Weekly Workout Thread 11th Dec till 17th Dec

[Mara]

don''t beat yourself up gala...at least you are eating well which can make up for a missed workout or two. since i am not working out tonite and last week when i was pretty sick...i really scaled back the eating. and i find i actually like having some days when i am being more strict with myself and watching things more...it kind of feels like it resets everything for me. especially during the holidays...when we are gearing up for eating! hehe.

gala the other thing i was going to say was you mentioned having some issues with finding fiber you can eat. one option might be fiber supplement pills as well? i have these chewable ones that pack a mini punch..nothing like 1/2 a day''s worth like my cereal but 3 chewables is like 3g of fiber, all of it soluble. so sometimes when i can''t get the fiber breakfast in or whatever, i might chew one or two of those things. or if i eat a meal that has almost no fiber in it or if i don''t have my cereal that day and need an extra dose or whatever. just a thought.

anyway bedtime!

 

[Dee*Jay]

Well I somehow managed to fit myself into these black pants thanks to the help of control top pantyhouse (

) and I'm having a GREAT hair day so I will somehow find a way to make it through, LOL.

I decided this morning that a cup of coffe with whole milk was important to me today so I'm only going to have one drink at the cocktail party tonight. Amazing how one begins bargaining with onself at 7:30 am...

The Fiber One stuff is actually not so bad if you chop up a banana and only put in a little milk at a time so it doesn't get soggy. But the next box will be the right one!

If it stops raining I'll go to Borders today at lunch and look for some work out videos. Otherwise I will have to wait until this weekend. Then I will have to get the happy hubby to show me how to use the TV.

 

[Lorelei]

Mara I really hope you feel better soon, sounds like a nasty germ you have there.

Dee, I have semi skimmed milk in my coffee, but if that is what you like- some wholemilk, it won't hurt if you have one or 2 cups a day. I have the lower fat milk and sugar in my coffee, that is something I didn't want to give up and it hasn't hurt my progress at all. Fibre is great for keeping you full, also try to have 5 or 6 smaller meals rather than 3 larger, it all helps to kick the metabolism into shape! Once you start working out too that will help boost your metabolism, so look for workouts which are fat burners/ aerobic etc to get the max weight loss.

 

[appletini]

I walked on the treadmill for 30 minutes during lunch, I did however increase my walking speed from 3.0 to 3.5 mph.

 

[Tybee]

Date: 12/12/2006 1:18:52 PM
Author: appletini
I walked on the treadmill for 30 minutes during lunch, I did however increase my walking speed from 3.0 to 3.5 mph.

How I envy people who get to work out on their lunch break! How I envy lunch breaks in general! My midday exercise is playing a rousing game of 4-Square with crazy kids. Planning on running with the running club tonight. Think they''re only running 3 or 4 miles which might be just the right amount to help my sore joints loosen up.

 

[Mara]

thanks for the well wishes miss lorelei...everyone sounds like they are having a great day.

i wanted to update as i measured myself this morning and found i had lost another 1/2 inch from my waist and lower waist/top of hips (aka think low rise jeans) and about 1/4 inch from my hips again. the hips could be a bit smaller, maybe another 1/2 inch, mostly it''s the remainder of my little saddlebags FINALLY leaving the building...hehee. and man can i just say how awesome it is to finally have an absolutely flat stomach? this has not happened to me since college!!

i might work out tonite...i brought my stuff with me but i feel really congested. this cold is so weird. it is just trying to really hang out. i slept like the dead last nite for 9 hours so it''s not like i am not sleeping. so hopefully by end of this week with more rest...i will have kicked it. i really want to work out tonite just because it''s driving me nuts to be so inactive...so if i feel ''okay'' i will go and do 30 min on the elliptical and some arm exercises, nothing strenuous, just want to move the body a bit!!! this is just a head cold basically so it is fine to work out it''s just a matter of will! hhee. for dinner i was going to be all ambitious and make us some grilled fish, light mashed taters, and some steamed veggies (i have been craving steamed veggies!!) but who knows what i will feel like later.

breakfast was fiber one honey clusters and lunch is going to be fresh chicken noodle soup from nob hill..the whole container is only 330 calories and hopefully will do my body some good!!

