Weekly Chat: July 17-22

Welcome to our weekly thread! Please feel free to repost the thread on Monday of each new week. Just remember to change the dates in the topic title.

We post here for motivation and support. Feel free to share your successes and your failures. Really, you should feel free to share whatever is on your mind. Just be respectful and expect respect in return.


☞ Name/nickname reminders -
Paul (PJYoung2012)
Carrie (camsmommy2008)
Sara Grace (SaraGrace82)
Susan or Susie (susieq101178)
Debbie (shorty313)
Melissa (lissa0040)
Jackie (jaxygirl)
Sonya (sonyachan)
Ellie (ellie78)
CurlyPep (lilpe5512)
Harold (hcdawg)
Jill (Blueyz82)
Dan (G3tR1pp3d)
Stacy (chanstriste13)
Cristi (blueeyedcrist)
Amanda (AmandaK3)
Bishop or Todd(BishopSmurf)
Kelli (daisy51981)
Sarah (SarLem81)
Clare (clareeast)
Amanda (WhiteCloud)
Emma (elstein)
Cynthia (saihtnyc)
Emily (emom3boys)
Randy (Randyamc)
Sandra (Leeloominai01)
Toni (Themoodys13)
Corey (coreyisaacs)
Joe (misterbigg36)
Dee (Dedee36)
Tawnya (RubytOU)
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Replies

  • SaraGrace82
    SaraGrace82 Posts: 232
    Last week we discussed switching over to a weekly thread so that conversations could carry over from day-to-day & different time zones wouldn't be left out of the action. Seemed like there was some popular support. Is everyone willing to give it a try this week?

    What do you think guys? Want to try a week long thread?
  • Leeloominai01
    Leeloominai01 Posts: 93 Member
    Thanks Sara! I'm fine with that.

    I got the fright of my life last night as I was jogging on the treadmill - my daughter is like a stealth expert and the one minute I was alone in the room, jogging, and the next she was right there next to me. I had to stop to make sure she's ok and then she was fine just standing there for the next 15 minutes while I finished.

    It was a bit harder of a workout than before and even though it was effort, I finished the programme for last night and I can feel how I'm already fitter. This week I need to pay a bit more attention to my meal planning and include snacks into my daily plan.
  • PJYoung2012
    PJYoung2012 Posts: 191
    Yup that plan get's my thumbs up too. Seems perfectly reasonable :smile:
  • shorty313
    shorty313 Posts: 432 Member
    I meant to start a weekly one yesterday but someone beat me with a daily one :) Thanks SG!

    So the dr was just as stumped as I was! Grr. She ordered a CT scan to rule out appendix, but of course with insurance you need a pre-authorization number, which can take 2-3 DAYS to come in. Thankfully it doesn't seen emergent!

    I skipped my run this morning and now feel guilty about it so will likely go on the treadmill at lunch assuming my stomach holds out.

    Sandra - sorry A gave you such a freight!
  • neurochamp
    neurochamp Posts: 261 Member
    Good morning, all!

    I am FINALLY back in town for an extended stretch - it's been such a crazy busy summer! This past weekend was my husband's family reunion, so we stayed with his parents for a couple days. Thankfully, in addition to all the food, we got in some pool volleyball time, so I didn't miss out on exercise altogether. It was *AWESOME* to be back in my own bed, and I'm really looking forward to next weekend, when I have absolutely NOTHING planned :bigsmile:

    Today I'm starting Phase 2 of NROL4W. At least, I'm going to try.... One of my knees is still sore from a couple of weekends ago - I think I tweaked something attempting to water ski - so hopefully I can work through that. If it's too sore, maybe a chat with my doctor and PT friends might be in order, as well :frown:

    Debbie - hope you figure out what's causing the stomach pain, and feel better soon!
  • susieq101178
    susieq101178 Posts: 305 Member
    Geez . . . I wander away for a few measly weeks and you guys change up the whole format! :wink:

    Hope you're all having a great week so far. After several weeks of random eating, logging, and sporadic exercise I had been maintaining the same weight, which I was totally okay with given my behavior. This morning I was thrilled to record a loss. :smile:

    Going to try out that gym thing again tonight . . . hope I remember where it is . . .
  • PJYoung2012
    PJYoung2012 Posts: 191
    Hello again good people of Thirty Somethings, hope you're having a good day. My day has been bloody awful if I'm honest. I was stuck in the office all day trying to have a management meeting with my boss. Trouble is the man's an imbecile and after an hour i wanted to shoot him. After 9 hours I was very much at the end of my tether. But I'm home thankfully and can relax a bit. At least I'm well rested for my trip to the gym tonight. I've spent an entire day with my backside planted firmly in my office chair!

    Going to be Biceps and back this evening and a little cardio on the stepper. Nothing too serious although now that I'm doing three sets instead of two for each exercise it works up a sweat.
  • Dedee36
    Dedee36 Posts: 29 Member
    Hello all.... I wore another pair of shorts that were way too tight for me 20 days ago. Not alot of pounds down but my waist is slimming down!!

    I'm still having a hard time with my food diary. With working evenings, by the time I get home, I'm too tired to sit and enter foods. Do any of you just portion and enter your food before hand? I think that is what I'm going to have to do.



    Debbie... that really sucks about the preauthorization but atleast then you'll get the majority paid for. Insurance can either help or just cause headaches. I know for myself waiting 3 months to get a procedure done in office vs, hosp saved me over 4000.00. Only out of pocket was my 25.00 copay and 20.00 worth of narcotics to get me looped up. LOL!
    Hopefully by next week they'll have you on the way to feeling better!
  • shorty313
    shorty313 Posts: 432 Member
    They did get me the pre-auth pretty quickly and I go in tomorrow. I have to fast for 4 hours! and drink a jug of liquid before, ew. The bloodwork all came back normal so that's good.

    Dee- I preplan my day for at least the meals, my snacks I generally enter as I go since those vary. It helps that I pack my lunch the night before, and first thing at work I enter it all, plus I meal plan for dinner (for sanity's sake, nothing to do with dieting).

    Susan - I'm officially cracking the virtual whip, get back at it tonight! :happy:

    Emma - I hope the knees hold out!

    Paul - I hate office days like that, sometimes I think I'm smarter than 90% of the people here. Ok, I think that all the time :laugh:

    I realized that I've finally met my biggest monthly goal (get under 140) which means I'm less than 10 lbs from my goal weight. Trouble is, as I look in the mirror I'm not sure if 9.5 lbs is going to get off enough of the belly flab. I guess I'll have to see when (not if!) I get there and re-evaluate.

    On the plus side, this is a weight I haven't seen since before babies! :bigsmile:
  • lbcbeachbum77
    lbcbeachbum77 Posts: 78 Member

    I'm still having a hard time with my food diary. With working evenings, by the time I get home, I'm too tired to sit and enter foods. Do any of you just portion and enter your food before hand? I think that is what I'm going to have to do.


    Yes! I almost always try to plan out my meals for the next day the night before. It helps me on several fronts. First I can make sure I have necessary ingredients, helps me to be thoughtful of upcoming events (birthdays, bbq's etc), and allows me to have a plan which I do better with rather than just winging it. I don't always stick to it 100% but at least I have and idea. I usually print it up each night and post it on my fridge as a guide. Then each evening, all I have to do is tweak according to any changes which takes far less effort and time.
  • SaraGrace82
    SaraGrace82 Posts: 232
    Look I can post at 5:30 my time and someone might actually see it! Yippie!!

    So operation step up my game is underway. A friend asked me to go to the gym tonight. Gawd I really wanted to say no. I was racking my brain trying to come up with an excuse. Then I realized that gut reaction (the "run and hide" one) probably meant I really needed to go. So I am wearing my gym clothes to our weight loss meeting. I figure once I am out the door with my gym shoes on it is a done deal.

    I, also, ordered a Fitbit so that i can have a better sense of how many calories I am using daily.

    The hubby and I have a date on Wednesday night to start our weight lifting up again. I guess we need to start over. I'll probably go with slightly lower weights to test out my knee.

