A couple of days ago I advised all my readers to purchase a bicycle.
What kind of bike you get is up to you. If you get a 10-speed road bike, for example, you don't need to keep the skinny seat they give you, you can always purchase a wider seat made especially for women. And make sure you get a gel seat for extra padding, and that the seat post has shock absorbers!
As I said before, I prefer a mountain bike with fat tires. One advantage of this is, you have to work slightly harder to propel a bike with fat tires. If you ride a ten-speed, with its narrow tires, you zoom along. But put the same amount of effort into a mountain bike, and you'll go a couple miles slower.
You must have an odometer put on your bike. This is essential, so you know how fast and far you go every day. You'll keep track of this in a journal, to record your progress, as you go a few tenths of a mile more each day. So, start out with 1 mile, then work up to 2, then up to 3, until gradually you're going 20 miles every day, really fast!
If you can find a riding partner, that's all to the better. Not necessarily on a tandem bike, but someone you can ride with side by side (when it is safe to do so) and chat while you ride or just have their presence to give you the impetus to bike.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Time To Buy A Bike
Okay, let's get serious about losing weight.
To do that, you need to practice portion control with your eating - eat whatever you want, just do it in small portions.
And exercise an hour a day. Some people like to jog. I like to bike. It's easier on women with larger breasts, I find jogging very uncomfortable for that reason (although sports that require running only periodically, like softball or tennis, I enjoy) and you can simply go places faster on a bike.
I would advise you to get a mountain bike from your local bike store, rather than picking something up at Walmart or K-mart. Have you ever seen the furniture put together by those stores???? Do you want to trust them to put a bike together properly? No - go to a bike store.
I have a mountain bike, even though I don't do mountain biking, because I like the fat tires. I can go up or down curbs with no problem.
Another tool you absolutely must have is an odometer. I have a Catseye. It's just like a car odometer - there's one setting that tells me how far I've gone on a specific trip, and my speed, and another setting that tracks my total mileage on the bike itself.
Now, biking on a flat surface is extremely easy. Very enjoyable. But then the wind comes along, and can make it hard to peddle. And if you have to go up inclines or hills, that can be tiring.
So you're going to have to break in to biking gradually. I'll explain more tomorrow.
To do that, you need to practice portion control with your eating - eat whatever you want, just do it in small portions.
And exercise an hour a day. Some people like to jog. I like to bike. It's easier on women with larger breasts, I find jogging very uncomfortable for that reason (although sports that require running only periodically, like softball or tennis, I enjoy) and you can simply go places faster on a bike.
I would advise you to get a mountain bike from your local bike store, rather than picking something up at Walmart or K-mart. Have you ever seen the furniture put together by those stores???? Do you want to trust them to put a bike together properly? No - go to a bike store.
I have a mountain bike, even though I don't do mountain biking, because I like the fat tires. I can go up or down curbs with no problem.
Another tool you absolutely must have is an odometer. I have a Catseye. It's just like a car odometer - there's one setting that tells me how far I've gone on a specific trip, and my speed, and another setting that tracks my total mileage on the bike itself.
Now, biking on a flat surface is extremely easy. Very enjoyable. But then the wind comes along, and can make it hard to peddle. And if you have to go up inclines or hills, that can be tiring.
So you're going to have to break in to biking gradually. I'll explain more tomorrow.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Eating Should Not Supply "Orgasmic" Pleasure
As I have blogged about occasionally in the past, if you're a TV watcher, turn the sound down as soon as your show switches to the commercials, because you'll inevitably be subjected to either an ad for some silly weight loss system (a diet, or a tool like a "shaker weight" or something of that nature) or you'll be subjected to a restaurant ad, which will just get those gastric juices flowing.
Have you ever noticed when you see these food ads - whether if its for a diet product like Yoplait or a restaurant ad like Chili's, that the woman will take a bite of food and then lean back as if she's having an orgasm? Is there no other way to show that food tastes good because getting a look of ecstatic pleasure on your face? [Guys, on the other hand, get to shove their food in their mouths and wipe the drool off their face with the back of their hands. Thank God the one Wendy's ad where the man got his jollys playing with a tiny Hawaiian hulu dancer on his dashboard is no longer shown.)
