firelamb67

My knees are terribly sore after my walks and after the weight training program. I have this stuff called Tiger Balm and it rocks! Makes my knees feel better. The jar is small but it doesn't take much. Just FYI for anyone else with soreness problems.

I agree with Kimpossible (love the avatar, so cute!). Tell your doctor all about your exercise routine and go by his/her directions. Don't do anything until you get permission from your doc.

Oh! I forgot about the turkey! Thanks for pointing that out. Last night I had it without the turkey and it was still really good. I'm not vegan, obviously. I wonder if tofu would be good in it as a substitute? Soryy my vegan friends!

1 tomato diced, cut up pieces of turkey to taste, handful of crushed walnuts then the last ingredient I know may not be considred paleo by some, but I put a few sliced black olives in it too. You just have to be careful with how much you use because they are high in salt. Or you can dice up some avacado in it if you like. Both ways are really good and it's super easy to make. I love it for a snack. I'm not a pure paleo diet person. I'm about 85-90% paleo. I can't manage more right now, i'm as paleo as you can be on a super tight budget. This stuff is expensive!

I walked about a 1/4 of what I usually do, this walk includes a long sloping incline. Then I did my weight training and it went very well. The walk is a good warm up for the training so i'm going to do that from now on. On my off days i'll do my regular walk which is about 30 minutes. It's brisk and 90% up hill. They're not easy hills either. My legs get a serious work out. My goal is to add more distance and more hills. Lucky for me that I live out in the country and our little neighborhood is filled with major hills if you go in the right direction. I haven't conquered my current distance and hillage to my satisfaction yet. But I do see myself adding more distance and another monster hill fairly soon. Thank you all for all the input. I do appreciate it!

Ok so here's what happened. I've been walking, seriously, a lot of monster hills at a good clip. On the first day of beginner body weight training I did my full walk but didn't get terribly far with the weight training. The next time, I cut my walk down significantly and did a little better at the weight training. Yesterday, I didn't walk at all because it was raining really hard and I made some pretty significant gains with the body weight training. My dilemma. Right now, I really want to lose weight then start serious strength training. Should I do a full walk, partial walk or no walk on weight training days? I added the weight training days to my exercise because I thought it would help me burn fat faster while getting some strength. What's best, a good serious walk AND weight training even if I can't get very far with it? A partial walk with weight training and do a little better, or no walking and meet or exceed weight training goals. It's most important for me to lose weight right now and I wouldn't mind a little extra strength but i'm confused. Any help is appreciated!

I agree with everyone, you need to find out if you're consuming more calories than you burn. So I won't add to that. Since you could go a week at a time without eating, have you considered intermittent fasting? I can't do it everyday, my body won't let me but I try to do it on weight training days so I can get the most out of it. My choice of intermittent fasting is to only eat dinner for the day and when I eat dinner I make sure I have a good protein, usually salmon for me, and loads of veggies. On weight training days I do eat some protein after my work out but i'm careful with the portion I eat. What is your exercise routine? I do body weight training (beginner) every other day and serious hard and fast walks on in between days. I only just started the body weight training last week, I had some stamina built up from walking, but the weight training is hard for me. I still have a hundred pounds to lose. If you look up intermittent fasting on the internet, you'll see there are several different kinds. I'm not perfect and will listen to my body on fasting days and if it says, "eat or i'll do something nasty to you" i'll eat a healthy snack. I have found that drinking a lot of water really helps whether i'm fasting or not. If you drink eight 8oz glasses of ice water, you can burn 70 calories. I don't know, Steve's article today completely confused me. So I have had success with my diet (and it's sustainable), i've had success with my exercise routine so i'm just going to stick with it. You have to find out what works for you. Experiment, tweak, check what you're doing for exercise. Are you challenging yourself? I'm a beginner and am still researching and trying to figure out the diet, weight training thing. I'm really confused by it. Until I figure it out i'm sticking to my current routine. I have noticed some changes in my body but that's from the walking and diet. I haven't been doing the body weight training very long so I don't see differences from that yet. Anyway, that's my two cents for what it's worth. Keep your head up and keep trying!

Hey everyone! Just wanted to let you know I solved the flab clapping problem (sounds like an STD! Lol). I have a good band on my sweat pants so I tucked the front of it under the flab so the clapping is no longer a distraction. I was able to go from 15 JJs to 20 today because of that. Did really good today but I put it all in the Woot! forum.

