Leida

Wow, was just reading this article here: http://www.ediets.com/news/NewsArticle.jsp?id=900002

and came upon the easiest ball-park estimate of how many calories a person needs a day!

 [quote]Depending on your level of activity, you can safely lose anywhere from half a pound to two pounds a week. The easiest way to figure out your needs is to multiply your current weight by 11. So, if you’re 150 pounds, aim for around 1,650 calories a day. Unless you’re less than five feet tall, don’t let your daily calories dip below 1,200. Research shows that women who consume less than this amount see their resting metabolic rate plummet by as much as 45 percent![/quote]

Yep, I desperately need another challenge! But that’s how life is, right ladies?

My husband is supposed to supply breakfast for 20 classmates in the Uni on Thursday, and since tomorrow is my day off, I am to make it happen, of course (yeah, we’ve been married for 10 years, and he still remembers how to boil an egg. Vaguely).

I chose 3 heart-friendly recipes, lemon-poppy seed scones, walnut and apple tea cake and a banana bread loaf. All from the heart-friendly books, with less than 275 cals per serving (and 1 scone is about 100 cals), so I figure if I go for a slice, it will make a nutriciuos lunch! It goes without saying that anything un-eaten by in-laws or hungry students will end up on the lunch table at work on Thursday! 

 But! I decided to make it tougher on myself to eat my yammi concotions - if I have a slice, I challenge myself to have them with soy drink! Plus, I will leave it to hubby to slice the loaf and the cake, so no corner nibling!!! Since I hate soy, I hope the baked goodies will make it to the University by-passing my mischevous mouth!

Please, wish me luck, and hopefully those recipes will prove decent!

Well, never But at a certain point there is no more weight to lose. It’s kind of a somber moment. The excitement of the chase after losing this pound or that pound, and reaching this or that weight is over, and now the rules of the game is changed. It’s more like balancing a jag of water on your head - finding the balance. So, no, it’s not quitting after getting the goal weight. In fact, the real challenge is just begining.

Yep, it’s Friday! Do you dread the weekend to come and the havok it’s going to wreck to your diet and excersise plan? Then join us to plan and execute the weekend you will be proud of - the main event of your weight-busting week, instead of the down-time! Join us at the forums to plan, cheer and prep to face Weekend #3!

http://www.weight-loss-forums.buddyslim.com/weight-loss-challenge/4827-doom-zoom-weekend-challenge.html

I was sick yesterday, sick as a dog. Got a stomach bug from my tot, and… I really would rather NOT recall my afternoon in the small room with a certain household appliance.

But what was the most gross, was a day and a half of the horrible sick feeling of the tight and over-full stomach.

I am well this morning, and since it’s my weigh in day, I am holding off on my breakfast, and I finally, finnaly felt hungry in almost 2 days. Gods, but that is a good feeling.

I know a lot of folks seem to want to avoid feeling hungry, but I really like that healthy, sweet stirring of the appetite. It tells me that I still have something of that ancestral human being in myself, the creature that was meant to run, walk, graze at large in Africain savannas of old. It feels like a particulary attractive image for someone locked in a cubicle with all her renewed energy.

So, hurray for being hungry, and healthy, and going out in the sun for a run later.

Have a wonderful day, everyone!

The park! I thought it was HUGE!

 The size is just perfect for walking 1 hour loop, but jogging is another matter, even if you jogg at a wizened snail’s pace like me, doing intervals. Yesterday I ran right back to where I started, instead of going to the train stop like I did when walking. The positive is that I can do a loop and a half and end up at a different train stop, far up-town, so I can actually get a sit. No, I don’t mind standing, but I do so hate being squeezed as a sardine!

I am kind of curious about the distance I cover, anyone know which device would measure it? Pedometer?

Yes, it’s the Hump Day… and that means it is time to start planning the next weekend to make it into the main event of your weight-busting week, instead of the down-time! Join us at the forums to plan, cheer and prep to face Weekend #2!

http://www.weight-loss-forums.buddyslim.com/weight-loss-challenge/4827-doom-zoom-weekend-challenge.html

Something so simple as few encouraging words on a blog can make a huge difference. I had a moment of uncertainty yesterday about my running routine, and I asked, and got a couple of encouraging comments. They suggested that I try to stay with the schedule that I thought was too hard. Guess what? I DID it! Sure, I didn’t climb Everest. I only managed to run 10 2 minute continous intervals with walking 1 minute in between. But seeing that’s my personal best in running so far, and that I am keeping up with the program instead of slacking, WHEEEEE! It’s those small everyday triumphs that count when one looks back at her day and sigh contentedly. If life’s obstacles were conquered in giant steps, we’d jump out of the crib, put a laurel on our heads, and head right into the grave. Thanks, Buddyslim!

I started a running program a week ago, and did one week of 4 days jogging 1 minute/walking 2 minutes intervals + 3 days of walking in between the running days.

Now, the suggested schedule suggests that I need to run 2 min and walk 1 minute for each of the 10 intervals today.  The way it worked for me during the first week was that I had been breathless by the end of each 1 minute of running, but restored very fast during walking (much less than in 2 minutes). I live in Calgary which is relatively high altitude, so I heard that running here is a little bit more difficult than at the sea level.

So, what I am trying to figure out is if I should do what the program suggests, or at least give it a try, or should I insert a week into the proposed 8 week schedule, where I run 1 minute and walk 1 minute 15 times for 2 days, and then run 2 minutes and walk 1 minute 10 x for the other 2 ‘running’ days?

Is the steep build up (the suggested schedule for my Week 2 is  2:1, then 3:1, then 4 to 1 for 2 days) actually what works and builds up stamina that I lack,  and going slower will be a waste?

Michelle Dozois’ Best Body Circuit

Michelle Dozois’ Best Body Circuit is definitely an intermediate program that combines cardio intervals with the resistance training. The DVD comes with the resistance band. It looks like it is going to become my Sunday workout of choice. At the level I am at, I won’t want to do it again until at least a week passed! It’s fun, but it’s challenging. Sweat runs in rivulets.

The Excellent:

The DVD is no nonsense. It starts the workout right away, without any non-skipable portions, but there are  introduction and what-nots that you can access at will.

Michelle has one of the most pleasant personalities, and leads the workout well, clueing you in, and not confusing you. From the whole DVD, there is just one case where I repeatedly misunderstand her.

From the start, from the warm-up you will feel that it’s an intermediate workout – the pace is faster than in ye olde beginners workouts.

Introducing the resistance tape is imo a good idea, and including it with the DVD is an even better one! This way no angst about “is this the right band?” The band I own, for example, won’t work for it.

Resistance training is top-notch… well, in my world of a weak upper body!

The Good:

Cardio sections are FUN; they are neither too ‘dancy’ complex, nor boring, nor too easy. Just right. Would have rated it as excellent, if each cardio segment wasn’t repeated twice, from ‘the other foot’, which to be honest makes no difference to me (keep switching feet anyways).

1 hour works you out to whazoo and beyond! There is an express, 35 minutes option, but I haven’t tried it, as I like this as my no-hurry Sunday workout, first thing in the morning, just in case I don’t fit another activity in… It’s perfect for this.

The workout group consists of the ‘real people’. I know some folks like it more than trained professionals, but I usually prefer the professionals for inspiration. As is, Kathy Smith still has the most amazing support group and physique to drool over while exercising!

The Bad:

The abs – are nice, with planks, but too short. I don’t know what it is with all the instructors, but they always seem to cut the abs to very short segments?

The Ugly:

None detected so far!