November Challenge Day 11

[Gabriel Guzman]

Today always comes before tomorrow
(Botswana proverb)

One third of the challenge is already gone!! How about that? You didn’t think you’d be exercising this far, did you? Well, of course you could and you’re not done yet! Together with your accountability, you’ve been working hard at emphasizing exercise this month, and you’ve been doing great! How does it feel?

If you still don’t feel 100% sure about what you’re doing, let me tell you again, you’re doing great! You decided to get out of your comfort zone and starting to move more. I told you I’d keep you on your toes, but I also told you that I’d help you go through it so to help you find even more reasons to stay on track, here are some a few more myths and facts of exercise for you to think about.



Myth: Weight training is only for young people.

Fact: Weight training benefits people of all ages.

There is an insistent trend that keeps repeating that as we get old, we get week. Is 25 old? Because without exercise, the process of getting ‘weak’ can start as early as that age. So, true, we get weaker as we get older BUT only if we don’t exercise. If we exercise regularly, there is no reason why we should necessarily grow weaker as we grow older. Couple to that is the also insistent trend of repeating that as we get older, we get fatter… Well, I suppose we’re doing things in reverse, aren’t we? We may be getting older but we’re not getting fatter!

What does happen with age is a change in the type of muscle fibers that are more abundant. Think of a child with grandpa; sure little kido beats grandpa in a sprint, but can’t beat him in lifting a 12 lb stone. One hypothesis is that as we age we lose fast fibers (good for strength; sprinters have a lot of these) and are left with only slow ones (good for endurance: marathoners have a lot of these). The hypothesis is somewhat controversial because it has been difficult to prove that aging leads to an increase in the relative amount of slow fibers. What seems to happen is that they type of fibers actually change and stop being fast or slow to become a hybrid type.

That doesn’t mean that we necessarily grow weaker because there are less fast fibers, at least not if we can help it. In fact, resistance exercise helps to keep our muscles from deteriorating as it thickens the individual muscle fibers. No other type of exercise can do that. We may not be able to stop the loss of fast fibers, but we can always make sure that the slow ones are thicker and very active metabolically. So, there is no reason to believe that resistance exercise is only for young people or young athletes. I read somewhere that when somebody asked an expert what muscles should she work out, the expert said “exercise only those muscles you don’t want to lose.”

Here's a quote from a fascinating article written by JESPER L. ANDERSEN, PETER SCHJERLING and BENGT SALTIN, from the Copenhagen Muscle Research Center a few years ago:



With aging come a number of changes to the skeletal muscles. Most marked is the loss of mass, which begins as early as 25 years of age.By age 50 the skeletal muscle mass is often reduced by 10 percent, and by age 80 approximately 50 percent of the muscle mass is gone. This age-related reduction is caused mainly by a loss of muscle fibers. By greatly thickening the individual fibers, weight lifting can stave off the loss of mass from the muscle as a whole, but it appears to have no major effect on the loss of fibers. Weight lifting can prevent some loss of muscle mass but nothing can prevent changes in the shape and distribution of different types of muscle fiber as we age.

In studies conducted in elderly and frail people, these researches found that in very aged muscle the predominant type of fiber was somewhere between fast and slow and they call it a hybrid fiber.



What seems to happen is not a change in ratio between slow and fast fibers but more an obfuscation of the border between slow and fast fibers, so that in very elderly muscle one third of the fibers are neither strictly slow nor fast but rather somewhere in between.

So, the existence of this hybrid type of fibers already tells us that it is still possible to benefit from resistance exercise, which has the potential to impact the dual nature of the hybrid fibers. But that's in the elderly and frail, and you're far from that point. In the mean time, give your fast and slow fibers a good regular workout! ;)



Myth: The longer you exercise the better.

Fact: Too much exercise is not only dangerous but actually prevents benefits and results.

If you ever thought of ‘making it up with extra time’ if you skipped a planned day for exercise, or are thinking on double the time of your exercise session, forget about it! It doesn’t work that way. We’ve also read in Protein Power that more is not necessarily better. For exercise to be effective, particularly resistance exercise, you don’t need to spend countless hours at it. To be effective, your exercise sessions should provide the precise amount of stimulation that will trigger the sequence of events we talked about in a previous post with myths and facts of exercise. Working out too much is hard not on the body itself but draining on the mind and your overall health. I remember when I was in Sweden, there was this girl in my lab with what you’d say a ‘sculpted figure.’ She was an ‘aerobics’ trainer and would teach ~3-4 60-minute sessions besides her normal weight training routine. All that besides her daily running 10 or so km to get to the lab (or sometimes biking twice that distance to make it worth). On top of that, she engaged in regular endurance challenges of the iron-woman type mixed with ‘survival’ training. She always impressed me. However, one day I learned that she was also constantly taking pain medicine so she could keep training. I’ve heard of too many similar cases. If you read the ‘sticky thread’ “Exercise is not optional” that we put on the Use it or Lose it forum, you’ll learn more about what ‘health’ and ‘fitness’ benefits are. When we ‘overdose’ on exercise, we may end up losing all health benefits. So, longer is not better!! If you do it right, be sure and be confident that it will bring you all the health benefits you’re after!

Remember, the magic of resistance exercise happens not while you workout but while you rest!



Myth: When you exercise, you drink water only when you are thirsty. And while we are on this one… “The more you sweat the more calories you’re burning"

Fact: When you sweat, it is your body telling you’re dehydrating and needs water PRONTO! In fact, your body needs more water than it’s telling you.

