The Cauldron

Silhelmina wrote:

Anyhow - there are very many styles of yoga. Some are more meditationlike. Most that are being taught here at least are muscle and stamina building - you don't reach that agility combined with the strength to hold a challenging posititon by meditating

I went to the anime store over the weekend and when nobody was around I went to go look on the sign on the front door of the nearby Yoga place and it said “Yoga in the Kripalu tradition”.

 

The funny part is that the yoga place was a small studio on the 2nd level of a two-story building, and it was two doors down from this vacant (two story) complex.

 

And low and behold, when I went back there this time that vacant two story complex was now all painted up in purple with the giant letters “Yoga College of India” painted clear across of it. 

I felt so bad for that little yoga place, every time I went to the anime store I would pass by it and see the crowds of the awaiting class.  I wonder how many defections they’re going to have, or if they are even going to be able to stay in business.  I mean they’re competing against pros now; it reminded me of the movie Dodgeball.  

People in Yoga are fiercely loyal to their teachers and "school", so I am betting the little place stays busy and the new place gets people who are looking to get into it.  Hubby and I do Yoga from the TiVo, Namaste and whatever else it finds.  Can't beat those embarrassing positions in the privacy of your own home!

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Avi is my family crest.

Tried some of those positions once doing a low impact video with my mom.  Very hard to do when your back isn't symmetrical.  I've read that eating smaller meals throughout the day keeps your metabolism going (instead of giving your body a workout after mealtimes).  Eating only one or two small meals tells your body food is scarce and it goes into conservation mode which slows down your metabolism even more.  My guy read this site and lost 35 pounds and has kept it off.  Of course, unless you enjoy walking, running, or swimming in circles or waiting in line to use machines excercising is boring to me.

Fun activities:  Bicycling, roller skating (I don't have inlines), bowling, and dancing (I love jitterbug swing dancing!).  Fun thing about dancing is you can make up your own routines.  Another unique fun thing is if you have a Playstation 2 game console, get Dance Dance Revolution with the dance pad. It's fun and a workout and you can get your kids involved. (If you aren't familiar with that, it's sort of like the power pad for the Nintendo Entertainment System, back in the day.  You know, after E.T. came out.)

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DDR also comes for PC at least (both Win and Linux installs, so I wouldn't be surprised if it also comes for Mac), as well as usb dance pads.

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~If the future isn't bright, at least it's colourful~

Both our Treadmills just bit the bullet...One was over 12 years old and the other was a freebie from a friend in the business who gave it life again...Now we are saving up ($300 in Sears cards for free so far!) for a new machine...anyone have an elliptical?  They look more fun than a boring treadmill...

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Avi is my family crest.

I have an elliptical trainer - a very sturdy one that set me back £500 about 5 years ago. Spendy, but worth it. They are lower impact than treadmills and work out your arms as well. I love mine.

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Yay!  That's what I was hoping.  I've seen them as low as in the $300 and up to almost $2000!  I figured you get what you pay for, though, so am looking in the $700 range. 

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Avi is my family crest.

A year ago I had weighed 198 lbs. I had poor eating habits. When I was depressed, I would eat and when I ate I would get depressed. It was an endless cycle that I have been trying to fight since I was 12.

Anyways 9 years later, when I have peaked the maximum I had ever weighed, and more depressed as ever, I got a job working in a barn for the winter. This involved taking a bunch of horses to turnout (a fair distance away, and in all sorts of weather i.e. snow storms, horrible gusts of wind, below zero temps) and cleaning a bunch of stalls. 10 months later I now weigh 130 lbs and am still going down. My morale has greatly improved, my self-esteem is at an all time high, my eating habits are better(with the exception of a Starbucks Venti- Double Blended Green Tea Fapaccino almost every-day). I feel great!

It is so hard to get started. Believe me, I know! I used to watch Dr Phil with my Grandma and he would say "Before you win the battle with your body, you have to win the battle with your mind." and it's true. Many times I kept telling myself  "okay, I am going to start exercising and eating better" but I never did. And then one day you just literally have to wake up and say "ENOUGH ALREADY!!!" I actually started dieting two months before I got my job, but I can assure you that working under those conditions helped push things along.

