Re fitness and diet, what works for you?

[lizap]

I thought since quite a few of us are working on getting in better shape, we might share helpful hints and suggestions related to eating and exercise.

I've found it really helps to write down what I eat as I eat it. It doesn't work if you wait 'til after you're done eating, since then it's too late. But as you see things accumulate on the list, it's much harder to ignore the obvious (that you've had enough) than if you're just absent-mindedly eating.

[ambra]

My biggest issue is excercise. I can usually change my eating habits and get used to eating less and eating more healthy but finding an excercise routine that I enjoy is hard, as well as finding the time. We have fitness equipment at work and I keep saying I'm going to start using it but I get bored doing things that are repetitive. I'd love to take some sort of dance class; it would not only help me loose weight but improve my co-ordination and I'd learn a handy skill that I could use outside the classroom. Unfortunately, the closest dance studio is an hour away and scheduling classes around work would be near impossible.

[Vittoria]

Well, I already mentioned in another thread my use of Kellogs Vector cereal. I can't say enough good things about the stuff. I've been dropping weight with the use of lots of coffee (which helps clean out the system), filtered water, Vector cereal, and believe it or not- eating steak and eggs. High protein diet. I have steak a couple of times a week. Also I use So Good vanilla soy milk rather than dairy milk for my cereal and for drinking- the exception being my coffee which I absolutely have to use cream for.

As for bread, I eat multi-grain Weight Watcher's bread. I use healthy margarine types rather than butter and add some jam and natural peanut butter or tuna or salmon salad.

When I get hungry in the late evening, I microwave some Cream of Wheat with a bit of salt in it. I take it out of the microwave and then add some hemp oil, a blob of jam and soy milk. I find it just fills up that aweful knawing feeling of hunger as I am not eating as much or as often as I used to.

The weight is coming off really fast. When I have found I've gained far too much weight, the only way to get it off, is to radically diet and then when enough of it has come off to give me more energy, I start exercising again. In the meantime, so I don't lose muscle, I also make sure I'm on a high-protein diet.

This time however, I'm not doing "the incredible shrinking woman" routine I did a few years ago. I had put myself on a diet of coffee and bagels. Every week, my pants no longer fit and my friends were really worried about me. My doctor was giving me Boost and Ensure samples. Everyone was freaking out and to be honest so was I as I was in a state of shock about it. I'd go and take a nice warm bath and could feel how tiny my body was becoming. I had ended up wearing a 5 or 5/6 in jeans. The weight was coming off so fast until I finally got to the point wherein I was like I was in that black dress skinny pic and the black lace draping pic of me taken back then.

Anyway, for exercise, I utilize stretches I learned in Yoga and Martial Arts, I dance around my apartment to music I really dig, and utilize calisthenics such as arm bends, side bends and crunches.

[peach]

I don't snack anymore, and eat oatmeal for breakfast. I rarely eat lunch, I'm never hungry for it. I take the stairs instead of the elevator, and during lunch walk with a co-worker for 45 minutes every day. When I get home I work out for another 45 minutes, I have a tony Little Gazelle that's alot of fun, put on the ipod and I'm raring to go. I live 15 minutes from one of the most beautiful beaches, and try to get there after work and walk the boardwalk, usually 4 1/2 miles round trip. I try to get there every week-end too early in the AM when it's still fairly cool. I've managed to lose 12 lbs thus far, but have a ways to go yet.

It's been a little over a month since I've gone back to my regimen, but it's so hard. I feel really guilty if I miss a day or working out, so that's been my motivation. I drink alot of green tea with pomegranate, from Cellestial Seasons, it's delicious hot or cold, that helps suppress my appetite and I find myself eating only when I get hungry. I don't eat anything after 8pm, if a get a hankering for something I'll drink the tea or a really large glass of water.

Good luck to you all in the never ending battle. Perhaps we can be a kind of support group for each other, and keep us all on track.

