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NANCYANNE55's Recent Blog Entries
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Monday, January 24, 2011
I have mentioned these several times in my status updates here on Spark, but I feel they are a valuable enough tool in my strength and muscle gaining arsenal that they're worth a blog: PACE Weights: paceweights.com/
These were first mentioned to me by Ross, a trainer I worked with a year ago. He told me about little 1/2 pound magnetic weights that attach to other types of metal weights(to include plates on cable machines) and make it possible to go up in poundage. I Googled them, bookmarked the site, then asked for them for Christmas this year.
I'm sure you have experienced times when you can't go up to the next 5 or 10 pound weight, but the current weight is just a little too light for the number of reps you had in mind. It's frustrating! BUT, if you can go up 1/2 pound at a time, you can inch closer to that next weight mark. Ross said "Can you imagine how fast you can gain strength if you can go up just a pound at a time?" He was right- since getting my PACE Weights as a Christmas gift my strength has increased MUCH faster than it did without them.
IMHO they're kinda expensive- the full set is $89 and with shipping it comes out to $103. This is for 18 PACE Weights (9lbs). You can also get a smaller set of 9 PACE Weights (4 1/2 pounds), for $57. But unless you strictly work out with one Dumbbell at a time, I'd recommend the larger set. I've had occasion to use more than 9 of them at once already. And get the case! It makes them portable and more accessible with a place to store them. I take mine to the gym and use them 5 days a week.
My friend Tammie (MajorMom on Spark) saw mine, got PACE Weight envy, and purchased a set for herself. I got a text this morning telling me how much she likes them. This is one really great product!
And no, I'm not on commission!  I just believe in recommending a great product when I find it.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
I've helped so many people move off of weight loss plateaus over the last year or so that I thought a blog about it might be prudent. These are also excellent techniques to apply even if you aren't plateaued- This information is good for everyone to know. I'm a firm believer that knowledge is power!
Having said that, there is a lot of information in the blog below. I have been accused lately of being intense. I prefer to think I'm informed. At any rate, you have the potential to be more intense....er... inFORMED after you read this, too.
The very first thing you want to do is be honest with yourself about what you are eating. Are you slipping extra food in there you don't acknowledge? Pretending that cookies are 25 calories a piece? Drinking sugary drinks with the theory that since they slide down so quick the calories don't count? If this is the case get real with yourself, then read.
The next thing you want to do is determine your BMR. I used to do this by an actual mathematical formula, but then I found this web site (there are other BMR calculators online, but this one is my fav because it has other numbers you need on there, too): www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_ca
lculator.htm Simply enter in your information and then select "Basal Metabolic Rate" (that's what BMR stands for, by the way) in the drop-down menu. BMR is approximately the number of calories that you would burn if you were to just lie around all day. This is a number you do NOT want to go under very often.
Next, choose the drop-down option in the box that has the amount of days/intensity you exercise. The numbers that come up below will give you maintenance, weight loss, and extreme weight loss. Here's one place where I have a beef with this site: The "extreme weight loss" number is almost always less than your BMR. Forget that! For max weight loss, simply bring your caloric intake down to your BMR number. The biggest..... no.... scratch that.... The SOLE cause I've seen of stalled weight loss in a reduced-calorie diet is people eating less than their BMR. When you eat too little, your body slows down it's metabolism in an act of self-preservation in case you should suddenly become comatose. If you raise it to just above your BMR you will actually burn more calories than the added number you are consuming. People have a hard time believing me on this one, until they actually start DOING it. Then they are simply amazed!
The next thing you want to do to maximize your weight loss AND preserve muscle is be careful to get enough protein. I've found a fairly safe and effective ratio for someone is a split of about 40% of calories from each protein and carbs and 20% from fats, most of which you want to be healthy fats. This is pretty easy to figure out if you remember the following things:
- Both Protein and Carbs have 4 calories per gram
- Fat has 9 calories per gram.
