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  • poohpoohpeapod
    poohpoohpeapod Posts: 776 Member
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    you do not have to exercise to lose weight. walk alot, take stairs at the hotel, sneaky activity . take some protein bars, nuts, with you in your luggage. any hotel has yogurt, fish, chicken, salads. do not drink, it isnt professional anyway. stop thinking about what you cant do. you got this.
  • poohpoohpeapod
    poohpoohpeapod Posts: 776 Member
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    drink water!
  • fightingoldbadhabits
    fightingoldbadhabits Posts: 14 Member
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    Thanks ppj!

    a little frustrated because I'm staying pretty close to my calories and working out and not really losing any weight. Especially in the beginning it seems like it should come out faster.
  • rocardy
    rocardy Posts: 14 Member
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    As you are a previous athlete there is something to keep in mind, muscle weighs more than fat. You are making muscle during your workouts. You may not see a weight loss, however, you may have lost up to a half an inch somewhere in your structure. No weight loss this week, but you're clothes feel looser is still a good sign that you're doing something right.

    I weigh and measure (1x a week) the week I didn't lose weight I lost up to 1/4 of an inch in most places. Doesn't sound like a lot, but I didn't put much effort into my workouts either that week and for me it still had a good week.

    As for your traveling, the hotel room is big enough to jog in place, do pushups, sit ups, squats, lunges, dips using the chair, and using the stairs going up to your room (ask if they have a room between floors 3-5).

    You can make those stairs work for you in your favor. Make sure your knees come up to your waist before you step on the next step as you go up, coming down, stay in your tip toes. I do this at home, sounds funny but sometimes I feel like I go up and down more times than I breath.

    Good luck!

  • poohpoohpeapod
    poohpoohpeapod Posts: 776 Member
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    you will lose, it is math. keep going, this is a process.
  • lreintsma
    lreintsma Posts: 41 Member
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    My friend I can relate to your struggles. Power Vinyasa yoga helped me. It got me moving and working out. It taught me to accept myself through my improvement phase. I used to take 3 medications - anti depressant , mode stabilizer and an anti anxiety . I was able to stop taking those slowly after doing this yoga consistently. I also was an aggressive pot smoker my whole life and that habit seemed to melt away with the rest of my health problems. I wish you luck and I send you good vibes. Hold your head high and move forward. You've done it before and you can do it again. Please try yoga it is life changing.
  • fightingoldbadhabits
    fightingoldbadhabits Posts: 14 Member
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    Thanks ppj!

    a little frustrated because I'm staying pretty close to my calories and working out and not really losing any weight. Especially in the beginning it seems like it should come out faster.
  • fightingoldbadhabits
    fightingoldbadhabits Posts: 14 Member
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    Rocardy - Lots of great info and encouragement from you - Thank You! I will try to actually get to the health club at hotel Monday and Tuesday (Sunday and Wed. impossible). And I'm trying to do exercises at the gym I can do anywhere - esp. push ups and situps - so no matter what I should be able to do those. Thanks again
  • fightingoldbadhabits
    fightingoldbadhabits Posts: 14 Member
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    lreintsma wrote: »
    My friend I can relate to your struggles. Power Vinyasa yoga helped me. It got me moving and working out. It taught me to accept myself through my improvement phase. I used to take 3 medications - anti depressant , mode stabilizer and an anti anxiety . I was able to stop taking those slowly after doing this yoga consistently. I also was an aggressive pot smoker my whole life and that habit seemed to melt away with the rest of my health problems. I wish you luck and I send you good vibes. Hold your head high and move forward. You've done it before and you can do it again. Please try yoga it is life changing.

    Ireintsma - Glad you can relate to the mood/depression issues. I actually already feel a slightly lessened urge to use the anti-anxiety. That's progress. Over time I'd really like to come off my diabetes meds, and last the depression meds. I'm taking these due to some extremely hard life lessons. I now see them as a valuable tool than an excuse and a crutch. Good for you in getting rid of the pot habit. I have first hand experience in a big way with what that seemingly harmless drug does to kids. Seen several of my sons friends become avid pot smokers, with a couple of deaths from heroin OD's from the progression of drugs they used. I do not buy into the whole "it's less harmful than alcohol" sell. Sorry if that offends some, but from the shoes I'm in I've seen several devestated lives - even those that only smoke pot. Best case their potential was nowhere near realized, worst case young kids are dead due to series of harder drugs.

    But I digress - bottom line, because of my experiences I'm particularly happy to hear you say the urge to use has melted away.

    Yoga is something I've tried a few times, I did like it even though I was about as limber as garden hose in winter. If I get some opportunities I'll try it again.

    Thanks for your feedback and good luck to you too as you continue on your journey.

  • EvgeniZyntx
    EvgeniZyntx Posts: 24,208 Member
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    Travel -

    I traveled a lot (60%-70% of my time country to country in my last jobs) and therefore had to develop a routine for it.

