Dmd so glad you like the shorts. Mine shipped today.
Didn’t feel super great yesterday, but walked 3 miles ( with. Incline) on the treadmill.
Lizardly that’s a good point about having to give up something else to work out. I love to read and still do quite a bit, but I now devote some of that time to fitness.
Sabaray, do you ever backslide? How do you get back on track? I’m trying to re-lose 35, but I still have to eat, and all my various parts are so beat up that I can’t burn lots of calories.
Am still contemplating Lifetime. Told DH I was thinking about switching from rehab + WW to them and why, and the first thing he said was “are you actually going to go?” REALLY? I pointedly said I’d been going to cardiac rehab reguarly for the past 4.5 years, so how could he question my commitment? Then he went on and on about the contract terms and membership fee. Said that I can’t pay for it out of any account he’s on and that I’d have to get a prepaid card or account to do it. After I fumed, I realized this was a golden opportunity. Will be setting up an account in just my name. Since DH didn’t get me anything for Hanukkah or my birthday, the membership fee (if any, depending when I pull the trigger) will be my birthday present to myself.
I’m still really po’d. But I’m not eating my anger.
Jeez hate to sound like a whiner here, however, I already get up at 5 for work and it’s sooo dark when I get home and my dog died so I would be out alone : /. I do, however, have a commercial-grade Stairmaster, so I guess I’ll fire that up, ugh, soooo boring. I would much rather hike an outdoor trail!! Darnit, this was much easier when I was on vacation at home, sigh.
I haven’t been posting during break, but today I am back to work. Like so many of you, I am happy to be back into a regular routine. Way too much sugar and unhealthy food over break! Still got plenty of running in, though.
Hello to the new posters. This is a great group of very supportive people!
Bunsen - I sure hope you are feeling better and not coming down with the crud. I hope you are healing nicely from surgery. Stay away from the weights until you are healed!
sabaray - you truly are amazing! To have maintained a 100 pound weight loss is just incredible! Your 2017 goals are great and I love how you are so committed to Pilates.
My fitness goals for 2017 are modest. I have things I need to work on in other areas of life and I realize that I can’t be so focused on running and fitness at the expense of other things. But I am planning to increase and improve my strength training - I was better and doing more before I got so into marathon training and let the strength training take a back burner. I want to reduce the amount of sugar that I consume and improve the nutritional content of what I eat. I want to focus less on competitive running and more on supporting other runners with their goals.
So far I am registered for two full marathons, three half marathons, and a half dozen shorter races. So many races had price increases that went into effect on January 1 so I did a lot of registrations last week!
@SalveMater I’m going to echo all the good advice above plus ask if you could find an exercise buddy. I never used to have anyone to run with, but now my fiancé keeps me on track, even on days when I feel like a slug! Plus there are a lot of great tips here for cute outfits. I always feel more motivated if I have some new shorts or top to wear.
C3Baker – good to see you back! How far apart are your marathons? Smart to register early!
ok so cute outfits as motivators and make time. I’m joining a Monday yoga class, at least for flexibility it will help my priformis pain immensely. Still sticking to Myfitness Pal and firing up that Stairmaster I paid so many dollars for lol
No buddy yet because I couldn’t keep up with a turtle right now, all my friends are runners.,maybe some day.
@CountingDown - Weight maintenance has always been a problem in the past for me. With previous “diets” I relied on frozen diet dinners - Lean Cuisine, special “diet” foods to lose weight - this time I ate real food and paid attention to sugar content. Through exercise, I met other people who were concerned about their health and I built a social life around those activities. The more fit I’ve become the more activities I’m able to engage in - and that improves my mood and makes me less interested in eating a bunch of junk to “cheer myself up” - like that ever works. There was a time I really restricted carbs and I think my running suffered, so I’ve added some back in - but only occasionally. I have “rules” for eating now - I can have a donut but it has to be purchased at a donut specialty store and I can only have one. No more buying a dozen from the grocery bakery and eating them all in an evening because I was bored and lonely. No fast food.
It’s not easy and for those with medical issues it’s even more challenging. Having family who are not supportive of your goals is not ideal, but you can overcome the obstacles. If you haven’t read Pollan’s “Food Rules” I really recommend it. Make sure you’re eating enough. Severe calorie restriction will push your body into starvation mode - then it will be impossible to shake off those pounds. You can do it.
C3Baker, that’s a lot of races! Wow. But I love this: “I want to focus less on competitive running and more on supporting other runners with their goals.”
SM, you have a stair master!!! That’s great. You can watch TV on there and even read. Way back when my kids were little, I did a lot of stair master and got so I could read magazines on there (not books, but maybe if I’d stayed with it…I could read The New Yorker).
Countingdown, you show him.
It’s hard to get through these dark days of winter. I think we’ve literally saw the sun 1 day of the last 7 and it may have been longer! And going to work in the dark and coming home in the same is tough.
My sil said something years ago when I was complaining about not having time to exercise and being so tired. She said that once I made exercise a habit, I would be surprised how much more energy I would have. Darn if she wasn’t right. It’s kind of a mystery.
An hour walk today. It’s warmer today but tomorrow it’s going to turn cold and snowy. I’m trying to be better and reporting progress here. I usually am not a slacker and do something but it seems so repetitive that I neglect to post here. I am going to try harder to make an effort to post what I’ve done, even if I think it’s tiny.
My goal this year is to drop a few pounds. Not very original I know, but those last 5 pounds or so just won’t budge. I’ve adjusted my eating plan to include more protein and to be sure I’m eating it earlier in the day. Then making sure I have enough carbs, and not worrying about the fats, as long as they’re primarily healthy fats. I also recently started some strength/resistance training. So maybe - fingers crossed - this will do the trick. I’ll keep you posted, of course!
