Wagon Jumpers - February 8 - 14th, 2009 (Closed, Waiting List Available)
Welcome
(We are currently transitioning to 20 members (from 30). If you are interested in being on the waiting list, knowing that it will be a longer than usual list, please read below and e-mail me.)
Welcome to the Wagon Jumpers weekly thread. We are a group of CC members who have identified that one of our main challenges with achieving our weight loss, maintenance or general health goals is consistency.
This thread is designed to encourage long term commitment to our goals by publicly declaring them and asking the other members of this thread to hold us accountable. The primary focus of wagon jumpers is not how much weight you have lost, or need to loose, but what you need to do on a daily basis to meet your long term goals.
There are two rules for Wagon Jumpers:
1. All members must post once per week between Sunday and Friday.
2. All members must check the thread for members who have not posted by Saturday (a short list is posted on Thursday) or are on the MIA list on Sunday and send them a polite and positive message to stay involved in the group and on track with their goals.
If you would like to be a member of this thread please see the guidelines below and send me a PM if you are still interested (there may be a waiting list).
Medium Size Group = Some Time Commitment
The original idea of Wagon Jumpers was to create a close community where participants could get to know each other and hopefully form virtual-life and perhaps even physical-life bonds to create a support network as they attempted long term weight loss.
We quickly discovered that this was impossible with an 'always open' group as there were too many people coming and going. For this reason the group is capped at 30 participants.
A medium sized group means that we have an active thread that produces between 40 - 60 posts per week. Members do not need to read / respond to every post every week. I do notice that those who respond regularly do tend to keep their goals top of mind, and have a better chance to achieve them. I estimate the average time spent by an active member on Wagon Jumpers to be between 1-2 hours per week.
If you are looking for an always open group on CC there are several that operate by different weight criteria, similar motivational patterns etc... There are also many small groups that cap their numbers between 4-10 people to keep the group more intimate, and easier for members to keep up with.
Interested in Joining?
General Guidelines for Joining
1. Are you a wagon jumper?
Do you know how to loose weight, you often have success but then you find yourself loosing interest in your plan, or sabotaging your plan. It's not the "how" to loose weight that is the problem, it's the "how" to stay motivated.
2. Do you have a long way to go?
This group is designed so that members can get to know each other and support each other. Ideally you are planning to be a CC member and part of this forum for at least 6 months or more to achieve your goals and hopefully stay in motivation for a further 6 months or more.
Yes. This is, a long term plan.
3. Do you have the time?
This is a medium sized group, the thread does move fairly quickly each week. If you do not have regular internet access this is likely not the group for you.
Still interested?
Send Supersized a PM. (Please do not reply on the thread)
An overview will be sent to you, you will have a chance to ask questions and an invitation will be sent to you once a spot is open.
Wagon Jumpers Participants
Week 40 Riders - 10 Months!:
Supersized (myself)
Week 36 Riders - Congratulations on 9 Months!:
Week 31 Riders:
Week 30 Riders:
Week 28 Riders - Congratulations on 7 Months!:
Week 26 Riders:
Week 25 Riders:
Week 23 Riders:
Week 20 Riders - Congratulations on 5 Months!:
Week 18 Riders:
Week 16 Riders - Congratulations on 4 Months!:
Week 14 Riders:
Week 13 Riders
Week 12 Riders - Congratulations on 3 Months!:
Week 11 Riders:
Week 10 Riders:
Week 8 Riders - Congratulations on 2 Months!:
Missing In Action:
Missing In Action - 1 Week:
Missing In Action - 2 Weeks:
Current Membership: 25
Current Waiting List: 3
Outstanding Wait List Invites: 0
12 Week CONSISTENCY GOALS
(as set w/o January 11th, 2009)
By April 4th, I will be...
Letsgetitstarted - consuming an average of 1,500 cal/day and 3 times a week for a minimum 30 minutes.
Rpete144057 - logging my food daily and exercising 5 days a week for at least 30 minutes.
