Need to Lose 100 LBS -Robins Thread !

Hello my darlings

Sunday share for the new folks: I'm Vicki, 50-something mom of 2 adults (one who's living at home with new husband), with my husband & disabled friend/roommate - that makes 5 adults (4 cats & a dog) with essentially one income ...:noway: :noway: :noway:

stress definitely happens around here.

Right now I'm a bit stuck numbers-wise, and I've been a bit lax on posting.... but you are all my inspiration (and I read as often as I can, even if I don't share as much as I'd like).

We had a blast last night. Garth Brooks was AMAZING!! He surprised us and Tricia Underwood who happens to be his wife and a great country singer herself (for those non-country folks out there) joined him on stage. The concert was at the Wynn Las Vegas in their Encore Theater. I had no idea how small it was and he was right there. The crowd sang to every single song and we just jammed away. Concert was at 10:30 so once it was done we headed over to the Hard Rock and played some slots. About 2 a.m. we decided we were hungry and I knew right where to go - Capriotti's!! LOL!! Our one shop across from Hard Rock is open 24 hours so my friend I and split a sandwich - Cran Slam Club - soooo good!!! I got home about 3 a.m. Needless to say, today was just hanging around the house. I did a bunch of cooking to get ready for the week (Meatloaf, Beef Veggie Scramble, Spaghetti Squash w/Kale and Garlic Pesto, and Egg Sausage Muffins for breakfast).

I'm really trying to focus on the week ahead. It's going to be my first full week of work after so many short weeks with the holidays. Plus, I volunteer 3 mornings at the middle school so it's back in the swing of things. Tomorrow morning I plan on hitting the gym plus meeting with the trainer tomorrow night. Lets make good food choices and move a little more. We can do this!!!

@susan--glad you had fun last night--I'm not a country music fan, but I'm sure it was a great concert.

@charlotte--all of those trips are a great motivation! I am also trying to keep my summer trip in mind as a goal--let's help each other with reminders! :flowerforyou:

@vicki--sorry you have so much stress right now--that's tough to handle. :flowerforyou:

@laurie--I'm so sorry you are having difficulties with your dad being back home. I hope your mom comes around and agrees to the outside help.

@anna--I also had an hour long shoveling session and that was just the driveway! Didn't even get to the sidewalk today. It's great exercise, but I'm missing a nice easy run--going to brave the cold tomorrow to go run at the gym.

@kaye--I'm in the same boat as far as not being sure 20 lbs will cut it. I'm just going to focus on getting there and see how I feel/look.

@nicole--thanks for the quinoa recipe! It's one of my favorite staples--I almost never use pasta or rice anymore. Good luck cutting out the dairy--I don't drink milk or even keep it in the house, but I would have a tough time cutting out cheese and yogurt. Are you cutting all dairy or just cow's milk? Curious if you can still eat goat cheese--cutting that would just about kill me.

@carol--I feel the same way about the shoveling--it is still a tough chore, but I'm not nearly as sore as I used to get before I started lifting weights. Enjoy your day off tomorrow!

@robin--I'm glad you liked the Cracked article--my whole being was rebelling against it as I started reading it. I'm an idealist at heart (even if I sometimes come off as cynical), so I wanted to scream "no, it's what's inside that counts!" at my computer screen. However, as I continued reading, I had to agree with the general gist of the article--people care more about what you DO than who you ARE. Who you ARE inside needs to drive what you actually DO for the world, but ultimately, what you DO is what others see. I wish I could share it (and so many other Cracked articles) with my students, but too many profanities. I can get away with just about anything in the literature, but it's hard to justify it in articles, music, etc.

@skinnyangel--I'm also trying to cut out most processed carbs. In general, I've replaced pasta and rice with quinoa, and if I want a sandwich I use flaxseed tortillas or sandwich thins instead of bread. One of my staples for lunch is quinoa with chickpeas, asparagus, and crumbled goat cheese. It's my absolute favorite way to eat quinoa, though I also make a mean quinoa "mac" and cheese.

@lauren--sounds like we have similar weather forecasts for tomorrow--are you also in the Midwest? Enjoy kickboxing tomorrow!

AFM--I only got 2 more essays done b/c I had to spend some time re-planning these next 2 weeks to accommodate for the lost day tomorrow. We will make up the day at the end of the year, but we don't move semester exams, so I have to adjust to fit 10 days of work into 9 days.

Tomorrow, I will grade those last 11 essays for sure. I would also like to go to the gym and just do some cardio--a nice long run would be great! Finally, I really, really need to clean my fish tank. It's a yucky job, but somebody's got to do it. :ohwell:

Grading goals:
1. 1/72 AP essays
2. 15/26 Scarlet Letter essays
3. x/52 Scarlet Letter annotations

Exercise goals:
Mon--gym (cardio)
Tues--gym (lift and HIIT)
Wed--walk gunner
Thurs--walk gunner + gym (lift and HIIT)
Fri--walk gunner
Sat--walk gunner + gym (cardio)
Sun--walk gunner + gym (lift and HIIT)

Exercise & Weight:
Bench press = 85
Dead lift = 90
Squat = 90
Overhead press = 55
Upright row = 60

Overhead tricep extension = 25 (dumbbell)
Bicep curl = 15 (dumbbell)
Lat pull down = 100
Tricep pull down = 90

Monday Check in:
Back to work today for me. The temps are warm but it is pouring. All the rain is washing away the snow from the blizzard. Tonight temps are suppose to drop drastically and they are predicting black ice. I hope my commute home tonight isn't too bad. I am going to try to leave work on time today so I am not stuck in rush hour traffic especially if it may be icy. I have a 40 minute commute tonight.