(By the way, I cover this information in my blog "Carbs, Fat, Protein" here: www.sparkpeople.com/mypage_public_jo
urnal_individual.asp?blog_id=3043057 )
So, let's say your BMR is 1450 calories and you decide that, to be safe, you want to come in at around 1500 calories a day. (Trust me, the extra 50 calories won't matter to a hill of beans in the big picture of weight loss, and since everyone is an individual and the BMR calculator is approximate I always advise to raise the amount slightly just to make sure you are getting enough.)
All you have to do is multiply 1500 by .4 to know how much 40% is of your calories- in this case it is 600. Divide this by 4 (the amount of calories in a gram of both carbs and protein), and you come up with 150. So on a 1500 calorie diet, you want to get about 150 grams of each carbs and protein.
The remaining calories, then, will of course come from fat. (Or you can multiply 1500 by .2 for 20%, but I find it's easier to just work with the remaining calories.) At any rate, by either method the answer for a 1500 calorie diet is 300 calories from fat. Simply divide 300 by 9 (the amount of calories in a gram of fat), and you get the grams of fat you want to shoot for in a day. In this case, it's 33.33. For simplicity's sake, lets round this up to 35. (Yeah, I know that's about 15 more calories a day, but it's no big deal!)
So we have determined that someone on a 1500 calorie diet is going to aim to get in a day:
- 150g protein
- 150g carbs
- 35g fat
Try as much as possible to get an even amount of carbs and protein within each meal, and try to make as much of your fats as possible from healthy/natural sources (the fats in your meats, olive & canola oils, avocados, nuts, etc.). This will, of course, require tracking your foods. The tracker here on Spark does a pretty good job of breaking down macro nutrients (protein, carbs, fat).
It's an interesting way to eat that requires some adjustment. You will find that things like french fries will very quickly throw your numbers way out of whack. You will start to determine if eating something like chocolate cake is worth it to you to feel bloated and see a rise on the scale the next day (it's the carbs, and they'll burn off quick enough once you go back to your exercise and the 40/40/20 way of eating- I cover this in my blog here: www.sparkpeople.com/mypage_public_jo
urnal_individual.asp?blog_id=3230942 ). You won't look at food the same after eating like this for a while, and in my opinion that's a good thing.
I'll be honest: Most people have an easier time raising their calories than they do raising their protein and lowering their fat. Why? Because it requires truly changing the way they eat, and folks love their carbs. But if you keep doing what you've been doing, you'll keep looking like you've been looking.
It's your body. It's your choice. But now at least you have the tools to make a difference.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Today I did an interview with a local news station about the 12-week challenge I have entered. Here is the link, in case you'd like to see.
[Warning: I am NOT all dolled up! I'm ready to work out! (And yes, those are my hands.  )]
www.newschannel6now.com/global/categ
ory.asp?c=179967&clipId=5456523&topVid
eoCatNo=179966&autoStart=true
Sunday, January 09, 2011
What works best for you? Going it alone, or being part of a team? There is nothing wrong with either style, but for your best success you really need to figure out which you are and be true to yourself.
I've tried to lose weight as part of a partnership before. I failed miserably. Why? Probably for the same exact reason I am not fond of team sports: I'm afraid of screwing up the team. And, worse yet, when one of my partners falls down I feel like the team is down, so therefore I am down. I stop trying.
Also, when I am in a state of focus on self-improvement, I've found I'm kinda wobbly- I'm focused like a laser beam in an attempt to get solid footing on a new venture. Consequently, I'm easy to tip over! While a lot would look at a partner as a source of support, I look at another person as someone who threatens my balance.
On the other hand, I can be great in a workout partnership, but it takes a particular kind of person for this to work for me: He has to be male (women don't tend to push me hard enough), knowlegable about lifting so that I don't have to be a trainer while I'm trying to get a good workout, pretty danged muscular (if I'm going to be lifting heavy with you, I need to be able to relax enough to know you can keep the 150 pound weight from crushing me), very dependable, and ON TIME! I'm prompt- A lifting partner who is not also prompt tends to cause me a great amount of stress. It's very hard to find all of these things in one person, BTW.
