STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

kenzie · Chanel

RE: The flab that wouldn't die

jen · Kate Spade

To lose weight: Eat lots of good carbs and lots of protein, lift heavy weights, do interval training on the tredmill. Pm me if you want more specific details. Yeah, no offense, but all my friends at work call the stationary bike the lazy bike, it doesn't do anything for you. And mat pilaties, I read only burns like 184 calories in an hour. It's good for you (I teach it!) but it's not for calorie burn. hth!

Elle · Hermes

jen wrote:

And mat pilaties, I read only burns like 184 calories in an hour. It's good for you (I teach it!) but it's not for calorie burn. hth!

True, but it builds muscle which in turn enables your body to burn more calories while resting, no?

lilyann · Dooney & Bourke

The flab on me that I most detest is the roll I have from braline to waist. Its not real large and can only see it when I sit down- when I am standing it is a slight jiggle. Repulsive!! I have lost 10 lbs recently and it now seems more obvious, because everything else seems to be getting smaller, but this! Oh well. I guess It may budge when I have lost 10 more- we can only hope....

poptart · Coach

Elle wrote:

I'd like to hear any advice your BF has on the subject; if he's ever seen any poor souls like myself through the painful-cardio misery.

Some thoughts ... I have never been a huge fan of cardio either, and what do you know: as an adult, I've been told I have exercise-induced asthma. If your lungs hurt, maybe it's asthma? You might want to check into it.

To combat it, I do cardio in intervals. It really helps me avoid that painful-chest feeling, even when I'm not using my inhaler. Could it also be that you're adapting to the change in climate from a very humid place to a very dry place? I have allergies and whenever I go somewhere humid, I feel like I have a 50-pound weight on my chest.

Last but not least on the topic of weight: is it possible that this week is a week in which you would normally gain weight? (Like, in your cycle, I mean.) I've noticed that sometimes when I'm doing really well, if the timing is just right, I won't lose any weight, but then a week or so later, I'll lose like 4-5 pounds in one week. Just a thought.

bex · Chanel

Elle wrote:

I don't eat very refined carbs (white bread, white rice, chips, white pasta, etc) - I have maybe 4-6 servings of whole grains (WW bread, brown rice, barley, oatmeal, wheat pasta) on any given day.-- Edited by Elle at 12:51, 2006-02-08

Elle: don't know if someone tackled this already or not since i didn't read all the way through the posts (bad i know!) but i once was working with a nutrionist who had me keep a diet journal for 2 weeks.

i, too, was eating around 5-6 servings of "good carbs" a day. what i learned was that i should only be having 2! 2 servings. which made a HUGE difference and when i switched to doing that- i lost 3 pounds that very week.

try limiting your carb intake even more. i bet you will start to see a difference.

Elle · Hermes

I don't think it's exercise induced asthma - I was a dancer for so long and never had a problem there, even in the most aerobic of classes. I was actually diagnosed with it once though, but the doc failed to listen when I told her I had recently had a very nasty chest cold , so no asthma afterall. And it doesn't feel like an 'attack' per se - more like I'm very aware of what I'm asking of my lungs, in a go outside in below freezing temperatures and take a deep breath kind of way. I think it's possible that I've expected too much of myself in the past, maybe by overestimating what a sustainable pace would be. And I (unfortunately or not) can't blame anything on my cycle, but I do attribute part of my weight gain to BCP which raised my 'reasonable minimum weight' by a good 5 lbs above what I used to be able to maintain.

Bex -

I doubt I'd be able to consume enough calories if I was only eating 2 servings of carbs a day - I alreay fall between 1500 and 1900 on any given day. I'm also semi-veg, so I'm afraid any carbs I cut out would only be replaced by cheese or some other high fat/high cal whatever. To be honest I'm a little suprised a nutritionist recommended it because it sounds rather extreme. What are you eating exactly if you're only having 2 servings of carbs a day - I'm so curious! And, if you don't mind my asking, what was your calorie intake before and after the carb reduction?

My update: Though I haven't yet lost any weight, I am starting to notice a difference in how I look - it's ever so slight, mostly in my face, waist, and butt. I am also shamefully sore from my HIIT workout yesterday, including my abs. My abs are sore from running. I'm pretty funny to watch actually, as I'm walking as if I have some sort of degenerative musculoskeletal disease. And my knee isn't very happy with me this morning. Ah, well. I'll rest again tomorrow and do the HIIT again M, W, F next week.

Slowly but surely .

-- Edited by Elle at 10:44, 2006-02-13

bex · Chanel

Elle wrote:

Bex - I doubt I'd be able to consume enough calories if I was only eating 2 servings of carbs a day - I alreay fall between 1500 and 1900 on any given day. I'm also semi-veg, so I'm afraid any carbs I cut out would only be replaced by cheese or some other high fat/high cal whatever. To be honest I'm a little suprised a nutritionist recommended it because it sounds rather extreme. What are you eating exactly if you're only having 2 servings of carbs a day - I'm so curious! And, if you don't mind my asking, what was your calorie intake before and after the carb reduction?

I've never been much of a calorie counter. When I do count, I am always under 2000 per day. Given the fact that you are semi-veg, I would say that you probably wouldn't want to cut down the carbs to 2 per day. my guess is that you need those carbs for your fats. i don't really know though- i'm not a semi-veg... i love filet mignons too much to be one!

If I am following the nutrionist's carb recommendation (trust me- i don't do very well with it all the time but if i want to drop 3-5 pounds in a week, i do.) my diet for the day usually consists of: fruit for breakfast, salad for lunch and pasta for dinner. i just would stay away from bread all together. or if i get a bagel, i would only eat 1/2 or eat my sandwichs open-faced. that way i could have the other serving of bread later.

ILoveChoo · Hermes

bex wrote:

I've never been much of a calorie counter. When I do count, I am always under 2000 per day.

I agree. On WW, I am eating probably around 1300 a day on WW. My DH (who is very heavy and needs more calories just to function) was given the go ahead by his doctor to cut back to 1700 per day. I don't know where this 2000 number came from, but if I ate that much, I would weigh a ton.

Elle · Hermes

ILoveChoo wrote:

bex wrote: I've never been much of a calorie counter. When I do count, I am always under 2000 per day. I agree. On WW, I am eating probably around 1300 a day on WW. My DH (who is very heavy and needs more calories just to function) was given the go ahead by his doctor to cut back to 1700 per day. I don't know where this 2000 number came from, but if I ate that much, I would weigh a ton.

I think the 2000 calorie number is for the 'average' person, so I'd guess maybe 150 lbs or so? That many calories is supposed to be the amount that one would need to just be awake and breathe in a 24 hour period. Obviously if you're smaller/larger/more active the number would fluctuate, but there have been some studies recently on caloric requirements that actually showed that the amount previously recommended to women for weight loss was much too low for optimal health. Some of it had to do with the new food pyramid too methinks.

And everyone's metabolism is different, which is why one-size-fits-all info isn't usually the most accurate. I also have a tendency toward hypoglycemia, and that means that me on 1300 cals a day would look like this . Or if I actually made it through the day, I'd be like this . I am the hugest grouch when my blood sugar gets too low!