40+ Club: Spring Fitness Challenge

Good Morning!

altushe, I'm so sorry to hear about these health problems. I'm glad you went to see the doctor and are working at getting some answers. Don't worry about the weight gain because now you know it isn't anything you are doing. In other words, you don't need to stress about your diet or your fitness program since the edema is obviously being caused by something else. Take care and keep us posted. And enjoy your trip to Florida!!!

alf, my husband would be so jealous of your husband's new car. Yeah, mid-life crisis and all! Sorry to hear you are going to have to deal with a new doctor, but maybe you'll get some different answers. Don't you have an appt for your foot this week? I hope that goes well.

KimKelly, as others have said, don't pay attention to that scale if you are losing inches. And, boy, you have something to celebrate in the number of inches you've lost this past month!!! That's amazing. The lack of weight loss could be explained by SO many things, it would nearly be impossible to identify. But don't think you are in a plateau until you've gone a few weeks without losing anything. If that happens, then start taking a look at your calories, fitness program, etc. But, right now, celebrate what has happened and keep pressing on. And don't worry about the one day of higher calories/less healthy foods. It won't hurt you a bit....as long as it is just a day or so!

tron. great job on the running!!! And congrats on the change in measurements!!! Yes, throw that scale away!!!!

gbryant, sorry to hear you aren't feeling well. Don't force yourself to workout if you have a bad cough. You will just make it worse. You won't gain any weight if you take a few days off of exercise as long as you are eating right. Trust me on this one since I've just had the sinus infection from h**l. I took two weeks off working out, and came back stronger than I was before. And, boy, did my body need that time to heal from the cold/sinus infection. So listen to your body and don't push it!!

LadyPersia, I'm sorry to hear you aren't feeling well either. Hopefully with the sun coming back out (well, at least it has here....I'm not sure if it is out up there yet), you'll feel a little better. I know heavy rains like those yesterday always make me feel a little....blah.

Victorious_One, goodness it sounds as if you've had some post-surgery problems. I had no idea you were on an IV. You've got such a great attitude about it that, no doubt, you'll be able to get better. Keep up the great work!

niknik, no doubt if my live instructor put in a DVD for me to follow, I'd be looking at buying a DVD too and working out at home. But I'm an at-home exerciser to the core, so.....I'm not unbiased. Like I said to KimKelly, don't worry about the eating this weekend. The key is to get back on track and, no doubt, you'll do that.

singfree, good to see you!!! I'm glad you enjoy the TRX. I've seen it and seen other people use it and it really looks like a challenge. Who would think you could get such a good workout from a few straps and such!

Robin, it DOES sound like you've had some wild weather. A foot of snow? I mean, it is still winter but....yikes. Take care and I hope it goes away quickly!

All here is well. We had a busy weekend, but I managed to finish my first week of P90X on Saturday. Today I start week two, and I'm looking forward to it. It feels really good to be back to this program. I kept my eating clean all weekend, which is good. I feel much less puffy than I did a week ago.

Hope you all have a great day!

Hi Everyone!!

Can I say one thing?? This group ROCKS!!! :happy:

Thanks for all the support and great advice. I really appreciate it!!

Kim

Happy Fat Tuesday!!!! :laugh: :laugh: You know what I mean!! All is well here. Teaching tonight, bought beads for my students!! I saw the doctor yesterday for my foot pain. He didnt even order new xrays since the last ones didnt show anything. He put in a referral for physical therapy. I was just thinking this morning, how are they going to set up treatment without a diagnosis? Hmmm... In the meantime modigying a lot when I teach and also taking naproxen again. :grumble: Eating going well. I am going to weigh in on Friday again...

Stiring, enjoy your day. It is kinda hot here today, upper 70's and humid!!! This time of the year can be pretty crazy here when it comes to the weather but it is usually pretty nice.

Sing, great to hear from you. We took my hubby's new girl for a ride yesterday. It is pretty annoying how my husband looks for a parking spot and he drives so carefully but I dont blame him...LOL He is really happy with his new toy.

Niknik, sorry to hear about that Zumba class. No, it is not normal for the instructors to stop the music to find another one. I personally dislike that. I believe one should have the playlist ready before class to have a smoother routine. Are you able to try another instructor? If that is not the case for you then you might consider getting the DVD's. And showing a video? No way!!! :noway: yeah, Beto is hot (the founder) but I dont agree with showing a video to my class. Yes, we are all not created equal. :laugh:

Gotta go, sorry it is short and couldnt respond to everyone's post. Glad to hear from so many of you!!! Take care!! :flowerforyou:

Good morning.

Good morning, everyone! If you celebrate Lent, you know what time it is! :laugh: I don't, but that's no excuse. This is a great time to clean up my eating and get on track. A little discipline never hurt anyone.

