40+ Club: Hop Into Spring With A Fit Bod

zebras

Julia: That's a great milestone!

Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms.

I was running late this morning, so no weigh in yet. I had great workouts all week, and it definitely shows in the fit of my clothes though. I have to pull out the summer wardrobe and assess what fits and what I can give away. The best thing that I did for myself was to get rid of the too big clothes, so that when I had my relapse and gained 20 lbs, things started getting uncomfortable, and I did something about my weight rather than reverting back to bigger clothes.

I have two pair of size 16 pants that were accidentally purchased last year, so I just kept them knowing one of these days they will work for me. It is really amusing how inconsistent women's clothing is. I decided to try them on last night to see how far away I am from fitting in to them. One pair I can zip up, but they still look hideous. The other pay has several inches to go. In its defense, the 2nd pair has absolutely no stretch in them, which is unusual these days.

pepper06

Happy Friday Everyone! I am dwn 1.5lbs this wk Not bad considering I actually had 2 slices of pizza last Friday. I am wearing jeans today that I have not been into for 3 years! YEA! I feel sooooo much better. I am actually 4 lbs abv what is allowed for my height etc-the top range, but I want to be below that.

I have been seeing that agave nectar at more and more places-I first saw it at Costco. Does it taste similar to regualr honey?

Hope everyone enjoys their Mother's Day. We have to work on our deck, cleaning and staining. I doubt the staining will get completed with the rain forcasted for Sat:frown: But the weeding pile is becoming larger!

TGIF

icudoucme

peppr06 . . . . I continue to hear that Agave Nectar isn't everything it is said to be. It's worse that High Fructose Corn Syrup. They spoke about it on Good Morning America stating that it's the companies that are making it are giving it the all hype. People should not be consuming it. If you need a sweetener use honey. In Prevention magazine they state that buckwheat honey is one of the best to use.

Hope that helps!

StiringWendel

pepper, agave nectar is a natural sweetener like honey. It isn't any better for weight loss than any other sugar. The benefit to using agave nectar over table sugar (including brown sugar) is that it hasn't gone through the processing that table sugar has gone through, so you are getting a more natural product (like you would with honey). I started using agave nectar in my oatmeal about a year ago. The reason I prefer it over honey is because of the taste. I love honey in most things, but the one thing I don't like it in is oatmeal (it leaves a bitter aftertaste for me). So when I don't have access to agave nectar, I opt for brown sugar. But I still prefer the more subtle flavor of agave nectar (which tastes more like pure maple syrup to me than honey) over brown sugar. That's why I use it.

As far as whether honey is better than agave nectar...I don't know. I do know that honey isn't without its problems as well (which is why they say NOT to give children under a certain age any honey). So if you have questions on which product is 'safer', I would suggest doing a full range of your own research on the products you are interested in. From my view, nothing I've read or seen (and I have done some research on the product) has indicated that agave nectar is dangerous if consumed, so my decision to use it is based solely on taste.

As far as comparing it to high fructose corn syrup, it is true that agave nectar is a sweetener like HFCS, but HFCS is a more processed sweetener. What makes HFCS so bad isn't the product itself (after all, it comes from corn so there is something natural in it) but that it is in everything. That simply means, in my opinion, that products that don't necessarily need to be sweet are being made sweeter than need be which results in many people feeling a desire for more sweetness in their foods. In my opinion, it does no good to avoid foods with HCFS if HFCS has been replaced by another sweetener. The real goal should be trying to find foods that aren't being unnecessarily sweetened. I don't do that with everything (obviously since I'm still putting a sweetener in my oatmeal), but I do my best by eating things like peanut butter that contains one ingredient--peanuts.

pepper, Julia and duffy....congrats on the weight loss this week!! :drinker:

Julia, you continue to toot your own horn!! You are doing so amazingly well.

duffy, I hope your run goes well this weekend. You indicated you are keeping your calories at about 1400. Is that total or do you eat exercise calories on top of that? I'm just curious.

zebras, I agree about the larger clothing thing. I didn't get rid of all of my bigger clothes, but I did pack them away when we moved and most are in trunks located somewhere under the Christmas decorations in the garage. :laugh: So, like you, when my clothes start getting too tight....it's time to do something about my diet. Sounds like you've had a great week fitness/health-wise so congrats!!!

