Hey Sarah and Gen!

Thanks for the advice on my recently departed business associate. I appreciate it so and know that you are right...It is trying to see the forest through the trees...God gave us a mind to absorb not just the small incidents but the big picture as well. So Thanks!

Sarah I am in the financial realm...I am a wholesaler for a 3rd part marketer...which means that large companies hire me and my associates to train bank reps and bank securities reps on their products and represent their company. I only deal with fixed income (bonds, annuities..etc.) products and I do alot of the trouble shooting, set up, service issues and compliance and my partners do alot of the travel and on site traings. I don't own the company but there is the owners then there is me and my partners. We work as a team...I hope that didn't bore you.

HOW IS THE CROSSBOW? I have been so waiting to see what you will say : I hope you and your partner put it together and could still hug at the end of the day I hope your hectic schedule at work makes your days go by fast! Wow...I thought I was busy.

Gen way to go on taking the initiative to exercise out from an element where you are used to from a fitness class and on your own at home! I am glad you remembered you had water boiling before you left though! but in all seriousness... you reached out to start the thread and you owe yourself some big kudos for this one as well! I am glad to hear you signed up for yoga..classes with a great instructor are the best.

I hope both of you had a wonderful weekend!

Quote:
"When I find myself fading, I close my eyes and realize my friends are my energy." -Anon.

Summer

Well, I'm back! DW and I went away for the weekend after all. We went to see her family in NY, which is always stressful, but the good news is that I still ate completely on plan -- no small feat when you're in a NY Italian family's home and you're on such a uber-healthy eating plan as I! They gave every indication that they think that I've become -- and here I quote -- "a real freak," an over-the-top "health nut" for eating as I do, but at the same time they all said I looked great. So there we are. So far, I'm down 35 pounds in 13 weeks, so, while I'm not happy that my loss has slowed to 2 pounds per week, I'm still feeling really good about my progress to date. I have a long journey in front of me, but I have no doubt that I'll reach my goals in time.......while feeling better and better as I'm getting there! And I know full well that the only way that I'm going to get my loss rate up is through some increased movement of this shrinking bottom of mine!

Well, that segues nicely into my exercise report --I think I'd reported through Friday, if memory serves:

Saturday: Nothing much, aside from a few leisurely walks with Louie (in NY)
Sunday: Same as above (in NY)
Monday: Back home; biked 30 minutes, w/15 minutes at 17-19 mph

You guys are so cute, asking about my Cross Bow! Thank you SO much for the support! Ok, first things first: Gen, my Cross Bow is like the BowFlex, if you've heard of that. It's a resistance training machine that uses bows instead of weights, and you can work both your upper and lower body on it, as well as row; it has a lat bar and leg extension, and you can use it to do squats also. Summer, you're so funny -- are you watching us on video or something?? We, um, struggle with projects sometimes. When it comes to this kind of stuff, my beloved is utterly without patience or a personal editor, you see. Think Tony Soprano without the therapy or medication! Soooo, on Monday we got the machine halfway put together with surprisingly little stress, (we also had some friends over earlier during the day, so we couldn't devote enough time to complete the machine in one day.) Then today when I went to work, unbeknownst to me, she worked on it alone some more, and so it's almost done! Life is so good for me, no? She's going to try to finish it tomorrow if she doesn't get too busy with work; otherwise, we'll finish it up together tomorrow night. I'm such a lucky girl. I've got my routine ready: a full body Legs/Push/Pull routine 3 days a week to start out with, at 2 sets of like 12-15 rep's per exercise. (As I progress, I'll continue with 3 days, but I will mix up the routine and maybe break it into body sections.) I'm still going to do cardio 3 days/week, on alternating days. Sounds like a great plan, huh? Now all I need to do is put my words into action!

You two have both been doing just great! Truly, I'm proud of you both! Oh, and Gen, congrat's on the poundage loss too!

Summer, you're work sounds, well, maybe interesting isn't quite the right word but definitely intriguing in a sort of cerebral, theoretical sense, if you know what I mean! Interesting in a "crazy-didn't-know-people-did-that-I-don't-quite-understand-all-of-it-God-bless-all-the-different-kinds-of-people" kind of way!

Gotta turn in now....I really will try to post more frequently, Gen and Summer. I really feel very lucky to have found you two -- I think it's just so great that Gen's simple request yielded -- for me, anyway -- two totally cool women that I already like very much!

