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Well Trained Bodies (Diet & Exercise) - Feb 2018


Granny_Weatherwax
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After a bit of a rocky start, my diet plan is going great. I had fantastic results last month and am sticking with it for February.

 

I am running a half marathon this weekend, and after this week is over IĂ¢â‚¬â„¢ll be working with my personal trainer three times a week instead of twice a week. My main goal here is to prevent seasonal depression, but my secondary goal is fitness. IĂ¢â‚¬â„¢m really enjoying the weight lifting so IĂ¢â‚¬â„¢m looking forward to seeing what kind of progress I can make with three times a week.

 

One thing IĂ¢â‚¬â„¢m not doing great at is daily steps. IĂ¢â‚¬â„¢m good on days I run, but IĂ¢â‚¬â„¢m not good in other days. I need to get out for some regular walks.

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Everything is going well.  I still have not added weights.  Just doing cardio.  I want to, but then I don't really want to spend even more time at the gym.  So...hmmm.... 

 

I've considered adding that in at home.  I just don't know where to start.  I have some hand weights, but that's it.  I don't have a ton of space (so I can't buy a bunch of equipment).  It still needs to be fairly quick and easy otherwise I won't do it.

 

 

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Well, all things considered, I'm pretty pleased with how things are going. It seems my anxiety and depression are lessening, my bad days aren't quite as bad and frequent. I was thinking back in Dec. I was terrified of even going to the little gym that is nearly empty (and even had a friend go with me the first time) but I signed up for the big gym Tues, home to lots of weightlifters and went right into the free weights. I added back in magnesium and picked a form that is supposed to help with anxiety, I'm not sure if that has helped or my crazy hormones are lining up some(I don't know how I'll make it through menopause). Looking at January I had 8 weightlifting days and 11 walking/hiking days, that was less than my goal but with the weather and dealing with my mood, I think that is pretty darn good. I'm eating real good whole food, trying to get in lots of veggies. For the moment I've decided to cut back on weighing, I think that might be more harm than good right now. 

 

 I was really tired yesterday afternoon (ds had book club and we had errands), all I wanted to do was collapse when I made it home BUT I really wanted to walk in the nice weather, so I didn't even sit down but put on my hiking shoes and headed out the door. We did a little romp through the woods, we were gone about an hour but that was with plenty of stops to check out this and that- balance on logs and hang on grapevines, etc. I did a bit of stretching when I got back. 

 

I'm very excited about joining the new gym and getting somewhere that has proper weights, I wish I would have gone there from the start but I did make some progress in Dec/January. I can't wait to go lifting tonight and have been excited since I left the gym. I kept my weight on Tues. to what I had done the last time since I had missed over a week for sickness and I didn't want to embarrass myself struggling but had no issue with any of the weights and need to increase on everything except bench. I only benched once in Jan on the Smith Machine(since the other gym didn't have a proper bench), they say you don't count any of the bar weight with the Smith Machine and I could only do 30 lb so I wasn't sure how I'd do with free weights but I did the bar(45lb) easily, adding on 10 lbs was the right amount of difficulty so I'm keeping it there tonight. I'm trying out back squats (I've been doing goblets- the squat rack was busy when I was ready for it so I just did goblets again so I'm not sure what kind of weight I can do with a back squat so I'm going to just try the bar to work on form)

 

I'm hoping to get in a walk today too and have enough time after weights to stretch before getting the kids.

 

Strengthtraining 2/1-

Bench press- 55lb 

OH Press- 15 lb  

Rows-30 lb- 

Squats- 45 lb 

Deadlifts 95 (I did 75 lb last time but it was still easy- this time I'm going to try 95 and add on for other sets if it is still easy)

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January was great. Few days were perfect, but in general I met my eating goals and exercise goals. I'm down 5 pounds which was my holiday weight gain, and my jeans are fitting better again. The first 4 came off pretty easily but the 5th has taken a few weeks, so I'm not expecting quick weight loss from here--every pound lost will be hard-fought. I would love to lose 6 more total over the next several months, but even 4 more would be good. I did my 6 days/week treadmill walking. I would love to do some HIIT, but that's not going to happen unless/until the plantar fasciitis goes away. Maybe I'll try to more actively stretch and heal that. I did a bodyweight circuit 3 days a week and got a lot better at it. I'd like to change it up a bit for February and maybe find an ab workout as that's the only place I didn't lose any inches in January.

 

Feb goals:

Diet: 1540 cals/day, My Fitness Pal daily, protein & fiber targets met, 4-5 servings fruit/veggies per day, sweets only on Sunday, etc.

 

Exercise: treadmill walking 6 days/week, bodyweight or other strength/core/ab exercises 10 min/day. Find an ab workout I can do 3 days/week. Find some foot/calf stretches to do for PF.

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January was OK. I exercised as much as I planned. I started a body weight program which I can follow, so that is good. My fencing for some reason degraded. Don't know what to do with it, especially 10 days before the next competition. I planned to figure out my eating habits. I didn't quite accomplish that, but I made a dent in that task, thanks to DH's health scare. Just after 10 days he is at a number he hasn't seen in a long time.

 

I am still trying to figure out all the fluctuations in my energy levels, which are mostly OK, but some days I am just dead. This month I made a page in my bullet journal to record my calorie intake, with macros, my sleep, naps, exercise, cycle, and energy. I hope to see some correlation. Any other things I may want to track?

 

For exercise I plan to continue what I am doing and hope to see some progress in strength training. I also hope to even out my quads. I noticed yesterday that my left one is noticeable, but not my right one. All those lunges :)

 

Today I have a private lesson, and maybe some cardio in the evening.

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I am still trying to figure out all the fluctuations in my energy levels, which are mostly OK, but some days I am just dead.

 

I wonder the same thing about myself.  Some days I'm ridiculously energetic and some days I feel like I'm in a walking coma.  There is no rhyme or reason to it that I can tell! 

