Posts by xzcandizx

Original Post by theholla:

mzlizee - I like to order my bras and swimwear from Bare Necessities. The customer service is good, and they have almost 200 different bras in my size (34DDD/E). I especially like the seamless Wacoal bras for lifting and shaping. They are very supportive, and while they generally aren't too fancy, they help the girls look dynamite. They cost about twice as much as I would like to spend, but are very well made and last considerably longer, so I guess it evens out in the end.

Figleaves is also good, but they are based in the UK so shipping takes a bit longer.

I didn't see the second page to the thread here, and missed your response.  I actually just sent her a message with the same two websites!  Those two are by far the best!  Trust me, I've tried everywhere...

Also, while you have the general concept correct Johnnypenso- It is pretty much impossible for someone who is only a 32DD would loose 6-8 pounds in their breasts to get down to a B.  A 32DD would be the same cup size as a 38B.  I went down 4 cup sizes in my reduction and didn't even loose half that.  It is more likely 1-2 pounds maximum for someone who is so small band-wise.  

Also saying that breast tissue is mostly fat- while it holds true sometimes, it is not true for everyone.  That is why people like me, can loose 40 pounds and still stay pretty much the same size.  It's dense tissue- which weighs more than the fatty tissue as well.  Reference: http://www.breasthealthonline.org/cgi-bin/mwf /topic_show.pl?tid=96822  (please read the note at the bottom though- that the numbers are just shown as an example)

More then you ever wanted to know about boobs yet?

Well with the way it seems like you (intentionally) phrased it, it almost seems like you were looking for a reaction.  Your approach isn't "splitting hairs", it's not accepting that addiction is a lifelong issue and it is clearly a whole different ballgame.  It also seems pretty clear from what you have written that your addiction has progressed into one with food (please read your last line again as a reference- alcohol doesn't radically change your metabolism, if anything alcohol in your system encourages overeating, not the other way around).  You don't just wake up one day cured.  I wish you good luck with everything and hope that path will work for you-but from the facts of the programs and the facts that you have mentioned about yourself, being cautious and alert is a necessity.

I couldn't find the pad thai on the cheesecake factory menu, but I DID find another option I might like.  A tuna dish.  I am a pescatarian for the time being, and will only eat fish though if something really appeals to me (and only eat tuna, crab and a tiny bit of salmon), which is less than once a week most of the time.

A stir fry could go over with my family but they would need to add the meat in so it would need to be cooked in two separate dishes- doable but time consuming.  And I just don't think a casserole will go over well at all!  I know I'm a tough one here, but I do appreciate the advice.  In a couple months I'll be living on my own and it all will be a little easier (except for the fact that I'll still have limited time to cook!).

I agree with -colorbind-, pick your battles.  Unless you already have high BP I salt shouldn't be too much of a worry.  It seriously bugs me how big of a deal people on CC make about salt, seriously if you are on here, chances are you have much more pressing concerns, like losing weight and reducing your fat/sat fat/calorie content.  Please people, GET OVER IT!  Salt should be one of the LAST things to worry about unless you already have high BP.  Most likely the worst thing that will happen is you'll have some water weight if you increase your salt intake, but if you consistently have a calorie deficit you WILL loose weight!

Original Post by hethr:

I was an alcoholic for approx. ten years--up to a fifth a day toward to end of my addiction.  I have been clean and sober for just under 20 months, but I am battling the weird things that drinking has done long term to my body.  Namely, I used to be bottom-heavy, as are most of the women in my family.  However (according to my doctor this is common), I am now top-heavy, with relatively slender legs, but a huge amount of weight concentrated on my arms, stomach and back--ew!!! Any suggestions on how to "even out" my body?

First I want to say congratulations, it is an awesome thing that you are able to maintain sobriety.  But I must say (and I know I may get slammed for this) I have to comment on your word usage here.  If you really are ready to move on you must accept that you "are" an alcoholic not that you "were" an alcoholic.  That is a very important distinction that I believe should be made.  You will always be in recovery, someone that struggles with alcoholism is never recovered, there will always be strides you are taking to better themselves (as everyone should pertaining to most things in their lives).  Good luck with everything, and after battling addiction loosing a few extra pounds should be a minor challenge.

Original Post by gadzooks:

A couple years back when I joined Bally Total Fitness, they had a complimentary package that included a metabolism test.  Basically you put a device in your mouth and breathe as your normally would for about a minute, and from that they calculate how much you normally burn in a day.

I got mine done at my gym (by a trainer that was specially certified on the machine), and I have to say I don't believe that alone is an adequate assessment.  To begin I was told not to exercise starting the day before the testing (meaning if the test is on a Monday the last day you can do anything is Saturday and you should try to stay away from anything to exerting even then).  The reason for that is if you have any buildup of lactic acid (from working out) the test won't be accurate.  Next you can't eat anything at least 12 hours before the test, that can also mess up the results.  

