<p>Welcome to all newbies. Plum1, I think you’ll be adding an interesting dimension to our discussions! Lilyrobin, glad to have you as well–no age limits here. </p>
<p>I did gymnastics in high school, mainly because it was a separate class with a relaxed instructor and most importantly, no boys. I like it but at my age can’t imagine trying to do it again. More power to you though. Any form of exercise is better than none at all.</p>
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<p>At my age, I probably should be wearing a helmet and wrist guards just to go for a walk around the block!</p>
<p>My dear wife sent me on a new route for my mile walk yesterday. “You’ll love it, she said…” Darn if it wasn’t uphill both ways in the snow. The second quarter mile was up a steep hill that had me panting like a dog.</p>
<p>I do appreciate the tip to shorten the stride going up hill. I realized the tendency is to keep the same stride and same pace. </p>
<p>Just updated the iPod. It’s off to a session with the iPod nazi and attempt a three-circuit workout.</p>
<p>plum, the pasteurization process is primarily used to protect the consumer from dangerous bacteria. I remember very well the 1996 Odwalla E. coli outbreak ([CNN</a> - E. coli poisoning leads to Odwalla juice recall - Nov. 1, 1996](<a href=“http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/9611/01/e.coli.poisoning/]CNN”>CNN - E. coli poisoning leads to Odwalla juice recall - Nov. 1, 1996))
I will never drink unpasteurized juice unless I make it myself from well-scrubbed fruit.</p>
<p>Yes, I understand the issues about pasteurization, that is why I am not gung ho about raw milk. But in the defense of the “raw milk” movement, they claim that often issues revolving around problems of pasteurization were from unsupervised production; not inherently with the product itself. Remember, most people used to drink milk straight from a cow milked that morning! - often a cow and farm they knew personally. Again, I am not opposed to pasteurization, just the “ultra” stuff which I think is unnecessary. Some people are really into raw milk and go so far as to buy a share of a cow from a farm they know personally. That is not my agenda. We have to be careful of e coli and salmonella contamination of a lot of our foods lately. Your point about scrubbing fruit/vegetables well is quite true. </p>
<p>Again, I am most interested in eating/supporting locally sourced products from sustainable farms. Fruit in season. Pastured animals allowed to live a natural life. The difference in taste of say eggs from really free roaming chickens allowed to eat a natural diet and battery hens stuck in cages is simply amazing. If you look into the conditions of factory farmed animals it is very upsetting. I am not a vegetarian; I believe man evolved eating animals, fruits, vegetables, and some grain products (though not many grain products). However, in those times, we hunted and ate every part of the animal. We (and many aboriginal societies still) revere the animals we used for food and clothing. We didn’t buy packaged meats of animals fed on grain that alters their own chemical composition, and processed in factories that are simply horrendous.</p>
<p>Ok off the soapbox. Seriously, if anyone is interested, check out the Weston A Price foundation for an interesting look at nutrition and the diet of traditional cultures.</p>
<p>I did it. The iPod nazi kicked it up a notch with three circuits up from three and the more intense intervals. Still needed an extra break here and there, but got through it all and felt stronger on most of the exercises. Even tossed in an extra curl and press for good measure on after he barked “rest” on the final exercise of the final circuit.</p>
<p>Repeating Week One for two weeks before moving on today at the start of the third week made all the difference in the world.</p>
<p>Oh, and the scale said 8 pounds lost this morning, although that’s been fluctuating up and down. I’m actually not too focused on that as I know the exercise and reduced binge grazing will take pounds and inches off</p>
<p>Fab - u - lous!!! Congratulations, interesteddad! Terrific progress.</p>
<p>Welcome Plum1 and lilyrobin! Glad to have you.</p>
<p>Interesteddad - You are doing a great job!</p>
<p>Good job, idad. With hills, think Baby Steps.</p>
<p>The baby steps helped, but the quarter mile steep hill just got me burning and huffing before I reached the top. That’s good though.</p>
<p>I’m starting to see (and feel!) the madness behind the methods of these iPod workouts. He gets every major muscle group burning during the workout and constantly alternates between high heart rate/breathing and low intensity recovery. Today’s interval (I’m on the bike) was 20 seconds of all-out alternating with 60 seconds of easy recovery. The 20 seconds is long enough to get the legs really burning. I can feel how each of these stress/recovery cycles improves breathing and recovery times.</p>
<p>The killer exercise today is the wall extensions. You assume the position of sitting in a chair, without a chair, back against a wall, legs bent at 90 degrees at the knees and hold that for 30 seconds while lifting dumbells straight out to the sides and up to shoulder height and slowly back down. The shoulders get the work from the weights, the thighs take the burn from sitting against the wall. Everything requires working the core muscles just to stay steady on top of everything else.</p>
<p>Mousegray,
"All the studies seem to indicate that a diet composed primarily of fruit, green leafy veg, nuts, seeds, and fish are the key to health. "</p>
<p>-You have described my diet minus fish plus chocolate and honey. I have fish/meat/chicken when I am in a mood for it and if it is the kind I like. At some point of my life I just decided to stick to what I like and forget the rest, it is not worth it to push yourself all the time. Unfortunately I love sweets, but fortunately enough most of them taste bad in comparison to my chocolate, so here is my way to fight my sweet tooth.</p>
<p>I’m feeling proud… after two week and a half of eating fruits and reducing portions I have lost 9 pounds!!
