July Fitness Challenge
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https://blog.myfitnesspal.com/category/move/
I hope this works as a link....anyway,,,scroll down if it does and there are tons of things you can do at your desk. I love #17!!!0 -
The link DOES work!! #16 is pretty funny. Stapler Bicup Curls!0
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Culo, I'm so sorry to hear your health update. Taking medicine that ruins the taste of food has to be horrible! I know you love food as much as I do, so it's such a dip in quality of life to have that altered. Also, another friend of mine is on Coumadin and has to watch what she eats, because food rich in Vitamin K makes the medicine less effective.
Jodi, that link is priceless! I don't often work in an office, but do spend a lot of time at my desk at home. I'll have to try some of those!
Veronica & All, I hope you have a wonderful 4th of July!
I'm thinking about going to my cousin's cousin's 4th of July cookout, but am a little nervous about it. There will be a huge Filipino food spread and I'm not sure i'll have much self-control there. I haven't tried to eat it in moderation yet and one serving of any Filipino dish can be 1000 calories!0 -
Culo, so sorry about your health news. My mother's been on blood thinners because of an underlying condition, and I know from that what added difficulties it causes. This may be the time to brave the pool (or try out the new swimwear) and get back to swimming like you were planning to, though, as it sounds like that's a good option.
Jodi and Veronica, I love those desk exercises. Will have to try them. I just try to remember to get up and walk around within the office every hour, but often don't.
Sue, good luck with the trainer, that's great, and have fun at the barbecue--I'm sure you will do just fine!
I did find some clothes that I feel good in (it's nice to have more options for sure), but still hate getting my photo taken. It wasn't as bad as I was anticipating, however.
I'm looking forward to the weekend--it will be pretty much a de-stressing weekend for me. I usually go out of town on the 4th (which is of course relaxing during, but going out of town itself always involves such bother). This year I'm just staying in town and going to a barbecue and then Saturday is pretty booked with my book club, a play, and then dinner. The book club is down in Hyde Park, so I plan to ride there and back and also get a decent ride in tomorrow. Today I'm going to the gym. I need to get back to a real weights routine so I can make progress, but I'm kind of waiting out the PT. Hoping that should be finished in a week or two. So far I'm weirdly excited about the pushups.0 -
I say enjoy the holiday and the company and don't try to track the social get togethers on 4th of July. I figure we are working on our weight and fitness to improve our quality of life. If you purposely don't enjoy life's moments, what's the point? At a minimum, you can track breakfast, right?Culo, I'm so sorry to hear your health update. Taking medicine that ruins the taste of food has to be horrible! I know you love food as much as I do, so it's such a dip in quality of life to have that altered. Also, another friend of mine is on Coumadin and has to watch what she eats, because food rich in Vitamin K makes the medicine less effective.
I'm thinking about going to my cousin's cousin's 4th of July cookout, but am a little nervous about it. There will be a huge Filipino food spread and I'm not sure i'll have much self-control there. I haven't tried to eat it in moderation yet and one serving of any Filipino dish can be 1000 calories!
Thanks for asking about my health. Your friend is right, you have to be aware of your Vitamin K intake while on Coumadin. As long as you're consistent, for instance always eating 1 cup of vitamin K food daily, you'll be OK. It only gets dangerous if you vary so much, the doctors can't determine the correct blood thinner doses.
I decided that I'm wasting too much food. So until my taste buds return to normal, I'm going to try to stick to inexpensive, plain food. Booooo! :ohwell:
I can't stand "sitting around", especially with my painful legs. At least before I started the Coumadin, I got a workout in exchange for the pain. Now I don't get anything for even more pain + nausea. I'm going to chance taking a long walk tomorrow on Devil's Slide. As long as I don't nick myself on something sharp, I don't see how it can be worst than what I already feel.
Still waiting for the swimsuit. If I'm lucky it'll arrive today.0 -
Thanks lemurcat12. Sorry your mother had to go through blood thinner therapy. You'd think it would be passive and not impact your life much but that's not the case. I've spent this week gathering pool related supplies. So I'm definitely ready to jump in.Culo, so sorry about your health news. My mother's been on blood thinners because of an underlying condition, and I know from that what added difficulties it causes. This may be the time to brave the pool (or try out the new swimwear) and get back to swimming like you were planning to, though, as it sounds like that's a good option.
