The MakeMeThinner Support Forum

[Jeanette]

Hi gang:

Before I moved to Florida, I was a Curves girl....now that I am single again and really watching my pennies, Curves is a luxury I can't afford at the moment. LUCKILY, my building has a couple of exercise machines--a stationery bike and a weight machine. I haven't tried them yet, but once I get past the first couple of weeks of low calorie, I will give it a whirl.

Now, what about the rest of you all? What form of exercise do you do, what duration do you do it for, and how often do you do it?

Thanks!

[gerimarc]

Hi Jeanette. I am a long time Leslie Sansone walking tape girl. Before her I was a Richard Simmons fan. I have equipment here in my office building, but can't get into the treadmill thing. I find it totally boring. I also belong to Liberty Fitness which is similar to Curves. I usually go there twice a week on my lunch hour. Liberty is 30 minutes and Leslie's tapes are usually 45 minutes to an hour.

Gerimarc
started 4/04
214/stalled at 182/160

[hawaiiwhatnot]

Aloha,

Winsor Pilates 20 minute work-out CD 3 times a week is doing wonders for uplifting the junk in the trunk, toning muscles, and giving me a long lean dancer's look in my limbs. 20 minutes is a SHORT amount of time, and it's NOT THAT HARD of a workout!

Also I'm doing a very fast walk on the treadmill 45 minutes long 5 times a week. Gets me in a total sweat - headphones and tunes are a MUST! (I use the Sony Armband radio)

Swimming a couple of times a week is also in the program. Actually I'm not really swimming - I'm in the water moving around however I want - running around under water is silly but effective!

Gettin there!
Camille

[DutchChoc]

I'm going to look into the Winsor Pilates, Camille. I like the commercials. In the meantime, I have some tapes I could be using. As long as I'm not using them at home, I guess buying something new might be suspect. I have -- let me go look -- ah yes, a Karen Voight tape that I liked and a Denise Austin aerobics workout. I'd like to start using some of my time with some body shaping exercises such as moving small handweights or lifting my weight bar or throwing/catching my medicine ball. It does make a difference to do small things.

What I'm really doing at this time is doing 30 min of crosstrainer at level 6 up to four times per week. I mix it up quite a bit to get a true interval workout out of the time -- fast and slow alternating, forwards and backwards, etc. I could do longer or more often or with more resistance, but I don't to take a chance that my thighs will get bigger than they are. I have had trouble in the past doing too much lower body working out, such as by using the stairmaster, which really builds the butt, in my experience. No shortage of butt here, guys! The next part of the weight loss MUST come from below the waist or it's a no-go.

Congrats for moving in positive directions, Jeanette. The stationary bike could be a good place to start as long as it's of good quality. A wiggly one is a drag, literally.

[Nancy]

Jeanette ~

Good for you for looking for some healthy alternatives and for planning to incorporate exercise into your routine for improved health!

With Medifast fast food lunches, it makes it possible to actually have an HOUR for lunch to with as you please - read, study, exercise, run errands, visit with a friend, or shop.

Having a gym or work out room in your building is a blessing. More businesses are realizing the importance of having a wellness program or workout area in the workplace.

When I was at the college, I used the gym three times a week. I began by doing some stretches, rode the stationary bike for 5 minutes initially and then worked up to ten minutes to get my heart rate up and then walked on the treadmill 20-25 minutes, used the universal gym, bench press, leg lifts, and Roman chair (It was a TOTAL killer for me! and still is - I don't think my belly has one muscle).

Currently I feel the need to do more than just stretches, simple floor exercises, riding the bike and the treadmill now that the weather is changing and my gardening will come to a stop for a few months.

To be fit is my goal. To be healthy and toned up will help me now and in the years to come. "It's not the easy or convenient life for which I search but life lived to the edge of all my possibility" (maryanne radmacher) and it will take daily exercise NOW so that I will be able to LIVE on the edge all the rest of my days!

Besides, I love pie!

If I work out now, I can work in some pie and desserts along the way of livin' on the edge!

[JeweloftheNile]

I really enjoy walking/jogging at the park this time of year. Im not ready to go inside (I belong to Ballys) just yet. My neighbor and I have been walking about 4.5 mph at least 3 times a week for the past 6 weeks.

I have a stairstepper at home and the Slim in 6 tapes for variety.

I also like the fast prep of the Medifast meals for lunch, as I can visit our work gym for my 30 min. lunch.

[Lois]

HI there....

My TRUE love....when it comes to exercise, that is ....is swimming.

But these days I have niether the time nor the money to swim regularly, so I alternate every day between yoga and brisk walking outdoors.

I began to learn yoga, originally, from a videotape. Since then, I had the priveledge of taking classes with a very gifted teacher. I am now able to put together a practice each day based on what my body needs, and it is truely a WONDERFUL thing for me, both physically and mentally.

