Good week so far for me...Lots of biking, but I need to go on my long run tonight since I didn't do it Sunday! I was going to start the 3.3 mile pub run this week, but I'm not ready to run *that* far in front of strangers lol. Maybe next Wednesday...
Penny105 - That sounds awesome! I've heard the biking in Wisconsin is just perfection!!! My first recommendation would be getting your bike a tune-up. If you can't do it yourself, take it to a pro. It can really make ALL the difference in whether or not you have a good ride! Make sure your seat and handlebars and everything is adjusted as well as possible so that you're not getting frustrated by numb hands/feet and other pain. If it's not, keep playing with it until it is! Check your tire pressure at least once a week, grease the chain every couple of weeks, etc.
But as for the endurance piece, you're right...bike more! I'd schedule a few long rides over the next few weeks, with friends if possible to keep you motivated, and make it FUN. Bring a small picnic with you for the halfway point and take a nice long break in the middle. I'd also imagine that similar to running, doing some fast, hard (uphill!) rides that are shorter will also add to your endurance. You could also do some strength exercises to build up your leg muscle, but I'd just ride as much as possible until your trip happens.
runthecontinent - Oh no, the dreaded hiking-induced broken toenail...ugh, that sucks! Hope it falls off and heals up for you soon. I'll take this opportunity to plug trail runners. I used to hike in boots and had the same situation as you with my toenails. Switched to hiking in trail runners (in all weather except for deep snow pretty much). No more broken toenails OR blisters.
Last edited by nonameslob; 04-06-2016 at 11:36 AM.
Life Stuff: I'm having a rough period this month, whew it's a killer! Bad moods, cramps, feeling like I just want to curl up and be lazy... All the boxes are ticked.
The director who I'm working with on the documentary offered me a side project to edit some footage of her working with refugees in Uganda, but it's all very rushed and things haven't really been going right so far! I spoke to her yesterday and got the hard drive, only it didn't have the footage on. Today I went to pick it up from her house and almost left when it wasn't on her porch; luckily I rang the door bell and her daughter had taken it in. However she wanted me to call to talk about what footage to use and we just haven't been able to get in touch - she's so busy and I call her in her free windows but she doesn't answer. And the deadline is Sunday! I don't even know what I'm looking at yet, eep.
Today is the BF's last day at his crappy job, huzzah! He should be walking away with a nice bonus check and a skip in his step since he hates it there. I'm making him 2 types of chicken wings tonight then we're gonna watch Star Wars. Should be a nice evening! Tomorrow I'm going to dedicate myself to sitting down with this footage and figuring it out by myself worse case scenario.
Weight Loss Stuff: Barre class on Monday was good, I'm glad I went even though I was really close to not going at all. The instructor is now leaving for a month though which sucks since I really like her. She gives great cues which you need in a barre class. Yesterday and today have been fail days unfortunately. It's been SO windy outside for the last 2 days so I wanted to work out inside, but I never got around to doing anything. However I'm still on target with my runs, which to me is the most important thing (it's all important, but I'd put running over cross training), and the wind is supposed to die down tomorrow so I should be good to run tomorrow.
Guess what guys? Monday 11th is fast approaching which is when I'll be opening the summer challenge! Hasn't this month gone by quickly?
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NNS - Well done on surviving the hectic work week! I'd most definitely crash on that type of schedule! Good job on all the exercise you're doing, that's so great. Do you know what type of yoga it is your friend teaches? I hope you have fun at your garden! You know it's funny, because I had a niggling pain in my left knee but once I started doing longer strides it went away. It hasn't bothered me since! Maybe my short strides were over exerting a certain muscle?
Penny - I salute your efforts on resisting the urges to eat as best as you could, I need to learn a thing or two from you about that! I always ALWAYS pity myself and say I need Skittles because I'm feeling glum and it'll help my mood. It never does in the long run, when I'm eating that crap sure it's nice but once it's over I feel so stupid for giving in. I think you should use your body weight for weight training if you aren't interested in buying weights. I'd still recommend Blogilates since it's all about using your body to tone up. Otherwise get creative and lift jars of food! Or big bottles filled with water. I did that for a while until I bought dumbbells. Hmm...that's a difficult question to answer. Have you done much cardio before? Have you ever at some point been a runner? If you're a no on both accounts (like I was!) then it took me a couple of months of running 3 times a week to get up to running 1 mile without stopping. If you follow a C25K program then I believe that's 2 months but I'm unsure if people who have done it are able to run non stop on race day or not. I'd say 4-5 months from personal experience. Once you build up that fitness it takes a lot for it to go away though, I haven't been running distances for almost a year but because I had a couple of years of on and off running under my belt I'm able to do it.