    Now I just need to track honestly... *grumble, grumble*

    Debbie - I hope they figure out your pain soon! Congrats on being at a before baby weight!! :-)

    Dee - Congrats on the new again pants. Isn't going down a size just the best?

    Susan - We are just keeping it fresh! Today we seem to be back to the gym buddies. Hooray for getting back to it!

    Paul - Sorry work was so crappy!
  • neurochamp
    neurochamp Posts: 261 Member
    I had some errands to run this morning, and I decided to walk instead of drive (had to go to the post office and the hardware store; each is about 1/2 mile from my house, but in opposite directions). It felt good to get out and walk instead of burning gas in my car (even though it's a Prius), but DANG was it hot - it was almost 90 degrees at 10am here (near Chicago), and eventually hit over 100 this afternoon!

    Anyway, while I was out, I stopped and bought a $5 ACE bandage for my knee, and that really helped me push through today's workout. I'm very happy that I got some lifting in today, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to be crazy sore tomorrow. Good times!


    SG - I just bought a fitbit, too! I picked it up yesterday from Best Buy, so today was my first day using it. So far I think it's pretty awesome, so I hope you like yours, too!
  • SaraGrace82
    SaraGrace82 Posts: 232
    Yay, another Fitbit user! Mine should arrive in the mail tomorrow. I do love gadgets!
  • Leeloominai01
    Leeloominai01 Posts: 93 Member
    I was so incredibly tempted to just binge eat last night, but in stead I had a cup of hot chocolate, and left it at that. Still over my daily target but it could have been so much worse. I also ate way too much during the day so last night I was left with enough calories for 1/4 dinner, which didn't help the situation :grumble:

    Hopefully today will be better. I have 1.7kg left to get to 'overweight' in stead of 'obese' and I really want to get the before our holiday. Which is a challenge in itself! 2 weeks in Tuscany/Lazio in Italy is going to be difficult, at least it's high summer so the only real temptation will be the gelato! Hubby and myself are trying to plan it so we can run together while there, but I'm not quite sure ho to swing it with the kids there as well.

    I was down 0.3kg again this morning (I need validation throughout the week that I'm losing weight; once a week is not enough for me :blushing: ) so that helped to motivate me again.

    Running tonight, let's hope the kids remain asleep throughout the training!
  • shorty313
    shorty313 Posts: 432 Member
    SG - did you make it to the gym?

    Emma - it's stupid hot here too. How are you liking the fitbit so far?

    I was about a block from work this morning and got a call that the power is out, so they sent us to work from home. First I went to the DMV to get my car inspected, which went way faster than I thought. I might finish cleaning my daughter's closet out before I start actually working.

    Sandra - yay for weight loss!
  • neurochamp
    neurochamp Posts: 261 Member
    So far I really love my Fitbit (I also love gadgets of all kinds). Especially because I was able to use $80 in rebates I got from my contact lenses to bring the final cost (after tax) down to $30 - what a steal! The Fitbit website is laid out really nicely, once you figure out where to find everything...the only downside so far is that it's telling me that, after spending 8hr 40min in bed last night, I only got 4hr 45min of actual sleep (thanks to my stupid sore knee, which apparently my cat REALLY wanted to "help" by sleeping on)... :grumble: No wonder I'm always tempted to nap in the afternoon.

    Anyway, according to calculations I've done (estimating my activity level, using the NROL4W book and various websites), my TDEE is about 2250-2300 calories/day. My Fitbit told me that yesterday (a workout day; I used my HRM during exercise) I burned 2441. I'm interested to see what it says I burn on a rest day; with any luck I'll be able to get a better feel for how many calories I'm burning and how much I should be eating after a week or so with this thing :smile:


    Sandra - I am sooooo jealous of your Italy trip! I went to Rome and Venice several years ago, and since then I have been (desperately) looking forward to another chance to go. I hope you enjoy your trip! :drinker:
  • saihtnyc
    saihtnyc Posts: 51 Member
    I think the weekly chat thread is a great idea.

