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Well Trained Bodies (Diet & exercise) - Oct. 2017


Granny_Weatherwax
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Just for some motivation...

 

Anyone care to share how exercising has improved the little annoyances of life?

 

Today I had to mow the lawn. I used our older mower that I hadn’t used for a few years. Previously, I would struggle to pull it 6 times or so and then with much exasperation, call my dh. Today...bam! One pull and it was so easy!

 

Also, I no longer have any of the aches and pains that I assumed came with middle age.

 

Anyone else care to share?

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Sola, I find that I have "fun" doing things that otherwise I would have regarded as a pain in the neck. The reason is that I can associate them with a particular strength move and perform the chore that way: lots of squatting and deadlifting in real life. And for mowing the lawn, I agree it's 1) easier and 2) I think of it as exercise not a chore, which makes it better for me. I feel strong and good and love to be able to pick up heavy things without finding a big male in the house to do it for me. 

 

 

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One of the many things I like about this thread is that if I forget to log a workout, I can often come back and find the data here!

 

Yesterday, we hiked.  We hiked up a mountain with lots of switchbacks and I kept up with the young adult offspring and gfs without a problem. I am having fun with my new Polar HR monitor toy and my average uphill was 113 with a high of 135. It took 50 min to get to the summit and was absolutely gorgeous!  Downhill, I only averaged  92 and I was going as fast as possible. I figure it was a good brain workout focusing on footing on rocks, roots, etc. That took 40 min. 

 

Today, we'll be hiking again and I am hoping to get a strength-training workout in. 

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I went for a walk this morning and ended up running. It's a lovely, flat gravel trail beside the river. A bunch of people ran past me, and I couldn't resist running, too. I was totally not dressed for it, though. I had on long pants, a long-sleeve jacket, no pony tail, sunglasses perched on top of my head, and was carrying my car keys and phone. I knew I'd over-heat and end up carrying stuff in my hands eventually, which I did. It was fun, though. 

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Just for some motivation...

 

Anyone care to share how exercising has improved the little annoyances of life?

 

Today I had to mow the lawn. I used our older mower that I hadn’t used for a few years. Previously, I would struggle to pull it 6 times or so and then with much exasperation, call my dh. Today...bam! One pull and it was so easy!

 

Also, I no longer have any of the aches and pains that I assumed came with middle age.

 

Anyone else care to share?

 

Not really an "annoyance" but I do love the fact that I can do home improvements and construction alongside my dh and not get tired. I still can't open up jars in the kitchen, though! ;)

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Well, I made an epic hike planning error today. I had, I thought, carefully researched and knew one trail near us was very strenuous after a certain point and required ropes and ladders to ascend to the summit; however, I'd read reviews that said it was moderate  up to a certain point. Um no. Perhaps moderate if you are attend a local college and are in decent shape. Anyway, the hike was much longer than I anticipated (4 1/2 hours) for a family who usually hikes 1-2 hours. We are pretty whooped. Definitely no strength training happening today! But 4 1/2 hours of cardio. And it was gorgeous. So food for the soul. 

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I hope people don't mind me thinking out loud here. But the past two days' hikes have shown some results of my previous training efforts and where they've been successful or not.

 

Successful: definitely strength training. We hiked with 5 young adults, several of whom were complaining that their legs hurt, including one who is training for 1/2 marathon and running 6 miles at a crack but doing no strength training. Mine didn't hurt at all and there were lots of big stone steps to go up and down.  By the end of the 4 1/2 hour hike, the bottoms of my feet were starting to hurt but I figure that is to be expected. 

 

Maybe needs improvement :sustained moderate cardio. I was able to do all that I set out to do, but for the second half of the 4 1/2 hour hike, I was substantially behind the young adults. At home,  I do my cardio primarily in activities that have a HIIT style. My HR on the hikes was always good (tended to be in the 90s on downhills) from 111 or so to 125+ or so on most of the uphills. But I felt like I was breathing pretty hard for that HR. (I was surprised that my HR wasn't higher actually.) There is nowhere around our home where I can get the kind of sustained uphill hiking that we have gotten in the mountains this weekend. Having a goal like a view or a summit to get to keeps me going, not to mention the beauty on the way up, and I like the downhills for the brain-body workout as I have to focus so as not to trip on roots or rocks.

