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Archive through January 30, 2004

The TVClubHouse: Archives: 2004 January - Arpil: Discovery Channel's great weight loss plan: Archive through January 30, 2004 users admin

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Teachmichigan

Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 8:35 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Tabby....

I teach HS...we have a block schedule so we have 85 minute classes...1/2 hour lunch (if you actually get kids out of the room)...and the only "breaks" are the passing times. Most of the time, I've got kids in the room during any breaks. If we're working on computers (I'm an English teacher, but I've got 24 'puters in my room), or even working on a piece of writing, I don't have time to get something out to eat.

And the eating with the kids is an absolute no-no. We moved into a brand new HS about 5 years ago...carpeted floors and NO food or drink in classroom. (Teachers can have stuff in our shared offices, but can't do that in the middle of a class.) I think the only stretch longer than 3 hours would be between my lunch (11:30) and the end of the school day (3:30). This year at least my plan is in the morning...so I could do breakfast at 7 and then snack at 10. Then, I'd be early for lunch...or I could just skip snack at 10 and go for lunch at 11:30.

We'll see...I may break breakfast up...and eat part at 7 and the rest at 10. I HATE eating breakfast and normally don't, so that might make it easier to keep it up. Then I could just do the meals assigned at 11:30, 4, and 7.

The list came through my email ok...but what a LOT of stuff to buy. It's not "BASIC" in any way shape or form! For a 3 day meal plan, the list is over 2 typed pages long (in list form). I may do some modifications...work on protein, carbs, fat in the recommended portions but do it with my own foods / salads, etc.

Sherrie

Tuesday, January 20, 2004 - 1:03 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
I weighed in yesterday and have lost 6 pounds. I needed the bump as I was starting to lose my motivation.

I still have heard nothing from the discovery channel but am plugging away.

Texannie

Tuesday, January 20, 2004 - 1:40 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
I am so pumped, I lost 2lbs last week!! I have lost a total of 15 since mid August...about 10 more to go!

Tabbyking

Tuesday, January 20, 2004 - 2:07 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
kona, because my husband leaves for work at 3:15 a.m. monday through friday, 'sleeping in' on the weekends means til about 5:00 a.m. he is cooking like mad by 6:00. it's way too early to get up and go for a walk in the cold and dark! i just wish the smells didn't waft up to the bedroom. oh, and after he made the 4 kinds of bread, he made chinese chicken salad and a lemon meringue pie!

teach, it's too bad the floors are carpeted in your school, except that it is michigan, so it probably helps to keep the rooms warmer. some of my dd's teachers let them have bottled waters in the classroom (actually, i think all but the computer rooms allow water at their desks, and in computer labs, they can put their drinks on a side table and go to them if need be, since we get up to 110 by may and heat stroke is a real possibility).
maybe you could eat a little something at the 'beginning' of your lunch 40-minutes--or however long your lunch break is, then take a walk or work on something and have a little something else during the last 5 minutes or so of your lunch.

sometimes my dd really needs something more than water or she gets headaches, so she uses the 'clear' gatorade/poweraid mix and puts it into a water bottle.
the school used to be terrible about snacking, until a kid who had known diabetes tried to eat an orange section in class one day when he knew he needed it. the teacher went ape-s#it over the kid eating. my dd, who knew the student from when i had him in preschool with her, told the teacher the boy was diabetic and the teacher said he didn't care.....well, you can bet that teacher cares NOW! i almost strangled him myself.

i know sometimes it's so hard to do the 'right diet' things when you are working. when i tried WW years ago, i had their huge white and pink water container. well, when you have twenty 4-year-olds from 8:00 til noon each day (and 3-year-olds on the days you don't have 4-year-olds), there is no way on earth you can leave them alone to go pee pee every 15 minutes. so i would try and drink all my water--8 or 10 glasses full-- after 11:30 a.m. or so and then i would be up peeing all night. every time i was almost asleep, i would feel the urge...'gotta go, gotta go.......'

