tcovert's Winter 2009 Mentor Group - FULL (Page 16)

LOL yeah my wife keeps telling me to do that... hehehe. Thanks for the confirmation though. And I thought I was so empathetic!

Congrats Susie on your weight loss. That's awesome.

And, Paul -- nice vacation plans. When is it?

Scott -- Just was watching the news about the weather and temps and OMG! -- hop a plane out here!  You can get your bike.

Should be in Kona 26th Dec to 2nd Jan

Excellent news on the weight loss and the swimming, Suzie.  Very cool. 

wasn't that a couple of weeks ago?  Or is Scotland a year behind the US

I found your post re the vaca hysterical; but then I'm at work and most things non-work related strike me that way LOL - have a great day!

Mmmmm let me think a mo... (Gretna or Vagas and Kona, Gretna or Vagas and Kona.............................................) Oh heck I can't decide folks. Should I just go to Gretna instead? LOL. I'm guessing for you USA folk Gretna for me is like going to Vagas. Never thought Gretna as being glamourous for other folk. LOL. Actually maybe not quite Vagas but you know what I mean I hope. I lost the thread a while ago.

NO...... silly. 26th Dec 2009 to 2nd Jan 2010

(edit : oops forgot to do in sarcasm font.. doh)

Scott, snow shoveling definitely counts as strength training.  I incorporate it into my weekly plan at least 1x/wk if not more. 

I used to hate it until I realized that it was conditioning without a plan...

rock on

oshunluvah - 2009-01-14 4:50 PM hence the wink, my friend

Damn and I thought you were getting fresh. That wink is too sexy. Oh well back to online dating.

Aloha all

One of my goals this week is to put to paper a nutrition plan to use as a daily template so here it is. I'd be interested in any comments or fed back you folk may have. Keep in mind I am using this as a skeleton to plan my days the foodstuffs will change a bit each day but within this structure. Damn I can be eating 9 times a day! where will I get the time? LOL. Good job I like yogurt and cottage cheese.

Sample Daily Nutrition Plan
Breakfast #1 (pre training)
*If training lasts less than an hour, keep snack less than 100 calories
1 slice low calorie toast or 1 rice cake w/ ½ banana
Glass of Green Juice
Breakfast #2 (after training)
*If continuous training session lasts more than an hour
Glass of skim/soy milk or 1 scoop protein powder and water
-then eat breakfast #3
Breakfast #2 (after training)
*If  training session lasts less than an hour
Glass of water
-then eat breakfast #3
Breakfast #3 (after training or no morning training)
Tabs - multi vit, B12 & Veggie fish oil

1/2 cup oatmeal (or one packet of your prepackaged oatmeal)
1/2 cup soya milk
Fruit
8 oz water
Or
½ cup oatmeal
40 calorie Lit n’ Fit yogurt
½ cup berries
8 oz. water

Snack
1 cup plain low-fat/low sugar yogurt (less than 80 calories) or
Piece of fruit, berries or small ripe banana and 3 walnuts and 3 almonds
Glass of water
Lunch
2 slices whole wheat bread (each piece around 80 calories or less) or open face sub (150 calories for bread)
1 veggie burger
1 slice low-fat cheese slice (60 calories or less)
Unlimited toppings (lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, peppers, etc.)
Fruit
8 oz water

Snack (#1)
½ cup Fat-free cottage cheese w/ small handful nuts
or
Apple
Water

Snack (#2)
*If training in the evening and lasts around an hour, keep snack around 150 calories
½ cup Fat-free cottage cheese w/ ½ pear (sliced)
or
1 slice low calorie toast (60-80 calories) w/ sugar-free jelly or
1 rice cake w/ ½ banana and small pinch of sliced almonds (or 3 whole almonds)
Water

Snack (#3) after training
*If training session lasts more than an hour
Glass of skim/soy milk or 1 scoop protein powder and water
or
80 calorie (or less) yogurt
-then eat dinner

Dinner
1 cup whole wheat pasta and small baguette or piece of toast
½ cup marinara sauce (heated)
1 cup steamed/raw broccoli, carrots, peas or corn – can be tossed with pasta
8 oz water
or
Flat bread/pita bread with tomato sauce and lots of veggies (make your own pizza)
Or
Whole wheat pita with veggie meat. Make your own healthy tacos w/ lots of veggies!

Evening Snack
Tea/decaf flavored coffee
60 calorie yogurt
½ cup sorbet or low fat ice cream (use small bowl or small coffee cup)
1 cup frozen grapes (freeze fruits ahead of time for a refreshing treat)
100 calorie snack packs/bars
1 flavored rice cake (apple cinnamon, chocolate, peanut butter, caramel, white cheddar, etc.)

I know that Weight Watchers heavily encourages a gradual loss. The reasoning behind this is that for most of the people who go there, to lose more than 2 pounds a week means you are not getting the calories you need o a daily basis. My mother used weight watchers most of the time and from what she said, most people aren't the heavy exercise type and are lucky is they walk a few times a week. If you are losing more than 2 pounds a week without a good exercise routine, you are basically starving yourself and you can't sustain weight loss like that. As someone who is on a training plan, it is entirely possible for you to lose more than 2 pounds in a week and still be healthy. I'm not sure what their reaction would be to that though.