 

[akw94]

Hi everyone,
I don''t have time to adequately post but know that when I stay away too long, I usually tend to stop working out so I wanted to check in.
I have done nothing this week b/c my stomach is on and off bothering me for over a week. I''m also noticing the same leg pain I had awhile back after having bad back pain.. not sure if it''s the new class or what but starting to worry.
I am hoping to work out tonight, my stomach still isn''t great but I feel inspired by the great posts here. So we''ll see.
My eating this week was TERRIBLE! It was my son''s bday party so I had pizza and leftover cake for 2 days. I am trying not to beat myself up but I feel bad about doing so bad!
Anyway, gotta run but that''s my update.

Mara, congrats on the size decrease!!

 

[Rod]

Hey.....am a bit bummed tonight. Just heard that our Florida gym won't open here in Raleigh until after Christmas. They said they were having permit problems or something. But it puts us in a position of either having to work out at the depressing gym for a couple of weeks or finding something short term. I'm going to contact Golds, where we had the free week and see if we can get something short term through the end of December. They may not permit short term deals, but at least I can try.

Nothing to report health wise today. We couldn't work out at the cruddy gym because they were putting in new carpet. We'll work out there tomorrow.

Hope you're all doing well.

UPDATE: I called Gold's and they will sell us a one month membership for $78 each and while that may seem a bit high, we're going to make the investment and use a nice modern gym with sauna and steam room and nice modern equipment. There......I feel better already!!

 

[Dee*Jay]

Well this probably doesn't count as a "real" workout but I did take a 1.5 mile walk up Michigan Avenue to the cocktail party after work--where I had exactly 4 sips of wine and not one morsel of food! As a "reward" I had a salad from one of my favorite places for dinner. It had a tiny bit of bacon and blue cheese on it, and I used about 1/4 of the dressing they gave me, but I was super good all day long so I let myself enjoy it.

Rod, sorry to hear about your gym woes. If you lived closer I would invite you over to join me in whatever crazy workout video I manage to procure, LOL.

Mara, are you feeling any better?

Lorelei, in the colder weather I have one cup of coffee in the morning. Usually decaf actually (I just love the "routine" of going to Starbuck), but I do still put the milk and one Splenda in. But when it starts to get warm out I don't want a hot drink in the morning so I usually switch to iced tea or Diet Dr. Pepper.

Tybee, I used for work for a major financial institution and we had a gym just for our employees. I was religious about going every day (mostly, in retrospect, because it was an acceptable reason to be away from my miserable desk for an hour each day since they really encouraged employees to use the facility) until Sept. 11. After that I had a fear of have to evacuate the building (the Sears Tower) with a towel wrapped around me from being in the shower or something like that. I never went again while I worked there.

 

[Rod]

Date: 12/12/2006 9:00:17 PM
Author: Dee*Jay
Well this probably doesn''t count as a ''real'' workout but I did take a 1.5 mile walk up Michigan Avenue to the cocktail party after work--where I had exactly 4 sips of wine and not one morsel of food! As a ''reward'' I had a salad from one of my favorite places for dinner. It had a tiny bit of bacon and blue cheese on it, and I used about 1/4 of the dressing they gave me, but I was super good all day long so I let myself enjoy it.

Rod, sorry to hear about your gym woes. If you lived closer I would invite you over to join me in whatever crazy workout video I manage to procure, LOL.

Mara, are you feeling any better?

Lorelei, in the colder weather I have one cup of coffee in the morning. Usually decaf actually (I just love the ''routine'' of going to Starbuck), but I do still put the milk and one Splenda in. But when it starts to get warm out I don''t want a hot drink in the morning so I usually switch to iced tea or Diet Dr. Pepper.