I'm looking forward to the weekend--it will be pretty much a de-stressing weekend for me. I usually go out of town on the 4th (which is of course relaxing during, but going out of town itself always involves such bother). This year I'm just staying in town and going to a barbecue and then Saturday is pretty booked with my book club, a play, and then dinner. The book club is down in Hyde Park, so I plan to ride there and back and also get a decent ride in tomorrow. Today I'm going to the gym. I need to get back to a real weights routine so I can make progress, but I'm kind of waiting out the PT. Hoping that should be finished in a week or two. So far I'm weirdly excited about the pushups.
Bike riding to your book club meeting is a great way to model your active lifestyle. Maybe it'll encourage other club members to follow your lead.
Can you do resistance training with low weights while you're waiting for the PT green light? Maybe that'll fulfill your needs?0 -
So excited, my swimsuit just arrived in the mail. I get to try it out on the 4th of July, which, happily, is not a work day.
To any women who aren't comfortable showing upper thigh and/or crotch area in public, I highly recommend the Aquatard style swimsuit. I feel so covered without having tons of layers on. This style wasn't around in the 1980s as far as I know. Glad it's available now:
https://www.google.com/search?q=women's+aquatard+swimsuit&safe=off&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=HNy1U4y2LsrAigKHg4GYAQ&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAg&biw=975&bih=5770 -
Can you do resistance training with low weights while you're waiting for the PT green light? Maybe that'll fulfill your needs?
I can actually do a normal upper body workout. It's just lower body where I'm limited some, so that's what I ended up doing, upper body only. Then, because I'll want a day off of upper body strength tomorrow, I went ahead and did day 1 of my push-ups. Did 12 broken up into sets and then they have you "max out" which I can never quite push myself to do, but I did do 8 more, so overall lots more than yesterday, but in sets, so with breaks.
I hope to get something more exciting for my do something new goal in by the end of the week, but I did 40 minutes of elliptical today, which can count as something new, as I haven't managed to do more than a couple minutes on the elliptical for years. Tried it when I first got back to this and couldn't do anything much and have had a block about trying it again. Decided it was the best option for trying to get back into running again before the green light, and it was just fine.
I thought I got some good steps in too, but Jodi seems to be smoking me!0 -
Happy 4th of July! I decided to decline the invitation to the Filipino party. I remembered that I don't like being out on the 4th of July. The noise freaks me out and there are too many drunk drivers out there. I'm glad I stayed home, because my poor, little dog was freaked out all day. As I'm typing, he's sitting on my foot. He really doesn't like the fireworks and gunfire (yes, we do have curious holiday practices in Oakland). He has been on me all day. I can't even go to the bathroom alone!
I'm also glad I stayed home, because I am so sore from yesterday. Between walking, circuit training, and dancing with my cousin last night (I don't think I even logged that, but it certainly showed up on my fitbit), my poor body was really hurting this morning. I had some great NSV's at this show I went to with my cousin. Two guys flirted with me and when I went to close out my tab at the bar, the bartender wouldn't let me pay, because I was "too pretty".
Stephanie, looks like you got in a nice ride today! Have fun with the push-ups!
Culo, good strategy with the food, even though it'll probably be boring for a while. At least you'll save some money, right? I really like those aquatards! I wish I'd seen those before I bought my big girl two piece on walmart.com. It works, though. Did you end up walking on Devil's Slide? I bet that's a lovely walk.
I hope you're all having fun and staying safe out there. Me and Rico Suave (my dog) are going to curl up in the bed and watch something on Netflix.0 -
Looks like you're making decent progress on your push-ups program. What will you get at the end? Stronger wrists and shoulders?Can you do resistance training with low weights while you're waiting for the PT green light? Maybe that'll fulfill your needs?
I can actually do a normal upper body workout. It's just lower body where I'm limited some, so that's what I ended up doing, upper body only. Then, because I'll want a day off of upper body strength tomorrow, I went ahead and did day 1 of my push-ups. Did 12 broken up into sets and then they have you "max out" which I can never quite push myself to do, but I did do 8 more, so overall lots more than yesterday, but in sets, so with breaks.
