Susanne

I have been largely inactive but I have now fully taken to the bike and actually did a 100 miles ride a couple of weeks ago. I try to ride at least 100 miles a week and have neglected the running a bit. But the road bike is so much fun!!!

Oh boy, it's on sale again, this time for $14.99! http://www.gnc.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3513370&clickid=cart Again, no affiliation with GNC and I don't get anything if you click this...but you get the best tasting chocolate Protein :-)

Sorry for the late reply, and I am glad I could be of service! :-) I was never a runner, so I am even more excited that I can do it -- and actually like it Running a 5k was great, but really nothing beat the thrill of having finished the triathlon. If you have one in your area, I can highly recommend it!

The gummies have MUCH less vitamins, that is true. If you cannot stomach anything else, you'll just have to have more gummies. Unfortunately, that also means more calories. I know my nephew just said that he has the hardest time when taking vitamins on an empty stomach -- how are you taking yours? Have you tried taking them after a meal?

The bike was really my most comfortable art. See, when I am running, I am basically always at close to max. If someone is running in front of me, there is usually very little I can do to catch up. On the bike on the other hand, there is always just that little bit more that I can ush out. I think a big part is just that I do not have to carry my weight on my feet/knees/legs alone. I was racing with my SIL's helmet, I haven't gotten around to getting my own and needed to return the other one. I want to get my own helmet and then see how I can incorporate the bike as transportation. I am thinking I am riding with my husband to his work, then get the bike off the rack and ride to my work which is about 8 miles. After work, I can chose...have him pick me up at work, ride back to his work and get another 8 miles in -- or be very ambitious and ride home which is about 17 miles! The good thing is, not only do I save on gas, I am also saving time because I am combining my ride to and from work with a 1+ hour exercise and the time I would usually sit on my fat a$$ in the car is rolled into my work out.

Well, I'd care, but you know what I mean :-)

Same here, this has been awesome. In the end, I like the slimmer shape of my butt and legs more than a number. In the end, no one knows your number, but everyone sees your legs, you butt etc. Hey, if I can look like a model while weighing 300 pounds, I don't care :-)

So, today was my triathlon, and I did a separate topic for this. Come and visit me here: http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/20540-why-not-try-a-tri/

So, I survived it :-) I finished in 1 hour 49 minutes and it was amazing! Swimming was as bad as I expected. I was able to pull through with a steady breast stroke but of course everyone else was freestyling and really, breast stroke can't keep up with that. I came out of the Water with only 3 people behind me -- well, I came out of the water and didn't die out in the lake, right? I had high hopes for my bike ride. I started all alone, the crowd was already gone, and it took a while until I started to spot a bike at the horizon. I kicked it up and started to pass him. Next I passed a couple, then a group of three, then some young dude, another group of two and as I kept passing people I kept thinking "Yeah, I am totally still in this!" I think I passed between 18 and 20 people on my bike, fit and athletic people and it took me 50 minutes for the 14 mile ride. Next up was the running...oh, the running. OK, a 5k now...I thought "You gotta be kidding me". But somehow, I made my little footsies go pat-pat-pat and I almost ran the whole 3 miles with only minimal walking up the two hills. The run took me about 35 minutes, and while it was slower than both of my other 5ks, I had to keep reminding myself that this was after a big swim and an even bigger bike ride. All in all, it was amazing. I met my three goals which were (in the order of importance): 1. Don't die 2. Don't be last 3. Finish in under 2 hours I have been riding the couch for the rest of the day and enjoying my victory. My husband is beaming with pride and so am I. What a wonderful experience...if I could change one thing, I would have tried and practice the swim a little more

OMG, what have I gotten myself into? I actually got talked into doing a triathlon...well, not really talked into, but at first some one asked me to just run their part because of a foot injury, and then she didn't want to do it at all and in a moment of confidence I decided "Sure, I can do a tri" It's just a sprint triathlon, ie. 0.4 miles swimming, 14 miles cycling, 3 miles running but never the less -- I am still far out from athlete figure and with a BMI of 32 still obese. WTF is an obese woman doing at a triathlon??? Well, if you don't hear back from me, I drown, got run over or just died on the last leg, LOL! PS: Yes, this post is bragging but at the same time I can really use some encouragement!

