Let's Do this! - 2019 Challenge - Be the best you can be!

CdnChick

@loonyhiker Thanks! I am logging my food now and keeping track of my calories and macros. I also measured myself on Monday because like you said weight doesn't always tell the story, inches do! I will check again at the end of the month to see how i'm progressing. I think logging everything is going to help a lot. The most important thing is that I don't quit and keep pushing forward to get healthy. That is the end goal. I hope everyone had a great friday! I started out my day doing Abs and Cardio.

msarobix

@loonyhiker - I have used the SeaBands that you mentioned for motion sickness. They do work for me in the car, but I sometimes find the longer I wear them the less effective they are. I haven’t tried crystalized ginger. I will have to see how that works for me.

I only went to Zombie Knitpocalypse once, but it was super fun. I am just now getting my knitting mojo back after the stressful couple of years at my last job, and I have been toying with the idea of returning to podcasting. Only time will tell what becomes of that. I am feeling a lot more settled in my new job and feel like I can devote some of my free time to working on the podcast, but I also don’t want to start it up again only to taper off again.

I like your workout routine as well. It is very balanced. I have been doing more walking in place while I watch TV. I do this mostly if I am trying to get more move calories for the day. The last week I have been trying to be over move calories every day.

msarobix

@CdnChick - Congratulations on kicking the nicotine habit. I have never been a smoker, but I understand how hard it is to quit. Congratulations on conquering that addiction.

Don’t get discourage regarding the lack of weight loss after quitting. Understand that during the time that you were a smoker your body was basically sick, and wasn’t absorbing all the nutrients from the foods you were eating, which is one reason why a lot of smokers are thinner, and why smokers find it easy to lose weight when they cut calories.

Now that you are not putting all of those chemicals in your body your body, your intestines in particular, are healing and are now welcoming all the nutrients that you are now eating. Hence why most people who have quit smoking gain weight.

You have a well designed workout routine, and it sounds like your diet is also in alignment. So just stick to it. Eventually your body will adjust to its new environment.

msarobix

@KeriA - Remodeling is always a challenge, things never seem to go exactly as planned, and always seem to take much longer than you anticipate. But just think when it is all said and done you will have a new space. Hang in there.

Happy belated Birthday! Did you do anything special to celebrate?

I am happy to hear you got a new FitBit for your birthday. I know you have been without a FitBit for awhile now, so I know you are happy to have it back, and I hope it helps to motivate you to move more. That is as long as your job doesn’t prevent it. I know how hard it can be to fit in a workout when the job is stressful or you have to work long hours. Stay strong and make it a priority and you will get through.

msarobix

@janetay01 - Cardio is also easy for me. I never thought I would EVER in a MILLION YEARS I would enjoy running as much as I do. The problem I have though, is that I don’t want to give up my run to do strength training. So I need to find a way to get in a short strength workout so I still have time to run also, without having to workout for 2-3 hours a day.

Years ago, I use to workout 2-3 hours most days, but after many months it started to take a toll on my body and my free time. I don’t want to get to that point again. My ultimate goal is to do a maximum of 90 minutes most days, with a bit more on one weekend day each week. I just don’t want my life to revolve around my workout, but at the same time I want to burn enough calories to be able to eat some of the things I love.

msarobix

Hey everyone,

This week hasn’t been my best regarding my diet. I went out to eat a couple of times this week and I didn’t make the best choices. I am up a couple of pounds this week, which I believe to be mostly water weight, but still it is a bit discouraging.

My plan for today is to do somewhat of a fasting/cleanse, and only drink water and eat fruits and veggies, and eat as few carbs as possible. I hope this will flush out some of the excess water, and also provide a calorie deficit for today which I definitely was in excess of yesterday.

Today is also my long run, so I hope to burn off some of the extra calories that I consumed last night.

Hope everyone has a great weekend. Right now I am going to knit for a bit before I workout later this morning. I am trying to finish up some projects that have been on the needle for far, FAR, too long.

CdnChick

@msarobix Thank you! I appreciate the feedback.

