Vladadog: I get what you're saying. I have continued to eat sweet things even if they aren't the best! I would have struggled with the cake pops too. It is definitely something to be aware of all the time.
Laurie: Yeah, I think when there isn't a plan, it is easy to slip away from good exercise choices. I know I've done that, especially lately. So, I have also committed back to doing what was working before. I don't think I have anything coming up that would give me the temptation to skip days. Nothing big planned until hunting season, so should be set through the rest of summer.
Lilion: You may not have had formal exercise, but sounds like a lot of cleaning! It's so hard with the heat right now!
PacificaBee: Shaking it up with how often you weigh might be a good thing. I change my mind all the time, sometimes it is every day, sometimes it is once a week. Usually every day works for me, but lately, I have been using the avoidance technique. Not working well.
For me, I went to spin this morning and I packed a good lunch. So, should be much better than last week. I plan to go to Body Pump tomorrow and I also want to go back to the gym after work to get back to running. Not sure what I'll do with running. I might pull out the C25K and backtrack a little on that. I've been recording on myfitnesspal again, so I hope to get it back on track and get back to being consistent.
Lilion - I agree with Diane. Even in the absence of formal exercise, it seems like you killed it on the activity front. When I grew up, my dad was the church's custodian (in addition to two other jobs!), so I spent a lot of time folding chairs, vacuuming, dusting, etc. It's hard work. And you and your husband are fantastic for volunteering to do it. Hope the marble track works well for you again!
PacificaBee - My body will lose for a while, then hold on to a certain weight for a period of time. I don't track food (with few exceptions) because it makes me crazy, so I don't really know if it's me inadvertently sabotaging my efforts or if it's just my body rebelling against the steady loss. Either way, what is happening with your scale is pretty typical for me. I love that you're being proactive, and I love that you're keeping the mental aspect of this in mind. I tell myself that I am not racing to the end, because there is no end, and as long as I don't give up, I'm better off than before. Thank you for the article on sugar! I'm starting Day 1 of my 7-day sugar challenge, and I really needed the inspiration.
Diane - Woot! You are on point, my love. You are going to be so ready to rock that hunting trip this fall! I still think back to that post you shared from a few years ago about the functional fitness you had achieved making the hunting trip so amazing. It continues to be an inspiration when I worry that I am "wasting" time on fitness. It sounds like you are achieving your goals with nutrition, too, this week. Gonna be a fantastic week!
I met my goals from yesterday, and I wouldn't have if I hadn't written them down. The exception is that my mother-in-law brought over delicious, gourmet cupcakes, which are now sitting on my counter. I asked my husband to either eat them or toss them by this evening, but he won't. However, I won't feel guilty when I do, as I gave him warning that I will be struggling through my seven days of sugar, and having those cupcakes on the counter will cause me to struggle. Sometimes, I feel really guilty about it. My husband can have those cupcakes sit on the counter for days and not be tempted, but he loves sugar and would be sad if I just got rid of them. I just can't do it, though. The article Pacifica posted makes me feel a bit less guilty. I know it is a chemical drive. Maybe seven days sugar-free will help increase my D2 receptors and decrease my desire for sugar. Maybe. It will be a challenge to do it, though. I have failed many, many times. But I have also succeeded occasionally, so I know I can do it.
I did run yesterday, though. I ran a 5K in about 32 minutes, but I did have far too many "breathing breaks." Still. Gotta start somewhere, right? Today is lifting, and I am going to take it more seriously than I have taken it for the last six months or so. I'm back on the fitness wagon. Finally!
I was surprised when I looked at my Fitbit activity log and saw it gave me a "walk" on Sunday. From the time, I suspect that was when I was vacuuming. We aren't really volunteering...we volunteered to do the job - which we're getting paid for. I think I'd actually really rather volunteer to do a part of the job than get paid to do the whole job. I really hate it. You're just never really "off duty" when you're doing the cleaning. I'm sitting in church looking at the spots on the window thinking, "I have to remember to clean that."
Anyway, marble track worked well yesterday and I'm sure it will today. I got off track last night when I got home, tired and crabby, and found my hubby had bought pizza and pastries - which I ate. But I'm back to it today and even managed to get up and get in 20 minutes on the elliptical. All is well.
LaurieDawn, good for you resisting the cupcakes and that 5K! I can't actually imagine running a 5K...or you know...running.
Pacific - those 2 lbs will be gone before you know it. You can do it!
Slashnl, MFP has been an invaluable tool for me. If I don't track my food, I may as well give up entirely.
