Accountability Group 2017

[PrincessFiona]

I'm looking to make some changes this year. Despite the fact that I wanted 2016 to be the year that I lost the weight and got healthier, I gained ten pounds (and have 100 to lose) and lost a lot of muscle mass. Due to arthritic changes and deconditioning, I'm having trouble with my mobility ... which is a scary thought at 46. It's weird for me to think that I was running 4 miles/day just a few years ago. Sitting on my butt in my office 40 hours/week has not helped me!

My commitment to getting healthy now has nothing to do with looking thin or hitting a certain goal weight. It's about mobility and having less pain.

Exercise goals:
I need to start with just 15 minutes of walking/day. Because I'm tired at night when I get home, I've decided to walk over my lunch hour at first. I have walking shoes at work. I'm going to use them. I'm getting a home gym/weight set and plan on using that at night while I watch CNN and Fox news. Hopefully this will help with strength training.

I'll work up to more exercise and we'll see what that ends up being.

Food Goals:
No diet. I'm DONE dieting. I have failed every attempt to diet this year.
I'd like to drastically reduce my diet Coke consumption by substituting water infused with oranges. I've already started. I tried completely cutting out diet Coke, but I'm too addicted.
No more artificial sweeteners. The calories in a teaspoon of sugar won't kill me.
No more fast food period.
Eat a healthy breakfast.
Pack lunches for work instead of going out.
I'd like to reduce the amount of sugar and flour that I do consume. (But I can't drink coffee without a teaspoon of sugar).

My biggest obstacle is that I feel hungry all of the time. I'm hoping that cutting out artificial sweeteners will help with that. I may need help coming up with low calorie, healthy snacks for between meals.

Kris

[ides]

This summer after our move I was in a hard place. Just emotionally stressed, unhappy. My exercising kept up for awhile but I gained weight. From various sickness and other stress I've stopped exercising for the most part over the last 2 months. I think I've gained about 15lbs since July. I haven't weighed myself lately as I'm too afraid to look.

Exercise helps me a lot so Im looking to make it regular again. Then I need to work on my diet again. I don't loose weight unless I'm hungry so it's always hard.

[spotty_dog]

My RHR has risen about 10 points as well. As much as I love taking long walks I'm not sure my body considers it exercise

Walking is way, WAY better than nothing, and it helps your bones and muscles and circulation especially as compared with sitting. But for the AHA recommendation of "moderate exercise" you do have to get your heart rate up to the point where you're not able to talk normally. For me that means nothing slower than 15 minutes per mile, as well as hitting most of the hills in the neighborhood. I ride a fine line between getting sweaty enough to call it a workout, but not going so hard I need a shower afterward.

[MAPPLEBUM]

Oh I totally have been walking as a moving meditation. I want to do something other than sitting on the couch but not so strenuous as actually exercising. This week I'm doing much better, but of course, I don't start working again until next week.

Before I post elsewhere my gym had a bunch of promo codes for Athleta, so I took a few. It's $15 off when you spend $100 if anyone is interested

Walking is way, WAY better than nothing, and it helps your bones and muscles and circulation especially as compared with sitting. But for the AHA recommendation of "moderate exercise" you do have to get your heart rate up to the point where you're not able to talk normally. For me that means nothing slower than 15 minutes per mile, as well as hitting most of the hills in the neighborhood. I ride a fine line between getting sweaty enough to call it a workout, but not going so hard I need a shower afterward.

[spotty_dog]

Yesterday I made my step goal for the first time in 2017!

[ballibeg]

👍

[gcuthbe1]

My goals are different this year. The past 3 years I did a half marathon and a half ironman each year. With giving birth in March that throws my training schedule. My main goal is to just get back into my workout groove and manage to make time for it post baby. I'll be bugging all you incredible parents for advice on that! Hoping I could try to get a Fall race in, but I'm going to wait and see how I feel.

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[Thirteen]

My goals are different this year. The past 3 years I did a half marathon and a half ironman each year. With giving birth in March that throws my training schedule. My main goal is to just get back into my workout groove and manage to make time for it post baby. I'll be bugging all you incredible parents for advice on that! Hoping I could try to get a Fall race in, but I'm going to wait and see how I feel.

