<p>The plateaus are killing me. Weight melted off for the first month. Now, it’s lose 1/2 a pound, gain 1/2 a pound. Very little overall movement for several weeks now. </p>
<p>I’ve been pressing the cardio (8 miles per day walking plus 45 minutes Bob Harper or P90x) and eating less than 1500 cals/day and less than 100 carbs too.</p>
<p>Discouraging but I know it’s normal. Sigh.</p>
<p>Like iDad, I’d love to get some tricks and motivational ideas. :)</p>
<p>I have many things motivating me.</p>
<ul>
<li>I’ve known people who’ve aged well, and I’ve known people who haven’t. I want to be one of the ones who ages well.</li>
<li>As they say in Younger Next Year, this is my job.</li>
<li>I want to take care of my bones.</li>
<li>I like seeing muscle definition.</li>
<li>Races are fun, I want to improve my time, and maybe eventually I’ll want to train for a 10K.</li>
<li>I want to make my annual mileage goal.</li>
<li>I enjoy my at home exercise routine and am now trying new things to spice it up and increase the difficulty.</li>
<li>I feel better after I exercise.</li>
<li>I like the long run slower pace, and I like feeling like I can run fast when I do intervals (granted, not for very long! lol).</li>
<li>I like going to the gym pretty well.</li>
<li>I like being outside running on a pretty day. When we first moved up here I remember noticing all the people who would be active doing their sports whenever the sun was shining. It’s pretty cool to feel like I can be a part of that!</li>
</ul>
<p>There’s more, but that’s a start.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Nothing wrong with plateaus. They are kind of inevitable along the way and, just when they get under your skin, the bottom usually falls out from under the scale. That’ll happen for you one of these mornings…</p>
<p>In all honesty, though, you are probably doing too much cardio. I know that sounds stupid, especially in the context of “burning calories”, but it seems that the body adjusts to tons of cardio by becoming more efficient and not burning as much fat. Walking 8 miles a day is a TON of walking. Probably better to think about 45 minute P90X workouts, maybe slowed down a bit, three or four days a week, then walking for relaxation on the other days.</p>
<p>Alwyn Cosgrove’s [Hierarchy</a> of Fat Loss](<a href=“http://www.t-nation.com/portal_includes/articles/2007/07-060-diet.html]Hierarchy”>http://www.t-nation.com/portal_includes/articles/2007/07-060-diet.html) sure worked for me – although I stumbled into it and didn’t read his article until I’d already been following that formula, by accident.</p>
<p>Here’s another take on it from his wife, Rachel Cosgrove [The</a> Myth of the Fat-burning Zone | Active.com](<a href=“http://www.active.com/triathlon/Articles/The-Myth-of-the-Fat-burning-Zone]The”>The Myth of the Fat-Burning Zone)</p>
<p>To add to Rachel’s explanation, they have now figured out pretty conclusively that exercise that builds muscle decreases insulin resistance, which mean lower insulin levels which means reduced tendency to store fat. I actually think that this hormonal shift is probably the real reason that Cosgrove’s Hiearchy of Fat Loss works. Lean muscle (and I’m not talking about buikly up like Arnold on steroids) is our best friend when it comes to fat loss/maintenance.</p>
<p>If all else fails, just take motivation from the fact that you are eating right and exercising right. Keep doing that and you will reap the benefits, even if the scale doesn’t move for a while. I’ve heard Rachel Cosgrove talk about women in her gym losing two sizes on their jeans without dropping a single pound on the scale. So, don’t overlook the power of hanging a pair of thermometer jeans (that you want to fit into) on the back of the closet door.</p>
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</p>
<p>Amen to that. It really is a big plus. </p>
<p>It does feel great to have gotten a good workout, particularly when you can hit that sweet spot of feeling like you’ve worked every muscle in your body, but not being particularly sore.</p>
<p>That kind of fits with that moment of epiphany I had one day when it actually dawned on me that I could become a physically fit person. It’s very motivating.</p>
<p>thanks, idad. you might be right about the cardio. sometimes, i DO overdo it in an attempt to gymnorexic myself into skinny jeans. 
