Accountability buddy

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Replies

  • roz0810
    roz0810 Posts: 1,238 Member
    @PatriceFitnessPal It'll be on Thursday :) but going out for my birthday meal on Wednesday! I'll make it the only thing I eat that day tho 😂
  • PatriceFitnessPal
    PatriceFitnessPal Posts: 1,307 Member
    edited September 2021
    I’ve accomplished my weight loss goal and many of my fitness goals. So, now I’m working on maintenance for the coming year. Thank you to all the Accountability buddies who have been supporting and encouraging me on this community thread.

    The winter will be my biggest challenge because I can’t participate in my rowing hobby. There is a winter conditioning class that I plan to join each year but have only attended sporadically in the past. Maybe I’ll try it one more time this year, since I’ve built better habits into my daily schedule and feel more committed. Another option might be to find a different activity that I enjoy. I play soccer in a co-ed league once a week (on Sunday) and a group of women invited me to join them on another evening so I’ll look into it.

    Do you mainly focus on nutrition, which I’ve learned makes the bigger difference than exercise in maintaining weight?

    I feel as though I need to include a little exercise each day (200-300) to allow for some ‘snack’ calories.

    How do you all stay active in winter?

    Are you still participating in the arial silks class @kiay131982? If that was closer to my house, I think I’d try it again, especially since it seems like such a fantastic core workout. I’m testing out a few options right now (tennis; yoga and other YMCA classes; running) and appreciate any additional ideas! Best wishes for the coming week!
  • kiay131982
    kiay131982 Posts: 217 Member
    @PatriceFitnessPal congratulations on reaching your goal!!! That is Amazing! Such a result, you must feel so great!
    Before covid we did a mixed aerial silk and hoop class... now that we aren't swapping equipment we have to choose one class, so we are doing aerial hoop. I really love it although the bruises can be unreal!
  • kiay131982
    kiay131982 Posts: 217 Member
    Two workouts today! Had gym class this morning and then my PT messaged to ask if anyone was willing to do a training run with her this evening,.so I went and did that too. I really need to find my accountability and get back on top of my fitness, I'm finding it really easy to put it last. I Start each day with good intentions but I'm not following it through.

    Last year I was paying my PT to set me a workout each day, and I was also doing virtual tough mudders....these were things that I ticked off each day and really kept me accountable.... now virtual tough mudders aren't a thing anymore and I resent paying someone to set me workouts when I feel like I should be able to do it myself..... aaargh!
  • PatriceFitnessPal
    PatriceFitnessPal Posts: 1,307 Member
    edited September 2021
    @kiay131982 - I am typically more accountable to showing up for other people’s goals than my own. So, I completely understand how you can start the day planning to exercise and then get caught up in other priorities. For me, my job and teens always took precedence over my workout. I tried early morning rowing and had to be at the boathouse by 5:15 or 5:30am, which helped a bit with the competing priorities, but I was exhausted by the end of the week!

    Now that my sons are away at college, I am able to exercise more easily on the weekends. My husband never seemed to suffer from the same dilemma and managed to put his health first. I decided not to carry any resentment since it was my choice but I definitely don’t feel any guilt about scheduling my own exercise and then working household tasks around my plans! I’m not sure which tasks are replacing exercise for you; but, I hope you can reassess your time commitments and give yourself the gift of self-care or negotiate some changes in cooperation with the other people involved.

    For accountability, I have found checking in daily by text with my son about the ab exercises (available for free on an app) is working relatively well. It’s not as good as coordinating in person and working out together but I’ve completed most days. I also joined the Fat2Fit group and find some accountability through the group challenges and weekly weigh in. Feel free to join the group and request the Shrinking Assets so we’ll be on the same team. I also use the group’s month-long Habit Tracker.

    I’m willing to post here daily if that would help build momentum until you get your stride. We all ebb and flow so hang in there and try various strategies until you find something that works for you.

