LWL #201 May 2 - 8
 

HA! Beat Ilene! (or were you waiting after the fuss I made last week?)

Good weekend here, but a bit busy. Only managed one cardio session, but food was clean. I bought some new "fun" clothes since all I owned were gym clothes and winter clothes. I have no idea what I wore last summer :lol:

Today is chest and cardio. My training schedule is packed this week- people are realizing that summer is SOON despite the cool weather. :sunny:

Have a good one, LWL,

Mel

Morning Mel and everyone else.
I am also doing chest ( whole upper body really) and cardio.
Just now getting the kids ready to take to school then off to the gym.
Another day of crappy rainy weather here. I wish summer was here now.

:lol: No Mel I slept in this morning alergies or a cold kept me blowing my nose half the night!! Doing legs today ... Going to see a foot specialist ... Getting my allergy shot, what fun !!

Yuck Ilene. Your day does not sound fun at all.

I slept in as well - was on the phone from 12:20AM till about 2AM so of course, I missed working out this AM. Luckily today is cardio only so I can do that as soon as I get home from work and still get to bed at a reasonable hour.

Tiki.

Ilene - sorry about the allergies and foot. OK, mostly allergies - Yuck!

I am back from my UBW - it is a lovely day. I twisted my trainer's arm, and we are off to a free 3K this afternoon - US Heathfitness or soemthing like that - it is on the Mall and it is such a lovely day, the azaleas are in bloom, I have the time today and may be working the next time an opportunity like this presents itself ... So, after his arm is sufficiently twisted and he is "in", he tells me there is also a free 3K at noon once a month around the Tidal Basin. Can I tell you all how much I love living in DC? Oh, think I did! I am so excited I found this whole running gig!

Have a great day

Ellen- That sounds like fun! Your trainer must have a very flexible arm :lol: One of my clients tried to twist mine into doing the "boro to boro" bike ride last weekend in NYC...45 miles through all five boroughs. Sounded like fun, but the weather forecast was horrendous. She ended up doing it and I will look at her pictures tomorrow. Another wanted me to do the Philadelphia Broad Street Run, also yesterday.... We are stuck in a week-end weather pattern of downpours and thunderstorms and I'm just not that hardcore! Rainy Sundays are made for shopping :dizzy:

Today's chest workout done. I benchpressed 5 pounds over my body weight for 2 reps! Where was this strength when the BP contest was looming???? I need to find a contest, preferrably a small, local, and drug-tested one, because I'd be toast against someone who was juicing. :o

Tiki- Hope you can stay awake today! How is the food going?
Ilene- :wave: Sorry about your allergies and foot. Your day does sound crummy :(

Hi Shonda, Ellen, and everyone else :)

Mel

Mel,

The food is going fine except on the weekends, I don't eat regularly and then end up at 8PM, trying to get in about 700+ calories. Last night I was so full, my stomach hurt and I still didn't get to 1200 calories.

Tiki.

Hi everyone!
 

It's been a while since I've been able to stop by . . .but some good news -- It looks like I won't need to have surgery on my knee! :D WooHoo! No crutches or painful rehab or anything. It turns out, after a second MRI, that my "complete" ACL tear was either only a partial one, which will heal with time and TLC, or that my torn ligament somehow "scarred" over enough to provide stability to my knee. :dizzy: Don't ask me how I get so lucky with some of this stuff, particularly given how stupidly I treat my body sometime ...

It's been tough to fit in the physical therapy, though, what with work and everything. But, I've learned some amazing exercises to stregthen the inner part of my quads (to pull my kneecap back into place) and my hamstrings. I've also learned a lot of good balance exercises. So, all in all, it has been a good experience. I have only about 3 more sessions and then I think I'll be discharged.

I've gotten totally off-track with the food. If I don't concentrate and plan, my old habits of eating junk just jump back in. :( And if I'm stressed . . . well, you know the story.

But, I've cleaned out my refridge and made a plan, so I'm sure this week will be better. It's good to see/hear how everyone else is doing. Keep up the heaving lifting!

Hi Mox, and welcome back - that is all GREAT news!! I know you will be back on track in a matter of days with your eating - remember, you can take back control (over that, anyway).

Tiki - your weekends don't seem to fall into a pattern that matches your week. I know, who's does? But wouldn't it make more sense to draw a line in the sand when you are full and say "I will do better tomorrow" rather than trying to cram in all the calories you missed before falling asleep? Just a thought.

