I partly agree with the article.

Diet is the key. You need to eat right to lose fat. Exercise to keep it off.

For my afternoon snack (around 3pm), I always eat Odwalla's Choco-walla bar. It's 240 calories, 42g of carbs, 5g of protein and 6g of fat. It gets me ready for my workout after work.

The taste is pretty good... tastes like dark chocolate brownie. Other than honey in my yogurt or fruit shake, and some fresh fruits, it's the only sweet thing I have all day.

I'm not tempted to eat donuts or pastries or candies my coworkers bring to work 'cause I know I have something to look forward to in the afternoon.

If you've got dumbbells/barbells, you can substitute bent-over rows or pullovers. Both exercises work the same back muscles as the pull-up.

The only way to get rid of a habit is to replace it with another one. If your habit is to eat a snack 3 hours after dinner even when you're not hungry, then do something else to break that habit.

1. You could drink a glass of cold water first. Sometimes you think you're hungry, but you're actually thirsty.

2. Drink Hot Tea. Same reason as above, but it'll take you longer to drink it.

2. Brush your teeth. (Not that I'm assuming you don't ) You wouldn't want to eat after you've already brushed your teeth.

3. Exercise or Stretch for 5-10 minutes. If you're gonna eat something, at least that little bit of exercise will ofset some of the calories you just ate.

4. You can make your late snack a part of your whole day diet. Eat less at dinner time to make room for your after dinner snack.

5. Cut down on the snack little by little. Maybe not have the oatmeal and just have the banana or some other fruit. Grapes or an orange.

But, like you said... these foods (oatmeal and bananas) aren't necessarily unhealthy. Probably around 160 calories as a snack, which isn't bad.

Had the same problem when I was using Safari browser (in windows vista). Worked fine with IE.

Original article here:

http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml



More info here:

http://www.c25k.com



Podcasts here (this one makes this program a no-brainer because Robert Ullrey will tell you when to start running and when to slow down. Load each week to your music player and start running!):

http://www.ullreys.com/robert/Podcasts/page4/page4 .html

45 minutes on the treadmill... really need to do it more often.

did mine.. after a few days of not doing anything.



42min - 657 cal on treadmill

first, I think the 3,420 cal is what you need to maintain your weight.



So, if you want to lose 1 lbs/wk, you need to take away 3,500 cal/week... which is 500 cal less per day or 2920 cal/day.



If you want to lose 2lbs/wk, you eat 1,000 cal less or eat only 2,420 calories/day in food.



i think you should try to shoot for a lower number of calories because you'll end up going over it anyway. I think the 1800-2100 cal/day is a good range.



Add in calories burned from exercises, then you might use up an extra 2,000 cal/wk - if you work out 4x a week and burn 500 cal per workout. That could amount to an additional loss of 0.57 lbs a week.



So, with 2,400 cal diet and exercise 4x a week (500cal/workout)... you can lose about 2.6 lbs a week.



If you use up an additional 1,500 cal (either by eating less or doing more exercise)... then you can lose 3 lbs a week, but I think 2-2.5 lbs a week is a good amount of weight to lose.



I agree that you should try eating 6 times a day. Actually, I've been trying to do 7 times a day. Breakfast (7:15a), Morning Snack(9:30a), Lunch (12:30p), Afternoon Snack (2:30p), Pre-Workout Snack(4:00p), Dinner(7:00p), Evening Snack(9:30p).



I actually set my phone up to beep and buzz at each time to remind myself to eat something. It definitely helps while at work... especially when you're busy and not paying attention to the time.



I don't count calories, but if I ate 500 cal per breakfast, lunch, and dinner with 4x100 cal snacks, that's 1900cal/day. Although, I'm sure some of my snacks are more than 100 cal.



I followed through with the C25K myself and it really worked for me. I've managed to lose about 50 lbs in a year.. although I lost half of that before I started or knew about C25K.



I only did C25K 6 months ago and I wish I knew about it sooner.



Now, I'm still trying to lose 35 lbs. I've had my ups and downs, literally, and had weeks where my weight stayed the same and I almost got discouraged. Yesterday, I broke the 180 mark and weighed in at 179.6lbs.



As for your workout days, I think you should put in a weekend day. Weekends are usually my weakness, because I'm usually at home doing nothing... lots of temptation to go to the fridge and eat something. For work, I do prep my own lunch and snacks, so no tempation to overeat.



Anyway, good luck with your goals!

Are you an apple or a pear?



