JC> too stretched out, and just stays that way.  The only 
 JC> thing you can do is grow the muscles to avoid that 
 JC> "last chicken in the shop" look.
Bukcaw?
Hey, I found my ribs last week. Took me a while to figure out what them 
things were under my skin.
 JC> Exactly what sort of exercised did you do?
I haven't been back (lack of funds/time + going to buy a used set if the 
seller _ever_ checks their e-mail) but what I did was, for the legs: leg 
extensions (fore and aft) plus leg presses. For the upper body: pulldowns, 
lat machine (the one you pull from the side to the front, sideways) and a 
bench-press machine.
I'm more interested in working the tricep muscles, and material in the chest 
and back. Often, work provides fore-arm exercise aplenty...
 JC> I weighed 200 a year ago, and used bicycling, physical 
 JC> labor, and monitored calorie intake combined with daily 
 JC> monitoring of body weight.
This week has been yucky in terms of weather, and I had a chiropractic 
adjustment on Monday. I've taken it kinda easy, but I've watched the old grub 
intake.  I've been watching the food like a hawk the last while. Since my 
wife kicked me out of the house in mid-summer, I haven't had to cook the kind 
of calorie-laden crud that she liked. Meaning... fibre, veggies, fruit, and 
so on.
 JC> Worked very well for me, I now weigh 140.  Back doesn't 
 JC> hurt anymore.  Feet don't hurt anymore.  Feet don't get 
 JC> sore at all after a day of standing/walking.  I highly 
 JC> recommend it.
Yeah. I'm still at 196 (scales saying 193 lied) but the problem for me right 
now is twofold.
        a)      My bike is nearly dead. The crank rattles almost a centimeter
                back and forth at the ends. I have 14 days to wait for a new  
               one.
        b)      I'm building up muscle, meaning that weight alone no longer   
                 is able to measure the progress of fat loss.
 JC> Low calorie fad diets are particularly bad for active 
Not gonna happen, believe me. Had a light snack right after I got off work (I 
was out shopping). A kaiser bun and a liter of orange juice. Dinner is a 
piece of cold chicken, a large chunk of french bread, some crackers and two 
slices of cheese. 
I _was_ going to have a salad with the chicken, but the stuff at the stores 
was too expensive, and too yicky-looking. I'll get some tomorrow at the farm 
market.
 JC> cyclists.  A weird phenomenon can occur where the legs 
 JC> stay fairly sized, but the upper body starts to waste 
 JC> away. (Often seen in elderly men who jog excessively).
Interesting. My upper body is what I need to work on, particularly stomach 
and back. I didn't do much in the way of ab-crunches this week, since I was 
mostly resting from (a) the chiro appointment, and (b) hard days at work.
 JC> to drop 1 pound per week.  If not, adjust that downward to 1,500.
 JC> Monitor your weight daily (same time every day, like in 
 JC> the morning when you first wake up).  Dropping more 
That means buying a scale. :)
 JC> I have discovered that stronger arms, wrists, back, and 
 JC> chest do assist me in my bike riding... helps to 
My forearms are very well developed. I work at a wood-turning company, and I 
often have to glue wood together, using large clamps with rotary mechanisms 
for closing. The work to tighten the clamps has had some profound results on 
my forearms and wrists.
 JC> mentioned, you can also do abdominal crunches, squats, 
 JC> calf extensions, and yoga-like stretching and balancing 
I do some stretching, too.
--- Maximus/2 3.01
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