Exercise and Weight Loss: Abandon All Hope

[hsmom]

Lillian,

I may have posted links to the wrong page as Miriam Nelson's original program was about strength training - gaining muscle strength, stronger bones, and toning, and not about losing weight. I read her first book, Strong Women Stay Young and not the website. Here is an excerpt from the first chapter.

Maida Lois used to stop her mother, also named Maida, when she started to lift something heavy. "Let me carry that," she'd say; "After all, I'm younger." Maida Lois is 39 and she runs five miles five days a week. The older Maida is 66 and until she began strength training, she had never been physically active. Recently the two Maidas took a series of tests to compare their strength. Maida Lois didn't hold back. "I got competitive," she admits; "I tried hard."

It didn't help: Maida outscored her daughter on three of the four tests. These days, she does her own lifting. "After all," she tells Maida Lois, "I'm stronger."

In high school, Evelyn wore a size 16. At age 30, she had her first child and her weight climbed to over 200 pounds. Then she came to work at Tufts University. "I started doing aerobics and got down to 160 pounds. I was thinner, but complete flab," she recalls. What's more, her weight loss stalled. Inspired by her colleagues' research - and the success stories all around her - Evelyn started strength training, and dropped the last 30 pounds.

Now 38 and the mother of two, Evelyn recently attended her twentieth high school reunion. She recalls a thrilling evening: "Some of my girlfriends never got back in shape after having kids - and there I was in a slinky black evening dress, size 6."

Miriam E. Nelson, PhD, is one of the Tufts University scientists who developed this remarkably successful exercise program. Her research created news worldwide when the results were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Now Dr. Nelson has written Strong Women Stay Young, to translate her laboratory findings into a safe, simple and effective program that any woman can follow at home.

My study followed 40 postmenopausal women for a year. All were healthy, but sedentary; none was taking hormones. Half the volunteers - the control group - simply maintained their usual lifestyle. The others came to the Tufts University laboratories twice a week and lifted weights.

Most women begin to lose bone and muscle mass at about age 40; in part because of this, they start to slow down. And that's exactly what happened to the women who didn't exercise. One sedentary year later, their muscles and bones had aged, and they were even less active than before.

The women who lifted weights changed too - but in the opposite direction. After one year of strength training, their bodies were 15 to 20 years more youthful.

They became stronger - often even stronger than when they were younger.
Without drugs, they regained bone, helping to prevent osteoporosis.
Their balance and flexibility improved.
They were leaner and trimmer, though eating as much as ever.
The women were so energized, they became 27 percent more active.

No other program has ever achieved comparable results.

What strength training can do for you

A challenging, progressive strength-training program can build muscles and increase strength in women of all ages. But Miriam Nelson's study proved that the benefits go even further. Besides the great gains in strength, here's what strength training does:

Halts bone loss - and even restores bone
Each year after menopause, a woman typically loses one percent of her bone mass - even more during the first five post-menopausal years. Over time, she may develop osteoporosis, a condition in which bones become so porous they easily break. Strength training stopped the clock here too. The women who didn't exercise lost about 2 percent of their bone density over the year of the study. But the women who strength trained not only didn't lose bone, they gained 1 percent.

Improves balance
Our ability to stay in balance declines with passing years. As a result, falling becomes a significant hazard later in life, especially if bones are weak. The women who didn't exercise showed an 8.5 percent decline in balance over the study period. In contrast, the women in the strength-training group improved their balancing ability - their test scores went up by 14 percent.

Helps prevent bone fractures from osteoporosis
The improvements in strength, bone density and balance have special significance for women because they dramatically reduce the risk of fractures from osteoporosis. This is a serious problem: A woman of seventy faces 30 percent odds that she will break her hip if she lives another twenty years.

Hormones, calcium supplements and medications offer a degree of protection from bone loss. However, strength training not only builds bone, it cuts the risk of fractures by improving strength and balance to help prevent falls. What's more, all these benefits come without worrisome side effects.

