Accountability buddy

Hello everyone! I've been down and out with Covid unfortunately. I was still able to have groceries delivered so my eating wasn't bad, but I think I had 6k steps in 7 days, lol. I am back to work today but I took a flight of stairs and had to recoup for a solid 20 minutes. My weight has been stable, though, so I will continue focusing on my food and the working out will fall in line. This is usually the time of year I do best with losing weight.

Hi all! I need accountability buddies too! I log in daily Add me

Hello, 42m here. Looking for 2-3 accountability buddies to help me out. Looking for someone who is vocal and will be on daily. Goal is too loose some weight before summer. Pretty consistent with workouts but meals have be throwing me for a loop.

Good morning! I'm quiet on community threads because I have a great cheerleading squad on my feed. I'm so grateful for that!
Everything is going well- checking in daily and staying focused for the most part with my meals this week. I signed my kiddo up for spring soccer so I can rack up steps around the track. My husband and I CrossFit every Saturday and I decided to sign up for the owner's month long nutritional program. I understand the basics of what I should consume but I'd like to learn more about how much protein/ carbs/ etc that I should be getting with the amount of activity I do.
Anyway, I hope you all have a fabulous week!

Hi Everyone! — It’s great to see some updates and new people posting in this Accountability thread. I’m just barely hanging on with my efforts to maintain my weight between 120-130, as the number on the scale has been creeping up a little bit each week. I’m determined to stay within my goal range but it’s been tough to find a workout rhythm during the winter months.

Over the weekend, I attended a ‘rowing tank’ class with many of my crew group. It was at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It’s an indoor space that has a line of 8 erg-type seats, one behind the other, next to a tank of water. So, we weren’t actually practicing in a boat on the water, but the experience feels the same. The coach can control the ‘current’ of water flowing through the tank and the rowers can practice the oar stroke in a similar way to the natural experience.

I was using the 4 hour rowing ‘simulation’ class to re-energize me for winter conditioning. I was really motivated to get back into a workout groove after spending 10 days in Boston with my mother.

It was wonderful to see my family - and get some projects done around her house, etc. - but I was busy every minute trying to keep up with my own work/ business, while trying to make progress on the lengthy ‘to do’ list of things I wanted to catch up on ‘back home’ in the house where I grew up. My sister and her husband do so much for my mother, great-aunt, and others there; so, I wish I could get more accomplished around the house, but my mother gets anxious when there’s too much going on.

She also likes to spend time with people while I’m visiting (which I agree is a worthy goal to prioritize over household tasks) so we saw my niece’s play, drove to watch my brother’s hockey team play a game, etc. She really enjoyed the outings but needs time to rest and recover after I visit. She appreciates my efforts but I think she’s also thrilled to see me leave!! 😂🤣😂 And, I need to check some tasks of the list instead of just having all the fun while my responsible nurse-sister tends regularly to our mother’s medical needs, cleans up the house, does laundry, etc. — You get the point. My sister is fabulous but the other three siblings need to make sure we do our part so she doesn’t resent having to do so much. It just gets too easy for my mother to lean on her rather than diversify the requests for help. She’s so independent-minded, and she doesn’t like to ask for help, so we need an intervention 🙃 I’ve tried, but need to move into it more gradually. So, I’m spending more time visiting …

Anyway, it’s good to be home and our dog is much more relaxed now. My husband was taking care of his father, who has dementia and lives in the same Boston neighborhood. So, our dog was staying part time with me and part time with him. Finally, by the end of the trip, he settled into the routine. He loves everyone and the area is familiar but he was kind of anxious the first night!

It was wonderful to enjoy time with my two college-age sons during their winter break and we had a ‘bucket-list’ kind of trip together. However, my nutrition and exercise were in limbo with the long drive to/from Boston to bring our older son back to campus, deliver the belongings of my great-uncle who recently passed away in nearby DC to (his sister) my aunt’s house in Boston, and catch up with friends and family while staying with my mother — whew!!

I like to say, “I appreciate that my life is so FULL,” but as @highmaintnance said: “adulting sucks a lot sometimes” 😂🤣😂. Can I keep the FULLness but give up some full-time responsibilities?!

So, back to that damn winter exercise routine I’m trying to build — This week, I was eager to attend every winter conditioning class — and then life struck again!!

I was swamped with work on Monday and had to skip exercise. Tuesday was a nice, challenging workout! 🎉🎉🎉Wednesday my husband needed a ride to/from his colonoscopy so I had to skip again! 😩 Ugh — It’s an important preventative health screening so I want to feel supportive, but I was so disappointed! Initially, he told me the pick up would be later, and I was looking forward to the weight training session that was planned for that day.

We made it to our regular personal trainer appointment at the Y today, which is just 30 minutes. So, that’s shorter than the rowing group session but at least that’s the usual routine. Tomorrow is walking day along the river so I hope to finish strong and try to do better next week 🤪!

Of course, Friday we go to breakfast together after the walk 🙄 — I’ll try to be good, and then hunker down to catch up on all my end-of-year work assignments. Next time, I’ll rant about the nutrition side of the equation— if you can stand any more updates! 🥱🥱🥱 Enough about meeee!

