40+ Club: Beating The Winter Bulge

mkwood10

Happy Friday everyone!!!

I've spent the last 2 days home with a rotten sinus infection :sick: , but made it back to work today. Still not feeling great, but hopefully feeling better soon. The doc said that it was a deep seated infection, so may take a few more days before the antibiotics really kick it out of my system. So..........haven't worked out all week, but the scale has stayed below 126 for more than a week, so I finally posted a new weight in my ticker! :happy: :happy: The doc noticed I'd lost some weight and told me to keep up the good work - not bad for not seeing him for probably close to a year!!! It's amazing how good one comment can make you feel about yourself and your hard work!

WalkKansas starts on Sunday, and somehow I ended up a team captain here at work :huh: Not quite sure how that happened, but it'll be good motivation to get my butt out walking on the days I don't work out. The weather looks like we're maybe done with winter (shhhhh, don't tell the weather gods!!:laugh: ), and that is making me wish I felt better so I could get out and walk!! We're supposed to log fruits/veggies and whole grain servings each day, so I'll have a better idea of what I'm acutally eating each day.

Have a great weekend everyone - and enjoy the sunshine if you've got it!
Marla

cardigirl

Check in time! Hello all! This week has been tough, because I've had a lovely cold, the first one in about a year, and as I have a cough, I've not been going full force in my workouts. Mostly cardio, but not as intense, and my "arms" exercises (weights). Weight has been fluctuating up and down and it gets discouraging. I think it's about time to shake up the exercise routine, which I will as soon as get over this frickin' cold.

Still doing the 50% carbs, 25% protein, 25% fat, which is fine, except it gets difficult to balance it all out by the end of the day. LOL...usually I have a ton of carb grams left, very little protein or fat, so still working on creating a rotation of meals that fit the bill as far as my percentages go.

Apart from the cold, am feeling lean, and hope to have me energy back next week!

Oh, and Alf, I find I really cannot eat much before a workout in the morning, and, same as you, most days it is fine. I do drink a glass full of ice water about a hour before, which helps with hydration, but if I eat within that hour before, even something small, I get nauseous. I've found it difficult with Boot Camp class because that is at 11am on Saturdays (college kids!) and so I eat something no later than 7am and I make it a light snack, like yogurt, or half a banana and almond butter, to keep me from starving. But that's the only time I eat before a workout. I think it's a matter of preference, though many people I've talked to recommend an early workout be on an empty stomach.

It is so hard to get it all scheduled. Many nights I find myself eating my last meal at 8pm, which is kind of late...but I try to make it a lighter meal, and have more of my food intake earlier in the day. That's the only solution I've been able to come up with.

Hope everyone has a good weekend, and are there any thoughts on Best Picture winner this Sunday? I like The Hurt Locker.

maytanewfie

Well I started the week 2 lbs above my start weight on whatever random day, however many months ago that I first logged on (okay had a big lapse there), and now I'm 1 lb below it. I'll talke that. I know a lot of that is probably water weight, but hey, it's gone so I'm fine with that. When I'm diligent about my eatting, I eat a lot less salt. (I know I was eatting potato chips the previous week, so the pattern is a surprise.). I ate very well all week, and did okay with exercise. I'm terrible about going to the gym, but i went out and paddled a canoe twice, and did a few hula and belly dance classes as well as some ice skating. Not all of that is hard core cardio (the canoe is), but it is still activity. I've also been trying to participate on the boards here for the first time, so I'm hoping that helps me get out of my usal patter of sticking with something 2 weeks, then self sabatoging. A good start though,

StiringWendel

alf, I definitely think you need to eat something (blend of carbs, protein and fat) before you go to sleep if you are working out in the morning on an empty stomach. Don't stress about the carbs at night. It is just and 'in an ideal world that' things that recommends carbs shouldn't be eaten late at night, but life isn't always ideal. In other words, the 'no carbs before bed' is just a suggestion for the optimum, not a make or break situation. Good job at passing up temptations!!

zebras, congrats on the weight loss!!

Sunny, good to see you! Don't worry about being a little up in weight. That's going to happen. Good idea going with the Wii game for more land based activity.

pcaseyco, I am doing three meals a day and one mid-morning snack right now, and it seems to be working out really well for me. As long as you aren't getting so hungry in between meals that you overeat at a meal, then whatever you are doing is good in my view. Congrats on the weight loss.

duffy, I've been meaning to ask if you are still following any of the Fuhrmann plan. I'm just curious since it seemed to be working out pretty well for you.

