Tiffany's Progress Tracking
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Wednesday was good...food was actually too low, and I did walking, combat, and pilates instead of ab ripper...also had a couple glasses of wine visiting with my aunt before she heads back home today. It was nice to see her!1
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Thursday was pretty epic...food was on target...walking, shoulders, and glutes done...it was hard, and I totally had to use a glass of wine as motivation to complete glutes because I just wanted to quit so it would be over...but I powered through and then I enjoyed my wine.1
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Friday was good...extra walking, and did 2/3 of my glute routine..since I was the second day in a row of doing it and my lower back and hip flexors were really yelling after the second set, I figured I should call it a day and not get injured.1
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Saturday was crazy busy, I got in 3 hours of walking but was totally lazy and didn't do any weights.
Sunday was a funeral, and it's the only day of the week I get to sleep in, so I did just that...then was the funeral, I had 2 mimosas as part of the memorial toast and socializing afterward...then went walking for an hour after the funeral and finished the evening with a couple glasses of wine...so no strength training again, but the travel and funeral were exhausting so I didn't mind some pampering and recovery
It's time to start planning november - I think I'm going to try to fit in more glute work and maybe ease up on the upper body.
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I'm sorry for your loss
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Thank yo miss kayla, you are so sweet!
Monday was good-ish...I walked...I did beast chest...then I had wine and was lazy...I really probably should have done a glute makeup workout, but I just didn't feel like it, so I didn't.
I'm going to keep calories low this week since Saturday is a party and I will probably want to eat there...plus, I just want to look a bit trim in my costume!0 -
Tuesday was pretty awesome...I missed my afternoon walk because I got stuck in meetings, but then managed to squeeze in some extra walking after I got home...then it was glute night and my hip flexors were kind of bothering me...so I did one round of the glute routine, then did a second round of the less hip flexor intensive exercises...then finished it off with some solid band work that I was able to tweak so that my hip flexors were not overly stressed...I feel like it was a way more solid workout than I would have gotten if I had tried to stick to the original routine, and I'm always happy when I manage to listen to my body and not get injured...food was on target.0
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You're welcome!
Do you find the planning your workouts for the month helps keep you on track more than if you didn't plan them?
Yay for not getting injured!
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I find that I get bored of any workout plan after a month...so I need a new plan every month or I won't end up doing any working out at all...because I can find every possible excuse in the book to not do a workout if I'm already bored of it...I try to keep some variety in the month because even doing the same workout every week gets boring after about 3 weeks...and I try to kind of shift the focus every month...like October was more upper body, November will be glute heavy...December, I don't know what I'm going to do, but I'm thinking about scaling it back on the weights and doing a month of low calories and mostly flexibility work with just maintenance level on the strength training...not sure yet...but I would like to trim a little fluff and I can't cut calories too much and still get all the weight work in...plus, I'm just getting a bit tired of the intense weights, I could use a month off, but that would be a terrible idea, so I'll just take a month and stretch more, lower the intensity, and super cut calories.
Wednesday was good - combat in the morning...lots of extra walking due to the Halloween Pokemon challenge, plus did beast arms when I got home and followed up with some glute work...kept the glute work kind of light to save my hip flexors and lower back some strain, and did extra stretching plus some foam rolling.0 -
Thursday was not great, but not terrible...walking was done...evening weights were supposed to be shoulders, but in reality they were still super sore from stabilizing biceps from the night before, so I skipped them and just rested...didn't even do any extra glute workout or anything, just put up some halloween decorations and went to bed early.0
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Spent most of the weekend resting...did some walking, and some yoga, and stayed up way too late, took some naps, overall just a super relaxing time.1
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I tried doing workout plans in the first year but I found that I never stuck to them. I would still do something just not what was on the plan. I think if you feel like you need to take a break from something, take a break especially if you find that lowering the intensity doesn't help. You've always been good at listening to your body, don't stop now.
You have been the most consistent out of all of the people that have come through this group, what would be your best advice for those (i.e. me) that are struggling or continue to struggle? While I know motivation is fleeting, what has been your biggest motivator? What keeps you on track more often than not? I'm also curious (hope you don't mind the 20 questions here haha) and I know you say you get bored with things after so long but do you have any favorite exercises, ones that you either don't mind doing or actually look forward to?
Hope you're having a good start to your week!0 -
Long term motivations is like the biggest freaking challenge!!! This is kind of long, but you asked, anyone who doesn't want to know can skip this post.
I think a lot of it just boils down to finding what works for you, but I will be happy to share the things that work for me...and they kind of vary over time...I haven't found any single thing that is 100% motivating 100% of the time.
