Evening Everyone.
What a terrible day in our Nations history, I'm sure we are all feeling some sort of despair during all of this. I pray for those who have been hurt and for those who had family members killed in these incidents, and most of all, I pray that none of you know anyone who has been effected by this directly. The image of that plane going into the second tower, and people jumping from the building will haunt us all for a long time. When something of this magnitude happens, it makes you stop and think what's
REALLY important to us! Appreciate each and every day you have, no one knows when their time will be up. This effects ALL of us, no matter where we live in this world!
I have a cousin who works for the Dept. of the Interior in DC, so I was worried about him, but found out he was fine from his sister, and he also E-mailed me as well. He said it's awful there, took him 2 hours to go home (rather than about 15 minutes). I forgot that my cousin Bennett was in his first year (how about first month) at NYU, but I hear they were bunkered down in their dorms and all was fine there. Aunt and Uncle were suppose to fly to Paris tomorrow, of course, they cancelled the trip.
Eli said had one store in each WTC building, and they pray none of the workers were hurt. Of course, you think that they were probably on the first floor. Still, was surprised that they closed here. But, many places closed, so they weren't the only ones.
I did a long post this morning and thought at the time it wasn't appropriate to post, but I will do so now, and just add to it with replies to those who posted since I wrote it and edit it a bit. We can't let this tragedy disrupt our entire lives, so we need to get back to some type of normalcy.
Got in my walk, no jogs, didn't feel like going, but comprimised and just did a steady walk and got in my 4.5 miles
Scale is still stuck on the upswing for me, hoping since TOM ended now that I will see a downward trend. Surely doesn't help that I ate all that cake yesterday-I don't care even if it's SB LEGAL, too much of anything isn't good. I've come to realize that if I bake something, I can't do so until I've figured out the nutritional information first. I think that's why I've been able to easily stay away from already made items, I know that it's too high in something or other, vs. what I make and not knowing, so somewhere inside me must think it's a
green light for eating it all! I will say though, when Eli came home he tried a piece of the cake, then asked for seconds!!!! It's a keeper for sure, in the taste dept AND in the ease of making it as well!
Today is
TUESDAY TIPS and the following could fall under this or FRIDAY FACTS, but since
tomorrow is WEIGH IN WEDNESDAY I thought I'd get it posted today instead. I think I had posted this possibly long ago, whether I did or not, it's bears repeating
WHY THE SCALES LIE
We’ve been told over an over again that daily weighing is unnecessary, yet many of us can’t resist peeking at that number every morning. If you just can’t bring yourself to toss the scale in the trash, you should definitely familiarize yourself with the factors that influence it’s readings. From water retention to glycogen storage and changes in lean body mass, daily weight fluctuations are normal. They are not indicators of your success or failure. Once you understand how these mechanisms work, you can free yourself from the daily battle with the bathroom scale.
Water makes up about 60% of total body mass. Normal fluctuations in the body’s water content can send scale-watchers into a tailspin if they don’t understand what’s happening. Two factors influencing water retention are water consumption and salt intake. Strange as it sounds, the less water you drink, the more of it your body retains. If you are even slightly dehydrated your body will hang onto it’s water supplies with a vengeance, possibly causing the number on the scale to inch upward. The solution is to drink plenty of water.
Excess salt (sodium) can also play a big role in water retention. A single teaspoon of salt contains over 2,000 mg of sodium. Generally, we should only eat between 1,000 and 3,000 mg of sodium a day, so it’s easy to go overboard. Sodium is a sneaky substance. You would expect it to be most highly concentrated in salty chips, nuts, and crackers. However, a food doesn’t have to taste salty to be loaded with sodium. A half cup of instant pudding actually contains nearly four times as much sodium as an ounce of salted nuts, 460 mg in the pudding versus 123 mg in the nuts. The more highly processed a food is, the more likely it is to have a high sodium content. That’s why, when it comes to eating, it’s wise to stick mainly to the basics: fruits, vegetables, lean meat, beans, and whole grains. Be sure to read the labels on canned foods, boxed mixes, and frozen dinners.
Women may also retain several pounds of water prior to menstruation. This is very common and the weight will likely disappear as quickly as it arrives. Pre-menstrual water-weight gain can be minimized by drinking plenty of water, maintaining an exercise program, and keeping high-sodium processed foods to a minimum.
Another factor that can influence the scale is glycogen. Think of glycogen as a fuel tank full of stored carbohydrate. Some glycogen is stored in the liver and some is stored the muscles themselves. This energy reserve weighs more than a pound and it’s packaged with 3-4 pounds of water when it’s stored. Your glycogen supply will shrink during the day if you fail to take in enough carbohydrates. As the glycogen supply shrinks you will experience a small imperceptible increase in appetite and your body will restore this fuel reserve along with it’s associated water. It’s normal to experience glycogen and water weight shifts of up to 2 pounds per day even with no changes in your calorie intake or activity level. These fluctuations have nothing to do with fat loss, although they can make for some unnecessarily dramatic weigh-ins if you’re prone to obsessing over the number on the scale.
Otherwise rational people also tend to forget about the actual weight of the food they eat. For this reason, it’s wise to weigh yourself first thing in the morning before you’ve had anything to eat or drink. Swallowing a bunch of food before you step on the scale is no different than putting a bunch of rocks in your pocket. The 5 pounds that you gain right after a huge dinner is not fat. It’s the actual weight of everything you’ve had to eat and drink. The added weight of the meal will be gone several hours later when you’ve finished digesting it.
