Weekly Workout Thread 27th Aug till 2nd Sept.

[Rod]

Hey Everyone! I completely missed my check-in last night and work was so busy today, so this is the first chance I''ve had to read how everyone''s doing.

First YAYAYAYAY Marcy. Under 200!!! You go girl!! We''re all so proud of you for sure!

Kimi, I''m glad your physical went well, but go to the ENT please. You might not have to wear HA''s, but if you do, so what. They make them so small these days that they won''t even be noticeable and you''ll feel so much better being able to hear everything clearly. Maybe a good ENT can offer other options too. You won''t know though, UNLESS YOU GO!

About biscuits........thankfully they''re not my weakness!! Woo Hoo!

Welcome November! Sounds like your trainer is doing a great job with you. Don''t lurk. Join us healthy loonies, OK?

Ally, thanks so much for checking on me. I''m so glad to know I''m OK too!!

It was a really busy day at work today, then we hit the gym around 6 and I didn''t leave until after 8:30. I still feel like I have to make up for the time lost from my procedure (though I know it''s all in my head). I was back at 100% of where I left off. On the idea that it''s super important to take time between workouts, I think that would really apply to someone who is lifting insane amounts of weight. I don''t lift that much that I need to rest much, but I do subscribe to November''s idea of working different body parts differently each session. Of course I end all sessions with my 35 intense minutes on the elliptical, but after nearly 2 years of doiing this, I''ve made such outstanding progress that I''m not sure I can or would do it any differently.

Anyway, it''s so nice to be back in the swing of things. I''m glad to see everyone doing so well.

Still thinking about your hubby Skippy and hope he''s feeling better.

Sounds like the new job is going well Monnie. Yay for that!

Glad to hear the girls are excited about the baby Mrssalvo. So, they want another sister. Is that what you and hubby are hoping for too?

I hope everyone''s having a nice Tuesday!

Oh, Rod is going to over indulge this weekend. We''ve had plans for a long time to go to The Palm this weekend with some very special friends of ours. They have THE best lobsters from Nova Scotia and they only have them starting at 3lbs and above and we''re going for the lobster, so Rod will get at least a 3 lb''er and he will eat every single morsel of that 3 lb lobster for sure. I absolutely can not wait. I LOVE LOVE lobster!!

 

[Skippy123]

Hey Friends!

Rod, I got the book. . . some of those exercises look hard. I am reading the intro stuff so hopefully I can get to the workout core stuff soon. Yay for an exciting weekend. I love Lobster; I am so happy you get to eat it. I wish I was close enough to the ocean or I would eat seafood all the time!!! How exciting; the Palms!!! Thanks for the good wishes.

Welcome NovBride!!!!

Marcy, thats how to do it. . . set small goals so you aren't overwhelmed. I need to start setting goals; I am just stuck here. bleh. I love fleece too!

Kimi, yay, you will be done w/school in now time; it will fly!!! Very exciting!

Tdiddy, I hope you get the eating thing figured out. Nice to see ya!

DeeJay, I hope you get more workouts in and things slow down at the COO job. I hope they find someone to take over soon! You have so much energy missy!

Mara, I hope your launch is successful; how was the hike?

Monnie, I am glad the dogs were good. Work sounds wonderful and that is great they are healthy too!

Here is where I go walking along the golf course; I love the views at sunset. Our mountains are called the Sandias meaning watermelon since they turn pink!

My cousin cancelled because she was going to give her cleaning lady a recliner and other stuff well her cleaning lady rescheduled for tomorrow. I did have a good walk and I mowed the lawn so I got a nice long workout.

Sweet dreams

 

[Rod]

What a pretty view to look at while walking Skippy!

 

[Mara]

monnie...how are you doing with weight loss...have you lost weight having the braces on and all that? i remember you were trying to add a bit so that you wouldn''t get too thin while the braces were on. don''t you get hungry just drinking a lunch??

rod, a lobster isn''t a splurge that doesn''t count!! They are pretty darn low in cals. but it sounds fab, enjoy for sure. have some dessert or something too. hehe.

skip, thanks for the launch well wishes, we did 1/2 today, the rest will not be ready til tomorrow. oh well..at least i managed to leave at 5pm today. i ended up not hiking because it''s 95 today and supposed to be this hot til monday, yikes. so i plan to take P for a 1-2m walk in a bit now that the sun is going down...just letting my dinner digest a bit before i go off on the trek.

my eating today was clean again, now that i am doing this detox thing it''s much easier to eat well. breakfast was cereal blend, berries, ff milk, coffee. then i had a TJ''s steel cut oatmeal serving at like 10am. then for lunch i had a 1/4 a pita with leftover TJ''s egg white salad, just a bit was left. and some coworkers went to sushi but i was in the middle of launch so i had them get me a serving of sashimi sake and maguro and just ate 1/2 of it. the rest i''ll finish tomorrow for lunch. snack was a raspberry chocolate luna bar (my first time trying that flavor...i had never seen it before!), and then went off to TJ''s to get some goodies, had a small snack before dinner of a handful of blackberries, and 6 wasabi tamari almonds (from TJ''s, really yummy!). dinner was a chicken spicy sausage from TJ''s, cutup and sauteed in the pan with a handful of sliced mushrooms, then when it was all yummy and fried up, poured some egg whites into the pan and made an omelet. i also found a new sprouted bread at TJ''s that looked really interesting, flax seed bread and the slices are smaller, so 2 slices is only 100 cals and is something like 8 or 9g of protein and about 4g of fiber. it is pretty tasty but doesn''t really taste like BREAD...interesting and i liked it for sure. but i have about 4-5 slices of the other super dense sprouted bread as well left, which tastes more like wheat bread with nuts. so covering all the bases hahaa.

dessert will be slow churned ice cream...we''ll watch some TV and take our walk and call it a night. whew...is it friday yet?!! hope everyone is doing well...sounds like most are having a good week...keep up the great healthy work everyone!

