My weight lifting involves 3 sets of 12 reps each of:
Using barbells:
Chest fly
Chest “Bench” press
Not sure what this is called but it involves lifting barbells from your side, palms down grip, up and forward in an straight arm arch to shoulder height.
bicep curls with bar
triceps “push down?” using machine
lat pull down using machine
great knee/glut exercise I learned in physical therapy
recline squat leg lift machine
I alternate the exercises appropriately to avoid over stressing a particular muscle group by hitting it too many times in a row. I do very little leg work as the treadmill leaves me quite fatigued in the legs.
Remember, as ultrafilter said, eating fewer calories doesn’t always translate into more weight loss. I once tried to stick with 1700 calories a day. I was starving most of the time, and I lost almost no weight. I’m 5’3" and female (and exercise plenty).
One week of plateau isn’t worth worrying about, however. If you’re happy with what you’re doing and you’re not finding it difficult to stick to your diet, you’ll get over the plateau soon enough.
MeanJoe, IIRC, one week at the same weight isn’t even considered to be a plateau. Do just what you’ve been doing for another week, and if you’re still at the same weight, consider adjusting something. Also, as others have already said, consider seeing what happens if you eat more, like take it up to around 1,800 calories a day, and see where that gets you.
Just popping in to say I’ve lost nine inches around my waist and five around my hips since February tenth on the Atkins diet. (at around 50 carbs, with lean meats and veggies and my daily apple)
I don’t do scales. As long as I feel good, I’m doing good.
While I disagree that Splenda tastes that much like sugar, it’s a hell of a lot closer, and IMHO much more palatable, than Equal or Sweet N’ Low. My diet has consisted mainly of cutting out the 500 calories daily that had been in my beverages. I’ve been making sweet tea with Splenda at home, and I like it better than sugar-sweetened tea - not quite so cloying. And I’ve been doing something I never thought I’d put up with for more than a week - I’ve been using Splenda instead of sugar in my coffee. And I take the taste of my coffee pretty seriously. So Splenda has done a lot to help make my ongoing weight loss possible.
It’s in the supermarkets with the other sugar substitutes; look for the yellow boxes.
The past coupla days, I’ve been recovering from a bump in the road on Monday, when a bunch of us took a friend out to an all-you-can-eat pizza/pasta buffet to celebrate a big promotion. I gave in to temptation, but this morning I’m back down to 185, which I’d gotten down to over the weekend. That’s 9 down, 13 to go.
liirogue, so sorry to hear about your foot! I dropped a large piece of firewood on my toe many years ago and it was the worst pain I have ever experienced (including labor). Wishing you a quick recovery.
Have you considered doing some light upper body work with weights? It’s something you can do while sitting and still burn calories.
The reason I continue to use the sugar in my coffee is simple:
I bought five pounds of sugar in mid-February and when you only use a spoonful a day, it lasts a long time. And as a broke grad student (seriously broke at this point in the academic year), spending what I don’t have to is out of the question!
It’s something to look into when I run out of sugar - depending on the price vs. a bag of sugar and what’s in my bank account at that time.
It’s funny, becuase I haven’t seen the Splenda yet, even though I keep hearing about it. Maybe there’s a generic/store brand of it? I buy the generic brand of the blue stuff and it’s only a fraction of the cost.
I just got back from the gym. My first day in a week as I’ve had a very sour stomach for several days now. I have a question for all the early morning excersizers, when do you eat breakfast? I’m thinking about having a small meal before I go at 5:15 just because when I eat afterwards I get stomach cramps.
I’ve been a bad girl this past weekend. My SO and I had to rush off to Chicago for a funeral and we left Thursday and just got back on Monday night. Consindering how much time I had to spend with his mother, I had enough to do just trying to stick with the diet and there was no place to exercise :(.
But I’m back on track today! And when I walked past that box of candy bars in the staff room this morning I just laughed and said, “Ha! You have no power over me you chocolate bastards!”
I’m in!
Although, I did get a head start on this.
On Valentine’s day, I weighed in at 375# (whoa!) I started the Atkin’s diet on that day and, as of April 1st, I was down to 339#.
I’ve had a few “cheat-days” here and there, where I’ll go COMPLETELY off-diet, but the next day, I’m right back there on the wagon.
And, unfortunately, the job and family have been keeping me away from the gym.
A good portion of me bing a BIG-GUY, is that I’m a strongman-type as well.
Need a car flipped over?.. no problem.
Need to intimidate someone?.. I’m the guy to call.
I have a feeling that, once I get back inside that walls of my local YMCA, I’ll have a more pronounced weight-loss.
My long-term goal is for 250#.
Yeah, I know a lot of you will say that’s still heavy, but I’ve got a 6’4" “big-guy” build, even at my skinniest.
I did have someone approach me yesterday and ask if I am losing weight. Finally, it’s starting to show enough so that others are taking notice!