alf1163

Hello everyone!!! Sorry for the late check in. :ohwell: Well, I am up 1.2lbs but that is ok considering that I was out of town for 5 days and then getting sick and not being able to exercise as much. I am definitely back on track with my eating since Tuesday. I am hoping I can continue ChaLean Extreme this weekend until it is time to go out of town again!! May 20th to SC for my younger sister's wedding...it is a surprise Shhhhh :laugh: :laugh: I am doing a Zumbathon (1.5 hrs) tomorrow along with another instructor. It is on base to celebrate Fitness Month. I am excited. I am still stuffed up but I can manage, I'd better!!! :noway:

Sing, I am happy to hear the good news. I just hope they give you something soon so you can resume your exercise routine. How are you feeling these days? You sound like you are feeling better...

Pepper, Julia, Zebras, congrats on the weightloss!!!!!!!!!! :drinker: :drinker: You are all doing awesome and staying very positive!

Duffy, I am also curious about your calorie intake. It seems low considering all the running and workouts you do...but hey, if it works for you, that is great!!!! As long as you have energy to support your workouts and are seeing an improvement in fitness, body composition, etc that is all that matters. And I love it that you are so proud of your body. I too have stretch marks and used to be very conscious about them but I proudly show them now, I do have more confidence now that I am older. My sister noticed this past weekend that they are less noticeable and she said I looked great!!! She saw me naked....TMI? :laugh: :laugh:

Stiring, thank you for all the information. I am glad you got to get your goodies from Whole Foods. :drinker: I have some agave nectar but have not been using it lately. Mainly because I want to wean myself from any type of sugars. I have not been using any sweeteners on my coffee, oatmeal, etc lately. But if I needed to I would definitely choose agave nectar over anything else.

Have a wonderful weekend!!!! Happy Mother's Day!!!! :flowerforyou:

tron3002

Happy Mothers day to all you wonderful mothers. I hope you are enjoying your day.

I spent the day with my mother yesterday helping her clean up her yard. My son weedeated the yard and I burned all the branches and leaves while my mother plated some flowers. We still have a little more to do but it already looks a lot better.

Today my husband made me breakfast... Eggs, bacon, and toast as well as my coffee... Very sweet. I'm not doing much besides cleaning up the house and hopefully getting on the stair stepper. I'm kinda tired from yard work yesterday and its such a gloomy day outside that it makes you just want to curl up under a blanket and sit by the fire.

Swissmiss

sing, I haven't read any of the thread in a while. I guess you are not feeling well? I am sorry to hear this. I know that you will keep us updated.

:flowerforyou: tron, your breakfast sounds so good.

I have added yet another class to my week. I will do it right before my Zumba class. It is called 20 20 10. There is 20 minutes of cardio, 20 minutes of strength and 10 minutes of stretches. This will mean seven hours at the Y a week. Hope this starts things moving again. I am also giving up any wine drinking. I truly believe that it is messing with my metabolism.

I am also reading a book about thinking positive and am hoping that I can think away my stress.

StiringWendel

Hi everybody. I hope you all had a good weekend.

alf, I hope you are feeling better and were able to enjoy your Zumbathon this weekend. You mentioned that you aren't using sugar/sweeteners in anything anymore. The only thing I use sugar/sweetener in is oatmeal. I've tried to get rid of it, but I can't seem to manage to like the flavor at all without some sweetness. What do you put into your oatmeal? Do you use dried fruit or fresh fruit or anything like that? I'm open to all suggestions because I'm a tad frustrated with myself. Here I worked so hard to get myself off cream and sugar in my coffee....and then I have sugar in my oatmeal. :grumble:

tron, how nice that your husband made you breakfast. I hope you took it easy the rest of your Mother's Day. Yard work is HARD work!!

Swissmiss, that 20-20-10 class sounds interesting. Looks like you'll cover all the bases in just 50 minutes. Women do have a more difficult time metabolizing alcohol. I know it is one of the things I have to give up anymore when I want to lose weight. I seem to be able to enjoy the odd glass of wine just fine while maintaining my weight....but losing weight is an entirely different matter. I hope the book works for you. Keep us posted. I am always looking for a good book to read, especially one that might help my mood out a bit.

