40+ Club: Fall Fitness Fanatics

Swissmiss

:flowerforyou: alf, I counted 12 glasses of water yesterday and that doesn't include what I drank with dinner. I re-weighed this morning and am down 2 pounds. I am so grateful for water. :happy:

:flowerforyou: Welcome Donna, Jump right in and let us get to know you. I see that you are asking about exercise calories. I do not eat all of mine. Maybe half. Someone else here will have to answer about how many calories we need to burn to lose a pound.

alf1163

Donna, it can be a little confusing but dont despair. I have included some links to some wonderful threads regarding why it is important to eat enough in order to lose weight. Lots of people are stuck in the belief that everyone needs to eat 1200 cals in order to lose weight regardless of age, height, activity level, etc. The most important thing is to determine what your BMR (basal metabolic rate) is. You can go here to do some calculations. http://weightloss.about.com/od/eatsmart/a/blcalintake.htm Eating less than what you body needs to sustain itself will backfire in the end, slowing your metabolism and resulting in a plateau or even weight gain. Yes, if you need to lose weight, after determining your BMR taking into consideration the calories you burn with exercise you want to cut back about 500 calories a day. It doesnt have to be an exact science, no one is perfect and there are no perfect days, but as long as you are consistent you will see great results. I hope this helps.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/9007-bmr-ma-because-of-the-answers-to-the-questions

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficits

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/12250-1000-calorie-deficit-not-for-people-with-healthy-bmi

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/123142-the-answers-to-the-questions?hl=the+answers+to+the+questions#posts-1718456

alf1163

:flowerforyou: alf, I counted 12 glasses of water yesterday and that doesn't include what I drank with dinner. I re-weighed this morning and am down 2 pounds. I am so grateful for water. :happy:

:flowerforyou: Welcome Donna, Jump right in and let us get to know you. I see that you are asking about exercise calories. I do not eat all of mine. Maybe half. Someone else here will have to answer about how many calories we need to burn to lose a pound.

See Swiss!!! There is no way you will gain 3 lbs in a weekend!!

Dandersonjr32

See Swiss!!! There is no way you will gain 3 lbs in a weekend!!

It would be tough, that's for certain. The math makes it tough to swallow. An pound of body fat is about 3,500 calories, so you need to consume 3,500 more calories more than you use in a day to gain a pound. Three pounds, or 10,500 calories in two days breaks down to more than 5,000 EXTRA calories a day.

That is possible, but difficult.

Campanella

When you say you eat your exercise calories what do you mean? If I am suppose to eat 1450 calories a day to lose weight and I go to the gym and burn 500 calories this allows me to eat 500 more calories for the day. So 1450 and 500 equals 1950 calories can be consumed for the day and still lose weight. What is meant by eating half or all your exercise calories.

alf1163

When you say you eat your exercise calories what do you mean? If I am suppose to eat 1450 calories a day to lose weight and I go to the gym and burn 500 calories this allows me to eat 500 more calories for the day. So 1450 and 500 equals 1950 calories can be consumed for the day and still lose weight. What is meant by eating half or all your exercise calories.

Correct, you would eat 1950 or close to it and still lose weight.

DonnaHazel

Ah....I see. I am doing cardio 5 days a week and strength training 3 days. Sometimes I get 2 miles at the track (walking) on Sunday. Today I took 2 cardio classes..1 hour total and stepped up on the elliptical. One of the counselors stopped me and said I should only be doing 45 minutes of cardio a day as I will begin burning muscle instead of fat. Any thoughts on this?

sal0118

Alf: it looks like I opened up a discussion with the advice I asked. Just as others have stated, I also do believe it is confusing. I appreciate your advice and the articles. It is all very helpful. As I read what you wrote to me, I think what was hard for me to grasp is that I am not eating enough. I believe that since the focus is not eating as much in order to loose weight. We tend to focus on training the brain and the body to do with less. So, it looks like my BMR is at 1430. I will need to change the 1200 I put in. I will try changing it and let you know how it goes. Thanks also for pointing out that the extra calories need to be healthy choices. Good point about our husbands, we do have the opposite. :-)

Campanella: Welcome! It looks like we are suppose to eat the same amount without exercise.

