Weekly Workout Thread 27th Aug till 2nd Sept.

[Rod]

Welcome EBree!! Glad you joined our healthy family here!!

Skippy, YAY on getting the Core Performance Essentials book!! Don't be overwhelmed by some of the exercises. It starts off not too hard and progresses as your core strengthens!! I'm proud of you for starting this!!

Jas, Zippy sounds like a real "peach." NOT. Like Mara commented, people like that eventually get a dose of their own medicine. Just don't let this person get you down. You're too special for that!! Hang in there (he said knowing it's ever so much easier to offer the advice than to take it!).

It's Wednesday. YAY. Just two more days till a holiday weekend. Double YAY! Will be heading to the gym in about two hours and plan to have a solid 2.5 hour workout at a minimum.

I hope everyone's having a good "Hump" day!!

 

[Mara]

Also Gail, I just thought of something...your inconsistency with eating may be actually lowering your metabolism. If your body feels like it''s a routine that it won''t get food when it needs it, it may start to lower your metabolism to compensate so you will not burn as much of what you eat because it''s conserving energy. So consistency might really help...not sure how long it can take but this is also why my nut. told me to eat every 4 hours. And she said to try to balance out the cals throughout the day. Really she wanted me to do almost the same cals for every meal/snack. But she said it''s not uncommon for people to have a larger dinner. My cals are more like B:200/S:200/L:300/S:200/D:400/S:150 throughout the day. But that is a good balance for me I feel. On wkds its more like B:200/L:200/S:200/D:900/S:150 now that I am doing this lower GI thing, but typically I''d eat like 500 cals til dinner then like 1500 cals at dinner. Because my bread and all that is more constrained and I can only have lower sugar/simpler desserts, it takes care a huge amount of ''dinner/eating out'' cals for me. It''s much easier for weight loss and maintenance, but def not as tasty lol.

 

[tdiddy]

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,

On the BC Pill thing. I started on one after like 10 years of not being on one this spring and put on some extra weight and it absolutely will not budge. The funny thing is that it took my OB Gyn YEARS literally to convince me to go on one again and I needed to be on one (only have one ovary and the pill supposedly keeps it healthy - long story I won''t bore you with). My hang up was that everyone I talked to swore they gained weight on them and more importantly had a hard time losing it. I''ve done a lot of reading on it - i do pharmaceutical research by trade so i looked it up in journals not glamour

- and nothing ever really supports findings that it has causality with weight gain but nothing really refutes it either. And drugs like depo really seem to have a strong correlation to weight gain (like 15 lbs!!! yikes!). so i waited to try one for years after some of these low dose versions came out and finally took the plunge and am not thrilled with the weight gain thing, but also thank God every month when i literally have no cramps and very little of the actual "event". I''m on a mission to lose those 5 or so lbs this month with hard core marathin training, so we''ll see what happens. if i can''t drop weight using this plan, then i''ll really be suspicious b/c when i do marathons i usually drop 10 lbs or even more sometimes. and when i followed up with my OB about it she didn''t really act surprised and offered to put me on a different one. so who knows....but it seems like it happens to a lot of girls who go one them!

 

[tdiddy]

yesterday, after my vent session

, i reassessed my goals over a quick 35 minutes on the ellitiptical. i took the other 20 minutes of my usual workout time and went to the grocery to stock my fridge with healthy goodies. so that made a frustrating day better.

today, i did my 3 miler and another 25 minutes on the clubhouse elliptical. i ate shredded wheat/strawberries and reduced fat choc. milk for breakfast, a boars head turkey wrap with 2% cheese and a pickle with some chips (so bad but SOOOOO good) for lunch, and had homemade chicken soft tacos for dinner (just crock potted some chicken breasts with salsa and added some nonfat sour cream, lettuce, and 2% cheese to a soft taco shell). for a snack i had unsweetened applesauce and turkey hill skinny minty ice cream (this stuff is amazing). so it was a pretty good day.

the only downside was that i figured out while skimming my checking account statement online that someone got ahold of my credit card number that is attached to the account i pay my mortgage and bigger bills out of. yikes! after a brief panic attack and realizing so far the damage was only $60, i filed a dispute with both the vendor and my bank and shut down the credit card. unfortunately they can''t reissue a new one for 10 days, which stinks b/c i tend to carry my check card rather than cash. so a quick reminder to keep an eye on your accounts. i have no idea how someone got this number as i have the card on me all the time and am the only person with access to the account.

have a great workout tonite everyone!

 

[Skippy123]

Afternoon sweetie pies!!!

I only got to do 1 mile walk so I guess 15 mins is better than nothing; it started to pour w/lightning and thunder so I came in. Gosh, I am all sweaty because of the humidity. I was naughty today and made biscuits!!! Wow, the power of suggestion; I never crave them so I made them but they didn't turn out too good so I ate 3 and threw the rest away so I wouldn't eat more!!!

Gail, you sound healthy and I bet you are beautiful!

Mara, you are full of good info Missy! Yay for a walk!

Tdiddy, wowzers that is a good workout! Kudos!!!

Welcome IndyG and Ebree!!!

Monnie, yay for a walk w/the pups and eating healthy! You sound like you are doing well so kudos!!