And don't think that since I lost my weight things are easy. I have a horrible metabolism and have to stay on it. If I stop taking care of myself, then I know I will go back to the old ways. And I can't go back to the old ways. I can only say that I am still fighting a battle, that I will continuously have to fight. So I am there with all ya! Together we can make obesity history (so I kinda jipped the One campaign slogan...oh well). Good luck to all you guys, it's hard. You have my support.

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To see a world in a grain of sand,
And a heaven in a wildflower.
To hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in an hour...
~William Blake
"Auguries of Innocence"

Okay, they say "try, try again", so let's try this once more!

My sister got me to try Activate America/Team Lean.

In our area, Team Lean is a 12 week competition that kicks off the year of Activate America. The idea is very simple; exercise at least 30 minutes, 5 times a week, and decrease the amount of calories you take in each day. Nothing fancy to follow, no certain food to buy, so far this has been very easy for me. I have exercised everyday since our first weigh in, so that is going well, too. And it shows. At our first weekly weigh-in, I lost 8 pounds. Plus, the person who loses the most can win up to $3000!

Winebrat showed me this very cool website, too: The Daily Plate. Maybe she can tell you a little more about it...


P.S.: I noticed that there can be groups on The Daily Plate. I also noticed there was not a Cauldron group. Maybe we should fix that?

For those that are curious, here is a brief description of Team Lean:

The YMCA of the **** area and Doctor's Hospital have combined resources to continue their effort to address the growing obestiy epidemic in our area and make the **** healthier.

Activate America/Team Lean is a FREE year-round healthy living awareness program, with a 12 week kickoff competition, that targets youth and adult obesity and related diseases

• encourages participants to accumulate at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity five days per week
• provides Healthy Living information about nutrition, exercise and health education weekly
• sponsors regular weigh-ins and counseling
• presents "Health Talks," a series of lectures by wellness and medical experts
• challenges everyone, young and old, to begin healthy eating and regular moderate-intensity exercise.

Regular physical activity reduces the risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, and high blood pressure. It helps control weight and contributes to healthy bones, muscles, and joints. It helps relieve the pain of arthritis and reduces the symptoms of anxiety and depression. People of all ages who are generally inactive can impove their health and well being by becoming active at a moderate-intensity on a regular basis.

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Avie pic by me.
Elwood: It's 106 miles to Chicago, we got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses.
Jake: Hit it. ~ The Blues Brothers (1980)

I am just about to start some type of more involved exercise regime as I was putting on my one pair of pants the day before and they were soooo tight that buckling them was a task unto itself. Glad I own a dozen pairs of shorts!
This is the pair of pants I wore for x-mas shenanigans, so it has not been that long of a time period in which I have gained my extra poundage.
I do daily stretches, Tai Chi and some yoga which is keeping me decently limber but doing nothing for my overall weight.
The Iowa tribe has a gym on their reservation that I can access, so I'm thinking about joining that as they have trainers onsite. Not sure of the cost though.
Also getting the treadmill out of storage that I picked up for free last year. This is at no monthly cost so just might be my best option for now.

Good luck to anyone else still trying!!

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"Only use fresh macaroni. If the box rattles, throw it away."

Avie by Sil.

To be honest diets never work for me, I don't have enough staying power to stick with them... but I have just started Paul Mckenna's mind programming. And it makes sense to me, although I have been falling asleep to his cd now and then. He's just signed a huge deal in the US so you'll be hearing about him soon if you haven't already.

The basic premise is to make you eat slowly and stop when you feel full. Eat whatever you want, but get in tune with your body so that it tells you when to eat and when you are full. I haven't been doing it long enough to talk about results, but I like the focus and visualisation techniques. It's more like a skill for life rather than a quick weight loss plan. Refreshingly he tells you to weigh yourself every two weeks, if at all, encouraging you to evaluate improvements with how your clothes are fitting and how you feel.

The best part about it is that there's no expensive diet to follow, just eat well, be conscious of stopping when you are satisfied, not stuffed. The book costs about a £5 and comes with a cd that you play daily. If you're interested in a non-conventional approach to weight loss and are prepared to be a bit open minded to something new, then it can't hurt to try. The positive reviews on Amazon for the book were considerable, it has quite a following.

Dunno if it'll work, but the cd has been great for relaxing me at night and I am sleeping better at least.

