Good Kelly ! I am so glad that you are comfortable. There is nothing worse than a sore behind !! One caveat as to fitness/calories burned. If you are not moving your body weight from one place to another then you are not getting much but increased heart rate. Building real fitness requires work/ movement. A real bike, walking up/down stairs ( not a stair stepper unless it is the newer kind where you walk up the steps) , treadmill not an elliptical machine...do you see what I am saying? There has to be real work involved. Keep this in mind. Your fitness/weight loss and muscle tone will be much better served by walking on a treadmill than it ever will on the stationary bike.

I haven't been participating in the weekly checkin but I can start now. I am getting ready for my bike tour so I have ramped up my training. I ride a hilly route to/from the gym on my bike...that gets me 27-30 miles round trip. I avg 14-15 mph . I alternate upper one day /lower next day workout when I get to the gym for 45 min. I do 3 sets of 30 hanging abs ( the padded straps that you hang in from your armpits) every day. When I get home I swim 1/4 mi. The pool is only 75 degrees so I am a wimp and can't do more but will get it to a mile when May gets here. I do this 5 days a week. I haven't been running lately as the day gets away from me . I like doing different things so that is OK...I will get back to it when I get back home in Sept.

Glad you started these threads and hope that your knee continues to improve . c

Trailrunner, finally someone answered my question re elliptical vs. treadmill. I do feel as though I'm getting a more difficult work out when I use the elliptical at a high incline but from what you say, I would lose more calories on a treadmill. Good to know.

I haven't posted in these threads, but here I go. I am 64 and my workouts consist of 60 minutes of cardio (elliptical or treadmill) six days a week and weights every other day. I love/hate to exercise. Hate the actual exercising, but love the feeling I get afterward.

There have been a few days when I just didn't feel like getting on the treadmill (or elliptical), then I looked at these threads and it motivated me to get it done! When I finished my five miles I felt to good. So thank you all for keeping these threads (and me) alive!!

Hey Marlene ...WOW !! YOU are a go getter !! If you think about it , it makes sense. You are picking up your whole body every single time you move when you are walking outside or walking / running on the treadmill or using real stairs or on a real bike...so if you weigh 130 # for instance you are moving that weight every step you take !! Remarkable. Not only do you get a cardio workout but you are lifting a weight...your own body. So much better all around. Same with swimming, you have the work of moving it through the water and the pull/push of the weight of the water against your muscles.

Of course there are times, if you are injured for example, that you can't do weight bearing exercise , but other than that you should always do it. Again you are building your bones as well, something every woman needs, when you do weight bearing exercise.

Another thing to think about is muscle and what it does for you as far as calorie burning. Takes a lot more to sustain muscle than it does fat so even when you are sitting still you are burning more calories if you have more muscle.

After workouts you only have a 1 hr window for restoring your energy. That is an important thing to remember . A really good way to keep fit and keep everything in balance is to drink a glass of skim milk and have a 1/2 peanut butter sandwich on whole wheat with honey. You get the carbs and the protein and the fat...it is cheap and it is a perfect supplement w/o spending money on expensive dumb stuff that they sell in the stores. You have to replace all of the components in order to be in balance. You can't leave out anything. Everything in moderation. If you start leaving out part of the above your body goes into shutdown starvation mode and you will not lose any weight as it thinks it is starving. A good thing to remember.

One caveat as to fitness/calories burned. If you are not moving your body weight from one place to another then you are not getting much but increased heart rate.

Except there is no way for me to get that increased heart rate except by moving my weight. At least, that's how my body works. ;-)

My trainer is an evil man.

That's all I have to say about him.

He bases his workouts on the insanity workout. The plank is my arch enemy, and so is the pouch below my belly button. I don't care too much about the scale- I have some metal body parts so it's always skewed anyway. I NEED that pouch to go away and it's getting there.