My eating was ok this week. Had a few treats here and there as it was the last week our chef was at work so she tends to make us some desserts before she goes to be with her kids on spring break. I try not to beat myself up though as my workouts have been really good and I try and make sure I make up for the treat with some good stuff in there. Today I'm going to have a much needed rest day and head out with some friends to get shopping and then tomorrow i'm back at it. Enjoy your Saturday everyone!

mynacha73

@msarobix I get motion sick even when I'm driving on only moderately curvy roads, but I generally am just fine on cruises. I make sure to stay hydrated, and I use meclizine if I start feeling off. The key for me is to get a cabin that is mid-ship and on one of the lower decks. Ginger is a major go to for me as well.

Food has been rough since getting back from the trip. I got over the jet lag just in time to get the post-trip cold. So, I'm tired and drained and just want to go with what's fast and easy. It's also taken exercise almost entirely out of the equation because it just hurts to breathe once I get the heart pumping. I figure I'll have a weekend of rest, and be back to healthy by Monday.

@loonyhiker the book looks wonderful! And right in my field. I look forward to reading it!

Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend!

KeriA

I started feeling a bit under the weather last night so knew after the busy week I needed to sleep in but that is 2 skips of Aquafit in a row😐. It is at 8 Saturday mornings. I do feel better today so I am going to take it easy this weekend. I am logging and upping the water intake.

Right now I am supporting my daughter as she studies for finals by accompanying her to a cafe to study. She was struggling at Stanford and it took awhile but finally got the right expert and determined it was ADHD. She is home now going to a smaller university in town. She is doing better but my being there keeps her focused. It really isn’t the academics but having no established routine living on campus.

I put corned beef and cabbage in the crock pot so we will have a home cooked meal tonight. I am already coming down from the week high weight wise.

Have a great weekend all.

msarobix

Hi Everyone,

Yesterday, I finally made the determination that I am much better off doing my running workouts first thing in the morning before I eat anything. This isn’t a problem during the week, because I typically get up between 4:30 and 5:00 am and workout right away. On the weekends, I tend to want to relax a bit after I get up, have a cup of coffee and breakfast and then workout later in the day.

But what I have found is that after I eat I am so less motivated to workout, and it also a bit uncomfortable. I try to wait at least 2 hours after I eat, but even 2.5-3 hours after I eat it is still a struggle to run. I am not sure how this will affect my weekend workouts going forward, because I do really like to have a relaxed morning on most weekends.

Today, I am probably just going to do some walking in place for 10-15 minutes every hour or so and not worry about doing structured exercise today.

My fasting/cleanse yesterday lasted until around 6 pm, when I decided I needed something different to eat. I ended up having some popcorn, which isn’t too bad of a treat, but the salt isn’t so good for water retention. I am down a pound today, which confirms my suspicion of water weight. I am going to try to drink a lot of water again today and try to eat mostly fruits and vegetables again today. Maybe by tomorrow I will lost the other pound.


@mynacha73 - Thank you for the tips on motion sickness. Does meclizine make you drowsy? I tend to be very sensitive to medications that either cause drowsiness or are non-drowsy formulas. The ones that cause drowsiness make me want to sleep for days, and the non-drowsy formulas give me insomnia. So I typically stay away from all these medications except as a last resort. I will keep the room location in mind also, and am definitely going to purchase some ginger.


@KeriA - sorry to hear that you aren’t feeling well. It always sucks when you are motivated to workout or eat better and then your body doesn’t want to cooperate. I hope you are feeling better today and can get back to your Aquafit this week. I know I always feel better if I put some movement in my body.

Smilely3

Hello everyone,
I haven't checked in for a while. I found a workout partner and have become consistent with working out 3 days a week. I have been struggling with sweets and gained 2lbs. My friend suggested I try the Keto diet @msarobix @loonyhiker , do you know anyone who tried Keto. My fear is I would gain weight instead of lose weight? Does anyone know if the Keto diet works for quick weight loss?

loonyhiker

@KeriA Hope you are feeling better. Glad you are able to support your daughter.