And just to get this up again, I did my next 5k on 6/25 exactly 6 weeks after the first and I improved my time by 2:36 minutes. I now finished in 30:42 -- so close to under 30, but no cigar. This course was a little easier, and the to runners were around 15 seconds faster, so when I extrapolate this, 30 seconds improvement are on the faster course and 2 minutes are my training! Woohoo! I am not letting the insanity stop there, I signed up for a triathlon which is this Saturday, 7/2. It is almost like Sprint distance. Sprint distance is 750 m swim, 20 km bike, 5 km run and mine is 640 m swim, 22 km bike, 5 km run -- I think at some point they just have to do what "matches nature" for some of the disciplines. Anyway, I haven't trained the swimming at all, so that's gonna be my embarrassing event, but I should be able to do the bike and run fairly well. I got a new bike, a Giant road bike and I love it!

Hi all, I know a lot of people like the GNC Wheybolic Extreme. It is my all time favorite Protein, the chocolate has very little aftertaste and the vanilla is also a great albeit slightly bland flavor. Usually, it is VERY expensive, but right now they have it on sale for $16.99 -- this is today only, online only, and only for the small bag not the 3lbs container. I am using this since years - even pre surgery and I still love it. Mixes easily, tastes like light chocolate milk and has nothing like the bad aftertaste of the other Protein shakes. The nutritional info is also very favorable. It only has the good protein isolates (not the cheap protein concentrates). 60g of protein for 280 calories If you always wanted to try it, this is a great time to do so. If you don't like it, no loss as you can return it to your GNC store in the mall. Come and get it here: http://www.gnc.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3513370 Price is applied in the cart. Enjoy! Susanne

For stomach content, volume is maybe better even though theoretically the same issue applies. A cup of whole strawberries weighs a lot less than if you cut them into quarters -- but that will also make a huge difference in your stomach. Whole, it's probably 5 to a cup, if you cut them, it's more like 10 and your stomach will surly feel that difference too. For counting calories and logging food weighing is pretty much a must if you want to be accurate. With our small calorie amounts - I am shooting for 900 - 100 calories over or under has a much bigger impact than in a 2000 calorie diet (2.2x as much, LOL) With my Protein, if I use 3 scoops and compare it to the weight, I am about 30% calories over -- I don't mind the extra protein, but it also is big calorie hit. Same with Cereal - 1 cup from a fresh box is much less than 1 cup from the bottom of the box which has much smaller pieces. With "loose" items or calorie dense items, I would not go without weighing it. Plus, for me it makes less of a mess. I have big yogurt containers so if I weigh out a portion, I don't have any additional dishes like measuring cups. I use the spoon I eat with and spoon it into the dessert bowl that is sitting on the scale. If eye-balling it works for you, that's great. For me, I am too much of a virgo to accept this "unknown".

You could start with something like this: http://www.6pm.com/n...ing-white-black I have one of those and they are fairly firm around the belly and actually have a fairly nice top bra section. Not enough to hold me in a full run, but for a lot of lesser impact exercise, this is actually enough to hold me in. It is long enough so it doesn't roll up (on me at least). The price is definitely right to just give it a try, worst case scenario you bought a summer top :-) I actually have a similar issue with my thighs. They don't clap but I really wanted something to keep my held together tightly. I found these here to be perfect! http://www.zappos.co...ion-short-black (I fit in an XL) http://www.zappos.co...ion-short-black (these are the plus sizes that are also 1.5 inches longer) They are not too long but they cover what I consider my problem areas (thighs and a$) and they give a really tight hold without being uncomfortable. They do not roll up or pull down. Not any of the other compression shorts I tried (ie. Nike, Under Armour, New Balance) offered even remotely the same stability. I just finished my first 5k, so I think I totally know how you feel :-)

The official pictures are out, this is shortly before the finish line and my husband was hollering my name so I waved at him. I thought it was so cool that they got me right that moment! I think this is fairly close to the finish line too, but I am not sure. It definitely looks like I lost a bit of the "good form" while running with my left arm churning. And last but not least, I am crossing the finish line, hooray - my first 5k! (and 34:37 was gun time, I did 33:18)