What's On Your Mind Today?
Replies
-
3
-
0
-
Today, I am frustrated friends....my Mom had a possible covid exposure...we were around her too... but so far all are asymptomatic. I think getting her to do a covid test from afar is going to be hard.
So....praying on that.
Fasting, hmmm...good results with 1st two days of fasting 13/16 hrs... thinking that this could be worth the effort...
Aiming for 40 carbs or less ...except veggies I will allow a tad more.
7 -
Also at the top of the Dec 16 thread. Check both places for possible comments / responses.
From the MFP blogs / articles tab. The biggest take-away is "knowing your circle as you do - plan/practice strategic responses ahead of time if needs be" If you already have a strategy that works - go with that! (and share if willing)
"What might be the motivation behind the actions of 4 main types of food pushers." (you would know best the most-likely re people in your own circle.
https://blog.myfitnesspal.com/types-of-food-pushers-during-the-holidays-and-how-to-respond/
For the "trying to show love via food / I'm stuffed now but can you pack me a slice to take home for later" scenario .... there is nothing to say WHICH "waist vs waste" container it went into once you got home .....
2 -
So I have a question for those of you who do IM or Fasting or OMAD or some other very specific WOE.
Is this a WOE you intend to continue once you reach your target maintenance weight or is this just a short term WOE (Way of eating) to lose weight? Or is this just something you are trying for a little while to change things up?
Is the current WOE you are doing sustainable forever?
I ask because over my lifetime I have done a zillion different attempts and successes at losing weight. Most of them REALLY do work. But my issue has always been that none of them were sustainable. Of course each of us has to tailor the WOE to our own personal ability but to me, if it is not something you think you can do long term, you may be setting yourself up for short term success and long term failure.
Been there. Done that.
5 -
jamcnewman wrote: »My monthly weigh-in at the dietician was this afternoon and I’m down another 5.2 pounds on the scale this month (lost 6.6 pounds of fat and increased muscle mass). Total loss so far is 40.2 pounds (since August 2021).
We are going to keep calories and macros the same over the next month and I intend to keep my exercise levels up. I will consider it a success if I maintain this loss and avoid a gain.
Julie
Way to go!!1 -
SummerSkier wrote: »So I have a question for those of you who do IM or Fasting or OMAD or some other very specific WOE.
Is this a WOE you intend to continue once you reach your target maintenance weight or is this just a short term WOE (Way of eating) to lose weight? Or is this just something you are trying for a little while to change things up?
Is the current WOE you are doing sustainable forever?
I've been doing 16:8 IF for about 2 or 3 years now for about 95% of the time. Normally break my fast sometime after noon and end my eating by 8pm. I'm not super strict - if I eat something at 9pm, I'll just slide my next day's breaking of fast to after 1pm. For me, it has been sustainable since I always felt like I forced myself to eat breakfast ("most important meal of the day"). I don't know if I truly am doing it correctly since I drink black decaf coffee in the morning. My main goal was to help limit evening snacking.
It works for me to help manage calories as I tend to have a pretty low-cal lunch and then dinner, sweets, and some tea. If we're in a social situation or traveling, I don't worry too much about not doing a fast. I used to use an app called Zero to track my fasting periods, but just do it intuitively now.
I've lost weight doing IF. I've gained weight doing IF. I've maintained weight doing IF. Side benefit: only having to track 2 meals.
3 -
@SummerSkier - I didn't go keto to stay on it forever. That said I can seem to theoretically maintain it longer, but the way I eat on keto is miles away from how most do keto or even describe it. I find options a bit limited. I'm currently raising my daily carbs though so I guess I'm coming out of it although still very low carb at the moment. Short answer, no.2
-
@dsgoingtodoit For me IF has really been worth the effort. 16:8 has really helped me in terms of keeping my hunger down and just plain making life easier without having to feel like I need to eat breakfast. It just seems so much easier to just have a policy against food after supper until lunch, instead of all those little food decisions. And now that I have started to extend that to some 24 hour fasts, it is amazing to me how much energy I have, how good I have felt on those fasting days, and how little hunger has been a problem. Also was a surprise how much I have the sense of extra TIME and freedom on days when it is not all about food. For me, just taking each step very slow to make sure I was ¨fat adapted¨ has been the key, I believe.