    I really need to add more yoga and stretching so now I’m thinking about my own habit building plan. I heard about a YouTube channel (Yoga with Adriene?) that I’m going to look into now. I’ll also try again on Monday because I planned to go to yoga class but forgot. Mondays seem to work that way so I’ll set an alarm now and label it with a reminder message. How are others doing? Do you want to try to post here with a plan for the week - or day?
  • nbbaby
    nbbaby Posts: 202 Member
    Hello
    I also need accountability. Not sure how all this works.
  • andi_uk
    andi_uk Posts: 9 Member
    I'm the same, I need accountability and some support.

    Please add me if you want to lose weight.

    I want to join a forum too and not sure how things work here.
  • kiay131982
    kiay131982 Posts: 217 Member
    Hi all

    Sat in the dentist while my son has braces fitted so thought I would catch up on here! How is everyone doing?
    I did fairly well with motivation most of last week, then the weekend was heavily social and I ended up with takeaway food and alcohol....but I guess sometimes life is for living. Back on to it today!

    I think trying to check in daily is good @PatriceFitnessPal, I'm still on the fence about joining another group. I think I find the MFP quite a cumbersome platform. Getting a WhatsApp group would be ideal as you can ping off a quick message without going through the whole app...and I also don't get notifications for MFP even though they're turned on. I do log in daily to log food and exercise though.

    My husband is having Tuesdays off over winter (he works on a farm) so will be coming to the gym with me which will be amazing. His Weight loss since changing to an active job has been amazing, he was a swim teacher before but the farming has really made a difference!
  • PatriceFitnessPal
    PatriceFitnessPal Posts: 1,307 Member
    @nbbaby and @andi_uk — Welcome!

    Some people make a direct friend request and then stay accountable to a particular buddy via the ‘friends’ section; but I visit this thread a couple times a week to post my short term goals and report on my progress. I’m also willing to check in daily if others are interested and want to actively participate.

    I’m not making any changes to my weekly goals right now. Here’s what I’m continuing to work on this week:

    — Sleep: 7-8 hours each night
    — Exercise: 30 minutes of daily cardio (or the equivalent of 3.5 hours per week)
    — Stay within my daily calorie target
    — Drink 70 ounces of water each day
    — Body recomposition: Two 30-minute sessions with a personal trainer shared with my husband; 10-minute daily ab workout (with text messages to my son for accountability and encouragement for both of us to complete the workouts regularly); and I’ve been trying to improve my ability to do ‘pull up’ exercises.

    I entered a MFP challenge last week through the ‘Fat2Fit’ group to gradually challenge ourselves in one area. I selected to ‘ladder up’ the number of pull ups I can complete. I started last Sunday by testing my ‘baseline’ and I was able to do three pull ups, but my legs were swinging a bit. On Monday, I did three pull ups and then added one after a short rest. The next day, I did the baseline three and then added one, followed by 30-seconds hanging on the bar. By the following Sunday (yesterday), I was able to do five. So, this week, I’m going to try doing five each day. The hardest part was hanging on the bar AFTER doing three or more pull ups so I’m giving myself a break from the hanging part this week. I’ll try to lock in five solid reps because the last one was a struggle yesterday. Then, I’ll reassess my progress and decide next steps from there.

    I’m planning to add more stretching in the future. I thought I might go to yoga class this morning but my husband and I prepared some ‘care packages’ for our sons who are at college now. Yesterday, I baked some banana bread and prepared some other items they like (homemade brownies for one and special flavors of beef jerky for the other) so we wanted to get the package in the mail early today. I’m getting much closer to working yoga into my schedule from a psychological perspective so I’m confident I’ll get there soon.

    I hope everyone is having a good week! Let us know how you are doing and what you are learning along the way. Go get those goals!
  • kiay131982
    kiay131982 Posts: 217 Member
    My day didn't go exactly to plan, I usually have a gym class on a Tuesday morning and this week my husband was going to come. I attend in work hours but just make up the time later as I work from home.
    Today's class got cancelled last minute due to the trainers illness, so I didn't get my workout with my husband and instead just got on with work. This means that now we have children coming in from school and back on parent taxi duty for activities etc that I've missed my window to workout easily!

