Let's talk about fat.

[Inkachu]

If biking is so much harder for you as you claim, how can you bike with asthma?

I don't huff and puff nearly as much on a bike as I do if I run. It's the heavy breathing that sets off my asthma, moreso than the muscle exertion, if you will. I CAN run in short spurts, but I'd have to be very, very, VERY careful. I even have asthma attacks if I sneeze too hard.

 

[Inkachu]

Ah, young man, but wait until your bones begin to creak and running hurts more than it helps. I have had injuries in the past, but I fear that I will be no longer able to run. Bah.

Walking must now be my friend and I am determined to love it.

It's been said that lifelong runners/joggers will pay the price in knee and hip replacements as they age. No thanks! I'll stick with walking, too

 

[Hetta]

I keep hearing and reading lately that running is so much better for fitness than walking, but those of us with arthritis will have to settle for walking. Though I don't do casual strolls. I walk as fast as I can while pushing a stroller and for about 4 miles at a time. That and my little strength training routine are working as far as weight loss (and toning) for me.

Good for you Henrietta. Running does jar the joints, that is for sure. But it is fun too.

Strength training is excellent. Women should do strength/resistance training to keep their bones strong. My family history is for osteoporosis and a few year ago I had osteopenia. I was offered a bone thickening medication, but did not want to take it because of possible (very scary) side effects. I sought other advice and was told that if I maintained calcium and vitamin D intake and kept on with resistance I could stave off the development of osteoporosis. So far, this has worked! I have not had a Dexa scan for a year, but last time, there was not yet the development, and that is very good - and mainly, my doctor insists, because I have kept up the calcium & vit D/resistance training.

Bottom line: women should not be afraid of weights.

 

[Inkachu]

I always wished I could run. It looks so freeing and fun. Biking gives me quite a thrill when I just wanna GO though... so it's all good I love going out in the evening when the dusk is falling and just biking the hushed neighborhood streets with the wind in my hair... it's lovely <3

 

[Hetta]

It's been said that lifelong runners/joggers will pay the price in knee and hip replacements as they age. No thanks! I'll stick with walking, too

Currently, my lower back has been troublesome. I have these periods where different parts of my body tell me to stop doing some activity, and so I listen. Listening to your body is important, because actual pain should not be a part of exercise. Discomfort is okay - sweating is good - but not pain. :/

I met just today a former coworker who recently broke his hip, the story of which really made me wince. He was at the theater in London and while twisting his body to enter a row of seats, he hit his already damaged hip and said that the "snap" was so loud that everyone stopped talking. Yikes. Poor guy. He was walking with a cane, but still limping, and had put on at least 30lbs.

 

[Inkachu]

Indeed! I have issues with my knee and my feet, so as much as I want to be in denial and just push myself all the time, I have to stop and listen to my body. Thankfully, I found some shoes that have eliminated a lot of the pain, and I wear those suckers constantly! Just the simple act of being able to get up and walk around without being in pain is not something I take for granted anymore

 

[Hetta]

Ha. You decided not to get the shots for your feet then Inka? I remember talking about that a while back. I am on the verge of going back to the get the steroid shot in my foot again. It is always my right foot, grrr. We will be going overseas in a couple of months and will walk a lot and I don't want to have to deal with that problem while we are vacationing.

 

[Inkachu]

NO, no needles in my feet! I think I went to the podiatrist last summer about it. He advised stretches and rolling a bottle of frozen water under my foot and getting good, cushioned shoes (which I did). I've found that I have a lot of control over it, if I put in the work to stretch properly and wear my comfy shoes. Unfortunately, I've only found ONE pair of shoes that really work well, and while I'm happy to wear them, it's a bit awkward being restricted to one style of shoe if I want to be comfortable. Ah well.

 

[katautumn]

I always wished I could run. It looks so freeing and fun.

Running, once you get your proper form and breathing down pat, is nothing short of amazing. My problem was I ended up with shin splints and a hurt knee and I was having to come home after every run and ice my shins down and my knee has not been the same since Now I take a ballet class once a week and go walking four days a week.

 

[akmom]

I am don't have your typical runners body at 6 feet 2, 220 pounds.

I first read that as 6 feet [and] 2,220 pounds, and I must say, I'm impressed you managed to propel that monstrosity 25,000 miles.

I did a good 8 years of long-distance running in high school and college, and never encountered the kind of injuries so many other runners were. Even in my best shape, I'd run out of breath before I was limited by muscle or joint pain (no asthma). Form must play a big role. I always ran on my toes.

 

[mkgal1]

I have two blown out knees, so a lot of exercise has been difficult for me. I had been using the treadmill on a steep incline (for some reason that didn't hurt my knees)....but that just wasn't doing much besides just the good feeling from getting the blood circulating.

I'm going to try these four eccentric exercises......and the interval training that Jonathan Bailor recommends (once I figure out what that part is, specifically).

From what I'm reading......eccentric training will actually change our metabolism (and give us the results we expect from cardio exercises). Like bhsmte said.......that training is done sparingly---like 5 min/week per muscle group. I like that! At first, it sounds too good to be true, but, for one thing, I don't have much to lose to give it a try (hardly time consuming) and it *does* make sense to me (about using all of our muscle tissue, especially the 2b muscles---if I have that correct---that our body only uses for short spurts of energy)

This is another book that explains the concept:

http://www.amazon.com/Body-Science-...id=1401834622&sr=1-1&keywords=body+of+science

 

[mkgal1]

Oh! And these seem to be healing exercises also. They're often used in PT after injuries:

Common reasons why decline squats are often prescribed:


Research has shown eccentric decline boards squat, led by the research by Alfredson[1] to be the most effective researched approach to manage PT[2] (a very tricky injury). Decline squats have been shown to be superior over an identical exercise therapy protocol perform on the flat ground[2], compared to transverse friction and pulsed ultrasound[3], and compared to a concentric only decline board protoco[1]l.
Causes an inflammatory response to promote healing, bringing blood flow into a low vascular area, stimulate fibroblast to aid in collagen repair and synthesis.
~STOP Decline Squats for Patellar Tendinopathies | FITS TORONTO

I need "healing" just due to the aging process.

