Here’s the LA Times article on this new study:
[Statins</a> raise risk of Type 2 diabetes in older women, study finds - Los Angeles Times](<a href=“http://articles.latimes.com/2012/jan/10/health/la-he-statins-diabetes-20120110]Statins”>Statins raise risk of Type 2 diabetes in older women, study finds)
<p>Something odd. I saw my doctor for my annual check and she noted the weight loss. When I told her I still wanted to lose more weight to get more solidly in the “normal BMI” range (and for vanity although I didn’t mention that:)) she suggested instead I increase my exercise, focus on toning, strengthening, etc and not worry about losing more pounds. I like this doctor a lot but I found her advice curious. My BMI is just barely normal and I could definitely stand to lose more pounds. I am sure doing so will help me lay the foundation for a healthier and more active late middle and old age. I am guessing that middle age women have such difficulty losing weight that some doctors don’t want to discourage them so don’t push it much??? A few years ago a different doctor gave the same advice, even though I was much heavier. Has anyone had similar experiences?</p>
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<p>While weight loss is good and all, I think this is solid advice. And by doing so, you will lose weight to an extent. If not you’ll decrease body fat composition which is much more important than BMI anyway.</p>
I’m with HopsScout and the doctor. I would think, almost without exception, that someone in the BMI normal category who wants to look better (and feel better and be healthier) should make getting stronger and more fit the primary goal. Skinny for skinny sake isn’t necessarily that great.
Focusing on getting stronger will increase lean muscle and (depending on your diet) continue to lower body fat. That’s the ideal scenario, especially as we get older and tend to lose muscle if we don’t aggressively do something about it. There are lots of little old ladies (and guys) out there who weigh practically nothing but are frail.
<p>From MomofWildChild:
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<p>I think that’s key – thanks for the advice and support. I ran one race with D last spring and I went out too fast and was struggling toward the end (this was only 2.5 miles). I will check into the inhaler too. Seems like the EIB thing is more prevalent when the air is cold and dry. Good job keeping up the running into a stiff wind!</p>
I was looking at the weights of the top four tennis players on the men’s tour and noticed that Nadal and Federer were both up about five pounds from last year at 188 pounds. I saw videos of Federer playing at the Australian Open this week and was wondering where the weight went. He looks as skinny as ever. You can never tell with Nadal as he has such generally big muscles that a little more in the biceps or calfs would be hard to spot. Both of these guys are in fantastic shape and an extra five pounds doesn’t change that.
Both of these guys need a little more power to play against Djokovic.
<p>Ran/walked 3 miles today, but went for the treadmill so I could stop early if I needed to. I think I will fully embrace the run/walk for my race, since I don’t think I have enough time to build up to running the whole thing.</p>
Well, cool beans! H had an old (1st gen) iPod nano that he had NEVER used. (Gift from his company.) Apple just had a recall because of some fire hazard, and instead of the refurbished 1st gen they were supposed to send back, I got a new 8GB Nano back that is about the size of a large postage stamp. And, it has an accelerometer in it, which I can apparently use for exercise tracking of some kind. Now I just need to figure out how to use it. But, the Apple Store blurb says, “There’s no need to connect a receiver or use a shoe sensor to track your steps, distance, pace, and time. Just clip on iPod nano and go.” And then has a link to Apple + Nike that advertises a sensor. Why do I need a sensor?
Oh …and it also has a radio built in. Way cool. When I think of the size of my portable CD player I lugged around for hundreds of walking miles, this is amazing. And free. Now I just need to figure out how to use it. Because, of course, coming from Apple the way it did it came as a tiny nano in a tiny plastic bag in a cardboard box, along with a sheet of paper explaining that if they ran out of the original ones they might have had to ship a newer one. (And the box was clearly designed for the older version, with a much larger space for the nano to rest in.) And nothing else.