Exercises I don't get bored of and pretty much always incorporate into my day/week/month routine - walking, combat, and yoga
For whatever reason, I can do combat every single morning and it is just awesome, and never gets old, maybe my brain just isn't awake yet, so it doesn't get irritated by the repetition? Or maybe it's just fun. And I totally love walking, particularly if I can go outside...I can walk hours and hours and hours a day and it never gets old. Yoga is just nice and relaxing, so that one always make me feel super happy, so I never seem to get bored of it.
Strength training, ugh, so boring, like all the time boring, like I have to keep reminding myself that it's important to work on bone density and being strong and capable because I pretty much just never find strength training fun. This is part of the reason I change this every month, keeping it kind of fresh, shifting the focus from month to month, these are my tricks to try and keep me motivated.
My overall motivation:
1 - I'm getting older and I don't want to be an invalid, I want to be able to do the things I want to do and I want to be able to enjoy life as I continue to age. Seriously, I get so much motivation from other people every single day. Example - friends that can't walk 2 blocks without huffing and puffing and having an attitude about what a struggle walking is - I never want to be that out of shape. I actually enjoy DOING THINGS and a large part of being able to be active and DO THINGS is maintaining a minimum level of fitness. If I want to be able to enjoy a couple hours walking and hiking in nature (which I did this past Sunday and got some amazing photos at Belle Isle) then I need to be at a certain level of fitness or that kind of activity becomes a chore. Example - we had a day where the power was out and the elevators were down except the handicapped one - I was astounded at not only the amount of complaining from the 20-something coworkers, but also legitimately watching them struggle to walk up the stairs...our building is 3 stories and a walkout basement - this is not a skyscraper and everyone should be able to walk up a couple flights of stairs without it being a major deal WHEN YOU ARE IN YOUR 20s, people were not eating lunch because they didn't want to have to walk up 2 flights of stairs afterward, they would rather eat out of the vending machines...it was shocking, and quite a motivator for me, I don't want to be that, not even at 80 or 100 and god willing, those days are coming, I hope to enjoy them and still be active.
2 - children learn by example and to a certain extent I am probably the only reason my husband works out too...I make my kids do some kind of activity or sport, but once they are grown they will choose their activity level themselves, the best way I can ensure that their health will be a priority when they are adults is by making is a priority in my life and setting that standard as a "normal life expectation"...my husband basically keeps himself in shape because he doesn't want to be the fat guy married to a thin wife...I try to keep the focus on his health because I don't really want to be a widow any time soon, but for him I'm pretty sure it's more about vanity.
3 - it's a little bit about vanity for me, and that feeling of being supercharged and totally badass and sexy and desirable...all of that mostly stems from my workout and not just the post-workout "high" but also the satisfaction of seeing the progress in my body...doing the measurements and seeing 1/2" gain on my biceps, plus just seeing how they look in photos...getting the compliments on how nice my arms looks, or any part of me, or just me...I do like compliments, they are not a requirement, but totally a nice bonus...that nice round booty that fills out my jeans, it makes me happy to see that, to see a round booty that doesn't have much cellulite...the fact that I wear size 4 jeans as my age...all of it kind of basically comes down to vanity...I like looking good...I like not being horrified of photos of me in my swimsuit...I feel like there's plenty of room for improvement, but I'm not dead yet, so I got time to work on things one area at a time, and even slow progress is way better than no progress...I feel like my ranking on the looks scale improves as I age because the older I get the fewer and fewer women my age are actually still looking good...it's easy to look good at 20, it's not that hard to look good at 30, by 40 you don't generally look good unless you are deliberately working on your health, and the older you get the harder it is to remain a healthy weight...most of the women my age are very round and overweight or obese...I figure by age 100, I should totally be a 10!
The little tips and tricks:
1 - clothes, I like to buy/make cute cosplay and I find it motivating to want to look good in these things, for cons or holidays or other special occasions...or sometimes even just to look good at a family get together.
2 - food rewards, I know everyone says don't use food as a reward, but the reality is it works for me and I don't have any eating disorders...if I know that I'm going to want to splurge on a weekend event, I find it easier to keep my calories in line during the week because I know if I don't "bank" up some calories then I will not be able to enjoy my splurge in the quantities I want. If I don't have social events for a while, I will actually plan my own "fancy dinner" at home so I can still take advantage of this as a motivator.
3 - fun trips and special events...like, family vacations...or trips to the beach with friends...these are times that I know I want to look good and I want to be able to relax on the consumption/tracking during the trip, so I can get a good 3-6 weeks of motivation to be serious and strict with my exercise and food prior to an event or trip.
