Perpetual Healthy Eating and Fitness Rant & Rave thread

[cgraz]

I still think weight training will help change the composition and shape of your body.   And building muscle helps your metabolism.

Yep, caito is wise.

Plus, for me, more than anything else has, it has changed the way I feel. I didn't lift weights, but have built up core strength and muscle, and my arms are toned - all from yoga, and now pilates too.

[Ice Cream]

I still think weight training will help change the composition and shape of your body.   And building muscle helps your metabolism.

Any thoughts on this?

http://www.runnersworld.com/weight-loss/can-you-really-boost-your-metabolism?page=single

I am in the camp that it does not make significant help, 30-50 calories a day at the most.  (I do upper body weight work myself.)

[Mom of Scooby]

Any thoughts on this?

http://www.runnersworld.com/weight-loss/can-you-really-boost-your-metabolism?page=single

I am in the camp that it does not make significant help, 30-50 calories a day at the most.  (I do upper body weight work myself.)

I dunno about the metabolism.. all I know is when I strength train and feel lean and strong I feel  better about my body, which makes me feel better mentally, which makes me feel like I want to eat better and more healthfully... it's like a chicken and egg thing.. or a circle.. they all work together...

I do think that having more muscle helps me to run faster times... if that is a goal.. The oxygen gets processed more efficiently and lactate threshold is met later..

[Courtney]

I still think weight training will help change the composition and shape of your body.   And building muscle helps your metabolism.

agree. 

[merigayle]

I was at the gym today and hopped on the scale with my sweatsuit on before I changed into my workout clothes. A woman saw me do it and commented at how brave I was to do it so fully clothed, lol! Anywho, I weighed the same as naked in my house! Effing scales all lie.

[cgraz]

I'm sure all scales have slight variations, are calibrated differently or might be a little off as compared to each other. I figure as long as I always use the same scale to weigh myself, I am getting a good representation of how much I've lost, etc. I always weigh myself at the same time of day each week and wearing the same thing (or not wearing, really  ).

So how do you guys figure out where your goal is and when you're switching into a maintenance kind of mode? I hit one goal, then made a lower one...hit that, then made a lower one. I think I'll hit that soon, and part of me wants to push for 5 more to hit a slightly lower one. Part of me still feels like there is weight to lose, and part of me feels like this is a pretty good place to be. But I don't really know. Just 5 more is enticing but would be a pretty low weight for me. OTOH, I am also eating well and exercising more than I ever have, so why wouldn't I push for a lower goal than I have had in the past?

[merigayle]

not sure, will let you know when i hit my goal

[Run Amok]

Cgraz, I did kind of the same thing...and I stopped when I got to a weight I was comfortable and felt sustainable. You'll get to a weight that will be very challenging to maintain and that is probably a little too low. Personally, I want to be able to have french fries and beer, from time to time, and not feel guilty about it!

I started at 155lbs. Initially I wanted to get to 140. I had gained and lost that 15lbs a number of times. So, my first goal was just to get there. I felt that 135 might be sustainable for me. When I got there- I set my eyes on dropping below 130. Both 140 and 130 were places I got stuck for a good while. But, when I broke through 130, I had hope that I might get to 120, which is what I weighed when I got married. I ended up getting pretty close over the summer (on the devastation diet... I don't recommend it). Since then I've just tried to stay around 125... which is possible for me if I eat well most of the time and leaves me some room for splurging. Now that I'm running a lot more, I've bumped up my calories and... we'll see. I won't lie and say I'm not worried about gaining some weight. Though, it's not so much about weight as it is fitting in my clothes.

I seem to have lost any concept of my body image though... it's the stranges thing. Every day when I put on smaller clothes than I used to be able to wear, I'm sure they are not going to fit. When I go shopping, I always grab a size or two too big. Some of this is just store size. In some stores, size 2's are a little loose. In other stores, I can barely squeeze myself into a 4.

So, I don't know what the answer is for you... but I think you'll figure it out!

[cgraz]

Thanks, RA...that sounds very similar to my pattern and my numbers.

I started at 164 in July, and initially WW set the standard 10% body weight goal for me, so after I hit that then I bumped it down for a little longer reach to a goal of 135, which was always a "good" weight for me without much effort or special consideration to diet or exercise. I hit a bit under that and figured I'd try for 130...and right around then I hit the ping-pong of Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Year's and basically swapped the same 2-3 pounds back and forth for a few weeks.

So now I'm right about to hit 130 dead on (or even a hair under) and I am debating trying for 125. That would be a number I haven't seen in a very long time...maybe when I got married, although back then I never weighed myself and wasn't exercising (was living on Special K and stress), so whatever the number is, I feel more fit now than I did then.

I'm just not sure if 125 might be that "too low" number where I have to constantly work for it and I start to feel deprived or can't indulge and enjoy food. This is definitely the point where smaller increments of loss take more work, in general. I think exercise is the biggest variable in how that will work, since I am doing a lot more of that now and will be eating differently as that continues.

ETA...and the body image thing is definitely something I related to. I was in a store the other day and could not bring myself to pick up a pair of size 4 pants to try on, even though I have resurrected some of the size 4's in my closet. It's like I don't quite believe it...although I do still wear 6's too, and everything seems to vary in terms of fit.

