<p>sabaray: 59 pounds? That is fantastic! Congratulations!</p>
<p>CBBBlinker – lost 20 pounds; on average, cardio 5-6x/week & weights 3x/week; lower fat diet </p>
<p>sabaray-lost a total of 59 pounds. I kept track of what I was eating; I used DailyPlate regularly; I tried to work in some type of exercise every day</p>
<p>MomofWildChild- only gained 2 pounds despite being injured since March and not able to train/run at a competitive level- slowly getting healed and back on the road</p>
<p>Thanks, VH. I really needed to lose the weight. I was kidding myself. I am still not thin, or athletic, or a size 2 but I do feel a heck of a lot better. I think for people like me the key is realizing why I was overeating. I was bored; lonely; in a job I hated. Eating filled a void. </p>
<p>I noticed that iDad was not getting kudos from his family for his weight loss. I don’t think that’s unusual. My H desperately needs to lose weight and hopefully 2011 will be his year. He has signed up for support through our health plan and hopefully that will be the key to his motivation. I’d also note that among my Christmas gifts he bought me a box of 32 of my formerly favorite candy bars. A box of 32 candy bars?</p>
<p>CBBBlinker: lost 20 pounds; on average, cardio 5-6x/week & weights 3x/week; lower fat diet </p>
<p>sabaray: lost a total of 59 pounds. I kept track of what I was eating; I used DailyPlate regularly; I tried to work in some type of exercise every day</p>
<p>MomofWildChild: only gained 2 pounds despite being injured since March and not able to train/run at a competitive level- slowly getting healed and back on the road </p>
<p>hwc: Started in Feb. Lost 70 lbs, 8 in. from my waist. Core/strength/circuit training 3 times a week. Interval cardio (walking hills, Schwinn Airdyne exercise bike) 3 days a week. 30 - 60 minutes a day. About 1800 calories a day, high protein, high fat, low grains, cut the junk food.</p>
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<p>Hah. I’m not even in the CC top ten when it comes to hard exercisers. The runners around here put me to shame – although I did jog across the street the other day when a car was coming. NMinn sets the standard on the exercise bike. And, chintzy does gym rat workouts that put me to shame. Burpees with a jump onto a plyo step – that’s fitness magazine stuff! BC Eagle with the running and tennis. And, then we’ve got the mountain bikers and endurance road bikers. I’m just the ol’ (formerly) fat guy trying to lift a pair of little dumbbells!</p>
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<p>I guess he hasn’t gotten with the program! He misses you coming home from the grocery store with bags of fat food and tacit approval of chowing down. What’s so scary to him is that he thinks eating less and moving more is a life of deprivation and torture. The big hurdle is getting started and finding out that eating less and moving more is kind of enjoyable.</p>
<p>
??? Is this you, idad? (Perhaps my brain is a little slow this morning, but I’m not getting the abbreviation.)</p>
<p>CBBBlinker: lost 20 pounds; on average, cardio 5-6x/week & weights 3x/week; lower fat diet </p>
<p>sabaray: lost a total of 59 pounds. I kept track of what I was eating; I used DailyPlate regularly; I tried to work in some type of exercise every day</p>
<p>**MomofWildChild: **only gained 2 pounds despite being injured since March and not able to train/run at a competitive level- slowly getting healed and back on the road </p>
<p>**interesteddad: **Started in Feb. Lost 70 lbs, 8 in. from my waist. Core/strength/circuit training 3 times a week. Interval cardio (walking hills, Schwinn Airdyne exercise bike) 3 days a week. 30 - 60 minutes a day. About 1800 calories a day, high protein, high fat, low grains, cut the junk food.</p>
<p>idad, what amazes me is that you figured all this out on your own! You’re proof that living a fit lifestyle doesn’t have to be expensive or all that time consuming. I just pay my trainer to think about it. Congrats, everyone on an amazing 2010 wellness journey! After we collect all our 2010 stats, maybe we can talk about our goals for 2011–putting it out there makes us accountable!</p>
<p>CBBBlinker: lost 20 pounds; on average, cardio 5-6x/week & weights 3x/week; lower fat diet </p>
<p>sabaray: lost a total of 59 pounds. I kept track of what I was eating; I used DailyPlate regularly; I tried to work in some type of exercise every day</p>
<p>MomofWildChild: only gained 2 pounds despite being injured since March and not able to train/run at a competitive level- slowly getting healed and back on the road </p>
<p>interesteddad: Started in Feb. Lost 70 lbs, 8 in. from my waist. Core/strength/circuit training 3 times a week. Interval cardio (walking hills, Schwinn Airdyne exercise bike) 3 days a week. 30 - 60 minutes a day. About 1800 calories a day, high protein, high fat, low grains, cut the junk food.</p>
<p>chintzy: Started in March. Lost 119 lbs. Went from a size 26W to a size 4P. Weight/circuit training 3x/week. Cardio 30 - 60 minutes a day 6x/week. No eating between meals. Mostly lean protein, vegetables, whole grains, good fat. Got my life back.</p>
<p>Well, if I may chime in, I “only” lost around two pounds, but I didn’t really have to lose any. But my bones are stronger – I no longer have osteoporosis – and my muscles are stronger, and my cardio is better, and my son says “My mom has bigger guns than I do!” Priceless!</p>