I’ll read through the thread to catch up over the weekend and send more personal responses to you all. I’ve missed you!! 💗💕💗 I hope you’re doing well as the days stay lighter for a longer time. I’m peeking out of my cave now!! … Let’s go get those goals! 😘

Congratulations on your healthy fruit and vegetable intake, @highmaintnance! You’re doing a great job kicking off your wellness year!

I’ve also been making sure I catch up on my wellness appointments. I feel as though it cut into my exercise time because there is only so much time in a day, but it’s good to have most of them done. Last fall, when rowing season was ending, I made a yearly calendar and put the dentist and all the doctors’ on a list so I could look up when I last saw them. I needed a bunch of shots following my annual physical so that was the first thing I tackled — shingles and tetanus, along with my third COVID shot. Then, I needed my annual skin cancer screening, mammogram, eye exam, etc. Prevention takes a lot of time but I feel so fortunate to have a decent level of health insurance!

I’ve also been supporting my sons as they’ve taken on the sole responsibility of making all their appointments. They’ve done it ‘as needed’ but they never really planned ahead for annual preventative treatments so we made a list and they saved the numbers here or switched to a local provider near college. I never really thought about gradually pulling back from that role like I did with other household tasks (laundry, cooking, dishwashing, etc.) but they’re good about making appointments for haircuts and lots of other things. So, I guess now that they’re at college, they’ll figure out all the other things I forgot to prepare them to do on their own! 🙄

You’re Pilates schedule reminded me how much I used to enjoy that type of workout. I tried a class recently at the YMCA and it was terrible compared to the studio where I used to go. I’m paying for too many exercise programs right now but maybe I’ll see if I can pay for a limited package or one-time visit as a reward for meeting some goal. I’m working on a business development plan now to increase the number of contract I have (I hope) so that will be my treat upon completion. It would be better if I could get more money and keep my current number but that might need to be a future goal.

I hope you are all doing well. I’m especially glad to hear you are taking such good care of yourself, @highmaintnance. The loss of a parent is so difficult and you are so right that we have to make time for the important people in our lives. I’m going to visit Pennsylvania to see my brother’s team play. It’s only about 3 hours from here by car so it will be good to see him (albeit briefly) while he’s on his roadtrip. Best wishes for the rest of the week. We’re over the hump and tomorrow is my usual weigh-in day. Let’s hope I’m still within my maintenance range. I exercised a bit more and ate pretty well but I had a few more snacks than usual. I’ll let you know how it goes —

Go get those goals!

@Sharsou - Welcome, Sean! This isn’t a female-only group but, lately, the active core has consisted mainly of women. It’s always great to have more participation and energy!

I’m Patrice, and started posting here in April 2020 (I think). Everyone has been an amazing support! I was able to reach my goal weight and I’m now working to strengthen my habits for lifelong maintenance between 120-130. I’m just under 5’4” so I try to stay at the BMI mid-point in the “average” category. This year, my goal is to work on strength and flexibility while maintaining the same weight. Recently, I had a DEXA bone density scan so I can establish a “baseline” for my body fat, muscle mass, water, etc., but I haven’t received the report from my doctor yet.

I’ll be setting more specific goals once I know more about my current statistics. My younger son (age 20) and I worked on our abs together daily for quite awhile during the pandemic, and we both made some progress, but I have some work to do for “six pack” abs. My son has good definition of 4 abs, and my external obliques are defined well, but he is living at his college campus now. So, I could really use an accountability buddy in this area. Thanks for the reminder to get back to this! I’ll commit to doing daily 10 minute ab workouts from the app my son shared with me.

Do you have a specific goal in mind?

I also had a shoulder injury (impingement) throughout 2020-2021. It’s better after physiotherapy but I’m still working on improving my posture and developing my back muscles for balance. I rely too heavily on my chest and shoulder muscles so I’ve started doing chin ups to strengthen my lats and grip. I hope to switch to pull-ups to work on my trapezius muscles once I have more back strength. I have a long way to go but I try to do 5 chin ups each time I visit the gym.

I’ll look forward to hearing more about your progress and what you’re learning along the way. We don’t have a separate group but we post here whenever we can. Everyone has different goals but we help keep each other accountable and support one another through regular updates. You might want to bookmark the page (using the icon that looks like a ribbon at the top of the page) so it’s easy to find. Feel free to send individual friend requests, if that works better for you. I try to post status updates and support friends but I ebb and flow in that regard. I’m trying to be more consistent; but, like most new habits, it’s a work in progress and will require some practice.

Best wishes in making progress toward your goals, Accountability buddies!

PatriceFitnessPal wrote: »

@Sharsou - Welcome, Sean! This isn’t a female-only group but, lately, the active core has consisted mainly of women. It’s always great to have more participation and energy!