Regardless of what my scale or clothes say or how they feel- I know I am keeping my heart healthy. Heart disease has been an evil killer amongst women in my family, and I vow to break the cycle. My mom has been hypertensive since her 40s. She does regularly exercise, but probably not enough to get the weight off and get the BP down, but it's better than nothing. For me, it's about never getting to the point she and my aunt are at and keeping the weight off before it gets on.

So hopefully by summer, my bathing suits will fit well with an almost flat stomach, just gotta keep going.

Nothing much to report from me. I'm in the groove with healthier, controlled eating but not able to do as much in the exercise department while I was waiting for the new prosthetic leg to get done. Picked it up today - it will probably need a bit of tweaking before it's good to go for longer distance walking but should be good for yoga - no more falling off! I've been riding my stationary bike - such a bore. Can't wait until I can get outside and hit the tennis ball and other more fun stuff. Quite a bit of travel coming up in April and May so that has potential to derail my exercise as well. Eating is good - more exercise is my focus now.

Forgot to mention the good problem I now have - no pants that fit. I urgently need to find time to go buy some clothes that fit now that I have my new leg and can walk around the mall. I'm hoping pants buying will be a more positive experience now that I'm 11 lbs lighter.

kelly..I think we misunderstood one another...that is what I said/meant...you do have to move the body weight..so it sounds like you are doing the perfect thing !!! Everyone is ON IT !!

Congratulations Gibby on the new leg. That is so great for you . c

Plugging along. I found out that i do have a slight tear in my bicep. So no big workouts until I see the doctor next week. Eating has been ok, not great. Weight staying about the same.

I need a reset button!

Beth P.

bethpen,
What do they do for a tear in a bicep?

I'm glad trailrunner has joined us since she's a fount of fitness knowledge. Anyone who looks as healthy as she does and can ride thousands of miles on a bike will have some valuable wisdom to share.

I'm in HHI without a scale so I don't know if the number has changed. I do know my spring/summer clothes are loose and I will need to do some shopping to replace them. That can be fun or a challenge, depends on how lucky I get finding things in the sweet spot: they fit, they flatter, and the price is right. Actually skirts & shorts are easier to buy than pants since they usually don't need hemming.

I'm taking walks and bike rides but not lifting weights. I did bring an exercise band and a list of exercises and I have to get started with that.

Pants shopping - still a frustrating experience. The waists are too big, the waists are too low, pants have no pockets for my cell phone, you think you find some with pockets and they're faux pockets! I find a brand that seems to work - not a single pair in my size. I did find a pair of black jeans that fit the other night - major victory as black jeans are a mainstay of my wardrobe. Lots of nice colors of these same jeans and if I find something that works I have no problem buying it in every color. You think any other color in the same size fits the same - not a chance.

That's just finding something that fits - the deplorable state of department stores is an entirely different story. I'm reconsidering having a couple of my currently too big pairs altered to fit. I was kind of excited about getting some new stuff but how frustrating.

I did try on a nice sleeveless top that looked great even with my winter white skin. I think I'm starting to get buff from the yoga - like DH. That and seeing a reduction in the WAS in the three way mirror was very inspiring for keeping up with the exercise particularly the yoga. I didn't buy the top though because it wasn't on sale. I'll probably live to regret that...

I have been in a bit of a slump for about two weeks. I don't know if it was the Easter holiday weekend, or what. I have been exercising at least every other day, but not always ambitiously. I need to get back to Zumba, because I felt like I was burning serious calories there! I had also been counting points pretty religiously on WW but that fell by the wayside, too. I need a kick in the pants! And this coming week is not going to be easy. We will be going out to dinner twice, and out for brunch once, over the next 3 days, and then next week I am traveling for four days. I think the best I can do over the next week is not GAIN weight, and then start fresh again, counting points and doing some more serious exercise. The thought of going out in public without a winter coat to cover my butt is filling me with great anxiety!

Aww Sueb - sorry to hear you are in a slump. Eating out and traveling are a real challenge. The thing I have found really helpful to me since I started my healthier eating program this year is to try to stop and think before I put something in my mouth. I ask myself - what will I enjoy more - eating this or being fit and trim and looking good in my clothes. The latter wins out as long as I stop and think before I eat. Also thinking before I eat something I don't really like all that much, just so it doesn't go to waste (better not to have it go to waist).

I've also found that thinking about the QUANTITY before I eat it helps too - just reducing the quantity of many things by half. A small serving or a couple bites of dessert is just as satisfying to me as a whole gob - as long as I eat it slowly and savor every bite.

This stuff has been so helpful to me but it does require that I stop and think before I eat.

Ah, Polly, my plank used to be my pride and joy. I could hold it forever. Do you ever do the plank and leg lifts at the same time? It's a killer!! Now I have more weight to hold up and it's more difficult so it's a work in progress for me now. I have a love/hate relationship with my trainer. He loves doing this "Ready, set, go!" thing with me so I'll squeal "Wait, wait!!" It tickles him every time.

Also, I'm totally there with you on the heart disease. My mom had a heart attack at 54 and it's the big killer in my family. When I was younger, vanity was my main reason for losing weight but I guess it wasn't enough motivation. When I turned 40, all of a sudden I realized that I only had probably a dozen more years to live if I didn't lose the weight. Now that is a motivator.

Gibby - I'm anxiously awaiting to be where you are now! Congratulations on hitting your goal! I've been curious about something and please feel free to ignore my possibly intrusive question. With a prosthetic leg, how do you gauge your body weight? Did you establish your goal weight on just what feels best for you or did you work off of a table like BMI or something?

Bethpen, so sorry to hear about the bicep tear. I know exactly how you feel. You're going along just great, feeling like a champ and then BAM! sidelined and feeling down in the dumps. I eat the worst when I feel sorry for myself so all I can say is that it will heal and you'll be back on top in no time!

Hhireno, try to get that weight lifting in your schedule. Nothing burns more calories than having muscle - and it looks good too!

Sue, Gibby has great advise about the eating. I'm sure you probably already know what to do - it's just a matter of listening to yourself which is the hardest part of all. If it were me, I would set a plan for the following week to come out of the gate running and start physicing myself up for a great week.

I purchased a Bodybugg last year but didn't really get into it - just wasn't in the right frame of mind. My subscription ran out and I remembered that I had it this week. Wow, it's been a great tool. You plug into the program how many pounds per week you want to lose and it tells you how many daily calories to burn (resting metabolic rate + activity) and how many calories to consume. I said I wanted to burn three pounds per week and it told me I need to burn 3050 calories and eat 1550 calories per day. That gives me 100-200 calories more than I have been eating. So I weighed myself this morning and have lost four pounds for the week! I didn't really lose anything last week so some of that is probably left over but I'll take it.

Also, I'm winding down the juicing. It really helped me get some control over cravings and I really don't care to eat any sugar. Another benefit, is that I have no desire to eat red meat. We have been a big steak and potatoes kind of family and DH, DS & me are just not into that stuff anymore. I'm going to try to stick with a more vegan with fish sort of diet, it seems to suit us pretty well.

Kelly - As far as a goal weight I just picked one I remember being at and thinking I was "thin". I've been an amputee for 29 years so any concept of weight for me is weight minus one leg - which I recall was about six pounds (not to be morbid or anything). So I picked a weight I wanted to get down to that I thought would be a stretch. I'm now 3.4 lbs below that goal. I want to lose 1.6 more just to get to the next 10 lb increment. I think that will only happen if I exercise more which I will hopefully do once my new leg is completely good to go.

I have lots of heart disease risk too. My dad had his first MI in his late 40s and died at 62. He wasn't able to do much in his final years - not a place I want to be by the time I'm 60. My mom was quite healthy but unfortunately I seem to have my dad's genes.

Wow..I was reading about Boston tomorrow and saw another reference to this woman...she is amazing...

Here is a link that might be useful: Madonna Buder