40+ Club: Fall Fitness Fanatics

Claudia007

Hi, can I join this group? I'm not new here, been at it for a few months but I'm also not quite 40- YET, 39 actually :blushing:

singfree

Claudia, why of course you can join! This is a group of like-minded women (and one man) who want to get in shape AND stay in shape as we grow older. Welcome and join the fun!!

Cardi, I feel your pain about the snow! We are going to get some, but since we live inland from the coast, they are predicting "only" 4-6" for us tonight. I leave work at 9 pm tonight, so I'm optimistic that the drive home will be ok.

kbefit

Tron I love your pic! You weren't nerdy at all! In fact you remind me of Jacquelyn Smith. (dating myself I guess

Sing I do know how tempting work snacks can be. I only work an hour a day at my daughter's school but those teachers are always bringing something in! I just need to walk away.

Stiring your workouts inspire me. I was all ready to go full blast this week and came down with the worst virus. I am so stuffed up and can't stop coughing, but I am going to go for a walk now whether I feel like it or not. I haven't exercised since Saturday and I that concerns me. I have fibromyalgia so it's important for me to keep moving. I was lazier than I'd ever been this holiday season so I definitely was a lot stiffer than I'd been in a long time. No more excuses...virus or not!

Alf I'm sorry about your pain. I had no idea that MRI's hurt, I've never had one before.

Cardi we finally got snow too today. My husband's relatives are all in the Boston area so I know that they have been socked with it. Chicago has had a ton of snow the past two years but this year it really hasn't been too bad. I have to say I've been praying for it though because Saturday I am supposed to take nine Brownie Girls Scouts sledding...lord help me.

Claudia welcome...I am new too.

OK...off on my walk. Have a great day everyone!!!

StiringWendel

clioandboy, I'm so sorry to hear about your injury. Tendonitis is one of those things that requires rest for recovery, so listen to your physio. I've never had tendonitis in my lower body, so I don't have any specific recommendations on what to do for it. I would suggest you talk to your physio more about it, including asking him what types of exercises you can do during this time. But my suggestion is to listen to what he has to say about recovering and do what he says. I understand how frustrating this can be, but I also think if you do want he recommends, the faster you'll be on the road to recovery and back into running. :flowerforyou:

cardigirl, I love that quote! So empowering. Yes, my cravings are usually for sweets. I'll be good for a number of days and then...wham!...I'll be dying for a piece of chocolate cake. I actually think I'd need to go for over a year without that to stop craving it. That seems to have worked for some of the other foods I've craved in the past that I no longer crave because I haven't eaten them in a couple of years. But I have allowed myself chocolate, and so....I crave it. Well, I guess I should be happy that it really is my one last craving. Look on the bright side, right? Be safe in that storm. We've had a flake or two this afternoon, but we're only supposed to get an inch or two. It looks like you and zebras and others in the NE are in for a big one though.

kbefit, don't force yourself to exercise if you have a cough!! The rule of thumb is if you are sick above your neck, it is okay to workout. If you are sick below your neck (like have a chest cold), don't until you are 100% better. I understand how difficult that is, but it is important to take care of your body right now. Exercise puts stress on your body, and your body doesn't need that. Of course, if you are going for a light walk to ease the stiffness, that's okay. But if you are looking for a cardio challenge by walking fast or whatever, having a virus means to SAY NO. It isn't an excuse at all. I hope you get to feeling better soon.

Claudia, you are more than welcome here!!!! Jump right in to the discussion. We'd love to have you!

Claudia007

Thank you for letting me join! Been on this site for about 3 months now, but I still have a LONG way to go. I just started c5k and I'm on week 3. It really sucks how hard (and slow) it is to lose this weight. I see many others losing much quicker than I am, but they are also MUCH younger than me too. *sigh*

LadyPersia

Have a great friday!!! 6.62 miles today

tron3002

Thank you for all the compliments. Its just amazing that we don't see ourselves like everyone else does.

kbefit... Jacquelyn Smith, I love her. Have you seen her lately? Gosh she doesn't look like shes aged a bit.

Sing... Just asking and please don't take this the wrong way but is your snacking out of control of is it that you don't like the fact of not having your eating out of control 100% of the time?

Stiring... Have you checked into the requirements to become a personal trainer? I don't know whats all involved so I was just curious.

