40+ Club- I'm Dreaming Of A Light Christmas

1678911

Replies

  • duffyzmom
    duffyzmom Posts: 644 Member
    Welcome Back ALF! The Cruise sounds fabulous - Yes, I started CX today - I'll send you a message with the Burn Phase. I modified all push-ups but still felt it a little bit in the neck I'm going to try to stick to modified push-ups through the whole Burn Phase and hope my neck adjusts. If not, I may have to substitute bench work for push-ups.

    Sing: I'll put my thinking cap on as for new thread name. Right Now I'm liking Beating the Winter Blues or a variation Beating the Winter Bulge.
  • singfree
    singfree Posts: 1,591 Member
    Duffy, "Beating the winter bulge" fits me to a T. Good work!
  • StiringWendel
    StiringWendel Posts: 3,908 Member
    sing, I had the exact same thought duffy did when I read 'Beating the Winter Blues'. I'm all for 'Beating the Winter Bulge' right now....in more ways than one. :laugh: Good luck on logging your food. I find that logging both my food and my exercise (I log what I do each day and when lifting weights, always log how much I lift) helps keep me accountable. With regard to strength training, I also find it pushes me to continue increasing my weights. I love seeing all kinds up updates on my tracking sheets.:laugh:

    alf, welcome back!! You look beautiful in your new profile photo. I'm happy to hear you had such a good time. I'm going on my first cruise this summer (through the Mediterranean), and I can't wait. I hear you about detoxing....I'm still detoxing from the holidays. But I'm inspired because I woke up this morning after having a dream about regaining all the weight. What a nightmare! :noway: I don't want to go there again!

    Off to lift weights (chest, shoulder, biceps) and do some cardio. I'm feeling the snow shoveling in my forearms this morning, so we'll see how the weight lifting goes. :tongue: We were only in LA for a year (after living in Alaska), but I did manage to lose my snow shoveling muscle memory during that time. It was painful yesterday. But I kept thinking to myself 'This is great exercise'. Unfortunately, that didn't make it feel any better. :tongue:

    Hope everybody enjoys the rest of their day.
  • mkwood10
    mkwood10 Posts: 428
    Hello all!! Yes, it's Monday and I'm back to work.....but I was ready to come back - enough days of silence in the house was getting to me. I'm glad to hear everyone survived the holidays and is ready for the new year.....and new selves!!! It's really hard to believe I've been in MFP since March.........and it's taken until the last 2 months to really make any progress:grumble: :grumble: . I'm grateful for all the friends I've made here and the support and encouragement you all give me. :heart: :heart: :heart: :heart:

    Holding steady at 126-127, which isn't bad considering my main exercise the past 10 days has been shoveling snow and moving firewood!!! :grumble: I had a really pleasant surprise this morning when I got dressed for work - my pants are really loose around the waist, even with long underwear on!!! :laugh: :happy: :happy: It was -4° this morning and I knew that the heat had been turned down in the building; I am VERY GRATEFUL for my space heater!!!!!:laugh: :laugh:

    Headed to Curves tonight to get back into the routine.......now if I can just get this belly fat to disappear..............too bad I can't use it to warm my hands and feet these days!!!:laugh: :laugh:
  • 2BLean
    2BLean Posts: 2,373 Member
    Hello 40+ Club! I’m checking in after what feels like way too many days. :blushing: I missed you and hope all is well!
    Happy New Year. :drinker:

    I like the Beating the Winter Blues theme for the new thread. I know this time of year the short gray days start getting to me. Slowly but surely they are getting longer though …. Right!?!!?

    STIRING: Thanks for the update on SHOCK!!! I am so excited to dig in and try them. Tomorrow will be my first go at them. They arrived New Years Eve and I didn’t get one in this weekend. I have had a very irritating dry cough that seems to really get going when I do cardio. But today I feel good & since cardio is on the schedule for tomorrow ~ tomorrow it is!! :wink: Which one would you say is closest to Insanity?!?! I’ll keep you posted. Can’t wait. I was thinking of starting with Core Cardio Circuit.

