Well-Trained Bodies- September Edition

[Soror]

Ha, late again, 2 days this time!

Everything is settling down here (I think fingers crossed). My plan for this month will remain at maintenance unless something changes. I'm lifting twice a week when the kids do TKD b/c that is already built into my schedule, I'll be walking with the girls on the other days- but nothing very intense or long. I'm trying to keep lifting to push, pull, and leg exercise. 

I'll just be thrilled if I can keep at that and nothing else changes in my life, I'm quite done with changes.

Sleep has been better since stress has eased up.

Food needs some work but as I've had more time and energy my meals have been better. Except for Friday. I taught my first online class in the morning so I was nervous beforehand and didn't eat and then had to immediately leave for appointments. I had candy for breakfast! Le sigh! 

[mamaraby]

Took yesterday off. Today was C25k with the kids and an interval run. The intervals today were longer, but slower vs. earlier in the week where they were shorter, but faster pace. I found them equally hard. The shorter intervals had the benefit of being over sooner. 38 miles for the week.

[wintermom]

Starting off the month with some awesome doubles tennis! Played 5 days in a row, and now my wrist is feeling sore. I've also been cycling quite a bit most days, primarily transportation to and from appointments and stuff. Yesterday Ds 12 and I went on an hour long adventure bike ride through a path system of high plants, most of which were wild parsnip that can cause some nasty burns. We made it through unscathed, fortunately. I usually like to take the path less-travelled. ?

I'm down to my summer fightin' weight just in time for the summer to end. ? I will soon be too busy with school to do as much exercise. 

Edited September 3, 2018 by wintermom

[SKL]

I just ordered some running clothes. 

I did some good walking yesterday.  Not much else all week.  ?

I think I will be walking around a lot tomorrow though.  ?

 

[Soror]

Lifting last night

Bench press

Split Squat

Inverted Rows

I felt better than last week but not great, the tightness in my chest is back. I'm hoping it goes away, we've all been sick.

[lynn]

Did total body hammer, an insanity,an insanity max 30 and 21day fix extreme plyo and abs, butt core this wee and a 5 mile run .   no day's complete unless I get a workout in.  I tell my husbAnd that it's cheaper than therapy and I actually get good.sleep.

[wintermom]

Man, I forgot how busy life gets when school is on!  I managed to squeeze in some walking with a friend and doubles tennis with dh in the evening. I'll try to get in a little biking this afternoon between dc's appointments and violin lessons. It's not even the school work that makes life busy; it's transporting people to all the extra-curricular activities, appointments and part-time jobs. 

[mamaraby]

I did something to my foot while running on the treadmill on Monday. I had read an article about the difference between the mileage/pace estimates on the watch v. treadmill and how you should run towards the middle of the treadmill instead of up at the front. It feels like that was a dumb move now. Better to do what worked, I guess. Since then I’ve done the stationary bike on Tues and then an easy run and C25k with the kids today.

I think it’s soft tissue related. It bothers me more if I sit for awhile and then get up and walk than it does if I’m just generally moving around without a lot of sitting. 

[HollyDay]

I'm still recovering from achilles tendonitis, plantar fascitis, posterior tibia tendon something or other, and something bursitis (ankle).  So, I'm doing mostly core and upper body from a seated or floor position.  I'm hoping to start using the eliptical again soon. 

[extendedforecast]

I’d like to join in if you don’t mind. My workout group disbanded this week because of everyone’s busy schedules. I wasn’t going regularly and gained at least ten pounds in the last year from both the lack of exercise and from a stressful year dealing with a personal issue. I need to go back to regular exercise and work toward my goals again, especially since I’m turning 40 this year, and I want to start off the new decade on the right foot. My goals are to work out at least five days per week for 30-60 minutes, fit into my existing clothes the way I used to, and not eat mindlessly. 

[Soror]

On 9/6/2018 at 7:05 AM, wintermom said:

Man, I forgot how busy life gets when school is on!  I managed to squeeze in some walking with a friend and doubles tennis with dh in the evening. I'll try to get in a little biking this afternoon between dc's appointments and violin lessons. It's not even the school work that makes life busy; it's transporting people to all the extra-curricular activities, appointments and part-time jobs. 

For sure! 

I went to the gym Thurs but because ds has Cross Country practice until 4:30 it cuts 10-15 minutes off my time. 

My workout Thursday was ok, I feel like I'm finally over this cold/allergy thing I've had going on, fingers crossed it doesn't come back.

? Sorry for those dealing with injuries ?

Ya, for those doing well!

