can''t really help you with calorie counting. Unless the food I eat comes already marked with the calorie content, I usually don''t know and we don''t really count them anyway. I got a kick out of your morning weigh in. Our housekeeper moves things on us all the time too.

Kimberly, I hope you enjoy the TexMex place better than you anticipate.

 

[royalasscherlover]

dj, usually when i look up calories there is an option for the food raw or cooked...usually the raw is less calories per ounce because there is more water in there that then cooks out.

welcome danielle and cello!

i haven''t done a good job keeping up with the thread this week - too busy at work. i''ve also been in a little bit of a funk. my weight has been stagnant for several months now, and while i realize it''s good that i''m not gaining, i''m also frustrated that the scale won''t budge even though i''ve been eating about 1300 calories per day and exercising 5 times a week. it''s depressing to feel like this is the routine i need just to maintain my current weight. i think i am going to try to throw in at least one day of long, low intensity exercise, since that is the most effective way to burn fat. it''s hard for me to find time for a 2+ hour workout, but i am going to aim for sundays.

 

[Mara]

sb i know that there is definitely some sort of balance that we want to strike with eating and working out.

i have come to realize (though some days i mentally rebel!) that many times my body will do what it wants to do. it is not solely about what i do to it or give to it. case in point, i have gained a few lbs since my lowest weight which really bothered me for a while and i would have lighter weeks where i felt like i wanted it to go down etc..and then was like gosh i am eating 1300 cals a day 5 days a week and working out 5-6x a week and the scale is not moving at all. technically i should be eating more like 1500-1900 cals per day so then i was like well am i eating too lightly. it seems like when i eat more like 1600ish cals a day and do the same workouts then nothing really changes either. also my measurements have been changing slightly which kind of bothers me but then i think well i am more strong visually and there is really no more butt or leg jiggle!!! and my butt is back a bit which before it had gotten pretty flat. so it's just kind of interesting how my body seems to be changing and reshifting though i don't seem like i am doing anything really 'different' than before except maybe working out less. and while it was awesome to have 36" hips for 5 seconds, maybe that's just not realistic for me long term for me to be the strongest person i can be. and that's fine too. and let's face it, 37" hips is not bad either. the other thing i remember is that when my hips were shrinking it was like an inch a week and i wasn't doing one thing DIFFERENTLY to incent that. my body just was doing it's thing. so who knows sometimes what they are thinking. i was pretty curious on how low i could go and still feel okay but i think at my lowest i wasn't feeling uber fantastic...i feel better now. so that's important to remember too, like you said cello, healthy lifestyle and things fall into place. i can agonize over a few lbs or an inch or just realize that i look great and feel strong and be happy that i am healthy. plus greg keeps saying he misses my more curvy body. hehe.

i also had another friend tell me yesterday that she thinks i gained a few lbs over a few months ago, but i look better and healthier to her. so i guess that corroborates what i am seeing and feeling as well. the funniest and most ironic thing for me is that even at my thinnest (and now), i still had tiny little love handles above my hip bones, what gives?!!?! when do those things go away? ever!? talk about frustrating. everything online says to do cardio to burn the fat to get rid of them but last month my bf was 17% (this month it is 18.5% which is still quite low) and i still had them...!!

anyhow, today is a really lovely warm day but with that cool morning breeze coming through the windows, i love it. i actually let greg take the Mini to work today since he has this grueling meeting he has to run that always kind of gets him down, so i was hoping maybe the car would cheer him up. i'm driving his car...which is a sports car but surely not a brand spanking new one. but i know he loves the Mini so hopefully it will give him some pleasure!

breakfast was all bran with fage and berries. i decided to switch it up a bit from fiber one and i like the all bran actually. it has the same amount of fiber basically, maybe like 1g less but i like that it has double the protein of the fiber one. so i can get more of a balance going on there too. lunch will be something light since there will be cake this afternoon and then i am really looking fwd to having some sushi tonite with my girlfriend. mmmm!!!! have a great day all!!

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

Rod: I thought of your this morning since there was a recipe in the paper for sour cherry and almond scones.....think I''ll make some this weekend being the carb junkie i am.... BTW, I am happy that lawsuit came to nothing, just makes you wonder what the he** was that all about?