I’m Patrice, and started posting here in April 2020 (I think). Everyone has been an amazing support! I was able to reach my goal weight and I’m now working to strengthen my habits for lifelong maintenance between 120-130. I’m just under 5’4” so I try to stay at the BMI mid-point in the “average” category. This year, my goal is to work on strength and flexibility while maintaining the same weight. Recently, I had a DEXA bone density scan so I can establish a “baseline” for my body fat, muscle mass, water, etc., but I haven’t received the report from my doctor yet.

I’ll be setting more specific goals once I know more about my current statistics. My younger son (age 20) and I worked on our abs together daily for quite awhile during the pandemic, and we both made some progress, but I have some work to do for “six pack” abs. My son has good definition of 4 abs, and my external obliques are defined well, but he is living at his college campus now. So, I could really use an accountability buddy in this area. Thanks for the reminder to get back to this! I’ll commit to doing daily 10 minute ab workouts from the app my son shared with me.

Do you have a specific goal in mind?

I also had a shoulder injury (impingement) throughout 2020-2021. It’s better after physiotherapy but I’m still working on improving my posture and developing my back muscles for balance. I rely too heavily on my chest and shoulder muscles so I’ve started doing chin ups to strengthen my lats and grip. I hope to switch to pull-ups to work on my trapezius muscles once I have more back strength. I have a long way to go but I try to do 5 chin ups each time I visit the gym.

I’ll look forward to hearing more about your progress and what you’re learning along the way. We don’t have a separate group but we post here whenever we can. Everyone has different goals but we help keep each other accountable and support one another through regular updates. You might want to bookmark the page (using the icon that looks like a ribbon at the top of the page) so it’s easy to find. Feel free to send individual friend requests, if that works better for you. I try to post status updates and support friends but I ebb and flow in that regard. I’m trying to be more consistent; but, like most new habits, it’s a work in progress and will require some practice.

Best wishes in making progress toward your goals, Accountability buddies!

Thanks Patrice for taking time to read through my msg. I think I’m in quite similar circumstances like you.. my shoulder is not fully healed and I’ve started doing chin ups again in the gym. Im able to do around 9-10.. hope to work on strengthening it more.

My abs are work in progress and I just hope before summers I’ll be beach ready 😊.. however the main idea is to remain fit and active and rest is all the by product of fitness. I’ll be rooting for everyone here in the group who needs support and I do need the motivation to carry on!

@drollings2019 - It’s wonderful to hear how your improved focus has enabled so many other successes these past couple of weeks! Mindfulness, conscious choice, or focus - whatever we call it - is such an important habit.

In fact, I’m really trying to make a difference on the third point you shared from your church leader that “Life never settles down” by paying more attention to the first two points:

(1) “The things we get distracted by are never as important as the things we get distracted from.”

This is such a profound statement to me. I remember when my ‘boys’ (now 20 & 21) were young — and getting ready for school in the morning felt so rushed. We made a few simple changes - like taking 5 minutes to really engage when one of my sons had some question or thought to share - and that saved a lot of time and frustration in the end. It was counter-intuitive but taking a tiny bit of ‘intentional time’ saved us from more unproductive time! Focused intent and a little practice can make such a difference, which relates to the second point:

(2) “Disciplined training brings transformation” - I’m a firm believer in building positive habits. In retrospect, I wish I had done better in this regard - both personally and also in the habits I modeled and practiced with my sons - because habit is stronger than motivation over a lifetime. So, I agree that reducing negative self-talk is a great first step (like “I am not fully satisfied that I am pushing myself as hard as I could” 🧐) since improvement takes practice and incremental progress makes a huge difference over time.

I often have similar thoughts about “doing more” or “challenging myself more” so I appreciate your reminder (back to the first point) that chiding ourselves for not doing more causes unproductive stress and distracts us from focused attention to the practice of getting better at what we ARE doing.

So, to me, the third point relates directly to practicing points one and two. If we focus more on our individual purpose - and get really clear on what is most important - then we are better positioned to ignore the distractions …. but who the hell has time for that, right 🤣😂🤣. Now that I’m nearly an ‘empty nester,’ I’m finally taking some time to declutter my life and think more about my purpose; and, damn, it’s taking much longer - and is harder work - than I imagined! Oh well, I guess I just need more practice! 🙃

Now, I’m off to do my ab workout so I can report that I fulfilled my 10-minutes per day commitment. 🏋️‍♀️

Anyway, I really appreciate you sharing the wise words of your church leader — obviously, the sermon excerpts were interesting and thought-provoking for me! Happy Friday!!

highmaintnance wrote: »

Hello all! I am loving the posts! I am doing really well on the food and I am finally recovering from various things that really drug me down last week. I think I'm ready to add in more workouts this week. It's going to be a crazy week but I'm going to get back to walking on my lunch breaks. That is my main goal this week. I can't add too many goals on at once or I get very overwhelmed and burnt out. My process is slow to build up but I'm hoping it will be easier to maintain once I'm there.

Welcome @Sharsou. It's good to hear from a new person/perspective. @drollings2019 I love the bits of wisdom. I will really take some time to digest them in order to improve my way of thinking. Thanks for sharing!

@highmaintnance thanks, looking forward to support everyone and get supported 👍🏻.. just want to achieve this goal come what May!