 

At home, I want to keep my jogging to intervals, so I guess that leaves swimming for sustained moderate cardio I'll have to work up to that, though, because my shoulder is so easily tweaked. I might consider working up to jogging a mile. It shouldn't be too hard since I'm running a total of 30 min, just with short walking breaks in between.  I just can't make myself exercise on machines because of the boredom factor. 

 

Anyone have any thoughts?  Should I work on sustained moderate cardio or does that sound like what I've been doing is fine. I'm 61 if that matters. 

 

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I was at the beach a few days and did not workout,except for walking on the beach, and ate whatever I wanted. Contrary to what people said I only gained 1lb back. The day after we got home I started working back with beach body on demand workouts.

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I hope people don't mind me thinking out loud here. But the past two days' hikes have shown some results of my previous training efforts and where they've been successful or not.

 

Successful: definitely strength training. We hiked with 5 young adults, several of whom were complaining that their legs hurt, including one who is training for 1/2 marathon and running 6 miles at a crack but doing no strength training. Mine didn't hurt at all and there were lots of big stone steps to go up and down.  By the end of the 4 1/2 hour hike, the bottoms of my feet were starting to hurt but I figure that is to be expected. 

 

Maybe needs improvement :sustained moderate cardio. I was able to do all that I set out to do, but for the second half of the 4 1/2 hour hike, I was substantially behind the young adults. At home,  I do my cardio primarily in activities that have a HIIT style. My HR on the hikes was always good (tended to be in the 90s on downhills) from 111 or so to 125+ or so on most of the uphills. But I felt like I was breathing pretty hard for that HR. (I was surprised that my HR wasn't higher actually.) There is nowhere around our home where I can get the kind of sustained uphill hiking that we have gotten in the mountains this weekend. Having a goal like a view or a summit to get to keeps me going, not to mention the beauty on the way up, and I like the downhills for the brain-body workout as I have to focus so as not to trip on roots or rocks.

 

At home, I want to keep my jogging to intervals, so I guess that leaves swimming for sustained moderate cardio I'll have to work up to that, though, because my shoulder is so easily tweaked. I might consider working up to jogging a mile. It shouldn't be too hard since I'm running a total of 30 min, just with short walking breaks in between.  I just can't make myself exercise on machines because of the boredom factor. 

 

Anyone have any thoughts?  Should I work on sustained moderate cardio or does that sound like what I've been doing is fine. I'm 61 if that matters. 

 

Congratulations on sustaining a 4.5 hour challenging hike! That's awesome.  

 

I think you're doing great with your combination of strength training and cardio/interval work. How heavy was your breathing for the uphill hikes? Were you able to keep talking? That's an easy test to see if one is over-exerting, and needing to slow the pace. 

 

I'm with you on the boring factor of machines, but watching a TV show is a really great way to pass the time on the treadmill. The nice thing about the 'mill, is that you can keep the pace constant and adjust the incline, to work on exactly what you want. I find that my body is much less sore from 'mill running compared to outdoor trail or road running. You can try sustained running on a treadmill or elliptical for longer times to work in that HR zone for longer. Or what about a stationary bike?

 

Or if you really want to swim, try long stretches of kick in the HR zone so your shoulders don't get tweaked. I find swimming laps can get boring, too. That's where I like doing interval training so that it's a little more interesting. 

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Congratulations on sustaining a 4.5 hour challenging hike! That's awesome.  

 

I think you're doing great with your combination of strength training and cardio/interval work. How heavy was your breathing for the uphill hikes? Were you able to keep talking? That's an easy test to see if one is over-exerting, and needing to slow the pace. 

 

I'm with you on the boring factor of machines, but watching a TV show is a really great way to pass the time on the treadmill. The nice thing about the 'mill, is that you can keep the pace constant and adjust the incline, to work on exactly what you want. I find that my body is much less sore from 'mill running compared to outdoor trail or road running. You can try sustained running on a treadmill or elliptical for longer times to work in that HR zone for longer. Or what about a stationary bike?