Alf... I am so sorry that your MRI was so painful. :frown: I will pray that it doesn't show anything too serious. :flowerforyou:

Claudia007... It is so frustrating to have to work so much harder to get the same results as someone much younger. Makes me wish I had started 20 years ago. But your doing great! Look at how much you have already lost! :flowerforyou:

Off to do my workout for the day. I would have started earlier BUT the hubby was home and barking out orders to me. I can't stand when hes like that. Its not what he's asking but how he asks ya know.

kbefit

Tron I have seen her and she looks great!

stiring, you were right...not sure I should have walked. I walked for an hour and just poured sweat...not from walking fast but from being sick. And now I can't stop coughing. I just went and bought some Vick's...haven't used that since I was a kid but I can not breathe and I'm hope to clear myself up...I'm so stuffed my Neti Pot isn't even working! :laugh: I'm determined to beat this w/o antibiotics! Oh well...time for a hot bath, biggest loser, and bed. Hope you all have a stellar night!

singfree

Slip Slidin' Away.....Good morning, ladies!

Amazing! The weatherpeople got it exactly right for a change. They were calling for about 5" of snow and that's what we got...amazing indeed! Of course, the height of the snowstorm hit during my drive home last night. Thank goodness for all-wheel drive. There were cars and trucks stranded on the big hill that I have to go over, and PennDOT was nowhere to be found to plow the roads.

Tron, I'm really not sure what my problem is! I think I am snacking out of boredom, even though i have more nutritious options to choose from. I just need to put my mind to it. BTW, I just noticed your latest picture, you look wonderful!

Nothing much to report from here. Work, sleep,work, sleep. I'm glad I'm taking a vacation day on Friday so we can hopefully do something fun and exciting. Not working on Friday WILL be fun and exciting! Even with the snow I should easily be able to get to the gym today. It's in a hospital, so I am guaranteed that the parking lot will be cleared.

Cardi and everyone in the New England area, I hope everyone is safe. Take care!

Have a great day!

StiringWendel

Good Morning!

I hope all those covered in snow and ice in the NE are safe! singfree, our weather people actually got it right too. We only had about an inch last night, so no impact here in the DC area. Glad you are taking Friday off after these long work days!

claudia, don't worry about pace with which you are losing weight. The important thing is that you ARE losing weight and doing some very positive things (like C25K) for your health. Congratulate yourself on those accomplishments because neither one of them are easy.

kbefit, I'm sorry you are so ill! Just rest, take care of yourself, watch what you eat (that's key) and you'll be right where you were when you feel up to working out again. Get better!

tron, love the new pic! I have looked into what it takes to get certified. I've chosen the agency I want to be certified by (ACSM), and looked into the study materials last night. It's going to cost about $100 to buy the books for the certification, so I'm giving this some more thought to make sure I want to walk down this road before making the investment. I probably will buy the books, but I want to make sure this is what I want to do first. They recommend 3 to 6 months worth of studying before going for your exam, so I won't be getting certified anytime soon. And I'm okay with that. I've come to the conclusion that if I want to do this, I need to address some issues with my physical appearance. While I'm fit, I've let my diet slide and, sadly, that means I don't look very fit right now. I looked in the mirror the other day and asked the question 'Would I want to train with somebody who looked like me?', my answer was 'no'. So if I'm going to do this, I really need to work on trying to firm up, getting rid of some excess fat, and trying to get some better muscle definition.

Not much new to report here. I really have cleaned up my diet, which is good. I got a good Turbo Fire workout in this morning, and will do a circuit workout with weights a little later today. So all is good!

Take care!

Claudia007

Thanks Tron & StiringWendle for your words of encouragment! I am feeling great about my decision to be and stay healthy, but it is a little discouraging when I am losing weight at a snails pace while everyone around me is losing at lightening speed. Nothing much I can do, I suppose, but I am happy that the scale is going down! I'm here in California and I'm excited that we will be having some warm weather finally! My daughter is on 2 soccer teams, her regular team is in the play-offs and they play on Saturdays and I've been FREEZING out at the soccer fields! She also made the all-star team and they play on Sundays, so my weekends are booked for at least the rest of January. It's supposed to reach the low to mid 70's this weekend and I'm SOO looking forward to that! I can't imagine what it must be like with 5 inches of snow! I hope everyone has a great day! :bigsmile:

alf1163

Hello!!! The MRI was not painful at all, long (40 mins), but not painful. The painful part was when I was injected with an enhancer and steroids. The needle had to go through the hip capsule. Ouch!!!! But it is over, hopefully I would not need another one nor surgery. My FU is next week Friday. For now I have not had any pain at all, it is more noticeable after sitting down, I used to limp for a few steps until the pain went away and could walk normally. Unfortunately steroids only take care of inflammation and pain and is just temporary, it doesnt fix the problem. :grumble: Doing well so far, did a light resistance upper body workout this morning, teaching Zumba tonight. Eating going well.

