Optimistic October: October 2019 Check-in & Accountability Thread
Happy October, everyone! All are to the October 2019 daily weigh-in/check-in. Know that on this thread you will find support, encouragement, and endless kindness .
Here you can:
~track your weight daily, weekly or however you'd like ... but do check in
~keep track of what you eat or didn't eat
~keep track of your water intake or lack of
~keep track of your exercise/other goals
~vent, rant ... express yourself or just chit-chat
I refer to October as the beginning of "eating season." As true as there is hunting season for hunters, and award season for movies, there is eating season. The leaves are changing, the weather is cooling down and in the distance you can hear folks reaching into cupboards to bring out their soup pots, slow cookers and Instant Pots in preparation for delectable comfort food that only seems 'right' once the calendar changes. In addition to comfort food displays seem to be in every shop window and aisle upon aisle of candy is at your fingertips. Halloween concludes the month only to barrel head first into the and holidays. With the official holidays come the parties and gatherings that take on a life of their own during these three months. It's enough to make your head spin! While these are the realities, there are ways to enjoy this time of year without feeling like you've blown all the hard work of the previous nine months. We can be grateful for all the success and set-backs; they are both valuable teachers. We can practice strategic self-care and acknowledge that this is a challenging time of year, but that in general we still control what we eat, whether we exercise and how much sleep we get. If some of these things are out of our control (I'm looking at you new parents, those who are caretakers, and those who find themselves working way too much), what are some small things you can do that will help reach your goals and more importantly keep you healthy in body, mind and spirit? If you're like me, do you need to exercise the word NO to some requests/opportunities as judiciously as you apply it to diet and exercise?
All our welcome to our monthly neighborhood block party so welcome back to the regulars, and please make yourself known and comfortable if you're a lurker considering joining. We'd love to have you here. Remember, we may not be perfect we can always choose to be optimistic!
Sending well wishes as we navigate October together.
curvynotlumpy, thank you for starting a new thread! I love the title <3 And yes, yes, yes to your question "do you need to exercise the word NO to some requests/opportunities as judiciously as you apply it to diet and exercise?" Here's to having the strength to take charge in every aspect of our lives!
As we start a new month, I'm curious: What was everyone's "That's it. I'm done. I'm going to do something about my weight!" moment?
I ask because I'm in a bridal party that ranges in age from 21 to 34 years old and in height from 5'1" to 5'10". About the only physical commonality we have is that we're all obese (on the BMI scale). In the group thread, everyone has been complaining non-stop for months about feeling fat and hating dress shopping, so I suggested a Weight Loss Challenge: Bridesmaids Edition. It was crickets after that. Then excuses. I had to remind myself that all the ladies are in different parts of their lives, and for whatever reason, despite alllll the complaining, they hadn't hit their "I'm going to do something about [it]." moment. Here's to all of you ladies continuing to make that day-to-day commitment to do something!
curvynotlumpy thank you so much for starting this new thread. I really hope that things settle down at work for you and that you can enjoy this month of self care.
shellofself to answer your question, the moment when I realized that I should get my act together was last June when my weight reached. 261. I had never been above 260 and that literally scared me into fitness. Fear for my life really.
I realized I hadn't checked in yet this month. I have to be honest I haven't exercised in a week and I had one off day food-wise on Sunday. As much as I enjoy working out, I think I needed a break. But I'm ready to get back to it after work today. I am down 15 pounds since the start of June, I am ok with that but still can't help but wish that I would lose weight faster.
Hope everyone has been enjoying a wonderful weekend
Well as much as I wanted to get back on track last Friday, I wound up being stuck at work later than I thought and by then I did not have any motivation left to work out. Yesterday turned into a lazy day, so after 9 days I finally am back at it today. We went with Loki on a 3.9km walk in the cool Fall air this morning and that felt invigorating. Then this afternoon I moved on with the Fitness Blender program I have been doing, completing the first of the 6 workouts I have left to finish it. I think that the third week of this program, which consists of many total body workouts filled with compound movements, threw me off. I don't like compound movements and I just let that un-motivate me. Lesson learned.
Martine good morning! Even though your weight loss isnt going as fast as you'd like, based on your fitness schedule, you're going to end up being incredibly fit and toned!! I don't know how you stay motivated. I've (mostly) maintained healthy eating habits, but I've fallen off the fitness wagon hard.