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No, no, no, no diets!  That's why I joined Weight Watchers.  The new Core Plan they have (yes, they still have the Point Plan, too) is a lot like Paul McKenna's way.  You can eat everything on the "list" until you feel "full", not gorged or stuffed.  The only thing that isn't on the list is bread & nuts, really, but on the Core Plan you have 35 "points" per week to make up for the foods that aren't on the list.  So far I've lost 7.8 pounds in 2 weeks! 

The Daily Plate is a great site to track what you are taking in.  You enter your weight, height, activity level and it tells you how many calories you should be taking in based on that and you activity level and if you want to lose, maintain or gain weight.  And, like Val said, it's FREE!!!  And they have a huge database of food annd it's easy to add your own stuff, too.

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Avi is my family crest.

Ah sounds cool and a little similar. I can't really keep to counting points though, I stick to it for a few weeks, be it calories, fat grams, green food, pink foods, carbs ... yadda yadda and then give up because I can't see myself counting for life. One holiday and it's out the window...

I reckon you have more staying power than me though - good luck and well done so far.

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The motivation I have seemed to never really truly have clicked in place this winter, so now I am steadily losing a few pounds a week. Suddenly overnight my entire attitude to everything changed, and I am getting a grip of everything from eating and exercise habits to my finances. This also means I am getting my illnesses under control since I eat stuff my body can deal with.

Anyway, I haven't got any no-nos at all. I eat everything I want to. But I don't eat much of it. And the trick for me is to not have anything forbidden, because I apparently have a thing for wanting what I can't get. I noticed this during the autumn that when the kitchen cupboard held vast quantities of chocolate and cookies that I never ate. But the moment someone else ate them so they were gone, I went nuts wanting it. Luckily this entire getting rid of bad conscience thing seems to work very well indeed for me. The only problem right now is that I am not losing weight where I most want it to go away (ie. my tummy)... I guess it is time to start doing those situps again.. meh.

 

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~If the future isn't bright, at least it's colourful~

The Daily Plate site is really cool ^^  It's good that it totals all of your PDVs simply by finding what food you've eaten.  I should really cut back on my sodium... c.c  And looking at the little chart I've noticed that over 85% of my calories come from carbs... o.o()  If I ever desperately need to go on a diet... It can't be a low-carb one >.<()

Yeah, the totals at the bottom really put things in perspective.  You are only supposed to have like 2000 of sodium per day...And the graph makes you realize when you gotta stop with the carbs and start with some protein...way too easy to carb overload!

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Avi is my family crest.

Res, message me on TDP if you want. I am Valecynos there too.

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Avie pic by me.
Elwood: It's 106 miles to Chicago, we got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses.
Jake: Hit it. ~ The Blues Brothers (1980)

I made some Whole Wheat Pizza night before last that I loved! I had it for dinner that night, lunch yesterday, and I am eating a piece for lunch today. Sashia ate the other one. I posted the recipe on TDP. Homemade Whole Wheat Pizza. Be sure to look carefully at the whole wheat pizza crust you choose if you are watching your calorie intake. This one does not have too many, and a quarter of the crust is a serving. I used Mama Mary's Gourmet 100% Whole Wheat Pizza Crust.

I figured you could add whatever toppings you like, so this recipe is very customizable. For instance, I really love garlic (I have been known to eat raw garlic in olive oil with bread. I know, I'm strange...) but if you don't want such a big garlic taste, leave that off. Also, I used Mexican blend shredded cheese because it was reduced fat, and it happened to be on sale buy one, get one free. If you find a combination that you really like, share it with us!

Also, I wanted to tell y'all about these little treats I have found: Little Debbie 100 calorie Snow Puffs. I love them, and they are just enough to satisfy that "I want a little something sweet" urge I have right after dinner. I feel like I am getting a real treat.

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Avie pic by me.
Elwood: It's 106 miles to Chicago, we got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses.
Jake: Hit it. ~ The Blues Brothers (1980)

My favourite topping for Pizza is greek style; some crumbled feta, olives, garlic, red onions and sometimes artichokes. I'm also quite partial to capers, they tend to really give a nice bite to the taste. All healthy options too.

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Hey, you guys are talking about food in the "losing weight" thread.  LOL.  *just joking*  This may be weird but I ONLY like (oven baked) frozen pizza.  For some reason I really like that "very hard crust, bland tasting cheese, these pepperoni are rock hard" taste.  LOL.  IMO Pizza Hut pizza is the worst.

And as for toppings,  I am strictly a cheese pizza kind of guy, but just pepperoni is fine too.