Weekly Workout Thread 1st Oct till 7th Oct

[Lorelei]

Happy new week all

Firstly I wanted to say - Marcy I salute you!!!! Thanks so much for sharing your story and amazing success, I truly admire you so much and everything else you have achieved!!

To quote another PSer, you look kicken'!!!!

I was watching a TV show last night and the subject was this young girl who was a few pounds overweight, wanting this bikini / fitness model body, and was also willing to do anything to get it. She was admittedly doing this for the TV cameras but lived a miserable existance of non stop cardio, weight training, and teeny tupperware containers of plain chicken and veggies which was all she was able to eat each day

In the end she had lost 23 pounds in 4 months, looked fitter and trimmer and wanted to go even further. She was also so bored and hungry on this diet, it seemed as if she could have started snacking on brick walls.

I am still a great believer in exercise and moderation with food, sure, if you want to become a bikini model full time, then perhaps that is how you need to eat for the most part, but in the main, great results can be achieved by eating carefully with the odd treat thrown in. Being so restrictive has been a recipe for me in the past which has set me up for rebellion - tell me I can't have something and come heck or high water, I will find a way to have it, but tell me I can eat the cake, then chances are I won't!

If you put the work and effort in and you will get the rewards, but there is no need to be so restrictive in my opinion, great results can be had in watching calorie intake, trying to make the right food choices with the odd treat thrown in and exercise. Weight is only part of who we are, true - losing excess pounds and exercising can add so much to our lives, but we need to be able to enjoy that improved quality of life our hard work has allowed us to have!! Our physical bodies take so much time and effort to take care of - what with feeding it, exercising, hygiene, maintenance etc, don't forget to feed your soul too with that wonderful feeling of success that comes with hard work and effort!

So all you WWTers and those who may read but don't post, take a moment to congratulate yourselves on your commitment and all you have achieved!

Have a great week!

 

[marcy]

Go morning everyone and Happy Monday!

Lorelei, thank you for much for the nice compliments. I truly appreciate it.

Your opener is full of so many insightful and truthful ideas. We should certainly celebrate all of our successes, small or large and enjoy life. Working towards our goal of being fit and healthy while enjoying an occasional day off of exercise or indulging in a specail treat is I think a smarter way to live. Moderation is always a good plan to follow. That girl is on the way to either binging or having a severe eating disorder. I don''t think that is a healthy way to live.

Have a great day! See you tonight!

 

[KimberlyH]

Lorelei,

Another fantastic opening, thank you! An acquaintance of mine, who is quite fit, spends her whole life worrying about each bite she eats. She subsists on a diet of oatmeal, grilled chicken, fish and vegetables. The deprivation she endures to wear a size 2 just doesn''t seem worth it to me. And the fact that her husband encourages the choices she makes creeps me out. Moderation, moderation, moderation!

I''m working today, then home and focusing on school. Not sure about working out, depends on the projects due, but really hoping I can create the opportunity to do so. Hope everyone has a healthy and moderate day!

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 10/1/2007 9:17:29 AM
Author: marcyc
Go morning everyone and Happy Monday!

Lorelei, thank you for much for the nice compliments. I truly appreciate it.

Your opener is full of so many insightful and truthful ideas. We should certainly celebrate all of our successes, small or large and enjoy life. Working towards our goal of being fit and healthy while enjoying an occasional day off of exercise or indulging in a specail treat is I think a smarter way to live. Moderation is always a good plan to follow. That girl is on the way to either binging or having a severe eating disorder. I don't think that is a healthy way to live.

Have a great day! See you tonight!

Thanks Marcy for your compliments! I typed out an epistle on my wake up call earlier, then lost it!!!

But basically if people can identify with my openers, it pleases me very much, after all my years of misery because of my weight. I was a plump and clumsy kid, the type that was never picked for teams or games - I still remember the groans whenever the teacher made a team have me, very hurtful. I was never good enough anywhere it seemed, even where my weight shouldn't have mattered. The only thing I could ever do well was ride a horse like the wind, horses gave me amongst many things, a feeling of equality, when I was on a horse, I was free.

The girl on the TV show reminded me of me at the same age, I went overboard with dieting and exercise. I tend to have an all or nothing personality anyway, which can have its good points as with that comes determination, persistance and commitment, but also it is easy to become obsessive. Only now am I learning to keep myself in trim for life, sure I fall, but I have learned that this is a journey and the main thing is to keep trying. I have finally been able to lose the mentality of so many diets that if you eat a cream cake you have blown it.

This girl on the show had a poster which had a skinny woman on it, emblazoned across her stomach was the slogan- " you are only one meal away from failure" now that kind of stuff makes me mad as to me it encourages an unhealthy view of food and a desirable weight or body.

Kimmy I also wanted to say thanks so much for sharing your wake up call, you and Marcy are a huge inspiration to many, you all inspire me in fact on our thread - every one of you!

 

[chrono]

Another great start to the week, Lorelei. That's why I love this WWT here on PS. We celebrate all our successes here, large and small, keep each others spirits up and no downers/depravation is frowned on. Moderation is key to happiness AND weight loss/maintenance.

