OK! Progress! After a bit of farting around with exercise for a few months... this week I have done an entire week straight of a routine. I also noticed strength increase-- i walked 4 flights of stairs and didn't even realize i was a the 3rd floor until I saw the number-- i do this every night at work and so it has been a tiring event until just now. Also i used to be able to so a plank, any position, for a minute-30 without being tired... today I did 2 side planks for 30 seconds and 1 front plank for 60 seconds-- which was 2 30-sec planks with a 5 second break. Last week I was doing 10-15 sec planks and then giving up lol.

I haven't done squat except switch back to eatting McDougall. My workout buddies must be outta town. Ok I did sign up for coolrunning.com forum to track my progress and see if I can get an activity partner in my area. I'd like to start surrounding myself with healthy ppl.

i lost the 10lbs i gained. woohoo! Now I'm back to a loss of 25lbs YIPPEE.

Has the diet switchback been nice? I would be too shy to exercise with a stranger, but then again it could work to make you the msot accountable-- because it's harder to bow out and think "they will understand."



You are close to halfway on your goal! That's really awesome! Is that your total goal or a minigoal? I know some people set minigoals and so it's kind of hard to remember who had what sometimes. I do remember Jenn had a smaller goal and then reached it and then increased hers, and that I am going to FedEx her my extra weight so she can burn it off for me.

Well, since last week I lost all of one pound and I lost half an inch on my waist, an inch on my bicep, an inch off my hips, and that's about it for loss. I figure one pound means I probably have little to no actual weight change at all. That's OK! When Ammar said he was going to give the winner a prize after 2 months, my competitive jealousy kicked in and I am just going to have to win because for real, I am going to get his prize. I don't care what it is, I want it. If anyone is going to get a freaking gift from him, it's going to be me! Now, I am off to do 10 more push-ups just thinking about that!

Good job Julianna!

I haven't met anyone yet on the coolrunning site but I did make my introduction. I doubt I'll meet anyone but who knows. I prefer to get into a begining running group. If not I'm not shy about going to the gym. I only have 4-5 weeks left before school starts.

Once school starts I know this last year is going to be a hectic semester. My hope is that I can get healthier before hand to have a jump start on the semeser.

1:11 here make wish!

Do you think that your college would have an intramural running group covered in your fees? Or is there a community center nearby with something? We have this center like a mile or so from my hosue which has free EVERYTHING-- indoor track, weight rooms, ice rink, swimming, classes... and some of the classes have a really low fee which is to cover teh cost of something you get-- like a karate outfit or whatever. I am thinking about looking into karate classes. They also do belly dance, but I am not sure if I can do it or not. i'll have to check the new schedule.

Do you spend a lot of time walking around campus or do you take mostly shortcuts, etc? Do you live a wlakable distance? I know I dropped a lot of weight one year walking to classes from home, which was about a mile each way-- but it was going up the mountain lol.

I live a half mile from class and walk and ride my bike everywhere. To the store to school everywhere! I haven't had a car since 2003. I used to work at the Student Recreation Center which is a pretty great facility. We have an indoor track, and a 150ft climbing wall, a hockey rink, volley ball, basket ball, machines, weights, ect, ect, ect... It's included in our fees. Next semester I'm taking a yoge class to get limber and I plan to run before or after that.

Sweet! that's what I'm talking about! Yeah, I was thinking about yoga again as well. The problem for me and yoga is that I am naturally really flexible, and most of the poses (beginner) are not challenging for me.. but.... I don't know enough about the poses to actually move up (i mean if they were calling out a list I'd be lost). I loved it though when I took it as a HPER for my credits as an undergrad.

I wish I knew more about martial arts. I wonder which is better--Judo or Taekwon-do? I imagine it depends on your goal. I would love to be able to have some good self-defense going on. They have a self-defense class, but I don't know that I want to take that. I want to be able to jump and kick and look awesome lol.

That might be a good question for off topic. I spoke with a martial artist once and he discouraged me from pursuing karate or anything like that saying it's not just for self-defense you can take that in one class. It's a lifestyle. He said if I did anything to do Tai Chi.

See, self-defense is offered twice a week, each one being a one hour class. Judo is 2 hours twice a week, TKD is the same, both of those are two hour classes each. Judo is more of a sport-oriented with a lot of pinning and such. I can't see Ammar liking that if I was sparring with a guy, but something tells me they probably try to pair sexes anyway. Self-defense does fit better into my schedule though... the other ones conflict with either Tuesday night Torah or my sleep. So i guess it's going to either be self defense or Judo, because judo looks cooler . I guess I'll see what their schedule is for the fall when that comes out. SD is free, Judo is $80, TKD is $30.

posted in PT about it. The more I type, teh more I think self-defense may be the best for realizing the most logcal part of my two-part goal quickly (the self-defense part, not the learning to kick like Jackie Chan part.)