Marcy, you are doing awesome!!!

Jas, you are such a sweetie and I think such a beautiful bride from your wedding pics!!! Keep smiling!

Kimi, the soup was a B-; I will do better next time. You will lose the weight in no time; you are doing awesome and you and Mara keep me going. Very inspiring!!

Rod, I am still reading; I hope to start the exercises this weekend; it sounds like a mental outlook change too! Do you do the level 4 exercises, if so I am SUPER DUPER IMPRESSED and you are my hero!!!!

 

[Dee*Jay]

Date: 8/29/2007 8:39:00 PM
Author: tdiddy

And drugs like depo really seem to have a strong correlation to weight gain (like 15 lbs!!! yikes!).

OMG you're KILLING me here!!! I have been a loyal depo girl for about 8 years now and I was afraid there was a correlation. Not only that but I just TODAY went in for my quarterly injection. DAMMIT!!! If I go off of it will I lose the 15 lbs?

Anyway, not the best news on the workout front these past few days. I'm working more than ever at my financial job trying to train my "replacement" and since I put the word out that I'm going full time real estate I've got clients climbing out of the woodwork at me. Believe me, I'm not complaining, but there just aren't enough hours in the day to get it all done. And when I finally do try to get some sleep in The Demon spends half the night puking up some crazy thing that he ate off the ground during his last walk.

Lots more to catch up on but I have to go and try to negotiate my ridiculous buyer who is living in the la-la land of "it's a buyer's market so I'm going to make an offer so low it's insulting" to a reasonable price with the one person in all of Chicago who has a property that she has finally decided she likes enough to buy. (In my own complex, no less. Do I REALLY want to make this deal happen? I'll never be rid of her. Must think this through some more... Maybe it's better if they DON'T come to an agreement... )

 

[Skippy123]

Date: 8/29/2007 9:34:50 PM
Author: Dee*Jay

Date: 8/29/2007 8:39:00 PM
Author: tdiddy

And drugs like depo really seem to have a strong correlation to weight gain (like 15 lbs!!! yikes!).

OMG you're KILLING me here!!! I have been a loyal depo girl for about 8 years now and I was afraid there was a correlation. Not only that but I just TODAY went in for my quarterly injection. DAMMIT!!! If I go off of it will I lose the 15 lbs?

Anyway, not the best news on the workout front these past few days. I'm working more than ever at my financial job trying to train my 'replacement' and since I put the word out that I'm going full time real estate I've got clients climbing out of the woodwork at me. Believe me, I'm not complaining, but there just aren't enough hours in the day to get it all done. And when I finally do try to get some sleep in The Demon spends half the night puking up some crazy thing that he ate off the ground during his last walk.

Lots more to catch up on but I have to go and try to negotiate my ridiculous buyer who is living in the la-la land of 'it's a buyer's market so I'm going to make an offer so low it's insulting' to a reasonable price with the one person in all of Chicago who has a property that she has finally decided she likes enough to buy. (In my own complex, no less. Do I REALLY want to make this deal happen? I'll never be rid of her. Must think this through some more... Maybe it's better if they DON'T come to an agreement... )

YAY for finally finding a replacement and for lots of clients = lots of dinero

I am so sorry Dee, I hope your dog feels better and things calm down soon!! I am excite you get to start your new/old career soon if that makes you happy!

 

[Rod]

Skippy, I do most of the exercises in the book. But remember, I''ve had a personal trainer who swears by this book and who makes us do many of the routines in the book. I''m a big big believer in personal trainers for sure!!

So, a good guy sometimes just can''t get a break. This is not a disaster by any stretch of the imagination, but I finallly left work and was sitting at a trafic light at a complete stop and the car behind me was stopped, then all of the sudden the lady behind me just lurched forward and hit my bumper on my beautiful new BMW.

She didn''t do a lot of damage, in fact unless you look closely, you wouldn''t see the little ding, but it''s a ding and it has to be fixed. So, I asked her what happened and she was like, "I don''t know, I guess I took my foot off the brake and wasn''t paying attention??" Then she proceeds to tell me that the little scrape wasn''t enought to worry about and I''m like........"Do you understand I don''t even have 250 miles on a brand new BMW that I paid cash for that I haven''t even had two whole weeks yet and you don''t think this should be fixed???" Of course I''ve already filed a claim with her insurance company, but we''ll see how this turns out. My insurance will take care of it too, but my insurance shouldn''t have to since I didn''t cause the fender boo boo. It''s just not fair to have a brand new car get dinged so quickly. I am so so so anal about my cars. Oh well, this too will be fixed.........Damn!

Still, I went to the gym and I think I was so pissed, that I worked out even harder to get rid of my anger. I spent nearly 3 hours there.

Anyway, that was my excitement for the evening. I hope you''re evening has been way less ''exciting'' than mine.......

 

[Skippy123]

Rod, sweetie I am sorry!!! I have been hit 2 times and both weren't my fault. Since she was behind you I am sure they will fault her. Gosh, I hate car accidents, they really unleash a mixture of emotions you never knew were inside you. I am so sorry!! That is awful and you just got that car; crazy!!! Glad you got a good workout in but dang that lady! The nerve of her saying not to worry about it; geez some people!