Claudia, welcome!! You look like Katy Perry in your picture. Cute!!! I try not to compare myself with anyone especially younger people. If I compare myself to someone else it is usually people my age and I am pretty much happy with the way I look and feel. In the words of Tony Horton, "Do your best and forget the rest" Compare yourself to yourself and always look for ways to become happier, healthier and fitter.

Stiring, ACSM is a great choice!!! Much better than ACE and AFAA. I really dont think you need that long to study the materials. I used to be ACE certified group instructor, years ago, mid 90's, and I probably studied for up to 2 mos. ACSM might be a tougher test but not necessarily. You know so much already that it will just be a review for you. As far as your body is concerned, I doubt very much you need to look much better to be a credible and great personal trainer. Besides, you will not be training anyone in a bikini. :laugh:

Sorry it is short, gotta go...at work.

cmw9696

just checking in...I'm still here! I just haven't found time to catch up lately...

I have had a couple of nice weight loss days though! Will try to get back here later! Why is getting ready for vacation, which by the way is still 16 days away, such a project in and of itself?!

pepper06

hi guys! I have missed everyone, and realized the time has gone so fast. I am starting Mon to log in to update my food tracker and get back on track w/you. I have been swamped at work and have had no free computer time to post. Hope all was well over New years. I will have to catch up on everyone but wil have to do that later.....right now I have to get bk to work.

What snow we have! WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

tron3002

We got a break from the snow here in Northern Cal and it actually rained last night. Good thing because after the last storm it has never warmed up and we had a lot of ice. With the rain that ice has finally melted. We are supposed to warn up this week end. Thank goodness because I am tired of the winter already. I cant wait for it to warm up and be able to enjoy the outside again.

Yesterday I pulled out The Biggest Loser program for the wii. I was supposed to do and hour but I ended up only doing half of that.:frown: Upset with myself that I didn't complete it but cant do anything about it now. Haven't decided what I'd like to do today, maybe the weights. My calves are so darn sore from the steps I did the other day. I dont know how they do it on the show Biggest Loser being sore all the time and still having to push yourself.

Stirirng... What are the studies about? Nutrition in general? I think you have learned so much on your own that it will just be common sense for you and probably wont take that long at all. As for people wanting to train with you... Its not a matter of what you "think" you look like its how they feel after their first workout with you. Do they feel like you were knowledgeable and actually left them feeling like they had a great work out? And I'm sure the answer would be YES! The hardest part would be getting them in because of the economy but if you have a first time special I'm sure they will keep coming back. You will be great at it.

Claudia007... Be proud of yourself even if you just lose 1 to 2 lbs. As long as your eating clean and exercising it will come off. And its not really about the scale as it should be about your general health and fitness. You started your weight loss in Sept? And already lost 18lbs? Thats actually great progress.

singfree

Good morning!

A cold and blustery day in PA!! Today is my final day of overtime (yay). The bad news is that I'm here from 7 am until 11 pm tonight. On the bright side, I can use some of the OT money to buy the new Verizon iPhone I've been waiting for. After having all Apple products in the house, I can't imagine going with any other brand. I'm not a techie or a geek, nor do I like to spend a lot of cash foolishly. This is a small treat for me. Do I really need it...no...do I want it...yes...

I'm still struggling during these long days with my eating. Being here 14-16 hrs gets a bit dull, so what do I do???? Eat anything and everything in sight!! Hopefully that will change today. Speaking of which, today is my lower body and cardio day. Stiring, this week I am only doing 2 upper and 2 lower workouts. Over the long weekend I might do some Insanity as a change of pace.