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Went to Zumba yesterday and there was a substitute instructor.  :(  That makes for a less vigorous workout when 3/4 of the routine is new . A lot of energy gets devoted to figuring out which foot is supposed to be going where. I generally have to learn feet first and then add arms so cardio was definitely down. But. It was a workout. 

 

Today I've gotten in 12000 steps without exercising per se, though we did go on a "hike" with the kids from the preschool/kindergarten that I work in. (Not much of a hike, but some extra steps.) 

 

I should go to the gym tonight. Will call dh to see if we can meet. 

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Strength training done at gym, RAWR!

 

All the lifts went well, I think I'll keep at those weights my next session but think I'll be able to add on a bit the following time at least for my oh press, bench, and rows. I think the form on my back squat needs work, it has been so long since I've done one I felt a little off balance at times, I'll continue doing it with the bar until I get it down. I upped deadlift to 95lbs and could feel it but got all my reps. Bench press was easier than last time. I'm planning to go on Saturday.

 

I did not get in a walk. You know how I said my sleep was pretty good, it has gone to crap since then, as such things go. First I woke up at 4, then 3, then 2, and now tonight at 1. Sigh. If I wasn't prepping for my cortisol test I'd take melatonin. I thought it was caused by this or that but who knows. Anyway, I was tired yesterday after being up for 3 hrs in the night. 

 

Today I'll aim for a walk again, otherwise, I am cleaning house and have to run ds in for Math and we have a quiet evening planned (first one this week without anything going on).

 

.January was OK. I exercised as much as I planned. I started a body weight program which I can follow, so that is good. My fencing for some reason degraded. Don't know what to do with it, especially 10 days before the next competition. I planned to figure out my eating habits. I didn't quite accomplish that, but I made a dent in that task, thanks to DH's health scare. Just after 10 days he is at a number he hasn't seen in a long time.

I am still trying to figure out all the fluctuations in my energy levels, which are mostly OK, but some days I am just dead. This month I made a page in my bullet journal to record my calorie intake, with macros, my sleep, naps, exercise, cycle, and energy. I hope to see some correlation. Any other things I may want to track?

 

For exercise I plan to continue what I am doing and hope to see some progress in strength training. I also hope to even out my quads. I noticed yesterday that my left one is noticeable, but not my right one. All those lunges :)

 

Today I have a private lesson, and maybe some cardio in the evening.

If the fatigue is serious you might want to look at bloodtests for vitamins and hormones. The biggest connections for me seems to be my cycle, food, and activity level. If I have really busy days I'm going to need a day or two to rest, I try to build some rest time into busy days when I can so it doesn't hit me so hard but that isn't always possible. I sleep better when I'm not very low carb and when I eat more- but that has to be balanced obviously.

Edited by soror
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The days are getting longer!!!!  I can't believe how much of a difference this makes. It's still light out at 5:30 pm, and it's getting lighter and lighter. 

 

It's been a weird January for me. I've not been going to the gym, but I have been skiing, snowshoeing and skating as often as possible. Lack of snow has been annoying, but at least it's slightly warmer now. I'm playing tennis about once a week, which isn't nearly as much as I'd like but the only affordable option in the winter.

 

Food-wise is pretty good. My gut health is stable and pain-free, which is wonderful. My weight is unknown as the scale mysteriously stopped working. I'm fitting into my clothing just fine, and some pants are a much looser fit. I don't really know if it's from muscle atrophy or fat loss.  :laugh:

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The days are getting longer!!!! I can't believe how much of a difference this makes. It's still light out at 5:30 pm, and it's getting lighter and lighter.

I know!! It is wonderful this daylight thing!

 

Aside from being sick or recovering for the first couple of weeks of January, it went well. IĂ¢â‚¬â„¢m not super duper great at extreme diets so my progress in food/weight/etc is slow as always. Which, on the positive side also means itĂ¢â‚¬â„¢s easy. I like easy.

 

Ran 40 minutes on the treadmill yesterday with a short hill sprint at the end. The plan assumes youĂ¢â‚¬â„¢re running outside to which I wonder, how people running outside would manage this hill at the end of their run. Treadmill makes the hill thing easy at least.

 

IĂ¢â‚¬â„¢m going to run with dh when he gets back around lunchtime today. It will be on the treadmill again because itĂ¢â‚¬â„¢s really cold outside. I thought IĂ¢â‚¬â„¢d have a harder time not running outside. IĂ¢â‚¬â„¢m not because itĂ¢â‚¬â„¢s so cold! Girl Scout cookie sales start tomorrow so meeting my step goal the rest of the month will be much easier, but cold. IĂ¢â‚¬â„¢m not looking forward to it.

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I just got some of my labs back, interestingly my T3 levels are exactly the same as they were in Oct when I was taking less meds. I'd heard some say they need more meds in the winter but didn't have any proof of that, although I had wondered with the troubles I tend to have in winter. My T4 is still below range, we had upped one thyroid med in Oct. to help with that and it has risen a smidge but I'm still clinically low. My d and ferritin are both below optimum now, although clinically in range, I had been cautiously supplementing them as I wasn't sure where I was at, I'll be upping both of those. Now, I just need one more thyroid test back to see if I can tolerate more of my NDT to get my T4 where it needs to be, fingers crossed my RT3 lab still looks good. I still am waiting for my iodine levels as well. I'm doing my cortisol test on Sunday but have to wait 10-14 days for the right timing for the hormone test.

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January was alright.  

 

I was happy with my dedication to going to the gym, especially since I'm almost always on my own and it means getting up earlier in the morning than I would like.  If I'm going to keep this up, I really need to work on getting to bed earlier, which is hard because the rest of my family are night owls and would love to stay up chatting and playing with me until midnight.  But I need to be in bed by 10:30 at the latest if I'm getting up at 5 something.

