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

alf1163

OMG!!! I cannot believe I have not posted in this thread since it started!!! I am ashamed of myself!!! :grumble: I has been crazy lately but we are all busy so no real excuses for me. So many things to tell you guys!!

First of all, welcome to all the newcomers!!!! Stick with us, we are a very supportive group!! :drinker:

I am 46 yrs old!!! :drinker: My birthday was on Veteran's Day, Nov 11. It is double celebration for me because I am a Veteran. My husband and I ran the Rock And Roll Half Marathon on Sunday!! It was sooo humid. The temp started in the high 60's and then it got into the mid 70's. I tried so hard to stay at my husband's pace but I struggled, I managed to do it for about 9 miles. Then I lost him in the crowd so I kept going on my own. I finished in 2:41, my husband in 2:57. Not our best times for a half marathon but we had a good time. It is a huge event!! There were 32,000 participants!!! It was hard to run in a straight line, I was constantly weaving through the crowds. Lots of people walking, strolling I would say, talking on the phone, taking pictures, stopping at the portables within the first 2 miles. :noway: :noway: My husband did not like that. But we did it and it was an interesting experience. :drinker: I am on my last week of P90X. I think I am going to just do a variation of workouts now and then start ChaLean again in Jan. Duffy, you with me??? I should make a concrete plan for now because I might let go if I don't.

Sing, glad everything went well. Did you also get my ticket to Germany? :laugh: I want to go!! Thank you for starting the new thread. I LOVE the topic name. :drinker: It suits me so well right now. I don't know what it is, my husband says it is stress, but I have been eating like crazy, and not clean good foods like I used to. I am always craving junk, especially sweets. This brings me to...

Stiring, glad you are doing well in Korea. I would love to visit that country. Korean food is my favorite!! I am definitely up for a challenge. I need help!!!! Let's think of a challenge to help us through the Holidays. My lowest weight, about 3 wks ago, was 122 and this past Friday was 126.6. I really dont think it is all water weight. I need to keep this eating in control.

Today is our Thanksgiving potluck at work. :noway: :grumble: I am now eating my healthy oats with whey protein, blueberries and walnuts. I am going to pack a healthy snack and will do my best to select healthy options and the not so healthy keep them in moderation or none at all. Oh, but I am bringing a flan de queso (cheese custard?). I made it last night but I did not make the healthy version. :laugh: Oh Lord, help me!!!

Hi to everyone, sorry cannot respond to everyone's posts. I promise to check in at least once daily.

Have a great day!!! :flowerforyou:

singfree

Alf, I'm happy that you're back with us!! Congrats on running the half marathon. I'm not sure if I want to share a bathroom with TWO women in Germany!! :laugh:

Swiss, I didn't talk to my Dr after the procedure. He had a full slate of "butts" to examine yesterday!! :laugh: The nurse in the recovery room told me that the Dr wanted to see me in 5 years.

Swissmiss

:laugh: sing...love your sense of humor !!!!!:laugh: Well, I guess you will just get to do this again in five years.

:flowerforyou: alf, I did miss you!!! I do that all the time. Get so busy that I don't have time to read the thread and then feel quilty. Zumba and strength class take up most of my evenings. And thanks for bringing up the fact that we are about to be staring a tables covered with yummy, fattening foods. I just know that I will eat whatever looks good. I am hoping to lose about 13 more pounds by the end of the year. Maybe I will change that to the middle of next year.

alf1163

As usual, I ate too much at the Thanksgiving luncheon. :grumble: :grumble: :grumble:

When I came back to my desk I had an email from the Wellness Dept about a Holiday Challenge here at the Health Science Ctr. You have to register before Thanksgiving and weigh in. You win a t-shirt (which I really dont care about) if you maintain or weigh less in January. I think this is a good opportunity to challenge myself this year. I am going to register by the end of this week. :drinker:

:flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:

StiringWendel

Hi everybody!

singfree, I'm happy to hear your procedure went all right. I hope your cold is almost gone. After all you've been going through with the cold, the meds, the preparation for the colonoscopy, the work stress, etc., I'm not surprised you have 'minor stomach distress'. I think I'd probably be experiencing 'major stomach distress' :sick: after all that!

