puddin

Do you mean about converting fat into muscle?

Telly, fat doesn't convert into muscle. Your body builds it with Protein and uses carbohydrates to transport it to the muscle. Telly, you are absolutely correct, however, when you say that you probably won't lose much weight if your goal is to build muscle. To really, effectively build muscle you've got to feed it. And since you sometimes stay the same weight during the week (but you've gained muscle), you are eating as much as you're expending, which is an ideal situation for weight training. But the band makes that difficult and eating as much as we're expending is contrary to the reason we got the band. But for us people with a LOT of fat on our bodies that really NEED to take off the pounds, it might be better to get rid of most of the weight, first, before focusing on the ideal situation for weight training. It IS possible (I did a lot of research last night and this morning on this), apparently, to lose a lot of weight and gain muscle at the same time - but our bodies don't like to do it, and it's not that efficient at it for very long, oddly enough. So my trainer said this morning that before I focus on building muscle he's having me focus on losing most of the weight. And then he's going to have me switch off between weight training intervals and weight loss intervals (like 3 weeks at a time) as I get closer to my goal weight. Once I'm at goal I can focus a lot more on the weight training. But apparently if you gain pounds in muscle you also gain fat, it's inevitable. So that's why he's going to have me switch off. But Telly, your weight is probably closer to where it needs to be to do the weight training; I think you're doing a FANTASTIC job and you look great, honey.

Thanks lady! I suppose the weight loss has been fairly steady. Two of the months I didn't lose a pound (and even gained a few) because of vacations or Christmas. Plus, I felt no restriction until around March. So really, I lost the first 30 September through the end of January and the rest of it since. My weight loss has just recently taken off because I'm just now feeling REAL restriction. I can eat about a cup and a quarter of food and I feel full until the next meal. Now that I'm properly restricted and I have the calorie device my goal is to lose another 36 pounds by my 1-year band anniversary. But as far as buying the device goes, you really don't need it. HOWEVER, I would recommend at least getting your basal metabolic rate tested and logging everything you eat. Then you'll get a more realistic view of what you're burning on a daily basis and can adjust accordingly. I'd also highly recommend a pedometer (seems to give similar motivation). I know the more you lose the slower you burn calories, so you're caloric expenditure and your caloric intake are the same right now. But heck, you're at 165, girl! That's fantastic!

Jacqui, I think we're soul mates LOL! What you said in your previous post is exactly what I feel about working out. Plus, I agree about including the lower-intensity workout into your routine every week. I usually do two longer, steady-state cardio sessions (about an hour) and 5 shorter, higher-intensity, interval training cardio sessions (about 40-45 mihutes) per week. I'll usually include a lower-intense walk with some bursts of jogging every evening as well. But if I work TOO hard during my high intense training I'll give up after a half hour. I don't particularly think it's good to wear yourself out before the end of your workout.

Leila, I'm glad to hear that you gained muscle and lost fat in the same week, but could you sustain that? I've heard that it's easy for your body to be efficient at both activities if you're very overweight or if you just started doing it, but that the body doesn't become so efficient as you continue to do it, strangely. I posted my frustration about this in another thread, but basically it boiled down to my confusion over weight training. Am I consuming too few calories to adequately repair my muscle? Would I be sabotaging my weight training efforts by doing too much cardio (because my body would be repairing itself from the intense cardio sessions rather than building muscle)? My trainer told me gaining muscle and losing fat are two competing goals and our bodies don't like to do both at the same time. He recommended I get very close to my goal weight before attempting to "switch off" periodically between losing weight and gaining muscle. He said it's easier to do the two separately.

At first this is true, but after awhile (I've heard 20 minutes) you've got no more sugar for your body to burn, so you HAVE to burn fat (and probably muscle). I don't pay attention to my heart rate. I just work my freakin butt off. My trainer told me that the whole idea of doing longer, less-intensive workouts does burn more PERCENTAGE of fat, but that the shorter, harder workouts actually burn more calories and just as much AMOUNT of fat as the easier ones, but of the percentage of fat calories burned is less. Here's one short article about that: http://fitnessmagazine.com/fitness/story.jhtml?storyid=/templatedata/fitness/story/data/1128958045389.xml&catref=ftn15 That being said, when I do hour-long workouts I can't bust my butt the whole time or I'd collapse. Plus, I did the high-intensity workout for a half hour one day and my calorie device told me that I burned fewer calories than the less-intense, hour-long workout.