@SummerSkier I do expect that at least 12-14 hour nightly fasts, if not 16 hour ones, will be a permanent WOE for me. It is just so amazingly easy and helpful to me. And I think it is highly probable I will use occasional 24 hour or longer fasts to help maintain my weight. I think genetically I will always be prone to insulin resistance, for which the intermittent fasting and low carb dieting is recommended. Although I might not always restrict carbs as much as I am now-- I really hope I can make my permanent lifestyle be very low sugar and very low on processed foods.
3 -
I wanted to ask if anyone else in this group has an interest in whether they have an obesogenic gut microbiome and are incorporating resistant starch, probiotics, prebiotics etc to try to influence their weight loss in that manner. As well as if anyone else has had their gut microbiome genetically sequenced and what they found.
I assume some of you have not had this body of research on your radar. Here is a clip from a YouTube video from the director of the American Gut Project where he talks about how this relates to a tendency to be obese.
https://youtu.be/2iKHMyWzclM?t=489
Because I have had an interest in the microbiome for many years after seeing the effects of anti-biotics on the behavior of my child therapy clients and had also previously been diagnosed with ¨leaky gut¨, I had my gut microbiome sequenced by Viome and was quite impressed with the report and advise I got. I also highly recommend the book ¨Total Gut Balance¨ by Mahmoud Ghannoum (the founder of Biohme, a competitor of Viome, who also offers testing of the gut microbiome but who very ethically writes about how you can improve your gut without recommending his own or other products.) Here is a video interview of him regarding how our microbiome affects us.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jy8j2FaKGY&t=4903s&ab_channel=DhruPurohit
I think this area is one of the most exciting things--- that perhaps the reason we are fat has more to do with what our choices and history has done to our gut microbiome than about our own genetics, and that there are actionable steps to make ourselves less ¨obesogenic.¨ The idea that much of my cravings my be related to signals my gut bacteria are sending me instead of truly being my own cravings is a very intriguing area.
1 -
@ideas2 I never really delved into this type of thing before. It's interesting. I know that a lot of the "cravings" I get are due to smell which can make my gut start talking. For instance when I am leaving work for lunch and I walk by a lot of folks eating very fragrant meals I do get a lot hungrier. I think that is why fast foods are so successful in many ways. They cater to the sense of smell.
Thank you all for your response on the long term WOE question. I do know some folks in maintenance who use Keto or IF longer term. I experimented a little bit with skipping breakfast and only having juice and a small amount until lunchtime but I found that I was overly hungry by then and tended to have too big a meal. Adding a bowl of oatmeal to the morning seemed to completely help that. (I guess it does stick to the walls of your digestive system better just like your bowl?)
PS. the only reason I was skipping breakfast was I seemed to be running out of time to get to work so just carrying some V8 with me was easier.2 -
I need to get back on the straight and narrow. I was doing great and got a coach who I trust. He runs and wins the triathlons I target and he is one of the nicest blokes you could meet. Then last week he called and told me he had to stop coaching because he had just been diagnosed with bowel cancer. It's shocking that a 40 year old who won the fell run up mount snowdon this year has got ill like this. It also snapped my rudder off. I didn't realise just how much he had become integral to my training and general health. I need to pick thonga back up before I lose what I've gained but I'm struggling with motivation at the moment. I'm feeling really bad for him as well but he is fit so whatever the doctors throw at him he should be able to take it.9
-
Frustrated with the most current apple update things that once worked well what can I say … almost makes me want an android phone !3
-
I have a "poor man's version" of a wobble-board that has been gathering dust. I have it out now, and am using it in mini-session spurts. Like every morning while my coffee is brewing; then while reading a chapter or two of my e-text book while I drink the coffee......
I am planning to diversify from typical "pure cardio-girl" into more balance & beginner Upper Body Functional Strength / Over-all Functional Flexibility through-out the week.
It will be at home with light dumbbells (2.5 / 5 / 10 pounders) and resistance bands. (and body-weight type exercises) I also have a set of strap-to-wrists (or ankles) weights that can be adjusted to between 1 and 5 pounds per side. And there are the balance exergame activities in Wii Fit+ that could augment the wobble-board.
