2023: Envision where you want to be: Focus on health, energy, vitality!

Snooozie

It’s a brand new year for us, and the perfect time to start a new journey that may well look a little different then our past time here at MFP...

I say that because as we’ve already discussed, our focus this year will be more on improving our overall health, rather than on just weight loss. And I think the words “self care” come to mind for achieving that - it’s now about wanting to feel better and working towards improving and maintain our flexibility and health for a long time. We want to be able to do more, hurt less and feel better this year!

It’s been said that self care is giving the world the best of you, instead of what’s left of you.

Let’s make this year OUR self care year – we will set our focus on achieving that healthier lifestyle one step at a time, one area at a time, and move forward knowing that taking care of ourselves and making those changes necessary for us to do so, is not indulgence, but self preservation! We can absolutely get healthier and find that energy and vitality we want! Here's to us in 2023!

Snooozie

I put a link in the 2022 thread to here so hopefully everyone can find it ha..! We have a new member who joined our group - welcome to Mary! We look forward to having you along with us and learning a little about your own journey and your own plans/goals here at MFP.

suzyqholland

Welcome Mary! Happy new year! We’re happy to have you here.

We we’re hoping to start the year off with a New Year’s hike but this morning is rainy and foggy here in North Georgia. Hopefully this afternoon will be nicer and we’ll go then.

I had my bloodwork done in early December so I have that for my baseline for the year. I’m not sure how quickly and by how much numbers can improve but any movement in the right direction will be a win for me. I’m planning to have them checked again in June.

I’m not great at setting tangible goals or consistency so I’m working on that, too. Anyone have any ideas on how to track that? Maybe I need to make a chore type chart with shiny star stickers to hang on the fridge. My granddaughter would love that! Lol.

Snooozie

Suzy - the weatherman lied here about the weather too!! It was supposed to be a bit sunny and dry but instead its raining for the 3rd day in a row! So I had to compromise.. i decided to walk my builidng - i started on the 22nd floor.. i measured its 100 steps along each hallway to the stairwell at each end, and 12 steps down to the next level. It took me 26 minutes to get to the first floor walking down each hallway then down the stairs to the next level and across ... and i just realized 22 stories of 12 stairs.. i a LOT of stairs.... admittedly i was going down not up lol... but at least i got a bit of a walk as such in.. or moving the parts anyway..

i'm only going to use the building walk when the weather is really bad.. once we go back into the deep freeze or snow. And when i hit the first floor, i did ask the concierge how to book the treadmill in the gym (in case i get absolutely desperate lol)

This afternoon i will do my back stretches on the floor and one of the two 10 min stretch vids. i am actually making a small roast beef for dinner tonight with a lot of veg on the side ..

As for setting tangible/measurable goals suzy... is there one (or more) specific step you have decided you want to take every day or every other day or every week ?? I find if i have an actual "schedule" set for myself then i can track it much easier... but I'm keeping it very simple for the first month because i know if i go gung ho or all in i won't follow thru.

So for me, my goals for the next 30 days are to 1) walk at least 30 min a day 2) do at least 1 stretch session (video) every single day above my regular back ones) 3) make sure fruit/vegetables are included in at least 2 meals a day.

For me, those are 3 goals that i know i am capable of committing to and following through - so that's the only suggestion i have for tracking or making something tangible... but i think it will depend more on if you want to go the route of setting specific "things" and times for yourself, or if you plan to do a more general overall focus on healther foods and moving more or whatever it is you want for yourself..

I had some bluberries on my cheerios this morning and will have broccoli cauli and maybe some squash (whatever i have in the frozen veg line on hand0 with my roast tonite. So that will give me a "tick" for my calendar (and yes i'm using my wall calendar with a big pink tick mark in a corner that will show me i achieved all 3 goals that day.. im not writing down what i'm doing, just putting a nice pink tick in the corner square for today lol. i'm hoping the visual reminder after a week or so will also help me stay motivated... kinda like looking back and saying look at all those lovely pink tick marks LOL..

ps: fingers crossed you get your hike in !!

suzyqholland

Hmmmm…. I do have a wall calendar already so that’s not too intrusive. I like the check mark idea! This afternoon really improved weather wise but we’re saving our hike for tomorrow. We’re just going to our local park for a quick pre-dinner walk.

