<p>I will join in. Last year I started to eat better and move more. I cut out most of the white foods. I lost 30 lbs and felt good. About 6 weeks ago I went to the Dr for some pain that had been bothering me for a very long time but had finally reached a place where it was stopping me from exercising. I started physical therapy but I needed to take a break from my physical activity. Along with that and the holidays I find myself today having gained back around 7 lbs.
Today I went back to my oatmeal. Healthy lunch and dinner and no snacks. Lots of water. Did 10 minutes on the bike at therapy and did a 30 minute almost pain free walk on my hills at home. 3o minutes is about what I can go without pain. Once the pain starts I have to stop.
I am hoping to make myself at least hit my walk even if it is just for 15 minutes. Also no more stops at the local bakery for a peanut butter cookie.
Also started using Daily Plate again today. Keeps me honest.</p>
<p>Mousegray–</p>
<p>there was a big change in my life just from the act of getting to the gym each day. There was something about making that committment to myself and not allowing it to be negotiated away in the day-to-day time wasters which made me more productive.</p>
<p>After about a year, I added one other thing, which was a career goal I’d had for a long time, and I was able to get that done in a year and a half. It changed things for me significantly, and add together the total time I spent each day, including the working out and the work related activity and I was now spending 3 hours a day on things I had only thought I wanted to do before then.</p>
<p>Now, all these years later, after many projects, I don’t even see myself as a procrastinator, anymore. I am the type of person who sets a goal and then starts working towards it a day at a time. I’m very likely to be in the middle of doing something or finishing something I started a while ago.</p>
<p>Before working out every day, I thought about doing a lot of things, but it always seemed like it would take so long or so much work to make it happen. Now, I don’t think about the amount of time involved long-term, just where I can fit the consistent effort into my current day. If I only have ten minutes to work towards a long temr goal each day, that seems like it is “fine.” Before, it seemed like it wouldn’t be enough.</p>
<p>But one hour for 365 days is a lot of hours in a year.</p>
<p>I once heard somebody say, “We can accomplish much less in a day than we think we can, but we can do much more in a year than we ever dreamed.” </p>
<p>After I ran my first 10k, I could really “get” this was true.</p>
<p>Try to add 10 minutes to your workout each day next week and do thirty minutes or so. The endorphins from working out kick in at 15 to 20 minutes, so you are not getting the “high” from it which is intrinsically motivating!</p>
<p>I would love to form a habit of NOT going to fridge every time I am bored, but it is too much of commitment. In addition, I do not have weight problem, so there is no incentives. I guess, you need some incentive to form any new habit. It is very easy to get addicted to some activities, though, keep in mind that. Then you feel that you must do it, not doing it will be frustrating and sad. Exercise is one of them (there are some chemicals that are being reseased, so you get addicted to them), there are some others (for example, pottery, most people who have this hobby will say that it is addictive).</p>
<p>mom60 – It sounds like most of your workout is lower body/cardio. Have you considered adding in a little weight work? A pair of hand weights (2 lbs if you’ve never done it or haven’t done it for a while) and slow movements will make a swift difference to your arms, chest, and back. </p>
<p>I hate it when my arms get flabby and, though I’m no Michelle Obama, I find it easy to tone biceps and triceps with just a few curls and extensions every day. It’s also a result you see pretty quickly which is great for your spirits as most physical changes are slow…slow…slow. </p>
<p>I think we as women (no offense I-Dad and others!) forget that healthy isn’t just ‘thin’. We need to be strong too…and the more muscle we have, the more calories we burn. Yay!</p>
<p>^Novelisto, None works after certain age. 2 lbs is nothing for me, I have been doing weights for about 30 years, practically every day. I am afraid to do free weight since I am prone to hurting myself, so I do machines. My Upper body weights vary 50 - 75 lbs (combined for both arms) and I notices that other much better built women are usually using much lighter weights. My arms have always been flabby and will remain so for the rest of my life. My upper body is very weak and will remain so, it is just the way it is. Sometime I get tired just shampooing my hair (thanks goodness, short hair). I learnt to use my legs to help my arms when applicable (pottery wheel). My legs are very strong. I exercise for 2 hrs every day, I am addicted to it.</p>
