Health thoughts

[annathepiper]

It is very bemusing to me to realize that not only have I not yet had any diet Mountain Dew today, I do not seem to particularly want any. I wonder if I have dealt a blow to my caffeine addiction at last. Certainly I seem to be getting more sensitive to it again; Sunday night I finished off what was left of a can of Dew I'd started earlier in the evening, only to wake up restlessly around 5am yet again. I do not know if these two things are related, but it is an interesting point of data to ponder.

In the meantime, I have been considering the idea that if I lose two pounds a month, I can get down to 146 by the end of this year. The question would be, can I do this? Will moderating my soda intake and regularly exercising whittle away my excess mass?

Time to find out. I have another 1.5 pounds to lose by the 31st.

Comments

[gerimaple.livejournal.com]

considering you were musing a good while back about whether or not 2005 should be the Year of the Cub, you might want to consult your dr as to whether weightloss and cubmaking are compatible. just a thought, anyway.

[annathepiper]

Well... I already know I'm overweight. So I'm pretty sure that getting back into a regular program of exercise and moderating what I eat won't be harmful to any plans for producing offspring. :)

However, that's a very valid point. I'll bring it up with her when it comes time for my annual physical this summer.

(Though I don't know how definite the cub thing will be. solarbird and I still aren't settled on whether we want to go that route--and even if we do decide to tackle it, I don't think we'll be able to actually afford to deal with it at least before the summer anyway. Us having a child will be a very expensive proposition, and I'm still paying the medical bills from the thyroid surgery.)

[janne.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't worry about exercise vs. cubs at a rate of a few pounds a month, you'd need to be fanatic enough about it to stop menstruating and such before it could be a problem. (Me, I did some really strenuous exercise the first three months of pregnancy before I realized I was pregnant -- I thought the tiredness and dizzy spells was just a sign I was out of shape and needed to get active :) Didn't harm either of us...)

[annathepiper]

Good to know! Thanks. :)

[avalonmissy.livejournal.com]

If you want Mountain Dew without the caffeine, head up to Canada. I think the only soft drinks that have caffeine added are colas and maybe root beer.

[annathepiper]

We have plenty of caffeine-free soda in the States--though diet Mountain Dew without caffeine doesn't seem to sell in the Seattle area, solarbird and I did see plenty of it on hand when we went to Kentucky over Christmas. (My brother had some in his fridge, actually!)

However, I approve of any excuse to visit Vancouver. ^_^

[cats-haven.livejournal.com]

A constant exercise regime, even a low impact, mild, one will help you loose weight with a well maintained diet and not upset any cubmaking. Start now, and you won't have to curb the activity if/when you do become pregnant.

With both my boys, I walked at least a block a day until physical problems got worse during pregnancy.

Also, as a side note, the weight loss will be slow in the beginning as you are turning excess fat into muscle, then it'll increase later on. I can also suggest adding a few extra veggies to your diet, even if its a carrot to snack on while you're on the treadmill or during your walk.

Good luck on both.

[annathepiper]

Thanks for chiming in! I'm definitely familiar with the phenomenon of losing weight slowly at first on a workout routine--that happened to me when I first started playing with the free weights, back before I broke my arm. I'm hoping to get back into that. :)

[cats-haven.livejournal.com]

*grin* Cool. I can honestly say I'm up to 20 lbs on lifting weights, even free weights, though of course, picking up the baby and playing with him doesn't exactly count. *wink* Still, he is a workout in and of himself. My carple tunnel has improved a lot since he was born and not just from the general swelling going down.

[annathepiper]

Cool about the 20 pounds! I'd gotten up to 25 pounds on several of my exercises, but that was before the breaking of the arm thing. ;P

And yeah, I really liked that significant improvement of my wrists was an unexpected side effect of working with the weights. Wrist curls were wonderful for that. And this is a big reason why I need to resume the weights exercises; I'm thinking, maybe treadmill three times a week and a weights routine on the weekend. That should balance nicely with writing.

I did toddler curls at my brother's house over Christmas, though! ;D

[cats-haven.livejournal.com]

;) Toddler curls are the most fun excersize ever.

[annathepiper]

Lydia got a big kick out of 'em, too. ^_^

[neutronjockey.livejournal.com]

The answer is most likely yes. Sodas with sugar are typically anywhere from 130-220 calories a serving, and if you're drinking the 20oz bottles that's typically 1.5-2 servings (they pretty much dictate what a serving is, labels are a bit misleading at times). So each serving is the calorie equivalent of jogging for an hour. Speaking of running/jogging/walking, as far as calories are concerned walking burns approx 100 cal/hr while running only burns 110. So if you're exercising just to burn cals stick to walking and save wear and tear on the joints; running builds good cardio endurance though. The best calorie burning excersise is high impact martial arts (2200 cal/hr!).
Weight lifting using small amount of weight and heavy repititions burns calories and builds lean muscle mass <---which in turn burns more calories. Sticking with core (body core) exercises such as squats and presses incorporates the largest muscles as well as the most amount of muscles and is the most effective calorie burner as well as strength builder for the body.
One last piece of advice: do not, please do not use those wrist weights or ankle weights for walking/jogging. They put a very unatural strain on your ligaments and tendons; and if used for long periods of time will actually cause your body to walk differently without them because it is used to overcompsating for an unatural momentum-bad-bad-bad.
This has been a brief lesson in biomechanics and calorie burning brought to you today by:
-=Jeff=- 8)