 On a personal note, I have finally picked a goal for this season. I am going to be running a half marathon on May 2. I am following the Galloway half marathon plan. So far I really like the structrured run walk intervals. I also have been dropping some serious weight. I am down 8.5 pounds since new years. I am taking in at least 1800 calories a day so i am assuming a lot of that is water weight, but I am almost back to the point I was at in September when I fell off the wagon. I am now down about 25 pounds from last summer and I have about another 25 to go.

I did the WW thing for a while and I know that one of the reasons that they encourage slow weight loss is that fast weight loss can lead to problems like gallstones! You don't want that. I just thought the arbitrary number of "2" pounds. There were people there that were 150 pounds and I (at the time) was about 290. 2 pounds represented a lower percentage of body weight for me than for them. Oh well! I was never too good at losing the 2 a week anyway. I averaged more like 1 pound.

As far as points, I had found that training nutrition killed a lot of points. Those gels and drinks add up QUICKLY when you use them to train. Luckily training added extra points.

Good luck with the weight loss!

I, too lost weight with WW. The up to 2 lbs. per week is for health reasons. When someone weighs more to start it's okay to lose a bit more. According to WW it's okay to lose up to 1% of your body weight per week for most people that turns out to be between 1/2 to 2 lbs. The first few weeks we see people lose more and the young, males with the most to lose seem to lose the quickest. I work for WW part time, but by no means think it is the only way to lose weight. It's just something that's worked for me. And I can share what I've learned.

As far as points, Susie, the points are based on your weight, height, age, etc as you know from taking the points quiz. The points are also a certain amount of calories, a range of about 200 or so for each points target number. It's just easier to count smaller numbers, ie: points rather than calories and as you know the points take into consideration the fiber and fat as well as calories. As far as being able to eat them all -- by the time you get in all your good health guidelines and count the points for them, you'll probably be able to get your points in. The protein you eat is about 3 points per 3 oz., but be sure to check the points values. Starchy veggies, potatoes, yams, corn, and some squashes do have a few points. The oils recommended will have points as will the milk products.  I've noticed when I and the members I interact with begin to track EVERYTHING they eat and drink it's really not an issue of getting in the points. I think the biggest mistake I see people making is trying to change everything all at once. I see people deprive themselves and try to be "perfect" and then when they can't maintain that perfection they fall off. It's a lifestyle change and those kind of changes happen slowly over time, just like how the weight came on. I just had a member get her lifetime this week who lost 90 pounds. It took her 5 years, but she stuck with it and she will most likely keep it off for life because she incorporated the habits needed to sustain weight loss.

Like my mom used to say though -- Everything in moderation. 

On another note, I really bonked on that run I did Sunday. I ran 12 miles at a faster pace than I am used to. I think I got a bit dehydrated. I didn't feel like drinking but when liquid was put in front of me, I slurped it all down. I also was just light-headed and couldn't seem to bring a full mental focus. Is that bonking? Maybe I needed to hydrate better and eat more carbs the couple of days before a harder workout? When I went to swim last night, I felt like my heart would jump out of my chest and when I had to use my legs and kick I really thought I might have to stop swimming. I've never felt that way. Could that have been from the heavy run on Sunday?? That's all I could figure. I went and had blood drawn today to see if I'm still anemic. I have to take prescription iron because I've had extremely low ferretin levels. Any advice/opinions would be welcome.  Thanks.

Thanks, Todd. I do think that's what happened. Hopefully a lesson learned!

Interesting story here on how to avoid compulsive eating;

 http://www.bicycling.com/article/0,6610,s1-4-21-18378-1,00.html

Thanks for the information on bonking.  I've ridden 24,000 miles on a bike since 2005, up to 135 miles at a time and never bonked.  I eat something every half hour on long rides and drink BEFORE I'm thirsty.   Running, well I never feel great whenever I run yet.  Still trying to get it together there I guess. Not running far enough yet to worry too much about nutrition during the run.  On long runs though I know enough from biking not to skip grabbing something at rest stops.  

One suggestion I use from Terri Schneider's book the Triathlon Revolution, which I highly recommend, is constant positive reinforcement.  Say after me, "I am a strong runner." Also, she suggests repeating words like "patience" to help hold my pace in the endurance zones and not slip up into the anaerobic trying to get a personal best. 

You aren't whining.  You're learning by asking questions like the rest of us.  Keep it up! 

My experience with WW has been all positive.  Yes, it seems like you can never get all the food into your mouth.  But, it's important to try to stay as close to the points you are allotted as you can.  The program's goal is to give you enough fuel to keep your body meeting the demands you are putting out it and keep the calorie-burning machine in good order while cutting intake enough to bring about a gradual, healthy weight loss that reflects more than a diet, more a change in lifestyle.   

Our bodies can slide into a starvation mode where the doggone thing is convinced you are trying to kill it so it holds onto and stores every calorie it can.    From what I've read, it dates back to the cave when we would be sedentary and food was scarce in winter.  If we didn't get enough to eat, the metabolism slowed so it burned less.  We can bring that on by accident by trying to cut calories too far. I know I was exercising like crazy in 2007 but the rate of weight loss declined because 1. I wasn't eating enough to support the activity, and 2) my body adjusted and became used to the amount of exercise I was doing.  So, I had to eat more (I went back on WW to get my portions right and support my wife's entry into WW) and I started to cross train to shake my body out of it's rut.  It worked.  I dropped from a 40 inch waist to a 36 fast.  Rate is slower now because I have less to lose but it is still dropping.

Everybody is a bit different.  What I've found is that if you ask the right people enough, you'll get the direction you need to adapt things to your situation.  Stay positive.  All is well.