[Kim in Appalachia]

I've ran a couple times this week and did some yoga.  My shoulder and elbow have hurt so I took a week off from lifting. I plan to hit the gym tomorrow.  I've also been having hip pain, probably from running more.  The last 2 nights have seen me rolling with a foam roller and a lacrosse size ball all over my body.  Getting old is annoying.  

[mamaraby]

Rode the bike for 75 minutes today instead of my planned long run which makes me sad because it was a nice day for a run. Dh thinks my left foot is slightly swollen around the big toe joint. I don’t see it, tbh. I did some more pondering and now I’m wondering if this is a similar injury to one I had last year. Amazon shows I ordered the same thing last April. You'd think I’d remember more. You’d be wrong about that, lol. I have the vaguest of vague memories. Dh doesn’t remember anymore than I do. I really need to keep a better journal of these things.

[wintermom]

Ladies, just a word to stay safe out there when you are running, walking and biking. Watch out for cars! There are more and more incidents of fatalities all the time. My 83 year old marathon running uncle was out biking this week and was hit by a car. He never regained consciousness and passed away yesterday. Very sad and shocking, but at least he was doing something he loved. He had successfully battled 5 different cancers over the last 20 years, and he remained the most positive, enthusiastic and God-loving man I've ever known. I will miss him deeply.

[Kim in Appalachia]

12 hours ago, wintermom said:

Ladies, just a word to stay safe out there when you are running, walking and biking. Watch out for cars! There are more and more incidents of fatalities all the time. My 83 year old marathon running uncle was out biking this week and was hit by a car. He never regained consciousness and passed away yesterday. Very sad and shocking, but at least he was doing something he loved. He had successfully battled 5 different cancers over the last 20 years, and he remained the most positive, enthusiastic and God-loving man I've ever known. I will miss him deeply.

 

 

I'm so sorry for your loss.  

Cycling makes me nervous, more than running. I do not cycle, but my dh does.  People texting in cars is the biggest problem, also older drivers.  It's scary.  

[Kim in Appalachia]

Gym this morning. It went well. I'm on stage 6, which has a goal of building strength.  I did negative chin ups, underhand lat pull downs, split squats with a bar, and push-ups.  I warmed up with Turkish get-ups to work on my shoulder. I think it helped.  I will have to keep that up. 

[extendedforecast]

17 hours ago, wintermom said:

Ladies, just a word to stay safe out there when you are running, walking and biking. Watch out for cars! There are more and more incidents of fatalities all the time. My 83 year old marathon running uncle was out biking this week and was hit by a car. He never regained consciousness and passed away yesterday. Very sad and shocking, but at least he was doing something he loved. He had successfully battled 5 different cancers over the last 20 years, and he remained the most positive, enthusiastic and God-loving man I've ever known. I will miss him deeply.

I’m so sorry. Your uncle sounds like an amazing person. What an inspiration he must’ve been to be so active and positive even during the difficult times. The runners and cyclists in our area are always reminding everyone to watch out for them, as there have been a couple of near misses recently. Thank you for the reminder. I mostly run around the small lakes in my neighborhood, but sometimes I do run on the street when I’m bored of the scenery. I try to wear reflective clothing. A lot of runners wear gear with flashing lights to alert drivers. 

Edited September 8, 2018 by extendedforecast

[extendedforecast]

Last night I did a 35 minute upper body workout from fitness blender. Then I immediately attempted a quick run around the .7 mile lake, but I realized how fast I would need to run in order to be on time for another engagement. I was too tired to run at that pace, so I decided to do 5 uphill sprints instead, plus one more sprint to my water bottle. 

[wintermom]

27 minutes ago, extendedforecast said:

I’m so sorry. Your uncle sounds like an amazing person. What an inspiration he must’ve been to be so active and positive even during the difficult times. The runners and cyclists in our area are always reminding everyone to watch out for them, as there have been a couple of near misses recently. Thank you for the reminder. I mostly run around the small lakes in my neighborhood, but sometimes I do run on the street when I’m bored of the scenery. I try to wear reflective clothing. A lot of runners wear gear with flashing lights to alert drivers. 

Thanks. He was a wonderful motivator and inspiration for me, in staying active and staying positive. We've had several pedestrian and cyclist fatalities in our city over the last year. The numbers seem to be increasing. It's a huge challenge because there is a combination of distracted drivers and cyclists who aren't diligent about being visible and predictable for drivers. No lights and wearing dark coloured clothing when it's dark, for starters, and then there's going through stop signs, etc. 

5 hours ago, Kim in Appalachia said:

I'm so sorry for your loss.  

Cycling makes me nervous, more than running. I do not cycle, but my dh does.  People texting in cars is the biggest problem, also older drivers.  It's scary.  

