One of the biggest questions I always have is hong long something is going to take. I'm pretty impatient, so wanting a shorter time frame is always best. I know weight loss can take a while, usually about 1lb for a week, sometimes 2 if you're training really hard but how long does it take to build a lb of muscle.
For the answer, I turned to Yahoo Answers. Here's what contributors had to say:
"It depends on your diet and how often you train. If you train hard and eat at least 1g per 1lb of protein, you can perhaps gain 1lb a month on average (assuming you are female)."
"gaining muscle is all about the diet. resistance training only stimulates muscle growth. there must be a caloric excess in the diet and sufficient nutrients from proteins, carbs and fats. women have less muscle mass then men because their bodies produce roughly 1/10 the amount of test. to insure high test production you need to make sure that you are getting 20% of the daily calories from healthy fats. test production can drop by 30-40% in a woman with a low fat diet.
shoot for 40% protein, 40% carbs and 20% fats."
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Weight Training Goals (Part 1 - Slim Arms)
You've got to say, I think that if I keep working at this and want it badly enough I can have it. It's called perseverance. --Lee Iacocca
When I think about the journey ahead of me, I think about it in stages. Each stage being 10 lbs or milestones. In the case of weight training I used to think of it as something I would get to once I got past the 10 lbs or something.
Luckily, because I was planning at one point to get very serious about muscle building I had thoughts in my head about what I wanted to achieve.
First, slimming my upper arms.
I got this workout from wowbodybuilding.com:
When I think about the journey ahead of me, I think about it in stages. Each stage being 10 lbs or milestones. In the case of weight training I used to think of it as something I would get to once I got past the 10 lbs or something.
Luckily, because I was planning at one point to get very serious about muscle building I had thoughts in my head about what I wanted to achieve.
First, slimming my upper arms.
I got this workout from wowbodybuilding.com:
The only equipment you’ll be needing is dumbbells and if you are sitting down, a ball to sit down on. This is performed by hold the dumbbells by your side with your palms facing inward. If you are doing it standing up, picking the barbells up off the floor, make sure you use your legs to help lift the weight. |
Monday, January 21, 2008
Let's Get Muscular, Muscular
It's not about weight, it's about fitness, and one component of being fit is to have relatively low body fat, because fat is not very efficient, whereas muscle is. --Deborah Bull
Over the past month I've done a relatively good job getting my diet on a healthy track. I've had my alcohol induced slip ups here and there, but nothing very serious. I'm finding, however, that I'm not losing weight as quickly as I'd like, though I do see increased muscle definition.
How many times have you heard that muscle weighs more than fat? For those people who are dieting and working out and hop on the scale and see they've put in all that effort only to gain weight the muscle fat argument is infinitely popular. But is it true?
According to Google Answers muscle is almost 20% heavier than fat but what's more important is the fact that muscle burns more calories than fat. Information on exrx.net details that one pound of muscle can burn 30 to 50 Calories a day whereas one pound of fat burns only 3 Calories a day. So if you replace 10 lbs of body fat with 10 lbs of muscle, you might just be looking at burning an extra 370 calories a day, or basically 39 lbs a year.
That's enough to make me start a weight training routine.
Over the past month I've done a relatively good job getting my diet on a healthy track. I've had my alcohol induced slip ups here and there, but nothing very serious. I'm finding, however, that I'm not losing weight as quickly as I'd like, though I do see increased muscle definition.
How many times have you heard that muscle weighs more than fat? For those people who are dieting and working out and hop on the scale and see they've put in all that effort only to gain weight the muscle fat argument is infinitely popular. But is it true?
According to Google Answers muscle is almost 20% heavier than fat but what's more important is the fact that muscle burns more calories than fat. Information on exrx.net details that one pound of muscle can burn 30 to 50 Calories a day whereas one pound of fat burns only 3 Calories a day. So if you replace 10 lbs of body fat with 10 lbs of muscle, you might just be looking at burning an extra 370 calories a day, or basically 39 lbs a year.
