40+ Club

StiringWendel

chooey, I don't know that I have the right answers to your questions, but I'll try. But first....welcome!!

Regarding your heart rate, one rule of thumb to find out your maximum heart rate is to take the number 220 and subtract your age from that. That will give you your MAXIMUM heart rate. Many people (experts in the fitness field) recommend working out somewhere between 70-85% of that (some say a little lower, like 65%, others say you can go higher, but they are all just recommendations). So, in my case, I subtract 43 (my age) from 220 and then times that by .85 to find that I really want to be working out with my heart rate around the 150 range since I am what I consider to be an advanced exerciser. If you are just beginning, you might want to workout closer to the 70% range. (or somewhere in between). Hope that helps.

Regarding the C-sections, I really don't know what to say. My sister had two C-sections, and she has the same issues. Even when she was at her thinnest after her children were born, she still had the belly. But I, quite honestly, don't know if that is a 'never' thing or just a 'it would be incredibly difficult' thing to be able to achieve a flat tummy again.

alf, I have a question. Do you have any idea how many calories you are burning with the Chalean program? I know that sounds like a strange question. I'm so used to working out at least an hour a day that one of the reasons I'm hesitant to buy CLX is because I don't want to decrease my calorie burn from where it is right now and since these are shorter workouts, I'm afraid that is what might happen. But, of course, depending on the intensity of the program, I might burn as many calories doing CLX as I am doing STS, just in a shorter period of time. So I'm curious if you are paying any attention to the calorie burn and how they compare to other workouts you've done. Any input is appreciated.

singfree, it sounds like you are getting great results! Congrats!!

Having a good but busy week so far. Off to do a tough lower body workout. Still eating as clean as I can!

cardigirl

Pictures????!?!?!?? We have to post pictures of ourselves? *faints dead away*






I'll see if I can find a before pic and then have someone take an after. :blushing:



Had a great workout with the trainer, but sometimes, while I"m in it, I have fleeting thoughts of thinking it's ridiculous to be trying to do this at my age. Sigh. I need encouragement people.

singfree

What do ya mean "at my age"???? Don't give me that stuff (just kidding)...I'm 54 and can do things most people half my age would never attempt (beats his chest). Seriously Cardigirl, don't think of us as getting older or even approaching old age. It's just a number (like the scale). I think going with a trainer is a great idea. I'm just too cheap to do it myself!! Keep going, you young whipper-snapper!

lose2cruise

Hello everyone. I'm new to the site. Just wanted to mark the page. I'm excited about using this site so any advice would be greatly appreciated. I lost 25 lbs initially on WW online but had to suspend my membership and needed another site to account for myself, actually see my progress.

See you around the boards!

cardigirl

What do ya mean "at my age"???? Don't give me that stuff (just kidding)...I'm 54 and can do things most people half my age would never attempt (beats his chest). Seriously Cardigirl, don't think of us as getting older or even approaching old age. It's just a number (like the scale). I think going with a trainer is a great idea. I'm just too cheap to do it myself!! Keep going, you young whipper-snapper!

Thanks, Sing. Yeah, I really like that I can do this working out and feeling fitter. I guess sometimes I get too caught up in the "appearance" part of it. And really, what's the alternative? Not working out? Not eating better?

Guess I just needed a boot in the rear! :laugh:

cardigirl

Hello everyone. I'm new to the site. Just wanted to mark the page. I'm excited about using this site so any advice would be greatly appreciated. I lost 25 lbs initially on WW online but had to suspend my membership and needed another site to account for myself, actually see my progress.

See you around the boards!

Welcome! MFP is a great site, especially the tracking part of it. It has really helped me focus on what I was eating and how much. I think you'll like it here.

Catherine1962

:frown: Hello all!
I'm new here in the 40+ club. thought I'd try it to get some encouragement and maybe help others as well.
I joined a gym in feb and have only gained weight! I know my metabolism has been out of wack for a long time...starvation mood I've been told. I have since changed my diet and work out 4 - 5 days a week to no avail. Cant see a physical difference either. Pretty sad really. I havent given up yet though. I need to loose at least 30 Lbs.
Hope all is well with everyone, Have a great day!

singfree

Welcome, Lose2cruise!! Tell us a little bit more about your daily routine, eating and exercising, and we'll be here to help in any way we can.