What a great walk I just had: 1.5 hrs over hills and valleys; half of which I walked backwards and now my legs are vbirating, using muscles I didn''t know I had!! The weather is very fine again, and such a pleasure to enjoy while exercising! Needed a dose of protein as I was starving; yougert and two scrambled eggs with cheese. Need to keep my stores as I am still weighing in at (just) 51 kgs.

Enjoy your day folks!

cheers--Sharon

 

[Lorelei]

Ditto the lawsuit coming to nothing Rod, great news!

 

[NYCsparkle]

good afternoon all! good to see most of us are staying on track....ahem mara with those yummy sounding b-day cakes.

anyways i''ve already done my workout for the day, which included a session of butt blasting..lol...now my glutes are killing me all because i feel like my butt needs to be higher. damn j-lo and jessica biel for having nice butts. i also have been focusing on my core(ab area) and i''m noticing a difference--not outward yet, but to me they feel tighter..yay!!! i''ve been really good at keeping to working out since i discovered exercise tv...theres so many options and i have no excuse not too. has anyone else been using their workouts? i also managed to get in a mile walk and went swimming yesterday and the day before--lots of exercise. hopefully tonight i''l get to go for a walk, but we''ll see.

i am going to make lemon pepper kabobs tonight over brown rice since last night i wound up having grilled chicken with peppers and onions on whole wheat pita with balsamic on top at my in-laws. it was really yummy and filling. i might have whole wheat crackers with garlic hummus for lunch in a bit or maybe a soup since its a rainy day here.

cellosweet--welcome and it sounds like you are on the right track to losing those last 20. keep at it.
lorelei--i''ve been drinking the green tea from arizona, but i''ll try the crystal light.
pg--wooohooo for smaller clothes. i don''t pay too much attention to the sizes in stores, because designers fudge them up and i range from a 0 to a 6 depending on the store. as long as you notice the changes then its all good.
mara i''m convinced love handles are there forever. they get slightly smaller but they are always lurking behind the next devil dog. i''ve been working them and they are still there. its funny because my friends have been telling me i looked better with a few pounds on me. i didn''t really notice a big difference, except in the chest and butt area. i used to have more

and they did look better then.

there is def. such a thing as too skinny, but i feel that when you eat right and exercise moderately your body will adjust to a "normal" weight for your own body. my body has been fluctuating between 118 and 120 for the past few weeks now so i''ve been maintaining without depriving myself of sweet treats.

 

[phoenixgirl]

Cellososweet, I was nearly sold on the Yoga Booty Ballet infomercial one morning. It''s got booty in the title so it''s got to be good, right?

I also got a DVD called the Lotte Berk Method but I confess I haven''t tried it yet. My problem is more minimizing than maximizing the booty.

DeeJay, good for you for not listening to the little devil on your shoulder and going to the gym anyway! That''s what counts! And almost 20 pounds lost, woo hoo!

Mara, yum, enjoy your sushi and day off!

Marcyc, 104 pounds, you lost a Paris Hilton!

I too am small on top and big on the bottom. Sigh, if only my problem were a large chest and small butt . . .

I went for an 80 minute walk this morning (walked just over 5 miles . . . I generally walk 4 miles an hour until the last 15 minutes or so), and a lady whom I passed said, "You were walking earlier." I guess that meant, "I saw you walking over an hour ago and I can''t believe you''re still walking." I also had an encounter with a guy protesting outside of a you can guess what kind of clinic who tried to get me take a pamphlet while I was power-walking. I was like [in my head], "Where am I supposed to put that? My bra?" I just pretended I didn''t see/hear him madly trying to get my attention.


OMG, I just had a total scale shocker! I really thought I was done losing weight, although my goal was set kind of arbitrarily (5''5", started at 138, wanted to be 124-125), but this morning it read 122. I was like, is that right? I had actually been a little afraid to weigh myself after two weeks of mediocre workouts and travel eating, but Wednesday is my official day so I made myself do it anyway and just hoped it was no worse than 127. So I''ve officially lost 15+ pounds! I can''t believe it! And saying, "I''ve lost 15 pounds" will be so much more fun than 13 just because it''s a rounder number. It''s funny, before I think I would have said I needed to lose "five to ten" pounds, not even believing it was really ten. Because if I''d acknowledged that I had at least an extra fifteen pounds on me, I think I would have done something about it sooner. I was just in denial.

So this explains why the clothes I bought 3 weeks ago are already too big. I just did some quick measuring, and while my arms are bigger (muscle I guess) my thighs are about half an inch smaller each than two weeks ago (though I still have the darned bigger thigh).

