It's Wednesday weigh ins!

[DangerMouse]

Alan, I notice that you mention getting a table tennis table - have you been playing much? We are drawing up plans to build our house and I am determined to have an outdoor area where we can have a table tennis table because they give you such a good workout and are so much fun, even if I can't play the game to save my life.

[Alan]

DM,,
Yes, we play quite regularly. Our son comes over plus another friend as well. It is good fun and another way to get exercise. Be sure you get an outdoor table so that it won't warp in the humidity.

Once assembled ours is extremely easy to fold up and wheel to one side. (net stays in place when folded so literally 2 mins to set up when we want to play)

[ESRBob]

We've got one, too, but have found like so many things its use goes in waves... we'll play a ton for a few months, then it will sit for much of the year. Not a huge expense, though, in any case. Ours is indoor, and like Alan we have the type that folds up and wheels off to one side. Keep contemplating a pool table but fear it woud get the same usage pattern and would not be moveable, so we'd be stuck looking at an expensive reminder of a former interest.

Hoping for some good news on the scales (if I can find one I trust while travelling for the next two weeks). Have found that I'm eating less on the road because no one to eat with means I skip meals or grab something quick.

[kat]

Originally Posted by simple girl

Holding steady at 135, which is fine with me for now. I'm just glad I didn't gain any more this week!

Same here, 135. I gain weight when I exercise (long hikes in the Adirondacks), so I don't pay attention to weight. I've been 125 and weakly and 125 and fit. Depends on how I eat, which is what I'm trying to work on.

[Sarah in SC]

Originally Posted by Oldbabe

Hi Sarah,
Would you please tell me what your strategy has been for losing weight? I am having a terrible time focusing and sticking to a diet plan.
--Oldbabe, who really needs to lose 30 lbs.

Hi All,
I'm still holding it together at 145 right now, which is surprising since I have no time for anything but studying. I take the long-awaited and much-dreaded certified financial planner exam on the 20th-21st of this month, and am putting in some unbelievable hours reviewing, including a review course at the end of June out in Denver.

DH is now in charge of housekeeping, cooking, grocery shopping, etc. It is a wonder we are eating at all....the stress is unbelievable, but all self imposed--it isn't like my job requires this, even though the boss is toting the note for all of it. It is just my mighty pride--63% of those taking the CFP exam actually pass it. Great odds!

If I survive the next week and the exam, I will be returning to my much-missed daily workout at the gym. To answer Oldbabe, I write down my calories every day (and my weight) in a small spiral-bound notebook (keeping to about 1200 calories a day) and do either cardio or strength-training every day for 1/2 hour to an hour--we averaged about 1.5 lbs per week lost and pretty much have done a complete lifestyle change. Our diet would probably be pretty close to a Mediterranean style diet--lots of vegetables, good fats, small amounts of quality protein, and lots of fruits. Kept starches to a minimum. Splurged on beer when possible

Good luck to all who are actively losing or trying to maintain! I'll check back when my world isn't all about the non-constant dividend growth model and the estate tax calculation and the 100 other topics on the exam!

Sarah

[Alan]

173 today. Maintaing, but I really want to lose a few more. Today we got a few slides from the 70's converted to jpegs to put on the computer and although I'm only a few pounds heavier now than back then, boy was I a LOT thinner in those days. Oh well....

[Bigritchie]

I decided to start getting back into shape myself once I decided to start the process of firing (Kinda strange how the utter urge to be in great shape to do nothing kicks in hehe).

I would like to get back into the shape I was in the Marines, but I doubt that will happen, since I just cannot run anymore due to my back, but I have started working out again.

I am a big fan of Mike Mentzer, he is the only Mr. Olympia to get a perfect score and win, and he never took roids. (or so he says anyways)

I used to use his methods alot in the Corps, and his theory is when working out, it takes the average body a week to fully build back the muscle after breaking it down.

So I started working out, and only did each body part once or maybe twice per week. Once on things like Biceps, which are used constantly everyday.

I was always one of those people that would get ripped, but never gain much mass, because I was working out 3-4 times per week. But after I started doing this, I could tell a pretty large difference every couple of weeks in growth.

It does feel great to start working out again, the first time back, I could just feel my blood get hot, and shoot through my entire body, it was amazing.

I do need to find something for some cardio and to get sweating hard for 30+ minutes, as I used to just run like a maniac.

[Alan]

Originally Posted by Bigritchie

I was always one of those people that would get ripped, but never gain much mass, because I was working out 3-4 times per week. But after I started doing this, I could tell a pretty large difference every couple of weeks in growth.

I'm afraid I don't understand the terminology

What does getting ripped mean?

[simple girl]

OK, it's past Wednesday, gotta fess up...gained 2#, now up to 137, my highest in like ages!

I'll blame it on being on vacation last week, eating my MIL's southern cooking and drinking beer every day. Oh well, it was fun!

Hoping to get back on track soon! I forced myself to post this just so I'll hopefully be better about this diet this coming week, LOL.