 

[monarch64]

Mara, originally I lost about 7 lbs. after my oral surgery, I''ve managed to keep that off but I''m still hovering right around 158-159 lbs. so I''m right between sizes and have been most of this summer. Fortunately I''ve been able to maintain but I really have not been giving weight loss 110% as far as caloric intake and working out, I feel like I''m doing the minimum. Hopefully as I get settled into a regular routine again I will be able to join a gym again and get more into a workout routine, especially with fall/winter approaching, I seem to be way less motivated to get outside once the days get shorter but if I''m paying for a gym membership I''m more likely to get my butt over there and work out harder. As far as the liquid meals, I got so used to smoothies post-surgery that I really don''t get too hungry, plus I''m getting like 18g of protein and 380 calories in the two 8 oz servings per bottle, on top of a fairly balanced protein/carb brekkie most days. I think maybe another reason I''m not getting very hungry is just because it''s so dang hot here and also that "new job nervous energy" thing I still have going on. I am sure as the weeks go by this month and next I will be more relaxed and into a routine and feel the need to consume a bit more. I think I ended up at around 1400 calories today, with 4 meals total, so I feel like I''m getting enough to eat. Yesterday I totaled up about 1800 calories, but walked with the dogs for 45 minutes for a calorie burn of maybe 125-150 calories (probably a 2.75-3 mph pace.) Also worked on my arms last night for about 10 minutes, so maybe that was another 50 calories burned but that might be a high estimate. I haven''t stepped on the scale for about a week now, and my clothes from last fall are fitting again, so I''m guessing I may have lost another lb. or two...but no way am I counting on the scale to tell me for sure. At some point soon I need to get in for a physical/checkup, so I''ll let the pro scale determine exactly where I''m at. Ideally, I''d like to get down to 145-148, so I''m really looking at a 10-12 lb goal, which should be do-able in the next couple months, and from there it will be maintenance through the winter and lots of toning. jeez, what a long-winded response I just gave, sorry!

I really thought I would lose more weight with the oral stuff I have going on, but strangely my body has found a way to adapt and hold onto more than I thought it would! Also, I think with eating softer or liquid foods I was consuming more calories than I had planned...plus I think with quitting smoking my metabolism changed a bit and I didn''t compensate completely with harder workouts. Since nicotine raises your metabolism, when you quit you have to not only expend calories just to maintain, but also to make up for the lower metabolism, if that makes sense. They say the average weight gain for a female who''s quit smoking is 11 lbs...thank goodness I didn''t gain so I have to pat myself on the back a bit for that. Also, getting older...obviously I don''t lose weight as easily as I did when I was in my teens and early twenties anymore. Sooo, all in all I think I''m doing "mediocre" but could certainly give myself a kick in the booty to really achieve my goal. It''ll happen, all in good time. I used to be very drastic when it came to eating habits and exercise, so for me slow and steady wins the race, ya know?

 

[marcy]

Thanks Rod. I am having a hard time letting it sink in; but I am very happy about being under 200 lbs. I am delighted to hear you are back 100% at the gym. Woo hoo!
Skippy, I like doing small goals; it is like doing house work. If you take it one room at a time; it isn’t so bad. Thank you for the pretty picture of your view.
Mara, I hope your evening walk was enjoyable the weather wasn’t’ too hot for you. I am with you – is it Friday yet? At least we get a 3 day weekend.
Monarch, slow and steady does win the race. Since your clothes from last fall are fitting you again; I think that is great progress. Congratulations to you for both quitting smoking and for not gaining weight after quitting. Good luck on loosing the additional pounds you want to loose.
Well, I’m yawning and I’m not hungry so I’d best get myself to bed.
Take care and have a great Wednesday!

 

[Mara]

i agree monnie, slow and steady is the best...hehee. it''s good that you have that viewpoint for sure....much more healthy.

went out with P and walked for 45 minutes...it was fun for both of us..the weather is fabulous outside right now...we usually have cold nights, like 50s even in dead of summer, so i love these few days we have a year when it''s still warm out and i don''t have to wear a sweater, even if the days are like 95. hehee. then did 250 jumping jacks to round it off. and had some slow churned. hehee.

marcy...i keep forgetting about the 3 day weekend...woo hoo hehe. time to make greg dinner as he had rehearsal again tonite...then bedtime, i can''t wait to let my head hit the pillow.

 

[Independent Gal]

Can I join you guys for a bit? I''ve had an extra 5 lb going on for almost a year now. I lost it, then gained it back. I know it''s not much, but I REALLY want to get it under control before I put on another 5... and another 5....

Here is my plan: 20-30 mins of cardio, every weekday morning before work, walk everywhere walkable, and cut out most sweets and booze. Nice and casual.

I did my cardio yesterday, and will shortly be off to the gym. But I baked cookies for a neighbour yesterday too, and of course had to try a couple. You know, to make sure they were OK. So maybe

Is this how this thread works? You, uh, confess your sins and virtues? I think that would help me!

 

[Lorelei]

Of course you can join us Inde!! Use the thread however you feel would be best for you, no hard and fast rules!

 

[gailrmv]

hi! Welcome, indygal. Mara, hope your rest of your workweek is not as stressful! Marcy, I''m so impressed w/ your progress, congrats again. Hope the first week of school is going well for all the teachers!

I''m really frustrated. It seemed like the scale had finally budged 3 lb last week, but this week it''s right back to where it was stuck for the last couple months. I''m still down 20-21 lb from all time high, but this is a major plateau. I think I need to count my cals more carefully. I just cant figure out what else is going wrong. I definitely have 20 lb more to lose, so I''m not at my goal.

I work out 5-6 times a week. Usually I do cardio for an hour (run on treadmill or elliptical or take spin class) 4-5 times a week at a high rate, and then do a sculpting class 2x week. Sometimes I split my workout, 30 min cardio an 30 min weight training. I often work out for more than an hour. When I go 7 days, like last week, I got to feeling really run down, so that''s not going to work. I almost always workout after work, I am just not a morning person and don;t like to do it early. In addition I walk my dogs about 30 min a day (not super fast) and whenever I can, I walk or take the stairs during the day. I''m training for a half marathon (will be my third) and am doing more long runs. I try and mix up my gym routine a lot, taking different classes, doing different levels of intensity, etc.