 

Or if you really want to swim, try long stretches of kick in the HR zone so your shoulders don't get tweaked. I find swimming laps can get boring, too. That's where I like doing interval training so that it's a little more interesting. 

 

On the hard parts, I could have spoken in phrases. I would not have been too interested in a long conversation though! 

 

I really do need to find some stuff to do in the winter anyway b/c we don't have much snow and so it's mostly just cold, nasty, and ugly outside. I might ask my sons to do their magic with my phone or whatever and get some earbuds for indoor machines. I have already asked the gym if they'd put up bird feeders or something of interest outside. They have huge plate glass windows around 1/2 the gym but nothing particularly interesting to look at for this nature girl! 

 

They have kickboards at the gym so I could probably add some laps with kickboards. I hope that if I take it easy until my shoulder gets more used to it that I will be able to swim. Backstroke is my favorite and I actually don't get too bored in the water because it feels so good. I can really relax even while I'm working. I've been known to close my eyes during the backstroke. The only thing I don't like about swimming is the two showers and having to change clothes twice, dry hair, etc. 

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I did my weight routine 3x this past week, which was my goal. I also did 2 days of 30 min cardio. I've been very tired this week, but part of that is due to a sick cat who chose 4 am as his daily time to vomit (and scream before he did so). 

 

Working on getting some meals prepped for the week; I didn't prep enough last week and so my eating was off on 2 days. One of those days was planned, pizza for a sleepover party, but the other was just because I couldn't face the kitchen.

 

 

 

Laurie4B, I am in awe of you doing a 4 1/2 hour strenuous hike - way to go!!

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I did my weight routine 3x this past week, which was my goal. I also did 2 days of 30 min cardio. I've been very tired this week, but part of that is due to a sick cat who chose 4 am as his daily time to vomit (and scream before he did so). 

 

Working on getting some meals prepped for the week; I didn't prep enough last week and so my eating was off on 2 days. One of those days was planned, pizza for a sleepover party, but the other was just because I couldn't face the kitchen.

 

 

 

Laurie4B, I am in awe of you doing a 4 1/2 hour strenuous hike - way to go!!

 

Sounds like you had a very good week given the challenges. I think it's so important to do what you're doing and figure out ways around the obstacles you've encountered so the next week goes more smoothly. 

 

Is your cat ok now? 

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Sounds like you had a very good week given the challenges. I think it's so important to do what you're doing and figure out ways around the obstacles you've encountered so the next week goes more smoothly. 

 

Is your cat ok now? 

 

Cat is ok now. Didn't throw up on Saturday, but did on Sunday. Sleeping the day away today so far. He's almost 20 years old, so we don't know if this is the beginning of his decline or just some random fluke. 

 

I have some sort of stomach upset today (maybe I caught it from the cat haha), so today's meals so far consist of some toast and water. 

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Cat is ok now. Didn't throw up on Saturday, but did on Sunday. Sleeping the day away today so far. He's almost 20 years old, so we don't know if this is the beginning of his decline or just some random fluke.

 

I have some sort of stomach upset today (maybe I caught it from the cat haha), so today's meals so far consist of some toast and water.

Sorry to hear that you’re feeling off. I didn’t know cats lived that long! My cat only lived to 9.

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Cat is ok now. Didn't throw up on Saturday, but did on Sunday. Sleeping the day away today so far. He's almost 20 years old, so we don't know if this is the beginning of his decline or just some random fluke. 

 

I have some sort of stomach upset today (maybe I caught it from the cat haha), so today's meals so far consist of some toast and water. 

 

Keep us posted. 

