Wow - so many posts in one day!

First, since Meredith asked to know something about us and there are other new people on the thread, here's my summary.

I'm married and I have an 11 year old daughter. They are both slim and trim. Actually, my DH has gained about 40 pounds since we married 20 years ago and now instead of skinny he's just a healthy weight. He likes to eat healthy and exercise though so he's a big help. I work full-time and my daughter has some special needs so she keeps me busy.

My favorite exercises are walking (as long as it's not super cold or hot & sticky), swimming and water aerobics (all year round), and yoga. I hate working out with weights but I've started alternating arms one day and legs the next because I know building muscle will help my metabolism. Also, I recently read that after age 40 (I'm 41) you lose some significant % of muscle mass as you age unless you do some exercise with weights. My mom is 71 and in better shape than me with her muscles so she's my role model. I belong to the YMCA and love the exercise bike and treadmill but I usually don't get there in the summer because we have our own pool. I used to do step aerobics and love them but don't do them much now because my knees bother me. I think when I get some of this weight off I can get back to them. I also used to go to Weight Watchers but now I am just following the program on my own (the Winning Points program).

Now hopefully I have been posting my weight right (what I was, what I am now, and where I want to be): 206/199/145.

I'll put my greetings and update in another post - this is really long.

Congratulations Stamper on crossing the 00 barrier - that is a great achievement!

I rode my bike for 1:05 hours today and am headed to the gym to lift weights with my DH. I am going to do lots of abs and some knee exercises. I am planning on riding my bike to school (I am teaching summer school for 2 more weeks) every day until I finish working. I love riding my bike because it is such a beautiful ride it doesn't seem like exercise.

I have attatched a picture of the long bridge. It makes up 2 miles of the 10 mile bike ride to town everyday. The angle is a little weird on this pic - it makes the mountains seem a lot smaller than they really are. If you look close at the mountains in the background you can see in runs up at Schweitzer Mt Ski Resort where I work in the winter.

Meredith, I agree with you about Denise Austin. I used to tape her from ESPN and exercise with that. I like her routines but she is too perky. I do like Kathy Smith. I have her Step Aerobic Tape and I used to like Bodies In Motion. I taped that too but they have "official" tapes in the stores and video stores.

Copperblu, you really do some hefty workouts! I guess you can tell from the exercises I prefer that I don't like to sweat! Actually, when I used to get to the Y and do the treadmill, I sweated buckets and it did feel great when I was done, but it seemed like only the MEN sweated. The women always looked great, even though they were running on the treadmill! Are you doing your weights on Nautilus? I am just doing mine at home with 5 pound weights for my arms and adjustable leg weights. I think I am going to have to get some 10 pound weights because some of the exercises are too easy. By the way, after you described that movie I remember seeing the previews. There's so many I want to see I can't keep track of them all.

Morrigan: An hour bike ride is still a good amount of exercise. It's nice to get out in the fresh air too!

Marvin: Welcome back! Sounds like you had a nice trip. It's great to be able to eat those hearty breakfasts because you know you will hike it off! Sorry things didn't work out this month - it can take a while sometimes. My face has been breaking out too this week. I think it's the humid weather we've had recently.

Saggy: Welcome! What weight loss program are you following? It sounds like you've had a a good loss so far. Sometimes you lose a lot the first week and then it slows down to a more steady 1 or 2 pounds after that. You are really doing a lot of walking! Do you do it all on your treadmill or do you do some outdoors?

My update: I woke up at 5:20 am and should have gone downstairs and exercises, but I opted to sleep longer. I really love to sleep - I used to need so little. Anyway, when I got home I started supper and then I did my workout for my arms with weights. Then I went out and did 45 minutes in the pool and by then supper was ready. My weight is at a plateau right now, but I know part of it is because I didn't keep track of what I ate a few times. I measured myself last night (aagh, what a moment of reckoning!) so I can start keeping track to see if I am losing inches. That's it. Have a good Wednesday!

Morrigan: Thanks for the congrats. I did really feel great when I went below 200 but I've been here for a few weeks (actually hovering up a pound and back down). I feel certain I am going to lose this more this week though! Thanks for sharing that beautiful picture with us. Hope you have a good workout with your DH!

Stamper, thanks for the welcome. I am loosely following the Weight Watchers program. I don't go to classes, but I have all the materials. I usually walk outside and on the treadmill. Sometimes I will go to the park and walk 3 miles in the morning and then do 3 miles in the evening on the treadmill. I'm a teacher so it's nice to have the luxery of being off all summer and exercising at different times during the day. My major problem right now is feeling like I need to do a ton of exercise each day because when I weigh myself on Monday mornings I want a 5 pound loss each week. Obviously this is not realistic. Does anyone else feel that way? I have a friend who is struggling with the same thing. We both feel like we need to get in 2 hours of exercise each day to lose weight. Needless to say, last week when I walked 30 miles I thought I would have a huge loss but only lost .8 pounds.. Iwas very disappointed with myself and don't like feeling that way. Does anyone else feel this way?

saggy

Good morning!