Trims and tightens
Participants in the JAMA study were asked to maintain their weight over the year. Though the scale didn't change, their appearance did. Instead of dropping pounds, the women who exercised lost inches.

Helps control weight
Strength training is a dieter's best friend. First, it promotes aerobic activity, which burns calories. Second, it boosts metabolism. That's because muscle is active tissue and consumes calories; stored fat, on the other hand, is inert and uses very little energy.

Energizes and revitalizes
After a year, the non-exercise group became 25 percent less active. But the women in the strength-training program were 27 percent more active than before. It makes sense: The stronger you are, the easier it is to move.

The most exciting part of this study was something harder to measure: the transformation of the volunteers. They didn't expect their bodies could change much, not at their age. But after just a few months they were stronger, trimmer and more energetic than they ever dreamed they could be again - and they were thrilled. Who wouldn't be?

[hsmom]

Mayleng,

I share the same problem; I am 148 cm. which is not quite 5' so I understand how a little increase in pounds can look. I am trying to lose 10 lbs. and go from petite size 6-8 to size 4-6.

Healthy,

I find that the only place I can buy swimsuit now is Land's End as it's one of the few places where I can get a bottom and a top in different sizes. They also make it easier to mix and match from many different styles.

Lillian,

Gosh, I don't know what to say. Gaining weight and probably fat, too, after menopause is the first time I have any breasts.

[healthy11]

I'd forgotten about the Land's End site (and they even offer "live" phone support if you have questions about sizing before ordering) so thanks for the reminder!

[Mayleng]

hsmom, I just want to lose 15 lbs, and it is not budging at all. Very frustrating.

[lillian12]

Hsmom,

I want that book! I'm going to order it today. I'm doing Pilates on a reformer machine, which is considered weight resistance training, and I love it. I weighed in yesterday, and I'm staying at a thirty-five pound loss, but I've lost 58 pounds of body fat (my personal trainer has a scale that measures body fat, water, and muscle), which is the reason I've lost my breasts, I guess. In fact, I think about 90% of the weight I've lost has been in the front--my chest and stomach. I suspect my age as being another reason for losing my breasts--women can either lose or gain weight in their breasts when they are menopausal age. Perhaps, I was doing the latter already and hadn't noticed it. On the upside, I've gained 23 pounds of muscle, and my water has stayed pretty much the same.

[healthy11]

Lillian, how did you find/select your personal trainer? I've always debated about the merits of "getting off on the right foot"with an exercise program, as opposed to my "same 'ol routine" at the local Y, but I am skeptical about paying anyone, who might be no more knowledgeable than I am...

[lillian12]

My husband found her and had been using her for about two years? Something like that. One day last year, I went to the gym and saw the reformer machines. I was curious because I had always wanted to try Pilates with reformers, but I never had seen the machines. She urged me to come in and try them, but I put it off, not wanting to start an exercise program because it took time and did absolutely nothing for my weight problems. Well, this past summer I felt so bad--no energy, kind of depressed, lethargic--I decided to exercise just to see if it made me feel better, never thinking it would help me lose weight.

On my first day of training, she asked me about my weight. I told her that exercise had not helped, at all, and I had seen a doctor a few years ago because of my weight, and he did all kinds of tests and said I was in great health, just a large woman, and there was nothing wrong with that. She urged me to try the diet I now am on, saying to try it for just one month and see what happened. I couldn't believe it! I lost eight pounds and sixteen pounds of body fat the first month. I was dehydrated, according to her scales, and I gained water to make up for the difference, which was a good thing.

Personally, I think getting a personal trainer, who knows what she is doing, has been extremely beneficial for me. One, because she told me about the diet, and two, because she pushes me and makes me do more than I think I can do. As far as qualifications are concerned, she won Miss Texas in body building a few years ago, which makes me think she knows what she is doing. I hope so! I'm not sure how you know this for sure.

[michellea]

Does this mean that if I lift twice a week I can begin to get my body back? I really HATE exercising but the weight I've gained since turning 50 is alarming. To some extent, if I could just get rid of the "muffin tops", I'd at least feel better.

