Back at it....for a concert....

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Hoax89
Hoax89 Posts: 135 Member
in Introduce Yourself
Hi all!

I have been successful with MFP in the past, but work and life stress has thrown me a loop and I have put back on the weight I lost a few years back. Work is super stressful and I am pretty sure I have cortisol running through my body WAY too much. I am working on the stress reduction angle, but I also know I need to be more careful about tracking calories (little snacks add up), moving more, and getting in enough protein.

I am an over-50 woman, working a desk job that routinely has me in the office for 12+ hours a day. I use a personal trainer for weight-bearing exercise twice a week but I have not been doing much exercise other than that. I am getting back into the habit of regular brisk walking for 45-60 minutes a day. I generally do not eat poorly, but I definitely need to be more intentional...and continue to focus on protein.

I am tall, so people underestimate my actual weight, but I am not comfortable with it, and I am not comfortable in my body at the moment. The peri-menopausal gut drives me insane!

My final motivation to actually do something? Don't laugh, but I am a latecomer Swiftie, and I have tickets to see Taylor Swift in Europe this summer. I have VIP floor seats (no chairs) so I will be standing and dancing for 6-8 hours, likely in hot weather. I want to enjoy the show, not be miserable. I know, I know....on some levels it is lame, but I will take motivation however I can get it.

Good luck to all of you!

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  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,102 Member
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    Hello, and welcome!

    I figure any motivation is a good motivation, though with a skeptical footnote about one-time events (since in my world, staying at a healthy weight forever is desirable ;) ).

    It sounds like your upgraded exercise routine will serve you well - if endurance (6-8 hours of dancing!) is your goal, long-ish low-intensity cardiovascular (CV) exercise like walking should be good.

    I'm also over 50 (way over, i.e., 68) and used to have one of those long-hours stressful jobs, so I empathize! This may be a personal quirk, but for me mixing in some higher-intensity CV exercise in small doses once or twice a week was a bigger help with stress relief than just doing the low-intensity work. That's once I had some base CV fitness/endurance in place so the intensity (in small doses) wasn't too fatiguing, though.

    Best wishes!

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