Donna: Nice chatting with you on email. I amglad that you got it confirmed regarding cardio and how much you should do. Like, I said Chris has talked about it. Perhaps he will expand on it with articles.

Lady Persia: Thanks so much for pointing out that Alf did not mean sweets, because I am right there with you on that.:-)

hewhoiscd

Hello all

Haven't posted for awhile, been busy. Also, I recently signed up on Plenty Of Fish, and exploring that site has used up much of my free time :bigsmile:

Weight Lifting Day: DB Squats, DB Bench Press, DB Glute Bridge, BW Lying Abductions, BW Birddogs

Workout felt extra good today.

*optimaltouch & DonnaHazel: Welcome!

*DonnaHazel: Lots of research supports that anything over 30 minutes of cardio at a time is diminishing returns if your goal is fat loss. IMO, your counselor was spot on! Consider your self lucky, many are clueless, lol.

*MarlynnM: Once a week is a good plan. Same day each week, in the morning, after using the restroom and before eating/drinking anything

*alf: Belated condolences to your friend

Glute Workout, still doing it, but my own modified version. I think the article said 2 to 3 weeks per phase. My choices on which ones I can do are limited to the equipment and space available to me. I really like the weighted Glute Bridges. I'm currently adding 67.5 pounds on top of my pelvis (using a 52.5lb dumbbell and extra weights) with 2 sets of 10 reps with 10 second isometric holds on top of each rep. Definitely working it

It's always great when someone notices, isn't it

sal: Thanks Exercise is a great stress reliever. You already got the answers on the exercise question, I'll just mention that I ate back all or most of my exercise calories the entire time I lost my 40lbs.

Danderson: Flexibility is key. Too many people (myself included at first) set up what they think is the "Perfect Routine" and get thrown off when it can't be done exactly as planned. Just do your best, and forget the rest One thought on energy levels, make sure you are eating enough cals and that the carbs you are taking in are complex carbs and not simple. No refined flour for example.

singfree

Good evening!

Not too much to report here. I'm not sure if it's the cooler weather, but my hikes up the mountain seem to be getting easier. I can hike up the 1.5 mile long/ 1000 ft elevation in under 25 minutes. Not too bad for an old-timer.

Biggest Loser began tonight. I really like watching those people get in shape. It keeps me motivated. New trainer Anna Kournikova can train me anytime! :bigsmile:

Have a great day!

StiringWendel

singfree, :bigsmile: regarding Anna Kournikova! I only watched about 45 minutes of the show last night, but it looks like it might be an interesting season given the age competition.

Not much new here either. I'm continuing my Insanity/Asylum rotation with added strength training, and it is going really well right now. All of the workouts are feeling easier and easier the longer I do the combination of these programs. I'm really enjoying those results. My eating is good right now. For some odd reason, I'm continuing to weigh myself regularly, and that is working for me right now in controlling some of my decisions. I admit that with the cooler weather, I'm having more sweet cravings (I lose alot of appetite with the heat), but I'm keeping that under control right now. So maybe I'll continue weighing myself until I get through this current craving stage. I'm not denying myself (have a little chocolate every day) but I'm controlling it better than I do sometimes.

Hope you all are enjoying a good week.

Swissmiss

:flowerforyou: stiring, I hear you about gaining during the cool months. I have read somewhere that a woman will weigh her least in September and the most in January. We just have to be aware of this.

sing, good for you...your exercising is paying off. Getting in better shape. I haven't seen Biggest Loser in a long time. Is Jillian still on it? I have never heard of Anna Kounilova. Is she tough or just good looking?:laugh:

Chris, I love reading your advice. You are so knowledgable. Glad that you are with us. So, what is Plenty of Fish?

