Here we go.........Weightloss Thread Part III

[robin]

Hey, Elizabeth!  I am so glad you're doing well!!!!  

I don't know about the "hot yoga"-- I perspire so much in a regular class!  I just put one of those yogitoes grippy towels in my Amazon shopping cart, because the instructor I have now conducts a pretty fast-paced class, so by halfway through, I am sliding all over the place in any lunge pose, downward dog, etc.  It seems ridiculous to spend $55 on a glorified towel, but if it helps keep me from sliding out, it's worth it!

I did one spinning class, but the instructor (a guy) had us out of the saddle so much that my knees couldn't tolerate it.  I may try again; I've heard that there's another instructor who isn't quite as intense.

What do you do for protein, Elizabeth?  I find that the more I work out, the more my body craves protein....

Mikla, I teach at a large public university in Texas.  It's not that the CITY is so big; it's that the school is well over 20,000 students.  All of them are de facto gym members, so my gym has 25,000 or so members, all of whom pay a recreation fee each semester, whether they use the gym every day or don't know where it is.  I do have to pay a fee ($25 a month or so) out of my paycheck to use the gym, and climbing is $35 for the semester, group classes, including yoga, pilates, step, spinning, and all kinds of other stuff, is $40 for the summer.  There are two pools-- an olympic lap pool and a huge "play" pool with fountains, water basketball, a lazy river (I am not making this up) plus a huge weight room and there must be well over 100 cardio machines.  I think I read it's 40,000 square feet :-).

[elizabeth]

I am glad you are well too Robin!!!! 
Oh and I perspire too-BELIEVE me!  A LOT even w/o the hot yoga class!   
I bet you have some Cybex equipment in your facility - we'll I sure hope you do!   
The funny thing about spinning is it is/has been easy on my knees! I have had "patella tendinitis" as well as other knee problems from over use, etc and it my be the bikes I am not sure - as I can NOT ride a stationary bike w/o my knees throbbing- go figure!  I also can NOT do the Precore "elliptical" as my hips are too narrow and it puts too much angular force on my knees  - BUT the cybex arc trainer I can do for an hour!  Believe it or not all machines are not equal bio-mechanically. 
As far as protein - NO red meat here an I try to limit my protein to egg whites, lean white meat and fish - 5 times a week.  I use to "believe" I needed much more until I found my current physician who is also knowledgable about nutrition.  She really believes and has studies to prove that we don't need as much as "they say." I use to do all the protein shakes etc but never felt as good and as I do now.  I have even convinced hubby - who was a competitive body builder to give up the red meat and he has lost about 10lbs (he was already only 11% bodyfat) w/o changing anything else.  I would HATE to know his bodyfat NOW!    He actually says he feels better now than he ever has.

OK Robin - here is how we "try" and eat http://www.pritikin....kin_EatingPlan.shtml 

[Mikla]

Mikla, I teach at a large public university in Texas.  It's not that the CITY is so big; it's that the school is well over 20,000 students.  All of them are de facto gym members, so my gym has 25,000 or so members, all of whom pay a recreation fee each semester, whether they use the gym every day or don't know where it is.  I do have to pay a fee ($25 a month or so) out of my paycheck to use the gym, and climbing is $35 for the semester, group classes, including yoga, pilates, step, spinning, and all kinds of other stuff, is $40 for the summer.  There are two pools-- an olympic lap pool and a huge "play" pool with fountains, water basketball, a lazy river (I am not making this up) plus a huge weight room and there must be well over 100 cardio machines.  I think I read it's 40,000 square feet :-).

   That facility sounds 

   Mikla

[annie1]

I'm very glad you ladies are having workout success.

I've never tried rock climbing, but I've heard that it's a lot of fun.

I'm still envious of your gym Robin.  My school had over 40,000 students, and our gyms were nothing like that.  They were also terribly overcrowded.  No matter what time you went, you would spend 2/3 of your workout waiting... 

On the workout front, I busted out my TaeBo DVD for the first time in months.  It kicked my butt!  I need to get back into it.  I really enjoy the DVD, but it takes me a few times to get back into the moves.

[GracefulLion]

  HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OK, I am sitting here having just polished off a small glass of wine, some dark chocolate and a bowl of premium vanilla ice cream after dealing for the past several weeks with a preemie, NICU nurses from hell, and a 5-year-old going through severe new sibling issues.  Now I need to turn some focus back to myself and get my post-partum bum back into gear. 

I gained 40 lbs this pregnancy and lost the first 22 in the first 3 or so weeks, and now I have been stuck where I am for the past 3.5.  I know what that means - the first 20 lbs were pregnancy weight.  The second 20 were grilled cheese sandwiches and french fries, and THOSE 20 are going to be tough to shake. 