Jessicaanne2001 - exercising 5 days a week for at least 30 minutes, and logging my food daily.
Supersized - logging all of my daily calories and eating in a calorie range of no more than 2,000 cal/day and no less than 1,500 cal/day (calculated by weekly averages).
Figurethefat - exercising a minimum of 1,500 minutes each month, and I will restrict using the scale to two weigh-ins per week on Monday and Friday.
Unlimitedana - eating between 1,500 - 1,600 cal/day and exercising three time a week.
Sarah1090 - logging my calories daily and eating dinner with my mom no less than 4 nights per week.
Cawilder - maintaining a 500 - 1,000 calorie deficit on a daily basis measured by my food log and, working out 5 to 6X per week combo of cardio and lifting.
Carryonandon - maintaining 300 - 500 calorie deficit daily and, exercising 3x per week.
Raven21 - drinking a minimum of 4 bottles (2L) of water daily and, exercising a minimum of 3X per week.
Nannygabber - doing the NROLFW program 3 times per week, and I will establish a 40/30/30 (Carb/Fat/Protein) macronutrient pattern on a weekly average for a minimum of 5 weeks of the next 12.
Germaica - exercising 3 times a week and logging my food for at least 4 days per week.
Pelkeyjm - logging my food daily and exercising at least 3x per week for at least 30 minutes.
The_Vitamin_Dominatrix - logging my caloric intake on calorie count at least six days every week and, exercising in the gym at least 3 days each week.
Tiegurl - eating 1,500 - 2,000 calories and exercising 5x a week.
Kyashiis - running 20 kilometers a week and making progress on the number of repetitions in my calisthenic exercises (starting at: 20 push ups, 30 sit ups, 0 chin ups, 2x 30 sec plank, 20-30 jump rope)
Lam7 - Logging all daily calories at least 6 times a week and, exercising minimum 40 minutes 3x per week.
Sjenn23231 - consuming and average of 1,500 cal/day and, doing SEAL team type workout 3 times a week.
Msmeg1984 - Following the 40-30-30 diet guidelines in NROLFW and working out 3 a week NROLFW plan.
Constanza - using the CC food log every day and, exercising an average of 4 times per week across the 12 weeks.
Defrog3 - eating with improved nutritional quality of food, specifically ensuring that I am getting enough daily protein and carbs and, walking six miles a week weather permitting.
Amber1l - working out 6 days a week for one and a half hours.
Wenchie58 - keeping my calorie intake between 1,400 - 1,500 a day and, drinking at least 2 liters of water daily.
Bigbitty - logging my calories daily and continue to drink at least 2 liters of water per day.
Previous Threads:
Wagon Jumpers - February 1 - 7th, 2009
Wagon Jumpers - January 25 - 31st, 2009
Wagon Jumpers - January 18 - 24th, 2009
Wagon Jumpers - January 11 - 17th, 2009
Wagon Jumpers - January 4 - 10th, 2009
Wagon Jumpers - December 28 - January 3rd, 2009
Wagon Jumpers - December 21 - 27th, 2008
Wagon Jumpers - December 14 - 20th, 2008
Wagon Jumpers - December 7 - 13th, 2008
Wagon Jumpers - November 30 - December 6th, 2008
Wagon Jumpers - November 23 - 29th, 2008
Wagon Jumpers - November 15 - 22nd, 2008
Wagon Jumpers - November 9 - 15th, 2008
Wagon Jumpers - November 2 - 8th, 2008
Wagon Jumpers - October 26 - November 1st, 2008
Wagon Jumpers - October 19 - 25th, 2008
Wagon Jumpers - October 12 - 18th, 2008
Wagon Jumpers - October 5 - 11th, 2008
Wagon Jumpers - September 28 - October 4th, 2008
Wagon Jumpers - September 21 - 27th, 2008
Wagon Jumpers September 14-20th, 2008
Wagon Jumpers September 7-13th, 2008
Wagon Jumpers August 31 - September 6th, 2008
Wagon Jumpers August 24 - 30th, 2008
Wagon Jumpers August 17 - 23rd, 2008
As always all members are encouraged to tag this thread so that it is easy to find.