Vailara

Happy New Year! And welcome to the group, Mary!

You sound like you have things in hand, Snoozie with the planning. You're making me feel I need to have something more tangible. My fancy body fat scales are not working at the moment, so I haven't had that check in - still using the other scales but not consistently and I think I need to go back to daily weighing which has always worked for me. I know I have gained a couple of pounds over the last month. There is no mystery at all about why this has happened! Eating too much, basically. I know weight isn't our focus, but I think it will still be useful to me to monitor progress and change, rather than as a goal. People always say things like go by how your clothes fit and I do get it, but today my clothes fit just fine but I know I have overindulged and need to put the brakes on before my clothes get tight!

New Year's Day was reasonably healthy. I met a friend in town to go to the cinema, which was quite a walk there and back, and had a healthy meal with lots of veg. But then spoiled it all in the evening with alcohol and crisps/chips. I'm so annoyed at myself! I don't normally drink alcohol, but had thought I would try to use up some of the sbottles I have in the house as it was New Year. I really just can't drink and eat healthily I don't think.

One of the supermarkets near me is now doing meat products with added vegetables. The vegetables seem to be pureed as you can't distinguish them. Things like minced chicken, minced beef, hamburgers, meatballs, esausages, etc., but all with added veg. I suspect the idea is to get children to eat veg, but I thought of your hubby, Suzy! I have tried the minced beef which was fine, although difficult to get the meat to brown properly, and the sausages which weren't great. I have some meatballs to try, and will get the mince again.

Hope the weather improved for your hike, Suzy. It's grey, cold, wet and windy here but haven't had the really awful weather that has been happening in some parts of the country.

Snooozie

Happy new year to you as well Vail!

Weight may not be our primary focus this year, but of course it's absolutely still part of our overall journey ... a big part.. its just that by switching up and focusing on eating better and moving more and feeling better so we actually want to keep doing both those things, the weight loss/maintain will follow.

and I am pretty sure i will weigh myself every day forever lol... its just become habit now. Since I no longer consider the scales the "be all and end all" definition of who i am; they don't throw me into a panic anymore. They are simply another tool I use and I'm comfortable using them as a guide and another tangible tracking method. So if that is something you found works for you, go for it. I hope you can get your fancy scales working again btw...

I definitely gained a few pounds over the holidays and like you, it ain't no mystery as to why for me. I know now i still use junk food as a "reward" or consider it a "treat".. you would think by now i would be smarter than that, but it appears there is still work to be done with my emotional eating history. I will say this year.. after one particular day of completely eating junk i was sitting on the couch thinking i physically feel like crap.. so how is this a reward/treat? I feel SO much more energy and vitality when i eat well .. and the exact opposite when i stuff crap in my face so it makes no sense logically.. its that darn emotional aspect i still need to work on. I really need to focus on how much better i feel PHYSICALLY after a nice healthy meal or snack, along with actually enjoying the food that is good for me!

As for the wine. .i had a glass with my roast last night.. and since i opened the bottle I will probably have a few more this week as its a pretty expensive bottle lol... but i'm ok with that ...

i read something somewhere by a lady who uses "Usually, Frequently, Occasionally, and rarely" to guide her eating habits.. But the word "never" is not in that list on purpose. I quite like that because wine is in the "rarely" list for me so I don't feel bad about having it. I went nuts on the chips over the holidays tho which i can't believe as i broke that habit after the pandemic fiasco of living on them. So I need to make sure I shift that particular junk right back into the rarely column and simply not have them in the house... lol

I'm actually looking forward to eating better - i know i feel much better physically when i do, and I'm sticking with the fruit and veg i love and enjoy. Kale will still never grace my home and as suzy said, keeping it simple. That said however I am going to investigate some new easy recipes like those veggie fajitas.