[healthy11]

So, did your husband select her due to her affiliation with the gym he goes to? Does she participate in body builder competitions? (Mind if I ask her age?) What I have witnessed at the Y that I go to is many of the so-called "trainers" are younger, and "ripped" with muscle, but I doubt they can relate well to 50-somethings whose bodies don't respond in the same way.
I think it's great that you saw an immediate to the new diet and exercise program, but I have good energy and decent tone, and don't have a ton of excess weight (I'm 2 lbs. heavier than I was at age 13) although it is definitely "settling" into my stomach area...I attribute that specifically to stretching during pregnancy and then having the muscles cut for a c-section. I'd love to loose the "gut" but I don't think there's any "spot exercise" that really would accomplish it.

[lillian12]

He saw the gym and stopped in, talked to her, and decided to use her for his personal trainer. She's in her early forties and has stopped body building competitions because 1) she won, so what's left? 2) she doesn't like the strict diet they have to be on. She trains others for competitions, now. There's one lady, who has been training with her, and is forty-eight. She just won third in the state competition. So, it's a body-building gym, not like a Y or a 24-Hour Fitness. You can't just go there and work out. It's only personal training. Why are you looking for a trainer? It doesn't sound to me like you need one, if you aren't concerned about your energy, health, or body build.

[Mayleng]

lilian, if you don't eat carbs, what do you eat. I have reduced sugar etc. but missing my rice and pasta is a tough one (not that I am gourging myself on them). I moderate my portion size but since menopause nothing seems to work. I am sure I have muscle weight as well since i have been working out for the last few years but still need to lose a few pounds to feel good.

Healthy, take up belly dancing, that should tone up your abs.

[healthy11]

Lillian, my health is always a concern; my family history is terrible, with my dad having heart problems and not making it to 60, and my mother having had heart problems, several bouts of breast cancer, thyroid issues, and diabetes, plus horrible osteoporosis. I am trying hard to stay active (in between my part-time job which has me sitting at a computer all day) and I generally try to consume a healthy diet (I'm one of those people who always eats breakfast, and nibbles throughout the day, rather than just eating large portions at lunch and/or dinner) but since I'm now several years past 50, I can tell my "weight is settling," my metabolism isn't the same as it was, and I'm not as firm as I'd like to be. (Heck, even my face is "settling" what with wrinkles around my eyes that didn't used to be there, either!)

I would like to incorporate some strength training into the aerobics (mostly elliptical) that I currently do every other day. There's a Pilates 45-minute mat class I attend once a week. After tearing my hamstring a few years ago, and having a sore lower back, I want to be darn sure I don't injure any other muscles or rotator cuff or anything else if I start to do weight/strength training of any kind. (I don't "like" exercising to begin with, but I've seen the ramifications of my parents not doing it, so I keep trying. I need extra motivation to increase what I currently do.)

Mayleng, I did consider a belly dancing class, but the instructors seemed to have more "paunch" than I do! I think they subscribe to the "European" view of women in art, where having a little bit of weight was a sign of wealth because you could afford to relax/dance, and had plenty of food, in contrast to the "common work folk."

[lillian12]

Mayleng,

I do eat carbs--potatoes, corn, brown rice, and oatmeal. I don't eat bread, pasta, white rice, cheese, or sugar. No soft drinks (or pop, as you guys up north call it), no pie or cake or cookies or candy bars, no pasta, no bread, and no cheese. I eat just about everything else. I have always loved fresh, whole foods, so the transition was not nearly as difficult for me, as I thought it was going to be. I never overate as an adult, either, so that's made it easier for me, too. I've just substituted food I already like for food I've given up, or I just leave out the food I can't eat. For example, instead of snacking on pita bread, feta cheese and olives (one of my favorite snacks), I eat nuts. I don't have a biscuit with my breakfast. I still eat my etoufee, but I serve it on brown rice and don't eat garlic bread with it.