It's official--I only need to do my IV every other day. Y'all don't know how liberating that feels! The pressure is on me to eat right--enough protein by mouth on my own to sustain myself. No more carbfests for days on end! Weight loss surgery helps the physical part of weight loss, but we all still have to work on our mental perspective and our behavioral habits. Darn. :laugh: I am driving 3 hours to see my weight loss surgeon today, then seeing my PCP tomorrow to see what each has to say about my progress.

Not doing great on my walking challenge or my water intake. Oy. I don't know what my problem is. Today I refuse to drink much water because of my road trip. There are bathrooms only every 90 minutes or so on the interstate. I don't know if I'd make it! I'm going to walk around just a bit with a patient at the hospital today. I wish I had a pedometer to let me know how many steps I'm taking. I'll see if the hospital has them.

---

Tron, I'm sorry to hear about your grandma. I know it's a great loss. My gran is 82, and I love her like crazy. She acts younger than my mom does!

Alf, see if your doctor is willing to give you an MRI. It shows a different picture than an Xray, and it's not radiation, it's sound waves. My knee is wacky, and the Xray showed that I have a teeny tiny bit of arthritis, but it was flaring up and acting a fool. Maybe you have something tiny that's not bad on its own, but may be flaring up and giving you trouble.

Good Morning Everyone,

Tron - So sorry to hear about your lose, It is never easy. You are in my thoughts.

Patty - Welcome glad you have joined.

Not alot of time to reply to everone, but thinking of you all!

Doing better myself. I have almost got my voice back. Was not able to work out for a few days, but did stay around my calories even without the extra cal's you get from exercise. Soooo I am hoping come Friday I am able to loose some weight still. Going on my 3rd week without Mt. Dew. That is saying something for me. I use to drink around 40 oz. a day everyday if not more. It has been an adjustment to say the least. Now that I have been away from all that sugar I have felt alot better. Amazaed at the effects it was having on my body.

Hope everyone has a great day!

Thank you for all your concern about my grandma. Like I said before she was a strong independent woman and I only wish I will be able to live on my own for as long as she did. She only got sick a few months ago and when she did move in with her daughter it was to be her care taker. She had cancer....

Alf... My brother and his wife are not taking the death of their baby well at all and it is affecting their marriage to the point that they are filing legal separation and talking divorce. Its really sad.

My exercise yesterday consisted of my treadmill working on the hills. I walked over 3 miles at a 4.5 speed

1 lap @ 1.5 (lowest elevation)
1 lap @ 5.0
1 lap @ 7.0
4 laps @ 10 (highest elevation)
1 lap @ 7.0
1 lap @ 5.0
and the rest @ 1.5 while talking on the phone....

I don't know why but I always feel like I didn't do enough.

Good Morning!

niknik, congratulations on your continued weight loss! You're doing great!!

gbryant, giving up soad is SOOOO hard. I gave up Coke about 25 years ago (I could drink a six pack a day when I was a teen if I wanted to), and I still had cravings for Coke years later. I don't anymore, but it took a long time to get it out of my system. But you'll feel SOOOO much better for doing it because there is absolutely nothing good about soda.

tron, I'm sorry to hear about your brother and his family. That is so sad. And you're doing great with the workouts. The key to working out effectively isn't really how much you do as much as it is how you do what you do. The important thing is to keep changing it up and to continue to challenge yourself and it seems you are doing just that. It sounds to me like some days you are walking, others you are running, and that's terrific. Keep varying the incline (and it sounds like you are doing that) and you can get a great workout in in less than an hour. As long as you are feeling challenged, you are doing what you are supposed to be doing. If you aren't feeling challenged, then take up the intensity. But congraulate yourself for what you ARE doing.

alf, like singfree, I'm not giving up anything for Lent either. I thought about it, but there is so little 'treat food' left that I take in regularly for me to give up that I don't want to give up that little bit even for six weeks. :blushing: Kinda sad there. About being Vegan, I've done alot of research on the Vegan diet. Of course, being Vegan means eating no animal products. While I probably cuold give up meat at some point, I would have a harder time giving up cheese (I like things like spinach lasagna or veggie pizza too much and while I know you can make both without cheese, I prefer not to) and eggs. Regarding the latter, I have a hard time thinking about baking/cooking for the rest of my life without eggs or butter. While I know it can be done, again, I prefer not to. I also know that I don't have it in me to research all prepared products to see if they have a hint of animal fat in them (because many do even though it isn't specifically noted on the label). As far as whether the Vegan diet is healthier....well, it can be and it can't be. There are Vegans who eat too many refined pastas and rices out there, and that's not particulary healthy. So the diet itself isn't synonymous with 'health'. As far as eating animal products, as long as they aren't consumed TOO much and are consumed smartly, there really is no significant evidence that they are particularly bad for health (in fact, there are many animal products that are good for health). So my recommendation to you is to determine why you want to become a vegan (for ethical reasons, for health reasons, etc) and make sure that your needs are being met by the diet. If you do decide to become vegan, I have a podcast recommendation for you. It is called 'Vegetarian Food For Thought' by Colleen Patrick Gudreau (I may not have spelled that right) and you can download it free from iTunes. Her rationale for being vegan is predominantly ethical, so much of the podcast is about animal rights. But she is also a vegan cookbook author, so there are alot of helpful hints for cooking vegan.

