TypeC Exercise Challenge and Contest

[Qlip]

It's the same old story, I tweaked my back on Monday while overexerting myself. It wasn't bad though, I was back to my full workout last night.

Seeing U-dog type about his 250lb curse reminds me that I'm stuck on my own plateau. I really need to find the energy to get down another 15-20lbs. That'll put me where I need to be BMI wise.

 

[Aquarelle]

I've had a crappy week at work and that makes me not motivated to work out, so I've been slacking. I know exercise would probably actually make me feel better, but tonight I am going to get a massage instead. Hopefully get some of the bad juju from this week out of my system and then start in on the workouts again on Saturday.

 

[Unkindloving]

Wednesday: --
Thursday: Zumba

I think I'll be able to go tomorrow morning, which was up in the air previously. Hopefully, a latin-dance/zumba adventure at a bar on Saturday (my fav instructor is DJing).
Things have been gradual, so I've decided to hone my eating more. Of course, I downed most of a pint of my favorite ben and jerry's before taking on this endeavor. Had to go out with a bang, I suppose

 

[Unkindloving]

Thursday: Zumba
Friday: --
Saturday: Zumba & Zumba Fundraiser Event

I had to have done 2 hours and 20 minutes of Zumba-ing today. My knees hated me for a few hours, but I stretched and they've been much nicer . I may or may not have been somewhat-indirectly asked to be a part of the 'crew' that represents my fav instructor's business. I'm going to ask about that further tomorrow at his birthday event.

He did have his event last Saturday. I went with a friend, and it was nice to dance and Zumba in a pretty dress haha. They'll be back DJing at the same place by 4th of July, and I'll definitely be going as much as possible. The area isn't all that ideal (stupid jersey shore guido douchenozzle bennies over the summer :grumblygrowl: ) , but I'll rock it out.

 

[Tallulah]

Skated for about an hour and a half, practicing getting low and doing crossovers--good work for the ole thighs!

Kind of contemplating getting the Insanity workout. I figure I could endure anything for 2 months if it meant getting in the best shape of my life. But there is also the possibility I would be a wimp.

 

[Udog]

I didn't work out at all a couple of weeks ago, but am back to business last week and this week. It's a new routine, including a whole new set of exercises, so that was pretty interesting at points!

Oh, and I started the diet that Jock linked to several posts ago. I'm bound and determined to break my 250 pound plateau. I'm about 6 pounds away...

I had to have done 2 hours and 20 minutes of Zumba-ing today. My knees hated me for a few hours, but I stretched and they've been much nicer . I may or may not have been somewhat-indirectly asked to be a part of the 'crew' that represents my fav instructor's business. I'm going to ask about that further tomorrow at his birthday event.

Any luck?

Skated for about an hour and a half, practicing getting low and doing crossovers--good work for the ole thighs!

That sounds like fun! I have to admit, roller derby looks like a lot of fun!

Kind of contemplating getting the Insanity workout. I figure I could endure anything for 2 months if it meant getting in the best shape of my life. But there is also the possibility I would be a wimp.

Interesting! ...and it's not so much about being a wimp, it's just that this is designed for people that are in really good shape and are looking to push themselves to the next level. If you decide to go for it, take it easy. You will NOT be able to do the whole thing, but that's okay. You challenge yourself by doing better each time you try it, which can be fun in its own way.

 

[Zoom]

Well, I have my next 28 days of workouts set up and ready to go. I'm going to try to not post every day this go around, though. If I start slackin, I'll start posting frequently again.



Congrats! And actually, that diet sounds pretty interesting. I'm currently at my 250 pound curse. Ever since at least 2006 (when I started writing down my weights), I always stall when I hit below 255, and I'm never able to break 250.

I'm seriously thinking about doing this to break the 250 mark and lose a quicker 15 pounds or so. It's not something I'd do for much more than that, though, because diets like this don't teach us long-term maintenance, which is necessary to keep the weight off.

However, as a quick 10-20 pound weight loss tool? Yeah, I don't have an issue with it.

And Jock - to reply to the article:



Frequent meals can increase the calories burned from the "thermic effect of food", or the energy used to digest food, but not the metabolic rate per se. Other benefits of 4 or more meals include balancing of blood sugar, controlling cravings, mood enhancement, and a steady supply of amino acids which can improve the growth of muscle mass. I consider compromising with 4 meals a day to be perfectly sound. Just make sure they are small enough that you are hungry at the next meal for maximum effect.



Fruits have fructose, but they also have high levels of soluble fiber as well as sucrose and glucose. It seems like this argument is trying to piggy back on the nastiness of high fructose corn syrup, and I ain't buying that. I'm not sure what the issue with glycerol phospate is, either. How many human-blobs of fat got that way from their horrible strawberry addiction, anyway?