This Week's Topic
Following last week's discussion, and having an exercise theme to do this week, lets all do a bit of research. For those of you that need a brief catch up there are (at least) two general theories on best methods for reducing fat in your body and loosing weight via exercise. Both of these theories state that exercise alone cannot produce weight loss results and a healthy well balanced food must be part of either plan.
NOTE: these are both drastic simplifications of these perspectives.
1. Build More Muscle
This theory advocates strength and resistance training to increase the muscle mass in your body. Muscle uses more energy, so increasing the muscle mass in your body will increase you basal metabolic rate (the amount of calories your body uses while at rest) making your body more efficient overall.
Benefits: allows a person to eat more while increasing muscle, focus on protein intake is very important. Avoids the issue of being unable to maintain a low calorie diet. Increases energy levels, helps with sleep.
Drawbacks: Weight loss will not be as rapid or as apparent because muscle by volume weighs more than fat.
Counter-Argument: The evidence on swapping muscle for fat is not as powerful as it first seemed, this theory will only work for those with small amounts of fat to loose who would benefit more from body composition workouts than they would from loosing 5-10 lbs of fat from low-calorie diet changes.
2. Focus on Fat Loss
This theory advocates using low-cal diets, cardio, and light resistance training and/or strength training to focus on loosing the fat in your body as the primary weight loss method. This is the basic calories in calories out theory.
Benefits: If followed consistently weight loss is more rapidly apparent than it is with the muscle building method.
Drawbacks: low-calorie diets are notoriously hard to maintain over a long period of time and frequently result in yo-yo dieting.
Counter-Argument: These diets have largely failed for the last 30 years, the dieter often experiences hunger and a loss of energy, there is some evidence that low-calorie fat buring methods cannot control if you burn fat or muscle and slow down the overall metabolic rate contributing to greater weight gain when dieters cannot follow the plan consistently.
I'm hopeful that the truth lies somewhere in the middle. Ultimately it will come down to figuring out what works best for each individual. For now the assignment is to:
Find fitness information (blog, book, magazine) on exercises that promote fat loss and muscle building, what new information did you learn, do you think it is credible, why?, why not?
Weekly Check In
I successfully met my goal of eating a weekly average of 2,600 cal/day, actually getting close to 2,500. I'm continuing to be surprised by the weight maintenance at this level of eating. I dropped the few pounds that I gained last week and overall my weight has remained within the 3 pound range of where I began the year.
I'm also feeling much more confident about where I started the year. I was worried I had gained too much weight over the holidays. The jeans were a bit snugger, and I can see some small differences in clothes and how they were fitting before the holidays, but overall as the weather is a bit warmer her today I fit into my fall running clothes well, the size 20 stuff that I still have lying around is still huge and baggy on me. And, I went shopping with my girlfriend yesterday and I am still a size 14 in a regular (not a plus sized) store!
That last one is a pretty big deal to me, I think between size 12 to 16 is where it's really difficult to fit into any regular or plus sized store. The stuff in the plus sized stores rarely have items this small, and when they do they hand goo much, the regular stores don't often carry good volume in sizes this large and the stuff is cut differently so it clings in places that a girl used to plus size clothing isn't anticipating. Or, at least I'm not.
I think I can definitely say with confidence that this is the first year that I'm rounding the winter months and not thinking about how much more I have to take off this year then where I was at the beginning of last year with the hopes of only managing to get to the summer where I thought I was too big the previous winter. I'll actually be able to be smaller this summer than last and that feels pretty good.
I've done a much better job cooking this past week, and plan to continue. I've also finished NROLFW so I really need to get my butt to the gym and start back into exercising.
Weekly check in:
I've done pretty well this week with getting myself back in the swing of things. I hit the gym twice and though I was going to go today to get another weight session in, we had the chance to go for a hike for a few hours, so I opted to take that opportunity instead.
