<p>I think you are adding muscle. Are your clothes looser?</p>
<p>Yes…had to buy new jeans. People say I have nor rear or hips. But not loose in abdominal area, chest, arms, face. I hate looking like a candy apple…thin stick legs and round middle and top! Very frustrating to buy regular sized pants but need plus size tops!!! :(</p>
North Minnesota:
I hear ya. I’ve been on the longest plateau of my journey so far – ten days where I lost a grand total of one pound. The plateau started with a day where I had lost two pounds (unrealistic) and has now ended with two pounds lost over two days. It’s just the way this thing goes. I do think that there are times when adding muscle is offsetting fat loss. It does average out over time, but those plateaus can be a little demoralizing.
Alas, we don’t get to pick where the fat goes on or comes off. It’s first on/last off. I’ve done a superb job losing fat in my fingers, ankles, hands, and so forth! The belly and the butt a lot slower. The new smaller jeans I bought are now starting to fall off me. I take that as a good sign.
I’ve changed up my exercise over the last couple of days, doing some real-life things like changing a flat tire twice on Sunday in addition to my walk and then doing squat lifts with bags of fertilizer at WalMart and doing intervals in the yard with the fertilizer spreader. Actually, changing a flat in my wife’s car last fall was one of the things that made me realize I had to start getting back some fitness. I was just ridiculously difficult lifting the tires and stuff. What a difference. It’s still a chore, but no question I have orders of magnitude more real-life fitness than I did six months ago.
I actually kind of hit the plateau on exercise, too. I was just worn out and sore all over. I take that as a sign to back off for a day and recharge. That’s happened a couple of times and a day off really helps.
As of this morning, I’ve lost 29 pounds. I carried two 15 pound bags of fertilizer from the car to the garage. It’s almost unfathomable how much weight that is, when I think about carring it with me every minute of the day.
NM–I’m your opposite. When I exercise and eat right, I lose in my arms, belly, and face. Thighs and calves? Still elephant legs–so frustrating. I look like a deformed pear–I can wear medium tops, but have to go to larger sizes for pants.
Genetics, sigh.
<p>To find out how I’m doing weight-wise, I don’t need a scale. All I have to do is poke my back, just under the waist. That is where I’ve started to grow fat first in the last few years.</p>
<p>Men just look at how much belly is hanging over the jeans.</p>
<p>Wow! 29 pounds idad!!! Good for you! You must be ecstatic! Just think how much healthier you are! Hooray for idad!!! 
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<p>Garland…we’d make a good fruit salad! ;)</p>
<p>I’m pretty satisfied with the progress so far, but I try to just stay focused on the next five pound increment, which will be thirty pounds. That’s the bottom of my chart, as if it’s my final goal. When I hit it, I’ll change the goal to the next five pound increment. I find that setting out manageable incremental goals and hitting them is the best way to stay motivated to eat less and move more.</p>
<p>The plateaus worry me a bit because, with the way I’m eating and exercising, I should continue to lose weight. I do know that at some point, the low-hanging fruit will be gone. I hope that’s not for a while yet because I know that the scale is a great motivator.</p>
<p>I violate all the rules by weighing myself every morning when I get up. I think that may have to become a permanent part of my daily routine because, whereever I end up, I’m not putting weight back on.</p>
<p>idad…the book I’m reading…the I Diet ( ‘I’ for Instinct) says that weighing yourself everyday is a good thing. They recommend starting with a baseline by averaging your weight over a three day period. Same time each day. The idea is that you if you catch yourself inching up, you can adjust your eating habits. </p>
<p>After losing 12 pounds, I am a plateau and have been for a long time. I’m going on the two week I diet as a kick start. It focuses on high fiber, protein and healthy carbs. The menus are pretty strict for two weeks but I can handle it for that short of a time period. Then I go on a modified version of what I’m already doing…eating clean good food. I think the fiber is key though to avoiding hunger…lots of good ideas about how to increase your daily fiber in this book. </p>
<p>Only about 10 -12 pounds to go and I think I can do it. </p>
<p>Idad…congrats on your progress!</p>
<p>I weigh myself at the gym which usually ends up being three times a week. Sometimes I weigh myself at home - but it’s in kilos and not nearly as encouraging! (It’s also harder to read.) Happily, last Sunday’s reading of +3 pounds went down by 2. So I’m still on a plateau, but not regaining weight! </p>
<p>I wish my legs looked better. Definitely tend to the pearish.</p>
<p>Since some of our flaws are hard to change, I hope everyone is checking out the Dressing Young thread, too. Clothes can disguise a lot. Earlier this week I saw a friend all dressed up…in a very thin white knit top tucked into slacks. I’ve known her for five years and I had never before noticed the substantial belly on her. A woven top, untucked, perhaps with a bit of fullness, would have totally disguised the belly. At the same event, another mom wore a short top that showed an inch of her muffin top. Why oh why didn’t she just wear a longer top?</p>
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<p>I don’t know what I’ll do when I hit the big plateau. I guess it depends where the plateau is. If I don’t make it to male model territory, I’ll be disappointed, but perhaps accepting of my fate! I can do more on the diet front, but it would really start to feel like dieting which I have been trying to avoid as I don’t think it’s a sustainable approach for me. </p>
