Hiya Lovey! Welcome, too! I just joined this board myself! I think Earl has given you some good pointers to get you going on workouts, and I think that you'll find that adding weight resistance exercises to your walking will definitely help you to kick that metabolism into higher gear! Just a couple of thoughts to take with you: *when you join the gym, or if you're a member of the gym, there are also usually personal trainers associated with the gym who will (usually for a fee but often joining gives people some free personal trainer sessions) help you to lay out a fitness program there, show you how to use equipment safely, etc. Take advantage of this if it is available. It will also help you to make yourself at home in the gym and feel comfortable, and have people there that you know and can turn to with questions. *if you do a predefined set of exercises for a while and stop seeing results, you may have hit an adaptation response by your muscles. You see, they always want to do something the easiest way possible, and as they get used to you doing a given exercise in a certain way, it will take less and less energy for them to do that. So change up your exercises, even in little ways, as you go along, just to keep those muscles earning their keep, ya know? *watch out for overtraining. With people who get wildly enthusiastic with their weight loss and pursuing their fitness goals, they often want to go overboard with training and can do their poor bodies a disservice in the process. Don't let that be you! Overtraining undermines the very work and the objectives that we are trying to achieve! So once you've gotten used to workouts, if you find yourself exercising *a lot* and after a workout you feel ill, as if the workout just made you sick, you could be overtraining! If so, just take a day or two off from the gym and you should be able to come back refreshed and ready to take on the weights again! *if possible, try to find a friend who can join you as an exercise partner, to keep you both motivated and helps the workout to go by quicker. Consistency is the key! If you find yourself talking yourself out of going to the gym, make the 5-minute promise to yourself: I promise myself to exercise vigorously for 5 minutes and if at the end of that 5 minutes I want to stop, then I can stop, no guilt, done. But what typically happens if your issue is simply one of motivation, is that 5 minutes of exercise will get your heart pumping, get your energy up, and elevate your mood, and you will likely want to continue and finish your workout! If you do find that it's necessary to take more time off, don't guilt trip yourself! Just get right back into your schedule as soon as you've gotten past that temporary period. With kindest regards, Donna E. www.teklawgirl.biz

Wow, Val, you're doing awesome on your BP!! Actually, you're doing great on lots of stuff! I was wondering if you have any idea with the reduced weight/size, how that is likely to affect your strength on power lifting? I'm guessing that's the $10,000 question and one that you're getting some exciting answers to, as well, it seems! I'm kinda doing the same exercise on the bodybuilding in general, trying to figure out how close I can get to my developmental goals after carrying around the excess weight and the aging since I did it a couple of decades ago. I am trying not to focus on what I *might not be able to achieve* but rather exploring *let's see how far I can go now*. I've already surprised myself with recovering 18 lbs of lost muscle after I lost too much with complications from WLS last year. Had to work my a** off for every bit of that muscle, but was thrilled to see that I could still do it! Have you noticed how that 15 minutes of cardio feels like a *really* long time after a heavy workout in the weight room? Keep up the amazing job you're doing on your strength gains/regains! It's really paying off! With kindest regards, Donna E. www.teklawgirl.biz

Hi Stacy, I have only one journal that I keep and that is my workout journal. I have picked that habit up from Earl. I really don't keep food journals, altho I do "audit" myself once every so often just to see where I am at. The diet part has been the easiest part for me. I can say I do really eat clean. I have pretty much learned what's in what from label reading etc. Even my kids know what I can and can't eat. What really keeps me in check is the fact that I do have dumping syndrome. I can dump very easily. Primarily on any food with sugar alcohols in them. I also get ill if I eat too fast. Sucks, but you know, I am glad it is in place. I know what I can and can't tolerate, I eat pretty much the same things consistently so I know what I am getting in. Oh, sure I have the occassional bite or two of something I would consider a "cheat food" like maybe a couple of french fries or a bite of ice cream, but that's it. Long story short, I think you need to journal in the area that you are having the most difficulty in. That's why I started journaling my weight training. It helps keep me focused and consistent. I can see my progress that way too, and correct anything that isn't working. Ok, well that's my 2 cents anyways! Hugs, Valerie

WOW, you is amazin girl! The ab workout tonight almost did me in, I think my spleen is in the garage. How awesome is that, 135 (You will be there soon enough) and a hundo less in body weight, very cool my friend. it ain't braggin if you can do it.

Simply put, you have to squat to parallel. You have to have a clean down, then back up. You have to wait for them to signal you to go, then to signal you to rack at the end of the squat. Here is a link that could explain it in more detail for you: http://www.nasa-sports.com/Rulebook/RulesPerformance.htm I hope this helps. I could show you a proper squat better than I could tell you specifics on what they are looking for. Not much help, I know, but I can tell you it is judged from three different views. You have to have at least two good lift signals out of three for it to be good. Val