Food, Exercise, or other Reports

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  • emmyjaykay
    emmyjaykay Posts: 83 Member
    @eliezalot I do this all the time on my pizza stone! It's a great alternative to my preferred bar-style thin crust. Serious Eats is one of maybe three places I trust for good recipes, haha.
  • ntw250
    ntw250 Posts: 15 Member
    @eliezalot
    That looks delicious, I am going to try that
  • bmeadows380
    bmeadows380 Posts: 2,981 Member
    gewel321 wrote: »
    I have decided I want to try to ride the bike. I use to bike for fun way back when but haven’t in years. I sat my kid down and told him I was thinking about riding a bike for a bit. He decided that he wanted to ride with me so we spent several hours learning to ride. Can he do it? Nope not yet. But he didn’t give up.

    Yeah I know 10 is a little old to learn to ride but he went over the handle bars when he was little and learning and scraped himself up pretty bad. Hasn’t been on a bike since. I’m super proud of him and can’t wait for him to really get the hang of it so we can ride the bike trails.

    Kudos to your son! That's great to hear! It takes a lot of courage to try again after something like that. I hope he learns to enjoy it!


    ntw250 wrote: »

    I want to ride my bike too. I know I look ridiculous (325lbs), but it is a big bike and I am out there doing it.

    Have to say that I enjoy it and I can feel it, in my thighs and in my "ahem.....seat". Trying to do 5/6 miles every other day to start and then will build up. It is very flat where I live, which is a bonus, but also very hot (Florida) so plenty of sweating.

    Nah, I don't think you'd look ridiculous! Its just great that you are trying!

    When I was close to getting to 300 lbs, which was 75 lbs off, I bought me a single speed coaster as my gift to myself. I wanted it because I grew up riding single speed coasters with caster brakes - I never rode anything with hand breaks and my natural inclination is to slam that foot back when I want to stop. I hadn't ridden a bike in 20 years by that point and was very wobbly when I first started taking it out - in fact, I went out and found a cemetery with a paved drive to practice on for privacy lol. I figured that since I was shaky as a newborn foal and that my natural inclination was to use foot brakes, that I'd better get a bike with coaster brakes because the few seconds it would take for my brain to try to stop by slamming the foot back, only to remember that I need to squeeze the handles would probably be just enough time for me to have a nasty wreck.

    Though where I live, it isn't all that flat, so getting up hills is very hard. And since its a cruiser, I'm not peddling constantly; I figure when I do take it out, that I'm peddling about 1/2 the time, cruising about 1/3 of the time, and walking the rest lol makes it hard to figure out the exact burn!

    I don't take it out enough, though, for my legs and bum to get used to it; there just isn't a nice place to really ride it here and with traffic on the main road being what it is, I'd be afraid to ride it there - traffic around here do NOT "share the road" well. It gets dicey just walking along the edge of the main highway on my walks!
  • conniewilkins56
    conniewilkins56 Posts: 3,391 Member
    Oh my!...I had to chuckle because the only convenient place for me to ride a bike would be a cemetery so I would be close to the grave when I crashed!...my 15 yr old grandson refuses to get on a bike and he doesn’t want a drivers permit...maybe he has some phobia about wheels?...anyway, I can see myself flying over the handle bars and crushing my skull or breaking my replaced knees...I have thought of getting a big trike but that is what old people ride...I guess I will keep swimming but I do envy all of you your bike rides!
  • eliezalot
    eliezalot Posts: 620 Member
    @emmyjaykay Same! Serious Eats has never led me wrong. Normally I'd see a tortilla-based pizza and think "oh some crappy lower-calorie pizza alternative, no thanks" and click on by. But sell it to me as a fast and easy bar-style pizza...:lol: If it is good enough for J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, it is good enough for me!

    @conniewilkins56 Now I really want to get you on a bike! Many places offer adult cycling classes - even if you know how to ride already, that might be a nice way to find your balance again in a safe and supervised environment, and determine whether you'd be comfortable doing more riding! Ours are offered through a local bike advocacy organization, but the League of American Bicyclists lets you search to see what might be nearby you: https://bikeleague.org/bfa/search/map?bfaq=

  • gewel321
    gewel321 Posts: 718 Member
    Update: my son pestered his father (who is a much better teacher than I am at this) to take him back out to continue working on balance today while I was at my exercise class. He was so excited that he managed to balance without touching the ground all the way down a hill. He said the only time he crashed was when he was going to hit a horse. Not autocorrect there was someone riding a horse in the water park parking lot in the middle of my city. 🤦‍♀️ welcome to Arkansas.

