Thanks for the kind welcome everyone! I want to move towards the plan where I alternate legs and upper body, that way I can do the cardio on the upper body days and not feel so sore in my legs ...

And this brings me to another point: how much cardio do you need to do? Is it better to do half the amount at high intensity or do the regular amount at a more sedate intensity? I'd like to compact my cardio into smaller time frames to leave more time for LIFTING haha!

LANAII - Sorry to have triggered your allergies, I am wondering how long this all lasts as I am brand new to them. I agree with your workout strategy. I gauge what cardio and how much I am going to do by the wobble factor. After some intense LBWO, I may just spend 10 minutes on the treadmill with some stretching, but if I have something left to give, I hit the real stairmaster for about 15 minutes if I can. The chocolate fondue sounds like a fun idea though DD doesn't like chocolate and they have asked us to steer clear of the candy. I could do fruit salad though and then someone is bound to get something they like. I really enjoy DD's school, they are very open to parents and family helping out and she is a 15 minute walk from my office. I get to do lots of things with her class. I think apple picking is coming up, though I don't look forward to the bouncy bus ride.

LIEKE - Cookbook gone missing?? I hope you can find lots of new ideas here, there are some great ideas.

I do the LBWO, then UBWO and then cardio, gives the legs an extra day to recoop.

Off to the grind, I am finishing up some permit work this morning, hoping that the allergies won't get the best of me. I am happy to be wearing some size 14's today, something I have done in a very long time.

I should go to the feedmill on leg days! I just toted 2 40kg bags of chicken feed out of the trunk, across the lawn and into the shed. Maybe some day I'll be able to do squats or lunges with them!
Today is supposed to be arm day but my shoulders are kinda tender still. I think I'll grab a snack and try the Carribean Workout at noon. Hopefully it's not more legs today!

I’ve been lurking and not posting for a couple of weeks; real life is far too busy right now! My neurobiology / neuropsychology exam is coming up next Wednesday and I have lots of reading to do! But I’m sticking to my gym routine, sleeping enough, and eating well - which makes the stress *so* much easier to handle.

I’ve changed my weight program a bit – I go to the gym 3 times a week and do 4 exercises every time because I go to the gym in the mornings and time is restricted. Monday: squats, leg curls, leg press and shoulder press. Wednesday: bench press, one arm dumbbells rows, biceps curls and triceps extensions. Friday: deadlifts, lat pulldowns, lower back extensions and ab crunches (machine). I aim for failure on most of the exercises, and I’ve just lifted for 2 months so the progress is excellent: I increase weights almost every time I do an exercise. It is very motivating.

As for cardio - this morning I actually ran/jogged on the treadmill at the gym – I’ve just walked on treadmills in the gym before - because I didn’t want anyone see me jogging, since I was so fat, blah blah blah…. Today I just speeded up the thing and tried to jog and then run. It felt great. And I really have to stop worrying about what I look like, and focus on getting the exercise done instead.

And Ilene – great tips on avoiding weekend eating. I actually find that weighing in on Monday mornings motivate me to stay on track during the weekends. I don’t know why.
Have a great Wednesday everybody!

Hi all. Things have been crazy busy in my life, and clean eating has gone somewhat out the window. I missed my planning session on Sunday and I've been doing catchup since then! *grr* At least I know what I did wrong!

Here's my random question of the week - anyone know anything about powerlifting-type competitions? I think I'd be interested in competing if I ever get to the point where I could, but I can't find much info on the web.

SUSANB - Sounds like you get FIT Tv too. Love those workouts, great when I am tied to home for some reason and can't get to the gym. DD and the dog like to workout along with me. I noticed for the first time you are 5''4" and at 124 pounds, I don't think I ever was there and doubt I could get there at this point, just want to get to 140. I am impressed.

METTE - Not sure about your gym, but at mine, no one is at all negative when some of us larger folks workout, in fact there is a lot of encouragement. I am watching some co gymers get smaller and smaller and smaller.

LKTS - Haven't a clue about power lifting, just trying to keep up with myself.

Had a very nice lunch, greek lamb and some salad. Gave the french fries to my neice who has so much energy, she can afford them.

Sugar Cube ... I don't get FitTV. Sure wish I did. I get CW on The Outdoor Life Network. I keep hunting but haven't found any other shows. It sure would be nice to be able to tune in to something, any old time of day.
And as to the weight thing, I'm pretty happy with the 124 but I'm still so soft around the middle. I've done about 8 different body fat calculators (including calipers) and get between 20 and 24%. Which is actually good but what about this belly flab? Sometimes I think myself half to death!
And 124 lbs? Honey, I sure never thought I'd see that again either. It's been probably over 15 years! I remember being 122 in 1983. I'm kind vague on what happened while I had three little ones at home. Then all of a sudden I was struggling my way up to 162 in 2003 . Heck if I know what happened!