I started on my 'maintenance' diet yesterday. My goal is to find a calorie allowance that makes me feel satisfied without a sense of deprivation AND allows me to maintain my weight. I've promised myself that I would work on this for the next seven months and see if I can't come up with a viable plan that allows me to maintain this weight without some of the frustrations I have felt over the past six months (sense of deprivation, overwhelming hunger, etc). I also started my next STS rotation. It is going to last seven months (hence why I'm on this maintenance diet for seven months). What I'm doing is a rotation of undulating periodization. What this means is one week I lift for endurance, the next week I lift for strength, the next week I lift for muscle building, the back to endurace, etc. The idea is to keep the body guessing all of the time and to continually shock the muscle fibers. I'm curious to see how my body reacts to it.

Hope everybody is doing well!

duffyzmom

Happy Monday All!

6 days till Mexico :drinker: :drinker: :drinker: I bought 2 bikinis yesterday (at Forever 21 so they were cheap too). Had a good time shopping with my mom and daughter. Although after feeling so good about myself, trying on bathing suits initially made me feel horrible and then I realized the lighting mirrors etc at Nordstrom were not swimsuit shopping friendly much better at the Forever 21 store and the the Lucy store - go figure you'd think at the more expensive store they'd even put filters on the mirrors.:laugh:

Did my long run yesterday - first one over 5 miles and knock wood food is okay today.

ALF: Yes, right now my calories are low - I made that decision because of my foot injury - I had to cut my weekly mileage in almost half and I just knew that my body would respond by gaining weight. I mean the calories you burn running 20+ miles a week vs. 10 miles a week is huge. Hopefully when we get back from Mexico I'll be able to increase my mileage and my calories - much in the way Stiring is talking about doing to find a good maintenance level.

Stiring: I know what you mean about the sweetening your oatmeal I went awhile without it and then I had to have something right now I'm using 1 tsp of splenda brown sugar. I think the healthy options would be a little honey, maple syrup or even agave nectar. But I just like the flavor of the brown sugar because right now I'm making my oatmeal with purred pumpkin, vanilla and pumpkin pie spice.

Have a great day!

zebras

Happy Monday Friends:

Duffyz: I didnt' even know they made brown sugar Splenda! I do my oameal with one packet of Splenda and lots of cinnamon. I used to use two packets, but my sweet tooth has gone away, and I have even had to cut back on my artificial sweetening. But, like Stiring, I think it needs some sweetening, and I don't like honey unless its really disguised.

I keep poking at my side, saying to myself what's this, what's this? Its my rib. I haven't felt in a very long time! LOL

I need coping help for going to restaurants! I can't seem to bring myself to go to them and order a dinner salad, I want the baby back ribs! Or the hamburger. Generally we only go out once a week, so it doesn't really tank me, but my sister-in-law's birthday was this weekend, so it was a 2nd night out, and then her and my brother's wires got crossed, and she didn't actually show up until after we were done eating, and of course, I ordered dessert rather than just sit there and watch her eat.

alf1163

Good morning!!! :drinker: I hope all the Moms had a wonderful Mother's Day yesterday. Mom was good, relaxing. I did not do much since my husband is now under the weather. :noway: I am also still coughing some(I sound like a smoker) and with a runny nose...I really hope this goes away soon, it is making me mad already...it's been 8 days now. I heard my son coughing this morning. I really did not want him to catch it but sometimes you can't prevent it. :grumble:

My Zumbathon was great!!! We only had 35 people there. I was expecting more but what can I do... I think everyone had a great time. I definitely want to do it again. I walked/jogged on the treadmill this morning and I am teaching tonight. I am on my second week of Lean for Life phase of ChaLean Extreme. I've had to repeat some of the weeks due to my trips. Stiring, her program is also based on undulating periodization but instead of a week the rotation is every 4 wks. Maybe I should try it every week once I am done with the lean phase. I am really thinking about just doing a strength trng program on my own using exercises from my Oxygen magazine and concentrating more on my legs, especially my butt. I want to lift it some more. :laugh: I see that some of these program such as P90X and ChaLean focus too much on upper body. ChaLean at least combines a lot of lower body moves with upper body moves. When I used to go to the gym I would train my legs a lot, I miss that. Any suggestions???