...and now, time for me to maybe do actual office work for a bit before I head over to the capitol for my walk. The guards at the metal detector have gotten used to seeing me. I wonder if they'll ever mention my daily visit. lol
Lilion: Vacuuming should be more than walking. It takes effort!!! And I totally understand being tired and crabby, then giving in to temptations. It is hard enough when we're in a good frame of mind, let alone when we're vulnerable. I think you handled it fine!
Laurie: Sometimes I think we get so caught up in the weight loss part of it, we forget that the really good stuff comes from being fit. I know that right now I can really tell the difference between now and from when I was fit and doing the right thing with workouts. It's not worth it to let it slip too far.
For me..... so that's what I really noticed today. Working out this morning (Body Pump) was such a chore. Granted, it was hot and humid in the gym, so that didn't help, but a lot of it is just losing some of the progress I had. The good thing is that it strengthened my resolve to get that fitness part back. I don't like feeling that weak and winded. So, back to spin tomorrow. I won't be going running tonight, I don't think. I might have to wait until Thursday to start that up again. We'll see how it goes. While I want to get it back now, I don't need to risk injury.
Lilion - I agree with Diane. My Fitbit didn't give me any extra love for mowing the lawn, and that was a struggle! Vacuuming and lawn mowing should be walking plus. And good on you for letting the pizza and pastries be in the past. Hope that you enjoyed them, though! Also, husbands should be less volunteer-happy with our time.
Diane - Yay for another work-out down! Especially if you had to deal with the heat and humidity. I'm reading a book about greatness, and a woman who has won a whole bunch of extreme running competitions spoke about how she embraced the runs in the heat and the rain and the cold, as she knew it gave her an advantage over people who refused to train in those conditions. I am not there, or anywhere close. But it does help me to push a little bit harder, and that's the important part. I am guessing you are going to recapture 80% of your lost fitness within just a week or two. It always surprises me how quickly it comes back. And I don't mean - you used to be able to do 100 push-ups and you'll be able to do 80. I just mean your body will feel fitter and stronger, even at weights higher than ideal.
I am back on a fitness motivational high. I am doing a Fitbit challenge, and I am determined to beat the guy who keeps trading leads with me. (He works in a warehouse, so it feels a bit cheaty, but it's a great motivator for me.) My husband and I went to the gym while the kids went to judo last night, and he was making noises like he wanted to skip. I have been guilty of indulging this almost every time, but I was not having it yesterday. I created my plan, and I wasn't going to punk out on day 1 of the strength training. =)
I got through my first sugar-free day. I struggled some, but it wasn't too difficult. Day 2 now. I also bought some more health-appropriate food for work, so I have lean protein, veggies, and fruit here now. I do better staying away from sugar when I have fruit. (Yes, I know fruit is very high in sugar, but I am using "sugar" to mean processed sugar.)
Goals for today.
1 - No sugar
2 - Run five miles by sneaking out after my 9:30 meeting to go to the gym
3 - Respect and appreciate my body instead of focusing on the excess skin on my thighs
Laurie: I'm with you on not counting sugar in fruit when you are cutting out sugar. We all know that fruit is not the problem, not in the way that cookies, cake, ice cream, and candy are! Sounds like a good plan. Good luck on your fitbit challenge. I think that challenges can be helpful in motivating you to do that little bit extra!
For me, I made it to spin class. It was tough again with the humidity in the gym. It rained last night, which was great, but it is definitely humid. We're so not used to it where I live, that we complain easily! I'm sure it isn't that bad, but the air just feels so heavy. I'm sure that working out will get better as time goes on. It seems like getting it back goes faster than just reaching the level the first time. I just need to stick with it. Body Pump is tomorrow and I am planning on running after work. The only one that I am not sure I want to do is Body Flow on Friday. I think I'll make myself go, but I know that I am one stiff and inflexible person right now. It will be tough.
LaurieDawn, those are 3 excellent goals. For lawn-mowing, I put my fitbit on "workout" and let it log like I'm doing jumping jacks for 40 minutes. It doesn't probably give me any more calories, but it feels like it does.
Slashnl, the humidity and such is oppressive here! At the moment, it's 93 degrees, which isn't terrible, but the heat index is 105! That's just too darn hot!
I'm beat today. I got a bunch of text alerts on my Fitbit, waking me from a sound sleep, after midnight last night from my brother. Well, obviously I'm going to go check my texts...the man was just mad at me about some comment I made on Facebook teasing him! I was awake for over an hour and a half, finally getting back to sleep close to 2 a.m. I apologized, FOUR TIMES, before he finally texted back after 10 a.m. today accepting that I didn't mean to offend him. Frankly, the way I feel now I wish I'd have just told him to not be a jackass and grow a skin. This is my OLDER brother! I put up with my share of teasing over the year, I assure you.
