Conference rocks::weight_control

    Hi Barb,
    
    I sure can identify with what you've said..Having lost a large amount
    of weight my self (over 100 lbs) I know exactly what you're talking
    about.
    
    I personally recommend cosmetic surgery..I've never been happier.
    
    Anyone wanting any info feel free to call me at DTN 297-3220 or at home
    508-485-2565 
    
    And I should add I am usually a read only memeber my name is Roxanne
    Donahue 

    Me too, my Doctor said that time would take out the flaps - and he was
    right.
    
    I lost 110lbs last year, btw, if you're a newcomer.
    
    	- Andy

    Andy............
    
    Did you have any type of cosmetic surgery?  Are the flaps beginning to
    go away by themselves?  Exercise?
    
    Donna.............
    
    Was the cosmetic surgery covered by an Insurance Plan?  My thinking is
    that where it is an elective type surgery it wouldn't be covered....  I
    have Tufts, and certainly would consider the surgery if I could afford
    it, but if a Plan doesn't cover it, I definitely don't think I could...
    I heard it costs over $3,000......  Is this correct or what?
    
    Thanks for your answers guys...
    

    
    	Barbara,
    
    	I can't comment on your question re:sagging skin, as I lost
    	my weight very slowly and the numbers weren't high.  However,
    	I can address your LSA (cute!) question.
    
    	Abdominal exercise will help tighten your abdominal muscles,
    	but will not reduce a 'pot belly'.
    
    	You cannot spot reduce, ie, eliminate the fat in just one area.
    	The best recommendation for getting rid of the extra fat is aerobic
    	exercise.  You do not have to join a gym to get it, either!
    	Take up 'power walking', where you walk quickly enough to get
    	your heart rate in the target zone�, and walk for at least
    	twenty minutes, three times a week.  As this gets easier, add
    	five minutes to your walk, and work your way up (slowly). 
    
    	Congratulations on your loss and good luck attaining your goal!
    
    	Karen
    
    �  To calculate your target zone:
    
    	(220-AGE) = Maximum Heart Rate (MHR) in beats per minute
    	(220-AGE) X .60 = Low end of target zone (Beats per minute)
    	(220-AGE) X .80 = High end of target zone (Beats per minute)
    

    
    Hi..
    
    Andy I think you must have been one of the lucky ones..I had my weight
    off for over four years and nothing made it any better. Or perhaps men
    aren't quite the same as women. You men lose weight faster and it goes
    back in place faster..unfair..
    
    Barb the surgery isn't covered by insurance as far as I know. Mine
    wasn't at least. It doesn't seem quite right does it. It is very
    expensive,yes, But It was the very best thing I could have done for me.
    I can only speak for me . I took a loan out to cover the cost and every
    month when I make the payment I am GRATEFUL....I mean that sincerly
    I finally feel like an attractive, vibrant, finished person.
    
    hang in there it gets better...Roxanne

    
    Before trying surgery (and spending out for it!), it might be worth
    giving some exercise a try.
    
    There's a form of exercise called Callanetics which is ragingly
    popular here in the UK - there are two books on it, both by
    Callan Pickney.
    
    It claims to lift the parts that you thought were unliftable -
    in a very short space of time - and there are photos in the
    first book taken hour by hour to prove this!
    
    The exercise is based on tiny movements - often only a fraction
    of an inch - and the exercises are all designed to protect your
    back and not cause any injury (unlike, arguable, hi-impact stuff).
    The muscle contractions the exercises bring are very deep indeed.
    You don't need special equipment, or a great deal of time.     
    
    Check the books out - it's being hailed as a real revolution in
    exercise here. And to quote (from memory) from the "30 Day Plan" book.....
                                             
    "I had a call the other day from a lady who'd lost 9" from her
    legs using just the exercises. I don't know how you define spot-
    reducing, but this sounds pretty like it to me.....".
    
    She's not claiming to burn fat - "in fact, often results are so good
    that you find you don't need to diet". It's just the toning that
    reduced the inches.......apparently.
   
    I'm going to try this.......
    
    'gail                                                    
    

    I'm simply lucky I guess, with exercise, including swimming, my skin
    tighted up.

    I've lost 90 pounds in the course of a year.  It has been slow and
    steady.  I don't yo-yo - I have committed to total abstinence from
    sugar since I am a sugar addict.   Until I gave it up, my life revolved
    around it totally.
    
    I go contra dancing and skiing, but don't have a regular weekly
    exercise program at this point.  (I do run up and down the stairs from
    ZKO1 to ZKO 3 at least 5 times a day though ;-)  ).
    
    I think that slow and steady and consistent is what my body is best
    equipped to handle.
    
    Holly

    I'm having that same problem of trying to decide on what to do with the
    extra skin.  I mean, once its stretched does it ever go back.  Yes, my
    arms are tightening, but there are places that never will (^'  I simply
    can't fit in any more exercise.
    
