Let's Do this! - 2019 Challenge - Be the best you can be!

Hi everyone,

Work was super busy today, but even though I was tired after work I still got my grocery shopping done. So I feel accomplished just by doing that. I did do a walking workout this morning as well, which was amazing. Since I started running again, I find it very difficult to keep the slower pace of walking, I want to pick it up the pace and run, but I know my body has to re-adjust to the stresses of running and I don’t want to increase my running distance or days too quickly, because then there is potential of developing an overuse injury, which will prevent me from running and maybe even walking.

I don’t have anything special planned for this weekend, just a few things around the house. I plan on running both tomorrow and Sunday, but the Sunday workout will be a walking workout if I feel I need a longer rest after the Saturday run.



@lilsis2011 Welcome to the group. What is 16/8 if hours. Noon -8.

@fstopsphotography Welcome, it is NEVER too late to join. I have been in other challenges that compete to see who can loose the most weight or who can travel the most steps, but I am sure we are all at different levels, and even if we really want to do the same workouts that the next person is doing we can’t always do that without injuring ourselves. So I though if we competed with ourselves and just tried to be better than we were yesterday than no matter where we start we will be making improvements in ourselves.

I completely agree about having a plan. If you can schedule a doctors appointment, why not schedule your workout. I find when I have a plan, and don’t let LIFE trample it, then I am more likely to reach my goals. Sometimes it does get hard, but the key is when/if that happens you get right back on track just as soon as possible.

@loonyhiker I am very much the same way. I always want to see that I am making improvements in what I have been doing. Sometimes I don’t always see that on my spreadsheet, but it is motivation to push myself just a little bit more at times.

@BackinSoFl I like to meal prep on the weekends also. I just went to the grocery store this evening so I have loads of veggies to cut up and a couple of dishes to prepare for the week. I also have a couple of quick dishes that I can throw together during the week if I just don’t feel like having one of the prepared meals. That is also a big thing for me. I need to have an alternative meal available to me just in case I don’t feel like eating what was on the meal plan for the day. If I don’t do this I will typically end up eating something unhealthy.

@Smilely3 Sorry I can’t help you with the vegetarian question, but if you don’t get an answer here I can always ask one of my nieces what they do. They are both vegetarian but I haven’t gone out to eat with them since they became vegetarian.

@Fitness327wk Vacations are great, but they can wreck havoc on your diet and fitness routine. When I went to Punta Cana awhile back I made sure to get up and hit the gym a the resort before going out to have fun for the day. Sometimes that meant going to bed a little bit earlier so that I could get up earlier in order to get a workout in before an early departure time for an excursion.

@fstopsphotography Awhile back, I was in the habit of getting up 45-60 minutes before my workout time so that I could sit down, have a cup of coffee and wake up before my workout. It definitely helped me push a little bit harder in my workout. However, that meant I had to be up by 4 am, 4 hours before I needed to be at work and it also meant I was going to bed between 8-9 pm in order to get 7-8 hours of sleep.

I finally got to the point that I really didn’t want to go to bet that early and gave up the coffee first thing in the morning in lieu of a bit of extra sleep. I still get up early 4:40 am, but I spend a few extra minutes snuggling with my cat before I actually get out of bet. I don’t really miss the coffee first thing, but I am ready for it by the time I get to the office.

I personally find a lot of motivation by motivating other people, and sharing my progress. I am most motivated, when I feel as if I need to be accountable to someone. Whether it is by being someone else’s support system or to show that I am right there with them going that extra mile towards my own goals. That is the main reason I started this thread.

I have participated in other supportive challenge in the past, and those are the times that I really stayed on track and made significant progress towards my goals.

Another thing that keeps me motivated and on track is having a plan. When I spend a bit of time one day a week to schedule my workouts and create a meal plan for coming week it is so much easier to just execute that plan then to plan on the go.

And yes, I plan out my workouts ahead of time. Before I get up in the morning I know what type of workout I will be doing and approximately how long it will be. If I get into the workout and I decide to do more, then I go for it, but I know my minimum threshold before I even get started. Sometimes I have to push myself to get to that minimum threshold, but by the time I get there I am feel very accomplished and tend to go further. If I don’t have a plan before I wake up, I have a tendency to find excuses as to why I can’t or won’t get up to workout. This way I don’t have to think I just get up and go through the motions.

loonyhiker wrote: »

I also have a couple of pictures from when I was younger and thinner. When I feel discouraged or just plain lazy, I pull them out and look at them. I remind myself that I can’t do anything about the age thing but I can do something about my weight. This is a conscious decision that I have control over. This is usually a kick in the butt for me.

This is so true. I also have pictures when I was much younger and much thinner. I would absolutely LOVE if I could get back to that weight. Not sure I would want to go back to that age though. LOL!

Looks like I missed a bunch of posted the other day. Not sure how that happened. So sorry about that.

@jennymarie07 Welcome. So glad you have decided to join our group. Looking forward to getting to know you and helping you over come your challenges.

@Smilely3, Congratulations on your weight loss so far during your fast. That is totally awesome. You will have to give us your full report on how the entire fast went when it is all over.

@navybrat76 Welcome to the group. It sounds like we have a lot of the same goals for 2019. I too want to read more. I use to read up to 52 books a year, but the past couple of years I haven’t done much reading. I think I knocked out 11 books last year and 6 were with in the last few months. Looking forward to getting to know you better this year.

@embodybliss Welcome to you as well. I agree, if your life get busy shorter more intense workouts might be in order. For awhile I was trying to do the 15 minute HIIT training workouts. These workouts are all over the place, and they are very high intensity. I know I will eventually need to work some of this type of workout back into my schedule, but for now I am focusing on building up my running endurance again. I expect that to take the next couple of months, but then I plan to add strength training and HIIT workouts later this year.