<p>Long 70-mile bike ride. I averaged 11.4 mph, which doesn’t sound fast except that I did 6800 feet of climbing. I love riding in the redwoods!</p>
<p>Nice rides, guys! We did 35 yesterday and 32 today. Climbed 2800 feet or so each day, which I sure feel!
I planned to go over and do some aqua-jogging this afternoon, but the ride wore me out (and the heat) and I didn’t feel like it.</p>
<p>I’ve been walkin’ all week. Six days out of the last seven. It’s the only thing I can stand with the weather. Yesterday was cooler (mid 70s and rainy), so I snuck out late afternoon. It was dicey on rain so I did my 40 minute hill walk, pushing the pace. Very muggy.</p>
<p>Today was hot (near 90) but a little less humid and a little breeze. I remembered an old southern boy trick and put ice cubes in a sandwich bag wrapped in a paper towel under my cap. That was nice. You can also skip the plastic bag and just let the ice melt and drip, which is even nicer, but I had the headphones and the iPod. Makes a huge difference to keep the noggin’ cool.</p>
<p>I did the hour and ten minute version of my hilly walk, including the full half mile 5% grade hill. Kept a pretty aggressive pace and had a really nice workout. The state park was completely empty.</p>
<p>I’m gonna have to get back to iPod nazi workouts this week, heat or not. Need to mix it up and do some weight training.</p>
<p>All in all, I feel like I made the most of a hellaciously hot week and got in good solid exercise. Just keep on keepin’ on.</p>
<p>Oh, and for MOWC, I did actually run yesterday. I ran across the road because I was about to get hit by a car!</p>
<p>Went to gym with H today. Did my 25 miles on bike …he was done so left left me there while I did weights. Came back to get me when I finished. Knee is still weak and wobbly…darn wedge sandals! Just when I think I am doing well this comes back to bite me! Was complaining to H that I work so hard and barely see any weight loss…his solution…do crunches! What the heck!!!</p>
<p>Crunches won’t do diddly squat for burning fat. They don’t even really engage large muscles that effectly, so it’s not even a good calorie burner. The idea that you can “spot reduce” fat is pure malarkey. It’s all about calories in minus calories out. If calories out exceed calories in, you’ll burn fat, but you don’t get to pick where the fat burning occurs!</p>
<p>Has your knee doctor (didn’t you have surgery) given you physical therapy exercises to strengthen the knee?</p>
<p>I’ve been doing yardwork all weekend long. And cleaning the house, too. Ran up and down the stairs, oh, I dunno - a gazillion times? Both the yard and the house needed a bit of TLC because I’ve been nursing my back. Knocking on wood, the back is doing better. I did a bit of free weights and some pushups. In fifth grade I could do 40 pushups easily in one minute. I’m trying to become fitter than that fifthgrader when it comes to pushups. So far, I’m more than halfway there. :)</p>
<p>Good luck with that. I figure I’ll be able to do pushups like a fifth grader as soon as I weigh the same as I did in the fifth grade (hint: probably not any time real soon…)</p>
<p>My goal is to do one each of [these</a> four pushups](<a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=li9opNRwUTI]these”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=li9opNRwUTI) before I die. These explosive plyometric exercises look impossible. I do try to “explode” on the way up on my pushups, but so far, I have not noticed my hands lifting up off the floor. I guess I’ll have to keep at it…</p>
<p>idad…physical therapy is riding the bike. It feels really good as long as I ride every day and don’t wear any heels! I thought wedge sandals would be ok…I was wrong! H is knocking on the door to get back in to his 34 in pants…grrr…how do guys do that!!! He barely works out and hasn’t changed any eating habits except for what I cook for dinner and he has lost just as much weight as me and even more inches! Burns me up! :(</p>
<p>Continued my routine today and tried to add more dreadmill time but it was too painful. Will be in the kitchen today as I am cooking a birthday dinner for D2…marinated pork tenderloin, fresh baked bread, fresh roasted veggies, fruit salad and a potato gratin with Gouda cheese. I will stay away from the potatoes!</p>
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<p>I’m the last one to talk because I cook some serious calories in the kitchen and I don’t plan to change that, but…</p>
<p>Axe the bread and the potatoes from that menu and you’ll lose weight a heck of a lot faster. It would be easy to scarf down 1000 calories in potatoes au gratin and bread. One serving of potatoes and a slice or two of bread and butter and you’re there. </p>
<p>I’ve really tried to mix and match dinners. So if I’m doing the rolled pork roast with spinach and cheese, serve it with a side of veggies instead of the salad with blue cheese dressing. If it’s a lower cal meat (like chicken breast or shrimp) have it with a more fattening salad. I really try to hold lunch to 500 calories or less and dinner to 1000 calories or less.</p>
<p>EDIT: here ya go. The calorie count for a one cup serving of homemade potatoes au gratin. 323 calories. I’d eat more than cup.</p>
<p>[Nutrition</a> Facts and Analysis for Potatoes, au gratin, home-prepared from recipe using butter](<a href=“SELF Magazine: Women's Workouts, Health Advice & Beauty Tips | SELF”>SELF Magazine: Women's Workouts, Health Advice & Beauty Tips | SELF)</p>
<p>I’d like to get back down to 34 too. 4 inches to go. I have suits from 30 to 46. I’ve lost a ton of weight before. The formula was that my wife and kids went abroad for many weeks so I could exercise for two-plus hours a day and I could do all of my own cooking. It’s too easy to gain weight with my wife’s cooking. These days I just say no a lot to food.</p>
<p>If you have a lot of things to keep you busy, you can displace the urge or need to eat more than you need to.</p>
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<p>I would do so much better on my own…no more “social eating.”</p>