And thanks for providing the interesting info about protein and headaches. I've never heard anything about that before. I think it is probably important for me to remain somewhat cognizant of that especially doing a program like Insanity. I keep thinking I need to get back to more protein because I feel leaner eating more protein, but I also know I need those carbs to get me through this program, so...

mk, happy to hear you've heard a little from your husband. I hope he is doing well. And congrats on the weight! You really weathered all of that stress well!!!

njjswim, portion control is, by far, my toughest problem. One suggestion I heard yesterday was to take a tray that a frozen meal comes in and serve your dinners in that tray since it is about the right portion size.

2BLean, good to see you!! I hope you are still enjoying STS. Are you on Meso 3 yet? I can't wait to get back to STS once I get my household goods in.

alf, you are such a young 46!! Happy Belated Birthday!! :drinker: Great job on the run. I think I'd have been too distracted to have run effectively, so kudos to you for sticking to it.

I officially hit the 'up five pounds' that I set as my limit for weight gain. I only have myself to blame since I have been out of control with my eating. I mean SERIOUSLY out of control with my eating, especially since we got here to Korea. But seeing that number of the scale really hit me this morning.

I also had a weird experience last night. I went out with a bunch of other spouses for my first meal in a Korean restaurant (which was absolutely wonderful!!) Anyhow, the topic of conversation turned to fitness at one point. And I sat there very quietly because I didn't feel like I should jump in because I was afraid they would look at me me and think 'You don't look like you workout'.

That was such an unexpected reaction, especially given that I've only gained five pounds. But I used to feel that way about talking about fitness when I was heavier, and to feel that way again last night was just........not good. It was a serious wake up call, that's for sure. And, no, I don't think anybody at that table would have thought those things. But that I was thinking that way wasn't good.

So I feel like I'm getting back on track now. What I've decided to do, alf, to challenge myself is this. I have decided to do my own push-up/plank challenge between now and Christmas. This morning, I measured how long I could hold a standard plank, a side plank (both sides) and how many straight leg pushups I could do at once. And I'm going to do that everyday between now and New Years, trying to improve everyday. And on the days I eat poorly, I'm going to do it twice! I don't mean to do that to burn off the extra calories because, obviously, that isn't going to happen with these exercises. But I also can feel the extra weight when doing things like pushups/planks. And I don't actually like doing these exercises very much. So I figure when I'm staring at those cookies, if I think 'This means more planks', I might look at the cookie differently. Well, that's my plan. If I'm holding 20 minute planks by the first of January, we'll know I ate alot of cookies. :laugh:

This morning I did Insanity Cardio Recovery, P90X Shoulders/Arms and a little kickboxing. It felt good. I'm still loving Insanity and can't wait to get to the longer workouts. I miss my weights, but I'm still finding the P90X workouts to be effective with tubing. I'm hoping once things settle down to get to the base gym and start lifting weights again. Maybe the week after Thanksgiving.

Hope this finds everybody well! :flowerforyou:

singfree

Good morning!

Finally!!!! I'm beginning to actually feel pretty good. My cold is about 90% gone and the cough is nearly gone also. What a feeling to be well again. I can't even begin to tell you how miserable it was these past few weeks. Thanks again for your thoughts, prayers and best wishes.

Stiring, those things I wrote about protein, carb, etc.. are mostly from personal experience and some from reading about the subject. My aim is to keep the protein higher without going into an Atkins-like state. I am not always successful because of my addiction to pretzels, but I'm trying to moderate that too. I've noticed when I was younger that caffein withdrawal is a real phenomenon which I've experienced first hand. I've heard that the same thing can happen when one is weaning off sugar. I've also heard reports of headache, body aches and even flu-like symptoms as a person rids the body of these toxins. On the flip side, this is why a person feels lousy after eating that greasy junk at McD's or KFC. The body is smart and is telling us to STOP feeding it inferior nutrition!!!! Do we listen? Nope...I'm as guilty as everyone else...sorry!

Like you, I've set a new "benchmark" for my weight and general physique. Hey, why not??? We work hard at it and are not about to let all of these fantastic gains (or losses) go to waste (waist). You're feeling betrayed by your willpower. Me too. But going into the holiday season at 150 lbs is not a bad thing for me. I just need to stay the course and everything will be ok, the stars will realign and I just know I can manage my weight these next few weeks. You might want to use the extra cals that you've been consuming to try to add a bit more muscle mass, then reduce the excess BF with cardio.

Hey, have a great day everyone!