Thank you. I love cycling, but not in heavy traffic. I avoid busy roads and bike on the pathways.  I find it scary when I'm driving in traffic, forget being on a bike in traffic! There is so much going on that it take full concentration and patience.  I find it easier to concentrate on the roads and traffic while I'm cycling as I don't put myself right in the middle of the traffic, but there are always points of intersecting with vehicle traffic where it's important to be triple careful. A cyclist will always lose in a collision between bike and car, even if the cyclist was legally right. 

[lmrich]

@wintermom  so sorry for your loss. What an inspriring Uncle you were blessed to have. 

My foot still is not cooperating so no long walks for me. I want to try to swimming again; I hope my breathing has improved since I have eliminated so many allergen. I have lifted weights twice this week and will go tomorrow. I am following my new diet (allergy based diet) religiously which makes going out super hard so we don't - not for my birthday nor for my anniversary - good think I like to cook. My allergies basically make processed food impossible so I have to eat super healthy. I have lost 1 pound as a result. AND I am feeling better!!! 

Take care of yourselves everybody! 

[Soror]

14 hours ago, wintermom said:

Thanks. He was a wonderful motivator and inspiration for me, in staying active and staying positive. We've had several pedestrian and cyclist fatalities in our city over the last year. The numbers seem to be increasing. It's a huge challenge because there is a combination of distracted drivers and cyclists who aren't diligent about being visible and predictable for drivers. No lights and wearing dark coloured clothing when it's dark, for starters, and then there's going through stop signs, etc. 

Thank you. I love cycling, but not in heavy traffic. I avoid busy roads and bike on the pathways.  I find it scary when I'm driving in traffic, forget being on a bike in traffic! There is so much going on that it take full concentration and patience.  I find it easier to concentrate on the roads and traffic while I'm cycling as I don't put myself right in the middle of the traffic, but there are always points of intersecting with vehicle traffic where it's important to be triple careful. A cyclist will always lose in a collision between bike and car, even if the cyclist was legally right. 

I'm sorry for your loss ?

6 hours ago, heartlikealion said:

Is this for diet and/or exercise? I haven’t added the exercise yet but it’s coming. I just started getting serious about tracking food. You guys are doing great!! 

Both and all things health-related- mind, body, and soul. 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

victories here- I did some work outside and restarted a task I've been neglecting. For 6 weeks now I've hardly done more than the bare minimum. It is a relief to feel the stress easing and to have some time and energy to do things, other than just the basics. I'm even thinking I'll get to plant a small garden this coming week!

My food is much better, I actually managed a menu plan. I'm working on dropping a few pounds that came on during all the stress, stopping it before it gets any further. 

One step at a time, life is returning to the new normal. 

[Kim in Appalachia]

Running and yoga this morning.  

[mamaraby]

I survived the first soccer weekend - even with two additional soccer games added at the last minute. Saturday afternoon the kids and I did C25k. Yesterday I had the new shoe insert for my left foot and did C25k with the kids plus the run on my training plan. Today I’m going to get a run in before I have to take the kids to class. And then more soccer. So much soccer...

[Soror]

19 hours ago, mamaraby said:

I survived the first soccer weekend - even with two additional soccer games added at the last minute. Saturday afternoon the kids and I did C25k. Yesterday I had the new shoe insert for my left foot and did C25k with the kids plus the run on my training plan. Today I’m going to get a run in before I have to take the kids to class. And then more soccer. So much soccer...

LOL, you make it sound so much fun ?

________________________________________

So, I did lifting yesterday, felt great, not bouncing off the walls but decent energy and strong. 

I'm still doing my own, very basic "program", bench press, elevated chin-ups, and step-ups with kettlebell yesterday.

On the bench press, I was able to do the same weight as when I last did bench a couple months back AND got more reps!!!!!! Seriously, that was encouraging, I've not lost all my strength from all that hard work and all those push-ups. 

I did chin-ups for the first time in forever, from a pretty tall box so my arms were somewhat bent so they were not uber hard but it's something.

I did step-ups from a considerably taller step than before, the tallest one at the gym that I can step on (the gym only has 1 taller), man, that kicked my butt at that height!

I'm feeling very optimistic this is nearly mid-September and I feel decent, this time last year (and the year before) I felt horrible.  And now that I've readjusted my food the weight is going back down(and I stopped it up before it got too much). It feels good to get my eating back to normal, being so stressed out and exhausted I'd go from sick to my stomach no appetite to starving want to eat everything and little energy to cook anything decent. 

