The Randoms - January 2011

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  • MissingMinnesota
    MissingMinnesota Posts: 7,486 Member
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    Well I gained 3lbs on vacation. Blah! I know some is water weight but some of it is actual weight too.
  • mandijo
    mandijo Posts: 618 Member
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    Oh maeadair---I'm so nervous about superbowl food. Everything revolves around food at our get togethers. I'm obsessed with dips. Anyone have any great "healthier" versions of some dips you like or even some better choices for food that aren't so off the norm. I know the guys won't eat it if we don't make something normal, and I want to be able to save up some calories for something delicious! Let me know if you have any ideas!
  • SarcasticManiac
    SarcasticManiac Posts: 85
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    Oh maeadair---I'm so nervous about superbowl food. Everything revolves around food at our get togethers. I'm obsessed with dips. Anyone have any great "healthier" versions of some dips you like or even some better choices for food that aren't so off the norm. I know the guys won't eat it if we don't make something normal, and I want to be able to save up some calories for something delicious! Let me know if you have any ideas!

    Look for the healthier end of chips, healthier end of dips, and try to watch portions would be my advice. As for myself, I plan on watching the game with my family but not having any food (other than what I need to meet my calorie goal).
  • TaraMaria
    TaraMaria Posts: 1,975
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    I have picked up over the past couple of years having an Un-Super Bowl party. I don't usually even know who is playing. If the bears hadn't made it as far as they did, I wouldn't know this year! Ha ha! Its fun to have an excuse to have a party with the food but not watch football...lol! :blushing: My goal is to make some tasty finger foods but add some new recipes I've picked up in the past year. I plan on enjoying myself a tad just because I've been good since Christmas/NYE but not tooooo bad since I'm looking forward to Valentine's Day. :wink:
  • SarcasticManiac
    SarcasticManiac Posts: 85
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    That's right, Hallmark Day is coming up isn't it? :tongue:
  • 00trayn
    00trayn Posts: 1,849 Member
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    Hahaha... Hallmark Day. Not gonna lie, I'm pretty excited about it this year, mainly because I actually have a Valentine for the first time ever. So no matter what Randy does for it, it'll be my best V-Day ever... hehe. I'm planning on baking him a batch of Valentine's Day cookies.
  • TaraMaria
    TaraMaria Posts: 1,975
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    lol! My dad has literally never done anything for my mom for Valentine's Day that I can ever remember because its a Hallmark Day....grumble grumble :grumble: :grumble: :grumble: Floyd and I have never done anything HUGE for valentine's day and it won't be any different this year. The one thing I really want is my engagement ring re-sized. I haven't been able to wear them in over a year and it makes me sad! Not that I get hit on or anything lol! I just love my ring and want to wear it! LOL! :o)

    We are still semi-plagued over here at my house. Well...I guess I AM THE ONLY ONE SICK STILL which plain sucks. I don't want anyone else to be sick instead however I want to be healthy when everyone else is healthy! Thank heavens no one can hear my voice on MFP because I have a delightfully sexy trucker voice. You would hear it, and then want one for yourself. Be it a trucker voice or a take home trucker Tara. Sigh...

    QOTD: Does anyone ever feel themselves fall into a winter slump? Where its hard to maintain healthy eating? Exercise? Social Contact? I don't know if it makes a difference where you live and the weather but I know in past years I always used to hate Jan/Feb because I would just feel crappy emotionally and physically! Anyone else?
  • 00trayn
    00trayn Posts: 1,849 Member
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    QOTD: Does anyone ever feel themselves fall into a winter slump?

    That would ALWAYS happen to me in high school and college. I was almost convinced I had seasonal depression for a while. I haven't really had any problems with it in the past few years, but I sorted out some issues I had and that helped with it a lot. This winter seems to be challenging me with keeping up with things. This time last year I had just started this whole healthy thing so I was really diligent. Now that I'm 10 lbs away from my goal, I'm cutting myself more slack than usual. Christmastime, my business trip, now a wedding this weekend. Plus having Randy around is both a motivator and a challenge. I want to look hot, but we love to eat at yummy restaurants and order good beer! As long as I'm not gaining, I'm slowlyyyyy losing.
  • TaraMaria
    TaraMaria Posts: 1,975
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    QOTD: Who do you want to win the Super Bowl?

    GO ZEBRAS!!!!! (fyi - for you non football fans out there, this is a joke meaning I'm rooting for the refs)

    As for snacks, I haven't decided yet. Just sent the invite out to my handful of friends that came over last year this morning. I'm one for chili with football, but don't know if I'll make that or not since I have to work until 4 that day.

    Chilli would be perfect then!!! Cook up some ground beef and then slap the rest of the ingredients in a slow cooker before you leave for work! WALA! Chilli when you get home! But if you are like me? Its easier said then done...I am not a morning person...
  • Shinemaria
    Shinemaria Posts: 107 Member
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    QOTD: Does anyone ever feel themselves fall into a winter slump? Where its hard to maintain healthy eating? Exercise? Social Contact? I don't know if it makes a difference where you live and the weather but I know in past years I always used to hate Jan/Feb because I would just feel crappy emotionally and physically! Anyone else?

    I definitely do, although this year has been phenomenal compared to other years!
    I have bad connotations with winter just because my depression tends to have a seasonal component and my rock bottom point/diagnosis was January of 2009 so I'm always a little scared around my birthday that I'll somehow lose all of the happiness and coping capabilities that I've built up so far and go crazy again. It has yet to happen so that's good.
    I think everyone has a "hibernation phase" at some point during the winter and we all just wanna curl up and stay warm; no matter how much we love/hate the snow, it can be so limiting at times. I'm having a hard time coming up with ideas for date nights and sisterhood bonding activities because no one wants to be outside very much (I live in northern Ohio so it's flat windy and COLLLLLD) and we exhaust the movie-watching possibilities. However, this year is still a GREAT improvement, and I think it's because I'm on a journey to form discipline for myself, which is making things easier to handle and organize.
  • mandijo
    mandijo Posts: 618 Member
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    All those snack ideas sound fabulous. We shall see how it goes!