That's enough to make me start a weight training routine.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Every Day Is A New Day
It was character that got us out of bed, commitment that moved us into action, and discipline that enabled us to follow through. - Zig Zigler
I have a confession. I'm great at starting at horrible at the follow through. A lack of discipline and a short attention span that rivals the lack of inches in my physical height I feel are to blame. Some people build up this great forward momentum, change their lives, achieve great heights and sometimes I wonder, especially when it comes to my physical appearance goals, why I can't seem to make things stick.
But I know the answer. I know it's because I get gung ho about making huge changes to my diet and exercise and start full force forgoing the fact that I actually have to live my multifaceted life that doesn't have room for just one single focus day in and day out. No, I have a company to run, a fiance to love, a family to spend quality time with and friends who actually want me to be present.
These changes I make, I have to be able to not just stick to the diet that I know is good for me and fit in the exercise that I know I need, they have to change the way I live my life and make my choices. They have to shift my paradigm. I have to make changes that work for my life and keep me happy.
I'm good with loose rules and daily goals that don't have to be done by a certain time but I need to set limitations to remind myself not to step beyond the realm of moderation.
I think I've developed a personal diet that I can stick to and tomorrow I'll start to take all of you along on that journey.
I have a confession. I'm great at starting at horrible at the follow through. A lack of discipline and a short attention span that rivals the lack of inches in my physical height I feel are to blame. Some people build up this great forward momentum, change their lives, achieve great heights and sometimes I wonder, especially when it comes to my physical appearance goals, why I can't seem to make things stick.
But I know the answer. I know it's because I get gung ho about making huge changes to my diet and exercise and start full force forgoing the fact that I actually have to live my multifaceted life that doesn't have room for just one single focus day in and day out. No, I have a company to run, a fiance to love, a family to spend quality time with and friends who actually want me to be present.
These changes I make, I have to be able to not just stick to the diet that I know is good for me and fit in the exercise that I know I need, they have to change the way I live my life and make my choices. They have to shift my paradigm. I have to make changes that work for my life and keep me happy.
I'm good with loose rules and daily goals that don't have to be done by a certain time but I need to set limitations to remind myself not to step beyond the realm of moderation.
I think I've developed a personal diet that I can stick to and tomorrow I'll start to take all of you along on that journey.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Boost Yourself, Don't be an Ignorant Communist
Recently, I've been looking at the differences in people and in myself. In my mind, there are two kinds of people, happy and unhappy. Happiness is generally a choice and in some cases a challenging one but something that each individual is responsible for achieving on their own. It's not your spouse's job or your child's job or anyone else's job to make you happy.
Generally, responsible people, I believe, are happier people. I'm not talking about people who have a lot of responsibilities and feel like they're drowning in them. I'm referring to people who live the idea that they are responsible for themselves and whatever they can control in the world around them. Let's face it, people who think that things just happen to them and they can't control are usually in a downward spiral that they can't seem to climb out of because they don't believe they have any ability to.
But this mentality extends beyond this idea. A lot of those unhappy people who have no control and no responsibility also tend to be those who envy others. Now, envy is a really unfortunate thing, especially if the result of the envy causes the person to want to tear down the object of their jealousy instead of push themselves to achieve what others have that they want.
These are the people who hate rich people. These are the people who hate beautiful people. These are the same people who don't want to put in the work to be rich or put in the effort to take care of themselves to be beautiful and instead would rather have the rich people be poor and the beautiful people be ugly. I call this the ignorant communist mentality.
Having people out there who have what you want should push you to achieve those things that you want, not take it away from those who have it.
Boost yourself, don't tear down someone else.
Generally, responsible people, I believe, are happier people. I'm not talking about people who have a lot of responsibilities and feel like they're drowning in them. I'm referring to people who live the idea that they are responsible for themselves and whatever they can control in the world around them. Let's face it, people who think that things just happen to them and they can't control are usually in a downward spiral that they can't seem to climb out of because they don't believe they have any ability to.
