[skibunny24]

Metabolism-wise.

Ladies, I don't get it. I know this isn't the fitness thread, but I am more interested in what the women have to say in this regard. I have gained about 10 lbs since getting this desk job in March, and somehow my husband has LOST 10 pounds. W...t...f... I cook breakfast, lunch, and dinner for both of us daily, plus I know he grabs the random junk food from time to time. He's a mechanic, so he's on his feet all day, but we probably get about the same amount of exercise right now, (which is not enough) so I really don't understand how we ended up going completely opposite here.

So now it's game on. I want to shed the extra pounds, but I used to have a couple hours a day to work out at the gym. Now... I don't. It's a rush to get breakfast ready for three humans and two dogs, pack lunches for hubby and me, take the kid to school, and then a rush after work to pick him up in the alotted time (I get charged a $1 per minute late by the daycare), get home, let the dogs out, and start dinner. I only have a half hour lunch, so it's really a question of do I eat, or do I go to the gym (we have a gym in the building, which is GREAT!). I usually opt to eat super fast at my desk because there isn't anyone to cover the office for me for that break. Plus... I think eating is important... I buy fresh foods and cook everything from scratch. We rarely eat out. I try to balance our veggies, carbs, fats, etc in every meal....

So what's my question? How do you other ladies do it? I know I'm just one of many mom/wife/dog-moms out there with these challenges, and so many others seem to make the time for themselves. What are your secrets? And... we all know the dudes sneak into this forum, so if you are a dude with maybe a wife in the same position... what's her secret?

Ok thanks.

 

[sunny]

Guys: This post will discuss women-specific medical issues. Be forewarned.

Metabolism is different for different folks, but for everyone it's important to stoke the engine. Age and hormone levels are often a huge factor for women. If your hormones are out of balance it will be difficult to lose weight by doing the things that might have been successful for you before. I found this to be the case after I lost an ovary due to a torsion when I was 40. I am now 44, and have put on about 10 lbs in four years, and it just hasn't seemed to want to come off, even though I'm doing what I've done before when I wanted to drop weight. My doc said that women with low estrogen often put on weight because the body goes into self-defense mode, assumes that bones will start to become more brittle as less calcium is produced, and wants to provide padding in areas of the body that need padding in case of a fall, like hips.

With this in mind, I know I need to change things up if I'm going to lose weight, build muscle, feel good about
myself, and not get hurt when I do stupid stuff (like getting into an over-sized bouncy house with teen-agers).

Here are my goals:
1. Lose or rearrange 10 lbs in my body. Be able to wear all my cute clothes again.
2. Improve my strength and agility. (Currently I can military press 80#, squat 165#, deadlift 185#. I'd like to improve that to 90/180/195 by May 2012. I have no idea how realistic this weightlift goal is. I just want to be strong and agile.)
3. Reduce bodyfat from please-no-bathroom-mirrors to damn-that's-pretty-good (I haven't had a calculation by the fat-o-meter recently. Need to go have that done.)
4. Improve my 13-mile road time trial (it's a specific course) by 20% by Sep 2012.
5. Improve my mountain bike hill-climb (a specific hill) by 10% by May 2012.
BONUS: Run a 27-minute 5K by May 2012.

Here's my plan:
1. Get my nutrition in order. I bought the book Paleo for Athletes. Since adopting a paleo-style eating plan, I found I need an hour less sleep a night. It's amazing. Still no weight loss, but I cheat a lot with wine, dairy, and bittersweet chocolate, that I tell myself doesn't count. I need to do a Whole 30 Challenge. Unsure whether I should attempt this before Christmas...
2. Join Cross-Fit and do a workout at least twice a week. (I joined in June) This will help build strength and agility.
3. Join Cross Fit Endurance and do 2 run workouts per week (I joined in Sept; it's going well).
4. Ride my bike twice per week. Once for fun and once for... pain.

Here's the execution:
Mon: Cross-Fit workout (1 hr)
Tue: fun mtn bike ride (1.5 hrs)
Wed: run workout (45 min)
Thurs: hard mtn bike ride (2 hrs)
Fri: CrossFit workout (1 hr)
Sat: Run (45 min) or mtn bike (2 hrs)
Sun: rest

This is roughly ten hours with travel that I need to dedicate to my fitness, and it doesn't even address my desire to improve my road bike time trial. My husband is really supportive and is all for watching Jane or us finding a babysitter for her so I can work out. I'm a stay-at-home mom, so I have a LOT of flexibility. I take my 3-year-old to the CrossFit gym with me, to my run workouts, and even on some mountain bike rides in an iBert kid seat.