    I usually find myself in a slump in the winter; however. this year, I find that I'm being more proactive about losing weight and so having goals keeps me motivated. For starters, doing a 5K in May has forced me to train, and somehow, the other days of exercise fall into place. I do usually have horrible depression in the winter. My husband can hardly stand me. For some reason, this winter has been pretty good-probably due by and large to the fact that we haven't been "snowed in" badly as in other years. I also have 2 recess duties a day, and while it can be cold, the fresh air and sunshine seem to keep me happy. I use to take vitamin D supplements and that seemed to do wonders too. I've found that if I can coordinate events inside/outside, the company seems to keep the winter blues away- even if it's just my husband and kids. We do picnics inside with a blanket on the floor and everything. They love that. Pajama parties are a must. We get outside as much as possible, but it's not always warm enough. My husband and I always went to Chicago for the auto show in February. I'm getting sick of going in the winter, so he might go with some guys this year, and I'm trying to convince him to go this summer for a long weekend! (HOPEFULLY for Tara's 5K!!)
  • msamcoates
    msamcoates Posts: 261 Member
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    Lmao @Go zebras ... I really don't care who wins this year .... My team (49ers) won't be going anywhere anytime soon.... and I did want the Bears and Jets to win ...sigh

    As far as food .... well that will most def be a cheat day for me because the parties I attend have lots and lots and lots of alcohol to go along with ribs, chicken, chips, dips, pizza, you name it, we got it!
  • TaraMaria
    TaraMaria Posts: 1,975
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    @Mandie - - - - WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!!!!!! :o) YAYAYAY! Excitement! :o)
  • SarcasticManiac
    SarcasticManiac Posts: 85
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    So I've taken the plunge and registered for my first 5K! I've never run something like this before, so I'd love to get some training tips from you awesome Randoms. :smile:

    It's not for another 6 months, so I have plenty of time. I should be at my weight goal long before then, but having never done this before I need all the advice I can get! Suggestions?
  • MissingMinnesota
    MissingMinnesota Posts: 7,486 Member
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    For your first 5k just go out and have fun. You can try the couch to 5k program if you haven't yet. It seems daunting but it really isn't. Find out if they allow headphones for the run and of they will have the miles marked off. Set up a playlist where a certain number of songs is how fast you want to do a mile. When I did my first one I knew that one song was about 4 mins and I should be at 1/3 mile so 3 songs I should be at the mile maker. Also find someone else going at the same pace as you and run behind or beside them. Both are ways to keep you concentrated on your pace with out over thinking it.
  • Ding724
    Ding724 Posts: 791 Member
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    I did a 5K the other night on the elliptical set to level 10 & was able to do it in 26:34, but TONIGHT I am going to actually RUN it on the treadmill at the gym... I'm pretty scared because I am definitely not a runner :embarassed: My goal is to simply not die.
  • 00trayn
    00trayn Posts: 1,849 Member
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    I've been meaning to get back into running. Now that I've realized that part of the reason 5 minutes running completely exhausts me is that i'm not eating enough food, and definitely not enough protein. If I can get my running up a bit before Spring rolls around, I think I'll shoot for doing a 5K before the summer. I need to get into Couch 2 5K again, I did a few weeks and gave up.

    I've started a whole new game plan today tho. More food (1530 calories now with my activity level at Active) and more protein. I'm cutting my workouts to 4 QUALITY workouts a week, 60 minutes at least. No half-*kitten* workouts because I'm too tired and hungry to put in any effort. My blog has all the details, but I'm really excited to see where this gets me. I've been lingering in the lower 150s since November and I need a big change to get things moving in the right direction again. At least I have my personal trainer to help, he suggested switching things up after he almost killed me during training yesterday.
  • TaraMaria
    TaraMaria Posts: 1,975
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    I did a 5K the other night on the elliptical set to level 10 & was able to do it in 26:34, but TONIGHT I am going to actually RUN it on the treadmill at the gym... I'm pretty scared because I am definitely not a runner :embarassed: My goal is to simply not die.

    Simply not dying is an AWESOME goal! :o) My first 5K on the treadmill was intense. You just have to keep going! It took me 40 minutes for the first one and then 30 minutes for my second one. I would say the trick to running is just doing it. LOL Easier said then done. I always wanted to run and my original goal was to to a half marathon in April. Well in order to start half marathon training I needed to be able to run a 5K. So I started out just running as long as I could one night, the next night running as fast as I could for as long as I could, the next night I did intervals. Intervals are huge for me. I think that REALLY upped my endurance.

    My other big tip that I got from here on MFP was if you start to feel winded, out of breath or that your lungs just can't handle it: You are doing too much. Its actually better to go at a painfully slow pace then at a fast pace. You build your strength that way. I remember a week I ran at 5.0 MPH - 4.0MPH for the whole week for almost run. That is not very fast running for me. Its kind of boring, ridiculous slow, and you don't get very far distance wise. The first day that I decided to up my speed after that, 6.5 MPH - 7.0 MPH, I went for well over an hour at that speed, going strong!!! I was ready to roll! Mixing up your runs with inclines are good too.

    If anyone has any running questions, feel free to ask...I'm not an expert but I love running and I would love to figure out the answer together! :o)

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