    I absolutely agree on the logging of foods/workouts. I don’t have a workout partner for sharing my progress or lack of, whatever it may be. So this sight and checking in with you guys really helps me to be accountable!

    I hope everyone is starting off their week good and having a great day back to the grind after the holidays! :flowerforyou:
  • singfree
    singfree Posts: 1,591 Member
    Good morning!

    Alf, you must be kidding us about your real age! Your picture looks great. See what good food and exercise can do for you? We're all glad that you're back with us again.

    Stiring, I'm going to attempt to faithfully log food & exercise, although I try to put all my food in ahead of time and it usually does not work out exactly. At least I have a good idea where I stand each day. As for shoveling, I don't think anyone really gets used to it. It's a pain no matter what. Usually it's my back that gets stiff from bending over to shovel.

    I must say that I got out of shape the past few months. I am stiff and a bit sore from my workouts and I am not lifting nearly as much weight. I need to tell myself that it can only get better.

    2blean, keep us posted on you progress on the new workouts. I don't have a workout partner either. I wish Jillian lived closer!

    mk, I don't like the cold either. I really have when the temp goes below 0. The coldest I can remember was -32 about 15 years ago...brrrrrrrrrr! Our nephew is currently moving from S. Cal. to Iowa. He didn't even own an ice scraper for his car. He'll learn fast!

    Have a great day!
  • Swissmiss
    Swissmiss Posts: 8,754 Member
    :flowerforyou: Welcome back alf. You really do look great in your new picture. Thanks for telling us about your cruise. Maybe, someday, I can go on one of those. It sounds wonderful. Were those stingrays safe to swim with?

    I had a new instructor for my strength class last night. She really put us through it. I thought I would be sore today but only my legs are. Zumba tonight. :happy: :happy: :happy:
  • duffyzmom
    duffyzmom Posts: 644 Member
    OUCH! Boy I can really feel CX in my legs today. I guess that is what I get for being so lazy of the holidays.

    Glad to hear I'm not the only one suffering through the Cold snap. I just keep reminding myself that between all the layers and resistence of snow I'm getting an even better calorie burn from walking the dog.

    Bundle Up and Have a Great Tuesday!
  • singfree
    singfree Posts: 1,591 Member
    My earlier post should have read (minus) 32 degrees!!! Now that's cold!!!
  • Swissmiss
    Swissmiss Posts: 8,754 Member
    sing, are you saying it is 32 degrees below zero ????? That is cold. I am not going to complain about the 14 degrees we have here. I had some trouble keeping the windshield from icing up this morning. No way that I could get the glass warm enough to keep it from freezing. We have had freezing rain all morning. I will be leaving here in about 45 minutes. Hope it isn't too slick.
  • singfree
    singfree Posts: 1,591 Member
    Swiss, yes it was 32 degrees below zero! We were on our way to a rehearsal early one morning and we saw the temp on a bank thermometer. We saw a similar temp on another bank, so it must have been accurate. This is not the norm for PA, but at least it's something I can bore my Grandson with!! We also had a few bouts of freezing rain in the past month or so. I prefer snow to that anyday.

    Think spring!!!!!!!!!
  • StiringWendel
    StiringWendel Posts: 3,908 Member
    You all don't want to hear about the temps we faced in Fairbanks, Alaska, do you? When 25 below seems warm, you know you are living someplace very cold. :laugh: That being said, I hope all those suffering from this cold snap in the US stay safe and warm. Being cold is no fun. We've got our own cold snap going on, with temps falling below zero last night in Seoul. We stayed slightly above zero where we live, but it's definitely chilly outside! Not much fun.

