Weekly Workout Thread 5th March till 11th March.

[Ellen]

Lorelei, what a wonderful "problem".

 

[Rosebud8506]

Happy thursday!

I look up to those of you who can run 4 or 5 miles, I can not run 1 mile, its too much impact on my knees...

I agree about Jessica Biel & Jessica Alba, but I have to say that Evangeline Lilly''s arms are AMAZING... that is what I''m striving for!!!!! Hopefully by Sping I will have some more defined shoulders.

Rod, that dinner sounds so YUM. Everyonce in awhile its nice to splurge

Yesterday I had TJ''s veggie corndog for lunch & a banana, and then I made Mara''s lasagna for dinner. J just loves it! He gets so excited when he comes home from work after his long night (he works until 7pm on wednesdays) he finds out we''re having lasagna for dinner. hee hee

I''ll have to try this fage y''all are raving about... although I''m not a big yogurt person, and can''t stomach the consistency,

 

[coda72]

Well, I did 40 minutes on the treadmill last night. So, my workouts this week have been 45 minutes, 40 minutes, and 40 minutes. I''ve already done more in 3 days than I usually do all week with my 30 minute workouts! Tonight I want to get in another 45 minute one with at least 4 miles of running, then tomorrow I''ll take it light with a 30 minute interval workout. The ipod is working out great, and I don''t know how I lived without it before I had it. Once the weather gets nice I probably won''t use it much because I like to run outside without music. I hope it gets nice soon because I would like to start training for a marathon. I''m planning on doing one in either September or October, and I need to train for 5 months.

I''m going to try and eat a little lighter this weekend than I do most weekends. I think I need to cut back on my food intake along with exercising more to see weight loss.

Have a great rest of the week and weekend, everyone!

Colleen

 

[Rosebud8506]

Oh and with regard to the scale not moving, perfect timing for what we were discussing earlier:

this was today''s sparkpeople email:
http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/motivation_articles.asp?id=487

 

[KimberlyH]

Good Morning All! Happy Thursday!

Rod, that sounds like a good, down home meal! I''m so glad you enjoyed it. Hope Charlie is feeling better.

Today is not a work out day, it''s a subbing day and then out to dinner, ugh. But from what I''ve calculated I''ll have an under 1500 calorie day today, which is great considering where we have to have dinner. I''ll get my 30 minutes of moving in by taking a walk when I get home from work this afternoon.

Mara, we had strawberries in our fruit salad the other night and they were delish! I''m not a big strawberry shortcake fan, but your dessert sounds really good!

Yesterday I came in at about 1400 calories, good news! Have a great day all!

 

[ellaila]

Morning all!

Went to the gym this am and did 20 on the ellip. on the gluteal program (resistance level 4) and then another five minute cooldown on just the Quickstart option for a total of just over 200 calories. Slowly but surely building up minutes on this thing! Also did some abs and arms. I''m really loving the changes in my arms!! Abs ... well, that''ll take a bit more time, I suppose.

I''m def. going to jump on the MP3 bandwagon, I''m just so torn which one to get!! I love the little iPod shuffle - so cute and convenient! - but I love how the Creative-brand ones can use music right from your CDs too, without having to download them to your computer first. And they also have the FM tuner, which is a cool feature. I think right now I''m leaning toward a Creative Zen V or Nano. I like the Nano because it comes with the armband, and that seems like a necessity for working out, but I like the looks of the Zen better. Anyone here have either of those?? What do y''all use? I saw Merrijoy''s recommendation for the SanDisk one, and I''m also looking into that.

http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Nano...7?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1173365156&sr=1-4

 

[merrijoy]

Date: 3/8/2007 9:47:40 AM
Author: ellaila

Morning all!

Went to the gym this am and did 20 on the ellip. on the gluteal program (resistance level 4) and then another five minute cooldown on just the Quickstart option for a total of just over 200 calories. Slowly but surely building up minutes on this thing! Also did some abs and arms. I'm really loving the changes in my arms!! Abs ... well, that'll take a bit more time, I suppose.