Those who are apple-shaped, fat around the midsection, are able to lose weight much easier when they're on a low-carb (low-glycemic) diet.



If you're a pear shape, fat around hips and thighs, then a low-glycemic diet does not have as much of an effect as it has on apple-shaped individuals.



From what I've gathered, most men are apples and most women are pears.



Here are a couple of links.



http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2007-05-15-die t-types_N.htm

http://www.healthandage.com/public/health-center/2 2/article/3242/Diets-for-Apples-and-Pears.htm

I like to spice things up by cooking 'ethnic' food.



For example, you can do a lot of things with a plain chicken breast. To make it italian, just make a sauce out of basil, tomatoes, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Coat the chicken in bread crumbs and parmesan and you have chicken parm.



To make it mexican, use oregano and add cumin and paprika. Grill or saute it. Wrap it up in a tortilla and put your favorite salsa and you have a taco/fajita.



To make it japanese, use a bottle of teriyaki sauce as marinade and then pan fry it. For chinese, use soy sauce and ginger with some prepared stir fry veggies to make a quick stir fry. To make it Indian, use curry powder... and so on.



I've never been a fan of frozen dinners, but I do like to do "semi-homemade" stuff. Just buy different bottled sauces and difference spices. You can buy already cooked chicken breasts, some already sliced.



You can also buy frozen cooked chicken wings (my fave is tequila lime flavor) or frozen cooked meatballs. Those you can buy in large bags and just heat up in the microwave or heat up in the toaster oven.



A simple dinner would be grilled chicken on a bed of lettuce. I like to add sliced tomatoes and use Galeos Miso Dressing.



You also have fish. My favorite is salmon in a pouch. Put the salmon fillet, chopped tomatoes, slice of lemon and juice from it, salt, pepper, basil in a tin foil pouch and put in in the toaster oven for 30 minutes or so. Another would be pan-seared salmon fillets with just salt and pepper. 3 minute on each side... done.

my usual breakfast is a smoothie.



Banana, Non-Fat Yogurt (Vanilla Flavor), Low-cal fruit juice, and a medley of frozen berries (blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries). I also add a couple of tbsp of ground up flaxseed for fiber.



I usually put in about 1/2cup of the berries, yogurt, and juice. Comes out to about 16oz of smoothie. Calorie is probably in the 300+.



Prep time is around 5 Min.

186.2

I'm in..



Start: 187lbs

How about "Fit for the Holidays" challenge?



I've set myself a goal in October '08 to reach my ideal weight. 3 months ago... i think it was set at August '08... oh well.



It would be nice if before the holiday season (Thanksgiving and X-mas for me), I've reached my goal weight. It'd be fun to see the reaction of some of my relatives whom I don't see often. Plus, I'd like to give myself a shopping spree as a x-mas gift.



So, 5 to 6 months from now... will I be fit or fat for the holidays?

One of the first things you want to do to avoid all the bad stuff is to just not have it around. No matter how much resolve you have or will power, if the temptation is there, it will get you and you will eat it... literally.



For me, I've tried to stay away from rice, bread, pasta, and anything that I consider as "filler" that's loaded with starchy carbs and calories.



It's a little difficult though when you're living with other people and they bring in food that you try to avoid.



If you eat out a lot, try to limit it. You tell yourself you're gonna get something healthy, but more often than not you'll order that fatty burger.



Bring lunch to work instead of eating out. If you do count calories and manage to stick to it, you'll have total control of what you're eating.



Eat breakfast so you don't starve yourself and over eat during lunch. Have a snack in the afternoon as well so you don't over eat during dinner.



As far as eating too little, you can avoid it by not skipping meals.



Every once in a while, its not bad to eat something bad... like pizza or cake or chocolate. Just eat a small piece and be happy. Just make sure its not an everyday thing. That's usually how most people trying to lose weight got to where they are now... including me.



Just be aware of what you're eating.



As for gradually going down to 1800 cal from 3000 cal, I think its just a matter of feeling full and satisfied. Let's say you try to eat 400cal for breakfast/lunch/dinner and 200cal/snack 2x a day. If you're eating lunch and you've reached 400cal and you're still hungry, keep eating... just eat more of the healthy stuff... like carrots or other vegetables. I don't think you can ever have too much vegetables.



Just watch out for those calories that sneek up on you. Mostly sauces, oil based dressing, mayo, butter, cream... catsup. That's why I avoid rice, bread, and pasta. They have a tendency to soak up all those fatty goodness. :P



Also avoid sugary drinks... sodas... mocha lattes... some smoothies. Try to drink plenty of water... tea is good. It has 0 calories.