Today is very rainy here in the DC area. I'm going to be doing some tough cardio followed by YogaX. :drinker: My diet is still clean. :drinker:

Hope you have a great day!

Yesterday I worked out in the weight room. I don't want big muscles but it will be so nice to see definition.

Stiring... I feel the burn when I am doing the hills and cant wait for them to be done but then I do the last laps on the lowest incline and by the time I am done I am not out of breath anymore so I think I should do more. Same with the running. I always do the cool down period. I am actually happy that my recovery period is getting shorter as well as being able to do more. I just hate looking in the mirror, I seriously look like a kinda skinny pregnant woman. Its just gross. I am so impatient I tell ya.

My eating hasn't been the greatest this week. My daughter bought a ton of candy and I've had a few pieces... 1... 10... 20... or so... Haha!

Good morning everyone! Happy Friday!

We have gone from snowy to slushy and swampy this week...yuck, what a mess! But I suppose this means spring is coming so I'll take it.

It has been a decent week all around. Aside from my gigantic eating day yesterday ( on account of date night w/hubby), I have been very on track with eating and exercising. Routine...a little dull, but I think I'll take consistency any day over lack of it. I kind of defaulted to more elliptical training this week, as well as continuing to do level 3 of the 30 day shred--not every day, but maybe every other day. I like it so much I have continued on it an extra 2 weeks. I don't know if it's the weather or what, but I'm a little low energy and zoning out to music and not thinking--something I can do on the elliptical--has been about all I can muster.

Alf--interesting you are looking into eating vegan. I have never thought to do it, although with what you mentioned in your post, I do eat similarly to you for meals. I tend to eat primarily vegetarian during the day but then have a protein for dinner (chicken, fish, some grass fed beef or lamb) most nights, with a full vegetarian dinner maybe twice a week. It seems to work for me but I don't think I could ever 100% subscribe to a restricted diet. I also love my dairy products. We all do the best we can do. With regard to meats, we have mostly gone with local, grass-fed and now buy in bulk for the year or season. And my hubby in the fall sometimes contributes various birds during duck/goose seasons. I could never hunt but he does w/birds and when he brings these home I am in heaven.... this is something I never heard of when I lived in the suburbs but all the sporty guys here in VT are into it. Anyway, I guess what I'm saying is we have "opted out" of the industrial meat industry and I feel good about eating the meat that I do have in my diet.

Anyway, Stiring--so great about the P90X. I'll have to check into it now that I'm not scared of exercise videos anymore.

Tex--enjoy your girls weekend! Sounds like so much fun!

Tron--so sorry about your grandma. And it's heartbreaking about your brother and sister-in-law. I'm so sorry and wish you strength in helping them cope.

have a nice weekend everyone!

Hello all - It has been awhile (again....). It has been so wonderful to catch up with everyone. I have been good about logging on....but not about reading and/or posting. I started the C25k! I am on week 4. I am going to have to repeat week 4 as this week has been crazy. I am almost back to my pre-christmas weight....which makes me happy!

It is great to see some new faces and reconnect with the "old"


It has been a busy and stressful week for me....we are moving to Houston!!! My husband will start his new position in April. The kids and I will follow during the summer. I have started the list making of what needs to be done to the house to sell it, contacted roofers and painters and handymen, what kind of house I want in Houston - (thankfully, I have already researched areas and I have decided upon that). I just need to see the high school to be sure - the house is secondary to the schools.

We are trying to figure out what the relo package means.....as we have never done this before!

We will tell the kids tomorrow......this is the only bad part about the move.

I was looking at labs work from 10 years ago and I was healthy. MY BP and weight were normal and I worked two jobs raising boys and went to school. Now at 43, My BP is too high, I cant loose the weight and I need meds to reduce my BP. Even if I have to stay on meds, I want to reduce any other additives I put in me. Just a venting session sorry.

Have a great weekend and for my friends on the West Coast and Japan be well and you are in my prayers.

How do you join this club? Just start posting? I'm over 40 and joined MFP last week.