But this mentality extends beyond this idea. A lot of those unhappy people who have no control and no responsibility also tend to be those who envy others. Now, envy is a really unfortunate thing, especially if the result of the envy causes the person to want to tear down the object of their jealousy instead of push themselves to achieve what others have that they want.
These are the people who hate rich people. These are the people who hate beautiful people. These are the same people who don't want to put in the work to be rich or put in the effort to take care of themselves to be beautiful and instead would rather have the rich people be poor and the beautiful people be ugly. I call this the ignorant communist mentality.
Having people out there who have what you want should push you to achieve those things that you want, not take it away from those who have it.
Boost yourself, don't tear down someone else.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Is Beer Really That Bad?
One of the often faced problems in the road to health is what to do about those nights out on the town. Since I've got a number of events this weekend that include dinner and dancing on Saturday as well as a wine tasting for a grand opening on Sunday this article from That's Fit drew my attention.
According to Chris Sparling:
"For one, when you drink beer, twenty percent of the alcohol is absorbed from your stomach into your bloodstream; the rest is absorbed by your intestines. From there, the alcohol makes its way through your liver, where it is broken down -- leading to the creation of two waste products: acetate and acetaldehyde. These waste products then signal your body to stop burning fat, while at the same time your body actually starts MAKING fat from another alcohol waste product, known as acetyle CoA. As a result of all this, the more you drink, the less you become able to burn fat -- and, the more fat your body creates from the build-up of acetytle CoA."
According to the triglycerides diet alcohol can inhibit your fat metabolism by 30%. So how much is just enough?
Well there doesn't seem to be any one size fits all answer but generally speaking one glass a day of red wine for women and one to two glasses for men is the upper limit.
Looks like I'm sticking to fermented grape juice this weekend.
According to Chris Sparling:
"For one, when you drink beer, twenty percent of the alcohol is absorbed from your stomach into your bloodstream; the rest is absorbed by your intestines. From there, the alcohol makes its way through your liver, where it is broken down -- leading to the creation of two waste products: acetate and acetaldehyde. These waste products then signal your body to stop burning fat, while at the same time your body actually starts MAKING fat from another alcohol waste product, known as acetyle CoA. As a result of all this, the more you drink, the less you become able to burn fat -- and, the more fat your body creates from the build-up of acetytle CoA."
According to the triglycerides diet alcohol can inhibit your fat metabolism by 30%. So how much is just enough?
Well there doesn't seem to be any one size fits all answer but generally speaking one glass a day of red wine for women and one to two glasses for men is the upper limit.
Looks like I'm sticking to fermented grape juice this weekend.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Skinny Water
If you don't do what's best for your body, you're the one who comes up on the short end. -- Julius Erving
I was at the local Target earlier this week, perusing the aisles for nifty new products and things that I might not have seen before but would really love to have in my possession. That's how I found Thomas's Light 100 calorie 8g of fiber english muffins. They are my favorite.
Because I don't drink soda anymore, unless it's club soda with some vodka and a twist of lime, I'm always looking for new things to drink that might distract me from the boredom of plain old water.
Then, on sale, on the shelf I saw Skinny water. I know, sadly, I'll pay attention to anything that tells me it'll make me skinny. Despite protest from my fiance, I bought a pack to try.
Why is it called Skinny water? Well it has, according to the website "the active ingredients Super CitriMax® and ChromeMate®. In clinical studies conducted by researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center and Creighton University School of Pharmacy, dieters consuming the equivalent amounts of Super CitriMax and ChromeMate found in each bottle of Skinny Water lost on average 10.8 pounds compared to only three and half pounds in placebo group."
