For anyone who may be new to the thread and the people participating on it, @MichaelNKat is our resident all-around exercise expert - he can give you the low down very simply or get really complex if you want the information - we’re so lucky to have him around - he’s truly legit!!
@SalveMater , I’m glad you got some new fitness wear! Sometimes you just need to get used to seeing yourself in that body hugging type of clothing. And embrace it - YOU ARE WEARING FITNESS WEAR BECAUSE YOU ARE DETERMINED TO GAIN FITNESS FOR YOUR HEALTH! That’s a win! Way better than putting on baggy clothing to hide what we don’t want to see.
Speaking of fitness clothing, @FallGirl I took a look at those Athleta Be Free shorts again today - I don’t know why my mind was thinking they were $69! I had some rewards points so ordered them today. You’ll get yours first - hoping they are winning! Annoying though that free shipping kicks in at $50 - so I threw in a clearance tank top to avoid free shipping and at least get another top out of it!
I was in Athleta in Key Biscayne a few days ago while on vacation and saw their new line of compression style tights. They just looked so cool; you ladies are so lucky to have all the fitness clothing options you have, lol. I took a picture of them and sent it to my daughter asking if I should get her a pair. She thought they were great but told me not to buy them because she gets a 30% fitness professional discount in Philadelphia which I couldn’t get in Key Biscayne 'cause I’m not a girl so the store knew they weren’t for me :D.
Bunsen, Bromfield, NMinn, FallGirl - hope you all are feeling better soon. Were you all at the same party over the weekend and picked up the same bug? Kind of sounds that way!
CD - great job on formulating a plan. I like the idea of walking before work. Exercising in the morning always gets my day off to a good start - too bad I have to go to work then!
Almost four miles this morning including the blasted hill. Barre class this afternoon. Resumed keeping a food journal.
You all are making me want to buy more workout stuff. I still have a gift card for Lulu burning a hole in my pocket!
Couldn’t face the strong, cold wind this morning so went to the basement for 3.5 miles on the treadmill. Threw in some speed work last night and a little bit this morning.
Michael- we ARE lucky to have such good choices in fitness wear. That was not always the case! I remember back in the late 70s and 80s how limited the choices were. A few women’s lines started to emerge, but generally we wore the men’s stuff. Singlets came in women’s cuts, but shorts were hit and miss. Lycra tights didn’t show up for a number of years after I started running. We wore the nylon warm up suits that made the loud swishing noise when we ran!
Was awake til 3 am so didn’t get up with DH and S2. Grr, but will do better.
I want to get into a size where I can wear some of this fitness stuff, but I am never going to be a size 12.
I get Champion athletic pants at Target, but they are all pretty tight these days. Three five-pound parties and I will be back into that stuff.
@MichaelNKat Thanks so much excellent advice in one post!! I actually used to be a gym rat once upon a time so my trainer did teach me proper form but I’d forgotten about the importance of planks and leg lifts though I did add them into my ab routine, I guess just out of old habit.
I can now button my suit jacket, it’s official, down 2 dress sizes since September, oh em gee, it’s working! My back pain’s improving as well, or maybe since everything else is achey I just don’t notice it
^^I do appreciate the efficiency of my new gym togs even though I look like a silver-stuffed sausage hehe. As a woman, the support they give in all the right places, the vents, and the over hand thumb openings and fleecy interior makes workouts in 45 degrees totally doable. Plus they are super cute - on the hanger lol
CD, I think you might enjoy some of the classes at Lifetime. Have you done Zumba or spinning? Body Pump? All low impact and you control the intensity. Trying something new might be just the thing to goose your weight loss. And an excuse for a new outfit.
Speaking of classes, I am spinning tonight. Promising myself to attend more often because I enjoy it and it makes me work harder. And to make it to Zumba or one of the other dance-y classes to get me out of my rut. I can start with once a week.
Ran three miles outside in cool weather. The cold didn’t bother me but the pollen did.
Nutrition question: I just reviewed my food diary and I have been averaging only about 700 to 900 calories a day, just not very hungry these days, even after working out. With the recent death of Carrie Fisher that seems to have been low calorie-heart attack related, I’m wondering how to increase my appetite. I typically have a hard-boiled egg for bk, a string cheese, coffee with milk and whatever leftovers I have, chicken thigh, beef tamale, a few ounces of pork loin, or half sub sammy. If I go out, it’s usually sashimi or mahi mahi and broccoli and then hard-boiled in the evening, all very lean but again, not really hungry which I find very odd. Any suggestions welcome. Thanks
Salad for breakfast? Why not?! We ate what almost counted as a salad for breakfast! Sunny side up egg and cut up fresh tomatoes topped with a heap of guacamole. We need to finish the veggies.
Thank you all for wishes of good health. Really appreciate! I am so looking forward to my upcoming vacation. Going to be displaying my stitched up belly on the beach in a few days. Mr. calls me “the biggest yellow belly in the West” because by the beach time the bruise is going to turn yellow. Lol!!