Tybee, I used for work for a major financial institution and we had a gym just for our employees. I was religious about going every day (mostly, in retrospect, because it was an acceptable reason to be away from my miserable desk for an hour each day since they really encouraged employees to use the facility) until Sept. 11. After that I had a fear of have to evacuate the building (the Sears Tower) with a towel wrapped around me from being in the shower or something like that. I never went again while I worked there.

Thanks for the thought DeeJay. At least I will have a nice workout environment for the next few weeks. I think I''d go crazy if I had to work out at the depressing gym every night through the end of December. Anyway thanks for the thought. Also.....I''m a Starbucksaholic and stop there for a Grande Bold coffee every morning on my way to work. Thankfully, there is a Starbucks o the way!!

 

[Mara]

i feel a little better tonite...i went to the gym after work just wanting to do SOMETHING...so i ended up doing 25 minutes on the elliptical and then 7 minutes on the treadmill and then about 15 minutes of arm workouts, burned about 350 cals. i started feeling really lightheaded, clammy and nauseated when almost done with the elliptical and i realized later that i think it was this peanut butter kashi bar i had before working out. it has happened to me before when i eat something with peanuts in it THEN go workout within an hour or so...i read online about some sort of allergic reaction to peanuts when your adrenaline levels get high...and i always forget about it!! i love stuff with peanut butter in it, so it has happened to me a few times. because i was thinking okay i had this protein bar right before working out so why do i feel like i didn''t eat enough (that''s what it feels like..like i need food)..anyway, i am happy with what i did tonite, i felt tired during the workout a bit so i didn''t really push it. i am going to workout tomorrow as well so i hopefully will feel better then can do a bit more.

in terms of food, i was good all day, soup for lunch, some fiber cereal for snack and then 1/2 a kashi bar for a snack before workout. greg wanted burritos from this healthy kinda california mex place near us for dinner, my chicken burrito was made with this white rice mixed with cilantro, chicken, salsa and cheese on a whole wheat tortilla so it''s pretty fresh and all that, but they are huge!! i only ate about 1/2 the tortilla since that is a huge calorie sinkhole! and then i had a small rocky road halloween bar, a 10 cal jello cup and a few slices of caramel apple. i feel so snacky tonite!! at least it wasn''t like i was chowing down on doritos or anything during my snack-fest (though lately i have been craving them something fierce even though i really hardly EVER eat any sort of chips!!).

anyhow, glad to hear you got the good gym membership rod...and seems like everyone else is doing well today!! have a great day tomorrow and kudos deejay on doing so well at the party tonite!! it''s very hard to be near all the snackies and be strong, that''s why i just work out more...heheee.

 

[galeteia]

Today was one step forward, one step back.

I hauled my groggy rear out of bed this morning to work out first thing, so I could then shower, get ready, and eat before work. Bleh. However, I managed to get onto the elliptical for 25 mins today and burned a little over 200 cals!

That''s the longest I''ve managed to go since I got it, (not counting the long leisurely workout I did while watching half a movie on my day off), in terms of the ''power workouts'' I''ve been trying to do before work.

So I was really proud of myself, and did some ab work and stretches. CrownJewel, I think I figured out your ab exercise; by ''sitting'' do you mean sitting with your legs out in front of you, or folded?

I scarfed down some of my housemate''s veggie and egg soup/stew before work, but since it wasn''t really a ''heavy'' meal, by the time break rolled around I was STARVING!! I ended up inhaling the soup I''d brought for lunch AND eating half my meal replacement bar. During lunch I polished off the rest of the bar, and the fruit I''d brought, as well as my daily cappuccino. I was still seriously hungry, and not in a stomach-growly way, this was a ''stupid girl, you hauled a** on your workout and are way short on calories, doofus!'' kind of hungry that is felt in the body. So I prowled the vending machine, which upset me enough, but was going for a whole-grain bagel with turkey and cheese on it (score!) but the vending machine was BROKEN!