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I am going to try and go above my normal M-F fitness routine, which for the last month has been walking for 20 minutes in the AM and walking for 20 minutes during lunch; although I do make sure the walking is fast paced enough to get & keep my heart rate up. I need to make time for some running or HITT even if it's just 20 minutes today after work.
I ate poorly yesterday (like cereal for breakfast, deep fried sushi & a yummy fried avocado roll for lunch, and McAlister's jalapeno turkey crunch and soup for dinner-level bad). So not so much "bad" as much as I definitely went over my calorie limit, while consuming too many carbs. So today, I'm a bloated ball.
shellofself walking 40 minutes each day is being pretty consistent in my book. Adding other types of exercises can't hurt of course. Your healthy eating habits combined with walking are paying off, look how close you are to Onederland. I know that what I'm doing exercise-wise is helping me get fit even if the number on the scale doesn't move quickly, so I just have to focus on other benefits, like my bras starting to fit better (hey I'll take anything I can get).
My work day ended on a sour note yesterday after a coordinator, whom we had just allowed go on an unplanned last-minute vacation for her birthday, announced that she was quitting. And she chose to tell me after she spent three hours receiving new merchandising training too, very dishonest on her part. I was also held back at work after taking a phone call from another store who needed help, so when I got home I wasn't happy. I went straight to exercising and I think that helped me blow off some steam. I have 4 workouts left in this program, I'm happy to be back on track.
Week 2:
6: 3.9km walk + 25 minutes static stretches workout
7: 38 minutes upper body strength training
Martine Wow! That's one way to burn a bridge! I'm sorry you had to deal with such an inconsiderate co-worker. The silver lining is you handled a bad day like a pro! Most people (myself included) would have used that as an excuse to not workout and binge instead. Way to go!
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I'm going back to my hometown this weekend for my baby sister's bridal shower, and I'm already mentally preparing myself to not overeat. It's just so hard being around all the tasty, authentic Mexican food. Mexican food carbs (tortillas, tacos, taquitos, tamales, quesadillas, enchiladas, flautas, chimichangas, etc) are definitely my achilles' heel. Not to mention the sweets. Anytime my mother visits me, she always complains that my house doesn't have enough sweets for a growing boy. He's two. It's totally fine that his sweets are in the form of fruits and yogurt.
shellofself mmmmmm Mexican food, I wish you strength in resisting all that yummy food. I had to smile at how your mother thinks sweets are necessary for a 2-year old. Don't they have enough energy as it is? Hope you'll have a fabulous time with your family at your sister's bridal shower. When is the big day?
Double post today to report some positive news after my rather negative post. So at work on Friday, after surprising our employee who is being deported with a scrapbook and 350$ to help with her expenses for the move back to Chile, employees decided they wanted to raise money to help one of their colleagues who is currently undergoing cancer treatments every Saturday, which leave her tired and weak. Unfortunately she cannot afford to take time off work and she doesn't have any vacation time yet, so employees are raining money so she can take a week off and rest. I am lucky to have employees who are so considerate of one another.
I also just completed my daily workout, but I have to mind my left inner thigh, which I ironically injured while stretching on Sunday. I haven't seen any drop in my fitness level after taking 9 days off, I'm relieved about that.
Have a great day everyone!
Week 2:
6: 3.9km walk + 25 minutes static stretches workout
7: 38 minutes upper body strength training
8: 17 minutes HIIT + 21 minutes lower body pilates and strength training
Martine Glad to hear your day picked up! Ya'll seem like such a strong, united bunch That can-do, positive attitude, especially in a group setting, is so beneficial for the workplace.
And on that note... my day quickly went downhill yesterday after I overheard a supervisor say, "We hired them; we can fire them!" (The supervisors were meeting behind closed doors, and this particular supervisor is loud.). Several weeks ago, a co-worker who had been in the office for almost a decade was laid off, and we were told there would be more layoffs to follow, but they'd try to do things "fairly." Myself and others in my position were assured our jobs were safe, and it would just mean more secretarial cuts.
But then yesterday, I also heard the same supervisor say something along the lines of "they're young with families; they can find better pay elsewhere." And none of the secretarial staff fit that description but myself and another recent hire do... I've only been with the office for a little over half a year and she started about two months after me.
So I've been sick to my stomach since yesterday, wondering if I need to look elsewhere. I'm the primary breadwinner for my family. I didn't make great money before this job and the birth of our son (born a month early with complications) stripped us of the little savings we did have before he was born (even as someone who had/has insurance, I hate the healthcare system in America!), so we just recently started to rebuild our savings and definitely couldn't go more than a few months. I'm finding it very hard to stay motivated and work knowing I could be let go by the end of the day from a job that pays great, has amazing hours, and is otherwise perfect for my career. And if it's not me, it'll likely be someone I know and care for... which is awful too.