@SalveMater I don’t know your size (height/weight) but I don’t think that is enough calories for anyone!
Maybe list your food items for meals for a couple of days here and then we can help you “add in”. Important of course to not just add in calories, but nutrition. Also, what are your awake hours and what time do you typical have meals?
Here’s a company that enables you to custom design the ingredients in an energy bar and order them by the case. Pricey but you get to select protein sources, type of nut butter binders, type of sweetener, etc. and the nutrition label updates as you make your selections. Very cool.
5’8" 180, over by 40 lbs me thinks but I’m kinda curvy like J-Lo booty so I’m not sure where I’m supposed to be at really? All I know is that I’m just not getting hungry. And even when I think I’m overeating, like when I pigged out on two humongous pork tacos with cheese, 3-4 ounces of roasted pork on corn tortilla was only 500 cals.and I wasn’t hungry all day thereafter. I’m cornfused.
Today, I had a one egg spinach, mushroom omelete and I feel like I’m about to burst, but I forced myself to finish it though after two bites, I was full. Maybe my metabs too low. I eat at 10am, 2pm and 7pm, awake from 6-10ish. Thanks for any recs.
700-900 a day sounds very, very low to me. Even for a small person. The foods you eat sound reasonable - eggs, cheese, lean proteins and veggies, just too little IMO. There is no need to add calories for the sake of adding calories. anything has to be for a reason, like missing nutritional stuff. I noticed that you might be very lean on iron in you diet. Anemia will make a person less hungry and less active (know firsthand - when the gastro doc tell a patient that the patient needs to eat red meat, Houston we have a problem!).
@salvemater, at 5’8" and a target weight of 140 lbs, 700-900 calories/day is way below where you should be. I would bet that your body is in a constant battle between your efforts to increase your metabolism through exercise and your body’s countermeasure reactions to a diet that is at starvation levels of caloric intake. Most published guidelines indicate that adult women should not be below 1200 calories/day unless under the direct supervision of a doctor to monitor potential health complications, nutritional issues and contraindications.
When putting together a nutritional plan, it’s important to get a good handle on your energy balance needs to promote reasonable weight loss while still getting the macro and micro nutrients you need to fuel your body’s functions and level of physical activity. Carbs, proteins and fats, from healthy food sources and in proper proportions, are all needed to structure a sound nutritional plan. Slow but steady weight loss is healthier and more sustainable over time than radical quick weight loss. Shoot for a pound a week. The USDA’s Supertracker website is a good place to start in structuring a nutritional plan. Also see http://www.calculator.net/calorie-calculator.html?ctype=standard&cage=63&csex=m&cheightfeet=5&cheightinch=8&cpound=153&cheightmeter=180&ckg=60&cactivity=1.55&printit=0&x=84&y=13 for another weight loss calculator that I have found to be a very good ball park estimator of caloric intake for desired weight loss. So is MyFitnessPal. Just keep in mind that all of these sites are estimators and you will need to tweak your calories to dial it in for you more specifically as you track your weight loss trends from week to week.
Using a food logging app like Supertracker or MyFitnessPal is also important. Most people underestimate their actual caloric intake. Conversely, most people overestimate their energy expenditure from exercise. Exercise logging software is notoriously inaccurate at estimating exercise calorie burn. Polar Heart Rate monitors and Garmin sports watches that enable you to set up a personal profile and calulate calories burn based on heart rate are much better for cardio calorie burn but do little for calorie burn for strength training. My suggestion to clients is to simply dial in the calories you need each day based on your activity level and desired rate of weight lose rather than attempt to set your basal caloric needs and then add in calories based on exercise logging. The latter invariably promotes eating more than what you are actually burning off.
SalveMater, I’m 5"8", and my oncologist wants me to be 180, my primary 170, and the cardiologist 152. My target is 164, which within a normal BMI, FWIW. I would be thrilled to maintain 175, which I was able to do for about 18 months. My face looked gaunt and aged below 175. 700-900 calories is not going to be a sustainable weight loss, IMO. Cardiologist and nutritionist both told me 1400, and absolutely no less than 1200. Please check with your doctor!
@MichaelNKat thanks for the links and advice, I’ll check those out.
@CountingDown I know, I was a bit shocked as I reviewed my food diary on My Fitness Pal. I’m just not getting hungry! I’ll bet my metabs gone haywire. I guess I’ll force myself to eat more. Also, I was fighting off a few bugs last month. Who knows, I’m honestly trying to stay at 1200 cals, but between workouts and work and commuting, I’ve only been averaging 7-900.
As to weight, everything I’ve read said 140lb is average, so cornfusing.
The other thing I would add - how are you measuring your portion sizes? If you don’t have a food scale, they are inexpensive and can be very helpful. While people overestimate how many calories exercise burns, I think at times they underestimate how large of a portion they are consuming!