Let's remember too... one step at a time gets us to where we want to be. It's never about all or nothing.. we need to celebrate the small wins and focus on those... so if you have a day where 80% of it was exactly where you wanted it to be, don't sweat the 20% and don't focus on that... and if it was one of those days where only 20% was where you wanted it to be? that's ok too.. it's important i think for us to focus on the wins and gains as we make the changes.. it can't be an all or nothing anymore because we know that's literally impossible. So Vail I say celebrate the great long walk there and back to the cinema and a healthy lunch as a win for yesterday!

Snooozie

PS: I forgot to mention I started a separate thread for us where we can list all the websites for recipes, exercise videos, articles etc to make it easier for us to find one if we want to take a look at them rather than scrolling thru this thread. So if we post something here, if you could take a minute to also pop the website into the resource thread that would be great (no worries if not i will copy it once i've read it here too lol) here's the link if you want to bookmark it along with our regular thread for 2023!

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10880894/resources-websites-tips-articles-to-share/p1?new=1

Snooozie

I also forgot to mention i went to the yoga site Vail.. i looked at her beginner one but the moves are beyond me still.. but i did find another of her vids for complete beginners to yoga and watched it.. i'm going to try it tomorrow.

I did my stretches this morning AND my big win for the day - i got up off the floor all by myself without having to hold onto anything.. doesn't sound like much but i gotta tell ya it made my day ha.. I'm going to have to do the building walk again today but that's ok.. between it and my stretches and my 5 veggies i plan on for lunch and dinner (which is going to be home made pea soup from my friend which is amazing and she makes it just like my grandma with pieces of turnip and carrot num num num) then i will have hit my daily goals of 1) walk at least 30 min a day 2) do at least 1 stretch session (video) every single day above my regular back ones) 3) make sure fruit/vegetables are included in at least 2 meals a day. so i'll be able to add my little pink tick mark to my calendar tonite when i get home from my RC shift..

suzyqholland

Good idea Snoozie! Thanks!

I remember when my kids were little that I would mince veggies and sneak them into ground beef or spaghetti and such. My husband is 63 years old. I think he can suck it up and eat squash and broccoli occasionally. Lol. He also needs to improve his numbers.

Another dreary rainy day today. Oh well, best laid plans and all that. I did some yoga with Adriene. I like it! I’m going to try a stretching video in a bit.

Salad with tuna for dinner. Keeping it simple! I did make some homemade croutons though. Yum.

Vail, I haven’t been to an actual movie theater in so long that I can’t even remember what movie I saw. How fun! I’m sure the long walk felt good.

Vailara

Glad you like the yoga with Adrienne, Suzy! And that you have found a video that might work for you, Snoozie! I haven't actually been doing her course this year. I felt it was enough with my exercise programme for now. But I do like her videos. She was recommended to me by a trainer on a previous weight loss course that I did, and has also been recommended by friends. Congratulations on getting up off the floor without holding on! I agree with you that it's quite a big thing! It's being able to do that sort of thing that's protecting our mobility and independence.

Yes, I suppose you are right about having to just get used to the vegetables. He doesn't have to love them! But it might be a good thing to just get used to eating them while they still look like vegetables. I like adding a tiny bit of butter and seasoning to veg - it makes such a difference. Or sometimes soy sauce and chilli/sesame oil. Because although I like them, I admit they are often a bit bland. Another thing I do sometimes is have Bisto Best instant gravy over them, which is what I did tonight. Beef/veg meatballs with swede, peas and brussels sprouts. It felt like winter comfort food.

So I am keeping it simple too. Love the sound of your friends pea soup, Snoozie.
I have bought a couple of cartons of ready made soup to try to stop myself from straying as I am quite busy with work this week. Cullen skink (smoked haddock soup) and chicken and vegetable. I can just microwave them for a quick meal.