[annathepiper]

Thanks for chiming in, Jeff! The pointers are much appreciated. :)

I have in fact done free weights workouts in the past, and I'm thinking about how best to get myself back into the habit of doing those as well--including the squats and presses you mention. I fell out of the routine HARD when I broke my arm in 2003, and haven't managed to get back into it since--the thyroid surgery I had this past summer didn't help, either.

I'm trying to ease myself back into workout habits, thinking that if I treadmill for a bit and then start having days when I do the weights, that may go easier on me than just trying to start again running out of the gate. :)

[neutronjockey.livejournal.com]

Also to mention sodas are usually high in sodium which increases water retention. You'd probably see a good 1-2 lb drop after the first couple days from excess water weight alone.
-=Jeff=-

[annathepiper]

Yeah, solarbird mentioned the high sodium content to me, when I was baffled about why reducing intake of diet sodas would have an impact. Nice to see that vindicated. :)

[annathepiper]

Cool. Out of general interest, are you talking regular sodas or diet ones?

[neutronjockey.livejournal.com]

Both, I remember when caffeine free, sugar free, sodium free was all the rage before Atkins and these other protein heavy crash diets came about. If you're curious check the label, sometimes you'll be shocked to find out what you're intaking.
-=Jeff=-

[annathepiper]

..... you know, I think I vaguely remember sodium-free stuff. Very vaguely. But it had to be way back there in my brain somewhere, because all I'm getting is 'Oh yeah, that did happen, I think...'

[apel.livejournal.com]

Personally I wouldn't set a time-specific goal for weight loss because I would become obsessed with it and eat unhealthily. But if you don't have those problems, and you feel you've got the energy and resources, I'd say go for it!

I wanted to point you to this online book (http://www.fourmilab.ch/hackdiet/www/tableofcontents1_6.html). It takes a geek view of losing weight, in that it provides Excel sheets (now also Palm tools) (http://www.fourmilab.ch/hackdiet/comptools.html) that show you the moving average (http://www.fourmilab.ch/hackdiet/www/subsection1_2_4_0_4.html#SECTION0240400000000000000) of your weight loss. That helps compensate for water loss/gain so that you get a much more accurate picture of how you are doing over time.

[annathepiper]

I plan to treat this goal akin to how I treat my daily word count quota: something nice to shoot for, but not the end of the world if I don't hit it. :) (Took me a while to achieve that state of mind with the word count, but now that I've done it, I'm pretty sure I can do it with the poundage thing, too.)

Thanks for the links! I'll have to check 'em out. :)

health thoughts

[(Anonymous)]

Can you lose the weight? Most likely..but if you exercise, you may gain muscle mass..which is heavier than fat. If the weight stayed the same,but you were trading muscle for fat, you're getting a better deal..but my guess is,yes, you could easily lose the weight. Scott

Re: health thoughts

[annathepiper]

Well, I'm already aware, as I posted in reply to earlier comments on the thread, that trading muscle for fat often results in gaining more mass. Been there done that, need to get back in the habit--which is the whole point of resuming exercise to begin with. Resuming, not starting from scratch.

I should have actually said in my original post, "Can I make myself have the willpower to see myself through the course of doing this?" That's really more what I meant, rather than a general question of whether it could be done. :)

Re: health thoughts

[(Anonymous)]

I didn't notice you'd previously mentioned it..that's what I get for trying to type(which I'm not good at) and talk at the same time.(I'm at work, and if you use the computer during lunch, you have to answer the phone.) You might try some form of exercise you can integrate into your life easily..for me, it's riding a bike to work...and you don't have to pay to park it like you do cars. I ride in virtually all weather,and the cheesy 53 dollar WalMart bike has held up well for two years and over 4,000 miles. Scott

Re: health thoughts

[annathepiper]

I've already got the plan sussed out. :) I learned a long time ago that doing the treadmill I've mentioned is very easily integrated into my daily routine, and to a lesser extent, so is doing my free weights. I plan to get back into doing the latter once I've made myself do the treadmill for a while.

I also own a bike, but biking to work is not really feasible. Most of the route would still have to be by bus, just because Kenmore is that far away from Microsoft, and the bus stop I pick up from home in the morning, and at which I get off in the evenings, is just an eight-minute walk down the hill from the house. Too close, really, to make trying to do it by bike interesting.