If you want to build up your endurance you have to do those long cardio exercises like swimming, running or biking. Biking of course would be the best, then I'd say running. Since you have something to aim for, perhaps it's time to face the cold?
runthec - Oh man, good luck with resisting delicious snacks from home! Maybe put the chips in small baggies and ration them out? How long are you expecting to live in America, btw? Are you here for good? Woohoo, congrats on one jean size down, that's amazing! When it's nice it's nice but man Colorado just likes to get all random on me. Snow, wind, sunshine all within a couple of weeks!
Last edited by Riestrella; 04-06-2016 at 06:16 PM.
I said I was going to check in regularly, but I guess I failed at doing that. I've had some huge news this week, and not the best kind, so I'm just trying to process at the moment. I'll share with you guys, since I actually do plan on taking part in the Summer challenge - I've been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. It's been a possibility for the past 8 months or so, but there was a part of me hoping it would go away and that my appointment would not show any changes on my most recent MRI, but it did, so here I am.
I'm not really sure how I feel at the moment, other than that I actually want to really make the most of the fact I'm feeling mostly good to get myself healthy, and hopefully weight loss will be a byproduct. Not knowing what the future, even immediately, holds for me has me wanting to make the most of things now.
Sorry for the downer post! I'm probably going to continue in my theme of not posting so much in the chat thread, but still reading your posts - I want to be up to date so I can hopefully jump right on in with the challenge next week (aside from the fact we'll have people staying with us, which always throws me off with eating well!)
rainbowstripe- Wow, that is some tough news. That must have been hard to hear. What symptoms are you having that made them look into it in the first place? I know a few people (one young woman) who have MS. They are doing really well, but I can only imagine what the insecurity does to you. But yeah, it should definitely be an additional motivation to eat well and exercise. Do you know anyone in your environment who has MS? It's such a weird condition that I think talking with others can be so helpful in knowing who to deal with symptoms/what kinds of therapy help and so on. I've talked about this a lot with my friend and she says it hasn't affected her life much at all thus far - apart from the initial shock and the fact that she is much more motivated to maintain a healthy lifestyle. She was diagnosed about a decade ago. In any case, I think your attitude is great; making the most of it right now is really the only thing that makes any sense.
Rie - I have to leave the US in June. It was just one academic year, and it has gone by so fast. I really wish I could stay, but even if I were able to extend my visa, I have a boyfriend, a cat and a house back in Belgium. I'm really worried about how I will respond to being back home, because I'm happier here now than I've been in a long time. Ah well. Hope you enjoyed star wars, and good luck editing that footage!
I'm also really looking forward to starting the challenge next week!!
Last edited by runthecontinent; 04-07-2016 at 10:54 AM.
runthecontinent Thanks for your kind words! I had Optic Neuritis (inflammation of the optic nerve, caused temporary blindness in one eye and came with a lot of pain) in July last year, which can typically be linked to the onset of MS - so they did the first MRI shortly after that, and followups since. Nothing else I've been experiencing can be definitely linked to being part of it, though I have been pretty fatigued for around a year - but again, that could just be to do with energy/activity levels. I don't know anyone else with MS, unfortunately, so no one really to talk to, but I'm hoping to maybe talk to a few people at the newly diagnosed info session - if it's the type of thing with other people around. I think it's more the unknown stuff that's scary, like not knowing what could happen or when it could happen - so yes - definitely just trying to think positively!!
Thanks for the tips and advice, guys! It helps a lot! Sometimes when I do research on exercise (running, biking, etc.), I get mostly info for people looking to be professionals or dedicated to it. I need beginner, casual stuff.
And oh my gosh, the challenge opens next Monday? Where has the time gone? But at the same time, the challenge official start is when I'm ending my maintenance jaunt, so I'm looking forward to that! (Mostly - it has been pretty relaxing).
runthecontinent: I'm glad you had a good time visiting with your bf! And good luck resisting all those treats! You can do it! (they sound delicious, btw!). Congrats on the size down in jeans! I love when that happens! I like the idea of a test bike ride. It'll give me an idea of where I am. And my seat is kind of rusted in place (it's an old bike), so...hopefully it's fine, because I'm pretty sure it's fused at this point.
NNS: I'm jealous of all the biking you do - it sounds like you like it a lot (biking often makes me cranky, but I wish I loved it). It is awfully pretty on the bike trails! Especially by lakes! I actually just got a tune up for my bike because it basically got thrown down a hill (beyond my capabilities to fix, so a professional was needed). I'll have to keep up my bike maintenance, since you are so right that a wonky bike makes it so much worse! Hm, I like the idea of the shorter (yet harder) uphill rides for training. Good idea. I'm gonna get out there on that bike!
