Muscle Loss and Age

[Jibralta]

With artificial sweeteners don't you have a blast of energy followed by an abrupt plunge of energy? It happens to me during the day because I chew many gums and I get a weird feeling of "dizziness"(I can't describe it) and I need to get another gum. It sucks.

 

Yes, a sugar crash! Even though not technically 'sugars,' the artificial sweeteners do spike your glycemic index. They can also wreak havoc with your stomach.

 

Can't you drink black coffee?

 

Yes, if it's espresso or something with a very strong flavor. But I find that I actually drink coffee more for the sweetener (artificial or sugar) than for the caffeine. When there's no sweetener, my coffee intake gradually diminishes. I haven't had coffee in two weeks!

[Jibralta]

Don't you calculate the proteins and carbs from the labels on the products?

 

Yes, the WW system just simplifies things.

 

My boyfriend makes a big spreadsheet and calculates macronutrients for every single thing he eats. I love excel, but that type of task is not for me. I like broad strokes.

[Jibralta]

Something I meant to mention yesterday: the "shadow" lifting exercises, like weightless curls, rows, etc., are starting to feel less ridiculous to me.

 

When I start lifting weights after a long period of not lifting weights, my arms shake the first couple of times. This happens even with the lightest of weights. I think it has to do with developing stability. Like my muscles, tendons, and ligaments all get loose or something. Anyway, it goes away pretty fast. I think I've reached this no-shake stage now, with these weightless exercises, and it's probably time to start adding weights.

 

Today I did the HIIT workout that I've been doing. Last Saturday I repeated it four times; today I could only manage three and a cool-down. Each set was about an hour apart.

 

I intermittently (and irregularly) took my heart rate throughout. The rests in the middle of the work out are 1 minute each.

During the first two workouts, I went as fast as I could. I know my butt was up on the lizard hops. During the last workout, I went slower and concentrated on my form.

 

Fast HIIT Cardio Workout to Boost Metabolism - 5 min (15 minutes total, over two hours)

 

12PM

Starting heart rate: 72 bpm

Lizard Hops - 12, 10.5

Burpee Jacks - 6, 6

Beginning of rest heart rate: 180

End or rest heart rate: 156

Lizard Hops - 15, 8 - got some muscle fatigue in upper thighs!

Burpee Jacks - 6, 6

Ending heart rate: 186 bpm

 

1PM

Starting heart rate: 120 bpm

Lizard Hops - 13, 10 - fatigue again

Burpee Jacks - 6, 6

Beginning of rest heart rate: 180

Lizard Hops - 12, 6

Burpee Jacks - 5, 6

Ending heart rate: 186 bpm

 

2PM - just total fatigue

Lizard Hops - 8, 6

Burpee Jacks - 6, 5

Beginning of rest heart rate: 174

Lizard Hops - 7.5, 6

Burpee Jacks - 5, 5

Ending heart rate: 180 bpm

 

Fitness Blender Cool Down Workout - 13.5 min

Toe Touch Stretch

Inside Thigh Stretch

Wide Toe Touch

Quads Stretch

Hip Flexor Stretch + Arm Cross Pull

Triceps Stretch

Downward Dog

Downward Dog with Leg Lifts/ Hip Openers - I didn't notice the same flexibility issue as last time. Maybe I wasn't paying attention. It was challenging.

Plank Calf Stretch - I know my butt was up in the plank

Modified Pigeon

Cobra Pose

Child's Pose

Deep Glute Stretch

Torso Twist

Full Body Stretch - Still causes muscle spasms in my mid-back

[Jibralta]

I felt much better during this session than I did when I exercised last week. I didn't take my pulse as much because of this. Not sure what happened to me last week. Maybe taking Benadryl messed with me! This is the first time I've exercised since Saturday, and now I feel great. I'd like to get up early tomorrow and jog.

 

Quick Sweat Cardio Workout - 8 minutes (took about 10 minutes--much improved from Friday)

01. Delayed Pendulum Hops - Kept pace.

02. 2 Hooks, 2 Upper Cuts, and 2 Jacks - Kept pace. Coordination mostly achieved--went from a square stance to left/right stances and that kinda messed me up.

03. Lateral Cross Lunges - Kept pace.Paused for 1.5 minutes to catch breath. Heart rate: 168 bpm

04. 4 Jack Steps and 2 Crossover Jumps - Kept pace.

05. Lateral Burpees - I reconfigured my apartment and now have room for the lateral portion. Without the jump, I still lag, and it gets worse as time goes on. I think I did 16.