<p>Chintzy, I’m amazed. That’s a huge accomplishment. You lost more than I weigh. You lost an entire VeryHappy. Wow!!</p>
<p>I joined a group of ladies in a bootcamp in October and haven’t really lost weight yet. Working out 2 x a week is not enough for me to lose but does help me maintain and not gain weight! I will be adding 2 more days of workouts to my week and start paying attention to what I eat. Baby steps for me.</p>
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<p>That’s breathtaking. It’s hard to even really comprehend what a transformation that must be for you.</p>
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<p>Since we might have some New Years Resolution lurkers, I just want to say that, while I believe that moving more (exercise) is the glue that holds it all together, working out more is never going to be enough to drive signficant weight loss. For those of us who gained weight from cosuming mass quantities of calories, there is no amount of exercise in the world that would shed the pounds until we started “eating less”.</p>
<p>You can actually lose a lot of weight without exercising at all. Millions of yo-yo dieters do it every year. It’s self-defeating because it slows the metabolism and makes gaining weight even easier, but it will work.</p>
<p>I also don’t want to leave the impression that you have to work out six days a week. Maybe to lose massive amounts of weight in a short period of time. However, two to three workouts of 45 to 60 minutes a week is more than enough to lose weight and get fit. Actually, beyond that and you have to be careful that your additonal workouts don’t wear you down. Rachel Cosgrove doesn’t even want her new clients to do extra workouts at first. Just three good workouts a week at first. Put the energy into making those intense and letting your body start adapting.</p>
<p>Just slept twelve hours last night! Am feeling somewhat normal, but grieving the end of a wonderful vacation.</p>
<p>So, exercise and health wise… I’d say probably my biggest challenge was when I hiked Diamond Head (details upthread). While I never felt any burning during the hike, my calves did ache quite a bit for several days afterwards; it sort of surprised me since I didn’t notice anything during. Made it to the gym twice while in Honolulu for four days; that was my best effort of the trip unfortunately.</p>
<p>Let me chime in on my meet-up with BB and her H. We had a wonderful dinner at a BB-recommended restaurant in Honolulu. This was the one night I had fish as a main entree, figuring if I couldn’t acquire a taste for fish that was as fresh as it would be here and prepared in a very appetizing way, then it was just never going to happen for me. I did have fish disguised in various forms in appetizers later in Maui, but not prepared in ways that would probably be considered healthy, and probably not in amounts that would make any difference. The company and conversation at dinner and on our walk back to the hotel was delightful. I wished we’d had more time. You learn so much about people on CC, but only have a chance to scratch the surface in two hours of conversation. I imagine that she must have begun her weight loss attempts somewhere near where I am now, and it was inspiring to see what I might look like with another 20-lb weight loss (except without being a runner, I will never have her legs). We’ll see what 2011 holds in store for me!</p>
<p>Next major adventure was the downhill bike ride from Haleakala Volcano (which I can now properly pronounce). The hardest part of this was getting up at 1:50AM for a 2:15 shuttle ride. The sunrise was unlike any I’d ever experienced (not that I’ve experienced very many). The ride down required only one attempt to peddle and that occurred in the first fifteen minutes, so I kind of panicked. I told the guide, “I thought this was a downhill ride!” And he said, you’ve just completed about 90% of any peddling you will have to do on this entire trip, so I was relieved. However, the braking involved did aggravate the golfer’s elbow a bit, which was frustrating as I was really hoping to give that a rest over two weeks. </p>
<p>While in Maui, I only hit the gym twice. It was a wonderful gym, but there wasn’t a lot of equipment I was familiar with (thus my story about slipping off of the Roman bench), and I didn’t want to spend a lot of time trying to figure out equipment I would only use a few times. My first time, I saw the trainer working with someone, and saw a sign that said all guests were entitled to a 30-minute complimentary session, but didn’t realize the trainer is also the floor attendant working there full-time. I spoke to the front desk about scheduling an appointment, but I wasn’t available the next two days due to already scheduled plans we had, and he was off on Sunday and Monday, so I only went back one more time. </p>
<p>Ziplining was a blast! A couple of my landings were a little rough and although I attempted to run up the ramp as I landed, my feet hit pretty hard and it was quite a jolt. I definitely felt it the next day. I was so proud of myself that on the last zipline, I held on with just one hand, and took video with my camera with the other!</p>
<p>Then there was snorkeling. Saw lots of beautiful fish and turtles (also saw some whales on our sunset ‘booze cruise’ as the kids would call it). But snorkeling requires kicking in a manner I’m not accustomed to. It’s a kick from the hip, not from the knees, so you’re really working your gluts as opposed to your thighs and calves (which was probably good since my calves were still recovering from Diamond Head). Definitely felt it in the gluts the next day, plus I struggled with post-movement-on-the-ocean (not sea sickness) disorder later that day and night which was really, really strange. </p>