I like many of you I have been fluctuating since Christmas. My fluctuation has been between a few ounces to a few pounds. This morning when I stepped on the scale I noticed that I was back down to my lowest weight. My sodium has been ridiculous high since Christmas so I am going to guess that played a part in the fluctuation. I am hoping next week the scale will reflect a loss. Even if it doesn't I will just keep at it. My January 1st measurements are proof enough for me that I am doing something right! :happy:

Claudia - Congrats on exceeding your goal by 34 lbs. That is F A N T A S T I C!!! I love the advice you gave. I strongly encourage everyone to read it over several times and let it sink in.

Sadly, I have already noticed some of the newer MFP users drop off before completing their first week. When I first rejoined here I went crazy adding new friends and building my support team. Several of those people abruptly stopped. I feel sad that they didn't have the will to stick with it and gave up on themselves. Maybe the timing wasn't right? Maybe this wasn't the method for them? Maybe they will be back, maybe they won't. Who knows. I am glad I came back and decided not to give up on myself. I hope these people eventually do the same.

Edit: I accidentally hit post before I was done writing.

Monday check in- Well, Saturday I tried doing calf raises. Holy moly. My calves have never hurt quite so bad. This is day 2 and I feel like I look like an infant learning to walk. Yesterday was a cheating day...had chicken with broccoli and this DELICIOUSLY dangerous chocolate cherry cheesecake dessert. So tasty. The weather is TERRIBLE here. We are supposed to dip into the negative digits today. When did Alaska start being warmer than here? lol

So...I'm wanting to tone my legs more. So do I do more reps with average weights, or less reps with max weight? I've been told to do both, so I'm a bit confused now.

@alupinsk--what do you mean by "tone" your legs? My perception of that term might be different from what you actually mean b/c it's not a "real" fitness term. I think this post, from one of my MFP friends who is ACE certified, clarifies what I mean:

"No such thing as 'toning'. It's a term used to 'soften' the definition of lifting weights. The terminology was used to get women to lift weights because the fitness industry KNEW that women will spend more money on self improvement than men would. So coming up with the word opened up several different programs that made the fitness industry tons of more money. But lots of females are getting smarter now about it and are realizing that "toning" has many subjective definitions. There are no exercises that one can do to legitimately or significantly that targets fat loss on any part of the body."

That being said, do you mean you want to strengthen or build muscle? Do you simply mean you would like the muscles in your legs to show more? It's very difficult to build muscle in a calorie deficit (though not impossible), but I suspect you really just want your muscles to look more defined and perhaps build strength in the existing muscles you have. Reducing body fat % is the main way you will be able to see the definition in your muscles.

As far as whether to lift heavy or increase reps, I read through a lot of information on this site as well as other internet sources over the summer before I started lifting heavy. Everything I've read suggests lifting heavy is the better course. More reps of lighter weights becomes more of a cardio exercise which isn't bad, but won't have the same results as lifting heavy. My personal results have been that my arms have a lot more definition. My legs are definitely stronger, but I don't think they look any different yet--probably b/c I still have a lot of excess body fat on my thighs and butt. If you're interested in lifting heavy, I recommend a program like StrongLift 5x5 or PowerLift--you can google either to get info. :flowerforyou:

Hi everyone. I hope you are all keeping safe and warm. I am fortunate that I live on the west coast and while we are very cold for here I am from Illinois so this is a picnic in comparison I was pretty happy overall with last week. My food was more good then bad though still not where I want it to be but I exercised every day except Sunday. That was a vast improvement. I am still hoping to get an outside walk in today but if not I will get together with Leslie Sansone this afternoon I am trying to wait for it to warm up a little so it will be nicer for the puppies paws. I have been putzing around the house this morning and then it is off to the vets this afternoon for shots. Fun times listening to Zeus howl all the way there since he really doesnt like the car. Well I am pretty brain dead at the moment so I am going to sign off. Have a great day everyone and keep safe. :flowerforyou: :drinker:

Alrighty I got the walk in with the doggies. I am going to start posting what I get done on a daily basis so here goes:

Per my hrm the walk was 52 min, we went 2.51 miles. 6679 steps and burned 1311 calories. So when I log my exercise I am logging 800 and will plan to eat about half of that back just to be on the safe side.

Well thanks for listening. I got to go shower now since I am all sweaty so we can go to the vets. Yay :laugh:

@Nicole~Thanks! His parents are getting older, so I can understand him wanting to be closer by if they need him. I’m selfish in that I really don’t want to lose him as a trainer, he has changed my life, but I also want the best for him. I did an elimination diet and know how hard it can be to give up the things you love. One thing I learned in eliminating dairy is I can tolerate aged cheeses such as parmesan and asiago – I'm stupid and eat other cheeses, but in moderation. I seem to do okay. I also found that I tolerate Greek yogurt better than regular yogurt. But you need to eliminate these things and then introduce them back one at a time to see how you respond. Dairy is inflammatory, so it’s one of the most common food sensitivities. Also, try almond milk instead of regular milk – I love Silk unsweetened vanilla and the chocolate of course.

Alrighty I got the walk in with the doggies. I am going to start posting what I get done on a daily basis so here goes:

Per my hrm the walk was 52 min, we went 2.51 miles. 6679 steps and burned 1311 calories. So when I log my exercise I am logging 800 and will plan to eat about half of that back just to be on the safe side.

Well thanks for listening. I got to go shower now since I am all sweaty so we can go to the vets. Yay :laugh:

Hooray, great job!