Focused on Fitness: Daily Check-In Group

Sure, come on in, the water's fine!

So I am really stuck at 131.5. I've been here for 3 weeks. On the one hand, I know it's going to go slower as I get closer to my goal, and the more slowly I lose it, the more likely it will be I will be able to maintain it. Also, I seem to have achieved an eating and exercise balance that doesn't make me feel deprived or anxious....

BUT!!!!

I'm worried that I've become complacent. I don't want my life to be about weight loss, but maybe I need to push myself a little harder.

Just a neurotic wandering of my mind.

Hey Larry, welcome!

We are not rabid posters in this group, obviously. I think you're wise to go slow in starting back with running. So many people get injured pushing it.

So I'm going to go push my teenagers to watch "Jamie Oliver's food revolution" Wish me luck!

Today was a walk day for me. Completed Day 4, Week 1 of the Runner's World Beginning Runner's Training Program with a brisk 30 minute walk. Tomorrow it is back to run/walk for Day 5.

Completed Day 5, Week 1 of the Runner's World Beginner Runner's Program. 30 minutes alternating run/walk.

Thanks Karin for the encouragement. I envy your gradening which I know is an effective and enjoyable type of activity and living in an apartment I don't have that option available. So kudos to you as well.

Had a little car accident on the way to work this morning. Thankfully no one got injured but my Jeep had to be towed to the shop and I had to take the day off from work to deal with the repairs and insurance issues. As a result, I got to exercise early today and enjoyed being outside on a wonderful sunny spring day this morning. I'm still following the Runner's World 8-Week Beginning Running Program but I am starting to tweak things a little by running more and walking less than the program calls for. Yes, I am the impatient type! Lol

The problem is I used to run competitively, 5Ks through full marathons and so my mind still believes I am a runner even though my body knows differently. So anyway, today I completed Day 6, Week 1 of my program, alternating run/walk. Tomorrow is a scheduled rest day with the program but I know from past experience that I am more consistent with fitness when I do it everyday instead of skipping days and since I have only been working out 30 minutes per day it hasn't been terribly taxing. So tomorrow I will do something, either just walk for a half hour or maybe do some cross training. So far so good. I am feeling much more energetic than when I started 10 days ago.

Showering counts!!! Hang in there Smiles, we're all going to have those periods so it's good to learn to ride them out and not freak out or put the weight loss ahead of health - you're setting a good example to all of us.

Larry - sorry about the car accident, you have a great attitude about it though. I went to the movies with the kids and ended up eating popcorn, so I'm on water tonight. Lots and lots of water.

Hi smiles! A pleasure to "meet" you as well! Oh Karin I feel your pain! I just can't watch a movie without popcorn either! Lol

Today was a scheduled rest day on my RW walk/run program but from my past days as a runner, I know that I do much better with a consistent exercise regimen if I do some activity everyday without skipping any. So today I decided to walk for a half hour and then I did another ha;f hour of free hiking in the greenbelt area near my home. It is pretty hilly and rugged terrain so I probably got more of a workout than I needed on a "rest" day but I really enjoyed getting out on a beautiful warm and sunny day and I'm getting a good start on my summer tan.

Oh yeah! This completes Week 1 of the Runner's World program so tomorrow I'm on to Week 2!

I get up at 5:00 a.m. to sit with a cup of coffee and my husband and 4 cats, then I go to our home gym and do 30 minute aerobics on the mini-trampoline twice a week or a combination of walking/running on the treadmill, both with wrist weights. I have a sensible diet that is low fat & carbs. So far, I've gained 1 lb. and lost 1 lb. I get off work at 6:00 p.m. and just want to go home to the sofa. What can I do to boost my metabolism so I can speed up the weight loss? I'm 56 years old and 20+ lbs overweight. I have a desk job as a librarian. Before, I lived in Japan and walked/biked everywhere. It was easy to manage my weight, then. But, since being back in the states (7 years), I've put on all this weight. HELP!