I'm def. going to jump on the MP3 bandwagon, I'm just so torn which one to get!! I love the little iPod shuffle - so cute and convenient! - but I love how the Creative-brand ones can use music right from your CDs too, without having to download them to your computer first. And they also have the FM tuner, which is a cool feature. I think right now I'm leaning toward a Creative Zen V or Nano. I like the Nano because it comes with the armband, and that seems like a necessity for working out, but I like the looks of the Zen better. Anyone here have either of those?? What do y'all use? I saw Merrijoy's recommendation for the SanDisk one, and I'm also looking into that.

http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Nano...7?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1173365156&sr=1-4

Ell,

Here is the link to the one I have http://www.sandisk.com/Products/Item(2210)-SDMX4-2048-Sansa_e250R_Rhapsody_2GB_MP3_Player.aspx
It is small and I really enjoy it. It is perfect to run with or do any cardio...We bought the band for it which was $20 I think (it included the case, too)...I like to hold mine though so I can hit the button easier if I want to change the song. It is more of an effort to reach up on top of your arm to hit the button...

ETA: One of the things we really liked about this player is that it has the expansion slot, so you can add more memory to hold more songs if necessary - but like I said, I have about 200 songs and mine is only halfway filled up....
EETA: It does have a clip too and when I do the ellipse with arms, I clip it to my pants and I don't feel it at all.

HTH

Mer

 

[coda72]

style="WIDTH: 97.95%; HEIGHT: 153px">Date: 3/8/2007 9:47:40 AM
Author: ellaila

I''m def. going to jump on the MP3 bandwagon, I''m just so torn which one to get!! I love the little iPod shuffle - so cute and convenient! - but I love how the Creative-brand ones can use music right from your CDs too, without having to download them to your computer first. And they also have the FM tuner, which is a cool feature. I think right now I''m leaning toward a Creative Zen V or Nano. I like the Nano because it comes with the armband, and that seems like a necessity for working out, but I like the looks of the Zen better. Anyone here have either of those?? What do y''all use? I saw Merrijoy''s recommendation for the SanDisk one, and I''m also looking into that.

I have the apple ipod shuffle, and I really like it. I like that it''s so tiny, and I can clip it on my shorts or shirt or sportsbra or whatever. It holds 250 songs, and that will be enough to last me for a while. I don''t like having to upload CDs to my computer first, but it wasn''t as bad as I thought. It only took me an hour to upload about 70 songs then it takes only 10 minutes or less to download them to the ipod. If I wanted an ipod for general use, I would get something different, but I only want it for working out. I don''t know exactly what features you want on your mp3 player, but the ipod shuffle fits my needs just fine.

 

[eleguin]

Happy thursday everyone! I have been on track this week. I''ve worked out Mon, Tues and last night, each night burning about 600 calories, so I''ve got 1800 burned for the week already. On top of that I''ve been eating well. This morning''s breakfast was honey bunches of oats with 1% milk. I brought in a banana and 2 rice cakes to work as a snack for later.

ellaila: I have an ipod shuffle that I use in the gym. It doesn''t have a screen or wheel or anything, but it''s super light and can take a beating. It''s not so hard to add songs to it. I think it''s perfect for working out.

Today is the 6 month mark for our wedding

 

[ellaila]

Thanks, guys! I know that iPods are reliable and ... well, they''re iPods, so I''m sure I couldn''t go wrong by getting one! But some of the features of the other options keep appealing to me. But then I come to my senses and realize that I''m just going into shopping mode and wanting to buy something with the most bells and whistles even though I don''t need any of those other features! All I need is something that plays music and is convenient, and the iPod certainly fits the bill.

Thanks!

 

[Mara]

ela...i personally like the shuffle. greg has an ipod mini and he loves the screen and the whole organizational thing but i am SO not into that. if i use his i get frustrated with all the options. i just want to upload, and hit play. or ffwd or whatever. sometimes i play a good song 3-4x in a row if it motivates me. also i like that the shuffle is just so darn cheap, i didn''t want to pay too much to just have something to listen to music with at the gym. and i use it almost solely for workouts so i just have my workout music on there. the battery life is insanely long which i love because i hate having to do maintenance on it...it just needs to be ready to GO. so i charge it by USB like once every 3 weeks maybe, and use it for 1 hour about 5x a week. not bad! also i upload new songs to it probably like once every 3 months. i love great workout music!! we have posted in the past too on fave workout songs, take a search to find it when you get your new mp3 player.

so today is a rest day and i think i need it, this cold is trying to creep back!!! at night i feel really tired and kind of like a sore throat, like when i first got it. and i sleep like a LOG but then i wake up congested. during the day i feel okay but again at night etc. so i think i am just overdoing it. i am going to try to get to bed earlier tonite and then this weekend besides working out, going to dinner and working in the garden, i am going to do a lot of laying around and resting. i also am taking airborne again to try to bump it out.

