January Health Challenge (2018)

[silva]

I've been mostly failing at these health-challenges, but now I feel a good bit more motivated!
I'm determined to do at least the simple 10-15 exercise routine every morning and when I get home.
Follow Dr Gregers daily dozen
Really limit processed grains, oils, and added sugar-like to weekends
This week I've been great!

 

[Poppy]

I will join when I'm over my head cold and can get to the gym. Maybe tomorrow?

 

[Moll Flanders]

I'm trying to lose some more weight this year.

I started making sure I get enough sleep, having proper vitamins every day and using techniques like guided visualisation to reduce stress last year, so I will carry on with that in 2018.

I'm going to get a blood test today so I will get the results in a couple of weeks from my GP. My vitamin D was really low last time so hopefully it will have improved. My B12 was okay last time and my cholesterol was slightly above where it should be.

 

[PTree15]

I need to get back on track. This last cold I had really knocked me for a loop. Even though I'm feeling much better, I'm still coughing, so I hope to get back to regular exercise next week. I kind of overdid it a bit during the holidays and my pants are getting a little snug, so I need to rein in the eating and get back to basics. I've done well the past few days healthy-eating-wise, and really, I feel so much better when I make healthy choices. I'm going to have one day a week for a sweet treat, but other than that, I'm off added sugar. I may even wait a few weeks before I indulge. I'm cutting back on wine and beer as well, which actually will help my savings goals along with my health goals. And of course, I will reduce my bread consumption. I've had way too much in the past month.

I've also let my sleeping goals slide. I really have to get back to going to bed before midnight. I need a minimum of 7 hours a night. I can do that if I go to bed after the news.

 

[Poppy]

I went to the gym with E this morning, despite still feeling bulldozed by this wretched cold. I did the elliptical for 40 minutes, then spent another 15 in one of the weight rooms doing arm, back and chest exercises. I'm ashamed at how weak and out of shape I've let myself get.

I'm going to avoid all things potato (except for baked) and white bread, and cut down on my alcohol consumption- especially the after dinner nightcaps and liqueurs that we gravitate to in the winter.

 

[silva]

I went to the gym with E this morning, despite still feeling bulldozed by this wretched cold. I did the elliptical for 40 minutes, then spent another 15 in one of the weight rooms doing arm, back and chest exercises. I'm ashamed at how weak and out of shape I've let myself get.

I'm going to avoid all things potato (except for baked) and white bread, and cut down on my alcohol consumption- especially the after dinner nightcaps and liqueurs that we gravitate to in the winter.

That sounds impressive to me! I'm quite out of shape, and even just doing the little morning and afternoon calisthenics routine this week I feel improvement!

 

[Mark Mywordz]

I'm going to do a few days of this diet, which always works for me: The Fastest Indian Vegetarian Diet to Lose Weight – 7 Days GM Diet It sounds a bit wacky but it's basically just a question of eating almost exclusively fruit and veg for a few days and very little else. The good thing is that you can eat as much as you want and you still lose the weight. Can't start till Tuesday because the shops are closed today for Reyes (an extra day of Xmas thanks to the three kings) and they never open on Sunday - all very Spanish.
Feel free to guilt-trip me by asking how the diet is going in a few days.

 

[Poppy]

I went to the gym this morning. I did the same routine I did Friday - the elliptical for 40 minutes and then a few weight machines - chest, back and leg press.

I just measured myself to order a pair of pants and I'm horrified at my waist and hip measurements. I know my weight is up, but I also know where it all went - right in my middle. Things need to change.

 

[Mark Mywordz]

I went to the gym this morning. I did the same routine I did Friday - the elliptical for 40 minutes and then a few weight machines - chest, back and leg press.

I just measured myself to order a pair of pants and I'm horrified at my waist and hip measurements. I know my weight is up, but I also know where it all went - right in my middle. Things need to change.

Hi Poppy
Working out in the gym is healthy but it will not help much to lose weight. Muscle is heavier than fat. So if you want to lose weight, you must tackle your diet. Cut back on the carbohydrates.

 

[KLS52]

I just measured myself to order a pair of pants and I'm horrified at my waist and hip measurements. I know my weight is up, but I also know where it all went - right in my middle. Things need to change.

I can sympathize.
I’ve decided to join Weight Watchers again. There’s a three month plan and it’s been revised again. I don’t need to lose a lot but I obviously can’t do it on my own. I’ve been trying for months to no avail.

 

[silva]

Ugh. I decided to make a 'dressing' out of yet another homemade yogurt fail. It was thin again. I added lots of dill, garlic and onion powder, black pepper, minced onion. Yuck. Mashed some garbanzos sandwich spread with it-yuck. Even added extra relish and onion
Had some on rye bread for lunch. Rye bread is delicious. I want Just Mayo .
I was thinking- I don't eat anything with much fat, other than nuts. Maybe I won't try and limit oils so much.

 

[Jeremy]

Hi Poppy
Working out in the gym is healthy but it will not help much to lose weight. Muscle is heavier than fat. So if you want to lose weight, you must tackle your diet. Cut back on the carbohydrates.

Muscle indeed does weigh more than fat, but you also have to take into consideration how much body building it takes pack on enough muscle to really matter in this scenario (Her description makes her resistance training sound rather light-casual). Poppy is doing perfectly fine, she's doing enough resistance training to tone the muscles, and she's doing a fair bit of cardiovascular on the elliptical for a very decent calorie burn... Pair that with a reasonable calorie budget and she will succeed. 1,500'ish calories consumed in food a day, plus the calorie burn from the resistance training and elliptical and the pounds will melt away. No actual "diets", or restricting fat/protein/carbs, just simply budgeting calories so we're burning more than we're eating.

As for carbohydrates... Carbohydrates are fuel, don't do a lot of cardiovascular while restricting carbohydrates or you're going to be melting more than just the fat away... You restrict carbs and you burn a lot of muscle as well as fat. That's not what we want happening, definitely not the kind of weight loss we want to be occurring.

 

[Jeremy]

Weighed this morning at 148lbs. Time to get serious and get back down to 125lbs - 130lbs.. Running five or six days this week, plus easing back into resistance training... Running for over an hour is much easier for me than weight lifting, ugh.

 

[Mark Mywordz]

Muscle indeed does weigh more than fat, but you also have to take into consideration how much body building it takes pack on enough muscle to really matter in this scenario (Her description makes her resistance training sound rather light-casual). Poppy is doing perfectly fine, she's doing enough resistance training to tone the muscles, and she's doing a fair bit of cardiovascular on the elliptical for a very decent calorie burn... Pair that with a reasonable calorie budget and she will succeed. 1,500'ish calories consumed in food a day, plus the calorie burn from the resistance training and elliptical and the pounds will melt away. No actual "diets", or restricting fat/protein/carbs, just simply budgeting calories so we're burning more than we're eating.

As for carbohydrates... Carbohydrates are fuel, don't do a lot of cardiovascular while restricting carbohydrates or you're going to be melting more than just the fat away... You restrict carbs and you burn a lot of muscle as well as fat. That's not what we want happening, definitely not the kind of weight loss we want to be occurring.

I can't agree with your analysis, Jeremy. Penny is not doing fine. People who are fine don't go onto a diet/exercise regime and complain that they're not losing weight. Calorie counting works but not as you imagine on a calories in/ calories out model. The vast majority of calories we consume are used by the body in just keeping alive - keeping all the essential organs working.
The body needs protein and fat but carbs are of no real use to the body and if we restrict them the body will use body fat for energy. That's how you lose weight. As I said exercise is healthy, very healthy but you have to do an awful lot of exercise to lose just a little bit of weight.
Carbs convert directly to body fat and pile on the pounds. Sugar is worst and has now become more of a killer than smoking, alcohol or other drugs.

 

[Jeremy]

I can't agree with your analysis, Jeremy. Penny is not doing fine. People who are fine don't go onto a diet/exercise regime and complain that they're not losing weight. Calorie counting works but not as you imagine on a calories in/ calories out model. The vast majority of calories we consume are used by the body in just keeping alive - keeping all the essential organs working.
The body needs protein and fat but carbs are of no real use to the body and if we restrict them the body will use body fat for energy. That's how you lose weight. As I said exercise is healthy, very healthy but you have to do an awful lot of exercise to lose just a little bit of weight.
Carbs convert directly to body fat and pile on the pounds. Sugar is worst and has now become more of a killer than smoking, alcohol or other drugs.

Now where did she say she had been on a diet/exercise plan without results? If you don't see results you simply aren't creating a calorie deficit. Trick with calorie counting is, not only counting what you eat. For example, I give myself a budget of 1,169 calories a day, I actually eat 1,616 calories, and I burned 822 calories through exercise, which puts me at a net of 794 calories for then day... 375 calories under my budget... I can absolutely guarantee you, if I keep up that routine I will have lost a MINIMUM of 3lbs by next Monday. I've lost a maximum of 6.5lbs in a week this way. I went from close to 200lbs, down to 129lbs at my lowest. I might know a thing or two about losing weight

What you're saying about carbs is true of course... Cutting back on carbs some is a good idea if you're more on the seatitary side, but what you're missing here is the fact that when you do a lot of high impact cardiovascular carbs are what get burned first (they're not getting converted to anything if you're burning them), and padding up on carbs and protein is going to prevent you from losing muscle mass.

 

[Chryssie]

Well I have to get back on track as well as the holidays of being lazy and eating without counting calories has resulted in an 8 lb gain. I am an exercise hater and have been doing a nightly routine of 20 wall pushups, 20 calf stretches, and 20 squats for months. I am not sure what this has done for me but I certainly need MORE than that! I am proud of myself for establishing this routine and it is a habit now and I never skip it! I need to get back on the treadmill and hula hoop again too. I feel really FAT right now.

 

[Jeremy]

Good article about how carbohydrates are used... It does a better job explaining it than I ever could put to my own words.

Carbohydrates Burned During Exercises

 

[Mark Mywordz]

Well I have to get back on track as well as the holidays of being lazy and eating without counting calories has resulted in an 8 lb gain. I am an exercise hater and have been doing a nightly routine of 20 wall pushups, 20 calf stretches, and 20 squats for months. I am not sure what this has done for me but I certainly need MORE than that! I am proud of myself for establishing this routine and it is a habit now and I never skip it! I need to get back on the treadmill and hula hoop again too. I feel really FAT right now.

I think the trick with exercise is to find something you like doing. I love walking and can easily walk 5 miles a day.

Good article about how carbohydrates are used... It does a better job explaining it than I ever could put to my own words.

Carbohydrates Burned During Exercises

How about this from the New York Times: In the adult population, interventional studies have difficulty showing that a physically active person is less likely to gain excess weight than a sedentary person.
Source: To Lose Weight, Eating Less Is Far More Important Than Exercising More
The title of the article says it all!

 

[Chryssie]

I agree that eating less is more important than exercise as I am a prime example! I managed to lose quite a bit of weight by counting calories with virtually NO exercise other than walking around at work which doesn't even count!

 

[Poppy]

@Peter I'm actually doing fine. I'm not complaining that I'm not losing weight. I'm complaining that I've let myself go over the past year - mostly due to increased alcohol consumption while watching the news at night, taking walks rather than doing workouts at the gym, and having less self-discipline in my diet. I'm 57, active for my age, and know that if I just stick with a reasonable lifestyle, I'll lose the 10 pounds I need to and be in a much happier state of mind.