I hope to get something more exciting for my do something new goal in by the end of the week, but I did 40 minutes of elliptical today, which can count as something new, as I haven't managed to do more than a couple minutes on the elliptical for years. Tried it when I first got back to this and couldn't do anything much and have had a block about trying it again. Decided it was the best option for trying to get back into running again before the green light, and it was just fine.
I hear ya about the 4th of July. My big fear is that something will get lit on fire, then we'll all burn. It does freak me out when the house slightly shakes from fireworks let off miles away. At least I hope they are far away.Happy 4th of July! I decided to decline the invitation to the Filipino party. I remembered that I don't like being out on the 4th of July. The noise freaks me out and there are too many drunk drivers out there.
I'm also glad I stayed home, because I am so sore from yesterday. Between walking, circuit training, and dancing with my cousin last night (I don't think I even logged that, but it certainly showed up on my fitbit), my poor body was really hurting this morning. I had some great NSV's at this show I went to with my cousin. Two guys flirted with me and when I went to close out my tab at the bar, the bartender wouldn't let me pay, because I was "too pretty".
Culo, good strategy with the food, even though it'll probably be boring for a while. At least you'll save some money, right? I really like those aquatards! I wish I'd seen those before I bought my big girl two piece on walmart.com. It works, though. Did you end up walking on Devil's Slide? I bet that's a lovely walk.
You got some nice NSVs. The kind that keep you going on the days you feel BLAH or get discouraged.
Today, I did two trips to the gym, so I didn't make it to Devil's Slide Coastal Trail. Doing kickboard laps in the pool this morning surprisingly took a lot out of me. I slept for hours afterwards. I definitely need help learning how to breathe and how to kick correctly. Once I took my flippers off, I barely moved, no matter how hard I kicked. In the afternoon, I worked on arms. I'm used to working the whole body, so it felt weird.
Tomorrow, I'm planning to walk Devil's Slide Coastal Trail then check out a new farmers market afterwards. Yay for 3 day weekends.0 -
Culo, that's so great that you made two trips to the gym! Swimming is really exhausting! I used to be such a fish, but I think that I went too many years without using those muscles. I'm glad you're getting to move and sleep is also very healing.
I am so sore from Jack's Happy Hour. I was sore yesterday, but I really thought I'd be fine today. It was so hard running around to look at apartments. Worse, was any time I needed to bend over, laugh, or cough. I suppose I could take some pain reliever, but I was really too busy to consider it until now.
I have a ton of calories to eat, if I want to get up to my BMR. Whenever I exercise more than usual, I'm usually also too tired to eat a lot. I'm not sure how to deal with that. I don't want to restrict how much I move, but I'm not sure how people who routinely get 1000+ calorie burns/day are able to keep up the fueling process. Any tips, Warrior Sisters?0 -
Can't help you with that one Sue. Right now I am debating my "whole pizza to make up calories" idea. I've eaten half...it's about the size of a personal pizza..and honestly, I don't really want any more. I'm almost force feeding at this point which can't be good. But, not eating the whole thing leaves me short. grrr
Later- ended up eating the whole thing (minus a couple of bites I shared with my dog). Don't know if I'll do that again. Was rather unpleasant after the first half and now I feel gross. grrr. Being under might have been a better alternative. So confused.0 -
Diana, it is super confusing! I don't want to under fuel my body anymore, but I also don't want to force feed myself. I've decided to just do my best and hope it all balances out.
I had a super carb & sugar filled day, celebrating my middle son's birthday. While at brunch, I was feeling good about it, because it's the first time in 6 months that I let my guard down and just ate whatever I wanted. Tonight, I'm wishing I'd had the sense to include more protein in my day. Still, I guess it's progress that I relaxed on the food today.
6/30-7/6 fitness check-in: exercised 722 minutes, burned 3,674 calories. Lifted once this week. July didn't start until Tuesday, so I'll count that as good enough. I have an appointment with the trainer tomorrow at 5:30pm. Then, I'll let Jack kick my *kitten* on Tuesday & Thursday. I think my abs have almost recovered from last Thursday.
How was everyone else's week?0 -
3500 calories a week burn
Start weight training at least once a week
Run/Walk at least twice a week
Get at least 70,000 steps in a week (fitbit one tracker)
So, those were my goals last week.