After another 2 weeks of stagnant scale numbers, I finally lost another 2 pounds this week.

Yeah! 143 pounds and hoping for continued success. I'm so happy that I can fit into jeans that I wore BEFORE my 1st baby (although I do have to suck it in a little when it's fresh out from the dryer.

) and fit my chunk of house keys into the side pocket without feeling it poke my into my hips.

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

Great opening LL!! In our house we eat for health, not for body size. And we exercise, because we like it! It seems to me that the more one thinks about every morsel one eats, it becomes a microcosm of your life; everything then follows....how do I or will I look? (and vise sersa) That isn''t discipline, but obsession (thinking about oneself all the time--appearance, eating, etc). Eat to live, not living to eat seems to work for us.

P.S. Marcy I enjoyed seeing your progress--woo hoo!!! Good for you!! Sorry about your tredmill LL!

Enjoy your day everyone!!

cheers--Sharon

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 10/1/2007 9:36:29 AM
Author: Chrono
Another great start to the week, Lorelei. That's why I love this WWT here on PS. We celebrate all our successes here, large and small, keep each others spirits up and no downers/depravation is frowned on. Moderation is key to happiness AND weight loss/maintenance.

After another 2 weeks of stagnant scale numbers, I finally lost another 2 pounds this week.

Yeah! 143 pounds and hoping for continued success. I'm so happy that I can fit into jeans that I wore BEFORE my 1st baby (although I do have to suck it in a little when it's fresh out from the dryer.

) and fit my chunk of house keys into the side pocket without feeling it poke my in my hips.

Thanks Chrono!! I feel the same way, we are all on this journey together and moderation is not only what will get us to where we want to be - but will keep us there for the long term. I hate atitudes I have come across in the past where you were considered a failure or made to feel guilty for being unable to stick to yet another unrealistic low calorie diet, or eat chocolate etc, and I am glad if we together are able to do something to change that.

Congrats on that 2 pounds and the jeans - whatta feeling!!!!!!! Woo hoo!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks Sharon - I am still trying to sort out the pants treadmill, waiting on further instruction....

Eating to live is a great rule to live by, in making great choices for body fuel for the most part, then enjoying that slice of carrot cake occasionally in moderation! Yum....carrot cake.....

 

[canuk-gal]

Date: 10/1/2007 9:40:19 AM
Author: Lorelei

Date: 10/1/2007 9:36:29 AM
Author: Chrono
Another great start to the week, Lorelei. That''s why I love this WWT here on PS. We celebrate all our successes here, large and small, keep each others spirits up and no downers/depravation is frowned on. Moderation is key to happiness AND weight loss/maintenance.

After another 2 weeks of stagnant scale numbers, I finally lost another 2 pounds this week.

Yeah! 143 pounds and hoping for continued success. I''m so happy that I can fit into jeans that I wore BEFORE my 1st baby (although I do have to suck it in a little when it''s fresh out from the dryer.

) and fit my chunk of house keys into the side pocket without feeling it poke my in my hips.

Thanks Chrono!! I feel the same way, we are all on this journey together and moderation is not only what will get us to where we want to be - but will keep us there for the long term. I hate atitudes I have come across in the past where you were considered a failure or made to feel guilty for being unable to stick to yet another unrealistic low calorie diet, or eat chocolate etc, and I am glad if we together are able to do something to change that.

Congrats on that 2 pounds and the jeans - whatta feeling!!!!!!! Woo hoo!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks Sharon - I am still trying to sort out the pants treadmill, waiting on further instruction....

Eating to live is a great rule to live by, in making great choices for body fuel for the most part, then enjoying that slice of carrot cake occasionally in moderation! Yum....carrot cake.....

HI:

Great job Chrono! LL: creme brulee or bread pudding is my carrot cake!! (but I don''t think I could eat it everyday anyway, so it is a treat when I have it...moderation I guess!)

Enjoy your day, folks! Off to ride my bike.......

cheers--Sharon

 

[Lorelei]

OMG Sharon - LOVE creme brulee, or tiramisu come to that....yum....

 

[chrono]

Another vote for creme brulee and tiramisu over carrot cake.

Of course, in moderation too. Tasty ones are very hard to find though. Yum yum!

 

[Skippy123]

Chrono, what are you doing different to kick start your weight loss from this summer? I am a little stuck so any advice I would appreciate. In fact hubby sees me eat and exercise and he recently said he thought I would be dropping more weight, who knows.

Lorelei, great opening and I love you avatar; that baby is so cute!!! I eat for health since family members have to have dialysis for diabetes and it is so sad and heart breaking to see them go through that.

Kimi, I am loving your avatar too; beautiful fall colors.

Hey Sharon! Are you biking? Your bike rides always sound lovely too me; good to see you.

Morning Marcy!

