Healthy Living Club 2012

[TheVBs]

Thank you for that Natalie! I'll be giving that a try tomorrow.

And, ugh. I had one of those days where I sat like a lump and did nothing, except for my workout. And I couldn't stop eating. I probably ate 2 days worth of calories today. I don't know for sure, because I stopped tracking it after the second cupcake.

[magicofdisney]

Thank you for that Natalie! I'll be giving that a try tomorrow.

And, ugh. I had one of those days where I sat like a lump and did nothing, except for my workout. And I couldn't stop eating. I probably ate 2 days worth of calories today. I don't know for sure, because I stopped tracking it after the second cupcake.

That seriously made me lol. Today was my son's birthday and I had cake, ice cream, pizza...

[garymacd]

Gary, hope you've gotten some rest and are doing better today.

Rest?

What's that?

I was supposed to have every weekend off this month. In the space of three days in mid-January I booked teaching gigs for every and all weekends in February, while still working full shifts during the weeks. The last two weekends will be spent teaching at a fire department way up in God's country on the shores of Georgian Bay. I'm actually looking forward to it, but will miss family and homecooked meals for a while.

As for those questions, BrerGnat answered them quite well. Thanks. One thing to remember about calories and metabolism. The more you work out, the more calories you will need, and not just while you are working out. Your body will require extra calories to recover from the exercise. It will repair any damage you cause during exercise while you rest and sleep. It repairs damage by removing damaged tissue and replacing it with more muscle, tendon and ligament. This is normal.

Yes, you will actually burn calories while you sleep. Creating new muscle takes energy. Feeding that new muscle tissue takes energy. Without energy you will crash if you can't feed all that muscle.

Is it possible that some of those last ten pounds you want to lose is muscle? The last thing you want to do is to burn muscle fibre. That is not healthy. Try to find a body fat skin caliper set and find out what your body fat percentage is. I just saw them listed on EBay for less than $20, some as cheap as $5. Follow the directions to see what your body fat percentage is.

Look at this table for fat amounts and fitness levels (it doesn't look very good, but..):

Fitness Level Female Male
Essential 10-12% 2-4%
Athlete 13-20 6-13%
Fitness 21-24% 14-17%
Average 25-31% 18-25%
Obese 32+% 25+%

Men generally carry more muscle and less fat than women, so these numbers are normal.

If a woman's body fat drops below 10%, her body will go through some radical and very unhealthy changes, the least of which is no strength reserves, losing hair and being cold all the time. You will look spectacular, if you like that bald, ripped, skinny, vein-y look with no ... um ... you figure it out, but not really healthy.

[TheVBs]

That seriously made me lol. Today was my son's birthday and I had cake, ice cream, pizza...

I just knew I wouldn't want to see the end results. When one of the girls has a birthday party, I eat all those things too!

[TheVBs]

Rest?

What's that?

I was supposed to have every weekend off this month. In the space of three days in mid-January I booked teaching gigs for every and all weekends in February, while still working full shifts during the weeks. The last two weekends will be spent teaching at a fire department way up in God's country on the shores of Georgian Bay. I'm actually looking forward to it, but will miss family and homecooked meals for a while.

As for those questions, BrerGnat answered them quite well. Thanks. One thing to remember about calories and metabolism. The more you work out, the more calories you will need, and not just while you are working out. Your body will require extra calories to recover from the exercise. It will repair any damage you cause during exercise while you rest and sleep. It repairs damage by removing damaged tissue and replacing it with more muscle, tendon and ligament. This is normal.

Yes, you will actually burn calories while you sleep. Creating new muscle takes energy. Feeding that new muscle tissue takes energy. Without energy you will crash if you can't feed all that muscle.

Is it possible that some of those last ten pounds you want to lose is muscle? The last thing you want to do is to burn muscle fibre. That is not healthy. Try to find a body fat skin caliper set and find out what your body fat percentage is. I just saw them listed on EBay for less than $20, some as cheap as $5. Follow the directions to see what your body fat percentage is.

Look at this table for fat amounts and fitness levels (it doesn't look very good, but..):

Fitness Level Female Male
Essential 10-12% 2-4%
Athlete 13-20 6-13%
Fitness 21-24% 14-17%
Average 25-31% 18-25%
Obese 32+% 25+%

Men generally carry more muscle and less fat than women, so these numbers are normal.

