Sabaray, thanks! 
I think I want to do this one : ~:>
(The ultimate dream is to do :(|) )
I think you can set your Garmin for the Galloway intervals. My daughter and son in law figured it out. I might try it when I get to run again.
You definitely can. It takes a little effort but we figured it out as well. It will ābeepā at you to let you know to change.
Worked out with my trainer todayāit was a good workout. Walked to the gym and backāso I got in some walking too. The trainer I work with here (Iām at our vacation home) is really big on rowing. Iām not crazy about it but I did manage to do 10 minutes. Signed up for spin tomorrow. Also, signed up for the run in July.
I have to admit, watching American Ninja Warrior has become my new tv addiction. Functional fitness at the extreme. So many competitions who do not have āweight lifterā musculatures but move with strength, endurance and grace. Watching how they train is a phenomenal demonstration of how body weight training can achieve incredible results. Saw a 50 year old father competing along with his son. The father said he hoped what he was doing would be an inspiration for a 60 year old to give it a go. My wife turned to me and said āSo what are you building in the back yard next?ā LOL
^ Weight lifting musculature is a big disadvantage in ANW, because I think the emphasis is on upper body, and in particular, hand strength. 20 pounds of extra muscle is a huge drag when you have to hang with your hands and arms for several minutes. Itās a bit unfair to women IMO as well, because so many elements are geared around arm and upper body strength, which women are less likely to have.
I like to watch it too, although lately theyāve been making it too much about āpersonalityā and some of those guys are pretty obnoxious.
Itās all about strength to weight ratios, muscular endurance, balance and agility. Many of the women have been awesome. Though they donāt have the absolute power and strength of most of the men, they have been highly competitive because of their strength to weight ratios. I think height and arm span provide competitive advantages more than gender itself.
When I weighed 185, I was capable of benching, pressing and curling more than I can at 156. But I can do many more pull ups, chin ups, push ups and other body weight exercises now. Itās a trade off but in terms of functional fitness, Iām much fitter now than then. And, according to my wife, I look much more ripped than when I was more bulked up ;).
You can set up custom workouts on Garmin watches. Intervals based on distance, based on time, or based on hitting a target heart rate. Itās easiest to program them in the online app and transfer that to the watch.
On the hiking heart attackā¦yeah, certainly there had to be some underlying issue. The hike just served as stress test trigger. From personal experience, itās really quite shocking how high a steep uphill climb like he was on can drive the heart rate. And, the tendency, especially in a group, is to take off like gang busters and try to maintain that pace as the trail starts up. The trail he was on is a sustained steep climb. Someone who doesnāt hike in the mountains frequently and hasnāt dialed in their own pace, could easily drive their heart rate up to 90%+ of their max. I know. I did it all the time. He probably had a heavy pack and was trying to keep up/catch up with faster people. Sad.
Speaking of hiking, I took advantage of a sunny day to escape the workmen painting my office room to go for nice hike in Franconia Notch State Park. Did the long version of Lonesome Lake ā a 7.6 mile loop with about 1500 feet of elevation gain. Beautiful sunny, cool, breezy day, high 60s at Lonesome Lake, low 70s at the parking lot late afternoon.
Tons of families with kids at the Lonesome Lake hut.
Came across a major faceplant injury going down Lonesome Lake trail. Early teen boy or thereabouts. Must have wiped out going too fast down hill and ended up tumbling off the side of the trail steeply down into the woods. He had major cuts (like needing stitches, I suspect) on both knees, both hands, both arms. Just a mess. He had three adults working on bandana slings and bandages and so forth. And that is why Iām a slowpoke!
It was the first time Iād been to Lonesome Lake without six feet of snow on the ground in two years. Completely different trail!
Yikes, idad. Poor kid. Hope no bones were broken.
I think I am nuts. Let the training begin! Ran 4 miles in 80 degree heat. < insert image of a panting dog > LOL!!
I need help.
Iām a normal weight 50 something and I am doing something wrong, but Iām not sure what. I have a fitbit, and track my food. Once school let out for the summer, I got much more serious about losing the last 3-4 lbs I want off. I have about a 1500-2000 cal deficit/wk ā which seems like plenty ā and I am GAINING weight, ever so slowly. About .2 every few days, steadily upward trend with occasional blips down. Sooooo frustrated. Over the past 18 months I lost the 6 lbs or so I had gained post-menopause (and I am very, very post-) I have had my thyroid checked and its on target. I do not ālieā to my tracker about what Iām eating.