My husband has started walking at the park with me. He takes his soccer shoes along in case there's a pick-up game, so I'm going to fill up my mp3 player just in case I need the company one of these days. We walked 1.5 miles yesterday and would have done 2, but a thunderstorm came in. The last time I really lost weight successfully, I was walking 3 miles a day, so I want to work back up to that as soon as possible. He's also really encouraging me to stop drinking sodas. I drink a lot of diet sodas, but he doesn't really believe they have no calories. I know they're really not healthy anyway, calories aside, so I'm trying, but it's sure difficult. I'm not fond of plain water, so I'm putting a little lemon in it. I'm having leftover lentils and tomatoes for lunch. We've been hitting the farmers' market on the weekends, and I'm packing my lunches these days instead of hitting the fast food places, so there's some progress, even if the scale isn't moving as much as I'd like.

Its a mini-goal...a real mini-goal... but doable and possibly achievable....ensha'allah

No thanks! I have enough to burn!

Congrats on your progress, btw! And also to Amal, WTG!

Oh, what are planks exactly? I've heard of this, but I don't think my gym has them - it's special equipment, right?

Planning to do my 5 miles after work today. Then I've got some cash set aside for some new clothes burning a hole in my pocket, so I think I'll stop at Marshalls on the way home, yay! Wadi told me I need new clothes because my pants look "hiphop".

Woohoo! I lost a pound and a half switching back to the vegan diet.

Wow a vegan diet is tough!

ok..vegan is veggies and fruits only?

it's vegetarian plus no dairy or eggs

I think that must be so tough...eggs are in *everything* it seems! They're the glue that holds the culinary world together!

And beans and tofu and rice and...

and ...that's about it....
we'll just start callin' ya toots

Reminds me of that GasX (i think GasX) commercial..."Your son is on line 'toot'"....hehe

Planks are those really difficult (for me, anyway) yoga poses where you support your body weight on your hands & toes - like a push up suspended in air, body stretched out like a "plank". Side planks are done on each side, supporting your weight on one extended arm or the other & feet. It kills my wrists, so I don't really even try it much anymore.

Anything with high fructose corn syrup (which is not a natural substance) causes weight gain, so your DH is right

You are totally way into it now! 25lbs is a lot! I am totally amazed at your progress! so I think you could definately achieve your minigoal and then keep going on to the goal!!! The good thing about losing weight naturally is your skin will have time to retighten. if you lose it too quickly, you'll get flappy skin.

OK, had to see what Noura wrote before I just essentially copied her answer again lol. She's right. The difference I have is I am doing bent-arm planks which gives you a bit more balance and takes the weight off the wrists.

http://exercise.about.com/od/abs/ss/abexercises_10.htm

http://www.trainwithmeonline.com/exercisenum.asp?exn=99

If you click on the above and kind of scroll down on the second one, you'll see the two poses. It seems easy at first, but if your abs suck (like mine) you eventually can't hold yourself together anymore.

I just graduated to real pushups last night! Not girlie push-ups! I could only do 10, but they were there-- real, manly push-ups.

Yay for new clothes!


Congrats!!


That's a big problem I find with it... as well as if you actually read the backs of things you'll find animal products in just about every processed or canned, etc thing. Also, I love cheese.


Your son Rip..



Did you do yours with your arms fully extended? My arms are bent, so my weight is actually on the ulna.

Cool! I need something new in my routine, so I'm going to give the planks a try.

So I went shopping after my run today and I am proud to announce that I bought my very first pair of size 8 jeans!! (well, I probably wore a size 8 at some time in my life, but probably not after I was at my adult height!) Granted, they are Old Navy jeans, so I don't know if that counts, but I'm going to pretend it does!

Congrats!! I haven't ever tried on ON pants, but they're owned by Gap so I would think the sizing is similar? What size were you wearing that looked "hiphop"? Does this mean you're going to have to buy new work clothes?

Planks are pretty good. A good start is 30 seconds on each side and then 60 seconds for the full plank pose.

All my pants are 12s, and they're all way too big. Some of them won't even stay up at all, they just slide right down. Yes, I'm gonna have to buy new work clothes too. My tops are pretty much fine, but I need all new pants. Little by little...

I did a lot of cardio today, so tomorrow will be a good time to do planks.

Hmmm, i never come in this thread. I don't have goals to lose weight, but I really enjoy reading the ideas you all have. I run a couple times a week and do some push-ups, sit-ups, weights sometimes. It helps me have more energy and keep my muscles more toned. I have been trying to stick to more water because sodas definitely make me feel more bloated and make running more difficult. I naturally don't eat big meals. I am the slowest eater I have ever met and eat less than most people though I love to snack throughout the day (which makes up for the smaller meals). Lately I have been avoiding processed foods as much or canned vegetables. I try to use fresh vegetables (or else frozen if I must) and I cook meat in healthier ways. I do all these things just to feel better and it does help when I stick with it.

Oh yeah, that's a huge difference! So this means you've met your size goal, right? or are you still going to try for the extra weight to come off? I think I remember you're shaped differently than me, but I was gong to say if you keep going on the weight loss, size 4-8 isn't that different as you can wear the same pants and your hips' width should keep them up.. unless you don't have that particular curve going on. you'll definately need new pants, but your clothes won't fall off as much as from a 12 to an 8.



non-processed frozen vegetables are often more healthy than fresh in the grovery store-- unless you're growing your own or getting from a farmer's market. Fresh in teh store are picked before they are ripe and are stored in O2-free trucks for shipping.. and are pretty old by the time they get to you comparitively, and lack a lot of nutrients they would have gotten if they were ripe when picked. Frozen is often picked actually ripe and then frozen within a day or two of harvest so it's much more nutritious.