Rie: I hate rough periods. Luckily I don't get many, but they suck when they're there. I hope your video footage issue for work gets sorted out - how frustrating! Congrats to your BF! And I'm glad your running is going well!
I don't always resist food urges (when I don't, I hate it), but it's 40x worse when I don't, so that's pretty motivating for me. And I salute your efforts to get regular physical activity - I'm usually like, "meh, it's kinda cold, I'll just not." I'll check out Blogilates - I like the idea of using my body weight (at least until I feel the urge to get any equipment). I did used to run briefly years ago (casually - about 3 miles 3x a week) - took me forever to get there, and I hated it a lot (until I loved it). Ugh, I hate cold. I have been walking even though it's been in the 30s...so, baby steps?
Rainbow: Oh gosh, that must have been hard to hear. I'm glad you're doing as well as can be right now. A healthy lifestyle is supposed to help, I've been told, and you've got a lot of knowledge about that already. Let us know how you're doing. The only person I know with MS is my cousin, and she has been diagnosed for a few years now, but she's doing great (also, a lot of women on her side of the family have MS, apparently). It'll be nice to have people you care about stay with you for a while (even though they do tend to throw off eating/exercise schedules!).
Not much to report on. I've been in a terrible mood the last couple of days that I've only seemed to shake off today. Yesterday I was very close to not working out at all but then I decided to do a yoga routine for bad moods in the evening, so I'm happy I did something. Today I'm going to drive to a lake that's about 15 minutes away and run the trail that loops around it. It'll be just under 4 miles, so I'll do a couple of loops of one of the small parks that we'll park at to make my run 4 miles. I'm actually really looking forward to it! A change of scenery should be nice. My right knee i.e. my old injured knee has been niggling this morning, so I'll have to put my knee brace on and hope for the best. My BF is coming with me to sit and read while I run around, it'll be nice knowing he'll be there at the end and it gives me more of an incentive to go when we've made the plans to go together!
In other news my green card interview has been scheduled! I'm slightly annoyed because I sent off the paperwork to renew my work permit, only to see 2 days later that my green card interview was scheduled which means a new work permit is not necessary. It's on May 11th, so about a month away. We're a genuine couple so I don't have much to worry about other than them telling me my medical that I had in England before I came has expired and I might need a new one. I'm gonna wait to see if they say anything because some people went knowing it had expired and the immigration officer said nothing.
I finally got in touch with the director of the project I'm editing, her information literally would have been a short email so I wasted a day not editing. Then I wasted another day not doing anything because I'm stupid and I felt moody. Today I'm going to work a "double shift" to make up for lost time. It's only going to be a 3 minute video so it shouldn't take me too long.
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rainbow - I'll echo what others have said about your diagnosis, that it must be a huge shock to you and very overwhelming, but at the same time I think now is the perfect time to get fit and healthy. In doing so I think you'll better your chance of the symptoms not over taking your life and affecting your quality of living. It's pretty incredible what a healthy lifestyle can do for your body! I bet it must be nice to hear about friends of the girls on this thread who have it but don't notice it that much, I think we would all jump to the worse case scenario but you can lead a normal, healthy life and not let it overtake you. The mind is such a powerful thing, as you know, so keeping positive and focusing on other things will do you a world of good. My Nana was full of life and love and energy then when she was diagnosed with cancer she became scared and weak. It was heartbreaking to see, because the life in her was gone before she passed away. I honestly think her cancer took her sooner than it should have because of her mentality. So if I've learned anything, it's to look on the positive side no matter what.
runthec - It's hard staying here that's for sure, but America will always be here to visit and I'm sure you have friends now who will let you stay with them!
Penny - The challenge has come at a perfect time for you! If you were doing 3 miles 3x a week then I think that's a pretty good foundation! You might not find it difficult to get back into it. The best piece of advice I can give to you, which I stupidly don't follow myself, is don't compare your performance now to your past performance. It can be really disheartening going on a run and not making it 1 mile without feeling winded and thinking "I used to do this so easily!" Definitely consider running as a fresh start and use something like the C25K program to get back into it. You might only need it for a couple of weeks before you feel ready.
I've been struggling with writing here because I've been for most of the day at work answering emails and I'm NOT a writer so I've just been reading everyone's posts. But I'd like to check in at least on my days off so hopefully I'll be better in the next challenge.
I've had a very up and down month. It's kind of frustrating because I feel like I constantly lose enough to get down to 142 and then the week later, I start emotional eating or eating out in social situations and go back to 143 and I can't get past these stupid numbers. I haven't seen 141 since last year in February and I really need that hope of seeing the 130s. At least I've consistently been walking and continued to refine my eating plan so that I'm enjoying the meals I'm eating when I eat healthy. I also got a gym membership and I'm having success working out on the elliptical right after work and I bring my iPad so I can watch music videos that make it a lot more fun to work out.