Today I plan to go for an afternoon walk and I get my allergy shots this morning. I will be busy today so I will check in this evening after my walk. I am now incorporating weight lifting into my week at least 1 time a week; I didn't realize how weak I had become. It was a real wake up call. I also will be making Mara's yummy bran muffins since the banana's are ripe. Happy Monday all

 

[Mara]

morning all!! great opener lorelei...that all or nothing mentality can be so damaging. the thing is, almost anyone can lose weight eating oatmeal, chicken, fish and veggies and working out 3 hours a day...but can they keep it off long term??? with regular life intruding...a job...friends, a husband, kids? a controlled environment is one thing but the stresses and realities of everyday life are quite another. anyway don't know if anyone read my novel post yesterday morning about that book i am reading but it talks a lot about all the mental damaging things we do to ourselves in the name of the size 2 jeans or whatever...and lorelei that slogan across the belly is just ridiculous. as most of us WWT'ers know, you have to celebrate the SUCESSES not the failures.

anyhow, had a fun time last nite...had 3 slices of 2% cheese and veggie pizza, and 2 slices of the pepperoni and mushroom pizza (my fave!)...ate the bread on 2 of them and toppings on all...mmmm i am such a topping lover. then we all shared the leftover desserts from work on friday...so now they are pretty much all gone except for one lone 1/2 of a 'just okay' snickerdoodle. oh and a few small pieces of the hungry girl fudge but those things are practically health food so they don't count. HAHA. my neighbor loved them too, said she really loved that they weren't 'too sweet'.

breakfast this morning was a cereal mix as usual but i tried a new cereal, the Puffins from TJ's in Cinnamon. i like them but they are kind of hard. guess i'll have to soak them in milk longer next time. and less sugary than i expected but that's a good thing i suppose!! def not like a cinnamon toast crunch though hehee. was that wishful thinking?

tdiddy..you mentioned in the last weeks thread that you were eating 1500 cals a day...i don't know why but suddenly that seemed so low for me for you to be doing your intensive long runs on!! can you share what your trainer suggested in terms of tweaking your diet before an uber long run? i'd love to kind of clue in on what could be a good snack before and/or after a hard workout like that. anyway have you seen any scale/weight progress since you've been doing the lower cals thing?

interesting little tidbit from the book i am reading on calorie restriction. an old study, from like the late 50's or something, not super technology based at all. but they had a group of men. they were able to eat whatever they wanted for a few weeks. averaged about 3200 cals per day. then they put them on a restricted diet of about 1500 cals per day for 3 weeks. after the 3 weeks, they again allowed them to eat what they wanted. whereas in the past they had pretty much mostly averaged around 3200 a day...after the calorie restriction diet they were eating WAY more than the original 3200 per day. some were eating 5000 or 10000 per day. it took them up to FIVE MONTHS to regulate their eating again to be back to around the 3200 per day they were eating originally. the idea in the book is that when you restrict your cals...your body freaks out. one good point it made was that your body doesn't physiologically know that there's a mcdonalds on every corner now. it doesn't know that there is an overabundance of food that might be why you are trying to diet in the first place. all it knows is 'hey i'm not getting what i used to, what's going on, oh my god we're going to DIE'. so that the next time that you allow yourself to binge or overeat or give yourself a 'bad' food...the body is like 'yes yes okay keep eating'. and that many times when people blame a 'loss of willpower'...it's really just a biological craving from your body that is urging you to eat more of what you don't want to because it feels so deprived.

anyway, kind of interesting. the whole book is really in support of not being regimented about eating. eating when hungry, eating what one wants, listening to the body kind of thing. so the studies and everything of course support that. but interesting stuff for sure. esp when they start to break down how your body actually works, how it converts food into energy, etc.

so that's my tidbit for the morning. off to get ready for work. hope everyone is enjoying a fairly tolerable monday...heheee. darn weekends need to be longer!! skippy, yum for bran muffins, i need to get ready for making some fall muffins soon too.

 

[chrono]

Skippy,

You are doing so well and so small already so I don''t know if what I''m doing will help. Mine''s baby fat so maybe that''s easier to lose? Plus I''m still nursing a little one, so that''s an instant fat burner for me. Since you asked, I''ll share what I''ve been doing:
1. Smaller portions
2. Really cut down carbs (rice, bread - even multi grains)
3. Started oatmeal (jazzed up with mixed nuts and dried fruit), alternating with high fiber cereals for breakfast
4. Going caffiene free - okay, so I drink 1 cup of coffee every Sunday

5. Eased back on the cookies and deserts big time, but very small portions as a rare treat
6. Quit all fried foods (except occasionally when unavoidable) - lightly sauteed is still okay

In terms of exercise, I haven''t changed the quantity. I still play tennis 2x a week, and jog a little in between.

Oh, and I drink lots of water. Something like 100 to 120 oz a day (more on the days I exercise).

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 10/1/2007 11:30:03 AM
Author: Chrono
Skippy,

You are doing so well and so small already so I don''t know if what I''m doing will help. Mine''s baby fat so maybe that''s easier to lose? Plus I''m still nursing a little one, so that''s an instant fat burner for me. Since you asked, I''ll share what I''ve been doing:
1. Smaller portions
2. Really cut down carbs (rice, bread - even multi grains)
3. Started oatmeal (jazzed up with mixed nuts and dried fruit), alternating with high fiber cereals for breakfast
4. Going caffiene free - okay, so I drink 1 cup of coffee every Sunday

5. Eased back on the cookies and deserts big time, but very small portions as a rare treat
6. Quit all fried foods (except occasionally when unavoidable) - lightly sauteed is still okay

In terms of exercise, I haven''t changed the quantity. I still play tennis 2x a week, and jog a little in between.