Silver lining is despite feeling defeated yesterday, I didn't binge eat or drink or engage in self-destructive behaviors.
____________
Positive update: I had a doctor's appointment this morning! Blood pressure is officially in normal range (I was pre-hypertensive in July) & I weighed in today at 204.6!!
Last edited by shellofself; 10-10-2019 at 02:52 PM.
Reason: Positive update
shellofself I am really sorry to hear that you are having to deal with such concerns over your work status. I am sending you strength to get through all of this mess and stress
Quick check-in for me before I go on to clean the bottom of the oven as a pizza half-disintegrated as it was cooking. I took my regular day off from exercising yesterday but back at it today with a core workout.
Stay well everyone
Week 2:
6: 3.9km walk + 25 minutes static stretches workout
7: 38 minutes upper body strength training
8: 17 minutes HIIT + 21 minutes lower body pilates and strength training
9:
10: 35 minutes core workout
It's only 6:10pm here and the sun is already setting and we're having to turn on lights in the apartment. We've resisted turning on the heat for now but we got extra blankets in the bedroom and a couple in the living room if need be. Yesterday I went shopping for some Fall clothes, because my wardrobe was looking bare and clothes worn out. I got a few nice sweaters for a change (I'm not a sweater person, I often wear a top with a cardigan), they should help keep me warm as I grow very cold this time of year. After work today I almost talked myself out of exercising, but seeing as I only have 2 workouts left to finish my program, that motivated me enough to get it done. What helped as well was that I had prepared tonight's supper yesterday while on my day off, so no stress after my workout. Now to relax and stay warm
6: 3.9km walk + 25 minutes static stretches workout
7: 38 minutes upper body strength training
8: 17 minutes HIIT + 21 minutes lower body pilates and strength training
9:
10: 35 minutes core workout
11: 36 minutes upper body strength training
Bonne Action de Grāce/Happy Thanksgiving to everyone in Canada*
I have the day off after working this weekend, when I just couldn't find the strength to exercise after work. I just finished my Fitness Blender Strong program, so I'm very happy about that. This is the third exercise program I have completed since June. I am a bit disappointed though that the scale hasn't moved at all since my last weigh-in, but I haven't been consistent enough this month so that's the result. I just ordered a new exercise mat (finally!) and tomorrow we'll go to the Decathlon store (a European sports store) for which I have a gift card, to try and find heavier weights. Moving forward.
Hope everyone will enjoy a great start to the week. Week 2:
6: 3.9km walk + 25 minutes static stretches workout
7: 38 minutes upper body strength training
8: 17 minutes HIIT + 21 minutes lower body pilates and strength training
9:
10: 35 minutes core workout
11: 36 minutes upper body strength training
12:
Week 3:
13:
14: 33 minutes lower body strength training
Martine Thank you for your kind words! Congratulations on completing your third program in four months!! What amazing commitment <3
Kept the scale consistent this weekend. Thankfully, no relatives tried to guilt me/pressure me into eating unhealthy foods. People were mostly in shock with how much weight i'd lost, and generally, there was alot of positivity and words of encouragement.
Optimistic October: October 2019 Check-in & Accountability Thread
to the October 2019 daily weigh-in/check-in. Know that on this thread you will find support, encouragement, and endless kindness 
.
displays seem to be in every shop window and aisle upon aisle of candy is at your fingertips. Halloween concludes the month only to barrel head first into the 
and 
holidays. With the official holidays come the parties and gatherings that take on a life of their own during these three months. It's enough to make your head spin! While these are the realities, there are ways to enjoy this time of year without feeling like you've blown all the hard work of the previous nine months. We can be grateful for all the success and set-backs; they are both valuable teachers. We can practice strategic self-care and acknowledge that this is a challenging time of year, but that in general we still control what we eat, whether we exercise and how much sleep we get. If some of these things are out of our control (I'm looking at you new parents, those who are caretakers, and those who find themselves working way too much), what are some small things you can do that will help reach your goals and more importantly keep you healthy in body, mind and spirit? If you're like me, do you need to exercise the word NO to some requests/opportunities as judiciously as you apply it to diet and exercise? 
well wishes as we navigate October together.
He's two. It's totally fine that his sweets are in the form of fruits and yogurt.