[wintermom]

I'm back in town after going to my uncle's funeral. It was sad, but also very inspiring and wonderful to visit will so many family members. My parents and my brother flew out for the funeral, so it was great seeing them. Also saw 2 more uncles, who along with my dad made up 3 of the 4 brothers of my uncle.

I drove so much in the last 4 days, so it's great getting out on my feet again. I went for an hour long walk with a friend, and then played 2 hours of really hard hitting doubles tennis with 3 guys. More in-town driving tomorrow, and possibly some doubles tennis on Saturday if dh is able to play. He hurt his ankle playing tennis this evening.

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

@wintermom I'm so sorry about your uncle.  What a shock for his loved ones.  I can't imagine living into your 80s, taking care to stay fit and healthy and mobile, and then having that taken in an instant by someone else's inattention.  

--------------

I see a few have mentioned the difficulty in keeping things running smoothly in the busy new school year season...  That's definitely where I am.  I'm happy to report the school year is up and running, but *I* am not running.  I'm a bit frustrated with myself.  I plan to go out this weekend and attempt to get back into the swing of things.  Similarly, not eating keto has brought back all my migraines, so I need to get back to lower carb to calm those down.  My weight, strangely, has stayed pretty stable.  ?  

[Soror]

6 hours ago, wintermom said:

I'm back in town after going to my uncle's funeral. It was sad, but also very inspiring and wonderful to visit will so many family members. My parents and my brother flew out for the funeral, so it was great seeing them. Also saw 2 more uncles, who along with my dad made up 3 of the 4 brothers of my uncle.

I drove so much in the last 4 days, so it's great getting out on my feet again. I went for an hour long walk with a friend, and then played 2 hours of really hard hitting doubles tennis with 3 guys. More in-town driving tomorrow, and possibly some doubles tennis on Saturday if dh is able to play. He hurt his ankle playing tennis this evening.

I'm sorry ? Glad you got some time with your family though. Hope your dh recovers quickly.

4 hours ago, Monica_in_Switzerland said:

@wintermom I'm so sorry about your uncle.  What a shock for his loved ones.  I can't imagine living into your 80s, taking care to stay fit and healthy and mobile, and then having that taken in an instant by someone else's inattention.  

--------------

I see a few have mentioned the difficulty in keeping things running smoothly in the busy new school year season...  That's definitely where I am.  I'm happy to report the school year is up and running, but *I* am not running.  I'm a bit frustrated with myself.  I plan to go out this weekend and attempt to get back into the swing of things.  Similarly, not eating keto has brought back all my migraines, so I need to get back to lower carb to calm those down.  My weight, strangely, has stayed pretty stable.  ?  

1

I hear you, when things change we have to make adjustments and it gets bumpy! But we keep on working on it, that's what counts.  

____________________________________

Lifting last night- I did back squats, push-ups, lat pull-downs, and ended with 3 chin-ups (from a bit shorter box than the other day)

Warmed up with 1 rope climb, bear crawl, and hands/feet crawling.

My push-ups are still a far cry from where they were in June but stronger than they were 2 wks ago, I'm just doing 10 at a time right now. I videoed myself last night and they didn't look as bad as I feared, they are just harder than they were before and I certainly don't think I could pump out the 20 I was doing, maybe at the end of the month I'll test to see how many I can do at one time. My squats are still WAY lower than they were before, I hardly did back squats with the Strong program but I certainly increased strength with various split squats, I would have thought there would have been some transference, hmmph. Oh, well, I guess I'll chalk this up to the older we get the more time it takes and the faster we lose it. No sense in bemoaning where I was or want to be, got to keep moving forward and IT'S fall and I'm still active, I've not had an active fall for 2 years, the last one I felt so horrible I could barely manage some sporadic walking. 2 years ago I was doing my yoga teacher training and lots of bodyweight work. 

[wintermom]

I went for an "unscheduled" run yesterday when I was late for my library technology workshop at the university.  I surprised several students walking around campus as I sprinted along sidewalks hoping not to be too late. It was a "hill run" to boot - UP hill! 

Edited September 15, 2018 by wintermom

[Soror]

6 hours ago, wintermom said:

I went for an "unscheduled" run yesterday when I was late for my library technology workshop at the university.  I surprised several students walking around campus as I sprinted along sidewalks hoping not to be too late. It was a "hill run" to boot - UP hill! 

Sounds fun....not! 

I'm still sore from my Thursday workout but did some push-ups this am, that's all I plan to do until Tuesday, I'm not ready to add in a full weekend workout yet but at least my Tues/Thurs workouts have been getting longer. 

I've been BUSY!!!

