2020 WIR Healthy Lifestyle Discussion

[ners]

Here is the 2020 Health Lifestyle Discussion.

Please use this thread as a place to discuss your physical health, your goals for your physical health, your struggles with your physical health, and to encourage each other and positively hold each other accountable.



Focus could be on food or exercise and the myriad modes for addressing our choices and growth
.

[ners]

Here are my goals for 2020.

Aiming for 4 million steps.
Keep the weight off and lose 10 more pounds.


What are your goals.

[andi9899]

I want to clean up my diet this year. It's my resolution.

[Chocolate Lover]

My goal and biggest struggle is to just do it consistently. Doesn't matter what "it" is, I am the world's worst at being consistent. I have set small goals and never reached them. I think last year's goal was 5 pounds. I'm probably still playing with those 5 pounds. 

My first goal is to keep my snack calories to less than 400 a day on MFP. Fingers crossed. 

[WholeLottaNothin]

I'd like to lose 24 pounds this year. I lost 19 in 2019, and I'd like to keep the momentum going. I have been working out with exercise videos on YouTube a few time per week. My diet could use a major overhaul. The fact that I haven't fallen off the wagon with exercising is amazing. I'm not very good with consistency either.

[Chocolate Lover]

Dec 31, 2019 15:53:20 GMT -5 WholeLottaNothin said:

I'd like to lose 24 pounds this year. I lost 19 in 2019, and I'd like to keep the momentum going. I have been working out with exercise videos on YouTube a few time per week. My diet could use a major overhaul. The fact that I haven't fallen off the wagon with exercising is amazing. I'm not very good with consistency either.

   

Congrats on sticking with it!!

[bobosensei]

I am 5'8 and up to 199 now.  I'd like to get back to 155-160, but I'm not focusing on number goals - just actions.  I'm establishing minimum baselines.  The idea is I start small with the least amount of change I know I can commit to with no stress or white knuckling, and then I'll feel free to add on later in the same manner.

• Walk for 20 minutes a day.  Could be with my dog in morning or night or a break at work.  There is a nature path behind my office so maybe instead of gossiping I'll go walk.
• Take my lunch to work 4 days a week.  I pretty much do this now.  What's hard is when I work from home or periods where co-workers are always asking me to go out. 
• Eat more vegetables.  Half the plate!
• Drink 64 ounces of water every day.  This is easy if I limit coffee to one cup and then take water on the way to work.

I need to get back in the swing of things, and think I'll progress quickly.  I erased 3-4 things that were talking about limits.  For now I just want to focus on good things to do.

[flamingo]

First, I want to focus on my eating this year. I know I eat too much sugar, and while I’m pretty active, it likely doesn’t make up for the amount of sugar I eat. I also need to focus on eating out less. This is mostly going to take the form of eating the lunch that I brought from home. I’m so bad about deciding that I need a break from the office and the easiest way to get that is to go out to lunch. 

Second, I want to cut back a little on my drinking. I don’t think i have a problem with drinking, but I do think that I’d feel better, my skin would look better, and I’d ingest less sugar if I do it. I say this as I sip on some wine, so clearly I’ll be starting tomorrow 

I’m not doing any of this to see a difference on my scale, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t hoping that it ends up with me dropping a few pounds. I also think if I can make it through January with just being aware of when I’m eating/drinking sugar, I’d feel like I was making progress. I’ll be 40 this year, and I think it could help me age slightly more gracefully 

[Lizard Queen]

I'd also like to drink less alcohol/more water, eat more veggies/less carbs, exercise more, build muscle, and lose fat. I've been finishing up the Christmas goodies in the house, and now they're mostly gone. I read chapter 1 of atomic habits as an excerpt through my library. Focusing on doing 1% better.

[Happy prose]

I hit my 10k steps before noon today, so yay me!

[tcu2003]

I’m going to join this year. I’ve noticed that I’m having some on and off lower back issues that I think are related to (lack of) core strength, so I want to focus on improving my core strength. I also need to get back to working out - I did okay the first half of 2019 and then dropped off in the summer.

I would love to lose weight, but that’s not my primary focus here. Hopefully it ends up as a byproduct.

[flamingo]

First win of the year - I didn't drink any alcohol yesterday. AND I only had 2 small pieces of fudge. So, the amount of sugar I consumed was greatly reduced.