As far as this week's topic - i have to give credit to Melkor in the fintess forum for sharing so much useful information.
This is just a synopsis, but basically the study had 2 groups of females, one group was on a diet with no exercise, the other group was on a diet plus exercise 3x a week. This study showed that independently of the method for weight loss, the negative energy balance alone is responsible for weight reduction.
While i agree with the findings for the most part, I have my own thoughts and opinions. I did lots of cardio in the start of my diet and lost weight, but my body looked worse than it did before... I got "skinny fat". Enter weight training and my shape came back, the appearance of my cellulite lessened dramatically and my body fat percentage changed quite a bit.
So, to each his own.... To be successful, you need to do something you can stick with.
Weekly check in: I'm doing great on logging my food. The weather this week has been rainy and cold so that's made me lazy about doing exercise. I'm already a bit behind on the Monthly challenge of doing 1,500 minutes, particularly because February only has 28 days. I need to really give myself a kick in the arse to get motivated.
Weight wise, I'm doing ok, I haven't had a spectacular loss this past week, only about 1/2 a pound. Which kind of got me thinking about why...
This week's topic: A very relevant topic for me at this stage of diet, about 5 weeks in... I went back yesterday and browsed through a thread that I was part of in 2007. At that time I went from 130 to 115 in about 8 weeks. I realised that I was doing lots of cardio back then, way more than right now. Here's a link that I posted back then about cardo and burning fat:
http://www.shapefit.com/cardio-exercises.html
I'm not really of build more muscle school. I think that's great for toning once one reaches their desired weight, but for me I feel better about getting the fat off my body. I think the "skinny-fat" thing is just part of the fat falling away and leaving some excess skin in the process. I think that doing cardio does build muscle: walking or running on the treadmill or outside has to develop some muscle. I know that riding my bike uses muscles and therefore makes me have a greater muscle mass. I think the heavy lifting and bulking on protein is overrated, although I've never actually tried it.
For me, kicking up the metabolism by drinking lots of water, eating 4 to 6 times a day (small meals) and consistently doing easy cardio (6x per week) works. If I were to lift weights I would make sure it was in conjunction with cardio like walking or bike riding.
As for calories, I need to be logging and keeping track so that I don't over indulge. At my height, just over 5'2", I don't need to eat much to keep the body going, BMR is about 1275. If I eat about 1400 to 1500 a day, I usually lose about 6 lbs. per month, with the cardio... I eat around 20% fat, 20% protein, 60% carbs.
Everyone is different though so to each their own. It wouldn't make sense for the same program to work for everyone :)
Hi everyone!
WOW. It's been 5 months. Sara, thank you for the very sweet email. I really have learned so very much. I must say the hugest change for me during this time, has been psychologically. My attitude is way better toward exercise for starters. AND... my knowledge base has increased multi-fold.
I don't mean to seem so pessimistic and frustrated much of the time... Its true I "personally" don't see much change physically. BUT... (!!!!) ... I saw someone today that I havent seen in say... 4 months? At least that long... she said "Julie, you look like you're losing weight, how are you doing it?" I couldn't even answer her properly! I stammered for a moment, and all I could say was a humbly quiet "thank you." Imagine ME... speechless. LOL! Fortunately BF's mom was present, and backed me up by saying I had been going to the gym... WHEW. She is good about doing that for me... LOL! It gave me time to collect my thoughts and give a qualified answer! SOOOO... this is good news for me! At least it makes me feel good.
WEEKLY CHECKIN:
Without a doubt... 100%. Stayed with NROLFW, and even during my "week off", I did some pushups, squats, crunches, and lunges here at home twice. I missed the gym this week! I am on target for macronutrients too. Fats are even less than required. This will be tougher on 1500. BUT... I still have a couple flex weeks toward the goal.
WEEKLY TOPIC:
In the past two weeks, my level of research has actually interfered with my job. LOL! Hence, I will leave you with one link, which I actually uncovered last week. It will take you to INVALUABLE information. I have made reference to it a couple of times already, and I'll continue to go there to reinforce: http://www.alwyncosgrove.com/Articles.html
I am very interested also, to see what other links comes up in the thread this week, I am always open to refining what I am doing.