Tron, where in Northern CA do you live? I prefer snow to ice any day. Cars go nowhere on ice. I know what you mean about sore calves. When I start hiking up in the mountains after a long layoff, my calves and hamstrings get very sore. Right now I'm doing strength training with machines at the hospital gym to strengthen those areas before I begin hiking and biking in the spring. You are also right about our purpose here being focused on good health, not just weight loss. That is the very reason I do not weigh myself. Weight does not matter. General good health, fitness and body composition are my goals. It's tough at times, especially as we grow older.

Have a great day!

StiringWendel

Good Morning!

alf, thanks for your feedback on the ACSM certification!! I appreciate it. And I wouldn't be caught dead in a bikini right now!! :noway: But I would like to be able to wear a t-shirt and not hit anybody in the face with the flab on my underarm. :blushing:

tron, the studies, as I understand, are about physiology and what exercises do what for what part of the body and such. Nutrition isn't part of it. Thanks for your encouragement. You are very wise and say some terrific things!!

pepper, good to see you!!! Write more when you get a chance.

mrsward, good to see you again. Congrats on your weight loss.

singfree, I'm glad this is your last long work day this week. Good job on keeping up with the workouts throughout this time, though. How's that shoulder? Weren't you having some problems from doing upright rows? Hope it is feeling better.

All here is well. I did a long-ish HiiT workout this morning and will do yoga a little later. The eating is very clean right now, and I feel alot better.

Hope you all have a great day!

Robin1117

Good morning everyone. Wow, did it snow here in Vermont. Right now it looks exactly like what you think Vermont looks like--pristine, white, clouds of snow everywhere! In a few minutes I'll be breaking out the snowshoes for a walk with the dog. He's really funny--yesterday having to put his face in a foot of snow to find his ball--he looked rather irked, but was having fun too.

Anyway, it has been a good week so far. Eating has been very controlled and I haven't been craving anything that would break the calorie bank. Unfortunately one of my changes seems to be a good one. For budget, and for caloric reasons I mentioned to my husband we should try to not have wine during the week (we usually like a glass with dinner most nights and enjoy this ritual tremendously). So far we haven't had any this week and I'm feeling pretty good. I mean, I do most days anyway, but let's just say I don't miss it too much and feel like my body is back on track. Tonight we have dinner at a friends house, so I'm sure I'll eat a ton tonight, but think this week is a good model (wine on the weekends only) for most weeks going forward this winter since our activity level is lower. An added benefit would be that my hubby doesn't really need the calories so this is a good way to get him to cut back too without him really knowing it.

Sing--sorry you have had to work so much. What a drag. Are you by yourself in the office? Maybe you could buy a jump rope or small weights to have w/you to get you active for a few minutes while you are in there. Of course, you would look a little silly if someone were watching you, but otherwise it might make you feel better than sitting so much. You will love the iphone--and honestly it's not a foolish product to buy. It's really a product that you will find saves you a bunch of time (and you can use the MFP application too). I have the iTouch (we don't have cell service at our house, so I bought this before the iphone was available), and it does the same thing. I can't even tell you how it really liberates you from having to sit at your computer to do many tasks. Enjoy it.

Pepper--so good to hear from you! I saw you hadn't logged on for awhile and was wondering. Glad to see you are back on track!

Tron, great to see you are getting back to working out. I loved your high school picture--you are so brave to post that. I'd say Valerie Bertinelli though

Alf--your optimism and determination to keep going is so inspiring. I'm so glad the MRI wasn't too bad.

mrsward--do tell, where are you going on Vacation?? I assume somewhere warm and sunny?

Claudia, welcome. And slow is a good. Just learning how your body is reacting to eating at a certain calorie level, exercise, etc is change enough for your body to get used to and I'm sure you'll start seeing those pants loosen in no time.

Stiring--glad to see your diet is back on track too.

Enjoy the day everyone!

singfree

Good morning again!