When you actually get there you sit in a dark quiet room and put on the breathing mask for about 5 minutes to get an accurate count.  Then your body fat % is measured and you are allowed to eat something.  Next you go on a cardio machine, usually either elliptical or treadmill and pretty much build up to your maximum exertion (with a heart rate monitor on so they can determine your best heart rate for exercise) for several minutes until they get all the info they need.  I got a really nice workup (RMR, fat % to carb % burnt at different heart rate levels, a calorie plan, etc.) with an exercise plan for about $250, they did a thorough and excellent job.  My opinion would be if you are going to spend the money to get this done, don't skimp!  Go all out.

So I'm finally back.  Sorry it's taken me a couple extra days to check in here.  As soon as I got back I had extended family here and it's kind of been nuts.  I go back up to Albany tomorrow to go find an apartment and I'll be moving up there in less than a month.

It's just funny to me because I've always thought of summer as the most relaxed time, but this year it doesn't seem as though it is that way for anybody!!!  I'm in the same boat with all of you, barely have time to exercise and getting something to eat as you're running out the door.  All I know is that once I start law school it is going to be even more crazy and I'm still going to have to find the time to work out and eat well if I want to make any progress.  I think that my scheduled trainer appointments really help me out.  I'm pretty much guaranteed to make it to the gym at least 2x per week then, and unless I'm in a huge rush I usually stay to do cardio on those days as well.  It would be nice to make it into the gym at least another 2 days/week but lately it's been hard to make that happen.

I think the key needs to be to take it one day at a time.  I REALLY did not eat well when I was away.  I actually thought I was going to have to do major damage control but it seems as if I gained less than a pound, so it shouldn't be so hard to get back on track.  Even though I know I didn't eat well then I'm not going to just forget about it altogether.  That's been a really hard process for me, because in the past once I've gone on vacation or lost track a little that was the end of it for me.  It is so important to stick to it and do what you can do every day to help even if it is just a little.

I'm not sure how I should go about updating the weights, if I should wait for everyone to weigh in this week or just go ahead and post the stats for last week and wait until next week to do another formal weigh-in because of the holiday weekend, etc.  Also going out a little bit into the future, because of my move and the end of summer crazyness that I think we all experience I'm thinking we should set an "end date" for this group of either August 6th or 13th.  I am totally willing to (actually am looking forward to) starting something back up in early September after things calm down a bit, but after being away a lot lately I don't feel like it is fair to everyone involved for me to just take off for a month again.  It will also give you guys an option if you want to continue in the group or not.  Just thought I'd put that out there sooner than later.  Glad to be back!

Since it seems like it's been a tough couple of weeks for many of us, losing one week and then gaining or maintaining the next, I think a good challenge this week is to keep it simple.  Don't forget the basic idea of calories in to calories out.  I think that in the whole process it is easy to loose sight of the simple things like having an apple instead of a cookie, walking up the stairs instead of taking the elevator, etc.  And just living a healthier lifestyle.  I know this mindset is what will get me through my upcoming trip to California without it being a nutritional disaster.  I defiantly will indulge, but I will keep a serious eye on portion sizes and balancing out the indulgences at other meals.

Megoo:  I would say you should eat two mini meals.  I had a similar situation, with a night class.  It went from 6-9.  I am not an early dinner person and I needed to leave my apartment by 5:30, so I was not prepared to have a full dinner at 5 or earlier.  I would split my dinner into two mini meals.  Maybe a soup before and some yogurt and bread after (you can obviously improvise here, I'm not a meat person so I'm sure most people would have some type of meat at one of the mini-meals).

So I will be leaving on Friday afternoon for my trip and will be back the following Saturday late at night (7/5).  So I'll be missing the weigh-in for this coming week.  It is up to the group as a whole if you would like to still post weigh-ins (and I could update them sunday) or if you would like to "take off" the week and post the following week.  I know a lot of people probably have plans for the 4th of July and may be really busy.  So it's up to the group as a whole, but even if the group decides to do the weigh-in if anyone wants to take the week off that's totally fine too.  Sometimes a break is good, and then you can regroup and start out with the energy and motivation towards the weightloss that could have become lacking after time of doing the same thing.  I will post again before I leave, I hope everyone is having a wonderful week!

So after my increase in weight this week (and my high intake of soups and pretzels) I totally am with the sodium challenge as well.

I am also up for some other changes.  Because of my schedule lately it has been really hard to update everything on Tuesdays, so as long as everyone is ok, I'm going to move the update day to Wednesday (I would do it right now but I am exausted!) so you can post your weigh ins up until then (meaning Tuesday night, but if by chance you haven't gotten it in and I haven't posted yet you are welcome to post them).  I think it will make everything a little more consistent and reliable.  We are also going to have some losses this week because some people have not been on here for 3+ weeks.  While it kind of stinks to loose part of the group (who will be welcome back if they show the initiative) at least pretty much all of the remaining group has been pretty active.