Our bodies need water, lots of it, period! We’re ~70% water. Our muscles are also ~70% water. There’s no way around it! You need water, even if you don’t feel thirsty. Remember that part of Protein Power that says “drink ‘till you float”? Well, the more you drink, the more you lose, which by the way is great to get rid of fluid retention. Keeping your nutrition the way it is now (i.e. controlling carbohydrates) makes wonders for fluid retention; adding regular and abundant drinking of water makes that process even better! When you exercise, it’s even more important to drink plenty of water.

There are some people who strive for ‘a lot of sweating’ when they exercise, equating that in their minds with a good fat burning session. While there may be a good amount of calories being burned, a lot of sweat may just mean that your body is crying for you to please give it some rehydrate it! So, don’t make the mistake of not keeping well hydrated while you exercise, whatever the type of exercise you do, regardless if you’re sweating or not, and whether you feel thirsty or not. Drink water all the time; use those seconds between sets, the time between exercises to drink water and after your workout.

This last myth is so important that I’ll be talking about it in more posts.



Myth: You have to eat perfectly all the time.

Fact: There’s not such thing as eating perfectly.

Somebody mentioned in another post that I was encouraging ‘perfect form’ while I wasn’t having a ‘perfect eating’ :):). I know that I was kindly reminded to make sure I had my protein intake since that day I happened to have a ‘low-protein’ day. At this point in our challenge, I think is important to dispel the myth of eating ‘perfectly’. There’s no such thing. We’ll all have days in which, for some reason, we have less protein than we intended, or a bit more carbs than we thought or planned. Don’t beat yourself up! It will take you nowhere!

In an extreme case, some people get so disappointed on themselves that forget all the progress, all the effort and all the hard work in a second. Even worse, they sometimes give up on themselves and even consider quitting all together. If you ever find yourself in that situation, don’t be too hard on yourself. Put it behind you and get back on track! That’s the best way to ‘recover’ from planned or unplanned overindulgencies. The same goes for exercise; if you planned to exercise today and for some reason just couldn’t make it, don’t dwell on that. Get back at it as soon as you can. That's what staying on the plan means, always movnig forward, like that Liberian saying I always like to quote, not looking where we fall but where we slip. If we need to use the word 'perfect', perhaps getting back on track is the perfect way to stay on target, and it's really what makes it a lasting change in our behavior.

I think it’s very important to reflect on this because the holidays are close. We may find ourselves in a situation in which we will end up eating that extra piece of pumpkin pie, that extra helping of mashed potatoes, etc. If that happens, well, enjoy it! It will be your stumble onto the honey tree. Next day, instead of beating yourself up, remember the good times with whoever you had dinner with, put it behind you and get back on track.

Remember when we said we were building upon your hard work from last month, well, this is why. Your body is responding differently to food now. Sure, you’ll say there’s still work to be done and ways to go, but your body has been adjusting to handle certain foods such as carbs in a better way now. Eating this way is helping you become more insulin sensitive and exercise is making that even more efficient. That doesn’t mean you can now go and eat whatever you want at your heart’s desire, particularly what you known doesn’t nurture you. It just means that if you overdo here and there during the holidays, first of all, don’t freak out! Second, be aware that while your body may handle the little insult very well, you won’t get rid of the aftermath; the next day your feet may be a little swollen, your eyes puffy and yes, you will retain water. If you get on the scale every day, you’ll notice the effects. That however, doesn’t mean you’re putting on weight from fat as it takes more than a night of carb-heaven to actually start accumulating fat. So, the day after, get back on track, drink ‘till you float, resume your exercise and keep giving it your all!

Keep up the great work!

I'm posting this past midnight... if there are some mistakes, or all of a sudden I stopped making sense, I'll edit them in the morning! :)

[abbey]

Good morning everyone when you wake up! :)

I'm just about to do my reistance training and then tonight I'm going dancing.. tht should take care of my cardio even if it's not part of my couch to 5k program :)

[Mitra]

Good morning :).

Thank you for taking the time to provide all these explanations, Gabe. Just one thing (yet again, I get distracted by the numbers :rolleyes:). You said, "We’re ~70% water." Presumably that's 70% of the lean body mass that's water. It's not unusual for a woman to have 30% body fat. And the rest isn't all water ;).

It's my rest day today, so I'll be eating my protein and thinking of all that muscle repair that's going on after my Slow Burn yesterday :D. I hope it's alright to carry my shopping back from the farmers market :). It's a lovely sunny day for the walk.

[cmcole]

Body aching a bit when I woke after the 5km with the dogs (alone) yesterday. Probably because one pulls me backwards while the other is steaming full speed ahead, so my body gets twisted and my lower back feels it the next day.

Last night's ceremony(?) with my hubby's Unit representatives went well. The Station Chief was very impressed with their performance, and the media was there as well. Thankfully, the weather co-operated - wind would have been a real issue, I'm sure. The young men did the Unit proud, and it is something even the Army would have had a problem out-doing (ahhhhh the Branch rivalry).

Today is another day, and they will be participating in Remembrance Day Ceremonies. Monday, the same group will be doing the honour guard and 21-gun salute during the funeral.

No gym today - it is closed for Remembrance Day. Good thing I'm not signed up for this challenge - you'd all shoot me for lack of resistance training in the latter part of the week.

[BeccainSC]

Officially saying good morning, though I've been up for almost 2 hours. I guess it's a good thing that I get up around my "weekday" time on the weekends even without an alarm clock.