That’s pretty decent. I personally would do more leg work (squats are the best way to build muscle), even if it meant cutting back on my treadmill time.
See, I’d advise just the opposite. Up your milage/running time. You shouldn’t have that big a gap between the speeds you’re running at. Instead of switching between 7mph and 4.0 mph, try going between 6.5 and 5.5 mph for that time…and instead of 3 miles, up it to 4 or more. While I freely admit that muscle burns calories at a higher rate all during the day, upping the time/quickening the pace of your running will produce results. Once you get past a certain point, your body will loose weight very quickly.
Ah, but if you lose weight very slowly like that it’s good (though understandably frustrating). Sometimes I’ve lost five pounds overnight only to have them back with a few more little friends the next day…but I’ve always blamed that on water weight gain and those darn invisible people pushing down on the scale again.
The ‘WDD’ (Weigh Down Diet) is the one that has worked for me, I can now order a chicken sandwich at McDonald’s and stop with control about halfway because I’m getting full and therefore don’t really ‘want’ anymore. This is a whole lot better than an entire super sized quarter pounder meal that used to make up my ‘treat’. I’m not really ready to advocate this diet, because it is Christian based (not ‘bad’, but limiting). Unfortunately, for me, as a struggling Christian, I have had to steer myself away from that portion of the diet. Therefore, I try to focus on the ‘eat what your body is really calling for’, ‘stop when you are satisfied’ lessons in the first portion of the book. This diet isn’t for everyone, but then we are all so different!
To exercise 30 minutes every day shows a lot of commitment, and you are to be congratulated!
Wahaha. I didn’t say I DO exercise everyday. It’s just the only thing that works. Seriously, though, I AM trying to get at least SOME exercise everyday.
As a Christian (struggling, as well), I’d be very interested in checking out the Weigh Down Diet. Thanks very much.
Hooray for everyone here working on getting in shape! I’ve been working out basically every work day since January, but I didn’t get serious until I started watching the calories at the beginning of March. I’m 6 foot even, and my goal is 184 pounds (which means I start fitting into my 36" waist jeans OK). I started at 213 in January but only got to 209 by March 4th. This past Monday, though (March 31st), I was down to 194, so I’m only 10 pounds away! Those size 38s that I’ve been stuffing myself into are nice and loose now!
Once I hit my target weight, I plan to incorporate more leg and ‘core’ exercises. My overall goal right now is to burn calories, not add a large amount of muscle mass. Obviously, I want to add some and tone what I’ve got already but it is not my priority at the moment. Thus, I keep my sets to relatively low weight - enough that the last half of the third set is a strain to complete but not so much that I’m going to “bulk up”. I guess what I mean to convey is that I am looking to strike a balance (for now) between added muscle mass for toning and increased calorie burn during seditary periods vs. continuing to lose weight and trim down. I’m worried if I emphasize weights at equal or larger proportion to my cardio exercise, that I’ll be working against my end goals.
Once I hit my target weight, or lower depending upon how I feel at 175lbs, I’ll be much more focused on the cardio with a considerable increase in the weight training so that I’ll be cut and buff and all that… Yah, I’ll not be a girly man with girly arms no more.
Also, keep in mind that the volleyball is usually 2 to 3 hours of competitive volleyball, not the back-yard net playing with your cousins type volleyball. It’s one heck of a workout.
Atrael:
I have been slowly adjusting the percentage of run vs. walk. Prior to starting this, I also smoked 2 packs a day for well over 10 years. My lung capacity and cardio fitness was in the crapper. The current 1/4 mile walk, 3/4 mile run for 3 miles is an increase that started this week. I will keep to that for a minimum of 1 week, most likely 2, before making another increase. My end goal is 3 miles of running with a 1/4 mile warm-up and cool down walk at the end. From there I’ll keep adding distance.
I appreciate the idea though about increasing the speed of the walk. Obviously with the approach I’m taking, at some point I have to transition from walking to running the entire distance and I have been struggling a little bit to determine what is going to be the best approach to this. Per your suggestion, I will have to begin to increase the speed of the walking sections to close the gap between run/walk to get closer to running the whole distance. That may not be exactly what you meant but it got me thinking and solved a problem. Thanks!
…and finally, CONGRATS TO EVERYONE ON THEIR UPDATES!!! Keep it coming!
I shop at Food Lion, which isn’t noted for having esoteric stuff, and they’ve got it, both in the packets and the pourable stuff (for using in recipes and stuff like my sweet tea), and in different sized boxes for both. So I’d expect the more full-service supermarkets to all have it. Like I said, it’s with the other sugar substitutes; it’s in the yellow boxes and packets.
Haven’t seen a generic version, but I haven’t looked real hard. If price is important to you, then stick with blue or pink stuff, since generics of those are available everywhere.
Lsura - IIRC, sugar’s something like 15 calories per teaspoon; even a heaping spoonful’s only gonna be 30 cal. One spoonful of sugar in your coffee each day isn’t going to break your diet. Good luck!
