The Lynch article is in many ways a philosophical redux of some concepts that have been out there for quite a while. The standard of 30 minutes/day, 5 days per week, is really based on moderate exercise for those who don’t have the fitness levels, desire or will to do high intensity exercise. If you are doing high intensity exercise, the long established standard is 25 minutes 3x /week. How you decide to structure your exercise depends not only on your fitness and training goals but also on how you balance your time allocations with other life obligations and your priorities. At the end of the day, the best work out program is the one you know you can fit into your lifestyle and that you will stick with. Absent adherence and consistency, it doesn’t matter what “rules” or “conventions” you subscribe to.
@busdriver11 , I don’t know your size/height/build but 128 doesn’t sound too bad for anyone unless you are uber short! My point being, what weight would you like to be at - so, how much weight do you want to lose? When you have less to lose sometimes it is harder to lose. And what is your fitness routine? (pardon me if I’m just forgetting…) Are you tracking your food even while doing South Beach?
bus, the ultra healthy eating IS the good stuff!
If I didn’t have a coach I’d still be doing the same old thing. I will admit that there are days where I would just like to run at that medium pace. But I also know I really want to improve my running and I do have some long-term goals…hence the coach. I also know that I don’t want to slack off once the race has passed. Workout maintenance is something else I need to work on.
Busdriver11, your comments about your weight loss experience illustrate a point I’ve been on my soapbox about for quite a while. While there are those who argue with the passion of a cult member that I don’t what I’m talking about and don’t follow the newest “studies”, the reality is that a low carb diet on a long term basis is not going to achieve any greater weight loss than a good old fashion calorie restricted diet or what is now referred to as an energy balanced diet. The studies that are cited to support the superiority of low carb diets are methodically being debunked either because they were bad science or misinterpreted the data. (Caveat - there are some people who have legitimate medical disorders for whom a low carb diet is an appropriate medical prescription but that’s not what I’m addressing here.)
The reality is, as your experience seems to reflect, that far more important from a weight perspective than what you eat is how much of it you eat. If you eat more food than your body burns, you gain weight. If you eat less, you lose weight. There may be some slight variances based on the thermogenic properties of foods but those kinds of things play a very small role compared to total caloric intake. Of course, if you are meeting your caloric needs with unhealthy foods you will probably end up with health issues and certainly undermine any fitness program you undertake, but those are different issues than just weight concerns.
Our bodies need carbohydrates to function properly. We need 130 gms of carbs/day just for normal brain and central nervous system functions. Our bodies also rely primarily on carbohydrates as an energy source for daily activities and in the absence of adequate carbs, our bodies will seek out energy sources from proteins and through a process called catabolism you can end up consuming your lean muscle tissue to provide energy. At the end of the day, we need a balanced diet consisting of all 3 macronutrients from healthy sources. (And yes, I’m familiar with all the theories of insulin/metabolism and weight gain/fat storage, but at the end of the day it still boils down to the same thing. Eat excess calories consisting of carbs and insulin will promote the storage of the excess carbs as fat and you will gain weight. But eat excess calories from fat and protein and guess what, you still store the excess calories as fat and gain weight.)
For most people, the problem is that they are bad at judging what their true caloric intake is and their true energy expenditure. I would bet that if you methodically track what you are eating and determine what your caloric needs really are, that you would break the cycle you are in and lose weight (if that is a goal of yours) without the need of resorting to any of these fad diets that are out there.
Last night I had a good 7 mile run. It is finally less humid and not as unbearably hot. Tonight will be a shorter run with the local running club.
sabaray - you have me thinking with your comments about speed work and the pace you run at. I am horribly guilty of pretty much doing all my miles at the same pace. I gave myself a break from attempting any real speed work when it was so godawful hot, but now that it is a little better I need to devote some time to it.
Gertrude - I think it’s awesome you’re going to do 9 half marathons next year! I think the Half is my favorite race distance. I have been thinking about what I want to sign up for next year but don’t have any formal plans yet.
I really want to run the Boston marathon but H did not qualify for next year. I sure hope that he qualifies at our marathon in November so that we can do it in 2018. I’ll have to qualify again and I’m a little concerned about it, but the times are pretty generous for old ladies like me so hopefully it won’t be an issue. If he doesn’t then we’ll do another marathon in April to try again. I just want to be done with marathons - I really prefer doing a weekly long run in the 10-14 mile range rather than having to build up to such high mileages. Ah well, I know that most of all this is mental and I’m in a bit of a mental funk.
The way I do some speedwork is when the treadmill gets boring- even the relatively low portion of my weekly miles that I use it! I’ll crank the pace up for a tenth, then 2 tenths and so on. Makes the time go faster.
Remember that you have to hit several minutes under the qualifying times for Boston to be sure of getting an actual slot! That can be tough when you qualify but miss the cut for spots by a few seconds! Actually, the times for older females are disproportionately difficult compared to what those older age groups post as times in other races. It’s one of the criticisms of the updated qualifying times.
C3Baker, you didn’t ask, but I think you should do the marathon. That may not make me popular with your husband, but holy cow!
Someone tell me to be quiet now.
I was almost 20 minutes under the qualifying time (19:16 under, to be exact) so I’m sure I could get in. I have thought about going even without H rationalizing that he could cheer for me and then in a future year, I could cheer for him. I just think that it would really be more fun if we were both doing it together (even though we would be in completely separate waves due to our times and would never actually see each other during the race).
sabaray - I will NEVER tell you to be quiet!