<p>We also did the Road to Hana drive on Christmas Day (us and hundreds of others… we thought we were smart by doing it this day) and hiked several trails up to see waterfalls. Some parts of these ‘trails’ were nothing other than tree roots that you had to navigate, but my balance training seemed to have helped. At our last falls, D2 and I climbed down some rocks to access swimming in one of the pools and were able to sit on a ledge that dropped about 70 ft. at the waterfall. It was awesome (H and D1 declined the added adventure)! We also took the ‘lower road’ of Maui back to our hotel, which is technically off limits to car rentals, but when H found out the charter buses do it, he decided he wanted to. Very rough road, three miles of it isn’t even paved. Much of it is like driving on washboard. But the views were well worth it, and we have not heard from the rental car company yet that we’re being sued for damages.</p>
<p>Then there was the horseback trail riding. I am not an experienced horseback rider, but have done it a few times in my life. It was just over a two-hour ride, like I mentioned earlier, with three opportunities to run the horses. It was a blast! But my inner thighs were not prepared for all that ‘squeezing’ I had to do to keep myself in the saddle! And my knees did not appreciate the very awkward position that sitting in a saddle commands. My knees recovered pretty quickly, but I’m still ‘walking funny’ (think John Wayne). When we arrived home yesterday I had to go get my nails done (they were a disaster after all this stuff and had I not gone yesterday, my next opportunity would not have been until Monday) within an hour after getting home from the airport. The massage chair I sat in for my pedicure found some really tender spots and it felt good, but when I had to sit in the chair for my manicure, I kept feeling something resembling sciatica in my right leg. I just kept wanting to stand up (which is what would make it go away). I think it was due to something from the snorkeling/horseback riding/long plane ride combination. I had the middle seat on the way from Maui to SFO, then was finally able to get comfortable on the flight between SFO and Chicago. I imagine it would be worse if I’d been in economy on both flights!</p>
<p>So today is a recovery day. I have emailed my massage therapist to see when I can get in with her. Unfortunately, she had elective surgery about three weeks ago and can’t do any deep tissue massage yet, so I’m trying to find out when she will be cleared to do that. Have not scheduled a session with my trainer yet (the gym is closed today) and am thinking it’s just best to see what kind of recovery I have with just rest for a couple of days. Anything that lingers beyond, he will know what exercises to avoid, etc.</p>
<p>My eating was pretty pitiful on the trip. We had a kitchen in our condo, which was nice for breakfast and lunch, but I often did not have much choice for dinner, as H and the kids wanted sushi. The menus would offer land entrees, but very few, and they were rarely prepared in healthy ways, although every meal out was incredibly delicious! Thrown in a few shave ices and cookies from the Honolulu Cookie store, and well, I wouldn’t be surprised if I’d put back on 5 lbs. </p>
<p>Oh, I forgot to mention, when we signed in for the zipline tour, we had to fill out waivers. The guide told us, you can skip filling in the weight portion, and we joked to ourselves that we didn’t want to think about what our weight might be at this point, so we were relieved. Then, after everyone turned in their waivers, they lined us up to step on the scale so they could record our weight! Ahhhhh… I know neither myself or my daughters looked at the scale and told them not to say it out loud! </p>
<p>Will wait a couple of weeks before I get on, after I’ve had a chance to return to some of my healthier ways.</p>
<p>All in all, it was a wonderful trip, and I definitely came back kicking and screaming!</p>
<p>Sorry this is so long!</p>
<p>Teri- I love the trip report! It sounds wonderful and a LOT warmer than our Colorado trip!</p>
<p>I did my first New Year’s run. I volunteered at the finish line of the Resolution Run 5K this morning while H, D and son in law ran. I have major bronchitis so didn’t feel bad about not getting to run, and I knew I couldn’t stick with my low HR training if I got in a 5K. Plus-it’s a hilly course. So- I went over to the dreadmill (stayed inside to help my diseased lungs and chest) and had a horrific 4 mile run. Better than the runs at altitude, but still not OK due to being sick. BUT- 4 miles down!</p>
<p>I also have bronchitis! It’s the junk in my throat and chest that I can’t cough up that is hampering my workout today and being sweaty from my fever isn’t much fun either.</p>
<p>I joined the thread a little later than most. My first goal was to improve the condition of my knee. There are days when I don’t even think about it hurting as long as I exercise. Then I wanted to lose weight for D1’s wedding approaching in August 2011. I am seesawing between 45 and 50 pounds lost at the moment. I still want to lose those last five pounds four times according to idad’s goal setting! 
