moonbeam65

Is 149 pounds. Last time I was 149 pounds was 8 years ago. I am a little bit nervous and unsure about my ability to reach this mini goal. It was okay to hover in 150s and 160s for so many years, just above the normal BMI. Can I go back to 140s? What would happen? The weight loss seems so easy this time and the weight is going down steadily. I just realized that I am only 6 pounds away from 149. Only two weeks away from reaching this mini goal.

My self-image though is still in the overweight range. There is a gap between the reality and my perception. What if this self-image of being an overweight woman wins and prevents me from getting the body I want and deserve?

Yesterday morning in the boot camp I compared myself to other women and discovered that I was the skinny one! It was such a shock. Usually I habitually resigned to being the large one in a group.

I am truly afraid of sabotaging the weight loss due to this inner image of a large woman forever struggling to lose fat and get toned.

BMI according to the site (24.5). I weigh 156 pounds and have well-developed muscles. As a matter of fact, I can see abs and love my toned legs. I am shooting for 140 as my goal.

This Hawaiian vacation was great. My girlfriend and I walked 3.5 miles and swam for an hour every morning at 6 AM. Then we did yoga DVD and tai chi. Then we usually would go snorkeling and swimming again. And another three miles of walking before the sunset.

What was really interesting to watch was that my tiny, teeny, “skinny” girlfriend was actually getting fat and losing muscles. She would eat sweets and have dessert after dinner, and then she would feel sick and tired next morning. She would stop eating completely next day to “cleanse and lose weight” only to get really hungry again in the evening and binge on carbs … again. She would promise to double her exercise next day but would be so weak and sleepy that I would go for a fast walk alone. And she had “bingeover” headaches. It was a pattern. She is still size 4 but her body was getting chubby… flab… jiggly… We talked a lot about healthy eating patterns and exercise and finally, by the end of a vacation, she started eating breakfast and refusing dessert in the evening. I am glad that she caught this early because she was well on a way to become overweight and weak, replacing muscles with fat cells. Even naturally skinny people can let themselves go as they age if they continue eat unhealthy and have no exercise habits.

I haven’t binged in 26 days as of today. I have been exercising every day. Even when I had to stop walking because of tendonitis I was doing a recumbent bike. The walking challenges and a great group of walkers have been incredible in motivating. The binge thread is a life saver, literally. Fitday.com is another tool that keeps me accountable.

I like the way I look and like the happy feeling in my body when I move. Gosh, my legs are so strong. My arms are toned and well defined.

Size 10 is friendly now although there is some loss in a chest department. Oh well. I am reluctant to buy new clothes… gotta wait until I hit at least 150 pounds.

Life is good.

This morning at 6 AM I went to a boot camp in the park. It was surprisingly easy.

How To Recover From An Episode Of Binge Eating

By Herve J. Duchemin – Advanced Personal Trainer
Being a binge-eater, is like being an alcoholic, except it involves food instead of alcohol. It is an addiction which affects people of all levels of fitness.

A lot of focus has been placed on anorexia-nervosa, and bulimia-nervosa, but it seems that compulsive overeating gets ignored, and/or lost in the shuffle. A common misconception is that binge eating occurs only with obese individuals.

I can tell you first hand however, that I know more binge-eaters that are actually in shape, than out of shape. The major reason for my writing this article is because I myself have personally suffered from the disorder, and have found it extremely detrimental to my fitness and overall well-being.

While the strategies presented in this article are in no way a cure to the disease (the actual cravings begin in one’s own MIND), they may be a helpful step toward curbing one’s desires, and substituting other actions in place of excessive eating.

Usually when one engages in an episodic binge, he or she has starved him or herself throughout the course of the entire day. When night time comes, the person’s hormones are out of whack, which will often lead to a sugar-craving (or salt/fat craving).

Since the binge-eating follows a regular pattern of “eat a bunch,” and then “starve yourself the following day due to guilt”, the cycle will continue, and will eventually prove to be very detrimental to one’s well-being, digestive system, and overall level of fitness.

Personally, when I speak of “recovering from a binge,” I am explaining how to make it so that if a binge does occur, you can reduce the guilt you feel, by acting in a proper manner the following day to reduce the harsh effects on your body.