Oh yeah, and Summer, please send the very best doggybone wishes to Fenway from Louie!

Hey there my friends

I have had my coffee and my exercise today. So I did some aerobics with resistance bands for 30 minutes ( definitely not my favorite thing) and then walked Fenway at a speed walking pace for 20 minutes. I have to be careful how fast I walk because if he thinks I am starting to jog he gets to excited and runs like the alpha male he is with me dragging behind I am thinking about yoga again tonight because I can actually get there. Last weeks total (Sun-Sat) was 316 minutes of exercise! So I am hoping to fit more tennis (weather permitting) and yoga in (time permitting)

Gen you have to tell me what you think of the yoga class! I hope you have a great instructor because that can make all the difference in the world. Are you prepared to quit smoking? I smoked on and off for 10 years and quit on Halloween. So I know it's hard but you can do it. My DH doesn't like me smoking but he jokes on how goofy I get when I have a nicotine fit

Sarah for the crossbow! I can't wait to hear about more of it! I want to know how quick results are, how good/bad you feel, everything! on stayng on program as you went away - I slid under the bus on Sunday (way too many margaritas) then felt like I got hit by one on Monday. That doesn't happen often... So what is your eating regimen like? Are low carb, no carb, low fat, low calories?

So this is my exercise report so far:
Tennis for 70 minutes, Walked Fenway for 20 minutes on Sunday
Nothing on Monday
Yoga and Walked Fenway Tuesday for a total of 50 minutes
Aerobics with resistance and walk Fenway for a total of 40 minutes today
So 180 minutes so far

So keep up the great work ladies! :
Have a wonderful and hopefully day

Quote:
"To change and to change for the better are two different things."
-German proverb

Summer

hello hello,
i didn't do the yoga today because i couldn't find the room
by the time i could have found it i would have been late and i've never done yoga before and would have felt like a real

so i just did my regular routine on the treadmill and legs and butt etc.

i'm not on any particular diet. i do try to limit my bread and pasta and stuff like that. bread is my weakness. i'm trying to cut the fat but it's alot harder to do than i thought. chocolate that's my weakness too. (hmmm maybe i have alot of them : ) i'm eating real food no processed stuff except some sauces like hoisin. i don't eat more than 4oz of meat at one sitting. alot of stir fries to get my veggies in. i don't really like cooking and it's really hard to cook for one. i used to buy vegetables and they would just go bad. now i eat them! and more fruit too. i never used to eat fruit i didn't like it but now i actually like it, maybe since i'm not eating so much chocolate.
i enter everything i eat in fitday and it helps to track what i'm eatingi'm averaging 1500 calories and i eat till i'm full then at the end of the day i know if i can have a snack or not after dinner, and i usually can. i'm making breakfast smoothies to which i just started adding 2% yogourt wich makes it creamy and yummy. i add soy protein to them but will add a different source of protein soon because i just found out that soy has some nasty side effects.
so thats it in a nutshell

there's a way to let people see your fitday food but i don't know how to do that.

i have a qustion: my legs, mostly the side of my left shin cramp up when i walk too fast or jog. do you know why?

summer do you do your aerobics with videos at home? i don't do them because i don't think my neighbour downstairs would appreciate it.

sarah i think a loss of two pounds a week is great! even if it is frustrating. that's over 100lbs a year! keep up the good work.

take care ladies
gen

IT'S FRIDAY! IT'S FRIDAY!

Hi Gen and Sarah!

I am sure you both are crazy busy because it is that time of year.

Gen I cannot wait to hear how you like yoga (or say it is not for you)! I understand about not wanting to walk in late but at least you stayed and exercised!

Sarah is the crossbow ready? : How is Louie and his paw?

Exercise has been good - so far 325 minutes logged for this week (if you count walking Fenway too). There is so much information about nutrition and exercise that I think my brain is a little scrambled Does exercise have to be at acertain intensity for weight loss or is any good? 3 meals or 5 smaller ones? dairy or soy? I think I am just on information overload.
I got Dr. Phils book... a little embarassed but but what can you do? What ever helps. I just refuse to go back to weight watchers EVER.

Ladies - enjoy your Friday!

Quote:
"Aerodynamically, the bumble bee shouldn't be able to fly, but the bumble bee doesn't know it so it goes on flying anyway." -Mary Kay Ash

Summer

Hello, Gen and Summer!

First up, my exercise since Monday:
Tuesday: Nothing.
Wednesday: Walked on treadmill for 30 minutes
Thursday: Nothing....