Lastly, keep up with the exercise. Don't skip them or else!

LW: 187.6

TW: 188.4



+0.8

I think you've gone so far already to attain your goal which you set up for yourself when you started this that you wouldn't let this little bump on the road stop you.



I think even if you take a break for a week.. or even binge out this weekend, you know that when monday comes, you're gonna get right back up and keep going.



You're obviously aware of your situation as far as what you're eating and the exercises you're doing. You're conscious of your surroundings. You're not just mindlessly going along.



So, you know you're gonna keep going. I doubt you'll let yourself go back to your old self. Of course, you already know all this.



I just hope you're not trying to psych anyone out 'cause you ONLY have 3.7 pounds to lose with the 20lb challenge... j/k

LW: 188.4

TW: 187.6

LW: 191.2

TW: 188.4



Loss: -2.8



Finally broke 190! It was my goal for the end of March... but got sidetracked a little (it was birthday month). I had a weight plateau since March ... floating between 196 and 194 lbs. I'm so happy I broke it.



Also, I think i'm starting to get addicted to running ever since I started the C25K program. I'm currently on week 7 running 25 minutes straight for the 3 runs... I'm on day 2. But, I decided to jog/walk on my off-C25K days as well... basically doing at least 30min of treadmill work 7 days a week. If i can keep this up, I'm planning on doing a half marathon in October.



Also, I noticed that I hit my plateau the same time I started eating bread again... which was more or less a slice a day for lunch... it was whole wheat too! I think that was one thing that was holding me back. I took it out of my diet and I think that helped break my plateau. With the price of rice and wheat going up ... i'm glad I'm not eating it!



This group (and traineo) probably helped to keep my motivation up too!

LW: 193.2

TW: 191.2

LW: 193.2

TW: 193.2

LW: 194

TW: 193.2

Squash, Zucchini, Eggplant, Chayote, Daikon Radish, Sweet Potato, Bok Choy, Cauliflower, Broccoli, Butter Lettuce, Carrots, Snow Peas, Edemame...

LW: 196.0

TW: 194.0

Count me in.



SW: 196

GW: 176

My primary goal is to lose body fat and i also want to lower my resting heart rate. So, I've mainly been focusing on cardio. The heart is a muscle. I don't know of any other way of working it out other than with cardio.



I like to use one of those Polar heart rate monitor to keep track of my heart rate when doing cardio. For it to find my target heart rate zone, my "OwnZone", my heart needs to be in a relaxed state before my workout.



If I lift weights first, my heart will definitely not be in a relaxed state.



So, for me, its cardio first. 45-60minutes. Burn off 400~600 cal.



Drinking a bottle of water to cool my body down (and a pee break) after a cardio workout and a 5-10 minute rest to bring my heart rate down... I'm good to go.



I don't think I can say the same if I lifted weights first. Takes me at least a day to recoup from lifting weights.



If you're doing cardio and your out of energy for lifting weights, then you might be overdoing it with the cardio. I actually feel more energized after doing cardio, but only if I kept my heart rate in check. If i go over, I definitely end up running out of breath... literally.



I'm pretty sure my intensity level as far as lifting weights isn't as intense as some of those here, so it depends if you're focused on that or cardio.



Maybe down the road, I'll do weights first and less cardio to try and bulk up.



But in the meantime, I'll stick to what seems to be working for me. I've gotten comments on how I've lost weight. Feels good hearing it.

My tip: Write it down.



For some reason, when I write something down, like a goal, it ends up becoming true. Of course it has to be something realistic. I still haven't won the lotto.. yet. "Note to self: Win Lotto."



My goal is to reach my ideal weight by the end of August this year. My weight loss goal is to lose 60 lbs. I've also written down how much calories I need to limit myself (~1800cal/day) and how much additional calories i need to burn off through exercise (~500cal/day). There are days when I don't always follow through, but having to write down my weight after I weigh myself every morning reminds me to keep going.



Another tip would be to set mini-goals. Even though I have my goal of losing 60 lbs by sept, my goal right now is to lose 20lb by the end of march. The next 20 by end of June.



I know it may be an obvious tip to "write it down", since this is a forum where people write down things and traineo keeps track of the numbers for you already.



But for those just lurking around or don't know where to start, I say.. write down what you want and just let it happen.



Drew