@msarobix I have to exercise first thing in the morning or I know that I will get busy (aka lazy) and won't do it later on. I hate that darn water retention!

When we cruise (We are about to do cruise #60 I think), we always try to get midship and bottom floors. There is less movement there which doesn't matter to us but we like it because it is easier to get on and off the ship so we don't have to fight for an elevator. When we get back to the ship, we just walk up the stairs to our room to drop stuff off and then go to the other end of the ship to catch the elevator to the upper decks. We also get an interior room because it is cheaper and we don't spend much time in it anyway.

msarobix

Wow, has it really been three days since I checked in.

I had an amazing run today. It was a walk run, 2 minutes run, 3 minutes, walk, but a the end I decided to just keep running, and I ended up running for a full 15 minutes straight at the end of the run. I was feeling really good so I just kept going. I only stopped because I was running out of time and needed to get ready for work.

Yes, I have been running for 45 minutes straight, but it is a a slower speed, so I was very happy that I felt comfortable running for longer than a couple of minutes a this faster speed. I don’t think it will take me as long to ramp up to 45 minutes at this speed as it did to ramp up at the slower speed that I am currently running.

I am now incorporating running into my routine at least 5 days a week, and hopefully I will also run at least one day during the weekend, which would make it 6 days. I love the additional calorie burn that I get from running, so I am hoping that I will see the scale start moving down again. It has been pretty static since the beginning of the month.


@Smilely3 - I haven’t ever tried Keto. It is a VERY low carb diet intended for fast weight loss. I have considered trying it, however my worry is that I will lose weight quickly, but won’t be able to sustain the diet for more than a couple of weeks, and then as soon as I start eating carbs again I will just gain back whatever I lost. Which is why I still haven’t tried it, and probably never will.


@loonyhiker - thanks for the info on cruising. One of these days I am going to book a cruise and take a chance.

loonyhiker

Well, the doctor confirmed I had plantar fasciitis. I now have inserts in my New Balance shoes (she recommends this brand and I already have them) along with some stretches I need to do before and after exercising. She also told me to ice it every evening. Hopefully, these steps will help the pain go away.

@msarobix That is great that you are running so well. I think next week I will add a minute to each running segment since I'm feeling comfortable (maybe too comfortable) with what I'm doing right now.

KeriA

@msarobix “Today, I am probably just going to do some walking in place for 10-15 minutes every hour or so and not worry about doing structured exercise today.” This is a good idea for me today. I am feeling better and hoping I will get back to work tomorrow. "I had an amazing run today. It was a walk run" I miss the walk/runs I did around a lake here since my doctors told me not to run anymore.

@loonyhiker my husband and I went on a cruise for the 1st time this fall to the Caribbean. My son and daughter-in-law sent us on it. When he graduated from law school with a job lined up he asked me what I really wanted. I told him. My husband wasn’t as keen on the idea. But in the end we both loved it but the best part was the day after visiting our son and seeing his new home. We walked the decks every morning and night and swam during the afternoons. When in port we walked a lot sightseeing and went swimming in the Caribbean. We had big breakfasts and dinners but only small snacks if anything instead of lunches. I didn’t gain anything that way. But afterwards when I was back working and didn’t have as much time to walk and swim I have been struggling. I think we might do an Alaskan cruise living in Seattle but we probably won’t be serial cruisers. However it is a good deal since it includes room and board. Sorry to hear you have plantar facilitis. Well, finding out what is wrong is bad and good. The good part is knowing what is wrong and finding out what to do about it. Hope it goes well and the pain goes away. I wear Brookes running shoes (since they have narrow heels and wider toe area) with slight arch support recommended by PT. I like that they are a Seattle company.

I am home today but feel a bit better. Not well but think I am over the hump. However the last part of these colds is the coughing stage. Although I am coughing it hasn't been bad yet. Wish I could skip that part. I may not be exercising and missing my Aquafit but I am losing. Between 5-9 pounds if you include my spikes in weights. My weight varies alot and that is why I weigh daily and keep my spreadsheet so I can see the bigger trends.