i will check out the links you posted. </p>
<p>and Deborah, thanks for your list. you are right. oh, how we ignore the obvious when we are faced with hunger and a pizza! :)</p>
<p>seriously though. thanks to both of you.</p>
<p>If I don’t feel like exercising, one peek at HerRoom and Tommy Bahama sites cures the laziness. :)</p>
<p>Wiggling into these [damn</a> Brooks running tights](<a href=“http://demandware.edgesuite.net/sits_pod21/dw/image/v2/aaev_prd/on/demandware.static/Sites-BrooksRunning-Site/Sites-BrooksCatalog/default/v1364906692338/images/ProductImages/210250/210250_979_f_ZM.jpg?sw=1484]damn”>http://demandware.edgesuite.net/sits_pod21/dw/image/v2/aaev_prd/on/demandware.static/Sites-BrooksRunning-Site/Sites-BrooksCatalog/default/v1364906692338/images/ProductImages/210250/210250_979_f_ZM.jpg?sw=1484) is all the motivation I need!</p>
<p>Speaking of which, I’d love to see how they sized these. My glutes fit in them. My hamstrings and quads fit in them. My waist even fits in them. But, I guess I need to find some calf reducing exercises. Sheesh.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>We read about your workouts, idad, and then think “Jessh, I better at least make it up the hill today ;)”</p>
<p>I had a sore/swollen knee yesterday and can’t figure out why. I don’t recall hurting it on the hill yesterday, but do feel the climb more in my knees without the snowshoes for some reason (weight distibution? eg the snowshoes protect me from clumsiness.) At any rate, it hurt too badly to do the airdyne last night. I used the legendary Australian dream and it seems better this am, so perhaps I’ll get caught up tonight. Will still do the hill this am, but maybe need to stick to the “slower” pace to emulate snow shoe speed instead of trying to get the work from speed – the trail is so uneven.</p>
<p>MOWC, btw, kudos on your unfailing commitment to your mileage. In this case being a high-miler is a great distinction 
</p>
<p>When it comes to motivation, I just walk around the grocery store and notice the people in discomfort or pain, moving slowly and not aging well. It helps me past the bakery, and it makes me grateful that 10 years later, I no longer walk with a cane. For about a year and a half when my facet joint condition flared up grocery shopping was pure torture and usually ended with me in near tears… My surgeon promised if I walked a mile every day I could get by a good long while until they invented a less invasive surgery to get rid of the bone spurs in the facet joint. And for 9 of those ten years, I did, until I moved here and was faced with the hill.</p>
<p>So that’s my motivation for the hill after a year of living idiotically, between weight gain and decreased mobility I may have to set a more ambitious goal, however, to fit in the extra stuff. With weightloss, I’d set a goal of 30 lbs, but now that its closer, have moved it to 40. So with my physical activity, I need to set a “plus one” goal – eg in addition to the hill, airdyne or kettlebell every night, for example.</p>
<p>Speaking of which, idad, you only do intervals every second day, right? Or do some do them daily?</p>
<p>Deborah, that’s a great list. Motivation: I think of the last few years of my dad’s life and the difficulties caused by diabetes. I want to avoid those complications to life if at all possible. Motivation: pictures of my D’s high school graduation, when I was as big as a barn door. Motivation: running and playing with sabadog and being able to keep up with him. </p>
<p>Could not get it into gear yesterday but walked about 6 miles cumulatively with sabadog. Monday was a rest day but I had class with him and that’s a fair amount of activity/work. This morning I went to the gym and climbed Kiliminjaro for 3.2 miles on L15. Will do C25K tonight (this is my way of holding myself to the plan). </p>
<p>Animals are funny about their food. Sabadog has a really sensitive digestive system; we’ve finally found a food that works for him and when it was recalled for potential salmonella we had a rough week with him. Substituted the same brand, but a different formula. When his regular food was finally available again, he was overwhelmed with enthusiasm. Ahh, pets.</p>
<p>My motivation is the general goal of running 1,000 miles this year which looks very doable. I got up early to do my stretching and some weights and was thinking of going out for a quarter-mile run and then noticed that the temperature is 29 degrees out (I was think that it was in the upper 30s). So much for that idea.</p>
<p>My weight has been in a tight range for the last month but it has been a very busy and stressful month. I can get back to focusing on workouts for the next two months. I expect to get back to playing tennis a few times a week around mid-May when my schedule improves and when it’s regularly warm enough for the outdoor season and the courts are cleaned off and the nets are up.</p>
<p>So I’m just trying to get back to a 30-mile week and then go from there. Having an annual goal helps, whatever it is.</p>