So anyway, I'm TIRED! I skipped the elliptical in favor of staying in bed another 1/2 hour, but I got in my walk at lunch. Just going over to the capitol was HOT!
Hey, guys! I'm alive. It's been a rough couple of weeks for me. Injured my knee and calf two weeks ago (took a nasty tumble), so working out has been a no-go. Work has been crazy. 07/08 was the one-year anniversary for my Mom passing away, and yesterday (07/11) was my birthday. Healthy eating has gone out the window. Working out is out the window until my knee and calf are better (which thankfully, I'd give another week or so until I can try the gym again safely). Honestly, I'm just kind of trying to keep an even keel in life right now. It's all getting better, though...knee is better and calf is about 90% back to normal, we're getting fully staffed with nurses again (the trainees are slowly graduating our training program) so work will calm down a lot, I've done a lot of deep-thinking and working through issues with my Mom's death and feel more at peace, and while I'm not overly excited about my birthday this year, everyone around me is and it's nice to have people be excited for me when I don't have the energy to be. I'm especially thankful for my friends and family.
I'm mostly lurking still, but I'm here in the shadows! When things calm down a little more, I'll be back consistently. Hoping everyone is well. Lilion, reading about your fur-baby breaks my damn heart. I've got a herd of my own, and losing one of them is like losing a family member because...well, because they *are* family members. I'm sending all my good juju your way! She's lucky to have someone so loving taking care of her.
Amanda!!!! - It is so good to have you back! Or, maybe, visibly back! Sorry to hear about your injuries. Glad they're healing well, though. And the mental stuff sounds challenging too. You lost your mother far too young. Hopefully, work will calm down, you'll find a measure of peace again, and your physical injuries will heal quickly.
Lilion - Ugh. Family drama over nothing makes me crazy! Especially when it robs me of much-needed sleep. Glad your brother finally "forgave" you, and hope you can quickly forgive him for his nonsense about it. And yay for conquering your lunchtime walk, despite the foolishness.
Day 3 of no sugar, and it's going amazingly well. I am not craving it with the kind of intensity that I have last week, and the weight (still high from the cruise) is melting off again. One of the stupid cupcakes is on the counter again. I warned my husband that if he didn't get rid of them, I would throw them away, but he gave them to the kids (who were at their mom's house when the cupcakes were delivered, but are with us on Wednesday and Thursday), and he's "saving it." I applaud his self-discipline, but also feel like I can't follow through on my threat to toss it. And yet, it's not bothering me. My short-term success is paying out high dividends, yet I am finding that I resent it. For whatever reason, I like having this crazy. Well, it's love/hate. I hate, hate, hate the fact that I haunt my workplace searching down sugar in the late afternoons, and feel desperate to find it. I hate that just having sugar around makes me choose between taking my husband's junk fund and torturing myself with denial of taking it. But, for whatever reason, I was disappointed yesterday when I took a cookie from a work function to deliver to my husband, and did not feel the overwhelming pull of it. I don't understand what's going on mentally! I am a low-key, low-drama person, but I feel like I need a vice, I guess. Anyone have words of wisdom?
Goals -
1 - Conquer Day 3 of No Sugar
2 - Stick to my work-out schedule (lifting today), with at least 11K steps
3 - Eat responsibly
Panda, it's good to see you! I'm so very sorry you are dealing with the grief of losing your mom - and so close to your birthday...that has to be harder. I don't know how old you are...but I was 23 when my mom passed away. I remember that pain like it was yesterday...and truthfully, though I've now lived 30 years without her, I still miss her. But it get's better. It sounds so trite when people say, "time heals", but it truly does. The time will come when you will be able to laugh and talk about your mom and only feel love at the memories. Be kind to yourself and get back on track when you are able.
LaurieDawn, your sugar/snack conflict sounds familiar to me - I'm a (former at the moment) smoker. I haven't had a cigarette since a week before Thanksgiving. I no longer crave them...or at least only occasionally...but I do miss them. I liked smoking. I liked the feel and the taste and the ability to take a smoke-break and just leave the office for 15 minutes without anyone thinking anything of it. So yeah...I could buy a pack of cigarettes for someone and not physically want one now...but I miss them. I kind of resent that other people still get to do it and I don't. It's stupid, because I chose to stop smoking. Okay, fine...I did it because I don't want to die of cancer, but it's still a choice. But just because I don't want to start again, doesn't mean I don't want to start again...makes sense?
