<p>Kmc, about 7 weeks, yeah. I’ve done it before- lose weight that quickly. Weight actually falls off me really quick when I try. I gave up pop for lent a few times and would lose an average of a pound a week while doing just that. Maybe I’m too ambitious. We’ll see :). I’ll keep you all updated.</p>
<p>Congrats to Sabaray on the ANOTHER 5 lb party! </p>
<p>And to everyone else for keeping up their effort the best they can. :)</p>
<p>I had a dr. appt this morning for a “yearly” - I’m one of those who tries to “maximize” my weigh-in - eat light the night before, dress light the morning of and take a first of the morning appt before I eat anything!</p>
<p>Very hungry this morning. Had my green tea with lemon. Yeah, not loving the taste of this since I have never been a tea or coffee drinker. Blech! Loved my morning raspberry/banana/spinach/almond butter and flax seed drink. I have slept fairly well the past two nights and am not sure if it is from the warm detox bath with Epsom salts and lavender essential oil that is part of this program or from the Oprah/Deepak Chopra Perfect Health 21 day meditation challenge that I also started this week. I listen to the meditation guide while soaking and find it very relaxing. Today is the final day of the detox/cleanse so will weigh in tomorrow about my thoughts and if I feel any different.</p>
<p>Congrats to sabaray!!! Way to go! Wow! You and kmc are really do well! So proud of you! :)</p>
<p>Yay, sabaray.</p>
<p>KMC- excellent post and good reminder that exercise alone won’t take the weight off.</p>
<p>As for aqua-jogging, yes to all. It would mean I was injured, it is hard because to elevate my HR in water to an approximation of my running HR, I have to work really hard, I have to dodge the water exercise ladies, and you don’t travel very far in the water. it really is a great alternative to running, though, and a good recovery option.</p>
<p>cooker- I SO hear you about the dark, cold mornings! In fact, I decided last night that I wasn’t going out this morning in 23 degree dark. It is a shorter mileage day for me and I will do it after work. I needed the rest and am really over the cold and dark. Unfortunately, the group training run (I’m planning on 16-17, 12 of which my daughter says she’ll do with me) on Sat starts at 6:30am about a 25 minute drive away. Ugh.</p>
<p>Yay, Sabaray! I love all the five pound parties here lately!</p>
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<p>romaneyes: I was like you. I’d drop weight quickly whenever I stopped drinking soda and put it on slow, but steadily, whenever I started. I wish I had been able to have a “well, duh” moment and figure out the connection years ago. IMO, there’s no reason that anyone should ever drink a sugar soda. The younger you say goodbye to drinking them, the better.</p>
<p>I read [this</a> article today](<a href=“http://apnews.myway.com//article/20130314/DA50PC282.html]this”>http://apnews.myway.com//article/20130314/DA50PC282.html) about some obscure nasty ingredient in Gatorade, and wanted to scream, “It’s the sugar, stupid!”. :)</p>
<p>Okay, back to report on the Costco exercise clothing.
Jackets are $23, very Lulu-esque. These look well-made and would be great with yoga pants for just running around. My Costco only had black and hot pink – and I couldn’t justify getting them because I already have plenty in those two colors.
Their reversible fitness pants that seem to match the jacket look really nice, as well. They came with hot pink, turquoise and purple accents at the waistband, that reversed to black.Think they were around $20 for what looks like a Nike-type pant that would run anywhere from $40-60. I mainly wear shorts or skorts, so I passed on them, as well.
Finally, they had short sleeved, fitted, ruched fitness shirts in a wide array of colors for $9.99. They are quite nice, but very light weight, probably great when the temps begin to climb. They run large.</p>
<p>Going back to the food diary has been a huge help. You can think you’re eating low calorie, healthy, good for you, all that jazz, but until you actually log it and see it in black and white do you realize how quickly it adds up.</p>
<p>So happy for you, Saba! Losing more weight and having a wonderful mother daughter visit, priceless (though I bet Sabadog is glad to have you back and focusing exclusively on him)!</p>
<p>NM, you are brave. I have no willpower to do these programs of special consumption. I think it’s a remnant of the old, old days of trying the grapefruit, or all banana diet. I’m you’re feeling good, and the drinks you’re posting about sound tasty. </p>
<p>Good luck, Romani. I hope you reduce the clothing size and stick some new tips for healthy living.</p>
<p>Bromfield, How did you like the yoga class? Yes, Pope Francis took a very long time to make his appearance. Long enough that I started stressing about overdoing the exercise.