I've done my cardio for the day. 20 minutes of Richard Simmons (Sweatin to the Oldies 2 - 4 songs worth) along with a 5 minute "walk around the living room" as a cool down.

Typical Saturday for me... DD2 to the library to "work" and football all afternoon! GO TIGERS and GO GAMECOCKS !

I'm "feeling" thinner today so I'm looking forward to tomorrow's weighing and measuring. I can definitely feel a difference in my clothes!

I hope everyone has an enjoyable weekend.

Think Happy Thoughts Today!

'becca

[Billie]

Gabe thanks for taking the time to do that...weight lifting has many myths and sometimes it is very important to disspell those in our minds.

Abbey enjoy the evening of dancing!
CMCole the presentation of the troups must be pretty impressive, glad you shared that with us.
Becca---Watch your intake of sodium today if you are getting ready to weigh tomorrow, too much salt can add some water weight and send us into a tizzy--but if you are feeling leaner today, why wait until tomorrow, weigh today.

I understand what you mean when you say you are "feeling thinner" and those are the days I usually weigh--heck I will take what ever mental edge I can get!

The doc is still sleeping, so not sure if we are going for coffee or not, but definitely the gym. Joanne, that snow storm was paralyzing for some parts, it stayed north of Illinois but it was a horrid night here with terrible thunder and lightning, or poor dog was shaking!

Do it well today everyone, you can and nothing like feeling that success!

[Peachy]

Good Morning All!

I missed you all yesterday, but my schedule didn't allow me time for being on the computer.

How is everyone doing? I can't believe we are 1/3 into this challenge. I'm feeling good and strong.

[BeccainSC]

Becca---Watch your intake of sodium today if you are getting ready to weigh tomorrow, too much salt can add some water weight and send us into a tizzy--but if you are feeling leaner today, why wait until tomorrow, weigh today.

I understand what you mean when you say you are "feeling thinner" and those are the days I usually weigh--heck I will take what ever mental edge I can get!


I did get on the scale this morning, but I didn't take any measurements. The scale only showed 1/2 pound down and now that I've had like 4 glasses of water plus breakfast I'm not going anywhere near the scale.

Will try to work on the sodium aspect today, but given that I've just had bacon it may be too late for that! ;)

Other than a massive case of sleepiness around noon yesterday I've had a ton more energy lately so I know something is working right!

'becca

[Bangs]

Good Morning!

Gabe, thanks so much for the informative post. I really appreciate your ability to take often complex concepts and make them easily accessible, as well as your taking the time out of your busy life to help us:)

Yes, Billie, we only got the nasty, cold thunderstorms, and avoided the "S" word.

Peach, YEA! for feeling good and strong!!

CM, so glad to hear the ceremony went well and the young men did their part with honor.

Abbey, dancing!!! Whee, sounds great for body and spirit!


# SUP: I take too many to list ;)
LOL, Becca, me too! And some of them vary depending on...how I feel, my mood, the phase of the moon......:eek:

Mitra,and everyone to come, have a great day!

Funny, I'm feeling slimmer, too? Maybe it's an illusion on my part, or just my growling tummy this am, but I'm looking forward to Monday's measuring.

[Claudette]

Hi, Y'all,

Happy Veterans Day!

Billie, give my many thanks to Dr. Gabe for a great post on myths of resistance training. He is a great teacher in that he puts the difficult to understand into the understandable.

Tell him I've also seen alot of patients who come in for pain medication because they "train" like his lab colleague in Sweden. Then, they are surprized to hear us say, "tincture of rest" instead of more pain meds.

Today is fun filled, going to a re-inactment of WWII soldiers, Germans & Americans with hubby. He is so into that, only he usually is into more the "mountain men" variety

I, too, am feeling "lighter", snuck a peek at the scale, and voila', I am down a bit!

Resistance and cardio are working! The grey suit I bough a few weeks ago is alittle loose!

Hugs,
Claudette

[Peachy]

It seems like exercise is the magic that each of us needed for us to "feel" thinner. By the end of the month we should be looking thinner too! Lost pounds and loose clothes are great news!

[kpow]

You are so right, Peachy! I tried on a pair of jeans today that had been too tight, and voila! today they fit a lot looser!:D

No exercise this morning, had to sing for a funeral. I will be leaving very soon for the neighborhood pub to have a PP lunch and watch some football with my buds.

Have a great weekend, ya'll! :)

Kathy

[virginia]

Thank you Gabriel for the information. It is always valuable and helpful.;)

Not a good day for me today... My hormones are making me quite sick and I'm not really hungry tonight, so, I think I'm not going to have dinner. I know my protein intake has not reached my minimum, but I really feel a bit nauseous and it is impossible for me to eat anything now.
So, my numbers are:
Protein: 58.6 g
ECC: 13.9 g
Water: 1.5 litres
Supplements: yes
Exercise: planned rest day

[Gabriel Guzman]

Good morning :).

Thank you for taking the time to provide all these explanations, Gabe. Just one thing (yet again, I get distracted by the numbers :rolleyes:). You said, "We’re ~70% water." Presumably that's 70% of the lean body mass that's water. It's not unusual for a woman to have 30% body fat. And the rest isn't all water ;).