 

Diet was up and down.  I haven't totally cried fowl and binged like I usually do when things don't go perfectly, so that was good.  I've been telling myself that I don't need to be perfect, just try to make better choices overall.  I really need to have the weekends available to prepare for the coming week and that didn't happen the last 3 weekends, which made the weeks more challenging.  This weekend the kids are away at a zillion birthday parties so I should have time in between running around dropping them off and picking them up to actually prep food.

 

My goals for February are to keep getting to the gym 4 x week and to keep tracking my food and to keep getting in my steps.  I'm hoping that my visit to the athletic therapist this coming Monday will not be too scary and will give me some ideas for what upper body workouts I can still do without doing more damage to my shoulder.  I'm also hoping she doesn't tell me to stop playing volleyball as that would make me sad (and my team would also be unhappy).

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After a bit of a rocky start, my diet plan is going great. I had fantastic results last month and am sticking with it for February.

 

I am running a half marathon this weekend, and after this week is over IĂ¢â‚¬â„¢ll be working with my personal trainer three times a week instead of twice a week. My main goal here is to prevent seasonal depression, but my secondary goal is fitness. IĂ¢â‚¬â„¢m really enjoying the weight lifting so IĂ¢â‚¬â„¢m looking forward to seeing what kind of progress I can make with three times a week.

 

One thing IĂ¢â‚¬â„¢m not doing great at is daily steps. IĂ¢â‚¬â„¢m good on days I run, but IĂ¢â‚¬â„¢m not good in other days. I need to get out for some regular walks.

 

All the best with your half! 

 

Do you find the outdoor running through the winter has been effective in preventing or decreasing feelings of seasonal depression? I've found my outdoor exercising has been great with keeping my mood upbeat. I have to admit that even when I'm not exercising, but simply out driving can raise my mood. It can also lower it, too, though because there are so many crazy drivers on the roads.  :coolgleamA:

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So the ab workout I'm trying this month is Fitnessblender.com's 10-minute-abs workout. I thought the instructor seemed non-intimidating. I gave it a shot this morning and I will be surprised if I can do the whole thing by the end of the month. There are 10 exercises, 50 seconds each, with 10 seconds in between to get ready for the next one. Some I could do for 50 seconds. I did some of all of them. Some were very hard for me (the front facing plank kicking legs in the air--can't do the plank long at all). But anyway, I'm sure I'll do better at the end of the month than I did today!

 

https://www.fitnessblender.com/videos/10-minute-abs-workout-at-home-abs-and-obliques-exercises-with-no-equipment

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If the fatigue is serious you might want to look at bloodtests for vitamins and hormones. The biggest connections for me seems to be my cycle, food, and activity level. If I have really busy days I'm going to need a day or two to rest, I try to build some rest time into busy days when I can so it doesn't hit me so hard but that isn't always possible. I sleep better when I'm not very low carb and when I eat more- but that has to be balanced obviously.

 

It is not serious enough for doctors to take me seriously. It's just irritating. And it is different ion different days. Sometimes it is more like brain fog, sometimes my body just wants to be left alone, sometimes it is both. It wasn't too bad since I started tracking everything, but I did notice that I feel best when I get 9 hours of sleep, which is rare. I also notice brain fog when carbs are low. Actually, the only time I really crave carbs is when I am doing something brain-intensive, like helping DD with AOPS precalculus yesterday. Blueberries and almonds helped :)

 

I did a private lesson yesterday and some tennis ball practice, but I didn't have energy for cardio (I only got 7.5 hours of sleep last night). Today I had 8, but if I want to go to fencing tonight, I will need a nap.

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Got myself to the gym last night in the nick of time to get in a full strength workout: 3 sets of 2 lower body and 2 upper body moves. I'm doing chest press and assisted pull ups for upper body and hamstring curls and something where you are approximating being on all fours while kicking up one leg at a time. My quads are way stronger than my posterior chain, so I am just concentrating on that right now to even it up. 

 

Got in 15000+ steps without any dedicated cardio except for a 5 min warm up before the weights. 

 

Sleep was good, too. 

 

I am on a bread-eating binge. This is not good for my weight. 

 

I need to do some kind of sustained cardio today and it's cold out. I'm glad we've established on this thread that cold is a valid excuse. We've also established that cold is relative, so I'll leave it at that. ;)  However, that leaves me with a dilemma as there is nothing else I particularly want to do, either. I loathe cardio on machines!  And I just washed my hair this morning, so swimming is not appealing.  I hope I can motivate myself to do something! 

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Hmm, January was a mixed bag. My diet was so-so but I lost 4 pounds. My yoga was up but my running was down. My sleep careens all over the place. That is partly my fault. I need to be more consistent with my "grow light". I'm reading The Economist's Diet which dovetails nicely with my No-S. I'd like to lose 6 more pounds. I'm trying to be patient. I'll be in bulky sweaters until the end of April anyway. Leggings and a long sweater RULE ;)

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

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I went for a 45 min walk with a friend while our boys played shinny hockey. It was COLD! -11 F with the windchill just doesn't sound as cold as I felt. I had on my thick winter coat, and all my good warm gear, but I was still cold even after walking at a good pace for that long. It was sunny and nice to be chatting with a friend, but the cold definitely took away a good portion of the fun. On the other hand, the fresh from the oven home-made cookies my friend gave me afterwards were very fun! ;)

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Tried to take a nap, but DS woke me up, so it only got me feeling more tired and depressed. I still had to go to the studio to pick up a fixed weapon for DS, and then decided to stay. Fenced 2 bouts, just barely. I never before had this feeling that I just don't want to do it. Then I went to the bathroom and noticed that my fencing pants (probably the only non-stretchy pants I own) which used to be very tight in September now have like an inch of space on all sides. It cheered me up a little, so I returned and finished fencing my hour. It is about 30 minutes less than I usually do on Fridays and it wasn't my best fencing, but still much better than nothing.

 

The weekend is going to be busy, so I probably won't get any exercise, unless I manage to squeeze something in the morning.  I also don't know how well I can track food, since we'll be traveling for DS's competition on Saturday, and will have a small party on Sunday.

