Lookie here! I be a’claiming!
Wheee!
Category: Diet
Dieting Adventures
Shapely Secrets, lose weight by breathing … is it for you?
Morning,
Over at one of my favorite forums, the question about Shapely Secrets still rages.
For those not in the know, Shapely Secrets uses isometrics to help tone/exercise your muscles in 7 minutes.
That’s the exercise.
If you look at the website disclaimer, you’ll also notice:
*RESULTS VARY. TYPICAL RESULTS ARE 1 SIZE AND 6 POUNDS IN FIRST 14 DAYS. RESULTS BASED ON 7 MINUTE EXERCISE AND 7 SECRETS DIET/LIFESTYLE PROGRAM. CONSULT A PHYSICIAN BEFORE BEGINNING THIS OR ANY EXERCISE PROGRAM. NOT INTENDED FOR USE BY CHILDREN OR PREGNANT WOMEN.
Methinks that “AND” is a pretty huge AND. If you’re on a good diet and lifestyle program, of course you’ll lose inches as well. It’s common sense.
Here are more resources for Shapely Secrets:
What’s that, you want to lose weight by breathing? Check out:
Ah. The joys of wanting to get something for the least little bit of exertion….it truly is inherent within us. But having now been on my weight loss journey for 11+ months, I really do believe that the most optimal way to get healthy…is the one that forces you to confront your personal barriers/limitations and break past what you thought you could never achieve.
Enjoy,
Barbara
ps – here’s what Oxycise looks like!
Looking for diet or low carb or LAWL or … etc. recipes?
One of the great things about the Internet is how easy it is to find just about anything!
Take dieting and yummy food recipes. No matter what diet plan you’re on, you can uncover tons and tons of free super resources like:
And of course, don’t forget generic recipe places like
As you can see, there are lots of great resources online to help you keep to any diet plan you choose. You simply have to go for it and uncover them all.
Enjoy,
Barbara
ps – want even more? Consider:
I am Woman, I am Mommy, I am Me, hear me Roar!
Morning,
A few days ago, I experienced one of the most empowering karate sessions in months! Class size was at a minimum (6 kids plus yours truly – many parent teacher conferences), so our beloved sensei decided to drill us in hand techniques until ideally, our arms fell off.
Now, here is some background. We did the same thing last week only with legs, but because I cannot kick well, I wasn’t able to participate fully. But this time, hand techniques are my specialty, so I decided to ramp up the intensity by proclaiming, hah, you can’t break me!
30 minutes later everyone’s arms in class were quite aching, but nothing that was utter agony for me. But! Our next challenge was to do 10 punches and then 10 pushups, ….repeated a total of three times.
It never fails. If I’m preparing for a massive physical effort, be it pushups, sparring, fighting, etc., I mentally go into myself, the world fades, and all that’s in my vision is my goal that I must first conquer and then utterly decimate. My kids noticed me getting quieter and quieter and more and more focused, and when it was my turn, I …. whupped everyone’s rear with my abilities! 
In other words, I was the only one to successfully complete the challenge without collapsing; I knew I’d succeed and didn’t have to think about it twice.
That by itself was wondrous, but the next hour capped the physical exertion – it was kendo “let’s watch Mrs. Ling get toasted with her non-existent blocks!” time! Lots of the class was spent doing footwork drills and then during sparring, yet again, I felt the full power of one of our main kendo guys. But this time, no fear ensued – I simply learned from the experience and then thanked him again.
After that hour, I picked up my kids – they had wilted due to aikido and the earlier karate time, while I was pumped up and ready to spar anything that looked at me askancely. My gosh, have the times changed….I may be a weee bit older than, say, the last Ice Age, but wow, I’m doing peachy. It’s really quite an eyeopening thing.
Time to start the morning,
Barbara
ps – Being toasted can actually be a good thing! Consider:
Need to figure out your BMI Body Mass Index?
Morning,
Ever want to figure out just how much fat your body should be composed of, based upon your weight and height?
Worry no more! There are some excellent calculators out there like:
Body mass index (BMI) is a measure of body fat based on height and weight that applies to both adult men and women.
* Enter your weight and height using Standard or Metric measures.
