Health and Fitness, May, 2014

[Nancy]

Today I plan to walk to the yd. Sale again. Maybe mow too. Did some yd. wk. too.

[OKay]

Posting to maintain focus and accountability.

Good news - I weighed this morning.
Bad news - My weight is trending upward I suppose it is to be expected to occasionally happen .....but that doesn't mean I like it or will allow it to continue!

Meals are planned for today and I'm motivated to step off the scales in the morning with a smile on my face.

[Cowinkie]

I thought abt ya'll when I stepped on my scale this morning.

Well somehow I managed to get in 17913 steps yesterday. I did spend some time on my gazelle for 1.8 miles while I talked to my mom on the phone. I have a tv in my office with basic cable. I'm trying to use my gazelle whenever I sit down to watch tv but can't always get the programs on that tv that I like to watch.

I stayed on plan, but did eat a bit of fruit. I didn't get a chance to look up the sugar value, it the grapes were sweet so I imagine it was the sugar. Knowing all of that I am delighted to say...

I'm down .8lbs today That means I am .8 lbs from my big goal. Maybe just maybe I'll make it by Monday. Keeping my eye on the goal being this close is SO motivating. And, I am 2lbs away from winning my two dietbets. Don't want to do a happy dance yet but my tootsies are beginning to twitch

[DeeClutter]

Want that smile on my face too, Okay. I do need to step on those scales every day in order to stay focused. I am down .4 lbs from yesterday so that down trend makes me happy. Now to just keep it that way. I don't care if it's only .2 down every day or so as long as that direction keeps up. It'll get me there.

[Cowinkie]

Amen to that Dee. That's why I love my digital scale so much.. Even if it just moves a tiny bit down each day, we know were on our way. Congrates to you too.

Okay ... Hang in there, we all need to be doing this in baby steps. Being focused on what we need to do is the first BIG step and you're already doing that.

[OKay]

What a blessing this thread is to me! It is so encouraging and inspiring to have a place to come to share struggles and triumphs. Thank you for sharing your health & fitness efforts.

I had a smile on my face when the scales went down .2 lbs this morning. Stopping the trend upward is a reason to celebrate! ANY motion downward is a reason to celebrate! "I can do this!"

Today starts a new weekly healthy habit focus for me. *gulp* I wish I could confidently say I can do it with no problem, but I know it is going to probably be one of the two hardest healthy habits to establish. I'm thinking long term. I know I can do it short term, but I am seeking to make a lifestyle change so it last longer than my weight loss effort.

This week's healthy habit focus is 10,000 steps minimum. I plan to use the Divide & Conquer method. To focus & win small battles, knowing they will lead to the big one taking care of itself

1st Small battle - listen to uplifting, inspiring & toe-tapping type of music. Dance frequently. I have my music downloaded & playlist ready.

[Cowinkie]

Okay ... Enjoy watching you scale needle go down. Weighting every day is an important way to keep me accountable. My scale stayed the same this morning, but at least it didn't go up

As for steps, yesterday I got in 14009. I was able to use my gazelle for an hour and go 2.5 miles and I did walk a mile last night with Sweetie and doggies. However I have to put in a lot of effort to get to 10k if I don't do my gazelle and walk, especially now that I'm not teaching. When I teach I'm always on the move so it make reaching the 10k goal much easier.

You have a lot of land around you. Once LO is out of school perhaps you need to take an hour a day to focuse on you. You could add steps by checking out your live stock or tour around your pastures. Can LO feed the horses carrots or apples by walking up to the fence? It would be a wonder time for the two of you and that would help get your steps in.

Plus if LO has a bike you could load it up in your car and head for a park close by. He could ride the paths as walk by. Or is you had your own bike, the two of you could ride the roads by your house if they're not too busy. When my son was LOs age, I was his main playmate. That was also the summer I lost 40 lbs. I contribute much of my success to playing withmy son. So glad I did because by the following summer his dad and I were divorced and my life change.

What motivated me to loose my 40 lbs was my curiosity of what I would look like as a thin adult. I was tired of not looking good to myself. That's when I decided to dedicate 4 months to myself. I made ME a priority. I did my basic cards every day which included mowing my 4 acres of land including a very large ditch. I planned my meals to be fresh with no processed foods.. That part was super hard. I ate no flour, starch... Rice. Potatoes.. Or sugar.

I told my friends and family of my plans and asked for help...that part was tough too.. But that really did help me.

You really can so this whatever your plan may be. The real diet is between your "ears " not your mouth. It's the battle in your mind of yes I can and no I cant. Most importance is to be kind to yourself along this journey.

[Nancy]

Shopping and gardening = ex. Today.

[OKay]

Thank you for the EXCELLENT suggestions and ideas. I intend to implement several of them immediately.

I'm having a reality check this morning.

First, giving myself a PODA for following healthy habits I've focused on during the past few weeks. Yesterday I did -
** eat 5 vegetables
** eat 3 fruits
** drink water (ounces = half body weight)
** take vitamin
** Plan/prep'd meals
** follow Mindful eating
** weigh
** walk 30 minutes.

Reality check - my weight it up today because I AM EATING TOO MANY CALORIES. Since I stopped tracking/logging food (when I got sick), my weight has been on an upward trend. Some days I lose a little but overall it is going in the wrong direction. All the healthy habits are good ones, but they are not resulting in weight loss. If I don't lose weight, I'm going to become discouraged and tempted to give up. I AM NOT GIVING UP!

So...... I'm changing my healthy habit focus for this week and putting tracking food as my #1 healthy habit focus. My goal is to stay below 1200 calories. I will consider it a success if I just track every BLT (bite, lick, taste). I know from past experience that my calories will come down into acceptable range as long as I track what I am eating.

the 10,000 steps minimum healthy habit is still there to be achieved & established. I'm not forgetting about it. I did look back through my daily steps for this year and calculate my average steps...sad..sad... I averaged 4434 steps. I am going to be working on increasing steps by 20% each month. i am confident I can do better than this, but am setting my goal low so success will be constant.

[Harriet]

Good luck, OKay! Have a great day!

Happy to hear of Cowinkie's drop.

Dee, you are really off to a good start.

((Nancy)) I noticed your PWYC post last evening. I know so well that hormones and concern for loved ones can cause some down days. Good job exercising through it.

Ivy, that's cool that you know exactly how much of the treat you can have. Yes, a doctor who gives positive feelings to patients is a joy.

I started recording my daily weight in the "notes" space of my planner, without using the decimal, so I keep track at my desk as well. This way I have it at a glance but if anyone saw it, they probably wouldn't recognize the 4-digit numbers as weights.

Have had green juices for several recent breakfasts. I have a jelly jar with a strong lid-fit, and make enough to fill up lippin' full on that one, plus at least that amount for me right away. Then I refrigerate the closed jelly jar and very little air will affect that juice. A big handful of spinach, a large celery stalk chopped, 5 frozen cherries and 1 packet of stevia with 1 cup water is my basic recipe in the old vitamix. I change if I have different berries, use mixed greens, etc. No one else in the house wants the other cup of juice. Oh well, I keep it refrigerated 'til later, even next morning.