    Sandra - that is great you are doing the treadmill! I really want/need an exercise machine in my house. By the time I get home from work, take care of three kids, and eat dinner, I am usually wiped out and just want to sit down a few minutes.

    Debbie - I'm sorry the doctor couldn't figure out your stomach troubles. Could it be an ulcer or kidney stones or something??? WOW WAY TO GO on being below 140 at at a pre-baby weight! We should meet up again this summer and do something active!!!

    Emma - I'm behind, what is NROL4W?

    Susie - maintaining is also good! I never could maintain before, only gain or lose. I was able to maintain after my crazy trips in the month of June so I considered that a success and now I'm losing again.

    Paul - sitting in an office chair all day is awful, some of my work days are like that. Glad you can get to the gym!

    Dee - what a difference 20 days can make - way to go! I use the mobile app when I'm on the go, but prefer entering at my computer. I rarely pre-log food since I never am organized with eating enough to plan ahead! I do the barcode scanner most of the time with my phone when I'm busy though, it's really helpful.

    SaraGrace - good for you to fight your natural reaction to say no to the gym! You will feel great afterwards. I've heard good things about the FitBit. Maybe I should get one.


    I'm down a couple pounds since my busy month where I gained weight in South America, so I'm close to where I was before. I'm hoping I get there by the 27th, that's my mini-goal. I need to get up BEFORE the kids and get a run in, before the day gets too hot. I used to do this but lately two of the kids have been waking at night due to coughing so I've been too tired. Now that they're all sleeping again I think I'll start this tomorrow. It necessitates going to bed earlier, I have to be motivated to do this though!
  • shorty313
    shorty313 Posts: 432 Member
    Cynthia - I'll be with you on a morning run tomorrow! I'll send you fast-running vibes at 6am :)

    4 hours of fasting, so I just ate my lunch at 10:50 am, lol. I have to drink this giant jug of barium, wonder how many cals that has?? ;)
  • neurochamp
    neurochamp Posts: 261 Member

    Emma - I'm behind, what is NROL4W?

    The New Rules of Lifting for Women by Lou Schuler; it's a book that outlines a weightlifting program designed for women (runs about $15 on amazon.com). It outlines why lifting heavy weights is really good for you, emphasizes workouts that strengthen large muscle groups (as opposed to isolating smaller muscles), and pushes the idea that simple calorie/carb/fat restriction isn't really the best way to get "in shape". All-in-all a pretty good (and fast) read, and so far the lifting program is kicking my butt - my quads and shoulders are SO sore today.

    Debbie - Barium...sounds *delicious* :sick:... good luck today!
  • Blueyz82
    Blueyz82 Posts: 151
    Hey all!

    Sorry I have been MIA on here. I have been really lazy when it comes to posting on here lately. I am house/dog sitting this week, so my schedule is all out of whack. The dogs wake up at like 6:15 am every morning to go outside and that is sooo early for me! Ugh this morning after I brought them in the one wouldn't stop being whiny so I wasn't able to go back to sleep for awhile....then I did and woke up a lil late. oops! So, that put me in a *****y mood. Then because I am tired, I have eaten like crap today and am beating myself up about it.

    I have enjoyed having access to a Wii for a week and a half, so I have been able to switch up my exercises and make them more fun! :) I have been sticking with swimming at my apartment...Oh yeah, on my days off, I go back to my apt to check in on my cat and go swimming. Crazy week! lol.

    So, I keep seeing you all talking about that book, "Th New Rules Of Lifting For Women"...I am going to have to check it out since it seems like such a good book! I soooo need to work on my arms! ugh, bat wings!

    Debbie, I hope the doctor can figure out what's going on soon for you! Stomach issues are NO FUN! I had a lot of issues with mine in college...after half a dozen tests, they concluded that I had IBS and Acid Reflux and put me on pills for it...mine was brought on by stress and I couldn't eat much without getting sick...lost a bunch of weight from it...It is such a common problem though that I am sure things have gotten better with treating it...I don't know exactly what issues you are having, but thought I would share.