* Click on “Compute BMI” and your BMI will appear in the heart of the figure……MORE….
and
BMI Calculator: Harris Benedict Equation
The Harris Benedict Equation is a formula that uses your BMR and then applies an activity factor to determine your total daily energy expenditure (calories). The only factor omitted by the Harris Benedict Equation is lean body mass. Remember, leaner bodies need more calories than less leaner ones. Therefore, this equation will be very accurate in all but the very muscular (will under-estimate calorie needs) and the very fat (will over-estimate calorie needs).
First, determine your BMR using our BMR Calculator or our BMR Formula…..MORE…
Do visit the sites above – they’re quite excellent and will give you some great ideas about your own personal situation.
Enjoy,
Barbara
ps – need some calipers? Lookie here:
I can do a 20 pound assisted pullup!
Morning,
This is major news for me!
You see, back in early 2007, I made a promise to myself that by the end of summer, I’d be able to do one (only one!) pullup by myself.
At the gym, we have this super cool assisted pullup machine – when I started, I worked against a 90 pound offset (‘course, I was 170+ in weight).
I’m now 133, and am able to do an assisted pullup against 20 pounds! This means that instead of lifting 80 pounds, I can now lift 110 or so via my beloved biceps, triceps, deltoids, etc.
I really enjoy trying pullups. They’re quite a super exercise for strength training!
Need a good site? Consider Mistress Krista! She writes:
…..
Pullups are a cool exercise. They look tuff, they feel butch, they’re low-tech, and they are one of the best exercises for all-round upper body strength. Not only are your back, biceps, forearms, and shoulders involved, but you may also feel them in your abs. (Gawd, my abs were sore for a week after my first attempt at pullups… felt like I’d pulled my ribcage out through my nostrils)
Pullups are also darn hard for the average woman to do. Most untrained females who are older than 10 and heavier than 50 lbs can’t do them. The good news, though, is that most trained women CAN do them. It just takes practice, patience, and time. So, if you’ve always wanted to do a pullup, or you have to do a few to pass a military or police fitness test, this article is for you!
The first thing to mention is the role of strength relative to mass. The heavier you are, the more weight you’re going to be pulling up. If you need to do pullups for something like a job-related fitness test and you have excess body fat to lose, then consider dumping some of that body fat overboard (of course, using a sensible nutrition plan of moderate caloric restriction and perhaps some interval training, as recommended elsewhere on this site). The lighter you are, the better your chances. That being said, the heaviest woman I’ve ever seen do a pullup was nearly 200 lbs., so it can be done even if you’re bigger. It’s just that this is one of those areas of physical unfairness where it’s better to be smaller….MORE….
And here’s another inspiring article:
….
On January 1, 2001 – I set a goal to be able to do five chin-ups and three pull-ups by December 31, 2001.
A chin-up is when you pull yourself up with your palms facing you (using a lot of biceps) and a pull-up is when your palms face away from you (using a lot of back muscles). Most people find the chin-up to be the easier of the two.
Looking back to when I first set my goal I remember that my course of action was to gather as much information as I could, make a plan, commit to it, and then make the necessary adjustments along the way.
I gathered information by speaking with several different people including, exercise physiologists, personal trainers, fitness trainers, and athletes. Some thought that a girl wouldn’t be able to do a pull-up, others thought that a girl shouldn’t worry about doing a pull-up; others simply knew a girl could do a pull-up and gave suggestions on how to go about it.
One trainer told me not to worry about doing chin-ups or pull-ups from a dead hang. He thought it was too hard for a girl to do because of her physiology. Does that also mean….MORE….
Now, true, it has passed the summer…and I still cannot do one pullup by myself. Oh well! I can honestly say I did do my best….and there’s always next year as well. Every day is one step closer.
Enjoy,
Barbara
ps – want a pullup bar?
Coffee flavoring goodness with zero calories and zero carbs for diets
Morning,
My beverage of choice is coffee. Coffee is life, life is coffee! Life cannot exist without that precious morning beverage awakening my inner soul and warrior spirit, my mommy persona and my guardian angels, my …. you get the idea.
I’ll tell you now, if a lifestyle change required me forgoing my coffee, Hollywood would not be able to fully capture the searing agony thru which I’d go.
But I digress.
Anywhos, I’ve never been a fan of caloric-punch coffee. You know, the stuff you can get at StarBucks and Duncan Donuts etc.? Even some of the flavored coffees have tons of sugar and stuff that would make it equivalent to chocolate bars and creme cakes!