 

[Dee*Jay]

Oh Rod, that''s terrible! What a dingbat she is!!!

 

[neatfreak]

Aww Rod! I'm so sorry about that. Good for you that you are claiming it on her insurance though. They def. should pay regardless of how "minor" it is.

I'm having a few kind of "blah" days. My workout yesterday with my trainer was ok, I was just soooo out of it for some reason. I feel the same way today. I splurged today on all kinds of nonsense. Calorie wise not horrendus, but just lots of *empty* sugary calories that I just didn't need or really want. Bad idea because now I feel even worse. No gym either, although I did walk up and back to a meeting at school AND to my haircut, and each trip was 2 miles, so 4 miles of walking is pretty good. Hopefully I will be out of my rut tomorrow.

I feel ya on the oppressive heat and thunderstorms Skippy! It's been like that here too. yuck.

 

[Dee*Jay]

OK, so instead of trying to logic my client into a reasonable offer I just spent all this time reading these absolutely HORROR STORIES by depo users. Jesus god almighty--why don''t they tell you these things?!? And I''m not talking about some 28 page pamphlet with 4 point font and some nebulous statement to the effect that depo "might cause weight gain in some users."

As a steroid, from what I understand, it not only causes an increase in appetite but also affects your thyroid function in a way that decreases your ability to metabolize carbohydrates.

Not to mention the loss of bone density, which I did know about, but I take LOTS of calcium supplements, so I''m not at worried about that.

This is my last shot. Unfortunately it can take up to three years to completely leave my system.

Can I just say again: DAMMIT!!!

 

[phoenixgirl]

Rod, sorry about the fender bender! That lady sounds like this wasn''t her first time causing a stupid accident . . .

JAS, hang in there. This week before school starts is usually aggravating . . . I could certainly share a story or two about this week. Don''t let Zippy the Pinhead''s antics get you down. You''re there for the kids, and I bet you more than anything else he''ll spend the last half of the year hearing kids say, "But Ms. Jas taught this this way . . ." The ultimate compliment is when the kids like the "substitute" better than the real thing! And I''m not sure why Zippy is out for a bit, but I bet that if there is an opening at this school later and you want it, it''s yours. And don''t let the mentor bother you either. She must have a chip on her shoulder and feel insecure about your credentials. What kind of a loser can''t just be friendly?


OK, so this is my first week back to work. So far so good work-out wise, with a slight hiccup on Monday. This past weekend I didn''t work out because some friends came to town Friday night, then we left Saturday morning to attend my parents'' ruby anniversary surprise party, which mostly I planned. It was so much fun, but we came back Sunday night exhausted. Monday I came straight home from work and worked out and was mostly done when one neighbor''s daughter, then another, wandered over. As I was letting one of them in to peruse my movie collection, the mom came over. As we were talking, my next-door-neighbor came over with champagne for herself and my neighbor/friend. When she saw me, she just gave me the champagne. Then my neighbor invited me over her house, so we wound up walking over to her house past my poor next-door-neighbor who''d plied us with drinks. I''m new to the block and twenty years younger so I blame my neighbor/friend for any indiscretions. Anyway, I literally had the video on pause with five minutes of abs and stretches left, and that didn''t get finished. Yesterday and today I got a good workout in after wrok.

I''ve never worked out after work before. I did it before work starting in March. I worked out at least four times a week, waking up at ungodly hours like 5:25 a.m. But this year I''m free every afternoon and teaching every morning, so it seems like I shouldn''t be rushed in the mornings. If I leave right away from work I get home around 4:15, so I can work out and shower and only miss my husband by a few minutes when he gets home. But it''s still a change. I think it''ll be ok, though. It''s not easy to figure out when to go to the grocery store, but I guess these things will work themselves out.

Oh, and tonight we tried a delicious new sushi place, yum!

An eating challenge this week has been lunch. Usually teachers have few options, but during work week we can go out. It''s interesting to see what my coworkers order. My mentee is straight out of college, and we''ve (my two or three friends at work and I) been inviting her out with us. I looked at her MySpace profile, so I know she''s gained a lot of weight recently, even versus her graduation photos in June. And her clothes seem too tight, like Chris Farley wearing a too-small jacket in an SNL skit. I know I''m a horrible person for thinking these things. I''m not judging her for her eating habits -- I get that being on your own for the first time is confusing, so you eat pizza and hamburgers for every meal. I''m sure she thinks we''re weird older women because we eat smaller portions and order water with our meals, but we do that for a reason, ya know? Not that I''m some expert . . . a year ago I didn''t watch what I ate at all! It''s just that now that I know what I was doing wrong, I feel sad for people who still don''t know.

 

[Rod]

You know sometime in the not too distant future, my friends here on WWT, won''t have to tell me they''re sorry about something happening in my life. Not that minor fender bender is monumental or anything, but geez, it sure wasn''t what I needed after everything else that''s geen going on in my life. Oh well, this too shall pass.

DeeJay, I''m gald you''re finally training your replacement too! It''s great that you have clients climbing out of the woodwork, but girl you have to find time to take care of yourself too. And I''m Sorry, BUT YOU HAVE TO GET OFF THAT DEPO CRAP, LIKE NOW???? Steroids definitely cause weight gain, plus a host of other issues.

 

[Mara]

evening all!!

rod i am so sorry about that dumba$$ hitting your car!!! jeez. that is why i am so not into new cars really. i am way more paranoid with my new car than i ever was with my old one. i mean it's inevitable someone is going to hit you or ding you or something but jeez. at least you got in a 3 hour workout!!

skip good for at least a mile, better than nothing for sure!!

i got access to the gym at work finally (we heard that contractors aka non-employees weren't allowed but my coworker told us to fill out the waiver forms anyway, and then she included them with her new hire forms for 2 new people on her team, and when i went down the other day my badge worked, so yahoo!!) which i am jazzed about. i think a few of us will start going down together sometimes too. it's nothing special but it's not crowded at all and the best thing is that there is no driving involved! so i went down after my last call at 5:40 and stayed til about 6:30...did some ellptical (they have one of the ones i like but it's a newer generation one that seems harder to use somehow...) and then some arm weights for about 400 cals total burned.

i also weighed myself and i lost 2 lbs according to this scale since last wednesday when i got weighed for my nutritionist meeting. who knows if that's really 2 lbs but i like to think it is hahah. i am going to see my trainer tomorrow to finalize my program setup and have her take my measurments and all that so i imagine she will weigh me again and it's the same machine i used last week so we'll see what it says.

i discovered a fabulous new snack for TJ lovers. wasabi tamari almonds. they come in a plastic baggie of supposedly 11 servings. i was like what is a serving? 5 almonds? i never trust that one serving is going to be actually satisfying as nuts are so high in cals and fat. well i weighed out a serving tonite and i was pleasantly surprised to see that a serving actually consists of about 21 almonds! imagine that! one serving is 160 cals, 14g fat (but just 1g saturated), 3g fiber and 6g protein. so a nice snack after a workout or when i need to get a quick 100 cals in and want to eat the 'right' thing but not a bunch of volume i guess. so i just had some and man are they good. they are the greatest combo of spicy salty and then the sweetness of the almond. they almost taste like they are roasted, then with a wasabi powder on them. yum. max flavor punch for sure.

for those discussing depo...yes a side effect is weight gain and it can be substantial. but it is very hard to get off. i have a few friends who went on it and gained anywhere from 5-20 lbs...it's crazy. and a few of them had to REALLY struggle to get it off and one of them has not managed to really. it's pretty sad actually, that a medicine can do that and then it's super hard to get off. frustrating i'm sure. i have also heard that from other gals. i was on it a long long time ago but it didn't give me any weight gain, it had other not-fabulous side effects so i only was on it for about 3 shots then i said forget this!! the BC pill has worked for me for years but recently i decided i wasn't sure if it was causing any side effects like gain or bloating so i went off it and i don't know that it makes any diff but i feel better just not taking it.

anyhow, my eating today is going quite well. i really wish that staying on a cleaner diet was this easy all the time. my boss had a 1/2 donut she walked by me with and i was like what is that...but i thought, well i can't have one so it doesn't matter. then i walked by a bunch of sugary candy things by one of the cubes and i was like oh that's interesting then thought oh doesn't matter. can't have it. it just felt so easy. hah if it was always like that!! i have the greatest self control when i want to. but when i give myself license to splurge is when it's all outta wack. darnit!

for breakfast i had my typical....then just tea and a few handfuls of cereal til lunch...then egg white salad on 2 toasted flax seed breads and 4 small squares of salmon sashimi (leftover) for lunch. luna bar for snack. meant to eat some blueberries but just had tea instead later. then for snack now had the wasabi tamari almonds...and dinner is going to be a stuffed chicken breast with ground chicken, spices, and portabello mushrooms from this local fabulous meat place, and leftover veggies from sunday's grillfest. dessert will probably be slow churned though i am almost out and am so sad about that. gotta get some more as it's become quite the 'light dessert' staple around here.

hope everyone is having a great day or at least a passable wednesday. yay for thurs around the corner then a 3 day weekend. my day today was much better, finished our launch and things look good (fingers continuously crossed)...i am so glad i don't have to do that again for another 6-9 months..hehe.

 

[KimberlyH]

G''evening all!

Rod, I am so sorry about the stupid fender bender. I''m suprised she didn''t just offer to pay for it so insurance didn''t have to get involved as the cost to fix it may well be below her deductable.

Deejay, hooray for a replacement! Keep your head above water and remember slow and steady wins the race, I''m sure you''ll be successful in the long run of health because you take steps each day to be healthy, even if you aren''t exercising as much as you''d like.

I had a migraine this afternoon, so we took a 2-2.5 (pedometer at the store is calling my name...) walk this evening at a pretty leisurely pace so it wouldn''t return. But it was nice to get out.

John made the most decious eggplant pasta meal I''ve ever had with a side dish of rabe (I think that''s what it''s called) that was amazing too. It was from some NYTimes recipe...oh my yummy!

Have a good night all!

 

[marcy]

Hi everyone! We are going to pick up our new 5th wheeler on Friday. Yeah! I guess we are getting lessons since we’ve never had a 5th wheel before. It is just some way to pass the time after we sign the papers. They said it will take about 3 hours to put the hitch in the bed of our truck.
Mara, I am pretty excited for a 3 days weekend. I am pretty excited a neighbor stopped me on the way back from the mailbox tonight and said I was shrinking every time she saw me. We visited for quite awhile and she said she’d love to go walking with me. Of course we don’t have any pretty hiking trails around our house like you do, but I''m excited she wants to go for walks. Yeah for loosing 2 pounds.
Welcome Inde! Good idea to work on 5 lbs now instead of 10 or more later. It sounds like you have a good plan.
Gail, thank you for the kind words. School is going great for. It’s amazing how much more energy I have than my class last fall. I don’t mind walking around the class and answering questions. I am looking forward to walking off the 1000 yard model of the solar system in a few weeks. Sorry to hear you are hitting a plateau. Your workouts sound great to me; maybe break up your food more over the day eating small meals about 5 or 6 times a day. I find I don’t get hungry too often that way. Hang in there lady. I have also heard that if you increase your calories it can help jump start the weight loss again.
Jas, congratulations on loosing a stubborn pound. Sorry to hear Zippy the Pinhead is such a pain. Take out your frustrations on your Butt workout tonight, that will help. Enjoy your free lunch! You are right about how our working towards a healthier body also helps move us towards a healthier spirit. I like that.
Kimberly, I need to get a pedometer. Thanks for mentioning that. Your walk sounds lovely. You are the best, too! I hope your migraine is better.
Welcome Ebree, good luck on beginning your program. Sparkpeople is great to help figure out your goals.
Rod, I am with you on being excited for the upcoming holiday weekend. Too bad my next day and ½ at work will not be FUN. I at least get to leave early Friday to go sign papers for the 5th wheeler. I can’t believe that woman hit your new BMW!!! And the nerve of her to think it didn’t need fixed. I bet you did work out HARD after that. I’d be angry too.
Tdiddy, that is awful someone got ahold of your cc numbers; I am so glad it was small charges. I will go check my account tonight.
Skippy, sorry your walk was cut short. Too funny about making biscuits after we’ve been talking about them. I was planning on baking some this weekend. I’ll use some of Paula Dean’s favorite ingredient on them – BUTTER. But I’ll use it only in moderation.
DeeJay, that is great news you have many new clients but sorry you are so busy. It sounds like Demon wants his share of attention as well.
Neatfreak, sorry to hear you had a few blah days. I hope things look up for you soon.
PhoenixGirl, you’ve had quite a week. Too funny you had champagne with the neighbors. That certainly breaks up the monotony of the day. It sounds like you have a good plan to get in your exercise in the afternoon. I usually shop for groceries on weekends because I run out of time during the week.
Take care my friends.
Laters,
Marcy

 

[monarch64]

Hi everyone, and welcome newcomers...DH ended up securing an earlier flight and came in late tonight instead of tomorrow morning from Atlanta, so I''ve been pleasantly distracted by his presence and not able to log on as usual to the WWthread! I did manage to read through the last page and a half and it sounds like things are going well although some are experiencing bumps in the road as am I! I''m sorta compacent tonight, I tried on all my summery skirts from last summer and they all fit the same even though I think I"m a size larger right now, but like I said earlier on this thread I am kind of in between sizes so who knows. Anyway, I''m taking advantage of being able to wear really summery looking things these next couple of weeks (I''m not a total stickler re. the Labor Day "rules") so fortunately I have plenty of options as far as my work wardrobe for the next month, yay!

It''s so late, I want to take another hour and relax and PS to my hearts'' content but I''ll pay for it in the morning...it was so good to have DH home early, but he flies out to Colorado early Friday morning and I''ll be working all day tomorrow so I wanted to maximize our time together this evening even though it was already past my bedtime, lol! Poor guy, he''s having to go to a wedding as a "single" guest for the first time since we got married almost 4 years ago, I''ve been to weddings by myself since then when he''s been traveling and it''s not the most fun situation...I guess we''re rather attached to each other. Of course we do fine on our own, we''re both extroverts, but it''s always nice to have your spouse/loved one with you when you''re celebrating a brand new marriage, ya know? So I''ll see him again Sunday night and I''m off Monday so we will be able to reconnect and have some quality time together then. Argh, this post is all about non-WWT-related things, sorry!

This morning I had another healthy brekkie of soy/flaxseed based cereal, almond milk, coffee, and an 8 oz. glass of OJ (I hate OJ, but felt like I needed a different color something, lol!), for lunch I had 2/3 of a bottle of Adwalla super protein fruit smoothie, then for an after work snack I made a bean dip from organic black beans and a jar of TJ''s medium salsa blended together with about 8 veggie w/ flaxseed tortilla chips. Dinner was sauteed sliced portabellos with a sliced ripe beefsteak tomato and a slice of provolone cheese open faced on a slice of toasted 7 grain wheat bread. I didn''t add up my calories today, because I didn''t work out at all aside from being on my feet all day at work. Wonder what that counts for?

Oh it''s super late, sorry for not responding to individual posts. Hopefully tomorrow I''ll have more time!

 

[Lorelei]

Oh Rod, I so feel for you and I would have

for sure. What a complete idiot and a fool she was!!!

The good thing is I bet you won''t see it once it has been treated, although I know that isn''t the point

Ugh!!!!

Working out has been going well this week, had a day off yesterday as I was as I had plenty of desirable aches after all my hard work!!!

 

[royalasscherlover]

style="WIDTH: 97.21%; HEIGHT: 86px">Date: 8/29/2007 10:44:25 PM
Author: KimberlyH

John made the most decious eggplant pasta meal I''ve ever had with a side dish of rabe (I think that''s what it''s called) that was amazing too. It was from some NYTimes recipe...oh my yummy!

kimberly, i made the same eggplant recipe from the NYT last night! i had a whole bunch of gorgeous little eggplants from the farmers market and was pondering what to do with them, and then just happened to come across that recipe in yesterday''s paper. i did cut back on the olive oil, as there was a bit too much for my taste, but it was yummy just the same.

gail, i feel your pain. i have been stuck at the same weight for months as well. i have tried many things - eating more, eating less, exercising more, exercising less - but nothing has really changed. i''m trying to just be happy that i''m not gaining, but it can be very frustrating. i don''t have much more left to lose, but another 5 pounds or so would be ideal.

not too much else to report here - still eating healthy (i have finally reigned in the slow churned monster and have stuck to a single serving in the evenings), and i''ll hit the elliptical after work today. i''ll be attending several bbqs and events this holiday weekend, and it''s always tougher to stick to the healthy track when everyone else is drinking and indulging, but i will try my hardest to be good!

 

[jas]

Good morning! Apparently the lost pound was just out for coffee and is back today. That''s ok; I get the sense its getting ready to leave the nest and was just taking a practice run to face the world without me.

I spent most of yesterday zonked out, which makes a lot of sense. I am always Miss Cranky Pants right before I get sick. I''m not at 100% but I''m a lot better.

Thank you all for your support re: Zippy. I''m more aggravated that I have to go through all this new teacher nonsense again, but ultimately, it''s a good thing for me to do and brings me back to my days as a starting teacher...ten years ago. Maybe the process will magically erase the lines appearing on my face!

All this BC talk -- ugh. I hate being on BC -- even my low-estrogen pills make me gain weight and I am a raving lunatic one day a month (fortunately I know which day it is and I tell DH to get out of the house, or at least take shelter.) I also have a fibroid the size of Detroit, which I know affects things. I just think our hormones and other systems are so delicate... The Depo stuff, yucko -- I''m guessing it intensifies all the icky stuff of other BC methods. I''ll be curious to see what else I learn about it in this thread. Then again, I have baby on the brain (due to 4 people in my life being preggos). I ain''t getting younger, but DH is still getting used to having a dog so that discussion will wait a few months (He once mentioend that he thinks people should be married at least a year before having kids...he''s Mr. Arbitrary Rule guy...so I will need to hold off on sharing the baby jones for a few months...but the anni is coming up!) Ok, again, WAAAY TMI.

Rod, I am so sorry about your car. As I read your post I literally cried out, "NO!" Ugh. My first thought was wondering if she were on her cell phone.

Lorelei -- glad the workouts are working out!

Monnie -- yea for summer clothes! AND for them fitting and you feeling fabulous in them! Your comments about your hubby are so sweet. It''s good you are attached to each other LOL! Do you find that the protein shakes keep you full? I would love to bring them as a lunch to work, but I''m worried my tummy would start growling after an hour.

Marcy -- Enjoy going to 5th wheel school! What''s great about being an educator is that there is a definite rhythm to each year, and it''s so great that you know you are in a better, healthier place than last year. How fun that must be!

Kimberly -- Your husband sounds like such a wonderful cook. I hope your migraine is better today. Those are the worst!!!

Mara -- your self control is great. However, I do totally get what you mean by having self control when you want to! Glad the new eating plan seems to be working to your advantage.

Phoenix -- thanks for the encouragement. I didn''t know you had a mentee! She is so lucky to have you! I was a mentor last year (I called myself the mental, though) -- it''s wonderful and challenging and so fun to do...hope your mentee is awesome. But I hear you about seeing what other people order now. I am SO conscious of it!

Hi Skippy! Hope you are staying cool today!

I''m off to attempt to write a pseudo-syllabus and then back to school for a cocktail hour with the board of directors. Fortunately, DH is coming with! Sometime today, a Bowflext Blowout!

Namaste!