Then for eating, I think one problem is that I don''t like a lot of lunch foods so then I eat too little, and am starving at dinner time when I get home from the gym. Yesterday I had a bigger lunch and less dinner and that felt good, maybe that''s something I can work on. I''m trying hard to eat less processed food, more fruits/veggies, and few desserts. My only real cravings are for ice cream! I usually have either a small serving of breyers light or a childs size (4 oz) froz yogurt at a place where its supposedly 10 cals/oz. OK, occasionally I have both in the same day. Sometimes it feels like no matter how much or little I eat, the scale is stuck at the same number.

I am so frustrated being at this plateau - I am glad to have lost weight, but need to lose more. It all seems to be in the abdominal area too, so I have to look at it all the time!

 

[jas]

Hi! Quick stop in to say I''m still functioning. The hectic pace of the last two days (as well as a nice crying jag) has resulted in a very stubborn pound disappearing; we''ll see if that lasts.

It''s been a rough couple of days...Zippy the Pinhead has been -- as my husband puts it -- piddling on every fire hydrant he can. The cherry on the Zippy parfait was when he introduced me to parents and kids at orientation as his "substitute who is very qualified to make the morning coffee in [his] absence." Which would have been fine if he followed it up with something light, like, "oh, and she is degreed from 2 wonderful universities, has 10 years teaching experience, the program will be fine..." but, no, he left it with parents wondering if the school has hired some barista to educate the youth. That''s a tough battle to fight, believe it or not, because in this line of work and in this situation, often perception is stronger than reality.

Between that, his other instances of chest-thumping, and my "mentor" being Zippy''s bestest friend ever (and therefore not really helping me find my way...she said, "I hear you''ve taught before so you don''t really need me..." although her job is also to help me navagate the school environment...like where the bathrooms are!!!) I''m having my third pity party of the year (which is a lot for me!) I finally just started crying last night as I was relaying to DH that I had heard story after story from the staff about how "attuned" they are to the kids and how they take care of them, but my mentor left me to sit alone at the mentor-mentee lunch yesterday, how Zippy is not playing nicely in the sandbox, and how all the mixed messages are making my head hurt.

Ok, sorry, this is not the personal therapy forum. Believe it or not, I''m actually a pretty upbeat person!

I''m better today and refocused and actually kinda glad about the pound! The good news is that I do get a free lunch (yes, there is such a thing) -- they have salad every day so if nothing else I can circumvent the fish sticks and head to the salad.

I''m keeping to the exercise schedule....today is Bowflex My Butt day! Whoo!

Skippy your view is killer!!!!!

 

[KimberlyH]

Wednesday Weigh In: 127.0 lbs. I ate out a few too many times last week, blech! Oh well, this week it's time to pare back. We went for a nice walk last night, 3-3.5 miles or so. One day I'm going to get a new pedometer, I swear.

jas, It sounds like the best way for you to circumnavigate the situation is to simply be the best possible teacher you can and let the chips fall where they may (with a happy dance that the job isn't permanent going on in the back of your mind).

Rod, I'm definitely going to the ENT, my appt. is Sept. 17. I know it's not the end of the world, it's just not something I'm looking forward to. It will be nice for John not to have to tell me when I'm talking EXTRA LOUD because I've experienced a ton of background noise that day and it affects how I talk. It will also be nice not to say "What?" or "Huh?" all of the time, if hearing aids are the route they say I should go. I'll know in a few weeks.

Skip, that view is amazing!! How'd the soup turn out? And how is hubby feeling?

Gail, how many calories are you eating a day?

Monnie, I'm glad the new job is going so well!! I'm not sure I really responded to a previous post of yours. It's not silly to compare our situations, I may need medical intervention to deal with a problem that will likely alter my physical appearance. I love all of your ideas about minimizing the affect of having aids and so appreciate your support. The caring/friendship feeling is mutual!

You're the best!

Indy, welcome aboard!

Mara, hope today is better.

 

[Skippy123]

Date: 8/29/2007 9:25:37 AM
Author: jas
It's been a rough couple of days...Zippy the Pinhead has been -- as my husband puts it -- piddling on every fire hydrant he can. The cherry on the Zippy parfait was when he introduced me to parents and kids at orientation as his 'substitute who is very qualified to make the morning coffee in [his] absence.' Which would have been fine if he followed it up with something light, like, 'oh, and she is degreed from 2 wonderful universities, has 10 years teaching experience, the program will be fine...' but, no, he left it with parents wondering if the school has hired some barista to educate the youth. That's a tough battle to fight, believe it or not, because in this line of work and in this situation, often perception is stronger than reality.

Between that, his other instances of chest-thumping, and my 'mentor' being Zippy's bestest friend ever (and therefore not really helping me find my way...she said, 'I hear you've taught before so you don't really need me...' although her job is also to help me navagate the school environment...like where the bathrooms are!!!) I'm having my third pity party of the year (which is a lot for me!) I finally just started crying last night as I was relaying to DH that I had heard story after story from the staff about how 'attuned' they are to the kids and how they take care of them, but my mentor left me to sit alone at the mentor-mentee lunch yesterday, how Zippy is not playing nicely in the sandbox, and how all the mixed messages are making my head hurt.

Ok, sorry, this is not the personal therapy forum. Believe it or not, I'm actually a pretty upbeat person!

Jas, sweetie we all can tell you an upbeat happy go lucky person and very strong! The way that teacher introduced you was unacceptable

and very disrespectful!!! To me from what you are saying he also seems very insecure and is probably worried that you have such a great treaching background that you will replace him; people can be so stupid sometimes!!!! What an idiot! I am so sorry. I wish I could give you a big hug and go over there and kick butt, seriously! Come vent anytime; we are on your side sweetie!