Gee, Mel - let me think: 45 miles vs less than two - hmm, I don't think I twisted very hard! It was a lot of fun, but very disorganized. Geoff was out at a 7 min/mile pace and "won" in our field of 11 (yes, very disorganized and not very well advertised - that was what happened when the President's Council lost Arnold (shucks). I "closed" the race at 24:00 and "almost" finished in the top 10 :lol:

Ellen, I was thinking the same thing cause after my shake, I wasn't hungry but only had taken in about 600 calories for the day but I had done a killer leg workout and 55 min of cardio to boot. I am so afraid of my body chewing up muscle for fuel and defeating the purpose of me lifting so I pushed myself.

Tiki.

Tuesday!
 

Well, I was really good with my food during the day yesterday, but then totally off-plan for dinner. I have to get figure out what to do when I come home really hungry -- that's my danger time. Right when I get home from work. Does anyone else have this problem? What do you do about it?

(Some personal info -- I live alone, so I don't have to worry about cooking dinner for anyone else. I was also going out a lot after work, but I'm trying to cut back on that b/c of the cost and bad calories.)

Otherwise, the day was a good one. How was everyone else's?

Mox, during the week, as soon as I hit the door, I have my protein shake. When I am out of those, I have an apple. Like clockwork. Then I can cook for the crew, do whatever else I need to do and not make crazy food choices before I have a chance to eat my healthy dinner.

Tiki

Mox :wave: long time no see... I often will have half a cup of cottage cheese with strawberries and splenda, I will force myself to sit down , breath and relax, then eat it in my own sweet time... I also have the protein shake with strawberries ... If you live alone don't keep any food that is off limits, keep only the good stuff and you won't be tempted, you don't have the excuse, ''Well I need to buy_________ for DH or the kids ...'' Don't buy it at all!!!

update
 

Hello everyone, thought I would give you an update after all the helpful advise I recieved from everyone. My excersize routine has stayed the same with the exception that I am now doing a more intense work out. I have also added jump rope and pilates to my routine. I am loving the hand weights. I can see definition in my arms, shoulders and back. :D

When I started I took my measurements, and here they are after a month.
Beginning
Bust: 45
Waist: 38
Hips: 44

Current:
Bust: 42 1/2
Waist: 34
Hips: 42

Weight loss to date 13 pounds. I thought the numbers would be a little better but I am happy. I have set a goal of of seven pounds off by the end of May. I'm setting it low so I wont get discouraged if I dont make it. Anyway, thank you for all your help. I'm in this to stay now. I did not realize how much I would like this new way of life. One thing I have noticed is that I feel so much better when I eat clean. I ate something processed last week and it gave me a stomac ache.:( Guess after all the crap I've loaded into my body over the years its saying, it refuses to go back. Well, thats about it. Everyone have a great day. Sabrina

Sabrina those are great numbers all around! Congrats and keep up the hard work :high:

Most Excellent Job, Sabrina!!! Don't you just love the tape measure???


Hi LWL!! It's a sunny Wednesday morning in the Motor City and I can't wait till lunch. A co-worker returned from Paris and brought me back a fancy mustard sampler. I LOVE MUSTARD!!! Only 3 more hours to go!

Tiki.

Wed. check-in
 

Congrats, Sabrina, on the great work!

I've been doing pretty well these past few days, and making a concerted effort to log in here to remain motivated. :strong:

I've been thinking a lot about motivation recently. As we all know, getting fit and losing weight is such a mind game.

Well, I read something yesterday that I found to be pretty motivational and wanted to pass it on to everyone. It comes from a 1950's-era book called something like "Man's Search for Meaning." The book was written by a psychotherapist named Victor Frankl who was a holocaust surviver -- the book talks about the therapy/philosophy he developed and tried to use to help him survive the concentration camps. I'm not sure if his therapy/ philosophy is still considered valid, but I read the book for his account of his life in the camps. I do know that Frankl is mentioned as being an influence on the guy who wrote the Seven Habits books. Anyway, here's the quote:

"Ultimately, man should not ask what the meaning of his life is, but rather must recognize that it is he who is asked. Each man is questioned by life; he can only answer to life by answering for his own life; to life he can only respond by being responsible....So live as if you were living already for a second time and as if you had acted the first time as wrongly as you are about to act now! This precept confronts you with life's finiteness as well as the finality of what you make out of both your life and yourself."