When I went over my diet years ago with the doctor whom I saw to discuss my weight issues, he said I had a very healthy diet--lots of vegetables, fruits, organic meats, and grains. When I went over my diet with my personal trainer, she pointed out that I was eating refined carbs at every meal, and I ate sugar and cheese daily. Regardless of how many fresh fruits and veggies I ate, the refined carbs, sugar, and cheese were going to put weight on me. It's all about blood sugar, actually, when you get down to the biology of it. The diet I am on is the one that is recommended for diabetics. And, I really shouldn't call it a "diet" because it isn't. It's a change in what I eat and how often I eat it, which has caused readjustment of my blood sugar.

[healthy11]

Lillian, I must've been posting at the same time as you, but given what you say about blood sugar, do you eat small meals more frequently throughout the day? I've done it as long as I can remember, and I really do believe that has helped me to maintain my weight/energy levels, even though I don't restrict any kind of foods.

[lillian12]

Healthy,

Yes, but I've done that kind of naturally with this new way of eating. It's interesting. It doesn't take as much at one sitting to fill me up, and, again, I've never overeaten, as an adult. When I was a teenager, you bet, but not as an adult. Still, I'm finding that I don't want as big of portions of food, which has caused me to eat smaller portions throughout the day. Strange. I don't know why this is so.

[lillian12]

The other day, I saw a medically recommended diet, and it was the 1/3, 1/3, and 1/3 rule. Look at your plate, and you should see it filled with 1/3 lean protein, 1/3 fresh fruits or veggies, and 1/3 grain, and I thought, there's going to be a lot of heavy Americans, if they are filling up their plates like that at every meal, with no concern for the kind of grain they are eating. If 1/3rd of your plate is bread, oh, well. I did that for years, thinking I was eating healthy, and I ended up a good forty pounds overweight.

[Mayleng]

Lilian, I don't take candy, no sugar except one teaspoon with my coffee, no cheese, no pop, no sugary drinks, I do eat rice/noodles and pasta (not a huge amount) and I basically only take 2 meals a day, I rarely snack. I might have a small bite of chocolate once in a while. I take 1% fat milk with my coffee and never use butter or animal fat in my cook, mostly vegetable oil. sigh!

[healthy11]

Mayleng, maybe you should try more nibbling throughout the day, instead of 2 full meals! And they always say, breakfast is the most important, so don't skip it!

[Mayleng]

I take a brunch instead of a breakfast and lunch. I can't eat too early in the morning, I have never been able to eat in the morning and my kids are the same. And that isn't a full meal, maybe 2 pieces of toast, a bowl of noodles, eggs etc. Something light. Dinner is the only meal that is a full meal, portion size is no where near what american's eat.

If I get hungry in between, I would nibble rice cakes etc. low calory stuff. (taste like cardboard).

[lillian12]

Mayleng,

I've wondered if maybe I'm borderline diabetic because this new way of eating has worked for me. I don't know. I'm just glad I FINALLY found something that did. I had accepted my weight, but, I must admit, it feels good to be thinner, again. It feels good to be able to wear all different kind of clothing, belts, smaller sizes, where the choices are greater, etc. There is a HUGE difference between the style of clothes you can buy when you wear a ten or a twelve, compared to the styles you can buy when you are filling out a sixteen.

[lillian12]

Mar 31, 2010 14:01:12 GMT -5 Mayleng said:

I take a brunch instead of a breakfast and lunch. I can't eat too early in the morning, I have never been able to eat in the morning and my kids are the same. And that isn't a full meal, maybe 2 pieces of toast, a bowl of noodles, eggs etc. Something light. Dinner is the only meal that is a full meal, portion size is no where near what american's eat.

If I get hungry in between, I would nibble rice cakes etc. low calory stuff. (taste like cardboard).

Mayleng,

Notice all the refined carbs you mention--a couple pieces of toast for breakfast, rice cakes for a snack, a bowl of noodles. See, we've gotten used to doing this in this country. We eat refined carbs like crazy, but if they are low fat or low cal, we say it's O.K. Your blood sugar disagrees (well, at least mine did). As far as fat is concerned, your body must have good fat--olives, olive oil, nuts. There's apparently a new book out about putting good fats with every meal to help you lose weight, particularly in your stomach. I haven't read the book, so I can't say if it's any good or whether or not I agree with it.