It's been a weird week. Didn't get a rest day Saturday because of the janitor work. Sunday skipped the Y because hubby was ill. Ate junk on Monday because he bought it and I was exhausted too. Did okay on Tuesday but yesterday was so tired I got home, took a nap, went to clean again, and was so tired I gladly ate junk rather than cook - though I didn't exceed my calorie limit. Today I AGAIN skipped the elliptical in favor of 1/2 hour more sleep. I could go back to bed right now. I AM SO TIRED!
Maybe I've been fighting off hubby's bug from Sunday and Monday...he usually gets hit worse than I do... and that's the cause of this exhaustion, which was just capped off with Tuesday night's sleep fiasco? Or maybe it's the missing of my usual exercise? Either way, I'm beat! My eyes are watering, my brain is foggy (not good with my job) and I keep yawning, yawning, yawning! At least I did bring a healthy salad lunch to work today, so I won't be buying junk. I will go take my walk at lunch, albeit a bit slower and shorter than the norm I think. At this point, I'm thinking this week is kind of scrapped in the exercise department and I'll start over on Sunday.
Lilion: Ugh! Lack of sleep is the worst. It makes it so hard to do everything you need to do in a day. Hopefully, you can get some sleep tonight!
Dread: Glad to see you post, but I'm sorry you are struggling through with injury and emotional stuff. Injuries just take you out of your routine and it is hard to know when to go back to workouts and how hard to work, etc. I'm sorry about your Mom. It is a tough thing to go through. Oh, and happy birthday!
Laurie: Yeah, you kind of have to keep the cupcake now. I'm glad it isn't bothering you too much. Cupcakes are not good for me to have around. I love cake type things, and cupcakes are top of the list. Good for you for not giving in and not feeling too bad for not having it!
For me, I was about 5 seconds away from not going to the gym today. I was sitting on my couch this morning, with the window open and there was such a nice breeze coming in! It was so nice. I thought "well, maybe I'll just skip it today." But then I knew I'd be disappointed in myself, and I won't be back to Body Pump until next Tuesday, so I went. It was a tough class, but I am glad I went. Now, to try to make myself go back to the gym to run. Hmm. Not feeling it right now. Maybe I can guilt myself into going. Ha!
I just haven't had time to check in but I'm glad to see Amanda popped in and that all seems pretty good here. We haven't heard from Uber in a while, I hope all's well there....
I'm holding steady just the right side of Onederland. I've been doing good on the sugar front and the cake pops etc aren't calling to me like they were (I wouldn't even mind their siren call if they were good but the white frosted ones were yucky and I still wanted them.... that's what was really driving me crazy... Wanting something that tastes good, sure, great. But wanting something you know you won't really enjoy... are you crazy. Yes, apparently so....). Anyway, I'm eating right and feeling good and if I'm not losing right now that's okay. Slow and steady....
Vladadog: Glad to see you posted. At least you're hanging in there on the better side of 200! That's a win! That's true about Uber, hope all is ok even though we haven't heard from her.
For me, I did go running last night. It wasn't good, but about what I expected. I just need to muscle through this beginning stuff and start building back to where I was. I didn't go to Body Flow this morning. I was really stiff and sore, so I didn't want to go. I know it might have helped, but I also know that it would have been tough to do any of it. I wasn't up for that. So, maybe next week?
Diane - So much of the time, it's one foot in front of the other before our goal begins to materialize. At least for me, it's committing to the daily dredge when I'm just not feeling it that makes all the difference. And sometimes, that means making the decision to stop pushing as hard so that we stay motivated and willing to do it, and sometimes, our bodies are just not physically capable of what we think they should be yet. I had a bad run on Wednesday, but I decided to switch in a little bit of walking so that I could finish the mileage I had planned, even if I wasn't able to run it all. But I still felt great about doing it, because it's always better than the alternative. You'll be ready to conquer Body Flow next week! Congrats on finishing the run and on getting yourself off that breezy couch to conquer Body Pump!
Vladadog - You are absolutely spot-on. Sometimes, we just don't lose, even when we're doing the right things. But staying in Onederland, conquering your sugar cravings, and keeping your good habits until the scale/your body responds appropriately - that's all that's necessary.
