The Big BLOB Weight Loss Blog

When I was in Mexico I lost a big chunk of weight and reduced my bulk by two clothing sizes. It didn’t seem like I did any dieting or exercising at all … and I was totally surprized when I came home and weighed myself.

My diet consisted of all teh great fresh veggies and fruits in the local markets. There was a surprizing LACK of sweet things which helped me easily maintain a very healthy eating plan.

My exercise plan was even easier. I didn’t have a vehicle, so I took the local bus (an adventure in itself) or I walked. In the area of Mexico I was staying in, the only paved street was the main roadway through town. All other streets were either dirt roads or cobblestone streets.

Even before I left for Mexico, I had heard about a study that indicated that walking on cobblestones could reduce your blood pressure.

A surprising reduction in blood pressure has been achieved in 16 weeks in a group of normally physically inactive elderly men and women who had regular sessions of walking on mats that replicated smooth, rounded cobblestones, Oregon researchers report in the August issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

Personally, I think that the lowering of blood pressure is because when you are walking on cobblestones you have to concentrate on what you are doing in the moment. No time to be stressing about other stuff because the moment your attention wanders you could find yourself flat on your face or bum.

All it took to lose the weight and firm up the tush was walking around town for an hour or so a day. Some routes had slight inclines that definitely got my heart pumping.

My challenge after coming home to Vancouver has been in maintaining the healthy eating plan … and the walking plan. It has not been the same walking on all the great sidewalks and paven roadways, which is too bad! I am managing to keep the weight off, but have stalled in the “continuing to loose” quest.

So imagine my surprize when I found an Amazon product that is supposed to stimulate the effect of walking on cobblestone streets.

Cobblestone Mat

I found a really cool website that specializes in larger sizes. While many stores charge higher prices for large sizes, I was very surprized to see the extremely reasonable prices at this website.

Just My Size specializes in plus size apparel (14W - 32W). They’ve been in business for over 15 years and offer famous-name lingerie, underwear, bras, panties, clothing, sportswear, pantyhose, socks, swimwear, and shapewear specifically for full-figured women.

Take a look Just My Size

Enjoy looking around!

Melanie

What if you were to act as if you already were a Skinny Mini?

What do Skinny Minis DO that is different from the things BIG BLOBS do?

I have several Skinny Mini friends. This is what they do that I don’t:

Do you suppose that you would soon become a Skinny Mini if you were to start tomorrow and ACT AS IF you were already one?

That means you would:

Tomorrow morning … Get up and declare it to be a SKINNY MINI DAY!

Melanie

I was looking through a magazine last night and found an funny ad for YOGA TOES. What on earth?

So I had to follow up and check out the site to see what it was all about.

Turns out that YOGA TOES helps you exercise the muscles in your feet and legs. This helps realign your bones for stronger, healthier and more beautiful feet.

I guess if I sit there and do this while I watch TV, I won’t feel like such a couch potato. Who knows it may even burn up an extra calorie or so an hour!

http://www.yogapro.com

Look at the testimonials from happy Yoga Toes users …
http://www.yogapro.com/geninfo/testimonials.html

You can also get them at AMAZON

Enjoy your Yoga Toes!!

Melanie

PS In one of Billy Joel’s old, old, old albums there is a song called “popsicle toes”. I can’t get it out of my head, it’s driving me crazy!

Little changes in how you eat and how you move can make a BIG even HUGE difference. Not in a day or a week or even a month … give a pile of small changes a year and see where you are.

After all, you didn’t get to be 50 pounds over your target weight, last week … it probably took a year or maybe even three.

Breakfast Cereal:

Switch from 2% to 1% milk. In a year you’ll save 12,000 calories and over 900 grams of fat.

Love Chicken Nuggets?

Just SIX of these TINY little beasts contain over 28 grams of fat and 500 calories. Give one or two of them to your dog (unless your dog is overweight too!).

Love those Baked Potatoes?

Switch from full fat to low fat or no fat sour cream. Let’s say you have a baked potato once a week. If you blob on two tablespoons of the low-fat stuff (plus butter of course) the switch will save you almost 2000 calories and 300 grams of fat a year. That’s a LOT of fat.

TV Couch Potato?

Get your fat burning machine into gear. Go for a 30 minute walk or run before you turn on the TV … then you can lie on the couch and let your boosted metabolism keep on burning the calories as you veg out.

Oh my God!

Did you know that ONE cheese danish contains WAY more calories and twice as much fat as a fast-food hamburger? And here I thought that by avoiding MacDonalds I was making a healthy choice!

Sandwich Trick

Do you do this? Spread butter on your sandwich bread … and then a layer of mayo? Axe the butter. Just spread the mayo and you’ll never know the difference … except one year later you’ll be several pounds lighter!

And if you are struggling with all of this … try some hypnosis, while you are laying on the couch!

Melanie

By: Dianne Ronnow

It is a common misconception that aerobic exercise tones and firms muscles. Actually it accomplishes very little toning and firming. Resistance exercise (weight training) is where real toning and firming of muscles occurs.

Doing both aerobics and weight training is the optimal way to lose more fat and gain more muscle. If you are trying to lose weight, studies show that weight loss increases by 56 percent with aerobic and strength exercises combined.

Muscle may weigh more, but when you increase your muscle composition, the body is able to burn more fat, even when you are resting, because your metabolism is higher. A pound of muscle will use 350 to 500 calories per week to survive, while a pound of fat only needs about 14 calories per week. New studies have shown that building muscle helps your body fight disease better, too.

Strength training benefits everyone, no matter what age or sex, and is becoming recognized as an important component of fitness. Research is indicating that the muscle loss found in elderly people doesn’t come from age, but lack of activity. Even a young person who doesn’t get enough exercise can lose muscle mass and strength. Strength training, such as lifting weights or performing weight-resistance exercises, as little as twice a week can help maintain or increase muscle mass.

Read the rest of this entry »

Walking is one of my favorite exercises. It is easy, you can do it in ordinary clothing, you can add it into your regular schedule.

Benefits of walking daily:

to lose weight
lesser incidence of cancer, heart disease, stroke, diabetes and other killer diseases
psychological well being
less stress which increases your longevity
increases metabolism,
strengthens muscles
increases flexibility,
improves respiratory function
improves concentration and memory.

So if you’ve a regular visitor to this Blog you are probably interested in #1 … losing weight.

This is a simple formula you can use to determine how many calories are being burned according to your weight and how fast you are walking:

3.0 miles/hour (20-minute mile): Burns .027 calories/pound/minute.
3.5 miles/hour (17 minute mile): Burns .033 calories/pound/minute.
4.0 miles/hour (15 minute mile): Burns .042 calories/pound/minute.
4.5 miles/hour (13 minute mile): Burns .047 calories/pound/minute.

Here’s an example: if you weigh 200 pounds and walk at the 3 miles per hour rate (20-minute mile) for 60 minutes, you multiply 200 by .027, then multiple the result (5.4) by 60. You burn 324 calories.

Now 324 calories for an hours effort may not seem like all that much, BUT the GOOD NEWS is … that because you have increased your metabolism, you will continue to burn more calories in the hours following your walk.

AND consider walking just a bit faster. Here’s the calorie loss for the same 200 pound person walking at various rates:

3.0 per hour for 60 min = 324 calories lost
3.5 per hour for 60 min = 396 calories lost
4.0 per hour for 60 min = 504 calories lost
4.5 per hour for 60 min = 564 calories lost

Happy walking!
Melanie