Jacqui, I started doing 1 minute spurts of jogging a few weeks ago during my evening walks. At first I thought I'd die at the end of the minute, but now it's not so hard. It's amazing how quickly our bodies adapt to it. Now it's almost instinctive to start jogging. About this whole weight training discussion... I'm a pretty scientific person and I know a lot about how our bodies work, but this whole WHEN and HOW and IF we should weight train has got me so confused I think my brain's going to melt. I've been told multiple times that losing weight and gaining muscle are two competing goals and shouldn't be done at the same time. That being said, I've also been told that building muscle is the key to weight loss. I can see both sides of the coin. But what does MY body require to repair from a weight training session and build muscle. It's altogether possible to sabotage my own efforts by eating too few calories and working out too hard with my cardio sessions so my body can't efficiently repair itself. I've been there before. It just makes you sick and sore. I'll ask my trainer on Monday, but I already know what he'll say: "Focus on the fat loss first, missy." So at this point I think I might just experiment with the whole thing. Right now I bust my butt every day to hit my 2,800 calorie expenditure goal (the BodyBugg device I wear keeps track of how many calories I'm burning at all times). Maybe that goal would be so much more attainable if I had some extra metabolically active muscle on me. I know it would, but with what parameters? This is my new Quest. Maybe I'll make a new post if I ever find the answer.

LOL! Yeah, I noticed that y'all love to perpetrate that stereotype and laugh at us while we look at you with our stupid expressions, like "are you serious?" They also liked to quiz me on the provinces. They got a good laugh out of that one, too.

I had to add my two cents here, too. I have gotten that question MANY times since coming back to the states, "Hey, do you know Angie, she lives in Canada." At first, I'm shocked that they'd ask that, but guess what? I have known that person EVERY SINGLE TIME I get asked that question. It's a VERY strange coincidence. Shocks the heck out of me every time.

I lived in Canada for almost 2 years at one point. I found it pretty funny that SO MANY Canadians thought that Americans thought everyone up there lives in igloos. WE DON'T! I haven't met one person who thought that yet.

Girl, I say just HAVE FUN when you're on vacation. But when you come back work your ass off! I'm not saying to go crazy while you're there. Try to do it in moderation. But heaven help the person who tells me to resist the chocolate bar when everyone else is eating it and it looks SO good! In my experience, I relapse into poor diet behavior whenever I restrict myself too much on vacation. And if you are planning on having a bad eating day, get lots of activity in.

I don't get it. I worked SO hard today and still didn't meet my calorie burn goal for the day. I walked to campus twice, did yoga, did 45 minutes of exercise, walked for 10 minutes that evening, in addition to just sort of moving all day. Well, whatever, I still met my daily defecit goal, so now I can have junk at my dad's party. SCALE: 231.5 upstairs at the gym (228 at doctor's office) EXERCISE: Length: 45 minutes (25 minutes Arc trainer, 20 minutes treadmill) Intensity: Weight loss mode on Arc Trainer, steady state (3.3 mph at a 5% incline) on treadmill Activity: Arc Trainer & Treadmill (also walkeded to campus twice, did yoga for a half hour and walked 10 minutes that evening.) Calories burned start to finish: ~332 FOOD: BF: Apex chocolate meal replacement shake ... mmmmmmmm L: Loaded salad w/ Teriyaki Chicken D: Lean Cuisine Chicken & Veggies S: 1 rice krispie treat & some of Sara's Costa Vida Pork Salad CALORIES CONSUMED: 1,108 CALORIES BURNED: 2,679 CALORIE DEFECIT: 1,571 NSV: I could do yoga SO MUCH better than Sara. She's 10 pounds less than I was when I started. She used to be in better shape than me. I really hope she chooses to get a band in the near future.

Netty, you sound overfilled. Could it be that you're actually ingesting MORE calories because you can't do a lot of the solid foods? As for a Protein shake, I bought one the other day that is the best tasting shiznit that I've ever had (and honey, I've had them all). It tastes like a chocolate shake. It's made by Apex. You can get them online at www.myapex.com or I think all 24 Hour fitness centers sell them.