When excessive eating of carbohydrates occurs, the carbohydrates are converted to a form called glycogen, and stored in the muscles, and liver.

If the liver and muscles are filled to their maximum capacity with glycogen, then any excess carbohydrates which are consumed, will be stored as fat. In order to keep your weight in check, you should completely avoid binge-eating altogether. But, if it does occur, here is a good way to recover:

1. If you overeat (particularly with carbohydrates), eliminate carbohydrates from your breakfast the following morning. You have to burn off some of that stored glycogen before you start to overflow your body with excess carbohydrates. You CAN eat the next morning, just make sure you eat the RIGHT food!
2. If your stomach is filled with a surplus of food from the day before, try to exercise in the morning before you eat anything, and go to the bathroom to unload some of the food in your digestive system before you start overloading your body with excess calories to be stored as fat.

If you eat anything at all, have some salad, fiber, or a small amount of protein (chicken breast, turkey breast, egg whites, fish, etc) instead of carbohydrates. Burn up some of that stored glycogen before you ingest unnecessary carbs.

Regards,

Herve J. Duchemin – Advanced Personal Trainer

My ankles are shot. Both. Tendonitis has flared up again. Last year I was forced to wear an orthopedic boot for more than a month until the pain subsided.

There was no change in my walking routine… it just happened… I can’t control changes in my body. I am in pain and can’t walk.

On a positive note I lost 5 pounds last week mostly due to a thread “Letting go of binge eating.” No binge eating for 7 days.

I now use a recumbent bike for about an hour doing interval training.

But… the grandiose plans for the 4th of July went down the drain. The plans included walking, hiking, and attending all the grand events in Seattle on foot.

Health is precious. It’s like the air. We don’t notice it when we breath and there is enough air but take it away…

We have successfully completed 21 days of creating a new habit - walking every day a certain number of miles. We walked anywhere from 63 to 132 miles in just three weeks.

The group lost 25 pounds altogether. Don lost 14 pounds during this challenge!

Now it’s time to use our passion for walking and make it more efficient.

The idea for a new challenge is to incorporate interval training that allows burning more calories in a shorter period of time and get even better results.

You don’t have to go to the gym or do something fancy.

Please join us on a new thread “Interval Training: Walkers charge ahead!”

For those who are interested, yes, there will be the FINE. It’s actually a lot of fun and really makes you accountable.

We have successfully completed 21 days of creating a new habit - walking every day a certain number of miles. We walked anywhere from 63 to 132 miles in just three weeks.

The group lost 25 pounds altogether. Don lost 14 pounds during this challenge!

Now it’s time to use our passion for walking and make it more efficient.

The idea for a new challenge is to incorporate interval training that allows burning more calories in a shorter period of time.

Please join us on a new thread “Interval Training: Walkers charge ahead!”

For those who are interested, yes, there will be the FINE. It’s actually a lot of fun and really makes you accountable.

So simple, by Brooke Castillo,

“We have been trained not to waste food in the garbage, but to waste it on our bodies. Either way it is wasted. In one way, we just carry the waste with us.”

About a woman who lost 100 pounds. I liked the idea of reading cards with affirmations before each meal. And the bracelet was great.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/17/an-opera-singers-fat-relocation-project/index.html?ref=health
Don’t forget to click on the video.

Workout at the gym

At the Gym For Christmas this year my wife purchased me a week of private lessons at the local health club. Though still in great shape from when I was on the varsity chess team in high school, I decided it was a good idea to go ahead and try it. I called and made reservations with someone named Tanya, who said she is a 26-year-old aerobics instructor and athletic clothing model.

My wife seemed very pleased with how enthusiastic I was to get started.

Day 1 They suggest I keep this “exercise diary” to chart my progress this week. Started the morning at 6:00 a.m. Tough to get up, but worth it when I arrived at the health club and Tanya was waiting for me.

She’s something of a goddess, with blond hair and a dazzling white smile. She showed me the machines and took my pulse after five minutes on the treadmill. She seemed a little alarmed that it was so high, but I think just standing next to her in that outfit of hers added about ten points.