<p>For me, exercise is the answer to finding a new “who I am”. Deborah says, “I’ve known people who’ve aged well, and I’ve known people who haven’t. I want to be one of the ones who ages well.” This is me. I JUST don’t feel different than decades ago in my mind so I don’t want my body or my appearance to be “let go”. Exercise gives me something that is for ME and for ME to be responsible to - outside of the work and home. </p>
<p>I’ve never been a couch potato, but I’ve also never been athletic. Learning to run at age 53 is something I am SO proud of. And now, I’m sort of “addicted” in a mild not crazy way to the whole concept of exercise. The feeling afterwards, the great sleep following exercise, the fun clothing (seriously!), the gradual, but natural better sculpting of parts of my body - after decades of being wife, mom - well I still am those things - BUT this defines the NEW me - the one who wants to feel good, look good, and live a healthy lifestyle. (sidenote - I LOVE food - I don’t deny myself much, but am very moderate in quantity, very selective on splurges and always, always planning ahead for my eating for the day/week - then I’m prepared and in control)</p>
<p>Oh, and BTW, I made an annual running goal for 2013 (just started running in Sept 12 doing C25K). My goal 250 miles - modest and doable I thought. After 3 months I am close to 100 miles. Sharing this to show that whether your goal is to exercise twice a week for 15 mins, do 20 push ups a day, or run 1000 miles a year - the important thing is it defines YOU and your own personal satisfaction. No need to compare to others, only to satisfy YOUR needs.</p>
<p>I was going to say that I don’t need motivation to workout, but I guess that’s not 100% true. I don’t need motivation to do active things. I have had a physical/mental need to do active things my whole life. I cannot <em>not</em> be doing something physical on a regular basis or I start to feel anxious. I’ve been heavily involved in various sports or dance things, usually involving competitions. Running is just my current physical thing.</p>
<p>What I do have trouble with is keeping up the weight training. It is very important as I approach geezer-dom, but I hate it! My motivation for this is that it helps prevent running injuries, also, if I’m going to live to be 100 (my current plan), I want to be able to walk around on my own.</p>
<p>Good thinking, blankmind! No matter how old we live to be, being able to walk around on our own is a good thing! :)</p>
<p>I recently realized S left the chin-up bar at home (it fits over a doorway). So every time I pass it I hang from it or do something approaching a chin-up. Some day I may be able to chin myself again.</p>
<p>Re: Motivation. One of my exercise videos includes the statement “You never regret a good workout”. Pretty simplistic, but true. I also started running late (age 56) and have been loving getting medals for some wins in my age bracket in local races; like a lot of others here I’ve always been active but never an athlete and certainly never thought I’d be a runner (although there are no marathons in my future)! I have just finished reading the Younger Next Year book for women, and have to say that I found it very motivating. I think feeling in control of how you feel is very powerful. Obviously there are some things that are outside of our control, but to the extent I can, I want to keep feeling younger than my age.</p>
<p>What a great topic! Thanks, Deborah, that’s a wonderful list. Everyone’s thoughts and ideas are excellent.</p>
<p>I, too, struggle to keep up weight training and I know how important it is for my aging bones AND my running. With a demanding job and a “main” sport that takes a lot of training time, it’s easy to let the weight stuff slip. </p>
<p>I also need to stop the over-eating and thinking it’s OK to eat whatever I want since I run so much. It isn’t, and my weight will creep up just like anyone else’s. </p>
<p>I guess by now my running and fitness has become so ingrained in who I am that it is almost like breathing. I just do it. I don’t always want to. In fact, in the cooler temps I actually hate going out the door. I do it anyway and I’m fine. I rely on the feeling I get once I have accomplished what I set out to do- whether it’s a 3 mile training run at low HR or a marathon where I win my age group! The “I DID IT” feeling never gets old! That feeling can come from your first push-up or that 5 pound drop on the scale.</p>
<p>I am fortunate to have a lot of “community” surrounding my fitness activities- our group here is certainly an important one. I also have our strong local running community, my co-workers who think I’m an Olympian, my online women’s running group and the online intense running group (love-hate relationship with that one). I am told by younger runners that I inspire tham and they “want to be me when they grow up”. This gives me some reason not to quit when I feel like quitting. And, trust me, we all feel like quitting!</p>
<p>Seeing my kids work on their fitness at their individual levels also motivates me and makes me glad that my husband and I introduced them to fitness and running even before birth! 