 

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I was TIRED yesterday after 4 days in a row of crappy sleep. I tried to meet a friend for walking but she was busy, then the track was closed. I ended up going shopping instead, so at least I was walking around for 90 min, although my pace was not fast but I wasn't sitting on my butt! Today my powerlifter friend is meeting me to work out I'm so excited. I've been watching more videos and see things I need to work on, hopefully, with her help, I can get my lifts lined out. 

 

Last night I woke up a hair before 2 but I decided I would just stay in bed and wait it out, I had been getting up but that ends up with me staying up longer than needed because I get into something and being on the computer or even reading can be stimulating. Anyway, I eventually fell back to sleep and then got up at 6:30, woot, which meant I got my thyroid meds at the right time (with the being awake at night and then going back to sleep my morning dose has been late). Fingers crossed things are lining out again.

Tried to take a nap, but DS woke me up, so it only got me feeling more tired and depressed. I still had to go to the studio to pick up a fixed weapon for DS, and then decided to stay. Fenced 2 bouts, just barely. I never before had this feeling that I just don't want to do it. Then I went to the bathroom and noticed that my fencing pants (probably the only non-stretchy pants I own) which used to be very tight in September now have like an inch of space on all sides. It cheered me up a little, so I returned and finished fencing my hour. It is about 30 minutes less than I usually do on Fridays and it wasn't my best fencing, but still much better than nothing.

 

The weekend is going to be busy, so I probably won't get any exercise, unless I manage to squeeze something in the morning.  I also don't know how well I can track food, since we'll be traveling for DS's competition on Saturday, and will have a small party on Sunday.

Good luck this weekend, hope you get some down time and good food.

 

Got myself to the gym last night in the nick of time to get in a full strength workout: 3 sets of 2 lower body and 2 upper body moves. I'm doing chest press and assisted pull ups for upper body and hamstring curls and something where you are approximating being on all fours while kicking up one leg at a time. My quads are way stronger than my posterior chain, so I am just concentrating on that right now to even it up. 

 

Got in 15000+ steps without any dedicated cardio except for a 5 min warm up before the weights. 

 

Sleep was good, too. 

 

I am on a bread-eating binge. This is not good for my weight. 

 

I need to do some kind of sustained cardio today and it's cold out. I'm glad we've established on this thread that cold is a valid excuse. We've also established that cold is relative, so I'll leave it at that. ;)  However, that leaves me with a dilemma as there is nothing else I particularly want to do, either. I loathe cardio on machines!  And I just washed my hair this morning, so swimming is not appealing.  I hope I can motivate myself to do something! 

 

I agree I don't like cardio or machines and the weather is making me grumpy. I don't mind a few cold days but this is a bit much!

It is not serious enough for doctors to take me seriously. It's just irritating. And it is different ion different days. Sometimes it is more like brain fog, sometimes my body just wants to be left alone, sometimes it is both. It wasn't too bad since I started tracking everything, but I did notice that I feel best when I get 9 hours of sleep, which is rare. I also notice brain fog when carbs are low. Actually, the only time I really crave carbs is when I am doing something brain-intensive, like helping DD with AOPS precalculus yesterday. Blueberries and almonds helped :)

 

I did a private lesson yesterday and some tennis ball practice, but I didn't have energy for cardio (I only got 7.5 hours of sleep last night). Today I had 8, but if I want to go to fencing tonight, I will need a nap.

Dr's are horrible about listening to women anyway and our bodies are ever changing. I wish you luck in figuring it out, good for you for taking naps when you need them, sometimes that is the best you can do, steal some sleep when you can. Maybe consider adding more carbs in.

 

So the ab workout I'm trying this month is Fitnessblender.com's 10-minute-abs workout. I thought the instructor seemed non-intimidating. I gave it a shot this morning and I will be surprised if I can do the whole thing by the end of the month. There are 10 exercises, 50 seconds each, with 10 seconds in between to get ready for the next one. Some I could do for 50 seconds. I did some of all of them. Some were very hard for me (the front facing plank kicking legs in the air--can't do the plank long at all). But anyway, I'm sure I'll do better at the end of the month than I did today!

 

https://www.fitnessblender.com/videos/10-minute-abs-workout-at-home-abs-and-obliques-exercises-with-no-equipment

I know some of those FB workouts are killer, that sounds like a great challenge, it is just 10 minutes so realistic to fit in, I bet you will be surprised by how much more you can do by the end of the month.

 

January was alright.  

 

I was happy with my dedication to going to the gym, especially since I'm almost always on my own and it means getting up earlier in the morning than I would like.  If I'm going to keep this up, I really need to work on getting to bed earlier, which is hard because the rest of my family are night owls and would love to stay up chatting and playing with me until midnight.  But I need to be in bed by 10:30 at the latest if I'm getting up at 5 something.

 

Diet was up and down.  I haven't totally cried fowl and binged like I usually do when things don't go perfectly, so that was good.  I've been telling myself that I don't need to be perfect, just try to make better choices overall.  I really need to have the weekends available to prepare for the coming week and that didn't happen the last 3 weekends, which made the weeks more challenging.  This weekend the kids are away at a zillion birthday parties so I should have time in between running around dropping them off and picking them up to actually prep food.

 

My goals for February are to keep getting to the gym 4 x week and to keep tracking my food and to keep getting in my steps.  I'm hoping that my visit to the athletic therapist this coming Monday will not be too scary and will give me some ideas for what upper body workouts I can still do without doing more damage to my shoulder.  I'm also hoping she doesn't tell me to stop playing volleyball as that would make me sad (and my team would also be unhappy).

Hugs! I hope the therapist is a big help. Nobody is perfect, what makes a success is continuing to get up when you have those bumps in the road, those bumps are life and entirely normal!

 

I know!! It is wonderful this daylight thing!

Aside from being sick or recovering for the first couple of weeks of January, it went well. IĂ¢â‚¬â„¢m not super duper great at extreme diets so my progress in food/weight/etc is slow as always. Which, on the positive side also means itĂ¢â‚¬â„¢s easy. I like easy.

