<p>Interesting arguments on sunscreen. Apparently UVA is the big culprit in the really serious melanoma skin cancers and a very effective shield against UVA exposure is a good sun tan. So slathering on sunscreen every time we step outside may not be a great idea. Sounds like you want to avoid getting sunburned, but it’s beneficial to get enough sun exposure (a bit at a time) for a decent suntan in the summer.</p>
<p>^^^ This IS CC, and I was wondering why University of Virginia had a melanoma problem!
</p>
<p>^^ Ha Ha Ha… …</p>
<p>Idad, I actually wrote a magazine article about that more than 15 years ago after some Aussie researchers discovered that the most effective strategy against melanoma was actually a base tan, not sunscreen. That information of course does not seem to interest the sunscreen industry :). The reasoning is this: the risk occurrences that give rise to melanoma are ‘event’ burns. If you deliberately and carefully build the base tan, you do not experience the burn. The risk of sunscreen is that you have to absolutely never “error” when using it, or you can cause the high risk burn. So even if it means 5 or 10 minute initial a session in a tanning bed, you’re better off getting a base tan and then managing your exposure and reserving the sunscreen for extended exposures.</p>
<p>The sun is our friend, but like fat, bureaucratic medical entities that cook up recommendations over-simplify matters, then commotizers capitalize on it so the sun, like fat, has become vilified :)</p>
<p>Btw, I use 4,000 u D and once your levels are up you will I suspect find both increased immunity and overall mood improvement.</p>
<p>Deb922, if you’d like to pm me your weight, bmi, height weight and weight goal, I will be happy to help you evaluate your approach if desired in terms of whether it seems likely to work for you or not or see if your caloric budget needs refinement. Otherwise, I will try to share publicly a few considerations – while mostly empirical – that helped me have a more gradual and successful weightloss encounter this year: - YMMV, as each body is different, but I offer this just in case it helps you in any way. Not meant to suggest its the only way ;)</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Throw out the idea that you’re dieting. No one thrives in depravation. Instead, tell yourself you are going to make your calories count and savor every one of em. This means make adjustments that are more minor in the beginning, so that you adjust your lifestyle incrementally. Nothing, including c25k or any other form of exercise is actually about the calories burned. It’s about firing up your metabolism to process your food in a way that is efficient, feels good, and has desirable outcomes. I know that’s a fine distinction, but to make a lifestyle change last, you need to create the headspace where its organic and continually rewarding…not just on the numbers.</p></li>
<li><p>Once you have your head space sorted for slow, steady, loss, make sure your online tracker can accommodate this approach, and that your goals are achievable. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>In your case, 1200 calories may indeed be a good budget, but its actually just as likely that this computed goal is more related to some kind of time frame/deadline you input instead of a pace that is less dramatic and doesn’t undermine your basal metabolic rate – which is very important.</p>
<p>So lets say your goal is like mine, which is now 40 lbs (was 30, but I passed that). If I input July 4th as a goal, it will tell me fewer calories. But if I shift the timeframe to, say, a pound a week, it would calculate in my case a much higher caloric budget that is much easier to maintain (and habituate). </p>
<p>By never aiming to eat for less than “a pound a week” in terms of my budget, and when coupled with optimized but short exertion/exercises, I’ve actually lost more along the lines of 2 lbs a week, even with plateaus factored in and some hearty trips off the wagon.</p>
<p>That’s partly because I got off the depravation cycle. In other words, because I can go to the movies now and then and “afford” the popcorn or have a glass of wine after work, the diet no longer seems like a diet…it’s just a set of decisions that feel good. I don’t really know how else to explain this “shift” in thinking other than to say what you resist persists. So if you’re in a state of loving your body as it is today, but are still willing to manage its exertion and intake from a place of love, the whole thing will just feel easier. Sounds a little crazy, I know.</p>