    2BLean, this is probably coming too late, but I think Cardio Core is a good place to start with Shock Cardio for some of the higher intensity. The HiiT workouts are probably the most Insanity-like, but Cardio Core also has elements that I found very challenging (like Insanity). The only difference between the HiiT and Cardio Core, for me, was the longer breaks in Cardio Core from the cardio to complete the core work. I did both Step Works and MMA Fusion yesterday and enjoyed them both. Step Works is choreographically challenging, but I caught on surprisingly quickly. I know you say you have issues with choreography but I think this workout is worth a try or two because I think it will be fun once learned. Hope you enjoy your workout!!

    sing, duffy and swiss, let me join you in saying 'ouch' this morning! Sounds like we are all feeling muscles we haven't felt for a little while. For me, it is my forearms this morning. I think that is due to shoveling AND doing a bicep/forearm workout. I'm finding it hard to type as a matter of fact! :tongue: Today I'm going to focus on legs and maybe try another one of those Cathe HiiT workouts. Eating is back to normal (all clean), and I don't plan on changing it anytime soon. I'm still amazed at how much fat I put on my body eating poorly for a couple of weeks even though I was working out. Not good. I had yet another dream about it last night, so it is clearly on my mind right now. :wink: I just hope I remember this next time I think about going crazy with food.

    Hope everybody enjoys the rest of their day.
  • Swissmiss
    Swissmiss Posts: 8,754 Member
    sing, my husband wants to know if you live in Bradford...the icebox of PA. He is from Williamsport.

    As the day went on both of my legs from my toes on up got more sore. Wow, I guess I really got a workout. I had to miss my zumba class tonight. I got home from work to find my youngest daughter running and fever and throwing up.

    stiring...a question: how do you manage to be outside? I have to go outside several times a day. I don't think that I could do it if the temperature was as low as it is there.
  • singfree
    singfree Posts: 1,591 Member
    Good morning!

    I am officially ready for Spring! Even though it is is tne mid 20s here, it feels cold!!!

    Swiss, no I don't live in Bradford (the Alaska of the East). I live near Pottsville in Schuylkill Co., which is in the Eastern part of the state. Again, that low temp I mentioned yesterday was a rare thing. Usually we get temps similar to Philadelphia and NYC.

    Well, the soreness seems to be subsiding from the workouts of the past few days. I am going to do some strength training today along with some cardio. I can afford to take it a bit more slowly, since I am definitely lighter than this time last year.

    My eating is pretty good with the exception of a few minor bumps in the road (last of the Christmas candy at home and at work). I am trying to eat whole grain cereal for breakfast daily and during the day include a good amount of veg and some fruit. I've also increased my water intake too. Subsequently, I must add a few more miles for bathroom breaks!!

    Stiring, do find that HIIT works better for you than something less intense? Really, HIIT is not for the faint of heart, but if you want to see results in a hurry, HIIT is the best thing that I've found. Sometimes my mind is not ready to do it, but when I'm motivated (think Germany), it is a much easier task. The feeling of an intense workout that leaves you gasping for breath and in a pool of sweat is somehow very appealing to me. My wife can't believe how much I sweat during an Insanity workout. I feel like I'm sweating out all of the toxins and gunk that I've built up over the holidays.

    Alf, did you start your Zumba classes yet? Did I mention that we are VERY proud of you for doing this? :drinker:

    Did anyone watch the Biggest Loser last night? Each season the contestants are getting heavier! There was one man who tipped the scales at 526 lbs. It's funny...we are sore after being lazy for a short time. I never hear about these people getting sore after working out!! What gives? I would have to have a full-time masseuse if I were in their shoes. My hat is off to anyone who wants to take control of their lives.

    Have a wonderful day...stay warm!!!!!
  • Swissmiss
    Swissmiss Posts: 8,754 Member
    sing, I wonder what the temperature was in Williamsport yesterday. My husband only talks to his dad about once a year.:sad:

    It seems a bit warmer today even though the weatherman is not saying so. I think I am just getting used to the cold.

    My daughter is still sick with the stomach flu. I am at work but she is texting me constantly. It will probably go throughtout the entire family.:explode: I will probably also miss another exercise class tonight due to this.
  • singfree
    singfree Posts: 1,591 Member
    Swiss, yesterday was cold & windy in Williamsport with a high of 25 degrees. At noon today it is 29 degrees with flurries here. I hope your daughter is feeling better soon!
  • tron3002
    tron3002 Posts: 440 Member
    Hope everyone is having a wonderful 2010....