Ran 40 minutes on the treadmill yesterday with a short hill sprint at the end. The plan assumes youĂ¢â‚¬â„¢re running outside to which I wonder, how people running outside would manage this hill at the end of their run. Treadmill makes the hill thing easy at least.

IĂ¢â‚¬â„¢m going to run with dh when he gets back around lunchtime today. It will be on the treadmill again because itĂ¢â‚¬â„¢s really cold outside. I thought IĂ¢â‚¬â„¢d have a harder time not running outside. IĂ¢â‚¬â„¢m not because itĂ¢â‚¬â„¢s so cold! Girl Scout cookie sales start tomorrow so meeting my step goal the rest of the month will be much easier, but cold. IĂ¢â‚¬â„¢m not looking forward to it.

Well, slow and steady is working for you.

 

After a bit of a rocky start, my diet plan is going great. I had fantastic results last month and am sticking with it for February.

I am running a half marathon this weekend, and after this week is over IĂ¢â‚¬â„¢ll be working with my personal trainer three times a week instead of twice a week. My main goal here is to prevent seasonal depression, but my secondary goal is fitness. IĂ¢â‚¬â„¢m really enjoying the weight lifting so IĂ¢â‚¬â„¢m looking forward to seeing what kind of progress I can make with three times a week.

One thing IĂ¢â‚¬â„¢m not doing great at is daily steps. IĂ¢â‚¬â„¢m good on days I run, but IĂ¢â‚¬â„¢m not good in other days. I need to get out for some regular walks.

Good luck on your race today!!!!

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Ugh...I feel like sometimes I don't have enough time in the day to do everything.  I took DS to the trampoline place yesterday rather than go to the gym.  He needed to get out.  It's so hard to be everyone's everything and my needs fall by the wayside.  Oh well.  At least he had a great time.  When he turns 13 (in June) I'm signing him up to the gym.  He is totally thrilled about that idea.

 

 

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Ugh...I feel like sometimes I don't have enough time in the day to do everything.  I took DS to the trampoline place yesterday rather than go to the gym.  He needed to get out.  It's so hard to be everyone's everything and my needs fall by the wayside.  Oh well.  At least he had a great time.  When he turns 13 (in June) I'm signing him up to the gym.  He is totally thrilled about that idea.

 

I love trampolines, and when I bring my dc to our local tramp park I'm very tempted to bounce myself. I just know that I'd pay too high a price afterwards, though. The pain and agony of injuring myself would not be worth the momentary fun. So I won't even ask why you didn't join your ds and jump. ;)

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I love trampolines, and when I bring my dc to our local tramp park I'm very tempted to bounce myself. I just know that I'd pay too high a price afterwards, though. The pain and agony of injuring myself would not be worth the momentary fun. So I won't even ask why you didn't join your ds and jump. ;)

 

Oh well, I have tried it before.  Unfortunately, my plumbing just can't hack it.  I did fine otherwise.  So maybe next time I'll buy some Depends.  :lol: :lol:

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I hear ya Sparkly! Running does it to me, I imagine jumping on the trampoline would too!

 

Dh and I got our run in yesterday plus some simple strength training I know how to do. This morning IĂ¢â‚¬â„¢ll get some cross training/speed work in on the indoor bike before I spend the rest of the day walking door to door outside.

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 Today my powerlifter friend is meeting me to work out I'm so excited. I've been watching more videos and see things I need to work on, hopefully, with her help, I can get my lifts lined out. 

Soror, so glad that you are in a place where you're excited about all this and that you have a friend to help! 

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How are the diet challenges going?

What are your exercise plans for February?

 

Is anyone trying anything new?

 

I started out with optimism...

 

I tweaked my wrist again the other day.  It happens every couple of months or so.  I think it's a combination of doing a lot of data entry lately and trying to lift my 100lb purse out of my back seat from the driver's seat.  :glare:   It's starting to feel better today, so I may head to the gym this afternoon.  I have a very hard time trying to convince myself to drive 20-30 minutes each way for just a lower body and/or cardio workout.  It's upper body that motivates me!

 

I do have to switch up my schedule because of other things in my life.  I'm aiming for Sun/Wed/Fri.  Because my dds have scheduled workouts on Tuesdays and may be adding Saturdays, I might be going back to hitting the gym solo.  Which, honestly, I'm excited about. I'm more focused alone.

 

Scale says I actually lost a pound!  I fully intend to reverse that with a Super Bowl pig out.  After that, I'm trying to figure out a better meal prep schedule. I'm happy with whipping up a batch of brown rice and a batch of quinoa for the week, but I'm not so great with getting proteins ready to serve.  Working on it!

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All the best with your half! 

 

Do you find the outdoor running through the winter has been effective in preventing or decreasing feelings of seasonal depression? I've found my outdoor exercising has been great with keeping my mood upbeat. I have to admit that even when I'm not exercising, but simply out driving can raise my mood. It can also lower it, too, though because there are so many crazy drivers on the roads.  :coolgleamA:

 

There is something exhilarating about running outdoors when the sun is out, but the sun isn't out too often here. I also find a feel almost a high when I've lifted something really heavy at the gym. I haven't had even a hint of seasonal depression this year - yet, anyway. It's hard to know exactly what it is working and what isn't as I'm hitting it with quite a few things at once. I'm just happy I'm happy :) 

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My running group went out and did an easy 5km this morning and then we sat and had coffee. Tomorrow is the half. And, apparently, we're supposed to have very cold weather with a winds at 40km/hr gusting to 60 and a wind chill of - 25 C. That was what environment Canada said. My iPhone says that at 8am tomorrow it will be -10 with partial sun - no windy icon. I'm hoping my iPhone is right. 