SCALE: 232.5 downstairs at the gym (229 at doctor's office) EXERCISE: Length: 45 minutes (25 minutes Arc trainer, 20 minutes treadmill) Intensity: Weight loss mode on Arc Trainer, steady state (3.3 mph at a 5% incline) on treadmill Activity: Arc Trainer & Treadmill (also walked around campus trying to shoot video all morning) Calories burned start to finish: ~430 FOOD: BF: Apex chocolate meal replacement shake ... mmmmmmmm L: WW Salisbury Steak & Asparagus D: Loaded salad w/ Teriyaki Chicken CALORIES CONSUMED: 864 CALORIES BURNED: 3035 CALORIE DEFECIT: 2,171 NSV: Girl at gym that I met today thought an 80 pound loss was 'amazing'. Plus, I wore my new size 18 sexy jeans today (I haven't been that size since I was a junior in high school) and I look HOT!

SCALE: 232.5 downstairs at the gym (229 at doctor's office) EXERCISE: Length: 45 minutes (25 minutes Arc trainer, 20 minutes treadmill) Intensity: Weight loss mode on Arc Trainer, steady state (3.3 mph at a 5% incline) on treadmill Activity: Arc Trainer & Treadmill (also walked around campus trying to shoot video all morning) Calories burned start to finish: ~430 FOOD: BF: Apex chocolate meal replacement shake ... mmmmmmmm L: WW Salisbury Steak & Asparagus D: Loaded salad w/ Teriyaki Chicken CALORIES CONSUMED: 864 CALORIES BURNED: 3035 CALORIE DEFECIT: 2,171 NSV: Girl at gym that I met today thought an 80 pound loss was 'amazing'. Plus, I wore my new size 18 sexy jeans today (I haven't been that size since I was a junior in high school) and I look HOT!

You're a sweetheart. I don't have a workout buddy, but I do have to pay for a gym membership to get myself motivated enough to go. My work actually has a really nice gym (I work at a university), but I have to pay money so I don't "waste" it by not going. Plus, my gym has TV's on every machine, so I can watch my favorite shows while working out. After awhile it was just second nature, getting my butt to the gym every day. Oh yeah, and my gym is within walking distance to my house. That helps a LOT! I got those shakes at my gym. I think you can go to www.myapex.com and get it online with free shipping, or I'm pretty sure they sell it at all 24 Hour Fitness centers.

Great advice. I get first bite syndrome, as well. My nurse says sometimes our esophagus will spasm when we first eat food. Try drinking something hot, then take VERY small bites for the first couple bites and chew like hell. Then, if you're still having problems, after the first couple bites wait a few minutes before continuing to eat. To avoid a PB this is what I have to do. I don't do the hot liquids, usually, but I do take VERY small bites for the first two and then I wait 2 minutes before going on. This seems to work for me. I tend to think you're not overfilled, but probably still irritated from all the PB's.

Skinny, I usually just drink a meal replacement shake in the AM. I use my Magic Bullet blender cup and go! I hate the taste of slimfast, but I just found this new shake made by Apex. It's the Apex Fit Chocolate Meal Replacement shake. The orange creme tastes like an orangsicle and the chocolate tastes like a fudgesicle. It's honestly the best tasting shake I've ever had - and I've had them all. It's got 220 calories and 20g protein and I think around 27 carbs. If you're counting carbs they do have a "Lean" version that has about 150 calories. I've never tasted that one, though. Well, I am just loving this BodyBugg. My goal is a 1,500 calorie defecit/day. I usually upload my stats from the BodyBugg just before dinner and then I know how many calories I can have for dinner to meet my defecit goal or how much more I need to "move" to meet my goal. My trainer would rather have me meet the goal through increased physical activity than through decreased calories (and the man is just so hot that I certainly don't want to disappoint him). The other day I had a Wendy's frosty, which is 270 calories, according to their website, so I knew if I took an extra 15 minute walk that evening I'd be able to meet my goal for the day. I've never moved so much in my life! I just love seeing those "spikes" on the graph that shows how many calories I'm burning. If I'm logging my food correctly, I should be losing about 3 pounds this week. It's very exciting. Thursday, June 29 B: Apex chocolate meal replacement shake - 220 calories, 20g protein L: WW Salisbury Steak and asparagus - 200 calories, 20g protein D: Planning on Teriyaki chicken and a salad - ~444 calories, 48g protein Totals (planned & so far): 864 calories, 88g protein