My other 2011 goal is to start tracking my workouts with the help of my new HRM that H got me for Christmas! I also hope to do another 5K this year along with being consistent at core and balance exercises. Happy New Year everyone and good luck with your personal goals!</p>
<p>I have been lurking on this thread from time to time all of 2010.
I was SO impressed by all the progress,that I became inspired.
I lost 30 lbs from March through July by following the ‘move more, eat less’ advice:
I went to the gym 3-4 times a week to increase cardio (at least 1 hour each visit plus weights/stretches) AND I resumed the Weight Watcher’s points program.
A variety of stresses in combination with an injury slowed/reversed the progress; now at a total 25 lb loss.
For 2011, I will continue to visit this thread for inspiration and maybe, to inspire.
Happy New Year All!</p>
<p>So, it was ridiculously warm here today: 59 degrees. I headed out for a little 5k walk and ran into another guy walking who is as crazy as I am. I had on my neon yellow Brooks half-zip with neon yellow beanie and Road ID neon yellow reflective ankle bands. He had on the neon yellow Brooks Nightlife jacket and neon yellow running gloves!</p>
<p>It may be crazy, but this stuff works. It was about an hour before sunset and I saw him like an neon yellow sign a quarter mile away at the top of my state park hill. I never would have noticed the woman he was walking with who just blended into foliage at that distance.</p>
<p>When it comes to walking (or running or cycling) on public roads with cars, I’m happy to be dressed “full geek” if they can see me.</p>
<p>No state park trails today. Solid mud as soon as you got off the asphalt. Lots of people out walking on New Years. I didn’t push the pace; just enjoyed a nice leisurely 3 mile stroll. Had some great music pop up on the iPod and it was hard not to enjoy being outside in just a long sleeve half-zip shirt. Nice bonus this time of year.</p>
<p>idad…I envy your weather. -20 with wind chill today.</p>
<p>Way to go mominva! That’s a nice weight loss!</p>
<p>Like mominva, I’ve been a 2010 lurker. Although I haven’t posted on this thread, I’ve sweated and starved (ate sensibly?)) with all of you this year. I’ve shared your joys and frustrations. I’ve tried most of your recipes. I’ve had a love/hate relationship with the scale most of my life so I don’t know exactly how much weight I’ve lost. I’ve gone down about 4 sizes in my clothes and I’m wearing styles I haven’t been able to wear in years. </p>
<p>I first started running back in 1976. Back in the day I was quite a competitive runner, but then marriage, kids, and life got in the way. I’ve rediscovered the value of a good run and 4 days a week, I’m up at 4:50 a.m. to hit the road for my little 3 mile route. On the weekends I get up later and go further. I figured out that in 2010, I ran through an 86 degree temperature swing (6 above to 92 above). Yes there were days when I felt a little too slow and too “fluffy” to be out in public, but then I’d think about all of you and your own hard workouts. On Thanksgiving morning, I ran a 5K race with my 2 kids. The last time I raced, the kids were waiting for me at the finish line in the double stroller. </p>
<p>A year ago I had bloodwork done. My glucose level was around 125. The doctor put me on medication. The medication upset my stomach and I was disgusted with myself. I took myself off the medication and decided to diet/exercise my way out of the problem. A year later my glucose level is back to 2 digits. I recently marked my 10 year anniversary at work. During the recognition ceremony, the woman who hired me told me I looked better than I did 10 years ago. Several weeks ago, I was in the Lands End section of Sears. I wasn’t paying attention to where I was browsing. The salesperson then shouted out “Excuse me, those are the larger sizes. Petites are over here.” This wouldn’t have happened a year ago. </p>
<p>So…thanks Sabaray for starting this thread and a huge thank you to all the regular posters who have motivated and inspired me.</p>
<p>Mansfield- Thanks for sharing your story. That’s wonderful that you made so much progress this year and I hope you’ll keep posting. I started running in 1976, too! My best competitive years were in the early 80s, but I also had a good 2009. Congrats on losing the 4 sizes. That’s amazing.</p>
<p>idad- You have a long way to go to achieve “geek” status in exercise wear. You need arm warmers (with thumb holes) and Zensah calf sleeves (in a bright color). A little tank top for indoor exercise would complete the look.</p>