Meredith ~ This is me: I'm a 25 yo municipal gov't worker in Southern Alberta, Canada. My dh is 28 and we got married just over two years ago. He's an agricultural mechanic, and we are currently trying to conceive our first (human) baby. We are living on the family farm, and planning to build a house there early next year. Right now, we're the proud parents of about 13 cats, 1 dog, two birds, a bunch of fish, and 8 turkeys.... As you can tell, I'm a huge animal lover and so is dh. I joined the local Curves for Women gyn when it opened here in late November of last year. As you can see by my signature, I've had some success with it, but also aggravated my knees in the process. All is well now as long as I wear my braces, and make slight modifications to my workouts. I also just started a beginner's yoga class, and I adore it! I have some tapes at home of various types of exercise, but I'm terrible at actually doing them! (Isn't almost everybody?) :lol: I also like to swim and walk and ride my bike.

Whew! ;) And I thought I was boring! :) Anyway, Saggy... I guess I feel that way sometimes too. Mostly, I'm a very positive person, and I see that for me, any movement is an improvement. I tend to be a more stationary person, as in reading, watching tv, crafts, etc... and I've never enjoyed sports. Which, again, is why I love Curves. It's just part of my routine, whether I like it or not! :lol:

Sounds like you guys are keepin it up! Great picture, Morrigan! You live in very beautiful country! And that bike ride is a great way to get to work... I wish I oculd, but it takes 25 minutes to drive to work! ;) No way am I gonna ride!

Stamper, keep up that positive attitude. It'll get you much farther than any exercise ever will... not that I'm telling you to stop exercising! :p Hee, hee... you know what I mean! :D

Copperblu, wtg girl! You are an exercising machine! Sorry to hear about your breakout, though. I hate it when my face does this, which it hasn't done this bad since before I started the bcp over 4 years ago! :o I think it's a combination of the greasy foods on the weekend, the suntan lotion, the heat making me sweat, and the fact that I'm expecting Aunt Flo! What a mess I am! Bloated, *****y, pimply.... bleh! :devil:

As for me.... really sweaty workout at Curves last night, but it felt really good to be back! It's supposed to be killer hot again today, but I'll drag myself there anyway... it seems to help with my pms feelings. I'm having a hard time eating enough right now with this heat... I'm sure trying though!

Enough chatter for now! :wave:

Wow -- lots of posts! :D

Stamper: Congrats on the loss! And as they say about birthdays..."and many mooooore!" ;) I'm sure you'll be out of your plateau soon -- you are definitely on the right track to send some little friends along after those missing pounds! Glad to hear you got your workout in -- and it's great that you're getting in your weight workouts even thought you hate them! You're right that building muscle is VITAL in sustaining long term weightloss + fitness, not to mention healthy bones!
About my weight workouts -- I've been doing them on the gym Nautilus machines since I stopped having time (or the right temperature!) to workout at home. Generally you can lift a little more than you usually could when using a Nautilus, because of the machine's support of the right track of movement + the smooth motion. I like the machines a lot, but I don't want to abandon the free weights for good -- they're very handy, and force you to engage more "supporting muscles" in each motion that you use with the machine.
I actually like weight workouts the best, because you get the least sweaty. ;) I like the easy-to-track progress as well, and the challenge of upping the weights. I'm switching machines constantly, depending on what's open, so I don't really get a chance to get bored.

Morrigan: That picture of the bridge you ride on is GORGEOUS! WOW! It is a beautiful ride -- I can see why you don't notice that it's exercise! Sounds like you've been having a wonderful week -- kudos!

Meredith: I hate Denise Austin too! She is so darn PERKY! You might enjoy tapes by Karen Voight -- some people don't like her serious demeanor, but I've found that she's one of the few instructors I can stand. She's very no nonsense, great form + cueing, and doesn't do that whole "cheerleading" thing. I think you might really enjoy her style.
Like you, I have a HUGE library of tapes -- I was a big video exerciser until DH decided that we should join a gym. I have a lot of tapes by The Firm, who you might also enjoy. In general, the instructors are not bubbly, but friendly + serious, and the aerobic + weights combo workouts are WICKED. The Basics tapes are a really good introduction, as I think everything else is a little too deadly to start out with.

