I miss the fitness threads and the fitness Doms!

[bhndblueyes88]

BTW, I found an all-natural, Stevia-sweetened brand of sugar-free sodas! I have had cola, rootbeer, and cream soda. Cola is OK. Cream soda is good. Rootbeer is awesome! They are not just not-bad for you, they are actually good for you! Yummy! Totally worth checking out if you (general you) are trying to kick a soda addiction.

http://www.zevia.com/

i don't want to be a negative nancy, but how exactly are these soda's "good for you"? Stevia may not be bad for you, but it's not exactly a health supplement. What other nutrients does it supply? From looking at the ingredient list, it looks like it supplies...water maybe? But no other essential nutrients.

I'm not saying the product doesn't have a place. Indeed, it looks like something I want to try! It just seems a little misleading to put forward a product as healthy or "good for you" when the only good thing about it is that it's not "bad" for you. I've been seeing a LOT of people doing this on my recipe sites and it's starting to annoy me xD

 

[intothewoods]

First - Hi H!!! Happy holidays and all that.

Yeah, it's definitely cal in cal out, if you're eating well. Your issue, of course is that with heavy lifting your body will DEMAND fuel and you'll likely feel like shit if you don't provide it. But, as a general rule, humans need FAR less food than we think we do. I am always at my leanest when I eat Lilliputian portions of food. It just may not work for you, though. Have you read The Cure For Everything? You might find some good info in there.

http://www.penguin.ca/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9780670065233,00.html

UMMM that is, like, Canadian! Is probably all socialist and shit.

Looks good actually. I'm trying to find out more about the author.

I almost think there is something causing my husband's metabolism to be slow, or maybe it's just naturally on the slower side for men. I mean, every guy I've ever known has lost weight simply by eating healthier, in general terms. It always seems so easy for them. But maybe I've just known guys who lose weight easily. I don't know.

 

[Netzach]

Gut weight, also -

you must chill.

Right? What's the point of life, we're TOPS dammit.

But really. Must chill. SO much easier said than done.

Do you do your sitting zen / breathing / nothingthefucksoever regularly? I don't.

I lose weight when I eat small amounts of good fat laden or even bad fat laden caveman shit and ignore anything like any starch. But you know all that body for life stuff and you're probably having your egg white black bean breakfasts.

 

[intothewoods]

I've kind of gone back to white flour and sugar actually. I'm not sure how that's going to play out at this point.

I was doing all wheat but I can't make up my mind about wheat. When I bake with wheat flour, it simply doesn't taste as good. It tastes bitter. Whole wheat pastry is certainly better, likely because it's more refined. Apparently you want to use wheat berries and grind them yourself for a whole grain, so that's something to consider. I do like spelt flour quite a bit for cookies. But bread is better with some white flour. It just is. (I mean, the kind I bake)

I try to limit sugar, and often bake with maple syrup, but not always.

Caveats -- I do not eat processed food, other than probably pasta (which is typically brown rice pasta). I make my own bread and baked goods. I hardly ever eat out.

So far I'm still maintaining my weight. I have to really watch portion size and I have to stay active. I could lose ten more pounds and be, like, bikini hot, but I'm "normal" weight according to the charts and still fitting into my "skinny" clothes.

I don't know. I'm worried about regaining but I really enjoy cooking and baking, and eating things I love. My one rule is I will not eat anything that I'm not in love with. I'm not going to eat because it's there or if it's mediocre.

 

[Keroin]

I've kind of gone back to white flour and sugar actually. I'm not sure how that's going to play out at this point.

Semi-related...

Something scary/interesting I learned about wheat lately. I was talking to a woman who grew up in Saskatchewan on a wheat farm. Her parents still run the farm. She said that the strain of wheat the farmers used to grow contained about 15% gluten. That was normal. Now, of course, everyone is using a GM strain because they get a heartier crop that's easier to harvest and they can harvest 2-3 times per year. This new strain of wheat that is common throughout N.America?

60% gluten.

The human body is just not designed to handle that load of gluten. No wonder we're suddenly seeing a rash of weight and wheat-related allergies and sicknesses.

 

[Keroin]

i don't want to be a negative nancy, but how exactly are these soda's "good for you"? Stevia may not be bad for you, but it's not exactly a health supplement. What other nutrients does it supply? From looking at the ingredient list, it looks like it supplies...water maybe? But no other essential nutrients.

