Northern blah season

curiousgp
curiousgp Posts: 122 Member
edited November 22 in Motivation and Support
Its that time of year where its dark when I go to work and dark when I get home. Looking for like minded individuals who need a kick in the rump once a week or so to get themselves out the door and active and on track to maintain or lose. I have 20 lbs I gathered in the last three years that I'm looking to leave behind.

43 year old female with quasi college kid with one foot out the door and a husband who is fixated with ice fishing from freeze up until thaw so I have tons of time to focus on ME.

Please be willing to chat about your day - focus on your goals and make sure others are focusing on theirs also. Check ins are mandatory! :=)
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Replies

  • RachelHPMarathonMom
    RachelHPMarathonMom Posts: 14 Member
    I'm also mourning the arrival of short, cold, winter days, and looking for a chatty group for daily accountability. I'm a 34-year-old mom of a very active almost-6-year old. I work full time, and I don't feel like I have a lot of time to focus on myself, but I'm trying to carve out the time I need! I have 15 pounds to lose to hit weight goal #1...and another 20 beyond that to hit goal #2, which is to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight (did I mention my kiddo is almost 6? I'm out of excuses.)

    I started a free trial with Noom last week, but I don't think it's worth paying for / continuing to use; I think MyFitnessPal will work better for me, especially because 1) MyFitnessPal is available both as an app and as a website I can access from a computer with a full keyboard (Noom is app only, and I'm not good at typing on my smart phone), and 2) the MyFitnessPal community gives me lots of choices of groups & discussions to join instead of just the 1 group I was assigned to on Noom, which isn't as chatty as I'd like.

    10 days into my current weight loss journey, I'm down a few pounds already. I weigh myself first thing every morning, and of course the number on the scale bounces around a bit, but I've gone from 199ish to 196ish so far. Tracking what I eat really works for me; my weakness is that I'm a snacker, especially a late-night snacker, but when I know I have to write down everything I eat, then I eat less! My job has me sitting in front of a computer 8-9 hours/day; I try to be active on weeknights and weekends, but I also recently set the goal to try to take a walk during my lunch break - for at least 15 minutes, at least 3 times per week - both to help with calorie burn & avoiding stiffness from too much sitting, and also to get some sunlight each day!

    Outdoor jogging, hiking, and walking are my favorite forms of exercise; I occasionally try going to a gym class or doing a HIIT workout at home, but those feel like such a chore to me. I used to be a runner - I ran marathons in 2010 and 2013, and ran consistently from 2008-2011, but it's been harder to make time for running since having a kiddo, and for the sake of my joints I want to lose some weight before I start pushing myself to run further or faster.

    Well, I guess that's enough of an introduction for now. Today's goal is to log all my food intake and to take a 15-minute walk at lunchtime; I'll check in again tonight or first thing tomorrow morning to let you know how I did today!
  • curiousgp
    curiousgp Posts: 122 Member
    I haven't heard of Noom - but I am a veteran user of MFP and when I remember to use it I like it a lot! I connect with my Garmin - which has its pros and cons - but has the motivation of a step counter if nothing else.

    Look forward to watching you hit your goals!
  • RachelHPMarathonMom
    RachelHPMarathonMom Posts: 14 Member
    I'm new to the "community" feature of MFP (I had used just the calorie & exercise feature in the past, but I find the social aspect helpful) - are you going to create a group, or just use this discussion thread as a place for people to continue posting? Is there a way to quickly navigate to discussions in which I have participated? The "My Discussions" button seems only to take me to discussions I created (none so far), and the "Recent" button seems to take me to discussions that have been active lately regardless of whether I have viewed or participated in them. I could just keep navigating back to this one by searching for 'Northern blah season' but I wonder if there's an easier way. BTW I live in New Jersey - I guess that's more "mid-Atlantic" than Northern, but having grown up in South Carolina it feels plenty cold and dark to me!
  • curiousgp
    curiousgp Posts: 122 Member
    There's a star at the upper right hand corner - if you click on it - it will book mark the thread.
  • KANGOOJUMPS
    KANGOOJUMPS Posts: 6,474 Member
    I am 46, and that's my fav kind of weather to go out in. snowshoeing in swirling blowing minus 30s snow! FUN!
  • msunat97
    msunat97 Posts: 516 Member
    NE Wisconsin here...feel free to add me. Need extra motivation with the dark & cold days.
  • Jruzer
    Jruzer Posts: 3,501 Member
    South Central Wisconsin here. I make sure I get outside when I can, even when it's cold, to get my fill of sunlight and fresh air. I got snowshoes last year. but couldn't use them much as it was a fairly dry winter. Looking forward to getting some miles on them this year!
  • timtam163
    timtam163 Posts: 500 Member
    I don't wake up in the dark but I do leave work in the dark. Goals for this dark winter:
    -Take mid-day walks to get some sun
    -Keep up the gym
    -Do some skiing, enjoy some snow
    -Keep drinking warm beverages: tea, decaf coffee...
    -Learn to make soups! :)
  • curiousgp
    curiousgp Posts: 122 Member
    KANGOOJUMPS wrote: »
    I am 46, and that's my fav kind of weather to go out in. snowshoeing in swirling blowing minus 30s snow! FUN!