I don''t track calories, but I just added up what I ate yesterday and it was about 1750. Is that too low if I am exercising for 45 to 80 minutes every day? How do I determine what is a healthy weight for me? Because I''ve still got bountiful thighs (around 22-22.5 inches on a petite frame). I am very pleased with where I''m at now and will gladly take it, but I also want to be the best that I can be. On the other hand, I don''t want to overdo it. When I told my husband I was down to 129, he said that was good but I shouldn''t go down to 119. Now I''m three pounds away, but I honestly don''t think I''m some waif.

My new health bible, Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy says that people who gain more than 5 pounds after the age of 20 increase the risk of heart disease and other problems. While I can''t remember exactly what I weighed at that age, I do know that freshman year I lost my appetite (I thought my husband didn''t like me -- obviously not the case!) and went down to 117 or 118 and my rooommate was like, "Confess that you are anorexic!" and I was like, "Don''t project your eating disorder onto me!" I believe she really did have an eating disorder -- compulsive exerciser and undereater who lost her period and grew that white fluffy hair on her face -- but anyway. So if that was losing a bit of weight at that time I''m probably right around what I was at the beginning of college before the gradual gain began. Of course, that was with no muscle, so then you''d think I''d actually be trimmer than I was then, although skirts and pants from that time are too small for me and my thighs today. So who knows.

I''m hoping that I saved "the Spanish dress" that I got in Spain when I was 18 that my husband always loved on me in college (it would be in my bedroom closet at my parents'' house if I did). It will be fun to see if it still fits! But then again, I think I got rid of a lot of things out of disappointment that I couldn''t wear them, so it might be gone. But my husband keeps mentioning it, and I haven''t worn it in like 7 years, so clearly he would be very pleased to have it resurrected.

If anyone has any advice on determining your healthy weight, let me know. Or I will just simply stop losing at some point and should trust my body to figure it out? My BMI is now 20.6. I could get my body fat tested if I use my Inches-a-Weigh gift certificate that I won at school, but the website says it''s for "mature, inactive, overweight" women, so I''m pretty sure that I would be out of place.

 

[Skippy123]

Date: 6/19/2007 6:51:38 PM
Author: Skippy123


DeeJay, I don't make my own sauce. I buy Trader Joe's. What I do that makes the pizza yummy is that I roll out the dough and then take some sauce a place a big spoonful in the middle. Then I take a BIG garlic clove and with a press put on the garlic and spread the sauce around. That makes the sauce yummy! Your hubby may already do this. I also buy/grow fresh basil and use that to top the pizza. I do put the basil on after it is out of the oven. Yum. . . typing this is making me hungry.

Have you tried the Turkey Pepperoni that are low fat? They are yummy too.

DeeJay, In case you didn't see my response to your question.

Lots of walking DJ whooo hoooo!

Wow, everyone is doing great! Lots exercise and weight loss going on! Yah, for everyone here! Rod, glad you got some sleep. Yah for maintaining Kimberly and Mara! Those naughty coworkers w/their cakes. Dang them!

It is step tonight

I haven't lost all my vacation weight Cellosweet but thanks for the happy wishes. I lost 1.5 lbs. . . glad I am back on track.

I am loving the summer fruits like apricots, raspberries and cherry's!

 

[phoenixgirl]

Mmmm . . . I am eating a big container of fresh pineapple, and I love to alternate it with cantaloupe . . . yay for summer fruit!

 

[Mara]

ladies, i do think it's interesting re: where your body WANTS to be and tries to get to...i read recently about 'memory' of your body and how your body always will try to return to where it felt most comfortable and how you may have to struggle to keep it at where you want it to be if the two of you do not agree. apparently memory can take up to 9 months to reset to where your body will stop fighting. kinda interesting.

