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

KeriA

@loonyhiker yes travelling can be stressful but fun. I didn't gain on my cruise since I was pretty active walking and swimming but also eating. It was hard to adjust though when I got back and not as active but used to eating larger meals. Enjoy. You will get do well when you get back.

@mynacha73 I hope the interview goes/went well. I wish my snacks were so healthy. Chocolate is good for you if there isn't too much other things mixed in.

We are still getting used to what seems to be a grueling schedule picking up our daughter at school later. We have extra activities mixed in as well. The Symphony Thursday was so wonderful. In the coming weeks I have to fit in Drs and dental visits and a workshop. Last week we weren't as good cooking at home (crock pot meals) as we were the week before. We went to aquafit 2 nights. I had an appoint the other and we walked a bit on campus. So it worked out this week but busy. Friday we came home and had leftovers. However this weekend has been good. I seem to be playing catch up every weekend logging what meals I can remember and putting in my exercise etc. We have some food planned this week so lets hope it works as planned.

We are making slow progress on the bathroom remodel (the repair work is done). That is another complication in life now. Getting tired of taking showers in the basement and the Y.

Hope all have a great week ahead.

loonyhiker

Well, we've had some bad storms this past weekend. A limb off our tree went through our neighbor's window. Now we are getting estimates to cut down the huge tree. I didn't realize this costs thousands of dollars! Hope everyone is doing well.

loonyhiker

Well, I worked 6 hours gardening the first day and then 8 hours gardening yesterday but my exercise ring never closed. I'm sore all over (arms and backs) so I KNOW I exercised! LOL We are having the big tree cut down on Monday and my yard looks fabulous. I am feeling less stressed so I'm getting back on the wagon. I even turned down ice cream last night.

Efsim

I know it’s April but can I join your challenge?

AmyLauren2019

Me too? Can I join?

msarobix

Welcome @Efsim & @AmyLauren2019!


I have been a little lazy this week after being sick for a week. I was feeling better last week by I didn't workout and this past week I was fine, but just didn't feel like picking up the intensity. I hope to get back to running in the next week or so.

I have been doing okay with my diet. I haven't lost any more weight, but I haven't gained either. I think once I get back to more intense workouts I will start losing again.

Efsim

Thank you for letting me join!
@msarobix I hope you feel better, it’s so hard to have energy to workout when your not feeling good.
This was my first week back to working out in a while: I set the goal for the week to workout everyday somehow. I achieved it so on to this week with working out and watching what I eat. My biggest obstacle is chocolate ( I do not have self control with it; I’ll eat it for my meals and have veggies as my snack)

Smilely3

@msarobix hope you feel better soon.@Efsim welcome@Amylauren2019 welcome. Happy Easter everyone. I managed to meet my workout goal of 3x's a week. Still working on my food choices. I brought a digital fitness scale yesterday that tells you your weight, fat%, water % , muscles weight, bone density. Anyone have any ideas on how to lose weight without to much weight training?

loonyhiker

Happy Monday everyone! I notice that whenever we eat out, my weight goes up about .5 lb. There's so much salt and who knows what in my food even though I feel like I'm making good food choices. I have turned down ice cream every day for the past 3 days so hubby has eaten it all. Now there is no more ice cream in the house to tempt me. I have to keep reminding myself that I'm an "all or nothing" gal and I don't have just "a little bit." It is so much easier for me if I don't have anything. Have a great week everyone!

Efsim

@Smilely3 you don’t have to lift that much weights to lose weight; you can do cardio workouts and also lower how many calories you eat to lose weight- for my body if I eat more protein and less starchy, or bread it helps me lose a little weight. Also great job at meeting your workout goals, that is great progress
@loonyhiker that is great that you turned down ice cream three days in a row, you are way better than me with that! Keep up the great work.
This week I started out good but then I had to make a quick trip which made me exhausted so I was not motivated at all and went the easy route on food choices.
This week I’m going to exercise everyday, and log my food choices in MFP if I say it on here you can all hold me accountable, I’m hoping this will help me get back into groove of things!
Have a great week everyone, we all will meet our fitness and health goals

KeriA

Welcome @AmyLauren2 and @Efsim - that’s great you made your goal to exercise every day.

