Health and Fitness January, 2013

[Cowinkie]

I am having a difficult time staying focused today. Not feeling quite myself and want to use that as an excuse to nibble on things I shouldn't.

I've developed the phrase...face the truth..and use it to challenge my thinking. I had a very ugly out loud discussion with my self, but in the end wound up making my special diet jello and filled my drinking bottles with ice tea...never mind the one day at a time...today I'm going minute to minute

[Nancy]

I almost got a 2nd ex. bike for the basement today.
Still thinking about it.
Tues. Got my ex. bike 4 mi. done did an arm work out too.
Getting back on track with arm exercise this week sort of slipped with that during the holidays.
Wed. did my 4 mi. on ex. bike

[Harriet]

3 days of Zumba and no ill effects. Feel fine so that's a success. I'll get back to some T-Tapp mixed in of course, for more complete workouts, and slowly might begin doing the longer workouts of both.

Have solved mystery weight gain - the keilbasa-like sausage HRH put (sparingly) into a mixed-vegetable stir fry. It seemed such a healthy meal, but I guess that put the sodium content through the roof. Never again. It doesn't affect him like that at all!

Was stressed today and found myself eating chocolate cereal left by the grandboys! Dumb, dumb. (See Cowinkie, at least you have the excuse of being asleep. I "wake up" and realize I'm doing it and have no such excuse!)

Impressed with your minute-by-minute efforts, Cowinkie.

OKay, you mean you were on your knees/shins/tops of feet with knees bent and sitting on the soles of the feet? I can sit like that but don't feel comfortable for working like that. If you are more flexible than the average, be grateful!

[Harmony]

I can sit like that, but when I get up my feet are sore! I used to sit like that all the time!

On the scale today, amazingly, I'm still losing. From my recent highest to this new low, I'm 4 1/2 pounds down. Some of the time I've been too busy to eat, but when I do it's not always the best food. So I don't know what to give credit to, except maybe I'll be doing better now that my thyroid is perked up a bit.

[OKay]

YES! I lost the rest of weight that I had gained over the holidays. The sodium consumed sure did a # to the scales…..and I'm sure my body didn't appreciate it either! Today the scales dropped 1.6 lbs.

Keeping on ……
Logging food at MyFitnessPal
Logging water using Drinking Water app
Logging exercise & sleep using fitbit

Yesterday I was thinking about what Cowinkle said. I have been comparing how many calories I have left to eat according to MyFitnessPal and FitBit. FitBit seems more accurate for consistent weight loss. FitBit gives a low # of calories at the beginning of each day (774 today) and I have to "earn" more calories by moving. If I'm not active, I'm not going to be able to eat very much.

Harriet you described it perfectly! Yes, that is how I sit on the floor.

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

Dinner last night was a disaster from low-gluten point of view.

Spaghetti, vinegar-dressing coleslaw, rolls, cake.

I had the meat sauce, a small helping of coleslaw and hoped to make do with that but was still starving after my plateful of food (and a 5 - 10 minute wait) so had a roll. Twenty minutes after that (conversation was great so I didn't want to leave the table) someone brought me a small piece of cake and I had it.

I didn't go off program, still have lots of room to finish the week successfully, but it was frustrating to be so out of control of my eating options. One of the biggest problems with church is that 80% of the 'work' is done with food since there is coffee hour every week, lots of meals and things like Presbytery (a monthly meeting I'm required to attend) does a lot of its work over the dinner before the actual meeting. I'm allowed to skip the dinner but if I want preaching gigs, I need to get to know the ministers so they are comfortable leaving their pulpit to me.

[Cowinkie]

142.4 No exercise yesterday...just wasn't feeling up to it.

Katherine...Not being able to control my food is exactly why I bring mine with me. I usually carry cut up chicken and my apple. If I can eat what is placed in front of me...If I have a choice that is..I eat it. If not I have a dinner salad and put my chicken on top of it. I also carry my own dressing. I've done that four times so far these past two weeks. I also eat something BEFORE I go out if I can so I won't be so starving. And I am having not problem saying "No thanks" when my friends put something in front of me that is off my program. Saving points is one reason I don't like WW. It lets me get into the mentality that I can eat something now and cut back later. The truth of the matter is for me, it never happens

Harriet...I thought I got up and ate cookies last night...I don't always know if I am imagining it or not...but when I made up the bed, I found the cookie crumb evidences. In the past I would use it as an excuse to eat...as Oh well I might as well eat __________ this morning since I've already screwed up...but instead tried to think of a solution to correct this problem. I can't lock the fridge and pantry, though I've often thought about it, so I've decided to put the cookies in Sweetie's nightstand drawer before I go to bed. There's a lock box that goes inside the fridge that I saw in a catalog the other day. Its for people who are room mates and don't want their friends nibbling on their goodies. I may look into that as well.