I need 12's.

I donated all the 18/20's, and the 16's, but I kept some of the 14's around.

Thanks Jackie, I appreciate the advice about the vegetables. I had no idea!

We can make a side thread of the MENA clothes swap I didn't know you were losing weight! Have you kept up with couch to 5k?

You're welcome!

Well, my size goal is an 8, but since ON runs big I don't really think I'm there yet. I want to lose the last 5 pounds. Hopefully that will mean that I'm an 8 anywhere. Although that doesn't really matter so much. I'm pretty happy with where I am, but I think those last 5 pounds will just be the icing on the cake.

Jackie, I'd send you all my 12s, but I'm gonna save them for maternity clothes!

V. interesting about the frozen veggies, btw!

That's what I am wearing now-- my jeans I had saved for maternity clothes! grrr!

But HFCS isn't in no-calorie diet soda, correct? I know there are plenty of chemicals in them anyway, and I'm better off without it. (Possibly TMI: A friend once told me her doctor told her her urethra was partially clogged from drinking diet sodas - ack!) I'm just hooked on my diet Coke in the morning. But I've cut that out, and I'm upping the water and veggies little by little.

I was feeling pretty blah yesterday, but my energy is up today. I walked 2 miles at 3.5 mph yesterday evening at the park while hubby played soccer. That put me at the top of my target heart rate, so I'll stick with that until the heart rate drops and I don't feel like I'm working as hard. I started logging everything on the Daily Plate a couple of days ago. It's so helpful! Thanks to those of you who recommended it.

My coworker's been on WW for a few weeks. The other day, she told me she'd shrunk out of some of her pants and asked if I'd like to try them. I always thought she was thinner than I was, even before she started dieting, but I tried them anyway, and they fit. Now I want to outshrink them too. Yay for second-hand clothes!

Actually, it contains:

Carbonated Water
High Fructose Corn Syrup
Caramel Color
Phosphoric Acid
Natural Flavors
Caffeine
Aspartame (NutraSweet brand)
Potassium Benzoate
Citric acid

Aspartame and HFCS are both pretty bad!

I have a regular soda addiction. I am trying to be below 20oz a day, but sometimes? it's not happening. I imagine if I cut it I should drop some weight, right?

Edited too slowly...I'm finding conflicting information.
Wikipedia doesn't list HFCS as an ingredient in Diet Coke. link
Another site does list it. link And of course, Coke's own website is no help. It looks like maybe there's a Coke Light sold overseas (I think Morocco has it) that does have HFCS.
I've always thought HFCS had to bring calories along with it, so I never read the label closely enough.
If it does have it, that should certainly explain why diets seem so difficult, and that's reason enough to stay away.
I never wanted to believe the theories about aspartame, but maybe there's something to it. If so, my brain is surely pickled by now.

I wonder how many planks it will take to reverse the cheesecake effect. I'm thinking somewhere around 10^8.

OMG, I am so sorry Julianna, thank you for the tips about veggies. I don't know what I was looking at when I thought she wrote that. I must have been out of it

Aspartame causes a lot of people to feel nauseous, sluggish, etc. Whether the Diet coke has HFCS or not, it will dehydrate you ever time you drink it, so it will cause you to retain water (in addition to the sodium it has). We'll just have to grab a bottle and look at the back.



Oh, that's OK! People have never gotten my name right for years and so I figured that was all that was going on lol! Even when I type it out, I get a lot of Jackie, Jennifer, Joyce, etc.

I will second Jackies statement, I read an article that there are some frozen veggies that are actually healthier than fresh. I forget which though, I think corn was in there. It doesnt seem to make sense and I forget the reasons why but htey were compelling.

Ok, planks....

The front ones were fine. I think I'm doing something wrong on the side ones because the only place I feel anything is my elbow - ouch!!

julianna, isnt 12oz of soda like 200 cals? so you are drinking like 400 cals of soda a day - so that is 2800 calories a week, so approximately every week and a day or two you would lose a lb just by cutting out the soda. not to mention you would FEEL so much better. i had so many issues, sluggishness, ADD feelings, anxiety, all kinds of crap when i drank soda. i NEVER drink soda now, i went cold turkey years go and now i think it tastes like syrup. occasionally i will sip a high quality rootbeer or something but that is just a taste and not to quench my thirst. i think its the most important thing you can give up (not to nag)

i have this issue too bc i have bony elbows. i only do them on a padded mat. or take your flat yoga mat and fold it up into a bunch of layers and put it right under your arm where you hold up the plank. side planks are HARD but best thing to do is hold a regular side plank, then try dipping your body up and down while in the side plank then holding it some more and eventually graduate to putting a dumbell on yoru side while you do it. the best for defining your waist i have noticed such a difference

I don't drink soda anymore either. Only water, coffee, and alcohol!

It makes having a Coke such a treat for me. I really do enjoy it.