 

 

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Oh well, I have tried it before.  Unfortunately, my plumbing just can't hack it.  I did fine otherwise.  So maybe next time I'll buy some Depends.  :lol: :lol:

 

I understand. My plumbing is a little faulty as well. I never even thought of that possibility when bouncing. Good thing I asked!  :laugh:

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I went for a snowshoe this morning. It was freezing out. My feet were not happy by the end of the hour. Its lovely to get out there and visit "my Saturday morning forest." I snowshoe in this one particular forested area every Sat am while my dd and ds have their violin rehearsal. It's a nice contained area, and has some lovely features in the winter. I take photos of the frozen waterfalls, fungus-covered tree trunk, snow-laden fir trees, etc. Sometimes I feed and visit with the chickadees, but they haven't been around much this year.

 

This evening dh and I have our doubles tennis league matches. I'll get to play ladies doubles with my long-time partner, so it will be fun. 

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Workout done and it was fabulous! My form wasn't too bad and she gave me more cues and got me looking good. I added 10 lbs to my squat and bench press (nearly half my body weight woot!). It was so nice working with someone. Now, I've got 2 days off before my next weight day and I'm looking forward to it! I've worked myself hard this week. Oh, and I'm at ovulation and although I'm not feeling really peppy I don't feel nearly as grumpy as I have the last 2 months, fingers crossed it stays that way.

Soror, so glad that you are in a place where you're excited about all this and that you have a friend to help! 

 

Thank you!

My running group went out and did an easy 5km this morning and then we sat and had coffee. Tomorrow is the half. And, apparently, we're supposed to have very cold weather with a winds at 40km/hr gusting to 60 and a wind chill of - 25 C. That was what environment Canada said. My iPhone says that at 8am tomorrow it will be -10 with partial sun - no windy icon. I'm hoping my iPhone is right. 

Gah, that sounds brutal, I hope the sun comes out for you and the wind is calm!

 

There is something exhilarating about running outdoors when the sun is out, but the sun isn't out too often here. I also find a feel almost a high when I've lifted something really heavy at the gym. I haven't had even a hint of seasonal depression this year - yet, anyway. It's hard to know exactly what it is working and what isn't as I'm hitting it with quite a few things at once. I'm just happy I'm happy :)

That is great that you are not suffering from depression, truly, I get the happy to be happy.

 

I started out with optimism...

 

I tweaked my wrist again the other day.  It happens every couple of months or so.  I think it's a combination of doing a lot of data entry lately and trying to lift my 100lb purse out of my back seat from the driver's seat.  :glare:   It's starting to feel better today, so I may head to the gym this afternoon.  I have a very hard time trying to convince myself to drive 20-30 minutes each way for just a lower body and/or cardio workout.  It's upper body that motivates me!

 

I do have to switch up my schedule because of other things in my life.  I'm aiming for Sun/Wed/Fri.  Because my dds have scheduled workouts on Tuesdays and may be adding Saturdays, I might be going back to hitting the gym solo.  Which, honestly, I'm excited about. I'm more focused alone.

 

Scale says I actually lost a pound!  I fully intend to reverse that with a Super Bowl pig out.  After that, I'm trying to figure out a better meal prep schedule. I'm happy with whipping up a batch of brown rice and a batch of quinoa for the week, but I'm not so great with getting proteins ready to serve.  Working on it!

Sorry about your wrist :( Sounds like the schedule switch would be a good idea, as Moms we've got to work around the kids, I think it takes some tweaking then when their stuff changes we got to change things again. Ya on the pound lost!

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Good luck today Sarah!

 

I slept until 4:45 this morning, squee! I made it through ovulation and didn't even want to crawl into a cave, I was a bit grumpy but not too bad at all. (Dh did ask me in the morning if I was mad at him and I wisely told him I didn't want to talk about it, he wisely didn't press me!) It actually worked out really well to go workout, the house was looking messy after several days of feeling tired and not keeping up with things and I just didn't have it in me to tackle it. Well, I left for 2 hours and the gym was pretty well dead, so I didn't have to deal with a lot of people and got a good visit and workout with my friend. By the time I made it back the kids had the place looking reasonable. I made lunch and chilled then I felt up to tackling some more cleaning, now that it wasn't so bad, which really improved my mood. In January I thought I should try being around people then maybe I would keep my mood up but that was even worse because I was just grumpy around a bunch of people, if at all possible I think I'll try for something similar the next time ovulation hits. Stay away from people but plan something productive.

 

Talking to my friend I figured something out about exercise and movement. For a couple of years, I focused on doing hard and new things, to push myself out of my comfort zone and learn new skills. I think that was good for me but I'm really fatigued of it right now. I want something that I can just do and succeed, something simple, but not easy. So, enter weightlifting, there is no failing. I show up, I add on weights when it gets easy, stay where I'm at when it's hard. I have goals but they are longer range and I'm not putting a date on them because I am tired of pushing so hard. I'm enjoying the process for now and the novelty of changing things up and weightlifting is good for me anyway. Dh and I did a couple of dance classes, the first I really enjoyed, the second was horrific (teaching wasn't great, family stress, and ovulation made for horrible timing). I thought I'd want to go back again but I find I don't. My brain has too many other things to juggle right now, I don't want to learn anything complicated, I just don't, and I'm tired of hard things, I've learned enough humility for the time being.

 

I'm planning on a little nap and hopefully a walk if it isn't to awful cold, I just don't seem to have the patience for it these days. Maybe I'll just do some mopping, laundry, and reading instead :) 

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I hope your race goes/went well today, Sarah!