Exercise physiologists tell us that in order to store one pound of fat, you need to eat 3,500 calories more than your body is able to burn. In other words, to actually store the above dinner as 5 pounds of fat, it would have to contain a whopping 17,500 calories. This is not likely, in fact it’s not humanly possible. So when the scale goes up 3 or 4 pounds overnight, rest easy, it’s likely to be water, glycogen, and the weight of your dinner. Keep in mind that the 3,500 calorie rule works in reverse also. In order to lose one pound of fat you need to burn 3,500 calories more than you take in. Generally, it’s only possible to lose 1-2 pounds of fat per week. When you follow a very low calorie diet that causes your weight to drop 10 pounds in 7 days, it’s physically impossible for all of that to be fat. What you’re really losing is water, glycogen, and muscle.
This brings us to the scale’s sneakiest attribute. It doesn’t just weigh fat. It weighs muscle, bone, water, internal organs and all. When you lose "weight," that doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ve lost fat. In fact, the scale has no way of telling you what you’ve lost (or gained). Losing muscle is nothing to celebrate. Muscle is a metabolically active tissue. The more muscle you have the more calories your body burns, even when you’re just sitting around. That’s one reason why a fit, active person is able to eat considerably more food than the dieter who is unwittingly destroying muscle tissue.
Robin Landis, author of "Body Fueling," compares fat and muscles to feathers and gold. One pound of fat is like a big fluffy, lumpy bunch of feathers, and one pound of muscle is small and valuable like a piece of gold. Obviously, you want to lose the dumpy, bulky feathers and keep the sleek beautiful gold. The problem with the scale is that it doesn’t differentiate between the two. It can’t tell you how much of your total body weight is lean tissue and how much is fat. There are several other measuring techniques that can accomplish this, although they vary in convenience, accuracy, and cost. Skin-fold calipers pinch and measure fat folds at various locations on the body, hydrostatic (or underwater) weighing involves exhaling all of the air from your lungs before being lowered into a tank of water, and bioelectrical impedance measures the degree to which your body fat impedes a mild electrical current.
If the thought of being pinched, dunked, or gently zapped just doesn’t appeal to you, don’t worry. The best measurement tool of all turns out to be your very own eyes. How do you look? How do you feel? How do your clothes fit? Are your rings looser? Do your muscles feel firmer? These are the true measurements of success. If you are exercising and eating right, don’t be discouraged by a small gain on the scale. Fluctuations are perfectly normal. Expect them to happen and take them in stride. It’s a matter of mind over scale.
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FILLISE, yep, 3months at goal and almost 1 1/2 years on SB! I would of never thought the time would fly by like it has! Hopefully, the body will stop resisting again and the scale will go down, a little lower than before-would be nice. Good luck with keeping the scale away from you, you have more self-control than I do! Good going at the gym WONDERWOMAN!!!!!
Oh yes, I can relate with having a turkey neck! Mine has folds, it's gross and I look forward to having it tightened sometime this year-I find myself pulling the skin back to see how I'd look with it taught, at almost 40, it makes me look older, I think. Truthfully, I need a whole body make-over,
but I have to start somewhere!
BEE, I'd have to say the best thing is to totally stay away from all that junk food as well, only spells trouble, esp. when you know it's a trigger food, even if it's SB LEGAL! Thanks for your prayers for us here in the US.
BOB, Hope you made it okay to work. Eli's been working more hours than I care to count lately, lots of things going on with SB, and they will be opening a store closer to our home in a few months and he's the one they picked to open it, meaning to hire and oversee things-he may apply for to be the Mgr of the store, it's right across the street from the community college and about 3-4 miles from the house-very convenient. Did you buy anything from the anniversary-he said things were selling like hotcakes-they have a anniversary blend coffee out as well, smells great-very limited supply though.
MEL, glad to have you back safe and sound. Sounds like you were really busy and through it all, stayed OP as best you could-kudos to you! Honey, I'm with you on the bathroom deal-I wouldn't of done it either, nor would I of done it just to impress another Mother-Mother of the Year I am not! Good luck to you on the resume, seems you and SOL are looking for a job working with computers.
JRED, glad to hear you had a good bday-dinner sounded yummy and interesting! Congrats on overcoming the taste test syndrome, it's amazing when you think about all the little tastes we take how they can add up, and quickly at that!
SPARKLE, thanks for e-mailing the 3FC'S, I'm sure they appreciate all the support and knowing that we are all behind them through thick and thin. Yep, I'm honest, sometimes a little too much, but that's me!
I haven't read Bridgette Jones, but do have the book-wanted to see the movie. Glad to hear your BF is okay.
RALYNNE-
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! I hope you were able to enjoy the day somewhat, despite the happenings that went on today. Good luck tomorrow on WIW!
ROSALIE, thanks for your thoughts as well-I'm sure you're feeling some effects in Canada by taking in so many Americans today-guess that wasn't a stop they were planning on taking. I'm sure Eli's sister must be busy with all this, she works for American in Toronto, remember?
TV, not sure what those numbers mean, but sounds good to me!!!!
MELIRIS, PLEASE let us know what's going on with your parents!!! Have you heard from them as of yet??
Well gals, I'm gonna go, made some awful seafood for dinner-Eli's not home, so I (tried) to cook-YUCK!
I wish us all good luck for
WEIGH IN WEDNESDAY TOMORROW!!!!
Nite!
Debbie
194/126.5/129
SB since 3/22/00
Reached goal 6/10/01
I remember when they built the WTC...