Stiring, I have not done any upright rows (per my EP's instructions). I don't miss them at all. I still do lat pulls and shoulder presses. Those do not bother my shoulder at all. When I do go back to them, I will do lighter weight and more reps. The shoulder never really "bothered" me. I would feel a slight twinge in the scapula when do upright rows on the machine @ 70 lbs. The EP said that one side was doing more work than the other, causing inflammation due to overuse. A good case for using free weights, n'est pas? You are my idol, being able to eat so clean!! I need to post your picture on my fridge when I get the munchies. You need to act like a DI in fatigues...step away from the fridge...NOW!!!!!! :laugh:

Kadetr, when we get heavy snowfalls (last year we had a 27" snowfall), it is very beautiful. The local doggies just love to romp in the snow and climb the huge piles of plowed snow. From an experienced standpoint, I don't think a glass of wine with dinner is going to kill your weightloss efforts. It's all the junk food that sometimes accompanies it. I thought about exercising in my office. My office is in it's own place away from the front office staff (yay). We have a very high deck in our plant that has around 50 steps. I'm thinking about climbing those a few times when I get bored.

alf1163

Sing, that is a great idea!!!! That could be your new trick, when you feel the urge to eat and you know it is not hunger go climb those steps!!!! I work on the 13th floor and I have climbed all the way here, more than once. :laugh: It kills me when I see people getting in the elevator just to get to the 2nd to 4th floor. :noway:

kadetr, great to hear you are doing so well. I can agree with Sing about the wine though I dont do it myself. I dont remember the last time I had some wine. I had some champagne on New Year's Eve. :happy:

I am a little sore from doing push ups yesterday...and those were knee push ups and only going half way down!!! :noway: I feel so weak compared to where I was in 09. :sad: Oh well, I guess I will get there eventually. I did a leg and abs workout this morning, Cathe kicks my butt every time!!! :laugh: Zumba tonight!!! Eating going well, munched on too much raisin bran last night after Zumba but my body was asking for carbs.

Good to hear from a lot of you!!!! Have a great day!!! :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:

Claudia007

Happy Thursday everyone!
I'm actually feeling a bit discouraged today. I am on week 3 of c5k, and I have been feeling pretty good about it. Until I weighed in today. a bloody .5lb loss! This if after a .3lb gain last week! Party of me wants to give up the c5k and go back to previous cardio work outs, as I was seeing anywhere from a 1-2lb loss a week, but the other part of me is telling me not to quit. *sigh* I'm at a 18.5 weight loss and getting to a 20lb loss is my first goal, yet I can't seem to get there!

singfree

Claudia, don't get discouraged! The scale is driving you crazy. Micro-managing down to 0.3 lbs. is not good for your emotional health. Small ups and downs on the scale are the norm. In your zeal to lose weight, you are missing the bigger picture--that is, good health and fitness! The weight will eventually take care of itself. It is not the fault of the exercise program that you are on. Take a deep breath and relax!!! You WILL be fine!!!

mkwood10

Hello all.....it's been a long couple of weeks, so I haven't read the thread.......maybe this weekend :yawn:

After spending a few days home in MN for my aun't funeral I didn't feel good over the weekend and we got snow Mon-Tues, so yesterday was my first workout since Dec 28 :frown: :frown: Curves kicked my butt; as usual when I've been gone awhile. I'm still stuck at the stupid "fat" weight/measurements since early December, which is frustrating. I know the extra flab is from all the holiday goodies, but I stupidly keep expecting it to disappear quickly since theres's no more goodies around the office or the house for me to eat:laugh: :laugh: Will I ever learn? Probably not, but I think we all get into that mindset, especially in January. I'll keep trudging away on the neverending cycle of the same 10 pounds:ohwell:

Got good news and not so good news yesterday................... my 72yr old dad with COPD, emphysema and prostate cancer (5 years, controlled with medication) was diagnosed in early December with an enlarged abdominal aorta and referred to the Mayo Clinic for a consultation with a vascular surgeon to discuss putting in a stent. His appointments were yesterday.
The good news - 1) the "enlargement" isn't as large as the local clinic thought it was. It's actually a kind of "bend" in the aorta that made it appear like an aneurism on the ultrasound and 2)his enlarged stomach is not due to additional cancer or side effects of his prostate cancer meds.
The bad news - 1)the aorta is "bent" because his abdominal muscle tone is gone, 2)his organs inside the rib cage are sinking down into abdominal area, which caused the "bend" in the aorta and the enlarged stomach and 3) his lungs are shot and he probably wouldn't survive surgery to put in a stent. Surgeon told Mom to bring him back in 6 months for another CAT scan. So.......it appears that Dad's 50+ years of smoking and not having a healthy lifestyle have caught up with him and he can't be fixed. I asked my brother if the surgeon recommended anything to try and improve Dad's lungs so he might be able to survive a surgery if one proved necessary and my brother's reply was "do something more than waking up, walking out to the living room and watching TV all day (and half the night)". So.......the unsaid answer was "nope, nothing Dad can/will do to improve his lungs and we're just going to have to watch him deteriorate more and more". So frustrating.........and scary. Dad was fairly active until he retired 12 years ago, but hasn't done anything at all to even attempt to keep himself healthy since his stroke in 2003. It was a minor stroke; nothing physical effected long term, but memory "cloudiness" and frustration that goes with it and minor speech impairment on bad days. Dad still kknows what's going on; he just can't process things as quickly any more and gets very frustrated when around multiple people. He FINALLY quit smoking about 5 years ago when he stopped driving and Mom refused to buy any more cigarettes for him:laugh: I really wonder how long it's going to be before something major fails on him...............