So I ended up mowing down a packet of Sun Chips from the candy machine AND a bit from a bag of plain potato chips. Gross. I was so upset with myself, but what could I do? I needed more food. I didn''t look at the plain chips (I had about 30 seconds to eat a few before I had to go back on shift) so I don''t know what the cals where for that, but I do know that the Sun Chips were 210 cals for the bag.

This was a feeding frenzy. I felt so hollow, like even my arms and legs were hungry. Whoops! What I ate would have done me just fine before this, so I was caught unprepared. I guess it was the extra bit of workout that did it?

When I came home I made myself a canned salmon-celery salad with light miracle whip, eaten on rice cakes with lots of lettuce. Mmm. I wanted to make sure I got some decent protein after today''s fiasco!

I also ate a piece of the dark chocolate I was mentioning earlier (120 cals).

I think I might need some help figuring out how many calories I should be aiming for in a day. I don''t want to eat too little and drop into ''famine mode'', but I don''t want to sabotage my workouts, either.

I''m 5''6" with a medium build, in terms of bone structure. I have the metabolism of a sea tortoise, thanks to a lazy thyroid. What should I be aiming for?

 

[Mara]

gala you should use sparkpeople.com to figure out what you should be eating. that is what i used and i still use it to recalc calories.

it lets you input weight, height, also how much you are working out (if you know calorie burn per week you put that in too) and it asks you your weight goal etc. so then it gives you a range of calories you should consume, it''s a large range so you kind of have to decide mentally within that range what feels good, but at least you know if one day you eat like 1200 and the next ends up being 1500 that you are still within the range to meet your goals by the timeline you entered so it''s not a huge deal. it also shows you how many fat grams you should be consuming, how much fiber, etc. it''s pretty handy when you are starting out.

are you sure that you were calorie deprived? because you only went from burning 125 cals to 200? that''s not that many extra to your body in the scheme of things...and i''m just surprised you were THAT depleted after your workout. i mean i feel that ''i need to eat or i might pass out'' feeling sometimes after burning like 700 calories, but 200 for me is a warmup..hehee. anyway, i know sometimes i think i feel one way but i might just need to drink more water or something..maybe you were dehydrated OR you just needed some salt. i know sometimes i need salt after a workout as well if i sweated a lot. anyway just some random thoughts.

in terms of being upset with yourself for cheating, stop it! seriously. you are not going to get anywhere if you give yourself all this negative reinforcement. you are bad then you beat yourself up about it and then hate yourself for the rest of the day. totally not healthy. solution? bring a box or two of meal replacement or granola bars or whatever healthy things you can eat to work with you and leave them there. i have a whole drawer of stuff at work and a bunch of fresh stuff like yogurt and fruit and jello cups in the fridge at work too. so i really have no excuse if i am ever starving. i even have fresh soups and stuff that i bought at like nob hill or whatever (had chicken noodle soup yesterday) for lunch. plan ahead and that can definitely keep the munchies or the ''im so upset'' feeling at bay. you have to set yourself up for success. of course no one likes to feel hungry or weak, so just make sure to anticipate what your body might need before it is desperate. and maybe drink more water.

 

[littlelysser]

Hey guys...I think I''m going to join you in your quest for fitness.

I''ve lost a TON of weight, met FI, and well, gained it all back...and a few extra pounds as well. FI doesn''t care at all...but I do...I feel bad all the time!

So, I''m getting on the train.

Took the dogs for a 2 mile walk last night...

Don''t know if these delightful things have been mentioned on here before...but I am a huge fan of Vitamuffins. Under 100 calories, low fat, high fiber. I eat one with a little dish of cottage cheese and I''m good to go for breakfast...and under 200 calories for the whole shebang!

I find that my problem is at night...I''ll be good all day...and then not so good...

Sigh.