[Mayleng]

When I say I snack with rice cake in between meals, it's not everyday and very rare. In fact for the last week, I have not snacked at all. I do eat my noodles and rice (I am Chinese after all, LOL!) I can't give those up. But I figured if I keep my calorie count down, I should be ok. At this rate, I will not be eating anything at all. LOL! I have to kickstart my metabolism somehow. I am a size 8, but for my height I really need to be a size 4/6.

[healthy11]

My husband is of average built and exercises daily (alternating aerobics & weightlifting), but has a penchant for desserts...He was disappointed to see his cholesterol rising over the years, but recently decided to incorporate more "healthy snacking" (walnuts, almonds) into his diet, and reduce (not eliminate) the portion sizes of his desserts (we'll eat frozen yogurt instead of ice cream, for example.) His doctor was shocked at the improvement, in just a couple of months, claiming that my husband is one of only a handful of people that said they would try to adjust their diet, and have actually done so!
I think there may be some validity to the "good oils" claim....

[lillian12]

Maleng,

If you are wearing a size eight, you're fine!!! Good grief! I'm sitting here laughing, as I'm typing this--you want to be a 4/6. I'm sorry. I'm trying to find some sympathy within myself, and I just can't do it.

Healthy,

Very interesting info about your husband. I have always been against low fat diets, which eliminate healthy fats. Your body needs good fat for healthy skin and a healthy heart. It "oils" your parts, if you will. I really need to get the book I mentioned and read it because I never thought the good fat could help you lose weight, too. I'd like to know what the biology is behind it.

[Mayleng]

Lillian, LOL! (I can see a lot of eye rolling going on, te hee!) I know I am not fat but unfortunately at 5 ft, size 8 is still "chubby". A few years ago I lost about 16 lbs and it felt and looked better. My bad knees and back felt a lot better. Then even though i was working out but did relaxed a little on the diet, the weight slowly crept back on again to where I was before i started exercising and changing my eating habits. I started feeling tired and had more aches and pain. It just seems the body wants to go back to that weight again, it has not gone over and I hover at 134/136 lbs. This time because of menopause it is sooooo much harder to lose any weight at all and near impossible to maintain that weight. I think my optimal weight for my height is around 118lbs to 122 lbs.

[Mayleng]

I think the good fats are olive, nuts and fish oil, not animal fat.

[lillian12]

They keep changing optimal weight for one's height. It used to be that you were given 100 pounds for 5' and five pounds for each inch after. That means that my optimal weight would be 150; yet, I recently saw a chart that put my old optimal weight of 150 near the top of the chart of weight ranges for my height, with 135 being the lowest and 155 being the highest!!! OMG! I've been very thin, never weighing over 130 pounds till I was in my twenties, and I was skin and bones. I can't believe that anyone would recommend that someone my height weigh 135 pounds! So, I don't know what to tell you about weight/height correlations, but a size eight sounds teeny to this tall woman!

[lillian12]

O.K. Here we go.

www.myoptumhealth.com/portal/ManageMyHealth/Healthy+Weight+Calculator

I put in 5'10" and the range is 129-175! WHAT??? 129? Are they out of their minds???

[Mayleng]

Now you see my problem. LOL!

I don't want to be skin and bones (it really makes you look older), however, I think around 120 lbs, I would feel better, at least my knees and back would. Before I had kids, I was 95lbs. Everytime I went over 100lbs I got sick and would lose all the weight. Since having kids, it has been hard to lose weight and moving to the US did not help because the portion size and as you mentioned the refined sugar in everything just did me in.

Doesn't help that my family and friends in Singapore (who do not diet nor exercise) is thinner than I am.

I just did my BMI and it says I am overweight.

[lillian12]

Here's a BMI calculator. It still says that 129 lbs. at 5'10" is not underweight!!! It's the lowest you can be and not be underweight, but...BOGUS, I tell ya!

www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/