4 - measurements, these can sometimes be motivators for me, particularly if I'm really focused on working to reduce fat percentage or build muscle in a particular area...I do try to track them overall monthly as a good metric, but I will do micro-tracking weekly for areas that I'm trying to improve and have a focus on for usually not more than 1-3 months.
5 - change motivators frequently...if I start to find myself skipping workouts or not tracking food, I don't try to fight with "extra willpower" I just recognize that whatever I'm trying to use as a motivator is not actually working, and it's time to find something else...so if I have an outfit I'm trying to look good in and I no longer find that motivating, then it's time to switch to a food reward, or plan a special event for wearing that outfit...when the motivation is lacking, find a new reward, and don't view it as a failure - no plan survives contact with the enemy, adapting and improvising, this is what success really looks like...having a good plan is a great start, but it's just a start, the real work comes in being able to adjust the plan.1 -
Monday was good...walking was cool, food was on plan despite lots of sweets cravings, no evening workout since I was cooking and running errands to care for this sick child, and then I was just lazy...tuesday is happy hour and wednesday is halloween, so I'm just going to start hitting the workouts hard on 11/1 and probably just relax a bit for the next few days.1
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Tuesday was so fun, but maybe not so diligent...only did walking...protein was way too low, carbs was a bit high, but calories were still right on track...it was happy hour and I did all the right things and reviewed the menu and planned in advance, and then they didn't have the stuff I had planned...so I had an extra beer and snacked on a few appetizers, but overall I wasn't even in the mood to eat since they didn't have what I was looking for...I guess that's good, at least I kept my calories in check and now I just really need to focus on getting the protein.1
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Thank you for humoring my 20 questions! haha I found it very insightful and I appreciate you taking the time to respond 0
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wednesday...good except for all the wine...I did manage to mostly stay out of the chocolate, so I'm kind of proud of that at least.0
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Thursday - UGH
So...I felt terrible in the morning...and I thought I was on track for food for the day...but then I ate some trail mix...so that put me about 600 cal over...which is really what I normally allow for a high calorie day, but I was supposed to be not eating that 600 cal so that I can maybe trim up a little...<sigh>...on the plus side, that puts me right at maintenance, so I didn't gain.
And...I did my walking, plus 3 rounds of legs...well, like 2 1/2 rounds of legs because my hip flexor started to go nuts a get all twitchy...and I used my new back brace thing around my waist, and that did actually seem to help me keep my back straight and so at least it wasn't my lower back freaking out on me this time!
I was supposed to also do shoulders, but due to time constraints and needing to get to bed to be up an hour early today, I just passed on the shoulders...upper body is more of a maintenance level of lifting this month, it's all about prioritizing the legs! I did take a look at the begin/end of October photos and I do see some progress in the legs and glutes, so hoping to see more by the end of this month.1 -
How are things going? @tcunbeliever0
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Friday 11/2 - I tracked food, and I was mostly on target...carbs were a bit over, but protein was good and total calories were good...I don't think I did any working out, but I totally don't remember because that's what I get for waiting so long to write in here...I think I spent the evening setting up for the party instead of working out, but I did get some walking done on breaks.
Saturday 11/3 - Today was the halloween party...did beer & yoga in the morning, and got some walking in while shopping...didn't track food, but probably drank most of my calories, and I really didn't even drink much, a couple beers, a couple ciders...one bowl of chili...and I think I had something for lunch, maybe, maybe not
Sunday 11/4 - Cleaned up the house and started putting things away after the party, then headed to the beach house for a few days of work there. Got there too late to do any real yard work, but did walk down by the bay park with my daughter and get some exercise time in on the way to the grocery, plus walked home from the shopping, so that was a nice way to loosen up after sitting in the car half the day...had one beer before dinner, but no drinking after dinner.
Monday 11/5 - Today was off and on rainy, but I got some walking done in the morning and I spent a considerable amount of time clearing brush in the morning and again in the late afternoon - had to give my gloves a chance to dry before I could tackle more. Lunch was turkey/roast beef with a bit of white american...dinner was chicken mac & cheese, no drinking, but I did snack on some popcorn late at night!
Tuesday 11/6 - I voted today!!! I also didn't track food and had a couple glasses of wine....workout included brush clearing, 1 round of glutes, and some yoga just to loosen up the road travel kinks...back home and ready to "start" the week a bit late.