Saggy: I do know what you're talking about -- especially as I've been on a plateau for MONTHS!! I try not to tie my weight into what I'm doing that specific week, as loss can come in bits + spurts, and seems to follow indecipherable rules. Also, it fluctuates a LOT, and sometimes I forget that I didn't get enough water or something and will get myself all in a state because I'm up 3 pounds...which will turn out to be all because I had too much salt the day before. And I'm glad you see that anticipating a 5 pound loss every week is completely unrealistic -- not to mention unhealthy!! Sometimes your body will show off a month of activity by slowly + steadily losing, and sometimes a sudden drop of several pounds instead -- but to consistently lose more than 2 pounds a week is not healthy, and not a realistic goal. Losing weight at a rate of 2 pounds or less per week is the healthiest + most successful path to long term weight loss and gives your body time to adjust to its new "set point" and metabolism.
At any rate, all that aside, to have a healthy relationship with our weight, we have to stop focusing so much on the number, and focus more on what we are doing for our bodies. We are getting fitter + stronger + healthier each day. Every day that we exercise, we are doing something good for ourselves. We deserve to be healthy, and we deserve to feel good, and we are treating ourselves well. Try to think about how you feel after you exercise, and how much better you feel overall when you're treating your body right, rather than how the scale reflects your actions. It's hard, I know, and I fight this same battle myself -- but we can't keep looking at our bodies as if they are the enemy. And the biggest rabblerouser we have in that fight is the scale. You're not going to let a piece of cake push you around, why let the scale? The scale doesn't know muscle from fat, the scale doesn't understand cardiovascular fitness, the scale doesn't comprehend better sleep, more flexibility, mobility, or strength. The scale doesn't know anything -- only you do. And only you can determine how you feel.

/end rambling soapboxing ;)

Damn, Marvin! Cross posting AGAIN! ;)

Congrats on the workout! Way to jump right back in! :) I'm heading into PMS territory too, and am already feeling the fatigue. Not to mention the breakouts! :mad: Feh!

(thanks for the encouragement :) -- i still remember everyone chipping in to get my butt out of a slump a few weeks back...thanks guys! :D)

Oh, and I almost forgot my update!

Last night, I decided to go to bed early, and completely forgot that I was going to do some crunches! :rolleyes: Dummy! Got to do them tonight then.

Today: Draaaaged my sorry butt out of bed to the gym, where I yawned (!) throughout my whole workout!! I thought I wasn't going to make it past 10 minutes! But I cajoled myself into "just 15", and then by 15 it was "okay, just 20 and then you can stop", and then by 20 the workout's almost over, so I stuck with it! 30 minutes on the elliptical crosstrainer (intervals) -- 330 cals, 2.95 miles, which I'm pretty pleased with considering how dead tired I was + how NOT into my workout.

Sticking to my food goals very well, though I could use a bit more fiber. Going back to journalling ifor this bit is helping a lot, and I can see how everything's adding up. I was getting at least 200-300 more cals per day than I get when I journal. So I'll keep it up for the next few weeks until it drives me crazy again. ;)

And tomorrow's Weights Day!

Here's my bio:
I'm a newlywed. My hubby and I got hitched in January after dating for a few years. I turn 21 next month and DH is 25. We both work for a non-profit counseling center. I do outreach and development (in case there are any philanthropists out there :) ) and DH is the coordinator for a visitation and exchange center program.

I follow a basic food pyramid eating plan and my mother is a Weight Watcher so I incorporate more fiber and such in to my diet like she does. She has lost 80 pounds so far, she is my role models in many ways. I quit smoking 18 days ago so right now I am trying not to gain rather than worrying about losing. I have been at the same weight for close to a year. I have lost inches though. I don't weigh myself very often. I don't even own a scale. Mostly because I don't look my weight. I was in ballet for 13 years and I do a lot of strength training, so I know I have more muscle mass than most people my size. I also just got off Depo-Provera (the shot) and started Ortho Tri-cycline birth control pills, so I'm trying to make sure my weight doesn't go wonky.

Most people don't think I have any weight/inches to lose...but those people don't see me naked! :p My hubby is very supportive but thinks that I have a tendency to obsess about exercise. I drink my diet soda when I'm with the "drinking buddies" and schedule work outs in my dayplanner. I feel they are just as important as meetings. When I'm in the middle of a special event or writing a grant, I slip out to go to the gym so I can keep my sanity.

Now that you know my life story...here's my update!

Last night I did 1 superset (extra weight) of arms. I did my ab workout and some good stretching. I also did 10 minutes on my health rider. All in all about 45 minutes. I also made sure that I drank a full 3 liters of water. Since quitting smoking, my workouts last longer and it's easier to get the water in (maybe that oral fixation business). Tonight I hope to take a nice long walk. It's only supposed to get to 80 degrees today. Perfect walking weather. Talk to you later!