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Just had one of the best hikes of my life. It poured rain all day yesterday and was supposed to today as well, but we got a pleasant surprise and it's just cloudy. Ds and I hiked up a one way trail that goes along the course of what is normally a fairly substantial mountain brook with lots of cascades. Today it was amazing because of the high volume of water. Hiking up instead of down was a good choice: it gave me more cardio than downhill would have and also since everything was slippery, I think it was safer. I still got the body-brain workout of picking my way over roots and rocks and there was a slightly tricky crossing where a runoff covered the trail entirely and we had to pick our way across a kind of rotten log upstream (no danger except a wet foot) and one place where there was a rope I had to hang onto to pull myself across a wet rock, so it felt kind of adventurous, too. So very glad we got this reprieve from the rain 

 

It took an hour, but probably should have taken 1/2 hour. I had to stop and video every cascade! 

Edited by Laurie4b
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I came home from vacation with the flu or something like it. I was sick on Friday while we traveled, then spent Saturday and Sunday in bed. Today I declared the sickness over. It isn't completely but close enough. DH did his best to keep up with things but coming home from a week long vacation to no food in the house and then running out of oil and, therefore, hot water....it was time I got back to my job of running the house.

 

No exercise today but I have been working around the house. I got groceries this morning and this afternoon I've been cleaning, catching up on dishes and laundry, and unpacking.

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Update from earlier post: After our hike, we had to go pick up our car which had broken down Sat, but fortunately just as we got to the state park. We'd had it towed to a nearby town, finished our hike Sat,  and went to get it today. 

 

On our way home, ds and I saw a bear! I was so excited! The only one I've ever seen in the wild was actually in a trash can in the middle of the night at a cabin we were renting. This was late afternoon and we got a really good look as it crossed the road and lumbered up a ridge. (On the way up here from college, ds had seen 3 cubs cross a road, so he has really struck it big in bear sightings.) 

 

After we got home, I talked ds into going canoeing with me for about an hour. We paddled around a lake. They give you canoes for free at the rec center! I doubt it if counted as much exercise, but my traps were complaining, so at least a little. It was pretty and peaceful with the little lake surrounded by the fall leaves. We saw a great blue heron and paddled pretty close to it. 

 

A lovely day all told. 

Edited by Laurie4b
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Just popping in to say I'm going to try to be better at both of these!  We need tons more fruits and veggies in our diet, to get back to unrefined sugars (homemade baked goods, namely), I need to lose my mummy tummy and improve my cardiovascular health, and we could all stand to be more active in general.

 

Options to accomplish a better diet include smoothies, veggie snacks, more raw fruit, more baking, killing the chip and sport drink purchases.  

Exercise: HIIT and core DVDs, hiking, paved walking path, Couch to 5K, and eventually weight lifting (we need a rack).

 

That's as far as I've gotten.  My problem isn't options or solutions, it's discipline and distraction.  I'll have spells of "doing better" before I wander off again, so we'll see if this time I manage to become consistent and drag most of the rest of the family with me.  :D 

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Increased leg weights and time on the rowing machine. I rowed three miles today, and my body is very much feeling it.

 

I had a break there in September. Got some blood work back and my potassium was so low as to be dangerous, and couldn't maintain a healthy heart rate. Anemic as well. Electrolyte imbalance. Doc made me rest for a while, adjusted diet, taking supplements so am now allowed to exercise again.

 

I probably will not increase the intensity again any time soon until blood work indicates I am not so bad off. Feeling pretty exhausted but unwilling to stop working out at this point.

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Increased leg weights and time on the rowing machine. I rowed three miles today, and my body is very much feeling it.

 

I had a break there in September. Got some blood work back and my potassium was so low as to be dangerous, and couldn't maintain a healthy heart rate. Anemic as well. Electrolyte imbalance. Doc made me rest for a while, adjusted diet, taking supplements so am now allowed to exercise again.

 

I probably will not increase the intensity again any time soon until blood work indicates I am not so bad off. Feeling pretty exhausted but unwilling to stop working out at this point.

 

Whew! Glad that you caught that. And glad that you are able to exercise again!

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Just popping in to say I'm going to try to be better at both of these!  We need tons more fruits and veggies in our diet, to get back to unrefined sugars (homemade baked goods, namely), I need to lose my mummy tummy and improve my cardiovascular health, and we could all stand to be more active in general.

 

Options to accomplish a better diet include smoothies, veggie snacks, more raw fruit, more baking, killing the chip and sport drink purchases.  