So, I need your help!!  We all were so into this the first time around and it was a major motivator for me.  Anyone else still interested?  I definitely know how to do it, but knowing I have someone to report to makes it much easier for me. 

Anyone??. . .  Bueller??. . .

[annie1]

I'm with you GL!  I was doing really well for the beginning of the month, but I've been at the same weight for about 2 weeks now.  I could use the support of others right now to get my butt into gear.  I wonder if DJ's in....     I think she might be out of town, but she'll see it when she gets back!

[Mrs Mitchell]

HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OK, I am sitting here having just polished off a small glass of wine, some dark chocolate and a bowl of premium vanilla ice cream after dealing for the past several weeks with a preemie, NICU nurses from hell, and a 5-year-old going through severe new sibling issues.  Now I need to turn some focus back to myself and get my post-partum bum back into gear. 

I gained 40 lbs this pregnancy and lost the first 22 in the first 3 or so weeks, and now I have been stuck where I am for the past 3.5.  I know what that means - the first 20 lbs were pregnancy weight.  The second 20 were grilled cheese sandwiches and french fries, and THOSE 20 are going to be tough to shake. 

So, I need your help!!  We all were so into this the first time around and it was a major motivator for me.  Anyone else still interested?  I definitely know how to do it, but knowing I have someone to report to makes it much easier for me. 

Anyone??. . .  Bueller??. . .

Ok, so I don't have the sibling issues, but apart from that? I could have written this! 

Oh, I look rough (or to put it another way, enormous).  I'm back on the weightwatchers torture plan as of this week and hope to get back to the gym soon too. I have a Dr appointment today and I'm hoping this time I'll get the ok to exercise and drive again. DH will come to the gym with us and take Amelia to the waterbabies swim class while I work out once she's 8 weeks old. I'll have no excuse, but I will need help!

Jen

[Pip]

Low intesnsity cardio for 45mins-1hr first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. HR between 120-130. Brisk walking i find works best.

Bring your complex carbs down like bread, rice and pasta. Some ppl do well ketogenic dieting, some do well carb cycling. Find out which you respond to best. Cut out all carbs after 6pm. Eat plenty of fibrous veg etc and snack if you need to on little bits.

Blood sugars will drop so if needed drink sugar free (aspartame laidened which i dont like) drinks or eat some fruit with the fructose as an alternative.

Increase your water intake to 4ltrs+ a day.

Easy peasy.

[Mrs Mitchell]

Spoken like a childless person! Where's the rolling on the floor laughing smilie when you need it??

It's possible, I suppose, but I'd have to have my baby adopted!

Typical day -
4am - feed baby
4.30am - sleep
6.30am- 45mins to 1hr feeding baby. That's on an empty stomach, since no food shopping has been done in living memory.
7.30 - bathe and dress baby
8.00 - run round kitchen looking for something edible. Fail to find anything suitable, pour glass of water
8.10- feed baby
8.45 - try kitchen again, eat leftover couscous and a stale hot cross bun (no butter, naturally)
8.50 - try to figure out why baby is wailing
9.00 - feed baby
9.45- knock over untasted glass of water
10.00- look for potential foodstuff
10.10- put baby in pram, pace streets of hometown looking for a shop with space for pram and no other customers, which sells food
10.30 - head home with a bacon roll from the greasy but open air snack van. Slide on earlier water spill.
10.40 - mop up blood
10.45 - feed baby until baby sleeps
12.00 - revise for final law exam, missed due to having baby
13:00 - feed baby

etc to around 11pm, when we fall exhausted into a restless, twitchy sleep for a few brief hours.

I'm reliably informed it will get easier...

Jen

[GracefulLion]

OMG!!! roflmao!  In my    case, please just insert a 5 year old's temper tantrum every 20 minutes or so I (oops! time out just ending...).               

[Trinkette]

I'm in.

My DH is a wonderful fellow.  He's managed to redefine my life so that it is no longer necessary for me to slave away in the barn taking care of two dozen horses... and even that was less than I used to do back in New England when there were as many as 50 horses to care for, and just me and another gal to do all the work. I was pooped, but I looked OK.

The problem is, now that I don't spend HOURs each day toiling away outside and in a barn, I've stopped moving around as I used to.  That, coupled with the stress of my DH's psycho ex-wife, the poopy economy (and lack of funds that comes with it), translated into my consoling myself with starchy foods in the late afternoons, and after-dinner ice cream (which I don't even like, but my DH does... so we eat TOGETHER!). Then, add the fact that I am approaching 50 (aghhhhhh!), AND the fact that I spend WAAAAYYY to much time sitting HERE   , well, it all adds up to a HUGE gain in weight. I don't even know myself anymore.  