I rode my bike to town again today (35 minutes) and I am riding over to Physical Therepy after school for another workout there on my knees.

Hi everyone:

Morrigan: Glad to see you are getting to do a lot of bike riding. How is your knee progressing?

Meridith: Congratulations on stopping smoking! That's a terrific thing to do for your health. I bet all that water you are drinking will help you not to crave food in place of smoking. I've never been a smoker so I can't relate too much. Chocolate is my addiction. As long as I don't have ANY, I don't want it. But one piece can really set me off.

Saggy: I can relate to what you are saying. Even though I know 1 or 2 pounds a week is a good loss, I have so much to lose that I'd like to just see it drop off 5 pounds at a time. I did have some days when I really got a lot more exercise but it seemed to catch up with me and then I had to take a day off from exercising. I really like what Copperblu had to say about losing at a healthy pace.

Copperblu, you really put that well in your note to Saggy. Even though I'd like to see that scale go down faster I've been much less frustrated with the scale this time and looking more at other positive changes like better snack choices, more water and I don't think I've missed a day of exercise for a while. I can see subtle changes where my shoulders are getting more toned and I just feel more flexible when I walk like I'm not waddling down the hall at work! I really feel good, no matter what that darned scale says!

Marvin: Like you, I really enjoy some sedentary activities like sitting in front of this computer and also watching TV (more in the winter though) and stamping (scrapbooking & making cards). So most exercise is an effort except I LOVE to swim and walk. So I'm so lucky the weather has been great for the most part this summer. Way to go on getting to Curves for your workout, even in the hot weather.

My update: Today was my aerobic (non-weights) day so I came home at lunch and did 30 minutes of water aerobics and went back to work. Then I did 30 more tonight. I drank about 2 quarts of water today and yesterday. I was so thirsty. For those of you interested in Yoga, I have found some interesting things on the Web. I had heard about some Yoga moves you can do at the office and stumbled onto something. It's neat because there are images for each exercise and they "move" so you can see how to do them. Just passing this on for anyone chained to a desk during the day like me.

http://www.mydailyyoga.com/yoga/everyday_yoga.html

Hey guys, Here' s my update for the day. I did step aerobics for 30 minutes at home and went to a kickboxing class which lasted 45 minutes. My husband and I went to the local park and walked (slowly) around the trail which is 1.8 miles. Kickboxing was great and I'm glad I went back to class.
Have a good evening!
Saggy

My Update...
 

Last night I really didn't feel like exercising at all. I convinced myself to do it around 9:30. I did my Pilates routine. It felt so good and it felt great to go to bed knowing that I didn't bone out on it. I couldn't sleep well though. I know you shouldn't exercise right before bed, but that's really the only time I have. Anyway, I think I got to sleep around 3:00 this morning. I did not want to wake up this morning, so I'm dragging. I have a big day at work today, so I better get a coffee IV in me! I'm going to steal some of everyone's motivation. You all do a great job, I'm in awe!

Later,
Meredith

Hi All!

Meredith: Congratulations on quitting smoking!! DH and I have just kicked our baby "2 cigarettes a day" habit -- we never smoked heavily, but went from 3-5 a day down to 2, then down to 1, and now don't smoke during the week at all. We still have the bad habit of smoking when we're out at bars though, but at least now we look on a heavy smoking night as "4 or 5 cigarettes!!", whereas I used to smoke almost an entire pack when I went out. I find that exercising regularly makes me not want to smoke, which is a great side benefit.
Your job sounds very interesting! And stressful! I think it's great that you use exercise to relieve the stress, rather than food. And you drink soda when out w/ your "drinking buddies"?! You have more willpower than I, my friend! :lol:

Morrigan: Another great ride, I see! Good for you! I hope your knee is doing better!

Stamper: Thanks for the yoga link! That was great! I am definitely going to try to incorporate that in my day!
Sounds like you had a great day yesterday, and it's great that you have a positive attitude about the process! You're creating a whole new lifestyle for the rest of your life, not just looking for a quick fix, and I think that's the best route.

Saggy: Glad to hear you went back to the kickboxing class! Yay! You had quite a busy day yesterday! Congrats on getting in so much exercise! And it's nice that you could spend time with your hubby while doing so. :)

***
I have a suggestion -- would you like to start a bio thread for this group? You could cut + paste any bio post that you've already made, and then we'd have one spot for all that information. Newcomers could check out the bio thread + post their own, and we'd only have to post our own bio once. Sound like a good idea?