Oki doki... :) Let's take that distraction away so you don't miss the forest by focusing on one tree... ;)

About 70% of the body is water, not just 70% of lean body mass. However, the water maybe not be in the way you think; it's not water like you see in a glass. Besides the fluids of the body (blood, urine, fluid around the brain, interstiscial fluid -between cells- and the actual fluid inside the cells), there is also what is called bound water. If you think of an orange, when you peel it you don't get a lot of juice running, but when you squeeze it, you make a whole mess! :)

Water is everywhere in the body, even inside the fat cells at their biggest size. If we could condense a 170-lb person, the mass would still be 170 lb regarding of the amount of lean body weight because of the Law of Conservation of Mass (if you take any object and alter it physically or chemically without adding material to it or removing material from it, the mass remains constant). If we were to remove all the water from the 170 lb person, that is if we remove all that ~70%, we'd end up with around ~51 lb of mass. That includes muscle bone, cartilage, and every other molecule that has lost bound and unbound water. If the 70% of water were only related to lean body mass, then after removing the water, the remaining mass should still be ~51 lb, or we would violate the law of conservation of mass.

A 170-lb person with 30% body fat has ~119 lb of lean body mass. If we remove the 70% of water from the 119 lb of lean body mass, this person would actually have only ~36 lb of 'leftover mass', less than what's predicted by mass conservation.

Perhaps the confusion was in the way I phrased the statement "We’re ~70% water. Our muscles are also ~70% water". That just means that the partitioning of water in the muscles happens to be also ~70% (i.e. our muscles contain a lot of water too), not that most of the water in the body is contained only there. As an analogy, we could also say that the blood's plasma is 90% water without meaning that most of the body water is contained there, that's how water is partitioned in the blood. In fact, the atual volumetric contribution of plasma in the blood is ~55%, with the remaining 45% being mostly red and white blood cells and platelets. Hopefully, the tree got blurry enough now! :)

Bottom line, we are pretty much big sacs of water held by an incredible membrane (the skin), inside which our machinery is best designed to be surrounded by water, thus making it indispensable for life.

[Gabriel Guzman]

Good Morning!

Gabe, thanks so much for the informative post. I really appreciate your ability to take often complex concepts and make them easily accessible, as well as your taking the time out of your busy life to help us:)

You're very welcome!


Hi, Y'all,

Billie, give my many thanks to Dr. Gabe for a great post on myths of resistance training. He is a great teacher in that he puts the difficult to understand into the understandable.

Tell him I've also seen alot of patients who come in for pain medication because they "train" like his lab colleague in Sweden. Then, they are surprized to hear us say, "tincture of rest" instead of more pain meds.
Hugs,
Claudette

Well, she didn't tell me! :)
You're very welcome and I appreciate your compliment. I love the 'tincture of rest' prescription! I had to use a bit of that early this week! :)


Thank you Gabriel for the information. It is always valuable and helpful.;)

Not a good day for me today... My hormones are making me quite sick and I'm not really hungry tonight, so, I think I'm not going to have dinner. I know my protein intake has not reached my minimum, but I really feel a bit nauseous and it is impossible for me to eat anything now.

You're welcome Virginia. Sorry to hear about your discomfort. You're body is telling you what not to do right now, so follow the signs and take it easy tonight!


Note to self: This 'multiple quote' system is really cool!!!

[Mitra]

I don't know the exact percentage of water that's in fat tissue - obviously fat isn't just fat, because if you render pork fat, say, then you lose some mass because of evaporation of water, and there's crackling left, which presumably is a proteiny matrix. And some bits, like blood, I'd imagine have a lot of water.


A 170-lb person with 30% body fat has ~119 lb of lean body mass. If we remove the 70% of water from the 119 lb of lean body mass, this person would actually have only ~36 lb of 'leftover mass', less than what's predicted by mass conservation.

So in your example 170 lbs = 51 lbs fat + 119 LBM

If the entire body is 70% water, then you have 51 fat, 119 water, no other stuff. Based on my experience with pork fat, there's not that much water and other stuff in it.

If 70% of LBM is water, then you could have 51 fat (30% of 170), 83 water (70% of 119), 36 other stuff (30% of 119). I'm not sure in what way that violates the conservation of mass. Of course that doesn't mean that's the way the split goes - I'll take your word on that, because you know much more about biochemistry than I do (but I might know more about conservation of mass ;) ), but I still think that it's not plausible that someone with 10% body fat has the same water percentage as someone with 50%. If I cook all the water out of a lean piece of meat it loses a higher percentage of its weight than a fatty piece. And my guess would be that the 70% figure might be applicable to a lean (or at least not overweight) male.

[virginia]

Thank you thank you Gabe...;)

[Billie]

Mitra way to keep Gabe busy and not helping me with housework! :eek: Kidding!

Right on target today with plan. We had a nice long workout this morning, I did upper body resistance and about 35 minutes of cardio. Feels good!

Now back to cleaning, doing that deep cleaning that doesn't get done nearly enough, taking apart the screens and cleaning between the screens and windows, cleaned the refrig and stove and lemon oiled the kitchen cabinets and laundry that never seems to end, today was linens and bedspreads.

Will probably fall into bed tonight, especially after the long gym time!

[Mitra]

No wonder he's so keen to debate % or two difference in body composition :lol:

[Gabriel Guzman]

No wonder he's so keen to debate % or two difference in body composition :lol:


What can I say, rather than debating it, I tried to explain it but didn't work. You're still thinking on liquid water. :)

Like I said, the take home message is that we need to drink a lot of water because our body is designed to work best in an aqueous environment.

[Mitra]

So far, you're right, I'm not understanding the explanations, but thank you for trying. I knew there was a reason I stuck with physics instead of chemistry - it's way too complicated for me :(.

Anyway, I've met my targets for today - no exercise, as it was a rest day, but on track with food, water and supps.

