Active in April
Mihani
Posts: 3,892 Member
Thanks for the topic title idea Lia. My brain is mush lately! Where did March go?
Work is still nuts. Maybe, just maybe, after the 15th things will settle down a little bit. I'm doing pretty well food-wise, sticking with my no snacks rule which is helping to keep my calories steady and leaves me more room to eat a good dinner without going over. Going to work on getting more consistent exercise in April. Now that the weather is finally getting nicer I can get outside and walk again. So Active in April is a good motto for me this month!
My computer was saying it was March 31st and I thought I was losing my mind. It is April 1st right? My computer is playing an April Fool's joke on me?
Work is still nuts. Maybe, just maybe, after the 15th things will settle down a little bit. I'm doing pretty well food-wise, sticking with my no snacks rule which is helping to keep my calories steady and leaves me more room to eat a good dinner without going over. Going to work on getting more consistent exercise in April. Now that the weather is finally getting nicer I can get outside and walk again. So Active in April is a good motto for me this month!
My computer was saying it was March 31st and I thought I was losing my mind. It is April 1st right? My computer is playing an April Fool's joke on me?
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Mihani, I can STILL feel the 120 squats. I don't advise it!!!
Well the family's stomach flu finally caught up with me, and I was sick Monday and Tuesday. Couldn't get too far away from the washroom, which SUCKS! I went off juice while I was sick and ate bananas and toast, but not a lot of that. I had toast this morning and I'm back to juice for the rest of the day, but I'm only juicing for 2 more days. After that I'm doing a 7-day salad challenge, followed by a 7-day smoothie challenge, followed by a 7-day soup challenge. All challenges from my nutritionist. A different recipe every single day. I'm really looking forward to it - especially the salad one, because I need some good recipes. I've been really bad lately about not eating enough salads...
I did do before pictures; and before measurements. I'm looking forward to the final measurements - this is week 5, so there are still 3 more weeks to go. This morning I registered for the next session, which starts the last week of April - so I'm just going to continue on with no break. !! YAY!!
Yesterday I was feeling really blue. It was a nice night, I walked my kids over to the park. I just felt big and bloated. I'm sure my stomach flu is a little to blame, but I just feel like there's no way I should still be this far from my goal. I REALLY need to smarten up and say goodbye to the carbs. I think I might have to just add a little rice or barley to my soups and leave it at that... No breads - no pretzels. They are the enemy here...0 -
Yay, Active in April!! Sorry it wasn't a more creative idea, but I think we are all working on our exercise habits lately and spring is the perfect timing.
I was so proud - I stayed in town at my parents last night and did my T25 workout there. My Dad was so impressed at how tough the workout was and how well I was doing at keeping up that it made me actually think - my gosh, I am keeping up! I really have improved but unfortunately I don't have much to show for it physically yet. I am hoping that getting back on the ETL train and no mindless snacking will be the perfect combo.
I've been feeling super low lately too, Karrie. Like I'm putting in WAY too much effort for the average person to NOT have more to show for my work. Depressing..but no where to go but to keep trying. Awesome that you are sticking it out for another session after this one, Karrie!
Mihani, pleaseeeeee tell me your boss is noticing you are gonig crazy and hiring someone else? I hope it quiets down after the 15th for you! I am the opposite - I think I will have a bit of less crazy time until the 15th and then it will blow up and continue til October. I'll enjoy it while it lasts.0 -
Thanks for the encouragement, Lia - so glad that it's not just me, even though I feel bad that you're in the same boat... But misery does love company.
I'm holding out hope that one day I will look in the mirror and think WOW - it's an overnight miracle - even though you and I BOTH know this is no overnight thing!!
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Quick check-in. Work work work. I brought some files home to work on this evening. I feel like I'm even more stressed since I started to make a dent in the backlog. Like I can actually see how much is left to do or something.
Lia and Karrie, you are both doing so great with the workouts. I hope some of your motivation will rub off on me.
Lia, the wedding is coming up fast now, seems like the first 3 months of 2015 went by in a flash. How are the plans coming along?
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New thread! Work is nuts for me. And menopause symptoms shifted again (it's like punctuated equilibrium!).
My focus right now is on my adrenals, both to keep up with the nuttiness at work, and menopause.
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Sabine, nice to see you!! Sorry about the menopause symptoms though, ugh. I hope this weekend gives you a rest...
Mihani, are you getting to enjoy a long weekend at all? Or even a day or two? lol. Have you been able to do any tai chi? I know, I can't believe it's April already!!! I have three months til the wedding! Finally sent out invitations (which was by far the worst part) and most of the planning is done, except for the little picky things here and there. I am looking forward to it but it'll also be nice when all the planning is done lol.
Karrie, I know, it's true, I KNOW it's not overnight. But I still expect after a week of ETL to be thin lolll.
Actually last night I took a progress photo of myself (the first one in my 7 weeks) because I have been griping so much about how little weight and progress etc. But holy moley, there was a big difference in the shape of my midsection!! I looked a lot less bulgy. That made me so excited! So I have a bit more cause to be patient and also throw away the scale lol.