    Yesterday I had to go back to Nevada to pick up MORE of my moms stuff.... That woman needs to be on the show "hoarders".... But I have decided that until she gets tired of living with all the crap surrounding her and complains just a little I will ignore it. After I hear her whine a bit I'll offer to help but on MY terms. And that means getting rid of a lot of stuff.....

    I also found out that in one of my vacant rentals a water pipe broke and the whole downstairs is flooded.... Just great.

    My brother went to the doctor yesterday and is ignoring my calls and text messages so I dont know whats going on. He must not have heard good news and just doesnt want to deal with anyone right now. He is like that.... I just wish he would tell me whats going on.

    I recorded the biggest loser last night and plan on watching it today. I'm hoping to get inspired to try to see how much weight I can lose with them... I'll let you know how that goes...

    Alf.... Your picture is amazing. Your truly so beautiful....

    Swiss... Sorry to hear your daughter is sick. Hope shes feeling better soon.

    Sing.... Now thats COLD!!!! I dont think I could handle that weather.

    String.... Do they get much snow there?
  • Swissmiss
    Swissmiss Posts: 8,754 Member
    :flowerforyou: tron, a hoarder is very frustrating to have to live with. My husband is one. Can't throw away anything and also has trouble not ordering whatever junk is sent to him in the mail. If it is a cookbook he will order it. We moved our bedroom around last Friday. He is still trying to organize his junk. He has plenty of time since he lost his job. But, my, what a mess.

    I did not get to my strength class tonight. My daughter is now experiencing a terrible headache.
  • alf1163
    alf1163 Posts: 3,143 Member
    Oh Boy, you guys can really post...:laugh: :laugh:

    Tron, thinking of you and your brother. I hope he is ok. :flowerforyou:

    Swiss, I hope your daughter gets better soon. Poor thing. :flowerforyou:

    Sing, stay warm! There is a lot of talk here about an artic front we are supposed to get tomorrow morning. The low temp should be in the low 20's!! That is pretty low for this area.

    In a way I am glad I am not the only one dealing with a difficult time going back to eating right after the Holidays. I have felt hungry the last few days. I guess my body was getting used to the extra calories. And I am still craving a lot of sweets. I don't want to continue down this road...need to put a stop to it. You are all welcome to kick me in the rear...:laugh:

    I believe I mentioned I started ChaLean Extreme on Mon. I took it easy because I am still worried about my leg injury but I could feel a little soreness on Tue. I was supposed to do burn 2 today but woke up with a terrible headache. And of course if I dont workout in the morning I definitely skip it in the afternoon, unless I am teaching Zumba!! And speaking of Zumba, yes, I taught my first class last night. I am telling you, I was very nervous. It has been a while since I taught an exercise class. I had five ladies in my class. They all seemed to enjoy it. Some said "see you Thursday". I am hoping to get more. It was a lot of fun. I forgot some moves but I just improvised, they wouldnt know if it was in the routine. :laugh: I got an offer to teach in another facility on Mon/Wed at 7pm. I really want to teach in this place but I am not sure if I am biting more than I can chew. I have an appt on Fri to go over the contract and decide if I want to be the permanent instructor or a substitute instructor. Right now they need a permanent instructor, what do you guys think?

    Has any of you tried Chia seeds? One of my coworkers is using it. His family swears by it. It helps with digestion, hydration, lowering cholesterol, increasing fiber. They have protein and omega 3. They make you feel full so you dont feel as hungry. They are expensive though. I am going to post a separate topic and see what responses I get.