Snooozie

I had to read "cullen skink" twice as i thought maybe it was a typo at first LOL.. as i've never ever heard of that LOL.. and yes i am having soup often either for lunch or dinner and tomorrow i'm making a beef stew chock full of veggies as they happend to have stewing beef on sale; i wasn't looking for it but it was such a good price i thought ok apparently the universe wants me to make beef stew hahah.. its one of the few things i make well and i'll have lots to freeze which is always a bonus..

suzyqholland

I think I overdid the yoga and stretching. My Achilles tendon is very tender today. My leg muscles are incredibly tight. It feels like I’m 80. Lol. I’m taking a day off from all that and just did housework. I took down all the Christmas stuff inside and out so I was climbing ladders and stairs until I’m exhausted. I really need to find some strength training videos or something. I don’t want to join a gym at this point. I just don’t think I’d go.

I’m going to start my mornings with a quick walk (15 minutes) through our tiny neighborhood. We’ve got hills so that will help. We had discussed awhile back that you can spread out your exercise so I’m going to try that and see if I’ll stick to it. Maybe do the 15 minute walk a couple times a day and a longer walk with my husband before dinner. I’d rather go after dinner but it gets dark way too early this time of year. Stretching of some sort every day and yoga a couple times a week.

I’ve cut back to two meals a day and am attempting to cut out sweets. If I get hungry in between I’m eating a piece of fruit or having a cup of tea. I’m kind of doing the intermittent fasting thing by not eating until around 10:00 in the morning and not after 8:00 at night. Vail, didn’t you have some success with the fasting approach? I just want to limit the amount of times that I’m exposed to food each day and pay attention to portion sizes.

I need to try some soup recipes. That’s a great way to eat your veggies without feeling like you’re eating them. Great idea y’all!

Vailara

Yes, I had some success with fasting, and although I don't do the long fasts now, I still do what my programme calls Time Restricted Eating. Same thing as intermittent fasting really, in that you eat every day but within an eating window. It actually suits me to have my window quite small, so I don't eat until lunchtime at the earliest (usually about 2.30 pm) then try to have the evening meal by 6pm (depending on when I finish work). I find that I am not usually hungry up until the first meal, and then I know it's not too long until my main meal, lol!

I was looking back at my progress chart for the past year, and it looks like after the first three months on the programme I did keep losing weight very very slowly up until October, then gained a few pounds. so it does seem like it works for me. I just need to go back to what I was doing then, instead of what I was doing in November and December!

I have got out an old food journal and this week I've been writing in what I eat - no detail, no calories, etc. but just the discipline of writing it down, to give me a bit of a focus in getting back on track. I'm also having a decaff filter coffee after my evening meal to mark the ending of it, if you know what I mean. Then I've gone back to the old trick of brushing my teeth early evening! I have tea in the mornings too.

Good point about the gym, Suzy! I can't believe I've had this membership I am paying for and haven't been since the pandemic, so I've paid for three years of membership! It's cheap and if I left I couldn't come back on that rate ever again so I feel tied, but it's just ridiculous. I could have saved so much by cancelling membership and then just paying the higher rate when I wanted to go back. I need to get on and either go there or cancel it! I think your walking plan is much better as you can just go out and do it instead of all the time it takes to get to the gym, etc. Maybe with a couple of strength videos a couple of times a week.

suzyqholland

The brushing teeth after dinner idea really does work. I had forgotten about that one. Thanks! I don’t think I could hold out until 2:30 to eat my first meal. I wake up hungry. Lol. You did so great on your plan last year. Don’t kick yourself for November and December. You’re doing what you need to now to take those few pounds off.

We paid for a membership to our YMCA all during the pandemic, through our move and more. We now live half an hour away from one and finally realized that we weren’t going to make that drive. I tried but it added an hour to the time I was spending on working out. So we canceled that. I made myself do my little walk this morning. It was small but mighty. Lol. I have let myself get so incredibly out of shape. I can’t imagine me doing some of our old favorite hikes at this point. I’ve got some work to do.

suzyqholland

I was doing so good today. Went on my quick walk then a longer one before dinner. My eating was under control. Did some stretching. I should have brushed my teeth right after dinner. I swear I grazed on everything that wasn’t tied down. I know it was a mental thing. I’ll get past this feeling of “I did exercise, I can eat all those nuts!” Lol.

We discovered that the community building at the park where we walk has a small (very small) weight room with some equipment. It’s $25 for three months for our household. We’re going to try three months and see how much we use it. They also have yoga classes once a week but it’s at 7:00 at night. I’ll have to think about that one. I can’t see me going that late.