[Peachy]

Gabe - one more question on these percentages, 'cause you all are making it hard to keep up. Are you also saying that the 30% fat is also 70% water?

[Peachy]

I'm interested in the 'whys' to drinking water. I don't drink more than 30 oz. all day. I want to know why I should drink more.

[Missy]

Hi EVERYONE!!! :D

Gabe! YOU are soooooo AWESOME!!!! I want to thank you for taking the time that you do to explain to us, and care enough to follow through and keep us on the straight and narrow where ever you "see" we maybe stearing wrong! lol Knowing that you are keeping an eye on us is very comforting! That's simply awesome...and I thank you gratefully!

The part of your above post that struck HOME with me most was the part about "perfect" eating...and "extreme cases of disappointment" that causes derailment....I've been THERE so many many times it's not funny. Somehow though, I've always MANAGED to get myself together ENOUGH to seek additional help and proper information...and thankfully, again, this eventually lead me to this plan...and therefore, at the threshold of a level of REAL help and interactive guidance from THIS board...and especially your help. I can't thank you ENOUGH.

I said JUST this morning to my husband over breakfast, as I explained just how much FUN it's been to "belong" to a support group that is essentically "losing" together...all starting "the plan" together and all reporting in their changes...that it's been a very rewarding remarkable experience for me...and unbelievably helpful.

I appreciate mostly about your ABOVE post is allowing ourselves to give ourselves a "break" and chill out about an allowed excess or lack of protein requirement. In saying that, I get exactly what you mean, it's A day or A Meal or A dessert....not the thinking "oh well, I've screwed it up what the HELL NOW!" thinking. It's a contained controlled moment...deal with it and move on....get back on track and forgive and forget about it! Thanks for writing about it..as a newbie grasping this plan....it was THAT very pitfal that messed me up the first time around. Not to mention I wasn't being as accurate as I thought I was. Now I am.

I just can't begin to thank you enough Gabe.

[Missy]

Ok, about me in the last two days! lol

My show yesterday was sadly awful. A long day for dull sales...and very slow crowd day. It's just the "way" it goes these days. Oh well.

I managed, get this, to LIVE through the day of having to sit accrossed the aisle from two ladies that sold cookies...and I don't mean just a "bake sale" either...I mean HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS OF DOZENS OF COOKIES!!! They worked at the hosptial...so the hospital staff of people KNEW her and KNEW she was coming to sell cookies....so she packaged up plate after plate after plate of cookies as the people picked what "type" they wanted. Then, of course, she restocked the trays all day long from plastic tote boxes under the table.

Anyways...I managed to survive the days worth of sugar laden temptations...cookies, my FAVORITE THING TOO!!!!....anyways, I stayed on plan...and made my PP drink in the morning, took my homemade Iced tea (3 bottles worth) and was able to make a nice salad from the hospital cafeteria and put three boiled eggs on it to get enough protein. I "allowed" myself two cookies from her...as I've learned to guestemate carb counts.

I was darn proud of myself for resisting....because the FORMER ME could have easily bought a dozen cookies in the morning and ate them eventually through out the day....easily. Especially how boring the day was...well, EXCEPT for the cookie lady sales! lol

Anyways....I was going to go to the gym today, but I'm still cramping...so I'm going to pass...and not worry about it. Monday I'll be fine.

Now...for the more FUN part of my post. I'm "feeling" that my body's ready to dump the weight in a "whooshing" fashion!:D :D So, NOT that I want to jinx it...but I fully expect over the next few days that I can be excitedly expect to report some losses! :D It MIGHT be exceptionally exciting number!!! Since I've come to realise that this is how I lose....not steady but when I do...MAN DO I!!!! lol

My body is giving me the "sign" that that's what it's doing.

Since this is day 11 and added to the 30 some days of Oct's worth of eating properly....than I'm going to "see" if every 40 days or so, and just AFTER my TOM if I'll get to experience a "whoosh" like this....and just learn from it as to what I can expect my body to do for me? We'll see.

I'm feeling MIGHTY THIN today!!!! :D

I'm having a hard time keeping "UP" with everyone, and I apologize for that....it certainly doesn't take much for one to feel "out of the loop"...does it!?

[gitfiddle]

Missy, there's nothing worse than being bored and having cookies (hundreds of dozens no less!) looking one in the face. Yahoo for your plan to take care of yourself! I hope you get your woosh!

I did a face plant today at a music gathering I attended. Usually there are goodies and I can pick out the protein and veggies and ignore the rest. Today, someone lovingly baked pumpkin pies while we were playing in the next room. It was more than I could stand. I had a big piece, then picked up another sweet that was on the table. I'm still trying to figure out why. :suspicious: It's not because there was no protein available because I had made sure I had an adequate lunch and I wasn't hungry.

I came home, did my resistance exercise, drank water, plan to eat only protein for the rest of the day.

Joanne, I saw that big blue blob over Wisconsin on the radar yesterday and was very grateful that Jim and I nipped in and out last weekend before it arrived. We had cold rain and wind last night. It was supposed to snow today, but it was actually rather sunny so it must have hit north of here.

I'm getting away with walking every other day, and I'm very happy. Instead of feeling guilty for not doing it daily, I'm thinking of how my muscles are busily repairing themselves to be stronger. It also helps that I'm doing the upper-body resistance on alternate days.

