Friday Night Blog Spotlight
Tonight’s blog spotlight is one of the pillar’s in the fat-to-fit blogging world – Lori at Finding Radiance! This gal not only talks the talk, but she walks the walk. Since 2003 she has lost 110 pounds (maybe more) through sensible eating and dedicated exercise. In addition to reading about her great workouts day-to-day, on her website you will also find her workout videos. Besides that, she likes coffee as much as or more than me, and like me, she roasts her own. There aren’t many of us out there that do this. As she will attest, it is indescribably better though. Enough of that, click on over to Finding Radiance and leave Lori a comment. Be sure you tell her South Beach Steve sent you! Remember, for now the blog I spotlight is the reader who leaves the most comments during the past seven days who has not already been featured.
For some time I have said the key to losing weight is diet. That doesn’t mean I don’t support exercise, I certainly do, but if you really want to lose weight, you almost certainly have to adjust what you eat. Now I have a study that supports my theory. I happened to run across the article via a link at Summer Tomato, where I usually find some good reading every Friday with Darya’s For the Love of Food posts. The article makes the claim that exercise doesn’t necessarily lead to weight loss. While there is some pretty interesting information supporting this in the article, the most interesting line to me was, “laboratory rats that had been overfed and then slimmed through calorie reduction were able to “defend” their lower weight more effectively if they ran on a treadmill and ate at will than if they had no access to a treadmill.” So, while exercise may not lead to weight loss in and of itself, it is an important component to maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
I am disappointed to report that my wife’s grandmother’s health has taken a sharp turn for the worst. While she seemed to be getting better, the thing that originally put her in the hospital, pneumonia, is not getting better. Today it ocurred to my wife’s father that she had been cleaning an old barn a few days before she began to get sick, leading him to believe this might be a fungal pneumonia. He informed the doctor who is going to be running some tests to find out. Furthermore, she has now been diagnosed with acute respiratory distress syndrom. I don’t know a lot about this, but according to my father-in-law, this is not good at all.
Exercise for me was reminiscent of some of my exercise this past summer. I walked a full eight miles! The only bad thing was that I had a slight pain in my back before starting the walk, and it has hurt quite a bit more since the walk. I also did 30 push ups, but began to feel a little strained feeling in my elbow that has tendinitis, so I laid off a bit.
Eating has been fine today, not great, but not bad. Breakfast was an apple with natural PB. I also had a piece of bacon. Lunch was a taco on a low carb taco shell and a taco salad. Supper was three eggs, bacon, and a piece of sausage. I also had a large bowl of Grape Nuts with strawberries.
Tomorrow should be interesting. My boys and I are heading up to St. Louis, Missouri to go to the zoo. My oldest son has a gal up there he has been wanting to go see, so we are going to pick her up and let the two of them hang out together at the zoo. I’ll spend the day walking around with the other two. My wife on the other hand is going to enjoy a day of doing nothing. I think she has a few movies she has been wanting to watch lined up. I am sure she will enjoy this.
I love Lori’s blog – she has done an amazing job and is now a true athlete. I’m in awe of her exercising!
So sorry to hear about your grandmother-in-law. How sad – perhaps things will turn around for her soon.
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South Beach Steve Reply:
November 7th, 2009 at 5:54 am
I agree Diane – she is well worthy of being spotlighted.
I hope GIL sees some improvement today.
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I am a newish(is that a word?) reader of Lori’s and I love how she enjoys the foods she eats but how it doesn’t control her life. She seems to really embrace true healthy living, she’s a terrific example.
Hope you have a great time in St. Louis. I keep thinking about the zoo since I have the National zoo less than 2 hours away but I just haven’t been able to find the time it seems.
Wow you’ve been a walking machine lately. You are going to make that goal for sure.
Hope you have a good weekend.
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South Beach Steve Reply:
November 7th, 2009 at 5:55 am
Lori is a terrific example for all of us. She has made tremendous progress and, as you said, doesn’t let food control her, although she enjoys it.
St. Louis is about a 3.5 hour drive, so it will be a long day, but I think we will all have a good time. Hopefully I will get several miles in today at the zoo.
Thanks for the comment Dawn, I appreciate it.