Actual done....3849 actual calories burned logged from the HRM and then 2917 calories from fit bit =
6766 calories burned including fitbit
Worked on maxing out my weight lifting on Thursday (just to see what I could do...lol)
Walked Monday, walk/run Tuesday, Walk/run Wednesday, Bike Wednesday, Walk Thursday, Walk Friday, lots of yard work and marching in place Saturday....Sunday off.
Steps for week=85,059 which averaged to 12,151 per day....
All of this equals frustration and confusion as I gained 1.8 pounds. I know some people are saying that my muscles could be doing some wierd things because I am working out harder....but argh!!!!!!!!! So anyway, Monday is the beginning of a new week right? We will see what I can do this week. . .
Diane...i get the having to stuff food in....there was a few days last week when I just could not eat any more....
Culo...good trips to the gym!!!!!!!!!
Steph...keep working on what you can while you are in PT...things will work out. You are still my hero on the bike.
Sue...Keep up the great work!!!!!!!!
Veronica...hope your house is coming along well and I am sure you got a work out carrying all of those boxes!0 -
My July goal is to go to the gym at least once a week for a total of 5 times by July 31.
Week Starting
July 1: 2 visits. 1 swimming, 1 arms & stretching. I also took an "illegal" walk on Devil's Slide. Here's a few pictures: http://imgur.com/a/PPmT9
July 6: 1 visit, so far. 1 swimming
July 13:
July 20:
July 27:
I'm satisfied with my gym progress so far. I'm doing more than once a week which I hope I can keep up. Should be doable since I bought some personal training sessions to use for lap pool lessons. Surprisingly, my gym is cheaper at swim lessons than local swim academies. I thought the places that exist to teach swimming would be cheaper since they do such a high volume. We'll see how it goes. I'm looking forward to be able to do something else other than kickboard with flippers.
3500 calories a week burn
Start weight training at least once a week
Run/Walk at least twice a week
Get at least 70,000 steps in a week (fitbit one tracker)
So, those were my goals last week.
Actual done....3849 actual calories burned logged from the HRM and then 2917 calories from fit bit =
6766 calories burned including fitbit
Worked on maxing out my weight lifting on Thursday (just to see what I could do...lol)
Walked Monday, walk/run Tuesday, Walk/run Wednesday, Bike Wednesday, Walk Thursday, Walk Friday, lots of yard work and marching in place Saturday....Sunday off.
Steps for week=85,059 which averaged to 12,151 per day....
Killing it! Keep going.I had a super carb & sugar filled day, celebrating my middle son's birthday. While at brunch, I was feeling good about it, because it's the first time in 6 months that I let my guard down and just ate whatever I wanted. Tonight, I'm wishing I'd had the sense to include more protein in my day. Still, I guess it's progress that I relaxed on the food today.
6/30-7/6 fitness check-in: exercised 722 minutes, burned 3,674 calories. Lifted once this week. July didn't start until Tuesday, so I'll count that as good enough. I have an appointment with the trainer tomorrow at 5:30pm. Then, I'll let Jack kick my *kitten* on Tuesday & Thursday. I think my abs have almost recovered from last Thursday.
Live and learn. One benefit of MFP is to help analyze ourselves and figure out how we can do better. Maybe take some nuts or cheese next time to nibble on and keep your protein up?
Let us know how your training sessions goes. I'm curious to know the weights, equipment and routines they start beginning lifters with. The worst thing about achy abs is that it hurts to breathe or bend over. Things you can't avoid doing.Later- ended up eating the whole thing (minus a couple of bites I shared with my dog). Don't know if I'll do that again. Was rather unpleasant after the first half and now I feel gross. grrr. Being under might have been a better alternative. So confused.
If you can't naturally eat all the calories, I say forget it. You're not doing yourself any favors by forcing yourself to eat if you're not hungry. I know plenty of folks on MFP don't agree, this is my $0.02.
I grew up in a house that was part of the clean plate brigade. Basically you couldn't get up from the dinner table unless you ate all the food on your plate. I'm in my mid-40s and I'm still trying to overcome the damage that did. I have to think about whether I'm full or not, satisfied or not, because I didn't naturally learn to listen to my body. There're still times when I honestly can't tell if I'm hungry or not.0 -
If you can't naturally eat all the calories, I say forget it. You're not doing yourself any favors by forcing yourself to eat if you're not hungry. I know plenty of folks on MFP don't agree, this is my $0.02.