    At this rate he will be riding for real by this weekend. So looks like I am in the market to buy myself a bike. I sure can’t flake after he’s put so much work into learning.
  • bmeadows380
    bmeadows380 Posts: 2,981 Member
    gewel321 wrote: »
    Update: my son pestered his father (who is a much better teacher than I am at this) to take him back out to continue working on balance today while I was at my exercise class. He was so excited that he managed to balance without touching the ground all the way down a hill. He said the only time he crashed was when he was going to hit a horse. Not autocorrect there was someone riding a horse in the water park parking lot in the middle of my city. 🤦‍♀️ welcome to Arkansas.

    At this rate he will be riding for real by this weekend. So looks like I am in the market to buy myself a bike. I sure can’t flake after he’s put so much work into learning.

    the horse thing made me laugh - I can so see something like that happening here!

    Anyway, your son is a real trooper and I'm so glad he is having so much fun with it! Gives him something he cna share with mom and gives her a fun activity to do with him :)
  • gewel321
    gewel321 Posts: 718 Member
    We went out last night and bought my son a bike that’s his size (I was not spending another dime on a bike until I knew he was going to do it for real). He was so excited when he got up this morning and rushed home from school today so he could practice before scouts. He’s getting better and almost ready for peddling. Looks like I’m going to have to buy myself a bike soon enough! Super proud of him. Happy to report there were no horses at the water park today!
  • bmeadows380
    bmeadows380 Posts: 2,981 Member
    Ever had one of those days where the drive to eat was just so strong that you couldn't ignore it no matter how hard you tried? And you couldn't figure out what it was you were craving as nothing satisfied?

    Yeah, that was today for me. So today was an unplanned, unwanted maintenance day because I just could quit eating as even trying to remove myself from temptation didn't help. I wasn't able to get out and exercise at all today, so I was trying to stick to sedentary calories. If I could have gotten a walk in, that would have offset almost all those extra calories, plus the walk could have helped calm the hunger down, but there was no time today. Tomorrow is supposed to rain, so no time there either, but at least I'll be home and can try to hit the elliptical for a bit.
  • Going to give myself maintenance calories today. I had to take my girlfriend to the hospital tonight. While I won't go into details, we have a rule in our family that if you cannot say an unqualified yes to the question, "Are you safe tonight? Are the rest of us safe from you tonight?" then you need to go to the hospital.

    So there's an unscheduled hamburger and chips happening, now that we're back from dropping her at the ER. She's safe, we're fine, I just have to manage all the stress and emotions of that.
  • bmeadows380
    bmeadows380 Posts: 2,981 Member
    well, the scale was down 1 1/2 lbs from last week, which I'll take all things considered. I really still want to be at 220 by 10/5, but we'll see if I make it. Under normal circumstances, 3 lbs in 3 weeks should be completely doable, but with the way things have been going for me between water weight and lack of will power, we'll see.


    I have today planned out with 90 calories left, and I'm hoping to instill enough gumption in me to get at least 30 minutes on the elliptical (60 would be better) and a cardio video in as well as vacuuming the house and cleaning the bathroom. I may have to do the elliptical sessions in 2 parts - perhaps get one 30 minute one in as a break this morning, do the cardio at lunch, and get another elliptical in this afternoon. I kind of hate to break them up; I'd like to think that 60 minutes straight keeps the heart rate up and would be of more value than 30 minutes, stopping for a few hours, and coming back for 30 more. But I suppose it doesn't really matter since I only count 75% of it anyway, and I use walking 2.5 mph to cover it to be on the safe side.

    I won't be able to get outside today because of the weather, though I might get lucky by this evening and catch a break for a short walk between showers; we'll see. I did put Jiu-JItsu on hold for now; between the cost and how I felt, we'll see if I go back. The people were friendly and nice, but I still just didn't feel like I was connecting with them nor did I feel like I was really picking it up like I should have which in turn left me feeling like I was an anchor on the group holding them back. Nor did I feel that I was really getting a lot of exercise, either, since I spent so much time watching. And I do need to see about setting up weight lifting training anyway, and I can't afford both. I know I won't need a lifting trainer for an extended time - just long enough to get a plan in place and make sure I have the correct form down pat, but I know its something I really need to get started as I can tell I've had a sharp decrease in physical strength.
  • _inHisGrace
    _inHisGrace Posts: 183 Member
    @bmeadows380
    I’m so glad to hear that your bloodwork came back great. That is awesome.

