Good morning such great topics that make me think this week so with that said I will be back later as I need to reflect on this question/thought of the day.

jjjcat wrote: »

Thursday
Exercise: Yes (walking)
Tracked all: No
Calories under: No
(1 pass day used)

This was not a planned pass day due to a nice reason. It was a fail pass day. I had thought I had made such great changes and was on a new level of mental strength and decision making. But it seems I had just not been left alone with a pantry.

the good news if you compare all the GREAT days you have had for a long time to one day which was off you will see in the long run you ARE strong and you ARE making great decisions. The important part is not to put yourself on a roller coaster and think you have to punish yourself with eating nothing tomorrow because that will definitely start messing with you

@WhatMeRunning this is a wonderful topic. And it is critical because it is the difference between success long term and regaining over and over again.

It did make me think in that a lot of folks keep asking me if I am going to get another horse. they assume that I loved riding. The truth is I loved Bandit. I miss my exercise at the barn but running is also quite a high (altho yeah) sometimes it sucks) As far as food. I try very hard to make sure I am not restricting things I love but over the years the things I love have definitely changed, Saying NEVER is always a good way of making things a bad decision.

For today. 3 check marks prelogged.
0 pass days used so far.

On a scale of 1 to 10 (and be brutally honest) how much enjoyment do you get from your chosen exercises and foods? If it's not a high score, do you have any thoughts why it might be that way, and how you might be able to make your healthy journey more enjoyable?

My exercise of choice is walking, and I enjoy it because

It’s free .
It’s at any time that suits me.
Doesn’t require equipment, I always wear appropriate shoes.
Its calming
And it can be as long or short as I need it to,be today.

My food is what it is. Since I don’t live alone and can’t be bothered to make more than one provision it has to be acceptable to both of us and our health issues.

✅ Exercise: 65 mins
✅ Calories: under goal
✅ Tracked

Remaining pass days: 3️⃣

Scale of 1 - 10?
I’m happy exercising alone or with others, so have no problem with motivation. It’s just something that brings me great joy.

My exercise of choice is 💃🏼💃🏼💃🏼 Any music with a good beat works for me. Dancing is my happy place. I’m first on the dance floor and last off it.
(Scale? 10)

Walking comes a close second, especially if it’s along the shore, in woodlands, or in the mountains.
(Scale? 9)

Aerobic/yoga/tai chi etc are also enjoyable.
(Scale? 8)

Food wise?
• it’s a 9, simply because I still occasionally make stupid choices, and my body usually gives me grief because of it.
• I enjoy my food. I love cooking, and chose to eat home-cooked meals, lots of veg, and fresh fruit.
• I have no forbidden food, but chose to have small portions of treats like chocolate, nuts popcorn, etc.
• There are foods that I no longer enjoy, I don’t eat anything which I don’t like.
• I track and balance my macros/micros.
• If I do overindulge I don’t stress over the resultant bump up in weight. It’s just cause and effect! 😝

Exercise: Yes
Tracked: yes
Calories: yes
(0 pass day used)

Thursday

Exercise: Yes
Tracked: yes
Calories: yes
1/3 pass days used

March 10
✅✅✅

For me, walking and running are 10's, even the sucky sort of running. While I may not want to do it (especially the speedier stuff) and feel like I'm going to die, it's the act of doing it and NOT dying, and then feeling the effects afterwards that make it enjoyable. Running is surely not for everyone though. I never thought I would like it. I do hope I get to run again someday, but I also love walks which get me by.

I also love jump squats. 🤪 I think for the same reason as the speedier running stuff, except I can get it over with much faster, yet still have the crazy boost in cardio, etc. Just 3 sets of as many jump squats as I can do in roughly 30-45 seconds until fatigue sets in, and basically in the blink of an eye I got an incredible workout in, but the kind that should only be done once per week (maybe twice for those tough enough). Oh, and those are one of my secrets to running, particularly for hill training. It also gave me a butt for the first time in my life according to my wife. Those are 10's also.

Weights are mixed for me. Mostly it's a 5 and I have to push to keep myself regular with weights. But strangely a couple movements I seem to enjoy, squats and bench press. It seems so stereotypically grunty male-ish, but yeah, something about those two make me feel good when I do them. But I still have to work to get them in with a weight routine with other movements. Otherwise I would just do only those regularly and wind up with some weird bulky imbalanced form.

Yoga and stretches I'm really not too interested in, like a 3 perhaps. I have to make myself do that. Although some balance items like kicks and leg lifts/holds in all directions are very fun. I actually do those impromptu once in a while and look like a weirdo with my leg stuck out, I'm sure. Those are another secret to my running, I'm convinced it's what has prevented many falls and injury.

Indoor cardio like treadmills or elliptical I just can't enjoy, sadly. I wish I could enjoy it more, I could benefit from an elliptical machine at home with my feet still recovering to a certain degree (I can walk again at least).

Foods, I have a number of healthy things I have picked up over the years that I cycle through. I tend to go through periods eating one certain way, or sets of foods, and then switching to other things. So the variety is key.

I rarely have no healthy options to eat. There are times I eat less healthy items though. Considering there was a large chunk of my life where nothing I ate was really healthy, I'm doing absolutely magnificent despite an occasional indulgence. I'm good with that.

Sometimes I get on a nice streak and can go a nice long time eating very healthy. Last year was a great example diving in and checking out clean keto. I was able to do that and enjoy it.

I simply can't regularly eat anything I don't enjoy any more. I've been that way for quite a few years now. I had a lot of difficulty upping my WFPB earlier this year. While I had some successful raw vegan experience and go to things, I wanted to incorporate grains, legumes, etc. I found some things I liked and some I didn't. So it was a success. But anyone peering into my diary the last few weeks has surely noticed a change from January through mid February.

So foods for me are generally a 10 for regular foods in my rotation. The unhealthy indulgences better be a 10 otherwise what the heck am I doing?

Although I might rate all these girl scout cookies at a 9. I like them, but like the concept of supporting scouting more. They honestly aren't the world's greatest cookies though. But I do enjoy certain ones and have a firm rule to buy any time any scouts are selling them. It's a bit more complicated now with so many scouts in the extended family selling. These cookies will eventually all be gone though (thank goodness). They are my reward for large walking calorie burns (800-1000 cals).

For my cardio I give it a 10; I like doing dance workouts, kickboxing and walking; I think they are enjoyable and fun to do. For strength training (weight lifting) I give it a 7 just because the session is slow and a bit boring to me so I don't enjoy it as much, but I will say that I do like the results I get when I do lift weights.

For my food, during the weekdays I will give it a 9, it's good but I keep it super simple and I eat pretty much the same thing on these days. Now on the weekends it's a 10, I take more time to prepare something nice like maybe a new recipe I haven't had before or i go out and have a nice meal within my calories for the day.

✅ Exercise
✅ Calories
✅ Tracked

1 Pass Days Used

3 x yes today.

I'm so busy (and stressed) right now that I hardly have time to post let alone participate in discussions. I expect it to be this way until sometime in May unfortunately but I still intend to meet the three rules of UAC and post each day.