I got a call from the other job that I've been considering. A few weeks back I went to lunch with them while they told me all about the job and asked me to apply. I applied but didn't hear back for awhile. So she calls today and says they'd like me to interview next Wednesday. I have very mixed feelings about this job. On one hand it pays a lot more and it's an opportunity to really make a difference, but on the other hand I really like my job now. Plus, we're hiring a full-time programmer so I'll be able to spend my time on design and usability and possibly move into being the information architect for the university websites. Plus, I have tremendous flexibility, I love my boss and the team I work with, I get free tuition to take my medical classes, I get every other Friday off, I can come and go pretty much whenever I want, etc. The only downside to this job is the pay. But even that's not so bad when you count the benefits and the retirement. So I went to the band doc today. New nurse! I convinced the woman to give me .2 cc's in my band. That would have NEVER happened with the other nurses. They're reluctant to give me .1. I'm loving this new restriction. Thank you band angel, whatever your name was! SCALE: 234.5 downstairs at the gym (231 at doctor's office) EXERCISE: Length: 48 minutes (35 minutes Arc trainer, 13 minutes treadmill) + 20 minute walk at night Time: 7:40 PM (entered gym) to 8:30 PM (left gym) Intensity: Weight loss mode on Arc Trainer, steady state (3.3 mph at a 5% incline) on treadmill Activity: Arc Trainer & Treadmill & Walking Calories burned start to finish: ~349 (gym) ~160 (walking) Calories burned 1 hour after gym activity: 126.2 FOOD: BF: 1/4 Metagenics Shake L: South Beach Kung Pao Chicken S: Yoplait light cherry yogurt & 1 pc turkey deli meat D: Apex chocolate shake w/ 1.5 Tb organic peanut butter & 1/2 banana CALORIES BURNED: ~2,652 (148 shy of goal) CALORIES CONSUMED: 845 CALORIE DEFECIT: 1,807 NSV: 2 co-workers said I was 'lookin skinny'. Another co-worker said I was looking skinny, but that something also was 'different' about me. She didn't know if it was a tan or my hair or what. I think it's my new makeup. I went to Sephora while in Vegas (like 4 times) and got some friggin awesome stuff.

I got a call from the other job that I've been considering. A few weeks back I went to lunch with them while they told me all about the job and asked me to apply. I applied but didn't hear back for awhile. So she calls today and says they'd like me to interview next Wednesday. I have very mixed feelings about this job. On one hand it pays a lot more and it's an opportunity to really make a difference, but on the other hand I really like my job now. Plus, we're hiring a full-time programmer so I'll be able to spend my time on design and usability and possibly move into being the information architect for the university websites. Plus, I have tremendous flexibility, I love my boss and the team I work with, I get free tuition to take my medical classes, I get every other Friday off, I can come and go pretty much whenever I want, etc. The only downside to this job is the pay. But even that's not so bad when you count the benefits and the retirement. So I went to the band doc today. New nurse! I convinced the woman to give me .2 cc's in my band. That would have NEVER happened with the other nurses. They're reluctant to give me .1. I'm loving this new restriction. Thank you band angel, whatever your name was! SCALE: 234.5 downstairs at the gym (231 at doctor's office) EXERCISE: Length: 48 minutes (35 minutes Arc trainer, 13 minutes treadmill) + 20 minute walk at night Time: 7:40 PM (entered gym) to 8:30 PM (left gym) Intensity: Weight loss mode on Arc Trainer, steady state (3.3 mph at a 5% incline) on treadmill Activity: Arc Trainer & Treadmill & Walking Calories burned start to finish: ~349 (gym) ~160 (walking) Calories burned 1 hour after gym activity: 126.2 FOOD: BF: 1/4 Metagenics Shake L: South Beach Kung Pao Chicken S: Yoplait light cherry yogurt & 1 pc turkey deli meat D: Apex chocolate shake w/ 1.5 Tb organic peanut butter & 1/2 banana CALORIES BURNED: ~2,652 (148 shy of goal) CALORIES CONSUMED: 845 CALORIE DEFECIT: 1,807 NSV: 2 co-workers said I was 'lookin skinny'. Another co-worker said I was looking skinny, but that something also was 'different' about me. She didn't know if it was a tan or my hair or what. I think it's my new makeup. I went to Sephora while in Vegas (like 4 times) and got some friggin awesome stuff.

There was a new nurse at my band doc's office today! She's a WHOLE lot easier to convince that I needed .2 more cc's in my band. I'm certain the other nurses would have MAYBE given me .1! I'm lovin this 2.6 cc restriction. Wednesday, 6/28 B: 1/4 Metagenics shake - 32 calories, 3.7g protein L: South Beach Kung Pao Chicken - 300 calories, 32g protein S: Yoplait light cherry yogurt & 1 slice deli turkey - 113 calories, 9.5g protein D: Apex chocolate meal replacement shake w/ peanut butter & banana - 400 calories, 25.4g protein Totals: 845 calories, 71g protein Oh yeah, and SkinnyMini? SCOLD!!!! Just don't do it again or I'll have to spank you.