[mamaraby]

I did manage to get a run in on Tusesday and Wednesday this week. Took Thursday off. Did C25k with the kids on Friday. My long run got pushed off because dh got subpoenaed (he’s a LEO, this happens often) for Friday morning. Then the time slot we had to fit it in was too small so 17 miles became just over 6 miles instead. We all had a late night while dh, two of my kids, and several of my family members went to a baseball game. One of my kids and I babysat my sister’s kids.

Today the girls had a girl scout thing and two kids had four soccer games between them.  No running. Tomorrow the three kids have five soccer games between them, my oldest has some lawns to mow for his lawn mowing job, and someone at this house needs to go to the grocery store to buy food or none of us are eating. Or rather we’ll all be eating the random things one has left when it’s time to go grocery shopping.

Tonight my circuit breaker kept my house from burning down when my dryer decided it had had enough. My BIL says since it tripped the mains, which shut down everything but the dishwasher, that there’s something unsafe I need to hire a professional for. So, no dryer. A week’s worth of dirty laundry. An outside project that just won’t quit. A giant tree in the backyard has to come down. Oh, and my marathon is in three weeks.

I’m thinking my next chance to run is Monday, but my track record at this point of prognosticating isn’t all that great. I feel a little frazzled and a lot overwhelmed.

[Soror]

On 9/15/2018 at 10:53 PM, mamaraby said:

I did manage to get a run in on Tusesday and Wednesday this week. Took Thursday off. Did C25k with the kids on Friday. My long run got pushed off because dh got subpoenaed (he’s a LEO, this happens often) for Friday morning. Then the time slot we had to fit it in was too small so 17 miles became just over 6 miles instead. We all had a late night while dh, two of my kids, and several of my family members went to a baseball game. One of my kids and I babysat my sister’s kids.

Today the girls had a girl scout thing and two kids had four soccer games between them.  No running. Tomorrow the three kids have five soccer games between them, my oldest has some lawns to mow for his lawn mowing job, and someone at this house needs to go to the grocery store to buy food or none of us are eating. Or rather we’ll all be eating the random things one has left when it’s time to go grocery shopping.

Tonight my circuit breaker kept my house from burning down when my dryer decided it had had enough. My BIL says since it tripped the mains, which shut down everything but the dishwasher, that there’s something unsafe I need to hire a professional for. So, no dryer. A week’s worth of dirty laundry. An outside project that just won’t quit. A giant tree in the backyard has to come down. Oh, and my marathon is in three weeks.

I’m thinking my next chance to run is Monday, but my track record at this point of prognosticating isn’t all that great. I feel a little frazzled and a lot overwhelmed.

I'm sorry for the electricity issues ? Soccer, soccer, more soccer, they are keeping you busy!

We are not a lively bunch this month!

I went to the gym Tues but only got in 30 min due to ds's Cross Country practice. I did my current usual but a quicker speed. I did bench press, walking lunges, and chin-ups/hangs. I did my chinups with a 5 lb kb hanging on my foot, crazy how much harder it felt, not sure how much was mental but it was definitely harder.

Today TKD is canceled so I'm just doing my workout at home. I'll do push-ups (planned on that anyway), bulgarian split squats, hollow body holds, and bent over rows.

I restarted tracking my food for accountability, this will not be another fall where I gain weight (as has happened every fall since the last baby and thyroid disease), I'm crossing my fingers that my dosage is now good and I can make it through the season without issue, although I still have some seasonal allergies, fingers crossed they are better so far this year. I'm feeling pretty good, mentally and physically. I'm sleeping well, I'm very thankful for all of that! 

[mamaraby]

@soror - mentally harder is still harder! It’s amazing how much your brain can affect the physical!

I didn’t run on Monday because dh and I had to get the repairs done on the one end of the house finished (trim work, caulking, and painting) before the rain came. We had thought about doing it Tuesday morning, but chose to do the long run on Tuesday morning instead. No running on Monday and then the rain came Tuesday morning. No long run on Tuesday, but I did get 6 miles in around the rain on Tuesday.

c25k with the kids yesterday. We’re in week 6. Then a run by myself for a total between the two of 5 miles. I’ll run something today. Tomorrow wil be tricky and may not happen. There’s another soccer tournament this weekend. First game is at 9 on Saturday and then the second is at 4pm. Dh and I plan on finally getting that long run in between the two games. We’re running out of time. Marathon is October 7th.

[Kim in Appalachia]

It's been a week. Ran on Sunday, lifting on Monday, ran on Wednesday. I was supposed to go to the gym this morning for lifting but my dh had to head to work early, which meant I had to take my son to school. I did some yoga instead. It is always nice to stretch.  

