I recognise the dark bedroom thing! I use a small torch!

Morning! We've been having an interesting conversation while I was sleeping

So nobody had any qualms about the OP's mindset?
If you strip away all the descriptives ... is there much wrong with two women talking in a gym about fat loss? They definitely have something in common.

Would OP have been bothered if the person had been someone her size?

Would she have been flattered if the person was bigger than her?

Actually, in the very first paragraph she does refer to her own body image. And Nori is great. I've chatted with her before and quite like her. Smart, level-headed.

Hi, my name is Dena, and I just joined. I have about 10 lbs. to lose, so not sure if I'm qualified for this group or not. Also, I'm trying to figure out how this forum works. Any help would be appreciated.

Dena ... if you can find your way in and type a hello ... we'll have you! Welcome!

Tell us what you're after .... exercise friends, type of diet ... you'll probably be comfortable in lots of threads.

hi Dena, and welcome! I'm pretty new here too, but everyone's quite friendly.

yesterday went very well for me until i decided to have a glass of wine with dinner and ended up having SEVERAL glasses of wine with dinner and then somehow rationalized that a large dessert would be a good idea... oops. (he made me do it) i've got to limit myself to one drink if i'm going to keep on top of my weight.

Dagmar, you make a very good point about calling ourselves "fat." One of my best friends is quite a lot larger than me, and we often talk about our exercise efforts and things like that, which is great, but i realize that some of my comments about my body are offensive to her. One time she looked at me after a comment and asked, "if you're fat what does that make me?" that kinda shamed me a bit. i realize i have a little bit of a body image issue. i often FEEL fat, and i have to do a reality check - i'm at the top end of the "healthy" weight zone for my height and i wear a medium and a 6/8. sure, i need to get rid of some flab (tone up) and i'd love to lose a few pounds, but i am not FAT.

Okay, I took a few moments and read the other thread. Here is what I see:
--the OP has seen this woman at the gym and feels that she is underweight (and her trainer agrees)
--the OP has a chance encounter with said underweight person and feels that the underweight one has a warped sense of her own body (whether it be BDD or what is not really the issue)
--the OP was uncomfortable because she has a lot of weight to lose and the skinny woman kept calling herself fat
--the OP is asking herself (and us) why this bothered her
I'd say she was bothered by the whole thing because she sees this skinny person calling herself fat and must wonder what this skinny person sees in her. I can imagine it--I've been in similar situations where I'm the fatter one and someone else (who is much skinnier) is calling themselves fat--it just makes you wonder how they see you.

Okay, back to the rest of us. Who said it, we're not fat over here--we just need to lose a few pounds? YOU ARE RIGHT! And yet we're not really proud of ourselves. Sure I'm proud of the 30 pounds I've lost, but I'm not proud of the fact that I just can't lose those few pounds that are bugging me. And to top it off, I've been trying since January to lose it, and I'm right at the same point I was in January. It's frustrating to say the least.

Seriously though...these last 6 pounds to my goal weight are sticking to me like white on rice. So I'm coming to terms with the fact that perhaps I won't be at goal...ever...*sob*.....and the weight training started for this reason.

I think what bothered me the most in that post was the judgement that we women cast upon other women. It's sad really.

Lekhika: I definitely think weight training will help. I've done it since I started my program, so I can't really say where I'd be if I hadn't done it, but I can say that with the weight training I look a lot more fit and trim than I did the last time I was at this weight (which was a long time ago , but I have pictures so I know I didn't look as good). Another thought might be to add some interval training to your cardio workouts. I started doing this six months or so ago and it does seem to really help me lose weight--and even more importantly, body fat. I really struggled to lose weight at the start of the year and I think it was partly because I had a knee injury and couldn't run intervals. Now that I'm running intervals again, it does seem easier to lose weight. It's still not easy, but it's easier.

I completely agree with everyone's statements above..

Regarding Alinell's comment "Sure I'm proud of the 30 pounds I've lost, but I'm not proud of the fact that I just can't lose those few pounds that are bugging me. And to top it off, I've been trying since January to lose it, and I'm right at the same point I was in January. It's frustrating to say the least."

I felt the SAME way... Until one day, my Mom asked me a question.... "Will you ever be happy??"

That simple question made me think.... Since then I've tried to change my perspective. I try to be happy with how I look and feel now, while still trying to acheive my 'goal' weight. I feel by trying to be happy along the way makes me feel more empowered than defeated...

Just my 2 cents.

Hi Dena! Welcome to the group!

BluetoBlue
I've been doing the interval cardio training pretty much from the beginning and know that I need to bump up the intensity of my running jags. And I know it's going to sound like an excuse but I feel like I'm going to throw up after even 10 intervals of high to medium intensity training. I'm wondering what I"m doing wrong...or if that's just normal. Maybe I need to lower the incline? I'm still fiddling with it.

THe weights make me feel so hardcore. I love it!

Lehika: I don't think you should be feeling like you are going to throw up. That definitely hasn't been my experience. I usually feel great when I finish my intervals--like I had a really good workout but aren't overly tired. I do my intervals on a 1% incline (when I do regular run, I use a 3.5% incline). When my trainer has me run intervals, he has me do them on a 0% incline. I only use a 1% incline because I've read that 0% on a treadmill is actually slightly downhill and I have a knee injury that running downhill is not going to help. How long are you sprinting for and how long are you at a recovery pace for?