PG when i was 130 i didn't feel like i was too thin at all. but now that i am more like 134-135 people are telling me i look better. and i start to kind of realize the difference i guess. it's amazing that 4-5 lbs makes such a big visual difference but i guess it does? my BMI is like 20.6-21 and my body fat has gone from 22 to 21 to 20 to 19 to 18 to 17 to 18 again as of now. the funny thing is that i am really not doing much differently than when i was losing. so by doing basically 'the same' stuff..my body still seems to fluctuate on it's own and do it's OWN thing. when i was losing inches on my hips and my bf was dropping, i was doing absolutely nothing differently than the month or two before. and right now i am really not doing anything differently either. yet it's trying to 'regulate' itself? lastly...2 months ago i missed a period, which i NEVER do...and i thought uh oh am i too low? my period returned last month but only partially. personally i like it hahaha...as it's like 1/8 of what it used to be. but not having one for a month at a low point like that kind of freaked me out. i would imagine if we wanted to have kids then a doctor would tell me to gain a few lbs to regulate my period again.

overall as long as i can fit into my clothes that is what is important to me (Even if my smallest jeans are more snug now!!) and i guess i'll go up and down a bit overall. but my body did get low for a while and then it seemed to say 'hey can't do this' and i haven't really been able to get back down there even when i DO eat really lightly for a few weeks. so since i enjoy food so much, i figure why not enjoy and then just be active and stay within a 'range'.

plus i really like challenging my body too...aka the 5m hilly hike...that was really fun! and man i am STILL Sore today. but it's a good sore. i know i am STRONG and that i can do these amazing things with my body.

in terms of how many cals to eat, you can use sparkpeople to estimate for you and your body, but they say for me to maintain at where i am about now (5'7", 134lbs) i would need to burn around 2200 cals per week (aka 4 workouts of 550 each or similar) and eat 1700-2050 cals per day on average.

the funniest thing is that my butt and boobs got pretty darn flat and small when i was 5 lbs lighter and i didn't like it AT ALL. i felt too straight up and down but i wasn't sure how to 'spot gain'. so now they have returned a small amount on the boobs and the butt has definitely returned, which greg loves. and it's more muscular than before big time. when i was skinnier greg said it was interesting my butt didn't seem to have much muscle but now it totally does. i have done more butt exercises and i think that doing the hills and stuff helps with that too. so i kind of feel a bit more curvy now which i like. and my abs are getting more definition finally!!! so even though i have gained those few lbs and an inch here or there, i am more curvy and still fit and no jiggle. so again, it's just interesting what your body is capable of i guess!

 

[Dee*Jay]

I think I've been abducted by aliens and someone else (thin and hipper!) is now inhabiting my body! I just went to Ann Taylor Loft to look for some pants (I know, I know, how many times do I have to do a thread about pants, LOL!). There was style that I liked so I grabbed a 10 and an 8. I could have pulled the 10s on without even unbuttoning them but the 8s were looking pretty good. Just as I was about to take them off the sales guy that was helping me flopped a pair of 6s over the top of the door and said *THIS* is your size. I was like, no way, I'm not a 6. But he said "humor me, just try them on." So I did. They are a tiny bit snug in the widest part of my thighs but the general consensus is that this fabric stretches. I went out on the sales floor to get some other opinions and someone even suggested I want want to try a 4. (Uh, no, let's not push it.) So I bought a SIX. The last time I bought a six in anything was... um... I'll have to get back to you on that becuase I can't even remember!!

Then I went to 9 West and got these really cute kitten heel tortise shell design pumps to wear with them.

WHO AM I??? Where is the conservative loose panted flat shoed Dee???

The bad news is I went to the doctor this morning and I have to have a "suspicious" freckle removed from my leg (I'm Irish; all my freckles have the potential to be suspicious, LOL). It's on my thigh right on top of my muscle and she said I'll have a stitch on the incision that will have to stay in for three weeks and I won't be able to do anything but walk (and not on an incline either) in terms of working out during that period. It's not for a few weeks yet so I'm going to be super good until then, and I'll have to count every calorie while I'm restricted so I don't backslide. What a bummer--do I ALWAYS have to have some sort of medical thing that prevents me from working out?!

Marcy, I love the idea of taking pics to track your progress! Some people have posted "before" and "after" pics. If you're comfortable doing that we would love to see them.

Lorelei, that's an interesting point you make with the egg example. Hmm... maybe I should use the cooked cals...

Sharon, the cherry scones never really appealed to me until you add the word "almond" in there -- YUM! If you make them and they're good will you please post the recipe?

Kimberly, I always enjoy going to Bin 36! The fact that you made reservations ahead of time means that you'll be in the main dining room, which is very cool. We are the king and queen of not planning ahead to we always end up in the front lounge area, but I like that too for the people watching aspect. Regardless of where you sit though, the food is very good!

