<p>I’ll have to try that exercise on the ball. I’m sure I will have trouble.</p>
<p>You folks are awesome. I"m very impressed with all the weight and core work and different exercises AND the giving away of the fat clothes! Yay!</p>
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<p>I can’t imagine that any obese person could hope to make lifelong changes by eating a 600 calorie a day diet of weight-loss shakes. How could you not rebound hard off a diet like that? I may be crazy, but it seems to me that the goal is to find a diet that is the absolute most satisfying food possible while still working from a calorie/weight/fitness standpoint.</p>
<p>My guess is that they were paid for the research study and that the research study was geared to seeing if rapid weight loss could remove a lot of the symptoms. From that perspective, it sounded like they were successful. I can’t imagine that the people that were part of the study had an easy time of it.</p>
<p>Hit for an hour with a guy that I haven’t seen in a few months. He asked me how much I had lost and then said that I looked good. He’s been trying to lose a lot of weight for about ten years. He’s tried stomach stapling, low intensity cardio for one to two hours, etc. He’s remarkably fast on the court and can hit the ball very hard but it takes a toll on his joints when he plays. He knows the diets, low-carb, etc., etc. But he can’t seem to execute on it. He was a high-school athlete, maybe college too.</p>
<p>The new racquet again felt very good. I need to improve my footwork just a bit to compensate for the added length.</p>
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<p>And this is this most difficult part to figure out. I have found that there are quite a few people who are very knowledgeable about what it takes, what the research is, etc. etc. and have no problems executing on almost all other aspects of their life, but the diet portion is the sticking point. </p>
<p>Idad has shared some of his winning strategies like breaking it down to 5 lb. goals to avoid being overwhelmed.
Any one else have any breakthroughs that would be helpful to me, ahem, I mean BC’s friend?</p>
<p>I’ve mentioned things to him about what I am doing and he can often tell me more about it than I can. He leads a pretty happy life; teacher, coach, kids are grown and productive, plays sports and frequently goes fishing (on the Atlantic at crazy-early AM hours).</p>
<p>At some point, it has to move beyond academic and you have to Just Do It. But it obviously isn’t that easy for everyone.</p>
<p>BTW, if any of the shrinking guys need to stock up on workout shirts, Marshalls has been getting shipments of C9 by Champion plain tech-t 100% polyester training shirts in solid colors for $5.99. I’ve seen black, navy, white, gray, and red. Absolutely plain. Flat seams. Small Reflective logo. They also have some two-tone fanicer versions with mesh panels for $6.99, but I didn’t like those – they have a mesh panel down the back with seams that hit me wrong.</p>
<p>They also have these adidas shirts that are cut trim fit me like a glove in MEDIUM and make my shoulders look ripped – for an ol’ (formerly) fat guy. Really nice high-end athletic shirts for $12.99. I got a black with white stripes, a white with black stripes, and a royal blue with white stripes.</p>
<p>[adidas</a> Active360 Tech Performance Tee](<a href=“http://www.kohls.com/kohlsStore/mens/brandsformen/adidas/shirts/PRD~734497/adidas+Active360+Tech+Performance+Tee.jsp]adidas”>http://www.kohls.com/kohlsStore/mens/brandsformen/adidas/shirts/PRD~734497/adidas+Active360+Tech+Performance+Tee.jsp)</p>
<p>Back from my walk! It was a gorgeous walk around the lake. The sun is shining and the flowers are blooming. We walked and talked and got around the lake too quickly!!! Good exercise day for me!</p>
<p>Got a 5.3 mile run done after work. Mostly overcast but very humid and 82 degrees. Not pleasant. H tells me the morning is supposed to be cooler and dry, so I plan to get up. Now I’ll play with my stretchy bands while I watch the College World Series, even though my team got knocked out of it on Friday which made me sad but proud of them. Ate a light dinner since lunch was Mongolian barbecue (tofu and veggies-but too much of it) and then mid-afternoon department angelfood cake/strawberries for a birthday.</p>
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<p>I like this. It is challenging, but I can do it! Thanks, arabrab.</p>
<p>I need to get one of those balls. The last one was attacked by Ms Kitty (RIP, my precious one!) and pierced by her sharp teeth. Too bad I did not have a videocamera handy, because it was a great “YouTube moment”. LOL. My current cats are much less vicious, so there is a chance that an exercise ball might survive longer than a couple of hours in my house.</p>