So instead I learned over at the Low Carb forums there are sugar free and carb-free coffee flavorings one can use. Here are 2 some suggestions.
I’ve tried both, and while both are yummy, I confess I love the Sweetleaf the most. The English Toffee and Milk Chocolate flavors make coffee indescribably yummy!
So if you’re on a diet and a weight loss adventure and you too are addicted to flavored coffee, don’t think you’re stuck with millionCalorie drinks. Some creative searching online will always reveal other goodies you can use…to satisfy your coffee cravings while helping you continue to lose weight.
Enjoy,
Barbara
ps – here are some more Sweetleafs…..
You have only yourself to blame or congratulate for your diet
One of the toughest things I’ve learned over the past 4 or so months is taking ownership of my own emotions and responsibilities.
You see, back in July, my right leg started giving me some major problems. At that time I was 144 pounds or so, and the melting of the fat on my leg reduced the needed cushioning of my femur exostoses. Regular minor front kicks in karate became impossible to do, and more often than not, I had to hold in my right thigh to complete my beloved 2.4 mile circle walks.
Looking back now, I can see now that I had several choices back then. I could have decided, okay, exercise is becoming too tough, and just plain stopped (instead, I modified my workouts).
I could have said, okay, I’m deteriorating as I speak, and forgo my karate and kendo (instead, I modified that as well and do mainly hand techniques).
I could have said, I can always take off the weight while I’m in recovery from surgery, and returned to my original eating habits (instead, I figured EEEEEK! that would give me even more weight to remove in the future).
In other words, I have only myself to either blame, or congratulate, for my choices.
I cannot hoist responsibility on my spouse, my friends, what have you…. for any choice I have made regarding my diet, my health, my weight loss journey, etc.
I own it all. If I had let what others say influence my behavior, then I would have to assume responsibility for being swayed.
My dieting and weight loss results are mine and mine alone. I am the only one who controls what I ultimate choose to do.
Have you internalized this yourself yet? So many times, I’ll hear people say, I want to lose weight, I really do, while they’re snacking on ice cream or reading at the gym instead of working out. I think that happens because they have intellectualized the desire….but it’s not emotionally engraved in their very souls.
When you really and truly want to lose weight, when getting healthy tastes better than any chocolate cake in creation, when you can seriously say, tempt me with calories I will not budge….THEN, and only then, will the weight come off.
But you have to turn the key.
So tell me….at the end of your journey, will you be blaming….or congratulating yourself? I send you lots of good wishes that it’s the latter.
Barbara
ps – Here are some rewards I could imagine congratulating myself with:
The Touch Diet – Acupressure weight loss!
Morning,
I’m a firm believer in many holistic ways of being. I love my aromatherapy (pine, rose and lavender in a hot bath makes heaven close to a place on earth!), I regularly relieve aches and pains in my husband and kids via acupressure massage, and the like.
Recently, I discovered that acupressure can also be used for weight loss too! The theory is there are places behind the ears that help suppress your appetite. Interestingly enough, a good friend of mine reported quite a lot of success for her weight loss journey when she tried it out.
Here are some resources for this:
- Acupressure for Weight Loss
- Acupunction for Weight Loss
- Acupuncture/Acupressure for weight reduction? a systematic review
I always believe the mind works in mysterious ways, so who knows…perhaps it might help you.
Enjoy,
Barbara
ps – here are what acubeads look like:
A neat diet way to beat food cravings while driving the kids
Morning,
You probably have heard how 6 small meals every day is optimal for losing weight (so you always keep your metabolism stoked). ‘course, others vouch for Intermittent Fasting, and still others prefer 3 meals and 2 snacks, and wow oh wow, you simply have to see what works for yourself instead.
That being said, I’ve found that one way to help beat cravings while in the car and away from your home food is to keep a baggie of acceptable snacks by your driver’s seat. In my case, as I’m generally a low-carb person, I’ll pack a bag of beef jerky (yum!) and should my time to eat arrive while I’m in the car, I can quickly grab a bite to satisfy it.
If I wasn’t in low-carb mode, I’d probably slice up an apple or some chicken and keep that while driving. Beverages help a lot too; ever notice how expensive single-servings can be from convenience stores? Buying 2 litre-sized diet sodas and pouring some in your commuter coffee cup is a quick and cheap way to beat those prices.
Enjoy,
Barbara
ps – can’t beat beef jerky!