:flowerforyou: Donna, seriously??? We can begin to burn mucsles if we do too much cardio? Wow, I didn't know that. Well, I am certainly not in an danger of doing that at this time. I need to go back a few postings and see all that had been going on.

Swissmiss

Whoo Dander....Yikes, there is no way I consumed that many calories this past weekend. I guess it was just too much salt. Salt is my biggest weakness.

DonnaHazel

Swissmiss....I had a trainer at the gym stop me yesterday because I did 2 aerobic classes in a row (1 hr.) and was on the elliptical. She gave me that piece of imformation. They are having a Biggest Loser contest at the gym and I am determined to win! So, here I am working my tail off to burn those calories only to find that I am working against myself. :grumble:

Texssippian

Hi all! We went to the trainer on Monday night. Hubs is tolerating more intensity in the workouts which is great. He mowed the front lawn before I got home last night. (Darn traffic has been horrible in Dallas this week.) I did the back yard. Much easier when the temps are in the 80s instead of the 100s. Have the cycle/yoga class tonight. Can't wait to see what kinds of one legged contortions she will try to get us to do. I have signed up for the next six weeks of the class.

Watched a little bit of Biggest Loser last night but then we watched a Travel Channel show about San Francisco. Hubs and I go to Mississippi this weekend to see family. We usually go in the summer so it will be nice to go when it is a little cooler.

Welcome new folks and hello to everyone else. Take care all! TxMs

alf1163

Hello!! It is great to hear from so many of you!! Doing well, same old same old. :laugh: Not much to report. I didnt know Anna Kournikova was a trainer in biggest loser. Interesting...At work, sorry this is short. Just wanted to say HI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:flowerforyou:

Swissmiss

:flowerforyou: Hi to you also Alf and I don't even know who Anna Kournikova is.

:flowerforyou: TxMs, have a safe trip. And, lots of fun.

:flowerforyou: Donna, thank you for the information. I am in no danger of doing this.:laugh:

We are getting horrible rain storm at this time. I was driving from one building to another when lightning stuck rather close. I was glad to get back in a building.

alf1163

Swiss, Kournikova is a famous tennis player. That's why I am surprised she is a trainer in that show. I am sure, being an athlete, she knows what she is doing. :laugh: She is also the girlfriend of singer Enrique Iglesias, son of Julio Iglesias. They are always chased by the papparazzi. She is very private.

Stiring, forgot to mention that I am also having the cravings for sweets at this time. :noway: :grumble: and it doesnt help when they bring sweets into the office. Yikes!!!!

A while back I asked if someone had any strategies or just join in an effort to avoid Holiday gain. I seem to start giving into the sweets and Holiday food early Oct until early Jan and tend to gain a few pounds. It has been getting better each Holiday season in the past 2 yrs but I would like to do better this year and have no gain at all or no more than 5 lbs if any...suggestions? :flowerforyou:

tartz66

HI, my name is Terri and I am new to MFP. I fall into this age catigory so I thought I would check it out. So, what kind of thread is this? Thanks, Terri

alf1163

Hi Terri!!! You look too young to be in this category!!!! :laugh: Love the smile! Welcome! This is a group of 40+ yr olds who like to take care of themselves by exercising and eating as healthy as possible. I formed this group to support one another with our different struggles to get healthy and stay healthy as we age. :flowerforyou:

DonnaHazel

Oh My! We had a boot camp for the "Biggest Loser" today. I am the oldest in there! It reminded me of the show last night. .Seniors competing against the kids! I am in the senior group:grumble: :grumble: and it doesn't help when mentally I feel in my late 20's. But I pushed through, a little slower than the rest. And to top it off, the classroom they had it in is carpeted. Try doing a jump up and then kicking back into a push up. Oh what a sight it was!:laugh: I'm thinking I might skip this class and stick to the others. I sweat just as much in those classes. I just want to safe and not injure something.:embarassed:

Hoping everybody had a healthy day!

hewhoiscd

Today was supposed to be Cardio Day and Tomorrow Rest Day. Gonna switch them around, not feeling 100% and feel like I could use the rest.

