Valsgoals Member

@Faerie, what are you doing in your Art while you have your gimpy knee? I have my own knee issue and found out last night at PT I'll need to skip TKD for the next few weeks because of it. I don't want to completely eliminate everything but can't think of what I can work on while I'm not in class. You said you can't train…

I was keeping them but they became too much so no, I ended up tossing them. Sometimes I regret it but I need the space in my house. Lol

I'll chime in too about both the loss rate and the calories goal. When I originally started off at just over 300 pounds I dropped larger amounts quick which did taper. That is normal. Yes, some of it is water weight like others have said but it isn't all water weight. I also didn't exercise until I had already lost about…

Wow, now that's organized!! I think that's great about how the kid's outside behavior is brought into it too.

I have one of those for my daughter's belts. I don't want to invest in one for me until I've earned more belts. They really are a nice display of achievements. What are those black vertical stripes on your belts?

white yellow orange light green dark green light blue dark blue brown brown/black red red/black black

Oh yeah, they're big on the one step sparring. I believe it goes up to 20. Once we learn up to that level we re-learn it , but in reverse. And yes, it's part of regular sparring. They remind us to try to incorporate those moves in sparring. Haha, not that I've had a chance yet. And no, we don't use any gear for the…

I'm working on my 6-10 one step sparring. But, my immediate concern will be how to modify my training while my knee heals. No forceful or bag kicks for me :'(

I will have to ask. I didn't know there were variations.

Um...LOL, I'm not familiar with the acronyms. Everyone but myself and my fellow yellow belt have sparring gear. They use gloves and foot/shin guards. It's all fairly light contact, depending on your partner. When I did spar with the higher belts they took it easy. One in particular I especially liked. He encouraged me to…

Since I'm a yellow I'm not sure. From my perspective I didn't think I was ready but I think that was just my lack of confidence talking because I did end up doing just fine. I do like that we are told what will be expected of us in order to advance. To advance from white to yellow we needed 1-5 one-step sparring moves,…

Congrats!!

I pay out of district rates at the park district we go through.... It's $69 for the 8 week sessions and $35 for 4 week sessions. Both are 2x's a week. The sessions alternate between 8 and 4. We just got off a 4 week session, about to start an 8 week session. Even though the classes are 2x's a week, we are allowed to attend…

I am a little biased on the child thing since I've been watching my kid and a few of her classmates working on their belts for the past 8 years. So many have dropped out but most of the ones who have stuck it out are very committed. Once they reach light green it becomes harder to advance; about a year, depending on the…

I have only sparred twice in the year I've been in TKD. My class, until recently has been all red belts and above, except me and another student that's also yellow. When they're all sparring, we're pulled aside to continue working on our drills and forms. I liked sparring when we did it but understand why it isn't possible…

Hi, I'm the newest member to the group and to martial arts. I just joined the group today but I think I've already read all your posts. I wish I had more to contribute to the convos. You guys are all way more advanced and seem to be from much more formal schools. Still, I'm sure I'll learn, gain motivation and inspiration…

Hi, I'm Val, 48yo. I've only been at TKD for a year and am currently a yellow belt. My school is through my local park district but directly affiliated with a more formal school that I'll likely not see until I move way up the ranks. My daughter has been in it for 8 of her 15 years. I always wanted to try it out but…

My aha moment came when things you mentioned you are trying to avoid came knocking on my doorstep one by one. When I finally decided to go full force into it I didn't. Instead I only changed one thing for a week or so, then another for about that long, then another, then started logging. The main thing was, I tried not to…

Hello MrsKeith. It's great you are wanting to get into healthier eating habits and starting an exercise regimen. Lots of positive things can come out of making those kinds of changes. I wish you the best! :smile:

Hi Adriana! I was also in the same boat as you. Started high, higher than my scale would weigh but gradually came down and lost over 125 pounds. I did put some back on from crazy stresses and injuries and now I'm looking to re-lose about 65, give or take. You've got a great mindset going, it does take the baby steps. I'll…

I like how Brian put it. That's how I think of it a lot of times myself. Why does it always have to be thought of as a work out. If I'm going to use a 4 letter word (work) I wanna use the other 4 letter word, PLAY. I'm going to go for a hike. Nope, not me, I'm going exploring in the forest preserves to see how many deer…

Can't agree with Azdak more. Put that treadmill to more use and do some incline walking. You already have the walking down. Incline walking does burn more calories than walking, works different muscles and is less stressful on the joints than running. I love running but my joints don't. So, I have to compromise and do more…

Huge congrats on your losses so far and I hope for the best for you! I am sending you a friend request. Hopefully we can keep each other company and motivate each other. I have been where you are and still am and will always be on this journey myself, even when I do get to my goal weight because for me it isn't all about…

I'm in the same county. Like Monkey, I won't be affected often by the new tax because I mainly drink bottled or filtered water or home-made coffee. That said, I think it's ridiculous. Like the OP, when the time comes to buy pops and juice pouches for parties at my house I will be traveling to the next county over to avoid…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkapitoJ6vg or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_9c1GNJCLk or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdfq0_suwhk I am finding a lot of these videos from the Gymbox to be helpful...and free.

I wear my Polar HRM religiously during all my workouts. I wear mine during my TKD classes which last a little over an hour. I can burn anywhere from 350-450 calories depending on the kind of drills we're doing. If we are sparring during a class, it will be more. We don't spar in every single class. I have about 70 pounds…

So it sounds like a lot of my fellow MFP martial art females are much further along in their endeavors. I'm hoping to keep this up. My class is small but most all have been at it for +5 years, if not much longer. It's not held at a formal Dojo, it's through my local park district. The main school our instructor is…

Edison Park? Well then, you'll be happy to know there's a new Portillo's that just opened up very close to Edison Park...over by Harlem and Lawrence. I work very close to there.

I prefer Feetures too. I like the thinner socks because they don't make my shoes feel different and don't make my feet feel so hot. I would only opt for thicker socks if I were running outside in very cold weather.

Giordano's, Connie's, or Home Run Inn...those are my favorites. If you opt for Connie's, it's very close to Chinatown. You could see out Chinatown while in the area. If you opt for Home Run Inn or Giordano's, there's one of each very close to Midway airport. You could check either out on the way in town if you're flying in…