PRO: Yes
ECC: Don't even ask!
WAT: Yes
EXE: Yes
SUP: Yes

[joanneb608]

Gee Gitfiddle, at least you didn't have tons of pieces of pie!! I relate to what Missy said, it's so easy to think"now I've blown it, I'll just binge and start over tomorrow.":( I'm glad you had such good weather too while you visited in the vicinity. It was in the 40s today but we still got about 4" in town. Just north of here, about 60 miles, they got 16 inches!!:eek:

Missy, so sorry you got a slow day. But I am SO proud of you that you didn't give in to cookie temptation!!!!:D:D When I'm in that frame of mind, that's when I know I have a good amount of dedication to be successful in staying on plan. I'm hoping your WHOOSH is truly monumental!!!:) We missed you, too, it's so QUIET here without you!

I don't know what to think of my body's reaction to PP and exercise this time around. I thought I could predict fairly well how and when I should be losing pounds and fat. This time, I'm really stumped, and if the scale doesn't show some loss soon, I think I might go to the doctor and ask for a thyroid test, because maybe menopause has thrown my hormones out of whack? I know that my body is probably re-composing itself and gaining more muscle right now, but I think it's normally way too soon for me to be plateau-ing yet. At my height and bone structure I am still at least 70 lbs. overweight. So I should not be at a point where it is getting more difficult to lose. I thought with the exercise, it should move my body to start losing again, but it is staying the same, for the past 11 days. By past history, that isn't normal for me, so I wonder if there's another factor going on. I'll entertain anyone's opinions here!! I'd like some input . . .:tear:

I helped out with some granite today, watched my Badgers win just barely, and didn't catch the Clemson game or the SC game. Did my exercise in the morning after shoveling off the snow. A little short on protein today but I've been a little higher on most days anyway.

Thanks Gabe for the "myths" and all your posts, they're very helpful, keep 'em coming!

Pro: 71 grams
Ecc: 19 grams
supps: yep
Wat: 108 oz.
Exe: 45 min cardio, 30 min resistance

[BeccainSC]

Missy... Yeah for you for resisting the cookies and sorry your sales weren't so hot.

Joanne... Yeah for the Badgers. Clemson won (I still have a hard time cheering for them). Gamecocks lost 17-16 (2 blocked FGs and a blocked PAT cuz of some 6'6" guy on the Gator defense!). Hoping Arkansas will beat Tennessee tonight, I'm sure Kathy will let us know!

I definitely am having ketone issues. My breath has been horrid all day, constantly feels like I've got something sweet in my mouth, even after brushing. Had a trace of a headache late this afternoon and did the stix thing again, DARK PURPLE immediately, didn't even have to wait 15 seconds.

My totals today are approximates as we went out for dinner and the restaurant website has menu but no nutrition information. I got a Chicken Cesear Salad (no crutons or bread) so I know it was "carb friendly" just don't have the exact numbers - figured 2 cups of lettuce and 6 oz of chicken to be safe.

Protein: 150 grams
ECCs: 26 grams
Water: 11 + 1 while exercising
Supplements: Morning and afternoon only, not dinner. Will take a Pot/Mag before bed.
Exercise: Cardio today

'becca

[joanneb608]

Yea for you Becca!! I fear my breath is pretty rotten most of the time, but I feel better when I'm in ketosis, at least I think something MUST be happening with fat burning that way.:nod: (hopefully). Maybe Gabe will write us one of his famous treatises on the ins and outs of ketosis and our stix. I know maybe it doesn't mean that much but it makes me feel good when I see a dark purple, which isn't very often for me. But I have been keeping them in the small to moderate range of color consistently, so that's encouraging. Now if the SCALE would show something lower!:mad::mad: But I have sworn off weighing for awhile since it can be discouraging.

Well, at least SC gave them a real run for their money!

[SherryJ]

Missy! That ROCKS!!!

And, CAROL, not tooo long ago, you would have dived into those pies! I'm so PROUD OF YOU, I just can not tell you how much, my dear GF!!!

Sherry

[Gabriel Guzman]

Gabe - one more question on these percentages, 'cause you all are making it hard to keep up. Are you also saying that the 30% fat is also 70% water?

No, that's not what I said. I said that there is water even in fat cells. Every tissue in the body contains water, either bound or unbound (i.e. fluid) but the percentage in each tissue varies. Some tissues have more, some have less. If we were to pool all that water, it would make up ~70% of the mass of the body.

It wasn't my intention to make anything hard to keep up and, on purpose, I didn't go into more details in the original post. The point I wanted, and still want to make across is that we need to drink water all the time, not just when we feel thirsty. As to what is the amount to drink, well, everyone has an opinion. I don't think you want me to go into the nitty gritty of the calculations (because there is a way that somebody has devised to calculate exactly how much water one should drink). I think is suffice to say that at least 2 L per day is a good 'ballpark' amount. If you can drink more, great!


Hi EVERYONE!!! :D

Gabe! YOU are soooooo AWESOME!!!! I want to thank you for taking the time that you do to explain to us, and care enough to follow through and keep us on the straight and narrow where ever you "see" we maybe stearing wrong! lol Knowing that you are keeping an eye on us is very comforting! That's simply awesome...and I thank you gratefully!

Thanks Missy. Remember... paying it forward :)



The part of your above post that struck HOME with me most was the part about "perfect" eating...and "extreme cases of disappointment" that causes derailment....I've been THERE so many many times it's not funny. Somehow though, I've always MANAGED to get myself together ENOUGH to seek additional help and proper information...and thankfully, again, this eventually lead me to this plan...and therefore, at the threshold of a level of REAL help and interactive guidance from THIS board...and especially your help. I can't thank you ENOUGH.