Vailara

Well done on the walking. The weight room sounds great, and not too expensive to try it out - what a find! It's not so much the size or the equipment but whether you'll actually use it, and if it's somewhere you're going anyway to walk then it's going to fit in a lot better.

After I posted about my eating pattern, I had a lapse last night. I had my evening meal and my coffee, but was just really, really wanting to eat. I started going to get a little bit of something from the kitchen, but then thought, no, I don't want that habit, so closed the kitchen door and made another small meal and sat down there and ate it properly. It did actually work as I didn't feel like going back again for more after that.

I thought this morning about why I was craving food so much and I think it might have been because I was getting bad news about a friend while I was preparing and eating my meal last night. I think psychologically, I felt that I hadn't had a relaxing evening meal and maybe that was why I wanted something more. So having a little meal instead of snacking helped.

But I was thinking, similar thing to you feeling that you have done exercise so you can eat more! I have fallen into that trap so often! Actually that's one of the things I'm not keen on with MFP as it encourages that thinking, and always seems to overestimate the calories you burn!

The 2.30pm eating isn't for everybody, I just do it because it seems to fit well with my schedule, and also because I was used to longer fasts. But you could push back the first meal if it suits, for instance till lunchtime. It's just that I find the easiest time to not eat is before you start, so before the first meal of the day I don't have any problem avoiding food. After that it gets harder, oddly. So the later meal for me is just to make it easier for me.

Vailara

Just while we're talking about it there's a Tim Spector interview on youtube this week which covers a lot of his main points about research into dieting https://youtu.be/66hWntvp0_4 The bit about intermittent fasting (he calls it time restricted eating too, the same as on my programme, so that must bhe the new fashionable name!) is about 33 minutes in, or there are links in the video description that you can skip to the various sections. I'll put it in resources too, if I can find the link! (The video starts out overly dramatic, but the actual interview is not like that!)

Snooozie

Good morning..

Vail i just watched the entire video while I had my coffee .. I have to say I found it really interesting and definitely informative - not to mention very much in line with our 2023 vision of focusing on energy health and vitality!

I totally agree with him as well that we need to completely change our focus to the quality of our food, and make our diets about our gut health... forget about CICO, macros, keto etc and just learn to love real food again. Moving from overprocessed back to foods in their natural form (i did laugh at his example of corn on the cob vs corn flakes - so true!)

His research into the huge importance of moving to a gut healthy diet and away from thinking about calories or fat or whatever, really impacted me because of that gut bug i had last year that was so brutal.. i had no idea our gut was actually the centre of our immune system and getting those good bugs working by focusing on the "rainbow" of veggies and fruits and spices and herbs (i even added a bit of cinnamon to my oatmeal half way through the video lol - one of those small measures to add that he talked about) And all the studies showing how moving to a gut healthy diet decreases inflammation and increases energy...among other things.. i have to say i agree with his research very much. Plus it made me happy to hear dark chocolate and coffee are good for your gut hahaha)

His information on intermittent dieting cleared up a few myths for me as well... he talked about the original 5:2 and various other themes of IF and how its been shown that a 10 hr eating "window" a day is kind of the sweet spot but that it also has to be personalized for what works for each of us. it made me think about your convo with Suzy re when you prefer to eat vs when she does.. he talked about how for some, a window of eating between 8am-6pm works, others might be 11am to 9pm... that never would have worked for me when i was working shifts but now i can see the benefit. As well, his comment about not stuffing your body with food before bed as it messes up its "rest and restore" time because it now has to work on digesting those snacks instead.. really hit home too. I sat here last night and ate like both of you.. i actually kept an open pkg of oreos on the coffee table in front of me.. had a couple which led to heading to the fridge for a few mini aero choc bars yada yada..