Having said that, limiting fruits is actually a smart idea, and I'm not going to argue for their necessity. They are a perfect addition to a post-workout snack or smoothie, but beyond that moderation is important or they will limit your fat-loss.



Okay, I admit that I don't know if the mechanics here are correct, and I'm too lazy to look this one up. (I don't feel like filling in the gaps by researching metabolic pathways.) However... the concept is actually right. An unlimited cheat day will throw the body off, and almost certainly makes the diet a bit more effective.

More importantly in my opinion, is that the cheat day provides a mental incentive for good behavior. It's much easier to work for 6 days knowing that on day 7 you can reward yourself with all sorts of goodies.

I normally have large problems with anything that cuts out entire food groups (not that the average pyramid of food groups is a reliable source as to how to eat), but you know what ye're doing, and there is a difference between using it as a specific tool for a while and sticking to it forever.

 

[Aquarelle]

Nothing happening in the workout department here for the last few days. Except for some hikes at the dog park, which actually is a pretty good workout...

 

[Qlip]

I managed to do my workout twice last week. Nothing new to report, really except that I've been upping the intensity. Otherwise did some epic lawnmowing and marathon endurance swing pushing. I kept two girls swinging to a 10+ foot apex simultaneously for about a 15 minute stretch in 90 degree weather. Talk about slave driving workout partners.

 

[JocktheMotie]

I normally have large problems with anything that cuts out entire food groups (not that the average pyramid of food groups is a reliable source as to how to eat), but you know what ye're doing, and there is a difference between using it as a specific tool for a while and sticking to it forever.

I get a similar response whenever I say no fruit. It's definitely not something I'd do forever. It's been a month and I've lost 14 pounds, while filling out a bit. I'm going to stay on it a bit more, but I'm going to tinker with it now that I've established a baseline of effective it is initially. Fruit instead of beans for a week or two, see what happens, etc. Generally, I just find bodyhacking to be fun. If I were ever unemployed/self employed I would absolutely try that polyphasic sleep schedule thing.

 

[violaine]

Since I actually started weighing myself [first week=oopsies], I've lost 7 pounds in 2 weeks on this diet and I basically eat as much as I want. Go to whole foods food bar and just stack roast turkey and veggies and pig out for lunches. Breakfasts with 4-6 eggs and 3 strips of bacon. Dinners with chicken, beans, and veggies. Saturdays I gorge on dunkin donuts and burgers and milkshakes. Repeat. I work out maybe 3 hours a week. Don't have to fool around with measuring amounts of things or making silly lists. Just pure bodyhacking. I don't know if any of the mechanics he touts are true or not, but it works.

I liked the 4 hour body. I read it and realized I pretty much follow the principles of the regimen already, apart from the 'cheat' day but I followed his regimen for a while and I noticed I got more lean. I don't eat fruit much because I can almost feel it spiking my blood sugar.

I've always played around with my diet and I enjoy experimenting to see what kind of results I get. I used to under eat and that's the only time I've had to work out a lot to maintain my weight. I eat like a maniac now, mostly protein because I crave it and carbs just don't make me feel full. I just know that the more protein I eat, the leaner I get. I tested this theory on Sunday night, I ate 12 pieces of assorted cuts of beef, (I wasn't planning on it and it made me feel a little sick) but by the next night I could see a change in my body.

 

[Udog]

Yeah, I sort of have to accept that my body doesn't respond well to carbs either. Atkins was great for me (and if this doesn't work, I'm going to go back to it). I could eat solid meals every few hours and still lose 2-3 pounds a week.

I'm hoping this works out, since it'll be 6 days of a near-Atkin's diet plus one day where I can reward myself by getting sick on sweets. Although as a side note, even on the cheat days I'm eating 3 square meals so I get the basic nutrients... it's just everything else that's crap. Heh.

I'm down about 4 pounds the first week, so we'll see.

 

[Unkindloving]

Sunday: Zumba
Monday: --
Tuesday: --

The Zumba B'day shindig was good. A lot of people left after the Zumba portion, even though they were informed of after party. My conclusion- people don't know how to dance anymore and that zumba-people aren't collectively friends before/after classes .

Any luck?

Yupyup! It seems we just practice more routines after a regular zumba class to perform together at the zumba events. There may be other things that are involved/come into play later. I start learning the routines with them after the event on the 24th

 

[Qlip]

I'm refusing to turn my AC on, so i did my bodyweight workout in a 90 degree house. Didn't hit it as hard as I should have.