I think is safe to say that most of us have been there at one time or another. The difference between now and then is that now we have tools that can help you go through those times and come out 'in one piece'. I just thought that since the holidays have their way to come, it would be helpful to discuss how the misconception of 'perfect eating' can actually play against us if we don't look at this issue from a different perspective. I'm glad you found it helpful.

[LisaS]

Pro: 128 g
ECC: 19 g
water: Y
supps: Y
exercise: planned rest - active recovery/mobility

[Gabriel Guzman]

Anyway, it's almost midnight and here is the wrap up of my day:


Protein: ~70 g
ECC: 40-45 g
Exercise: resistance + cardio
Water: At least 2 L
Supplements: no


I made an interesting observation (at least to me) today while I was exercising. Those who know me from some time ago know that I don't put too much stock in 'cardio' as a fat-burning exercise and I invest most of my effort in resistance. I do use 'cardio' to 'get my blood pumped'. Usually, I do ~10 min of cardio on the high intensity side (i.e. 85% of my aerobic capacity according to my age). One simple way that some machines spit that information out is by measuring your heart rate (HR), so for me a heart rate of 145-150 puts me 'in that zone'. Once I reach that, I keep doing cardio for a few more minutes at that HR and then switch to resistance right away.

Anyway, at the beginning of the year, after not exercising for quite some time, it didn't take me very long to reach that target HR (~2-3 min), which means I wasn't in very good shape. In a sense, that's equivalent to walking a very short distance before feeling out of breath. Since we started to emphasize more exercsie and at the beginning of this challenge, it took me ~3-4 min to reach that HR (still too soon and I didn't think it was too different than the time it took me at the beginning of the year). Today, however, I had to spend more time doing cardio because it took me ~8 minutes to reach that same HR. To me, that's another way to see that things are moving in the right direction (not just the scale or waist measurements). Since I've been doing resistance (in an aerobic way) significantly more than cardio, this adaptation can't be the result of 'cardio-exercise'. Exercise combined with the way of eating that we've work hard to adhere closely this past month and a half, is actually making my body be more efficient, with food and the way food is used. I thought I'd mention that in case somebody else has noticed improvement in any other way and would like to share it. Those little details are so important to keep us motivated!

So far, I've recorded gains in strength with certain exercises (measured by the amount of weight needed to reach near muscle exhaustion). From now on, however, I'll be recording the time it takes me to reach my target HR during each exercise session and see what I can conclude at the end of the challenge. It's always nice to see how your body responds when you put all your effort in nurturing it and challenging it (within the boundaries of common sense that is).

You are all doing great! I'm very proud of this group!

[abbey]

Number for the day:

Protein: 127
ECC: 41
Supps: yes
Water: 5L
Exercise: dancing/cardio and resistance

[Billie]

Missy--great job on the cookies!!! AND Carol on those pies!

Joanne, your body will release that fat when it gets good and ready to, this is the time that you have to stay vigilant so it does. So many of us have been up and down and all around with weight that our body and our mind signals are not always coincided--we can't think it's time for us to lose wieght and viola it hapens (I wish) But you are coming off a HUGE HUGE weight loss month at 14 lbs I believe and a zillion inches---so even if you body doesn't give up a single pound this week or this month--you still are far ahead of the game. As my mother used to say, "when the going gets tough, the tough get going:. :) So keep at it, you will be so pleased you did, and as well keep on those exercise, together you are not only packaging a slimmer you BUT most importantly a HEALTHY You!

Becca maybe stay within the 30-40 ECCs, there really is no value in going lower and it tends to cause a binge here or there when we don't get some of the treats we want, so just stay right where you are.

On the stiks ladies--:D You really don't want to know what Gabe thinks :D Suffice it to say, from the second in command, if it works for you mentally or if you like Becca can see that headaches arise when her carbs are too low, then it works for you. Deal! For the others reading this, you can lose wieght if you are in "purple" or not, it really isn't an accurate indicator. There was that politically correct?:lol:

And you should have seen Gabe's face at the gyn when he realized about the heart rate, it was like someone had given him the greatest gift! Isn't it funny how our priorities switch towards good health, love it!

[BeccainSC]

Becca maybe stay within the 30-40 ECCs, there really is no value in going lower and it tends to cause a binge here or there when we don't get some of the treats we want, so just stay right where you are.

On the stiks ladies--:D You really don't want to know what Gabe thinks :D Suffice it to say, from the second in command, if it works for you mentally or if you like Becca can see that headaches arise when her carbs are too low, then it works for you. Deal! For the others reading this, you can lose wieght if you are in "purple" or not, it really isn't an accurate indicator. There was that politically correct?:lol:


I haven't been trying to go lower than that, it's just sort of happened. I was truly shocked the other day when I only had 15 ECCs (and about 1300 calories), DD2 was telling me I needed to eat more. I have been trying someting a bit different with my goals though. Since the original PP book says 30 but doesn't stress the trace carbs in nuts, cheese, eggs, etc and the PPLP says 40 but does talk about watching the trace carbs I've been keeping seperate totals (so to speak) and then adding them up at the end of the day. Looking over this past week here are my total ECCS: 26, 15, 34, 29, 19, 39 (had a biscuit that night) and 27. So I actually am going to focus on eating a hair more in the carb area, which sounds so funny.

