<p>An ideal weight for your body is going to be thin. Not emaciated thin, but what most people would call thin. Thin is in opposition to fat. I am not saying everyone has to look like a marathon runner, but don’t pretend an “ideal” weight is going to involve high body fat.</p>
<p>The reason I mentioned the family dynamics of my friends is because he is getting a LOT of attention for his 300+ pound weight loss, and she also participates in running events. She is not at a healthy or ideal weight and I can’t imagine she feels OK about that.</p>
<p>That you cannot imagine it does not mean you are correct. Do feel that you can accurately predict the feelings and state of the marriages of thin people as well? Or are your abilities only limited to the fat? </p>
<p>The pool was okay. It was a bit chilly today.</p>
<p>mousegray, Thank you for the book recommendation. </p>
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<p>Right. To stay thin requires unhealthy behavior on my part. I know, I’ve been thin many times! I’m 5’10" and my body wants to be 175lbs. I don’t know why but it does. That’s the weight it would always settle at but I would fight my way back down to 150 and, no surprise, the 25lb plus more would come back on. I wish I’d read some of the research on things like blood pressure and other markers of health in addition to weight 20 years ago.</p>
<p>according to the BMI index, a 5’10" woman at 175 pounds is as “overweight” as the rail thin Barack Obama. That doesn’t sound like the end of the world, to me!</p>
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<p>Speaking of abs, got a $6.99 Ab Wheel at Marshalls this afternoon. Wow. That is one hard core piece of exercise gear. I can do it about halfway out and keep good form. More than halfway and I start to lose the back.</p>
<p>Pug- Get up on the wrong side of the bed today?
I guess anything can be justified… No need to be defensive. No one is forcing you to lose weight.</p>
<p>There are many formulas out there- BMI, whatever you want to consider. The bottom line is that you want muscle and not flab. I am not advocating skin and bones, but healthy muscle tone. </p>
<p>If you want to carry extra weight, have at it. That might be a “happy” weight for you, but from a health standpoint it is NOT going to be ideal.</p>
<p>I feel like I’ve earned a t-shirt that says, “I Survived Thanksgiving 2010”. Between Wednesday morning and Sunday morning, I lost 1.2 pounds. Two days of turkey and stuffing and creamed onions and wine and pie and coffee cake and two days off from exercise. To come out of that with the eat less/move more credo intact is a big win.</p>
<p>I think the key was no snacks whatsover. No cheese and crackers, no chips and dip, no bowls of nuts. No pigging out on peppermint patties. No noshing on cookies. I had the big meals and even had some desserts, but I never put on the feedbag and just pigged out.</p>
<p>You absolutely DID earn that shirt. That’s really incredible. I haven’t weighed in yet this morning.</p>
<p>I DID do something I haven’t done in about 25 years. I rode my bike on the indoor trainer. H had to haul the trainer down from the top of the garage and get my bike down off the rack where it has rested since the 2 day ride in early October. I had him set up the trainer in our “music room” which has D’s grand piano and 2 chairs. It is a lovely addition, but I can look out the front windows while I ride. I had my iPod- no real way to have TV where I set up. I did 45 minutes with some intervals. All 3 cats and the big dog were watching me. I feel like it was a good workout and a good “at home” option for me. So-I start what is going to be a very difficult week feeling like a hardcore cyclist! (well, not quite)</p>
<p>I started my full time at work yesterday, and I can already tell that this week is a no go for exercise, but next week should be better. I took teriwtt’s advice and talked to my trainer about my schedule changes. I committed to signing up for another 5k so that I have a concrete goal to work for. I will persevere! </p>
<p>Thanksgiving didn’t do me in too badly. I didn’t even get to eat my pie :(. We went to a movie after dinner and planned to have our pie when we got home, but by that time I was too tired to eat. I had to work Fri & Sat, and the pie mysteriously disappeared while I was not there to eat it.</p>
<p>I haven’t used my trainer in about 20 years. There’s no need as the YMCA is nearby unless I want that road-bike feeling along with shifting. The trainer makes an incredible amount of noise so watching TV without headphones would be annoying to others. The other thing about using the trainer is having to put something under it as some grease and oil may splatter on the floor.</p>