breakfast today was a fun surprise, last nite i was trolling the cereal aisle and i found a new contender. crunchy corn bran. it seems so simple and yet was so overlooked. i remembered i used to love how this tastes. looked at nutritional info and it''s only 90 cals for 3/4c and has 1g fat and 5g fiber per serving! whee! and TASTY. so i had 2 servings of it this morning for breakfast..YUM. i am so jazzed, i love finding new low-cal cereals. i adore things like the banana nut granola cereals and stuff but they are so amazingly high in calories i can''t even imagine consuming them. like 1/2c for 200 cals? or 3/4c for 280 cals? i am like jeez a 3/4c is not that large and with milk and all that it''s like a 340 breakfast for just 3/4c CEREAL. i could have scrambled egg whites w/cheese, 2 pieces of toast and even turkey sausage for all of that! so unfortunately i just look longingly at those cereals then pass them by. i have one in the pantry, a flax pumpkin granola that is really good. but it''s 210 for 1/2c. i don''t know what i was thinking buying it. hahaa. i really never eat it. i just think wistfully about it.

anyhow, hope everyone is having a good thursday. i am going to lunch today with my coworker friend and the poor new girl who is taking my stuff over (she looks like she''s been hit by a bomb now...i feel badly for her)...and we are going to erik''s deli...a place we all love but somehow managed to overlook for the last 3 months that it''s right up the street. bonus is that they have nutritional info online which i LOVE because now i know what i like to eat actually costs me...hehee. so i''ll be getting a 1/2 turkey sandwich and a cup of soup...not sure which yet...but i can''t wait. their bread is incredibly yummy and soft.

oh did i mention i am enamored with this sugar free angel food cake?? seriously...i am already daydreaming about multiple uses for this thing...it''s just so low cal but FLAVORFUL. mmm.

 

[Sevenwires]

Morning all and happy Thursday!

Merrijoy -- I read the men’s Muscle&Fitness magazine and it was saying that usually when you strength train, there’s a small 30 minute window of opportunity right after your work out that you can eat where it’ll go directly to your muscles to replenish itself. While the muscles needing food will last well up to an hour, it’s ‘best’ to eat within that 30 minute window of opportunity. I’m really interested in body building so I read a lot of the men’s body building forums, and so far all the ones I’ve read said to eat within 30 minutes. And a lot of them actually mentioned that if one take a shower first and then get dressed, AND THEN eat… it’s already too late and the body has passed that window of opportunity where the food does the most good. So I usually bring my post-workout breakfast to the gym. Before I shower, I just sit it the locker room watching their morning news and eating my egg sandwich or something.

Here are some of the sites you guys can find Nutrition stuff on:

http://www.muscleandfitness.com/nutrition/49 -- you can also register and go to message boards and a lot of muscle building guys will discuss many health and fitness topics… LIKE US!

http://www.discussfitness.com/ -- this one I don’t think you need to register.

Oh, and these men fitness sites really stress the whole high intensity and low intensity cardio. They say that even though you will still lose weight with high intensity… they keep stressing that high intensity burns those immediate carbs… and low intensity burns fat. So they say that switching them up really tricks the body too. Okay, I was looking for the one link I found on “how to trick your body and getting lean”. I can’t seem to find it. So in my next post, I will just post the whole thing that I saved…. Seriously, these fitness men are hella serious with this whole workout regimen.

While I may not want to *look* like a body builder… but I think there’s a lot of stuff that body builders do that will definitely help me in the muscle and definition I want. Man, there guys are REALLY serious about diet and eating enough protein, drinking enough water. They have a whole system going on depending on how they want to look.

Ellaila -- yay!! Getting a mp3 player is awesome. I literally take mine everywhere! I have the ipod nano that I got at Costco (I think maybe it’s like $20 cheaper), and this thing I LOVE. It says it can play for 24 hours without needing to recharge… well, I’m sure it doesn’t play for 24 hours, but it plays for a heck of a long time. And I need it to be that long. I play that darn thing everywhere I go that I have to go alone. Like when I go to the mall … sometimes I like to go by myself and just take my time browsing through stuff…so I put on my little ear buds and I swear I can walk around all day at the mall and not be more. Or when I’m out for some appointment and I’m still waiting to be seen… I listen to my music too. And I can’t even begin to tell you how much more enjoyable working out has become WITH MUSIC. I have no idea how I did it before without it.

Mara – hope your cold doesn’t come back full blown. That would suck. Sometimes being sick really makes me appreciate the days I am healthy which I normally take for granted. So hopefully you rest up and fight this cold away!