 

[Tybee]

Galeteia,

That was pretty amusing to read, mostly because I have totally been there, and yes, you do have to cut yourself a break once in a while.
It really is simple and basic psychology that if someone tells us we cannot have something, then we totally want it.
That goes for denying yourself certain foods too.
Looks like you didn''t pack enough healthy snacks for the day, then found yourself in a freak out mode. I think it''s better to pack more food than you''ll eat, as long as it''s healthy, then to deny yourself food, and more than make up for it later on.
It''s just a matter of planning ahead.

Dee*Jay,
I smiled when I read about you "rewarding" yourself with a yummy salad. That''s totally the way to start thinking. So what if the salad has bacon on it, you are eating a salad for goodness sakes! A yummy one at that!

I certainly don''t go through life counting calories, I do avoid what I think of as "the nasties" like french fries. I REFUSE to eat fast food ever (all you need to do is watch Super Size Me, and you''ll swear off too.)
I try to be careful with dressings and such, but basically eat what I please within reason.
For me, the key is exersise, if I''m not getting to the gym, or getting to run during the day, I''m extra careful.

Chocolate now and again is a must. Must have it.

 

[CrownJewel]

Gala,
Your legs should be bent. Butt and feet on floor, knees pointed towards the ceiling. And you lean back, but don''t lie down. I coudn''t find a photo of the position, so I drew it. Haha...sorry it came out funny looking.

Then I also drew one for the standing excercise (note that in this picture, everything should be facing one mirror, or wall. Feet, hips, shoulders, head all facing in one direction. You may not be able to bend as much as in the picture...sorry for the terrible drawing!!!

 

[CrownJewel]

Sitting oblique exercise

 

[CrownJewel]

standing oblique excercise (also, do not let the ball or dumbell rest on your head)

 

[Mara]

one thing about salads..i personally LOVE them. but the dressing can KILL you on the weight loss and healthy kind of living. forget the bacon and cheese. what''s in your dressing???

once i started counting my calories, part of what that meant was learning what was in what i wanted to eat. i try to find calorie counts or estimates on EVERYTHING that i eat. the reason being is not so that i can freak out about it, but rather just to be educated and especially for the future. aka that dim sum meal i had last week was yummy but i would not want to be doing that for LUNCH once a week. maybe for dinner once a month.

so anyway on the salads thing. when i get salads at TJ...i always check out their nutrtional value, i love that all their pre-packed stuff has it on them. for example their basic greek salad. it''s something like ''without dressing'' 130 calories. ''with dressing'' 500 calories. so that small little pack of dressing has like 370 calories in it! 3x the actual SALAD part!!! so be careful when you guys eat out and get dressings. it''s amazing what a ''simple balsamic vinaigrette'' can have in it. it''s also amazing how healthy a true balsamic can be. for example, the emerils balsamic vinaigrette is 60 calories. and it tastes GOOD. girard''s salad dressings makes a line of ''light'' dressings that are actually quite good. i get the caesar one which is YUMMY and tastes just like regular fatty ole caeasar but it''s 90 cals and something like 5g of fat for a serving. rather than the regular which is like 160 cals or more and 11g of fat. i always am sooo tempted to bring my own salad dressings to restaurants. the reason is that honestly i love salad! but do i really want to ''waste'' calories on a fatty ole regular caesar when i could be eating a light one that tastes THE SAME but is like 1/2 the fat and calories? i am all about taste for food. so if it tastes good, i want to eat it. and i love when i can be more healthy about the choices.

the funny thing is that the salad dressing doesn''t have to be a rich creamy sauce to be fatty and high in calories. i was shocked when i saw how some of those ''basic balsamics'' were so friggin high in calories! what else are they putting in there? BUTTER?

that said, sometimes i do splurge, chilis has this awesome salad that i just ADORE, the boneless buffalo chicken salad. surely not healthy for me...i think i looked it up online and it has something like 600 calories and 30g of fat...it has cheese and bacon and buffalo fried strips (yum) and ranch dressing. but it''s sooo good. and on a ''lean'' day aka if i just had breakfast then i might have this salad for a dinner because it''s a huge meal and it is a splurge i could afford that day. i''m not about deprivation, just education...at least if i know what i''m eating i can feel good about it.

soapbox on dressing over!! i just know that BEFORE i had no idea how unhealthy certain things were for us, like dressings and i think that people are like ''oh its a SALAD, come on that''s good for you''. yeah it can be. but it also can be really bad.