Enough of my whining/venting............I know I can't fix him and this should just be more motivation to take better care of myself, right?

kbefit

Hey all...hope you're all having a good day.



OK as much as I've fought it I gave in today. Breathing has become so difficult that I finally got my butt to the urgent care center. I have a sinus infection and upper respiratory infection and have been put on antibiotics. Not really focusing on food or fitness and can't wait to get back into it. Soooooo....I'm going to take care of myself and I'll see all of you in a couple of days. Have a great weekend!

altushe

Hi everyone. Thanks to Stiring and kadetr for the email exchanges and sharing your maintenance experiences - very helpful and encouraging. Always comforting to know there are people that REALLY understand because they have been in the same shoes. Looking forward to continuing our correspondence.

Based on everyone's advice and support, I have increased my calories by a bit this week to stem the weight loss recognizing that 100 calories or so per day is not going to amount to a gain - but hopefully will be just enough to maintain. It's hard to do more than that psychologically/emotionally at least until I know it is not going to cause a gain. We'll see the impact on Sunday when I weigh-in. The good news is that I did notice my energy levels were better...

Does anyone struggle else find that is hard to substantially increase calories if you are a "clean eater" without feeling really full? I like the foods I eat and look forward to the foods that I eat now that during weight loss were "taboo" for me (i.e., nuts, granola, unsalted almond butter, etc.) but looking for some other ideas. Any thoughts or recipes to share?

singfree

Good evening (yes, I'm STILL at work)!!!

Will this day ever end??? I am now in my 15th hour at work, and I am getting very anxious to get out of here at 11 pm. I took a vacation day for tomorrow, so we are going to enjoy the day together. My wife wants to see the movie "The King's Speech" tomorrow. It's supposed to be a wonderful movie. I found a theater that has an 11:20 am showing. I figure that we can go to B&N for a coffee and bagel at 9 am, relax there for a while and get to the theater in plenty of time. After that we will go for a nice lunch somewhere. Sound good?

On Saturday we are going to meet some friends for lunch. He is a retired college professor and a musical colleague of ours. We will be meeting his new wife who is also a retired college professor. He's originally from Wisconsin, so we better be finished with our visit before his Packers play on Saturday night. He even has a "Cheesehead" hat!!

I might as well report right now, since it is just a few hours from Friday. As you all know, my eating has been really awful this week. On the bright side, I worked out every day and will do some cardio this weekend as well. I promise to do better next week!

I will try to check in tomorrow...if not, have a great weekend and stay warm!

tron3002

I didn't work out yesterday and today I hung out with my daughter all day. Hopefully I'll get some kind of exercise squeezed in before it gets too late. I have been super tired, which really isn't that uncommon for me I guess. I remember being the 5 year old who slept til noon even if I went to bed around 9. I dont understand how one person could need so much sleep.

Sing.... I live in Sonora. Its really close to Yosemite National Park. The roads really went that bad when it came to the ice. They actually came out and plowed it really good for a change before the snow froze but I on the other hand didn't shovel everything because I though... Ehhh, there's hardly anything out there it will melt quick. What a mistake that was. As for the iphones, there great. I personally dont have one but both of my daughters do. I would love to get one but I got my blackberry just before the made the internet mandatory and I dont know if I could afford the extra money right now.

Kadetr... Snow shoes... How much snow do you get?

Claudia007... Take your measurements! There were plenty of times I didn't loose weight but I lost inches.

mkwood... Oh my you have been going through quite a lot haven't you. I am so sorry.

kbefit... Take care of your health first. If you dont you will just make yourself sicker.

singfree

Good morning!