WEEK COMING:
This is it girls... Monday begins my four week "Complexes for Fat Loss". I am aiming for 1500 calories (keeping macronutrients in line), and have taken the past few days to adjust that down.... It's not going to be easy, but I will keep you posted! I am going to wait until tomorrow to weigh in at the gym, and may venture to get a body fat analysis in order to see how this thing really works.
I wish you all the best for the week to come!
May you have a Healthgain week!
~Julie
I dont know what happened last week...I remember posting my weekly check in and my update on goals....but either I never hit enter...or the network hiccuped! I'm not MIA....I'm very much still working toward the 12 week goals.
I returned to work last week so my calorie tracking has become easier. Being home recouping for three months in the same house as the fridge was a bit of a chore. I'm eating more food ith better nutritional values and drinking LOADS of water.
2009 is my year to make major changes! I found a walking buddy...my 34 yr old son who recently found out he has Type 2 Diabetes....we are going to try to resolve his current health issue with diet and exercise!
Maybe helping him succeed will be MY pathway to success!
check in
Sorry i was missing last week, just sooooo sick from this pregnancy!!! UGH... Im prolly eating and drinking too little at this point... Will work on it this week!
Hi,
Weekly Check-in:
As you saw with my post from late last week - 10K deficit in calories and I have bounced around with my weight - but certainly NOT lost the 3lbs that is supposed to be. So, on Friday, I said - screw it and ate a nice largish meal @ PF Changs. Did not count calories on Saturday or Sunday. Jules, thanks for the e-mail support.
I did exercise quite a bit and did a nice 130 minute run through the woods (the car was still there and with all my stuff.. woo hoo!)
So, now it is Sunday evening and I am ready to buckle down and start documenting my good intake again. I am going to double check my portions to make sure that was not wrong. I am still sticking to my exercise plan... I am sure it will be fine.
Sara, thanks for the 3 month e-mail... It has been very comforting and helpful to hear everyone else's stories, challenges, etc. It absolutely gives me a different way of looking at this journey. I appreciate the openness and help that everyone has afforded me.
Weekly Assignment:
So, I found something from Runner's world about Fast Abs. What is interesting is that this article talks about abs and the core being central to a runner -- where as just a few short years ago it was all about logging your miles and strength training was ANTI-distance running. So, I think it shows a fusion of goals and ideas to make a better person / exerciser... I can't take sides on the debate as I believe there are different times and you have to deploy different tools - the secret is having the wisdom to know when or finding the wisdom...
The article is at:
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-238-263-266-13030-0,0 0.html
Take care.
Carol
Good Morning All!
Weekly Checkin: Goal is still on schedule..with a plus...I have been adding minutes on the treadmill or walking the dog along with the beast bike days. I was thinking of adding 1 more day of exercise...but I knew if I waited long enough the moment would pass...and it did I spent that day working on a quilt I had started late fall last year.
I got a wake up call last week after gaining 2 lbs for the 2nd week in a row...and I learned a couple things..I have matured somewhat as a new Healthgain participant..I didn't freak and throw my hands in the air and say screw it where is the ice cream. I came to my computer room and looked at what i had been eating, the types of exercise...etc..and found out that I was just a bit too overconfident in the measuring my portions department and I hade't eaten a salad in about 2 weeks!! I was moving away from Healthful foods and starting to replace with that junk that has help clog my artieries thus far..well cleaned house AGAIN and brought in the good leafy stuff..and really concentrated on portions and getting the most bang for my caloric buck as it were..and I stepped on the scales and lost the 2 I had gained and 2 more..YAHOO!!