<p>Maybe have a chat with a trainer, Miami, if you aren’t seeing the results you desire. </p>
<p>There’ve been some excellent studies on mild weight lifting among people in nursing homes (far older than us!) who have seen remarkable results in stability and strength by adding hand weights into their lives. People-who-no-longer-need-walkers results! </p>
<p>Fifteen reps with a five lbs hand weights are all that is necessary…every other day. The 2 lbs are for beginners…get comfy with those. Keep form until you start to get shaky…when you can do 15 comfortably without losing your form and feel like you can do more…move up to 5’s. I use 8 lbs and love it…and feel the firmness w/o ever looking like Ar-nuld. </p>
<p>There are plenty of examples on line for exercises that work the arms and upper back. Start slow…never go outside your comfort zone…and keep at it. You will look better in short-sleeves and avoid the dreaded ‘underarm wave’…::Shudder::</p>
<p>We all are built differently. I know somebody who has great arms and very flabby legs. I am just opposite. Both of us have been exercising for few decades. “Inderarm wave” and stomach are definitely mine to keep (despite swimming every summer, which is very upper body intensive). Nothing could be done about it. Flabby thighs are hers (despite dancing in a past), I will not have them even if I gain 50 lbs.<br>
Maybe if I started exercising before my 30s I would have different arms, but I am not in nursing home yet and hopefully I will go underground before I am advised to go there. I have not seen senior citizen with firm body, although there are amazing body builders in their 80s. But we all know how they got there…most people should not be doing it.</p>
<p>Great that you have amazing results with so little efforts. I am OK too, at least behind, got one side of my body right. Oh, well, nobody is perfect.</p>
<p>Here ya go:</p>
<p>A Jillian Michaels branded dumbbell set, in stock at WalMart for $29. Three pairs of stylish dumbbells with a storage tray:</p>
<p>Two 3 lb weights
Two 5 lb weights
Two 8 lb weights</p>
<p>These would be the perfect three weights for most women who are just starting. You’ll outgrow the 3 lb weights very quickly, but probably need them at the start for things like “lateral raises” where you are lifting the weights up to your shoulders with your arms fully extended to the sides. This set is cheaper than buying the weights ala carte.</p>
<hr>
<p>If you want to spent a little more, a lot of people like these adjustable dumbell sets. It’s a storage tray, wieghts, and handles. You simply move a latch pin to the desired weight and the handle picks up the right number of plates for any combination:</p>
<p>2.5 lbs
5.0 lbs
7.5 lbs
10.0 lbs
12.5 lbs</p>
<p>[Walmart.com:</a> Jillian Michaels Ultimate 25-lb. SpeedWeight Set: Exercise & Fitness](<a href=“http://www.walmart.com/ip/Jillian-Michaels-Ultimate-25-lb.-SpeedWeight-Set/15188972]Walmart.com:”>http://www.walmart.com/ip/Jillian-Michaels-Ultimate-25-lb.-SpeedWeight-Set/15188972)</p>
<p>This set includes two adjustable dumbbells and a storage tray for $69, in stock at Walmart. it’s a little more expensive than buying separate dumbbells, but takes up less room and gives you nice even, small increments.</p>
<hr>
<p>When you get ready to move up from those sets, Walmart also stocks (although not always consistently) and has the best price on the plain gray metal hex dumbells in a range of sizes – five pound increments from 10 lbs to 40 lbs.</p>
<p>[Walmart.com:</a> Cap Barbell Cast Iron Dumbbell: Exercise & Fitness](<a href=“http://www.walmart.com/ip/Cap-Barbell-Cast-Iron-Dumbbell/11099738]Walmart.com:”>http://www.walmart.com/ip/Cap-Barbell-Cast-Iron-Dumbbell/11099738)</p>
<p>I’ve been lurking. </p>
<p>I’ve been walking.</p>
<p><em>crawling back under my rock</em></p>
<p>I bought mine at Dick’s. Not in a set, just individually. That way I wasn’t tempted to lift too much too soon. </p>
<p>Youdon’tsay – Crawling is also excellent exercise! How heavy is your rock?</p>
<p>I guess and late in replying since everybody is trying already. I’ll try the 21 days too. As many of you, I really need to exercise again. I started jogging in late October last year, but during the holidays I lost my will :(</p>
<p>Day 2- walking, tracking my eating and no stopping for a cookie.