    I think I need to block out a workout time each day to be able to stick to.....

    Well done on your pull ups @PatriceFitnessPal ! They're so hard! I could do with that skill as it would really help in aerial class!
  • PatriceFitnessPal
    PatriceFitnessPal Posts: 1,307 Member
    kiay131982 wrote: »
    Hi all

    Sat in the dentist while my son has braces fitted so thought I would catch up on here!

    I remember how painful it was after getting braces tightened 😣 but we often stopped for a frappe on that day so I appreciated my mother’s attempt to find something easy to ‘eat’ 😋. A frappe is called a milkshake in many places. It’s a mix of ice cream, milk, and flavored syrup that, in retrospect, may have caused me to seek comfort in food 😬 but I was really active, with low body fat, at that time so she meant well (after serving steak and corn on the cobb the first time my braces were tightened and hearing my teenage self complain that those were the two worst items to serve 🙄)!
    kiay131982 wrote: »
    How is everyone doing?

    I’m doing well with my daily five pull ups but they are not much easier yet; the last two reps are still tough but I’m sure it will get easier eventually! I skipped my 10 minute ab workout yesterday but I’ll make up the time today by doing 20 minutes split between morning and evening. My nutrition is fine but I still need to improve my sleep and water intake. How is everyone else doing?
    kiay131982 wrote: »
    I think trying to check in daily is good @PatriceFitnessPal … Getting a WhatsApp group would be ideal as you can ping off a quick message without going through the whole app...

    I have a What’sApp account but I turn off my notifications unless I’m participating in an active group (e.g., I use it with a group of international friends when we’re participating in a learning retreat together). So, just let me know if you want to try it and I’ll activate my account. No pressure if it feels like one more thing to think about though …
    kiay131982 wrote: »
    My husband is having Tuesdays off over winter (he works on a farm) so will be coming to the gym with me which will be amazing.

    It’s always helpful for me to have an Accountability buddy like that 😉. What a good idea! … and it’s nice to share positive time together. Enjoy!!

  • roz0810
    roz0810 Posts: 1,238 Member
    Hey girls how're u all doing? Sending lots of love
  • kiay131982
    kiay131982 Posts: 217 Member
    Hi ladies!

    I'm away in London with my daughter for the weekend visiting my friend. We were a bit anxious about travelling into a city but it was okay!

    Because we didn't get to the gym on Tuesday hubby and I booked Thursday off work and went for some paddle practise on our surfboards....its been a while since we have done that and my body is telling me ALL about it now!!! :)

    I'm going to use some downtime this weekend to do some better meal planning :)

    How's the water intake @PatriceFitnessPal ? Whats the time difference for us, do you know? Would WhatsApp work for us?
  • PatriceFitnessPal
    PatriceFitnessPal Posts: 1,307 Member
    edited September 2021
    @roz0810 - Overall, things are going well for me. I had an active day yesterday so I’m feeling a bit sore today. On Saturday, I finished my ‘challenge’ week of 5 pull ups each day but I didn’t do the exercises yesterday because I just didn’t have time. I had sculling (rowing w/ 2 oars) practice at 6:30am and then a sweep rowing (8 people w/ one oar each) race later that took up most of the day, followed by a soccer game at 7:00pm in the evening. The team playing after us didn’t have enough female players so I ended up playing another soccer match 8:30-10:00pm! I was so tired and sore last night but I’m feeling better than I expected this morning. 😅

    @kiay131982 - I hope you enjoyed your visit to London and time with your daughter. One of my best friends lived in London for years and I loved visiting. There’s so much to do and see there. Surfing sounds like fun, too! Do you ride the waves or use a wider board for ‘standup paddling’ as we call it here in the U.S.? My husband and sons have surfed during trips to Hawaii and Costa Rica, but I haven’t tried it yet. Standup paddling is something I’ve done several times and enjoyed. I definitely felt it the next day, especially in the thighs, upper back and arms. What a great idea to take time off and do something fun together before your weekend trip!