[Run Amok]

Nice work! Losing close to 40lbs in 6-7 months is a real accomplishment!

I don't think there is anything wrong with going for 125. Unless you are 5'10"+ 125 is definitely not into scary-skinny territory. If you get there and it's tough to maintain... than you know. I also think that if your sick of the discipline required to keep losing, and you want to take a break, that is fine too. You can always come back to it and continue to work your way down.

I may still try and go for 120 at some point. I'm focussed a bit more on my running/training right now and not as worried about my weight. And, of course, a fit 125 is thinner than a sedentary one... so there is also that. I think when I got down to 120 before I got married I met J and wasn't working out as consistently so I lost some weight just in losing muscle. That was 10 years ago, so I could be misremembering that also...

[cgraz]

Thanks!

There are moments where I get tired of "being on a diet" for so long, but overall I am used to eating this way and it is comfortable. So yeah, I'll see. For my height (5'3") being 125 would be fine, although I've always said I have a large frame so the 130's felt fine, too.

[diablita]

I'm easing my way back to better eating and sort of started the "i-Diet" today.  I did the breakfast menu but then winged it for the rest b/c I have to go grocery shopping.

Dinner was a soup I threw together that was super delicious.  I made an adaptation of a white bean and chard (instead of escarole) soup that I pureed a bit to make it thick.  It was really delicious.  I am really loving using dry beans.

[cgraz]

How do you prep the beans? Did you use a crock pot? I love soups with white beans (usually involving sausage, LOL) and would love to try making them from scratch because I've always used canned and everyone says making your own is so much better.

[merigayle]

Do you have a pressure cooker? That makes it simple. I made chickpeas the other day and it was 24 minutes, not soaked!

[Run Amok]

If you don't have a pressure cooker, the beans just need to soak over night. You can also bring them to a boil, then turn the stove off and let them sit for 2 hours. That works, but it doesn't rehydrate them evenly, so over night is best.

[diablita]

I don't have a p.cooker so I just let them soak overnight.  I'm not a good plan-aheader (like my word choice today?) but I'm starting to get better b/c the beans are SO much more delicious.

Here's the soup recipe:

White Bean Soup with Chard or Escarole


Soak 1 lb dry cannelini beans in a pot of cold water (to cover by a couple of inches) overnight

The next day drain and rinse the beans.  Add 4 cups water and 4 cups veg broth and 1/4 cup vegetable oil (not totally necessary but my MIL's version has a lot of oil and Philip likes at least some).  Add 6 whole cloves garlic and grate 1/2 small onion into the pot and bring to a boil.  Lower to a simmer and cook until the beans are soft.  Take a stick blender and puree the soup until somewhat smooth or put half in a blender (in batches).

Add 1 tsp cumin and 1 tsp paprika plus salt & pepper to taste.  Add finely sliced chard or escarole and cook for a bit longer until slightly wilted.
(rainbow chard would probably make it fun for kids).  I also added a splash of balsamic vinegar.

[merigayle]

Beans freeze really well, that helps with the lack of planning ahead, LOL.

So I want to do more date nights with DH but not at the risk of my diet. It sucks. I guess I could always just get steamed veggies or something, but then DH gets all pouty but i tell him i am not there for the food, but for the company!

[Run Amok]

Yep, I'm with merigayle- I freeze them and that helps. I make a big bactch of beans and then I freez them in 1-2 cup portions, which is perfect for soup making. I also love beans with roasted veggies and with pasta too.

[rocketgirl]

My dinner was SO GOOD last night.  In theory I was making an Italian sausage marsala dish that I'd made before and not liked all that much (but I had Italian sausage in the freezer and some leftover green and red bell pepper from having made the shrimp and grits Sunday).

But then I couldn't get the recipe to come up, and so I winged it.  I also couldn't find marsala wine at Publix, so I bought grenache, which sometimes tastes sweet to me and figured it would have to do.  It was SO VERY VERY GOOD, so I am sharing.

Chopped red and green bell pepper - maybe 1/3-1/4 of each - it was leftover so not really sure.
1/2 chopped yellow onion
5 Italian sausages
4 roma tomatoes
maybe a tablespoon and a half of dried Greek oregano (from my old garden)
probably a tablespoon and a half of garlic (from a squeeze bottle or jar)
some basil
some salt
some pepper
grenache red wine

Took a little olive oil and started the peppers, onions, and garlic in a big frying pan first.  Added the rest as we got the tomatoes sliced and the rest of the ingredients out.  Added red wine.  Stirred here and there.

Started the sausages separately in a different frying pan with some water.  Package said to cook 15 minutes covered.  Turned them once.  Then added the sausages to the other stuff.  Added more wine.  Covered and cooked until rest of wine was absorbed.

Served over 1/2 box of cooked (duh) vegetable rotini.

It was really really good.  I will totally make this again.  The boy liked it too.

I always surprise myself when I cook something and it turns out well, ESPECIALLY if I'm winging it.  I'm so not a cook.

[Ergonomic Mouse]

Merigayle!!!    We watched "running on the sun" last night. It made me think of you.
 How many years have you done that race?! 

I mean... I know how awesome you are but seeing that movie really compounded it!!!