    To those that I haven't met or chatted with on here so far, welcome!!! My name is Jill. Have a great day all!
  • SaraGrace82
    SaraGrace82 Posts: 232
    Hi!

    My Fitbit arrived today! Oh what fun! I am really impressed with how small it is. I just stuck it in my bra and then forgot about it. I am excited to see how many steps I take. Basically, I just bought the world's fanciest pedometer.

    Emma - Does MFP automatically adjust your daily calories? I linked the two accounts. It seems to be giving me an average for how much it thinks I will burn today but it seems a little low. Maybe it will go up after it gets a days worth of data?

    Jill - I am trying to get back into things too! You are not alone.

    Debbie - I did make it to the gym last night! Did some getting back into the swing of things cardio. We were going to lift tonight but I have a friend visiting SF and this is the only night we can catch up. But I am meeting a (different) friend for walking today so that's something! And I have midday gym plans for tomorrow.

    Tomorrow evening some close friends arrive to stay! They have been talking for years about moving out here and now they finally are! It's very exciting. :-) I will need to be extra good tomorrow to make room for the Indian food we'll be having for dinner. We've only lived in California for two years but I feel like in the last month we have doubled our friend base. It's crazy but good crazy.

    I need to go deal with the 50lbs of cat litter my friend just had shipped to my house! No it was not a prank... though it sure does sound like it. I think the stress of moving fried his brain. So he just ordered litter through Amazon so that the cats would have "facilities" when they arrive tomorrow. But, seriously, 50lbs!!!

    Ah well.

    Later,
    Sara Grace
  • neurochamp
    neurochamp Posts: 261 Member

    My Fitbit arrived today! Oh what fun! I am really impressed with how small it is. I just stuck it in my bra and then forgot about it. I am excited to see how many steps I take. Basically, I just bought the world's fanciest pedometer.

    Emma - Does MFP automatically adjust your daily calories? I linked the two accounts. It seems to be giving me an average for how much it thinks I will burn today but it seems a little low. Maybe it will go up after it gets a days worth of data?

    It is impressive how small it is! So far I've taken to clipping it on the bottom edge of my shirt. That way I can check my stats (obsessively) throughout the day. It's not only the world's fanciest pedometer, but it's the first watch I've owned in a LONG time that I'm not allergic to :bigsmile:

    As far as linking it to the MFP account...it *will* automatically adjust your calories if you are pretty active during the day by entering a Fitbit adjustment in your exercise log (for instance, I haven't logged any exercise today, but the Fitbit has given me 159 extra calories...apparently even sitting around doing mostly office work it thinks I'm moving more and burning more calories than I estimated for myself on MFP).

    The adjustment will change throughout the day, so if you're super active running errands in the morning, but then sit all afternoon, it might decrease or go away. It also seems to go away if I manually log exercise using my HRM. The Fitbit software is pretty smart, though - if you use the stopwatch feature when you exercise, then enter the exercise start time and minutes into MFP when you're done, it will know that that new exercise entry corresponds to the exercise you timed on the Fitbit, so it won't double log your workout (this is actually pretty cool because I can override the Fitbit calorie estimate for the exercise period with whatever my HRM tells me).
  • ellie78
    ellie78 Posts: 375
    Hi all! Been a pretty busy week for me, but I feel like I'm finally starting to get back on track. So far I have got all workouts in as planned and I have actually really logged everything I have eaten. I'm a bit surprised that even with going to happy hour last night I still ended up at my TDEE so no big overages! That may change by the weekend but we shall see.

    So I'm sort of considering taking a break from MFP, like maybe just taking a week off logging. Has anyone ever tried that? I mean, there has to be a point where we can stop using this right? Sort of a test I suppose.

    Had a great NSV last week. I bought a pair of size 6 capris from NY&Co. 6!!! Now I know that's not the same as the size 6 I could fit into at Express when I was in college but still! I've been a solid 8/10 for the past, I don't know, two years now? Clearly the lifting is doing something even if I'm not losing weight!
  • shorty313
    shorty313 Posts: 432 Member
    Well, everything came back normal for my test, so that's good. If it persists I guess I'll have to see a GI doc, so I'll wait and see how the next few days go.