<ol>
<li>Once you’ve established a long-haul goal, ensure that it at or exceeds your basal metabolic rate. That’s because if you eat LESS than you BMR, you will not only lose lean muscle, but your body will figure out what you’re up to and will torque down its caloric burn rate in “fat preservation mode.” If your body thinks its starving, it will hang on to every single little bit of fat it can…and that’s because fat is critical to a slew of neuro functions, as is protein. </li>
</ol>
<p>There are boatloads of BMR calculators on the web, so google around and get a lock on what yours is if your online tracker doesn’t tell you (mine does…I use mynetdiary.com).</p>
<ol>
<li>Now that you’ve given yourself a good slow goal with a customized budget that’s above your basal metabolic rate, take a look at your food lineup. The first weeks of tracking are a PITA, but if you’re using a tracker with community submissions, pretty soon you’ll have a whole catalog of easy entries. </li>
</ol>
<p>Most trackers will let you set goals among fat, protein, carbs by percentage if you want. While its important to try to stay above 20-30% protein, what you will benefit from most is taking a hard look at what you’ve historically eaten and kind of categorize them into frequency schemes – keeping what you can of the healthiest, nutritionally densest of the lot, and either eliminating or relegating to “once in a blue moon” the foods that aren’t really carrying their nutritional weight.</p>
<p>In my case, that meant pretty much saying goodbye to bagels in particular and breads in general, and relying instead on other grains, spelt, quinoa etc. to fulfill the complex carb category. That’s because the particular bagel I love from panera a weighs in at 600 calories. Just not worth all the walking 
meanwhile, I can have a delicious steak and some risotto inside the same 600 calories.</p>
<p>When you look at your previous caloric history, you may find you simply need to rebalance it a little or make some simple tradeoffs. Eg a spinach poppyseed dressing salad instead of a
Caesar.</p>
<p>But you’ll most likely find that the culprits are a preponderance of “fast sugared” types of carbs that make you feel hungry because your pancreas freaks out and produces boatloads of insulin to process them, then doesn’t know what to do with the leftover.</p>
<p>Don’t get me wrong – hunger can mark an effective metabolism, and should pretty much always be addressed as a signal rather than ignored, but the “false” hunger signals of sugary carbs is best resolved by avoiding the sugary carb :)</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Once you have some kind of initial “menu plan” for foods you enjoy that suits your budget, don’t under estimate the value of planning in terms of shopping ahead, and getting good at measuring your food. It gets easier to understand where all those little extras came from over time. Portion control is way more important than just about anything else…strictly speaking, you can eat ANYTHING and manage a caloric budget if you master portion control.</p></li>
<li><p>Exercise – contrary to popular belief, it is virtually impossible to lose weight solely through exercise unless it happens to also offset sufficient calories to bring you in line with what your caloric budget should be. That is not to say its not critical to the overall plan…it just means that with or without and exercise program you can and will lose weight if you remain below a given budget and above your basal metabolic rate.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>However, exercise can boost your metabolism to more efficiently burn calories and increasing muscle ratio ALSO burns a higher percentage of fat.</p>
<p>In my case I’m not a runner and have a back condition and time restraints that make traditional approaches to exercise a challenge. I’m not yet lean, mean and cut, but I have dramatically improved my shape and proportion by choosing some “more caloriically intense” frms of exercising.</p>