Oh, and I drink lots of water. Something like 100 to 120 oz a day (more on the days I exercise).

That is a good eating plan Chrono, I tend to do something similar - it is easy to stick to and it seems to work well.

 

[KimberlyH]

The woman I mentioned has been a health-nut for 10+ year and managed quite successfully, she is just so engrossed in it that it leaves time for little else. And she now has a 1 year old daughter and I wonder how she and her husband will handle body image with the little girl. It scares me for their daughter.

So I worked, did a bit of school and hopped on the elliptical for a workout. It felt great and I''m proud of myself.

Skip, have you tried changing up what you eat? More grains, veggies, etc? I know you do WW so you are watching caloric intake but what you''re choosing might be playing a role in your struggle. Hope I''m not stepping on toes by making this suggestion.

Mara, the book sounds really interesting; my brain is on reading overload (I have 1,300 pages of science and math curriculum texts to read in an 8 week timeframe, it''s left me craving brain-free activities when I''m not working on school, otherwise I''d ask for the name again so I could read it.

Sounds like everyone had a great day, that''s awesome!

 

[Skippy123]

Date: 10/1/2007 7:23:37 PM
Author: KimberlyH
The woman I mentioned has been a health-nut for 10+ year and managed quite successfully, she is just so engrossed in it that it leaves time for little else. And she now has a 1 year old daughter and I wonder how she and her husband will handle body image with the little girl. It scares me for their daughter.

So I worked, did a bit of school and hopped on the elliptical for a workout. It felt great and I'm proud of myself.

Skip, have you tried changing up what you eat? More grains, veggies, etc? I know you do WW so you are watching caloric intake but what you're choosing might be playing a role in your struggle. Hope I'm not stepping on toes by making this suggestion.

Kimi, great job on doing the elliptical; I think when it starts getting too cold to walk outside I am going to do that machine at the gym. Heavens no, you aren't stepping on my toes. You are one of my favorites so any thoughts you have are great/helpful. I thought I gained weight because I got on the scale that was not accurate this morning (which I did not know). I was really bummed and then got on the scale at home and lost 1 lb and so I worried for nothing and sorry to bother you all too. I was beginning to think something was wrong with me.

I do appreciate the suggestions; I am working hard not to eat too many processed foods and only whole grains. Thank you very much!

Chrono, thank you for your help; I actually got on a scale that was not accurate and found out later today. Gosh, I should only weigh on my scale or WW scale once a week. I learned my lesson today!! Sorry, but it is nice to hear how others eat to lose. That is awesome you are doing so well Chrono and baby Chrono is so cute! I just want to pinch those adorable cheeks of his. heeehee

I am off to do a 3 mile walk; it looks like it may rain so I am headed out the door!!! Thanks all!

 

[jas]

Just a quick drop in b/c I don't want you all to forget me

I am very sad today because work was, once again, truly awful..I actually had a kid call me a "jerk" because I gave out homework...and I've never, in my gazillion years teaching, had that happen. And of course it's one of the "good kids" that would never say anything like that in another class in a million years.

I talked with him and told him I was ASSUMING he had a bad day when he said it, but that it was inappropriate...blah blah blah...he told me he was "kidding" when he said it. I guess we have different senses of humor. This happened after two other classes (freshmen) apparently thought I had lost all hearing and needed to (a) get all up in my personal space (b) use their "outside" voices (c) do this when I was in the middle of talking with another student. Repeatedly.

Ordinarily, I'd shake that off (or punch the punching bag) but today, it was topped by the fact that they extended parent-teacher conference hours by a few hours on the Friday...DH and I had planned a trip to wine country that I really needed and was all happy about...and now I can't go. The schedule change at the last minute plus a number of other factors made rescheduling or rebooking impossible.

I literally broke down in tears when i read the email at work saying I'd have to stay. (Fortunately no kids in the room at the time.) DH and I tried to work this from every angle. We were scheduled to go w/ 2 other couples...DH is still going. I'm not flying in later bc by the time I'd get there, it'd be more trouble than it's worth. I'm not going to kill myself going on vacation, you know?

Ok, so the reason I share this here, rather than start a "Why My Job Sux Like a Dyson" thread, is that...weirdly, I noticed when this all happened, that I reached for food. I was eating mindlessly, hoping the food (chocolate, natch) would release the endorphins. But fortunately, they were the mini-bars. I had two before I stopped myself, and have eaten lightly since, so my calories are ok for the day.

Ew. Just. Ew.

Yesterday, tho, was nice. DH and I went to a bonfire at a neighboring suburb and it was a huge block party. I ate a hot dog (with some of the bun) but that was it...after that I stuck with the raw veggies that were around. I just hope those were for eatin' and not for decoration!