As for my week.  So much has been going on as mentioned in the previous post.  I'm up 2 pounds from my last weigh in, which was awhile ago because of being sick and being away, while I'm not happy I'm not too upset because I believe about a pound of it to be water weight so it's really a pound gained and that can be gone pretty quickly.  I've kind of needed a kick in the a** the past couple weeks and this gain I believe was it.  Finally stepping on the scale and knowing.  So it's time to get serious.  1 1/2 weeks to California and I would love to be at 163 by then.  It will be tough but I have sessions with my trainer planned out and a very very busy time.  No time lounging around=less snacking, which is always a good thing for me!  I will update everyones stats in the late AM.

Thanks for your stories.  I actually have never been a huge meat person to begin with either.  I was a chicken and turkey kind of girl as a kid, and always believed I was allergic to fish until I got tested a few years ago.  I also never ate red meat.  As I got older I experimented more and started eating steaks once in awhile and when I found out I wasn't allergic to fish started eating some.

But I've realized more recently it just isn't compatible with my lifestyle anymore and I'm slowly phasing it out.  So far it's been easier than expected but there are going to be some hard parts.  So far I've given up all meat, and anything with gelatin (it was the first thing I gave up, it just grossed me out so much!  No more skittles and starburst which is likely a good thing for me anyway).  So as of right now I'm eating some fish, which when the time comes, shouldn't be too hard to give up, but one of my favorite things, which is soup will be.  I think that could take awhile because I am a huge soup person and all my favorite soups have chicken stock.  I eat out almost all the time so it's not really an option to change it.  And for the few times we eat in, I tried packaged veggie stock and found it disgusting- it tasted like straight leeks and onions.  Really pungent and unappealing to me.

So the other hurdle for me is that we eat out almost all the time.  AND I'm not a big fan of beans.  Does anyone have any good protein options?

Original Post by leopardrayne:

Hello all!

After all that griping that a trainer for 4 sessions was $69.00 (which is the student discount), wondering if I could do it myself and/or with the help of the Internet, I finally broke down and got a personal trainer.  His name is Andre and I had met him at the gym a few months ago.

But I'm worried about how hard I'm going to be pushed, what I should expect, and the like.

If possible, could anybody tell me anything/everything they know about the benefits, risks, and what to expect with personal training?

EDIT:  Two more questions:

What goals should I set with myself and my trainer?

What is the difference between an IFTA and an ACE trainer?

Jo

4 sessions for $69, meaning each session is $69 or it's $69 total?  If it's $69 total that is a deal that you can't miss!  That is the most inexpensive that I've ever heard for a trainer, and if it's something that you want to try out you are certainly not going to get a better deal.  That's only $17.25/session!!!  Remember whatever gym this is likely makes around half and the trainer is only making $10 or less for the session.

Trainers are great to have if you are just starting out or don't feel too confident doing the weight training by yourself (honestly I don't think I could live without one at this point, it's nice to have someone there with you, and I'm a total klutz so it helps).  But seriously for that price you should not skip up that opportunity if you are at all interested in trying it out!

Original Post by 10bysummer:

In relation to this, (sorry, it's kinda off topic)

 

I've just... as in within a week... gone off the pill after 9 years of continuous use. I can not tell you how different (GREAT) I feel.

 

.... I'm starting to this the whole pill thing is a conspiracy.....

Hmm...I've thought about it a lot, but then I realize how bad my cramps/period is even with the pill and know that I'll be completely out of commission at least 2 days/month, when now I have pain lesser than that once every three months.  I'm guessing that wasn't why you went on?

Original Post by mossyfern:

Sometimes I'm pretty sure religion controls our government as much as our government controls religion.   For a nation that's called a melting pot and prides itself on diversity, our governement seems to be very Christian-oriented.  I'm not putting down Christianity; I just think our government doesn't give equal time to other religions.  My schools were always closed for Christmas, but I don't ever remember days off for Chanukah, or Ramadan.  If there's supposed to be separation of church and state, it seems all churches should be equally separated from government...just my opinion; not trying to push it on anyone, or insisting that I'm right.

Great point.  If you are still looking for help with this you should consider reading God Vs. the gavel it gives examples of several different religions and several different categories of dispute.  I know it goes to the topic of medical regulation/intervention for minors in certain religions.  For example, if a child has leukemia and the parents don't want medical treatment because of their beliefs but the child will likely die without the intervention.

Sorry everybody, internet was DOWN most of the day today, it seems like things have not been going smoothly since I've been back?!?!? augh!

I will update everybody tomorrow (prob in the evening, so if anyone hasn't gotten in and still wants you to you have time!) and catch up on the boards!  

I'm back!  And it looks as though there is so much to catch up on!  I hope everyone has a great week.  I'm gonna update the board here and write more later..