the weight is coming off!!! Hurrah!

[theSurlyMermaid]

Well, after working for two and a half years, I became very lazy and gained probably around 8-10 pounds since starting law school. When we moved and I took a break from work, I decided to start exercising again.

Well, it seemed like I was working and working and the scale didn't move. So basically, I just ignored the scale and upped (seriously upped) my cardio. The other week, I got on the scale and I am down about 8 pounds from where I began.

I'm so pleased! But what was even cooler was what happened at the gym today. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays are my heavy days...35 minutes on the elliptical machine, 35 on the treadmill, weight machines (2 circuits) and a twenty minute pilates workout. I was on the treadmill next to a man who had been running for a little while...he had come in during my elliptical machine workout. ANyway, when he left, he looked at me and said, "Nice working!"

It makes me so happy when people say stuff like that. It really made my day!

 

[Microcell]

Congrats! I thought chasing around a two year old would be enough cardio, but nope! I am glad someone out there in cyberspace is winning the fight!

 

[theSurlyMermaid]

Its been a rather annoying fight, actually...I used to think I had this great metabolism. Ha! Turns out it actually DOES slow down as you age, and you almost don't even notice it.

The problem is the time and energy it takes to keep in shape. Now I have time, but usually, I don't. It'll pile back on the minute I go back to work, I'm sure.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Good news indeed.

 

[Pop Daddy]

I bet you looked horrable 8lbs heavier

 

[theSurlyMermaid]

LOL! Well, I looked like me with.....just a little more padding.

DH didn't seem to mind though....

 

[Beauty]

Congrautlations!!!!!!

I wish we had a decent gym around here, but alas we have NOTHING........(have I mentioned I hate Mississippi???). Thankfully have learned to excersise on my own but it would be so much better to have someplace like that!!!!

 

[Virgo10]

Congratulations! I'm fighting a fat war too. For the time being, it appears I'm having some success.

As of yesterday *Drum roll please * I've lost 9 pounds! I've been dieting for about 2 months.

It's really hard. I cannot exercise on a regular basis because of my back. My thyroid has been removed and that plays havoc with your metabolism. So I have to cut way back on what I eat and that's not easy.

So to all you dieters out there, good luck. At least the weather is improving and doing outside yard work will be an option.

Roberta

 

[snoopy]

Surly Mermaid, if that is you in your siggie pic, you ain't seen nothing yet as far as metabolism and age.

When you get to be 40-something you not only have to work out like your training for some event, BUT you also have to watch every single thing you put in your mouth. Totally sucks. Some days I win, but more times than not I lose the fight.

Congratulations on your win!

 

[theSurlyMermaid]

Thanks, Snoopy! In that picture, I think I was 29...now I'm 30
I know you're right...it's just going to get worse, and I'm lucky I actually don't mind working out...trouble is, my left knee is telling me otherwise.

I don't count calories either, but I DO watch what I eat and try to only drink water with the occasional diet vanilla pepsi (in a wine glass, to control portions!). I'm just not very good at dieting, and I don't care at all for the low carb craze...IMO if you restrict calories, the weight's going to come off sooner or later, and I'd rather lose it in a way that it might be possible to maintain.

Beauty, I was reading in your other thread about your weight loss...sounds like you are getting out there and walking and that's the best thing for you! I used to love to run outdoors, but I abolsutely cannot do that now thanks to the cicadas, which scare the heck out of me. I also have several exercise videos (Denise Austin, but some people can't stand her though) that are also kind of nice for switching things up. Mostly, I use her twenty minute pilates/yoga workouts and leave the cardio to the treadmill. They're very effective!

 

[Christine]

Congrats! Snoopy is right though, just WAIT until you hit your upper 30s.

I was always one of those thin people. When I got married at 19 I was 5'7" and 100 lbs (too skinny). But I was eating everything including 1/2 pint of ice cream almost nightly. Then I hit my 30s. I could still pretty much eat whatever I wanted but now I was just a *normal* weight. Then I hit 38. WHOA!!! Flab City, FAT City, etc. Now, even when I cut back on food and do some moderate activity I get NO results (except that I do feel better). Now that I'm 40 it just gets worse. I swear I think I can actually see my muscle mass decreasing each day. It breaks my heart to think that I'm gonna have to put in 2 hours a night in the gym. I couldn't keep up with that routine of yours. But I'm glad it's working for you.

 

[tkyes]

Congrats!

It's a never ending battle isn't it? I'm currently trying to tone up my flab. It feels so good to have sore muscles - then you know you are actually accomplishing something.

Keep up the good work!


tamie

 

[theSurlyMermaid]

Originally posted by Christine
Congrats! Snoopy is right though, just WAIT until you hit your upper 30s.

I was always one of those thin people. When I got married at 19 I was 5'7" and 100 lbs (too skinny). But I was eating everything including 1/2 pint of ice cream almost nightly. Then I hit my 30s. I could still pretty much eat whatever I wanted but now I was just a *normal* weight. Then I hit 38. WHOA!!! Flab City, FAT City, etc. Now, even when I cut back on food and do some moderate activity I get NO results (except that I do feel better). Now that I'm 40 it just gets worse. I swear I think I can actually see my muscle mass decreasing each day. It breaks my heart to think that I'm gonna have to put in 2 hours a night in the gym. I couldn't keep up with that routine of yours. But I'm glad it's working for you.