I am so amazed with everyone's story and progress.

I need to rethink a goal, because my trip was keeping me super motivated. I'll find something else. Probably as I do some sort of vodoo dance.

So HAPPY for all of you -- it's a high point of my day reading this thread!

Yea to everyone!

I know, I know, really impersonal, but I have to go back to work now. PU.

ETA -- I DIDN'T EVEN GET TO MEET RICHARD MARX.

 

[Dee*Jay]

Hello kids!

I appear to have brought a nasty cold home with me from Florida so I'm just sitting around eating what little appeals to me and trying to breathe.

It seems impossible to me that it was only a week ago we had dinner with Rod and Charlie--how could it have only been seven days?!?

Not much else to report. Going to go gnaw on some more rotisserie chicken and have some hot chocolate....


ETA: JAS - we must have been posting at the same time, but I just saw your miserable message. What weekend is your DH going to the wine country? *I* will take you out after the parent/teacher conferences and we can make believe we're somewhere wonderful. Or you can just come to my house and we'll get the HH to dress up in his tuxedo and serve us wine in my living room, pretending he is some fancy sort of waiter awed by our beauty, intelligence, and wit. Seriously, that just sucks--I will do whatever it takes to make you feel better that weekend, you poor thing!

 

[Skippy123]

Hi all, it was rainy and cold so I only did 2 miles/30 mins of cardio; I am going to do some push ups, sit ups and a few arm exercises.

Jas sweetie; that is no fun. I am so sorry you had a crappola day!!! Go kick some butt working out instead of eating something just think how well you have done lately!!! You are at your all time low. You do need a girls weekend w/Dee or something; I bet whatever you do will be a blast. Dee has that $100 wine too.

hehe

DeeJay, you are such a sweetie; I hope you feel better soon! Sleep, and have hubby make you something. . . oh yeah and get plenty of fluids. Glad you popped in but sorry you are sick! Sending healing vibes your way.

I made TJ''s brown rice and leftover gilled chicken w/steamed broccoli and probaby fage and strawberry''s for desset! Have a lovely evening all

 

[NYCsparkle]

Hi everyone...i''m happy you have all been keeping up your successes!

i''ve been MIA because i went back to work and now i''m having a hard time working out. my day is pretty much this: 7 am leave the house (mon and wed I leave at 6:30 am) get home at 4...take my son to the park at 4:30....dinner at 6:15....bath and bedtime routione from 7:15-7:45...wash the bottles and then i''m exhausted. i feel pretty bad about not keeping up with workouts and eating habits as healthy as i used to...HELP!

any advice?!?!?!

 

[KimberlyH]

I just had to report I completed an arm workout while watching TV, hip hip hooray!

DeeJay, I''m so sorry you''re not feeling well!

Skipy, it sounds like you''re doing all the right things, just keep up the good work.

NYC, have you considered a jogging stroller for your trips to the park? Or workout videos at home? I''m sure it''s hard to adjust to back to work and baby!

 

[Rod]

Late checkin this Monday night.........

Such a terrific weekly start Lorelei. I'm afraid (and Mara will confirm) that I've for the most part throughout my journey of rebuild Rod been an all or nothing kind of guy. It's take a long long time for me to realize I could have some of the fun foods I was missing. Moderation Moderation Moderation, he said trying to get it to sink in his pea sized brain. LOL

So, tonight, Favorite Sushi place #2 was closed, but we knew that in advance, so we did our "diner" dinner on Monday instead. And I had a big 'ol cheeseburger (no fries though) with a bowl of beef noodle soup and a side caesar salad. And I didn't feel guilty and I enjoyed every little calorie to boot!

Tomorrow it's back to the gym for three nights in a row, so whatever extra calories I ate, will be burned off for sure.

Jas, your post was so sad. I still think you need to seriously consider doing something else. Life's too short my friend and you're just miserable. Crying at work is a sure sign that you need a change. I feel for you as I know what it's like to be miserable. That's why this past March, Rod quit his job without a job and came home to Tampa where he belonged. It was a frightening thing to give up a six figure income for a zero figure income, but it was the best, healthiest decision of my life. I hope you find happiness somehow (I mean at work).

Sounds like everyone is off to a good start for the week. I'm a little bit beat, so I'm going to end for the night, but will check in tomorrow and like Jas said, it's the high point of my day when I write my friends here on WWT!!!!

Sleep well everyone.

Ps: DeeJay, so sorry you picked up a cold. I hope you rest and feel better soon.

 

[tdiddy]

Date: 10/1/2007 10:41:36 AM
Author: Mara

tdiddy..you mentioned in the last weeks thread that you were eating 1500 cals a day...i don't know why but suddenly that seemed so low for me for you to be doing your intensive long runs on!! can you share what your trainer suggested in terms of tweaking your diet before an uber long run? i'd love to kind of clue in on what could be a good snack before and/or after a hard workout like that. anyway have you seen any scale/weight progress since you've been doing the lower cals thing?