<p>In the winter, I started snow shoeing up a very steep hill. My route is only a mile and only takes 20 minutes. I cap that off with 10 minutes of intervals on an airdyne stationary bike that has built-in resistance. In spring, same deal, still with the ski poles, but I use microspikes. Soon I will be adding some aquatic resistance routines with n aqua jogger belt.</p>
<p>The research is coming out pretty strong tat “Nordic walking” or “exerstriding” is a very efficient exercise because it becomes whole body. I can see this in my waist. My oxygenation has improved dramatically. </p>
<p>Research also suggests that intervals are highly effective, fast, and lasting in terms of boosting fat burning. Intervals are when you do something like an all out intense 20 seconds followed initially by 40 seconds or more rest (until about 70%) heart rate. For a runner, you can apply the same principle, and n a way, I suspect that c25k already does to some extent. The benefit of intervals is that the same research has shown the increased burn rate lasts a full 24 hours after the activity, unlike most other forms of aerobic or resistance training.</p>
<p>So if you’re interested in exercise that burns higher, you can google around about those two things for a plan to complement your c25k work if you like.</p>
<p>But don’t be discouraged! Just enjoy the journey! I am excited for you because I know how great you’re going to feel, so hang in there and please reach out when you need help. I’m a newbie but have learned so much from the folks on this thread in a few short months I can truly say they’re instrumental in this process…and inspiring!</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Well, Deb922, I am with you. Have been discouraged so many times. Ask the people on this thread, who has not be one time or the other. Losing weight and keep fit is a life style change and it will be hard. Otherwise, everyone walking on street will be a super model.</p>
<p>Almost exactly one year ago, I was about 45 lb heavier and could barely walk a mile. Today, I could proudly say, “1/2 marathon, that is a piece of cake” :)</p>
<p>One thing I have learnt here is that exercise, which would make your healthier, does not really get your weight down - control intakes does. When I say control, I mean the right type of food and the amount, and the time to take them. </p>
<p>Eat several small meals during the say, and have your biggest meal in the morning. Don’t eat anything after 7:00 PM.</p>
<p>Well I’ve gone and done it now… next week I’ll have my first shipment of Paleo-Zone Diet meals arriving. I just placed the order from a place in Texas. Time to take the plunge!</p>
<p>How’s your shoulder doing, Hops?</p>
<p>DebT, feeling alright. I haven’t done anything with it since the other day ;)</p>
<p>I quit the bench press, but was able to finish the rest of my workout without pain that night. We’ll see what happens. May do some sort of workout today, but I’ll get back to my lifting tomorrow most likely…</p>
<p>kmcmom- What an excellent post! Thanks for that. There is such good information on this thread.</p>
<p>I did 2.6 miles before heading to the group training run to meet my daughter for 12 miles. She wasn’t feeling well and wasn’t sure how it would go- and it didn’t go well. She stopped at 2 1/2 and walked back to her car. So- I was sort of on my own since most of the other runners did not do the full 12 and the ones who did were the fast group. I did 15 today with both runs. Weather was awful- 67-76 degrees and about 95% humidity.I got some practice for that last week in St. John, but it was still awful. I carried my fuel belt with some Nuun and they had a nice water stop at 3 and 9 (same one-out and back). I made it- HR was way too high and pace too fast for a longish run the week before a marathon- but it’s done. H did come by on his bike when I was about at 7 1/2 of the 12 mile run and was surprised to see me out there alone. The course went by Alan Jackson’s former estate (he sold it a couple of years ago) which used to be a destination for tour buses. It’s something else. I think he has a 15 car garage or something.</p>
<p>Got a 44 ounce Sonic iced tea with a free coupon and then have to confess to getting 2 donuts at Dunkin.</p>
<p>Hops, you might like your meals just because they free up some of your time that would be otherwised spent on looking for/making food. 