 

[violaine]

Yeah, I sort of have to accept that my body doesn't respond well to carbs either. Atkins was great for me (and if this doesn't work, I'm going to go back to it). I could eat solid meals every few hours and still lose 2-3 pounds a week.

I'm hoping this works out, since it'll be 6 days of a near-Atkin's diet plus one day where I can reward myself by getting sick on sweets. Although as a side note, even on the cheat days I'm eating 3 square meals so I get the basic nutrients... it's just everything else that's crap. Heh.

I'm down about 4 pounds the first week, so we'll see.

I'm the same when it comes to carbs. My body can change dramatically within a week depending on what I've been eating. It's almost bizarre but if I don't get large amounts of protein, I get less firm and lean pretty quickly. I eat vegetables too, just don't really eat bread and cereal or much fruit. A diet has to be something that can be maintained otherwise it's just a recipe for yo-yoing, imo.

 

[Udog]

A diet has to be something that can be maintained otherwise it's just a recipe for yo-yoing, imo.

Amen! I've lost 45 pounds since I hit my max weight a couple of years ago. However, when I was looking at things I actually lost closer to 66 pounds... it's just that I had regained 21 pounds of weight I had lost at various points. It was a major eye opener, since if I had just maintained during my "bad" times I'd be 75% to my goal by now!

Anyway, I've learned my lesson. I'm already making plans on how I'm going to transition from my extreme diet back into the much more sensible diet plan I had been using. In fact, this extreme diet is going to help me a lot. Thanks to the limited selection of foods with the 4-hour body diet, I'm FINALLY learning how to incorporate beans into my daily meals, which alone is making a big difference, I think.

 

[Zoom]

I get a similar response whenever I say no fruit. It's definitely not something I'd do forever. It's been a month and I've lost 14 pounds, while filling out a bit. I'm going to stay on it a bit more, but I'm going to tinker with it now that I've established a baseline of effective it is initially. Fruit instead of beans for a week or two, see what happens, etc. Generally, I just find bodyhacking to be fun. If I were ever unemployed/self employed I would absolutely try that polyphasic sleep schedule thing.

Since I know you were fairly in shape before this, I'm wondering - what kind of weight have ye been losing? Mostly fat, or a lot of muscle as well? Just curious.

 

[Udog]

^I can't answer for Jock, but in general, the beauty of diets like this** and Atkin's is that because you eat so much protein, and moderate levels of fat, your body will always have a ready supply of amino acids in the blood stream. As long as you supplement the diet with resistance exercise and interval training, your body won't be so quick to remove muscle. Mainly because your workouts tell the body that it needs those muscles.

The minimal quick acting carbs (caused by the removal of all white carbs) helps to stabilize blood sugar. That's where the 4 meals a day comes in. When it does start to dip, it's time to eat again.

The fact is, if you are doing it right, you are eating a decent amount of calories. For example, I'm getting over 2,000 a day, easily, but still seem to be losing at a rate of 2-3 pounds a week. It's common to appear to burn fat a rate that seems to exceed the energy in - energy out = weight change formula. Diets like this seem to be built to create situations where your body is constantly using a slow and steady stream of fat to make up minor energy deficiencies.

As for the dieter's gone wild cheat day... I'm not entirely convinced that it provides a meaningful boost outside of mental incentive and reward. Yeah, it confuses the body and all that, but who knows if that creates a meaningful difference in weight loss.

**I guess it should be noted that diets like this are best for mesomorphs and endomorphs. Ectomorphs are very well suited for carbs, and can handle lots of them and remain skinny. Their bodies are built to run on quicker acting carbs, so a (s)low carb diet probably won't do well for a lot of them.

 

[INTJMom]

...
Oh, and I started the diet that Jock linked to several posts ago. I'm bound and determined to break my 250 pound plateau. I'm about 6 pounds away...
...

Yay!

 

[Unkindloving]

Wed-Fri: --
Saturday: Zumba on the Beach
Sunday: Latin Dance Boot Camp

On Saturday, since I've been keeping track via my blog's "To Do" list, accomplished my 100th Zumba class in a year . I'm definitely looking to go a lot more in the upcoming year. I'll need to adjust said list.
Best part? After Zumba on the Beach (which was fun, but difficult in the sand haha), I went with all 9 of the Zumba Instructors and their friends to a boardwalk bar. The DJ unintentionally played a lot of songs they use, which turned into a nice little Zumba party.

As per Latin Dance Boot Camp, it's basically pilates and resistance training amidst zumba. Today was the first day, but it was good. They are waiting on resistance bands, so next week's should be a bit different.

My eating habits have been far from awesome what with my xNFPs being back around and celebrating all 3 of our birthdays over the past month, so I need to reel it in