Mara: super long conversation short, he basically said he thought I was being too extreme on trying to focus on protein/calories and fell short on carbs the 2 days before my long run. I went back and pulled my tracking charts from SparkPeople (bonus of doing the whole tracking thing) and I ate about 50% carbs Friday and 51% Saturday. He said minimum for that kind of mileage would be 65% carbs for the two days before. Additionally, my main carb load was Saturday nite at like 8 pm which doesn't really give your body enough time to store enough of the glycogen in reserve for the long run. You really have to consistently put 65% of carbs in your diet at each meal for those two days before the long run. He said most female runners can store a max of 1800 cals before a race. When you are out of that you have to refuel. But I never filled my tank to start with so I was screwed from the get go.

I also pulled a running diary out that I used for a marathon I did about 2 years ago that I did really well on. I tracked what I ate the week before race day. We dumped those meals in SparkPeople today and sure enough, the carb makeup of those meals was 65% or higher. I felt awesome for that race.

The other bit of advice he gave me was to really focus on eating 200-300 cals more the day before long runs and ideally 2 days before. I'm going to try that this week and see what happens.

I also ate dinner with a triathlon coach tonight and my sister. He said if you do the mileage (which I have been), the only two possibilities are nutrition and sickness. I feel fine, so he is absolutely certain that it was what I ate.

I'm going to give it one more shot this weekend. It's a good excuse to whip up some whole grain pancakes two days in a row for breakfast!

ETA: I forgot to answer your question about my weigh-in last week. I lost ~2.5 lbs last week (weighed in on Friday). So the tracking is working with the lower cals. Also, a good snack/breakfast before a hard workout is a whole wheat bagel with peanut butter and half a banana - he recommended eating it about 1.5-2 hrs before the long run. You can sub cream cheese for peanut butter if you don't like it but PB is the best option according to him. The goal is to do about 400-600 cals at that pre-long run meal. I wasn't even coming close to that.

 

[sarahthewarrior]

Hi all,

I know I''ve been totally MIA on PS since I got married, but I''ve been pretty busy adjusting to married life and grad school--both of which have led me to this thread. I figured it''s finally time for me to join this thread for a little motivation (and before this gets out of hand), as I''ve definitely been putting on weight with all the new stresses in my life.

I''m basically doing schoolwork all the time--in fact, I should be working right now. Naturally, this leads to a bunch of idle-minded snacking--something I never did as an undergrad. While I know it all eventually comes down to my own willpower, DH''s not-so-healthy eating habits certainly aren''t helping. I would never even buy things like ice cream and cookies when I went grocery shopping as an undergrad, but it''s not like I can tell DH what he can and cannot eat. The only problem is that when he has a bowl of ice cream, I want a bowl of ice cream. When he starts snacking on cookies, I want cookies. And then suddenly it''s all gone--this has really just got to stop.

I''ve started chewing sugarfree gum to keep my mouth occupied while working, and I''ve tried to get DH to do the same, but this just doesn''t always hit the spot. I know I need to be targeting my stress through outlets that do not include food, but I just have so little time for other things in my life right now. I used to lift weights and go for long walks as an undergrad, but I just don''t have the time anymore (I barely had the time then). I was also used to being allowed to eat sweets whenever I encountered them--since I was pretty muscular and never bought them for myself, it was never a problem to have some every now and then when I was offered by others. Sadly, I''ve lost most of my muscle, and now I just don''t feel as good about myself anymore.

As for trying to fit some exercise into my day, I''ve been thinking about maybe getting off the bus a few stops early so I can at least get some exercise in during my commute, but I''m usually always running late as it is. Lugging around a laptop and books for long distances isn''t exactly good for my back either.

So... I guess any advice (or just plain encouragement) would be appreciated. This is always such an upbeat thread, so I hate to bring you all down. I''m hoping your enthusiasm for exercising and curbing your appetite is contagious! I could really use the support.

Seeing as I never went to bed last night because I was working, I think it''s time to hit the sack. Thanks for listening, and good luck with your routines this week! I hope to have some more encouraging updates as I learn to cope with all this.

-Sarah

 

[monarch64]

Evening WWTr''s...I just lost a really long and informative post, grrr. anyway, I had a very productive weekend as far as more outdoor fall cleanup and getting things done inside with DH, got in two walks with the dogs for a total of 4 miles and 1.5 hours, and today I ran a ton of errands and ended up going back to the car dealership I went to this past Thursday and test-drove a 2004 BMW 325XI. I loved it! Unfortunately my payments would be a little higher than the number I had in my head, so either we come up with a larger down payment or I suck it up and keep making a larger car payment than I really wnat to.

Rod, your thoughts on purchasing pre-owned Bimmers are greatly appreciated if you have anything to offer...I really fell in love with the one I tested today aside from one small thing concerning the factory stereo/sound system. I''m also concerned that I''d probably have to buy a warranty extension and that might run between $1k and $2.5k depending on how much coverage I would need. Is there some forum you know of where I can go to research warranty extensions? TIA.