Novelito- maybe we should start a thread on beginning weight training. I have some 2 lb weights and I have attempted to use them at times but I have not developed any routine. Or really know what exercises are best for the absolute beginner.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Cut through all the muscle-head jargon and “weight training” is really pretty simple. Comprehensive weight training consists of exercises that stregthen four basic, everyday movements:</p>
<p>a) Bending at the knees: the basic movement you use to sit down and get up from a chair. The group of exercises include squats and lunges. Really important because the inability to get up and down off the toilet is what typically sends old people to a nursing home.</p>
<p>b) Bending at the hips: the basic movement you use when bending over to pick something (fairly light) up or to tie your shoes. The exercises are really more to increase (or preserve) the flexibility of the hip and to bend with the hips, not the lower back. The group of exercises include the various “deadlifts”.</p>
<p>c) Pushing with the arms: the basic movement we all use every day, such as when trying to push a closet door closed! The pushup is the classic exercise for this one, although a lot of the dumbell exercises mimic pushing.</p>
<p>d) **Pulling with the arms: **the basic move we all use everyday, such as trying to open a stuck closet door. The classic exercise for this one is the chin up.</p>
<p>All the nonsense about working on this muscle or that muscle is just mumbo jumbo. It’s really all about improving strength and flexibility on these four basic everyday movements. The workout book I just started using has four “strength” exercises in each workout. Yep, you guessed it. One for bending the knees, one for bending the hips, one for pushing, and one for pulling. Weights are just a tool. Many of the best “weight training” exercises don’t require weights at all, just using your own bodyweight as the resistance. In fact, most of us need to find ways to reduce the effective bodyweight in the beginning because we aren’t yet strong enough to do the exercises with the full bodyweight. This is almost always the case with pushups, chin ups, and squats. </p>
<p>So a beginner might start by doing “pushups” with the hands on the edge of the kitchen counter and the body at a 45 degree angle. When 12 of them gets to be easy, find something lower to put your hands on. Then, maybe something only a foot or two off the ground (like a step). And, then finally pushups with your hands on the floor. That might take a month or two, doing pushups a couple times a week. I had so much extra weight that I think it took me six months to start doing real “big boy” pushups.</p>
<p>^Be careful doing that with free weights. I prefer machines in gym, I also prefer being surrounded with people, some of them proffessionals who can help me in case of injury. It is very easy to hurt yourself doing weights, situps, pushups. Go slow and do not expect tremendous results after certain age, it just does not happen. But exercise will make you feel good, relaxed and elevate mood - these are my incentives to do it, I feel down if I don’t. However what is simple fo some, not so simple for another. Allow for you personal limitations and do not feel that you have to do everything that next person is doing.</p>
<p>Just noticed you guys are talking about weight training. I discovered the book “Strong Women Stay Young” about 15 years ago. I have to say, it’s one of the few fitness discoveries that changed my life. I"ve been following this program since then, usually twice a week but in the winter, busy times it gets a little dicey. </p>
<p>When I first bought my free weights, adjustable leg and arm weights which go up to 20 pounds, the joke was I needed someone else to carry them out of the store for me. :)</p>
<p>I worked my way up to 14 pounds each for arms, doing three different exerises with them (I’d have to look up the names), usually two sets of eight each. I use 20 pounds each for the leg weights and also three exercises, two/eight. Whole routine takes me about 15 minutes. </p>
<p>It’s made a huge difference in things like lifting. I have defined muscles in my arms and even those neck things a little. I probably have defined muscles in my legs, too, but unfortunately that is where I store my weight, so it’s harder to see them… :(</p>
<p>Anyway, I definitely recommend the book; I 've lent mine out several times to others who have kept up this system. Lots of things don’t work for me, but this does! Overall, it really makes me feel better and stronger, and I know it’s great for my bone health as I get older.</p>
