Hard to fight endorphins, isn't it? Be warned that they are addictive - and you'll soon find yourself looking for physical activities to do on days when you aren't scheduled for any.

Sad story for the day: I find myself dancing up and down the stairs with a feather duster, rather than just going along the railings and ironwork.

Dancing with a feather duster....

I am really liking adding in the Pilates - it is the perfect thing for me right now. I am really glad to get the strength going.
I did hot yoga last night and hadn't done it for a week or so due to a pulled muscle, and I could tell that the Pilates is already making a difference in my balance and strength.

Just saw a new Nike Women commercial that I really liked. Thought I'd share it!

Better For It - Inner Thoughts

Sharkie: that Video is so right on - totally accurate (except the very end - it isn't always 'let's go again', lol, sometimes it's 'I'm never doing this again!') Nice to see good looking but fairly normal women instead of the sweaty perfect beastmode woman in an ad. Not many of us will achieve perfect beastdom, hahahah.
I tend to be a cynical crank when I first start my bout of exercise, although I try not to show it for the sake of others around me because it's just annoying! Been like that for 40 years, lol, although I was always the upbeat perky fitness trainer on the outside. EVERYONE thought I was always in a good mood. I decided early on not to let my inner emotions bleed into my work life - that wasn't what they pay me for .

Liana

A really interesting article in my inbox this morning from Medscape. This is not to push anyone away from exercise, but to help some get out of the incorrect mindset that all it takes is 'exercise more.' Again, I'm not saying that is happening here on this thread because I think exercise is very important for everyone, but I thought this might be the most pertinent thread to post this, for anyone just starting IP that thinks they are going to lose more/quicker if they exercise. It's why some of us gained fat weight or at least did not lose even while exercising fairly heavily and regularly.
Keep on movin' & groovin'!

"Exercise enthusiasts cannot work off the ill effects of an unhealthy diet, say the authors of an editorial published online April 22 in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

"Let us bust the myth of physical inactivity and obesity," the authors write. "You cannot outrun a bad diet."

Physical activity levels in Western nations have remained flat during the past 3 decades, even as obesity rates have exploded. That observation is just one sign that calories, not lack of exercise, are driving the obesity crisis, argue Aseem Malhotra, MD, honorary consultant cardiologist at Frimley Park Hospital, United Kingdom, and science director for Action on Sugar, United Kingdom, and colleagues.

"However, the obesity epidemic represents only the tip of a much larger iceberg of the adverse health consequences of poor diet," the authors write. They say that the Lancet global burden of disease reports concluded that poor diet contributes to more disease than a combination of inadequate physical activity, alcohol, and smoking. As many as 40% of people with normal body weight will suffer from metabolic abnormalities typically associated with obesity, the authors write, including hypertension, dyslipidemia, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and cardiovascular disease.

Dr Malhotra and colleagues blame food industry marketing for promoting exercise over diet, comparing food industry public relations with discredited tactics used by the tobacco industry in the past. They say Coca Cola "pushes the message that 'all calories count'; they associate their products with sport, suggesting it is ok to consume their drinks as long as you exercise. However science tells us this is misleading and wrong."

The kind of calorie matters too, they emphasize. Calories from sugar promote fat storage and hunger; fat calories induce satiety. For every 150 calories consumed from sugar, there is an 11-fold increase in the prevalence of type 2 diabetes independent of weight or physical activity levels compared with consumption of 150 calories of fat or protein.

"Celebrity endorsements of sugary drinks, and the association of junk food and sport, must end," the authors write. "This manipulative marketing sabotages effective government interventions such as the introduction of sugary drink taxes or the banning of junk food advertising."

Sara N. Bleich, PhD, associate professor, Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, told Medscape Medical News that although exercise can do a lot of good things, including help people maintain a healthy weight, it is no substitute for eating right. Dr Bleich was not associated with the editorial.


"The take home message is, it's what you eat, not how hard you try to work it off, that really matters when it comes to weight loss," she said. Dr Bleich studies interventions to help people change eating behaviors.

"It may take you seconds to consume hundreds of calories that could take you hours to burn up," Dr Bleich said.

The authors and Dr Bleich have disclosed no relevant financial relationships.

Br J Sports Med. Published online April 22, 2015. Extract "

Full Quote of the article. Link to British Journal of Sports Medicine including section on the importance of a ketogenic diet for sports performance. http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/20...15-094911.full
Liana

Excellent Liana, thank you.

I definitely was one that made the mistake for many years of thinking I could run everything off - I was a chubby long distance cross country runner and could never understand why....
Took me a long time to change this mindset.

p.s. I have a friend who is a triathlete who is doing a lot of research into fats - and has come to much the same conclusion - the critical nature of healthy fats. He suggested when I need a mid morning or afternoon boost, that I try putting a teaspoon of coconut oil in hot herbal tea or coffee. It has really helped and really does seem to even something out for me, and definitely helps also with the "satiety" factor. Sometimes even 1/2 tsp. is all that I need to ride out the hour or two until I eat again. Seems to keep the blood sugar a little more steady on the days I need it.

Still cooking along.... not much new to add - invested in 10 more sessions of training in Pilates as it seems for me personally to be accurate right now.

I have learned over the years to trust what I am pulled to in regard to exercise, because ultimately all that matters is that I am moving - if I like it, I will do it, if I don't like it, I won't do it
Also I like to try new things so if one thing is boring me, try something different, don't just stay stuck in "should" and not do it.
The one thing I really jam on is hot yoga, so I like it. I don't jam on lifting free weights even though I know it's great for me, so I go in and out of that, and have learned to just be OK with it. I am certainly not perfect in this area, but I think I am healthy, and I am learning to be happy with that.

So I am not exercising perfectly or "enough" but I get moving at least every other day if not daily, in some fashion.

I like endorphins!!

2.75 miles tonight - it was gorgeous- had a nice, slow walk

Beth I like endorphins too!
Strangely enough I was moving houses last week, and didn’t work out much thinking it was tons of activity - it was, but not the endorphin releasing kind - after going back to my regular workout yesterday, I was surprised how much calmer and at peace I felt, and reminded myself “remember when you are agitated or having a hard time with not feeling calm: exercise!"

I find this article informative and affirming. The interesting part if you follow his links and read his posts, you will find that he did Ideal Protein while bodybuilding.

http://ironstrong.org/index.php/topi...ight-training/

I am in week 6 and notice a huge loss of muscle. Has anyone had a muscle loss and able to regain it easily through working out?

Hi simplchaos nice to see you I started exercising again around Week 8 and everything seemed to bounce right back really fast.
I wouldn't say that I noticed a "huge" loss of muscle, but I did wonder how I would be starting again, and it seemed fine.
Now that I am in P4, everything seems on track and fine, and I am building muscle fine, and my tone is good where I have always had tone.

Hi,

If you read through that article I just provided a link to, there is no way if you are consuming sufficient protein that you would lose that on a calorie restricted diet. Be sure you are getting all your protein. You will regain it, but I am just commenting on the fact that you don't want to lose anymore so ensure you are getting enough protein.