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| Wednesday, March 21, 2007 |
| On working out |
Since back in school (this is week 3), I've been pretty damned good about working out. I think I've skipped one day. I feel a little weak sometimes, when I hear about others' abilities and speed. But I know I've never been that person, and likely won't ever be. I am not in a position of wanting to lose weight because I'm in great shape -- if I were in great shape, then, well, I wouldn't be writing this post.
I'm struggling to reach a 15 minute mile (granted, it's on the elliptical, and not true running - but I don't know what that means). Let alone a 10 minute mile uphill sustained for over an hour. Geez.
Anyway, I'm doing 20 minutes each on 2 machines --- an elliptical and a no-impact running thing (not quite a treadmill ... I don't know what the hell it is). I'm burning around 500 calories. I'm also doing strength training a couple of times a week. And I ride my bike for approximately 30-40 minutes/day.
I'm continuing my "healthy eating" campaign that I started in January.
And yet ... I'm still stuck at the first 10 pounds I lost, back in February. I haven't lost a thing since.
It feels like my pants are getting looser .... well, they ARE getting looser. To the point that at least one pair will likely need to be put aside for "fat days." I'm not quite ready to go down a size, though, and the scale stays the same.
It is frustrating me. I know it shouldn't, and I know that in the past - I've had this pattern of losing weight. I start off, and it seems like nothing's happening, and then all of a sudden, my body decides I really mean business, and the pounds start coming off.
But I want it to start NOW. Hello? Today? Hips? Go away, okay?
I have been slowly increasing my workouts - Today I did 30 minutes one machine (elliptical), and 20 on the other, I'm working on increasing my speed. I've gone from a 22 minute mile to an 18 minute mile. I highly doubt I'll get far below a 15, but a 15-minute mile is my goal. If that ends up easy, I'll push further.
I just needed to vent, so that I didn't get discouraged and go buy a candy bar or something.Labels: exercise |
posted by Zuska @ 10:28 AM   |
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| 3 Comments: |
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Just started reading your blog, and I too have found this platau of the weight issue... Just started working out 2 weeks ago and have really stuck it out and not loosing! Good luck to you! I know we can both reach our goals!
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First of all, I'm sorry you're frustrated. I hear the plateaus. But although this is a sketchy thing - it will help you make more sense of what's happening but it will be frustrating - those machines lie like dogs. A girlfriend did an analysis of the calories people actually burn on those machines as her thesis (she does health and nutrition sciences at Idaho State) by measuring something to do with oxygen.. I don't really get it...and she said those numbers only measure the amount of force being put into the machine. So it's only accurate if you have a lot of lean muscle, if you are engaging every muscle the way it expects you to (which none of us actually do), and if you are keeping your heart rate at a particular place. So just remember that the number of calories burned is a rough estimate, and the actual amount is almost always lower than you expect.
I know that sucks, but at least it can help you plan more realistically.
Also, I know this is cliche, but muscle weighs more than fat. You might be losing more fat than you know, but gaining muscle, so that scale isn't changing, but those inches are. So that's a far more positive way to end this note...
Oh, and if you are increasing your workouts, then what gives? You are rockin it!
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Lyco, I'm pretty sure you're referring to glycolysis.
The only thing that matters is that you MOVE.
The details are meant for the athletes, the rest of us just need to move our bodies.
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Just started reading your blog, and I too have found this platau of the weight issue... Just started working out 2 weeks ago and have really stuck it out and not loosing! Good luck to you! I know we can both reach our goals!