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Wow, Steve, a long walk and another long post! You’re sure on a roll.
I hope there’s nothing wrong with your back–it’s been one thing after another, huh?
I’m so sorry to hear about your grandmother (I’m dropping the “in-law” part for now). I’m praying for healthy, but mostly, peace.
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South Beach Steve Reply:
November 7th, 2009 at 5:57 am
It was a long walk Beej. I didn’t mean to imply that I thought something serious was wrong with my back. I think it is just knotted up. It feels better this morning.
Hopefully GIL is going to be fine. She looked terribly weak yesterday. My wife said she kept waking up last night thinking her grandmother didn’t make it through the night. I hope she finds her stronger when she goes to see her today.
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I’m so sorry to hear your grandmother-in-law has taken a turn for the worse… Will keep you all in my thoughts for a swift recovery.
Thank you for highlighing Lori’s blog – it’s not one I’ve seen before and it looks fab.
Hope things improve this weekend…
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South Beach Steve Reply:
November 8th, 2009 at 8:56 am
Thank you Patsy. I do appreciate this.
I think you will enjoy Lori’s blog. It is one of my daily reads.
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Thank you for the spotlight Steve! That’s the most wonderful thing about the blogging community is how we can all find each other and draw support and inspiration across the world!
8 miles of walking – that is a *long* walk! If you start taking up jogging, you’ll get done with 8 miles faster
Hope your GIL does better.
Enjoy the zoo – that has always been one of my favorite places!
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South Beach Steve Reply:
November 8th, 2009 at 8:59 am
Lori, I was happy to do it. Your blog is a great inspiration to others.
It’s funny you mention the whole jogging thing. The getting done faster part is actually one of my motivations.
Thanks for the good wishes for my GIL. She has a tough road ahead of her.
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I recently found Lori’s blog and absolutely love it. She is really inspirational with a lot of the creative foods she eats and with her fitness routine.
I really hope your gil starts to improve…and I hope your wife can get some peace about it so she’s not waking up in fear. Maybe the day alone watching movies will be good for her spirit.
Enjoy the day at the zoo!
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South Beach Steve Reply:
November 8th, 2009 at 9:01 am
Thanks Josie. It did my wife some good to go spend some time with her grandmother yesterday.
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I love Lori’s blog, been reading it for quite some time now.
I hope you have a great time at the Zoo, I love the Zoo, we have several beautiful ones here in Holland.
I’m wondering: don’t you ever get tired of an apple for breakfast everyday? :blush:
I don’t believe in dieting, I do believe in changing you eating habits because that’s what’s going to last forever, a diet won’t.
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South Beach Steve Reply:
November 8th, 2009 at 9:05 am
The zoo was very nice.
The apple question would have been a good one for Thursday.
Believe it or not, I don’t tire of apples and pb for breakfast. In fact, I could probably eat it another time each day. 
I agree, diets don’t work. I often try to find a different word to use, as I truly think it is a lifestyle change, but sometimes you have to refer to the eating part as “diet”.
Totally, totally agree with you though.
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Lori is indeed an inspiration! Love her blog.
Sorry to hear about your GIL, hopefully when they know exactly what is going on with the pneumonia they will be able to help.
Your trip to the zoo sounds like a fun time! Enjoy your walking and the time with your sons.
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South Beach Steve Reply:
November 8th, 2009 at 9:06 am
Kimberley, only time will tell what is exactly wrong. I am anxious to get more of an understanding what is going on.
We really got some good walking in yesterday. I measured eight miles. That is right – EIGHT MILES! My legs felt it too.
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What a great day you have for the zoo!!! Hope you all have a good time there in St. Louis, I will be there next weekend! Not at the zoo tho……
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South Beach Steve Reply:
November 8th, 2009 at 9:07 am
We had a great time Ron. Hopefully your time in St. Louis will be enjoyable too. From the sounds of it, it is work related though?
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That is some serious walking Steve, and at a serious clip! Nice work. I hope the elbow tendonitis settles out again quickly.
So sorry your Grandmother-in-law is not doing well. This will be stressful for your wife and your family. I hope her journey is back to health and vitality. How old is she (just curious)?