I walk every single day, rain or shine, about 3 miles every morning, mixed terrain. I clock between 12 and 15K steps and eat about 1200 calories a day, very carefully planned. I hear about the starvation reflex but if I eat more than 1500 I gain weight like its materializing out of the air. I also walk āhillsā on my elliptical. I donāt know what else to do. I have a bad knee and asthma, but am otherwise healthy. My former doctor said that at my age, I just have to accept that I will not physically be what I want and āget over itā . (so, he became my former doctor)
You can PM me, I donāt want to detour the established thread , but thanks. everytime I weigh myself, I feel more and more defeated and puzzled. I can live with being stuck at this weight, but holy crap, gaining? No fair body, no fair 
Greenbutton, these are the kinds of detours we take pretty frequently!
iDad and Michael are the experts on the science of eating, but for me, weight loss was less about counting calories and really looking at what I was eating. Cutting carbs and counting added sugars was what really helped me finish those last pounds off. Are you drinking enough water?
Notorious coach Mike Boyle says, āat our age, if you arenāt going backwards, you are making progress!ā
So, I wouldnāt feel discouraged, greenbutton. It is possible that the 3 or 4 pounds you want off may not be 3 or 4 pounds that your body at this moment in time wants to shed. As much as we we would all like to think that this stuff is precisely controllable diet and exercise, there is still a massive dose of heredity, hormones, etc. I would celebrate wanting to lose 3 or 4 pounds. Donāt let it make you feel defeated. Imagine how many people would kill to be within a few pounds of their goal instead of being 25, 50, or 100 pounds overweight!
Just a couple of thoughts:
Without doing the calculations, 1200 calories a day (to the extent that it can even be measured with precision) is pretty close to baseline metabolic rate for a typical adult female ā the calories you burn doing nothing but sitting on the sofa. So, I suspect calories arenāt going to push your body to give up a couple more stubborn pounds.
The approach I would try would be to progressively:
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Cut out sugar, including fruit.
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Start cutting out portions of refined carbs. Are you eating cereal for breakfast? āHealthyā pasta for meals? Sandwiches on āwhole wheatā bread? Most people trying to eat ācarefullyā cut the wrong stuff (protein and fats) and end up eating a very high carb diet. Even our grandmothers knew 100 years ago that to gain weight, you load up on the carbs and starches and to lose weight, you cut back on the carbs and starches.
@greenbutton, the only thing that works for me is reducing carbohydrates. If you eat potatoes, rice, anything with white flour, added sugar of any kind, and boxed, processed foods, you can eliminate some of those and see what happens.
The last few pounds is always the hardest.
Welcome, greenbutton and donāt worry about detouring. We learn so much from every personās experience, and it helps us all to revisit the basics (and advanced points) of healthy eating and fitness.
Greenbutton, I sent you a PM.
I am the only non-celiac in the house ā we donāt eat white rice, bread, etc but I do love fruit. We only eat brown rice and I almost never have pasta of any kind. A typical day for me is whole wheat toast or oatmeal and skim milk for breakfast, yogurt and fruit or a Luna bar for lunch, or turkey rolled in Romaine; mini triscuits or something like it in the afternoon, and protein and veggies and milk for dinner. I am pretty lactose intolerant and have very high cholesterol (hereditary) so I donāt eat cheese, or nuts. Discovered cubed, baked tofu and Iāll often eat that tossed with veggies for dinner. I do recognize that I am an emotional eater and can fall off the wagon if, letās say, Eat N Park cookies show up. I would eat 5 or 6, no kidding. So I try and not have trigger foods in the house, but I do love carbs.I drink lots of water, but maybe I should check that.
I feel like I canāt eat less, so I must need to exercise more but it is sucking up a lot of my time, so I am trying to exercise harder, and be patient but Iām so demoralized. This morning my DH hid my scale and said I could have it back in a week
āDiscovered cubed, baked tofu and Iāll often eat that tossed with veggies for dinnerā
Try to limit your tofu indulgences and see what happens. The estrogen-like effects of soy might contribute to weight gain in the midriff, especially for some women (although there is plenty of studies that say not so, I am not convinced). Plus, many sauces that are used to un-bland tofu have a ton of added sugar in them, even if they donāt taste sweet.
Add weighs to your exercise routine. Free weights and body-weight exercises are great for toning up muscle.
greenbutton, Iām not any kind of expert, but I would say to increase your healthy fats & protein, and add more fresh vegetables and less fruit. Iāve never been overweight, but changed my eating habits to try to be more healthy. I now just eat real food, nothing processed and no sugar. My goal was not to lose weight, but over the last 5 months Iāve slowly lost 7 lbs without trying at all. I now eat more protein, more fat and basically substituted vegetables for bread & pasta.