Our winters in Philly are relatively mild, so I am usually able to bundle up and walk outdoors in the winter months....but we do have a mimi-trampoline, so if we have a rough winter, I'll have an indoor aerobic option

hugs to all,

Lois

[elle4nelly]

I can walk from here to Timbuktu! I just love walking. Armed with my favorite CD and good sneakers. I also love weight training. So much so that I subscribe to magazines such as " Oxygen", Body mind & soul and Muscle Fitness for her. Heck I even read Shape magazine. I just love exercise and Fitness in general.

I try to lower the intensity because overtraining on a very low caloric diet can actually slow your weight loss. And that's hard for me to do because I can easily walk 1 hour 6 days a week.

So for now..I do either 40 minutes 5 -6 times a week or I do 3-4 1 hour session. I do 2 very intense weight lifting session at the gym. 1 for lower body and the other for upper body.

[Jeanette]

Nelly:

Please explain more about workout intensity and how it relates to Medifast. I don't think I am aware of that!

Thanks!

[elle4nelly]

Hi Jeanette!
I've read several articles ( Journal of nutrition and etc...) and so far all seem to indicate that too much aerobics is counterproductive to your fat loss/muscle building progress. If you are doing 1-2 hours of aerobics a day you are overdoing it and you will find it extremely hard to loose weight because your body would be forced to break down your muscle for fuel. Initially you may lose some weight but a greater percentage of that weight loss would be “muscular weight”. We can’t afford to lose lean body mass because the lower your lean body mass the fewer calories you burn at rest or simply put the lower your metabolism. Over time as you continue to over train your body (by doing too much cardio for example), by the time you stop the routine you will gain all the weight back with some additional fat because your body will have loss its ability to burn more calories due to lean body mass loss If you perform aerobics by itself and compliment that with a starvation diet (which is any diet under 800 calories a day). You would be depleting your existing muscle cells. You are in effect slowing down your metabolism and burning fewer calories than you would have with the extra muscle you once had. That’s why many people have a hard time maintaining a lower weight after going through a very low calorie diet for a while. A proper way to exercise and to diminish the loss of lean body mass would be to incorporate weight training in your exercise routine and to keep your cardio under 1 hour per session. And frankly with an intake of 500 calories per day, a split session which would include 30 minutes of moderate to intense cardio followed by 20-30 minutes of intense weight training 3-4 times a week would be adequate. Another great routine would be the type of training such as what you use to do at curves. Anyway, that’s why I have reduced my exercise intensity and level to work better with medifast.
If you think about it. both exercise and dietary intake must complement each other. A proffessional athlete who trains for hours a day would require an enormous amount of calories to sustain the body energetic output. If they ate less they'd have a hard time performing at the intense level they need to.
Anyway...enough blah blah..from me. Since we can't post links I won't bother but there's a lot of articles in the following journals: American journal of clinical nutrition, journal of nutrition & metabolism and journal of clinical nutrition. I guess I enjoy edication myself about these things...you know...this is a one way journey for me. It is going to be long and hard, I expect some detours, derails, wondering off BUT There will be NO U TURN. So I will learn as much as I can to make sure of that.

Nelly

[Jeanette]

Thanks for the info! I think I get it now! (Science wasn't my best subject!)

[elle4nelly]

No problem Jeanette!
Since you can't go to Curves, I can suggest something really good. If you go online at Amazon. You can order a copy of Joyce Vedral " Bottom Up" book. It is a truly Amazing of a workout. I've got my Skinny friends on it and they say it kicks butts. All you need for starter is 3 sets of dumbells. 3lbs, 5lbs and 8lbs. And a bench. ( about $ 49.00 at kohls, target and etc...)

That's all ! And you will SWEAT and TONE UP to death!! I replace my gym workout by hers 2x a week. Soon I'll do it 4x and only go to gym 2-3 times.
Her method turns a anaerobic workout such as sculpting into a areobic one. She achieve that by making you use light weight and moving fast through the sets.

Anyway...that's a suggestion and since it requires just a small space, weights and a small bench...maybe you'd like it.

Nelly

[Sylvia]

Oooh Nelly - thanks for the info on the book. I've been trying to find time for weights and this sounds like something that might work.

As for me, I walk 2 miles per day 5 or 6 days a week. I also do my stationary bike usually 3-4 times a week for an additional 20-30 mins. On the weekends, we usually go out for long bike rides - an hour or hour and a half.

[elle4nelly]

Sylvia,

I've got to warn you that you will be sore the first few workout BUT you will see definition especially at your current weight. At 217 ...I've toned up my quads and the bacl of my legs and thighs with her workout. It trully kicks butt!!

Nelly

[Sylvia]

I've bought the book and am waiting for it to arrive. As for being sore - I don't feel like I'm making progress unless I'm a little sore the next day