Any youtube trainer or program suggestions, anyone?2 -
@BMcC9 I'll always recommend EPIC. Best workout I've ever done. And I say this as an experienced weight lifter. But doing weights at home is different than in a gym especially for lower body. If you've not done much with weights then her beginner series is a good intro. Also for the month of December she is doing 24 days of 20 minute workouts that might also work for someone who hasn't spent a lot of time with weights.2
-
I'm afraid I have no trainer or program recommendations, but I would suggest adding in a variety of core isometric holds to develop your entire core, without that as a base no amount of balance and flexibility training will take you very far until such training builds that strength second-hand. I suggest planks on all sides (front, sides, reverse) and don't forget the other direction (such as supermans and hollow holds or leg lifts).2
-
Core work of some type is definitely intended as part of my generic Functional Strength category! I am a "dance styles of all types / master of none" and have been practically since before I could walk.
I am very aware of what a difference a strong core makes. (always good for someone to mention specifically, for those who might not realize, or tend to not think of "core" as more than in a "visual look / waist measurement" capacity (and I am talking to the men here too!)1 -
WHILE drinking my morning coffee,
I STOOD on my wobble-cushion (for the 5th day in a row)
3 -
What do YOU like to listen to while Doing Your Activity Thing?
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10849584/whats-on-your-mind-today#latest
In my exergame is a total of 120 songs at a WIDE variety of speeds as well of "mixed gendres" from the 2008 - 2009 era. I tend to stick to the upper third but NOT the fastest. (I have to "walk to the beat" to get gamepoints) And in that range there ARE individual tracks that I "turn off"1 -
I actually find educational nutrition podcasts like The Diet Doctor, Dr Tony Hampton, the Huberman Lab, Dr. Mark Hymen, The Model Health Show, Tom Bileu, etc... more helpful than music. When I am regularly listening to them, I see food differently. I walk into grocery stores and instead of the processed products tempting me, I immediately think of the tricks of the food industry to make a profit by trying to make us want their lower quality cheaper food. While I am listening to the podcasts, they remind me of my mission to improve my health.5
-
Met my Dec goal! 60 straight days of signing in since end of Oct (and may as well log food and activity while I am here anyway)7
-
-
@BMcC9 Yes! What a terrific milestone! You are doing fantastic!! And thanks so much for always being so enthusiastic and encouraging to everyone in the UAC.... you are a valuable part of the UAC team and I appreciate YOU so much!3
-
Not sure if anyone else subscribes to the magazine not the digital but A REAL magazine lol but I just received my Jan/Feb mag of Experience Life ,there are some really powerful articles this month. They talk about the “diet” word and how dangerous this can be for some, suggestions on being comfortable with yourself and answering those who constantly make references to what others who are trying to be healthy can say. I liked the weight training section but before I ramble to much if you can find it it’s worth the subscription you can also check it out on line here’s the address:ExperienceLife.com .5
-
I went for a hike with my daughter. It was a hike that I had previously done by myself in half an hour and tracked in MFP as "Hiking, slow speed, 30 minutes" (or something like that - I am not a fast hiker). But it had some hills and uneven terrain so I did feel like it qualified as hiking rather than walking. When I went with my daughter we went the same route and it took as an hour and 10 minutes - super slow speed. She stopped to climb trees and stuff and I just stood there. I tracked it as half an hour again. Which kind of made me wonder -is it really the same number of calories to go the same route for half an hour as an hour? Is running a mile the same number of calories as walking a mile? Or do you get some extra calorie burn from how you move your body or staying in some kind of heartrate zone?1
-
@Caroline_slowandsteady I know from extensive experience and years of data using heart rate monitored fitness device tracking that running X miles gives me almost exactly the same number of calories as walking that exact same number of miles. I only say almost exactly because that same distance does not always yield the exact same calorie burn every single time, even for the same level of activity. But it is always VERY close, not enough variance to care. It makes sense, it requires X energy to propel Y pounds over Z distance. Since the pounds and distance are fixed the variability is the level of energy output over time.
That said, I have not regularly observed whether this also applies to a walk or run with lots of stops. That might change things a little, but in the end I would suspect it's still the same about the amount of energy expended to move your body from point A to point B on your legs without any other assistance.4 -
@WhatMeRunning That is so helpful. It made me think about what I read recently that one of the things that cause people problems can be overdoing it in working out. I read that one of the things that can put an instant stop to fat burning is having your heart rate elevated at the high end or above the aerobic range for too long and too consistently and then not having sufficient rests, causing cortisol to keep you burning glucose instead of fat. I had heard that for persons with adrenal function issues, that staying in the fat burning range is better than the cardio range, except for very short bursts with rest, like in HIIT training.