Enjoyed watching the aerobics class. Tanya was very encouraging as I did my sit ups, though my gut was already aching a little from holding it in the whole time I was talking to her. This is going to be great.

Day 2 Took a whole pot of coffee to get me out the door, but I made it. Tanya had me lie on my back and push this heavy iron bar up into the air. Then she put weights on it, for heaven’s sake!
Legs were a little wobbly on the treadmill, but I made it the full mile. Her smile made it all worth it. Muscles feel great.

Day 3 The only way I can brush my teeth is by laying the tooth brush on the counter and moving my mouth back and forth over it. I am that I have developed a hernia in both pectorals.

Driving was okay as long as I didn’t try to steer. I parked on top of a Volkswagen.

Tanya was a little impatient with me and said my screaming was bothering the other club members. The treadmill hurt my chest so I did the stair monster. Why would anyone invent a machine to simulate an activity rendered obsolete by the invention of elevators? Tanya told me regular exercise would make me live longer. I can’t imagine anything worse.

Day 4 Tanya was waiting for me with her vampire teeth in a full snarl. I can’t help it if I was half an hour late, it took me that long just to tie my shoes. She wanted me to lift dumbbells. Not a chance, Tanya. The word “dumb” must be in there for a reason.

I hid in the men’s room until she sent Lars looking for me. As punishment she made me try the rowing machine. It sank.

Day 5 I hate Tanya more than any human being has ever hated any other human being in the history of the world. If there was any part of my body not in extreme pain I would hit her with it.

She thought it would be a good idea to work on my triceps. Well, I have news for you Tanya, I don’t have triceps. And if you don’t want dents in the floor don’t hand me any barbells. I refuse to accept responsibility for the damage, you went to sadist school, you are to blame.

The treadmill flung me back into a science teacher, which hurt like crazy. Why couldn’t it have been someone softer, like a music teacher, or social studies?

Day 6 Got Tanya’s message on my answering machine, wondering where I am. I lacked the strength to use the TV remote so I watched eleven straight hours of the weather channel.

Day 7 Well, that’s the week. Thank goodness that’s over. Maybe next time my wife will give me something a little more fun, like free teeth drilling at the dentist’s.

I just have to write this for everyone to see. Today is DAY 7 of our challenge to walk 5 or 3 miles every day. Only 14 more days to go to create a new healthy habit.

The results are amazing. I encourage you to read Don’s blog on losing 40 pounds in 55 days with some visuals.

Zina and I had many doubts about starting this challenge because of the strict rules and “fines.” We thought that there would be only two of us…

We were (thankfully) wrong. The gang keeps walking, pushing, challenging, and losing weight. What is great about this challenge is that it is not about competition, who is ahead in miles or whatnot. The focus is on being consistent with walking every single day. Three people in our challenge committed to three miles a day, five people committed to 5 miles a day, and one person steadily walks 6 miles a day every day. No more stop and go or yo- yo-ing on exercise for serious walkers.

And yes, we already had two people who had to do the deed (PLUS 2 miles) when they skipped miles one day. They DID NOT QUIT the challenge altogether, they did not get scared, they did not look for excuses, and they did not complain (maybe a little). That’s the power of positive thinking in a group format.

Let’s not waste our times on negative thinking and complaints. Let’s choose to think positively (quoting Angela) and continue to challenge ourselves.

THE POWER OF NEGATIVE THINKING

There once was a monastery that was very strict. Following a vow of silence, no one was allowed to speak at all. But there was one exception to this rule. Every ten years, the monks were permitted to speak just two words. After spending his first ten years at the monastery, one monk went to the head monk. “It has been ten years,” said the head monk. “What are the two words you would like to speak?”

“Bed… hard…” said the monk.

“I see,” replied the head monk.

Ten years later, the monk returned to the head monk’s office. “It has been ten more years,” said the head monk. “What are the two words you would like to speak?”

“Food… stinks…” said the monk.

“I see,” replied the head monk.

Yet another ten years passed and the monk once again met with the head monk who asked, “What are your two words now, after these ten years?”

“I… quit!” said the monk.

“Well, I can see why,” replied the head monk. “All you ever do is complain.”