 

[CrownJewel]

Hi littlelysser!! I gained a lot of weight when I first started dating my fiance too. I think it''s a competitive thing (ridiculous, he''s twice my size). I always wanted to "do anything the boys could do," even eat as much as them. I keep forgetting that I am not supposed to eat as much as a man twice my size!!!!

My fiance''s new goal is to reduce portion sizes. I need to eat often, but I don''t need to eat A LOT each time.

Also, you say you are "naughty" in the evenings with your food. Sounds like you may be depriving yourself during the day and then guilt-eating at night. Take it one step at a time, and start by telling yourself you should not eat anything within 3 hours of your bedtime.

 

[Dee*Jay]

I know dressing can be a trap, and I was tempted to sub the fat free ranch I had at home for the dressing they gave me, but the dressing is part of what makes that salad what it is for me so I had some. But honestly you don't need much dressing to get flavor--I only used 1/4 of what they gave me and it was plenty. The rest of the day yesterday though I ate:

- coffe with whole milk
- 1/2 cup fiber one with 1/2 cup skim milk and a banana
- Progresso vegetarian vegetable soup
- 20 peanuts (yes, I counted!)
- a pear (right before the party so I wouldn't be hungry)
- a little red wine (maybe 1/4 cup)
- LOTS of decafinated herbal tea and water (so much actually that the receptionist asked me if I was feeling OK because I had to trot off to the ladies room so many times, LOL)

So did the salad put me over the top or was that all OK?

 

[poptart]

I think the salad dressing is ok, but maybe you could try some vinnagrettes as well. Rasberry vinagrette, in my opinion, is better than a lot of dressing and it has very few calories. There are also a lot of other vinagrettes out there that pack quite punch!

*M*

ETA: Although putting a rich dressing on your salad once in a while is ok, if you keep eating salads and the same dressing, then the whole idea will probably go down the drain. So just be careful and be open minded to switching it up!

 

[Mara]

Date: 12/13/2006 1:31:47 PM
Author: Dee*Jay
I know dressing can be a trap, and I was tempted to sub the fat free ranch I had at home for the dressing they gave me, but the dressing is part of what makes that salad what it is for me so I had some. But honestly you don''t need much dressing to get flavor--I only used 1/4 of what they gave me and it was plenty. The rest of the day yesterday though I ate:

- coffe with whole milk
- 1/2 cup fiber one with 1/2 cup skim milk and a banana
- Progresso vegetarian vegetable soup
- 20 peanuts (yes, I counted!)
- a pear (right before the party so I wouldn''t be hungry)
- a little red wine (maybe 1/4 cup)
- LOTS of decafinated herbal tea and water (so much actually that the receptionist asked me if I was feeling OK because I had to trot off to the ladies room so many times, LOL)

So did the salad put me over the top or was that all OK?

lol DJ..well to me that sounds like not a whole lot!!! but i work out a lot typically so i need to ingest a higher amount of calories than someone who is sedentary.

didn''t you say you walked daily though? that''s something. anyway, i will tell you the same thing i told gala, check out sparkpeople.com for the calories you should be eating per day. tracking is really important for me. if i don''t write down what i eat, i will inadvertently think that i need more than i am eating and eat more. but it''s important to also eat enough so that your body doesn''t freak out and think it''s starving and try to hold onto the fat rather than getting rid of it.