I was struck by this quote b/c I know that I've often thought -- "Oh, why didn't I take better care of myself when I was younger? It would have been easier to lose the weight." or "Oh, if I had only kept off all of those pounds I had previously lost? Why did I let myself regain it all?" I realize of course that lamenting for the past doesn't change it. If anything, it just makes me feel worse about where I am now. But looking forward, and really trying to learn the lessons from the past (and not whine about what can't be changed), well maybe this will keep me motivated to do what's right in terms of exercising and eating right. In some respects, every day is a "second chance" to do what's right for ourselves.

Just some of the thoughts that keep me up at night. :lol:

Hope everyone has a great, motivated day!

Congrats, Sabrina!

I love Viktor Frankl's work as well, Mox. It's true that there's no point in beating ourselves up for what has happened in the past. We need to understand why it happened, perhaps, so we can make changes for the future, but there's no point in sitting around guilty. On that topic, I've been thinking about a quote from Lord of the Rings a lot recently:
Frodo: "I wish the ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened."
Gandalf: "So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us."

No weights this week, just walking. Tonight's my big exam and I'm so excited about the idea of being *done* with it. Of course, I'm getting a cold too, so my body's less excited than my mind. ;)

Great job Sabrina!

Thanks for the quote, Mox. I really got a lot from your post. I will have to look at more of his writing.

I have to totally rethink my Wed's. I am exhausted (again). I did 30 min light on the elliptical, the Buns and Thighs Class and my weights with PT. I felt like I was going to crash pretty much when I got out of the shower. After lunch I was not dragging so much, but still don't feel like myself. Maybe next week I'll try a protein drink after the class. I am just not ready to give it up, yet.

I must not have seen the fine print when I signed up for with DC Fit. It is not the training itself, but beginning July 9 they will start meeting Saturdays at 6am (6!!??) to beat the DC heat. Oh my, what have I done?? :lol:

Happy Cinco de Mayo All!!!!


I went to bed at a decent time but could NOT get out the bed this AM for my workout so I will have to juggle BIG time to get it in. Tonight is also cheer night and I also have to get DD ready for her fashion show tomorrow night. I think I will be drinking a sugar free Red Bull at some point this evening to get through it all.

I cooked up ground turkey and taco seasoning for her class this AM and only took a small bite out on a chip (plus I shared that one chip with DD). Everything else in my lunch bag is super healthy, fish, half a yam, spinach, broccoli, tuna and a boiled egg. For some reason I am craving comfort food, but I will be strong, stay focused on my goals and get through this. Right?

Tiki

Right! Go tiki!

This has been a really long week or me, and there are still a few days to go....sigh.

I shredded my arms this morning, just finished eating, and am headed upstairs to get rid of the gray roots. I'll multitask on the bike for a while as they turn brown again, hop in the shower, pick up ds from school, then back to the gym for the evening onslaught. Sometime, I need to get to a shoe store and find an inexpensive pair of heels to wear to a party tomorrow night, otherwise I'm going to look pretty silly in a floaty skirt and my nikes :dizzy:

Mel

Ellen, 6am?!?!?! Yikes. Ours starts @ 7:30, but since it's an hour away I have to get up at 6 to get there on time. I'll think of you as I stagger out of bed :faint:

Viva Cinco de Mayo, everyone. :grouphug:

Come with me Laura - then I can use your 3 hour time delay and actually show up at 9. Wait, that actually hurt my head :stars:

Ooooh, mine too! I would hate to be ANYWHERE at 6AM on a Saturday except in a warm bed, passed out and drooling!

Today was hard, y'all. I was craving salty and sweet so I bought a bag of kettle corn popcorn (the lite one) cause its salty and sweet and I ate that. I also bought a cafe latte protein drink to make a change from the vanilla I normally have, so I think I'm gonna be OKAY!

Tiki.

Out of the blue and the lurk and into the light...

I must apologize yet again for not posting for so long, especially after promising you the LWL cookbook, which is in its very last stage by the way.
I have been dealing with a lot of stuff these last months, not in the least a bad back and several infections, so I am starting up slowly on the weights again. The company I work for has been sold to another telecom company but we were in doubt as to whether they would keep personnel or chuck us out, so stress has been high.
Fortunately everything seems to have worked out fine, both with work and health. The lumbago (my own fault by the way) kept me away from the gym for too long, and made me have to start at 0. This I have diligently done and I can say I am going up a lot faster than I had anticipated.
Furthermore, the miracle has happened: BF, who hates most forms of sport, has started playing badminton (my dad's comment was: "what??? is he ill???) AND enjoying it.
I have also taken up gardening and have set up a vegetable patch (the digging by hand of which in combination with neglected weights gave me the lumbago in the first place) and am now trying to work out how to keep slugs and other vermin away (biologically) from eating everything before I can have a go, I took two new cats (I am currently successfully learning the 2 kittens how to "sit!" like dogs, they love it), I am painting the new house and decoratingetc.