NOT making excuses because I should have made time in the morning, but it didn't happen in the evening as it usually does because I've been getting home late from work every day this week, then we had stuff going on Thursday night, so I need to get back in the SADDLE.

Here's the plan for tonight and this weekend:
Friday: Bike for 40 minutes, with at least 20 minutes at 17-19 mph
Saturday: Bike for 30 minutes
Sunday: Work out on the Crossbow for 40 minutes; do light cardio for a total of 40 minutes; 30 first thing in the morning, and 10 after the Crossbow workout.

Yes, that's right.........we've got the Crossbow assembled!!! Lorraine did almost all of it, bless her heart, even though she was sick! Yesterday we got the lat bar attachment (an add-on that I ordered and which arrived separately once we put that on, the machine will be complete! Now all I need to do is figure out how to work out on it! I've joined a message board specifically geared towards Crossbow users to get some pointers, and I still have to watch the video that came with it. I think I'm going to start out with a "Break-in Routine" from the guys who wrote "The Body Sculpting Bible for Women," pending confirmation from some experts that this is the best routine for me to start out with for fat loss. I'll be doing this routine 3 days/week, with an additional 3 days of cardio. Yowza, I better get back in that saddle quick or my body will just go into shock!

On the topic of nutrition, and what eating plan I follow: I haven't been following any commercial program, just eating really carefully with an eye to overall good health. I use a wonderful software program called Diet Power, and I have found it to be enormously helpful; I track my food and water daily, and have my short term goals logged there, so I can see graphs comparing my goal weight vs. actual. It allows me to track not just my calories, but fiber, water, and all my micro- and macronutrients as well. Overall, here's the synopsis of my eating plan: I average 1500-1600 calories/day (my quarterly average since Mar 1 is 1534,) with a macro breakdown of about 35p/40c/25f. (Protein/Carb/Fat.) My saturated fat is super low, just what I pick up from lean meats, skim milk, and the token reduced fat feta....the rest is olive oil. I eat 5-6 meals/day, and I almost never have carbs without protein. I limit my carbs to low glycemic carbs, and a primary source is the All Bran Extra Fiber I have every morning. At lunch I'll often have some brown rice or basmati rice or bulgur or beans, but I try to keep my carbs at dinner to those coming from vegetables and/or salad. I try to consume at least 40 grams of fiber a day, but my range is 35-60. I make sure to have nonfat yogurt (with live cultures, of course) at least 3 times/week, and I eat soybeans at least 3 times a week -- I make them spicy! I drink 2-3 high quality whey protein drinks/day (EAS Precision Protein.) I also restrict my sugar intake; I add no sugar to anything, and if I have a sweet it's more often than not a Healthy Choice Ice Cream Sandwich, which isn't so bad. I have a treat meal once in a while (sometime every week or two) and so when I'm looking at my nutritional totals, I'm looking for a weekly average (among other things, Diet Power gives me a running 7-day total) -- so if I'm a little naughty during one meal, I'm still good for the week, it's a wash, and I don't stress.

I'm considering reducing my carbs slightly, to reflect more of a 40p/35c/25f total, still sticking to low gly carbs, and still consuming at least 2 servings of fruit per day...it will probably mean cutting out the occasional 1/2 cup of brown rice or half whole wheat sandwich at lunch.....or, dare I say it, cutting out the almost nightly Smart Balance Ice Cream Cookie that I love so dearly. (I could just have low carb low fat yogurt and maybe some berries, or maybe a protein smoothie with berries.....YUM, and guilt-free too! That way I'd still be giving my body the protein it needs to build muscle overnight...without as many carbs!)

I do need to adjust my overall approach, though, because my loss really has plateaued. I anticipate a jump from the increase in exercise that the weight training will provide; however, I'm thinking maybe I need to look at the nutritional component also. What do you guys think?

Louie's great, by the way, his paw is terrific, like nothing happened! (We went back to the vet for the follow up and now Louie's got a clean bill of health, the little rascal!)

I'm sorry I've shown such lame participation -- it's just the busiest time of the year for me at work -- once it calms down you guys will be begging me to shut up and get another hobby! I promise I will step up to the plate in terms of responding more regularly and also reporting exercise COMPLETED!

Have a great Friday, and weekend!