    I’m thinking about your diet fatigue and am wondering if exploring some new recipes might help?

    By no means am I an expert but what I have learned about myself over the years is that if I don’t enjoy my food then I quickly become disenchanted with the dieting process.

    This go around I am making sure I love every single bite of my day, while staying in my calorie allotment.

    Also about your general fatigue, are you getting enough air? Sounds funny but I have asthma and breathe shallow automatically.

    Sometimes I have to consciously breathe deeply and fully.

    Lastly, I know that I’ve read your work is getting stressful. My last job was so stressful that I quit in August and am living on faith and savings for a bit while I emotionally heal from them.

    Not saying you should quit, I’m just putting it out there to let you know I know how you feel.

    For me I eat my emotions, good and bad. I don’t know if that’s the same for you but possibly as your last few posts you come across as restless.

    Maybe try some gentle yoga? Or meditation?

    Idk but I’m thinking of you today.

  • bobsburgersfan
    bobsburgersfan Posts: 6,464 Member
    I feel like I've got the perfect storm of derailment going right now. I was out of town at a family thing last weekend, so combining traveling and not really caring about what I ate, my weight was already up about 6 lbs (mostly water weight). I'm having to work every night and Saturdays right now, probably for the next month. And this week, I've had 4 planned meals out; thankfully three are over with now.

    This morning my weight was up a couple more pounds (more water weight), back to the 260 that I cannot seem to escape. (I've read that there's no such thing as set weight points, but I can see why people believe in them, because it truly feels like my body will not let go of 260!)

    Anyway, I'm happy that I only have one remaining meal out, and it's not today, so I should be able to have a low-calorie day today. I bought some frozen dinners and pre-packaged salads so I'd have fast, low-calorie options when I wasn't eating out. Frozen dinners aren't my favorite, but I keep telling myself that I don't have to absolutely love everything I eat - this is temporary.
  • _inHisGrace
    _inHisGrace Posts: 183 Member
    @bobsburgersfan Hi thank you for the friend request!

    For me when I am planning to eat out, I review the menu beforehand so I can know what to choose before I go.

    It helps me feel like I have control instead of feeling anxious when I’m there.

    Cheers to making it through today!
  • bmeadows380
    bmeadows380 Posts: 2,981 Member
    @_inHisGrace

    I appreciate your kind thoughts :) Though I don't think new recipes will help - my problem isn't that I don't enjoy my food; my problem is I enjoy it too much! *laugh*

    I've been spending as much time as I can outside, which definitely helps.

    I truly wish I could quit my job and have for several years now. But its just not possible right now as there is nothing else in the area that would remotely come close to replacing my income, and right now, I can't afford a huge pay cut. In 5 years, however, is a different story, if I can survive that long, that is. In 5 years student loans pay off as well as another large loan, though I'll have a car payment by then. With those off my shoulders, I will be able weather a substantial pay cut if necessary. I just have to survive 5 more years....

    Speaking of jobs, I can't believe that today is my service anniversary: I've been in this company 13 years today. That tells you how long I've been trying to find an acceptable option to my quandary! How I've managed to keep this job that long I have no idea; I would have thought I'd have been fired for incompetence a long time ago!
  • eliezalot
    eliezalot Posts: 620 Member
    Ever had one of those days where the drive to eat was just so strong that you couldn't ignore it no matter how hard you tried? And you couldn't figure out what it was you were craving as nothing satisfied?

    Yeah, that was today for me. So today was an unplanned, unwanted maintenance day because I just could quit eating as even trying to remove myself from temptation didn't help. I wasn't able to get out and exercise at all today, so I was trying to stick to sedentary calories. If I could have gotten a walk in, that would have offset almost all those extra calories, plus the walk could have helped calm the hunger down, but there was no time today. Tomorrow is supposed to rain, so no time there either, but at least I'll be home and can try to hit the elliptical for a bit.

    This has been me in the evenings lately. Though mine has definitely been craving specific things. Its like once I think about a food item, I have to have it. And then a few more of it. I've still been slightly under maintenance, but it is definitely affecting my rate of loss. And since I'll be spending 2 weeks in MN with my mom's fabulous (and plentiful) cooking, I'd like to get it under control now, and see some more loss before that trip!