Cardigirl, I'm into the health & fitness aspect of it (mostly), but I like to look good too. After all, since I don't weigh myself very often, I only have the mirror and my clothing as a guide.

lose2cruise

Thanks for your kind words. I'm going to be 55 in a few weeks and I had hoped to be at goal by now. I was steadily losing doing WW onlinewhich I started in January 08 until September 2008. We went on a cruise that happened to be during Hurricane Ike. The cruise lasted longer because we could not get back into Galveston. I gained a little on the cruise, lost back to precruise weight, but then I just plateaued. I tried to get back on track but the weight just didn't come off. Then the scale moved down again, but winter set in and my exercise routine wained and I just couldn't get the scale to budge. I suspended my membership with WW in January after a year. I figured I knew how to lose the weight, just had to be accountable. Well, I wasn't. I'm exercising more now, walking, running, treadmill, Zumba, weights, and yard work. But the scale is slow to move, as it always has been for me. I need to be more accountable for what I am doing and thought I'd give this a try where I can keep a food diary and log my activity. It's a very interesting site and I look foward to seeing some progress and getting to goal.

I'm vegetarian, I work for a cardiovascular surgeon and sit at a desk all day. I get my exercise early in the AM before work and DH and I try to take long walks on the weekends and then lots of yardwork during the spring and summer months. We love to cruise, addicted to it and luckily I've not gained more than a lb or 2 during a cruise, as I walk the ship every morning and watch what I eat at buffets and dinner.

thanks for listening!

singfree

lose2 cruise, are you currently using the WW points system? I also noticed that you are a vegetarian, are you taking in enough protein? Focus in on the amount of cals per day and ratios of fat/ protein/ carb. It might sound strange, but since you are exercising more, you might need more calories so you don't run out of energy. Good luck!!

I was in Houston attending a seminar as the hurricane approached. Luckily I was able to get a flight back to Philadelphia before they closed the airport!


BTW- I'll be 55 on June 25....

lose2cruise

I was doing Core on WW. I knew the Core foods and what foods had points and what foods didn't, so losing for me on Core was easy. They changed their plan last December, to Momentum. It was combining the Core and Flex, so I had to count points again for everything. I just didn't seem motivated to doing it and suspended my membership, as the $$ was adding up for not using it. I just fell off the wagon. Plain and simple.

I do get my protein with soy based products and legumes. My problem is weekends, as I'm sure most people have, but now that weather is warmer, we'll be outside in the yard doing more of that and I usually burn a good number of calories there.

tron3002

Well I am back from Nevada and I'll tell you what, I really missed MFP. I really like logging in my food throughout the day. It makes things so much easier. Of course I know I wasnt under my calorie intake while I was gone but hopefully I wasnt too far over either. I have to admit I'm a little nervous to get on the scale.:brokenheart: :ohwell:

Welcome to all of the new people. I think you will really enjoy it, not only this sight but also this thread. The group of people here are just fantastic...:flowerforyou: :drinker:

Please do post pictures. Its nice you see all the hard work you have done. I did post a before and after on my home page. Starting weight-140:explode: Todays weight and current picture-121 and 6 months ago where I was at my thinnest and want to get back to-110 but this time I want to be toned not just thin.:smooched:

singfree

Many people are having success by using a heart rate monitor (the kind with the watch AND chest strap). I bought a Reebok Precision XT on www.buy.com for $29.99, no tax and free shipping. It works great. Now I know how many calories I am burning, not guessing any longer. There are other brands like Polar which is a great unit, but much more expensive.

Sometimes you get tired of the same old routine (WW), and need to find something that stimulates and encourages you to stick with it. On this site, we've come to realize that we need to reprogram our bodies to accept only good things, with an occasional cheat treat now and then. This is easier said than done, but we're hanging in there. I really don't think that this lifestyle is difficult to maintain. It just takes some common sense and a firm commitment to getting fit.

