You don't have to be fat to have a dieting problem

On one of my Myspace groups a young woman (16) wanted dieting advice.  She was 120 or so pounds and wanted to lose down to about 110 or less, and she's 5'5.  And 16.  We can't forget that.  I basically told her she didn't need to go on a diet at all.  She was at a healthy weight. 

A lot of young people (not yet twenty) want to know what diet pills to take, what fad diets to choose to reach some magic number on a scale.  I told her that the numbers on the scale weren't a complete picture of health, and that what she needed to concentrate on was being fit, rather than hitting some silly number.

Body image is not the same as health consciousness.  We live in a society where the smaller you are the more value you have, and people are starving themselves into unhealthy behavior because of it.  Lest us forget the ephedrine addict from a week or so back.

It's really eye opening to me how many people are consumed with how much they weigh when their weight is just fine.  As if our weight were anything people could tell from looking at us.  I got my hair done back in the summer by a gal who said she was 170lbs.  Blew me away.  She didn't seem overweight at all. 

It just really makes me rethink my own obsession with the scale.  I need to lose pounds, no doubt about it.  But how am I supposed to know I'll be where I need to be at 145 lbs?  Isn't it all about being fit and healthy rather than just how the numbers line up on the scale?

 

It just really reaffirms my 2005 goal of losing ten dress sizes, rather than any number of pounds.  It's about being healthy, and that all comes back to exercise and eating the proper foods.

Although I haven't been able to eat healthy foods lately due to lack of funds, I have gone to the park last two days and walked.  My legs are putting up quite the protest, so I am scaling back my ambitious goals to do that and go to the gym in the next few days.  It's been so long I may have to work back up to it.  I've wanted to go gung ho because guess what's coming up next week?  A weigh in.  It all comes back to those stupid numbers.

One thing I will introduce back into my regime is Pilates.  I have joined a Pilates challenge on Myspace where I'm going to get back "on the ball" literally speaking in the month of January.  I have inches to lose and that's a proven way to do it.  It's low impact and easy to add into the routine. 

 

Speaking of Myspace I have a new friend over there by the name of Hal Sparks.  Yes I finally wore him down.  LOL  After reading several of my emails he added me to his friend list, which I find totally cool.  But then again, he's one cool customer.  Have I mentioned lately how much I love that guy?  There are not many like him, that's for sure.  Be sure you check out

http://halsparks.com

to hear more from him.  A song I love in particular is She Waits, download it, you will not be disappointed.

And be sure to catch him on I Love the 90s Part Deux in January on VH1. 

If you're in LA you can see him at the Roxy on New Years Eve. 

Yes I'm pimping him out.  That's what you do when you're friends. 

:-D

 

Another friend I'm gonna pimp out: Nancy, who made it to the Editors Pick on AOL Journals.

I'm really proud of her progress and her courage, so everyone go check her out and tell her how great she is... because she is!

Nan's Weight Loss Journal

Okay now for the goals.  I thought I had enough calories left over to have some sweet and sour shrimp, but I miscalculated.  I didn't make the 1000 calories burned today, instead I burned 675.  I really need to get some activity in tomorrow to make up for it.  I read somewhere that calories roll over from day to day, we're going to see if that's true. 

I did get to the park.  I think Winston thinks he's died and went to puggy heaven.  We do the long route and what took us an hour yesterday took us 40mins today.  So I'm getting there slowly but surely.

I didn't push it going to the gym.  I'm working up to it though.

I did take a nap but not a long one.  It's cycling to shift the schedule, which is good.  I have a headache, which is bad.

So here are the goals I completed:

Took Winston for another walk at the park
Got the laundry done
Got the house in order.
Got my hours of work in
Edited up to 160 pages on My Immortal

Onward to tomorrow.  Taking it one day at a time.

 

Tip of the day:  Six Ways to Boost Your Metabolism and Get More from Your Workout, Tip #1: Build muscle mass.

When you increase your muscle mass, you boost your resting metabolism -- and that makes your body burn more calories, says Heimburger. "That's why we recommend adding weight training to an exercise program."

Some examples: using hand weights to do bicep curls, using weight machines at a gym, even doing specific calisthenics like push-ups and abdominal crunches. "If you're building strength, you are losing weight," she explains.

Any kind of strength training is going to increase muscle mass, agrees Jamey McGee, fitness director at Wellness Center at Meadowmont, part of the University of North Carolina Healthcare System in Chapel Hill.

"That's why we have classes like yoga and pilates, to strengthen your body," she tells WebMD. "Pilates is about strengthening the core of your body -- your back, your abdomen. Some forms of yoga have a similar effect."

Heimburger recommends weight training twice a week. One advisory: "I don't recommend carrying weights or wearing ankle weights while you're walking. Adding weights could damage your joints. Weights should only be used when you're standing still."

A personal trainer or exercise physiologist can also set you up with a well-balanced strength-training program that targets the major muscle groups, Heimburger adds.

Stats:

Calories: 1835
Fat: 39%
Sat. Fat: 8%
Fiber: 23g
Calcium: 1150mg
Water: 72oz
Exercise: Walked 2 miles, burned 110 calories

Total calories spent: 675

DAILY AFFIRMATION: Little changes make for big results.  Celebrate each step no matter how big or small.