Up early and off for a fun day with my wife. I feel pretty good after the work marathon, but I am glad for the day off.

Have a wonderful weekend!

StiringWendel

Good Morning!

mkwood, I'm so sorry to hear about your father!! You and he are in my thoughts. It's sad that an unhealthy lifestyle as brought him to this place. Sadly, it is a testament why it is important to be at a place like this. And I'm sorry to hear about your aunt. You've had a time of it lately. Take care!

kadetr, my experience with wine is slightly different than singfree's experience. Well, that could be because alcohol effects women and men differently because of the release of estrogen (and we have more estrogen in our bodies already.) But I digress. I find that it does impact how I look (more than my weight) and makes me a tad puffier than I would be otherwise if I drink every night. So cutting back to weekends may be a great thing especially, as you indicated, if you aren't as active as you normally are. Enjoy that snow!!!!

alf, good job on the workouts!!! I have no doubt you're a little sore. Take it easy, but good job on getting back to it!!

claudia, if you are enjoying the running, don't give it up! There are few exercises better for fat and weight loss than running. It could be that your body is retaining more water than normal as a result of continuing to challenge your muscles. That is VERY common and happens to me ALL the time, especially when I change up my exercise routine. I will be able to fit into a pair of jeans one day and not the next, and that has all to do with water retention and not fat. So my recommendation is to stick with it if you like it and really push the water consumption. That will help. And give it some time. Really, you are doing great things for your body with this fitness regime. Don't give it up because of a number on the scale.

kbefit, sorry to hear about the continuing illness. Take care of yourself and we'll be here when you come back!!

altushe, I suffered that problem of feeling too full as well when I was trying to increase my calories. I think that's why I always reverted back to peanut butter or almond butter as my calorie staple because it didn't give me that feeling. Hopefully somebody else will be able to provide better guidance than that! I forget that not everybody shares my addiction to nut butters. :laugh:

tron, listen to your body and ease back into this exercise program slowly. Like I said the other day, you may want to aim at every other day for 30 minutes each session for a little while until your body adjusts.

singfree, sounds like you've got a great day and weekend planned! Glad you are off those long days now. Good job with the workouts this week. And just tell yourself your eating will be better next week. Don't worry about the week that's already gone by. Enjoy your day!

Friday check-in.....had a great week for eating and exercise. Not a piece of chocolate consumed all week! :drinker: I feel much better. I also really pushed the workouts this week, and I feel leaner already. My clothes are still fitting the same (which isn't particularly good), but I feel better and that's important to me. I did an Insanity workout this morning and will do a Total Body workout later today.

I hope you all have a great weekend!

Robin1117

Good morning, not much to report since I just did yesterday but just wanted to say Hi on this nice Friday morning.

Just came in from another snowshoe with the pooch. I typically do not log in exercise calories for these everyday walks but boy, walking in 2 feet of snow really gets your heart going more than a typical walk. This afternoon I am going to get on ice skates for the first time in I-have-no-idea-how-long. My little boy is learning, they get out of school half day and can either do skating or skiing. Well, last week the program was so disorganized, all the first timers like my son were out there by themselves because they only had 1 instructor and like 50 kids of all levels out there. Weird. The good news is that if they are out there they will eventually learn to skate. The bad news is that I feel like I'd better be out there in case he falls and hurts himself. So.....I'm nervous I'll be on my bum like the kids. Other moms tell me it's like riding a bike...it'll all come back to me. Anyway, maybe that'll burn a few extra calories too?

Altushe, for extra calories, like stiring, I tend to go for seed butters. Since we can't have nuts in the house, my go-to one is Sunbutter Natural. It's so good, and a ton of calories for a tablespoon or two, and doesn't fill you up. I also like regular 2% milk. I will make a cappachino w/milk and feel good, not too full, but it adds some nice protein and calcium. Fruit is good too--bananas and clementines. I'll think some more and send you a note....

Sing, so glad you have a day off today...enjoy!

Stiring---great chocolate free week--it's a good feeling to be back in control. Thanks for your note about wine. I figure it will never be evil in my book--love it so! But, cutting back can't be a terrible thing.

Anyway, I don't have as much time today to play around since the boy has a 1/2 day, I had better go work out.

Enjoy the weekend everyone!