06. Running Man Kicks - Kept pace.

07. 2 Hop Squats - Kept pace.

08. Side Lunges and 2 Jacks - Kept pace.

Heart rate: 180 bpm but felt way better than last week.

 

10 Min Abs Workout - 10 minutes (took about 10 minutes)

01. Scissor Kicks - Kept pace, range of motion still 2/3 at beginning, increasing towards end. Hip popping avoided!

02. Reaching Oblique Crunch - Kept pace. Kept shoulder blades completely off the ground during entire exercise.

03. Pilates Side Hip Raises - Kept pace, both sides. Burned. Starting to visualize straightening my legs--that makes it harder!!

04. Russian Twists - Kept pace. Lifted feet for entire exercise.

05. Toe Touch Crunches - kept pace. They hurt.

06. Pilates Leg Pulls (facing down) - Kept pace. I think my form may have been ok.

07. Pilates Leg Pulls (facing up) - Similar to last time. Pretty good. Elbows still stressed.

08. Pilates Toe Taps - Kept pace.

09. Knee Tuck Crunches - Kept pace. Have full range of motion and starting to visualize lifting palms off the ground.

 

10 Minute No Equipment Upper Body Workout - 10 Minutes (took 10 minutes)

01. Walkdown & Shoulder Slaps - Kept pace. No pain in left elbow.

02. Backbow Pulls - Held backbow and kept pace

03. Biceps Curls Pulses - Kept pace. Somehow strained top knuckle of left forefinger!?

04. Travelling Rows - Kept pace.

05. Push up and Reach - kept pace. Modified push ups.

06. Triceps Dip Kicks - Kept pace and then some. I think I did 7 total.

07. Arm Circles - Kept pace. I like this one.

08. Overhead Press - Kept pace

09. Bent Over Row and Extension - Kept pace

10. Palm Presses - Kept pace

[Jibralta]

I did not get up and run this morning. Instead, I defied myself and slept in. I really liked it.

 

I surprised myself with a new workout today. It's brief but tough, which the time-miser in me likes. I think I'll stick with it for a while. It consists of four push-up type exercises that are repeated three times.

 

Bodyweight Only Upper Body Workout - Killer Arms, Shoulders, and Upper Back (23 minutes, including warm up and cool down)

Hover Push-up - You go halfway down, rock side to side, then come back up. This is quite tough, but I felt like I was starting to improve by the end. I did a modified push-up.

Supine Push-up - You lie on your back with your elbows out to each side and push up. I'm actually pretty good at this and will start concentrating on raising my feet.

Pike Push-Up - You assume a downward-dog position and do sort of an overhead push-up. I can't make it all the way to the ground yet, but I can get within four inches. I find it helps to put a pillow under my head. Even though it greatly decreases the level of effort, I will probably end up modifying this exercise because it makes my shoulder pop. I've had trouble with that shoulder/clavicle area in the past, and I think I should build up the joint before taxing it.

Push-Up Walk-Out - I sure do suck at these. I can do about three steps out before I have to come back in. I may start doing these modified for a while. Kind of reminds me of the Ab-Roller.

 

The work out was good. We'll see how bad I hurt myself tomorrow and/or the next day.

 

It seems like these Fitness Blender folks love to find interesting new ways for people to do planks.

[TooSweetForMe]

I mainly have to have a lower carb & lower sodium diet as I am a T2 diabetic with high blood pressure and high cholesterol. I try to eat lower fat also, but I can only give up so much.

[Jibralta]

I try to eat lower fat also, but I can only give up so much.

 

Oh, I could never give up fat. It's the best part of the food!!!

[Jibralta]

In the days following the killer upper body workout, I didn't have intense muscle soreness, but I could tell I'd definitely worked out. This morning, I woke up with a godawful kink in my shoulder and neck. I think it's definitely related to the workout. I shoulda done everything modified the whole time. I knew it.

 

So, today I did the same workout, but SUPER modified. Ridiculously modified. I pushed only to the point where my shoulder/neck complained, and then stayed at that level or even backed off. It's all I can do. It's been an issue for a long time, and I need to work around it to build it up.

 

Bodyweight Only Upper Body Workout - Killer Arms, Shoulders, and Upper Back (23 minutes, including warm up and cool down)

Hover Push-up - Very, very modified.

Supine Push-up - Very, very modified. Even though this was relatively easy for me the other day, it seemed like it was actually the worst for my shoulder/neck pain.

Pike Push-Up - Very, very modified. Used pillow.

Push-Up Walk-Out - Very, very modified.

 

Now I'm icing the area. Let's see how I feel tomorrow.