Lilion - That's EXACTLY how I feel with the sugar. I know I don't really want it, and I know it won't make me feel good, and I really hate that desperate "I need to hunt down sugar right now, which means trying to find people with candy jars who aren't at their desks because I don't want to admit that's what I'm doing" feeling. But I miss indulging the craving, and I'm a little sad that I'm at a point where I realize that the indulgence isn't as satisfying as the denial. Ugh. Who wants to be mature about all of this? Sorry about your sleep deprivation / exhaustion. It can be the worst! But, at least for me, sometimes when I am physically exhausted from lack of sleep, I get my best work-outs in. I don't want to go, but when I start, I start to feel so much better. Maybe your lunch walk will wake you up a bit?
I have continued to do very well with the "no sugar" thing. Today was a food day - cake, donuts, chocolate chocolate chip cookies (possibly my favorite), and I had to see enough people that I walked past no fewer than five candy jars. Not gonna lie -- I loved not being pulled into them. And I hated that I wasn't being pulled into them. I have also inadvertently given up energy drinks. I had planned to intersperse them with caffeinated Mio, but accidentally bought non-caffeinated Mio, decided that I preferred it to sugar-free Red Bull, and have been caffeine-free for three days. Where are all my vices going?!?!?! I did wake up at 12:45 a.m., though, just starving. I got up and ate some fake ice cream and a snack-size bag of Fritos (cuz that's what we had that was quick and easy), but was disappointed that I consumed so many simple carbs. I hadn't explicitly decided to forgo chips entirely, and specifically decided to allow myself the fake ice cream, but I have eaten almost exclusively low-calorie, nutrition-dense foods since Tuesday. I may try to get in a few more calories before bed if it happens again, but I'm not going to worry about it now. I did weigh this morning, and I am now close to pre-cruise weight, although I can't actually remember what my weight was this morning. How amazing is that? It's usually burned into my brain.
Enough rambling. Just weird and unexpected, though pretty great, things happening right now. Hopefully, things continue to get easier, though I never count on that.
Goals -
1 - Run 5 miles today, even if I need to do intervals
2 - Bring healthy road snacks for our weekend trip to pick up my daughter from the airport (5 hours both ways!)
3 - Buy some new underwear already. I have been wearing the same size underwear while my clothing size has gone from 16 to 6/8.
4 - See if I can find a sexy, midriff-exposing dress that I like and that isn't too expensive.
5 - Conquer days 4 and 5 of no sugar, and make a decision as to whether I want to eat some of the cookies/cookie dough I promised to bake my returning daughter on Sunday.
Looks like I am back-to-back! I did five days of no-sugar, followed by a total sugar binge yesterday on our road trip back home. I walked for about an hour and felt better, then stopped to pick up ingredients for our food day at work today. UGH on food days. I bought some licorice, ate it on the way home, and could barely put the groceries away before collapsing. WAY too much sugar. So, I'm back on the bandwagon, trying to recover. I didn't weigh this morning, but I did dress in fitting clothes. My go-to for a day after a binge is to wear loose clothes because I feel so gross and feel like I deserve to gain 100 pounds overnight, but that's just the beginning of the plunge to all-binge, all-the-time me when I do that. So, I'm sipping water today, avoiding the food for the food day, and trying to recover from some foolishness.
Two completely different compliments.
1 - I mentioned to my occasional work-out friend that I am trying to maintain rather than lose, and trying to be okay with the reality that I will always have thunder thighs. Her response? "Your thighs and calves are still really big, but they look way better than I've ever seen them, even the last time you lost weight." Really? My legs are smaller at 147 than they were at 190? How remarkable! And way to make me feel like my body is being scrutinized in a way that I try to convince myself it's not. To be fair, the day I met her in law school, she expressed considerable surprise that I had reached the semi-finals of an oral argument competition. So, I have long loved her in spite of her lack of tact.
2 - I passed a man in the parking lot on the way into the grocery store this morning. He asked me my name and told me his. I said hello and told him to have a great day. As I was walking away, he said, "D***, you're gorgeous." Not in a creepy, street-calling kind of way, either.
Goals for today -
1 - Continue to take in water.
2 - Get in a few walks.
3 - Get in a run.
4 - Make and enjoy dinner and cookies this evening without overindulging. (Hopefully, it's easier to do after my misery last night and this morning.)
Have a great day, everyone!
Last edited by LaurieDawn; 07-17-2017 at 10:44 AM.
We aren't really volunteering...we volunteered to do the job - which we're getting paid for. I think I'd actually really rather volunteer to do a part of the job than get paid to do the whole job. I really hate it. You're just never really "off duty" when you're doing the cleaning. I'm sitting in church looking at the spots on the window thinking, "I have to remember to clean that." 
Be kind to yourself and get back on track when you are able.