 

[poptart]

Date: 12/13/2006 1:38:40 PM
Author: Mara

Date: 12/13/2006 1:31:47 PM
Author: Dee*Jay
I know dressing can be a trap, and I was tempted to sub the fat free ranch I had at home for the dressing they gave me, but the dressing is part of what makes that salad what it is for me so I had some. But honestly you don''t need much dressing to get flavor--I only used 1/4 of what they gave me and it was plenty. The rest of the day yesterday though I ate:

- coffe with whole milk
- 1/2 cup fiber one with 1/2 cup skim milk and a banana
- Progresso vegetarian vegetable soup
- 20 peanuts (yes, I counted!)
- a pear (right before the party so I wouldn''t be hungry)
- a little red wine (maybe 1/4 cup)
- LOTS of decafinated herbal tea and water (so much actually that the receptionist asked me if I was feeling OK because I had to trot off to the ladies room so many times, LOL)

So did the salad put me over the top or was that all OK?

lol DJ..well to me that sounds like not a whole lot!!! but i work out a lot typically so i need to ingest a higher amount of calories than someone who is sedentary.

didn''t you say you walked daily though? that''s something. anyway, i will tell you the same thing i told gala, check out sparkpeople.com for the calories you should be eating per day. tracking is really important for me. if i don''t write down what i eat, i will inadvertently think that i need more than i am eating and eat more. but it''s important to also eat enough so that your body doesn''t freak out and think it''s starving and try to hold onto the fat rather than getting rid of it.

thanks for that website mara! i was actually wondering about that because i KNOW i don''t need 1500 calories a day, haha!

*M*

 

[Mara]

hehe poptart..i was religious about using the website to help guide me with requirements...when i wanted to lose weight and was working out a lot, it told me to consume between 1400 and 1800 calories per day with workouts 5-6x a week. if you know what you are burning during the workouts it's even more accurate. now that i want to scale my workouts back and not lose any more weight, just maintain, i redid my calcs with the website and it says now something like 1200-1500 per day. i like the range because then i can have a day of 1200 if i feel like it and another day of 1500 and i'm still okay. or a few days of 1200 and then a 1800 splurge or whatever. and even if you don't know the calories FOR SURE of what you eat, since let's face it, not everything comes with a nutritional guide on it, and if you modify recipes it's tough to calc then, but for the most part you have some idea of what you eat and are consuming and whether or not it's close enough to your guide.

 

[galeteia]

ARGH!

*throttles sparkpeople.com* Talk about confusing. It won't let me enter in the sort of information I need to, like how many calories I burn in those 10 min of working out (it thinks I do about 300 less a week) and it won't let me specify that I am allergic to wheat! There doesn't seem to be a *simple* 'calorie estimate' anywhere, aside from the fact that I need to eat between 1200 and 1600 a day, which I already knew from doing the ol' 'multiply your weight times 10 and subtract 750 cals from that number).

And it's telling me that I'm obese, which annoys me. If my doctor has told me to lose only 10 pounds, how can I be 'obese'?

But aside from that, I'm having a great day! I watched the remainder of my dance movie and then put on some workout tunes and worked out for 25 mins on the elliptical... and burned 310 cals!

Wow! I went for 'manual' instead of an 'interval' program, because I find the change in resistance jolting (for my attention AND my knees) if I am trying to watch a movie. So I cranked the resistance up to 7 or 8/10 and got an AMAZING cal burn for just 25 min! I'm so happy with myself! I also did a long stretch session and a bit of ab work.

CrownJewel, I 'Awwwed' out loud when I saw your illustrations, they are great! That's so sweet of you to post those for me; a picture is worth a thousand descriptions, it seems!

Lunch afterward was a veggie stew with 2 grilled chicken thighs. I'll probably have some salad soon with my usual tasty balsamic dressing (25 cals and 2g fat for 1 tbsp). It's Kraft's 'Calorie Wise' brand.

And in other exciting news, the owner of the store where I bought my elliptical came by today to fix the squeak. Turns out two bolts were loose, so now my fantastic machine no longer squeaks! Woot!

Oh yeah... and did I mention I've lost an inch off my waist, 3 pounds, AND 1% body fat, too, which means that as I am losing water (score!! I have Edema so I've got 15 pounds of water I need to shed) I still losing a bit of fat. Yay!