Swissmiss

:flowerforyou: alf, I have found that weight lose challenges are so helpful. Keeps me in line.

sing, it is interesting to learn how getting rid of the junk in our bodies can make us feel bad. I had never thought about it in that fashion. Glad to hear the you are doing better.


:flowerforyou: stiring, there is not a doubt in my mind that you will lose those five pounds that you put back on.

I, unfortunately, will be missing my strength class tonight as I have a meeting after work.

duffyzmom

Hi All Sorry I've been MIA - my husband has been trying to use up vacation days before the end of the year so I had him home for 5 days straight. Which ruined my eating and exercise but actually it could have been much worse. We have had some unseasonably warm weather so instead of running this weekend we spent 3 straight days clearing downed trees on the property from daylight to sundown. I call that Functional Exercise. I was able to get one day of 30 Day Shred in and plan to continue with that program until January ALF: CX starting Jan 4th is my plan.

duffyzmom

Hi All Sorry I've been MIA - my husband has been trying to use up vacation days before the end of the year so I had him home for 5 days straight. Which ruined my eating and exercise but actually it could have been much worse. We have had some unseasonably warm weather so instead of running this weekend we spent 3 straight days clearing downed trees on the property from daylight to sundown. I call that Functional Exercise. I was able to get one day of 30 Day Shred in and plan to continue with that program until January ALF: CX starting Jan 4th is my plan.

ALF: Enjoyed hearing about your Half - It reminded me of the Indy Mini - That is the largest Half Marathon in America and while I'm glad I did it for the experience the crowds make it near impossible to have a great run.

Sing: Glad to hear you are feeling better and it sounds like your procedure was a success. Start counting down the days till the next one.

Stiring: When I talk about having problems getting my protein in I'm just struggling with the MFP minimum suggestion which for me is around 50g a day. I just am not a big fan of animal based protein so I struggle. I am headed to Costco this week so I'm going to check out the protein powders they have.

Swissmiss

Hi stiring....I had to check to see but MFP has me eating 45g of protein. I have no problem getting it all in as I love whey protein powder. I also eat natural peanut butter with my apples.

singfree

Good morning!

I hope everyone is doing well and looking forward to a light Christmas. Keep the faith friends, stay the course and don't give in to temptations. It's only 5 weeks until Christmas. We all know the landmines facing us...Turkey, pumpkin pie, holiday parties, get-togethers...the stuff that dreams (and extra weight) are made of.

My approach is simple: Don't think of these things as an everyday occurrance. They should be considered a treat, not an all-you-can-eat marathon! Enjoy all of those goodies, but in moderation. Rather than giving up on exercise until January 2, get up off your butt NOW. Do something beside making excuses..."I don't have time" doesn't cut it. Everyone has a few minutes to exercise. Make the most of your workout. Hit it hard...get your heart rate up high enough to make you uncomfortable. Doing nothing is admitting defeat. We are a positive group here, always trying to do better.

Take a good, long hard look at yourself in the mirror. Like what you see? If you are like me, the answer is NO!!! That in itself should provide the motivation you need to succeed. I try and fail all the time. It's an ongoing theme with me. I admit my shortcomings and start all over again. It's never too late to begin, but don't keep making excuses for not trying!!! Let's do it today...right now, OK???

I feel a lot better now. That pep talk was for ME. The past 2 weeks have been challenging for me in many ways. I need to stay focused and get the job done. I'm beginning to like the way I look and I don't ever want to go back to the old ways. I'm doing this for Me first, then my family. I want to live a healthy life for many years. It's all up to me.

Have a great day!

Swissmiss

sing, thank you for including us in your pep talk. I am sure that all of us needed to read those words. I have been concerned about Thanksgiving coming up with all the fattening items. We will have my stepchilren over for dinner and they have tendency to watch every thing that I do and that will include what I am eating.:ohwell:

I went to the meeting where I work last night. This meant missing my strength class AND over-eating with the yummy food that was served there. Oh, well, back to burning those calories tonight.

zebras

Sing: I, too, thank you for the pep talk! Its also nice to sign in every morning knowing there will be a bright and shiny message waiting for all of us from you.

I've been getting back into my exercise routine, but can't seem to get control of my eating. Its not horrible, but its not weight loss worthy either. Very happy to report that I am able to (for a very very short time) get the treadmill up to 5.0 mph. Everytime I get on the treadmill I can jog a little longer. Everyone tell me what speed should I be working up to as a normal person's workout speed? I have absolutely no clue, and it helps me to have a reasonable goal to work towards, because then I will want to go on the treadmill and try to get closer to that goal everytime. Its what I did with the incline originally before I tried running and what I did with the elliptical to build myself up to an hour.