I have a headache today, which I can't decide if it's related to the weather or that time of the month or just being so off of a normal schedule for so long. Hopefully the ibuprofen and coffee help soon!

[busymom]

I've been very well behaved with alcohol, but 2 glasses of champagne on New Year's Eve gave me one heck of a headache the next day.  Boo!



I'm hoping I can get a job where I'm not sitting at a desk.  I need to be more active, in addition to walking, which I actually enjoy.  But, I'd like to drop more weight, although I haven't decided on a specific number.  I just want to feel better.

[azucena]

I'm going to join this thread as well.

I've been seeing a personal trainer twice a week since mid-Nov. This week I start coaching middle school basketball, so will fit in some workouts with the team.

Need to focus on eating better. In particular, cut out the bedtime snacking.

Lights out by 9:30, so I can be up at 5 and at work at 6. This had slipped to 7 in the past few weeks. This morning I was at the computer by 5:30 since I'm working from home. Definitely did not go to bed early enough though.

[bobosensei]

I’ve been up and taking walks. Normally what happens as I get fitter I’ll automatically start to want to exert myself more. So walks and recumbent biking will go toward running, tennis, and rowing. I’m embarrassed to say that 20 minutes of walking feels like exercise right now. I’m going to ride my bicycle around this weekend if weather permits.

[bobosensei]

I’m also enjoying the Apple Watch. The fit is more comfortable than my old Fitbit and I’ve shared my stats with my sister and feel compelled to try to “beat” her every day.

[Chocolate Lover]

So, I almost managed my snack goal yesterday. Almost. Gave in to temptation and ended up at 567 calories in my snack category yesterday. I'm already at 217 today, but the last of the Xmas candy gifts are out of my desk at work now. That will help.

[forwardwego]

I'd like to join too.
I'd like to improve with lower sugar intake & less nighttime snacking.
Looking forward to comradery and inspiration.
You all have helped me already by stating your goals and reasonings so well.

[Chocolate Lover]

Yeah....... didn't happen yesterday either. If anything, it was worse*. I walked in at home to my oldest making cookies that smelled like the ones my grandma used to make. Not the same recipe, but enough of the same flavor that I had several. And then chips and dip after dinner (and a couple more cookies) because apparently sugar gives me the munchies in general.   


*It was. 722 calories yesterday. Probably. I'm not sure if I got my cookie count correct. 

[forwardwego]

Chocolate Lover Your screen name speaks to me. Love me some chocolate. Especially milk chocolate, not the slightly better dark chocolate. Good for you breaking down what the difficulties are. I'm also "puttzing" around with the same 5-10 pounds. In my case it could make a big difference if I could trim my belly and ease my back.  

I'm a long-time Jazzerciser. Was a substitute instructor @ a decade ago, but degenerative disks...sigh. One instructor who is new to our area is a big woman. I knew there would be a story, and sure enough she shared that the year before she became an instructor she weighed over 300. I'd guess she's 170-180 now, and for me she just exudes credibility. We were talking about sugar, cutting back on sugar, and health benefits of cutting back. She said her personal experience was that cutting the sugar cut her appetite. So that's my number one focus, and I'm hoping for this change to snowball.

[andi9899]

I'm having cheezits instead of M&Ms. That's progress, right?

[Lizard Queen]

Jan 4, 2020 11:22:01 GMT -5 andi9899 said:

I'm having cheezits instead of M&Ms. That's progress, right?

Absolutely!

[Cookies Galore]

Hello ladies! I hope my holiday bloat goes away soon so I can gauge how much weight I need to drop. Scale has been wavering between 156 and 158 the past couple of weeks, which is bullshit because I did a good job of not overeating and snacking during the holidays, and I was off two weeks and did barre almost every day. I blame the midweek holidays causing me to drink more than usual. But considering last year I hovered around 152-154 consistently (always more early in the week from weekend bloat), I need to drop the excess! My clothes fit totally fine, which is why I think I'm just dealing with major bloat right now. That said, I want to get at 150 or below and stay there.
I started 2012 at 181 and ended it 25 pounds lighter (and ended 2013 an additional 10 pounds lighter), so the fact that I lost weight and maintained the majority of it for years is a good reminder that I am still much better than I was eight years ago and that I can do it with this smaller goal.