I console my wounded ego by reminding myself that even beautiful Grace Kelly and Gorgeous Catherine Deneuve (I know, I know, both of eras past... my age is showing) "filled out" as they matured and still look(ed) stunning.  Surely, I look as desirable as they?  NOT!

SO, the walking begins (again); this time in earnest.  I'm starting with at LEAST 1 mile a day (which is to the end of the drive and back... it is hilly, so it can be a good workout).  And, I'm going through my dance and exercise videos; I'll pick ONE to try, two to three times each week.  Plus, I've already begun swimmng at the pool for at least 40 minutes a couple of times each week.  I'm finding my body really craves it when I miss a day.

*SIGH* I KNOW that I've written all this stuff at least TWICE before... I'm bad.

But, Mrs. M, GL, and anyone else out there... I'M "IN" THIS TIME FOR GOOD! I think that walking is the place to begin... baby and all if you have to! For my part, I'm going to INSIST that my DH walk with me, and even my son, when he can, so it is "family time" as well as exercise time.

[Mrs Mitchell]

We're with you, T! If you do well, we're all here to cheer you on. If you stop, DJ is there to kick your butt. You'll do it, we won't give you a choice. This thread works, if it's used properly! I've lost 6lbs this week.

Good luck, keep us posted. Every single day!

Jen

[djm195]

We're with you, T! If you do well, we're all here to cheer you on.
Jen

Here, here...definitely plugging for you T.

Tell ya what you should do: put on the grass skirt and coconut bra that you have so graciously given as gifts. If anything will give you incentive to loose weight, that will. Who would've thunk such a gift could have so many purposes?

Better yet, I'll give you three months to post a picture wearing the grass skirt/coconut bra ensemble on this thread. How's that for incentive? You don't have to thank me now, I'm here to serve. 

[Trinkette]

DAY 1.
1-mile family-walk in sopping wet humidity complete! Young Son ran home the last 1/3 of the way, followed by attentive Border Collie, leaving frumpy Mother and her loving DH (who we know had NO desire to walk today, but went anyway when called to duty) with not-so-well-leash-trained-but-we're-working-on-it Beagle/Basset to bring up the rear.

DJM, if I walked 10 miles each day, and lost 50 pounds, there STILL aren't coconuts large enough to fit. Seriously. BUT, I will accept the three-month challenge.  I'll find SOMETHING to wear... 

Let's see... three months, that should be October 6.

[robin]

Well, good for you, Trinkette!  One day at a time! 

Hey, this is better suited to the pet thread, but does your beagle X PULL on leash?  If so, I suggest the Premier Easy Walk harness.  It's the best aid I know of for pulling dogs.  The only issue I've seen with them is chafing under the arms with the occasional dog who has a very thin haircoat.  I also won't use one with my own dog who has shoulder problems.  But for most dogs, this is a great tool.  (I have come to dislike walking dogs on collars more and more-- between the possibility of backing out of the collar and the chance of trachea damage, they're just not the best tool for most dogs, IMO.)

Relevance to THIS thread: The happier you are walking your dogs, the farther and more frequently you'll walk them! 

[djm195]

DJM, if I walked 10 miles each day, and lost 50 pounds, there STILL aren't coconuts large enough to fit. Seriously. BUT, I will accept the three-month challenge.  I'll find SOMETHING to wear... 

Let's see... three months, that should be October 6.

WAIT. WHAT? ARE YOU ACCEPTING MY CHALLENGE?

[Trinkette]

Better suited to pet thread response:
Robin, when I was walking this spring, I worked with the Border Collie on heeling. Now, he is WONDERFUL off leash, and continues to need fewer reminders each time we go out. I am so pleased with his success... I worried that he'd never do so well; he LOVES his "jobs," but, he is also terribly stubborn.  You know how Border Collies are... they have ALL the answers! 

I haven't spent as much walking time with the Beagle/Basset, and although she generally stays with us if she is loose (and seems to be more Basset than Beagle.. she rarely wanders from home), occasionally, she takes-off after a deer or bunny.  So, I prefer to keep her on a leash. (Although, often, when I come home in the evenings, she'll be sitting in the front yard, just six or seven feet away from a bunny or two, some of our cats nearby... one big happy family, ridiculous!  ).  I noticed today that she was MUCH better walking on the leash for me than for my son.  She stayed to my left, with just some occassional pulling, but nothing bad.  Keeping her leash short, and having her right at my side works best... my son isn't quite able to do that yet. Also, she really WANTS to come on the walk (she sees us getting ready to leave, runs to the drive, and refuses to come back to the house.  Then, when she sees my son with the leash,  she waddles over him, and plops down, waiting).  I think that her willingness to come on the journey will help with her training.

I agree about collars and the potential for trachea damage.  If she were any more of a puller, I would invest in the harness you mention.  For now, a quick, short, half-jerk on the lead seems to work... and she doesn't seem to be bothered, so I think we're ok.  But, it does creep me out a bit.

