Janet's Roll Call

[Guest guest]

After 3 weeks in a row with a gain, I managed to weigh in with a 1.50 pound loss last night. I concentrated on getting myself organized, and improved the attitude, so everything else was able to fall into place... better food choices, portion control, and exercise was 22.25 miles. I'm going to substantially increase the exercise this week. I do great with my power walking miles, but I need to concentrate more on the strength training. I'm always afraid of the "if you're working out more, you'll gain muscle and thus show a gain on the scale". Well, I'm not buying into that anymore. The more muscle mass that we have, the more fat calories we'll burn. That's why guys can usually lose weight faster than us gals. They generally have more muscle mass, so their bodies burn more calories, even when not exercising. So, a question for anyone out there who does weight training.... I already get in a pretty good workout at the gym... Should I increase the weight/resistance, or increase the repititions first??

Has anyone been watching "The Biggest Loser" on TV? My daughter taped it for me since it comes on during my TOPS meeting time. I really disagree with some of the things that they're doing on the show... like using junk food to tempt the contestants to stray, but I guess that is what keeps it from just being a "make over" show, and makes it the reality game show that it is. They'll be tempted with poor food choices in real life after the show ends, so I guess that is why they're challenging them now. After seeing the contestants doing what I feel is EXTREME exercise (weights & cardio), for SEVERAL HOURS a day... and having HUGE losses on the scale, I sure won't buy into the "well, I did yard work before I weighed in, so I must have gained muscle weight" excuse anymore! One does not gain muscle that quickly... otherwise we'd all be walking around looking like bodybuilders. I'm sure that I might upset some people with my opinion. Please know that I don't mean to offend anyone. In fact, I'd really appreciate anyone's views on this. Recently, it was in the news that a government medical panel (not sure if it was NIH) changed the recommended daily exercise for those who are trying to lose weight, from 30 minutes 3 X's a week, to one hour of brisk exercise daily. Yup, as expected, they received alot of flak for that. For so many that are having a hard time getting in even 30 minutes of exercise 3 times a week, an hour seems impossible. But, it doesn't have to be an hour straight of exercise.... just a total accumulation of an hour throughout the day. I guess they're just trying to tell us that we need to get off our tushies and get moving. I didn't hear the whole gov't report, just the highlights on the news coverage. I'm not sure if they discussed the age and physical condition of the person trying to lose weight. For some, a workout might be spending an hour at the gym lifting heavy weights, and for others a workout might be sitting on the couch alternately lifting an arm into the air. When I was on the rebound from a flare with my muscle disease a couple of years ago, lifting the dishes from the dishwasher to the cabinet above was a workout, as was walking to my mailbox with my walker. Heck, just trying to get up from my chair was a workout! Now, I have to run little sprints during my pwerwalks just to get my heartrate up. So, I think that the message in what the gov't panel said, is just moving more, and being less of a couch tater.

Anyway, if I weigh in with a gain next week and say that it's because I'm lifting weights, please feel free to flame me! LOL!

(((hugs))) to all,

Janet

TOPS # TX 429, Copperas Cove

278.75 lbs TOPS starting wt./ 213.00 lbs. current wt./ 65.75 lbs lost/ 48 lbs to goal