2BLean, good to see you!! Yes, I'm still planning on the undulating rotation in May....and really looking forward to it. Regarding Insanity, I think you'll love the program. But I'm not so sure I would recommend doing a full Insanity rotation and then going into something like the undulating rotation. What I would recommend instead is maybe following the first 30 days of Insanity and then doing a combo of Insanity with something like Gym Styles (do you have those workouts?) for the second 30 days. While I didn't lose strength doing Insanity, I did lose quite a bit of muscle tone. And it has taken awhile for my muscles to get back to where they were before. The thing about the undulating rotation is that, from what I understand, it really is the next step to strength training, so I'm not sure it would be recommended after two months off from strength training. So I think a compromise would be good. That being said, I can't say enough positive things about the Insanity cardio workouts and, again, I think you would love them. Let me know if you have any questions!!

mk, I'm sorry you haven't been feeling well. The WalkKansas program sounds great! I know this time of year, I just love being able to walk outside again.

cardigirl, good to see you!! Sorry to hear you haven't been feeling well either. Good for you at attempting to workout through it, though. I always find it difficult to do any kind of workout with a cold. I have no thoughts on the Oscars since I've not seen any of the movies. But I am looking forward to being able to watch most of the Oscars live on Monday morning.

maytanewife, I don't like going to the gym either. I think it is good that you are finding other activities you enjoy if the gym isn't your thing. Just being active is good! Stick with us and we'll try to help you through that '2 week slump'!!

I'm taking my first day off from working out in a month. I've been for a good walk, though, so at least I've done something. I'm back to eating clean again today, though I'm focusing on making sure I'm eating enough instead of being constantly afraid of eating too much. I feel much better and hope this continues. I was in the commissary (aka the grocery store) this morning when a perfect stranger came up to me (she had seem me at our formal dinner last Saturday night) and said she'd wanted to talk to me that night but didn't get a chance to....but she just wanted to take a minute to compliment me on my fitness. :noway: Boy, did that come as a surprise to me!! At first, when she mentioned something about going to the gym, I thought she was telling me that I needed to go to the gym. :laugh: It took a little while for me to register what she was saying....but what a nice and totally unexpected compliment that was.

Hope everybody has a great Saturday.

2BLean

2BLean, good to see you!! Yes, I'm still planning on the undulating rotation in May....and really looking forward to it. Regarding Insanity, I think you'll love the program. But I'm not so sure I would recommend doing a full Insanity rotation and then going into something like the undulating rotation. What I would recommend instead is maybe following the first 30 days of Insanity and then doing a combo of Insanity with something like Gym Styles (do you have those workouts?) for the second 30 days. While I didn't lose strength doing Insanity, I did lose quite a bit of muscle tone. And it has taken awhile for my muscles to get back to where they were before. The thing about the undulating rotation is that, from what I understand, it really is the next step to strength training, so I'm not sure it would be recommended after two months off from strength training. So I think a compromise would be good. That being said, I can't say enough positive things about the Insanity cardio workouts and, again, I think you would love them. Let me know if you have any questions!!

Stiring: Thanks for the comments! I wondered about that and truly have not wanted to stop doing any kind of weight training because of the strength/muscle gains that I made from STS. I do have Gym Style of Cathe's so maybe I will consider that or an STS/Shock rotation before the Undulating rotation.

Kudos to you for such a fabulous compliment! :drinker: To have someone make it a point to come up to you in the store, that's so great! You must have felt really good and proud as you should!

Off to do Cathe's Circuit Blast. Have a great day! :flowerforyou:

JuliaSoCal

hmmmmm,,,,
This week,wii says I am up .l2bs.

Bummer...

I guess it is to be expected after last week almost 3 lbs ...

Hope every one it having a great weekend!

Julia

Texssippian

Hi all! Very busy here!

Just got back from quick trip to Salt Lake City. Left on Thursday for business. It snowed and was beautiful. Went to Robert Redford's Sundance Ski Lodge for dinner. Had a vegetable pasta dish and a pear and blue cheese salad. Went over my calories but it was wonderful and not near as calorie-filled as what everyone else had... Finished up business mid afternoon on Friday. Everyone else flew back to Dallas. My brother who lives out from Salt Lake City picked me up at the airport and I got to spend time with his family. I had not seen my brother or sister-in-law since my dad's funeral Thanksgivng of 08. I had not seen two of his step grandchildren since 05, one since his wedding ten years ago and the six-year-old, I had not met yet. We had a great time visiting and seeing the sights. They can sit at their breakfast table and see mountains from two directions. Wow!

I definitely want to go back with my husband and kids to hike in the mountains. I don't think we are the down-hill type!

I tried to log calories on my blackberry but it was very cumbersome. Anyone have any better luck? Even though I thought I was making good choices, now that I have logged everything in, I find that I was over the calorie limit while on the road. Good news is that my SI joint did not bother me at all! Looking forward to getting on the bike later today and back with the trainer tomorrow.

Take care all! TxMs

singfree

Good morning gang!

I'm back on a more "sane" shift (day shift). My body doesn't do very well on night shift. Ironically, in the future I might be working nights permanently when that supervisor retires. I better get a raise!