<p>I feel for all the ladies, knowing that you are told you must have the stick figure body of a heroin junkie or be considered fat. Ridiculous.</p>
<p>It’s those pics that came back from graduation…yikes. Def need to work on my middle. Eating less (w/o getting hungry) is the way to do it. I hope I can. </p>
<p>And MissyPie, you’re right about clothing. I wore what I thought was a slimming black top. The exact opposite as evidenced by the pics!</p>
<p>One thing that’s good. We went away for five days. Ate out a lot. Didn’t gain ONE pound. I was careful! But still I had some key lime pie and other treats. Not bad.</p>
<p>iPod nazi kicked my butt today. New workout. Brutal new exercises. Intervals first, then the exercise circuits. 83 degrees in the house. Too much. I lasted 33 minutes, got the intervals and one circuit of the exercises in the bank, but sweating way too much for a fat guy.</p>
<p>Had my yearly physical today, and although I don’t have the blood results yet, my BP was 105/80! I don’t think I’ve had a reading of 105 in, I don’t know how many years! </p>
<p>Bought another ten sessions with the personal trainer and continue to learn a lot about healthy lifestyle choices. </p>
<p>One small worry I have is that my doctor confirmed that I have a growing bunion on my right foot. It does cause a bit of throbbing from time to time, and sometimes I feel myself compensating in my movements. He wrote a script for an x-ray and gave me the name of a podiatrist. I can’t even imagine the setback this would mean if I had to have surgery… ugh!</p>
<p>Had been going to the chiropractor about once a week for adjustments, but lately I have not had a single issue with my back, so I did not schedule another appt. when I was there today. My trainer says you can never do too much in the way of back exercises. I just know that it has not felt like this in years! </p>
<p>No more dizzy/nausea episodes while working with the trainer… we know what my limits are (I get that way when my HR is up around 170 - my doctor was very impressed when I told him that I was able to work that hard before I got that way). </p>
<p>Massage therapist has not asked whether or not I’ve been working out (I’m not volunteering the information; I’m waiting for her to say something), but has commented that I’ve not had any knots or kinks that really needed extra attention, like I’ve always had the previous eight years I’ve been seeing her!</p>
<p>Please, please think positive thoughts for my blood results tomorrow!</p>
<p>Wow, i-dad, I’m impressed! You lasted 33 minutes doing vigorous exercise inside an 83 degree house? The only exercise I can do in that kind of heat is swimming. We Seattleites are wimps when it comes to heat.</p>
<p>iPod nazi threw a curveball and started out with the cardio intervals (those are usually at the end). Those felt great actually. By the time I got halfway through the first exercise circuit, though, I was drenched. I’m in New England and completely unaccllimated to muggy heat.</p>
<p>The exercises in this new circuit were crazy. It started with a new version of hamstring curls. Lie on the floor on your back, put your ankles on top of the stabilty ball. Then, use your abs and butt muscles to lift your hips off the ground forming a straight line from your shoulders to the feet. While holding that position for 45 seconds, roll the ball up to your bum and back out. It’s really hard. In this version, when the knees are bent and the ball is tucked against the bum, take one foot off the ball and straighten it towards the ceiling. I was shocked that I could do it at all, let alone for 45 seconds.</p>
<p>The next one is a pushup position, but with the feet on the stability ball. Then, while holding the top of the pushup postiion, roll the ball in to your bum, with the knees bending down. That is really hard, too.</p>
<p>Lunge walks while pressing a pair of dumbells overhead with each step. That gassed me bad.</p>
<p>Ball squats with curl and press of two dumbells each time you come up from the squat. </p>
<p>And, fly lifts on the ball. Stomach on ball. Legs extended with feet against wall. Start with two dumbells down by the floor and then lift them like wings to shoulder height. OMG, I was gassed after 20 seconds.</p>
<p>And, the “easy” finish was 45 seconds of plank with the arms on the stability ball instead of the floor.</p>
<p>ish…went to friend’s moving in to neighborhood welcome and had a few too many glasses of wine. Hope it doesn’t sidetrack me. :(</p>
<p>Yipee! I did it! I made my way to work and back without touching a steering wheel. I walked to the bus stop - 1.5 miles. Take that, BP! DH was very impressed. Now it is time for my weights.</p>
<p>Went to gym, did upper body plus 35 minutes of w/l treadmill (didn’t have time for more). Felt fine. Woke up at 5 am with severe pain radiating from deep in left buttock. Got up and took ibuprofen. Now it’s mostly gone. I have no lower back pain at all, or I would think it is sciatica. Still could be, I suppose. </p>
<p>This started the day after i was <em>almost</em> in a serious car accident. I was in the right hand lane, and a guy just in front of me in the left lane with no warning suddenly turned directly in front of me to make a right hand turn into a driveway. If I hadn’t slammed the brake to the floor, wrenched the wheel to the right, and hit the horn simultaneously I would have t-boned him. As it was, the turning and skidding and screeching seemed to go on forever, and it took him forever to FINALLY start to turn out of my path. We came to a stop with my bumper probably 3 inches from the side of his truck: no visible space from my seat. I thought I was going to hit him the whole time. (He leapt from his truck and rushed over apologizing profusely and said "It’s a good thing you have good reflexes! Which was nice.) But that’s neither here nor there…I wonder if I wrenched something in involuntarily bracing for the impact.</p>