    Stay warm!!! ((((((((((((((HUGS)))))))))))))))) :flowerforyou:
  • Swissmiss
    Swissmiss Posts: 8,754 Member
    :flowerforyou: Hey alf, why not? You can't get too much Zumba. I swore that I would not miss any class this year but have missed two of them already. If my daughter is up to returning to school tomorrow then I will go to my class tomorrow night.
  • StiringWendel
    StiringWendel Posts: 3,908 Member
    Good Morning! I hope this finds you all doing well.

    tron, good to see you! I hope you hear from your brother soon, and I hope he is doing okay. You and your family are definitely in my thoughts. I think you have a good plan with your mother regarding her 'stuff'. I think it is smart to work on it if it is only under your terms. They aren't showing this season of Biggest Loser here on our Armed Forces TV (in fact, they are showing the one from two seasons ago :mad: ), but I find the show helps motivate me quite a bit. I'm going to miss not seeing it this season. Regarding your question about snow in Korea, we are definitely getting more than I anticipated. We've probably had about 18 inches in the past two months which isn't much, but more than I thought we'd get. It wouldn't be so bad if the temps were high enough to melt it, but that hasn't been the case recently. We're supposed to warm up to around freezing this weekend, though, so that should help.

    alf, congrats on teaching Zumba! About taking over more classes, I often find that if I think I might be biting off more than I can chew.....I am doing just that. So if you really think it is too much, you might want to think about it more. But if you think you can handle it......I'm with Swissmiss in saying 'Go For It'. Just listen to your hip, though!

    It's funny that you mention being hungry right now. I really have been struggling with that this week (since I've been back to clean eating), and have been chalking it up to lifting weights again. But I really think I forgot during those couple of weeks of pure indulgence that I really do get hungry alot when I'm trying to maintain this weight. I suppose that's all right since I think a certain amount of hunger is actually a good thing. But that being said, I didn't miss the hunger when I wasn't experiencing it. :ohwell:

    Swissmiss, I hope your daughter is feeling better. I'm not surprised she had a headache as I usually get those after a tummy bug too. I think it is probably from dehydration or something like that. Hopefully you won't catch whatever she had and can get back to your routine soon. You asked about the cold temps in Alaska. Honestly, you really do acclimate to them. I mean, the kids at school play on the playground down to about 20 below. In fact, all of life is pretty normal until about 20-25 below. I found I could get by just fine with a lined fleece, gloves and a scarf at those temps. The scary temps are -40 and under. I remember that everything in our house would start moaning and groaning, creaking and cracking at those temps. I said to my husband that it was so cold, you could actually hear the cold. At -40 is when they started advising people not to go outside unless they needed to. Hard to believe, isn't it? But you really do adapt. And we did spend days at a time at below -40, so it wasn't uncommon. And, yes, boiling water does freeze immediately if you toss it in the air at -40. I had to try that....at least once. :bigsmile:

    singfree, it sounds to me like you are right back on track. I'm with you that having a goal in mind (like going to Germany) helps me. Right now my goal is to look good for our trip to Hawaii in April. We'll be there for work purposes, but I'd like to think that if I have a chance to wear a swimsuit, I would feel comfortable doing it.

    You asked an interesting question about HiiT, and I've kind of thought about it all day long. To be honest, I have managed to lose weight in the past doing moderate exercise and eating right (at times when I've been injured and such), so I'm not sure to what degree HiiT really impacts that as I've gained weight doing high intensity workouts (like over Christmas when doing Insanity) and I've lost weight doing moderate exercise when I've been eating right.

    That being said, higher intensity workouts are what motivates me to workout. I love the sense of accomplishment I feel when I'm done and THAT is what I'm addicted to when it comes to fitness. I love the feeling I get throughout the day when I've done a tough workout and can feel the workout. I love knowing I can push myself beyond boundaries. I love the feeling of energy I get when doing such workouts. And I'm never bored doing them. I can't say the same for moderate activity. So, yes, HiiT does make a big difference for me because it keeps me motivated to workout. What can I say? I'm an intensity junkie. I know that high intensity isn't smart every day, especially when doing strength training. But I know that if I try to take the intensity down some, I will get bored and give up, and that's WORSE than doing high intensity almost every day (at least in my book). I do try to vary my workouts--intervals vs. steady state (but high intensity steady state), but I do a high impact or high intensity cardio workout almost every day. And, to be honest, after doing that, I'm okay with doing something like yoga or pilates because those relax me and I do know there are benefits (and feel the benefits) from that type of activity as well. But I need the rush of a good tough workout to feel really enjoy those other activities (and that would include strength training if I'm being totally honest). So....there you go.