I think I'm going to make it a goal not to drink any more alcohol the rest of the week, it seems to slow my weight loss even when I make it fit in my calories, plus with the halloween party season I just feel like it's gotten a bit crazy and I am less likely to track at all (much less accurately) when I have been drinking.1 -
Wednesday - day was good-ish...walking at lunch, no workouts in the evening, but only 15 min of abs was planned anyway, so that's not a huge loss...my food was a bit crazy, I planned lunch and apparently it wasn't enough food because I was SOOOOO HUNGRY when I got home, I went a bit crazy with the snacking...so today I brought a bit more food for lunch, and still a protein heavy focus.
HOWEVER
I got on the scale this morning and was 158 again...still??? Usually I am very diligent about staying 150 +/- 5 and I wasn't that worried about it when I saw 158 last Thursday because Friday started Lucifer's Waterfall, and that does tend to cause me a lot of weight gain in the form of water...but that's all done now, and I'm still 3 lbs over my maintenance goal.
I recalculated my maintenance calories based on my current weight and 18.3% body fat (per the scale this morning) and I have set myself to a 1.5 lb loss per week and adjusted for the calorie/carb cycling, and keyed all my new goals into MFP.
I also noticed that my training days were off, I shifted some of the workouts for Nov and I didn't mark the "training" days so I was out of sync there, and so I marked it on the calendar so I would remember.
All in all it's about a 200 cal drop on my training days and a 150 cal drop on my rest days, so for me it's all about sticking to the goal and keeping calories in line. I will avoid alcohol except for special occasions like thanksgiving day, and the same for sweets, but I may actually skip the sweets for thanksgiving and aim for an all protein kind of day...we will see...in any case, it's time to reign in the tracking and stick to the workouts and reap the rewards...fluff needs to go, don't want to carry this into next year with me!1 -
Thursday - This was a good day...I didn't even eat all my calories, but they were within target AND I even got the last slice of pumpkin roll and my carbs were still under goal...thank goodness that is gone now, the candy isn't much of a temptation...so I stuck to my protein heavy plan, and I knew I wanted to work out when I got home, so I had a big big protein snack before ballet...got a little walking done during lunch and ballet time, then did 2 rounds of glutes and the whole shoulder workout...I planned for 3 rounds of glutes, but since my hip flexor started acting up and this month is glutes 6x/week, I figured it was better NOT to push it and instead to lose one round and keep the momentum.
Tonight is 2 rounds of glutes, plus Dynamix, plus it's my first "rest" day calories on the new plan, which are quite low and will be quite a challenge...and I have lunch out with a friend...I will keep to a protein heavy focus, and if I get desperately hungry I will go for eggs since they are filling, good protein, and pretty low on calories.1 -
Friday was solid...walking on breaks...lunch with a friend, and I even kept it healthy...dinner was on target, and glute work was done with great effort, no slacking at all, totally 100% in...I did skip the dynamic stretching and opted to go to bed at 9pm instead...a full 9 hours of sleep, it was glorious!!!1
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Saturday was ok...food was actually in line which was kind of easy for an up calorie day...I did lots of walking in the morning and afternoon playing Pokemon Go...but I ended up hanging with a friend and watching Christopher Robin instead of doing my strength training...didn't get home until almost midnight, and it was just too late and I had no energy.
Sunday so far I have done all my Sunday workouts, and Monday is a yoga day, so I can actually do my strength training today (back/bis I think) and still have sufficient recovery. But today is a down calorie day, so that will make it a challenge.
I got on the scale and I'm down almost a pound, so the plan is working at least, but I do still consider it critical to get that upper body strength training done.
On the plus side, I am shopping for some cute christmas fabric for a new holiday dress today...and I kind of need to pick out a pattern too...maybe...I might already have one I like...not decided yet.1 -
Oh I really want to see Christopher Robin, how'd you like it?0
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It was super cute...very predictable, but still worth the watch.1
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Sunday...awesome on workouts, all of today's plus the missed upper body from Saturday...awesome on food, though this whole new low calorie plan sucks and I totally have to key in advance and play to make things fit...but, I'm getting better at it and I'm very excited about actually staying on plan!!!
Also, bought some cute purple Nightmare Before Christmas fabric for my christmas dress, so I can start working on that...and I made a keto cheesecake for the food day tomorrow.
...and tomorrow is another low calorie day so a food day is going to be quite a challenge...
<sigh>
The life of weight loss is hard, but rewarding!!!1 -
Monday actually went amazing...I had cheesecake and veggies for lunch (no dip) so kept it in check during food day but then was starving when I got home so I made good choices and chowed down on ham and lunch meat...then I wasn't hungry for dinner so I just had a measured amount of trail mix...calories were in line and carbs were close to in line. Exercise was walking at lunch and breaks, plus 2 rounds of glutes, yay me!1