I'm in agreement. What I do if I'm coming in low regularly is go back and figure out why and change things going forward. For example, I might learn that I've been undereating earlier in the day to save calories that I am not hungry for after a workout or in the evening (this is what I was doing when first starting). I don't worry about making up the calories unless I'm hungry, but I start working in more or higher calorie food earlier in the day.
I have a bit of the clean plate thing, although I can tell if I'm hungry. We go to a lot of theater where it's not really feasible to take leftovers with you if you go out to eat before. It took me a while to get over the fact that I felt guilty not making a serious dent on my plate, even at some restaurants that have ridiculous servings. Now I'm more comfortable just eating what I want, but I hate it. Luckily not all restaurants have such insane portion sizes.
Culo, I was thinking about what I'm getting out of the push-ups (day 3 completed--it's set up for 3 sessions a week), and I think in addition to the strength and the general benefits of push-ups, it's the satisfaction of accomplishing something that will take a while and which is an activity that is good for me but not something that I naturally enjoy. It's just a few minutes a day--rather like brushing one's teeth--but it's the kind of thing I traditionally don't stick with, because I don't care for it. Also, just being able to do push-ups when I formerly could not makes me feel like I've made progress.
This week (officially ending today) I made some progress on my biking distance and explored another new path that will allow me to continue to increase my miles and also have a place to work on speed, since that's difficult for me road biking and on the crowded lake front path. I tried something new in that I forced myself to do the elliptical, something that will also help me get back into running shape. I'm also doing something new tonight, although not exercise--going to a bike maintenance training put on by a group of women cyclists who I'd like to join for some weekend rides, but who tend to ride faster than I usually do so far. Overall, if I count my long walk yesterday I worked out 6 of 7 days and was pretty active on the 7th, which is one thing I wanted.
For next week: Tomorrow I think I'm going to finally try a class at my gym, so I'll have my new thing for week 2 finished early in the week. I'm also going to try to work more on getting enough sleep--I've been sleeping far too little and my hopes to get some real rest over the weekend did not happen. And I'm going to ask at PT tomorrow if I can try running.0 -
Hi.
Culo- Saw your pictures. Devil's Slide is way more scenic than my regular walks on our bike path. So jealous. I think I'm going to have to hunt around for some new sights.
Thanks everyone for the advice regarding eating when not hungry. I actually have a pretty good gauge for when I am full or not and I have never practiced the "you have to clean your plate" idea. Unfortunately, I am now paranoid about going under 1200 net due to my body's recent rebellion. Usually I plan pretty well for my day. However, the other night I forgot I had a walking challenge from my Hogwart's group. I needed to walk 5 miles between that night and the next. I didn't want to do all five on Sunday, so I decided to cram in 3 miles (in my house using a walking video) It was already almost 11 o'clock at night. By the time I finished it was almost midnight. I was really only interested in going to bed, but I had now dug a deeper hole in my calories than I originally planned for. So, I made myself eat. ugh. Mentally, I was not equipped for unplanned, last minute changes in my carefully orchestrated routine (at such a late time of night with no real time for adjustments). I don't think I would make myself eat next time. I would probably just go to bed. Luckily, I don't run into that dilemma too often.
Lemurcat- I think it's great you are planning on going to a class at the gym. There is something about being with other people that just makes the exercise more fun. Enjoy.
Schnicklefrit- I know you are frustrated by the whole "gained weight despite exercising all week" scenario you just encountered. Don't let yourself get discouraged. It could be water due to muscle recovery/healing. It seems like sometimes this journey is all about constant changes of plan and guessing the best path. As long as you don't quit, you are making a step in the right direction.
Sue- It sounds like you are having a blast in Jack's class. It sounds like a lot of fun. As far as protein, I agree, I definitely feel better and don't have the temptation to binge when I eat more protein. It seems to "stick" longer.0 -
Happy 7/7, Warrior Women! I had my first weight training session with Joe. He's such a cutie--only 24 and so patient and encouraging. He introduced me to most of the weight machines, today. We went around to each one (I believe there were 15) and he just talked me through 1 set of 15 reps on each, explaining the correct form and telling me how to avoid hurting myself. It was exactly what I needed to get started. As I predicted, the arm and upper body ones were a lot harder than the leg ones, for me. And, I was only lifting 10-20lbs on each one! So, I now have a routine to practice 3x/week. I liked it. It's a lot less jarring than cardio and the 40 minutes just flew by. He's gonna keep an eye on me for the next couple of weeks and then introduce me to free weights.