I think this is key. Reporting back here and having some accountability to the D/E/H/W family saved me many a time. Nothing is too small.
Agreed sabaray. On that note, I’d love some more fitbit friends. Please PM me if you need my contact info.
I actually walked 2500 steps on my morning break. ok i think i can do this, just please don’t make me run lol. ever since i was a teen, that sick feeling where your lungs feel like they’re going to burst and your side aches and you can’t walk for 3 wks after. i can’t do it! please body don’t get over me just walking!
@lizardly yes, you wanna buy it! it’s sooo boring. total drudgery. that’s not how i like watching TV, grrr. ok nuff whining…for now.
Salve- therein lies the problem. Running is not for everyone, but the main reason people hate it and/or think they can’t possibly do it is because they try to go too fast! If you want increased fitness benefits, just add a few steps of very easy jogging during your walks. Maybe build up to 30 seconds and then a minute. Keep your breathing moderate- no huffing and puffing. You should do your running at a conversational pace. No lungs going to burst feeling! Again- if you are very adverse to it, so be it, but I think it would be a totally different experience for you if you slow WAY WAY down. I’m talking “is this really running?” slow. The benefits will come. Next thing you know you are running 5 minutes and then walking. You can cover more ground and work your heart a little bit more.
@SalveMater do what you can! You will find encouragement in what ever you want to do. Not everyone here runs, maybe to you it seems like it. But running is not the point of this. It’s to encourage you to change what you want to change. If you aren’t moving, then move. If you are eating too much or the wrong things, change that.
This is up to you. I walked today, I don’t know what I’ll do tomorrow. It’s suppose to be 15 and snow showers (I can only hope that we get snow). I can walk in 15 degree weather if it’s not too icy. @NorthMinnesota is walking, in Minnesota!
Lulu cancelled my pullover again. So annoying that they will cancel it and it will probably be on WMTM tomorrow. It’s not meant to be. I think I can live without it Lol!
I too think reporting is important - it’s good for the reporter - giving themselves a pat on the back. It’s good for the other posters - sometimes it helps get us off the couch! Nothing is too little.
With that, I got home from work, threw off my work clothes, threw on some leggings and got in a 2 mile walk before it started raining.
Runners often post because it’s easy to report those miles. Ran 3. Ran 5. Whatever! But absolutely post your walks, push ups, squats, planks, bike miles - any of it!
2500 steps at work great is SM! That’s easily over a mile!!!
@Sabaray, my cardiologist was quite adamant that I not go below 1400 calories/1400 mg sodium, as anything under 1200 could compromise my heart. She has also vetoed having me run because of the risk of injury. She’d rather have me walk instead. Good decision, as I’ve had one meniscus surgery since her recommendation, and now my other meniscus is showing signs of needing repair. I have lots of hand weights at home, an exercise ball, mat, Airdyne bike and bands.
I haven’t had a donut since 2011! It’s one of those trigger foods for me, so I am better off steering clear entirely. (Have realized that pizza is one of those things I just can’t have. Takes me down a bad road, in no time at all.) I used to hit the Safeway next to my office for two donuts (or apple fritters, or muffins) and two diet Pepsis for breakfast every morning. Some days I hit the McD’s before getting to the office, too, and still went to Safeway.
I started in April 2011 just trying to reduce my A1C, which was 6.4% at the time. Cut out the fast food, and the muffins/donuts/grilled cheese/mac & cheese, etc., and started walking. Also asked myself “Is this a good choice?” before sticking food in my mouth, and journaled. (Oh, the reality. Keeping a food journal is the most effective method of weight loss I know of.) Changing some of my meds also contributed to weight loss. Took two years, eleven months and six days to lose 100; held 95 of it for 18 months, and then started creeping. I tried WW last year, but found I could eat well over 1400 calories and not use all my points, and I gained anyway. It is not hard to consume 3000 calories a day. A few decisions of picking A instead of B, and wham!
My oncologist lost 80 lbs after my heart attack (she’s the same age as me and I guess I scared her to death). She did the protein shake diet. She rewarded herself after the loss with a tummy tuck, but has confided that she’s regained some of the weight back.
S2 cooked for us last night, and what he thinks is healthy is way over what I can have (though delicious). He doesn’t need to squirt olive oil all over the salmon when he puts it on the grill! It had skin and tin foil underneath! I’m afraid to ask what he put in the hummus pesto.
@BunsenBurner, I hope you return to good health soon.
@CountingDown, I’m really sorry your H isn’t more supportive of you.
I belong to Lifetime, and I really like it. I don’t “use” all the benefits they offer, but believe it or or, paying a fair amount for the membership helps motivate me to actually use it. It’s only about 10 minutes from my house, so it’s pretty convenient. They have many classes, and most of not all of them don’t cost any extra.
It’s cold (32) and the Gorge winds are fierce out of the east (they come down the Columbia River Gorge from the Cascades) so I pushed hard on my post-dog-training two-mile run… which I wanted to be half an hour, so I had to do extra 
Normally I take it very easy as a recovery run after my hour of dog agility training.
I’m trying hard to eat very carefully and get rid of the last thirteen pounds–but I’ve been trying to get rid of them for a year, and I can’t help wondering if I should just call it good. I want to lose them for the benefit of my knees, though. And my race times.
Another 2500 steps on my afternoon break.
@dmd77 If I don’t get down and stay down to where I want to be after all this, I will be torqued!