 

soror - nothing wrong with focusing on mastering the thing you love or focusing on building upon your base. ItĂ¢â‚¬â„¢s still forward movement after all and thereĂ¢â‚¬â„¢s no shame in doing what you love. :)

 

Ran for an hour this morning on the treadmill. We were out all day selling cookies yesterday and planned to do the same after the kids got home from winter soccer this morning, but it started snowing last night and is still snowing. IĂ¢â‚¬â„¢d go out anyway because weĂ¢â‚¬â„¢re that kind of people, but the city hasnĂ¢â‚¬â„¢t cleared all the streets and folks arenĂ¢â‚¬â„¢t super great about clearing sidewalks. Pulling the cart through all that snow just doesnĂ¢â‚¬â„¢t thrill me. IĂ¢â‚¬â„¢m holding out for the end of the snow and hoping maybe to get out this afternoon for a bit at least. Otherwise, that pushes it all to weeknights this week to make up for not going out today. I would like slightly less ambitious children. And with two of them itĂ¢â‚¬â„¢s double the work.

 

Tomorrow is otherwise my rest day and IĂ¢â‚¬â„¢m looking forward to it.

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Sarah ~ Good luck and good weather!

 

Soror ~ I am glad you are enjoying weightlifting! And having goals that are right for you and are still within your reach is so important.

 

Mamaraby ~ I wish I had slightly more ambitious children :)

 

I did my workout yesterday morning, before we had to leave. I was afraid I would be too tired after, but I actually felt great all day. Today is a different story, but it is my rest day, so I should manage.

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Thanks everyone! It was -11 with a wind chill of -21 c, but I was only cold for the first five km. The sun was shining and it was a gorgeous day! I had a shot of pickle juice and a bit of pink salt in the morning and drank a bit of water at each of the three water stations. I felt great and strong. Managed to run the entire course, even the hills. I picked up the pace after the last water station and finished in 2 hours and 10 minutes. Three other people from my running group also ran it so we all stayed for the breakfast afterwards. I am so glad I did this and so glad that I wasnĂ¢â‚¬â„¢t frozen the whole time. Also thankful that I didnĂ¢â‚¬â„¢t have any washroom emergencies (probably my biggest running fear!).

 

Tired now so IĂ¢â‚¬â„¢m painting my nails and reading magazines in front of the fire ;)

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Way to go Sarah!!  Glad you didn't find the weather too terrible (it sounds awful to me;  despite living where the weather is often worse I've realized I am a delicate hothouse flower who likes to run outside only when it's hot).

 

I skipped the gym on Friday because I hosted a meeting on Thursday that ran late and I was in bed after midnight which meant that had I gone to the gym I would have had 5 hours of sleep.  That is not enough for me.  Decided to prioritize sleep over exercise.

 

Did go to the gym this morning despite my gym partners skipping out on me again.  It's actually probably best that they don't come.  I ran 4 miles and they are usually only wanting to do 2 miles and that's with breaks in between.  I did 2 miles, walked one lap, then ran another 2 miles.  Did some abs and stretching and called it a day.  I think the last time I ran 4 miles was in 2015 when DH challenged us both to run around the section (square mile) where we have our summer house.

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Congratulations, Sarah!! Sounds like a great day!!  :hurray:   I love how you nonchalantly say it only took 5km to warm up.  :laugh:  It certainly must be a huge challenge to get the clothing for a winter race just right. There is no place to toss extra clothes if you overdo it, but I think it's worse to under-dress (especially around the head). 

 

I went for a little ski in the neighbourhood with dd and the dog this evening. The snow was a little too deep to skate ski with ease, and my arms were still tired from tennis last night, so I didn't last long out there. I'll try to get a ski in tomorrow.

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Today was a rest day. Yesterday was supposed to be strength-training and 50 min of moderate cardio. Got the strength training in but ds and his fiance stopped in and I want to hang out with them when they are here. (I wish they would give me more notice so I could do all of the above!)  So for the week, I hit 3 strength training workouts but was below the cardio I should have had. My step counts were over 10,000 every day but yesterday though. so that's a little something. 

 

Sarah, I served your keto chicken recipe and it was a big hit! 

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So I had this plan to spend Super Bowl/This Is Us Sunday eating anything I wanted to without any mental/emotional baggage.  And that is what I did.

 

My body has overridden my brain. All systems are revolting this morning. I physically feel like a garbage truck. Currently debating the pros and cons of trying to put a healthy breakfast inside of me.  I am not a cleanse-type person, but the notion is pretty appealing right now!  This is as bad as, if not worse than, a hangover.

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Going to the gym later today.  Just have to drag my arse out into the arctic cold to get to the allergist first.  Grumble....

 

Brava to you! It's freezing here, too. It was +5 C yesterday and today is -27 C with the windchill. I'm not dragging my poor body anywhere it doesn't absolutely NEED to be today. ;)

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I got my cortisol test done yesterday and mail it today. I took a walk with the kids, the weather wasn't actually too bad in the morning but it got colder again in the evening. I'm feeling good this morning, I had my shower, kitchen mopped, pans and knives washed, and muffins made & cooked for the kids by 7:45 and I didn't get up until 6:30! I'm hoping I can get some time to take a walk at the track, I've got some errands too though.

Thanks everyone! It was -11 with a wind chill of -21 c, but I was only cold for the first five km. The sun was shining and it was a gorgeous day! I had a shot of pickle juice and a bit of pink salt in the morning and drank a bit of water at each of the three water stations. I felt great and strong. Managed to run the entire course, even the hills. I picked up the pace after the last water station and finished in 2 hours and 10 minutes. Three other people from my running group also ran it so we all stayed for the breakfast afterwards. I am so glad I did this and so glad that I wasnĂ¢â‚¬â„¢t frozen the whole time. Also thankful that I didnĂ¢â‚¬â„¢t have any washroom emergencies (probably my biggest running fear!).

Tired now so IĂ¢â‚¬â„¢m painting my nails and reading magazines in front of the fire ;)

Congratulations!!!!

 

Way to go Sarah!!  Glad you didn't find the weather too terrible (it sounds awful to me;  despite living where the weather is often worse I've realized I am a delicate hothouse flower who likes to run outside only when it's hot).

 

I skipped the gym on Friday because I hosted a meeting on Thursday that ran late and I was in bed after midnight which meant that had I gone to the gym I would have had 5 hours of sleep.  That is not enough for me.  Decided to prioritize sleep over exercise.