Duffy, I too have cut down on my calories lately. I am eating mostly about 1600 calories, following the flat belly diet most of the time. It has been working for me so far. Ever since I stopped running and then the Holidays and eating more I started gaining weight especially belly fat so this now seems to be working. If I start running regularly again I might increase the calories. I might just try it and see if I still have the energy to support my workouts. Your shopping trip with your mom and daughter sound like so much fun. I miss my mom. I can't wait to see her in a week and half!!! Shhh, it is a surprise...hee hee

Tron, that was a nice gift for your mom, cleaning her yard and also a great workout. My husband also cooked me breakfast but he cooks breakfast every Sunday. :laugh: He likes to make fluffy pancakes, eggs, etc.

Swiss, I've missed you. I am glad to hear you are back on track. Stay positive!!!!

Have a wonderful day!!!! :flowerforyou:

singfree

Good morning!

I'm back from the ENT specialist. He did a quick preliminary exam and found nothing abnormal. He set me up with some more comprehensive testing on Wednesday morning, as well as some Physical Therapy. If this yields nothing I might have to see a neurologist. I've seen every specialist on the planet except for a proctologist and OB-GYN!!!!!

Have a great day!

duffyzmom

Sing: Sorry to hear that you haven't had any definitive answers yet. Although if your doctor sends you to the OB/GYN, my suggestions is get a new doctor.

StiringWendel

duffy :laugh: ....but I've got to agree with you. No OB/GYN appointments for singfree! I'm happy to hear your foot is feeling okay. I hope that continues. Aren't dressing room lights scary? Whoever thought bright lights in a dressing room was a good option was just plain silly.

zebras, restaurants are tricky. I avoided them like a plague during the bulk of my weight loss period last year. I still avoid them when possible (we only eat out when we need to). But going to Hawaii, where we ate out every night, convinced me that I have certainly mastered the art of coping in restaurants. It is second-nature to me now to look for the healthiest options and avoid certain foods (like bacon, cheese, etc) and sauces. But if you want a hamburger....order a hamburger. But maybe only eat half of it. If you want fries, only eat a few. I think one of the keys to success in restaurants is portion control. As far as the dessert order goes....I'm of no help there. But I will say that I am much more comfortable being the only person not eating around eating people than I once was. I've attended quite a few functions now where I opt not to eat and after the intial 'Aren't you eating?' question, nobody seems to care. So don't feel pressured into eating just because people around you are eating. Easier said than done....I know.

singfree, I hope your symptoms are getting better. Thanks for the updates. I continue to think about you!

alf, CLX and STS are very similar in that they are based on linear periodization (meaning you change the style of lifting every four weeks). With a proper undulating rotation, you are supposed to change the style of lifting (number of reps/amount of weights) each time you lift. Because STS is based on split sets and not total body, it isn't possible to use it for a true undulating rotation. But alternating the weeks seems to be challenging enough based on what I've read. I have no doubt you could do something similar with CLX. Undulating periodization is supposed to be more advanced and challenging that regular periodization. Even Cathe Friedrich, when she posted a rotation using STS for an undulating rotation, recommended that it not be attempted by beginners. To say I'm interested in how this is going to feel/what my results are going to be is putting it mildly. If you'd like more info on undulating periodization, let me know and I can post some links on the physiology behind it.

Regarding lower body workouts, I totally agree that many programs don't focus enough on the lower body (P90X definitely didn't meet my requirements for lower body workouts). I have added an additional leg workout to all of my programs (including STS and P90X), and that has seemed to work really well for me. I can recommend some specific DVDs that AREN'T part of a program if you would like. They would all be Cathe Friedrich's DVDs, but she does some killer lower body workouts that I think are worth looking into if you are just looking for something to add to a program. The one I'd recommend the most is Butts and Guts (especially since you said you are looking at working your glutes). This is a long workout (about 75 minutes), but it covers everything. The thing I love most about this workout, though, is the DVD has a bunch of premixes (some shorter, some more leg based, etc) and some bonus moves (like an additional abs section etc) that make this one of the most versatile workouts I own. I always carry it with me when we move because it is one of the few lower body workouts I own that I feel is effective without much equipment (even though it is done with equipment like a stability ball, weights, a resistance band, etc). I can't recommend this workout highly enough.