Welcome back, Tron!!

Swissmiss

:flowerforyou: lose2cruise..I am sort of doing the Abs Diet. It has me eating a lot more protein. I have found that whey protein is helping. You might try this.

singfree...I bought the Polar monitor. I heard that it was a good one and I had just gotten my tax refund so I figured why not. I then had my surgery and haven't set it up to use it yet.

I am stuck at the same weight..minus or plus about three pounds. So frustrating.

tron3002

singfree... Thanks for the web sight and letting us all know how you HRM is working for you. I have been online looking at them but was a little nervous buying an inexpensive one just because of not knowing how they work. Sometimes inexpensive doesn't equal good ya know.

I weighed myself today, I'm actually happy. I didn't lose anything but I didn't gain anything either. At least my trip didn't set me back. I finally got my 30 day shred. I might start it tonight, if not tomorrow morning. Hopefully I will start to see those numbers on the scale and more importantly the tape measure start going down really soon.

Swissmiss

:flowerforyou: tron...I am so glad that you are holding steady and that you haven't gained. I know the feeling of thinking that the scales will not be kind to you.

alf1163

Hello!!!!! Wow, so many newbies just today!!! :drinker: :drinker: WELCOME!!! :flowerforyou: Hang in there!!! DO NOT QUIT!!! You can do this. This is a great site to keep you accountable. lose2cruise, Holy Guacamole!!! 55!! You look great!!!!! You are doing a lot, maybe increase the intensity or duration for some of your exercises and you will kick up your metabolism. Also increasing your protein is a good idea as Swissmiss said.

Stiring, I am not burning mega calories, usually under 300 cals, while doing ChaLean but I know that my metabolism is still working extra hard after my workouts for all the heavy slow lifting. When I have more time I include one of the cardio workouts in program after lifting and the abs workout and those days I burn about 450cals. I am only resting one day a week and 2 days out of the week I run. The other day I ran/walked 8 miles and burned 760cals. :noway:

Inthemoney, are you still with us???? Are you the one that uses knox gelatin? I posted on that but no one replied I am considering trying this and see if it works better and faster than glucosamine/chondroitin. I was doing some research today and it says it might cause upset stomach/diarrhea the first week you take it. How do you take it also? Anyone?

Have a great evening!! :flowerforyou:

Swissmiss

Advice from anyone please. My pedometer says that I am taking over 11,000 steps a day, burning over 400 calories and walking over 4 miles. And this is what I do while at work only. My problem, I think, is that my body is accustom to this and will not let loose of any pounds. Do I need to up my exercise? I also use the weight machines at the gym and about twice a week I will ride the stationary bike. I very seldom go over my allotted calories. What am I doing wrong?

TexasMom

How exciting to see all the newbees!!! I'm pretty new myself and I have to echo what so many have said, this is a great bunch of people and I've already been more encouraged than any other time in my life. :happy:

Alf - I have to say thank you for all of your encouraging words to each of us. You're amazing.

Singfree - thank you for asking me about my food intake. I took a look and although I was doing good calorie wise I wasn't getting enough carbs in. I upped the carbs and the scale is headed in the right direction. I'm learning so much here. You guys are great.

I stepped it up a notch today, I'm on the Phase 3 video of Slim in 6. I'm supposed to finish the program with this one. I finished the video and made it through 90% of the reps. It felt really good. I left my bike ride at 42 minutes and upped it one level. I have so much more energy, it feels awesome. And it's only been 2 1/2 weeks.

I also tried hommus for the first time today. I read so much about it on this site I thought, what the heck. I'm in love. That stuff is amazing. Of course I need to be careful, I think I could eat the whole container in one sitting.

I hope everyone has a blessed evening.
Nita

StiringWendel

Hey Swissmiss. I don't know if I have an answer for you but, yes, the body does get used to certain activities. For instance, mailmen who walk all the time stop burning as many calories simply because the body adjusts. So while you obviously have a very active job (and if I were you, I'd definitely reflect that in your daily activity level), chances are that in order to 'shake things up', you might need to shake up your exercise a bit. I would recommend either increasing your cardio a bit (if you are working out in the gym, one of my favorite things to do is interval/incline training on a treadmill. I'm not a runner, so this is something I can do that is not running but gets my heart rate up and out the roof) or maybe alter your strength training a bit.