This weekend I went to this well known restaurant and order my usual chicken and pasta. My eyes couldn’t believe what they served me…A huge portion of pasta with capers and oil and two chicken breasts. My mind went to panic mood for several seconds…then send me this visual to my brain that this was a lunch for three! So I ate one chicken breast and a quarter of the pasta. I brought home the rest…
Yesterday I ate the other chicken breast and another quarter of the pasta…</p>
<p>What is amazing is that previously I used to eat the whole portion and did not judge the portion size!</p>
<p>Thanks everybody…every time I see this Thread I feel encouraged to continue in my lowering cholesterol path!</p>
<p>BTW I weight myself after breakfast and before going to bed, then I record the weight in my “log.” It helps because it is like having a Boss, yourself, watching you…LOL.</p>
<p>Great job Greenery! And isn’t it cool when you “learn” how to eat without guilt???</p>
<p>Great job, Greenery. We haven’t been out to eat in some time but the portion sizes at a typical American restaurant are amazingly huge. Good call in bringing some home. </p>
<p>I have beene enjoying better weather and getting out for more walking and <em>gasp</em> even a bit of intermittent running. Different to exercise outdoors- feel like it’s more work to learn how to pace myself. When you have equipment to do it for you it’s a bit easier- I find I’m pushing myself a bit too much and then have to slow to an almost walk. Oh well. It will get better, I’m sure.</p>
<p>yes it is really crazy what restaurants do these days with portions…and often what they make gigantic are the relatively inexpensive carbs like pasta, breads, or cheaper cuts of chicken (relatively inexpensive factory chickens I mean). </p>
<p>On another point, I never weigh myself anymore. I think all the weighing feeds into the idea we are “good” or “bad.” Weight fluctuates. What I try to do is just think about what I want to eat (but mostly within the parameters of what I think is healthy) and try to pay attention to how full I feel. That is also one reason why I like to eat foods with fat in them; they help me feel full not deprived. Also I guess I have trained myself over the years to be satisfied with smaller portions. This is just my way of doing things. Part of this is never depriving myself of something junky if thats what I want at the moment; I just dont eat much of it. </p>
<p>If you think about it, we weren’t meant physiologically to sit around all day. We were meant to hunt and gather; walk around; lift things, dance, be active. So when we sit at the computer all day and eat three gigantic meals of processed foods we are doing exactly the opposite of what we evolved to do. And we are programmed to put on weight cause in really prehistoric times we never knew when the next good meal was coming around! All things I try to keep in mind. Alot of things in modern society screw us up…even stuff like artificial light. I think our biological clocks meant us to rise with the sun and sleep a short time after it sets. </p>
<p>thanks to you all for reading and for welcoming me to this very interesting thread :)</p>
<p>Ok back to work and sitting and the computer !</p>
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<p>Plum1, we think alike. That’s my huge objection to going to the gym…it is absolutely unnatural.</p>
<p>The other thing we were programed to do by evolution is to need fewer calories as we age…as our sight and quickness deteriorates, we can’t hunt or gather as well, so our bodies need less food. Only now we buy our food, so we sit around gaining weight as we age.</p>
<p>Yes Missypie, I understand that objection to the gym. That is why I like doing outdoors stuff as much as possible. But I think going to the gym if that is what you like or if it what fits into your schedule is better than not! But can you imagine a hunter/gatherer, or even a traditional person from another country today, going into a gym and watching everyone walking to nowhere on the treadmill and lifting weights for no reason? They would think we were all insane.</p>
<p>Also a good point about aging and needing less. But even then I would imagine the older folks were more active anyways, doing craft type things, helping out with the kids, cooking, etc. Our aging population is too often literally stuck inside, on a couch, with the remote.</p>
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<p>Yeah, I guess I take it even back to the animal kingdom. There comes a time when you can’t move fast enough to catch that rabbit or mouse or gazelle…</p>
<p>I agree with much of that ^^^ and prefer my walks outdoors in the good weather MUCH over the gym. But I do wonder - can I acheive the same effects on a walk? I walk a pretty good pace. At the gym, I often only have time to exercise for about 30 minutes. That’s about how long my walks tend to be on a regular basis - some days I can make it longer, but life is busy. :)</p>
<p>I never used to weigh myself. This is the first time I have in years. I feel it makes me more aware. I also find that it is also motivating. I am finding the drop on the scale makes me think twice about eating the wrong foods. I am surviving the kids being home. I am eating some things I should not but overall I am satisfied with my progress. I am eating out more but once they go back that should end. I was invited out to dinner last night with some friends after a meeting and I passed since I was still full from lunch out with my college son.
I am still not exercising with excitement but I am doing it. We have had lots of rain this winter and everything is now green and clean and the flowers are starting to come out. I try to remind myself to look around me when I am out walking and enjoy the beauty.
I have been trying the smaller steps on the uphill. I find it a bit unnatural and awkward. I had a massage last week and I mentioned my lower back was sore on one side. She thought it was my psoas muscle and asked if I had been walking hills.</p>
<p>Hang in there with the smaller steps. If you ever rode a bike and shifted to a lower gear, that’s the mental image that helps. In the beginning you still think you need to lean forward - but you don’t - or at lease not much. Great workout for your butt.</p>