BellaOnline Forums Food and Wine Low Carb The Biggest Loser

Lollie,
Do I have the answer for you....make a crustless pizza. I put a small can of tomato sauce in a baking dish. Add to it a little red wine (if you have it), a bit of oregano, fresh cracked pepper and a pinch of sweetener. Sprinkle cheese over sauce and add whatever toppings you like and bake in a hot oven for 15 minutes or so. Let it cool down enough so it can be cut and enjoy. Ahhh, the best of both worlds.

Susan

After reading all your great weight loss stories I've been guilted into and onto the gazelle (today, and I mean it this time). I've only worked out a few times as I'm in such heel pain from plantar fasciitis. I plan on an hour a day, 4-5 days a week. I've lost 4 lbs. from no carbs so far.

We can do this!

Susan

Welcome, Susan, sorry to hear about your PF. I actually covered this in a couple of articles recently on the Walking site-- you might find them helpful:

What is Plantar Fasciitis?

and

Treating Plantar Fasciitis

I took off some time from walking, then, did some bike riding for awhile before easing back into walking. Swimming is said to be best as an alternate because it puts essentially no strain on the PF. But, I'm not that good at swimming and don't really have time to do the whole change/swim/shower/get dressed/makup/hair all over again thing.

You just can't rush healing. The stretches, ice and arch supports helped me without medical intervention, but some people have to go to the dr. And, you certainly don't want to make it worse.

Even some other exercises can make it worse--squats for example put a lot of strain on the PF.

Congrats on losing 4 pounds, though! And, you're right! We CAN do and are doing it and I'm sure our Before/After pics are going to be awesome!

Susan I love that crustless pizza idea, thank you.

And yes, Deb, i need to make a real plan to get decent shoes for my workouts. :-) I will look at Zappos.com today. What do you think of running/walking barefoot on the carpet or workout pads?

oh and I also lost four pounds, so 140. Congrats on everyone's weight loss and workouts! Lisa, great job on that bike.

I also hear great things about yoga.

On pizza, we were a big pizza family. What Bob makes now is eggplant pizza. He cuts an eggplant into circles and then puts the cheese, sauce etc. on that. It is REALLY tasty and fulfills most of the pizza cravings. Also he gets flour tortillas (low carb) and makes a pizza with those. That is also very tasty!

Sheree - we have a heart rate monitor but I never use it. In fact our bike has handgrips that are supposed to sense your heart rate but it broke a long time ago. So I never know what my heart rate is. I suppose you are right, I really should track down that heart rate monitor and start using it. Right now I was just proud to be able to go from 3 minutes at a time to 10 minutes But now that I am up to 10 minutes at a time / 30 minutes total maybe I actually am doing enough that a heart rate monitor would be helpful. I will try to find that!

For those who are worried about it being Valentine's Day - remember that dark chocolate is pretty much sugar free!! So you can have it without any real impact on your weight loss plans. For a special dinner, go for steak and a fine wine! That is REALLY yummy and perfectly healthy

Jilly, many world-class runners run barefoot, and when I was a kid, I rarely wore shoes in the summer. I'd run all over the place too, gravel, asphalt, grass. So, I certainly don't scoff at the idea. There are pros/cons and research supporting both shoes and no-shoes.

And, racing flats, which are the shoes almost all runners wear when racing, are very close to bare feet. They provide minimal support because they need to be light so they don't hinder speed.

So, I'm all for doing whatever works, and indoors on padded surfaces would be a good way to try it if you are so inclined. In fact, I wouldn't run or walk outside barefoot anymore because the last time I did, I stepped on a bee and my foot swelled up double. I stay barefoot or in socks inside, though!

I actually think bare feet would be better than running or walking in poorly fitting shoes. You will not get blisters that way! Plus, many exercise programs are done in barefeet -- my yoga classes for one, but also martial arts.

Of course, if you have any pain during, stop. And, after, if you have pain, even in your back, hips or knees, you could need more support than bare feet provide.

I love being barefoot - or in the winter, going with just thick socks on. So I'm all for exercising barefoot Deb is right - martial artists work out in bare feet!

I do put on slippers when I ride the bike though

Lisa the eggplant pizza sounds good. Do you bake the eggplant first and then melt the cheese and sauce on top?

Thanks for the info, Deb, on working out barefoot. I did go to Zappos and ordered some shoes to work out in today, so they should arrive later this week.

Workout update - nothing on Valentine's Day. Then two hours each day both yesterday and today. During todays I added intervals and some core body training during the walking/jogging.