@Smilely3 that’s great that you met your exercise goal too.

Yes @loonyhiker that is one reason my goal of eating at home besides cost. Even if you make good choices eating out there is the salt.

Well this week instead of losing and gaining and losing, I got my weight down and kept it down. It may be the same number in the end but I feel like it is a win. Did my 3 days of exercise and was a bit more active in general. We did plan meals at home and made them which is hard when you come home late every night. We have planned meals for this week too. I made reservations for a 3 day weekend trip at the end of Spring quarter to motivate us all to work hard.

I am really thrilled that my daughter has started to exercise. I think that it means that the transfer to a school close by has been the right one for her. She seems to be doing well and this unprompted healthy change shows she feels like she is on the right track. It shows she feels positive about life enough to put in this extra effort to take care of herself.

great week all!

KeriA

Hope all of your weeks are going well. Just thought I would take to post mid-week since I haven't been on here during the weekdays much. Got to aquafit yesterday and we have been eating at home so far so good. Think I will try to get to bed soon.

loonyhiker

We arrived in Copenhagen after a 27 hour plane adventure. Lost our luggage but they found it and sent it to our hotel today. Having a great time! I had over 27,000 steps today. Dinner is in our hotel room (fruit and cheese that we bought at the grocery store.)

Efsim

Good week everyone, I realized that I forgot to post this week;
Hope everyone is having a great week!
I have been consistently with working out: and exciting news is I ran 3 miles in 12.3 ( first 3 miles in over two years).
My eating is getting better but I crave, cave in and eat so much chocolate. Especially with cutting calories way back- and advice in overcoming it ( I cannot eat just one it’s the whole bag and when I go shopping I make excuse to buy some)
Goal this week is continue my workout ( maybe get my 3 mile time down)
And figure out the chocolate crisis

msarobix

Hi Everyone, it has been a few weeks since I logged in. My exercise habits over the last few weeks have been sparse. I had a bout of vertigo that kept me down for a few days. One day I barely got out of bed, I think it was the worst calorie burn EVER.

I am just now getting back to regular workouts, but I am pretty much starting over with the running. After being sick for 2 weeks at the beginning of April, not working out much over a 2 week period and then having vertigo for a few days I pretty much lost all my running fitness. I am not happy about that, but I am starting to work my way back up.

I need to get back on track with my eating as well. I have been slacking over a bit over the last few weeks. I am tempted to do the Whole 30 program for a few weeks just to jump start again, but probably won't stick to that diet long term.

I hop everyone is doing well, and I look forward to hearing how everyone else has been over the last few weeks.

@loonyhiker WOW, 27 hours on a plan, I think I would have gone mad. Glad they found your luggage.

KeriA

@loonhiker sounds like you are having a great trip and doing well.
@Efsim I just buy dark chocolate and I find I do not eat as much of it. For mother's day I got some that were dark truffles but my daughter helps me eat them. It sounds like you are doing well in general.
@msarobix sorry to hear about the vertigo and hope it is better now. My husband has that all the time but he has learned to deal with it and I think it isn't as intense. My sister though gets very bad boughts periodically. She can't get out of bed either much.

I am very slowly losing weight. With our Y closed we have been going MWF instead of Saturday mornings at our Y. Yesterday Saturday my daughter and I went to a street fair and it was a fun way to get extra steps in. My knee sometimes acts up when I walk too long but it was fine yesterday. My Mom is in the hospital so I was lucky to get the exercise I did this past week. It has been a grueling quarter with late nights but we have made meals at home despite getting home late. My daughter has registered for Fall and she will only be late on MW when we have aquafit anyway so it will be better as will summer. At least her Friday class has ended so that is a normal night. So we just have to get through to mid June. We will go on a long weekend trip to a hot springs resort after the quarter ends. So that will be lots of swimming and a walk for dinner each night. We have a camping trip later in the summer too.

msarobix

Hi Everyone,

I have really been struggling after being sick and the beginning of April, followed by a mini vacation. Since then I haven't really be watching what I have been eating and actually gained a little. I am trying to get back on track and decided to join NOOM! to get a little support and expert advice. I have been using the app for just under a week and so far I like it. Not much has happened yet, but I have been working with a goal coach to start making some mini goals towards my ultimate goal. I am also supposed to be assigned to a support group soon, just not sure exactly when.

I have committed myself to working this program for at least the next three months (16 weeks). That is how long their initial program is. At which time I will determine if I will continue paying for the service or if I have learned enough to continue on my own.

If all goes well on the program I expect to lose 64% of the weight that I want to lose by the end of the year. If I can do that in 16 weeks then it just might be possible for me to los the remaining 36% in the last 3 months of the year.

How is everyone else doing? I feel really bad that I haven't been stopping in here as often.

@KeriA - Slow and steady weight loss is better than gaining. So I say you are doing AMAZING! I am happy to hear that you have found some alternatives for exercise since your Y closed.

I hope to check in again this weekend.

loonyhiker

We got home last night at 1am (after being up for 25 hours!) I woke up at 6am. I gained 4 lbs this month but I don't feel too bad since we were traveling. Hopefully it will come off quickly.

Happy that I completed the May goal on my Apple Watch (158 miles for the month of May).

June Challenge - Reach exercise goal 14 times this month. Not sure I can do this since we are gong to be in the car most of the month on a road trip.

msarobix

Hi Everyone,

Things are still going well on Noom! I finished week one and lost 2 lbs. It was two pounds that I had gained since the beginning of April, but I am happy to be going in the right direction again. I have been eating a lot more fruits and vegetables and drinking more water, so that is awesome. My workouts are increasing again, and I hope to be burning 500+ calories during my workouts by the end of the month. Currently I am at or just shy of 450 calories.

@loonyhiker - You can reach your exercise goal this month, just take some time during your pit stops to walk for 10-15 minutes. Make sure you start your Workout App too. My Challenge this month is to complete 12 workouts of at least 15 minutes or more. The problem is that I use a different app when I run so I might have to do some off the treadmill workouts to complete this challenge. Although I had planned on starting the 28 Day Bloglaties Summer Sculpt Challenge. So hopefully that will help me get there.

KeriA

@msarobix great to hear things are going well with Noom. Better yet it is good to hear that you are getting back into workouts.

@loonyhiker hope the travelling goes well.

Our Y is open again but last week with Memorial Day and a night meeting I missed Aquafit but I went Saturday morning. So I am back on track. My sister and brother are back so we are sharing helping my Mom. She said she felt better today.

We also had a heart to heart with our bathroom contractor and they are going to get the bathtub done so the bathroom fixtures can be put in by the plumber mid month. They also plan to have the floor done by then too. So it seems we are finally making progress.

Hope we can have a normal exercise schedule this week as well. I made some chili for last night and the week and my husband made a chicken broccoli casserole for tonight and this week so we should have meals set for most of the week or at least for Aquafit nights.

My daughter is nearing the end of the quarter and doing well. 2 final projects and 2 final exams to go. We will take her on a long weekend away at a hot springs resort after she finishes up the quarter. Her fall quarter won't be as bad since she only has late nights on our Aquafit nights.

Have a great week all.

loonyhiker

Hi everyone! We got home Saturday after a 25-hour trip home and I was exhausted. We went to bed at 3 and I was up at 6. When I called my parents, the news was bad. My stepmom is in a coma and is only expected to live days or hours. Hospice told me that when she dies, my dad will be all alone and he needs 24-hour care because he is dying. When I asked why hospice wouldn't care for him if he was that bad, she said that he can dress, and use his walker, and tell people how to make his oatmeal so he wasn't dying bad enough for him to need 24-hour care! What? Anyway, I've spent 2 days calling people trying to get help for him and finally got the VA! I think I'm on the right track now.

Yesterday was an emotional roller coaster. My dad called to tell me that my stepmom died and he was all alone. Then 2 hours later I find out that she had not died!

All of this to say, my stress level is out the roof! I gained 4 lbs on the cruise and my hubby lost 4. He ate more sensibly than I did. But I have lost 1 lb. already. We also have been doing our 3-mile walk every day we've been home.

Please keep us in your prayers!

msarobix

Hi everyone,

Sorry for not checking in during the week this week. I had ever intention to check in on Wednesday and then they day go away from me.

I am doing well on Noom. I have lost 3.6 lbs in the past two weeks. I gained those same pounds in May when I wasn’t working out much and eating everything in site. I still have 2 more pounds to lose to get back to where I was before my mini vacation in April. Hopefully I will be able to do that this coming week and then I will be back on track.

I also haven’t been logging my stats in my spreadsheet since the end of March, so I want to work on getting that updated so I can really see how much I didn’t do in April and May. I need to start challenging myself again, and I can’t do that if I don’t know what I have been doing recently.

@KeriA - It sounds like you had a great plan for the week with pre-made meals. I need to work on that this week. I have mostly been eating raw veggies and smoothies this week because I haven’t wanted to take the time to cooks. I have a couple of new recipes I want to try to maybe I will get motivated today to do some cooking for the week.

It is good to hear that your bathroom project is moving forward. It is always my fear of contracting home projects that the contractor won’t do what the are supposed to do. Although, having my husband do the job works the same way, he tends to procrastinate or split his focus on more then one project at a time. It sometimes drives me crazy and I wish I had the skills to do the job myself.

@Loonyhiker - Wow, that is a week I wouldn’t want to wish on anyone, and it sounds like it will be awhile before things start to settle down for you. I hope you have found some support for your Dad and can at least have that piece off your shoulders. Remember to take time for yourself even when the world around you is spinning out of control. Please share any tips you find have worked for you in these stressful times. I find when I have stressful situations I over eat and make every excuse in the world to not workout. This is one thing I want to change for myself over the next several months.

KeriA

@loonyhiker Sorry to hear about you dad and stepmom. We just got my Mom out of the hospital recently and there was a night she almost didn't make it. She hasn't been herself since she got out either. Today we are meeting to see what assistance she still may need. So far it has been covered by her Retirement Community. After this is extra. These decisions are hard. I can see how it would feel like your dad's needs are not being met due to your stepmom's being worse but both needing attention.

I didn't gain on my cruise but realize after months later that it had an affect on my weight even so since we don't exercise as much as we did on the cruise but got used to eating more. I have been fighting off an extra 5 pounds ever since coming back.

I am glad you feel like you are on the right track now with helping your Dad and I think you will get back into the swing of things now that you are home. Take care and I will keep you in my prayers.

KeriA

@msarobix I am glad that you are continuing to make progress. I am only filling in my spreadsheet about 3/4 of the days a week.

I started the week off right and then had some out of routine days that knocked me off course. We waited to pick my daughter up by having drinks and salads. Even though I didn't eat anything else for dinner I still gained. Then yesterday I went to a Drs appt. with my Mom and took her home. We didn't have lunch so we picked up my daughter and had a late big lunch. We had a small healthy dinner but I gained more. Time to get back to routine. Eating out doesn't do well for me.

The good news is that is the last time we will have to wait for my daughter to pick her up late the rest of the year. Her fall schedule will be better.

loonyhiker

Thanks for all your warm thoughts. Please keep us in your prayers!

My stepmom did pass away on Wednesday night and hospice never called me to inform me. I found out through a FB message from my dead stepsister's husband!

We immediately got in the car and drove to Southern Florida to be with my dad. While traveling, I got a phone call to tell me that my father was being transported and admitted to the VA Hospice Facility.

Needless to say, I have not been eating well or exercising. Today I made a conscious effort to eat better. We went to Panera for a salad and soup. I had green beans at KFC with my chicken for dinner instead of the mashed potatoes and gravy that I really wanted.

msarobix

Hey everyone,

Sorry it has been another week since I checked in. It has been a busy week.

I have been on Noom for 3 weeks now, just started week 4. In that time I have lost 5.3 lbs. This brings me back to were I was a few months ago. I hope to continue the trend.

One thing that I have noticed with my daily weigh-ins is that every week so far, and maybe two times in one week, I have a lower weight on the scale only to follow with slightly higher weights. But if you look at the over all trend it is definitely following the same path downward. Noom has a projection that if I continue on this trend I will reach my goal weight by December 8th. If that really happens I will be super happy. I will be even happier if I am able to develop new habits in the process to prevent me from gaining all of the weight back.

So far I feel like the Noom program might be just what I needed. I have been working with a Goal Coach who has been encouraging me to look within to discover why I ate that way I did, and we are also working on mini goals that will progress me towards my ultimate weight loss goal.

We are also assigned a Group and a Group Coach. The group is much like this one where we share experiences, wins, and failures, and support each other along the way. The only difference with that group from this one is that we are all at the same point in the Noom program. The Group Coach also challenges us each day to discover how we became overweight and what we can do to reverse that effect.

If anyone is interested in trying the program, let me know and I can send you a link for that includes a special discount to the program.

@KeriA - I find that it isn’t always easy to log stats in my spreadsheet every day so I have promised myself that I will take one day during the weekend to log the past week. And until I get April and May caught up I will also log at least 1-2 past weeks as well. I still find it very motivating to look back over my spreadsheet and see what I have been, or not been, doing.

@loonyhiker - So sorry to hear about your stepmom. Have you been able to find the necessary care for you Dad. I am guessing that your cross country road trip was sidelined, which I am really sad to hear.

In times like these you can’t be concerned about losing weight or eating completely healthy, but it sounds like you are still making some better choices. I know I probably wouldn’t do the same in your shoes.

loonyhiker

@msarobix Yes, I had to cancel ZK and our road trip. My father is getting excellent care at the VA Hospice and we are spending time with him, taking care of my stepmom's death arrangements, packing up the house, sorting out the finances, and trying to find a probate attorney that the court says we have to have. It has been a crazy time!

Efsim

Hey friends,
Sorry it’s been a while since I’ve checked in. Everyone sounds like they are doing good and busy. @loonyhiker I’m so sorry about your loss, I hope it all works out!
I’ve been busy we are moving in two weeks across the country and with working till we move it’s been very stressful, I have not had time to log or really eat right for a month. I’m hoping once we get to our new place that I will get back to logging and exercising ( besides walking)
Hope everyone has a great couple weeks!

KeriA

@loonyhiker sorry to hear your sad news. Take care of yourself when taking care of so much else.

@msarobix I am glad things are going well.

@Efsim hope the move goes well

Sorry I have been away for so long. I have been going up and then back down lately. I have started to log my food again on MFP this week. Pretty much being regular with Aquafit except like this coming Wednesday when I have a night meeting. I think the problem is that things have been less of a routine.

The good news is that the bathroom remodel is just about done. Soon we will be moving things back into there from the living room and have a normal life except I feel like I am at a resort when I am taking a shower. One of the reason's I have taken a while to get back on here was we did go to a hotsprings resort for a long weekend last month. We swam alot and walked some (more than usual). It was a much needed fun, relaxing time.

Hope all have a great week or so. I will plan to check in more often now.

KeriA

Well we seem to be petering out here but maybe a good start to the year was what we all needed. I have been struggling this summer. I get my weight down some then it pops up higher. I just got it back down and have to work hard now to keep doing what I did to get down so I can keep it going. I think our camping trip helped last weekend. We didn't do our usual big hike but we did go visit Mount St Helens and walked around there and through the exhibit. Too bad the Mountain wasn't out. Camping keeps me more active with longer walks to the bathroom and packing and unpacking. I made Butter Chicken. Pretty good to do that camping. It was good.

This week I stuck to me routine and diet that I can lose slowly with. Before that there were too many disruption to food and exercise routines. I have been trying some food tweeks such as breakfasts. My hardest time is after work before dinner is ready. I need a healthy satisfying low calorie snack. Maybe nuts would help although not low calorie they are healthy and satisfying if I can limit the amount.

Hope all are doing well.