If a woman's body fat drops below 10%, her body will go through some radical and very unhealthy changes, the least of which is no strength reserves, losing hair and being cold all the time. You will look spectacular, if you like that bald, ripped, skinny, vein-y look with no ... um ... you figure it out, but not really healthy.

So sorry you weren't able to rest! That's quite a schedule. I have no idea how you handle it, even when you're feeling well.

I'm definitely not going for the look you described! I guess it's possible that I'm not being realistic about additional weight loss due to muscle gain. But, I've got a couple of curves where there shouldn't be that are definitely not muscle. So I do feel that I still have fat to loose.

By the way, is it cheating if I brace my feet under something for the tummy crunches?

[BrerGnat]

By the way, is it cheating if I brace my feet under something for the tummy crunches?

Yes, it is. If it's hard, stick a cushion behind you to support your lower back. That way, you aren't straining so much. You work your abs with your legs a lot of the time.

[TheVBs]

Yes, it is. If it's hard, stick a cushion behind you to support your lower back. That way, you aren't straining so much. You work your abs with your legs a lot of the time.

Good to know! I will try using a cushion. When I tried them without bracing my feet it was hard to keep my balance, I would tip backwards. Does that sound weird? I wonder if I'm doing them wrong.

[BrerGnat]

Good to know! I will try using a cushion. When I tried them without bracing my feet it was hard to keep my balance, I would tip backwards. Does that sound weird? I wonder if I'm doing them wrong.

No, you're doing it right, but your abs are just not strong enough yet. Keep doing it. I forgot to mention the cushion. I use one. Don't lean too far back. Put the cushion behind you (touching your body as you are sitting) and only lean back far enough so that your extreme lower back is touching the cushion. From there, either just hold the position while breathing short, quick breaths, for about 10-12 counts, or do the tiny crunches. Take a break after every 10 or so. As you are holding this position, work really hard to flatten your abs, think of pulling your belly button in towards your spine. Don't let your abs bulge out. It's challenging, but it will give you fast results.

[garymacd]

If regular crunches are tough, try reverse crunches. Start in the up position and lean back until you feel the burn, then come back up. Keep gong until you reach your goal.

This will help you build the muscle tone you are after without the back strain that you feel doing regular crunches.

Do this for a few days and then put in some crunches...without bracing your feet under something. Remember, these are crunches, not situps. Just get your shoulders and back off the ground, not all the way up to your knees.

As for curves, I think most men like curves, not stick insects. A lot of fitness is in how you feel, not how you look.

[TheVBs]

Thanks guys! I will give these a try as soon as I can. I've been out of commission for the last few days - the girls got hit with stomach flu. Aside from having to stay on top of them, I've been achy and low energy. I did manage at least the treadmill yesterday. Man, was it hard to get through.

On the upside I have a new favorite food thing! For salads I've been mixing a small amount of my favorite dressing (whatever sounds good at the moment) with plain Greek yogurt. I still get the flavor, but fewer calories and fat.

[Bethis26fan]

Hi everyone! I joined this post a long while back and did really good with my weight. Well life happend(sad story and all) and I really stoped trying and you know what that means all the weight is back. I know that it's all on me to make the healthy choices and stick with them. We are looking at doing the ICOT 15th in Oct (8 months) and I really want to get back healthy and lose some weight. So I'm putting my goals out here long term & short term and maybe this will help me when i find myself doing the whole emotional eating thing.
1. lose 100lbs (long term)
2. lose 50 lbs by ICOT 15 (mid term)
Reward keys to the kingdom tour
3. Walk 30 mins 4 times a week (weekly goal)
Reward 1 new song off itunes
Is there anything else you can think to help me get on my way. I'm going to go to sparks to figure out my calories and get some food ideas.

[garymacd]

HI Beth

No other ideas for you. Just keep going. You'll make it.

[BrerGnat]

Hey Beth, thanks for joining us!

My suggestion to you, to get the "emotional eating" under control is, when you feel the urge to eat, get up and walk around for 15 min instead. You don't even have to go outside. Just walk around your house (or your work).

The act of changing what you are doing makes your brain "reboot" so to speak. I bet you that after 15 min, the urge to eat will be gone.

Try it!

[Bethis26fan]

Hey Beth, thanks for joining us!

My suggestion to you, to get the "emotional eating" under control is, when you feel the urge to eat, get up and walk around for 15 min instead. You don't even have to go outside. Just walk around your house (or your work).

The act of changing what you are doing makes your brain "reboot" so to speak. I bet you that after 15 min, the urge to eat will be gone.

