<p>^^You know, Bunsen, I am not considered amply endowed, by any stretch of the imagination, but I agree. A good sports bra is a necessity for anything beyond walking. Otherwise you’re still bouncing long after you’ve stopped running.</p>
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<p>We have our own cross to bear! Especially when it comes to bicycle seats…</p>
<p>I think I will join you guys 
Turning 42 in a couple of days made me take a close look in the mirror…and I did not like the results ;)</p>
<p>I am fairly active but my BMI is way too high, although I do not look as heavy as I am.
For starters will probably start counting calories. Write everything I eat.</p>
<p>Who is counting calories here? How much success have you had over the months?</p>
<p>The approach here seems to be to figure out the number of calories required to maintain weight and lose weight and then use an exercise program and calorie program to maintain a calorie deficit over time. interestedad posted a link to a calculator to do that. So we all have our exercises that we do and line that up with what we eat.</p>
<p>I think that some exercise and don’t watch the calories. I think it’s a lot harder if you just watch calories and don’t exercise too.</p>
<p>Welcome Kelowna! I counted calories for a while, until I got a good handle on how much I was eating. Now, I wing it but I know I’m in the ballpark. I’m tall - anything under 1400 calories or so and I’m starving. But I did cut out all sorts of stuff that I don’t miss anymore. OJ in the morning. Sweetener in my tea. Cracker snacking (I don’t keep them in the pantry!).<br>
I still need to kick up my exercise routine…walking, yoga, and LONG weekend bike rides are not making the pounds melt at the moment! But at least I’m having fun and keeping active! And my legs are real strong from those rides.</p>
<p>Are you sharing here how much have you lost?</p>
<p>Even though this thread is for parents and I’m a teen I’ve enjoyed checking the tips/advice on here. I’ve really struggled with my weight for years. This summer I’m trying to work even harder so I can loose weight before college starts - I’ve been working out 1+ hr every day and I’m on a restricted calorie diet.<br>
Its been almost two months and still no weight loss, but I am getting stronger and hopefully healthier so I’m staying optimistic! Even if I don’t loose any weight (which is looking like how its going to be…) and though its incredibly frustrating, I’m glad I’d getting healthy habits in order before I leave for school.</p>
<p>Pandora - how many calories are you allowing yourself?</p>
<p>Between 1000 and 1400, depending on my activity level. If I don’t exercise during the day, I’ll eat less, but, when I go on 3-4 hour bike rides on the weekend I may have more like 1800-2000. Its lower than what I’m supposed to have since I’m 5’10" but I don’t really trust those calorie calculator estimates for the way my body works - any more than that and I will start to gain a lot of weight pretty quickly. (I’m also a vegetarian so its hard to find lean protein sources. My usual staples - yogurt and protein bars - are high in sugar)</p>
<p>Wow - I can’t believe you are not loosing weight !?
Maybe you are gaing muscle? Are you leaner than you used to be?</p>
<p>Pandora- do you eat quinoa?</p>
<p>kelowana:</p>
<p>I have learned to pay more attention to calories on nutrition labels so I have a better feel for what I’m eating – something my wife suggested to me for years. However, I can’t say that I really count calories other than as a spot check from time to time.</p>
<p>My theory was that if took my baseline eating habits (horrible) and my baseline exercise (none, for years) and just tried to eat a little less and move a little more, I would lose some weight and improve my fitness.</p>
<p>My original three goals were modest:</p>
<p>a) lose 12 pounds to get started
b) enjoy exercising three times a week
c) walk a mile without getting winded</p>
<p>What I found, after accomplishing the intial three goals, was that I really enjoyed making eating less and moving more a permanent change and the results have snowballed from there. It been about 24 weeks now. I’ve enjoyed exercising at least five days a week every week except one that I missed with the flu. I’ve lost a little over 43 pounds so far. I’m fitter than I have been in years (I was a 38 year smoker, so aerobic fitness has been a hard fought gain). And, I am about to head out for a 4+ mile walk (although I’ll probably get a little winded on the half mile hill).</p>
<p>I think, initially, you are better off just cutting whatever junk calories you can: no more snack noshing, skip the cheese on your hamburger, cut out the potatoes and starches to a large extent, mix it up with some lean fish dinners along with the grilled pork chops. Then, add to or adjust the exercise to include high intensity interval cardio and stength training. Just enjoy the process and see where things shake out in a few weeks. There’s always time to get scientific about the calories. Personally, I’m not sure that being overly focused on a specific number of calories is the the optimum mental approach. I really like to focus on the positive changes rather than “forcing” myself to “cut out” calories. I just think it’s more sustainable over the long-term.</p>