    - Use places that have a gym or pool - this was my evening relaxation time or find a gym nearby (lots of hotels have deals). Take 5 minutes to call or book accordingly.
    - Block one or more free nights to recover and exercise.
    - I always unplug the TV upon arrival, so I get regular sleep. If I want to watch something I go to the hotel gym with a tablet
    - Grab fruit or nutrient dense snacks at a supermarket or ask the hotel to stock a fruit-basket in your room, better choice than the heavy breakfast or vending snacks.
    - Business dinner out? Skip dessert. Order 1 thing.
    - Keep your training goals in mind. I hate morning exercise, hate it. But when I travel it was my prep time and got added in. Heck, make it a conversation topic with colleagues. I was having 5AM basketball games with my team at one point and business meetings IN the gym followed by breakfast. We did morning runs down the Champs Elysee for 6 months... Your work community struggles with the same thing. Help each other.
    - Pack your kit - exercise clothes, shoes, swim trunk always. ALWAYS. For me, this was part of my carry on. I tried different things - a jump rope, elastics, etc... I personally found them useless. However You Are Your Own Gym was a ok fall back tool to do a program when the gym was closed or inadequate.
    - You don't have to do the drinks at night thing every evening. If you have a 5AM appointment with yourself or others - well, it's a good excuse to cut down on that.
  • Ian_Davies
    Ian_Davies Posts: 122 Member
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    Hey mate
    There are a load of us just like you, the world is a tough unforgiving place but you're not alone and first off great job on the first drop in weight. As a start can I suggest moving your inspirations to 'reasons why' and perhaps considering a few positive goals as inspirations - daughter, strong background in sports. I have a photo of my daughter on my desk, she keeps me from snacking and reminds me why I will win this battle.

    I have gone in hard, pushed and failed a few times (LEARNED), I am finding little easy steps easy, less emotionally tough and empowering.

    A few little habits can make all the difference. I started with 3 little targets and ignored the rest, thought 1 month of this to start.

    1. Gave up peanut m&ms - family pack every evening to keep me going.
    2. Use my phone to track 10,000 steps everyday.
    3. made sure I eat a good breakfast each day - 3 eggs - i mix it up with bacon, or peppers or spinach or cheese.

    I also added only drinking, water, green tea, and black coffee in the mornings, thats how i started.
  • jillby6666
    jillby6666 Posts: 13 Member
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    Was ridiculously hungry all day - probably due to new eating style and working out. Still way better than I've done in a long time, so live and learn, back to the gym today.
    - I found the first 2 weeks to be the hardest (and hungriest!). Eating more protein has helped me feel less hungry and have much more energy to work out! This is a struggle, I can't agree more. I have found that feeling better and seeing small changes is very motivating if you pay attention!
  • SunflowerCat74
    SunflowerCat74 Posts: 258 Member
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    When eating out, try to look up the nutritional info before you get to the restaurant. If they don't have that then stick to simple dishes like salads (dressing on the side, no cheese) or lean proteins and veggies. Stay away from sauce laden dishes and pastas. I tend to go with a lean steak and ask for double veggies instead of indulging in the taters, rice, etc... In very fine restaurants the portions are usually perfect and not such a problem, but chains/diners have ridiculous portions. If the hotel has a breakfast bar, grab a piece of fresh fruit for a snack later. Protein bars are great too...in case you get a hankering for something sweet.

    As for exercise I like the ideas of taking the stairs, watching tv only in the gym, even if you just have 30min...walk around the block several times. Walk to the restaurant, etc...all the little things add up.

    Making exercise a regular part of your regimen will do wonders for your mental health. I don't think of my gym time about weight loss, but stress loss. Make it your time!! You can do this!
  • fightingoldbadhabits
    fightingoldbadhabits Posts: 14 Member
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    OK, back from my trip and I'd probably give myself a B or B+. I ate pretty well, I did keep my diary going (although not 100% complete), I worked out hard 1x but did a tremendous amount of walking all day. A couple nights after going for about 16 hours straight I succumbed to the call of the cupcakes....

    But I weighed in this morning and I'm break even, so considering the wining and dining and hectic-ness of the schedule, I'll take that all day.

    I got another big trip next week - this time 3 time zones away. Danger here is jet lag and not truly getting enough time for exercise. Those long flights always get to me - esp. b/c I won't arrive until about 230 AM my time - that is a major danger zone for me, being that tired.

    So in the meantime this week I'll try to get to the gym every day if possible, and have a bit more control over my diet, if not my appetite....

    Thanks everyone for trip advice!
  • autumnreached
    autumnreached Posts: 8
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    Hey there,

    I've also yo-yo'ed due to stress and am on meds for MH stuff. It's awesome you're addressing everything that caused you to gain and that you're looking to get yourself back on track.

    I find, for me, I need to stick to one small goal that I know I can do and then build. For instance, I have a calorie deficit but not exercising currently. Still losing, but not stressing or beating myself up. Once I gain more strength, will get a regime down.

    Hope this & the other posts helped.

    Best,
    Marybeth
  • sofaking6
    sofaking6 Posts: 4,589 Member
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    Being tired is a killer for me as well. Try and pack healthy snacks so you won't get too hungry and be tempted by the airport/airplane food. Find some motivating podcasts or audiobooks to listen to on the plane maybe?
  • fightingoldbadhabits
    fightingoldbadhabits Posts: 14 Member
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    Amazingly, down 7 in first 2 weeks. Pretty shocking as I've had a few really bad days. But mostly been doing well, working out every other day or so, and trying to make better choices. Right now I'm 265 starting at 272. I should be able to get near 255 doing what I'm doing, but for 10 years I've had a road block to lose any more than that. 220 is goal, along with a 100k bike ride in August that I want to do without keeling over.

    I seriously would not have gotten even this far without quitting had it not been for this community. Thank you, it helps a lot to have support, reinforcement, and especially to help others.

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