<p>Very cool! ^^ I know what you mean about the old music players. I ran a 100K (62 mile) race once carrying one of the old Sony Walkman cassette players. Now it would feel like carrying a laptop!</p>
<p>Well, of course I want to get stronger and more fit - I work on that all the time and am constantly trying new types of exercise and trying to increase the amount I exercise. My question was, what is wrong with wanting to be a bit slimmer as well? For me to make this happen will definitely involve more pounds and not just more exercise.</p>
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<p>Slimmer is not necessarily the same as a lower number on the scale. When I started strength training in earnest a year ago, my body changed. My waist size got smaller (i.e. slimmer) even though the scale was not going down. The scale theoretically could go up even while you are getting slimmer because muscle weighs more than the fat it is replacing.</p>
<p>Here’s an example. Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski has a BMI of 30.6, putting him in the OBESE category. Yet, [a</a> shirtless photo](<a href=“http://mt.nesn.com/.a/6a0115709f071f970b0154365d5ec4970c-400wi]a”>http://mt.nesn.com/.a/6a0115709f071f970b0154365d5ec4970c-400wi) shows a lot of muscle and not much “obese”. With abs like that, I would surprised if he has over 10% body fat. I think most people could only dream of being so obese.</p>
<p>arabrab:</p>
<p>Thanks for the heads up. I have a 1st gen nano in the bottom of my desk drawer. Looks like I qualify for a new one, too! I never would have known.</p>
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<p>On the fitness adaptors. I have the NIKE + sensor. That is a little foot pod that attaches to your shoe laces and counts actual steps for tracking your workout. MOWC says runners don’t like it, but I found that it was just as accurate as my Garmin for recording distances on my hilly walks and hilly walk/jobs. I calibrated it by walking four laps (or whatever) around the local high school track, but it was pretty much spot on even without calibration for me. </p>
<p>I’ve never used the sensor in the actual nano. I think it’s like one of those waist-mounted fitbits that tries to count steps during the day. I don’t know.</p>
<p>The FM radio is actually pretty cool. You can pause it and skip commericals, just like on a a DVR. </p>
<p>The first step is setting up iTunes if you don’t already use it. Once you’ve done that, use iTunes to start ripping all your favorite CDs onto your computer. Apple calls it “IMPORTING CDs”. I like importing them as MP3s instead of Apple’s format – more compatibility.</p>
<p>Headed to my class at the gym today, but had to turn back due to dangerous driving conditions.</p>
<p>Did 35 minutes on the treadmill per Galloway’s 10K training plan instead.</p>
I wish I had icy conditions between my desk and the Airdyne Torture Machine, but… alas… no such luck.
So, it was another fun session of intervals. Bent over, gasping for air, panting like a do… oh, wait, no I take that back. It must have been a bout of exericise induced bronchialspasms. That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it! 
Actually, this really was brutal. 27 minutes of hell. Four intervals, 3/4 miles each, just over 2 minutes for each one. Heart rate recovery to 64% of max and then go again. I pushed the pace hard for an ol’ (formerly) fat guy. I brought the total time for the actual intervals down from 8:29 last time to 8:15 this time. Little gains are really painful on the Airdyne because the resistance goes up with speed squared.
The [url=<a href=“http://i218.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/albums/cc14/hwc_1000/AirdyneIntervals75x41-17-2012.jpg]graph[/url”>http://i218.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/albums/cc14/hwc_1000/AirdyneIntervals75x41-17-2012.jpg]graph[/url</a>] tells the story. At the end of the fourth interval, I hit the highest heart rate I have ever seen in two years of working out with a heart rate monitor. 170 bpm compared to my previous high of 169 bpm that I hit a couple of times during the 5K race.
Heart rates today on the four intervals were 89%, 96%, 97%, and 100%.
<p>So I’m in the gym this afternoon and my supervisor was in the gym doing some personal training. One of his clients (250+ pound football player) goes to get on the bike. He sits down on the recumbent bike instead of the spinner located right next to it. Next thing I hear is “get off that recliner!” :)</p>
<p>^^^ Love it!</p>
<p>iPod nazi posted a great rant about ellipticals today:</p>
<p>[#1</a> Elliptical Mistake You MUST Avoid - YouTube](<a href=“The #1 Elliptical Training Mistake You MUST Avoid - YouTube”>The #1 Elliptical Training Mistake You MUST Avoid - YouTube)</p>
<p>Darn. It’s the 1st gen ipod nano, not the 1st gen ipod ipod. Those, I have three of.</p>
<p>No time for a workout today - so forced rest day. Too busy. A week off might be good for more deep healing with the knees, left ankle and black toes.</p>
<p>Ooooh, BC – take care of yourself.</p>
<p>I added something to my repetoire today: Jumping up onto a low stool. Seems to engage the entire body – legs, arms, and core. The first few times, I was afraid I wasn’t going to jump high enough, but then I got the knack of it. Nice little addition to the drill.</p>
![http://i218.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/albums/cc14/hwc_1000/AirdyneIntervals75x41-17-2012.jpg]graph[/url](http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc14/hwc_1000/AirdyneIntervals75x41-17-2012.jpg%5Dgraph%5B/url){kind=link}