Some progress on the bathroom. The old tub is out. The good news is the floor and wall behind it look really good. The bad news is that maybe we didn't need to get rid of the tub. But now we will have a new tub to go with the new tiling. The framing starts Tuesday. Then the new tub whenever it arrives and then we can get back to the tiling that was what the project was supposed to be. At least the worst part of the plumbing is done and paid for. This has been keeping us from having people over and this is the worst of the deferred maintenance we have from the economic downturn when we didn't have my income to pay for anything over the basics especially considering kids in college. We already did the exterior painting the last few years ourselves. I am hoping this friend of my daughters will help us replace wood on our deck so we can paint it.

I think the related aspect of this is that I avoid going down the stairs at home. I hate them. They are narrow and have thick carpeting and I do not feel secure. There aren't any railings. I never use an elevator at work and our floors are more than normal floor heights. They take 3 long flights between floors. At home I just try not to go down. So having to use the basement bathroom is actually good for me. And our contractor is going to put in rails too. I am starting to get better at them. I have arthritis in my knees so I have some excuse. It flaired up a bit but naproxin took care of that so it's all good. I now have my Versa watch which tracks my stairs too. I plan today to try to listen to my watch when it tells me how many more steps I need for the hour and get up and do something active.

I will try to post more often with smaller posts!

KeriA

I went to work yesterday and felt better. My steps and floors were up. I guess this weekend is recoup days. Almost but not quite well. No Aquafit this morning but plan to start back Monday. The plan is to keep my steps going up. Without work maybe not as many floors to climb. Hope all have a healthy weekend.

loonyhiker

@KeriA Glad you are feeling better.

Excited that I finished the March Challenge and got my award (Apple Watch stuff). Even though I didn't exercise yesterday since it was my rest day, I worked in the yard and by the end of the day I still had over 13,000 steps. Icing my foot in the evenings has really helped the pain. A lady in church told me I should get that athlete's tape and tape for foot and arch because it helped her so I may try to find some today.

msarobix

Hey everyone,

I got a new computer this weekend, so I spent the better part of Saturday evening migrating all of my information from my old computer to the new one.

I had another great run on Saturday, but I was feeling it on Sunday, and still today. I have been watching running technique videos and changed how I was running, which mean more use of my calves and shins. So they both have been hurting like crazy the past two days.

Yesterday I took a rest day because of the pain, but today I went ahead and ran. I had to warm-up a bit longer than usual, but in the end it was a good run.



@Loonyhiker - Ouch! Sorry to hear about your plater fasciitis. I hope the treatment helps and diminishes your pain.

Definitely continue to increase your running distance as your body will allow. A runners high is REAL, and you will love it once your reach it.


@KeriA - I got the idea of walking in place from @Loonyhiker, it really is a great way to get some movement without doing anything too strenuous.

Glad to hear you are filling better.

msarobix

Hey everyone, how is everything going?

I got a new scale this week, one the provides a whole lot of data in addition to body weight.

I have also had a bit of pain in left lung, the past couple of days which has prevented me from running. I went to the doctor today, but nothing came of it. They were unable to tell me what was causing the pain. They drew some blood so I am hoping that that results will turn up something. It is really disconcerting that they have no clue why I am having this pain.

loonyhiker

@msarobix I'm sorry you are hurting. I hope they find out the cause.

I know that is how I felt when I was having chest pain that gradually got worse. When it got to where I couldn't walk from the car to the store without hurting and breathing hard, my hubby insisted that I go to the doctor. She believed (along with the cardiologist that she sent me to) that I was having a heart attack. It scared everyone. They didn't even make me do a stress test and went right to the heart cath. But that showed I had a strong heart and clear arteries. Since it wasn't a heart attack like everyone expected, it was really puzzling.