I'm not saying the product doesn't have a place. Indeed, it looks like something I want to try! It just seems a little misleading to put forward a product as healthy or "good for you" when the only good thing about it is that it's not "bad" for you. I've been seeing a LOT of people doing this on my recipe sites and it's starting to annoy me xD

There is mounting evidence to show that stevia is very beneficial. The Japanese have been using it to help treat Type II Diabetes for years and more and more studies are showing the positive effect of stevia on insulin levels and insulin resistance.

 

[bhndblueyes88]

There is mounting evidence to show that stevia is very beneficial. The Japanese have been using it to help treat Type II Diabetes for years and more and more studies are showing the positive effect of stevia on insulin levels and insulin resistance.

Okay. That does make some sense; those are touted benefits of many sugar-replacements and fibers and I can stand behind that. I'm still a bit hesitant to jump on the Stevia bandwagon. Not everyone has insulin resistance or other insulin problems. It reminds me of the massive "gluten is evil" movement. No. Gluten is not evil. Gluten causes adverse reactions in some people. Your average person does not have a documented gluten adversity. I've seen a lot of people that go with the "but I stopped eating gluten and I suddenly felt better", but most of those stories I've read about have been people who actually just went from an unhealthy diet to an OVERALL healthier diet. Gluten-free gave them the "push" and direction to transition, but gluten wasn't actually the problem. I have not seen much actual evidence beyond such anecdotes of gluten intolerance being "more widespread than we think!" or other such taglines.

Which is kind of a long way to say that even if Stevia helps people with certain disorders, that doesn't make it a "healthy food additive" in my mind. It makes it a helpful supplement to select individuals.

I must point out that there are two areas of bias affecting my judgement of this product. For one, I don't like how it tastes. Which is a silly bias, but i'm a very food-motivated individual More importantly, veterinary medicine is overwhelmed with owners and companies that love to shove unnecessary supplements at animals. I'm very hesitant about supplementation when there is not a deficiency or a problem. Maybe it doesn't "hurt" on its own, but I see a lot of people use supplements to substitute for appropriate care or medicine. Or even just an needless expenditure that may compound to the point they can't afford actual medical care for their animal!! Not to mention all the usual wrestling we have with owners who think foods/diets are healthy for their animals when they don't know SHIT and refuse to listen to us when we tell them otherwise...

I guess my point is that I don't like it when foods are touted as "healthy" when they're just supplements that only directly benefit people with certain problems. I feel like it leads to people filling gaps in their own health with supplements and other 'healthy foods" instead of making the lifestyle changes to actually be healthy in the FIRST place.

A product like Nevia is great for appeasing the soda addiction...it's healthier to just drink water. The substitution should be decrease overall intake in favor of water/tea/similar and drink Nevia in response to those massive I NEED SODA NAO cravings. And I realize that is what you are intending to suggest What bothers me is how many people think instead "Sweet! This is HEALTHY soda, so I can drink it ALL THE TIME "

So yah...at this point I don't know what I'm trying to say with my ramble and feel like I'm just ranting for no reason...sorry

 

[Keroin]

Okay. That does make some sense; those are toted benefits of many sugar-replacements and fibers and I can stand behind that. I'm still a bit hesitant to jump on the Stevia bandwagon. Not everyone has insulin resistance or other insulin problems. It reminds me of the massive "gluten is evil" movement. No. Gluten is not evil. Gluten causes adverse reactions in some people. Your average person does not have a documented gluten adversity. I've seen a lot of people that go with the "but I stopped eating gluten and I suddenly felt better", but most of those stories I've read about have been people who actually just went from an unhealthy diet to an OVERALL healthier diet. Gluten-free gave them the "push" and direction to transition, but gluten wasn't actually the problem. I have not seen much actual evidence beyond such anecdotes of gluten intolerance being "more widespread than we think!" or other such taglines.

Which is kind of a long way to say that even if Stevia helps people with certain disorders, that doesn't make it a "healthy food additive" in my mind. It makes it a helpful supplement to select individuals.

I must point out that there are two areas of bias affecting my judgement of this product. For one, I don't like how it tastes. Which is a silly bias, but i'm a very food-motivated individual More importantly, veterinary medicine is overwhelmed with owners and companies that love to shove unnecessary supplements at animals. I'm very hesitant about supplementation when there is not a deficiency or a problem. Maybe it doesn't "hurt" on its own, but I see a lot of people use supplements to substitute for appropriate care or medicine. Or even just an needless expenditure that may compound to the point they can't afford actual medical care for their animal!! Not to mention all the usual wrestling we have with owners who think foods/diets are healthy for their animals when they don't know SHIT and refuse to listen to us when we tell them otherwise...