 

[Mara]

gala, so it sounds like you did get the 'simple estimate' range, which is 1200-1600 cals a day? what else did you want from it?

i actually don't use their meal plan thing as i don't need it..i use cookinglight.com for all my recipes. also wholefoods.com has a fair amount of wheat free kinda recipes but not all of them have calorie/nutritional info.

in terms of the calories entered...it lets me enter my calories burned per week, not sure why it's not letting you do the same?? i just go to my profile page and update my 'goal profile' or whatever it's called anytime i want a new estimate. it takes like 2 minutes.

sorry it's so difficult! congrats on the loss.

on a perk note for me i went to loehmanns today after lunch with a friend and came out with 2 new pairs of jeans (i am SOO Bad !!!) and i'm now a 28 in jeans which is awesome, i used to be a 30/31 when i started all of this. and every pair of jeans i put on looked great. i felt pretty positive after the try-on session, since when does THAT happen typically?!?!

 

[galeteia]

Mara, I think it''s because I had to sign up, which is always an annoying process for me (myspace still refuses to accept that I am a Canadian and therefore have no ZIP code, despite me setting ''Canada'' as my country) and it wants to ''build'' a fitness/nutrition plan for me so it made me jump through hoops. I''m pretty happy with the plan I have on my own, but it seems to be generating estimates based on how you do on their plan, as opposed to my own plan.

For example, when I go to my ''calories burn this week'' section, it tells me that based on the workouts I''ve done off their plan so far, I have burned 0 calories. I can check off a workout from their list, if I did it, and it will tell me how many calories I''ve burned. There seems to be no way to circumvent that... also, my workouts aren''t regular so their ''how many minutes do you spend a day on cardio'' requirement is frustrating. Sometimes 7, sometime 60. Sometimes at a high effort, sometimes low. Monday I worked out for 10 mins and burned 75 cals, today for 25 and burned over 300.

I will probably have to wrestle with it for a while, maybe there is some way to manually input how many cals I''ve burned that day... we''ll see. But it''s good to know that I was on target in terms of my cals needed for the day.

Now I just have to figure out how many cals are in the food I''m eating! I think I''m eating way too little but it''s hard to tell... it''s much easier to underestimate!

 

[asscherisme]

I have a question for all you fit people. I was so good about working out over the summer and since my last child was born 3 years ago.

but I have slacked off big time over the past few months. I have not gained any weight but I can see my shape changing. And worst is that I now get winded easiy! Its embarrasing!!

How long do you all think it will take to get back into cardio shape if I do 30 minutes a few times a week on my elliptical? I figure I''ll jump on the bandwagon starting tommorow instead of waiting until new years.

 

[Mara]

gala...not sure where you went on the spark people site but when i go and login as myself, then it takes me to my main profile page. up top there is a big button that says 'change diet goals'. so i click on that and it loads in my information.

and then it shows me my weight and my goal weight and my date for my goal weight. i can click continue or change whatever.
next page says 'are you ready to add exercise'..and i say yes.
then the next page has dates i want to work out per week (aka sunday-saturday) and then it says 'enter your calories per week burned' and it lets me manually enter it INSTEAD of saying that i am working out 10 minutes per day. so then i click what days i do weight resistances/muscle/dumbells and hit continue and then it shows me my calories, fat, fiber ranges for what i just input.

is that how you are doing it? the site has A LOT of nuances here and there but this section 'change diet goals' is all i really ever use since that's all i need. it saves my info each time and if i ever want to lose another 5 lbs i just go back and drop my goal weight and put in a new date and put in how much i am working out and it recalcs everything for me.

it doesn't take into account things like thyroid or whatever, but it can give you a good 'range' to keep in mind...which honestly unless you visit a dietitician to get specifics on you and your body and your goals, you will most likely only ever have estimates esp from websites. but i have been really happy using sparkpeople's basic functions and they also have a recipe section and great community boards for motivation and stuff.