I have read up a but and seen that things are a bit slow on the thread, what have all of you been doing? I see a lot of new faces too.

Glad to be back, and hope you'll still have me

Vassiliki (Lieke) from Lyon, France

HI Greekgirl :wave: Wow, out of the blue is right! Glad to have you back. I wondered what had happend to you. Sorry to hear about the back and the job woes, but it sounds like things are gettting better.

Nice to see you again :)

Mel

Hiya there Greekgirl! It's so cool seeing you on here again! Don't stay away so long, okay?

Mel, I have a question. I know I should eat about 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. What happens to excess protein on the days that I go over that amount?


Tiki.

Excess protein is like excess anything else- if it's just too many calories, it eventually gets stored as fat. If you are still within your caloric range but waaay up there on the protein and too low on carbs consistently, eventually you'll go into ketosis. That's the basis for how Atkins works. Not necessarily a good way to eat for building muscle, but if your ratios are only out of whack every once in a while, your body will figure out how to convert the protein into fuel. On days when your carbs are too low, you may feel pretty grumpy, headachey, and low energy until you get used to it. No one really agrees on what the perfect ratios are. It really depends on how your body works best. Generally, ketogenic diets, where most of your calories come from fats and protein, aren't all that healthy in the long run and aren't great for muscle building. I eat what's generally considered a low carb diet, with between 40-50% of my calories from protein, 25-35 from carbs, and 15-25 from fats. The exact numbers vary day-to-day, but I never go over 50% protein.

Mel

Okay, so can you take another peek at my FitDay Journal? I have added yams, spinach and some other items to it, but am still ending up too high on protein, (i think).

Tiki.

http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/PublicJ...wner=tikanique

hi LWL,

Late in checking in this week and I have to confess the week also did NOT go well. I did excercise diligently on monday, then did nothing on tueaday, wednesday and thursday. Grabbed myself together yesterday & today but it will be difficult to make up for those lost days !! Also food-wise is still not going OK. I am focussing on having 5 small days spaced over the day, with sufficient proteins in each meal but it is a difficult task.
Hope next week will be better,
rabbit

Rabbit -- eating small meals throught the day takes mucho planning, but in the long run it's well worth it... When I miss a meal I feel the difference, just keep planning...

I haven't gone to the gym once this week :eek: but I finally ran yesterday and this morning... Today's run was 100% better than yesterday thank goodness...

My geeky contribution to the thread this week:

I was amused to see that a recent episode of Enterprise had a scene set in the ship's gym, and they were using powerblock-type weights so that they would look futuristic. Apparently square weights are cooler than round ones? :joker:

Okay!! Now, what the heck is Enterprise? Oh yeah, and I guess I'm futuristic cause my handweights are squares. I'm even cooler than I thought I was.


Tiki

Happy Mother's Day All!!!!!!!!!

:D Thank you Tiki !! Right back at ya and to all mothers and mothers-to-be :balloons: have a great day!!

I just ran 10.5k and I only have to deal with Chinese food tonight all other meals will be 'clean'...I'm not fussy for Chinese so I just have to be careful with portions...

We're having a Mother's Day barbecue here.Eh,more trouble for my mom (Dad's idea).I'll have to watch out for people trying to tempt me!My mom has to watch out for tempters too.Ick.

Anyways,this week went very well.Except for the fact that yesterday's hotdog didn't go so well in my stomach,and I'm still feeling the effects today.My mom thinks that greasy foods are hurting my stomach.Oh,well.At least I have an excuse for the tempters. ;)

Today is my excercise day.Gonna do a bit of cardio,and a bit of weight lifting.I'm looking forward to it.Hopefully the stomach feels better then.

I just Googled and saw those powerblock type weights.They do look futuristic. :lol:

And for all the mothers out there,Happy Mother's Day! :flow1:

Ilene, you are burning up the track! Great job!

Zapphire, we are having a barbecue here as well but since I am HEAD CHEF, I know I'm not cooking anything that I can't eat.

Oh well, off to the mall. Kids want to shop and this mall has a Bally's in it so I can do legs, while they do what they want to do.

Tiki.