<p>I thought my trainer would be louder than it is, but it turns out it’s pretty quiet. We put one of those furniture padding blankets you use for moving furniture under it. What I like about it over the gym bikes is that it is my own set-up so the seat and all the other adjustments are perfect. I was not comfortable on the gym bike yesterday. I’m OK on the spin bikes, but not the LifeFitness bikes. Not good with my injured sitbone!</p>
<p>I maintained my weight- still want to drop a couple of pounds- but for a travel holiday, I’m satisfied to have maintained.</p>
<p>Perhaps yours has larger turbines than mine does. On mine, the turbines are pretty small (maybe about six inches in diameter). The spinning rear wheel spins the turbines and they blow air on you (and all over the place in general). That movement of air and the spinning makes a lot of noise on mine.</p>
<p>I had a look at modern trainers (mine is 30 years old) and I see that the designs are similar but some trainers have no fans, one fan or two like mine. I also noticed that these things are quite a bit more expensive than the one that I have even though the one I have has far more material than modern units.</p>
<p>Mine has a support for the front fork and it has sturdy beams going out at the front and back. The length is adjustable. I think that the front height is too but I’m not 100% sure. The new ones look to be a minimalistic design with basically a pyramid support with metal tubing. I guess that the wheel rests on the ground in the modern designs.</p>
<p>I also noticed that some places sell floor mats to deal with splattering lubricants.</p>
<p>How many fans does your model have and are they small or large. I think that larger fans do a better job of moving air with less noise.</p>
<p>In gyms, the fan/resistance part is usually enclosed which reduces noise to the user.</p>
<p>Yours is a wind trainer. Mine is about 12 years old and is a mag trainer. The front wheel is on the ground and the bike is completely together. It uses magnets to create a resistance and is quiet. The newest ones are fluid and are more expensive and also quiet. We used to have the old wind trainer and it was awful.</p>
<p>The thing that I like about the wind trainer is the airflow. I would have to use an external electric fan if the wind turbines weren’t there. Same idea as the Concept 2 - use your work to generate a breeze to cool you off - though the Concept 2 is better at directing the air directly to you.</p>
<p>What didn’t you like about the wind trainer, besides the noise?</p>
<p>I think the mag trainer feels smoother and you don’t have to take your bike apart. I really would like the fluid trainer (new ones) but not worth spending the money since I doubt I’ll do all that much with it.</p>
<p>Now, if ya’ll want some breeze, hop on a big-fan Airdyne. The cats have to sink their claws into the carpet to keep from being blown across the room when the big ‘ol fat guy starts crankin’ out the intervals in 5… 4… 3… 2… 1… </p>
<p>They even sell a fender for the Airdyne to block the wind, but I like it.</p>
<p>On my wind trainer, I only have to remove the front wheel which takes about five seconds (I assume that modern bicycles still have quick-release hubs). The trainer that I have also has a bottom bracket support so the bicycle is supported by the front fork, the bottom bracket and the rear wheel.</p>
<p>The Concept 2 is probably the best club-quality exercise machine out there in terms of bang for the buck along with the ability to stow it away. Rowing, though, is not terribly popular as it takes a fair amount of time to get your muscles tuned for it and it can be difficult to use a rowing machine if you don’t have reasonable flexibility.</p>
<p>The idea for fenders is to block the water and road grime from painting a stripe on your back when you’re riding when it is wet out.</p>
<p>Medically speaking, I think MoWC is correct that thin is healthier. But so many things contribute to or detract from health. I would wager that a person who smokes is not as healthy as someone who does not smoke but weighs 20 pounds more. But perhaps the person who doesn’t smoke has high blood pressure, or a genetic predisposition to cancer . . . I would guess that for all of us there are costs and benefits to things that make us healthier. The goal is to find the optimum cost-benefit balance. For me, adjusting my diet and adding a moderate amount of cardio has been pretty easy. The harder part will be the strength training because that is something I will need a gym for, and I despise gyms . . .</p>