 

[mkgal1]

.

 

[ValleyGal]

Have not been keeping up with the thread, but found this and thought it could add to the conversation:
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/obesity-research-confirms-long-term-210000963.html

...As incredible as it sounds, that's what the evidence is showing. For psychologist Traci Mann, who has spent 20 years running an eating lab at the University of Minnesota, the evidence is clear. "It couldn't be easier to see," she says. "Long-term weight loss happens to only the smallest minority of people." ...Only about five per cent of people who try to lose weight ultimately succeed, according to the research. Those people are the outliers, but we cling to their stories as proof that losing weight is possible. "Those kinds of stories really keep the myth alive," says University of Alberta professor Tim Caulfield....

 

[bhsmte]

Have not been keeping up with the thread, but found this and thought it could add to the conversation:
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/obesity-research-confirms-long-term-210000963.html

IMO, this is the case because, most people rely on fad dieting alone and do not engage in regular physical activity.

 

[Inkachu]

Well that's flippin' depressing...


In other news, hubby and I just got done watching a documentary on GMO's called "Genetic Roulette". Just makes me want to gravitate towards whole, organic foods even more. It also makes a heck of a lot of sense in the light of the recent explosions in things like autism, allergies, food intolerance, and asthma.

 

[Hetta]

For those who are trying to lose weight - ever tried to keep an eating diary - with how you "felt" when you ate? It's a part of the process that counselors will use to make individuals aware of their feelings when they are eating. People 'eat' all kinds of emotions along with their lunch.

 

[Inkachu]

I never have, Hetta, but I already know that I use food as an emotional crutch. I've kept food logs before, and found it helpful to realize just how many calories get snuck in each day via snacks and drinks and such. I've also got serious portion control issues. Even if I'm eating something healthy, I have to fight the urge to have like, a double portion. I'm addicted to feeling "full", so I tend to eat more than I need because if I don't feel full, I feel like something's wrong. But I'm becoming much more aware of this, and now I'm starting to make conscious choices to take less, even if every fiber of my being is screaming "NO, TAKE MORE! You'll be hungry! It's not enough!" Sigh. I've used the act of eating, and especially the sensation of eating till I'm full, as a sort of coping drug throughout my life. And the ironic thing is, when I do make the conscious choice to eat a normal-sized portion, I almost always feel completely satisfied afterwards, I don't feel like I was deprived. So it's really a mental/brain thing, not a hunger thing. Sad, isn't it? At least now I'm aware, and able to fight back. This is why compulsive eating and other food addictions are so complex and so much more than just a matter of "changing habits". There are underlying mental and emotional and psychological factors at work that need to be addressed.

 

[seeingeyes]

I never have, Hetta, but I already know that I use food as an emotional crutch. I've kept food logs before, and found it helpful to realize just how many calories get snuck in each day via snacks and drinks and such. I've also got serious portion control issues. Even if I'm eating something healthy, I have to fight the urge to have like, a double portion. I'm addicted to feeling "full", so I tend to eat more than I need because if I don't feel full, I feel like something's wrong. But I'm becoming much more aware of this, and now I'm starting to make conscious choices to take less, even if every fiber of my being is screaming "NO, TAKE MORE! You'll be hungry! It's not enough!" Sigh. I've used the act of eating, and especially the sensation of eating till I'm full, as a sort of coping drug throughout my life. And the ironic thing is, when I do make the conscious choice to eat a normal-sized portion, I almost always feel completely satisfied afterwards, I don't feel like I was deprived. So it's really a mental/brain thing, not a hunger thing. Sad, isn't it? At least now I'm aware, and able to fight back. This is why compulsive eating and other food addictions are so complex and so much more than just a matter of "changing habits". There are underlying mental and emotional and psychological factors at work that need to be addressed.

My husband is going through this right now. He's a "Clean your plate...And everyone else's!" kinda guy and he's trying to feel out the difference between "full" and "oh, I'm bursting, can't move!"

 

[Inkachu]

My husband is going through this right now. He's a "Clean your plate...And everyone else's!" kinda guy and he's trying to feel out the difference between "full" and "oh, I'm bursting, can't move!"

I don't eat till I'm bursting and ready to explode, thankfully lol. My husband sometimes does, but he's getting better about that, too. I just consistently eat more than I need to, and it's rarely because I'm actually hungry, it's almost always a mixture of longtime habits and thinking that I absolutely must have enough food to make me full (ie, really satisfied, not bursting) or... or what? The world will end? I'll be in agony? What am I trying to avoid, really? It's like my brain is wired to avoid hunger at all costs. And I'm actively trying to re-wire it into different thinking! Again, I'm not snarfing chips and cookies and pizza; I actually hate that stuff. But even if I'm eating like, a turkey sandwich on whole grain bread, I'll feel like I need to eat two sandwiches instead of one. Or if I have a nice salad, I feel like I need to put something on the side, like some chicken or pasta, as if the salad just won't sustain me. I actually make really healthy food choices in general, that's not my problem. It's the portion sizes and the compulsions that I have to battle.