<p>There’s a bazillion guides, internet examples, You-tube videos! Some are very good at showing you proper form, telling you things like breathe through the exercise; others are bad, even by some very well known ‘professionals’ where the techniques could be downright dangerous. </p>
<p>But for Mom60 – if you are still going to PT, ask your therapist to show you a few handweight exercises. I’m one of those folks that you can tell me 15x and I’ll still look at you like a collie, but show me once and it’s mine for life. If you start with just two or three moves, to get the hang of it, I think you’ll probably want to do more. It’s very easy, – as I-Dad said, ignore the ‘muscle talk’ and concentrate on what you want to accomplish – doesn’t take a lot of extra time, and is very beneficial. One of the things it helps with is staving off the effects of osteoporosis.</p>
<p>Keep up the good work, MiamiDAP. You may not see your muscles but they are working for you! </p>
<p>[Bone</a> density sharply enhanced by weight training, even in the elderly](<a href=“http://www.naturalnews.com/010528.html]Bone”>Bone density sharply enhanced by weight training, even in the elderly - NaturalNews.com)</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Amen. It’s amazing how you start to notice it in real life. Carrying groceries to the car. Changing a cat litter box. Cleaning up the garage; moving stuff around. Shoveling snow. Climbing up on a stool to get something off a top shelf. Squatting down to rummage around for something in the back of the bottom shelf of the fridge. Changing a flat tire. These are all the kinds of things that get noticeably easier from a little “weight training”.</p>
<p>A recent book, released a year ago, that has the most current workout/strength training/fat loss approaches for women is from Rachel Cosgrove:</p>
<p>[Amazon.com:</a> The Female Body Breakthrough: The Revolutionary Strength-Training Plan for Losing Fat and Getting the Body You Want (9781605296937): Rachel Cosgrove: Books](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Female-Body-Breakthrough-Revolutionary-Strength-Training/dp/1605296937]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/Female-Body-Breakthrough-Revolutionary-Strength-Training/dp/1605296937)</p>
<p>Her husband, Alwyn Cosgrove, wrote all the workout plans in a new book released last week that is awesome. It is the third in a series, that started with *New Rules of Lifting *and New Rules of Lifting for Women, but I would just jump right to this one. It may be the best fitness workout book in the stores right now.</p>
<p>[Amazon.com:</a> The New Rules of Lifting for Abs: A Myth-Busting Fitness Plan for Men and Women Who Want a Strong Core and a Pain-Free Back (9781583334133): Lou Schuler, Alwyn Cosgrove: Books](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/New-Rules-Lifting-Abs-Myth-Busting/dp/1583334130/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1294420240&sr=1-1]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/New-Rules-Lifting-Abs-Myth-Busting/dp/1583334130/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1294420240&sr=1-1)</p>
<p>And finally, for a handy reference of with color photos and instructions for every exercise in the world, this is a terrific book. What’s nice is that you can hear the name of an exercise, look it up, and then see all the variations that you might do if you have dumbbells instead of a barbell or a stabilty ball instead of a weight bench. This book also has a ton of workouts, incuding some by Rachel and Alwyn Cosgrove, plus info on equipment, diet, fat loss, yadda yadda.</p>
<p>[Amazon.com:</a> The Women’s Health Big Book of Exercises: Four Weeks to a Leaner, Sexier, Healthier YOU! (9781605295497): Adam Campbell MS CSCS: Books](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Womens-Health-Big-Book-Exercises/dp/1605295493]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/Womens-Health-Big-Book-Exercises/dp/1605295493)</p>
<p>Garland:</p>
<p>Looks like the woman who wrote your book, Strong Women Stay Young, has a website with a series of free basic exercise primers:</p>
<p>[Strongwomen.com</a> - Your Virtual Trainer with Dr. Miriam Nelson](<a href=“http://www.strongwomen.com/fitness.htm]Strongwomen.com”>http://www.strongwomen.com/fitness.htm)</p>
<p>I just glanced at the Strong Bones and Stay Slim exercises and it looks like good exercises and good tips.</p>
<p>yeah, it seems to be a good site, though she’s selling stuff, too. Way back, when I started (mid90’s) it was just the one book, and if there was a website, I didn’t know it. But looking now, I see lots of good free stuff there. I’m looking at the recipes, too, and saw some promising ones.</p>
<p>Mousegrey–</p>
<p>If you have disappeared, just so you know, I’ll be around for 21 or 22 or 23 or so more days if you want to start again today or tomorrow. :)</p>