 

[jas]

Kimberly -- you are 10000% correct. In the grand scheme of things, this is not anywhere close to the pain so many people have to live with daily. If aggravation and ego poking are the worst I have to deal with, I am very lucky! As far as your hearing -- my cousin has been profoundly deaf since age 2; it''s been so fascinating to see the evolution of hearing aids in those many years. My husband is completely deaf in one ear -- he doesn''t even realize the strain it takes for him to have a conversation in public because so much effort is put into focused listening and blocking of excess noise. It is so right that you are dealing with it early before it affects your daily life in really noticeable ways. But it is a life-change, in a way, and there''s nothing unusual with taking time to adjust to this new aspect. But my many friends with HA have mentioned more than once that they are more aware of them than most people...people tend to "scan" faces and heads in a more holistic way rather than in pieces, and often do not notice individual components.

I am now addicted to the Breakstone Doubles cottage cheese-fruit combos. I just have to watch the sodium. But yummy!

Skippy -- thanks. You''re sweet. It''s funny how my desire to have a healthy, balanced body has increased my desire to have a healthy, balanced spirit. As the saying goes, mean people suck. That''s why I like it here!

Gail -- I can imagine your frustration! Remind me, please -- are you doing measurements or are your clothes fitting looser? It''s not always as satisfying to me when the scale doesn''t budge when I KNOW the clothes are looser!

Indy -- Yea! I love seeing your posts and your icon! Both make me smile!

Monarch -- you seem to be treating your body with a lot of TLC -- allow yourself this gentle approach! It''s awesome! You are exceedingly lucky to have a healthy work environment, and I am so happy you are happy there! Makes work seem less like work! (I already have had to deal with people bringing in M&Ms, sweet potatoes with marshmallows, and delicious cookies!) Saboteurs, all! Argh!

Hey Rod! Sounds like life is good!

Mrs. S -- I''m so in baby mode right now...I may have a sympathetic pregnancy with you!

 

[Mara]

Jas, Zippy sounds like a real charmer. Don't worry, people like that eventually get their bad karma comin' back around...just keep your head up high and do your job and you'll be fine in the long-run. Good about the lb though!

Kim, sorry to hear about your extra lbs, it's probably just salt or water weight or something. I wouldn't worry about it.

Gail, you just have the hardest time dropping the weight eh?? I know you have seen a doctor and all that (nutritionist? trying to remember), but has anything really budged in the last few months? That is a crazy plateau. Have you had blood work done and all that to rule out anything that might be making you keep the weight on? If you really know you have a fair amount more weight to lose and you are trying everything you can, it just seems so odd it's not happening at all. One thought for me was what about cutting back working out entirely for like 1-2 weeks. I have heard of trainers and doctors suggesting that. I know to someoene who works out a lot that might sound like torture or you are sure you'll pack the weight back on or whatever, but if you just modify eating habits a bit to work well with no workouts, you shouldn't gain and you might even jump start a loss. I did no workouts for 2 weeks early this year when I hurt my abs and after I got back into it, I lost like 5 more lbs right after that, don't know why exactly but I remember that. Also the other week I took like 3 days off and it felt so good, like I wanted to get back into it but I also felt like my body was just resting. I just ate more carefully those days as well. Just a thought. The other suggestion is to maybe do what I did last year (and kind of what I am doing now) which is to detox your body of most/all sugars and white/flour carbs. You may be eating really clean to begin with (like I was before this) but this is like taking it to one higher level. Maybe your body needs some type of jump start. I haven't weighed myself in a week but I feel really good on this low GI thing. Also I hear ya on the bigger lunch smaller dinner, I feel better when I do that too, sometimes it's just hard to do though...because I think people have more time at dinner to make things they like so it ends up being bigger and more food than a quick lunch at work or on the go. Anyway just some thoughts.

Sounds like everyone else is doing pretty well. Thank goodness for Wednesday and a 3 day wkd around the corner!! I feel much better today after 8 hours of sleep...thankfully. Time to get into the grind though, happy Wed all. Breakfast was my usual cereal mix, ff milk, coffee. Lunch, not sure what it'll be as we might take a field trip to the new Whole Foods for lunch, or I might just have TJ's egg white salad which I stocked up on last nite, mmmm. w/Toasted FlaxSeed bread. Oh and my nutritionist looked at my eating from about 3 weeks ago, right before our vacation, when I was eating pretty well and lightly..and she said that most of my nutrients was coming from carbs. I found that interesting because I feel like I eat a lot of protein. She said something like 22% was protein but most was carbs. So hmmm, that is also why I think it's interesting for me to do this low GI thing, to see if anything changes now that I am supposedly eating less carbs. She wants me to send her 2 wk days and 2 wkd days on this diet for her to scrutinize as well to see how the nutrient breakout is looking. Interesting stuff.

Have a great one!!

 

[gailrmv]

Mara, Jas, KimberlyH, thanks for the notes, encouragement and ideas!
As for how many cals I am eating, I haven't been tracking too well for a while! I was religiously counting and coming in around 1800, lately I haven't been counting but eating the same kind of stuff. I am going to join myfooddiary.com right now and start counting again. Keep in mind, I weigh a lot and am very athletic (always training for triathlons and long distance running) so too few cals is not good for me either.
Yep, I worked w/ a nutritionist (who said I was already eating really well, then gradually cut me down to 1200 cals a day, by the way, and didn't lose an ounce - very frustrating and complete waste of $$) and I also saw an endocrinologist who did bloodwork and didn't find anything wrong, about a year ago. I am due for a physical so maybe I'll ask if they can retest thyroid and whatever else when I go in this year.
I think my problem is just an uber slow metabolism, and a love of food. It really seems like I can eat "clean" all week, then have one or two restaurant meals or one tasty dessert on the weekend and it undoes all my progress!
Mara, I am really close to trying that low GI diet/detox thing. I have a wedding to attend this weekend so maybe I will start the first of next week. I am just not sure whether the diet is that smart for me to do right now since I am training for the half marathon (and also my first olympic distance triathlon) and I don't want to sabotage my efforts by not getting enough carbs/fuel.