Well, stevia is definitely a taste you like or don't like. I get that. I had to change my diet drastically several years ago because of health issues and that meant I had to get used to lots of new flavours. It was weird, at first, but I'm of the opinion that what we interpret as "bad" tasting is often just "different" and we can grow to like the flavour if we give it time. This has definitely been the case for me with stevia, to the point where I actually now prefer that flavour over sugar most of the time.

From personal experience, I can say that one of the single best things I ever did was remove processed, refined sugar from my diet. Not that I don't ever eat it, but I keep it is as a special treat, not a staple. Having said that, I still like having sweet things now and then but what are my options? Refined, processed sugars or chemicals? Stevia is the only truly very low GI, natural sweetener out there. I like drinking a soda now and then, but regular sodas are just liquid white death and diet sodas have far worse chemicals in them. If I can get a naturally sweetened soda that doesn't have a million empty calories? That's awesome.

This doesn't translate into me advocating stevia as a supplement. I'm just saying that if you want to have a soda, far better to have one with a natural sweetener that has actually proven to be good for you.

And as for the gluten thing, if you read the reply I wrote to ITW, you'll see why a lot of people may now be developing gluten intolerance. Not to suggest that every person needs to cut out all gluten but our food is being messed with in lots of ways and spiked gluten content is one of them.

As a general rule, I don't push pills, fad diets or supplements on people. I am a firm believer in healthy food in very small amounts, along with regular exercise, as the path to better health (unless, of course, you have an illness that requires a very specific diet).

 

[midwestyankee]

I did some light lifting today: had a single-patty burger at Five Guys for lunch. Split an order of fries - which, for me, is like giving fries back to the cook - instead of having my own. I figured that with all the holiday eating to be had over the next couple of days, some warm-up exercise was in order.

 

[bhndblueyes88]

Well, stevia is definitely a taste you like or don't like. I get that. I had to change my diet drastically several years ago because of health issues and that meant I had to get used to lots of new flavours. It was weird, at first, but I'm of the opinion that what we interpret as "bad" tasting is often just "different" and we can grow to like the flavour if we give it time. This has definitely been the case for me with stevia, to the point where I actually now prefer that flavour over sugar most of the time.

From personal experience, I can say that one of the single best things I ever did was remove processed, refined sugar from my diet. Not that I don't ever eat it, but I keep it is as a special treat, not a staple. Having said that, I still like having sweet things now and then but what are my options? Refined, processed sugars or chemicals? Stevia is the only truly very low GI, natural sweetener out there. I like drinking a soda now and then, but regular sodas are just liquid white death and diet sodas have far worse chemicals in them. If I can get a naturally sweetened soda that doesn't have a million empty calories? That's awesome.

This doesn't translate into me advocating stevia as a supplement. I'm just saying that if you want to have a soda, far better to have one with a natural sweetener that has actually proven to be good for you.

And as for the gluten thing, if you read the reply I wrote to ITW, you'll see why a lot of people may now be developing gluten intolerance. Not to suggest that every person needs to cut out all gluten but our food is being messed with in lots of ways and spiked gluten content is one of them.

As a general rule, I don't push pills, fad diets or supplements on people. I am a firm believer in healthy food in very small amounts, along with regular exercise, as the path to better health (unless, of course, you have an illness that requires a very specific diet).

Yah, I don't disagree with anything you've said And soda with stevia is definitely a better option than soda with aspartame!! I guess I just feel the need to soapbox about any ol' supplement because it gets under my skin

I do keep trying to make myself like the taste of stevia-products...but it hasn't worked yet xD I've mostly been trying the flavour packets for water, though, so maybe it's just a problem with those. Which is a shame, because it does encourage me to drink more water. At home I just drop lime slices or whatever in my water, but I don't like to do that at school where I can't change out my limes. And i'm not about to just let them sit there in my bottle all day either, with all the particles that float throughout an animal hospital...

 

[intothewoods]

Semi-related...

Something scary/interesting I learned about wheat lately. I was talking to a woman who grew up in Saskatchewan on a wheat farm. Her parents still run the farm. She said that the strain of wheat the farmers used to grow contained about 15% gluten. That was normal. Now, of course, everyone is using a GM strain because they get a heartier crop that's easier to harvest and they can harvest 2-3 times per year. This new strain of wheat that is common throughout N.America?

60% gluten.

The human body is just not designed to handle that load of gluten. No wonder we're suddenly seeing a rash of weight and wheat-related allergies and sicknesses.