Swissmiss

:noway: I have eatten an entire day's worth of calories in a taco salad. I decided to buy my lunch today instead of eating my low calories foods. I am giving blood today after work and latel when I have done this I have been very dizzy afterwards. So, I thought that maybe I should eat more today, but didn't realize just how many calories are in one of these salads. Hopefully, I will burn a lot of calories in Zumba class later.

2BLean

Good morning everyone!

Sing: I want to thank you as well for the “pep” talk. I love that it was for you but shared with all of us.
I am also relating to the fact that next week is right upon us with all that Thanksgiving entails. Going to my mom’s house and she is a fabulous cook. I try to just eat in moderation and definitely treat it as just that, “a treat” to try things I normally don’t eat. VS. Worrying about it at every moment . . or at least trying not to. :huh: The biggest challenge is that being away from home and not being able to get in a workout other than a walk/run near her home kind of drives me secretly crazy while I am there. Of course my hubby & mom both know this is my nature but don’t necessarily understand it. :blushing:

Stiring: I have another week of Meso 2 and then my 2nd recovery week! Can’t believe it. The week after my recovery week however, my hubby and I are going on a 4 day trip to Vegas. Hence, no STS so wondering if I should just start Meso 3 when I return from Vegas?
I can only imagine how excited/anxious you are to start STS again when you have all of your things there in Korea. Hoping to do a rotation with you sometime! Maybe incorporate some Insanity as well?!?!? :noway: :noway:

Hope this finds you all well! :flowerforyou:

rheign

WOOT! I was hoping there was a forty and over group! I made the decision to make a lifestyle change in April and have been losing weight and getting fit ever since. I must admit it was a SA-WEET day when the Wii Fit finally said "that's overweight" instead of "that's obese". LOL. Who knew Mom was right when she said it gets harder to lose weight as you get older? OMG! If only I'd have listened!

mkwood10

Hello everybody!!!!

Welcome Rheign...........all of us 40 somethings stick together here and it looks like you're well on your way in your journey to a new you!:happy: :happy:

I'm doing OK; getting used to the hubby being gone:ohwell: :ohwell: . He finally made it to his destination and is working now, which helps him out. Better to be busy all day doing your job than sitting in airports waiting on a plane.

This has been a crazy week so far for me, but my workout bag is in the truck and I WILL work out before I go home tonight.........the pounds and inches aren't going to disappear on their own!!:laugh: :laugh:

Have a good evening all.........

StiringWendel

Hi everybody!

singfree, thanks for your words of motivation. The mirror has definitely become my inspiration. Since I splurged in the move, I'm actually not too concerned right now about holiday eating. But I am concerned about staying motivated with my workouts. I was working out yesterday and thinking to myself that I could really use a break. But I know I don't need a physical break because, physically, I feel fine. My mind, though, is tired from everything else going on and doesn't seem to want to focus on my workouts right now. But I'm not going to let that stop me! As you said, singfree, NO EXCUSES!

zebras, a good speed for you on the treadmill is one you can maintain. I know that's not the answer you are looking for, but, in my opinion, it is better to focus on what you can do as opposed to what other people are doing. You can't do anything about the latter but you can the former. That being said, I think 5 miles an hour is great. If you need a goal to focus on, I would aim for the '10 minute mile' next, which would be 6 miles an hour. And once you get comfortable with that, aim for the 9 minute mile, etc. But, again, do what you can do.

2BLean, how exciting that you are finishing Meso 2!! You'll find another 'shock' with Meso 3. Are you going to try to do the squat rack legs or stick with plyo? I did both, though squat rack legs probably wasn't as effective as it could have been since I don't have a squat rack. The most I could get on my body was 90 pounds (arm weights, weighted vest, and dumbbells) and that still wasn't quite heavy enough. But I felt the workouts were effective enough to keep doing (and I had great results) even if I could have pushed heavier weights in some areas. If I were you, I'd start Meso 3 when you get back from Vegas. There isn't going to be any harm in waiting an extra week, and then you'll be able to see how these workouts in the order suggested are going to feel on your body. And I'm all for a STS/Insanity rotation!! I think I'm going to do a standard 3-month STS rotation next (with Cathe's shock cardio) and then I might do an undulating rotation (are you familiar with that) with STS and Insanity. It's either that or a standard 6 month STS rotation next. I'll decide when I get my weights!