 

[KimberlyH]

Date: 8/29/2007 11:15:28 AM
Author: gailrmv
Mara, Jas, KimberlyH, thanks for the notes, encouragement and ideas!
As for how many cals I am eating, I haven''t been tracking too well for a while! I was religiously counting and coming in around 1800, lately I haven''t been counting but eating the same kind of stuff. I am going to join myfooddiary.com right now and start counting again. Keep in mind, I weigh a lot and am very athletic (always training for triathlons and long distance running) so too few cals is not good for me either.
Yep, I worked w/ a nutritionist (who said I was already eating really well, then gradually cut me down to 1200 cals a day, by the way, and didn''t lose an ounce - very frustrating and complete waste of $$) and I also saw an endocrinologist who did bloodwork and didn''t find anything wrong, about a year ago. I am due for a physical so maybe I''ll ask if they can retest thyroid and whatever else when I go in this year.
I think my problem is just an uber slow metabolism, and a love of food. It really seems like I can eat ''clean'' all week, then have one or two restaurant meals or one tasty dessert on the weekend and it undoes all my progress!
Mara, I am really close to trying that low GI diet/detox thing. I have a wedding to attend this weekend so maybe I will start the first of next week. I am just not sure whether the diet is that smart for me to do right now since I am training for the half marathon (and also my first olympic distance triathlon) and I don''t want to sabotage my efforts by not getting enough carbs/fuel.

Gail,

I am so sorry for your frustation. One of my girlfriends works out2 hours a day 6 days a week (gets up at 4:30am to do so), eats very well, and is just in amazing physical condition...and she''s thick (I''d guess she wears a size 14), because it''s just her body makeup. She is also one of the most strong, attractive looking women I know. It sounds like you''re in a similar boat. I''m so sorry for your frustration, I hope you find a solution that works for you, and if not that you get comfortable in your body as I''m sure you are amazingly toned and as attractive as the friend I mentioned.

~K

 

[gailrmv]

Oh Kimberly, you are so sweet and kind! I''m not sure if I look anywhere near as good as your friend - probably not - I look like a very toned athlete with a bunch of body fat hanging around on top Still thanks so much for the pick-me-up!

I just joined myfooddiary.com, what a great site - it tracks so many things for just $9/mo. It just takes a little time to enter everything. Yesterday was a pretty typical day for me, I ate 1876 cals, 71 fat grams (wow, didn''t realize so many) and burned 873 cals by running for 70 min. I will try tracking things more frequently in there and see if I can identify any hidden pitfalls!

Date: 8/29/2007 11:23:04 AM
Author: KimberlyH

Date: 8/29/2007 11:15:28 AM
Author: gailrmv
Mara, Jas, KimberlyH, thanks for the notes, encouragement and ideas!
As for how many cals I am eating, I haven''t been tracking too well for a while! I was religiously counting and coming in around 1800, lately I haven''t been counting but eating the same kind of stuff. I am going to join myfooddiary.com right now and start counting again. Keep in mind, I weigh a lot and am very athletic (always training for triathlons and long distance running) so too few cals is not good for me either.
Yep, I worked w/ a nutritionist (who said I was already eating really well, then gradually cut me down to 1200 cals a day, by the way, and didn''t lose an ounce - very frustrating and complete waste of $$) and I also saw an endocrinologist who did bloodwork and didn''t find anything wrong, about a year ago. I am due for a physical so maybe I''ll ask if they can retest thyroid and whatever else when I go in this year.
I think my problem is just an uber slow metabolism, and a love of food. It really seems like I can eat ''clean'' all week, then have one or two restaurant meals or one tasty dessert on the weekend and it undoes all my progress!
Mara, I am really close to trying that low GI diet/detox thing. I have a wedding to attend this weekend so maybe I will start the first of next week. I am just not sure whether the diet is that smart for me to do right now since I am training for the half marathon (and also my first olympic distance triathlon) and I don''t want to sabotage my efforts by not getting enough carbs/fuel.

Gail,

I am so sorry for your frustation. One of my girlfriends works out2 hours a day 6 days a week (gets up at 4:30am to do so), eats very well, and is just in amazing physical condition...and she''s thick (I''d guess she wears a size 14), because it''s just her body makeup. She is also one of the most strong, attractive looking women I know. It sounds like you''re in a similar boat. I''m so sorry for your frustration, I hope you find a solution that works for you, and if not that you get comfortable in your body as I''m sure you are amazingly toned and as attractive as the friend I mentioned.

~K

 

[KimberlyH]

Date: 8/29/2007 11:53:05 AM
Author: gailrmv
Oh Kimberly, you are so sweet and kind! I''m not sure if I look anywhere near as good as your friend - probably not - I look like a very toned athlete with a bunch of body fat hanging around on top Still thanks so much for the pick-me-up!

I just joined myfooddiary.com, what a great site - it tracks so many things for just $9/mo. It just takes a little time to enter everything. Yesterday was a pretty typical day for me, I ate 1876 cals, 71 fat grams (wow, didn''t realize so many) and burned 873 cals by running for 70 min. I will try tracking things more frequently in there and see if I can identify any hidden pitfalls!

Date: 8/29/2007 11:23:04 AM
Author: KimberlyH

Date: 8/29/2007 11:15:28 AM
Author: gailrmv
Mara, Jas, KimberlyH, thanks for the notes, encouragement and ideas!
As for how many cals I am eating, I haven''t been tracking too well for a while! I was religiously counting and coming in around 1800, lately I haven''t been counting but eating the same kind of stuff. I am going to join myfooddiary.com right now and start counting again. Keep in mind, I weigh a lot and am very athletic (always training for triathlons and long distance running) so too few cals is not good for me either.
Yep, I worked w/ a nutritionist (who said I was already eating really well, then gradually cut me down to 1200 cals a day, by the way, and didn''t lose an ounce - very frustrating and complete waste of $$) and I also saw an endocrinologist who did bloodwork and didn''t find anything wrong, about a year ago. I am due for a physical so maybe I''ll ask if they can retest thyroid and whatever else when I go in this year.
I think my problem is just an uber slow metabolism, and a love of food. It really seems like I can eat ''clean'' all week, then have one or two restaurant meals or one tasty dessert on the weekend and it undoes all my progress!
Mara, I am really close to trying that low GI diet/detox thing. I have a wedding to attend this weekend so maybe I will start the first of next week. I am just not sure whether the diet is that smart for me to do right now since I am training for the half marathon (and also my first olympic distance triathlon) and I don''t want to sabotage my efforts by not getting enough carbs/fuel.

Gail,

I am so sorry for your frustation. One of my girlfriends works out2 hours a day 6 days a week (gets up at 4:30am to do so), eats very well, and is just in amazing physical condition...and she''s thick (I''d guess she wears a size 14), because it''s just her body makeup. She is also one of the most strong, attractive looking women I know. It sounds like you''re in a similar boat. I''m so sorry for your frustration, I hope you find a solution that works for you, and if not that you get comfortable in your body as I''m sure you are amazingly toned and as attractive as the friend I mentioned.

~K

Gail, I think you''re being your own worst critic. Be proud of all you do to be physically fit, it impresses the hell outta me!

 

[Mara]

Gail...honestly 1200 is way too low for you, no wonder you weren''t losing weight, your body must be freaking. You might even need to eat more than you are now.

When my nutritionist did my body composition mass she found that I am carrying 105 lbs of lean muscle and I am 23% body fat. My weight was I think 137 when she weighed me but I fluctuate like ~2 lbs back and forth quite easily. Her little computer said that for my weight and height and all that, my basal metabolic rate, aka what my body burns by me just laying around on the couch all day long (with absolutely no activity, not even clicking the remote!) is 1530 cals. So basically if I eat like 1400 cals or 1300 cals per day every day, I am starving my body. It will most likely start to eat my muscle and create more fat thinking that I am in famine mode. I am trying really hard to stay at 1500 cals plus per day...I lost weight doing 1500 cals previously but I think after a period of time your body is like okay woah enough, I''ve eaten up all the fat reserves or most of them and now I am going to start freaking out and changing stuff. Your body will try to look after you if you don''t. And I''m not saying YOU Gail, but just in general. Our bodies will try everything they can to get their version of ''survival'' going on after so long. So really when I eat 1500 cals per day even though I think oh I am doing good, I could probably eat 1700 of healthy stuff and not gain or lose any more than I would at 1500. So I am trying to just keep that mentality going.

For YOU, I am feeling like gosh you probably need to eat even more than me. You are taller right? And you are burning what, like 800 cals per day? I am doing only like on average about 2500 cals per week and sometimes a little less so that''s like ~350-400 average per day. If you are burning almost double what I am...you probably need to eat more. And yes maybe be more clean in your eating...maybe try doing this less sugar/carb thing. I wouldn''t worry about not getting enough carbs because I am still eating a fair amount of carbs, they are just SOLELY the complex ones that give me the most energy. If I have a bread it''s a super nutrient powered bread. I *can* eat whole wheat and multigrain pastas so you can eat those for energy. Fruits and nuts are totally encouraged as well. It''s just no white bread, no white pastas, no white rice (you could most likely even do barleys and quinoa for energy), no high sugar or carb fruits or veggies, no processed items (or as little as possible) etc.

Anyway, I can''t imagine 1200 cals a day is enough for what you do and your body...it might be in serious starvation mode (thinking it is anyway even if you feel fine) and you might need to eat more than the 1800. I would honestly find another nutritionist, hearing that yours took you down to 1200 sounds crazy. Mine was like no way should women be eating less than like 1400 or 1500 if they are very active.

 

[gailrmv]

Kimberly, thanks.... I probably am my own worst critic, but the mirror and clothes sizes don''t lie! nor does the scale! I''m overweight, and frustrated... but at least I''m physically fit too!

Mara, thanks for the note. Yea, I didn''t stick w/ that nutritionist long! She just could not figure out what was wrong w/ me and started cutting, cutting, cutting. I only did the 1200 cal thing for like 2 weeks and was like, NO. So don''t worry, I haven''t been doing the 1200 thing in over a year or yep, I would be agreeing with you that my body might be in starve mode. I think I''ve been eating around 1800 but now I will know for sure, since I''m tracking it better. So yep, I''m just over 5''8 and weigh... um.... can''t quite post the number yet but lets just say quite a bit, and so I should be burning quite a lot of cals when I run etc. (Is there any way my body is extra efficient and doesn''t burn as many as the calculators say? Hmm...) and I think 1800 cals a day is a great goal for me, maybe just a few hundred more after a big workout. I''m glad to be tracking it again, this is going to be extra helpful.

Here are my goals for the next couple weeks.

- Drastically reduce high GI foods a la Mara''s nutritionists'' plan
- Track my cals in myfooddiary.com aiming for 1800-2000
- Watch the portion sizes at restaurants/special occasions
- Try to eat more at lunch/daytime and less at dinner/dessert

I feel better even just writing it down!

 

[Mara]

Oh Gail and my nutritionist wants me to eat 1800 cals per day with my current activity level of about 2500 cals per week burned. So if you are burning a lot more than that, aka more like 3500 or something, that is why I say you might even need to consume more than 1800 cals.

I have heard of situations where people just start to eat more cals (all the RIGHT stuff though, not sugars etc) and they get off their plateau! That always boggles my mind because rationale thinks well less is better...but it totally goes hand in hand with the whole body thinks its starving thing...so interesting.

So while I am around 1500 cals per day, I should be more...it''s just taking me some time to get there I think, mentally more than anything.