Okay, so yesterday was my first day with the trainer… We did more of a full body workout to raise the heart and get a calorie burn. Man, he made me do some weird moves and they were painful. Like for one, he made me get on my hands and toes and crawl back and forth with my knees close to the ground as possible but without my knees ever touching the floor. And he was telling me how football practice guys do this with someone sitting on their back. I was only crawling my own little girl body around and my thighs were BURNING! And then we did the forward leaps kinda like leap frog…. I was breaking out some crazy sweat. Then we did push ups while moving one space sideways after one pushup all the way across the indoor basketball court. There were a few more crazy stuff he made me. We finished the workout with some weights targeting the back. And today, I am sore! I love it when I am sore… that means I really worked out. Plus I LOVE the stretching for the next couple days. I was reading in one of the men’s fitness magazines and it was saying that stretching has many benefits… it helps to expand your muscle evenly and gives it room to grow. And it really helps release the lactic acid buildup instead of having it sit around in your muscle.

Breakfast today was scrambled egg whites with one yolk. Scrambled with some scallions. Ate it with a sprinkle of light soy sauce. Had a cup of coffee to go along with that. Snack coming up will be an tangerine. Haven’t figured out lunch or the rest of the day yet. I was thinking I have this soup sitting here in my office, I might just have that.

I normally go the gym in the morning .. but didn’t go because I was so sore when I woke up. I think I’m just going to try moving around more for the rest of the day and then hit the gym at night after my body is more used to this feel so I’m not so stiff!

Hope everyone has a great day! Eat healthy!!

 

[Sevenwires]

Here is the Get Lean from the Men's Muscle&Fitness: Oh, and pretty much the weights they use and the amount of food they eat is insane cause they're body building.. But I just take it modify it more to what I am doing.... Just an interesting little clip I wanted to share...




6 WEEKS TO GET LEAN
With this six-week, 10-point program, you’ll blast off pounds of bodyfat and reveal a six-pack just in time for spring
Story by: Chris Aceto and Eric Velazquez


No one who benches 405 pounds for reps started at 405 pounds. It just doesn’t work that way. They had to go through hundreds of hours in the gym and dozens of other mini-milestones before hitting that bar-bending mark. They had to work up to it — 5 pounds more this week, 10 more the next. Building on the previous workout is what eventually amounts to four plates on each side of the bar. What if a rookie lifter tried to press 405 without that kind of calculated progression? Well, it wouldn’t be pretty.

The same approach applies to plowing through stores of unwanted bodyfat, which we’re sure is on your mind after your standard winter of gluttony. Take a look at your sugar-cookied, holiday-wrecked midsection. You can’t pick just one slim-quick method and hope to get rid of that doughy gut by beach time. You have to work toward it. As with weight training, consistently adding new variables into your program — especially when they build on what you’ve done previously — will not only accelerate your fat-burning but also keep your body from getting used to one particular approach.

While making a whole-hearted com-mitment to fitness as a lifestyle is really the only way to keep those love handles in check for good, we can help you build some serious blubber-melting momentum with our six-week program. If you incorporate one or two new fat-burning strategies each week, by the end of Week 6, you’ll be firing on 10 strategic cylinders. There’s no question about it — this year, your six-pack is sure to make an unseasonably early cameo.

WEEK 1

STRATEGY 1: CUT CARBS IN HALF
When carbohydrate intake is lowered, the body turns to fat for energy. So to start shedding some fat, cut your carbs drastically — in this case, by half — for four straight days while maintaining your regular workout plan. Not only does this reduce calories, but it also helps control insulin, the hormone released with carb consumption that can increase the appetite.

The easiest way to implement this step is to halve your carbohydrate portion size at meals. Instead of a full bagel, for example, eat half. In lieu of a medium plate of pasta, have a small plate. Eat only three-quarters of a cup of rice compared to the rounded cup you may typically consume. You’ll burn fat and your desire to eat should also subside.

Following a lower-carb diet for too long can backfire for some, decreasing leptin levels and slowing the metabolism, so return to your regular portions after four days. Introducing carbs back into your diet after this kind of drastic reduction kicks up leptin levels and, therefore, your metabolism. In addition, when the body comes out of a brief, modified lower-carb diet, it becomes more efficient at storing carbohydrate as muscle glycogen, key for pushing through your workouts with the type of intensity you need to elicit growth. Glycogen not only powers your training but acts as an anabolic stimulus, allowing the body to retain muscle even as you attempt to whittle away a few extra pounds. And because it pulls water into the muscles with it, it makes them fuller and larger.