*StiringWendel: Keep it up, doing great!

*SwissMiss: Thanks Plenty of Fish is an Online Dating Website

*TxMs: Sounds like things are progressing nicely

*alf: no suggestions you probably don't already know about Here's a couple though...Eat a big healthy meal before going to any parties, and take a couple healthy snacks with you to munch on at the party. Or, make a healthy dish and take it with you to share and eat it yourself as well.

*Terri: Welcome!

*Donna: Good job on pushing through! Carpeting sounds odd for that kind of class. Not to mention all the sweat from all the classes going into that carpet over time...doesn't sound good :laugh:

singfree

OMG AM I SORE!!!!!!!!!!!

On a whim, I decided to do a video strength workout at the gym today. It was a full body dumbbell workout. I now know that there are quite a few muscles that need conditioning! It was good to mix it up a bit. I still did some other weight stuff and my mountain hike, but the video just killed me. I also realize that all of the movement in the video affected my head a bit (post concussion). I'm doing better, but 18 months later, I'm still suffering it's effects.

Swiss, Anna Kournikova is a very homely and unattractive woman. No man in their right mind would give her a second glance...Back to reality...

I get a kick out of the contestants wanting to quit during the very first workout. Did they not see the show before applying? Yes, the workouts are tough, but this is your life that we're talking about! I can't believe that former NFL football player was crying like a baby when Bob Harper pushed the envelope a bit.

Stiring, I'm determined to dust off the old Insanity CDs soon. I'm going to push through the light headedness and complete a round of Insanity before the holidays. My Dr. said that I can do any exercise as long as I feel up to it. My BP is fine. It's just a balance-dizziness thing.

Have a great day!

StiringWendel

singfree, what video did you do? Sounds like it was effective! Regarding Insanity, take it easy. As you know, there is so much up and down in it that it is really easy to get dizzy. I would suggest starting with Plyo Cardio Circuit because even though there is the up and down/floor to standing work in it, at least in that one there is a break between getting up from the floor before doing a standing move. If you decide to do a rotation, maybe start out with them every other day as well for a week or two to see how you react. Just want you to be safe! :flowerforyou:

alf, wish I had suggestion for how to combat the holiday eating....but I don't. I'm just happy that this year I won't be moving around the holidays (like I have the past two years) so maybe I'll be able to control myself a bit more than I have since losing the weight. My biggest problem is that I love to bake, and I love to bake during the holidays. I don't just bake for DH and I, but I bake for everybody I can think of! :noway: Of course, there are left-overs that usually find their way into my belly. This year, I've decided not to bake at all (at least that's my going-in strategy right now) and, hopefully, that will help me a bit. I also think being back to weighing myself (as I mentioned yesterday) will help me lose that 'It's the holidays' attitude that I seem to get every Christmas when it comes to eating. But I know that I will still end up eating more than I should. :blushing:

Nothing much new here since yesterday. Still loving my workouts and getting some good comments from friends who are here in the DC area that I haven't seen in awhile about how I look right now. That always makes me feel good!

Enjoy the day.

Swissmiss

:flowerforyou: Stirng, anything that causes me to get dizzy will. I get that way last night in class by just leaning over. I think that I will have the holiday eating mostly under control. I had asked for the Wednesday before Thanksgiving off so that I could do a lot of cooking. Well, my supervisor choice the same day. I, therefore, will be working and will not be making a super large meal.

Ok sing, I guessed from what I was reading here that this Anna must be a knock out. I see...you are all joking.

Chris, that is funny. But, because I am married, I will get my fish from the market.:bigsmile:

:flowerforyou: Donna, thinking and feeling young will keep you that way. My husband had always said that he will get older but no one can make him grow up.:laugh:

:flowerforyou: alf, you are such a terrific inspiration for all of us.

Robin1117

Hi there! Holiday eating? Well, I am on maintenance so try really hard not to stress about it too much and just enjoy myself. A few months ago my brother called me a "kill-joy" when I said I didn't want to eat Ben and Jerry's out of a pint w/him when we were together. After that, I realized I needed to "lighten up" so to speak......

The strategy I use for holidays is the same for vacations: continue to exercise every day. eat relatively normal foods for breakfast and lunch, and then if late afternoon appetizers and dinner and a little wine and dessert are a bit too much? that's fine. The exercise combats it a little, as does the decent eating earlier in the day. On my 2 week vacation this year I gained only a 1-2 lbs and think that was A-OK ---it only took about a week of eating on plan to get back to normal.

Stiring--about the baking--I can see how hard that would be. I am having the same problem but with my bread making--all day long I sit around thinking about when and how much bread (and homemade pizza....) I can eat within my limits.

alf1163

Good morning!!! How is everyone doing? Well, I guess I was not really asking for suggestions but more for support or a little challenge than anything else. As Chris said, I do know what to do and what not to do but it is so hard to do it "alone". I normally tend to give into the temptations. So I guess my challenge will be as Robin said try to enjoy myself in moderation of course...will see...same old same old today...rest day tomorrow, mani/pedi in am, physical in the afternoon. I am going to a Def Leppard concert on Sat with my brother, I am looking forward to that. My boss is going with his wife but he is sitting on the 2nd row and has a backstage pass since he is friends with the drummer. It would be nice if he could get me a backstage pass, yeah right!! LOL wishful thinking...

Swiss, thank you for being so sweet to me.

Stiring and Sing, you are both insane!!! LOL :laugh:

At work, take care!!! :flowerforyou:

Swissmiss

:flowerforyou: Wow alf...fun fun fun !!!! Have a great time.

:flowerforyou: Robin, thanks for the suggestions on what to do about holiday eating. I am really hoping that I will be on maintenance by the time Thanksgiving comes around. If I am then I will not freak out so much. If I were to gain a couple of pounds I would just lose them again. If I am still looking at needing to lose a few pounds than the couple added on during the holiday would bother me more.

Alf and Robin...I realize that you are both younger than I and can weigh a bit less and get away with it. I am wondering just what I should weigh. I am just about 150 at this time. I stand almost 5 ft. 5 in. All the charts say that I should be around 125, I think. I do know that if I got down to 125 I would look skeletorial. Is that a word? I was at 139 back in 1998 and people were thinking that I looked too thin. At this time, my arms are already looking scrawny. This happens as we age, you know. I do know that I don't like the way I feel and look at this time. And, I am happy to say that I am losing. I have quit playing around and have gotten busy.

Robin1117

Swiss--it's a tough question. It's funny, I had always, since high school, been about 135 and been a "normal" weight. When I started MFP, I still had the extra baby weight and thought I just was going to lose 7-8 lbs and get down to where I had been. If you asked me when I was 18, or even when I was 30 if I could ever be where I am now, I would have said it was impossible. But now that I'm here, it's not like I think I look perfect--I see lots of places on my figure that could use some trimming, although 10 years ago, I would have thought I'd be skeletal at this weight..... I think you need to go by how you feel and if you like what you see in the mirror. Or even if you get to a point where your body tells you it needs to stop, basically because you stop losing, that just might be your ideal weight, as opposed to an arbitrary number on a height/weight chart. Does this make sense? Not sure I helped but hope so! :ohwell: That's kind of what I did--just waited until I stopped losing and when I was sure I wouldn't anymore, put my mindset into maintenance.

tladame

Meh...apparently the holiday eating has already begun at our office. Someone brought in a big bag of fall-colored Reese's mini peanut butter cups. I had one. Glad to discover it was only 18 calories. :happy: It's going to be nothing but temptation for the next 3 months! I'm glad I have MFP to log the calories and keep me in check. I hope I weigh the same by New Year's (I'm in maintenance).