Things that will keep me from my goal:
1. Weakness for wine and chocolate. I have a glass of wine (or two) in the evenings about 3 times a week. I know if I really want to lose weight, I'm going to have to cut out the sugars, including wine, until I reach my goal.
2. Failing to plan my meals a week in advance.
3. Failing to eat good food and drink water as often as I should.


I've had all these tings in my brain since June, but haven't really written them down till now. I find it always helps to have specific measurable goals, a plan for reaching them, an awareness of what it will take, and also an awareness of what will keep you from achieving your goals.

If I don't do the Whole30 Challenge before Christmas, I'll be starting it Jan 1. So I guess I have a couple weeks to plan my meals, make my grocery lists, and get ready to tackle my goals!

Hopefully my stream-of-consciousness blog entry response has been of some use to you. I'll let you know how my own pursuit goes!

 

[TreeSaw]

I am definitely in a similar situation. My husband is a designer who sits at a desk all day while I am a teacher who is on my feet all day. We both get about the same exercise (mostly riding mountain bike and some light weights at home but now that it's winter, we'll start snowshoeing). He can eat as much as he wants of whatever he wants without gaining but I am the complete opposite. I can definitely say that it's been more of a challenge after having my daughter (she's 5 now) but she's active and fit so it's much more rewarding for me to exercise with her. For me, I am not willing to deprive myself of wine or good dark chocolate so it's much more challenging. Luckily, I enjoy eating veggies and can pass up cakes, and the like. For me, I need to make a plan and stick to it. Once I do, my fitness will improve and hopefully my waistline will also benefit from the plan too!

 

[Westy]

I know I don't belong in here, but sounds like your husband needs to pick up the slack so you can get some exercise time in.

 

[skibunny24]

Checking in...

Since that first post I went on a rather drastic diet... the HCG diet. It's fairly controversial, but I was just plain sick of not fitting in my clothes. Well, it is working, and I just have a few weeks until it's completely over. I fit in all my clothes again and feel fantastic. I do want to KEEP it off when this is all over, however, so keep all your goals coming. Tree Saw, our babies are the same age It's just never the same as before, is it? But so much fun to have our little balls of energy to help us on our journey!

After this diet is over I have 5-10 vanity pounds I'd like to work off. We'll call it a New Years Resolution I signed up for a Cross Fit groupon, and LA Fitness (where I am already a member) is opening a club just a mile from our house. Having it so close will certainly help with having hubby watch Lucas for a couple hours with only 5 minutes drive or 10 minutes bike time (hey--there are traffic lights and big hills, gimme a break ) So we'll go from there.

Hunnies, what are your plans? I love how Sunny has it all planned out Good luck out there, and thanks for sharing! Keep them coming here!

 

[amishmatt]

I know I don't belong in here, but sounds like your husband needs to pick up the slack so you can get some exercise time in.

That's the first thing I thought too.

 

[TreeSaw]

I know I don't belong in here, but sounds like your husband needs to pick up the slack so you can get some exercise time in.

That's the first thing I thought too.

Yeah, I would definitely beat my husband up (ahem....get him on board and helping more)

Checking in...

Since that first post I went on a rather drastic diet... the HCG diet. It's fairly controversial, but I was just plain sick of not fitting in my clothes. Well, it is working, and I just have a few weeks until it's completely over. I fit in all my clothes again and feel fantastic. I do want to KEEP it off when this is all over, however, so keep all your goals coming. Tree Saw, our babies are the same age It's just never the same as before, is it? But so much fun to have our little balls of energy to help us on our journey!

After this diet is over I have 5-10 vanity pounds I'd like to work off. We'll call it a New Years Resolution I signed up for a Cross Fit groupon, and LA Fitness (where I am already a member) is opening a club just a mile from our house. Having it so close will certainly help with having hubby watch Lucas for a couple hours with only 5 minutes drive or 10 minutes bike time (hey--there are traffic lights and big hills, gimme a break ) So we'll go from there.

Hunnies, what are your plans? I love how Sunny has it all planned out Good luck out there, and thanks for sharing! Keep them coming here!

Progress is good! At this point, my plan is to make it to the new year and then figure out what I can manage. In the meantime, I am focused on enjoying the holiday as much as I can without eating too much (though I don't generally have a problem with that). I am heavily limiting my alcohol consumtion (none as of yet) too so that will definitely help! Good luck!