Hubs and I are going to join the adjacent town's community center gym since we get the residents price (part of the same school district), so a monthly membership for an adult couple is only $40. For whatever reason I can only sign up for annual memberships online so we're going to stop by today since we'll be driving past it. I lost a good amount of weight originally using the elliptical machine at my work's (free) gym. And no, I most likely won't use the work gym because I work from home twice a week and take the train, so having to carry my purse, laptop, lunch bag, and gym bag is too much. The community center also has all sorts of classes included as well. So that's my winter game plan. We'll probably drop the membership in the spring.
I did a double workout yesterday because I don't plan on working out again until Tuesday, lol. I got a haircut this morning and my swearing in ceremony is Monday night, so I need my blowout to last!

Happy 2020 ladies! Let's get it!

[WholeLottaNothin]

I worked out this afternoon for about half an hour then took the shower to worked around the house. Sorry if this tmi, but whenever I take up exercising regularly my period starts. Does this happen to anyone else?

[Lizard Queen]

Actually, my cycle has been shortening, but goes back to normal when I exercise.


Worked out with the weight machines at the gym today. Got to all of them, except I couldn't get back to the second exercise on one machine. A little over an hour. I still feel like I get a better workoit with my lightweight kettlebell, but I think it's good to change things up.

[Chocolate Lover]

Jan 4, 2020 11:10:51 GMT -5 forwardwego said:

Chocolate Lover Your screen name speaks to me. Love me some chocolate. Especially milk chocolate, not the slightly better dark chocolate. Good for you breaking down what the difficulties are. I'm also "puttzing" around with the same 5-10 pounds. In my case it could make a big difference if I could trim my belly and ease my back.  

I'm a long-time Jazzerciser. Was a substitute instructor @ a decade ago, but degenerative disks...sigh. One instructor who is new to our area is a big woman. I knew there would be a story, and sure enough she shared that the year before she became an instructor she weighed over 300. I'd guess she's 170-180 now, and for me she just exudes credibility. We were talking about sugar, cutting back on sugar, and health benefits of cutting back. She said her personal experience was that cutting the sugar cut her appetite. So that's my number one focus, and I'm hoping for this change to snowball.

I also like to even out the sweet with salty, so it's doubly bad when I start.

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Jan 2, 2020 1:13:43 GMT -5 tcu2003 said:

I’m going to join this year. I’ve noticed that I’m having some on and off lower back issues that I think are related to (lack of) core strength, so I want to focus on improving my core strength. I also need to get back to working out - I did okay the first half of 2019 and then dropped off in the summer.

I would love to lose weight, but that’s not my primary focus here. Hopefully it ends up as a byproduct.

I have a lower back issue on my right side, and part of it is due to a lack of core strength and not “engaging my core”. It honestly took me six months to even understand what it meant to engage my core. I had a whole different health issue in 2019 with a blood clot and four surgeries for it. I now need to resume my core work from my PT.

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Jan 2, 2020 11:57:52 GMT -5 busymom said:

I've been very well behaved with alcohol, but 2 glasses of champagne on New Year's Eve gave me one heck of a headache the next day.  Boo!



I'm hoping I can get a job where I'm not sitting at a desk.  I need to be more active, in addition to walking, which I actually enjoy.  But, I'd like to drop more weight, although I haven't decided on a specific number.  I just want to feel better.

Have you tried a bouncing ball chair? Or the under-the-desk footboedals?

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Jan 2, 2020 12:42:52 GMT -5 bobosensei said:

I’ve been up and taking walks. Normally what happens as I get fitter I’ll automatically start to want to exert myself more. So walks and recumbent biking will go toward running, tennis, and rowing. I’m embarrassed to say that 20 minutes of walking feels like exercise right now. I’m going to ride my bicycle around this weekend if weather permits.

We all start somewhere. It’s good that you’re walking. Just keep going. 🙂

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Jan 3, 2020 12:29:12 GMT -5 Chocolate Lover said:

Yeah....... didn't happen yesterday either. If anything, it was worse*. I walked in at home to my oldest making cookies that smelled like the ones my grandma used to make. Not the same recipe, but enough of the same flavor that I had several. And then chips and dip after dinner (and a couple more cookies) because apparently sugar gives me the munchies in general.   


*It was. 722 calories yesterday. Probably. I'm not sure if I got my cookie count correct. 

Seriously, my kids baking all the damn time costs me money for food and bigger clothes!