CW 190.6
Holding steady. Going to have to work harder to catch up to @ashleycarole86 and reach the decade goal by the end of the month! I've been making good choices on the days my planning calendar has circled. I'll do my best to keep it under control this weekend even though we are travelling out of town for the funeral Friday/Saturday and then returning to a high school girlfriend reunion brunch on Sunday. I went out and bought new outfits last evening and it sure feels great to shop in regular stores so I want to keep this feeling!

Pw: 234.6
Cw: 232.0

I stuck with the 16:8 intermittent fasting all week with a few days varying a bit outside my timeframe by half an hour or so. But I also still tracked calories and made mostly good food choices. I'll make a few exceptions this next week and a half or so because of stuff going on, but I think I'll stick with doing the 16:8 rule. Hopefully I'll continue to see good results. This is the best single week loss I've had in a while.

That's fab @eggfreak!

@ashleycarole86 How I picked my current trainer is a bit of a long story..

I first went to a PT in 2009 at a local gym. Nice guys, but pretty generic here's a circuit, here are some machines, go do the thing. I don't think I made any progress at all in ~5 years going there. I went solo in 2014ish when I started a long commute. Began a lifting programme called Fitter, Leaner, Stronger (basically progressive lifting) but found myself going backwards. Went for some physio with J in 2017 and after sounding me out, he offered me a training slot. This was really the beginning of the journey and a love of running (I'd told him I didn't run!) and lifting. J built my body from the ground up, beginning with a seriously strong posterior chain and core. In 2019 we moved away and whilst I tried to keep going once a month, J got busy then Covid hit and I haven't seen him since April 21.

In.. July, I started Stronglifts 5x5. On the second session - so not heavy at all - I couldn't do the squats without my IT bands screaming in the potential-injury way, not the this-is-hard way, and decided to find another trainer. I knew I didn't want a 'personal trainer' based on how spoiled I'd been with the physio approach, but was struggling for somebody I deemed qualified.

In the UK, personal training isn't well regulated and there's a real mixture of qualifications, (lack of) experience and expertise. Physiotherapists generally focus on rehabilitation; they'll earn more on the physio rate than most people are willing to pay for training plus they can typically see more patients for physio than if they combine the two. J loved both aspects of the job so he balanced it for his enjoyment as much as anything.

After a lot of google searching I found C's website; I think the search term was 'physiotherapist personal training'. C is actually a sports injury therapist, so the emphasis is on a return to activity rather than day-to-day function. His website mentioned all the right words (exercise prescription, prevention, strength and conditioning) and said he was previously in the military so I knew that he'd have a good understanding of what it takes to be resilient, that being my ultimate goal. I still needed to meet him, have an initial assessment and see whether we'd train well together - thankfully we do!

@MandiSaysHey Definitely looks like you've got a great strategy going for yourself... keep it up!

DD265 wrote: »

I first went to a PT in 2009 at a local gym. Nice guys, but pretty generic here's a circuit, here are some machines, go do the thing. I don't think I made any progress at all in ~5 years going there.

How common this experience is eh? I used to workout at Goodlife on my own (a chain gym here in Canada) and it would drive me nuts to see PT just putting people on the circuit we could do ourselves.

Not knocking the experiences of people who are happy to do that and just require some oversight, but I suspect a lot of folks were just like you and looking for way more out of the process than that level of training can offer.

My best friend Jordan does training that sounds a lot like what you're doing. His main focus is functional movement, injury prevention and the like... he trains a lot in rehabilitation, and his big focus is ensuring that the body is set up to keep moving in a healthy way.

@MandiSaysHey welldone. I am also starting intermittent fasting from tomorrow. I am going to look around for an app to help me track my time. I will also try 16:8 and see how that works for me

12/15 exercise:
5001 steps, 35 minutes Peloton, 10 minutes yoga, 10 minutes arm strength

Way to start the Friday folks off on a great foot @happimess01

Sounds like you're having a lovely time with family @jugar

It's still super crazy cold here. I bundled up this morning for a 20 minute walk before work, but blowing snow came in through the afternoon and it was accompanied by extreme cold warnings, and the like. So my steps are lacking. Guess I need to come up with different ways to keep them up. Of course I have the bike as an exercise replacement and the other forms of exercise that I enjoy, but I was used to much higher step counts with my walking. I guess it will be a matter of making hay while the sun shines when the good weather returns!

12/16 exercise:

50 minutes Peloton + 4327 steps

Hey everyone. Feeling much better today. I don't know if you know how gout works, but it is a build up of uric acid and it feels like it locks up ur joint. Mine affects my big toes making it nearly impossible to walk. Have to take medicine that makes u crap yourself to death but it is worth it for pain relief. Needless to say, I should have an awesome weigh in on Monday.

@ashleycarole86 Don't beat yourself up over lower step counts. Cold weather makes outside activity unbearable. You don't want to get sick trying to get steps in. Lucky for me it is supposed to be in the 70s today and tomorrow.

@eggfreak: Today is a new day. Remember what you weren't happy with yesterday and change it today. Baby steps will get u back on track.

@jugar That menu sounds amazing. I would have to join the guys for 3oz of steak. I have tried fish and seafood every way possible and cannot stomach it. We never ate it growing up and I guess my taste buds just want to reject it now. Wish I could find at least one type of fish I like bit no luck yet.

@conleywoods Sending prayers and positive thoughts to your friends son. I can't imagine going through that as a child, a parent, or a friend. Praying for an awesome outcome.

Have to work 12 hour shifts all weekend. Getting the last Christmas gifts in the mail this morning. Have a wonky schedule next week but I have a job interview on Dec 27 for a job I have wanted for a long time. Will still be working nights but it is less physical work and my body needs a break so keeping my fingers 🤞