 

[marcy]

Hi everyone. My day at work was a continuation of bad Friday; but I just got as much done as I could and figure it will wait for me tomorrow. School was interesting; a water pipe broke in my classroom so we had to wander around campus looking for another room for me to move to. We found one in a nearby building so I had to go back, get my students and move over there. Then the AV equipment had a glitch that made the screen keep flickering. There was no place to set down by the smart board so I decided this is so cool – a year ago this would have killed me. Walking between buildings a couple of times then standing for 90 some minutes lecturing. Tonight; I just viewed it as “more exercise”. Yippee!!
Kimberly, your friend’s diet doesn’t sound wise or healthy for her. I agree that the fact her husband encourages it is kind of creepy. Yeah for doing a great workout on the elliptical and an arm workout!
Lorelei, I can remember the same humiliation from school and phys ed. No one ever wanted me on their team. That poster is unreal; what an unhealthy thing to believe. I agree, everyone on this thread inspires me to try harder. We rock!
Chrono, congratulations for loosing 2 more pounds and fitting in to your old jeans. What an awesome accomplishment!
Sharon, good idea to eat to live, not live to eat. Thank you for the kind words about my progress.
Skippy, I am sorry to hear you ran in to an evil scale this morning that clouded your day. That is wonderful to hear your scale brightened your day by telling you that you’ve lost another pound. Yeah! I need to make some bran muffins; that sounds good. Sorry your walk was rainy and cold; that is like the weather here.
Mara, you are so right – celebrate our successes and just move on from any failures. That study about people overeating after they went off restricted diets is very intriguing. I would like to believe it is mind over fatter but it makes sense how some people really start overeating again after a strict diet.
Jas, sorry to hear about another tough day at work. That is a real bummer you have to cancel your vacation plans. That is awful. Yeah for stopping the mindless eating right away. I hope the rest of this week goes better for you.
DeeJay, not another cold? Get well soon. Your chicken sounds good. That is so nice to offer to cheer up Jas this weekend. You’re a sweetie.
NYCSparkle, sorry to hear you are so busy and struggling to find time to exercise. I don’t know where you work but I take the long way anywhere I go at work to get in a few extra steps and I actually do a minute or two of exercise every time I go to the little PS room.
Rod, I am glad you had a cheeseburger and enjoyed every bite of it. You certainly deserve it. I look forward to catching up with everyone on the WWT thread every night too.
Tdiddy, when my husband was in the military they always told them to load up on carbs for the few days before their PT test. It always seemed to help. I hope it helps you too. Woo hoo on loosing 2.5 pounds last week.
Hi Sarah! Welcome. It sounds like you are very busy but you are already thinking about ways to avoid snacking and get in some exercise and that is a great place to start. I am a big fan of the 100 calorie snack packs; they save me again and again. I keep them at home, at work and in my car. I don’t keep things in the house that really tempt me (mostly my homemade cookies or brownies). Good luck on finding a program that works for you.
Monarch, sounds like you had a productive weekend and found a car you loved today. Yippee! I hope the payments work out for you.
Well, I must get to bed. My eyes are not staying open too well.
Sweet dreams!

 

[Mara]

evening all!! monday went as well as could be expected for a monday i guess. i felt kind of tired all day, but when i went to the trainer i felt pretty good. we did cardio and a lot of leg work, squats, lunges, etc. eating was quite good today as well. breakfast was my cereal, light sugar oatmeal for snack, egg white salad, flaxseed bread and edamame salad for lunch. snacks were a fuji apple, wasabi almonds, and a protein wafer that almost tastes like a reese's pb cup hehee. after my workout i had 1/2 a fage with better n'peanut butter. dinner was pan cooked tilapia with some seafood seasoning on it...yummy. TJ's already cooked wild rice (which was my first time trying and it's a great supplement!) that i just heated up with some shitake mushrooms in a pan. and green beans with salt and pepper on them. yummy.

monnie, good for you for test driving a bunch of stuff and really trying to figure out what you want. for me personally i am not into a used car...been there done that. i wanted a new car this time around that was all mine from the get go. could you do something more low key this time around and get a new bmw or something the next car?

tdiddy...interesting thanks for filling me in. their suggestions make sense to me so hopefully they will be positive for you the next time you try the long run. i would imagine that doing something so incredibly long you'd have to really eat up the day before...it's funny because you quite often see a lot of marathoners and long distance runners who are not 'slim' and i've read articles on the whole cycle of eating to run and then eating after to replenish...so it's not super 'weight loss' conducive to do such endurance activity. good for you for making it work!