My daughter has blossomed in her running and in the realization that she can achieve goals that she sets even though she isn’t her brother or her parents. We don’t have her many other talents, so we are thrilled that she is now enjoying the fitness community, too. Our son- I am thankful every day that he has been able to return to his elite level of training after missing out on the college running experience we had all hoped he would have. That motivates me, too.</p>
<p>Great lists on motivation, everyone. Going through and cutting and pasting to my own motivational material.</p>
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<p>This screams 10K ;)</p>
<p>Speaking of 10K, here’s a good article I just buzzed through a few mins ago…in it they recommend a running goal a month of 50miles for 10K prep.</p>
<p>[Base-Building</a> for Your First 10K: The 50-Mile Challenge | Active.com](<a href=“Base-Building for Your First 10K: The 50-Mile Challenge | ACTIVE”>Base-Building for Your First 10K: The 50-Mile Challenge | ACTIVE)</p>
<p>Thanks, CJane. A thought along those lines did come to me when I was doing Monday’s long run.</p>
<p>Abasket, thanks for posting the link. That sounds like more than Hal Higdon’s 10K novice plan but less than his 10K intermediate.<br>
[Hal</a> Higdon Training Programs](<a href=“http://www.halhigdon.com/training/51122/10-K-Training-Guide-Novice-Program]Hal”>Novice 10K Training Program | Hal Higdon)
[Hal</a> Higdon Training Programs](<a href=“http://www.halhigdon.com/training/51123/10-K-Training-Guide-Intermedite-Program]Hal”>Intermediate | Hal Higdon)</p>
<p>PlantMom, are you still mulling over the 10K run/walk training? Have you found a program you like? Upon quick perusal a few days ago I saw a free one (was it on about.com?) and at least one where there’s a charge. Going through C25K does make you see the value in having a plan, that’s for sure.</p>
<p>I would be willing to do a 10K run/walk. I currently have no desire to do a 10K run only! Please update here if you find/try an app/program that you like or are going to try!</p>
<p>Getting ready to take a trip out town tomorrow - 9 hour drive from Ohio to Jersey for a funeral. Found myself worried about keeping up my exercise the next couple of days! Ran 2.5 yesterday and am going to try and sneak in a 1-2 mile run outside today in prep for those long hours on my behind the next few days. </p>
<p>I did have an idea for a new run challenge - keep track of how many states I can “run a mile” in - am I crazy? Nothing that I would go overboard on, but just a long term list to keep track of. On every trip, make an effort to run in some way (picturing myself running around hotel parking lots to equal 1 mile…haha).</p>
<p>Abasket, I love it!</p>
![http://demandware.edgesuite.net/sits_pod21/dw/image/v2/aaev_prd/on/demandware.static/Sites-BrooksRunning-Site/Sites-BrooksCatalog/default/v1364906692338/images/ProductImages/210250/210250_979_f_ZM.jpg?sw=1484]damn](http://demandware.edgesuite.net/sits_pod21/dw/image/v2/aaev_prd/on/demandware.static/Sites-BrooksRunning-Site/Sites-BrooksCatalog/default/v1364906692338/images/ProductImages/210250/210250_979_f_ZM.jpg?sw=1484%5Ddamn){kind=link}