Gluten allergies truly are on the rise (as are all allergies), though we don't really know why for sure.

Ideally I like to do the "processing" myself for everything, but it's not really practical for flour or sugar. I'm not sure what the solution is for me.

 

[Homburg]

My husband has a similar issue. I don't know why he hasn't lost more weight though he does need to up the exercise. His diet is pretty good actually.

Kids are fine, and getting older, taller, and more expensive. Whee. Viv's not doing too badly. We both hit 40 this year, so that's something.

 

[Homburg]

First - Hi H!!! Happy holidays and all that.

Yeah, it's definitely cal in cal out, if you're eating well. Your issue, of course is that with heavy lifting your body will DEMAND fuel and you'll likely feel like shit if you don't provide it. But, as a general rule, humans need FAR less food than we think we do. I am always at my leanest when I eat Lilliputian portions of food. It just may not work for you, though. Have you read The Cure For Everything? You might find some good info in there.

http://www.penguin.ca/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9780670065233,00.html

Haven't looked at it. I'll give it a gander.

My health is actually very good. My back has been mostly behaving, I've solved my respiratory issues, (good gravy, that thing they probe your sinuses with is evil!), and the combination of TCM and drastically upping my iron intake has normalized my crazy hormones - yay!

Well, that's worth a WooT! As to work causing some sedentary behavior, well, it's work. Sometimes that's how it goes.

--

Gut weight, also -

you must chill.

Right? What's the point of life, we're TOPS dammit.

But really. Must chill. SO much easier said than done.

Do you do your sitting zen / breathing / nothingthefucksoever regularly? I don't.

I lose weight when I eat small amounts of good fat laden or even bad fat laden caveman shit and ignore anything like any starch. But you know all that body for life stuff and you're probably having your egg white black bean breakfasts.

Oddly enough, I am seriously mellow these days. Even the holidays haven't really stressed me out. Probably why my BP was so mellow. I can't remember the last time I tested that low, and it was an average of three tests over about 15 minutes, so not a fluke test.

Aside from the belly, my life isn't so bad. Stress is pretty darned low. I am apparently just eating too much, regardless of what my food diary says *shrug*

Though, to be honest, that was a moment of angsty crankiness. I'm pretty mellow about the weight too. As I've shown over the years, I tend to be performance focused. Not that I'm a performance athlete, but that I pay attention to how my body performs more than I do what the mirror says. Performance has been pretty hot lately, so it's tough to get super worked up about belly fat.

--

Semi-related...

Something scary/interesting I learned about wheat lately. I was talking to a woman who grew up in Saskatchewan on a wheat farm. Her parents still run the farm. She said that the strain of wheat the farmers used to grow contained about 15% gluten. That was normal. Now, of course, everyone is using a GM strain because they get a heartier crop that's easier to harvest and they can harvest 2-3 times per year. This new strain of wheat that is common throughout N.America?

60% gluten.

The human body is just not designed to handle that load of gluten. No wonder we're suddenly seeing a rash of weight and wheat-related allergies and sicknesses.

Yeah, read something about this too. I've had minor issues with gluten for years in hindsight, but it has just steadily gotten worse in recent years until it exploded last year.

 

[bhndblueyes88]

Alcohol (most notably, the deliciousness of local wines) will be the bane of my weight loss. -__-

 

[FurryFury]

I don't feel a great need for it even though I could enjoy it. With my sinus med, I'm over the moon in just half a glass or even half a craft beer. Also I'm trying not to drink around my girl she is old enough to do so legally but it blocks her meds which she dearly needs.

FF

Alcohol (most notably, the deliciousness of local wines) will be the bane of my weight loss. -__-

 

[bhndblueyes88]

I don't feel a great need for it even though I could enjoy it. With my sinus med, I'm over the moon in just half a glass or even half a craft beer. Also I'm trying not to drink around my girl she is old enough to do so legally but it blocks her meds which she dearly needs.

FF

I don't need it, but I like tasty things. There's a lot of local stuff around here that's pretty damn delicious!! In some ways, it's worse than soda for me because I usually get "enough" soda pretty quickly. As we all know, alcohol lowers one's inhibitions so I usually end up drinking more... It's usually fine when there's not a lot of wine or local beer in the fridge, which is why I tend to minimize its presence in the house. But you know...holidays.


Unrelated: so I found out what's going on in my foot. Radiographs show a distinct chronic chip/avulsion fracture of one of my tarsal bones. I've been referred to the ortho and in the mean time will look into what kind of fracture it is and what situation I'm looking at. I'm going to choose to...investigate the P.A.'s specific diagnosis because the bone she thinks is broken doesn't make sense with the radiographic/actual anatomy... But it is definitely a tarsal bone!

Guess it'll be a while until I can run again. This upsets me because stationary work bores me and I can't work as hard due to lack of distracting scenery and I really dislike cycling. I'd use the elliptical, but I can't move at all naturally on one of those and it annoys the piss outta me. Swimming's out because its winter and even if the pool is indoor, my hair will still be wet when I leave (my hair goes Super-80s-Frizzy if it's blow dried). Soooo cycling it is, unless anyone has any better cardio ideas?

 

[Keroin]

Guess it'll be a while until I can run again. This upsets me because stationary work bores me and I can't work as hard due to lack of distracting scenery and I really dislike cycling. I'd use the elliptical, but I can't move at all naturally on one of those and it annoys the piss outta me. Swimming's out because its winter and even if the pool is indoor, my hair will still be wet when I leave (my hair goes Super-80s-Frizzy if it's blow dried). Soooo cycling it is, unless anyone has any better cardio ideas?

Do you have access to weights/machines? Consider a circuit program. When I was trying to get super lean w/o losing muscle, back in the day, my trainer put me on a crazy lifting program. I didn't need any cardio with this, believe me. Now, I wouldn't design the exact same program for you but a version of it would work and not stress your foot.

Essentially pick a series of exercises using weights and/or your own body weight for resistance. (As an example: You could do sit ups, push ups, dumbell curls, squats, lunges, dumbell press, etc.) The idea is that you want to do VERY high reps, very fast, with short rests in between. So you could do 30-50 dumbell curls, rest 30 seconds, switch to sit ups, rest 30 seconds, etc...

Remember to keep proper form even though you're moving fast and if you use weights drop them down to about 30-40% of your IRM. Do a short test run to make sure none of the exercises hurts your foot and switch out any that do. Aim for a total of 20-30 min of training to start and you can up the time once you build your cardio and strength.

ETA: If you don't have weights, cans or water bottles work, too.

My two cents.

 

[bhndblueyes88]

Do you have access to weights/machines? Consider a circuit program. When I was trying to get super lean w/o losing muscle, back in the day, my trainer put me on a crazy lifting program. I didn't need any cardio with this, believe me. Now, I wouldn't design the exact same program for you but a version of it would work and not stress your foot.

Essentially pick a series of exercises using weights and/or your own body weight for resistance. (As an example: You could do sit ups, push ups, dumbell curls, squats, lunges, dumbell press, etc.) The idea is that you want to do VERY high reps, very fast, with short rests in between. So you could do 30-50 dumbell curls, rest 30 seconds, switch to sit ups, rest 30 seconds, etc...

Remember to keep proper form even though you're moving fast and if you use weights drop them down to about 30-40% of your IRM. Do a short test run to make sure none of the exercises hurts your foot and switch out any that do. Aim for a total of 20-30 min of training to start and you can up the time once you build your cardio and strength.

ETA: If you don't have weights, cans or water bottles work, too.

My two cents.

I thought about that option. I've done it before, but I have one problem with it. The weight program I'm doing now is meant to build raw strength since I lost so much over the past few years. I don't want to build this up again just for the sake of doing so, but because I want to go into large animal surgery. Any livestock work goes better with a certain degree of strength, but these are big animals and it can be difficult to manipulate their body and organs during surgery without strength. I can get by without developing this strength, but I've already noticed an improvement just in my ability to do basic things like keep hold of a hoof or restrain a calf... it's just such a nice little help!

So I guess my biggest concern is whether I can combine the two in a way that only lowers the weight so much I can get in cardio without sacrificing much rate in strength building. Or would I be able to do, say, a day of 5x5 followed by light-weight circuit training after that without sacrificing much at all?

As a side note that is filled with correlation bias, I also feel like I don't get as much fat burn from circuit training. I have no hard numbers to back this up at all and its based purely off observation, and it makes no logical sense, but I feel like only get a good fat burn from running or riding. Yes, other activities get my heart rate up (even more than those activities) and circuit training gets it bumping just as well...but it really doesn't seem to take a lot for my HR to jump up past the 170-180 range, even when I'm doing fairly mild-seeming activities, so I'm not sure I can trust my HR as a reliable measure of how hard my workout is :/ I know it doesn't make any sense and I'm probably totally off base. It's just what I've observed.