 

Did go to the gym this morning despite my gym partners skipping out on me again.  It's actually probably best that they don't come.  I ran 4 miles and they are usually only wanting to do 2 miles and that's with breaks in between.  I did 2 miles, walked one lap, then ran another 2 miles.  Did some abs and stretching and called it a day.  I think the last time I ran 4 miles was in 2015 when DH challenged us both to run around the section (square mile) where we have our summer house.

Good for you for getting out on your own!

 

Today was a rest day. Yesterday was supposed to be strength-training and 50 min of moderate cardio. Got the strength training in but ds and his fiance stopped in and I want to hang out with them when they are here. (I wish they would give me more notice so I could do all of the above!)  So for the week, I hit 3 strength training workouts but was below the cardio I should have had. My step counts were over 10,000 every day but yesterday though. so that's a little something. 

 

Sarah, I served your keto chicken recipe and it was a big hit! 

 

Aw, glad you got a vist and good for you on the strength training and getting in your steps. Although I had a bad experience with a fitbit before I think I'd like a basic step counter just to track steps.

So I had this plan to spend Super Bowl/This Is Us Sunday eating anything I wanted to without any mental/emotional baggage.  And that is what I did.

 

My body has overridden my brain. All systems are revolting this morning. I physically feel like a garbage truck. Currently debating the pros and cons of trying to put a healthy breakfast inside of me.  I am not a cleanse-type person, but the notion is pretty appealing right now!  This is as bad as, if not worse than, a hangover.

 

I'm not a fan of cleanses or such either but after a gorge of junk food I don't think skipping breakfast is a bad thing (in general if you aren't hungry you shouldn't eat). I'd not eat until I felt hungry then make it fresh whole food.

Going to the gym later today.  Just have to drag my arse out into the arctic cold to get to the allergist first.  Grumble....

I hear you, turned colder here yesterday, ugh!

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Glad it went well, Sarah!

 

Count me in among the non-cleanse people. I have stopped following recipe blogs who use the term, too. I agree with soror, if youĂ¢â‚¬â„¢re not feeling well or you arenĂ¢â‚¬â„¢t hungry, then regardless of what meal Ă¢â‚¬Å“timeĂ¢â‚¬ it is, skip it. Have a cup of tea or something, maybe a piece of toast if youĂ¢â‚¬â„¢re amenable. Have a healthy meal when youĂ¢â‚¬â„¢re feeling in better sorts. Sorry you arenĂ¢â‚¬â„¢t feeling well, Carrie!

 

It is so cold! I did end up taking the girls door to door yesterday. They were nice and toasty warm and I was so cold it may have something to do with them wearing snowpants and me wearing layers. The worst part was having to take my gloves off to make change as my gloves were too bulky to manage it. One of these years, IĂ¢â‚¬â„¢m going to buy myself a pair of snowpants. Rest day today and since it wonĂ¢â‚¬â„¢t get above zero F until late afternoon, I plan on not leaving the house until then either.

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It is so cold! I did end up taking the girls door to door yesterday. They were nice and toasty warm and I was so cold it may have something to do with them wearing snowpants and me wearing layers. The worst part was having to take my gloves off to make change as my gloves were too bulky to manage it. One of these years, IĂ¢â‚¬â„¢m going to buy myself a pair of snowpants. Rest day today and since it wonĂ¢â‚¬â„¢t get above zero F until late afternoon, I plan on not leaving the house until then either.

You are a better mother than I am, I hardly took mine out selling at all! Fwiw I got some snow bibs at Goodwill a couple of years ago and it does make a huge difference, I use them all the time. When it is really cold I wear layers with them though!

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You are a better mother than I am, I hardly took mine out selling at all! Fwiw I got some snow bibs at Goodwill a couple of years ago and it does make a huge difference, I use them all the time. When it is really cold I wear layers with them though!

Eh, I donĂ¢â‚¬â„¢t know about better. Just...hmmm....nuttier? Maybe youĂ¢â‚¬â„¢re the wiser of the two of us! They have goals and I like to tryand help them meet them. Plus, the girls at GS are way nicer to my kids than the local homeschoolers ever were so I try to help out.

 

IĂ¢â‚¬â„¢ll have to stop by Goodwill. I never think of going there because the last time I went, I was in plus sizes and they had nothing decent/in style/for younger people. My brain still defaults to that so I tend not to remember it might be different for me now. WeĂ¢â‚¬â„¢re having our weekly tea & art appointment with my mom today so IĂ¢â‚¬â„¢ll have to swing by on the way home! IĂ¢â‚¬â„¢m going to go all out and shop for more longsleeve shirts, too.

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Congratulations, Sarah!! Sounds like a great day!!  :hurray:   I love how you nonchalantly say it only took 5km to warm up.  :laugh:  It certainly must be a huge challenge to get the clothing for a winter race just right. There is no place to toss extra clothes if you overdo it, but I think it's worse to under-dress (especially around the head). 

 

I went for a little ski in the neighbourhood with dd and the dog this evening. The snow was a little too deep to skate ski with ease, and my arms were still tired from tennis last night, so I didn't last long out there. I'll try to get a ski in tomorrow.

 

Thanks :) Yes, it's tricky to figure out what to wear. Luckily, a few of our long runs were at about the same temperature so I had some practice. 

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Today was a rest day. Yesterday was supposed to be strength-training and 50 min of moderate cardio. Got the strength training in but ds and his fiance stopped in and I want to hang out with them when they are here. (I wish they would give me more notice so I could do all of the above!)  So for the week, I hit 3 strength training workouts but was below the cardio I should have had. My step counts were over 10,000 every day but yesterday though. so that's a little something. 

 

Sarah, I served your keto chicken recipe and it was a big hit! 

 

You're doing so great with your steps. Mine are only over 10,000 on run days. I really need to get out for some walks. Nice job on hitting three strength workouts!

 

So glad they liked the chicken! That is one of our favourite recipes. 

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