Is everyone off tomorrow? We are heading to my in-laws for the weekend!0 -
Good topic title, Mihani. I'm ready for April. I still struggle to squeeze in exercise. Best if it doesn't seem like exercise; tricks me into thinking it's fun instead. :-)
Whats_her_name, bread and starches like rice and potatoes are not conducive to weight loss for me. I limit grains to a cup or less a day, and many days I have none. Took me awhile to get off the bread treadmill but I can go weeks now without bread of any kind. A cracker here and there seems fine, but keeping it in check is too hard, so mostly it's abstinence for me.
liapr, I'm glad you're seeing results even if it isn't on the scales. All I can say is that, for me, the ETL train allows me to eat till I'm full without weight gain, and with minimum exercise. Not that Dr. F doesn't stress exercise -- he does. I'm just lazy. But to be able to eat real food without killing myself in a gym, that is gold to me.
Sabine_Stroehm, I feel very grateful that I breezed through menopause. Hardly noticed, in fact. The more I read about it, the more grateful I get. I'm sorry you're having a harder time. I like that phrase: punctuated equilibrium.
I only lost a pound from my 36-hour fast. Bummer. I ate that back the next day, I was so hungry. But actually, fasting wasn't as hard or as uncomfortable as I thought it would be, and I may try it again. There is a group here that does intermittent fasting. I'd never tried it before because I didn't have to, but I may check it out again. It doesn't seem to do much for weight loss, but it certainly didn't hurt me. And while unpleasant, the procedure was tolerable and everything was normal. Yay!
Easter won't be a food problem this year. We'll have a daughter, hubby and grandkids over on Saturday to go hiking some local trails instead of eating sweets, celebrating her birthday with small sugar-free cupcakes. (I try to stress family activities like hiking, biking, skating instead of family sit-down meals nowadays.) Family knows I won't eat sweets anymore, so birthdays and holidays are attended but I don't have the pressure to eat stuff I consider unhealthy. Seems that if I am committed and consistent, the pressure to conform just dissolves. I'm sure part of it is that my results speak for me.
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Lisa - it's great having you around here - you're our wisdom from experience! I keep thinking "one day I won't be expecting sweets on birthdays?!" haha. That is an ultimate goal. I like the emphasis on family activities too! My family goes for a long walk on holidays, but unforuntately, my in-laws are less active (but don't food push). Have a nice Easter
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I second Lia's appreciation of Lisa's wisdom and experience! I am completely the same with the starches/grains. Once I start on them I want more and more. It's just easier to avoid than try to limit.
Another long ugly 11 hour day in the office after working here at home past my bedtime last night. I am sliding on my snack rule, fatigue and stress are getting to me. I need to remind myself constantly, eating does not help! I am really going to try to stay out of the office this weekend, even if I bring work home. I need a break.
Lia, 3 months... eeeeekkkkk! So much to do, so little time. I can't wait to see the wedding pictures. That is awesome that you are seeing a difference from your workouts, you are going to feel great by the time the wedding rolls around.
Sabine, menopause didn't seem to bother me other than a period of time with brutal hot flashes. That was awful. I felt like people around me would be able to feel the heat radiating from me lol.
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I do okay with hotflashes (night sweats are worse). I'd say my ongoing issues are irritability and fatigue. I suspect both are intensified because of the insomnia. So basically: sleep isn't great (and has night sweats) which leaves me tired and cranky.
Hot flashes are about a once a month thing for me these days, which is good.
All that being said: I've been extra careful about what I'm eating, and to not have much of any caffeine and my sleep has been pretty good the last few days.0 -
Sabine, I had to give up coffee and chocolate (at least straight up chocolate) due to it causing acid reflux symptoms. I'm surprised how much better I feel.
Okay ETL'ers, on a whim I bought a kabocha squash. Anyone had them? Any suggestions on what to do with it? I am thinking about this recipe chow.com/recipes/30268-thai-red-curry-with-kabocha-squash but I am open to suggestions!0 -
Oh and p.s. ya'll, I took the day off. Seriously. I had lots of things I intended to get done around here. So far none of them have been accomplished other than grocery, a load of laundry, and I took the old pup to the vet for her arthritis injection. I am okay with my lack of productivity. A nap may be on my list of things to do as well.0
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Hi everyone Happy April and happy Easter. April title is very apt as I was registered to complete a 13 mile hike for charity in June but have had a change of plan and will now be doing 29 miles option instead which will include one of the heighest peaks in Wales! Have a need for some serious training coming on which is not easy when youre dieting at the same time! Walked 14.5 miles today and was pretty hungry by the end. Seriously hope I can reach goal in next 2-3 weeks so I can up my calories as need them to fuel some 20 + mile walks over coming weeks.
Well done everyone, you're all doing great and continue to spur me on0 -
Wow Sharon, 29 miles is impressive!! That's awesome.
I kinda went off the rails here the past few days. Eating too much, starchy cravings mostly. Plus a few cookies here and there. But I'm nipping it in the bud and getting back on track today not letting it get out of hand. Have my day planned out...