This weeks topic. I am not educated enough in the sciences of weight/ cardio..and I know I should probably care more..but I can only work on one thing at a time..I did find this that I read when 1st starting out...I went over and read again..and it is working for me, I might add some weight lifting later when I reach my goal to tone, and build muscle, bone mass...but for now Cardio kid is my name.
http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/guide/k ick-up-with-cardio-exercise
gotta run..have agreat day
robin
Sara - congratulations on 10 months of Wagon Jumpers and also, thanks for starting this.
I didn't do well with the running 20 kilos last week at all. I guess it is a progression thing. Calisthenics progression is good though...
Good Morning All...
Here I go again, obsessing with my health at work... See? I can't seem to live life without an obsession... and I may as well expose the cold hard truth of it... it's that all or nothing mentality rearing its ugly head once again, in yet another form! ugh.
Anyway, I'll make this short, because I really have to work this week, I just found a link that compliments the weekly homework assignment. (LOL - I'll flunk myself in advance for being completely off topic...!)
It's not necessarily exercise related, but definitely health and fat loss related. Its about our foods. Have you gals ever really thought about what it means to "eat clean". It's a new (to me) ideology, terminology, what ever "-ology" label you want to give it... and it has occurred to me that there are differing takes on what it really means. Anyhow, here's the link to a great discussion about it!
http://caloriecount.about.com/clean-eating-gr ocery-list-ft128616
Have a Healthgain Day!
~Julie
Figurethefat - you definitely got it right that if you were to lift weights, you would add it to cardio - I wish more people would do it... Personally i think that weights/some sort of strength training is very integral to anyones workout routine... Strength training doesn't necessarily mean you have to lift very heavy stuff, but i get a great rush from it - it seriously up's my confidence and i have been seeing great results! I started my journey by adding in Jillian Michael's videos and tae bo videos at home and graduated from there... once i got my gym membership, i stopped the strength training and spend all my time doing cardio and i noticed a serious difference in the way my body looked - worse! Of course i am not knocking the benefits of cardio, but i think you should always do a little strength training to keep what muscles you do have already.
Many women think that lifting heaving things will make them look like this...http://i.b5z.net/i/u/230085/i/LIsa_Aukland_Fe male_Bodybuilder_IFBB_Pro_Model_ezr.jpg
It takes a lot more than just lifting heavy weights 3x a week to get that (very unattractive) look.
I don't sing the praises of weight lifting just for the aesthetic appeal of it, it also helps with balance and lessens the risk of heart disease, osteoporosis, diabetes and more... http://sportsmedicine.about.com/cs/women/a/aa 051601a.htm
Of course, cardio is good for you too, but i think everyone should at least try a well rounded exercise program that includes both cardio and strength training.
I don't think I can say it any better than it was already said in the fitness faq posting:
"There is a difference between efficency and
long-term effectiveness when it comes to exercise and dieting. Crash
diets don't work, crash fitness programs don't work. What does work over the long haul is to incorporate activity into your lifestyle
as a regular thing. So keep in mind that exercise efficiency is
secondary to exercise consistency, and that crosstraining and
doing more than one thing works better than sticking to a single
activity. You wouldn't eat only oatmeal for the rest of your life as a
"diet", you shouldn't only run or lift weights as your only exercise.
How
much of each kind of exercise you should do depends entirely on your
goal - if you want to run a marathon you should do minimal (but some)
weights, if you want to deadlift twice your bodyweight you should only
do minimal (but some) cardio."
So - to all you ladies - I challenge you all to try to do something else besides solely cardio for your workouts- add in calisthenics, try a kickboxing class or hit the weights!
Have an awesome day!
Hi Guys!
Totally off topic for this week (I will post later this week on the topic). But my own personal "demon" is sugar. I had a set back with the sugar demon last night. Well I think I might have found some information that will help put things in perspective for me. Although I knew that sugar (refined sugar you find in all the "yummy" treats) has no nutritional benefit here is one little fact I had never heard before:
The chemical formula for cocaine is C17H21NO4. Sugar’s formula is C12H22O11. For all practical purposes, the difference is that sugar is missing the “N”, or nitrogen atom.