Purple definitely isn't an indicator of weight loss as I only lost 1/2 pound this week. And doing the math it was -.8 fat and +.3 LBM. My average calories per day (based on my fitday information) was about 100 less than the past few weeks. I've actually gone back and checked the weekly average vs. weight lost each week and it seems like I actually lose more when I'm eating more. I know we don't focus on calories, it was just for statistical purposes really since I've had weeks where I lost quite a bit and others barely any. I think if I tweak the carbs that will be enough tweaking on the calories as well.

I have, however, lost a total of 10 pounds since the 1st of October (and really more than that over the past few months). :D

'becca

[Billie]

Becca that is GREAT! 10lbs is a huge loss in 6 weeks! Good for you!

I definitely think you have to eat to lose---and yes it is contrary to what we think but we have to fuel our body and muscles in order to lose the weight. So I agree and I agree that watching those carbs is a good thing--for you to keep them up around 40. Your weight loss according to the Drs. Eadeses won't be any slower at 40 than at 30 and it may help you in situations as well, so no guilt is attached. I am so proud of you! HURRAH!

[kpow]

Hi, all. Yes, Becca, Arkansas BEAT Tennessee!!!:D

Sorry about SC. :frown: They did give 'em a run for their money. :rolleyes:

Kathy

[Bangs]

Missy, YOU ROCK!! That's major temptation in almost anyone's book:)

Gabe, what a neat discovery about yourself:)

Joanne, I don't think it ever hurts to get things checked out. I'm expected the results back from my adrenal function, thyroid, dhea, estrogen, etc tests next week. Should be interesting!

10/11/06

Protein 86
ECC 34
Supps yes
Water yes
Exercise yes

[Missy]

Dr Gabe....saw Pay it Forward last night! ;) Thanks for the suggestion, very touching movie....I'm a pay it forward kinda gal...and I will always seek ways, as your suggestion and the movies suggestion, in which I can too! Your a great inspiration! I'm banking on the wake of me on here to pay it forward where ever I can! :D Both my husband and myself were crying at the end! :tear:

Thanks everyone for the support of me and those cookies...every time I manage myself in a situation like that...well, I feel I can put another notch in my belt of successful self control..and it's just awesome!!! and no cookie can ever replace that feeling. Okay, well, sometimes it can! LOL WHO WE KIDDIN'!!!!!! lol :D

Carol, don't beat yourself up over that pie!! I've given in to pumpkin pie too in the last month..and it's OKAY. It really is. It's great that you brought it to us and told us. Sometimes the reason "why" is simple the fact that it's delicious and we want it, and THAT is okay. OKAY?! :)

Joanne...and anyone else who's got growing concern over that lack of weight loss....STOP doing that to yourself...and listen to MY story. Joanne, I've been on the "plan" right along with you..and I could ONLY come up with the loss of TWO pounds come Oct's month end....so, essentically, I started "in" a stahl. Now, you have got some loss under your belt....so DON"T start questioning what your doing, or wondering if you can tweak it "better"...(I know, cause I've mentally been where I think you are right now) ~ That thinking lead me to derailment, and disappointment....and this was me doing the plan on my own. Have FAITH, don't QUESTION and keep doing what your doing....once your body decides that it's ready to drop the weight...you'll FEEL IT happen.

You know what I've mentioned last night about myself right now, that I'm anticipating a whoosh...well...that's what your body is more then likely doing. It's LOSING the fat...but the cells are refilling with water? I maybe ALL WET in this explaination...but it mentally gives ME something logical to think about to put off my discouragement or expectations. When your body says "hey?! This girl means business, we can give the signal to DUMP that water now!"...THAT is when you'll get a bunch of weight loss numbers...I'm a month and eleven days into this and finally, my body's going to flip that exciting switch. So, be patient. It will happen for you...BUT you have to remain diligent and consistant.

DON'T allow that scale to sit on your shoulder and sway you to believe ANYTHING DIFFERENT! You hear me girlfriend?!!!!

I'll come and PM ya'...I WILL! lol :eek:

Perhaps the good Dr. can talk to us about Metabolic "set" points. I have NO IDEA if that is a fact or fiction..but it seems to have logic to me....as I don't lose, don't lose, lose rapidly and then stop once again and the whole cycle starts all over again. My whooshes usually happen the time just after my TOM too! That's my "good" week.

Becca, I'm so proud of your determination to understand this plan and fine tune it "outwardly"...that's just great!!! :D

I couldn't be more pleased to be in the company of my team here!

[cmcole]

Becca, I was just reading in a "health" magazine about treating headaches, and they were saying that one of the causes of headaches could be dehydration.

Just a reminder to get that water in your system, even if you don't feel thirsty.

[BeccainSC]

Becca, I was just reading in a "health" magazine about treating headaches, and they were saying that one of the causes of headaches could be dehydration.

Just a reminder to get that water in your system, even if you don't feel thirsty.


Well I drink like a fish... my goals for the month are 10+ tally marks for water per day. Most of the glasses I use for my water are larger than 8oz. - I think one of my projects for tomorrow will be to see what the volumes of the 4 main ones I use actually are. Because of the headaches and obvious ketone issues (breath) I'm being extra vigilant about my drinking!

Thanks for the tip! I really appreciate how you're always researching things for us!

I also took a peek at your pictures today. I had tried the other day but the link wasn't working, I guess you didn't have it fully loaded yet. The view from your deck is so nice, looks very peaceful!

'becca

[lizi145]

Gosh! Yesterday was sooooo busy, I never got a chance to get on the 'puter.

Here are my numbers...

Pro..107g
Ecc...40g
supps..yes
water..not enough
exercise...60 min walking on treadmill, 60 min on ellip, abs