I should get my eating under control, but I'm not super motivated to do that right now. I'm too stressed over other stuff.  But my workouts are getting more consistent which is good.  My hamstrings have been killing me from the running, but I'm trying to roll out (with a foam roller) and stretch more.

 

[extendedforecast]

I purchased a four week workout plan through fitness bender and did day one last night. Before that I’d say I’ve worked out four to five days per week, so not bad. 

[Kim in Appalachia]

Ran Friday and did an hour of yoga this morning.  

 

And @soror, sorry about your dryer.  Your week is not going well.  ((((((hugs)))))) 

[mamaraby]

Ran the last double digit run of marathon training. Kid had two soccer games today and one tomorrow. I’m a bad soccer mom, if the lose tomorrow morning, thatks it for the tournament. You can guess which one I wouldn’t mind.

[lynn]

Thought it safe to share this here.  Many people say how hard it is to lose weight after 50.  Last year I lost 30lb. Then they said it will come back on within a year.  Well I am down a other 5.  Still at the same size i was in my 20s. 

   I love reading everyone's posting s here. We all have our struggles and victories.   Making exercise and eating well a priority really makes a difference in stress management and how well I sleep.  It's cheaper than therapy  and so far have been able to stay off meds which is one of my goals.

[lynn]

What works best for me is intermittent fasting and a few simple rules of drink water most, eat veggies most, no carbs or very few at dinner.  I typically don't eat anything after dinner.  Now I know if I can run a few days i do have carbs for dinner otherwise i just don't have the energy for the !miles I plan to do.  I  have beach body on demand and do various workouts and some run\walking intervals.

[lynn]

39 minutes ago, peacelovehomeschooling said:

I am looking for very specific exercises to target the peri-menopausal "muffin top".  This is new to me and seems to have come up overnight.  My usual form of exercise is power walking with weights.  Sometimes yoga (i really need to get better about that).  Anyway,  this "roll" has just popped up and is making me nuts.  Hopefully as I continue to lose it will go away, but I want to target it.  Help!   Of note, any form of sit ups really hurts my tailbone, so I avoid them. 

Answered in above post

46 minutes ago, peacelovehomeschooling said:

Congratulations on your weight loss and keeping it off.  I would love any advice you have for both.  I am still in the losing process but hopefully will be at goal in the next couple months....so advice for both losing and keeping it off is very welcome.

[KathyBC]

I tried a Yoga for Weight Loss dvd from the library. Three 20 minute-practices on it, just did Whittle Your Middle a couple of times and love it. Fast-paced for most of it, really need to be paying attention to your rights and lefts, then a bit of that yoga rest at the end.

[Soror]

21 hours ago, lynn said:

Thought it safe to share this here.  Many people say how hard it is to lose weight after 50.  Last year I lost 30lb. Then they said it will come back on within a year.  Well, I am down another 5.  Still, at the same size I was in my 20s. 

   I love reading everyone's posting s here. We all have our struggles and victories.   Making exercise and eating well a priority really makes a difference in stress management and how well I sleep.  It's cheaper than therapy and so far have been able to stay off meds which is one of my goals.

1

Kudos to you, that is awesome!

My mom is struggling losing weight she put on with breaking her ankle, weeks of immobilization, combined with my Dad's unhealthy cooking and thyroid disease. 

On 9/22/2018 at 12:29 PM, Kim in Appalachia said:

Ran Friday and did an hour of yoga this morning.  

 

And @soror, sorry about your dryer.  Your week is not going well.  ((((((hugs)))))) 

 

Ya on yoga and running. 

I didn't have any issues with my dryer ? 

On 9/20/2018 at 11:48 AM, extendedforecast said:

I purchased a four week workout plan through fitness bender and did day one last night. Before that I’d say I’ve worked out four to five days per week, so not bad. 

Kudos!

9 hours ago, peacelovehomeschooling said:

Soror you are having one miserable week and I am so sorry.  I hope this is a much better week for you and your family.  Hugs.....

Aww, thanks!

_________________

Gah, I did not work out Thursday and have not worked out since. I've been fairly busy other than Saturday morning, I was utterly lazy Sat. am. I've been working mornings teaching online and haven't taken one off since August and I just laid around in bed. I had all these intentions but just did nothing most of the morning. Next thing I knew it was time to pick up the kids. 