Although this might be stretching it a little bit, it does explain some of the addictive properties of sugar, for me at least. I have often joked that I'm a "sugar junkie", but now that I've read all the harmful things it can do to your body and organs and mind I feel a renewed need to cut it from my diet. This does not mean I will stop eating it entirely, I will have fruit, yogourt, cottage cheese/fruit cups and maybe once a week will indulge in 100-200 completely empty calories. I have a feeling this may help with the fatigue as well.
I'm 100% on target for my goals. Water intake and exercise are above target. I did my 3rd run of the 2nd week of C25K yesterday. It was a little tricky finding a place outside that wasn't too icy but I managed and it was nice run outside. So my new plan for the next 7 weeks (that's how many weeks of C25K I have left) I will lift on Mon, Wed and Fri (to accomodate the fact that everything I need is in my work gym) and Tues, Thurs and Sat I will run. I will also throw in a few walks with the dog and possibly some pilates along with paintball on Sundays :)
Well that's my rant on sugar for now. Let's hope I have this same conviction when faced with a york peppermint pattie!
Raven
Original Post by raven21:
Hi Guys!
Totally off topic for this week (I will post later this week on the topic). But my own personal "demon" is sugar. I had a set back with the sugar demon last night. Well I think I might have found some information that will help put things in perspective for me. Although I knew that sugar (refined sugar you find in all the "yummy" treats) has no nutritional benefit here is one little fact I had never heard before:
The chemical formula for cocaine is C17H21NO4. Sugar’s formula is C12H22O11. For all practical purposes, the difference is that sugar is missing the “N”, or nitrogen atom.
Although this might be stretching it a little bit, it does explain some of the addictive properties of sugar, for me at least. I have often joked that I'm a "sugar junkie", but now that I've read all the harmful things it can do to your body and organs and mind I feel a renewed need to cut it from my diet. This does not mean I will stop eating it entirely, I will have fruit, yogourt, cottage cheese/fruit cups and maybe once a week will indulge in 100-200 completely empty calories. I have a feeling this may help with the fatigue as well.
I'm 100% on target for my goals. Water intake and exercise are above target. I did my 3rd run of the 2nd week of C25K yesterday. It was a little tricky finding a place outside that wasn't too icy but I managed and it was nice run outside. So my new plan for the next 7 weeks (that's how many weeks of C25K I have left) I will lift on Mon, Wed and Fri (to accomodate the fact that everything I need is in my work gym) and Tues, Thurs and Sat I will run. I will also throw in a few walks with the dog and possibly some pilates along with paintball on Sundays :)
Well that's my rant on sugar for now. Let's hope I have this same conviction when faced with a york peppermint pattie!
Raven
So far so good and I got my weight training session in around 2:30 today. Seemed harder today than last week but maybe I didn't eat enough prior to the workout (only about 600 cals for the day up until then). Happy Monday everyone!
Thanks for the 2 months PM Sara. Time does fly by! Being part of WJ has given me a better perspective of my body, my health and what is reasonable to expect. Learning from everyone, your experiences, success, trials and errors, has helped me to learn about myself. What's normal for me, what to expect of myself. This really helps when I see the scale going up, when I WANT it to go down (like now with a 3 lbs hike, after loosing 4 lbs). I see from all of you that this does happen and I know NOT to freak out.
Weekly check in: I'm on top of my goals, hit the exercise and logging goal! Yay! I will post for the topic later after some research.
Happy healthgain!
weekly check in:
My eating habits have improved, and though I have been over my calorie limit a couple of days, I'm also doing more physical activity because I'm busy preparing for a trip I'm making the day after tomorrow. I'm tired, stressed and even a bit drained because I have so much to do before I leave.
This week's topic:
I'm doing HIIT following http://www.intervaltraining.net/Lose_Belly_Fa t_Fast.html which is a nice training program that lasts around 8 weeks. It's really good and I have noticed an improvement on my health.
Weekly Check-in:
I am still feeling positive in spite of the terrible storms we are having at the moment which are keeping me housebound! I am trying to clear out some of my clutter, which is long overdue! Going up and down stairs all day and climbing in and out of the attic is quite a good workout...?!!!