The doctor decided I had Prinzmetal angina and put me on a low dosage calcium channel blocker and now I'm fine. I take this tiny pill every morning and what a difference it has made!

msarobix

@loonyhiker - Wow that sounds scary. But at least they figured out what was going on with you. With all the tests I had yesterday, they weren't able to find anything. The bloodwork came back and I don't think I could be any healthier. I just don't know why I was having the pain. I haven't had any strong pain since Wednesday night so I am hoping it was just a fluke thing that came and went and now I am fine.

I worked out this morning and even ran a little. I didn't do my usual run, but I did run a few segments.

KeriA

@msarobix glad you are having things checked out. I had a chest pain and they checked for heart related things and it wasn't that. I decided it was just gas. It always happened after having chili and cornbread. I still have that but don't have as much cornbread. However you seem to be having the pain in a slightly different place.

Got to Aquafit all 3 days this week including this morning. My weight is staying down even though we went out to dinner with my son who is in town just for the weekend. My daughter goes back to school Monday so it will start to get busy again and we have to figure out a schedule with picking her up most nights just before 8 PM. It works well on Monday and Wednesday when we go to Aquafit after work.

Hope all have a good weekend.

BackInSoFL

@msarobix sorry to hear you had pain in your lung. Sounds like you're taking it easy, just running a little. I hope your back to normal very soon. I know your love the workouts.

It seems like as I've gotten older, I have more and more aches & pains. The pollen has been so bad this year, I scratched my eye it itched so bad and got a blood blister in the right eye. It really looked like there was no white of my eye. Eye doctor examined me and says "eewwww" , said no damage, and gave me some eye drops, and told me to keep my hands away from my eye.

My workouts have been non-existent this month. I have been watching what I eat and logging, trying to move more daily. I've been doing more yard work as Spring is here. But, not looking forward to weight/measure/photo day tomorrow.

I love the accountability each month, filling in the spreadsheet and looking back, making more goals going forward. I think for April I am going to set some weekly goals, see if that can keep the motivation throughout the month. I remember March, in like a lion...out like a lamb.

mynacha73

Sounds like a bunch of us have some aches and pains. My foot acted up again and I haven't been able to walk without pain in over a week. Sometimes I feel like when I take a step forward with my health, I take a step backward. Then I get discouraged and dinner turns into a mess of sugar and fat.

I've been thinking a lot about the patterns I keep falling back into, so I've made a couple big changes this month. The first is addressing how I treat myself. I started a class on Mindful Self-Compassion. I learned about it when I was at a conference at UC Berkeley. It's been really helpful to learn ways to treat myself more kindly. And it's great to sit in a room with other folks that are working on the same things. (If you're interested, there are classes all over and online and some interesting resources available: https://self-compassion.org).

The other big change is that I gave notice at the job that has been so frustrating and painful for so long. It's such a freeing feeling, but pretty scary to be leaving without having another job lined up yet. I'm also moving from CA to DC to be closer to family. It's a lot. But the self-compassion class made interview outfit shopping a lot less traumatic yesterday.

My goals for April are pretty simple. Healthy eating, be kind to myself, go for walks, do my physical therapy. And send out cover letters and resumes.

I hope everyone is healing (or staying healthy!) and that spring is heading your way.

msarobix

Hey Everyone,

Last Saturday Steve and I went indoor rock climbing. It was scary, challenging and fun all at the same time. We had a really good time, and I was sore a bit on Sunday, but it got worse on Monday. Then I came down with a cold on Monday. I got up yesterday morning and walked on the treadmill, but throughout the day I felt worse and worse. Today, I worked from home and tried to rest. I will probably go to the office tomorrow, but I will wait until tomorrow morning to see how I feel. Needless to say, I didn’t workout today.

Here is hoping that I am feeling better tomorrow.

loonyhiker

I've been watching my food (as it all goes in my mouth) so I gained a little. Now I'm back to eating better. I tried eating "just a little" of the bad things and that didn't work. Now I'm back to "all or nothing" and choosing nothing. I also increased my running time on the treadmill to 12 min. walk and 3 min. run four times.

@KeriA Sounds like you are on the right track.

@mynacha73 Good luck with your new adventure. I'm glad you are taking care of yourself.