Exercise: HIIT and core DVDs, hiking, paved walking path, Couch to 5K, and eventually weight lifting (we need a rack).

 

That's as far as I've gotten.  My problem isn't options or solutions, it's discipline and distraction.  I'll have spells of "doing better" before I wander off again, so we'll see if this time I manage to become consistent and drag most of the rest of the family with me.  :D

 

 

Everyone "falls off the wagon."  It's not avoiding falling off that makes for success, but getting back on again.

 

So suggestion: Set a warning zone for yourself now as to what would indicate that you are "off the wagon." If you know what obstacles have triggered falling off in the past, spend some time now thinking about how to work around those  so you're prepared before it happens. If you don't know and you find yourself on your bum in the road as the wagon moves off, try to figure out what obstacle caused the bump and come up with a strategy to address it. Consistency as you said,  is definitely the name of the game and having a plan to  get back on the wagon quickly is the way to consistency. 

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I got an unexpected opportunity to play some doubles tennis this evening with dh and friends. It was a lot of fun. I also walked the dog. 

 

Food-wise, it was our Canadian Thanksgiving this past weekend. So I ate more than usual, and also had dessert. It was totally delicious. I LOVE pumpkin pie, turkey and all the fixings!!  I could have had second and third helpings, but my stomach said "Forget it, just wait for the left-overs." 

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I was feeling much better this morning so we all went to karate class. That's always a good workout. Then, since it was an 80 degrees in New England in October *incredibly* beautiful day, we went to the beach for a few hours. I walked about a mile along the beach and then climbed rocks, played in the water, and swam with my kids. It was great exercise and a wonderful afternoon.

 

Eating wasn't great today. My DH had the day off and we were all hungry after our active day so we came home and cooked - nachos, pizza, and apple crisp. (Had DH been at work tonight the kids and I would have packed sandwiches for dinner and stayed at the beach til dark.)

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Is anyone else far enough north that your evenings are becoming non-existent? I'm finding that my body just wants to shut down and rest as soon as the sun goes down. I'm trying to get my physical activities in during the daylight hours, and enjoy the sunlight. It's hard enough to get the energy to drive a dc to an evening activity, but to then try to go to the gym for myself is just a bust. It's definitely a mental thing, though, because when there is tennis to be played with dh in the evening, I can do it and have fun.

Edited by wintermom
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Have had some bumps getting back into strength training after vacation but did do Zumba yesterday and 60 min walk with 24 min of jogging intervals embedded. It was supposed to be 30 min, but my sister called just as I was getting ready and I had to walk longer while we talked. 

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I went skating with my 2 ds's yesterday, as well as a couple longish walks. I'm still battling evening fatigue, but I started feeling really tired right after skating and stayed tired the entire day.  :crying:   

 

Tonight there is mixed doubles tennis, and tomorrow evening the indoor tennis league starts. I'm looking forward to it.

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Is anyone else far enough north that your evenings are becoming non-existent? I'm finding that my body just wants to shut down and rest as soon as the sun goes down. I'm trying to get my physical activities in during the daylight hours, and enjoy the sunlight. It's hard enough to get the energy to drive a dc to an evening activity, but to then try to go to the gym for myself is just a bust. It's definitely a mental thing, though, because when there is tennis to be played with dh in the evening, I can do it and have fun.

We're not quite there yet but it's coming and I am dreading it. It's dark by about 6:30 here so for most of our 7pm evening activities. But we're also still in daylight savings time. (Does Canada do that?) So in a few weeks we'll turn the clocks back and then by December it'll be dark out before 5pm. I hate it.

 

No workouts here since Tuesday but meals have been ok. I was feeling pretty good after being sick but only for a day or two and now I have a cold. This happens to me sometimes. Poor eating and not enough rest makes my immune system crash and I catch a couple of things in a row. Then I have to try to get all the healthy habits going again while I'm not feeling great. Maybe one day I'll learn to prioritize taking care of myself. 🙄

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We're not quite there yet but it's coming and I am dreading it. It's dark by about 6:30 here so for most of our 7pm evening activities. But we're also still in daylight savings time. (Does Canada do that?) So in a few weeks we'll turn the clocks back and then by December it'll be dark out before 5pm. I hate it.