Then there's the ad for Dannon, where some slender model - Heidi Klum - is sucking down the yoghurt, and its so good that she takes her finger and runs it around the carton to get the last drop, and then she upends it and sucks it in as well? To me, that never seems like she especially likes the food, but rather that she's just so damn hungry and yet all she gets to eat is this teeny tiny little thing of Dannon, so she's going to get every last drop of it that she can, before having to wait 24 hours before she can eat again!
Ah, what girls, and women, do to themselves in the name of "being attractive."
Have you ever noticed when you see these food ads - whether if its for a diet product like Yoplait or a restaurant ad like Chili's, that the woman will take a bite of food and then lean back as if she's having an orgasm? Is there no other way to show that food tastes good because getting a look of ecstatic pleasure on your face? [Guys, on the other hand, get to shove their food in their mouths and wipe the drool off their face with the back of their hands. Thank God the one Wendy's ad where the man got his jollys playing with a tiny Hawaiian hulu dancer on his dashboard is no longer shown.)
Then there's the ad for Dannon, where some slender model - Heidi Klum - is sucking down the yoghurt, and its so good that she takes her finger and runs it around the carton to get the last drop, and then she upends it and sucks it in as well? To me, that never seems like she especially likes the food, but rather that she's just so damn hungry and yet all she gets to eat is this teeny tiny little thing of Dannon, so she's going to get every last drop of it that she can, before having to wait 24 hours before she can eat again!
Ah, what girls, and women, do to themselves in the name of "being attractive."
Friday, July 16, 2010
Developing Your Willpower
Diet Tip: Don't use the excuse that you have no willpower to stick to a diet. Of course you do. Willpower is like a muscle. You have to exercise that muscle until it become strong enough to see you through the tough times, when you'd really like a bowl of icecream but you're going to bed in 5 minutes!
I was feeling a bit depressed today. As a freelance writer, I had spent a couple of weeks working on a project that I was very enthusiastic about, and which I wrote well, and I anticipated it being a big hit when I debuted it to the readers of my aviation blog (one of many blogs I have.)
Well, my work went over like a lead balloon. Very depressing. I'd gone from the heights of euphoria to the depths of despair just like that.
And when that happens, I want chocolate.
I didn't have the right kind of chocolate in the house - I keep Oreo cookies and Nabisco Chocolate chip cookies for my dessert, because they satisfy my craving for chocolate, but I can eat two for dessert and not be "called" to them again until the next day. But freshed baked cookies - no, can't have them at all. I'd eat them all in a single sitting.
Well, that's the kind of chocolate I felt like having today. So I drove to the store to pick up some cookie dough.
On the way into the store, however, I got to thinking. We'd had hot, hot, hot weather for two weeks, and I had been extremely inactive (normally, regardless of the heat, I'm out there, bundled up on my bike, but not when there's +90 degree heat!), so I tried to exercise a little will power. I finally settled for a single candy bar. 180 calories as opposed to 1,000 or more - not too bad.
So I had my chocolate, and took a long cold bath, and bought a book for my Kindle, and now I've recovered from my depression and will start working on yet another writing project.
How To Strengthen Your Willpower
If you have the willpower to resist eating after dinner, or to exercise and run/jog every day without missing once, then you probably aren't reading this blog because you dont need to.
But what if you hate feeling hungry, and so give in to hunger pains every might? Isn't that how those commercials for weight loss products suck you in - eat less and never feel hungry!
Well - you are going to feel hungry on occasion. Tell yourself, so what! You're not "depriving" yourself of food, you're just ensuring that when you do have your three square meals a day, you'll enjoy them all the more.
If you do eat decent meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner, chances are your hunger pangs won't be bad in the evening...they probably just occur from force of habit...you're bored and you always eat when you're bored. Get up, then, but instead of heading for the refrigerator, perform some stretching exercises, read a book for a few minutes, go outside for a walk. Drink water while you do so, that will satiate the hunger pangs. If you still can't prevent yourself from eating, wean yourself away by eating a few carrots, or an apple. NO POP! (Not even diet pop - it has stuff in it that is worse than real pop.)
Work on your resistance. No snack for the last half hour before you go to bed. Extend the time. No snack for the last hour. Then, for hte last hour and a half. Finally, get it down to where, after you've had dinner and dessert, you dont eat at all for the rest of the night.
I was feeling a bit depressed today. As a freelance writer, I had spent a couple of weeks working on a project that I was very enthusiastic about, and which I wrote well, and I anticipated it being a big hit when I debuted it to the readers of my aviation blog (one of many blogs I have.)
