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Beka3695 wrote: »

FUNNY STORY

Yesterday, I was chatting with a friend about running... The friend is a runner and is preparing for their first marathon. I told them how much I missed running and keep hoping that my nerve damage will miraculously go away so that one day I can run again.

Last night I ran in my sleep. I woke up and told my husband that I ran the Peachtree in my sleep and when the alarm went off I had one mile left - so needed the snooze to finish. He informed me that it was not the Peachtree because I kept saying 29.3 miles in my sleep. Not exactly sure what 29.3 means... Marathon +5k????

I am completely exhausted today, but enjoying the irony of the running dream.

Your nostalgia can be felt through this dream. I see such dreams for swimming.

Beka3695 wrote: »

Good morning guys!!!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Wednesday! It was 17F when I left home this morning...no snow
Mother nature is playing a mean trick on the deep south today!

Today, I brought my crock pot to the office and I have chicken chili started for dinner tonight. I like to do this because I can give it an occasional stir and also like to torture my co-workers just a bit.
The office already smells delicious!

Anyone have something wonderful to share with the group? A struggle you would like to discuss? NSV you would like to share?

TBH I am struggling and feeling conflicted between weight loss and muscle retention/building. I love lifting as it make me feel strong and invincible but it always stalls the scale in my case. I bought a smart scale (for comparative study as I know it's not accurate method for fat measurement) and according to it my fat percentage is almost same in this month so far but muscle mass has gone up 2 lbs.

However I am feeling frustrated as I can't see any specific changes in my body shape. I lost half inches in all stomach, waist and derriere in last 15 days and my friend told me she lost 5 lbs in the same period. So I am tempted to dash to cardio and low calories diet but lifting can't allow that low calories. I am trying to incorporate running slowly as I don't want to hurt myself. Sorry for the rant.

mustb60 wrote: »

Beka3695 wrote: »

Good morning guys!!!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Wednesday! It was 17F when I left home this morning...no snow
Mother nature is playing a mean trick on the deep south today!

Today, I brought my crock pot to the office and I have chicken chili started for dinner tonight. I like to do this because I can give it an occasional stir and also like to torture my co-workers just a bit.
The office already smells delicious!

Anyone have something wonderful to share with the group? A struggle you would like to discuss? NSV you would like to share?

TBH I am struggling and feeling conflicted between weight loss and muscle retention/building. I love lifting as it make me feel strong and invincible but it always stalls the scale in my case. I bought a smart scale (for comparative study as I know it's not accurate method for fat measurement) and according to it my fat percentage is almost same in this month so far but muscle mass has gone up 2 lbs.

However I am feeling frustrated as I can't see any specific changes in my body shape. I lost half inches in all stomach, waist and derriere in last 15 days and my friend told me she lost 5 lbs in the same period. So I am tempted to dash to cardio and low calories diet but lifting can't allow that low calories. I am trying to incorporate running slowly as I don't want to hurt myself. Sorry for the rant.

I totally understand the conflict. Over the many ups and downs of weight loss and regain over the past decades, I definitely saw that if my goal is weightloss, to focus on diet, and that exercise (while healthy and good for us) can sometimes make it harder to lose the weight. And even when you know that “weight” isn’t everything (and that is amazing you’ve gained 2lb muscle!) it doesn’t mean you feel it.

Only you can work out what is right for you. If you enjoy the weightlifting and it makes you feel good, that sounds like it is a good fit for you to do sustainably even if it will take longer to “lose weight”. Because we need not only to lose weight but to also be able to keep it off for the rest of our lives, so if you have found something you enjoy you will find it easier to stick with.

FYI I have a body composition scale and last time I lost a bunch of weight and got super fit and strong it was telling me I had something like 21% fat but when I got a dexa scan (most accurate) I only had 18% fat. If I’d lost anymore weight or fat it would have been unhealthy. The home scales can misread some of your muscle as fat. So while it’s fine to use as a rough guideline, know that it is not necessarily going to show your real fat loss.

While it is not great to compare yourself to others (as we have different variables), if you are going to compare at least make it apples for apples. Ask your friend how many inches she lost (what does 5lb translate to in inches?) and there’s a good chance you lost as many or more inches than she did even if she lost “weight”. Half an inch in two weeks sounds awesome to me!

For me, this time round I spent the majority of my energy getting my eating habits as close to perfect as I could without worrying so much about exercise. This helped me lose weight fast. Then I started setting exercise goals, starting with walking, adding in jogging and yoga. I did try some weights but to be honest I don’t enjoy them and found it hard to stick with. In particular, I was trying to find things I could create as a regular “habit” so it would stick long term, not just while trying to lose weight. Yoga uses body weight, so I am still getting some strength training in my week, it’s just not as intense as dedicated weightlifting. This approach seems to be working for me.

At the end of the day, what will work best is what you can stick with. Your friend has an approach that is working for her, and to be honest your approach sounds like it is working pretty well for you (half inch loss in 2 weeks!), so perhaps keep doing what you’re doing but consider how you can improve on it a little?

I’d recommend taking a look at intermittent fasting. It’s not for everyone, but I’m a convert. An extra benefit is that it increases human growth hormone, which helps you build muscles, which sounds like it would fit with your strength training approach.

I’m also for low-carb wholefoods. I don’t believe all calories are created equal, so perhaps moving away from processed foods to wholefoods or away from starchy carbs and sugars to lower carb options might result in improvements without you having to cut calories.

Or some other tweak that fits with your lifestyle and health beliefs!

Good luck 😀