 

 

Oh rats! I forgot about daylight savings. It's going to be dark even earlier. I hate that, too.  Most of Canada does daylight savings except Saskatchewan. 

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I guess I am a night creature, since I wake up after dark. I need my sunlight during the day, but I am at my most active later in the day. I do prefer driving before dark, and already at least once a week we leave the house in the dark :(.

 

I went to my first national level competition yesterday. It was an absolutely crazy day. First, we we supposed to start at 8, which meant we needed to be at a venue about an hour away by 7, so wake up around 5. I am so not a morning person, but I thought I would deal with it. At 11 pm as I was getting ready to go to bed I get a call, that due to an accident the equipment was delayed, and our event will start at 2. Yay. We woke up without an alarm clock, had a nice breakfast, and were there at 12. After a nice 40 minute wait in line to check the weapons, we were told that the equipment has not completely arrived yet. So, we were stuck waiting until 5pm, about three hours dressed in full gear. And I was stupid enough to put a bottle of coffee into my DD's bag. Of course, it broke, and her (formerly) white uniform was soaked. She was wet, cold, and complaining all day, but refused to buy at least a new pair of pants, which got the most of the coffee, because "whining is cheaper and more fun". Well, at least it came off in the wash, so today she can fence in clean clothes. Anyway, after it all started, it went smoothly, although some pools were waiting while the strips were being put together.  We left the venue at 9:20, but only because I didn't even make it into direct elimination, and DD lost her very first bout. The competition continued till almost midnight. I guess my main achievement of the day was that I survived. And my arm didn't hurt, so yay for that. I really could have done a bit better, but it was still my best result yet, if we go by percentiles, so I'll take that. 

 

 

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Today I did strength training and a 45 min walk with 18 min of embedded jogging intervals. Didn't quite hit what I wanted, but I figure with vacation re-entry plus our kitchen being renovated that it is kind of a back-on-the-wagon kind of day.  I know the kitchen remodel seems like it shouldn't affect exercise, but fixing a meal might require visiting 4 different rooms as stuff has been stored in several areas and I have to use a utility sink to clean. It chews up an unbelievable amount of time. But the kitchen is looking good. We had the low end cabinets from when this place was a rental and there were drawers that didn't slide anymore, etc. so the upgrade was way overdue!

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I went to karate today. It was one those non-stop sweat sort of classes. It wasn't a great eating day though. I didn't take the time to make meals like I should have. We found out this week that we might have a chance to purchase an awesome house from friends who are downsizing. I have no idea what the timeline of the move would be but I've started cleaning and decluttering. We've lived here for 10 years and done so much remodeling- it feels like there's piles everywhere. The more I clean the more I see that needs to be cleaned. As counter intuitive as at may be, I feel like I'm going to need to be extra careful to take the time to eat well and exercise while I have all the extra cleaning, and possibly packing, to do. It'll be too easy to let it all slide and then end up sick.

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I went to karate today. It was one those non-stop sweat sort of classes. It wasn't a great eating day though. I didn't take the time to make meals like I should have. We found out this week that we might have a chance to purchase an awesome house from friends who are downsizing. I have no idea what the timeline of the move would be but I've started cleaning and decluttering. We've lived here for 10 years and done so much remodeling- it feels like there's piles everywhere. The more I clean the more I see that needs to be cleaned. As counter intuitive as at may be, I feel like I'm going to need to be extra careful to take the time to eat well and exercise while I have all the extra cleaning, and possibly packing, to do. It'll be too easy to let it all slide and then end up sick.

 

You are so wise to be thinking like this!  I truly believe we get back at least the time we've exercised if not more in greater productivity. 

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I got in a nice walk along the river this morning. I brought the dog, too.  This evening dh and I had our doubles league match with our new team partners. They're both solid singles players, but have never played a doubles match before, and we've never played as partners. They did very well overall, and we were up against tough opponents. We all had a lot of fun. In this league, there are teams of 2 ladies and 2 men. You play ladies doubles for an hour, while the men play men's doubles. Then we each play mixed doubles with the opponents for the second hour.  Then we stayed and played for fun for and extra half hour.  It's a really fun league.

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I got to the pool 5 days last week. I have to remind myself to take a break to let my body rest as I am a creature of habit and like routine. I also did my arms and abs routine 4 times. I was able to resist indulging on my dd's birthday! I made a dairy-rich dessert that I cannot eat anyways so all temptation is gone. Today was an icky day as I am fighting a cold and have felt super tired.

 

My 25th college homecoming is this weekend. I am so happy that I got my butt in gear this summer to lose 25 pounds. I had to go shopping to find clothes that fit so I might actually look hip and relatively good. 

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Still working out. Feel like I am not getting any benefit. Sigh...but in it for the long haul. I am eating a very healthy, vegetable laden diet. Scale does not budge. Grrrrr

 

That's wonderful you are working out and eating lots of veggies!  Keep at it. It might be a good idea to separate your exercise methods and goals from your weight-loss methods and goals.  Different types of exercising can build muscle, improve cardiovascular endurance, increase flexibility, and many other health benefits that may not be measured on a scale (which only measures weight, and not body composition).  If you are building muscle with your work-outs, the scale may actually go up as muscle is more dense than fat tissue. 

 

Maybe you need to increase the intensity of some of your work-outs in order to see and feel the benefits. 

 

Did you take any kind of base-line evaluation of your fitness level before you began working out? Sometimes our fitness levels improve so gradually and we don't really notice the difference. If you stopped exercising for a couple weeks, then re-started you might be really surprised how difficult the work-outs actually are.

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That's wonderful you are working out and eating lots of veggies!  Keep at it. It might be a good idea to separate your exercise methods and goals from your weight-loss methods and goals.  Different types of exercising can build muscle, improve cardiovascular endurance, increase flexibility, and many other health benefits that may not be measured on a scale (which only measures weight, and not body composition).  If you are building muscle with your work-outs, the scale may actually go up as muscle is more dense than fat tissue. 

 

Maybe you need to increase the intensity of some of your work-outs in order to see and feel the benefits. 

 

Did you take any kind of base-line evaluation of your fitness level before you began working out? Sometimes our fitness levels improve so gradually and we don't really notice the difference. If you stopped exercising for a couple weeks, then re-started you might be really surprised how difficult the work-outs actually are.

 

I agree with wintermom. I think it's actually good to think of exercise and weight loss/ burning calories, diet etc. as two separate categoriesI think with regard to weight that its most important function is to indirectly impact it via hormone regulation, improving sleep, improving mood etc. 

 

Great reasons to exercise: it is truly the fountain of youth. If you want to prevent many chronic diseases including cardiovascular, cancer, diabetes, and cognitive decline, exercise is your best bet. If you already have some disease process in play and want to improve hypertension, blood sugar, cholesterol, cancer survival, or cognitive abilities, exercise is your best bet. It may not be impacting weight directly, but it's likely impacting other processes in your body that you aren't measuring or can't measure.  If you want to maintain your muscle mass which will decrease every year otherwise, resistance exercise is the way to go. The #1 reason people end up in assisted living is they need help with getting on and off the toilet. That is a basic squat!  Exercise improves mood and all aspects of cognitive functioning, so you can concentrate better, will have better memory, etc. So go you! Keep going for its own sake!  

 

The battle for weight loss is fought primarily in the kitchen. Increasing your veges is a really good way to start!  But if your goal is weight loss, what you do in the kitchen is going to be the factor that determines your success.... Oh---that and whether or not you got a good night's sleep the night before. 

Edited by Laurie4b
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Twenty five minutes on the rowing machine today. 15 minutes weights.

 

And I blew it with a small amount of ice cream. I haven't had anything sweet in weeks, and resistance was low. But it was a very small serving so I guess I should console myself with that.

 

Sounds like a solid exercising day. 

 

Why does a small amount of ice cream blow your eating plan? Are you on something like the Autoimmune Protocol? 

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