    Hope you all have a great Thursday! Stay warm!!
  • singfree
    singfree Posts: 1,591 Member
    Good morning!

    Stiring, we are sooo on the same page that it's scary! I guess I am a HIIT junkie for many of the same reasons you've mentioned. Here's another- doing twice the workout in half the time. The caloric burn really mounts fast when doing HIIT. I just love getting a good sweat going and keeping it up throughout the entire workout. You are right, it should not be done every day. I listen to my body and see if it can handle the load. Right now I am NOT up to intense workouts daily because of stiffness and soreness. As I regain my strength and stamina, I will also increase my workout load. For this reason I am building momentum slowly. I figure that during January I can lay down a good base for overall fitness. Then starting in Feb. I can begin more difficult workouts.

    People might think that setting long-term goals is silly. On the contrary, I believe it is the most sensible and realistic way to do it right. Nobody is going to get in shape in a month or lose those last 20 lbs. Believe me, I will need every day until May 27 to get into great shape. Don't cringe dear ladies when I post some "after" pix in a few months. I KNOW that I am in far better shape than most people my age--which isn't saying much! I know what it's like to be super-fit. That's my goal, and I am confident that it can be attained by men or women of ANY age!!

    Alf, I just looked at your weightloss ticker. 10 more lbs to lose?? Judging from your pix, you look fantastic right now!! Since your hip is still bothering you, have you considered adding more strength training and yoga? Right now might be the ideal opportunity to do more body "sculpting", since your body fat is pretty low. Since you are teaching Zumba, that can serve as your aerobic-cardio workouts. You can still burn a large amount of calories by doing circuit training at a higher level to keep the HR up. Just a thought....

    Today I will do some cardio and strength training at the gym during lunch, and do Insanity after work. I'm feeling less sore and stiff each day, so I can slowly add more intensity to my workouts. Like my sis said, I love the feeling of accomplishment after a really hard workout.

    Have a great day!
  • duffyzmom
    duffyzmom Posts: 644 Member
    Happy Thursday All!

    I'm bracing for a major snowstorm and hoping it stays south of us. Like ALF I missed my Burn Circuit 2 yesterday - I spent the morning at the Dentist getting 2 crowns replaced :sad: So I plan to just count yesterday as my other rest day for CX and will move the other workouts to fit.

    So far I'm doing really quite well with Eat for Health program. Stiring I know you were interested in my opinion of the program so his is a little review from week 1.

    The first week guidelines are 1) have a salad everyday 2) make fruit a part of your life (not just in smoothies) 3) Increase the amount of veggies you eat 4) eat more beans, raw nuts and seeds. Luckily with my current BMI the plan allows me to eat in their Phase 2 which is a lot less restrictive than Phases 3 or 4 (Those are for the extremely overweight or those with major health issues).

    Here is a Cliffnotes version of Phase 2.
    Cooked green Veggies - Minimum 2 servings a day
    Raw green veggies - minimum 1 serving a day
    Colorful veggies - mimimum 1 serving a day
    Fruits - minimum 3 servings a day
    Beans - minimum half a serving max 2 servings a day
    Nuts and Seeds - minimum 1 oz a day max 2 ozs
    Whole Grains or Starchy veggies - minimum 1 serving max 3
    Animal products limited to 5 servings a week (when you reach goal recommends 8/week)
    White bread/pasta - limit to 2 servings a week

    My biggests problems with the program:
    1 - limit tea or coffee to 1 cup a day (never happening for me although I'm trying to do more green tea than coffee)
    2 - it is anti-dairy products even low fat versions
    3 - no snacking just 3 meals a day (unless your an athlete and it isn't very clear on what they define as an athlete)
  • singfree
    singfree Posts: 1,591 Member
    Duffy, even that is too restrictive for me! The problem isn't the prescribed plan, it's ME. When I'm told to limit this, none of that...it makes me crave those things all the more. I've tried Atkins, Fat Flush Plan, South Beach, you name it. I was all gung ho for the first few days, but eventually my willpower was not strong enough to stick with it. I wish you the best with this plan, and please give us some updates. The info you provide might be of great use to all of us!