The weekly topic - needs some research! I'll have to get back to you on that.
Meantime, have a good week everyone!
Christine
Sorry I've been MIA on the thread for the last couple of days, it's a bit of a crazy week for me.
Weekly Topic
I will get to my response in the next post. For those of you participating in this week's topic I will ask a lot of you why you believe in the information. I think one of the biggest challenges we have as people trying to get fit and healthy is the huge variety of information out there, some of it dense, some of it conflicting. I don't think any of us have a degree in health sciences (yet), and I'm sure we'll all deserver one by the time we've met our goals. So part of the learning experience is not simply finding the information, but using our critical thinking skills to let each other know why we think it's credible, or not. Has it worked for you, someone you know, does it make sense to you, why, why not?
I'll be the first to admit that a super low cal diet made sense to me a few years ago, and I'm very against it now. I'm still trying to figure out what I do believe with cardio, strength training and where calorie deficits should be.
MsMeg I wasn't able to access the study that you posted. I've read a few similar studies, most of them continued on to say after they showed that weight loss can be achieved through diet alone that when they tracked the participants in the study over time those who participated in exercise maintained their results for much longer while many of the diet only participants regained their weight and some after the diet finished. Also the benefits of exercise as we age seem to be exponentially granted.
What are your reservations about the study, what elements do you and don't you agree with and why?
Laura Interesting article, I notice that is is also asking readers to try both interval cardio (although they use intervals to mean switching machines not intensity) and slow & steady pace cardio. Do you have an opinion on one vs. the other?
What is is about cardio training that resonates with you? Is it your past success or are there other factors? What is is about muscle building that does not resonate for you?
I've personally read a lot about increasing metabolism by drinking water here on cc and took it for granted this was the way to do it, but I've not come across this theory anywhere else, why does this tactic resonate for you?
I agree that everyone is different, and I don't mean the questions as a challenge about what does work for you, but as a exercise in learning for all of us. We all get a lot of advice on fitness, and we all process it differently, so it's interesting to find out how we all are thinking about it. I've no doubt that we'll reach multiple conclusions based on where we started, what we learned, and age and level of fitness will have a lot to do with our conclusions as well.
.....
I have to run to work now, will post more later.
http://content.karger.com/ProdukteDB/produkte .asp?Aktion=ShowAbstract&ArtikelNr=111162 &Ausgabe=233778&ProduktNr=223977
Let's try this again...
I while I agree that deficit is the main factor in weight loss, it doesn't always render the same results on your body... Yes you can lose weight, but if you aren't exercising, you could end up skinny fat! I was amazed with the difference I saw in my body after adding exercise to my diet.
But one of the many reasons that people should incorporate exercise (besides health reasons) is that it allows you to have a bigger deficit and/or eat more.
msmeg - I took a look at your link, and I agree also that deficit is the main factor, which has been the consensus with a large portion of material I have been reading, also.... I would have to concur with you that the results are not the same when the deficit is there and exercise is absent.
In fact, the author of the article left something out of the results that would prove this. Her number one parameter: (1) body mass and body fat, did not reveal a conclusion in her results list.
I believe these facts would shed some light to prove exactly what you are saying. While the study showed that exercise proved beneficial in the area of endurance, I am very interested to know about the BMI, and the BFC... I hope we can get an answer.
Additionally, when I have a little time this week, one thing I want to research is the differing effects of cardio (all types) and weight training. IMO, it's pretty clear we must have exercise in our lives for a multitude of reasons, and not that we will all agree (as Sara mentioned) on the type we want/like/need, I just want to know/offer what types offer what results? .... hehehe, I promise to go other places besides Alwyn Cosgrove's website. LMAO!
It is definitely important to get all the facts in front of us, so that informed decisions can be made, however unique to the individual these decisions may be... at least we will be educated!
Have a Healthgain Day!
~Julie
Want to be a leader?Start your own group!