Of course, the problem is always when social plans or unexpected things come up and make it hard to workout or when I go out with a friend and feel like I'm in a new restaurant so I deserve to try something new. Last week I did that and then had a couple of bad emotional eating binges. It's so hard to fight that strong urge to eat eat eat and it DOES make me feel a lot better in the moment and it's not like I feel terrible afterwards, just disappointed in myself. I had a time when I was able to fight it, I listened to these affirmation meditations and took a nap and when I woke up I felt a lot better. But those are much harder to come by. I know it's just because I've made it a habit to deal with my bad emotions (loneliness has been bad for me lately) with food but I wish I could feel more in control of my eating.
ANYWAYS I was hoping that going to the American Ninja Warrior LA finals would help and it reaaaally really did! I had so much fun cheering on my favorite ninjas and it was so inspiring to see them do so well on the course and I really wanted to be out there with them. It was frustrating talking to a few of them who I met a year ago and had hoped I would make progress and instead I look exactly the same. But I am determined not to repeat my mistakes and all of a sudden I feel like a fire has been lighted under me. I went to my parkour gym yesterday and trained really hard and I feel so much better because I haven't gone in a few weeks and I didn't realize how much I missed it. Today I worked out after work and I've avoided every food temptation since then as I just think about how much I want to lose weight to be able to do the obstacles and show the other ninjas I can do it as well as all my other reasons I want to lose weight. Mostly I just feel determined to keep going with losing weight, never give up and prioritize doing it no matter what life stuff comes up.
Riestrella Late reply but I saw Panic at the Disco! in concert and it was fun. I've only recently gotten into them but I'm in love with their latest album. The Panera dressings that I eat aren't super healthy, I eat the Poppyseed and Fuji apple ones. But they're the only ones that I loooove and help me eat my salads so I budget them in my calories and they're pretty free of the really bad ingredients (HFCS and the like) so they're fine. I think they have healthier options as well.
Good for you for doing yoga even on a bad day! The train run sounds really nice, I hope it goes well. I love running in nature, it's the best way to run IMO. Good luck with the green card stuff and with your video editing project!
Hi all! Just quickly checking in and catching up on your posts. This month has been a bit crazy so haven't been able to post or do personals as much as I would like to.
Excited for the challenge to open on Monday, thank goodness!!! I have put on 3 pounds since the end of the last challenge overall, although I had actually put on 5.5 and have since lost some. I'm hoping the new challenge will give me extra motivation to do well and stay focused.
Whoo, for the new challenge starting! I've taken some time out since the end of the last one. I didn't diet - but I tried to be moderate - except for when my birthday got in the way a bit (lots of lunch invites and cakes being bought over a few weeks). I was dreading getting on the scales but I have only put on 1.5 lb so am happy with that. Picking up the pace again and hoping the challenge will keep me on track and motivated.
I was listening to a podcast on obesity today on my walk, and there was a doctor of bariatric medicine and another doctor (forgot of what) discussing the topic. They were talking about how apparently 30 years ago the standards for healthy body fat percentages were 12-15% for men and 15-20% for women (although they said 20% for women was still considered the higher end, and toward the middle or lower end was ideal). That is pretty different from the standards we have now.
It makes me think a bit about how pants sizes have changed so much, where a 2 now was a 10 back then.
Rie: I hope your terrible mood clears up - that's never fun. Your lake run sounds like fun! Good scenery makes a big difference! Hooray for your greencard interview being scheduled!
Yeah, my performance now is not what it was. But it does let me know that it can get a lot better. I'm thinking I might start running in the next few weeks, but we'll see. I want a few weeks of regular exercise under my belt first, I think.
Zucena: I feel you on that frustration. Being so close but so far is awful. The goal is riiiight there, but also hard to reach, and that's enough to make someone crazy at times. That's so cool that you do parkour! A couple of my siblings did that when we were kids, but stopped because we lived in a very flat area with very few buildings (i.e., nowhere to practice).
I hope to see your chatter over there! Thanks for a great month of support .
I've posted personals from this thread over in the new 20-something challenge thread - see you over there! (Sorry if you're a chicks up for a challenge person, I can't remember who belongs where!)
It was just one academic year, and it has gone by so fast. I really wish I could stay, but even if I were able to extend my visa, I have a boyfriend, a cat and a house back in Belgium. I'm really worried about how I will respond to being back home, because I'm happier here now than I've been in a long time. Ah well. Hope you enjoyed star wars, and good luck editing that footage!