 

[IrisAlthea]

I thought about that option. I've done it before, but I have one problem with it. The weight program I'm doing now is meant to build raw strength since I lost so much over the past few years. I don't want to build this up again just for the sake of doing so, but because I want to go into large animal surgery. Any livestock work goes better with a certain degree of strength, but these are big animals and it can be difficult to manipulate their body and organs during surgery without strength. I can get by without developing this strength, but I've already noticed an improvement just in my ability to do basic things like keep hold of a hoof or restrain a calf... it's just such a nice little help!

So I guess my biggest concern is whether I can combine the two in a way that only lowers the weight so much I can get in cardio without sacrificing much rate in strength building. Or would I be able to do, say, a day of 5x5 followed by light-weight circuit training after that without sacrificing much at all?

As a side note that is filled with correlation bias, I also feel like I don't get as much fat burn from circuit training. I have no hard numbers to back this up at all and its based purely off observation, and it makes no logical sense, but I feel like only get a good fat burn from running or riding. Yes, other activities get my heart rate up (even more than those activities) and circuit training gets it bumping just as well...but it really doesn't seem to take a lot for my HR to jump up past the 170-180 range, even when I'm doing fairly mild-seeming activities, so I'm not sure I can trust my HR as a reliable measure of how hard my workout is :/ I know it doesn't make any sense and I'm probably totally off base. It's just what I've observed.

How about those rowing machines? That will bring both cardio and strength where you need it the most i think?
I don't know how much stress it would put on your ankle though.

 

[intothewoods]

Kids are fine, and getting older, taller, and more expensive. Whee. Viv's not doing too badly. We both hit 40 this year, so that's something.

Kids -- They do that! Congrats to both of you on hitting the big 4-0!! Hope all is well there and you all enjoy the new year.

 

[bhndblueyes88]

How about those rowing machines? That will bring both cardio and strength where you need it the most i think?
I don't know how much stress it would put on your ankle though.

Hmmm...I could try it. Those machines have always kind of intimidated me for some reason, but I could try it! If it hurts I can always go back to cycling

 

[bhndblueyes88]

Well it looks like I'll be trying the rowing or circuit training tomorrow or...something...I don't know...I just twisted that same ankle on the ice this morning so I don't know what I'll do xD I may ask the weight-room guys if they have any ideas if the rowing doesn't work.

 

[ecstaticsub]

I had been maintaining at or slightly below goal weight up until a couple of weeks ago when I came down with the bout of bronchitis from hell. It's now been over 3 weeks and I still get short of breath just walking from the parking lot to my desk at work. Having asthma isn't helping, either.

Unfortunately I haven't been able to exercise in weeks. I have also lost my appetite so I haven't been overeating but I am back up to my allowable upper limit of goal range.

I desperately need to get over being sick so I can work out again.

 

[jen_litgirl]

I haven't posted in here before but I've been reading and it's been helpful to read that there are other Litsters who are working on getting into shape.

I started about 7-8 months ago and started at about 195 pounds and I'm down to 163. I've gone from a size 14 to a size 4 and I still have 20 pounds to lose. I have a personality that starts something and it becomes all I think about and all I do so when I've exercised before I've pushed too hard and hurt myself. This time I started slow. I started with just walking 2 km 6 days a week. As soon as it started to get easier I bumped it up to 5km and then 8 and finally 10 km with a stop every 2 km to push out 10 pushups. (The pushups were a suggestion from a Litster, thank you!)

Halloween candy and Christmas baking has slowed my progress to a crawl but the holidays are over and I'm excited to get back to work. I'm now working on toning and getting more muscle. Has anyone read the book, You Are Your Own Gym by Mark Lauren? (There's a phone app that will walk you through the exercises) It's only about 30 minutes 4-5x a week which is a lot less than I was doing before but it does give me those muscle lines and tones everything up and that's what I want now.

It appears to be a good size group of us that are trying to get into better shape. My question is, do you have a weight or a size goal that you're trying to hit?

I don't have a goal which is why I'm curious. I'm just trying to get into better shape so I can do more. Since it's winter I'm trying to get out cross country skiing as much as possible and I've decided to enroll in the Cookie Race (15 km) to keep me motivated.
http://cookierace.com/

What are your goals?

 

[Loverskitten]

I lost about 20 pounds in the summer (dieting and not drinking alcohol) I would like to get to 120, my body seems to want to stay at 125ish I can get to 122 if I really watch my eating, but then it's right back up. Grrr. Now I remember why I used to not own a scale.

As for exercise, my goal is to do some. I hate it.