    I bought xc skis last year and enjoyed the few times I was able to use them. I plan to hit up actual groomed trails this year. I also bought a used pair of snow shoes but need to arrange for the bindings to be replaced - got an email in to a repair shop today! Bring on the snow...just leave the wind.....
  • kcpond
    kcpond Posts: 661 Member
    Southern Ontario Canada here, so I do know how it feels to not see daylight outside of work hours in the winter. I like to go outside and run, but I can only do that when it is dark out. It takes a bit of getting used to it and I am comfortable going outside after dark so that helps.

    I find it harder to get the motivation to go and exercise after the kids go to bed. Mine are a bit younger so leaving them alone is not an option.
  • amandaeve
    amandaeve Posts: 723 Member
    Seattle here. I bike to work in the rain and dark both directions from November to February. I'm on my 6th year doing it, so I'm used to it by now. I also take boxing classes 3 times a week. This winter I hope to also get lots of Cross Country Skiing in. Feel free to add me as a friend and we can motivate each other throughout!
  • MissMaggieMuffin
    MissMaggieMuffin Posts: 444 Member
    Northern Ontario here.
    Love the outdoors, so winter running and snowshoeing are my activities of choice in the winter.
    For those days when it is bitter cold (wind chill), swimming with a wonderful sauna afterwards is my goto activity and cross-training.
    Had to learn to embrace winter ;)
  • RachelHPMarathonMom
    RachelHPMarathonMom Posts: 14 Member
    Last night I joined our local running club (for the first time in a few years) to do a 5k training run in the dark. The club provides reflective vests to use during the group runs, and I have a couple of blinking lights (white for the front, red for the back) that I picked up for free at a bike safety event a couple months ago and that clipped onto the vest nicely. It was 60 F and clear last night, so perfect running weather. I might try running in the dark on my own now that I've done it once.
  • curiousgp
    curiousgp Posts: 122 Member
    We had our first accumulation of snow last night. I got half an hour in at a local track. I might venture out tonight with the dogs - depending on the temps. I don't mind the dark, the cold temps...but I do mind the wind...I'm wimpy when it comes to that cold rawness. I live in the boonies so there is nothing to hide behind.
  • DebLaBounty
    DebLaBounty Posts: 1,169 Member
    I lived in Alaska for 18 years, and it did get cold and windy. I usually exercised at 20 below or warmer. Do you have winter running pants that block the wind? I bought some from Sporthill and they worked great for me. They have a couple styles they claim work for temperatures between zero and 35 degrees. They're spendy: $95 to $120 on their website or Amazon, but they last for years. I decided it was a worthwhile investment and never regretted it.
    You'll have to experiment with what else you wear so that you don't overheat while you run or walk. I usually didn't dress very heavy in the torso, but I recommend a knit hat that is lined with fleece because that eliminates the wind cutting through to your skull. Fleece lined mittens are good because your fingers keep each other warm, which gloves don't do. A scarf around your neck helps; some people wear knit scarves but others wear something lighter. Look into wearing a headlamp. I never used one but my husband and some friends always wore one.
  • canadianlbs
    canadianlbs Posts: 5,199 Member
    i bike commute in the [basically] pacific northwest. it's effing miserable at times, but the reason i do it is because it isn't the biking that's miserable - it's the winter itself.