Hello, Summer and Gen! Hope you guys are having a great weekend! Here's my update:

Friday: Biked for 20 minutes, with 8 at intense speed
Saturday: Biked for 40 minutes, with 25 at intense speed, and played with the Cross Bow lifting weights for 20 minutes

The Cross Bow's so much FUN! I'm so excited! Here's my modified goal for Sunday:

• 20 minutes moderate cardio -- nothing intense.
• Full body weights workout lifting as heavy as I safely can, preceded and followed by 10 minutes of light cardio - once I get the hang of it, the weights portion should take me about 45 minutes, but I suspect my first few times will take me an hour, till I get the hang of the machine. But I'm so excited!

I'll post next week's plan tomorrow.

Hello, again! Hey, where is everybody??

Here's my report for Sunday:

* Biked first thing in the morning for 20 minutes (moderate pace.)
* Worked out on the Cross Bow and using free weights for 40 minutes. This is a full-body workout, and I lifted as heavily as I could, working the back, shoulders, chest, biceps, triceps, thighs, hamstrings, and calves.
* Biked for 15 minutes (moderate pace) for weights cool-down.

Today I'm sore all over -- it feels great!! Who knew that I'd enjoy squats and stiff-legged deadlifts so much?? Crazy.

Here's the plan (I think) for this week -- it might have to be changed if we get company on Wednesday -- so I'll update it if there's a change:

Monday: 40 minutes HIIT cardio after work.
Tuesday: Off
Wednesday: Weights - 40 minutes (another full-body workout).
Thursday: 40 minutes HIIT cardio after work; abs (crunches and leglifts).
Friday: Weights - 40 minutes (another full-body workout).
Saturday: 40 minutes HIIT cardio (first thing in the morning); abs (crunches and leglifts).
Sunday: 20 minutes moderate cardio first thing in the morning, then weights - full-body workout - later in the day, followed by 20 minutes moderate cardio for cool down.

So how are you guys doing?

Oi...I am already wishing for Friday - what does that tell you?

One other business partner resigned today but with respect and how it should be done...Her mother is dying and she lost her father earlier this year and she cannot travel anymore...so understandable. Just :sad: sad to her leave.

Sarah way to go on the exercise my friend ! Excellent work. Did I hear you say you were enjoying squats I can honestly say I have never heard anyone say that ...but if it makes you look forward to exercising thumbs up! is the Crossbow message board of any help? How do you keep track of your eating plan? That sounds so complicated but maybe because that is where my biggest weakness is. At the rate you are going you are going to be a buff woman in no time What does Lorraine (your partner's name right?) think? Does she exercise with you?

Gen where are you? tried yoga yet? how is the smoking cessation going? If your shins are cramping up it could be 1 of 3 things - start of shin splints which means you need to go easy), dehydration or not stretching enough before or after workouts. I hope all is well with you! Tu parles francais? I noticed you lived in Quebec..just curious!

I ate like the past couple of days. Of course, as I am saying this the Ice Cream truck is rolling ever so slowly bye A bout of depression is creeping up and I am trying like a madman to head it off at the pass but I think its just a step ahead sometimes.

but good news is I did 325 minutes of exercise last week Sun-Sat. This Sunday I did 75 minutes of tennis and it was windy so I was chasing the ball (one of the few times that you will see run on purpose - I get to hit something! ), I walked Fenway for 30 minutes today and did Pilates for 20. Tomorrow is more Tennis! Wednesday looks like a Yoga/Pilates/walk the dog day and Thursday may be a scratch except dog walking because I have to give a presentation on strategic planning to a local board ...Oi, I want Friday. Saturday I have to give the same talk again to a different group

Any ideas on how to whittle the waist? get rid of love handles? problem area of choice for me. Any tips would be good. My head is spinning on the many different offerings of crunches and breathing techniques that I am so tired I just want something that works. I don't mind working out what I mind is wasting my time. My weight is not moving either. My DH is so encouraging so I keep trying...that is all you can do, no?

Have a great Tueday all!

Quote:
"It's not failure, but low aim is crime." -Lowell

be well.

Summer

Oh, Summer, I'm sorry to hear your news....do you have any kind of backfill for these partners? How do you normally handle that? (So much of my time is spent recruiting, I can't help but ask these questions!)