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Yoga, and Fit4Mom. Then, added running in slowly.


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[SoonerTexan]

My goals are different this year. The past 3 years I did a half marathon and a half ironman each year. With giving birth in March that throws my training schedule. My main goal is to just get back into my workout groove and manage to make time for it post baby. I'll be bugging all you incredible parents for advice on that! Hoping I could try to get a Fall race in, but I'm going to wait and see how I feel.

A fall race is probably pretty doable (Okay, not an ironman of any sort), especially if you have kept up working out during pregnancy. It's different for everyone, but it always took me 4-6 weeks to be able to run or do any sort of heavy cardio without pelvic pain, so don't be surprised if you cannot jump right back in! I wasn't really up for any sort of working out before then anyway!

[TulipsAndSunscreen]

I returned to running at 4 and 2 weeks post partum for babies # 2 and 3. I couldn't walk after my first so that's different.

I ran halves 11 and 7 months after 1 and 2. Haven't gotten around to it with number 3 but that's bc I'm lazy not bc I can't.

You will do great! Just give yourself time to heal!


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[ballibeg]

My goals are different this year. The past 3 years I did a half marathon and a half ironman each year. With giving birth in March that throws my training schedule. My main goal is to just get back into my workout groove and manage to make time for it post baby. I'll be bugging all you incredible parents for advice on that! Hoping I could try to get a Fall race in, but I'm going to wait and see how I feel.

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Any half Iron training tips gratefully received please [MENTION=5078]gcuthbe1[/MENTION].

Thanks!

[spotty_dog]

Then I need to work on my diet again. I don't loose weight unless I'm hungry so it's always hard.

I know it sounds woo but Joel Fuhrman talks a bit about "toxic hunger" in his book The End of Dieting. I don't know how much water it holds, but I can say that I don't think I've been hangry or had that "low blood sugar" feeling since changing my diet to get more nutrient-rich foods and to snack on mostly raw stuff (veggies, nuts.) It's something to look into maybe? https://www.drfuhrman.com/learn/libr...s-toxic-hunger

[ides]

I'll check it out. I have blood sugar issues and avoid a lot of things as is. Im usually miserable the first week or so - like detoxing from food (emotional and hungry and anxious and high strung) then I'm ok but hungry all the time. I can eat tons of raw veg and it helps for about five minutes. I still try anyway.

I've gotten back to working out.

[ides]

I know it sounds woo but Joel Fuhrman talks a bit about "toxic hunger" in his book The End of Dieting. I don't know how much water it holds, but I can say that I don't think I've been hangry or had that "low blood sugar" feeling since changing my diet to get more nutrient-rich foods and to snack on mostly raw stuff (veggies, nuts.) It's something to look into maybe? https://www.drfuhrman.com/learn/libr...s-toxic-hunger

I read it. Unfortunately or fortunately I don't have the standard American diet. It's not perfect, but it's pretty clean/healthy. I avoid refined/processed food/fast food and eat whole grain vegetarian with eggs/dairy and fish. This is an emotional topic for me because I often feel all fault can be blamed on imperfections. Yet I know no ones perfect and I can't hold myself to an impossible ideal.

[spotty_dog]

You're absolutely right, no one's perfect, and honestly, who wants to be! I'm sorry if my suggestion came off as blame-laying. And I sure don't think weight change is the end-all be-all of anything health-wise, let alone value as a person-wise! In fact, that's kinda where I was going -- feeling hangry isn't worth it if a scale change is the only purpose, IMO. I got close to something like orthorexia when I was 20-something and trying to eat perfectly, and I would never want to trigger someone in that direction.

And, sorry for linking that article semi-randomly. It doesn't mention the part from the book that I found the most intriguing, which was the more positive suggestion that certain compounds -- I'm pretty sure they're in the onion family (and I think tomatoes?) -- can counteract that "toxicity." The Fuhrman schtick encourages a focus on "greens, beans, onions, mushrooms, berries, and seeds" -- G-BOMBS -- because of the positive nutrients in those foods. I dunno.

Clearly you do recognize the factors that help you to be healthier, and working out is a huge one, so high fives! You rock!