Frankly, given that you are in between surgeries and all that you went through with the last one, I think you are doing great. :flowerforyou:

alf, thanks for the answer on Chalean. That's kind of what I anticipated. I think I might do P90X (this time all the way through ) after I finish STS. Actually, I'm going to take a month off the heavy lifting first and just do circuits, but after that, maybe I'll go for P90X since we already own it. And maybe this time I try it, I might be able to encourage my husband to do it at the same time. :drinker: And then after that, maybe I'll be looking at Chalean for more maintenance. I'll have to think about it. But thanks again for your answer.

Welcome to all our new posters. Please keep posting!!

eriny

heres my workout
100 situps
100 pushups
40 25lb curls
40 100lb row/rear deltoid machine
40 110 lb pulldown machine
40 100 hammer strength (ab machine )
4 15 sec floor leg lifts w 10lb ball
thats it took it a little easy today feeling tired from switching workout time from morning to night :ohwell:

singfree

Good morning! some really great posts here. It's so nice that we can help each other out. Yesterday I did some upper body training an 10 miles on the bike. Today is core & legs at the gym and a "quick 20" on the bike.

Becky, glad to see you got a HRM. Polar makes a great unit. About the exercise, you will need to be careful about pushing it too much due to surgery. Listen to your body and only do what you are comfortable with. For me, I found that I achieve more fat loss with high intensity training. I'm crazy, but I feel like I am not doing a whole lot if my heartrate is too low. I try to average a steady 140-150 BPM during workouts, occasionally pushing it to 170 BPM. An added bonus is that it burns cals really fast.

Nita, glad to see the scale working in positive way for you! Also, I see that you are a devotee of the great Beachbody products. Many of us are! Even though I go to the gym daily, I still use some of the workouts from P90X. Tony Horton has taught me to LOVE pushups and pullups. I used to stink at pullups. Now I can do up to 50 (sets of 10). Are you riding your bike outdoors or stationary?

Stiring, I think that giving heavy strength training a break for a month is a great idea. I'm going to continue hitting it hard for the month of May, and then do other things just to break it up a bit. BTW, I will be visiting my brother-in-law in the San Fernando Valley the 1st week of June! We haven't been to Cal. in about 5 years.

robin1964

Good morning everyone. I just discovered this web page yesterday and have already shared it with a friend! I think that the food diary is fantastic as well as all the conversation!

I am 45 with 2 kids(24 and 18) however we are raising a 2 year old,she keeps us very busy!!!
I have been a yoyo dieter forever. The closest that I ever got to being thin was at 19 and 20. After having kids I never did get it back.
For one thing I have absolutely no will power and LOVE sweets especially chocolate. Since January I decided that this was rediculous . If I was able to quit smoking I can do this! I have lost 13lbs however since all the chocolate from Easter which I hit hard(saying that the sooner it's gone the sooner I can get back on track...lame!) So I have gained back about 3lbs. I am so hoping that this site will be a HUGE incentive.
I have an elliptical which I love but am NOT faithful to and really need to be.
I do not get much support(my husband LOVES to eat out ). He needs to lose weight also and knows it but has yet to get to that place mentally.
Thanks for listening!

singfree

Hi Robin and welcome! Thanks for telling us a bit about yourself...you are never alone here! Your situation is very common. We're here to help with a solution. The very first thing to do is journal EVERYTHING that you do...eating, drinking, exercising. Use the FOOD and EXERCISE tabs at the top of your homepage. Very quickly you will see what needs attention. For most of us, the toughest part was learning to eat clean and stay within your caloric limits. Then you must commit to a regular exercise program to shed the excess fat. I prefer to get fit, that's why I don't really worry about the weight. If you eat right and exercise, you will be amazed with your progress. It's not easy...but worth it!

cardigirl

Morning everyone! Hope everyone is doing well today.

I have a question. Why is it that it seems that when I go off of my regular "diet" of clean foods, I tend to lose?

Last night went out with a friend for a birthday celebration...two martinis and various appetizers AND dessert. Put me waaay over on my calorie count. This morning I'm down a pound. DOES NOT COMPUTE.

I'm seriously thinking of going on a martini and fried calamari diet from now on. :laugh:

Any thoughts on why this happens?

singfree

It's really strange but the same thing happens to me. I like the martini diet :drinker: (Bombay Sapphire)

I wonder if that works for German beer & sausage? hmmmmmmm....

cardigirl

Yeah, every time I have fried seafood (clams, calamari, fish) and a drink with it, I lose weight. I'm guessing that I dehydrate a bit with the alcohol and the extra carbs?

lose2cruise

Morning everyone! Hope everyone is doing well today.

I have a question. Why is it that it seems that when I go off of my regular "diet" of clean foods, I tend to lose?

Last night went out with a friend for a birthday celebration...two martinis and various appetizers AND dessert. Put me waaay over on my calorie count. This morning I'm down a pound. DOES NOT COMPUTE.

I'm seriously thinking of going on a martini and fried calamari diet from now on. :laugh:

Any thoughts on why this happens?

Morning all! This has happened to me also, but then it catches up with me in a week.:sad:

TexasMom

Good Morning All - It's a great day in central Texas. A bit humid and hotter than normal but still a great day.

Welcome to the site Robin. You'll find this is a great bunch of people to hang out with and we are here to support you. Take it one day at at time and set your goals at levels you can achieve. I've only been on the site for a few weeks. I started this journey at 208 lbs and when I started this site I was at 200. My first goal was to get under 190 and I'm only 2 lbs away. Whooohoooo!!!. My next goal is going to be to get under 180 and run a full mile without stopping. I can bike for hours but running just really does me in. I know if I look at this in small increments I'll enjoy victory frequently and that's a great feeling.

Singfree - I'm really impressed with the trainers Beachbody have brought together. Tony Horton makes me laugh at some of the things he says which makes the workout fun. OMG - did I say working out was fun. :laugh: I sure did!!!!! I bike both stationary and street. I haven't been out on the street since November but I'll be out there this weekend. I'll probably do a 25 mile ride to break back in. We have a road I can get to from my house that has awesome hills, a really wide shoulder and goes into the country so it's a great ride. Usually hundreds of bikes out there on the weekends.

Cardigirl - nice diet plan. There musts be some magical fat burners in those martini's!!!! And calamari, now your really talking. I love calamari.

Well I'm off to my workout room. Time to have fun. :happy: Hope everyone has a great day!!

Many Blessings,
Nita

mkwood10

:frown: Hello all!
I'm new here in the 40+ club. thought I'd try it to get some encouragement and maybe help others as well.
I joined a gym in feb and have only gained weight! I know my metabolism has been out of wack for a long time...starvation mood I've been told. I have since changed my diet and work out 4 - 5 days a week to no avail. Cant see a physical difference either. Pretty sad really. I havent given up yet though. I need to loose at least 30 Lbs.
Hope all is well with everyone, Have a great day!

Catherine1962,
Welcome!!! I'm also a '62 baby, so I know exactly what you're saying about metabolism being out of whack. :grumble: :grumble: I was working out, watching what I ate and STILL couldn't budge any weight or inches. I had metabolic testing done, and discovered that at 1200-1300 calories a day I wasn't eating enough; I needed to eat about 250 more calories per day to keep my body out of starvation mode. Lo and behold, I upped my calories and the pounds and inches started going away! :happy: :happy: I work at a university, and was fortunate to be able to have the testing done at the student health center for only $25. I have no clue how much it would cost through a regular doctor, but it's something you should maybe consider.

You also may have gained weight through building muscle, which is an ok thing. Don't give up - you are worth searching to find out what works for you. We all have passed that 40 year milestone, so it's not as easy for any of us as it used to be! :laugh: :laugh: Hang in there...............the weight WILL come off evenutally!