I love seeing posts like yours because so many of our posts are about struggles we are having. You've done wonderfully!!!

I usually do 3 meals a day and one snack in between lunch and dinner. I can eat like a cup and a half at meals. I know I need a fill but I keep stinkin getting stuck! I get this first bite PB syndrome all the time now. I have no idea what's up!

Okay, now I'm confused. Got on the scale again today and it showed a 1 pound LOSS from last week. It was even after lunch and having water. I don't get this. Maybe I'd actually retained water in vegas because of the heat. My intern got another job today making more than me. I'd actually referred him to this fella that calls me all the time about jobs. I usually turn him down because these jobs are "contract to permanent" with no benefits and I'm all about stability with my band loans and all. But I usually can refer him to someone in the field who's looking so he keeps calling. Anyhow, Dustin told me he was interviewing the other day and today (during the shoot) he got the call that he had, in fact, gotten the job. He'll be making 53k a year. I suppose that's not more than me if you count benefits and retirement. I'm glad for him. This will help his wife and kids out, not to mention he can go to school at UVSC and get a better education for his field than he's getting at Weber. I think I'll stay where I am for awhile while I go back for my P.A. degree. May as well as long as I get free tuition and fees. SCALE: 233.5 at upstairs gym (what the heck???) (230 at doctor's office) EXERCISE: Length: 52 minutes (30 minutes Arc trainer, 22 minutes treadmill) Time: 7:00 PM (entered gym) to 8:00 PM (left gym) Intensity: Steady State Activity: Arc Trainer & Treadmill Calories burned start to finish: ~382 Calories burned 1 hour after activity: 201 (but I fixed the lawn mower and made dinner) FOOD: BF: None (woke up early for shoot and left w/o breakfast) L: Tropical Chicken Salad "sandwich" on cabbage D: Grilled Pork Souvlaki, loaded salad w/ egg & homemade dressing S: Wendy's fix 'n mix frosty CALORIES BURNED: 2,964 CALORIES CONSUMED: 1,079 CALORIE DEFECIT: 1,885 NSV: Co-worker told me when I came in today that I looked like a movie star and like "totally skinny". She said she didn't even know it was me coming through the door. What a sweetie.

Okay, now I'm confused. Got on the scale again today and it showed a 1 pound LOSS from last week. It was even after lunch and having water. I don't get this. Maybe I'd actually retained water in vegas because of the heat. My intern got another job today making more than me. I'd actually referred him to this fella that calls me all the time about jobs. I usually turn him down because these jobs are "contract to permanent" with no benefits and I'm all about stability with my band loans and all. But I usually can refer him to someone in the field who's looking so he keeps calling. Anyhow, Dustin told me he was interviewing the other day and today (during the shoot) he got the call that he had, in fact, gotten the job. He'll be making 53k a year. I suppose that's not more than me if you count benefits and retirement. I'm glad for him. This will help his wife and kids out, not to mention he can go to school at UVSC and get a better education for his field than he's getting at Weber. I think I'll stay where I am for awhile while I go back for my P.A. degree. May as well as long as I get free tuition and fees. SCALE: 233.5 at upstairs gym (what the heck???) (230 at doctor's office) EXERCISE: Length: 52 minutes (30 minutes Arc trainer, 22 minutes treadmill) Time: 7:00 PM (entered gym) to 8:00 PM (left gym) Intensity: Steady State Activity: Arc Trainer & Treadmill Calories burned start to finish: ~382 Calories burned 1 hour after activity: 201 (but I fixed the lawn mower and made dinner) FOOD: BF: None (woke up early for shoot and left w/o breakfast) L: Tropical Chicken Salad "sandwich" on cabbage D: Grilled Pork Souvlaki, loaded salad w/ egg & homemade dressing S: Wendy's fix 'n mix frosty CALORIES BURNED: 2,964 CALORIES CONSUMED: 1,079 CALORIE DEFECIT: 1,885 NSV: Co-worker told me when I came in today that I looked like a movie star and like "totally skinny". She said she didn't even know it was me coming through the door. What a sweetie.