I start at a pace that is lower than the fastest I can manage and add .1 mph with every interval. So let's say that the fastest pace I normally can run is 9 mph. I might start at 8 mph and add .1 mph for every interval until I am at 9 mph. Or if I'm trying to push myself to increase my fastest pace, I might start at 8.1 mph and work up to 9.1 mph. This is something I got from my trainer. Towards the end, if I'm feeling energetic, I might increase the last couple of intervals by .2 mph. On the last interval, I increase it to the absolute fastest pace I can manage without falling of the treadmill, but that is the only interval I run at that pace. I've tried starting with the fastest pace I can manage and I definitely have a better experience when I start slower and work my way up. You might try this and see if it helps you figure out the right pace to use to not feel nauseous. My recovery pace is a fast (4 mph) walk.

Do you know your body fat %? Maybe the last six lbs aren't a reasonable goal for you? Knowing your body fat % would help you figure this out. Here is a helpful article on it: Understanding Your Body Fat Percentage. There are a couple websites that will calculate it for you based on your weight/measurements: BBLex, Freedieting.com.

Allison I am proud of the fact that I'm trying to change how I look. I am also proud every day that I stay OP and add to my general healthiness.

IMHO everyone on this website should be proud that they're posting about some very embarrasing stuff and staying with the struggle to be healthy and lose weight.

There is a genuine sharing of experience, insight, pain, and joy on this website that no diet book could ever provide. Women ( and a few men) of all sorts of sizes, with a wealth of life experience are all sharing their lives with each other in an effort to improve their bodies.

I think that's amazing and I'm really glad and proud to be part of this!

Now if only I could figure out the technical stuff - that's something I'm not proud of, being a technodweeb

Dagmar

Blue to Blue

I walk at 4.0 at a 7% incline and run at that incline too usually between 6.5 mph and 7.0 mph. I feel decidedly non hardcore reading your interval pace...I've been attempting 7.5 mph and it's just makes me feel totally like I'm going to throw up while I'm doing it.

This is how I've been doing it...I warm up for about 5 minutes at 4mph and steadily increase the incline to 7 or 8 or even 9%...then when I'm ready to begin the interval phase of my workout..I'm usually down to a 7% (6% if I'm feeling really tired) and I run for 20 seconds and recover for 40...I do this for five minutes and then have 2 or 3 minutes at 4mph again...and I do this over and over...switching up the increments at which I run *but they always are between 6.5-7mph.

I think if I tried decreasing the incline it would work for me....I should try it.
Maybe tomorrow! Thanks for the tips.

Dagmar
Very well said!!

I know for a fact that I wouldn't have come as far as I have were it not for finding this website and these forums. No one else would put up with my incessant obsession with talking about weight loss, and cardio and interval training...and eating well...
I've learned so much here...thank goodness I found you guys!

As for me, it's just another weekend. We're likely heading into NYC again to hang out at my parents' place. Will be heading in tomorrow late afternooon or early evening. It's a little stressful for me because my father is always trying to make me eat...like ALL day long. I don't know what it is with him..when I was *cough* fluffy he would be all eagle eyed and everytime I reached for something to eat I could feel his glare and silent, "stop eating". And now...he's all...oh look I made your favourite xyz...and be all insulted if I don't have it even though we've eaten lunch like 5 minutes ago. *shurgs*

I'm thinking of skipping weigh in this MOnday and doing another week of weight training and do my weigh in on March 31st.


Hope everyone has a healthful and on plan weekend...

Lekhika: Running intervals on a 7% incline is extreme! No wonder you're feeling nauseous! I absolutely could not do the pace that I do on a 7% or even a 6% incline. Heck, I couldn't do it on a 3% incline. Even walking at 4 mph would be hard for me at a 7% incline. Which could be part of your problem--walking at 4 mph on a 7% incline isn't a recovery pace. So you are running at a really hard pace and then not able to recover in between. The recovery pace should be easy, something you could practically do in your sleep. I think you should set the incline way way lower--you'll be surprised what a difference it makes. Then work on increasing the length of your intervals from 20 sec to up to 1 min (once your intervals time exceeds 40 sec, you'll also need to increase your recovery period to match). Don't worry about speed; this isn't a race (although when you reduce the incline, you're going to find you can go a lot faster).

Lekhika Maybe, in his own bizarre little way, your dad is showing that he cares enough about you to notice your weight loss. It's really hard to stand up to our parents but why don't you call him on it? Tell him how hard you're working to be healthy and that you'd appreciate his support.

My mother, who struggled with weight all her life, would always buy high calorie treats and press alcoholic drinks on me when I started to lose weight (easiest way to get me to eat). I finally called her on it and she was "insulted and injured" (yes, she really did say that - a lot) that I would accuse her of something like this.

But she stopped buying the treats for me, after we went through the same little conversation 4 or 5 times. It's so hard for our loved ones to deal with our change. I don't know why they feel so threatened but they do.

Dagmar