Sorry friends, but I have not been able to keep up with all of your posts. I like to reply to all, but I am very busy at the moment. We had a good weekend. We went to the Philadelphia Musuem Of Art on Saturday. It is an immense building containing some of the greatest collections in this country. The only problem was the traffic. Traveling the infamous "Schuylkill Expressway" is a nightmare. Where I live, if I am delayed by 2 minutes due to traffic, I get road rage (kidding).

Spring is in the air! It is so nice to feel the weather turn warmer and see the geese fly north...a sure sign of spring...not to mention the return of the robins.

I am continuing to improve my eating habits a bit, although it will always be a struggle for me to eat a totally clean diet. In addition to kettlebell training, I am still going to the gym to lift traditional weights and do some cardio. I was able to ride my bike 25 miles over the weekend too, which is great considering it is still early in March.

Have a great day!

PS- In the next day or so we will need to start a new thread, as the 500 post cut-off is looming!!!!

alf1163

Good morning!!! I had a good weekend. I spent a few hrs yesterday packing for my trip to Puerto Rico while watching the Oscars at the same time. I hate packing, especially for 2 wks!!! :noway: And no matter how much I try I always end up packing more than I need. :grumble: Now with the airlines charging for luggage I am packing one big suitcase and each one of us will also bring a carry on. I am teaching Zumba tonight and tomorrow night. I am doing a ChaLean workout tomorrow morning. When I come back I am going to repeat wk 2 of the lean phase. My left anterior deltoid has been bothering so I am hoping the change of pace would help. I am taking a resistance band to PR to do some resistance trng every other day or so. I am hoping to catch a Zumba class over there but I know my husband will have something to say about that... :grumble: I am also bringing my IPod so I do my own routine as a cardio workout. I am looking forward to seeing the family and going to the beach but to be honest with you I am not looking forward to eating there. I know the diet in PR is not healthy and there are not that very many healthy choices unless you go to a fancy restaurant. I have been doing so well lately eating clean and I did not want to stray too far from that...

Stiring, why would you be surprised at someone complimenting you about the way you look? You have worked very hard for it and you look great!!! You deserve all the compliments you get. Way to go!!!! Have you ever thought about getting a personal trainer certification? From what I recall you do not work outside the home and I think you would be a great personal trainer. Think about all the people you could inspire!!!!!! And this is something you could take with you everywhere the military takes you.

Tex, glad you were able to spend time with family. Many yrs ago I drove through Salt Lake City and thought it was beautiful!!!

Julia, dont worry about .12lbs. Keep up the good work.

Sing, when are you changing the topic? I am hoping I can find it. I am not so sure I will be able to check in often. I can check the site on my phone but it is a hassle to post, etc. I am glad you are back to your normal work schedule. I wouldnt be able to work night either. I can't hardly sleep during the day.

Have a wonderful day!!!! :flowerforyou:

singfree

Time to change topics!!!

I will start it now.

Go to:

40+ Club: Hop Into Spring With A Fit Bod


See you there!

singfree

The new topic is up and running!!

40+Club: Hop Into Spring With A Fit Bod

See you there!

CHRISSYEPSON

MFP says I should consume 1200 calories...........is it ok if I go to 1000 calories a day, or is that too low?

cardigirl

MFP says I should consume 1200 calories...........is it ok if I go to 1000 calories a day, or is that too low?

Chrissy, do you plan to add an exercise plan to your weight loss journey? If so, 1000 cals is way too low. Plus, do you plan to eat that little for the rest of your life? 1000 calories a day is difficult to sustain long term, and once you stop eating that way, you may find that all the weight you lost will come right back. There are several "stickies" at the top of the message board pages that you should read that would give you some great info. Here's one of them

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing

1200 calories a day is already a deficit. Then, when you exercise, you "earn" more calories that most people recommend you eat, because your body needs fuel. There are myriad factors involved in determining a good calorie count. Most people do not recommend going under that.

CHRISSYEPSON

Thank you for your help.........I will look at the threads!

denimangel

Hello everyone. I haven't been here for about a week, things have been super hectic. I have been trying to stick to my diet and have succeeded for the most part. Exercise has been easy. My husband and I have been going for long (10K) bikes rides in the evenings. One night we walked 3.5miles, and I have been doing 1 minute sprint/walks (6/3mph) on the treadmill for anywhere from 30 - 45 minutes at a time. My husband has agreed to come up with challenges for me everyday. (Thanks hon!) He said that this Sunday if it is as warm as they say it will be that we will be biking out to the lake (7miles one way) and back. I really want to reach my goal by June 20 and will push myself however and whenever to do so. Please help me to stay motivated! For those of you who are on my friend list if I don't log in please send me a note and push or remind me! I really want to do this!! I have to break this #%%@%! plateau that I have been on for way to long now! Tomorrow is another day... 50minutes of circuit training and 45 minute sprint/walk increasing the incline this time. I can do this!!!