 

[skibunny24]

I know I don't belong in here, but sounds like your husband needs to pick up the slack so you can get some exercise time in.

That's the first thing I thought too.

Yeah, I would definitely beat my husband up (ahem....get him on board and helping more)

You all rule

 

[-BB-]

I know I don't belong in here, but sounds like your husband needs to pick up the slack so you can get some exercise time in.

I was about to say the same thing. Why the F are you making breakfast lunch and dinner every day for 3 humans and two dogs. Ok, maybe he is a bad cook... Cant he make sandwiches for everyone's lunch at least? Or feed the darn dogs? Do one the the kid Drop-off or pick-ups?

With all the chores and cooking you are doing he better be eating more than breakfast lunch and dinner!

 

[BigT]

I would highly recommend the book The Female Body Break Though by Rachel Cosgrove. It a great resource for nutrition and exercise plan. I'm a Clinical exercise physiologist/athletic trainer/ National Strength and Conditioning Specialist. I have the very same beliefs when it comes to exercise that are in the book. The exercises are great and simple.

Most women gain weight because they are not eating enough food. Eating too little food the female body will actually increase fat. I also think women need to lift heavier weights than they think they should. The idea of getting too big is ridiculous.

 

[skibunny24]

I would highly recommend the book The Female Body Break Though by Rachel Cosgrove. It a great resource for nutrition and exercise plan. I'm a Clinical exercise physiologist/athletic trainer/ National Strength and Conditioning Specialist. I have the very same beliefs when it comes to exercise that are in the book. The exercises are great and simple.

Most women gain weight because they are not eating enough food. Eating too little food the female body will actually increase fat. I also think women need to lift heavier weights than they think they should. The idea of getting too big is ridiculous.

Ok, downloaded it on my kindle and will check it out--thanks!

I used to lift several days a week and swear I bulked up but didn't lose any fat. Everything got too tight, it was pretty miserable. But I'd LIKE to be able to lift and all that. It was fun!

 

[BigT]

The book has a great how to program. I hope it helps.

 

[skibunny24]

The book has a great how to program. I hope it helps.

Alright! I completed the book and LOVE the desciptions and program layout in the back! The nutrition program is almost exactly the one that I've been doing for the past 6 weeks, so I will ring in the New Year and go for the 16 week program laid out in the book. I can be so indecisive (just in general) that having things laid out like in the book is exactly what I need, thanks! I did a polar bear swim last weekend, so I've got some good "before" pics, so we'll see how I look in 16 weeks! Thank you!!

Now... I just need others to join me... I can't find a free forum for this!

 

[TreeSaw]

I would highly recommend the book The Female Body Break Though by Rachel Cosgrove. It a great resource for nutrition and exercise plan. I'm a Clinical exercise physiologist/athletic trainer/ National Strength and Conditioning Specialist. I have the very same beliefs when it comes to exercise that are in the book. The exercises are great and simple.

Most women gain weight because they are not eating enough food. Eating too little food the female body will actually increase fat. I also think women need to lift heavier weights than they think they should. The idea of getting too big is ridiculous.

I just bought this on my Nook Color and it's next in cue for me to read. Hopefully it'll help me once baby #2 is out (and maybe before).

 

[jonKranked]

gonna chime in here with some gender neutral advice...


both the missus and I are desk jockeys. we do occasionally spend time in the lab or on the manufacturing floor, but not enough for it to count as exercise. one thing we found (yes, we) that helped stop adding miscellaneous weight was shifting caloric intake to be more concentrated to breakfast/lunch as opposed to lunch/dinner. ie the earlier in the day the better. try not to go to sleep on a full stomach (we had been in the bad habit of eating late dinners - often 8-9 PM), as your body will just stockpile the calories. she also had the bad habit of skipping lunch ("too busy" excuse) and would compensate at dinner. that's a big no-no. another trick to try is to eat a few smaller meals instead of 3 larger ones.

and for the record... i do nearly all of the cooking in the household.

 

[BigT]

Alright! I completed the book and LOVE the desciptions and program layout in the back! The nutrition program is almost exactly the one that I've been doing for the past 6 weeks, so I will ring in the New Year and go for the 16 week program laid out in the book. I can be so indecisive (just in general) that having things laid out like in the book is exactly what I need, thanks! I did a polar bear swim last weekend, so I've got some good "before" pics, so we'll see how I look in 16 weeks! Thank you!!

Now... I just need others to join me... I can't find a free forum for this!