<p>I’m going to be in trouble if I get down to 34s because I just bagged up all my 34 stuff and dropped it off at the donation bins. I think it’s an unrealistic goal. I’m keeping the 36s.</p>
<p>On other other hand, I’m blowin’ through sizes. I’ve learned to not even take the tags off pants until I actually have to wear them.</p>
<p>Yesterday was my last day of vacation. :(. Two weeks near the Delaware Bay, lots of biking and kayaking, some walking and swimming (the latter ending when the jellyfish, stinging kind, moved in.) During the parts of the vacation when we didn’t have company, I lost weight, because H and I can eat really healthfully on our own, and had lots of time to get out and move. When we had company, there was less time to exercise, too much going out to eat, and snacks around, and wine…okay, there was always wine. So company days, I seemed to gain the weight right back. Sigh.</p>
<p>Ended up just about even, which is too bad, because vacation is usually a losing time for me.</p>
<p>Idad…I have given up potatoes and bread until I lose this weight…but H hasn’t! That’s why it bugs me so much. Just isn’t fair. The menu is exactly what D2 ordered, all of her favorites. :)</p>
<p>NM…that sounds like a delicious dinner. It must be frustrating to see your DH eat so much more. But males have more muscle mass so they burn more quickly…it’s just the way it is. I also have skinny female friends who eat whatever they want. One who has
bird bones. I keep reminding myself that my “big bones” and padding will help when I get older and become more prone to falling. Small consolation. </p>
<p>One thing on the knee. All knee problems are different but I know that my knee would be sore if I didn’t take the time to do yoga/stretching at least a couple of times per week. I have been doing lots of long distance biking, lately with hills, and it really tightens my quads. This can cause the knee to go out of alignment. Again, may not be your problem, but with all that biking, it’s something to consider. Hope it feels better soon!</p>
<p>Idad…1000 calories for dinner. YIKES! I would be a whale on that diet :)</p>
<p>I think that guys need 2,500 to 3,000 calories to maintain weight so 1,000 calories for dinner is dieting.</p>
<p>Unfortunately depending on their weight an average man probably can eat 500 calories more a day than a woman and lose weight. It’s really easy to eat 1000 calories for dinner if you go out for BBQ, my husband and son’s favorite meal. Especially if you like potato salad, biscuits and/or cornbread.</p>
<p>What I find frustrating is the less I weigh the less I get to eat and continue to lose weight at the same rate. When I started keeping track at the livestrong site I could eat over 1500 calories a day, but now it’s less than that.</p>
<p>Just to be clear, I’m not saying that I try to eat 1000 calories for dinner as a minimum! I’m saying that I try not to go over that! Lots of dinners are significantly less than that. I try to mix it up – some higher cal dinners and some lower cal dinners. I still enjoy a hamburger or pork chops or a steak from time to time, but mix it up with with poached halibut or shrimp stir fry or chicken breast. What I try to avoid are the crazy 2000 calorie dinners – pork and potatos and bread and…</p>
<p>My whole thing is to eat less and move more. I’m not looking to diet; I’m looking to make permanent changes that are sustainable over the long haul. I know the cottage cheese and bird seed diets aren’t going to work for me.</p>
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<p>Yeah. All the formulas are different, but I estimate that it takes 2300 to 2700 calories for me to maintain my weight. If it’s 2500, then I’ve been eating 1600 a day, which would be deficit of 900 calories a day or 6300 a week or 1.8 pounds a week, which is what I’ve been losing for the last five months. Close enough for government work.</p>
<p>The 900 calories a day was just stupid food: the Pringles, the salted peanuts, the sour gummy worms, the beer batter fish and onion rings, the extra sharp cheddar cheese and crackers for snacks every day. Going to Wendys for a fried chicken sandwich, baked potato and butter, and a Coke. I can still have a Wendy’s fried chicken sandwich from time to time (splurge, 460 calories for lunch), but unsweetened tea to drink and no sides.</p>
<p>Men have it easier because we weigh more and have more lean muscle mass, thus we burn more calories each day to maintain our weight.</p>
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<p>Yeah, I’m not entirely sure how that’s going to play out for me. I have picked up my exercise as I’ve become more fit. I track it each week with (minutes x average heart rate) and the last three weeks have been three of the four heaviest exercise weeks I’ve had to date.</p>
<p>Also, my appetite is gradually going down, at least in terms of stupid food. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure I could plow through a cannister of Pringles, but I have lost much of my desire to “put on the feedbag” like that.</p>
<p>I’m also lucky because I hardly drink. A beer or a glass of wine a week is a splurge. That saves a lot of calories compared to knocking back beer or wine or gin on a daily basis. My vice is fresh brewed coffee with half n’ half (all things considered, not a terrible “indulgence”).</p>
<p>Yeah, I cut most of the stupid food out years ago…but not much weight loss. Ladies have to work harder or eat less for sure. </p>
<p>Anyway, I saw a lady at a party last weekend. I don’t know her well but I know she’s about my age, works hard during the week and parties…a LOT…on the weekend. Not the best lifestyle. And it showed…big time. Taking care of ourselves is the right thing to do…it just takes SO much patience and resolve. And realistic expectations. Better health is the priority for sure, but honestly, I just don’t want to look like that…please NO. (BTW, her husband is a big partier too and he looks just fine…maybe he works out, I don’t know.)</p>