Well, my work went over like a lead balloon. Very depressing. I'd gone from the heights of euphoria to the depths of despair just like that.
And when that happens, I want chocolate.
I didn't have the right kind of chocolate in the house - I keep Oreo cookies and Nabisco Chocolate chip cookies for my dessert, because they satisfy my craving for chocolate, but I can eat two for dessert and not be "called" to them again until the next day. But freshed baked cookies - no, can't have them at all. I'd eat them all in a single sitting.
Well, that's the kind of chocolate I felt like having today. So I drove to the store to pick up some cookie dough.
On the way into the store, however, I got to thinking. We'd had hot, hot, hot weather for two weeks, and I had been extremely inactive (normally, regardless of the heat, I'm out there, bundled up on my bike, but not when there's +90 degree heat!), so I tried to exercise a little will power. I finally settled for a single candy bar. 180 calories as opposed to 1,000 or more - not too bad.
So I had my chocolate, and took a long cold bath, and bought a book for my Kindle, and now I've recovered from my depression and will start working on yet another writing project.
How To Strengthen Your Willpower
If you have the willpower to resist eating after dinner, or to exercise and run/jog every day without missing once, then you probably aren't reading this blog because you dont need to.
But what if you hate feeling hungry, and so give in to hunger pains every might? Isn't that how those commercials for weight loss products suck you in - eat less and never feel hungry!
Well - you are going to feel hungry on occasion. Tell yourself, so what! You're not "depriving" yourself of food, you're just ensuring that when you do have your three square meals a day, you'll enjoy them all the more.
If you do eat decent meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner, chances are your hunger pangs won't be bad in the evening...they probably just occur from force of habit...you're bored and you always eat when you're bored. Get up, then, but instead of heading for the refrigerator, perform some stretching exercises, read a book for a few minutes, go outside for a walk. Drink water while you do so, that will satiate the hunger pangs. If you still can't prevent yourself from eating, wean yourself away by eating a few carrots, or an apple. NO POP! (Not even diet pop - it has stuff in it that is worse than real pop.)
Work on your resistance. No snack for the last half hour before you go to bed. Extend the time. No snack for the last hour. Then, for hte last hour and a half. Finally, get it down to where, after you've had dinner and dessert, you dont eat at all for the rest of the night.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Stretching exercises calm and help
In order to lose weight and maintain your new weight once you've obtained it, you need to continue your exercise routine.
And stretching exercises should be part of your exercise routine.
There's controversy about this. Some experts say that stretching should be done BEFORE working out, others say that it should be done AFTER working out.
For myself, I stretch before and after.
Stretching exercises are very simple, and require no equipment like balls or ropes (although I suppose if you want to invest in those things to do things "different" now and again, it's okay, but you really don't need them.)
Sit down, placing both legs straight out in front of you. Then bend forward and try to touch, or touch, your knees with your forehead. (If your belly gets in the way..well, that's why you're wokring to lose weight.) If you can touch your forehead to your knees, try to lower your whole upper torso onto your thighs for a good stretch. Do this ten times.
Then, spread your legs wide apart, and try to touch your forehead to the floor, in between your two legs.
Then, bend from side to side to try to touch your forehead to each knee.
Then, bring the soles of your feet together, so that your knees stick out to the side, and again touch your forehead to the soles of your feet.
Stand up, and try to gradually slide into the splits position. Don't bounce or try to force yourself down. Only go down as far as is comfortable.
Finally, standing straight with legs at shoulder width, reach up with your hands as if you were trying to climb into the sky. Then, bend down from this standing position, and try to touch your forehead to your thighs or knees.
Then, just to finish off, rise up and down on your toes between ten to twenty times. This stretches out the Achilles tendon at the back of your ankles, and shapes the calves.
And stretching exercises should be part of your exercise routine.
There's controversy about this. Some experts say that stretching should be done BEFORE working out, others say that it should be done AFTER working out.
For myself, I stretch before and after.
Stretching exercises are very simple, and require no equipment like balls or ropes (although I suppose if you want to invest in those things to do things "different" now and again, it's okay, but you really don't need them.)
Sit down, placing both legs straight out in front of you. Then bend forward and try to touch, or touch, your knees with your forehead. (If your belly gets in the way..well, that's why you're wokring to lose weight.) If you can touch your forehead to your knees, try to lower your whole upper torso onto your thighs for a good stretch. Do this ten times.