Woot! Woot! Body weight training: 11 squats up to 20! Goal reached! 10 push ups (modified) up to 15! Goal exceeded! 5 lunges up to 10! Goal reached! 15 second plank up to 20 second plank! Goal exceeded! 15 Jumping jacks up to 20! Goal reached! I did 10 rows but for some reason it didn't occur to me to go for more. I also did 3 sets of 10 curls with 5 pound weight. I also did 3 sets of 10 triceps thingies with 5 pound weight. (Don't know what it's called) The difference? I didn't walk because it was raining. Should I continue not walking on weight days? Thanks everyone! Firelamb

One of my goals is to fit into a smaller pair of jeans. I tried them on today and they went on easily and it wasn't snug on the waist band! Yay me! So very happy. But.........still had major muffin top. I thought, "how can this be possible?!" I could even slide my hand inside the waist band, easily. So I went and looked in the mirror naked and I just have a muffin top belly. Apparently my lower belly is losing fat faster than my upper belly. I'm claiming a huge victory anyway! I achieved this through diet and some serious walking. I only just started body weight training this week. I can't wait to see what happens as I progress with those exercises! Firelamb

Thank you all for the suggestions and support. It means a lot to me and makes me feel good to know there's a wonderful support community here. I claim 2 small but absolutely wonderful victories today. I did 1 more squat and upped my jumping jacks from 11 to 15. While I was doing my jumping jacks I heard someone clapping for me in time with my jumping jacks. I looked around to see who it was and realized it was my flab. Lol! It made me crack up and I couldn't do anymore because I was laughing so hard and just couldn't stop. Thanks again ya'll, I appreciate you! Carry on Warrior! Firelamb

Welcome Arkaian! I'm new to NF too. Right now i'm working on body weight training and plan to do a challenge once I can complete 1 full circuit. I love the paleo diet, but it came naturally and easy for me. My only suggestion is incorporate diet changes slowly so you don't go through withdrawals and cave in to a craving. Best of luck! Firelamb

Hello Grax! Welcome to NF! You sound really down on yourself in your post. Remember what'ts done is done and in the past. You've taken a huge step to improve your life. That's awesome! Find a positive attitude, and don't tell youself, "I have to do this" instead tell yourself "this is what I do." I find having a sense of humor helps. I'm new to NF too and am doing the beginner body weight circuit training. I did my 2nd day today and already have 2 small victories to claim! My advice is to take it slow and don't over do it in the beginning, you might burn yourself out. I do as much as I can but I listen to my body and then promise myself,"next time i'll do one more _____." That's what i'm doing anyway. I'm 47 and have about 100 pounds to lose. I took all my measurements the day I started and i'm not going to check them again until July. I don't want to get frustrated or disappointed. This takes time, patience and perseverance. You can do this Grax! Keep your eyes on the prize. When you feel lazy or like you just don't want to do it one day, dig deep and call on you warrior spirit! Make yourself do some exercise and once you get going, you'll be in it and the lethargy falls away. Find your motivation. If you can find the thing that motivates you, it will help you find your energy. Is your wife joining you on your journey? It's really nice to have someone working alongside you and you can be each other's cheerleaders. I do have one suggestion for your cramps and dislike of bananas. Take Magnesium it's great for cramps and it also increases your serotonin which will make you feel good. If you don't feel taking a supplement is right for you, I understand that you can maximize the potassium in the banana by drinking a cup of orange juice with it but make sure that fits in with you diet plan. If you decide to use orange juice, get Simply Orange. The only ingredient in that juice is oranges. I hope some of this helps. I've only written from personal experience. Do your research and find out what's right for you. Good luck Grax! Firelamb

Hello IgConte! Welcome to NF. I am new to NF too. I don't know what your fitness level is but you might want to try the beginner body weight circuit traing. I just did my 2nd day of it today and I am finding it very challenging. It's working my a$$ off. http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2009/12/09/beginner-body-weight-workout-burn-fat-build-muscle/ Good luck! Firelamb

When I was young I was agile, athletic and coordinated. Now i'm a mess. I tried to do lunges and almost fell down with every step. I stopped at 3 because I didn't want to hurt myself and my legs wouldn't take anymore. I looked drunk when I was doing it. So now i'm moving my work out in doors so I can have something to steady myself with. Ha! Maybe I should get a walker. I am doing the body weight circuit training for beginners. Thought i'd nail the 30 jumping jacks, I mean how hard is a jumping jack? Nope! I managed a very uncomfortable 11. My boobies and flab were slapping every where, i'm surprized I didn't end up with black eyes! (You know, from my big boobs slapping me in the face lol) i've since gotten a couple of sports bras. But the tummy flab flapping, it's so uncomfortable and almost painful. Anyone else have this problem? Any suggestions? Thought the 15 second plank was going to kick my a$$. Didn't think my belly would get off the ground. Nope. It was the easiest one of them all so now i'm suspicious. I'm sure my a$$ wasn't up in the air. I'm taking it slow and listening to my body and making sure my form is correct. I'm going to have my partner watch me tomorrow to make sure i'm doing things right. I'm 47, 224 lbs, and last time I checked I think I was 5'6" but you know, I hear you shrink with age. Anyway is anyone else struggling with the flab issue? The balance/coordination issue? Any tips for oldsters? I need help breathing. I keep getting out of breath. Help? I really don't think of myself as old, I was trying to be funny. But I know my body just doesn't work the same. My knees sound like Rice Crispies when I squat. They don't hurt at all, they're just noisy little boogers and it has me a little concerned. Any comments from any age is welcomed and appreciated!