    Any further help appreciated...
    
    ...dale

    Dale and others
    
    	really, unless you can afford or desire cosmetic surgery, time _is_
    the answer. Your body _will_ tighten up.
    
    patience, as they say, is a virtue.
    
    
    	- Andy

	There is more info on Callananetics in topic 63.

	Beverly

    I am just starting to lose weight, and need to lose 70#.  I am 25 --do
    you think I will have this problem?
    
    donna

    Do yourself a favor and exercise. This will tone the body as you lose.
    Believe me, you don't want the SLA when you weight what you want to,
    yet can't look yourself in the mirror and admire your achievement.
    
    I have lost 125 and never exercised, until recently. Do I kick myself
    in the butt now!!!  I just made more work for myself in the long run.
    
    Good luck!

    Donna......
    
    I have to agree that you need to start some kind of exercise now....If
    I had, I don't think I would have had to write this Base Note.....  All
    I know is, whatever I've been doing hasn't been right, and at time I
    feel as if it's all going to just keep sliding down my legs and end up
    attached somewhere around my ankles.....Except OF COURSE for that
    damnable LSA.........
    
    Karen........
    
    I'm not sure how to begin the "Power Walking".....  How do you find out
    what your heart rate is when you've been walking for a while....Say 5
    minutes?  I think that will be the way for me to really begin....I live
    in a beautiful, wooded area at the edge of a small lake, and walking is
    just terrific around there....  I've been too lazy this Winter, but now
    would be a good time to start......  ANyway, how do I determine the
    rate of heart beat,.....You told me how to figure what I need to do,
    but then I am stumped...
    
    By the way, Guys, I leave work at 3:00 p.m. so that's why you don't get
    many responses later in the day......  Everything will come in the a.m.
    at 6:30 when I come in......
    
    I think writing together like this is great.....I know it is for
    me....I hope it is a great for everyone else......
    
    Good night, All...........
    
    Barb

    Barb,

    	To check your heart rate, you want to take your pulse.  The
    easiest way to do it while you're exercising is to divide those
    numbers (low and high ends of range) by 6, and that will give you
    your 10 second pulse count.

    	For example, my low end is 118 - divided by 6 is 20.
    My high end is 167 - divided by 6 is 28.  So while exercising, I
    want my 10 second pulse rate to be between 20 and 28 beats.

    	(You can also take a 6 second count, and add a 0 to the end of
    the number you get, but the 10 second count is more accurate.)

    	amy

    Thanks, Amy!
    
    	Also Barb, in case you're not sure how to find your pulse:
    
    	Place three fingers (Index, middle, and ring fingers) on your wrist
    	(palm facing up, along the right edge of the wrist, just below
    	 the bone).  Looking at a second hand on a watch, count the
    	number of beats you feel in 10 seconds, with the first beat
    	being ZERO.  Then, see where this number is in your range (like
    	Amy explained).  You may want to practice locating and taking your
    	pulse at rest, to get the feel for it.  While walking, if you find
    	it difficult to keep walking while doing a pulse check, stand in
    	place, but keep your feet moving, so your heartrate won't start
        to come down.
    
    	Another thing you can do while working out is ask yourself,
    	"How hard am I working?".  If you can't talk, you're working
    	too hard.  If you feel you are exerting yourself, but not
    	so much that you can't sustain it, you're probably on target.
    	If you feel like you're strolling in the park, you might want
    	to pick up the pace.  A good thing to do when you start exercising,
    	is to take your pulse, then notice how your body feels at that
    	heartrate.
    
    	Happy Exercising!
    	Karen
    
    

    Thanks for the reply's regarding excercising AND dieting.  I will start
    excercising today.
    
    donna
    

    I am really excited today.  I had forgotten until late last week, that
    my HMO (Tufts) has a fitness plan included in the package.  I have some
    information coming about where I can go9, and how much, and all that
    stuff.  It pays the membership fee to the place of your choice and you
    only have to pay a $3.00 co-payment for each visit.......  So, I think
    I will begin heading to the Franklin YMCA very soon, and can begin an
    exercise program that will help a lot........
    
    Just wait........This summer is going to be a whole new experience.  I
    can hardly wait.....  Thank God I chose that HMO when I started out
    here.  Gonna pay off for me now.......I thinhk.....
    
    Hooray!!!!!!!!!!!
    
    Barb

    Exercise is great for tightening everything up but it is also important
    to drink milk (skim if you can handle it--I know, I know, no one
    likes it at first but I drank WHOLE milk until a year and a half
    ago and now I don't like the taste of anything but skim)
    
    Try rubbing cocoa butter all over (if it doesn't work at least it's
    fun)
    
    Keep us posted.
    
    Sylvia