LKTS- Try www.WABDL.org for bench press and deadlift meets, www.nasa-sports.com for drug tested squat, bench and deadlift meets. Bodybuilding.com has a big section on training for powerlifting.

Mette- As was said above, no one looks twice at larger runners other than to congratulate them as they get smaller Anyone who walks through the door of the gym and does a workout gets a big pat on the back for taking those steps!

GEAA- If you do High Intensity Interval Training, you can decrease the actual amount of time you spend doing cardio, by increasing the intensity. I find that 25-30 minutes of HIIT is about equivalent to 45-60 minutes of "slogging away" on the treadmill or elliptical. Start at a comfortable pace, and aver about 5-6 minutes increase the speed or intensity to a pace whee you pretty much think you'll pass out after 30- seconds. Do the 30 seconds to a minute at that pace, then drop it back down to your initial slow-moderate pace until you've caught your breath enough to repeat the process. Do this 4-6 time, depending on your fitness level. It burns calories faster than settling in for a moderate jog. Think of it like stop and go city traffic vs. cruising on the turnpike. You use a lot more gas with the city traffic.

Hi everyone! I've been very busy and not posting much. My gym schedule and home life are crazy right now. I just starting lifting again this week and what seem to be wimpy workouts are making me very sore. I was reminded today that I do have chest muscles after doing real bench presses yesterday for the first time in a VERY long time!

Mel

Good for you Meg, I bet it feels good to be back at the weight training... I was away from the gym this past week too, just cause life and work got in the way....

I'm happy to report that today's chest and tricep workout was awesome, afterwards I went roller bladding with a g/f, after that I went back to the gym with DS... So I feel gooood now!!

Food was good today too although not perfect... Tomorrow I'll aim for perfection ...

It's been so absolutely gorgeous here in the last few days and I love it, just makes the day go by faster...

Well gotta go...TTFN , and lets be careful out there!!

Nelie -- Where are youuuuu? I see those ## in your siggie going down pretty darn steady Way to go!!! Congrats keep up the great work!

Hey Ilene, all. I've been fairly busy lately. I'm kind of stressed right now, my first paper for school is due tomorrow and I'm not done yet. My manager was also in town so that has been interesting. Yesterday he took us out to dinner and luckily we were able to pick the place and I was able to make a decent (not great) choice for dinner. I am skipping the gym today but I did go last night and I weighed in at 305 which really made me happy. I usually weigh more at night so I can't wait to see what the scale says on Friday or Saturday when I'm able to go earlier in the day. I also measured this morning and my waist is down to 42 inches (started at 56 inches) and my lower belly/hips/booty is 54 inches (start at 66 inches). I am really looking forward to get to 299 and out of the 300's!! Besides being stressful, I've been eating fairly well so that is good.

Nelie -- Wow! You're really on a great roll, I can't wait to see your pic just like the one Meg has with an old pair of pants! WooHoo, you go girl !!

I'm hoping I'll have a photo like Meg's! I'm kind of bummed that a few years ago when I lost 30 lbs or so, I didn't keep my biggest size pants (a size 32, luckily as soon as I bought them, I was out of them). I have been creating bags of give away clothes as I lose weight but I have kept one pair of tattered jeans, size 28, so that I can have a comparison pair of pants.

Yesterday, I wore a favorite pair of pants of mine, that were tight at 350 but I'm swimming in them now. I realized that they are too big to wear when I pulled them out in front of me to button them up and I was said to myself "wow that is a lot of extra fabric". Also it doesn't help that even my ample booty has a hard time keeping those pants up. I've never been a belt person and mostly between my hips and booty, I never needed a belt but I'm thinking that I may buy one soon.

hi girls! i am new here, but i am very encouraged by your sharing. i have this clunky Walmart 'special' weight machine-yup-in my bedroom (small bedroom) thx to my dh. i thought i would start out on it, with his help (he lifted before we met). today i ran, but tomarrow i will be doing uppers. ummm. i will be doing an upperbody workout.
i am a 39, sahm of 2, and i weigh 161. thx for just being here!
kim

Nelie: Well done on the loss, I need to update my sig too lol lazy me
Meliris: THANKS SO MUCH for that, I have been doing something sorta similar (only doing it two times outta ten minutes), but I will try doing it like that! Will that also increase my rather pathetic level of cardio fitness? (I only have lungs with 80% capacity, and my fitness is increasing but darn slowly. At least my strength increase isn't hindered by that!)