    In good news, I finally saw the scale drop again today. 195.6. I used to see new lows twice a month, but am currently seeing them only about once a month. I think that is mainly because my rate of loss has slowed down due to all the snacking. I've also been seeing many more water weight fluctuations. At least it is still in the right direction, even if it isn't as fast as I'd like.
  • bmeadows380
    bmeadows380 Posts: 2,981 Member
    @eliezalot

    I know what you mean about getting it under control now - the holidays are coming! lol

    Well, its 1 pm and I haven't gotten the elliptical sessions in or the cardio. My fitness tracker says I've only taken 924 steps so far today. HOWEVER, its gotten cold here and I broke down and turned on the baseboard heaters to take the chill out of the air. Problem is, I had to rearrange furniture to do it. I had my bed's headboard up against the window and liked it in that position, but it was also in front of the heater. But I couldn't slide it down the wall to open up more of the heater because I had a shelf along the wall on the other side of the bed. And I couldn't move the shelf because the chest of drawers and the hope chest were on the other wall, and I couldn't move the chest of drawers or the hope chest without getting the arm chair from the living room that I had moved into my bedroom to open up living room space back out of the bedroom.

    But to put the chair back in the living room, I had to rearrange it first, trying to keep its heater open as much as possible while also getting everything as farm from the pellet stove as I could. So I was moving bookshelves with the books still on them (I have hard floors not carpet), the couch, the recliner, end tables, coffee table, that chair, then the hope chest, chest of drawers, bedroom shelf and small filing cabinet. Sadly, even get it all down so I could just slide the bed down the wall didn't work; I still couldn't get the bed far enough away from the heater, so I ended up having to turn it around anyway.

    And on top of all that, since I was moving furniture, I also dug out my vacuum and did the vacuuming to get all the cat hair that had accumulated under all that furniture.

    I have no idea what kind of calorie burn all that is, but I'm sure its more than 924 steps worth! lol
  • @eliezalot

    I know what you mean about getting it under control now - the holidays are coming! lol

    Well, its 1 pm and I haven't gotten the elliptical sessions in or the cardio. My fitness tracker says I've only taken 924 steps so far today. HOWEVER, its gotten cold here and I broke down and turned on the baseboard heaters to take the chill out of the air. Problem is, I had to rearrange furniture to do it. I had my bed's headboard up against the window and liked it in that position, but it was also in front of the heater. But I couldn't slide it down the wall to open up more of the heater because I had a shelf along the wall on the other side of the bed. And I couldn't move the shelf because the chest of drawers and the hope chest were on the other wall, and I couldn't move the chest of drawers or the hope chest without getting the arm chair from the living room that I had moved into my bedroom to open up living room space back out of the bedroom.

    But to put the chair back in the living room, I had to rearrange it first, trying to keep its heater open as much as possible while also getting everything as farm from the pellet stove as I could. So I was moving bookshelves with the books still on them (I have hard floors not carpet), the couch, the recliner, end tables, coffee table, that chair, then the hope chest, chest of drawers, bedroom shelf and small filing cabinet. Sadly, even get it all down so I could just slide the bed down the wall didn't work; I still couldn't get the bed far enough away from the heater, so I ended up having to turn it around anyway.

    And on top of all that, since I was moving furniture, I also dug out my vacuum and did the vacuuming to get all the cat hair that had accumulated under all that furniture.

    I have no idea what kind of calorie burn all that is, but I'm sure its more than 924 steps worth! lol

    Yeah, since Girlfriend pretty much lives in her bedroom 24/7 I'm going to go in there tomorrow and pick up her bed and move things out and vaccuum and such, since she is not here. I like to do that with bedrooms about every three months.

  • bmeadows380
    bmeadows380 Posts: 2,981 Member
    I never did get the elliptical or cardio done; when work came to an end, I took a nap on the couch instead. So I'm going to be over once again, but not horrible today - 250 calories which is still 500 under my deficit. And I probably burned more than the 126 calories I claimed when doing all that furniture moving and cleaning since I did get my bathroom cleaned and the house vacuumed and swiffered.

    it's supposed to be partly cloudy tomorrow so here's hoping I can get a nice long walk in tomorrow evening!

    Saturday is supposed to be cold here but sunny, and I may take my mowers and go mow my parents' camp again. Mom says she'd just let it go herself, but there is sage grass that comes up in the fall and is a pain to deal with in the spring and I'm thinking that if we keep ti mowed off into October, we might be able to keep that stuff under control better. So I might get some mowing done on Saturday. If not, I need to also work on my little building. I was going to use it as a chicken house, but I've just about decided to just keep it as a storage building - the shed that I have my riding mower in isn't quite big enough for anything else, especially since I bought a second push mower from the neighbor and can't get the stupid wheel barrow to stay on its peg! So what I've about decided to do is just go and buy a small chicken coop kit at Tractor Supply - they have a nice wooden one that can house up to 6 chickens for around $400 - and keep my building as a building. but I need to get the weather seal around the door I put on it in the spring, and I need to get the doorknob put on it so I can take away the board I'm using to keep it closed right now......