Nice post, KMC. I agree that the double approach of better eating and exercise, coupled with the idea that the changes must be lifelong, are key. It can all seem so daunting, but hallelujah for support threads like this one. </p>
<p>I tried an experiment today. After reading more of Younger Next Year for Women, which recommends everyone have a basic understanding of how their heart rates fluctuate during exercise, and following blankmind’s HR posts, I took my husband’s heart rate monitor out on my day 2, week 7 C25K run. The monitor worked well enough when I was walking around, but when I ran (Timex Ironman) it couldn’t capture my heart rate. I knew it was elevated, yet the monitor watch read way too low, with flashes sometimes of the true reading (130 -155). I suspect that the band is meant for the broader, flatter chest of an ironman, rather than the (slightly) curvy chest of this smaller female. The experiment was at least useful in providing a distraction that made the run go by easily enough. I could also tell that my heart rate dropped quickly–30 points, a minute or so after I started the cool-down walk. I just ordered a Polar women’s monitor that had good reviews. Based on the book and our work and tracking on cardio health, it seems like a good investment.</p>
<p>PlantMom:</p>
<p>You have to wet the two sensors on the back of the heart rate monitor chest strap to get reliable operation. On the Ironman plastic straps, it’s an area on each side of center on the plastic part. I think the sensor area is ridged, if memory serves.</p>
<p>On the soft straps (at least the Garmin version), the sensor areas are shiny black areas on either side of center. I just splash some water on the sensors when I put it on. </p>
<p>First time I went winter hiking, I realized how much I disliked splashing cold water from a drink bottle on my strap in the middle of a snowy parking lot, so I started putting the strap on at home. Battery life be damned – I ordered 10 of the large CR2032 batteries (fits the chest strap, the kitchen scale, and one of my watches) for $10 from Amazon!</p>
<p>Thanks, idad. I did wet the band sensors, just like H does. I had it tucked up under the band of my sports bra, as well, so all was snug. At the end of the workout, I was definitely sweating on it, too! It worked well enough,even while H and I were having lunch. I even confirmed the HR reading on a BP monitor when I walked in the door. It was only the running that was problematic. Also, I had the watch band on the smallest setting, and it was still kind of floppy. I am going to leave this setup, which works well enough for H, to him, and try my own. Since I had to really tighten the chest band, and he’ll have to readjust everything back for himself, I think he’ll appreciate my leaving his equipment alone. Besides, my watch band will be purple–to match my newest shoes :)</p>
<p>Shouldn’t be an issue for you in Florida, but here in the arctic, winter time drives heart rate monitors crazy. The super dry cold air generates static electricity as your shirt bounces against the strap, so you get these crazy high spikes. Better to have your own, anyway!</p>
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<p>My latest fitness acquisition are two cutest little 1.25 pound weight plates that FedEx delivered this morning. They look like little toy Barbie/GI Joe weight plates. Glad I ordered them. The core stuff I did with the cable pulley yesterday needed weights of 10 pounds (front plank row), 12.5 pounds (Pallof Press), and 15 pounds (side plank row). Ideally, you want equal plates on each side of the bar, so having those two little ones is a big help in making small changes. These exercises go to hell in a handbasket immediately when you try to do them with too much weight (they are core stability exercises, not weight lifting). I knew to expect that from doing them at the gym.</p>
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<p>But pop is my only vice :(. </p>
<p>I can’t even have ice cream, don’t take away my pop! lol</p>
<p>Rest day here today. A pouch of Bodylastics arrived here recently. My husband left the CD with me so I can scope out the exercises. 
Favorites anyone here would like to recommend?</p>
<p>I got four of the little 1.25s quite a while ago and they are quite nice. You can add 1.25 if you don’t mind unbalanced or do 2.5 pound increments.</p>
<p>Ran 5.5 miles today. Not sure if I’ll do more at the Y tonight or not.</p>
<p>CJane- Thanks for the clothing report. A couple of years ago my daughter discovered some tank tops that were Lulu clones at Costco and we each bought some. They are holding up great! I bet they will be around in a month or two at the stores.</p>
<p>Turned out there was a mistake in the corporate team results for my half marathon Saturday and we wound up winning first place! I haven’t totally figured out how it all goes- you are in a division based on how many from your roster actually complete the race and then scored according to place in your age group. We are NOT a particularly speedy group, but I guess the other teams aren’t, either.</p>
<p>Deb:</p>
<p>Those Bodylastics look sweet. I’ve got the “ghetto” version from WalMart.</p>
<p>Here are a few my favorite exercises with bands:</p>
<p>[Band</a> assisted active straight leg raise](<a href=“Active Straight Leg Raise Correction.m4v - YouTube”>Active Straight Leg Raise Correction.m4v - YouTube)</p>
<p>[Pallof</a> Press](<a href=“Pallof Press - YouTube”>Pallof Press - YouTube)</p>
<p>[Side</a> Plank row](<a href=“Side Plank with Band Rows via Bodylastics - Core, Lats, Upper-Middle Back Muscles - YouTube”>Side Plank with Band Rows via Bodylastics - Core, Lats, Upper-Middle Back Muscles - YouTube)</p>
<p>[front</a> plank row](<a href=“- YouTube”>- YouTube)</p>
<p>These all work great with resistance bands, except maybe the front plank row. It helps on that one to use a light band and stretch it out by moving back from the anchor so that you have relatively consistent tension through the whole range of motion. Go light! This one is a really challenging exercise.</p>
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<p>I’d eat ice cream way before drinking soda. A 12 ounce can of Pepsi has 41 grams of sugar. To get that much sugar from ice cream, I could eat three “servings” – 1.5 cups – of Breyers Vanilla ice cream. More calories (because of the fat), but I’d also be getting 9 grams of protein. And, I would also be full. I think that’s like 3 scoops of ice cream – a pretty big dessert. </p>
<p>It shows just how warped our thinking of nutrition can become. I think most of us would think of ice cream as being far “less healthy” than one little 12 counce can of soda.</p>
<p>Off yesterday. Felt flu like. Still lingering today, but would have hated myself if I bagged two days in a row.</p>
<p>Strength/core/stretch. Mile walk. 3 miles 8:00/7:30/6:30. Mile walk. Whirlpool/steam/sauna felt good. Feel drained/exhausted.</p>
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<p>That’s a rock-solid everday workout. Can’t imagine those kinds of speeds.</p>
<p>Rest Day</p>
<p>Cals 930
Fat 69 g
Carbs 2 g
Protein 69 g
Sugars 4 g</p>