Maybe that is why I have seemed to do better with weight loss over the past couple of weeks focusing on steps walking more than on higher intensity cardio. I think I had been doing what Mark Sisson calls ¨chronic cardio¨ and that I actually feel better giving myself permission to slow down and try to get lots of slower movement all through the day instead of doing a hard workout at the gym and then be sedentary much of the day.4 -
Yeah but running gives you a lot more bang for the buck and is much more intensive cardio. ESP when you are time limited. So I can run 10K in an hour or I could walk it in 2 hrs plus I suppose. Same calories but I also think that the energy you get from running carries over for several hours vs something less strenuous. Just my opinion.4
-
@ideas2 I have a feeling you and I could have some great, long discussions on a number of health related topics 😊 (I feel that way about many members here, come to think of it). Then again I can get super chatty and tend to write excessively long responses, so maybe it's just that!
This touches on a lot of rich subjects, I could reply for days perhaps. I'll try to keep this however brief I can! 🤪
I'll start with how so many people overdo it with high end cardio. It's actually a hard thing to avoid for anyone relatively new to establishing their cardio fitness.
For perspective, with the exception of world class caliber athletes, very well trained long distance enthusiasts who regularly do such things as marathons, century rides, triathlons, etc. have only 2-3 intense cardio workouts per week. By intense I mean anything in heart rate Zone 3 or above. Keep in mind that Zone 3 (and depending on how you calculate HR zones the lower part of Zone 4) is still "aerobic". So the rest of the runs over the week should be in Zone 2 or lower.
Zone 3 is a well established "grey area" that provides no fitness benefit over Zone 2, but does result in significantly faster fatigue and higher risk of injury. What that means is working in Zone 3 is a bit foolish since you're only going to perform less (due to fatigue) and risk injury for nothing. Absolutely no benefit over Zone 2. Fact.
Now let's talk about those efforts. Most people can't "run" in Zone 2, especially anyone in their first few months of regularly running. They simply don't have the overall strength and fitness to maintain a proper running gait without running their HR over into Zone 3+ after maybe 30 seconds to a minute or so. Whether that is the reason new runners can only "run" 2-3 times per week, or why people get injured within their first 6-12 months running even after completing C25k is really unique to the individual and could be debated every way. But clearly you can see with just this info what a new runner is up against by simply trying to run regularly, especially non-stop running. If they run at Zone 3 or higher more than 2-3 times per week they are doing too much and it will catch up in some way.
This doesn't just apply to running either. This applies to all cardio activities. I'm using running as an example as it is most readily identifiable with almost everyone, as anyone who has started running (and especially monitored HR) has personally observed.
That said, while Zone 3 is basically of no benefit given the risk, higher zones like 4 and 5 have tangible health benefits, but such development is premature unless you have already established a strong base of cardio fitness, at least 6 months but time is not the ruler here, it's more about when your body is ready. But 6 months to a year of regularly establishing good cardio fitness should work for the majority of people who are cleared by their doctor for such levels of activity.
Since this is long already I won't go into the details of Zone 4/5 benefits, but again any runs of Z3+ are considered intense workouts and should be limited to 2-3 times/week.
Also as FYI, Long Runs, or other such extra endurance efforts generally count against this allotment of intense workouts. These are part of specific endurance training like marathons, century rides, etc.
Damn, I didn't keep that short at all.5 -
To follow up...walking is an incredible form of fat burning exercise that too many underutilize, in my personal opinion. It is a low impact fat burning aerobic exercise that requires significantly less recovery time, allowing you to safely do it every day, and maybe even multiple times/day. You can still overdo it, but that's going to be quite uncommon.
Unless you have a need to burn calories at the fastest possible rate, or have a specific desire to build upper end cardio, why not walk for cardio? There should be no shame whatsoever in it. And frankly, I enjoy good walks more than running in many ways. It does not produce that "high", but I get to enjoy the very rich and usually otherwise "missed" world of wonder around me. The relaxation from walking exceeds running, no doubt. And I would know the difference.
ETA: I still love running though. They are different and both good for different reasons. If your goal is just fat burning and you are just starting out, my recommendation is walking. If your goal is higher reaching fitness or to test yourself or prove you can achieve some things, you can change your life for the better with running (or other high end cardio).3