I got my Polar FT60 and wore it for the first time today. I don't know if I'm using it properly yet, but it is a cool gadget. I like my fitness toys;)
Jodi, you are seriously kickin' *kitten*!!! That was a killer week! Scales are fickle little things. It's probably some water retention...
Muscle Tears and Fluid Retention
Microscopic tears occur in your muscle fibers when you lift weights. These tears are part of the muscle-building process, and they are often the cause of delayed-onset muscle soreness after intense training sessions. When these tears occur, muscles may swell slightly and retain fluid for a few days after the exercise. This is a normal part of the recovery process.
Exercise and Dehydration
Your fluid intake needs increase when you begin an exercise program. Because you perspire during workouts, it's necessary to replace lost fluids with extra water. If you don't do this, your body enters a state of dehydration. When you're dehydrated, your body will begin to retain water as a survival mechanism. Therefore, increasing your fluid intake will usually help combat water retention caused by dehydration.
Culo, 3 gym visits already?! That's great! I love my gym and plan to go 5x/week now. We'll see if that's what happens, though. I am already sore from the lifting I did with Joe today and it took me 4 days to recover from my last circuit training class I did. I'm ok with adjusting my overly ambitious plans when necessary, though. I loved those pics! Thanks so much for giving me a preview. When I move and have somewhere safe to park a bike, I'm going down there! I already invited my cousin to come with me.
Stephanie, I really admire your ability to do push-ups (or any calisthenics) independently! Jack's the only one who can get me to do them! He's so funny and probably 15 years my senior, so I just do whatever he says (or try!).
Diana, I totally feel your anxiety about eating too little. That weight loss stall was horrible. I do enjoy exercising now, but it's still work. It really sucks to work your butt off and get no results! I do my best to plan my meals and exercise ahead of time, but sometimes my plans get thwarted for fun, family, work or forgetfulness. This evening, for instance, I got home just starving after the gym and discovered I'd never defrosted my fish for dinner. So, I switched the protein to shrimp and that made my calories too low (because there's too much sodium in shrimp to eat too many). So, I had to add on more food to compensate. And, my sodium way higher than I like anyway.0 -
Usually I plan pretty well for my day. However, the other night I forgot I had a walking challenge from my Hogwart's group. I needed to walk 5 miles between that night and the next. I didn't want to do all five on Sunday, so I decided to cram in 3 miles (in my house using a walking video) It was already almost 11 o'clock at night. By the time I finished it was almost midnight. I was really only interested in going to bed, but I had now dug a deeper hole in my calories than I originally planned for. So, I made myself eat. ugh. Mentally, I was not equipped for unplanned, last minute changes in my carefully orchestrated routine (at such a late time of night with no real time for adjustments). I don't think I would make myself eat next time. I would probably just go to bed. Luckily, I don't run into that dilemma too often.
Oh, yeah, this has happened to me. I had one week where I was working late and was unprepared for a few days and I really couldn't eat much more than a protein bar when getting home at 11:30 exhausted and I've had a couple of days where I got carried away with evening exercise before dinner and ended up with lots of extra calories and no appetite. Doesn't sound like you really need advice, but my philosophy in these cases is that I have the extra calories the next day or, really, the next two or three or more--I think of exercise calories as somewhat available for the week as a whole. It's why I've thought about moving to more of a TDEE plan, except that I don't want to change too dramatically. (I have actually changed my activity setting to active--which gives me 1300 calories if I try for 1.8 lbs, oh joy--and then I'm letting Fitbit adjust down if I'm not so active that day. It doesn't adjust down below 1200, but it gives me a goal of active to aim for which I usually meet so far and I at least know where I stand. And if I exceed the goal I have exercise calories to eat back, but not as many as if I were doing straight logging exercise.)0 -
Lemurcat- You're definitely right about the calories balancing out over time. I should have just let myself eat more the next day. I probably would have enjoyed those calories more too.0