 

[Mara]

how funny that sb and kim made the same recipe on the same night hehee. what a small world it is!!

jas, i wish self control never deserted us (i actually wrote desserted us, is that a freudian slip??) when it came to matters of the diet hehee. it would be all just so much easier.

i wish milk didn''t have so many sugars in it...i like my less sweetened almond milk but it has virtually no protein so i switched back to ff milk to get extra protein in the morning but that protein comes with a sugar price, something like 11g sugar in 1c ff milk. yikes.

so last nite for dinner we had this stuffed chicken breast which i baked for an hour and was quite tasty. i ended up having about 4.5 oz of the stuffed breast but didn''t really eat the stuffing as it wasn''t that fabulous. greg had about 1/2 the chicken breast hehee. and there is a leftover ~4oz piece as well. then lots of leftover grilled veggies. and slow churned for dessert. i''m out so i have to be sure and get some more today!!

i also shredded the smoked chicken breast i got this last weekend for lunch today, and tasted it, yum!!! i am going to make a smoked chicken, garlic hummus pita sandwich today for lunch, tasty. dinner tonite, have no idea but i might let us go out for dinner or something as we have been eating at home all week and kind of passing each other by what with work and rehearsals. ironic thing is that i am hiking with a friend tonite and won''t be home til about 7:30 but at least it''s not 10pm...so we''ll have some time together. and then the 3 day weekend will be nice and relaxing as well.

anyhow, hope everyone is enjoying thursday, as it''s the day before FRIDAY which is the day of the start of a THREE DAY WEEKEND. haha. can you tell i need a break?!

 

[KimberlyH]

Date: 8/30/2007 10:17:19 AM
Author: shortblonde

style="WIDTH: 97.21%; HEIGHT: 86px">Date: 8/29/2007 10:44:25 PM
Author: KimberlyH

John made the most decious eggplant pasta meal I've ever had with a side dish of rabe (I think that's what it's called) that was amazing too. It was from some NYTimes recipe...oh my yummy!

kimberly, i made the same eggplant recipe from the NYT last night! i had a whole bunch of gorgeous little eggplants from the farmers market and was pondering what to do with them, and then just happened to come across that recipe in yesterday's paper. i did cut back on the olive oil, as there was a bit too much for my taste, but it was yummy just the same.

gail, i feel your pain. i have been stuck at the same weight for months as well. i have tried many things - eating more, eating less, exercising more, exercising less - but nothing has really changed. i'm trying to just be happy that i'm not gaining, but it can be very frustrating. i don't have much more left to lose, but another 5 pounds or so would be ideal.

not too much else to report here - still eating healthy (i have finally reigned in the slow churned monster and have stuck to a single serving in the evenings), and i'll hit the elliptical after work today. i'll be attending several bbqs and events this holiday weekend, and it's always tougher to stick to the healthy track when everyone else is drinking and indulging, but i will try my hardest to be good!

That is so funny, SB, it was so delicious! He cut back on the EVOO too. Did you try the rabe? It was really good!

 

[ChinaCat]

Hello all!

Welcome Indy & Ebree- I am in the same camp with you guys, just wanting to lose that extra pesky & persistant 5 or so pounds. I will say that before my wedding, I did cardio 2-3x a week for a few months and started eating right, but the last 6 months before the wedding, I really just did pilates twice a week (a private class with an instructor, on the machines, not the mat classes) and tried to restrict my calories. I basically ate as healthily as I could during the week, would kind of let myself have "treats" on the weekend and I dropped about 13-15 pounds total, and the pilates really changed my body in a way that weight training never did. I know everybody has different body types, but Pilates worked wonders for the toned look.

Mara- question for you about sugars. I don't really crave sweets that much and at least at this point don't want to go on the extreme no sugar diet that you are doing (although I am sure it is great for you!) but I do want to try to limit sugars as much as possible. My question for you is how do you know what you should be aiming for? I.e., a lot of things have sugar in them (pasta sauces, cereal, etc.) so if not avoiding altogether, then what is a good range to shoot for? Also, I just can't cut out the teaspoon or so of sugar in my coffee. I am assuming the sugar substitutes are just as bad? Any suggestions would be great, thanks!!!

So I have added about 3-5 pounds and I really am determined to make some headway in the next two weeks before an event I have to attend. I know I can't healthily lose 5 pounds in 2 weeks, but I am using it as my goal to motivate me. I guess my plan is to eat as cleanly as possible, mostly protein and good carbs and add cardio. I am not giving up alcohol however, as that makes me grumpy.

Everyone sounds like they are doing great. I agree with what others were saying about not eating enough calories- your body really does go into starvation mode and it becomes impossible to drop weight. I find it really really helps to eat every few hours, just to keep the metabolism moving. Seems counterintuitive to eat more, but it works.

Jas- Sorry about lame-o Zippy. What is wrong with people? But I agree, it is so much more satisfying to be sweet and ignore them and go about your business and be the BEST sub EVER so they will have to eat their words. You seem so patient and wise, I bet the kids just adore you.

I still haven't figured out how you all respond to everybody (Marcy & Skippy are genius at it!!!!) So everyone have a wonderful Thursday, it's almost Friday, which is the beginning of a beautiful 3-day weekend!

ETA: On the how much you weight/scale moving or not moving issue: I really believe that weight is not the best indicator. According to the scale, I have only gained about 3-4 lbs but I KNOW that I have much more fat around my middle, my clothes are much tighter, and I look way different than just 3 lbs from when I looked my best. 3 lbs is nothing to fluctuate, but it is definitely something when you have lost musle, replaced it with fat, and you change clothes sizes. So to some of you who are frustrated about doing all the work and not seeing the scale move, you most definitely are making changes and I bet the measurements show that. I would much rather have the scale "say" I weigh 5 more pounds but feel tight and toned and have my clothes fit. It's very arbitrary.