Then, spread your legs wide apart, and try to touch your forehead to the floor, in between your two legs.
Then, bend from side to side to try to touch your forehead to each knee.
Then, bring the soles of your feet together, so that your knees stick out to the side, and again touch your forehead to the soles of your feet.
Stand up, and try to gradually slide into the splits position. Don't bounce or try to force yourself down. Only go down as far as is comfortable.
Finally, standing straight with legs at shoulder width, reach up with your hands as if you were trying to climb into the sky. Then, bend down from this standing position, and try to touch your forehead to your thighs or knees.
Then, just to finish off, rise up and down on your toes between ten to twenty times. This stretches out the Achilles tendon at the back of your ankles, and shapes the calves.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Hungry Girl?
Are you "struggling" to lose 10-20 extra pounds? Pah, that's nothing!
I subscribe to Weight Watchers' newsletter. I don't do this in order to steal their tips in order to pass them off as my own, but rather to see what they're saying that is actually preventing people from losing weight/maintaining a healthy weight. (In my opinion, of ocurse. But all you need to do is look at that teeny tiny print on all the TV and print ads for Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, etc. "Results not typical.")
Anyway, they have a "net presence" called Hungry Girl. Here's her story.
Here's the thing. There's nothing wrong with being 20 pounds overweight...if that is all the overweight that you are! If you're a woman, it goes to your hips and thighs, if you're a guy, a pot belly. Big deal!
Now, obviously, an extra 20 pounds is the most overweight that you should be. Once you get to 30 pounds overweight or more, it starts to get unhealthy.
But I don't want my readers to obsess over 20 measly pounds.
In an article on what foods to avoid during Easter, a "food-centric" holiday, she writes,
And I say, don't worry about it. Or perhaps what she means with "should be eaten with caution" is also what I mean, which is simply, take what you want, but only in small portions. There's no need to count calories or points, just eat small portions!
And of coure, get in a 30 minute walk or bike ride a day, a tennis game 3 times a week, and so on.
Easter is a danger for kids, in one way, just as Halloween is. They get all this candy - whether Easter eggs or Halloween candy, and they typically scarf it down in one sitting. I know I did. The best thing to do is to teach them that instant gratification is not necessary, and that they can have their treats as special desserts for the next several days.
I subscribe to Weight Watchers' newsletter. I don't do this in order to steal their tips in order to pass them off as my own, but rather to see what they're saying that is actually preventing people from losing weight/maintaining a healthy weight. (In my opinion, of ocurse. But all you need to do is look at that teeny tiny print on all the TV and print ads for Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, etc. "Results not typical.")
Anyway, they have a "net presence" called Hungry Girl. Here's her story.
Lisa Lillien shares how her love of healthy food led to her career-path as "Hungry Girl."
I'm not a nutritionist, I'm just hungry, and my insane love of food kept me struggling with an extra 15 to 20 pounds for most of my life. A complete food makeover and shift in my mindset helped me drop that weight. My desire to control EVERYTHING (and my love of cute pants) keeps me on track, weight-wise.
Here's the thing. There's nothing wrong with being 20 pounds overweight...if that is all the overweight that you are! If you're a woman, it goes to your hips and thighs, if you're a guy, a pot belly. Big deal!
Now, obviously, an extra 20 pounds is the most overweight that you should be. Once you get to 30 pounds overweight or more, it starts to get unhealthy.
But I don't want my readers to obsess over 20 measly pounds.
In an article on what foods to avoid during Easter, a "food-centric" holiday, she writes,
Fatty Sides, Stuffing and Casseroles
Stuffing, saucy side dishes, and creamed items should be eaten with caution. It's just too hard to figure out how many calories and/or POINTS values they contain.
And I say, don't worry about it. Or perhaps what she means with "should be eaten with caution" is also what I mean, which is simply, take what you want, but only in small portions. There's no need to count calories or points, just eat small portions!
And of coure, get in a 30 minute walk or bike ride a day, a tennis game 3 times a week, and so on.
Easter is a danger for kids, in one way, just as Halloween is. They get all this candy - whether Easter eggs or Halloween candy, and they typically scarf it down in one sitting. I know I did. The best thing to do is to teach them that instant gratification is not necessary, and that they can have their treats as special desserts for the next several days.
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