Rod, yes, the CL has a penchant for rearrangement. She also puts things "away" in strange places. A few weeks ago I have left some random things out on the counter and found them later in the fridge. Johnson's Baby Powder included!!

Shortblonde, I know it's easy to say and hard to do, but don't become discouraged. Until this morning my weight hadn't dropped below the previous low for weeks. And who knows if this morning's lower weight is even "real" -- it might just be a function of where I had the scale positioned! Hang in there.

Mara, I'm always so impressed by your body fat measurements! According to sparkpeople I'm at 27.4% (

) but that's still better than the "obese" category it put me in when I first entered my info six months ago (

). I know that the number on sparkpeople is probably FAR from accurate and I'm going to see if my husband's gym ever offers body fat measurements of a more precise nature.

NYC, LOL on the butt blasting workout! And yes, damn j-low and jessica...

PG, that's too funny about the guy passing out pamphlets! There is always someone passing something out when I'm on my way to work with my purse and a bag with my lunch and who knows what else taking up both hands. One of these days when they shove that thing at me I'm going to reach right out and snatch it between my teeth just to see what the reaction is!!

Skippy, thanks for the sauce info! And I love summer fruits too. So easy and refreshing!

Monnie, sorry about your sore teeth. The butternut square ravoli has become my favorite LC BTW. We get them mixed in with three others in a multi pack at Costco and I always hoard the ravoli 'till last. The HH made the mistake of eating one once -- let me just say there was hell to pay!

Sorry for the novel everyone, I'm just in a chatty mood today!

 

[phoenixgirl]

Mara, I''ve always believed that your period is a sign of your health, so I''m glad you''re back to the weight your body seems to want you to be. I don''t have that warning sign due to the pill, so I definitely want to be careful about not losing too much or overdoing it. My health book says that you need 30 minutes of exercise a day for health benefits and 60 a day to maintain your weight as you age. So it doesn''t seem like my exercise regimen of a Firm video one day and walking 5 miles the next can be overdoing it, considering how active our forebears and people in other parts of the world are. But I guess that if I''m not eating enough then I could be in danger or inducing an unnaturally low weight.

I always thought my ideal weight was 124-125 and that anything below that would be something I couldn''t maintain . . . time will tell.

 

[Skippy123]

Date: 6/20/2007 1:34:49 PM
Author: phoenixgirl
Mmmm . . . I am eating a big container of fresh pineapple, and I love to alternate it with cantaloupe . . . yay for summer fruit!

Yah for fresh fruit

 

[Mara]

so i had the BEST lunch today. i am seriously so jazzed about it. i wish i could eat like this all the time and not get DERAILED by evil things like useless yet tasty cake...hehee. i walked over to whole foods and picked up some fresh cut watermelon, canteloupe and blueberries. also i got gardenburger black bean chipotle's burgers which are 80 cals each and 5g protein and 5g fiber...and are seriously tasty. i got freshly cut tomato and cilantro salsa, and a fresh cucumber, lime juice and onion salad. so i heated up 2 gardenburgers, put salsa on top and then had the cucumber salad on the side. SO TASTY. and talk about healthy and lots of nutrients. plus the walk was really nice...about 74 degrees and sunny.

then i found out that we aren't having cake after all for the coworker's bday, woo hoo. they all went to a chinese lunch which i turned down and said i had plans...i just was not feeling like chinese and didn't want to force myself to be social aka eat socially. plus after the lunch i had i was so happy i did that. sometimes there is nothing like knowing you are doing the right thing for yourself.

so i have watermelon for snack and i will probably walk over and get a froyo, then have sushi for dinner tonite, yummy!!! my walk over to whole foods and back was about 1.5miles so that was my 'exercise' for today. man my butt still hurts from the hike the other day...i am definitely doing it again tomorrow so my butt better rest up while it can!! but yeah i guess i really used the muscles hehe. oh and interestingly enough the day after the hike my lower abs were hurting too so i must have been using more muscles than i expected which is really cool...two workouts in one.

DJ...is your BMI 27 or your bf? i didn't know that sparkpeople could test body fat for you? i'd definitely have yours tested, it's really interesting to find out what it is...and it also helps keep you sane for when the scale is being really evil. on days when it flat out lies to me, and i get my BF tested and find out i am still way in the lean category, it helps for sure.

hope everyone is having a great day!!!

 

[Dee*Jay]

Mara, you''re right, it''s my BMI, not BF. Oops!