Hi Martha,

I'm very new to counting calories but it seems pretty straight forward that if you are staying at the same weight or not losing any you take in too many calories. One thing I have learned since starting here at mfp is that foods that are "low fat" typically have more total calories than the regular variety. Salad dressings are one good example. Also, quite recently I read an article in the New England Journal of Medicine that stated, based on a two-year study, diets that target carbs and fat are not nearly as effective as simply reducing caloric intake. So maybe even though you are trying to limit those two micro nutrients in your diet, you still are getting too many calories to lose weight. I've been here 10 days and have lost 3 pounds by simply staying below my daily calorie goal.

Exercise is also an important aspect and the American Heart Association recommends 30 minutes of moderate exercise a minimum five days each week so maybe you could increase above the two days you are doing currently. Few exercise programs I've seen here that people are using feature less than a minimum of three days of 30 minutes.

I'm not the most patient person in the world which is one thing that makes losing weight a frustrating thing for me. It just takes a long time to take weight off and I guess I like things with instant feedback. But I'm determined to lose the 30 pounds that I made as my goal 10 days ago and I'm sure you can successfully lose those 20 lbs if you start keeping track of your calories here and working out more often. Good luck! I envy you the chance to live in Japan. I have visited there a number of times and really liked it. Take care.

Larry

Martha, I'm 53 and the truth is losing weight at this age is not like losing weight in your twenties or thirties. Larry's right in terms of the low fat, low carb stuff. My question is how long have you been doing MFP?

I found that I just needed to record what I was doing for a couple of weeks to get a sense of the whole picture - what I was eating and when, how much water I was drinking - sometimes it's really not as simple as calories in and out.

hi everyone,

I met my Wed goal, I did 15 min of insanity, then went for a 25 min bike ride. It is supose to be nice in the morning so i plan to bike to work.

I am still tired from the cold. I might go take a nap.

Hope everyone is doing well.

hi everyone,

I met my Wed goal, I did 15 min of insanity, then went for a 25 min bike ride. It is supose to be nice in the morning so i plan to bike to work.

I am still tired from the cold. I might go take a nap.

Hope everyone is doing well.

Great job meeting your exercise goals! I can imagine it is tough while recovering from the cold. Keep it up!

Larry, I'm getting kind of jealous!

I started having a craving to run a few months back. When I was out walking I would throw in a few sprints, which felt good in the moment but the next day my feet and knees were screaming. I know a big part of that is not wearing the right shoes and maybe not stretching and warming up.

What about that injury component - do you think if I got really good running shoes and did a runner's warm up ahead of time I could do this? I need to do something, I notice that I haven't been working out consistently the past few weeks. I tried to do Wii, but those little animated characters started to really annoy me.

Thanks, Karin

Hi Karin,

Yes, definitely you could do it. I know shoes cost more at a running store but with more than 20 years as a runner I have seen a million people get shoe related injuries because they saved a few bucks getting shoes other places. Well maybe not a million, but a lot!!! Lol. My daughter was one of them. When she started running a few years ago she was always having knee problems until I drug her to a running store and got her fitted in the right kind of shoes. So definitely getting the right shoes is critical. Okay, off my shoe soap box.

I have had a problem with my feet too since I started the beginner's run/walk program. I know the type of running shoe that works for me but probably because of the extra weight, the tops of my feet were killing me for the first week or so but already with the weight I have lost it is becoming less of an issue.

My advice is to either start the C25K or the RW 8-Week Beginning Runner's Program that I am doing. Both are effective because they are actually "interval" programs. Runners typically think of interval running as speedwork, but slow paced intervals are just as effective for beginning a running program. For the first couple of weeks try to stay off hard surfaces like concrete. I run at a nearby park that has a cement all-purpose fitness track but I run just off the track on the grass to save my knees and ankles from the pounding you get from cement. Asphalt or school running tracks are also good and more cushioned than cement.

As far as a warm-up, just walk at a moderate pace for 3 minutes before you do the first running segment. Never stretch before running but afterwards when the muscles are warmed up to avoid injuries. Hope that helps. Let me know if you have any more questions and good luck!

Larry

Thanks for the info Larry. Should I go to an actual runner's shoe store or is Foot Locker okay. Actually as I wrote that I realized, no, Foot Locker is probably not okay.

Also, where do I get hold of the Runner's World program? I think I really want to do this. I

Okay, I'm on it!