yeah, texannie on the 2 more pounds. sherrie, 6 pounds? you go, girl! landi, never too late or early to start. i started at the end of september, but it's nice to have others dieting with me! if you started a week behind the 'official date' add a week to the end before your final weigh-out.
i haven't heard anything from the discovery channel either. maybe i won't since i registered online. looks like i am still doing this by myself--outside of the office discovery challenge people, i mean. i know you guys are with me!
well, i waited all yesterday and then this morning for our water softener guy. they promised me when he didn't get here yesterday, "he will be there first thing in the morning". "when is that?" i asked. "between 9:00 and 11:00." at noon, i called and told them to cancel us.
yesterday, i called 3 times and each time i got a different excuse. "can't reach him on his 2-way." i suggested they call some of the customers on his list to see if he had been there. an hour later, i called and was told, "can't reach him." did you try to call customer's houses to see if he was there? well, no.....the third time i called, i was told bob's truck had broken down. well, i was told jose was my technician and the one they couldn't scare up on the radio. because bob's truck supposedly broke down last year when he was supposed to come; it had a 'water heater problem'. i asked what the problem with bob's truck was this time and was told, 'water heater problem'. i asked when it had gone in the shop. they told me it had been in since early morning. i asked why no one called me if they knew in early morning bob wasn't coming to my late morning appointment, "especially since jose is my technician". they didn't get the sarcasm. i didn't get a good answer.
anyway, no one showed today or called to say they'd be late. i am tired of sitting around when i have a zillion things to do. besides, you can buy the filters online for about 15 bucks and they charge you 99 dollars. we'll do it ourselves.

Max

Tuesday, January 20, 2004 - 2:07 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Congrats to all for keeping up the good work, even when it's hard and even when it seems hopeless. :)

In my first "official" week, I've lost 4.5 pounds. I haven't been following any particular meal plan -- I know from years and years of experience what I SHOULD be eating, the key for me is to actually DO it. :) I've been riding for 30 minutes on my exercise bike at least five days a week. Got my email 2-week pass for Bally's and will go there tomorrow to start some weighttraining. I'm NOT looking forward to it, but I'm going to do it anyway.

Last night, I started a 12-week seminar called "The Artist's Way" (following the book) at another local health club. I felt intimidated the minute I walked into the place, even though I knew I was only there for the class. This phobia of mine about health clubs is really a pain. If I want to, I can use their facilities each Monday evening before or after the class. We'll see. It is an upscale club with just about every facility you can think of, including an indoor pool.

If I can still lift my arms to type after tomorrow's visit to the gym, I'll be back. :)

Tabbyking

Tuesday, January 20, 2004 - 2:14 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
about the water softener company? i just remembered how funny last year's conversation was. they called me up hours after a technician should have been here. that's when they went on and on about bob's truck having water heater problems and being in the shop all day and how he had to reschedule all his customers for the next day..."and he'll be ready to go tomorrow. so he'll be at your house between noon and 3:00. and by the way, your technician will be bill."
why in the hell did they tell me about bob's problem and he wasn't even my technician?! then the same thing this year only changed around: jose couldn't make it so they blamed bob and his truck.
'there's something about bob.........'
or maybe it's something in the water:)

Tabbyking

Tuesday, January 20, 2004 - 2:27 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
max, the reason i work out at home is that even our small town racquet club has a large clientele of women who are 5'6" and 115 pounds and wearing thongs and tight leotards and men who are over 6' and under 175 pounds. i felt more like i was in a bar than a place to exercise! and the rumors...and the sniggers behind people's backs. i was sure they had their own about me, too.
for about a month, i was brave enough to actually go into the weight room, where i had to make nice with a student's dad, even knowing the whole place was talking about him sleeping with the woman weight trainer, who is married to a fireman, who thinks the boyfriend is his best friend, etc.
i felt like i was in peyton place:)

okay, i am off to the dreadmill now! i didn't get on it yesterday til 7:30 p.m.

Konamouse

Tuesday, January 20, 2004 - 4:49 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
LA Sportclub, the "bar" of the 1980's (aka the Rolling Stone article and Jamie Lee Curtis/John Travola movie "Perfect").

Workout gyms can be intimidating, or they can be motivating. What works for you is not the same as what works for the other person.

Each of us has to find our own inner dolphin to peace & success. "You GO girl" (or boy).

'squeek'

Tabbyking

Tuesday, January 20, 2004 - 4:52 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
kona, i think my gym will work for me if i ever lose 40 pounds and grow 3 inches :)
if you think losing weight is hard for me, try growing taller at age 49 LOL

Max

Wednesday, January 21, 2004 - 6:07 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Well, phooey! I made myself go to the local Bally's today with my 2-week temporary pass in hand. They weren't very busy, but the guy behind the desk didn't know how to process the pass, so I waited until another guy was available to answer his question. I told him that I wasn't in a hurry and that I had never been to a gym (well, I have, but it's been a LOT of years and it wasn't a good experience) and would need a tour and some guidance on how to use the machines.

I waited for about 10 minutes and then he called me over to the desk and handed me the temporary pass and said to show that when I come in and sign in on the clipboard. Then he was done with me. I asked about someone to show me the machines. He gave me the number for the guy who does personal training and said to call him and set it up. I asked when he was around and he said usually Monday to Friday in the daytime. (This was about 2:00 on Wednesday.) APparently, I managed to be there the one time he wasn't.

Anyway, I left. I wasn't about to try and figure out machines without help; I don't need to get injured. I'll call over there tomorrow and see if I can schedule a time with the trainer. This is particularly irritating to me because I had called them this morning and asked if I needed to make any kind of appointment as a first-time gym user and was assured I could come by anytime.

This is NOT helping me get past my gym phobia! I came home and washed both cars instead. At least that's something. :)

Yankee_In_Ca

Wednesday, January 21, 2004 - 9:31 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Max: That sounds horrible. I think that the Bally's you went to has some obvious customer service issues. (My sneaking suspicion is that if you walked in without a free pass, and said you were thinking about signing a big contract w/them -- i.e., spending the dough -- they'd have shown you the machines). They suck! :)

Tabbyking and Max, I completely understand about the environment at many health club/gyms. For that reason, I have always sought out community centers for my workouts. You don't get fancy stuff like towel service, or sometimes even showers (!), but personally I've always appreciated the atmosphere at community centers. Don't know if there are any in your area, but until I found my current gym (which is a very small, focused-on-fitness-not-on-your-attire kind of place), I always sought them out for my workouts.

Sherrie

Thursday, January 22, 2004 - 8:24 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
I am going to Ballys tomorrow. My computer is being worked on over the weekend so I thought what a perfect time to go establish a routine. I will check back in next week and let you know how they treated me.

Max

Friday, January 23, 2004 - 12:33 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Well, I called for the personal trainer today to set up an appointment. Guess what? He wasn't there! The gal who answered the phone was very nice and said she'd have him call me "right away," but he never called back. I'll try again tomorrow. If he's not there this time, I'm talking to the manager. This is very frustrating. If the manager still gives me the runaround, I'm writing to the head office and to the Discovery Channel to express my displeasure.

Sherrie, hope you have better luck than I am having! :)

Max

Saturday, January 24, 2004 - 1:11 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Okay, I waited until 4:30 yesterday before calling Bally's again. This time, the trainer was there. He talked to me for a minute or two before handing me off to another guy who will actually BE my trainer.

We talked for about 20 minutes about what my goals were, what I'm doing now, what they can offer, etc. He was REALLY nice! We set an appointment for 10:00 on Tuesday, so that's when I'll get things rolling.

I hope the packet from the Discovery Channel arrives soon because one week of the two-week pass I downloaded will already be gone by the time I get started at Bally's. I'll talk to the trainer about extending that due to the circumstances and see what happens.

Anyway, I'm much more hopeful now. I was very pleased at what the trainer had to say and how he came across.

I retained a lot of water this week, which finally started letting loose yesterday. Hope I'm down a couple of pounds on Monday morning. We'll see.

How's everyone else doing????

Rissa

Monday, January 26, 2004 - 8:07 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Hey Max. Waited until now to respond.. doing my weigh-ins on Mondays.

Well... I started out intending to follow the site's diet plan to a T. I did have some concerns about the use of bread and pasta but since I am obsessed (and know it) with controlling my blood sugars, I decided to just relax and give it a try. Well, I gained almost 2 pounds in 10 days!!!! This in spite of having a daily calorie count that ranged btn 900 and 1400 (I know it's water not fat... that's why I avoid the starches).

So last Wed., I chucked it and went back to MY diet and as of this morning have lost that 2 pounds of water plus a bit. So with 2.5 weeks passed, I am only down 1/2 pound. {sigh}

I will keep using the site for logging and journalling but am avoiding their diet plan. I am sure it works for 'normal' people but for anyone with diabetic tendencies? Not IMHO

How did you do this weekend? You were hoping to be down a couple... my fingers are crossed for ya!! Now I am off to the treadmill.

Max

Monday, January 26, 2004 - 10:53 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Hi, Rissa! You discovered what is a fundamental truth about diets: there isn't ONE diet that works for everyone. Everyone's body is different and you need to find the balance that works for your body. That's a major problem with diets, IMHO.

I only lost 1/2 pound this week, but that's fine by me. I know I was retaining water for part of the week because I drink a LOT and the output wasn't nearly matching the input. :) Yesterday ended the week with a PT Cruiser Club event that culminated at my all-time favorite pizza parlor (Izzy's for those who know the Northwest) where they have a big buffet. I made myself a big, healthy salad first, then went and got ONE SMALL piece of pizza. Skipped the dessert bar altogether. I felt good when I left, as opposed to most of the other folks who were complaining about how full they were.

Anyway, onward we go! Congrats on your loss! :) :) :)

Meemo
Member

08-13-2003

Wednesday, January 28, 2004 - 11:29 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
aaahhhhh! my first post since i got my computer back!! it had a virus so i haven't been able to check on things. well i'm proud to say since i've started i have not eaten out for lunch i have been bringing my own. i bought a mug that holds the recommended 64 ozs. a day and have been drinking lots of water!! but i still haven't exercised. ugh! i hate it!! but tonight i will make myself!!

Max
Member

09-08-2003

Wednesday, January 28, 2004 - 2:15 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Update on the Bally's situation:

I went yesterday and met with a personal trainer. He was very nice and seemed to know what he's doing. Worked with him a little bit (enough that I'm a bit sore today) and will go back again this afternoon. I hired him for 24 sessions which translates to eight weeks. Not an inexpensive proposition, but hopefully one that pays off in less poundage on my body! :-)

Texannie
Member

07-16-2001

Wednesday, January 28, 2004 - 5:53 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Yea Max! Glad you two finally connected!

Tess
Member

04-13-2001

Wednesday, January 28, 2004 - 6:26 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Whoohooo, Max!!

Max
Member

09-08-2003

Wednesday, January 28, 2004 - 11:39 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Thanks, Texannie and Tess. :-)

Today was visit #2 with Bo, my personal trainer. My thighs were soooo sore this morning, but I did 35 minutes on my exercise bike at one level higher intensity anyway. Went to the gym around 4:00 and spent an hour with Bo working on upper body stuff. Now, my arms are as weak as kittens! He told me to do another 35 minutes on the bike tonight, so I did. I figure I'm payin' the guy, I better do what he says. :-) He's really nice and fun, so it's not too bad.

Friday morning, I'll see him again and we are going to do a test to measure my metabolism and then he'll give me a food diary to work with and we'll work out some more. Wonder when I'll be able to move without aching!

Meemo
Member

08-13-2003

Thursday, January 29, 2004 - 9:57 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
weighed myself this morning and lost 2 lbs!!! very excited.

Konamouse
Member

07-04-2003

Friday, January 30, 2004 - 7:10 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Way to GO!!!!

By the way, I just read a study that showed a significant increased weight loss (on same calorie level diets) for people who included dietary sources of calcium (i.e. 2-3 servings nonfat yogurt or milk) per day. Calcium supplements helped a little bit. And a dietary calcium intake of <500 mg/d was the group that lost the least amount of fat. Oh, the fat loss was central (i.e. belly/peritoneal cavity) fat - the kind that is link to the most harmful effects of being overweight).

'squeek'

Max
Member

08-12-2000

Friday, January 30, 2004 - 8:10 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
WTG Meemo!!! :-)

I went to the gym and got my BMI and metabolism measured today. Also received a meal plan based on the results and a computer program to use for tracking food intake and exercise. Cool stuff. Next week, I'll see the trainer three times. Hope I can still walk and lift a fork when he's done with me!!! :-)

Teachmichigan
Member

07-22-2001

Friday, January 30, 2004 - 8:42 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Tabby...in response to your post way up....

I barely get 30 minutes for lunch, and that's from 'exit' bell to 'start again' bell. Most days it takes at least 5 - 10 min. just to get kids out of room. I'm lucky to spend 15 minutes in lounge eating a grapefruit or something before I head back. Exercise during that time is not an option.

We do allow water in class (and I've had numerous diabetic kids that snack at the beginnings of certain hours)....but w/ 25 computers in the room, they keep it up on my desk. I am able to "sneak" quick things (like a banana or yogurt) between classes because we have 10 minutes between blocks. Even if kids take 5 minutes to leave, I have 5 left so grab a bite.

I got the first "grocery list" for the "basics plus" plan...wowee...for only 3 days it was HUGE! I'm printing out their "recommendations" for fat, protein, etc. for each meal but I've been using "Change One's" eating plan because it's much more flexible. One starch (whole grain), one dairy, one fruit for breakfast....lunch is two starches, protein, fruit and unlimited veggies....etc. If I eat foods that remain w/in the Discovery's numbers, I don't have to follow their recipes quite so closely. So far, it seems to be working! :-)

No Bally's near hear...but next week a galpal and I are joining Curves. One of my friends has lost 7 inches! (And she was only about 5 lb. overweight to begin with! ) Looking forward to it!