I’ve had a “low bar” for a week now!
Garmin is sending me a new watch. I had to give them my cc number and hopefully I’ll get a credit back when they receive the old watch. Wearing my Timex ironman non gps non step watch. Totally non functional. Why would you buy a Rolex for 10 grand if it couldn’t give you your mileage pace, elevation or sleep habits?
Chiropractor Friday morning.
Yes, you are in! I have some friends who were a couple of minutes under and missed by a few seconds. It’s SO disappointing!
“@busdriver11 , I don’t know your size/height/build but 128 doesn’t sound too bad for anyone unless you are uber short! My point being, what weight would you like to be at - so, how much weight do you want to lose? When you have less to lose sometimes it is harder to lose. And what is your fitness routine? (pardon me if I’m just forgetting…) Are you tracking your food even while doing South Beach?”
I’m a little over 5’ 5". Probably a good weight for me would be 120, or even 115, though I know my face would look too gaunt. 128 would be a good weight for my height if I was a lean muscled machine like Bunsen, MOWC, or any of you superwomen, but I have very fine bones, and way too much of the weight is body fat. My fitness routine consists of exercising when I feel good (irregularly). Running low mileage, biking, rock climbing, and stair climbing. I only track my food when doing the South Beach.
I think much of my problem is my work. It’s all travel, and when I fly nights, I sleep badly during the day so I don’t feel like exercising very much. When I fly days, I get up early and generally don’t get into the hotel until 7pm, and all I want to do is eat dinner, watch tv, drink wine, and sleep. It takes tremendous effort to eat well as a sedentary road warrior, and when I get home, it takes a long time to recover. When I start feeling good again, it’s time to go back to work.
But I think I know what I need to do. Limit work, only take the good trips with long layovers and decent sleep, take the financial hit. Think about what I’m eating, it’s just as easy to order chicken and fish, as it is bacon. Bring food so I don’t get stuck with crappy airplane meals, limit my wine to one glass 
Put exercise as my top priority, and do it in the morning before I get an excuse not to do it. Don’t put spouse, kids, even dogs in front of my exercise (because they don’t really need me that much any more). Exercise way harder (the way I exercise, I can wear the same shirt and shorts for a week without washing them), sign up for races (and actually DO them), read this thread on a daily basis, to learn and keep motivated!
" For most people, the problem is that they are bad at judging what their true caloric intake is and their true energy expenditure. I would bet that if you methodically track what you are eating and determine what your caloric needs really are, that you would break the cycle you are in and lose weight (if that is a goal of yours) without the need of resorting to any of these fad diets that are out there"
I’m sure you’re right, MichaelNKat. Though I hate tracking food! The South Beach has always worked for me before, at least to start going in the right direction. It is very healthful eating, but you just get sick of it too soon, and you get tired during it.
Bus, I have a little book that I refer to regularly - Michael Pollan’s “Food Rules”. Basically, the simpler the food the better it is for you. You might find it helpful. I hate tracking food too - but even doing it for only a few weeks can be insightful. I should probably pay more attention to ratios of carbs, fat, protein etc. but I think just being conscious of what I’m actually consuming is a big step in the right direction. Your schedule sounds like a very tough one.
sabaray, I just copied and pasted Eating Wells favorite 10 food rules to follow, by Michael Pollan, after reading your post. However…I’m going to read it after I eat lunch, because I can already tell I’m going to blow it 
So are you a flight attendant or pilot?? That’s cool!
You know, all those things you mention in your last paragraph? You can do those things while working. Just as you would have to do if you had more time and were working less, you have to work it in. Head to the hotel fitness room for 30 minutes and then have dinner, one glass of wine and tv. The fitness room is often less busy in the evening - bonus! With or without time, you must be motivated and accomplish. Set some small steps. You can do it!
Stopped at the store on the way home for some almond milk for a new fangled breakfast oatmeal thing I wanted to try - found the Dave’s bread and came home with a loaf - pass the butter!!! 
I’m a pilot, abasket, former military, now airlines, flown for 32 years. Am I old, or what!
Yeah, I could do those exercises while working, it just takes such motivation. My husband has the same job exactly, and manages to do it. He always works out first. I’m just hungry and tired, but I need to put this into my routine. Everything is about habit, and mine is to change clothes, go out to eat, watch a little tv, and sleep. Just stick exercise into there, sounds easy, right? But I have a million excuses.
What great stories you must have about your occupation @busdriver11. I’m sure that job can mentally take a toll - and you surely need to be well rested. You might just see your energy level increase with the addition of regular exercise.
Well, I have some stories, but they probably aren’t that great. I tell them to my husband when I get home, and then quickly forget them. Most of the time it’s not that stressful, though occasionally it’s extremely stressful. My goal is to avoid stress at all costs, because too many of us are dying young. However, I still really want that paycheck, and it’s a tradeoff. I know the key is exercise, and I’m sure you’re right about the energy level. I’m already taking bioidentical hormones, which is a huge cheat, but if I don’t exercise enough and get terrible sleep, it’s pretty hopeless. I hope to regularly join you all in your quest for fitness.
We hope you join us too! We’re actually a pretty normal bunch. And chatty, too!