You bet your sweet bippee it does! (Now I'm dating myself, right. )

I posted a new pic in my gallery last night. I never really thought much about it and how I look. I still feel the same as I always did inside - you know that fat person feeling. <sigh> Then I started comparing my pictures. OMG! The exercise really works!

I took on the 3rd TDC fitness challenge. Now mind you I was not an exerciser by any means. I work a full time paying job from home (on the computer and the telephone all day long). So I don't even go out and drive to work or have to walk from the car into a building everyday. I live on one floor, so don't go up and down steps at all, well there are 2 steps out to the garage floor. I mean, really, the exercise I was getting was going 20 or so paces from my computer to the potty after drinking all the water. So I definitely was not into getting fit.

So the first week of the TDC challenge I was on vacation in Vegas and did a lot of walking there. Not power walking, just regular sightseeing type of walking, but a lot of it. Then when I came home I did 30 minutes of walking around the neighborhood at lunch time. Did that for a few weeks and then finally bought the Walk Away the Pounds video just before Christmas, so that I could exercise in the comfort of my own living room. (Thanks goes to Mischa, Joan & Monika for recommending WAP to me!)

With the video, I was able to do the one mile walk for a few weeks and then started doing the 2 mile walk in the past couple of weeks. (That 2 mile is a real workout!)

So, this is the last week of the 3rd TDC challenge and when I posted earlier to that forum I said I couldn't really tell a difference in my level of fitness. Well, let me tell you something. I really started looking at my pictures and could see a big difference. If you look at the pic where I am posing with those 2 wax models, then look at the full length pic I took yesterday in my new black pants, there is a huge difference. But the important part? I lost only 13 pounds in between those 2 pictures!!! It looks like I lost about 50.

So, I'm not writing this to have you all look at my pictures and tell me what you think of me or my pics. I'm writing this to tell you that exercise really, really, really does make a difference. And this coming from a die hard who swore she'd never do exercising just for the sake of exercising.

So what are you gonna do this week to improve your level of fitness? Me? I'm gonna keep on doing the walking and I'm gonna add something new every few weeks.

Wow - your progress is fantastic! What a difference. And thanks so much for sharing this info. I'm also one who can't seem to get into gear to exercise (I know I have to though). Would you mind sharing briefly about the Walking Away the Pounds? I have such a tight budget right now I can't spare anything extra! And congratulations to you

Dianne ~ What amazing progress! You look great! I'm glad you are getting such fabulous results with exercise.

Congratulations and thanks for being a living example for one of the benefits of exercise!

There are several Walk Away the Pounds (WAP) videos. I've only seen the one I have, WAP Express, so maybe others can describe the rest of them. The one I have has 2 choices, 1 Mile and 2 Miles. There are 4 basic steps you do, marching, sidesteps, knee lifts and kicks. Both the 1 mile and 2 mile start out slow to get your body warmed up, then go a bit faster to really get an aerobic workout. Then they end slow with some stretching at the end. They are really pretty simple steps, but a great workout. They add a few arm movements towards the end so that you do get some upper body movement going too. You can do the steps easy at first, then build to make broader more vigorous steps as you build up to it.

I bought the DVD and it was about $16 at Meijer, but they do come in VHS. I just popped over to Ebay and it looks like you can get them used for around $5-$7. Or buy a whole set for more.

Hope this helps!

Dianne,

You look fantastic! Congratulations on your new size 18/20s. (BTW: they don't LOOK tight!)

Jude

Congratulations! You look absolutely fantastic....enjoy your size 18 pants!

Hi! I just popped in when I saw your new post tonight! Girl you look fabulous!!
I imagine you must be giddy with pride! Way to go! I think I will check out those tapes too. I tried some YOGA tape but we spent too much time giggling because I could not keep up
What was Elvis like by the way??

You look amazing... just goes to show the importance of taking measurements... it looks like you have lost so much more than 13 pounds... never let the scales judge your success.

Looking wonderful on all fronts! Keep up the good work!

Linda ~ Dianne said it all, but I wanted to pass on a tip: I'm on a really tight budget, too, and did not want to buy an exercise tape / dvd just to find it doesn't work for me. My local library system had the series, so I borrowed it to try it out. Turns out I loved it, so I knew those $$$ were going to be spent well. I bet a huge city like LA has all kinds of fitness tapes to borrow; you might find something you really like.

And if you decide you want to get moving, come and check out the The Fourth TDC Fitness Challenge. It's a very supportive place to get started.

Dianne is a GREAT role model for the body changing benefits of exercise.

Sweet bippy....hummm...don't recall.....nope sorry I've never heard of it. I have never heard of Laugh-in either BTW. That was all before my time. lol

One thing I would like to say about exercise is that it can be tailored to fit you as an individual. Using weightlifting as an example: If your goal is building muscle size, like most guys, then there are plenty of workout styles, opinions, etc, to follow.

I think there are women who may be interested in the benefits of free weights or machines, but are turned off by the idea because so many times we hear that you MUST lift to your max capacity to build muscle. You MUST lift to failure, blah, blah, blah. Many women are more interested in being fit and toned, not muscular.