So while i may not do a regimented IF, i do think i will try the 8-6pm window for a bit .. i have to take some meds with food in the morning which is usually around 8am .. but even if i go over i will definitely try not eating ANYTHING after 7pm and see how i feel.. i have gotten into the habit of having a cup of tea and a "treat" around 8 pm so that's going to stop. The only other big takeaway for me was the information on the sweeteners. I use crystal light a LOT to increase my water consumption every day.. im not a big fan of drinking water so i use it in every bottle.. so i'm going to start cutting that out.. i will begin by only adding it to every other bottle instead of every single one and gradually cut it out completely. i used to drink 3-4 regular cokes a day years ago and now i can't even think about drinking one without an ugh.. so i know i can change this. I also liked his comments about how exercise for weight loss only is pretty useless unless we change our diet (its still imperative for physical health, just won't impact weight loss at all without changing what we eat).

And yes sorry i know this post was long but i just really wanted to say thanks for sharing that video.. it was pretty good timing for me with my new focus on health, energy and vitality vs "dieting" and looking more at building a gut healthy diet with more veggies, fruits, herbs and spices is exactly where i want to be this year... so ty!

Vailara

I'm glad you liked the video, Snoozie! There are some other videos on individual aspects but I felt this one was a good overview. I took part in the study he mentions, with the app! I had to stop drinking my splash of milk in my tea in the morning! But have kept up the habit of the first cup of tea being black.

It's funny how you can change your drinking habits like you mention with the coke, even when they seem like you can never give them up! I've given up caffiene totally before in the past. And now my habit has change with that one black tea at the beginning of the day and one black decaff coffee at the end (have been drinking coffee more since he did a podcast on it!).

I love the idea of herbs and spices counting as part of your variety of plants!

I think it's a really good point that it's individual. I know my eating times are a little bit unusual and wouldn't suit most people. It does get frustrating when people tell you have the answer to everything, when it's just what worked for them individually. I think he mentioned people having different blood sugar reactions to foods as well. And of course there's the gut microbiomes. Seems like we're all a bit different and have to find what suits us.

Snooozie

It was a good overview and I quite enjoyed and learned some stuff that i think woudl work for me.. i liked the fact too he was adamant about personalizing what works for you... and yes on the blood sugar spikes.. everyone is different.. i know diabetics who can't eat oatmeal cause it sends it soaring where others have no reaction.. but i'm definitely focusing on the gut health aspect and trying to incorporate a lot more of the veggies, fruit, etc.. grains have always been a struggle for me but baby steps and small changes worked for me when i first came here and I already know i can change the way i eat because i've already done that over the years lol.. and i've already increased the veg part so its just a matter of doing even more that way... yesterday i made up a big batch of my fav veg, turnip, carrots and i had a 1/2 cabbage as well; when i got home from my shift around 730 last night i was hungry and thankfully that was already in the fridge, so i warmed up a bowl of the mixed veg and had that lol... it was warm and comfy and delish.

I did find tho i didn't drink enough water yesterday.. part of that was being on shift, but also because i'm only allowing myself every other bottle with the crystal light, so the water only bottles take me longer to drink lol... i'll def have to work on that!

Suzy you mentioned you got your bloodwork done... i know you were a little anxious about it i hope the results were ok for you and now that you have that baseline, i think your goal of improving them by the next one is excellent and doable for sure!

suzyqholland

I need to find some time to watch the video. I’ve been so busy lately and I’m not even sure why. Lol. I feel like I keep getting hit with things that weren’t even on my radar. I’ve got to figure out how to function in this chaos because it doesn’t seem to be getting any better. I’m the kind of person who likes to plan everything and be in control so it’s been difficult. Adding a second grandchild that I’ll be helping out with is going to add to that but soooo worth it! I can’t wait to meet my little grandson in May.

Snoozie, maybe you could try putting half the crystal light in each bottle of water instead of the full amount in every other one?

Vail, I was thinking about what you said about it’s easiest to not eat before your first meal than later in the day. I had a luncheon to go to yesterday so I didn’t eat breakfast. I figured I’d eat a bigger lunch than usual so I’d just wait. We ended up not eating until almost 1:00 and I didn’t feel like I was starving or anything. I’m just so conditioned into thinking that I have to eat at certain times. I’m trying to really consider if I’m truly hungry before I eat and to stop when I’ve had enough. Sounds so easy but something I struggle with.