[lizap]

ambra, exercising was always my failing, too. I just could never get a routine established, and then we picked up an old treadmill for $20 at a garage sale. It's so much easier to step on the treadmill than it ever was for me to get myself out of the house and walk, for some reason. Have you considered getting some kind of equipment for use at home?

vittoria -- hemp oil? That's one I've never heard of.

What works for me to start the day, is a couple of small servings of protein (usually part of a can of salmon or an egg) plus a little fruit or clear soup. I used to feel so lethargic after eating in the morning, but I find if I just avoid carbs until afternoon, I'm fine. I have no idea what that's all about, just know that carbs in the morning are the kiss of death to my day.

peach, it sounds like you have a great routine going there! I like the idea of supporting each other in the never ending battle!

[quoll]

Well as a very big girl, I am having a blitz at the moment so I am fitter and healthier for when I head off to UK next month. My DH is a paleo eater and believes that he can whip me into shape - must say that it seems to be working 8kg in 4 weeks with a combo of paleo eating and boot camp and weights plus walking to work on off days.

Paleo eating is basically the stone age diet - organic meats and vegies, lots of salads, eggs, fish. I tend to eat twice a day and one of those meals is always a salad with protein. The difference between this and most other diets is that it encourages the use of animal fats and olive oil.

The fitness regime also concentrates on lifting weights - and big ones at that - in various ways and doing sets where you do 16 at your entry weight, 8 at the next weight up and 4 at your top weight - the top weight should be hard. I also do things just carrying weights and standing up from a bench holding weights - just walking around I carry 22.5kg in each hand and standing up I start with 10kg, 15kg, 17.5kg in the 16, 8, 4 reps. I dont know why he thinks this will work but it seems to be. I also walk about 2 miles to work whenever I can.

[rainy]

My secret to remaining slim...

I went back to work. lol My job requires a lot of walking and that alone has slimmed me down quite a bit. Although I'm never really happy, I always feel like I could look better. My stomach area in particular as having three children took that away. lol Ah well! I look a hellva lot better than I did before I started my job so I will be content with that for awhile.

[dirtygirldiva]

I tried Weight Watchers for about 6 months. I have nothing against WW, it just didn't really work for me. I liked keeping track of my points and all that...and some of the recipes are just devine, but after 6 months of up and down and plateu weight measurments, I quit. It's probably me though. I have a lack of self control when it comes to dieting. Like I'll do good during the week, but when Friday came around I'll say to myself "I've been good all week...I deserve that doughnut for breakfast and that burger for lunch and that pasta dish for dinner...it's only one day of bad eating..." and then that one Friday would turn into the whole weekend.

I've never really had a problem with excercise. I love lifting weights and taking cardio classes at the gym, and of course derby practice is no joke...2 hours of skating and drills will def take the weight off...

No my problem lies with food and drink. My answer to a bad day is a plate of Mac and Cheese and a Smirnoff Ice. Talk about indulgence.

[lizap]

quoll, it sounds like you have your own personal trainer in DH! I hadn't heard of paleo diet, but it looks like it also shuns the carbs. It sounds like a satisfying way to eat.

I've had joint trouble for years, so have never been able to incorporate weight or resistance training into a routine for any length of time. This is disappointing, as I know how important it is for building muscle and bone mass. And the couple of brief times I was able to do some resistance work, it really had quick results.

rainy, have you ever considered Pilates? It was formulated by a dance instructor, and really concentrates on building strength in the stomach area, while being definitely doable and fairly pleasant. I've never taken a class, but I bought a book that had excellent instructions and photos.

Feb 12, 2009 17:29:24 GMT dirtygirldiva said:

My answer to a bad day is a plate of Mac and Cheese and a Smirnoff Ice. Talk about indulgence.

DGD, I can so relate to this. I think I'm at my most susceptible to overeating when feeling some kind of emotional let down.

That skating sounds like a great workout.