    The time difference between London and New York (eastern U.S.) times is five hours right now. It might change by an hour throughout the year, but I’m posting this message about 9:10am and I think it’s a little after 2:00pm for you. Is that right?

    How is everyone doing? Do you have any goals you’re working on this week?

    I’ve been drinking a good amount of water but I have to improve my water intake on days I workout. I’m actually better at drinking water during and after workouts but I have to remember to drink MORE water on those days.
  • 1234spankies
    1234spankies Posts: 5 Member
    Hello, my name is Janice and would like friends for support, accountability, and motivation. Thanks
  • kiay131982
    kiay131982 Posts: 217 Member
    Hi all!!!
    It's been a bit crazy here, my daughter and I went away to London to visit my friend and had a great time, it was so nice to just be free of all responsibilities for a little while and do as we pleased!
    However....we came back home on Sunday and my son then tested positive for Covid on the Monday! :( everyone else in the house is negative and we have continued to test daily while he stays isolated in his room bless him. He's 13, and today is the first day he's gotten out of bed, not going on his PC all week showed us how rotten he felt!!! He's doing okay, and hopefully is over the worst of it now.

    It also meant I couldn't go to the gym on Tuesday but I did do a home workout so hopefully no damage done.

    It's my daughters 17th birthday today, we were all meant to be going out for a meal but that's not happening now for obvious reasons... so we are getting a takeaway. There goes my healthy eating for today but sometimes you just have to go with the flow!!

    @PatriceFitnessPal you are right about the time difference! I think WhatsApp could really work as the notifications would really help me keep on track. Not knowing if there have been posts on here without logging in sometimes means I forget to check!!!! Xx

    Welcome @1234spankies ...tell us about you and your goals!!! Xx
  • roz0810
    roz0810 Posts: 1,238 Member
    @kiay131982 @PatriceFitnessPal I'd love to join in a group if you do make one :)
  • lapierrecyclist
    lapierrecyclist Posts: 153 Member
    Starting again - I plan to post here for more accountability. I seem to be either totally in the zone as far as logging and eating or totally off track. There's not really an in-between. I know that I feel a lot better physically and emotionally when I'm logging and eating well, so I've written myself some notes on an index card to keep in my fanny pack. I have had a hard time prioritizing my own needs for exercise and time; I'm taking care of my elderly mother, who has always been a very difficult and challenging person. If you are part of the sandwich generation (taking care of kids and parents simultaneously) and want a friend who understands, feel free to send me a friend request.
  • Sunshinfit
    Sunshinfit Posts: 232 Member
    I’m in!
  • PatriceFitnessPal
    PatriceFitnessPal Posts: 1,307 Member
    Great @Sunshinfit! Welcome! What are your goals?

    I’ve found MFP helpful in tracking my nutrition and exercise so I can learn more about appropriate portion sizes, balance my food choices better (e.g., carbs, protein, fat) and uncover patterns or habits that I need to improve.

    This space has been so good for reflecting on what we learn and supporting one another as we test out new strategies and build positive habits.

    Recently, I achieved my goal weight of 125 pounds but I realize it takes awhile to get used to the new behaviors to ensure consistency over time. Most people regain any lost weight so I’m planning to spend this year focusing on maintenance.

    I’m working on body recomposition now by slowly adding more body weight exercises - like planks and pull ups - while figuring out my long term approach. In the past, I’ve ‘ebbed and flowed’ with life changes and stressors so I don’t want to be detailed again. Things are going well so far.

    How is everyone else doing? Let us know what you’re learning through this experience when you get a chance. Enjoy the weekend!