My bloodwork was just about the same as last time maybe a tiny bit elevated in some areas. But the good is low and the bad is high. My A1C has crept back up though and that one really scares me. I may have to just give in and go on the statins and I think I’m okay with that now. I know some of that is hereditary and I don’t think I can bring all those numbers in line with diet alone. I feel like I can totally get my A1C under control with changing my eating habits. So that’s my main focus.

I picked up my granddaughter early from daycare yesterday and we played for a couple hours, just the two of us. I love being a “GaGa,” that’s what she calls me. I need to make sure that I’m healthy enough to be here for her (and my future grand babies) for a very long time.

Vailara

You don't need to watch the whole video, Suzy, I just posted it because we'd been talking about fasting and he mentions the results of the study he was doing a few weeks ago, basically that people who reducing their eating window to ten hours seemed to be less hungry and have other benefits. It's interesting that it worked OK for you waiting till lunchtime! The other stuff in the video was interesting too, about the microbiome, eating a big variety of plants (herbs and spices in particular), exercise doesn't really help with weight loss, etc. Also that it's very individual which I think it is true while being aware that he has a which company provides individualised health plans!

Good that your results aren't too bad, but really annoying about the good/bad proportions. I have been on statins for fifteen years, and I don't know what my results would be if I was au naturel. My total cholesterol levels have been good since I started on them, so I suppose they must work (cholesterol was normal to begin with but because of the heart disease it needs to be low). I've hardly ever had the good/bad checked, but last time it was done it was fine. I know it's a different scenario for me as I think there's better evidence for being on statins with existing heart disease rather than for prevention, but just thought I'd let you know that they do seem to work on the numbers. That includes the time when I was very overweight, incidentally.

It's lovely that grandchildren are your motivation! That fits so well with our theme of the year. I have been thinking similar myself, as I'm hoping for grandchildren in the next few years and know I have to be available for childcare. My mother didn't live to see her grandchildren grow up, which is so sad. Although it's so frustrating, she probably had about the healthiest lifestyle of anyone I know. Sometimes it's just luck and genetics in the end. But if she hadn't the lifestyle she had maybe she wouldn't have survived the first heart attack and would have died before they were even born. It still makes sense to give ourselves the best chance we can! I need to remember that when I'm passing the treats table at work!

Vailara

I was adding my weight into my programme today and noticed that I am 2 stone (28 pounds) lighter than when I started just over a year ago! I'm still a little bit above my lowest weight, but quite pleased with that.

suzyqholland

Yay!!!!! Your hard work has been paying off! Well done, Vail! You have every right to be pleased and proud of yourself.

Vailara

Thank you! I'm up two pounds this morning, just to stop me being complacent! But it reminded me that I really don't want to let it creep up again. It's really annoying that my joint problems have got worse this year while at my lightest in years, and I tend to think, oh, what's the point, the weight loss hasn't helped. But surely just by the laws of physics it's got to be easier on the joints with less weight on them. And also I was having some level of joint problems when I was young and weighed 115 pounds, so unfortunately I just don't have great joints whatever the weight.

I know exactly the cause of my weight gain. I do very well at watching the videos, listening to the podcasts and buying in healthy stuff and have been doing my lovely portion controlled plant-based home cooked meals, then was shopping for something unrelated and bought some junk food, and ended up eating some of it in the car before I even left the car park, for goodness sake. Then had the mindset of I've messed up today so I might as well keep going and start again tomorrow. I had stopped falling for that trap, but managed to talk myself into it yesterday!

I don't remember ever having these problems with food when I was young and slim. It seems that no matter how much I eat healthy, I still crave the junk.

suzyqholland

Everyone eats some junk food occasionally. Don’t beat yourself up over it. You’re aware and getting right back to your healthy eating…that’s the most important thing. In real life, we eat chips or candy or cookies occasionally. As long as it isn’t a daily thing then you’re doing fine. That “I already blew it” mentality is so easy to fall into. You saw it for what it was and now you’re moving on. Just put it behind you.