Christine, to a lesser degree, I was the same! Well, I was never able to eat whatever I wanted without gaining, but I wore the same clothing size for 12 years. I never really denied myself any food and I didn't exercise at all...but then you look in the mirror one day and you're like, whoa! When I was working, I just never had time to really look!

The thing about my routine is I couldn't keep up with it either if I was working full time, or a mom. The thing is, I don't do it every day, In fact, last week I felt pretty horrible, so I only did it Wednesday and Friday. That was it. But it must burn a whole lot of calories, because it still worked.

Ideally, I work out 5 days a week (give myself weekends off). Heavy days are Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Tuesdays and THursdays I do 35 minutes of cardio and a few hundred sit-ups. (the sit-ups are REALLY important to me, I have scoliosis and need a strong lower back). But if I miss a day or two, well, I miss a day or two. Don't beat myself up over it.

The thing is, I've been trying to get in shape since the end of February....for many MANY weeks, nothing happened. I just stayed at my weight, or gained two or three pounds. In the end I just said no more scale, and I'll work out because it actually puts me in a better mood. It wasn't until I just randomly stepped on the scale the other day that I was shocked the weight was actually going.

 

[NandP]

Good Job.. don't you feel better about yourself.?

I've been on the LOW CARB kick since late Febrary, lost 55LBS so far...

Good luck

 

[theSurlyMermaid]

Originally posted by NandP
Good Job.. don't you feel better about yourself.?

I've been on the LOW CARB kick since late Febrary, lost 55LBS so far...

Good luck

Congratulations! HOW do you manage to stay on the low carb diet? You must be a very determined and strong person. I just crave bread and could never live without it!

One thing though....why are they making low carb coke? I mean, Diet Coke has no carbs at all, according to the label. So if you were on a low carb diet, why wouldn't you just drink diet soda?

I asked DH (I am genuinely befuddled by this) and he said some people just don't like the taste of diet. Well, ok, but low carb coke is unlikely to taste just like regular coke either!

Anyone tried this stuff....is it any good?

 

[Dan Murphy]

Wow, several hundred situps? I would be in traction, or maybe the funeral home. That's great. That is what I need to do, the exercise, to get me dropping more. 50 pounds since last late July, but stalled for a couple months. Down a lot of inches too. Need to get out walking, just need to commit.

Here is a GREAT bread company for low carb. http://www.naturalovens.com/ Before I did the low carb, I bought their regular breads for years. Now I get their LC one (actually choice of 2) and it tastes the same as the others. I skip it in restaurants though.

 

[NandP]

Congratulations! HOW do you manage to stay on the low carb diet? You must be a very determined and strong person. I just crave bread and could never live without it!

One thing though....why are they making low carb coke? I mean, Diet Coke has no carbs at all, according to the label. So if you were on a low carb diet, why wouldn't you just drink diet soda?

I've found quite a bit of LOW CARB breads on the market, I found one "home made" at my local bakery that is 2gr per slice! that's good for bread..
Diet coke has aspertame or EQUAL in it (so does pepsi) that is not good for your "Ketosis" on Atkins, Splenda is the perfered no-cal, no-carb sweetener... they are just cashing in on the low carb craze instead of changing the recipe!

I MISS FRUITS! but i do get my fill of carb-smart ICE CREAM !!

 

[CheshireVal]

Oh wow, this thread has hit home. I'm very tall (6') and have always been pretty thin without ever really having to work at it. Suddenly, though, within the past year I've gained about 10 pounds and I am having a really hard time losing it!! I'm turning 30 this year and I guess my metabolism has just stopped out of rebellion.

I've started working out and watching what I eat but am not seeing any results yet. I"m working out 30 minutes a day 6 days a week, so I guess I just need to increase that number. It's so hard for me because my bf just moved in with me and now I find myself cooking all the time, when before I was happy eating just a small salad for dinner, or beans and rice, etc.

Oh well. I'm determined to lose these dang 10 pounds if it kills me!!

 

[theSurlyMermaid]

CheshireVal, I know exactly how you feel. My advice is to ignore the scale...that dial isn't going to move for weeks...BUT once it starts moving, it keeps going as long as you keep exercising. Also, 30 minutes a day is considered good and actually ideal (especially since you probably won't injure yourself) but kick it up a notch every other day....like maybe 45 minutes of cardio two or three times a week and see if that helps.

NandP, I NEVER knew that! Wow, you learn new things every day! Yeah, we get the low carb bread (although I prefer rye bread, which is just low carb anyway). But other than that, I mostly keep an eye on my calories. I hate fruit, so I gather that's actually a good thing, and I love steamed fish and vegetables. My biggest problem is my sweet tooth, plus I'm ALWAYS hungry now. I must be burning some crazy calories!

Dan, the sit-ups are not too bad....I do 100 regular crunches, then 50 oblique crunches on each side...that's 200....then I do 25 lower abdominal crunches. So altogether it's 225. It's really not that bad, plus it keeps the lower back really strong.

 

[Lynn CC]

Congratulations on the weight loss!
I think you looked terrific in the picture 8lbs. heavier too
My DS is going to be a Senior next year and plans to go into prelaw. (he's hoping to get into Harvard)...any pointers you can give him about the process or in general would be greatly appreciated. There is so much info we don't know where to start as far a scholarships, financial aid etc.