<p>MiamiDAP: my acupuncture dr. (trained as surgeon in China) told me to back off on fruit for weight loss. She said no more than the equivalent of one and a half apples per day, so I guess three servings of fruit. I was eating a lot of fruit, thinking I was being healthy. Also she recommended no fruit in the evening. Something about your body processing the sugar. Cranberry juice probably counts as a couple of servings, since it is concentrated.</p>
<p>My mantra re desserts is ONLY on special, special occasions, like your birthday or anniversary or Mother’s Day. I can always tell you exactly when my last dessert was!</p>
<p>bookiemom,
I consume tons of fruits every day year round, they are my primary diet. I eat a little something else between fruits. I might consume equivalent of 10 or so fruits every day. They never bothered me, I just love them. I do not like juices, I never have them, cranberry juice was to help me with problem, I think it did. In addition to fruits, I eat lots of chocolate and honey, all sweet. I believe that every body is different, have to try what works for you and do not listen too much to others. I have fixed my arrhythmia by starting drinking less coffee. Then I hear on TV from one of the leading cardiologists in a country, that coffee has no effect on arrhythmia. Well maybe it does not have effect on all the rest of population, it had a huge effect on me, so I did not change my intake based on what he said.</p>
<p>iPod workout for me. From looking at the program, it’s upgraded versions of the “easier” workout for me. More challenging dumbell lifting while sitting against the wall, lying on the stability ball, etc. Everything goes from 30 seconds per exercise to 45 seconds. I think I’ll be OK though, certainly compared to Monday’s forced march.</p>
<p>MiamiDAP, you make it sound like you sit around eating fruit, chocolate, cake, sipping cognac but 10 miles is NOT doing nothing! I assumed you meant walking 10 miles.</p>
<p>But I agree, fruit is very, very good for you.</p>
<p>I LOVE fruit. Have a fresh fruit smoothie every morning and usually an apple or berries later in the day. I don’t think I would give this up even if I could lose weight by doing it. </p>
<p>Skipped yoga today…it’s just too beautiful out. Went for a long walk at lunchtime instead. </p>
<p>I do agree with Miami that everyone needs to experiment to find out what’s right for them. I’m a big Michael Pollan fan. I’ve always had good eating habits but I really cleaned up my diet last year after reading his books, and hoped a side benefit would be losing weight. Well, some pounds came off but then it stopped. My trainer reminded me that it’s fine to eat healthy, but it does all boil down to how MUCH you eat. She pointed out that Nutri System has lots of processed food but folks still lose weight. So I’m still trying to find that balance. And figure out how to eat less without feeling it too much.</p>
<p>I couldn’t give up fruit either. I love it. </p>
<p>I am looking forward to a nice, relaxing Easter weekend. I’ll be picking up D on Friday after her classes for the weekend; plan to spend the morning doing some “specialty” grocery shopping before she’s ready to leave- picking up some nice fish to grill amongst other items. Anyone have any suggestions? Only fish she doesn’t like is salmon and I’m not a huge tuna fan. Something different would be great!</p>
<p>I second Halibut. It’s wonderful and in season. Just don’t buy it at Costco (bad experience there just yesterday). Go to a fish store, Wegmans or Whole Foods. Warning…it’s pricey!</p>
<p>That sounds delicious and simple. I love halibut. Sold. I’ll be hitting the Whole Foods Friday morning- have good luck with fish there. Anything at Whole Foods is pricey! D also likes swordfish but I always worry about sustainability and mercury- are those legitimate concerns or a figment of my imagination? You folks seem like the type of people that would be in the know on these issues. </p>
<p>Usually find myself this time of year buying goodies for the Easter baskets. No goodies this year- am treating D to a haircut and facial Friday afternoon instead. Hopefully she’ll enjoy it! </p>
<p>If I lose 5-7 more pounds in April I will treat myself to a facial as well. I’ve always wanted one and figure that would be a good reward. I refuse to treat new running shoes as a reward- I view those as a necessity. So I’ll have to tackle that project in the very near future. How frequently should shoes be replaced? Is there some type of general rule I should adhere to?</p>