 

[Dee*Jay]

Date: 8/29/2007 10:16:32 PM
Author: Rod
DeeJay, I'm gald you're finally training your replacement too! It's great that you have clients climbing out of the woodwork, but girl you have to find time to take care of yourself too. And I'm Sorry, BUT YOU HAVE TO GET OFF THAT DEPO CRAP, LIKE NOW???? Steroids definitely cause weight gain, plus a host of other issues.

I agree 1,000%!!! Unfortunately I JUST got my quarterly injection YESTERDAY so now I am screwed for another 13 weeks, plus however many years it takes to totally leave my system. Great...

I WILL work out tonight. Even if something comes up with a client and I can't do my full fledged hour long working I will fit some form of exercise in.

Have to bolt off right now but I'll check in more later.

 

[E B]

Thank you all for the welcome!

Well, my weight this morning was 131.6. I know, it''s probably just normal fluctuation, but it made me really happy.

I did 16 mins on the elliptical this morning (how you gals can do 30 is beyond me! Maybe my settings are too high?) and another 125 crunches, and had a Luna for breakfast this morning with two big glasses of water. I''m trying to be good through the weekend, because FH is celebrating his birthday on Monday (it''s really on Tuesday) and I''m baking him these delicious vegan cupcakes...chocolate with cookies and cream frosting. And just because they''re vegan doesn''t mean they''re low-fat. I suspect these will be just as bad if not worse than cupcakes made with dairy! We''ll also be partaking in alcohol, so these ''good'' days have to count!

DeeJay- Definitely go off the Depo if you''ve noticed weight gain. My cousin gained 60 lbs on it, and as soon as she stopped it, the weight melted off her. It was bizarre.

 

[Mara]

hi china cat...actually the low GI diet i am on does not cut out sugar entirely...it just lowers my sugar intake probably by about half of what i was consuming before. i think it's almost impossible to consume absolutely no sugar esp if you eat fruits etc as they have natural sugars in them, but it's more about PROCESSED sugars and carbs. i want to keep stressing that on here, because it seems like every day or so someone here is like i dont think i could do that diet because i need carbs...or sugars or whatever it is. and i'm like well that is not really the case with what i am doing. i absolutely have not cut any one food group out of my diet. i am still eating carbs, they are just more complex. i am still eating fat, it's just the better for you types. i am eating about 98% normally on what i used to, and have just really cut out most processed items. i could have wild or brown rices if i wanted to most likely (sparingly) and can have pastas but i just don't like that stuff. so i don't eat it anyway.

so if i believe the scale then i have already lost ~2 of the lbs i wanted to out of the 5 left. so in reality this lower sugar diet could be good for someone who wants to get rid of those stubborn 5 lbs by shaking things up with your body and what you feed it.

and the other weird thing is that i find myself craving less sugary foods. plain oatmeal with cinnamon sounds good. of course a DONUT always sounds good but i feel satisfied with other things too.

anyhow...about to go and let the window cleaners into the house for a few hours and visit my nutritionist for an appt...so it will be good to get all that squared away. right now i am having my snack between breakkie and lunch...which is entirely plain oatmeal with cinnamon. nutritionals are pretty good, way better than the sweetened stuff. 150 cals, 6g protein, 4g fiber and less than 1g sugars. and it made a huge bowl actually.

ebree, too funny about the elliptical, you might be doing it on definitely a too hard level for just starting out. i actually can do up to 65-70 minutes on the elliptical...but i had to build up. i started at about 20-25 min and worked my way up. maybe lower the resistance a bit for the first 7 minutes, then push it up a bit and do a really hard 10 minutes, then another slow cool down for 7 min...at least that gets you into the 20's...hehe.

 

[KimberlyH]

Hey All,

Had a great workout this morning, made friends with the elliptical.

Ebree, definitely lower your resistance in the beginning. I started off at about 30 minutes when I first bought my machine two years ago. I can do about 60-70 minutes now, it took time to build up to that point.

I''m working on school today; dinner tonight will be stir fry from CL (my other best friend!).

Hope everyone is having a terrific Thursday.

 

[royalasscherlover]

i feel like the world''s biggest dingbat - i just picked up my bag to go to the gym and discovered that i didn''t pack my sneakers.

doh! i definitely can''t work out in the flip flops i''m currently wearing. i guess i''ll just go run my errands and then head home to bike in the basement. i was all excited to read my new cooking light on the ellpitical too, but i guess it will have to wait until tomorrow.

 

[ChinaCat]

SB- I have done that before, so annoying! I also have forgotten socks, which I am ashamed to admit that I went ahead and did the elliptical anyways- a little stinky! At least you can do the bike at home, so all is not lost.

I have been right on target food-wise for the day, but am facing obstacles ahead!! First, have to go to a happy hour for work, and then to a bar for a friend''s birthday to watch football. Now, I know what to do on the food thing- I am low in protein today anyways, so can get a burger or chicken sandwich (no bun, no cheese).

BUT what do do about drinking? And no, the correct answer is not NO drinking!

But what is the least damaging thing to drink?
I was thinking white wine spritzer (white wine diluted with soda- or is it tonic- can never remember, the one with no sugar) or lite beer. Not a huge vodka fan, but if vodka soda is a lot better, maybe I will give it a try. Anyone?