STRATEGY 2: ELEVATE YOUR (GH) STATUS
Yes, getting lean is about calories, but it’s also about hormones, so we’ll go ahead and cover all your bases just to be safe. Happily, this will be a bedtime chore and, over the next six weeks, should become as routine as brushing yout teeth. To make it a bit simpler and to get your hormones working in your favor, drop all carbohydrates from your final meal of the day — every day — to slash calories. When you go to bed with a lower blood-sugar level as a result of avoiding carbs in your last meal, the body is more apt to increase its production of growth hormone (GH), which accelerates fat loss by mildly increasing the metabolism and boosting muscle growth.

Also, try adding arginine to your list of supplements to increase GH levels. Arginine, which converts to nitric oxide in the body and increases blood flow, has also been shown to boost the release of GH and support metabolism. In addition to supplementing with 3–6 grams in the morning on an empty stomach, take 3–6 grams of arginine before going to bed.

WEEK 2

STRATEGY 3: CASUAL CARDIO
Many cut-up plans use the shock-and-awe method: They require not only drastic diet alterations but long, heavy bouts of cardio. Truth is, you don’t need a lot of cardio to trim the fat if your diet is solid. Losing fat is the cumulative result of what you eat, how you eat and how much you eat, coupled with hardcore weight training. Yet cardio certainly has its place as a stimulus.

Used in moderation, cardio allows you to get over fat-loss plateaus without altering your diet too much. This week, do two moderate sessions (yes, just two) of 30–40 minutes apiece. That’s enough to facilitate fat loss. Remember, the body isn’t a machine. If you try to force fat off, it can backfire, with the body downgrading its metabolism and the amount of calories it burns in response to exercise and diet.

STRATEGY 4: GET LEAN WITH PROTEIN & LEUCINE
By the second week, after you’ve cut carbs and increased your cardio, the body will start to look for alternatives to bodyfat for fuel. Unfortunately, muscle tissue is often its first source. You can reduce that effect by increasing your regular protein intake by 50 grams per day. Either add a protein shake or two or increase your protein intake at the meals you eat before and after training — another 25 grams pre- and postworkout should do the trick. That’s a second scoop of whey protein or about 3–4 ounces of chicken, fish or lean meat.

You can also add a leucine supplement before and after training. Leucine can halt muscle breakdown, aka catabolism. The unfortunate part of attempting to get leaner is that the body often tears down protein, including muscle tissue, at a far greater clip than when calories and carbs are much higher. So to prevent the loss of protein and muscle tissue and the dropoff in metabolism that comes with it, add 5–8 grams of leucine pre- and postworkout.

WEEK 3

STRATEGY 5: BURN, BABY, BURN
Unfortunately, most folks stumble out of the gate by pinning their hopes to a fat-burning supplement without ever getting their diets in order.

But if you’ve done your homework and gotten your body into a fat-burning mode with the previous steps, a decent fat-burner can go a long way. Look for something that includes ingredients such as green tea, caffeine and evodiamine, which boost fat-burning and make the body less efficient at storing calories as bodyfat. The biggest advantage to putting off the fat-burners until Week 3 is that you’ve already moved your body in the right direction with your diet. Adding some help should result in more noticeable progress.

STRATEGY 6: GET LOW . . . REALLY LOW
Getting lean is about calorie reduction, hormonal manipulation and exercise. But it’s also about perception. When you make a drastic drop in calories, the body perceives this as a threat and begins to tap into other fuel sources, fat being chief among them.

So for one of your four low-carb days during the week, slash carbs even further — to nearly a quarter of your normal intake — to increase fat-burning. Anyone can diet really hard for a day in the name of getting shredded, right?

WEEK 4

STRATEGY 7: CRAZY CARDIO
You’re already working up a small sweat twice a week. Now it’s time to trick your body by taking your cardio into another universe. Starting this week, add 40 minutes of moderate- to high-intensity cardio to the end of your regular weight workouts or first thing in the morning, before you eat. Because your body is carb-depleted at both of these times, an aggressive cardio session will help you tap into your fat stores more quickly. Plus, the duration and intensity of the sessions will challenge your body and spur your metabolism. Do this for only the final weeks of your program. Too much high-intensity cardio can kill testosterone levels, which could halt muscle growth and slow metabolism.


WEEK 5
STRATEGY 8: BE A CHEATER
Eating foods that are way outside of the dieting realm, or cheating, has gained a lot of attention in the fitness mainstream in recent years. One notion holds that eating whatever you want for an entire day each week keeps the metabolism humming. Sorry, folks, but it’s not that easy. Cramming down Krispy Kremes and buffalo wings all day Sunday isn’t the best way to go.

Cheating definitely has its place any time you’re trying to get lean, but the type of cheating we’re referring to won’t wreck your momentum. This week, on your first higher-carb day, have a burger, a couple of slices of pizza or a single slice of cake. In the grand scheme of things, the extra 500–700 calories won’t put a dent in your progress. By this time you’ll have already peeled away 5–9 pounds of bodyfat and your metabolism will be working at a roadrunner’s pace.

STRATEGY 9: VOLUMIZE YOUR TRAINING
Volume training, or using more sets than usual in your typical training regimen, can accelerate fat loss, especially if your body is already in a strong fat-burning mode. It does this by putting additional stress on glycogen stores, depleting muscles of this valuable asset. When glycogen temporarily runs lower — as it would during a volume-training phase — fat-burning is given a healthy boost. This week, simply add 50% more sets to your typical training plan. Doing 12 sets per bodypart? Go up to 18. You can add sets to your current exercises or tack an additional 1–2 exercises onto your plan. Keep reps higher, in the 10–15 range. But make this just a one-week fix in your leaning-out cycle. Sticking to a greater-volume mind-set could eventually erode training intensity by lowering glycogen stores.

WEEK 6

STRATEGY 10: TAKE A BREAK
Ever take a break from training for 3–4 days, only to swear you look bigger and leaner? You’re not imagining things. That’s the beauty of rest. When you push the body all the time, it gets stubborn and does the exact opposite of what you’re trying to accomplish. Take a break for three full days this week, then get right back on the plan listed above — your body will respond with even greater progress and gains. M&F

To order Chris Aceto’s training and nutrition books Championship Bodybuilding and Everything You Need to Know About Fat Loss, visit nutramedia.com

SIX-WEEK FAT-BURN PLAN

Follow these steps over the next six weeks to increase your body’s ability to burn fat

Week Strategy
1 >> Reduce carbs by half for four days
>> Eliminate carbs from your last meal of the day


2 >> Add two 30–40-minute cardio sessions per week
>> Add 50 g protein and 5–8 g leucine per day


3 >> Add a fat-burner
>> Cut carbs further on one of your low-carb days

4 >> Schedule 40 minutes of medium- to high-intensity cardio postworkout or first thing in the morning

5 >> Have a 500–700-calorie cheat meal on one of your regular-carb days
>> Add 50% more sets to your weight workouts


6 >> Take a three-day break from the entire plan, then start again if needed

 

[ellaila]

I know this has been discussed here before, but I need help -- where on sparkpeople can I find out what my daily calorie range should be?? Thanks!

 

[Mara]

ela..if you go into the ''my profile'' or whatever, that is where you build your profile and it asks you Q''s about what you do, when you work out, your height, weight etc...for the calorie consumption and burning. if you know how many cals you burn, i put that in as well (where it asks you if you work out and what days it also has a box for ''if you know calories burned, enter it here''...because i think that''s more accurate.

also just make sure you mess around with the ''goal date'' a bit to see what makes you feel okay. if you wanted to lose say 3 lbs in a month, it will give you a more conservative amount of calories to eat than if you wanted to lose 3 lbs in 2 months. so i tended to mess around with the goal date until i got something that i felt okay with, aka if eating 1200-1400 doesn''t sound right to you with working out 5x a week, then put your goal out like another 2 weeks and it might bump it to 1300-1500 which might sit better with you. anyway it''s on your terms...!!

seven, i have also read the same thing on eating after you work out. i have actually read a few things that say to eat protein within an hour of working out to help your muscles get started right away on rebuilding themselves. i think this also helps with ''soreness'' the next day...whether or not you will be AS sore kinda thing. for me typically i work out, come home, shower and eat something within about an hour, but last nite it was more like 1.5 hours. but sometimes i keep protein water in the car (special K, 50 cals for a bottle and 5g protein) if i know i won''t make it home for a while but feel like i have to eat/drink something.

oh and re: my paige jeans and how well they fit etc, one of the things i love about being thinner is that clothes look so much better on me. i have always been a fashion-loving whore so i always shopped a fair amount, but now stuff actually looks RIGHT on me. and jeans and things fit so amazingly!! that was a huge motivation for me, as i lost inches here and there and clothes sizes got smaller and i noticed i was looking better and better. though greg was like ''you need to stop losing weight so that you don''t have to be buying entire new wardrobes!!'' hehe...

 

[Sevenwires]

Mara -- Totally agree with you on the whole shopping thing.

Though I know me being at 122 isn''t anything crazy right now.. But after all I WAS only 108 with a 5''3" frame... But since then. .. I don''t think I''ve been in the mall except to shop for a New Year''s dress. You know it''s depressing to shop for sizes when it keeps going up! BLEH! And somehow something is always sticking out... hahahah... So I told myself my reward for getting back down to what I was or at least somewhere close will be a shopping spree. RIght now I have no interest at all. But I''m really really looking forward to it!

 

[LucyL]

Well once again I have gotten caught up will reading all the posts and forget to post. Great job to everyone who has stuck with the workouts.

Anyone here GAINING weight by working out???? I only have been working out 2-3 times per week for an hour each session and it seems that I have been gaining weight. It''s only been 1-2 pounds but I REALLY need the scale to go the other direction. I would like to lose about 10 pounds but every time I get on the scale it''s like, well I guess I now have 12-13 pounds to loose. Any suggestions or ideas????

Oh... I ordered my Polar HRM this week and hubby said it''s waiting at home. I can''t wait to use it- I just hope it''s not huge on my wrist

 

[Mara]

Lucy that happened to me too. It''s your muscle that you are building. I gained 1-2 lbs and kept it on for a month or two before seeing any movement the other way. I was a bit discouraged but I knew I was doing the right things so I just stuck with it. Good luck and stay motivated!! You will see progress eventually. Are you watching what you eat as well as working out etc??

Good luck with the HRM! I have the pink F4..it''s fun.

 

[Sevenwires]

Yup.. me too. I was 118 when I started with the cardio and trainer... Now I'm 121. My tainer told me that sometimes when you change up your workout OR when you haven't done high intensity workouts .. you can easily build 1 to 3 pounds of muscle right from the start before you even lose any fat. BUT the new muscle will help you burn off the fat faster.. even when you are sleeping... I think they said for every 1 pound of muscle you burn an extra 50 calories when you are resting... OKay, i'm not sure if it's 1 pound or more.. but nonetheless.. you burn more when you have more muscle...

 

[LucyL]

Thanks!!! I''m glad that I''m not alone in the GAINING weight while working out category. When I would get into these workout modes I''d see the scale go up and promptly quit. I guess this time I''ll have to stick with it longer. It does make me feel better and I can tell I''m putting on muscle. I''m afraid of bulking up. I''m pretty petite but I feel like I tend to get bulky when I work out. Do you think that once I start loosing the weight the bulk will come off? Someone told me it''s the muscle pushing out all the fat that makes you look initially bigger.

 

[orangevixen]

hi everyone!

congrats to those of you who have had successes

this week is so crazy busy for me but i''ve still managed to be successful in my diet and exercise. i have worked out EVERY day since past saturday. i will take tomorrow off (especially since i have a 16 mile run on sat).

i so enjoy reading through everyone''s posts. it gives me the mental break i need every now and then to power through all of this work i have. as mentioned, i recently got a promotion and now the workload is really starting to pile up. i wish i had time to comment/post more.

colleen...i am in the lotto for NY marathon. have you ever run NY? put your name in...i''m running big sur int''l marathon on april 29th, so that''s why i need to try and workout 6 days a week for the next few months. i''m going to train straight through and do the SF 1/2 marathon in July, and then aim for a fall marathon (if not NY, i''m currently trying to find a decent backup).

mara...i''m hooked on joe''s and citizens..but now i really want to go try the paige''s on too. let''s go after i lose a few more lbs

anyhow, keep it up everyone. can you beleive it''s already thursday? week two has FLOWN by for me! well, there are still 4 more days till my next weigh-in, but so far i think i''m doing pretty good.

 

[Sevenwires]

Lucy -- I actually told my trainer that I WANT a lot of definition... and we were discussing this whole thing with girls working out and how a lot of them ''don''t'' wnat bulk. But the truth is... you''d probably get defnition... but the bulk your probably thinking about takes A LOT of hardwork. Plus right now there might be a layer of fat on top of the new difinition so it looks bulky. Just a guess.

 

[basil]

Sorry, but that article loses all credence with me when it starts mentioning "fat burners" and weird supplements as being useful.

I don''t think exercise is particularly well-studied in the medical literature. And I think "trainers" and "dieticians" extrapolate a lot of BS from a very few legitimate studies that may or may not mean anything to the normal person.

 

[Mara]

yeah lucy i did not want to bulk up either...initially you do feel like you look larger...but keep doing cardio, that is what i did, mostly cardio, to keep burning the fat off. and now i am VERY lean and do not look bulky at all. i have great definition in my arms and legs and shoulders. i do weight training 2x a week and do cardio (elliptical and outside walking) the rest of the time.

ov...oh i am all over a paige shopping trip at some point soon. love those things!

 

[Sevenwires]

that''s true.. all the supplements they say they use can''t be good...

 

[Mara]

oh and lorelei, congrats on loose skirts, woman! lol...that sounded funny, didn''t it? isn''t it fun to have stuff be too big? well not when you actually NEED to wear it and own it...but trying stuff on and finding it loose in stores is fun. oh smaller size?

yesterday my coworker and i went to old navy, all i can afford now that i am about to be unemployed, lol...and they had the cutest stuff. i am a size 2 in their pants...i''m like what alternate universe is this?? and an XS in their tshirts and stuff. i got a Small in their short beach shorts ($19.50 woo hoo), but they were loose thank goodness for drawstring. i didn''t want to get an XS because they''d end up WAY too short on me and i''m not into that, haha. random on the sizing, but definitely a nice ego boost.

sbucks was out of the petite vanilla scones this morning (nooo!)...so i just had a 1/2 of one of my blueberry oatmeal muffins instead. i think tomorrow since it''s my last day here and i won''t be going to sbucks really ever at all anymore since i don''t even drink coffee other than my one cup at home in the morning...if they have the scones i am going to get 2-3 and freeze them to eat them next week or something. they are the perfect under 100 cal treat with some sweetness and gotta love the icing.

we''re going to lunch soon which is good because i''m hungry! i swear some days i wonder what my body does with the food i give it. some mornings i eat a lot (aka this morning like 2 servings of high fiber cereal?!) and then an hour later i am hungry. as in stomach growling hungry. so i feed it but where does the food GO. hehe.

greg and i are talking about what to do tomorrow evening...he wants to go see this symphony thing...so we are trying to see if we can catch dinner before so we aren''t out too late, but i want to hit the gym too, so we''ll see. i was reading a magazine recently and it reviewed San Jose''s best downtown things to do/see/eat and it mentioned this restaurant i have been wanting to try and it said it was a definite must-eat...so i just checked it out on opentable and viewed the menu and now i am like OKAY we need to go here right away! haha. it''s like a french brasserie so right up our alley, like the place we went to last Saturday...this place has gourmet burgers which i LOVE with rosemary garlic french fries, to die for. and yummy looking mango cocktails? and steamed mussels? ooh. anyway, i better not get too excited as i''m not sure we can make it there tomorrow night but i am all over it for near future.

 

[Dee*Jay]

OK, I have reached three new "lows" today.

One low was on the scale this morning (down 13 pounds total, but I know it''s because my hard earned muscle is fading away and being replaced with lighter fat

).

Two is that I found that you can cut croutons in half. If you''re really careful you can cut them in fourths. Can you really get any lower than than in an effort to save cals?

And three is that I just ate 900 cals of candy. Not kidding. 900. Low--no NO--self control got the better of me and I let it.

Just typing that out makes it real. I need to be slapped.

The happy hubby was going to make dinner tonight but I just called him and said not to becuase I''m having soup to the tune of 200 cals. After I go to the gym. Chest pain be damned, this can''t go on!!! I need to get back into the good diet/exercise groove I got out of a few weeks ago.

 

[ellaila]

There''s an Apple store near me (same mall as the B-Bags ...

), so we''ll go check out the cute li''l shuffles tomorrow night I think. Yay!!

Just tried TJs black bean and corn enchiladas for lunch, and YUMMEEE!!! I wasn''t expecting the tofu in there -- a nice healthy surprise!

 

[Mara]

WOW miss DJ how do you eat 900 cals of candy? i''m afraid to ask hehee. can you at least start walking again? that''s something!

ela...we have the black born and corn ench''s in the freezer and i really want to eat them!

 

[ellaila]

Date: 3/8/2007 3:18:36 PM
Author: Dee*Jay

And three is that I just ate 900 cals of candy. Not kidding. 900. Low--no NO--self control got the better of me and I let it.

Just typing that out makes it real. I need to be slapped.

The first thing that popped into my mind was the movie Anchorman where the dog goes into the fridge and eats a whole wheel of cheese, and Ron Burgundy says, "I''m not mad. I''m amazed !" or something along those lines

We''ve all had days like that, DJ, so don''t be too hard on yourself! The only difference is now we KNOW how many calories we''re eating when we indulge like that! You already feel bad enough about it to a) post it here and b) go burn some of it off, so just look at it as a fall off the bike, and now it''s time to get back on and start riding again!