    since the winter is going to take place anyway, i find that biking through it is actually one of my better strategies for fighting off the effect it keeps trying to have. i can get wet on a bike or wet at a bus stop. at least riding the bike feels like i'm more than just a passive victim standing around letting the whole thing just happen to me.

    not going to say i like kicks up the butt. people who try that motivational tactic on me tend to get eaten by grues. but i do relate to the whole horrible process of being cold, being wet, being miserable, and trying not to allow it to run your whole life.
  • GOT_Obsessed
    GOT_Obsessed Posts: 817 Member
    Oh and my check in:

    I went to Boot camp today. Holy crap!
    And I walked to the tire shop in my winter boots. ( I got my winter tires put on today
  • RachelHPMarathonMom
    RachelHPMarathonMom Posts: 14 Member
    Hello, end of daylight savings time! I'm going to try to take advantage of the time change by going to bed now (8:45pm Eastern Time!) and getting up at my "normal" time tomorrow (6am now feels like last week's 7am) to run before work tomorrow.
  • xfaithxpx
    xfaithxpx Posts: 9 Member
    Ugh that time of year again! I live in Maine and this is my hardest time of the year as far as trying to lose weight. I wake up to go to work in the dark, and by the time I get home most days it is dark again. It’s very depressing. If anyone would like to add me, please feel free!
  • ridiculous59
    ridiculous59 Posts: 2,911 Member
    I live in northern British Columbia and have decided that winter happens every year so I might as well enjoy it. And for me, any time spent outside is 100 times better than time spent inside. Our local cross country ski club has lit trails so I ski a lot. And snow shoe. And walk the dog. And ice fish, which isn't exercise, but it lifts my spirits. When its really cold I'll be a wimp and go to the gym :)
  • RachelHPMarathonMom
    RachelHPMarathonMom Posts: 14 Member
    I bought a used exercise bike today for $15! It was advertised by someone in my town on Facebook. Set it up in my garage --now I have an option for cardio I can do while reading, without leaving home! This should be a big help to my fitness routine throughout the winter. Garage isn't heated, but with the doors closed it'll work, and just 20 steps from a hot shower :) also, I managed to go running at 6:15 an today, the sweet spot between sunrise (for now) and when I need to leave for work. Sinus congestion meant the tub didn't go brilliantly, but I give myself points for getting out there and doing it, and the weather was lovely.
  • curiousgp
    curiousgp Posts: 122 Member
    Guilty of sloth mode this weekend. We had our first sticking snow of the season last friday and our temps have been in the teens and lower 20's with wind. Every day this weekend I told myself I need to get outside...yet I didn't. Will make up for it this week by getting in some time on the track and hopefully dig out the headlamp and get out for a quick walk in the evenings when i get home.
  • bebeisfit
    bebeisfit Posts: 951 Member
    Chicago girl here. I bike nearly year round (not in the slushy snow) and have biked short distances down to 11 degrees. I don't own a car and sometimes the bus doesn't cut it. Biking is freedom.

    We went from 70 to 40 within a days and never got the mid 60s lovely fall weather.
    I'm a fair weather runner and I do own snow shoes but we haven't had much snow in the last few years or if we did it was 10 below zero.

    I'm full of excuses!! I don't mind the cold that much but would like to ease into it. Cold weather gear is a must!
  • Sarc_Warrior
    Sarc_Warrior Posts: 430 Member
    Red Deer AB Canada. Current temp is -16 C.
  • Bobo4505
    Bobo4505 Posts: 5 Member
    I'm definitely not that far north. The ocean and deep water in Narragansett Bay typically keep us pretty moderated in southern Rhode Island, but we're headed into a 30-40 degree cold snap this weekend to kick off the dark season. All that more important to grab the vitamin D when the sun is out and available!
  • DebLaBounty
    DebLaBounty Posts: 1,169 Member
    I live north of Seattle and it's definitely good to get outside regardless of the weather. To counteract feeling like it's time to hibernate I eat breakfast next to a SAD light. The full spectrum light helps get me going.
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