@msarobix I hope to try a rock climbing wall some day. But I need to improve my arm muscles. My leg muscles are great but the arms are weaklings. I hope you are feeling better!

msarobix

Hey everyone,

I have been sick all week and haven't been able to workout at all. I have gained 2 pounds from eating poorly and drinking gingerale and popping cough drops like they are candy. Over the last week I haven't been able to sleep through the night because I am constantly waking up coughing. Until last night the longest I slept at any given time was up to 2 hours. Last night I was finally able to sleep for 5-6 hours straight.

I am finally starting to feel a little bit better today, and starting to get really antsy about getting moving again, but probably won't workout again until Tuesday. I don't want to push it before my body is back to near 100%.


@loonyhiker - surprisingly rock climbing doesn't take as much upper body strength as you might think. The first time I tried to climb I was trying to us my arms more than I needed to. Then I asked the instructor the best way to build upper body strength to climb and she said to mostly use my legs, and only use arms to stabilize. Once I tried this I found it definitely to be the case. The next hardest part was having the flexibility to get my leg up to a higher spot. That and the fear of heights limited my climbs, but I think with a bit more practice I will get better and more comfortable. With the package we purchased we get another day pass pithing 30 days of our first visit so we are planning on going back next weekend. I think it will definitely be something I want to do more often, maybe once a month. A day pass to climb is only $18 and you could definitely spend the entire day climbing different areas.

KeriA

@mynacha73 I think the self compassion is sounds like a good step. I hope the job search and move goes well.

@msarobix I hope you start to feel better soon. I feel so much better but I keep having to clear my throat. My boss got sick after I did but she had a sore throat I just had a cold.

@loonyhiker I hope you find the right balance with eating and exercise.

My weight went up and now back down to even lower so not sure what is up except for not paying attention and then paying better attention. We are still trying to figure out the schedule this quarter. We are just trying to eat at home despite having late nights 4 out of 5 weeknights. We go to the symphony this week so we will be eating there 1 night. I don't have a night meeting so we won't miss Aquafit. I have been going to Drs and Dentist appointments this month. My blood pressure was really good. I am doing slightly better with water intake but alot of room for improvement.

Hope we all have a great week.

loonyhiker

@msarobix I hope you are feeling better! I hate being sick. Thanks for the info about the rock climbing! It seems like it would be doable for me then.

@KeriA Glad your weight is back on track. I think paying attention is probably helping you.

I think my weight is up because I know I haven't been eating healthy. Plus I'm a little stressed out about our 3 upcoming trips. We leave next weekend for a weeklong camping trip in the Smokies. We do this every year so I hope to get in some good hiking next week. Then on May 1, we leave for northern Europe for a month. We will spend a week in Copenhagen and then a 24-day cruise so that means I will gain weight (the food on the cruise is very salty and rich). We will come home on May 31 and wash clothes, pack up our car and leave for a month long road trip ending up in Minnesota for the Zombie Knitpocalypse knitting retreat. I will be ready to eat healthy by the time we get home in July.

mynacha73

Hi Everyone,

@loonyhiker - you might not gain on the cruise. I actually lost a 1/2 pound after my 17 day North Atlantic cruise because (with the exception of gala night when I was in heels) I refused to take the elevator, I walked the ship a lot, and I hiked on all my shore days. Have a wonderful time on the trip!!

@msarobix - keep healing. This bug has just been brutal.

I just got back from a long weekend chaperoning a student trip to Greensboro. While food was like summer camp, I still managed to stay on track because the site was all gentle hills and every event was a 10 minute walk from every other event. Without meaning to, I walked 7 miles the first day we were there! I've been home for about 36 hours, and tomorrow morning I leave for DC to interview. I'm thinking I should become an airline pilot. I'll have traveled about 35,000 flight miles between mid-February and this coming Saturday night. Oy!

I've been keeping my food on track by taking things one meal at a time and allowing only one snack each day. The snack has to be a fruit or veg with a little protein (though I always start by trawling the school building for chocolate, it's now a "thing" that amuses my co-workers).

Have a great week!