Last summer I met Rachel Cosgrove and a continuing education seminar. The same time my hospital was starting a "Biggest Loser" competition that was to last 4 months. So I picked up her book and decided to trial her program. I lost 5% of my body weight and lost a 10 total inches on my body. Not bad with 2 vacation trips, my sister's wedding with 2 receptions during those months.

 

[sunny]

Now... I just need others to join me... I can't find a free forum for this!

Did you find your forum? How's the program going?

 

[skibunny24]

Did you find your forum? How's the program going?

I found jpfitness.com. They had a thread dedicated to the book, and challenges going, so I joined the 6 month challenge and am LOVING it! I am super sore today after busting my buns all weekend!

The book is set up with four 4-week phases, for a 16 week total program. Right now I am on week four, so finishing up Phase one. It's amazing what a difference I already see! I can't wait to move to the next phase. The next one increases weight and lowers reps, so I think that will be fun! I'm already lifting more than I thought I could!

I've got my nutrition down pretty well, the biggest problem seems to be drinking alcohol. I can't seem to do it in moderation... so I'm trying to not do it at all. I will be dead-on with my calories and protein intake and then drink like 2 bottles of champagne (no, really, we were out of power and it seemed like a good idea at the time!)! So now that I'm nipping that in the bud, I'm on track and stoked!

How's your routine going sunny? You on track with your paleo diet?

 

[skibunny24]

I was about to say the same thing. Why the F are you making breakfast lunch and dinner every day for 3 humans and two dogs. Ok, maybe he is a bad cook...

I do all the cooking mainly because I like to... It makes me feel good to do such wifely and motherly things, so it is my choice, I know he would cook if I asked him to And he does a lot of other chores around the house, so I feel like it's a pretty even split, these are just the things I do. He does encourage me to get out and exercise, esepcially now that we've figured out a way to do it! Now that the gym has opened up we are BOTH able to go since they have childcare, which rules.

I'm on Phase 2 of the Female Body Breakthrough now, and even after just phase one I can see muscles again! I seriously LOVE it! Thanks BigT!! I'm lifting heavier weights and feel great when I do. I think the hubby likes it too

 

[TreeSaw]

I do all the cooking mainly because I like to... It makes me feel good to do such wifely and motherly things, so it is my choice, I know he would cook if I asked him to And he does a lot of other chores around the house, so I feel like it's a pretty even split, these are just the things I do. He does encourage me to get out and exercise, esepcially now that we've figured out a way to do it! Now that the gym has opened up we are BOTH able to go since they have childcare, which rules.

I'm on Phase 2 of the Female Body Breakthrough now, and even after just phase one I can see muscles again! I seriously LOVE it! Thanks BigT!! I'm lifting heavier weights and feel great when I do. I think the hubby likes it too

Sweet! Progress rocks! I have the book and program and will be ready to start as soon as the Dr. okays it after childbirth. I can't wait!!!

 

[Konabumm]

Sorry ladies but men are built to lose weigh faster.

Men have more muscle. This allows them to burn more calories, even when at rest.
Women are predisposed to store and retain fat.
Women have higher levels of estrogen, this works keep the fat on a woman's body so it's easier for her to get pregnant. That means women have to work harder to lose weight at the same rate as men.

Men's bodies respond more quickly to exercise.
Women's bodies, meanwhile, actually go into a sort of starvation mode, slowing the metabolism to hang onto more fat.
Women may have a lower tolerance for exercise. Women have smaller lung capacity than men, which can make women feel as though they are working harder than men even if the women are working at the same level.

Please don't be mad at us we are just born this way.

 

[skibunny24]

Sweet! Progress rocks! I have the book and program and will be ready to start as soon as the Dr. okays it after childbirth. I can't wait!!!

Awesome! I might be back around to P1 again by then! You'll have to keep me updated!!

Please don't be mad at us we are just born this way.

so there

 

[skibunny24]

Another quick update: I'm in the second phase of the Female Body Breakthrough and still loving it. I've lost another inch all around and 4 extra pounds! Super stoked!

 

[skibunny24]

Started the final phase of the Female Body Breakthrough last week. Since the beginning, I've lost 6" at the hips, 3" at the waist, 3" off my thighs, an inch off my arms and 4" off my chest. I'm feeling much lighter and springy-er these days. I am now a true believer of strength training, and I don't intend to stop any time soon!

 

[mabuchi]

i think it's very interesting

 

[StiHacka]

4" off my chest

I cannot believe no one called a disaster on that one!

 

[4xBoy]

I cannot believe no one called a disaster on that one!

http://www.nooooooooooooooo.com/