On the pack animal side, there are three guys in my gym who work out together cross-fit style with amazing regularity. I think the camaraderie is what keeps them coming back and pushing themselves harder. They continue to do what works for them, day after day after day. Working out as a group works for them.
I also know ladies who would rather go to their weight loss meetings in packs. They cheer one aother, encouraging each other to make smart choices. In some ways I very much envy them and the compatibility. As a naturally social person I very want to be a part of the group!
I remember one particular instance about 6 months ago when I was sitting in a restaurant after my Weight Watchers meeting. At a table nearby there was a group of gals who not only went to the same meeting, but also had gone to my former church with me. One of them spoke kindly to me when she passed by to use the restroom, but I was not invited to join them. Did I feel a little self-conscience sitting there eating alone while they laughed and had a good time together nearby? Yes, I did. But eventually one of them stopped going to the meeting and then the rest quit in quick succession (this further proves to me that my "If one falls, the rest aren't far behind" theory). So maybe I dodged a bullet, because since then I have reached my goal weight and am STILL going- alone- to the meetings to help maintain my weight loss.
This isn't to say I don't believe in supporting others: I do! I sincerely desire to support and encourage others to lay claim to their own health and be the very best that they can be: I'm a big encourager at my Weight Watchers meetings, I'll spot anyone who asks me in the gym, and on-line I try to help as many people as possible. Sometimes I will also seek out support and encouragement for myself. These things energize me! But for the actual work of getting the job done, I'm best off thinking of myself as a one-woman team.
I know I'm not making a very good case here for the pack-animal mindset, but the point is that I thought it through, found my reasons for choosing to go about my weight loss the way I did, and then DID it. I'm hoping that by relaying my personal experiences you will start to think about what will work best for you.
You also need to be very honest with yourself about not only what style works best for you, but also your circumstances: You can be thoroughly convinced that you'd do better with buddies, but if you live on an isolated island and want to be healthy, you'd better accept the fact that if it's going to happen you're going to have to develop the determination to do it by yourself.
Lone Wolf or Pack Animal? Which are you?
Saturday, January 01, 2011
Yes, this is my second blog today! What can I say? I'm getting the New Year off to a good start!
I've heard the phrase "Abs are made in the kitchen" quoted lately by a lot of people I greatly respect. I've given it a lot of thought and have finally decided that, while I think I understand the intention behind this statement, I don't agree with it. At least, not entirely.
You can eat right all you want to and reduce the fat on your body, but the muscle that makes abs is not made in the kitchen. Mine were made mostly flat on my back on the floor doing ab exercises. And since my kitchen has a hard tile floor, I can say with utmost certainty that my abs were NEVER made in the kitchen. Uncovered in the kitchen? Yes! Made there? NO!
I guess I don't like the phrase "Abs were made in the kitchen", because it gives the false impression that if folks just eat well enough, they'll have abs of steel. Tight, muscular abs come from the hard work of exercise. Getting them hard, however, requires dedication to reducing fat through diet. Becuase let's face it: Fat isn't hard, it's soft. So if you have hard ab muscles but they are covered up by soft fat, you're still gonna have soft abs.
I've said before and will say again that you can build all the lean, strong, beautiful muscle you want to, but if it's covered up by fat no one is gonna see it. It doesn't mean the muscle you are building isn't doing you any good, because it certainly is! It's benefiting your health in a myriad of ways I won't take the time to go into here. But the fact is that you won't be able to actually visibly SEE the muscular fruits of your labor if you are over-fat.
It's always a two-part equation to building ANY muscle, not just abs: Fat reduction and weight bearing exercises. You can't leave one out and expect to see big results.
Abs are built in the gym and unveiled in the kitchen.
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I agree totally with your concept!
Member Comments About This Blog Post:
I told my dh about them the first time I saw you post something about them and he said we may need to look into them;) Your page is my regular 
Thanks again;)
but it looks to me like I need to lower my fats and my carbs some what 