Take care of your shoulder!</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Yeah. I paid for 5 days worth of meals which is a little more expensive than normal, but I’m thinking they’ll be a lot healthier too! I’m going to give it a try and see what I think. Then I can look at making them myself or continuing to buy them. We’ll see what I think :)</p>
<p>Terrific, kmcmom:</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>That pretty much captures my experience. I started out “dieting” in the sense of cutting out some obvious culprits (soda, candy, doritos, etc.). Over time, I added items to my mental “do not call list”, mostly by just saying to myself, no I’ll just skip that until I’ve lost 5 lbs and then I’ll buy them.</p>
<p>A funny thing happened… this led to a different way of eating. Not as a “diet”, just as the way I eat. Now, it takes just the slightest amount of “willpower” to walk by the big display of 2lb bags of red twizzlers or Doritos on sale at the front of the grocery. “No… fit people don’t eat Doritos…”</p>
<p>I completely agree with learning to eat nutrient dense foods. Spending 600 calories on a steak or big piece of salmon or chicken (with the skin) is so much better from a diet/health standpoint than a 600 calorie bagel – which (unless you are running a marathon) offers virtually nothing beneficial to you from a nutrition standpoint and will cause your insulin to spike, making you store fat for several hours.</p>
<hr>
<p>One tip on the salad dressings: if you can get off the store bought dressing you will be way, way, way ahead of the game. If you can get organized (and empty nesters have a better shot), you can whip up your own dressing with extra virgin olive oil, a selection of vinegars, a squirt of dijon mustard, and some salt/pepper almost as fast as pouring on storebought dressing. I just measure the ingredients in the bottom of a big mixing bowl, whisk 'em up, and then make my salad right in that bowl. Stirring it all to distribute the dressing. Heck, half the time, I eat it out of the same bowl if it’s my entire meal! By skipping the sugar of the bottled dressings, I can splurge with a little more good olive oil dressing and add blue cheese or parmeggiano. And, I bet I end up spending less than I would with store bought dressings… BTW, I think that notwithstanding the nutrition labels, the balasamic vinegars I often use probably do have more sugar than listed. I think they are playing games with rounding and serving sizes. The sweetness of these vinegars doesn’t match the sugar amounts on the label. But, if that (and some croutons) is my price for eating massive quantities of raw fresh veggies in salads, so be it… That’s a good “carb investment”…</p>
<p>I follow kmc’s philosophy for the most part without the science. :D</p>
<p>My plan three years ago was to reduce my portions a little, reduce my carbs some, get a little more exercise and make that exercise more effective, and be able to enjoy parties and wine tastings without guilt. I figured out which carbs I could not live without (1/2 a bagel or English Muffin for breakfast, the occasional potato, the occasional small serving of pasta) and which I didn’t need or were too tempting to allow in the house except for holidays (that would be cookies). I figured I’d eat around 1400-1500 calories and that would be my diet for the rest of my life. I’d see where it would land me in terms of weight loss. So far 30 pounds, but each year I lose less than the year before. I think I’ll lose five more pounds, I’d love to lose ten, but I’ll be surprised if I do. </p>
<p>I’ve always eaten real food, lots of vegetables and made my own salad dressing. I hear you on the balsamic vinegar - in fact the last one is so sweet we mix it with regular vinegar most of the time.</p>
<p>I actually have found several times in my life that I can lose weight just by exercising more. Probably a sign of what a sloth I’d been. Lost 20 pounds one summer by biking to work, another summer by taking up running. Even the two months I did the kettlebell, pushup, squat challenge every single day, I increased my weight loss.</p>
<p>3 mi treadmill run followed by elliptical while H finished up his laps in the pool. D was with me today! :)</p>
<p>“D was with me today!” Yay!!! :)</p>
<p>Just purchased ($20) and installed a fully functional Proform 400 Gi treadmill in basement. Will probably quit the gym soon and start to work at home.</p>
<p>$20 for a treadmill is pretty good.</p>
<p>My manager bought a commercial (used) treadmill on the cheap a while ago. Only caveat is that she had to take it away (she had some help).</p>
<p>I decided to do the 5k this morning. It was perfect weather and a nice flat course, yet I only managed 29:14. But I haven’t properly done my speed work so, my bad! I felt pretty good though, and I think I could go faster, but I have to remember my focus is building miles for the half, not getting faster for a 5k. </p>
<p>There are some really fast old people around here.</p>
<p>Great job, blankmind! When is your half?</p>
<p>Congratulations, Blank. I’m still aiming for that time. I’m glad you went through with doing the race. Sometimes “Just Do It” is part of the plan – follow-through is a good habit.</p>