I have seen-trained-with a few women who lift to failure and get really strong, training for strength and size, just like the guys, taking it to it's logical end, and they probably could have beaten me up. And that's not a compliment.

You hear it time and again, women say they really don't want to be muscular and bulky. In that case a man's workout does not apply to a female. There are workouts that do not emphasize muscle size and bulk-building. Instead they use lighter weights and concentrate on form, strength(not size) and toning.

If I were a female and wanted to lift weights, I certainly would not take advice from any guys lifting weights, unless they were experienced trainers.

This week I have a cold so I'm taking the week off to rest. I plan to get back to my regular workout routine when I feel better. My main goal is to lose body fat, so I'll be doing high reps for weights, and a fast-slow walking pace.

There are several comments I want to make about this post, since there are so many misconceptions running around about women and weight training.

First, there is no such thing as "toning" . In any body part, there is bone, fat, muscle, and assorted tendons and ligaments. What you are doing when lifting weights and dieting is decreasing fat and building muscle. "Toning" is muscle building, period. Now there is a big difference between steriod laden professional bodybuilders and someone who just looks athletic and fit, but they both do the same thing. The bodybuilder just puts in more effort over a longer period and accepts "chemical assistance".

Also, you DO need to have a progressive plan (ie increasing load) in order to build muscle. Lets say you can bicep curl 10 lbs. Five years from now, if you are still curling 10 lbs, you haven't gained ANY muscle. You have to give your body the signal "I'm being asked to do something new so I better build muscle and adapt" for it to build new tissue.

Remember the first time you did something new and you were sore as heck the next day? And the next time you did the same thing you weren't so sore? Your body ADAPTED to the higher stress imposed on it by building new muscle.

And why can't a woman do a "mans" workout (actually there is no such distinction)? If you look at a cross section of a man's arm and a woman's arm, you see the SAME thing. They are just alike, and require the same stimulus to grow. The are only effective and in-effective workout programs.

Want to add more, but its time for lunch.....yum yum

There's no need to lecture me on intensity until you have trained with me or spotted me on a lift. Then I'll take all you can dish out. I agree with some of your ideas about lifting but I was trying to make the point that there can be more variations to lifting weights than just lifting at maximum capacity ALL of the time. I think as guys we have a tendency to think that if it works for us, it must work for females. Men and women ARE different.

Can a person tone their leg muscles by walking if they don't walk at maximum speed? I say yes the muscles will be more toned and firmer. I contend that depending on individual goals, weight training workouts can vary and that every workout does not have use maximum weights. Where is the all-mighty law that says ALL workouts MUST be at maximum intensity? I do however agree that the foundation of a good long-term training program is based on high intensity workouts doing basic lifts.

There is a huge difference between a body builder and a person just staying in shape. The training is completely different. Natural physical laws are changed, cheated and bypassed when steroids are used. Training rules, capacity, intensity, drive, and recovery times are changed. This takes lifters into a realm where the rules are different than the common lifter just staying in shape. I also contend that a lifter staying in shape may not benefit, nor could they benefit, from the same workouts as the bodybuilder simply because of steroids.

Here are some hypothetical questions that could happen in your lifetime. Some day, if you reach your muscle size goal (if there is a limit) how will you train then? Will you always use the absolute heaviest weight you can all the time at the same intensity? I know you like variety. What if you get board of training at the same intensity you have ALWAYS trained at? This intensity is a variable in workouts too you know. If you need to change workouts to keep your body adapting, don't you ALSO have to change that?

Do you think Arnold trains the same today as he did while he was Mr. Olympia? I know he still trains but his goals are different today. Besides do you think he really cares what people think about his lighter weights?

Any way, you are preaching to the choir here. My post had to do with women seeking advice from experienced trainers and being careful of the advice they get from just anyone.

Have a nice day.

Dude, I didn't say anything about your intensity, or you at all. I don't know anything about you or how you exercise. You just posted some misconceptions about women and weight training and I just wanted to make sure it didn't send people down the wrong path.

If you are knowledgable about training as you state, you know you don't have to use maximum intensity ALL the time.....its call periodization

But if you NEVER train with full intensity and progressively overload the muscles, you will stay where you are now. In fact that answers one of your other questions. If you get to the point where you can say "yep, I'm happy with my muscularity" then you purposefully stop overloading and yes you lift the same amount of weight from there on.

Yes, doing some exercise at low intensity (you walking example) builds some muscle, but like I said your body adapts and when it can handle the load it stops growing. So you will NEVER see a Mr. Olympia who builds up championship wheels JUST through walking.

And yes, you need to change your workouts often. I change every month, but that has nothing to do with your post about women and training.

Advising a woman to train DIFFERENT from a man is just silly. What, does she only do 2 sets instead of three? Or not do certain exercises? Which ones? Thats just nuts. All humans respond to the same stimulus. Go on knowledgable websites like T-mag and see they have covered this subject ad nauseum.

But getting back to the subject, exercise is very important if you want to KEEP the weight off......

Congrats...you look great! Thanks for reminding us that the scale doesn't tell the whole story!