However, on the plus side, I've been getting lots of work done around the house. Work that has been sorely neglected. As it is with motherhood our lives are always about finding balance. I like the idea of everything staying in perfect balance all the time- taking care of the kids, taking care of the house, schooling the kids, time with dh, outside activities, taking care of myself, and now working BUT it doesn't work like that, sometimes one area gets more attention and others get less. I put a lot of mental energy towards food and exercise this winter and spring. Any leftover energy was towards my dying FIL in hospice and everything surrounding that and keeping up with the basics for the family. Things then went crazy this summer with all 4 kids going to school, then only 2, and it is been lining out but now I've added a PT job and I've realized all the stuff that has been neglected around the house and it is driving me crazy. Maybe in a bit I'll have the mental energy to dive in to some new physical goals- I'm itching to do it but the time is not right, my brain is just too divided right now to tackle it. 

But you guys know that is how it is. We're all Moms we've got a lot going on. It's really not been a terrible week, there was a terrible thing that happened but mostly it has been good. 

It's a new week everyone- here's hoping to a great one for everyone.

This week's plans for me- keep on eating good food.

Lift Tues & Thurs

Walk most days ?

Edited September 24, 2018 by soror

[Soror]

11 hours ago, peacelovehomeschooling said:

Congratulations on your weight loss and keeping it off.  I would love any advice you have for both.  I am still in the losing process but hopefully will be at goal in the next couple months....so advice for both losing and keeping it off is very welcome.

I have advice fwiw... nothing exciting though ?

-work on little changes that you can sustain- you don't have to stay in weight loss mode forever but you cannot go back to your old habits or the weight will come back. 

So, you have to find changes you can live with- eating less, eating better foods (ie less processed), being more active, managing stress, getting sleep.
 

I do agree with Lynn you might want to look at what your eating and experiment some to see if some of what you have going on is bloat. 

I used to be very low carb but am not anymore, that works well for some. I think you have to find what works for you- try some things out. How do you feel when you eat oats for breakfast? How do you feel if you skip breakfast? How do you feel eating a low carb breakfast? 

To start off I'd think about what foods make you feel your best? 

As far as exercises there is no magic cure for the belly, no special exercises that will make it disappear. It is likely that you need to work on losing fat and strengthening you core both to regain a flatter stomach. But being a mother it is very likely that your core is not very strong. I did Mutu Mamas a few years back and it was fantastic to slowly and steadily build a base of strength in my core. I'd check out Mutu on youtube and look for how to check for diastasis recti before starting core exercises. For exercise, in general, there are a lot of wonderful things to do, I think it is more important to pick something you enjoy and will stick with than to worry about doing the ideal exercises. I go gung ho with something for awhile and switch gears, rinse and repeat. 

[hshibley]

The gym's finally open again after Hurricane Florence. I've had a week and a half break from exercising due to the storm. I've spent about 5 days of that cutting and hauling debris out of the yard. I got in an hour on the elliptical yesterday and should be able to do the same today. Exercise classes start back Thursday. So happy to be getting back to my regular routine. 

 

[extendedforecast]

It’s inspiring reading about your activities and workouts and eating habits! I have continued with my Fitness Blender plan. I’m on day 5, and have mostly enjoyed it. One day was too easy, and I should’ve paired it with a run, but it was raining that day. Yesterday was very difficult for me. I stopped to catch my breath a few times and also had to drop weights from a few exercises. I’m thinking It was just a weak day for me, plus I hadn’t eaten very well throughout the day. I’m finding that this affects my endurance, so I need to remember to make better decisions in the future. I ate a large tuna sandwich from a local deli for my late breakfast and two slices of pizza for lunch. Dinner was much better - grilled trout, turnip greens, pinto beans, and mac and cheese. 

[mamaraby]

@peacelovehomeschooling - soror is right. There is no one way. There is no magic cure. Whatever you pick has to be something that you can sustain. I thought this blog post from a doc who deals with weight management put it well - http://www.weightymatters.ca/2018/01/when-weight-loss-makes-you-stupid.html. Sustainable means not just tolerating a diet, but liking it well enough that it becomes your new normal and replaces what you used to do.

Exercise is very similar. You can lose lots of weight with interval training, but if you don’t really love it, it’s not a good long term solution. In fact, you could burn more calories and have a greater result doing something lower impact you love and keep doing. It’s not what works for any one person here, but what works for you in the long term, rest of your life, I can keep on keeping on forever.

Ran a recovery run on Sunday and the C25k with the kids plus an additional ~20 minutes by myself after that. Marathon taper is here!

I’m the one who had dryer problems in that mine tried to burn down the house and has resulted in learning about some very concerning electrical issues at my house whose resolution is tbd. I did, however, get my new dryer delivered today and I have never been more excited about doing laundry!