Hey Harmony...good thinking about your thyroid. You sound like you're feeling much better. Okay...I've never heard of the second site you mentioned. I'll have to look into that.

Ok, gotta get my butt in gear...Willis and I BOTH need to walk

[Lilac]

Harriet, I may have missed it but what Zumba tape are you using? I would like to try Zumba but never in a public setting.

[Cowinkie]

142.4

Didn't drink enough water yesterday...no sure I drank any. Need to start leaving 4 water bottles on my counter to reminded me. If I see it I do it...If I see it I eat it

Willis and I walked another 2mile trail in the same park yesterday. I have to drive 4 miles to get there which isn't bad. When I lived in Mobile I had to drive about the same to get to the public park where I walked. I had to remind myself of that yesterday. Gonna walk at least 2 maybe more miles today...we'll see.

Weathers suppose to get very cold around her in the next few days...daily high of 50* or so. I have a sweater for Willis. I think he's going to need it. Poor guy has very little hair on his underbelly and not much on the rest of his body. Good news is he doesn't have much hair to shed. He does love going on these walks though...so much to see, so much to smell.

http://www.maricopa.gov/parks/usery/ After reaching the top of Wind Cave a few years ago, I slipped and broke my arm. The hike back down was a bit painful.

http://www.maricopa.gov/parks/usery/pdf ... -up-3d.pdf This is a map of the area I am walking. At the moment I am walking the Merkle Trail. It is an easy 1 mile hike. Made for strollers and wheel chairs. Next week I will add the Merkle Hills trail.

Eventually I want to take Willis on the Pass Mountain Trail. It is 7.5 miles around the park. I've done it many times before, but without Willis. I'm concerned about Willis' paws because there are many rocky areas you have to travel. The views from the other side of the pass are most amazing and well worth the time. I can usually do the hike in 3 hours...depends on the weather and how many other people are out there. Believe it or not mountain bike riders use this mountain to train on. It's amazing to watch.

http://www.maricopa.gov/parks/usery/pdf ... x17-3d.pdf

[Ivy]

Hi!

I started out the holidays, at Christmastime with a bad cold, so I didn't walk daily. My pre-Thanksgiving weight was 168.9 Lbs. and this morning it was 171.9 Lbs. I've been feeling very healthy since the weekend, but I get so busy with crocheting for the new baby granddaughter, sometimes I forget to walk! OR I am so busy reading a book, I overlook walking.

I have found that on extra busy days, how if I set my timer for 10 min., get up periodically and walk 10 min., tally it up as I go throughout the day, I end up walking 40+ min. a day.

However, my best way to get my walking in is at lunchtime, when I take a pill for IBS prior to my lunch, wait 30 - 60 min. before eating lunch, I can get my walking in then. I've been walking indoors, because there is practically an indoor walking track for me, from the way the furniture's arranged and the size of the rooms and halls. I'm not walking in the rain, ice or snow, I don't have to be afraid of big dogs, coyotes or the cougar, and I'm on even floors instead of uneven ground. My ankles are weak, I wear AFO's on them for stability, so indoor walking works great. Also, when I'm doing my indoor walking, I take things from, for instance, laying on the eating bar and put it away on my bunny-craft room desk, or put a dirty washcloth in the laundry basket. So I kill 2 birds with one stone! I do my walking AND pick up after myself, both!

I just need to get back on track to walk 6 days a week, as my dr. suggests, instead of every other day or every other 2 days. On days I'm very active and am doing cleaning and lots of laundry, I don't walk, but I'm so busy doing the house/laundry stuff, I'm getting in the exercise.

My "plans" for the New Year are: To start doing my sit-down hoe downs, to do my Tapp Core DVD, to do my Weight Watchers Pilates/Yoga DVD, and slowly start building up my time on my recumbent exercise bike. I only have 20-30 Lbs. to lose, too. I want to do it by New Year's Eve. DD is trying, also, to lose 30 Lbs. by New Year's Eve. She and I are not "obsessing" over it, are watching what we eat, and taking it slow.

Happy New Year, Everybody!