Your comment about not having these problems with food when you were younger made me start thinking. I have always, as far back as I remember, been dieting. I think I started when I was twelve or thirteen? My mom was always nagging me about my weight. I look back on photos of me at that age and I absolutely do NOT look overweight. I was a bit heavier, curvier, than my older sister but not overweight. I can’t help but wonder if that’s why I have such an unhealthy relationship with food….and possibly my mother. Lol.

I’ve been counting on my joints feeling better once I lose some weight. Don’t burst my bubble, Vail! Lol.

I made the fish Florentine from skinnytaste the other night. It was fantastic! I even got my husband to eat spinach and enjoy it! I made white chicken chili last night and it was so good. I’m not sure it was as healthy as the fish but it really hit the spot with this cold weather we’re having.

Vailara

Isn't it awful, looking back, who would nag a child about their weight? I was lucky that my parents didn't but I know it was common then. I did get nagged about things, but weight wasn't one of them. I luckily escaped dieting until my 20s, I think, and my body image was OK until then. Although there was no need for me to diet in my 20s either but I got caught up in it. My slim colleagues were all dieting and my boyfriend thought I was fat. Do you remember when lots of people who were dieting were already quite slim? I suppose that's still the case now, actually, when people have to look a certain way.

The fish florentine looks lovely. I have some chicken being delivered later this week. I might try to do something similar with chicken. Well done on getting hubby to enjoy it! Good that he kept an open mind and gave it a go!

You probably will get an improvement in joints with weight loss. I'm just surprised I didn't, but I know I'm thinking about it the wrong way round. My joints would probably be worse now if I hadn't lost the weight. I do think some of my exercise hasn't helped, and I think it's the jumping in particular that has made things worse, so maybe it's more about being careful about what sort of exercise I do.

Vailara

Talking of joints and weight, I was assuming that the problem with being overweight was mechanical, putting extra load on the joints and causing damage. But I've just re-read some of the information on the physiotherapy page I use and apparently it's due to "switching on" of inflammation by chemical messengers (adipokenes) which are secreted by fat tissue. This is really interesting and unexpected for me, even though I knew about inflammation being an issue, I didn't realise it was the issue with being overweight.

Although I've lost a lot of weight, I do still have a high fat % as far as I know (my scales aren't measuring it at the moment), so possibly still count as being in an obese range due to the level of fat, and maybe that is causing me issues.

suzyqholland

That’s really interesting. I had not heard that before. It makes sense though. So it’s not just how much weight you’re carrying (because that is bad for cartilage) but how much fat is left even when you lose weight. So to burn off the fat we need to build muscle to fire up our metabolism? Does cardio actually help burn fat?

We did manage to go for a hike last weekend. My stamina is abysmal. My knee and foot did okay but I was huffing and puffing and having to stop a lot on the uphill climbs. I’ve tried the yoga videos a few times and can’t make it all the way through but I’ll get there. We haven’t used the workout room at the park yet. Still need to do that. I managed to walk two laps at the park (2 miles) before I was worn out and my foot hurting. My goal is to walk three laps each time. It just amazes me how hard it is to get in shape and then how quickly I lose all that momentum. It seems harder to get it back each time so the key is to not stop doing it.

Vailara

You know, I hadn't really thought about it too much before but it makes sense that the fat is more important than the weight, as otherwise you'd just expect bigger/taller people to all have joint problems!

My view on fat loss is that cardio won't do a huge amount, it's more about diet and if losing weight, you're losing fat. And trying to build muscle is very healthy and will help but it would be virtually impossible for a post-menopausal woman to build enough muscle to make a difference. This is just my opinion from various bits of reading!

Well done on the hike. Yes, it's so frustrating how quickly you lose fitness. I often think about when I was young and kind of "naturally" fit. I did do lots of outdoor stuff, but if I didn't do much for a while I'd just pick it up again. Now it's like retraining if I don't exercise for a few days! I used to do pushups a lot and stopped doing them regularly a few years ago and have never been able to get back to do them since despite (trying to) do them regularly on my exercise programme. You are so right that the key is not to stop doing it!