<p>^^My kitty killed the ball that goes on my ball chair. It’s a special size ball only for the chairs and costs twice as much as the others. I was NOT happy.</p>
<p>The only thing my cats don’t scratch is the stability ball. I think they took one look at “daddy” on that ball and decided they don’t want anything to do with it. I’m on my second ball. The first one was a cheapo Marshall’s special and it never held air from day one. Had to be pumped up every time. So I didn’t that one and bought one of the heavy duty “Pro” balls that Perform Better sells. I’ve added air to it once in over a year (although I think it could probably use another shot). When it is fully pumped up, it is hard as a rock and vary unstable.</p>
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<p>Busted up 100+ pounds of old rusty grill, filled up the trunk and the back seat with parts, and hauled it all up to the dump before dinner. Pretty good workout, actually. 20 years out in the snow and rain. I’d say I got my money’s worth out of that one.</p>
<p>Maiden voyage on the new one tonight with steak tips – and a healthy side of fresh brocolli. I’ve got some two-inch thick bone-in pork chops waiting in the wings. I used to serve those with baked beans, heated on the grill, but I guess those are off the menu, so it’ll probably be my version of a carb fest – an ear of fresh corn on the cob.</p>
<p>Went to the Y with my son. I tried idad’s farmers walk with two 40-pound dumbbells. I probably looked a bit odd walking around the weights, weight machine, hoist machine, etc., weaving in and out of the machines with the dumbbells.</p>
<p>As far as muscles worked, I felt most of the strain in the shoulders at the outer edge. I may try a bit more weight in the future. The dumbbells in the new Y go up to 65 pounds - not 125 like at the old Y. That should be more than enough.</p>
<p>Also took a medicine ball, went down on a mat and did the side-to-side thing with the medicine ball in a situp position for a while. I tried it out because I see so many other people doing it.</p>
<p>H wanted to taske a walk after work so I got another one in this evening. I bet my knee is screaming at me in the morning!</p>
<p>You are right idad! I write about my daily workouts (pitiful as they are!) because it holds me accountable and that is what I need to stay on track. I don’t care if anyone else reads them! Thanks for putting up with this 50+ old lady! ;)</p>
<p>10 minutes on the elliptical (boring) and 2 sets of 50 KB Swings. I guess I could also count climbing up and down a 10-foot ladder for over two hours too…</p>
<p>Diet Coke is evil.</p>
<p>I took a drink out of the fridge - I meant to take a water but I took a diet coke instead (the back of the fridge has colder drinks. I realized my mistake on the tennis court and drank it anyways, followed by my melting block of ice.</p>
<p>Later this afternoon when I drank my usual bottles of water, they tasted off and didn’t quench my thirst.</p>
<p>My taste buds are back to normal this evening. I can imagine that it does something to your brain that makes it addictive; even without sugar.</p>
<p>hops_scout–oh, the ladder climbing will do for exercise! I am always sore the next day, even when I didn’t think it was strenuous at the time.</p>
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<p>Three workouts in one day. I believe that you have earned the “YOU ARE AN ANIMAL” award today!</p>
<p>Haha! And I will pay for it tomorrow! Maybe I should take some Aleve and go soak in the tub now! ;)</p>
<p>BTW, on the topic of cholesterol testing, one of the issues that crops up for low-carbers is that the plain vanilla lipid profile test that doctors typically order may not give enough information. For example, the LDL cholesterol is a calculated value rather than a direct measured number. Unfortunately, there is research evidence that the formula used for the calculation doesn’t work for people with very low triglycerides. Also, the standard test doesn’t measure whether you have the harmless LDL or the risky high-density LDL.</p>
<p>I found a nationwide chain of testing centers (walk in drug testing, HIV testing, etc.) that offers the full Cadillac version of the lipid/cholesterol test for $79, including direct measure of the LDL and the LDL density pattern type.</p>
<p>[VAP®</a> Cholesterol Test](<a href=“http://www.anylabtestnow.com/Tests/Wellness_Tests/productid/3419.aspx]VAP®”>http://www.anylabtestnow.com/Tests/Wellness_Tests/productid/3419.aspx)</p>
<p>They’ve got a couple of New Hampshire locations, so I may mosey up one day and get the full test because I am definitely in a category where the standard test is not providing all the information. It would be easier to just go get the test done on my own than try to get more than a one-syllable response from my doctor about any of this stuff.</p>