    Good luck with the snow. We are supposed to get 1-3 inches overnight.
  • mkwood10
    mkwood10 Posts: 428
    Hello to everyone this frigid Thursday!!!:flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:
    It was 3° this morning, but a wind chill of about -15°. Hasn't warmed up much.....it's a balmy 8° right now with a wind chill of -13°:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: I'm just glad we didn't get much new snow.....driving home yesterday was a mess with the blowing snow. Tonorrow's forecast..........more of the same :sad: :sad: :sad: I hope everyone else is doing OK with the cold. What the heck every happened to the global warming the "experts" all holler about??:laugh:

    Didn't stop to work out on the way home yesterday :ohwell: :ohwell: and won't tonight either. I feel guilty leaving my poor 14+ year old beagle/daschund mix outside for one more minute than I have to, even though she has an insulated coat and a heat pad in her dog house. Once the weather warms up a bit she'll be OK for that extra hour it takes me to work out and finish the drive home. Since I'm the only one at home, it's a minimum of 10.5 hours from the time I leave for work until I get back home and I can't leave her inside for that long - she HATES the kennel and will make herself sick in it.

    On top of my cold weather whining, my glasses snapped in half this morning when I was cleaning them!!:frown: :frown: So, I'm now wearing my old glasses that hurt my nose and am headed straight to the eyeglasses place as soon as I leave here - hope he has some frames in stock that'll work with the lenses until I can order new frames (was going to do that anyway). I'm almost afraid to ask what else could go wrong this week........there's only one day left in it!

    Stay warm everyone............think warm thoughts :devil: :devil: and eat popcorn when those munchies hit!!! That's what I intend to have for dinner tonight...... Orville Redenbacher's "Simply Salt" popcorn is really good and VERY low calorie!!
  • StiringWendel
    StiringWendel Posts: 3,908 Member
    mkwood, stay warm!! Those are some cold temps out there, especially with the wind blowing. I don't blame you for not wanting to leave your dog outside. I wouldn't either. Bad news about the glasses. I hope you can get them fixed over the weekend.

    duffy, thanks so much for posting that information! :flowerforyou: This sounds like a perfectly reasonable program because it looks like this guy doesn't just say 'don't eat animal products' (as many people do) without ensuring that a person is comfortable replacing the nutrients with non-animal based products. I could probably do what he recommends....except for the 5 servings of animal products a week. If that said 'meat'....no problem. But I love my eggs (and to a lesser extent, cheese). Please let us know your progress. I'm very interested to hear about how you feel physically implementing this program. Do you have enough energy? Does you tummy feel better/worse? That kind of thing. Thanks again for posting this. I've been tossing it around in my mind for nearly a year that I might go vegetarian, so, again, I'm very interested in your impressions.

    singfree, yes, I forgot to mention the benefit of the calorie burn in HiiT. I totally agree, and that is a huge incentive for doing higher intensity workouts for me as well. You got me thinking with this statement, though: "I KNOW that I am in far better shape than most people my age...." If you were being totally honest with yourself, wouldn't you say that you be able to drop the words 'my age' from that statement? Based on what you've said about yourself, I think you probably could and it would be a totally accurate statement. I look at myself through my age as well, and I don't know if that is a good thing or a bad thing. On one hand, I love that I AM middle aged and still kicking butt.. But I also know that what I am doing would be considered kicking butt by people 20 years younger. In other words, maybe the age thing is just an added bonus, but when really looking at it.....you are in great shape! Period!!

    I finished my first week of STS this morning. I'm feeling stronger and stronger with each workout. It is surprising me how much stronger I am this year than I was last year when I was doing these same workouts. I actually did the workouts for this week twice (last week and this week), and I'm thinking of doing the same thing for week 2 because I really am having to adjust my weights up. I want to make sure I get an accurate read on my strength levels before moving too far into the program. I took a break after my weight workout.....and then did Insanity Max Interval Plyo. Yowza!! That workout nearly killed me this morning. I don't know if it was because of the tough weight routine I had done earlier or if I was just pushing myself harder. But I was sweating up a storm. It felt good!