 

[E B]

Hello all! Can I join too, for the next month? I have ~10 lbs I need to lose before the wedding. No stress, as my dress fits now, but I'd like to be more toned and back to what I consider my ideal weight at 125 lbs (I'm 5'5''). Not to overshare, but after going on this new BC pill, it's like I gained 10 overnight and it's been somewhat hard to get 'em off. Anyone else experience this?

Plan (to copy Indy!): No booze, cut out a lot of 'bored' eating. Scratch that, cut out ALL bored eating. More fresh fruits and veggies.

Every morning, I'm going to do 15-20 minutes of cardio on our elliptical machine and 100-150 crunches. This morning, I did 15/125. Tonight (and every night), I'll do some arm exercises with my 5 lb dumbbells.

To address what Mara was saying, I just joined SparkPeople, and they gave me a range. 1200-1550 calories, 135-252 g of carbs, 27-60 fat grams, and 60-136 grams of protein. Does this sound about right? I guess I should add my current weigh-in: 133 lbs.

It's great to be here with all of you, and I wish everyone the best of luck!

 

[KimberlyH]

Date: 8/29/2007 2:36:52 PM
Author: EBree
Hello all! Can I join too, for the next month? I have ~10 lbs I need to lose before the wedding. No stress, as my dress fits now, but I'd like to be more toned and back to what I consider my ideal weight at 125 lbs (I'm 5'5'). Not to overshare, but after going on this new BC pill, it's like I gained 10 overnight and it's been somewhat hard to get 'em off. Anyone else experience this?

Plan (to copy Indy!): No booze, cut out a lot of 'bored' eating. Scratch that, cut out ALL bored eating. More fresh fruits and veggies.

Every morning, I'm going to do 15-20 minutes of cardio on our elliptical machine and 100-150 crunches. This morning, I did 15/125. Tonight (and every night), I'll do some arm exercises with my 5 lb dumbbells.

To address what Mara was saying, I just joined SparkPeople, and they gave me a range. 1200-1550 calories, 135-252 g of carbs, 27-60 fat grams, and 60-136 grams of protein. Does this sound about right? I guess I should add my current weigh-in: 133 lbs.

It's great to be here with all of you, and I wish everyone the best of luck!

Ebree,

Welcome. I am 5'5 and when I joined this thread I weighed 138 lbs, I now weigh 125-127 depending on the day (today's a bad day, I ate out more thanormal last week). I would recommend uping your cardio to at least 30 minutes/5xs a week. I would also recommend eating on the higher end of your calorie range. I lost about 1 lb. a week eating 1500-1600 calories a day and splurging two nights a week (no counting, eating whatever I wanted). If you're going to exercise you have to feed your body.

It is very rare for BC pills to cause such a large amount of weight gain, a gain of 1-2 lbs. of water weight wouldnt be so strange, but every MD I've ever spoken to has said that it's a myth (I've been on BC for 15+ years and have had this discussion with several doctors over the years), so I'd recommend checking that out and perhaps switching pills if that problem isn't solved in the next few months.

 

[gailrmv]

Date: 8/29/2007 2:11:38 PM
Author: Mara
Oh Gail and my nutritionist wants me to eat 1800 cals per day with my current activity level of about 2500 cals per week burned. So if you are burning a lot more than that, aka more like 3500 or something, that is why I say you might even need to consume more than 1800 cals.

I have heard of situations where people just start to eat more cals (all the RIGHT stuff though, not sugars etc) and they get off their plateau! That always boggles my mind because rationale thinks well less is better...but it totally goes hand in hand with the whole body thinks its starving thing...so interesting.

So while I am around 1500 cals per day, I should be more...it''s just taking me some time to get there I think, mentally more than anything.

Isn''t the body such a wacky, individual machine?! OK, maybe I need to eat more - I''m not gonna argue w/ that! and I know I need to eat more consistently.
Sometimes like I said, I feel like I starve myself all day and eat a huge dinner, well that is a mistake! Or I go all hypoglyemic and crash after a big workout. not good either! Or, I''ll have a big meal one day and not eat enough the next day. Totally need more consistency! I have been trying to cut out the "white foods" for a while now and I''m doing good except for sushi rice (love sushi) and pasta sometimes. I like the whole wheat OK, but DH doesn''t, so we switch off. Oh yeah and the occasional ice cream or donut, man, those are my weaknesses! But I don''t indulge very often in the full fat good stuff. A bit of the breyers light or sugar free yogurt usually keeps the cravings at bay.
OK I''m off to heat up a veggieburger for snack!

Welcome EBree!!

 

[E B]

Date: 8/28/2007 8:23:37 AM
Author: Mara
It's so hard for me to eat more, even though I know now that my body burns 1530 cals just by sitting around doing nothing...so I should at least be eating that nevermind more to make up for my workouts.

Mara, if you don't mind my asking, how do you know? Is there some sort of online calculator, or do you have to visit a specialist?

 

[E B]

Thank you for the welcome, Kimberly and Gail!

Regarding the BC pill, I''m only on it for another 1.5 months. Good riddance! That pill makes me crazy. I''m going to start charting after, and soon after that, we think we''re going to start TTC.

I''ll definitely try to reach the high range of calories; right now, I''m going to have to eat 1000 more calories before the day is over to hit the high mark (according to SparkPeople). It''s easier to track breakfast and lunch, because I''m usually making something from Amy''s Kitchen or eating Trader Joe''s goodies (which has nutritional information marked), but with dinner, we usually make something. Maybe we''ll make something a little more indulgent tonight.

Though, I think with the elliptical, I''m only burning ~150 cals and with the crunches, who knows. I will try to make those 1500 calories a day, though.

 

[Mara]

Date: 8/29/2007 2:58:59 PM
Author: EBree

Date: 8/28/2007 8:23:37 AM
Author: Mara
It''s so hard for me to eat more, even though I know now that my body burns 1530 cals just by sitting around doing nothing...so I should at least be eating that nevermind more to make up for my workouts.