<p>Pandora:</p>
<p>Something sounds out of whack. I can’t imagine a 5’10" teenager eating under 1500 calories a day, exercising, and not losing weight or being skinny as a rail. I obviously can’t know your situation, but if you are overweight with that calorie level and daily exercise, I would consider the possibility that you have a thryroid issue.</p>
<p>I would also consider the possibility that you have put your metabolism into “shut down” mode from a severly restricted diet.</p>
<p>Reason to celebrate… I was able to get back on the leg press today. Started slow, maybe 140 lbs, and it did burn a bit, but I’m doing it. </p>
<p>Saw the massage therapist yesterday and told her to do a thorough job on the leg… she ended up comparing the uninjured leg to the injured and found the uninjured one was very tight, too, so she worked on both. I was calling out a 9 on a pain level of 1-10. So I shouldn’t have been surprised when I got up this morning and found some bruising. The good news is that she was able to use enough pressure to create bruising. For the past three weeks, when I’d say the pain was an 8, she’d touch me on my arm to show me how much pressure she was using, and it was minimal. So bruising was a good sign. Hopefully I’ll bounce back quickly and get back to the weight amounts I was doing.</p>
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<p>Have to agree.</p>
<p>Did the full 4.5 or 5 mile state park hike today. Absolutely gorgeous weather. Warm and sunny, but with a brisk NW breeze. Found a little variation on the route with a water fountain at about the halfway point, which is good to know. Don’t tell anybody, but I had to do it for MOWC. I broke into a little jog for a couple hundred yards. Man, there was stuff shakin’ every which way. I’m pretty sure it registered on the US Geological Survey seismic charts. I think I’d be hurting in more places than my hamstring after too much of that.</p>
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<p>You pay money to have that done to you? Heck, I get my bruises for free, bumpin’ into stuff!</p>
<p>I was going to bag the workout today. I had to help out a coworker bring a computer (60 pounds) to his car and was in the office late. Then I read idad’s post and went for my run. Five miles. Last time I ran five miles was June 24, 2009. Hopped on the scale and was somewhat shocked to find myself down about 6 1/2 pounds from 9 days ago. It doesn’t sound right but I’ll just keep a closer eye on my weight so that I don’t lose it too fast.</p>
<p>Came home and had a bowl of veggie matzo ball soup. I suspect that this thing is pretty low calorie. The soup itself is like a vegetable broth with lots of carrots in it. I only had one matzo ball - that’s what happens when you eat late. Add in two small potato tortes and three strips of sauteed chicken. I’m thinking about 1,400 calories for dinner. Maybe a bit less as my wife tries to keep the calories down in food.</p>
<p>My weekly goal is 15 miles but I’m at 18.5 right now with two days to go. I should probably raise my weekly goal or try to find a tennis game so that I won’t run. Running is starting to get addictive which can be a problem.</p>
<p>I had a major technical problem yesterday in that my wireless headset lost its controls - they stopped working. So the volume was set at the lowest level and I could barely hear most songs. The headset has buttons so that you can advance to the next song but these buttons were broken too. The headset is a month or two out of warranty. So what to do for today? I recharged everything and decided to just change the station on the iPod manually when the song was soft. Well, I had to change songs quite often to find songs that were loud enough to hear. After two miles I tried something else. If a sound was loud, then I’d play it four or five times in a row. That got me through the run. I’m going to look around at Best Buy for an FM running headset (I have an FM transmitter attachment for the iPod). I may order another Bluetooth headset. They are know for breaking and being unreliable but they are a great solution when they work. It would take a week to get them from Newegg though.</p>
<p>BTW, the change in weather is nice. I drove around today without the AC on, and the windows are open at home and the AC is off. I think that we’re going to have some cooler weather at night for a while.</p>
<p>One last note: I wore a pair of CWX compression shorts on my run today. These shorts are wonderful for letting you run further than you normally run and preventing injury. It’s something to do with the compression affecting your muscles - they seem to help prevent you from doing things that can lead to injury.</p>
<p>Yeah, I had a week two weeks ago in the extreme heat when all I could do is walk. I need the iPod circuit workouts as my base three days a week to keep the variety, some cardio and some full-body strength training. I keep waiting for some rain to mix in some Airdyne cardio with the walking, but we just haven’t had any. I can’t bring myself to ride the exercise bike inside when the weather is nice outdoors, knowing how much winter we have.</p>
<p>I this the guy thread only??? ;)</p>