[Jibralta]

The shoulder and neck pain has all but subsided. I repeated the same workout today, but was still very conscientious of that area.

 

Very, very modified = knees directly below hips, leaning on the arms until there is resistance, but not pain.

 

Bodyweight Only Upper Body Workout - Killer Arms, Shoulders, and Upper Back (23 minutes, including warm up and cool down)

Hover Push-up - Very, very modified. Found myself going into regular modified here and there, but corrected myself

Supine Push-up - Since this felt the worst for my shoulder/neck pain, I did the curl-up version. But that felt more like a sit-up, so then I tried lowering my elbows more to my sides. It's going to take a little trial and error to find the best approach.

Pike Push-Up - Very, very modified, but slipped into the normal modified position here and there

Push-Up Walk-Out - Ended up breaking out the ab roller and using that. Less stress on the shoulder that way. But I think I need a new ab roller.

 

It's going to be a long, modified journey.

[Lisii]

I'm 46 - I hear you!

 

I'm finding every time I work out the next day I ache everywhere - it takes about a trillion times (slight exaggeration) more effort to tone up.

 

I'm pre-menopausal, and shoot I'm suffering through it all, muscle aches, fuzzy brain, dry skin, grey hairs and muffin top - just have to embrace the new me, nothing more I can do!

 

Only - Whats is with this back fat stuff! where did that fall from! - the only thing I'm failing to embrace, not cool !!! ;-)

 

 

edited to add: I didn't read pages 2 onwards - didn't even see them!, blaming it completely on my brain fuzz... Waaaa

 

ignore me...

[Seraphim]

Omg wait for post menopausal. 😳

[Jibralta]

I'm finding every time I work out the next day I ache everywhere - it takes about a trillion times (slight exaggeration) more effort to tone up.

 

It happened to me all of a sudden, about four years ago. One day I ate a hamburger and gained ten pounds.

 

Actually, to be fair I think it was some sort of bizarre food allergy/ailment. One million elimination diets later, I feel better and lost the weight. But it was TOUGH. My body chemistry changed for sure, and it took some creative thinking to set things right again. Even with my skin. I use coconut oil now, and that's it. Anything else feels uncomfortable. And while I love putting make up on, I almost never do it any more because I can feel it drying my skin out.

 

I'm pre-menopausal, and shoot I'm suffering through it all, muscle aches, fuzzy brain, dry skin, grey hairs and muffin top - just have to embrace the new me, nothing more I can do!

 

Oh, my hair. It is so awful now. Until just a month or two ago, I was stalwart in my plan to grow out the gray. I was hoping it would do something interesting. But it didn't. My natural hair color is this blah light brown that actually hides the gray. And the gray just gets frizzy. So instead of looking interesting, my hair just looked like sh*t.

 

A little over a month ago, I cut my hair short. Two weeks after that, I finally capitulated on my au naturel hair color philosophy and got a balayage color treatment. It looks a lot better now. But it will never be long again.

 

Funny story: while the colorist was looking at my hair, I told him of my aspirations to cultivate the gray in my hair. He said, "You really can't. It would look..... washer woman."

 

Which it did, let's face it.

 

However, it's not sooo terribly bad for me. When he was first looking at my hair, this same colorist grabbed a sad little clump of the gray hairs on my head and looked at me quizzically. So I said, "What?" And he said "You're a little young for gray, aren't you?" And I said, "Well, I am forty." And he said, "You're forty? I thought you were in your twenties. You look great."

 

So, that was nice. Though if it's true I look like one haggard-ass twenty-something.

 

Only - Whats is with this back fat stuff! where did that fall from! - the only thing I'm failing to embrace, not cool !!! ;-)

 

Speaking of flab, I have another funny story.

 

Just a year or two ago, when I was in the midst of my metabolic mystery, I complained to my doctor that I couldn't lose weight. He said, "You're in perfect health. You really don't need to lose weight." And when I protested that I was flabby and that I'd gained weight, he said to me, "Well, sumo wrestlers are some of the healthiest people on the planet." And when I continued to press for advice about the the flab and the weight, he said, "Well, there's always plastic surgery."

 

 

[Lisii]

I love the grey! and the short cut!... thinking of letting mine come through too.

 

I usually redo blonde highlights every 6 weeks, but have waited 11 weeks to see how grey I have become, - I have a thick white strip around my face (like Lilly Munster), which I really like! (I'm light brown originally so can't do the whole vampire look sadly) - can't take a photo as at work - and the guys would laugh at me.. - my profile picture doesn't show it sadly.

