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[kac]

Hi all,   

I don't know about you, but I notice weight loss from working out alone is a bit slower but lasts longer.   Dieting is short term effective but I find it hard to be disciplined at both simultaneously.  Hoping, as I mentioned before that SLD will help me get results faster. 
 
So, I thought I'd start a conversation about some workouts to supplement SLD--here is my top list. What are yours?

Joyce Vedral
My mom lost 40 lbs and has kept it off for 8 years. (she's 60,  5'2, and small framed so this was a major makeover) using workout videos and books.  The books that got both of us started were by Joyce Vedral, her "Fat Burning Workout" , "Definition" and "Weight Training Made Easy" were very effective.  If you read them now they are very dated --it was the 1990's "fat free" era when she talks about dieting.   But, the workouts worked.   She has a very casual, down to earth approach that has worked for a lot of people.   Again, if you pick one up and read it you'll see much of her advice is dated when it comes to food.  You just need to skip that part.  Those workouts took a little longer than she promised; but they really did work great.  I fell off over time because I knew the workouts so well I wasn't challenging myself and needed something new.   

Jilian Michaels
I picked up her "Winning by Losing" back in Feb and gave it a try for a month...The pros:  It is tough! It works! I lost about 3 lbs in a month.   The cons:  more time consuming- 1 hour at the gym, 5 days a week. Jillian is strict.  I got the flu in March, then got caught up in traveling and fell off the wagon here.   Yes, I realize it is now June. Where does the time go?  I think I want to pick this back up again. 

Bill Phillips, Body for Life
My sis swears by this one, so do lots of people I know.   I found the workouts and meal plans a little boring and hard to stick to.   But, the results are pretty dramatic if you're ready to go gung ho.  I bet SLD would help deal with the hunger I had while trying this out.  I was never able to make it through the 12 weeks, I lasted 2-3 at the most.   (notice a pattern here?)

Kathy Smith, Lift Weights to Lose Weight
She has a couple of quick 20 minute DVD's that are simple and a good way to get started. Kathy isn't quite the maniac as the others, she's professional.  If you find Joyce Vedral's casual/amatuer approach a little scary, this might be a good workout for you.   

Hope that helps somebody! I'd love to hear more suggestions/opinions... 
 

[VeganKitten]

I am a big fan of weight training, in any form. I had Joyce Vedral's book years ago... recently I've adapted the workout schedule from "5-Factor Fitness" although I don't have any books or tapes, and don't follow the guy's dietary advice. The weight routine in that program has given me really nice shoulders 

[Jasmyn]

I learned a lot from Joyce Vedral's book, too! I also loved Body for Life -- the concept, and again, I learned a lot about how to set up a good exercise program. I loved how there were cardio days and strength training days, and how Bill had me always raising the bar as soon as things got too comfortable.  But the diet was just plain un do-able. And too full of fakey bars and shakes for me. Is it just me? Do I eat a lot?  Most of these diets seem a bit on the ridiculous size, portion wise. Just this week I signed up for Weight Watchers Online, and thought the quantity of food is enough to satisfy the appetite of an ant. By the way, if you sigh up for the trial period, you will not get a full refund. It was supposed to be 7 days free. NOT.  It is $65.OO, and with all the b.s. charges, if you cancel, you only get $18.00 back.

Workout videos I love:

Lately I have been enjoying the big gymball workouts. Lucy Knight has one called  Roll Off the Pounds.
Because I like quickie workouts I like the 10 minute solution. The ones I like are ballet and yoga, sometimes Pilates
Power 90. Tony Horton and the Beachbody videos. Love 'em.
Namaste Yoga. This was on FitTV and I recorded it but you can buy the series online.
I love the variety of workout videos, and stuff they have on Comcast On Demand is nice too.
Jas

[shemsheli]

I like Strong Women Stay Slim and Strong Women Stay Young because they are very simple and easy to do. 

I am not doing the rest of the plan or even the lower body exercises (since I bicycle and run), and only used the books to start in the habit of weight-lifting to build upper body strength.  What I like about them is that they are structured in order to be easy to fit into one's life and stick with the habit.  I read one of the strength training for dummies type books, and it was helpful as far as background, but had too many exercises to choose from and as soon as any type of choice or decision enters the equation it becomes harder to stick to the program.   

I am doing my six upper body exercises every other day and it's easy to stick with since there's no choice involved. I got up to 15 lbs for all exercises pretty quickly, but the weight broke (!) so I took it back to Target, and am just doing 11 lbs until after I move or borrow heavier weights.  Maybe I will just start doing my weight-lifting at Target. 

S"S

[xtine]

I really like the Body for Life plan (for workouts).  I don't follow the dietary advice of Bill Phillips but got Body for Life for Women which has a much more do-able and sensible food approach. (other than that don't buy the book it's not different enough to warrant the $!).  The BFL for Women basically says to have  protein and non-refined carbs and a bit of fat for every meal (similar to the Zone but far easier to figure out).  So far I feel good doing that (roughly at least) and the extra protein makes a huge difference to my energy sustaining.  She also says to only have starchy carbs 2 meals a day (ie. have one without anything like bread, pasta, potatoes, rice) and to have 2 snacks balanced the same way a day.  I don't know if I'll be able to eat that much or that frequently with AS but the basic protein/carb/fat balance does seem to work for me.

As for the exercise on that--- it's simple: alternating weights and aerobics days, and focusing on increasing intensity so you don't stagnate.  I did it for the full 12 weeks a few years ago, and my body was strong and shapely and my legs had more definition than ever in my life (I'm a swimmer not a big lower-body sports person so it was a big change for me and it showed). 

[shovelqueen]

Cool that you've done this before.  I had no idea there was a BFL specifically for women.  I just bought their latest book, BFL Champions with my Mother's Day bookstore gift card. But I'm a dietitian, so I should be able to figure out the diet stuff.  I am trying to eat more protein, and do the 6 eating times per day, but some of them are really small, and one of the 6 "meals" is my SLD oilmilk (with protein powder added).  Seems to be working so far.

The BFL diet advice is really low fat, traditional bodybuilder stuff, too heavy on the protein for my liking, and too low in fat.  I guess if you are trying to really drop your subcutaneous body fat in a few weeks, it makes sense, but as a long term way of healthy lifestyle, I like my current "good fat" diet better. 

The workouts are so very do-able though.  Basically just one exercise per body part.  I'm really enjoying them.