    So today is my Friday (it is early Friday evening as I post this), and so I should probably get to my check-in. I ate clean all week (no cheats, treats, sneaks, etc). I'm not weighing myself right now for a variety of reasons, but primarily it is because I know when I start lifting weights after being off strength training (as I was for over two months), I put on alot of water weight, and that usually lasts for about three weeks. I don't want to panic when I step on the scale, so I'm giving myself a break from it for right now. So I'm going based on how my clothes fit. Well, there's some good news and bad news. Some of clothes stopped fitting over the holidays. I'm able to get into some....and not others. :cry: I'm hoping to be back in all my clothes within the next couple of weeks. Some of the clothes not fitting thing could be the aforementioned water retention. But I think most of it has to do with too many Christmas cookies. :blushing: Oh, well.

    Hope you all have a great Friday!
  • singfree
    singfree Posts: 1,591 Member
    Good morning!

    Happy friday all! Right now it is snowing lightly outside with less than an inch of snow on the ground. Temps in the 20s, but we are to get an Arctic blast over the weekend, oh boy! MK, I know how you feel...we are going to get the really cold stuff tomorrow. Time to snuggle with my honey near the fireplace...too bad I'm at work.

    Actually I would like to go to a place called Christmas Village tonight. It's an old-fashioned outdoor Christmas display. It's in a very rural setting in nearby Berks County. It was at one time a farm, and many years ago they decided to make it an attraction. Many buildings and walways are brightly lit with those big outside lights. There must be a million lights. Holiday music playing over the sound system, just a really nice time...especially for the kids.

    Stiring, thanks for your post. You're right- I am in better shape than most people, but I am not satisfied. I know that I can and will do better!

    OK, Friday check-in time. On the bright side, I've been hitting the exercise pretty hard this week. I am not up to speed because I am a bit out of shape after the holiday season. My eating is somewhat better, although nowhere near where it needs to be. In the mirror I look just OK, but the extra fat weight I've put on is manageable. I've committed to eating more fruits, veg and whole grains and I am doing that with no problems. One big change I've made is with eggs. I am now back to eating whole eggs instead of Egg Beaters. New studies are showing that eggs are not the culprit in raising cholesterol. I'm going to eat them regularly. I will get my blood checked in a few months to confirm this.

    Stay warm folks and have a great weekend!
  • duffyzmom
    duffyzmom Posts: 644 Member
    TGIF: We finally have an accumulation of snow. Which means I'm more pleased than ever that I work out at home because driving on snow and ice is not a favorite of mine.

    Stiring: I'm actually surprised at how well I'm feeling although I think that is the benefit of starting with the slow 28 day program where each week you just focus on one area. I am probably doing 2 of the 3 fruit servings a day but have a long way to go on the veggie front. I blame some of that on Michigan weather. I just don't feel the desire to hit the grocery 2 or 3 times a week to guarantee that I have all the fresh veggies that Dr. Furhman recommends. So I'm using more frozen veggies.

    Friday Check-In - Not a perfect food week but this year I'm going to try to spend more time celebrating my accoplishments and not get stuck on beating myself up for little "transgressions" (sorry Tiger couldn't resist:wink: ). I am also not setting any weight goals. Fitness is my goal for this year so most of my goals are related to that. I want to run at least 2 half marathons and start training for a January Marathon. I'm aiming for new PB in 5k and Half Marathons so I will be incorporating more speed work in my runs. I also want to increase my core strength which will also help me keep my waist measurement down.

    Have a great weekend everyone.
  • Swissmiss
    Swissmiss Posts: 8,754 Member
    TGIF everyone. I am not about to do a Friday check in. I am very worried about stepping on a scale. I will find out tomorrow morning after Zumba.
  • singfree
    singfree Posts: 1,591 Member
    Good Morning!

    Just checking in to see what's going on. Last night we went to a movie, "Blindside" with Sandra Bullock. A very good movie! We then went for a quick drink at a lounge before going home. It's cold and windy here, but heck, it's January!

    Have a great day!
This discussion has been closed.