30+ fitness regimen

Atkins

I've had success with a modified Atkins diet over the past 3 years. Some people read the book and think it's their passport to Cheeseland. It's not. Read carefully and you will find that when they list "free" food they don't mean you are free to eat 3 tons of it.

I lost my extra 30lbs the hard way, on a limited calorie intake and a combination of aerobic and weight bearing exercise nearly every day. Now that I have the body I worked so hard to get I use a good-carb diet for maintenance and stick to an almost daily regimen of fun workouts like motocross, waterskiing, snorkelling, tennis and the occasional run. I don't eat meat so my diet is based on fresh vegetables, seafood and fruit, supplemented with protein shakes. I don't eat much fat but I do visit Cheeseland from time to time.

I put my extremely active Mom on Atkins and taught her to run last year. She never had a weight problem until mentalpause ruined her metabolism. She and my Dad and my little sister rode their bicycles across Canada a few years ago and she didn't drop a pound. They have always had healthy eating habits and play tennis or ride daily so she was mightily perplexed by her rapidly expanding butt. She's dropped from a snug size 14 to a loose size 8. Like me, she modified Atkins into a good-carb diet that isn't high in fat and still includes her favorite fruits and vegetables. As a bi-product of Mom dieting Dad lost weight too. Dad only cut back on his carbs out of sympathy and lost so much weight he had to reintroduce the occasional beer or bowl of ice cream to stop shrinking. Both of them noticed an increase in energy.

Liz

I've been reading these posts with interest! Especially that Atkins stuff. I come from a background of eating disorders, however, and have learned that dieting and denying myself certain items just backfires. This is just me, though - I am happy to see it works for other people!

I workout daily to be able to ride - being a woman, I focus on my upper body strength the most - helps me maneuver my 390lb 400EX around the track! I don't eat fast food (can't remember the last time I had a hamburger or hotdog!) and I follow a few simple rules:

1. Eat for your activities that day. If I know I'm gonna be sitting in the office all day, I eat light. If I know I'm gonna race that weekend, I carb it up! Since I usually don't do too much after 7pm, my dinners are veggies or salad or chicken. I have to make myself eat breakfast - I would rather just have coffee, but I know my body will think it's not getting enough to eat, and will start storing fat, so I eat rice (yummy in a bowl with no-cal margarine and sweetnlow and skim milk...mmmmmmmm!) or cereal or a banana or something.

2. DRINK WATER - I grew up constantly dehydrated, hated water (Phoenix tap water is nasty!!!), never really got into the habit of drinking anything unless I was thirsty. Now I drink a big bottle in the morning, all through the day, and especially when I work out. I help keep the bottled water industry growing, I think! I DON'T drink pop - really lost the taste for it after a while, and I don't drink milk (another story) or juice (HIGH in calories) - so pretty much that leaves.....WATER!:D

3. EXERCISE - Way back in high school I put on some pounds, and being in a boarding school and all, and feeling a little isolated, I developed some eating disorders......one of which actually developed into something good. I had compulsive exercise disorder (this is real!) where no matter what I ate, I had to work out furiously because of the guilt I felt for even eating. I would work out 3 hours at a time, run miles and miles if I ate a burrito, and even worked out with severe bronchitis and walking pnemonia. After a couple of years and a change of scenery, my disorder dissolved into just a habit - I love to work out. In order to stay in riding shape, I do about 45-60 minutes of cardio 4-5 times per week, and weights 3 times per week - then riding is always in there somewhere. Riding is actually the very BEST workout I could ever get - especially on the track! If only I could do that every day!

DON'T OVERDO IT - This is my toughest rule - I tend to overdo everything. Pace yourself, let your injuries heal, give in to cravings once in a while (did you hear that dark chocolate is actually good for you in small quantities?) - "Everything in moderation" that phrase can be applied to so many things!

What a great sport to love, and to keep you in shape at the same time - how did we get so lucky?