[Seraphim]

I had to short because my hair is too unruly otherwise and my face is too small.

[Jibralta]

I have gone to my natural colour which is now pretty much white. I had to go blond to do so though. This is my natural colour. But I started going grey at 19. I dyed my hair every 4 weeks from 17 to 49. ( pic for short time)

 

You have a salt-and-pepper type thing going, very dark and very light. It's a distinctive, attractive look. Also, your hair looks thick and strong. My mom's hair is like that, but possibly curlier. She also went gray very young, but has been dyeing her hair ever since. I've always thought she would look nice blonde, but I don't think she will ever do it. At this point, her hair is mostly white, too, so it would make sense for her to go that route.

 

I have very fine hair, and it's curly/wavy. Quite unruly, actually. I don't like to dye it because it gets damaged easily. Alas, gray hairs blend with my hair color and make everything look frizzy/messy. Also, they break much earlier than the hairs that still have pigment. Sometimes I think I'm going to turn into a dandelion head and then *poof* all of my hair will blow away!

[Jibralta]

I have a thick white strip around my face (like Lilly Munster), which I really like! (I'm light brown originally so can't do the whole vampire look sadly)

 

I don't understand why my gray can't come in thickly, too. Instead, it straggles in. Why can't I have a solid block? Arghh.

[Seraphim]

You have a salt-and-pepper type thing going, very dark and very light. It's a distinctive, attractive look. Also, your hair looks thick and strong. My mom's hair is like that, but possibly curlier. She also went gray very young, but has been dyeing her hair ever since. I've always thought she would look nice blonde, but I don't think she will ever do it. At this point, her hair is mostly white, too, so it would make sense for her to go that route.

 

I have very fine hair, and it's curly/wavy. Quite unruly, actually. I don't like to dye it because it gets damaged easily. Alas, gray hairs blend with my hair color and make everything look frizzy/messy. Also, they break much earlier than the hairs that still have pigment. Sometimes I think I'm going to turn into a dandelion head and then *poof* all of my hair will blow away!

Omg I had tons and tons of hair. I lost a lot of hair after having kids and then when I was premenopausal for about three or four years I had hair falling out by the handfuls . I even made a thread about it . I still do have thick hair though they have to cut the thickness out all the time ..

 

But this is my hair when I was 25 .

[Lisii]

I don't understand why my gray can't come in thickly, too. Instead, it straggles in. Why can't I have a solid block? Arghh.

 

Salt and pepper is the look! - my mum has very fine hair (slight alopecia), she lost it all through chemo, but it's come back curly and salt and peper grey - it looks amazing in a pixie cut.

[Jibralta]

But this is my hair when I was 25

 

Wow, lots and lots of hair! Yes, my mom's was much like that. Less so now, but still a mane!

 

and then when I was premenopausal for about three or four years I had hair falling out by the handfuls . I even made a thread about it .

 

Uh oh. Did it come back? Not looking forward to that...

 

but it's come back curly and salt and peper grey - it looks amazing in a pixie cut.

 

I think pixie cut will be next for me.... we shall see.

 

Glad your mom is doing better!!

[Seraphim]

Wow, lots and lots of hair!

 

 

 

Uh oh. Did it come back? Not looking forward to that...

It stopped falling out when my when my hormones stabilized. In a way I was lucky I finished into full menopause in 5 years. It is nowhere as glorious as it used to be but it is not horrible.

[Lisii]

Wow, lots and lots of hair! Yes, my mom's was much like that. Less so now, but still a mane!

 

 

 

Uh oh. Did it come back? Not looking forward to that...

 

 

 

I think pixie cut will be next for me.... we shall see.

 

Glad your mom is doing better!!

 

Thank you, she's definately is - You're so caring!

 

Go for it! and send a pic when done might help me get the courage to do it too! (sick of my ponytail and "cant be bothered throw it in a bun look..)

[Jibralta]

(sick of my ponytail and "cant be bothered throw it in a bun look..)

 

That was my look, too!

[dias]

 

A little over a month ago, I cut my hair short. But it will never be long again.

 

 

Nooooooooooooooo.............. why did you do that?

[dias]

Thank you, she's definately is - You're so caring!

 

Go for it! and send a pic when done might help me get the courage to do it too! (sick of my ponytail and "cant be bothered throw it in a bun look..)

Second nooooo.....................................................

[Jibralta]

LOL

 

I never thought I would, but it's better this way, trust me! My hair just isn't the same as it was when I was younger. Kinda sucks. But it's also a new hair adventure.

 

I sort of can't wait to start wearing mumus and big gaudy jewelry 😂😂