    But that's all 48 hours from now, and my plans tend to change on a dime, so we'll see! meanwhile, I'm going to try to go to bed earlier tonight. I've been trying to get up a little earlier this week and its showing *sigh*
  • eliezalot
    eliezalot Posts: 620 Member
    gewel321 wrote: »
    Today was the day. My son successfully rode around the parking lot several times so off to the store I went to purchase my bike. He got a good few hours of playing and riding in. bife5mimr7mz.jpeg

    I love this!!! YAY!!!
  • conniewilkins56
    conniewilkins56 Posts: 3,391 Member
    You both look great!...enjoy the bikes!
  • papayahed
    papayahed Posts: 407 Member
    Very cool!!
  • conniewilkins56
    conniewilkins56 Posts: 3,391 Member
    I hit my lowest weight this morning 258.2 losing 1.8 lbs and finally broke my plateau...hopefully I will have a continued downward trend....I went to the pool and really enjoyed adding water weights to my routine...My plan is to continue swimming 5 days a week the entire winter...I found out that I do not have to have my foot operated on if it doesn’t give me any problems so I am not planning another diet break until possibly the last week of this year...that will give me three entire months to make up for my small loss all summer...I feel good right now minus the stress of my husbands health, I am exercising and I am trying to eat more protein and less overall calories...I do enjoy a little cushion for treats or more food when I get my exercise in....either way, I stay at 1400 to 1500 calories a day at the most...realistically I don’t think I can lose 60 more pounds in 8 months but I can wish lol....
  • gewel321
    gewel321 Posts: 718 Member
    Connie you may not loose all 60 lb but every lab gone is one less that you need to loose.
    So jealous that you have year round pools.
  • conniewilkins56
    conniewilkins56 Posts: 3,391 Member
    gewel321 wrote: »
    Connie you may not loose all 60 lb but every lab gone is one less that you need to loose.
    So jealous that you have year round pools.

    We have lived in this neighborhood a couple of years and the community keeps the pool warm...they even had the heat on today because of the last couple gloomy and rainy days!...the last place we lived they wouldn’t turn the heat on until we were freezing!...so I am looking forward to this winter and enjoying the hot tub, too!
  • bmeadows380
    bmeadows380 Posts: 2,981 Member
    I'm going to be over to the tune of around 300 calories today, however, I think I may have really been undercutting myself somewhat with the activity. I went on a 10.17 mile hike/walk today (personal best distance!) while wearing a 10 lb backpack. I didn't know whether to count it as a cross country hike or as a 3 mph walk since it was technically a trail, but a rail trail that was pretty flat. It took me 3 hours and 21 minutes total. 3 mph for 201 minutes gives me 1,118 calories back; hiking cross country gave me 2033 for the same 201 minutes. So perhaps I was somewhere in between?

    This is why I'm not sweating being over on my calorie count lol Besides, after that kind of a walk and as sore as my legs are, I want to make sure to get all my protein in today, and that kind of walking really added in the protein!
  • The last couple days I've been very active and so I've let myself eat back all the calories given, but not let myself go wild. But I've been wanting to do some things in Girlfriend's bedroom that I couldn't get done before we moved in (incompetent contractors) and I didn't want to touch up the paint around the new outlets or where they ran the new lines with her in there; she has COPD, and I didn't want her to have to sleep with paint fumes. So it's done now and looks very pretty, and I hope it makes her happy to come home and have everything nice and clean and tidy. Except the top of her desk, cause that's her desk.

    Tomorrow is plenty of cooking, and that will keep me on my feet, but I have much more standing budget than I used to. I overdid it a little the last few days, according to my muscles and the unwilling nap I had to take this afternoon. I'll try to ease up a bit the next few days and be nicer to my lower back and hips. And stretch them a whole lot.
  • papayahed
    papayahed Posts: 407 Member
    Yesterday while working out my trainer asked if he could record me doing sprint exercises. I said sure but I have full veto power. Here's where the trouble come in .... I've never been a fast runner even as a kid. Lately though I *feel* like I'm quicker and can go farther. Well...Girl! I just watched the video and I still look like Gimli (Lord of the Rings)!! Slow and steady. Flo Jo has nothing to worry about from me. lol.