DJ sorry you are sick! skippy, a short walk is better than no walk at all. also in terms of the scale, i wouldn't let one lb one way or the other depress you. it's the long term that really matters...getting multiple pounds off if that is your goal. 1 lb one way or the other could just be a big glass of water you just drank, or extra sodium bloating you out. nyc...sorry that your schedule is so hectic, i agree with kim that when you are ready you will just find ways to fit exercise in here and there. when i am swamped at work i don't even take a lunch but i can manage to get out for 2 10 min brisk walks or something to just get myself moving a bit.

jas seriously, that job you have is a drag!!! so .... why did you want to get into this profession? and are teaching kids like this really what you want to do? my mom used to teach 5th grade for a long time...and then she moved to 2nd grade a few years ago. she mentioned she liked the younger grades better because she still had an opportunity to really help mold those kids into something positive, whereas by 5th grade so many of them already had bad habits or little devilish personalities etc. maybe you can teach another grade or something?? it really is a drag you'll have to miss your napa trip, honestly i'd be tempted to call in sick that day and get a sub. hahaha. you have to have positive things in your life too....and i tend to want to lean towards those things way more than trying to put extra effort into something where no one appreciates you. cultivate the positives.

haha rod about being all or nothing. that is definitely who you are. i still believe that one day soon you will realize you can go to a pizza place like an amicis and get a small personal pizza that is like 6" around. get the veggie version and light mozz. eat the whole pizza. amicis pizzas are no more than something like 500 cals for EVERY personal pizza on their list. i'm sure you guys have something like an amicis out there in florida!!! seriously that is like 1.5 of your favorite tart cherry scones. but a whole mini pizza. isn't it worth it??

if you ever come to visit out here i am so taking you to get pizza! exorcize your final weight demon!!

sarah, welcome back...you will find the right time for you to really get going and start achieving your goals. hanging out here lurking may be a nice start. really i thought about changing my lifestyle for a long time before actually doing it. and to be honest for me it's never *easy* even though i have met a few goals already and set new ones for myself. i don't know if eating the right thing and exercising will ever come entirely naturally to me...but hopefully after many more years it will. then i won't even have to think about it.

anyhow, bedtime for me. i ended up composing this post for the last 2 hours on and off and my laptop died so i had to plug it in etc. anyway....nite all!! hope everyone had a splendid evening.

 

[basil]

Hi all!

This is going to be quick cause I need some rest now.

You all are so inspirational and so motivated...I''m afraid I am a bit of the black sheep of this "family".

I didn''t post yesterday but I did go to the gym and do 40 min of elliptical and free weights for about 30 min. Then I made beef stroganoff for dinner and had a big helping...and then seconds...and then ice cream...and then another small helping of stroganoff.

Today I ate 3 slices of toast with PB for breakfast cause I didn''t think I''d get lunch. Which I didn''t - I ate a cheese stick, a fiber one bar, and a handful of candy corns. For dinner I had the rest of the beef stroganoff (generous helping) and then I was still hungry so I had 2 slices of toast with lf cream cheese and jelly. Some days, I just feel like a bottomless pit.

I did go to the gym today as well...and did another 40 min on the elliptical. I got the Harry Potter book 1 "book on cd" from the library and loaded it onto my iPod, so that will be fun to listen to. My goal is to get through the whole series while exercising, and then as a reward I''ll let myself read the last one.

Anyway, weight is holding stable, so I''m not too worried about my relative transgressions since I''m not in a huge hurry to lose these 2 lbs. Gotta go to bed now!

Ugh...my internet was down when I tried to post this so I went to sleep. Now I have to go to work. Happy Tuesday, everyone!

 

[jas]

Hi all. Quick check in before starting to work.

First, thank you all for your support. I chose to replace the word "miserable" with "temporarily joy-challenged" in some posts. Hope you don''t mind. I bounce back pretty quickly and have truly adjusted my expectations with the job.

So, to Rod, Skippy, Mara and Marcy -- thanks for the virtual squeezes! I can''t leave this job now and it only lasts until Dec. 20th anyway. It''s really been an interesting wrestling match with my ego, on top of other things. Working through it. Most days are fine, and quite frankly, they''ve already more than hinted they want to find a job for me here. There is a big ol'' ick factor with the staff (with a couple of noted exceptions). But, yesterday, I know the kids were cranky from being up all weekend with homecoming activities. I get that. I was more saddened by missing this trip -- it was going to be a mini-anniversary trip and I''ve need a vacay b/c I never really got down time from leaving the last job. We''ll figure something out.

DeeJay -- I may take you up on the offer -- it''s the 19th. however, I need to see if it''s even feasible with traffic, dealing with the doggie, etc. But you are exceedingly awesome and I hope you feel better!

Good news -- I am still at my 4 month low, meaning I have 3-5 pounds to go. So the chocolate didn''t kill me (ergo, it made me stronger, right?) I''m really happy that I ate thoughtfully and stopped after 2 mini-bars. And that I didn''t tell myself that since I''d given into temptation I might as well give up the rest of the day and start up in the morning. Yea!

I''m still not finding enough time to excerise, but I''m going easy on myself this week at least.

Marcy -- way to frame your day! I smiled thinking of you finding a new room and then dealing with the techno fallout, and STILL thinking positively! That is so cool! You are my WWTidol!

 

[KimberlyH]

Morning All!

Mara, what''s the name of the book you''re reading again? I have a friend who might be interesting in reading it.

Skip, I recieved word about my friends'' baby. He''s started having BMs, really important after this sort of surgery, and is improving. Still not sure when he''ll get to go home.

Today I work and then we have play tickets for the new season at our theatre, hooray! Not sure what we''re seeing but I''m excited. Probably won''t be time for a workout, but we''ll see.

Have a great day all!