Mara, if you don''t mind my asking, how do you know? Is there some sort of online calculator, or do you have to visit a specialist?

eBree, welcome!! I know about the 1530 because I just started visiting a nutritionist who did a Body Composition Test on me and her computer figured out all my data. I had been ''guessing'' before about my BMR, you can use online calculators but it''s hard to know what is really ''accurate'' without having an actual test done I think. I have had tests say my BMR is like 1300 then you add in activity, so it was more like 1800 or something. And some say like 2000. So it''s really hard in my opinion to know for sure. I was happy to finally have an ''expert'' number to use.

But when I started losing, I used SparkPeople and I did the 1200-1550 per day pretty consistently. I stayed at around 1450-1600 for the most part and lost all the weight I wanted to. But I was working out less than I am now for sure. So I think you are okay with like 1400-1550 as a good healthy range to start with. See how you feel there...and adding the workouts in. If you are hungry, eat more, but eat the right stuff. I am currently doing this lower sugar lower carb thing my nut. suggested and I really like it so far. and I work out so I feel energized by what I eat but not over-energized, aka sugary.

Also agree with Kim on doing at least 30 min of cardio...you don''t have to do 5 days if you don''t want but up the minutes to at least 30 so you can get your heart rate into the right range and keep it there...and do like 3 days a week if you want...but at least do 30 min. And if you aren''t lifting weights already, start. They can be small ones, like 5 lb arms or machines or whatever but it will really help with toning and the more muscle you build, the more cals and fat your body burns in general. You won''t get bulky if you don''t use uber heavy big boy weights.

Gail, consistency is great too. Can you carry Luna bars or something with you? Something that you can eat if you have to. My nutritionist told me to not go more than 4hours without eating something. I also know that when I am more hungry I eat more...so it''s better to feel ''okay'' having eaten something like 2 hours before, and go to dinner or something than be starving and ready to consume lots of carbs.

 

[E B]

Date: 8/29/2007 3:12:03 PM
Author: Mara

Date: 8/29/2007 2:58:59 PM

Author: EBree

Date: 8/28/2007 8:23:37 AM

Author: Mara

It''s so hard for me to eat more, even though I know now that my body burns 1530 cals just by sitting around doing nothing...so I should at least be eating that nevermind more to make up for my workouts.

Mara, if you don''t mind my asking, how do you know? Is there some sort of online calculator, or do you have to visit a specialist?

Also agree with Kim on doing at least 30 min of cardio...you don''t have to do 5 days if you don''t want but up the minutes to at least 30 so you can get your heart rate into the right range and keep it there...and do like 3 days a week if you want...but at least do 30 min. And if you aren''t lifting weights already, start. They can be small ones, like 5 lb arms or machines or whatever but it will really help with toning and the more muscle you build, the more cals and fat your body burns in general. You won''t get bulky if you don''t use uber heavy big boy weights.


Gail, consistency is great too. Can you carry Luna bars or something with you? Something that you can eat if you have to. My nutritionist told me to not go more than 4hours without eating something. I also know that when I am more hungry I eat more...so it''s better to feel ''okay'' having eaten something like 2 hours before, and go to dinner or something than be starving and ready to consume lots of carbs.

Thanks Mara!

I''ll absolutely try to up cardio to 30 mins 5x a day. The reason I''m doing 15 mins/day is because I''m used to ZERO exercise (well, other than chores and errands) and 15 minutes alone is kicking my butt. Maybe I''ll up the time 5 minutes a day until I''m used to it.

I bought 5 lb (each) weights recently, and I''m going to look for some good arm and back exercises, since my dress is strapless. I definitely need to tone my arms!

 

[Rod]

Date: 8/29/2007 2:57:50 PM
Author: gailrmv

Date: 8/29/2007 2:11:38 PM
Author: Mara
Oh Gail and my nutritionist wants me to eat 1800 cals per day with my current activity level of about 2500 cals per week burned. So if you are burning a lot more than that, aka more like 3500 or something, that is why I say you might even need to consume more than 1800 cals.

I have heard of situations where people just start to eat more cals (all the RIGHT stuff though, not sugars etc) and they get off their plateau! That always boggles my mind because rationale thinks well less is better...but it totally goes hand in hand with the whole body thinks its starving thing...so interesting.

So while I am around 1500 cals per day, I should be more...it''s just taking me some time to get there I think, mentally more than anything.

Isn''t the body such a wacky, individual machine?! OK, maybe I need to eat more - I''m not gonna argue w/ that! and I know I need to eat more consistently.
Sometimes like I said, I feel like I starve myself all day and eat a huge dinner, well that is a mistake! Or I go all hypoglyemic and crash after a big workout. not good either! Or, I''ll have a big meal one day and not eat enough the next day. Totally need more consistency! I have been trying to cut out the ''white foods'' for a while now and I''m doing good except for sushi rice (love sushi) and pasta sometimes. I like the whole wheat OK, but DH doesn''t, so we switch off. Oh yeah and the occasional ice cream or donut, man, those are my weaknesses! But I don''t indulge very often in the full fat good stuff. A bit of the breyers light or sugar free yogurt usually keeps the cravings at bay.
OK I''m off to heat up a veggieburger for snack!

Welcome EBree!!

Oh Gail, I can hear your frustration, but I have a feeling you''re being a bit too hard on yourself. Throughout my two year "Rebuild Rod" campaign, I went through long periods of not losing any weight whatsoever. And I work out hard as you well know. Turns out my body fat was going down, but my weight wasn''t and maybe that''s one of the things happening with you too. You might want to have your body fat tested more regularly. Mara has given you some great advice. I''m certainly a believer in lower glycemic foods. And I''m definitely a believer in increasing calories a bit especially for someone like yourself who is burning a lot of calories almost every day. Your body may not be getting enough and may be trying to hold onto whatever you give it. Anway, don''t be so hard on yourself. You know you''re working hard and maybe it may not show on the scale, but I''m betting your cardio vascular system is in superb condition and that will help you live a really long and healthy life!!