Try it!

Thanks i will. I'll try & report back in next week and see how it goes. I'm starting today but tomorrow is when I'm going to put as my offical start date so I can have everything wrote down from first thing in the am.

[TheVBs]

I am very much an emotional eater! Particularly when I'm stressed, I really go for the sweets then. What I did was figure out what I most frequently craved at those times, and it was dark chocolate. If you can figure out what it is that you really want, and make sure you just have a small amount of it, you'll be more likely to be satisfied. Sometimes you eat 10 other things trying to avoid the one thing you want. Like with anything else, it's about portion control. I'll have one or two squares of dark chocolate and call it good. Or, if it's ice cream I really want, just a cup. It sounds hard, but knowing that you can have a small amount of what you feel you really need, can give you a big psychological boost and help you gain more control over your eating. That's what worked for me anyway. Hope this helps!

[Bethis26fan]

What I'm learing is it's not so much emotional but being board and i'm having to stay away from watching food network.

[TheVBs]

Yeah, boredom can be a killer too! If you find yourself wandering into the kitchen out of boredom, drink a glass of water. Try to find things to keep yourself busy. Organize photos, catch up on projects, go for a walk, run errands, or even just do some cleaning. It will help you re-wire your brain. Instead of looking for food you'll start looking for something to do.

BrerGnat and Gary, the cushion for the crunches has been working great, thank you!

Two more questions. What are some good exercises to strengthen back muscles? And, why is it, now that I've worked so hard to lose this weight, that people have decided that our house is some kind of dessert dumping ground?! I got insane amounts of chocolate for Christmas, and at the end of every family gathering they pack up the desserts and send them home with us. What is up with that??

[BrerGnat]

Two more questions. What are some good exercises to strengthen back muscles?

Push ups.

Also, the "superman". Lay on your stomach, legs straight behind you, feet pointed. Place your hands palm down on the floor extended straight out in front of your head. Simultaneously lift your arms and legs about 6 inches off the ground, arching your back slightly. Keep your head and neck in line with your upper arms, eyes looking down at the floor. Hold for 5-10 seconds and repeat a few times. This will strengthen the muscles running down the sides of your spine. For a little challenge, "swim": move your arms up and down in synch with your legs. Lift the right arm/left leg, then switch. It should look like you're swimming. Do this until you can't anymore, rest, then repeat.

And, why is it, now that I've worked so hard to lose this weight, that people have decided that our house is some kind of dessert dumping ground?! I got insane amounts of chocolate for Christmas, and at the end of every family gathering they pack up the desserts and send them home with us. What is up with that??

That's just the way of the universe. I just discovered Williams Sonoma ice cream starter. I broke out my ice cream machine and it's been nonstop since. It's for the kids...I swear.

[dnickels]

And, why is it, now that I've worked so hard to lose this weight, that people have decided that our house is some kind of dessert dumping ground?! I got insane amounts of chocolate for Christmas, and at the end of every family gathering they pack up the desserts and send them home with us. What is up with that??

I think the only solution to this is to tell them that it will "...just go to waste..." if they give it to you. If they don't even get that hint you just need to toss it when they walk out the door. I know we're conditioned not to waste food, but in the long run, your physical health is far more important than making someone happy that you ate their leftover cake or cookies or whatever it may be.

[garymacd]

What are some good exercises to strengthen back muscles?

Along with doing the superman move, try side tri rises. Lay on your left side with your legs straight. Place your left arm on the ground beside your torso. Put your right hand behind your head. Then lift your legs and shoulders off the ground and try to touch your right elbow to your right knee. Do it for about a minute and switch sides.

This next one requires a caution. Do not do this with and arched or bent back. Your back must be straight. You might think this is an arm exercise, but done right, it will strengthen the upper and mid back.

You will need some weights or resistance bands for this. Stand with your feet together. Bend you knees and hips so you are looking at the floor in front of you, kind of like sitting on a high stool. Keep your head in alignment with your spine.

Bend down to pick up your weights and get into a comfortable position, then pull the weights up to your body, like pulling on pants. Your elbows go back, not out. Your hands will hang straight to the floor. Hold for a second and straighten your arms. Repeat 8 - 15 times, rest and do it again.

You can do the same thing with one arm in a lunge. Rest your left arm on your left knee. Grab the weight and pull towards your shoulder, again keeping the elbow close to the body. Repeat 8 - 15 times, rest and repeat on the other side.