B: smoothie (frozen spinach, frozen mixed berries, chia seeds, plant protein powder)
L: BIG salad (lettuce, tomatoes, hemp hearts, pumpkin seeds, nooch, balsamic)
D. Leftover eggplant and polenta casserole, strawberries
The eggplant and polenta casserole is from the Forks Over Knives cookbook. It's good, but I don't know that I would make it again. I am going to try to make one new thing every week and find some more things that I can put into regular rotation. I'm looking forward to the summer produce.
Enjoyed my day out of the office Saturday. Didn't do much. I went to the office yesterday and got through some stuff. Speaking of work, best get going!0 -
I had to give up coffee a few years ago (long story). Now I just drink 1 cup of tea or less a day.Sabine, I had to give up coffee and chocolate (at least straight up chocolate) due to it causing acid reflux symptoms. I'm surprised how much better I feel.
Okay ETL'ers, on a whim I bought a kabocha squash. Anyone had them? Any suggestions on what to do with it? I am thinking about this recipe chow.com/recipes/30268-thai-red-curry-with-kabocha-squash but I am open to suggestions!
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Hi everyone! Hope you all had a good long weekend. Mihani, so happy you had a nothing day! I was off to see cousins, in-laws, and my own family. It was a really nice but really busy weekend. Our office is closed today which was good because I spent the entire day doing mega kitchen prep and house chores.
Delicious sounding dinners here! Tonight I'm having the Braised Kale & Tofu from the ETL cookbook. Anyone else tried this?
Sharon, I'm in total awe of your hiking goals and achievements!!
I did a double workout this morning because yesterday I had ALL the chocolate!! Oh my gosh. Also, at my in-laws, I was expecting a lot of veggies but this time, there were soooo many bread foods. For breakfast and lunch! So I am feeling super puffy today. But back on track today.
B - strawberries & orange; protein smoothie with greens after workout;
L - veggie burger with avocado; trail mix; fruit
D - braised tofu and kale dish from ETL cookbook
I washed a TON of lettuce because I notice I really need to be getting in more raw greens... I got a couple new cookbooks with some interesting salads. Making a big green and a tabbouleh salad tonight!
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Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
This was LOVELY. I adapted a few things, but it was quite yummy.0 -
Lia how was the braised tofu and kale? I am struggling with starchy cravings again. It doesn't take much to get them going again. You're amazing doing double workouts! Glad you had a fun weekend.
Sabine that sounds really good, I love brussels sprouts.
Yesterday was good, back on track. Stayed up until 11 p.m. last night working which wasn't a wise idea, but I got a lot done.0 -
Hi everyone - I hope you all had a good Easter weekend. I know we did! It's really great to just hang out around home and be lazy together.
My hubby wasn't so lucky - he spent 2 days of the weekend out at our cabin installing new flooring. Sure does look good - so much more clean and cozy!!! The flooring that was there was the original flooring from 1960. While it was definitely cool to have the original flooring, it was certainly old and shabby looking. Cracked, stained and plain old worn out. Can't say that anymore!!! Looks amazing - like a whole new cabin!
Mihani, I'm very happy to read that you took a day off. Did you fit in that nap!?!? I sure hope so!!
On Sunday I decided that I *really* needed to get outside and do a long run. After all, my half marathon is only 8 weeks away, and I haven't run more than just a couple minutes at a time so far. So I set my goal to run 1km without stopping, but my real goal was to run/walk a full 10km (with mostly walking, to be sure). I was really wondering if was going to be able to do it - seriously, I have only run 90-120 seconds at a time this year!!!
So I set up my Zombies, Run! app and off I went.
I got to the 1km mark without really thinking about it. It was easy, so I decided to set my goal for 2km instead.
Then I got so wrapped up in the Zombie storyline and in my music (while always being aware of traffic, of course), that I was truly surprised when I realized that I had already hit the 3km mark!! AND I STILL FELT REALLY GOOD. (Score 1 for strength training class!!)
So I decided to go to the 4km mark, and still feeling strong, changed it again to 5km, which would make my workout half run and half walk. So that's exactly what I did. Except that I couldn't find my 5km landmark, and by the time I realized that I must have passed it, I ended up doing 5.5km as per my gps on the Zombies app. WOWZA!!! All those squats have sure paid off!!!
My total distance was 11km, with a non-stop run for the first half - 5.5km!!! I'm definitely feeling better about my ability to improve my distance over the next 7 weeks... Yay strength training!!!
And the Zombies, Run! app is a lot of fun. The mission I was doing was "A Lost Child", and they have a small child babbling and crying and shrieking during the mission - I had to try to get to her before the zombies. I had chills running through my whole body when that little toddler voice was crying and screaming and I actually did pick up my pace - made my inner momma bear all twitchy!!!
It felt so good to be running outside and I was SOOOOO proud of myself when I made it that far without stopping!!!
Now don't get me wrong. I'm all kinds of sore!! But today isn't as bad as yesterday, and I walked an easy 2 miles this morning to loosen up my muscles even more.
And now that I have evidence that the strength training is REALLY making me strong, I am feeling confident that I can increase my distance by 1-2km each Sunday and I WILL finish this half marathon -- yahoo!!! EXCITING!!!0