I had a great cardio workout this morning, followed by some pilates/yoga. I'm really going to try to fit a yoga or pilates-based workout in a couple of times a week to see if I can't loosen my body up a bit. I'm doing well on my maintenance plan right now and feel more energized and motivated than I have since we moved last fall. Let's hope this continues.

Hope you all have a great day!

singfree

Good morning!

Day 16 of feeling lousy!! I am at my wit's end about this whole ordeal. I'm going to call my doctor today, since my BP seems to be high. I think there is something linking my BP to my overall feelings in my head. I am starting to eat cleaner, since I cannot exercise until I get some answers.

Thanks, everyone for your kind words of encouragement. I really means a lot to me at this time!

Have a great day!

zebras

Happy Tuesday Everyone:

Sing: I'm sorry you are still no t feeling well! Though the visual image of you going to the OG/Gyn has provided some chuckles!

Stiring: I'm glad you phrased the restaurant thing like you did. I have spent my entire life in situations where everyone else drank alcohol I didn't, and it took some getting used to, but I did. So, I have to think about the situation differently. However, the big difference is that I LOVE food, and I don't like alchohol.

alf1163

Sing, I am sorry to hear that you still don't have an answer about your condition. I am praying that you do soon and start feeling better. It really puzzles me...hang in there buddy!!! :flowerforyou:

Stiring, thanks again for all the suggestions. How can I find that DVD you are recommending? I was thinking about creating my own lower body workout but it is more fun for me to have the guidance of a DVD. It motivates me more...I realized I did not answer your question about the oatmeal. I use fruit such as blueberries or strawberries, fresh or frozen, I also put some protein powder in it (chocolate or cookies and cream) to add some protein and that makes it sweet. I also sprinkle some cinnamon on it.

At work, better get off...:laugh: :flowerforyou:

Texssippian

Hi all! Back from Scottsdale and San Francisco. My son and I walked all over SF on Saturday. Up and down Russian Hill and Nob Hill and all along the Embarcadero. Makes me really want to work on getting into the best shpae possible for our trip to England in August.

We went to see a production of Peter Pan in a tent outside of the Ferry Bldg in San Francisco. If any of you make it that way, you need to go see this production. It was wonderful!

Sing: I hope they find out what is going on and you get to feeling better!

Husband and I are going to try to get some kind of workout in most days of the week. We will see how it goes. Since we have been going to the trainer, his weight has gone up (and not from increased muscle mass...) It is time to reverse that trend.

Have a great Tuesday everyone. TxMs

singfree

Back again!

I was at the Doctor this morning and my BP was not that high after all. My BP monitor at home must not be very accurate. She is changing my meds to a different type(still low dose). We have about 2 weeks to tweak the meds before Germany. She also thinks that I am stressed out over this (who woulda thunk???). She wants me to start taking long, slow walks to clear my head, relax and ease back into exercise. She also gave me the name of a good exercise physiologist to evaluate my workouts.

Have a great day!!

mkwood10

Hello everyone!!!!

Finally made it to Curves last night for a workout - boy could I tell I hadn't worked out in almost 2 weeks!! :frown: Felt really good to work out again, although my shoulders and neck are hurting today. Part of that may be that I need to see the chiropractor again. Riding in airplanes is always hard on my neck; the seats force my head forward at a bad angle and there's no way to adjust the height on the headrest!:grumble: :grumble: Ahhhhh, just got an appointment for 12:15 tomorrow - yeah!

Was pleasantly surprised at the scale at Curves; less than 2 pounds gained during my "adventure" in Virginia when my husband came home! Not bad for screwy schedules, restaurant food and no Curves to work out at like I usually do. I did some cardio work on the stationary bike and the treadmill, but nothing in the "exercise room" at the hotel to do any upper body workout or resistance; just cardio. I actually RAN for 1/2 mile on the treadmill............haven't done that in YEARS!!!! My knees didn't kill me; which was a nice change!

I'm trying to talk my husband into buying an ellipitical for the house; good workout with no impact on the joints. His knees are horrible - comes from doing PT in combat boots during the early days of his Army career!:laugh: Don't know if I'll be successful or not, but I know I'd like one so I could do cardio at home on the days I don't go to Curves.

Anybody have any suggestions for an ellipitical??????? I have no issue spending money if it's on a good piece of equipment.


Gotta run - need to finish up some stuff before it's time to leave work!:laugh: :laugh: