I didn't know we were already in week Seven,I must've missed a week. When did Week One start? Was it June 29th? Is that how you do it? I'm confused.

Thanks,
Cindy Q

Hey Jess

The pedometer is a great idea and then at the end of the day when you are bushed you can look at it and say "no wonder I'm tired, look how many miles I did!" and feel really good about working your but off!

You guys are doing great!

Teresa ~ I hope your work schedule lets up a little. IMHO any old moving is waaaay better than no moving! Are you planning anything special to get your walking program going again?

Lori ~ Isn't Lance great?! It's great fun watching and rooting for him. I'm rooting for you and your husband, too ... hope very soon you guys are happily raising a child!

Dianne ~ I'm doing the 1 g / LBM protein thing, too. Sometimes I overshoot, but most of the time I fall short ... It's surprisingly hard to get enough. You asked (somewhere!) about measuring body fat % - I've just been doing it since 2/29 when I got my Tanita scale. At that time I was 50 and now I'm at 46 - although I've seen 45 once. It fluctuates a lot before settling down. I know it's not accurate, since my doctor's scale (much more advanced) measured me at something like 30% ... which is ridiculous. I figure the truth lies between. I still measure progress with the Tanita and wish I'd had it from the get go, too.

PS - Although it may not be possible to get this at age 18, you are gonna be a hot mama when you hit goal, all buff and filled with body confidence.

Crysania ~ Woo Hoo! Doing great! Send that extra energy fairy over to my place next!

Hi Kelly! You say: "wild life we lead in Calgary during Stampede" ... hmmm ... I'm visualizing all kinds of strange things ... a team of possums in harnesses, a moose on a leash? Okay - I literally just now get it that you're talking about the wild life *you* lead during the Stampede! Duh. Just leaving this in to show the true state of my brain tonight! Hope you had fun!

Cindy ~ You are doing fabulous!!! And yeah, we really are beginning Week 7 and started June 7th. Time's just flying by!

Jess ~ I agree with Kelly ... you'll probably be surprised at how much activity you'll get! Hope it's a great trip ...

I'm doing good this week ...

... pushing myself at the gym trying to get that good / sore muscle feeling the next day. I can really feel and see the results from resistance training. The distinction between muscle and fat are a lot more clear, I can start visualizing what a leaner body might feel like. I can see definition in some muscles, and I feel stronger. I like it!

I'm also cross-training a bit more. I've added treadmill to WAP, biking, swimming and trampoline for my cardio routine - and I vow this week to try an elliptical trainer!

I'm scared of getting up on there, especially since they're the first row at the gym and everyone has nothing else to do but watch your butt. I'm also nervous about how this machine works, and if I can do it ... but I won't know until I at least get up there and try!

This week I plan to continue my routine - gym T, Th, Sa ... WAP M, W, F, Su ... rebounding, bike everyday (between 5-10 minutes).




What I need are more ways to be self-sufficient; I need to support myself financially, emotionally and physically. I want to feel further from the edge, i.e., I'm not nervous anymore going to the mall without a cane, but I worry a bit when I'm planning an all day event. I want to have more strength, be more self-sufficient.

My big desire is to become a Dietician! I want to be a radical pro-fat acceptance, pro-LC, pro-'whatever works for you' nutritionist! I know all that sounds crazy, but what I'm saying is that I want to help people find a good path when it comes to food ... without all the judgement many of us have experienced from the experts.

I think the healthier I am, the better I can do this job.

Have a great week everyone!

Hiya
I am kind of on vacation this week. I am visiting family, so not doing all my regular workouts. I did an awesome job last week, and this week I will do cardio 3-4 times and weights once.

Dianne - I am going to try and figure out some better nutrition before I lift too. I have been getting to the point that my muscles feel so weak when I lift. I have been just having a protein shake with some ff sf yogurt afterwards, but I think I'm going to try some food before, like maybe a hb egg and some berries 30 min or so before lifting and see how that feels. I don't like that weak feeling.

Monica - paint a big smilie face on a pair of shorts and wear them as you ride

Hang in there everyone!!
Mary

I am trying to schedule it but my work days are all over the board - there have many 12 - 15 hr days and walking when I get home just isn't in the cards. Of course it would be a great stress reliever - but those are the nights I jump in the pool and do some laps. It's so hot on the west coast right now - but not really complaining.

Kelly has started another walking program in Calgary and I am trying to get it together to keep with her via cyberwalking.....

Thanks for asking - I realize its something I have to schedule into my day.

Hi Teresa,

Don't be too harsh on yourself, Teresa, after 12 to 15 hour days I wouldn't even have the strength to jump in the pool.

AntiM
I have to report an alien attack of several weeks. Got busy (not as much as Teresa though) then got sick. Have slowly started adding more exercise in this week and am hoping to go for a walk this morning - wish the sky looked a little bit more promising though. It's very dull and dreary here in Surrey today.

What are my needs? what are my desires?

My needs: to be appreciated for what I do; to be loved by my close ones (husband and children); to be liked by my friends and colleagues.

My desires: I would like to have enough money to help my children and enough that my husband doesn't have to work himself to ill health; I want to be healthy and enjoying life until I'm at least 90; I want to be slim.

I've been reading quite a bit over in the exercise forum. All indications are that every day we should eat 1 gm of protein for every pound of lean mass we have...especially when we are exercising. Is anyone else trying that? For me, it means getting up to 30% protein. I'm finding it hard to get the protein up that high and still not eat too much food.

Mary, try to take in some faster carbs before lifting. I'm using a whey protein shake mixed in the blender with 4 oz. of cranberry juice and some crushed ice. They say you don't really need to count the carbs from pre lifting because the lifting burns them off immediately. Then after lifting, you want to immediately take in some slow protein...cottage cheese is what a lot of folks eat afterwards. I've been taking 2 gms of L-glutamine after lifting. And just started adding 2 gms to my shake before lifting. L-glutamine is an amino acid that helps with muscle cell repair. Some folks also take the L-glutamine before lifting, after lifting and then before going to bed at night. Oh, and get the powder form of L-glutamine, not the tablets. It's less expensive.

I normally get about 150-170g protien my ratio's are like 45% / 5% / 50% roughly .. my LBM is 156 last time i checked my bf%
though i don't count the calories they stay in a reasonable level because i eat mainly fish and poultry(my choice, i was never a red meat eater) ... I also use shakes (allowed on my diet, in fact i get one a day "free" so i don't even have to count the carbs ) to add protien and not alot of calories... they also are nice when i am on my first break at work
also, I make sure my snacks are protien rich things like turkey jerky and the like

Brave Monika Report: I did get up on the Elliptical trainer for a few minutes ... whew! I'm going to start super slow because that is going to be one challenging machine for me. Still ... as you all know by now, I love a challenge!!!

Mary ~ I could just see my bottom painted bright yellow with one of those faces on it! Somehow I think that might draw even more attention to me, though. Have a great time with the family! (And check out the pre/post WO nutrition discussion below.)

Teresa! No wonder you're tuckered out! 12-15 hours a day is hardly enough time to think of exercise, let alone do it. It's great you're getting a swim in, hopefully things will calm down and you can back up on those (never again injured) feet! PS - Doesn't surprise me that Ms. Kelly is off and flying!

{{Magpies}} I'm happy to hear the aliens have returned you to us! How was Wimbledon? I thought of you lots when I'd catch a glimpse on TV ... must be so exciting! Hope you're feeling better and I'll send you some of our excessively sunny days your way.

Crysania ~ Dang. I wish I had a free shake! Curves is an interesting program that so many people like ... I'm glad you do, too. It's obviously been very successful for you!





I shoot for 120 g (cardio) to 160 g (weights) of protein a day - typically 40% of my food, with 10% carbs (not net) and 50% fat. My calories range between 1500 and 1800 - but I'm pretty sure that is way more than what you're eating. The whey powder must help? (But talk about non-food calories. I couldn't use it the way you've described, I just can't stand the taste unless it's highly disguised!)

On pre-WO carbs, I've been eating Yoplait yogurt 30 minutes before I lift ... No more sudden drop of energy when I'm at the gym. Even though it's LC (8 net carbs) - sugar's still one of the main ingredients. I figure I burn those puppies up! I still count all the carbs, though.

Also, like Dianne, Built, Emily and other Weight Lifting Goddesses (hope you know you're one of 'em, too!), I've made sure my post WO meals are LC and high slow protein. I've been doing that intuitively for a while, but it was nice reading that other more experienced women have come to similar conclusions.

When I can afford whey powder, I'm going to make homemade protein bars. For a long time, I figured my excellent recipe was useless since it contains so much fat, slowing down protein absorption. Now I'm realizing this might be perfect for a small bite right after lifting ... it takes me ~1 hour to get home after weights and that feels like a bit too long to go without food at that point.

I just love all this stuff!

OMG, I am soooo lost..............I haven't been exercising, or checking in................maybe aliens did beam me up...............no, just laziness. I have a busy weekend planned, but I am hoping to get back on track on Monday.......................

Hugs~

Hi everyone. Back in town for a day and a half so thought I would check in now instead of Monday. My walking has been taking me to around 7500 steps most days. One day I even topped out over 10,000. Let me tell you this is not the amount of exercise I would normally get.

I will do the same next week. Keeping track of my steps on days that I remember to put the pedometer on.

Monika, thank you for sending over the sun, we have had a glorious few days of beautiful weather. Went dancing yesterday afternoon and danced every dance. Determined to make the coming week a much more active one.


Julie

Hi all - managed to get in golf, swimming x4 and walks x3 this week...and worked long days. All in all its worth it - good stress release - except for the golf! This morning I had a nice 3km stroll before coffee. That felt good.

Out on the links again tomorrow night with my gf's - looking forward to it. The weather has finally broken here - its been very hot for us (30+C / 90+F) - back to something a little more seasonal.

Monika - thanks for the concern about my feet but they are doing pretty good these days! Must be my weakest spot?

Hello

Made goal this week! Got in tons of walking every day, went on vacation and walked for hours at a time sightseeing. Thank goodness for good shoes!

It is great to see how well everyone is doing. You are all such an inspiration for when I slow down and get lazy. Thanks so much

Marie