The older son’s interest sounds like an exciting new stage for family development. Enjoy the walk, the fresh air, the animal antics, and the blush of your son on the return drive.
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South Beach Steve Reply:
November 8th, 2009 at 9:09 am
It was a really long walk Wendy, which was repeated again at the zoo, although at a much, much different pace.
My wife’s grandmother is 85 years old, almost 86. She has been a really healthy lady until the last month or so though. It will be interesting if she pulls through this, as it will probably be hard for her to settle down and do less.
The day was a great day. My son and the gal has a good time. She was a sweet girl.
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Thx for linking to Lori! People are so amazing!
Also, so sorry for your family issues & I sure hope things turn around!
As for eating/exercise, yes, the food program is at least 70% if not more of the process BUT exercise is so important for bone health, lung & heart health and more! I would not look like I do now without my exercise. Yes, we have a certain “body shape” like pear or apple BUT we can mold our body to look so much better with weight resistance. I do weights, cardio and flexibility/stretching plus eat well. AND, the older you get, the more all of these components are crucial to staying fit & healthy.
Have a great tomorrow!
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South Beach Steve Reply:
November 8th, 2009 at 9:11 am
Jody, I am sure you will like Lori’s blog. I sure do.
I also hope things turn around for my GIL. It is taxing on all of us.
I don’t disagree about the exercise vs. diet. Exercise is so important, but I do think that a person is fooling themselves, for the most part, if they don’t change their eating habits and think they will lose weight. There are exceptions though.
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Jody - Fit at almost 52 Reply:
November 8th, 2009 at 10:59 am
I agree… food is key! You have to change it to lose the weight! Exercise is icing on the cake to not only keep bones/cardiovascular system healthy BUT it can shape the bod…. if you want that.
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South Beach Steve Reply:
November 8th, 2009 at 5:47 pm
Agreed! Like you, I want that part too.
not only does exercise make some difference, but even spot reducing, while not an option seems to have some effect on body size.
since im only walking/jogging and not kettelbelling for now, i have some puffiness in my upper body, but none in my lower body. its wild how much exercise keeps a limb sleeker, probably only water/glycogen depletion through exercise, but hey, who wants all that water puffing them up?
you’re doing excellent steve! keep up the hard work and determination!
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South Beach Steve Reply:
November 8th, 2009 at 9:13 am
Rachel, I don’t disagree that exercise makes a difference, as you no doubt realize, I just think the eating is more important for losing the pounds. I wouldn’t change the exercise portion of my program though. It is certainly part of what has gotten me to where I am.
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Steve, I am a firm believer at least in the beginning stages of weight loss that it’s all about the diet. The closer one gets to their goal weight it tends to be more about exercise to tone muscles etc.. Overall I believe that weight loss and exercise is an 80/20 combination.
Of course that goes against every late night infommerical that is trying to sell their latest product and I think they have brainwashed people into thinking that exercise has more influence on weight loss than it really does.
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South Beach Steve Reply:
November 8th, 2009 at 9:15 am
Barry, these are good points. The two components actually work together nicely. One without the other is not the ideal program.
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I also love Lori’s blog. Great choice!
I’m a coffee lover also and my dad roasts his own coffee. It really is some of the best I’ve ever tasted. My mom will be bringing some fresh roasted coffee out with her for Thanksgiving and I”m looking forward to it.
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South Beach Steve Reply:
November 8th, 2009 at 9:17 am
Thanks Leah!
It sounds like a special treat your Mom is bringing for Thanksgiving!
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awwww steve, I missed you too
wink
8 miles!!!!!!! that’s phenominal!!!!!! way to go – keep up the amazing work and give my condolences to your wife – that’s awful, but I can stick her grandma in my prayers tonight
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South Beach Steve Reply:
November 8th, 2009 at 9:18 am
Kashi, I am glad to see you are back around! It is a shame about your laptop!
Thanks for the prayers for my GIL. She needs it.
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Thanks for the shout out, Steve! I’m really sorry to hear about your wife’s grandma.
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South Beach Steve Reply:
November 11th, 2009 at 9:55 pm
No problem Darya. I love reading your blog.
Thanks for the sympathy. She seems to be finally getting better now.
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