rheign, great job on the weight loss! :drinker: 70 pounds in 7 months is amazing. I'd be interested to hear what kind of food plan you've been following and what kind of exercise program you are on. Great job, and I'm happy you've joined us. :flowerforyou:

mk, I'm happy to hear your husband is safely in place. I hear you on the crazy week. I've got another one next week. Somehow, I don't think they are going to get any easier for a little while. This is me right now.....:yawn:

I have eaten perfectly clean now for two days. After two months (or close to that) of complete idiocy when it comes to eating, I'm happy to be back on track, even if just for a couple of days. I'm finding it easy to get back into the clean eating habit, but we'll see if that remains easy once my husband gets home. Hopefully he'll match up with my habits and not me his. My goal right now is to eat clean until I get my sister's brownies in the mail (her annual Christmas present to my husband and I), and eat only one of those a day until they are gone. I'm hoping that will be my only treat up until Christmas itself. That was my original plan before the move, and I'm hoping I can still follow it.

I'm finishing up my third week in the Insanity rotation and, despite being tired and wanting a break, still enjoying the workouts. I've been combining these workouts with some P90X this week (resistance tubing instead of weights, of course), and that is leaving me feeling nicely worked out. Right now, I feel I need to push myself with workouts. I'm also doing alot of walking since we don't have a car yet. While I'm not worried about losing the five pounds I gained (since I actually think this is a healthier weight for me), I do want to lose the belly I gained (from eating so much crap) and the jiggly feeling I've got working out right now. I think a few weeks of cleaner eating and Insanity will do the trick.

I hope everybody has a great evening!

alf1163

Good morning!

I hope everyone is doing well and looking forward to a light Christmas. Keep the faith friends, stay the course and don't give in to temptations. It's only 5 weeks until Christmas. We all know the landmines facing us...Turkey, pumpkin pie, holiday parties, get-togethers...the stuff that dreams (and extra weight) are made of.

My approach is simple: Don't think of these things as an everyday occurrance. They should be considered a treat, not an all-you-can-eat marathon! Enjoy all of those goodies, but in moderation. Rather than giving up on exercise until January 2, get up off your butt NOW. Do something beside making excuses..."I don't have time" doesn't cut it. Everyone has a few minutes to exercise. Make the most of your workout. Hit it hard...get your heart rate up high enough to make you uncomfortable. Doing nothing is admitting defeat. We are a positive group here, always trying to do better.

Take a good, long hard look at yourself in the mirror. Like what you see? If you are like me, the answer is NO!!! That in itself should provide the motivation you need to succeed. I try and fail all the time. It's an ongoing theme with me. I admit my shortcomings and start all over again. It's never too late to begin, but don't keep making excuses for not trying!!! Let's do it today...right now, OK???

I feel a lot better now. That pep talk was for ME. The past 2 weeks have been challenging for me in many ways. I need to stay focused and get the job done. I'm beginning to like the way I look and I don't ever want to go back to the old ways. I'm doing this for Me first, then my family. I want to live a healthy life for many years. It's all up to me.

Have a great day!

AMEN :flowerforyou:

alf1163

I have a cold!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :sad: :sad: :sad: :sad: It is a head cold. :grumble: :grumble: I am concerned because I might co-teach a Zumba class on Tuesday and I start my Zumba classes on base the first Tuesday in Dec. I really dont want to cancel those starting up. :noway: What should I do?? I have been drinking lots of water and trying to go to bed early. I still need to do two more P90X workouts before I am done (core syn and yoga) I was planning on starting the Shred workout (all 3 intervals at a time) every other day until it is time to go on the cruise on Dec 26. After that it will be Zumba classes, some running and another round of ChaLean Extreme (Yes, Duffy, I am in). I return from my cruise on Jan 3. Hopefully I am not too tired to start CE on the 4th.

Welcome to the newcomers. Wow, 70lbs lost, congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :drinker:

I am registering in the Holiday Challenge tomorrow at my job. I think that will be a good incentive for me. Of course I am going on a one week cruise but I will be working out and there are healthy alternatives at the buffett.

Have a great evening! :flowerforyou: