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

msarobix

Hey everyone,

Sorry I haven't checked in the past couple of days. Nothing really new here. Other than a bit of a break on the exercise. This weekend I was feeling a little worn out, so instead of doing my usual run workouts on Saturday and Sunday, I only worked to close my Apple Rings. Saturday was a bit of a struggle because we went out to lunch and I ate a bit too much, and felt miserable the rest of the day, and I had not done any walking in the morning.

Sunday I got up and vowed to walk 10-15 minute ever 90 minutes or so. I did quite well at keeping moving all day, but I didn't really consider it a workout.

I have been running a solid 45 minutes for most run workouts this past week or so, so this week I am going to do some speed work to help me get faster.

CdnChick

I would love to join this challenge if it’s not too late! I just starting using this app about 2 weeks ago and love it. I have an Apple Watch too and would love to have some friends to stay accountable with! I’m not sure how to add people on this yet so feel free to add me:)

I used to be really into my health and fitness until my love for food and being lazy got the best of me. Stress from work didn’t help but I remember how great I felt when I took care of myself. My goal for 2019 is to get toned and fit! I would love to lose 35lbs but my focus is more in being healthy this year and tracking daily. I’m down 4 lbs since I started so on the right track. Just need some help staying motivated this time and I find in the past having support from others always helps.

loonyhiker

@mynacha73 Wow! You have been busy! Glad to see you again.

I'm excited that I've lost another pound. Like Tina, I go up a little and then down a little (I weigh every day) so it depends on how much salt or water I had the day before. But this morning I was down in a new territory!! Yippee!

I'm also excited about our upcoming travel plans. We booked a European cruise in May and will be gone a whole month. We will visit Copenhagen, Estonia, Russia (St. Petersburg for 2 days), Finland (Helsinki), Sweden (Stockholm), Germany (2 cities - Berlin, Hamburg), Scotland (4 cities - Edinburgh, Inverness, Kirkwall, Stornoway), Northern Ireland (Belfast), Ireland (Dublin), France (Cherbourg), Belgium (Brussels), Amsterdam, and Norway (Oslo). Then we come home for 1 day to wash clothes and pack the car before leaving on a month long road trip for Minnesota! I'm afraid how my weight will look after 2 months of traveling!

Also, my new book - The Successful Teacher's Handbook - I wrote will be released in 4 days! I'm so excited!

janetay01

Hi guys, just found this thread and would love to join you! I’m Jane, UK bases, 42 years old and 134lbs - but only 4’11” tall so I need to lose some. For me, exercising is relatively easy - I work out 2-3 times a week when I’m working from home, walk lots and have a 4 year old who definitely keeps me moving! But food - oh dear, I just like it too much and I fall into the trap of mindless snacking when I’m tired. We are trying for a second child and I need to be in the best possible shape - and looking for a thread and challenge where I can keep myself accountable and give and receive encouragement to and from others. Also need to take and start tracking my measurements.

msarobix

Today, I incorporated an additional running day. So my schedule looks like this:

Monday: Walk
Tuesday: Run - 45 minutes - slow
Wednesday: Run - speed work - 40 minutes
Thursday: Run - 45 minutes - slow
Friday: Walk
Saturday Run - 45 minutes - slow
Sunday - Run - Speed work - 40 minutes

I have also been doing an ab challenge to ramp myself up for some strength training in the next couple of weeks. Before the end of March I want to be doing strength training at least 3 days a week on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, along with my walk. However, I might decide to put this off until I am doing a bit of running most days, because otherwise I might find it difficult to close my exercise ring each day.

My ultimate goals is to get to the point where I am running most days of the week. Some days being light or shorter runs, while other days will be more intense with speed work or a longer run. I just need to figure out how to also do the strength work without over doing it. I just really hate strength exercises.

@CdnChick - Welcome, it is great to have you here. This is a great group, where we share our experiences of what works, what doesn’t and everything in between.

@janetay01 - Welcome to you as well. I have the same problem with food. We can keep each other accountable.

@loonyhiker - WOW, it sounds like you are going to have a busy summer. Your cruise sounds amazing. I have been thinking about booking a cruise, but I tend to get motion sickness so I am very nervous that I won’t enjoy a cruise. I think I need to book a 3 day cruise just to try it out, but your month long cruise sounds absolutely wonderful. And then a road trip to follow. I would probably miss my own bed if I were away that long.

loonyhiker

Welcome @janetay01! This group has really helped me keep up my exercise and stick with my healthy eating habits. I keep a notebook and log in my measurements on the first day of the month. Sometimes I don't lose weight but I lose inches so I consider it a win!

@msarobix I love your exercise routine! I still have some problems with my left heel so I am sticking to a rest day one day a week. Rolling a tennis ball under my foot at night really helps. My daughter gets motion sickness and wears these wrist bands that she bought at Walmart and they seem to really help her. When she really feels the motion, she eats crystallized ginger and she says that helps her a lot. I am excited about our trips. Our road trip will end up in Minnesota at the Zombie Knitpocalypse knitting retreat that I love going to. That means before our cruise, I will need to pack stuff for the road trip like knitting projects, yarn, etc.

My exercise schedule looks like this:
Monday - walk for 13 min. jog 2 minutes, then repeat 4 times on treadmill - total 60 min.
Tuesday - exercise video https://youtu.be/KDmqv_XMouA
Wednesday - walk for 13 min. jog 2 minutes, then repeat 4 times on treadmill - total 60 min.
Thursday - exercise video
Friday - walk for 13 min. jog 2 minutes, then repeat 4 times on treadmill - total 60 min.
Saturday - exercise video
Sunday - rest

CdnChick

Morning everyone! Well this morning I started my day doing Chest, Shoulders & Triceps then finished up with 40 mins of cardio. I've been very consistent over the past few weeks and this app is amazing so it's also helping me be accountable. I am frustrated though because usually when I eat and workout like I have been I slowly start to lose the weight. I did Keto last year and lost about 20 lbs but of course as I hear from many it's really hard to sustain and I'm really focusing on things I can stick with by making lifestyle changes. I'm an ex smoker and starting vaping to quit a few years ago. I finally gave up that habit and have been nicotine free for almost 3 months now. Since I quit I haven't been able to lose much weight as easy. A trainer friend of mine told me to try carb cycling which is going well and I find it's much easier to stick too but it's hard when you're not really seeing the results. I know the scale doesn't reflect true progress but it's hard not to get stuck in your head sometimes. Here is what I'm doing these days:

Monday - Chest, Shoulder, Triceps - 20 min Cardio
Tuesday - Leg Day - Abs and 10 mins HIIT
Wednesday - 40 mins Cardio or Rest day if I need it.
Thursday - Back and Triceps - 20 mins Cardio
Friday - Chest, Shoulder, Triceps - 20 min Cardio or 10 mins HIIT
Saturday - Leg Day - Abs - 40 mins Cardio
Sunday - Back and Triceps - 20 mins Cardio or Rest Day

I lost 75 lbs with weight training and clean eating 7 years ago but again always eating clean became something that I wasn't able to maintain. I'm trying to balance things now a bit more since i'm 43 and in the end I just want to be healthy. Anyone else an ex smoker that had any of these struggles? I know it can slow down your metabolism but any tips would be great! I'm going to keep pushing through no matter what but could use some advice or feedback if others have been through this.

Have a great day everyone!

KeriA

I have been MIA for several reasons. I am now the boss at work until Tuesday. My boss is on a 2 weeks vacation and I am next down. We have been trying to remodel our bathroom and hit a glitch and it is all torn up. Water damage etc in the walls and they need to check the floors. We were just going to tile. It was my birthday last week and I have been celebrating that. However what did I get for my birthday?

A Fitbit Versa watch. OK not an Apple watch. We just picked it up today at the post office. I have been setting it up on my laptop and phone. It can go in the pool with me when I do aquafit. I can track stairs and steps again. I hope you all are doing well. I have not been doing well in terms of losing weight. I was in charge at a night meeting last night meaning I missed aquafit. However in general I have been going except for those night meetings. For one thing we are down to one bathroom in the basement. So it helps to do some showers after Aquafit at the Y. I am hoping that the versa will help me to add in walks on the days there is no Aquafit. I am adding better dental care into my goals after a trip to the dentist.

Congratulations @CdnChick on being nicotine free. That is a real achievement. My husband gave up smoking just before we got married and it has been a gift that keeps on giving.

Great job losing @loonyhiker . Congratulations on your book release.

@msarobix I wish I could give you all the seasickness remedies we didn't use on our cruise. We were worried since my husband gets vertigo but it turns out that is different. However there are some moves in aquafit he can't do like otter rolls.

I hope to soon get back to a healthy routine again. It is hard when all your bathroom stuff is in your living room.

loonyhiker

@CdnChick Congratulations on having a nicotine-free body. Are you logging in your food? On the program I'm on, it reminds us that we can outrun our mouths so don't eat more just because you are exercising. Are you drinking enough water? Are you measuring inches? I just read a great book called Finish by Jon Acuff that says many people feel like their diet isn't working but that may just be bad thinking and stick to the data. I lost inches when I wasn't losing pounds and that helped me stick with my program.

@KeriA Congratulations on getting your new watch! I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoy my Apple Watch. I'm so sorry about your remodel - it sounds like a nightmare! Whenever my routine gets disrupted and there is a change until something gets "fixed" or back to normal, it is hard to stay on an exercise routine or even healthy eating due to all the stress. Hang in there!

janetay01

Thanks for the welcome all!

@loonyhiker - logging measurements on a monthly basis sounds like a good plan. I measured on Wednesday morning so I will probably do so again at the start of April and see where I am at - as you say, an inch lost would be a win! That sounds like great holiday plans for you this year and congratulations on the new book coming out - that's very exciting!

@msarobix - definitely let's try and keep each other accountable on the food. Like you, I'm planning to start doing some more strength work as well - I can easily get my cardio in but doing anything else seems a bit of a challenge. I've downloaded an exercise app on my phone which gives short, sharp workouts so will give that a go over the next few weeks.

@KeriA - that sounds hard work with the bathrooms, hope you get it all sorted quickly.

So glad it's Friday. We are switching my little boy into a bigger bedroom tomorrow so lots of furniture moving lined up - so that should give me a bit of a workout. I'm going to put some thought over the weekend into my workout plan for next week so will aim to put that on here for accountability in the next couple of days.

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.