[Jeffrey]

Alan - Thanks for the encouragement. 219 today, on the gym scale.

[Bigritchie]

Originally Posted by Alan

I'm afraid I don't understand the terminology

What does getting ripped mean?

Having alot of muscle definition, and very little body fat. many people work out to much, and they get "ripped", but their muscles reach a certain point and stop growing. They stay very defined, they just do not add more mass to the definition.

Mike mentzer talks about how the only way you can work out the same muscle group many times per week, and have the muscles regrow and come back bigger and stronger, is to use roids to make your muscles recover and grow faster. When you work out, your muscles basically break down almost destroying themselves, then they grow back stronger and larger as they adapt to what you are doing. So by say working your biceps 5 times a week, they get very ripped, but they never put on any mass, and it is actually bad for them. What he recommended was one warm up set, then one very hard set to muscle exhaustion, and then to let that set of muscles heal and rebuild them selves bigger.

[Alan]

Big R. - Thanks for the definitions.

Jeffrey, another pound down, keep on trucking, every pound of lard down is another pound you are not carrying around and is not clogging up your arteries.

[ESRBob]

Originally Posted by simple girl

OK, it's past Wednesday, gotta fess up...gained 2#, now up to 137, my highest in like ages!

I'll blame it on being on vacation last week, eating my MIL's southern cooking and drinking beer every day. Oh well, it was fun!

Hoping to get back on track soon! I forced myself to post this just so I'll hopefully be better about this diet this coming week, LOL.

Simple Girl -- good luck with the workouts and such this week -- appreciate the honesty since there are times when I find I only post on weeks I've held steady or gone down. Gotta face up to reality -- the good, and the not-so-good, and I think that's the right place to start real progress from.

My ironclad excuse for these 3 weeks is that I'm travelling and don't have access to a scale! Still, have been eating less just because of being on the go all the time and not having access to good food, so the news should be good-to-neutral when I get back on the scale again. Am staying in a hindu retreat center right now in Calif. where the food is really good, though: 2 vegetarian meals a day -- actually quite satisfying.

Maybe we should all switch to the 2 meal-a-day thing. A lot of the yoga centers do that, to give people time after waking for a long yoga class (which has to be on an empty stomach). -- So the first meal is at 10. An then, to give you time to digest and get to bed early, the second meal is at 6. The 8 hours in between isn't too bad (noon to 8 pm dinner would be the same). So presto, you've just gotten yourself onto 2 meals a day instead of 3, which has to help with the calories or something, right?

[Danny]

Just playing golf, no real exercise program, and lately couldn't get below 190 (weight!), now in the last week I'm nearing 185 - my goal weight - all I've done is just eat fruit (melon, grapes, cherries, strawberries, peaches) along with pickles during the day and then a moderate size dinner... have I stumbled on to some new diet.

[Khan]

Originally Posted by DanTien

Just playing golf, no real exercise program, and lately couldn't get below 190 (weight!), now in the last week I'm nearing 185 - my goal weight - all I've done is just eat fruit (melon, grapes, cherries, strawberries, peaches) along with pickles during the day and then a moderate size dinner... have I stumbled on to some new diet.

Volumetrics?

Volumetrics: What It Is
Volumetrics relies heavily on foods with a high water content - such as many vegetables and fruits, which are 80% to 95% water -- since they will fill you up without adding a lot of calories.

[Alan]

Originally Posted by ESRBob

Maybe we should all switch to the 2 meal-a-day thing. A lot of the yoga centers do that, to give people time after waking for a long yoga class (which has to be on an empty stomach). -- So the first meal is at 10. An then, to give you time to digest and get to bed early, the second meal is at 6. The 8 hours in between isn't too bad (noon to 8 pm dinner would be the same). So presto, you've just gotten yourself onto 2 meals a day instead of 3, which has to help with the calories or something, right?

That all sounds very interesting indeed. I like yoga and I love Indian food, so what a great combination. I know I could manage vegetarian as we don't eat much meat anyway, although I love fish so would certainly miss that. I spent 10 days in Mumbai (Bombay) in April on business and got into a 2 meal a day routine, .... almost. I'd have a big Indian breakfast at 7:30, an Indian lunch at the office cafeteria and then a couple of apples and lots of water in the evening after an hour in the gymn. Worked pretty well. I didn't lose weight, but I didn't put any weight on either which is always a struggle when I travel on business.

[HFWR]

Originally Posted by DanTien

Just playing golf, no real exercise program, and lately couldn't get below 190 (weight!), now in the last week I'm nearing 185 - my goal weight - all I've done is just eat fruit (melon, grapes, cherries, strawberries, peaches) along with pickles during the day and then a moderate size dinner... have I stumbled on to some new diet.

Congrats, DT; you're pregnant!!

[Danny]

Originally Posted by HFWR

Congrats, DT; you're pregnant!!

.... Thanks just what I need in my retirement....