We have two Chow Chows... I may start walking with them some afternoons, probably one at a time. We'll see.

Relevance to this thread response:
Robin, I agree... that's a great way to look at it!

DJM: Never say never... 

[Pip]

Spoken like a childless person! Where's the rolling on the floor laughing smilie when you need it??

It's possible, I suppose, but I'd have to have my baby adopted!

Typical day -
4am - feed baby
4.30am - sleep
6.30am- 45mins to 1hr feeding baby. That's on an empty stomach, since no food shopping has been done in living memory.
7.30 - bathe and dress baby
8.00 - run round kitchen looking for something edible. Fail to find anything suitable, pour glass of water
8.10- feed baby
8.45 - try kitchen again, eat leftover couscous and a stale hot cross bun (no butter, naturally)
8.50 - try to figure out why baby is wailing
9.00 - feed baby
9.45- knock over untasted glass of water
10.00- look for potential foodstuff
10.10- put baby in pram, pace streets of hometown looking for a shop with space for pram and no other customers, which sells food
10.30 - head home with a bacon roll from the greasy but open air snack van. Slide on earlier water spill.
10.40 - mop up blood
10.45 - feed baby until baby sleeps
12.00 - revise for final law exam, missed due to having baby
13:00 - feed baby

etc to around 11pm, when we fall exhausted into a restless, twitchy sleep for a few brief hours.

I'm reliably informed it will get easier...

Jen

Easy strap them to the wall like dogs lol

[Mrs Mitchell]

Not possible, I'm afraid. I work for social services and they pop round to vist now and again. On balance, I probably prefer over weight to imprisoned!

Jen

[robin]

Not possible, I'm afraid. I work for social services and they pop round to vist now and again. On balance, I probably prefer over weight to imprisoned!

Jen

I recently read, too, that many prisoners gain weight while in prison, even though the food is awful (so I hear!  ).  The reason, apparently, is that clothing-getting-tight is a huge cue for people that they're gaining weight.  Prison jumpsuits are so shapeless that prisoners don't notice their own weight gain until it's 20 lbs. or more.  Yet another of the many reasons to avoid incarceration.

[Pip]

Not possible, I'm afraid. I work for social services and they pop round to vist now and again. On balance, I probably prefer over weight to imprisoned!

Jen

Damn UK eh?

[Mrs Mitchell]

Not possible, I'm afraid. I work for social services and they pop round to vist now and again. On balance, I probably prefer over weight to imprisoned!

Jen

I recently read, too, that many prisoners gain weight while in prison, even though the food is awful (so I hear!  ).  The reason, apparently, is that clothing-getting-tight is a huge cue for people that they're gaining weight.  Prison jumpsuits are so shapeless that prisoners don't notice their own weight gain until it's 20 lbs. or more.  Yet another of the many reasons to avoid incarceration.

The food, from what I've seen, it truly ghastly.  I've looked at some prison meals and been entirely unable to identify them. We don't do jumpsuits here, so you'd notice your clothes getting tight, but not sure what you could actually do about it. Mind you, We should probably avoid a crime spree, if we want this thread to work.

I lost another 3lbs this week, so that's some progress. 9lb in total - breastfeeding is the best weightloss programme I ever saw! How's every one else doing?

[robin]

I've been counting WW points for three or four weeks now, and I'm down by 3.4 lbs.  I have 2.8 lbs. left to lose.

I've been hitting the gym for 90 min. to 2 hrs.+ nearly every day, so I'm sure that helps.

[Trinkette]

I recently read, too, that many prisoners gain weight while in prison,

Well, I WAS going to rob a bank today  to help me with my next sparkly fix... now, maybe, I'm not so sure.  I'm fat enough already! Hummm, this is a close one...

Thin Without Sparklies Fat WITH Sparklies

[Trinkette]

OK, so, yesterday was Day 2. It was my son's 10th Birthday and EVERYTHING we planned to do went wrong!  Poor guy.  Anyway, when we finally got out in the afternoon to take our walk, the wind, blackened skies, storm clouds and thunder were right behind us.  So, we shortened our 1-mile hike to half the distance, and we jogged about 2/3's the entire way racing the storm... we just made it home before the skies opened up with torrential downpours, thunder and lightening. A silly distance, no doubt, but we DID get out and do it.  A small feat, especially because my son is quite afraid of lightening and I am no longer "built" to run, so to speak.

Oh, the OTHER bad thing about yesterday, and the evening before, is that I made a cake each day (one for a party we attended, the other a Birthday cake).  Unfortunately, that means I had to TASTE as I went along, especially the filling and frosting, since I was making up the recipe... *SIGH* never a good thing when "watching" one's weight!

I was bad.

I'll do better today...