[robbiesheik]

this is a very timely thread for me at the moment. I have just recently begun my journey to change my lifestyle for the better. In 2007 I was finally able to stop smoking and now I am taking the 1st steps in get my weight in check. Back in November I stopped eating meat (for personal reasons but with the added health bonus.) Since then I have attended a weight loss nutrition class though my doctor and I am on my way. The next step (and this seems to be a hard one for many,) Exercise!!!

This will be great for us to be able to support each other and share things that worked for us or didn't work. Since for the last few months I have been eating nothing but healthy food and I was very discouraged to find I haven't lost any weight. The thing that I have learned I need to be more aware of is portion control. Over the years things as we all know are getting super-sized and I don't know about you guys but I was raised to clean my plate!!! Well that seems to be one of my biggest problems and it has finally clicked with me.

Good luck to all of us. We can do it!!

[dirtygirldiva]

Everyone should watch "Super Size Me" if that doesn't turn you off og Fast Food for at least a month...you need help. lol

[lizap]

Feb 12, 2009 22:51:55 GMT robbiesheik said:

Since for the last few months I have been eating nothing but healthy food and I was very discouraged to find I haven't lost any weight. The thing that I have learned I need to be more aware of is portion control.

robbie, it may be that even if you haven't lost weight, you have shifted some of that weight from fat to muscle, since you are eating better foods. Have you noticed any difference in the way your clothes fit? I more often guage my progress by clothing than by the scale.

And congratulations on quitting smoking!!! That is a huge step forward!

Portion control is also something that I am newly aware of. I think I used to have the unconscious attitude that if something was a good thing to eat, it didn't matter how much of it I ate. One thing they say is that if you feel full while still eating, you have definitely eaten too much (there's a little time lag before the full feeling kicks in), and I am making sure now that I stop eating before I feel full.

[tipou]

yeah... i have kind of been waken up by the doctor: i'm not 20 anymore...
incredible but true.
so i have to eat good things and move.
what a hassle.
cigarettes i gave up 9 years ago (nothing to do with the y2k scare, it was more the pneumonia that made me quit!!!), and i dont party quite so much, but cooking and exercising??? it all sounds so... grown up to me.
and now... well, i have to do it.
so. let's. do. it.

[Vittoria]

Feb 12, 2009 21:06:46 GMT lizap said:

I've had joint trouble for years, so have never been able to incorporate weight or resistance training into a routine for any length of time. This is disappointing, as I know how important it is for building muscle and bone mass. And the couple of brief times I was able to do some resistance work, it really had quick results.

Indeed, not being able to pump iron has been a big disappointment to me as well. Because of the neuromuscular issues I have, a neurologist told me to never lift weights as it can actually cause further damage. This advice came quite late in life, however, which really p----d me off. I was diagnosed at age 15 and should have been told then. So, there I was lifting weights thinking I was helping myself.

You mentioned my use of hemp oil. It's an excellent nutritional supplement. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemp_oil. However, the reason, I started using it, was that I know a woman with MS and she was asking me whether I use hemp oil. Then, yet another friend asked me if I use it and she told me that it helps for the health of the myelin sheath. Since mine is a demyelinating disorder, I got onto the bandwagon.

Robbie, you quick smoking! Good for you! Any secrets to share? If I don't quit, I feel I might hack up a lung!

[robbiesheik]

Feb 13, 2009 2:00:48 GMT Vittoria said:

Robbie, you quick smoking! Good for you! Any secrets to share? If I don't quit, I feel I might hack up a lung!

I had tried everything, the patch, gum, cold turkey....nothing worked so my doctor suggested I try a medication Chantix. www.chantix.com
You first pick a quit date. When you start the medication you continue to smoke the 1st week and then the 2nd week you stop. I think you are suppose to do it for a few months but since it wasn't covered by my insurance, I at first only purchased the starter pack (1months worth). I didn't take it any longer than the 1st month because, it made me a little nauseous each time (twice a day). But after the 1st month I was good and I haven't had a cigarette since August 1st 2007. It is one of the best gifts I could have given myself. If I can do it You can do it!!!