<p>It is very simple. If you do not like dill, use can use a dash of oregano, and if you do not like chives, do not add them. Lemons, dried onion, black pepper, oil and capers are the key ingredients :)</p>
<p>Check the good buy of the day thread - there was some good discussion of mercury in fish and sustainable fishing.</p>
<p>iPod guru posted a three-part video on interval training today. Some of it is a little simple, but a terrific and informative introduction to using interval training – for everyone from a completely couch potato beginner (like me) to a 5k runner.</p>
<p>The concept can be used on an exercise bike, treadmill, ellipitcal, or walking/running outside. Basically instead of slogging along for an hour, go for 30 minutes alternating periods of higher speed/intensity and lower/recovery speed. So for a beginner (as covered in the videos), it might be 1 minute jogging then 4 minutes walking.</p>
<p>Since we can’t link to YouTube videos (arrggghh), here are the first two parts (it’ll help to zoom them to full-screen):</p>
<p>toneranger - grilling lemons is easy, just cut them in half, brush with oil and put them on the medium-heat grill for a few minutes. You do not need to cook them to perfection, it is simply done to add “smokey” flavor to the dressing. I take shortcuts and do not grill lemons if I’m in a hurry - my H says he can’t taste the difference because he swallows the tasty fish in one gulp.</p>
<p>I have skipped several days of exercise. I don’t feel like going out today. It is windy and I am feeling relaxed after a great massage. But I will make myself at least head out for 30 minutes.</p>
<p>OK, pigs are flying. I just did the iPod workout and my heart rate didn’t even come up much above 70% on most of the exercises. Only one exercise kicked my butt: arm extension lifts in a seated position against the wall. My arms were fine. The thighs gave out (burning, jelly) 7 seconds short of the 45 second mark. I’ll have to work on that one. It looks so simple… That’s one where the lines of my decreasing weight and increasing fitness haven’t quite intersected!</p>
<p>Otherwise, I was able to sail through the two sets. Even the back extensions on the ball that have been killing me were fine. I’ve got the breathing down on those.</p>
<p>Intervals at the end on the bike were hard. Eight reps of 15 seconds at 90% max speed, 45 seconds of recovery. I’ve been doing those are cardio days, but it’s tough at the end of a workout.</p>
<p>I’m pretty motivated to see this kind of fitness improvement and be at the point where I’ve got to increase the weight or the tempo on some of this stuff.</p>
<p>mkm…yes it counts; I’m sure you burned lots of calories. </p>
<p>Idad…must feel great to be making that kind of progress. </p>
<p>Just got back from my trainer appt. Waiting for the tub to fill :)</p>
<p>She went easy on my legs (as requested). But KILLED my arms this time…lol. Be careful what you wish for. At one point, I thought I was gonna be sick. BTW, she finished up by having me put on boxing gloves, sit down, stand up, smack at her (hard) 20 times, sit down, repeat. 10 times. I thought I would die on 9 and 10. But actually…it was kinda fun :)</p>
<p>Not that I would know, but I think that boxing is one of the most aerobically tiring sports around. Takes enormous energy. Throwing ten punches is hard.</p>
<p>One of the most famous fights of all time was the Muhammed Ali versus George Foreman (of George Foreman grill fame) fight in Zaire. Foreman was a much harder puncher, so Ali spent the first five rounds leaning against the ropes letting Foreman hit him, all the while taunting him to hit him harder, hit him faster. Saying he had heard he could punch like Joe Lewis, so he better stop hitting him like a girl. Foreman just kept throwing punches faster and harder, while Ali rested against the ropes, using them to hold his weight up and absorb the hits, and used his arms to fend off most of the blows. After five rounds of hitting Ali on the ropes, Foreman had exhausted himself. Ali came off the ropes and knocked him out in the eighth round. The strategy is now known as the rope-a-dope. </p>
<p>On this exercise thing, I must be doing something wrong. I still haven’t felt a sore muscle. I’m stiff at night after working out; I can definitely tell I’ve been exercising, but nothing has really hurt yet, knock on wood. I hope it stays that way. About the closest I’ve come is some stiffness in the elbows from the bike, which has kind of a rowing machine action for the arms.</p>