    Ellie - are you trying to lose still? Taking a break isn't a bad idea, a 'test' if you will, but if you are still trying to lose you should probably have a definite beginning and end date in mind for the break. I think you are supposed to do a 1-2 week diet break at least every 3 months anyway.

    My daughter came back last night from her 2+ week vacation with my parents, it was so good to see her! We went to bed a bit late, so I didn't get up this am for a run, thinking I could go at lunch, but now I have a meeting. I'm only supposed to do 2 miles today, so maybe I can squeeze it in somewhere, otherwise I'll just let it go, since my body could use a break this week. Yoga tonight should feel good though.
  • Dedee36
    Dedee36 Posts: 29 Member
    Hello! I had a busy day yesterday and I totally blew my calorie count out of the water! :ohwell: I had a good breakfast and then my friend and I ate chinese for lunch at 1... but by 4 when I eat super at work I just had ice tea. When I got home my husband needed my help in the hay field, I didn't get back in until midnight then I had chips and salsa :huh:

    This weekend I have a birthday party for my little niece, Family gathering, in my family, always means eating alot of good fatting foods. I'm not a emotional eater at all but get me in a crowd having a good time and let the yummies be munched.
  • ellie78
    ellie78 Posts: 375


    Ellie - are you trying to lose still? Taking a break isn't a bad idea, a 'test' if you will, but if you are still trying to lose you should probably have a definite beginning and end date in mind for the break. I think you are supposed to do a 1-2 week diet break at least every 3 months anyway.


    I am still trying to lose, but I've more or less been on a permanent plateau attributed to any number of common causes for last year and a half. I was thinking just a week, and not a break from eating healthy, just a break from logging and worrying about the calories and macros and all that. A test, like you said. I don't know, I just need some type of jump start here and I thought maybe a little break would get me motivated again!
  • ellie78
    ellie78 Posts: 375
    Oh, and glad your test results came back okay Debbie!
  • Debbie - Glad to hear everything came back okay.

    Today was the day I came in under my calories, but perhaps did not make the best choices. Breakfast was good; lunch and dinner, not so much. I get up every morning to workout and have some time to myself. This week, however, each and every morning my wonderful girls were up with me. Then at work, a time I usually have at least 30 minutes of some quiet time, our temp has decided to eat with me and chat it up. (Honestly, I'd rather relax and read some of my homework.) Then come home to the family and enjoy it until I go to bed. So I just needed some quiet time in the truck at lunch, which led to Wendy's: my fast food choice. I did have a good time just driving around listening to music. So peaceful! Then come home and we went out to eat at the Caboose (local joint). Great food and some really healthy choices, just didn't want to make them. I didn't eat the deep fried chimi smothered in cheese, but settled on the quesadillas.

    Just having one of those days where you need to relax the diet a bit and enjoy it. Regardless, I still logged it. That's something I'll never stop doing. Also, the kick !#@ workout this morning really helped!!!
  • Leeloominai01
    Leeloominai01 Posts: 93 Member
    I seem to have hurt my hip flexor on the left so I guess the broken treadmill is good timing :(

    I'll have to work on core strength now which is also very much needed (after 2 c-sections) so I guess my focus for the next week will be on that.
  • neurochamp
    neurochamp Posts: 261 Member
    Have any of you tried overnight refrigerator oatmeal? I made up my first batch last night (blueberry maple) and OMG nom nom nom it is so yummy! I used frozen blueberries, and some of them are a little bit of a weird texture (I'm sure fresh would be better), but otherwise this is a definite winner of a recipe. I will definitely be trying some other flavors. For anyone not familiar with this refrigerator oatmeal phenomenon:

    http://www.theyummylife.com/Refrigerator_Oatmeal


    Debbie - glad your test results came back OK, hope you're feeling better soon!

    Corey - sounds like a pretty tasty food day, way to keep it under the calorie limit (sometimes you just need to throw the other rules out the window and just enjoy)