Community Chat

[sandy53]

I decided last spring that I needed to get serious about losing weight that I had been slowly adding in the last few years.  My goal was 15 pounds.  So, I went on Nutrisystem for 2 months.  It worked.  I was down 15 pounds.  I continued to lose weight over the summer for a total of 20 pounds off. 

I chose Nutrisystem because I was without self-control.  I knew I needed strict structure.  I knew my portion control was out of whack and I needed help there.  I also wanted to test it out to see if I thought it would work for my DS with his weight loss struggles. 

It had some major disadvantages:  1.  I quit cooking for my DH.  He agreed to that, but it was very hard for him to cook for himself.  I admit I enjoyed having that 2 month break from cooking for him. 

2.  It was very expensive.  The basic cost for the Nutrisystem food was high and then I had to add all the fruits, vegetables, etc. from the store. 

3.  Some of the food was very good, but there were a few dishes I just couldn't eat.

I have a very active lifestyle and exercise has been a daily part of my life for over 40 years, but 80% of weight control is what you eat.  Exercise is wonderful for emotional fitness, too.

[hckynut]

@Shanus 

Sounds like you are doing what has worked best for your body and that is all that counts. 

Using reps as opposed to increasing your work load is one way to reach your specific goals. Should one's goal to be to "gain strength", then increasing the weight lifted doing fewer Reps should be more conducive to getting muscle strength. There again, it involves what each individual, chooses as their goal.

While you use "huffing and puffing" as knowing when you are "there", that method would/could be very deceptive, depending on the type of workout, and also the length of that workout.

Were I to use that method when first skating? My ice time would be very short, not my typical 2 hours. The more Aerobically fit a person might be, the longer it takes to get through a specific warmup. This is even more true when doing it on a surface that is generally between 15-19°, caaa cold.

Were I too use my elevated heart rate, which requires more oxygen/carbon dioxide transfer, as my being " there"! It just would not work. There are times my warmup can be 25% of my skating time. And "old/cold" muscles pushed to far, too soon? Nothing good will happen.

This is 1 of the reasons I was using a Chest Heart Rate Monitor long before I had a heart attack, among several others. It definitely is more inclusive and a more complicated way to train. For me and my goals over the decades I have found no better way to truly know how hard my body is working, including the early warmup "huffing and puffing" you described that works well for you.

Thanks for the reply and stick with whatever you know works the best for you specific physical goals. Stay well now,

hckynut 🏒