Edited September 25, 2018 by mamaraby

[wintermom]

Wow! I don't think I've had time or energy to check-in for over a week. I've played tennis once, walked a ton, biked a bit, and ridden the bus a few times, which is a type of work-out when standing and trying to maintain your balance. ?  Time is at a crunch right now as I'm still homeschooling one son, working part-time and taking a grad course at the local university.  I returned home from my uncle's funeral and hit the ground running, just not really running. ? I need to be more intentional in carving out a little more intense exercise for me.

I will come back and read through the posts I missed and try to offer more encouragement soon!

[HollyDay]

I start with a new trainer tomorrow.  Hoping my achilles has healed enough and I can get back on track with a new program

[Soror]

7 hours ago, wintermom said:

Wow! I don't think I've had time or energy to check-in for over a week. I've played tennis once, walked a ton, biked a bit, and ridden the bus a few times, which is a type of work-out when standing and trying to maintain your balance. ?  Time is at a crunch right now as I'm still homeschooling one son, working part-time and taking a grad course at the local university.  I returned home from my uncle's funeral and hit the ground running, just not really running. ? I need to be more intentional in carving out a little more intense exercise for me.

I will come back and read through the posts I missed and try to offer more encouragement soon!

Hello!

I didn't know you were going back to school, what are you studying?

Are your other kids graduated or did you have some go to school? I can't remember all their ages (do remember you have 4) and don't see a signature. 

Sounds like you are very busy!

7 hours ago, HollyDay said:

I start with a new trainer tomorrow.  Hoping my achilles has healed enough and I can get back on track with a new program

I really hope it goes better with this guy and kudos to you for going back at it, that's not easy to do!

9 hours ago, mamaraby said:

@peacelovehomeschooling - soror is right. There is no one way. There is no magic cure. Whatever you pick has to be something that you can sustain. I thought this blog post from a doc who deals with weight management put it well - http://www.weightymatters.ca/2018/01/when-weight-loss-makes-you-stupid.html. Sustainable means not just tolerating a diet, but liking it well enough that it becomes your new normal and replaces what you used to do.

Exercise is very similar. You can lose lots of weight with interval training, but if you don’t really love it, it’s not a good long term solution. In fact, you could burn more calories and have a greater result doing something lower impact you love and keep doing. It’s not what works for any one person here, but what works for you in the long term, rest of your life, I can keep on keeping on forever.

Ran a recovery run on Sunday and the C25k with the kids plus an additional ~20 minutes by myself after that. Marathon taper is here!

I’m the one who had dryer problems in that mine tried to burn down the house and has resulted in learning about some very concerning electrical issues at my house whose resolution is tbd. I did, however, get my new dryer delivered today and I have never been more excited about doing laundry!

3

Amen, good article! 

12 hours ago, peacelovehomeschooling said:

This is all fantastic and gives me a whole lot to work with (in addition to the wonderful advice that @lynn had).   Thank you!

Your welcome, best wishes to you!

___________________________________

Just last week I said my allergies weren't bad and now they are killing me, ugh!!!!!!!

I've been doing a lot of cleaning so I hope it's just the dust that has aggravated me but I've started this cough, my eyes are killing me, and my nose is running.

Boo!!!!

Edited September 25, 2018 by soror

[SKL]

I finally started using my fitbit.  I finished 10,000 steps 2 days in a row.  Then yesterday I was stuck in the house all day, but I did manage 7,000 steps.

So hopefully I am back in the swing of things and will keep it up this time.

I may start taking my kid to tracks to run in prep for some races she has planned.  Hopefully I do a bit of moving myself to help motivate her.

[wintermom]

7 hours ago, soror said:

Hello!

I didn't know you were going back to school, what are you studying?

Are your other kids graduated or did you have some go to school? I can't remember all their ages (do remember you have 4) and don't see a signature. 

Sounds like you are very busy!

 

___________________________________

Just last week I said my allergies weren't bad and now they are killing me, ugh!!!!!!!

I've been doing a lot of cleaning so I hope it's just the dust that has aggravated me but I've started this cough, my eyes are killing me, and my nose is running.

Boo!!!!

I'm studying Program Evaluation through the Faculty of Psychology (Education and Health Sciences as well, though more Psych right now). It's very exciting, and a wonderful fit for me. I love my prof, the assignment and the group of students in our class. I'm also dipping back into the field of health research, and hope to have a small contract soon. I'm still homeschooling my youngest (12), but able to outsource a lot and work with him on just a couple subjects.

Allergies: They suck. They change and they can be these nebulous feelings that can be tough to nail down - and nailing down the cause can also be tough. Sorry yours are bugging you. Hopefully things will calm down soon.  I think I've suddenly developed an allergy to mustard. I react in a way that's completely new to me; my blood pressure drops suddenly and I feel dizzy, even if I'm sitting down.