Thanks for the cheerleading on the exercise! You're such a pal! The food I track by logging it daily in a wonderful software program I use called Diet Power. It really is sooooo helpful; it's like the next generation, the next level, of FitDay. It does all the good stuff that FitDay does, but at least as well if not better, and then it does tons of stuff that FitDay does not. It's awesome. It takes me about 8 minutes a day to log all my food, after I have kept track of my food and water intake during the day. At first I had to weigh/measure, but after like a week or two, I got good at eyeballing it. Once I got organized and established a regular routine, the whole thing just went on autopilot. I work in an office environment, so I just use the same (Excel) page over and over to log my food and water throughout the day, and then I just print it out and take it home. Virtually no thought required. Sometimes I use it on teh weekends before going out to dinner, to see how much I can get away with....now isn't THAT helpful?!

As for the squats....it's freaking crazy that I like 'em! I think it's gotta be because I feel so strong there. My thighs are very strong, unlike my shoulders apparently...which are screaming bloody murder! Actually, every single muscle I worked is hurting, so I guess I did it right!

You're really sweet to ask about Lorraine, and very thoughtful to remember her name, too! Well, she's very proud of me, and sort of in awe of my focus. She does not work out at all. Nor will she quit smoking, or modify her bad eating habits significantly, unless literally all she can eat is what I put in front of her -- and I won't give her anything unhealthy. On the token burger night, for example, I'll have purchased the 93% lean beef, and there we are at the dinner table (we eat together by candlelight every night), I with my reduced fat mayo, and she with her full fat variety. Crazy.

Summer, I didn't know that you were battling with depression. I'm so sorry to hear that, and wish I could give you a big hug. I wish you didn't have to deal with that. Sounds like you're staying on track in terms of exercise, so good for you! I've got the food thing pretty much locked down, thanks to having successfully achieved a 180 on my overall view of food -- much more often than not, that is. I still treat myself once in a while, but the key word there is treat, and the unspoken one is "planned." It's the exercise piece that has eluded me. It's been like pulling teeth, trying to convince myself to go down TO MY OWN BASEMENT and jump on my exercise bike or treadmill. Some people would kill to have access to those any time they'd like, but I successfully ignored them most of the time. But NO MORE. No sireebob. I established healthy eating as a habit....a desired way to live, and I won't alter that. I know I can do it with exercise, too. It will just require consistent focus, just like with the food......and you can do it, too, Summer, I know it!! I'm so glad that you've got a loving, supportive husband -- you seem like a truly lovely person, and you deserve it. Use that support to psyche yourself up, ask him for help, whatever it takes. The key is that you set yourself up to consistently achieve your goals (baby ones at first) and then you'll progress from there, building on those newly established positive habits. You're a trooper, Summer......YOU CAN DO IT!!!

I swear, I write the longest posts ever. Sorry!

Summer, I send you big hugs and LOTSA positive energy!!

Great job staying busy -- sounds like you're really mixing it up! Don't worry about this weekend, and that chocolate.......well, perhaps it was simply a matter of your soul needing it!

Summer I agree with Gen about the love handle/fat equation -- I can't believe I forgot to talk about that in my long post! Yup, lose the fat while doing some abs exercises, then when the fat's gone, you've got muscle bared beneath! But as for spot-losing, not gonna happen, alas.

As for cardio, I'm going to disagree with Gen -- sorry Gen! -- I am a strong proponent of High Intensity Interval Training rather than the slower, more moderate approach. It's what's been recommended consistently by just about every professional weight lifter or body builder, as well as so many folks who've successfully lost weight. While the argument for the slower, longer cardio is that it puts you in the fat burning range, the HIIT method provides some of that and a LOT more calories burned, which is ultimately what's going to cause you to lose more fat. For busier folks, it's a godsend, and still positively impacts your metabolism when as long as at least 20 minutes of it are done at the heart rate Gen described OR ABOVE. Lots of information on it on the web if you google it, or I'd be happy to go grab some info and bring it back if that would help. An added benefit and appeal to many is that there is less risk of losing hard-earned muscle when you get the bang you're looking for without the hours spent in the slower cardio. But I guess it's really whatever works for you! (I'd just rather get it in less time and reduce my risk of losing valuable muscle tissue!)

Gen, thanks for the support on my plateau -- you guys are so nice! I've been stuck at 2 pounds per week for the last month.......and I know that would be acceptable to a lot of folks, but I'm still heavy enough that I could be losing more each week for a bit longer without compromising muscle tissue. I'd love to continue to take advantage of this window of opportunity while I can....before 2 pounds is as aggressively/quickly as I should l should lose. I know that it must have been that I wasn't exercising enough. So now that's over. 'Nuff said.

Talk to you guys soon!