Now, I'm not big on diet pills or supplements either. I've tried a number of different ones and none of them feel right. But I looked into Citrimax and ChromeMate to see what they're supposed to do. This is what I could find:
"Known as hydroxycitric acid (HCA for short), or Citrimax, this popular supplement has become a standard ingredient in many popular weight loss products. Derived from the rind of the Indian Garcinia Cambogia fruit, original animal studies seemed to indicate that HCA/Citrimax displayed an amazing ability to block the conversion of carbohydrates into fat by inhibiting an enzyme called ATP-Citrate Lyase. It also appeared to suppress appetite as well." -- ultimatefatburner.com
"ChromeMate® (generically called chromium nicotinate, chromium polynicotinate or niacin-bound chromium) is a patented oxygen-coordinated niacin-bound chromium complex that plays an important role in proper insulin function, maintenance of healthy blood sugar and cholesterol levels, normal energy production, and promotion of healthy body weight.* Protected by three U.S. Patents, four international patents and other world-wide patents pending, ChromeMate® is the only niacin-bound chromium supplement with proven biological activity." -- slimirex.com
I have to note that there are accounts that these supplements don't actually do anything at all. For all anyone knows, it could just be a placebo.
But, I have drank around one bottle a day for the past 3 days, which is not the recommended intake. They recommend having 3 bottles a day, one about 30 minutes before each meal. But since I only bought a 6 pack of the water and I don't like the nutrasweet flavor very much, I've only had one a day.
How has my appetite been? I've been doing pretty good about keeping around a specific calorie range, though I can't say that it's a result of the water and not my diet. In fact, the day I had the most Skinny Water I went over my calorie count by 300+ calories. It was also NYE though, so I chalk that up to that half bottle of champagne.
All and all, I think it's just flavored water. Flavored water I will never buy again because it's over $1 per small bottle and because the taste, at least the lemon flavor, was undesirable.
I was at the local Target earlier this week, perusing the aisles for nifty new products and things that I might not have seen before but would really love to have in my possession. That's how I found Thomas's Light 100 calorie 8g of fiber english muffins. They are my favorite.
Because I don't drink soda anymore, unless it's club soda with some vodka and a twist of lime, I'm always looking for new things to drink that might distract me from the boredom of plain old water.
Then, on sale, on the shelf I saw Skinny water. I know, sadly, I'll pay attention to anything that tells me it'll make me skinny. Despite protest from my fiance, I bought a pack to try.
Why is it called Skinny water? Well it has, according to the website "the active ingredients Super CitriMax® and ChromeMate®. In clinical studies conducted by researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center and Creighton University School of Pharmacy, dieters consuming the equivalent amounts of Super CitriMax and ChromeMate found in each bottle of Skinny Water lost on average 10.8 pounds compared to only three and half pounds in placebo group."
Now, I'm not big on diet pills or supplements either. I've tried a number of different ones and none of them feel right. But I looked into Citrimax and ChromeMate to see what they're supposed to do. This is what I could find:
"Known as hydroxycitric acid (HCA for short), or Citrimax, this popular supplement has become a standard ingredient in many popular weight loss products. Derived from the rind of the Indian Garcinia Cambogia fruit, original animal studies seemed to indicate that HCA/Citrimax displayed an amazing ability to block the conversion of carbohydrates into fat by inhibiting an enzyme called ATP-Citrate Lyase. It also appeared to suppress appetite as well." -- ultimatefatburner.com
"ChromeMate® (generically called chromium nicotinate, chromium polynicotinate or niacin-bound chromium) is a patented oxygen-coordinated niacin-bound chromium complex that plays an important role in proper insulin function, maintenance of healthy blood sugar and cholesterol levels, normal energy production, and promotion of healthy body weight.* Protected by three U.S. Patents, four international patents and other world-wide patents pending, ChromeMate® is the only niacin-bound chromium supplement with proven biological activity." -- slimirex.com
I have to note that there are accounts that these supplements don't actually do anything at all. For all anyone knows, it could just be a placebo.
But, I have drank around one bottle a day for the past 3 days, which is not the recommended intake. They recommend having 3 bottles a day, one about 30 minutes before each meal. But since I only bought a 6 pack of the water and I don't like the nutrasweet flavor very much, I've only had one a day.
How has my appetite been? I've been doing pretty good about keeping around a specific calorie range, though I can't say that it's a result of the water and not my diet. In fact, the day I had the most Skinny Water I went over my calorie count by 300+ calories. It was also NYE though, so I chalk that up to that half bottle of champagne.
All and all, I think it's just flavored water. Flavored water I will never buy again because it's over $1 per small bottle and because the taste, at least the lemon flavor, was undesirable.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Why Do We Really ...
Honesty is the best image. -- Tom Wilson
I was perusing the Weight Loss Forum's diaries today and came across a story about a girl who had started her weight loss journey after her fiance called off their engagement. Her posts were so brutally honest about her weight loss, self image and perspective. Though she was more often than not positive, she was quite real.
Her situation made me think of why I really decided to embark upon this journey myself, a journey I had undertaken many times, sometimes succeeding, sometimes failing. Why am I here again today? What's the current honest answer?
Of course, my upcoming wedding is a factor but it feels so far away that it's unreal. The most recent impetus is a concern about my relationship with my fiance. Though I'm fully aware that he would seemingly love me no matter what, of course he would be more attracted to me and in turn more committed to me if indeed, I were as thin as I was when we first started dating. Over 30lbs thinner to be exact.
A constant paranoia of mine is infidelity. The infidelity statistics in marriages are staggering. What drives people who at one point loved each other enough to commit the rest of their lives to each other to cheat? I'm going to have to assume that the number one reason is that most people let themselves go. Obviously, look at the 60%+ overweight rate in the US. I'd bet that most of those people weren't overweight when they got married. Not to say that overweight people don't get married, because obviously they do, but by and large, I don't think most people start their marriages/relationships that way.
So of course, I would love to lose these lbs so that I can start a new life with my fiance that includes me looking the way I want to look, seeing that look in his eyes that shows me he likes how I look too. It's a look that I see glimmers of from time to time, but no where near as often as I used to when I was thinner. Plus, these are my optimal days to achieve the figure I want so that all I have left to do is maintain it for the rest of my life. Well, at least until I have kids.
After reading that girl's diary though, my heart went out to her part of me feeling like she should forget about him because he couldn't love her no matter what including her weight, but the other part made me afraid for myself and my situation. And now, because of her, I'm done standing still. Time to move forward and turn that dial back on the scale.
I was perusing the Weight Loss Forum's diaries today and came across a story about a girl who had started her weight loss journey after her fiance called off their engagement. Her posts were so brutally honest about her weight loss, self image and perspective. Though she was more often than not positive, she was quite real.
Her situation made me think of why I really decided to embark upon this journey myself, a journey I had undertaken many times, sometimes succeeding, sometimes failing. Why am I here again today? What's the current honest answer?
Of course, my upcoming wedding is a factor but it feels so far away that it's unreal. The most recent impetus is a concern about my relationship with my fiance. Though I'm fully aware that he would seemingly love me no matter what, of course he would be more attracted to me and in turn more committed to me if indeed, I were as thin as I was when we first started dating. Over 30lbs thinner to be exact.
A constant paranoia of mine is infidelity. The infidelity statistics in marriages are staggering. What drives people who at one point loved each other enough to commit the rest of their lives to each other to cheat? I'm going to have to assume that the number one reason is that most people let themselves go. Obviously, look at the 60%+ overweight rate in the US. I'd bet that most of those people weren't overweight when they got married. Not to say that overweight people don't get married, because obviously they do, but by and large, I don't think most people start their marriages/relationships that way.
So of course, I would love to lose these lbs so that I can start a new life with my fiance that includes me looking the way I want to look, seeing that look in his eyes that shows me he likes how I look too. It's a look that I see glimmers of from time to time, but no where near as often as I used to when I was thinner. Plus, these are my optimal days to achieve the figure I want so that all I have left to do is maintain it for the rest of my life. Well, at least until I have kids.
After reading that girl's diary though, my heart went out to her part of me feeling like she should forget about him because he couldn't love her no matter what including her weight, but the other part made me afraid for myself and my situation. And now, because of her, I'm done standing still. Time to move forward and turn that dial back on the scale.
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