2022 Healthy Lifestyle Discussion

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

My current eating habits.

[Minnesotagirl7]

Finally! Scale at 211.5 this morning, down almost 2 lbs since last week. Still feeling good overall, sticking to the daily habits. And clothes are loose! Looking forward to breaking the 200 mark, hope it happens sometime in September. 

[geenamercile]

Jul 25, 2022 21:22:40 GMT -5 Knee Deep in Water Chloe said:

My current eating habits.

Mine had been taco meat/beans on top of a salad and stuff I have baked like coffee cakes, or yesterday a cake/brownie hybrid.  Right being stuck at home it is more I think a lack of moving that is getting to me.  Yesterday I did walk to town and around it, but it also was a heat index of 104.  But being at home is making me go a bit stir crazy too.    

[geenamercile]

Jul 26, 2022 8:20:55 GMT -5 Minnesotagirl7 said:

Finally! Scale at 211.5 this morning, down almost 2 lbs since last week. Still feeling good overall, sticking to the daily habits. And clothes are loose! Looking forward to breaking the 200 mark, hope it happens sometime in September. 

Congrats, short term goals can really help you mentally keep going.  I look forward to seeing your breaking the 200 mark.  

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Slightly better today regarding eating choices. 
Had 1846 calories total. 

[finnime]

I'm still in the eating out mode and will be until at least the end of next week, when all the things we had packed away will be moved into this home and maybe even unpacked. I've definitely gained about 8 lbs since we became nomads. Now I'm into an ice cream kick that always entices me in July and August. Will work on intermittent fasting beginning next week.

Do you have a scale at home, or do you monitor progress based on clothing fit? We have no scale. I'm trying to decide if buying one is a good idea or not.

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Jul 27, 2022 8:12:54 GMT -5 finnime said:

I'm still in the eating out mode and will be until at least the end of next week, when all the things we had packed away will be moved into this home and maybe even unpacked. I've definitely gained about 8 lbs since we became nomads. Now I'm into an ice cream kick that always entices me in July and August. Will work on intermittent fasting beginning next week.

Do you have a scale at home, or do you monitor progress based on clothing fit? We have no scale. I'm trying to decide if buying one is a good idea or not.

I have a scale. I weigh myself at least once per day. That frequency is a manifestation of my anxiety. The scale was packed from the end of April - the end of May; it was a nice respite. 

[daisylu]

I have a scale and usually weigh in first thing in the morning. I use it mostly as a guide to keep myself on track, but I am more excited when clothes that were getting a bit tight start to fit better.

[geenamercile]

I have a scale, and try to limit myself once a week Sunday mornings.  The nutritiousness I worked with at the start of last fall suggested once a week due to the fact that you have variations each day and said you can make yourself insane trying to control too much.  I am trying to keep myself positive this month with remembering something else she said too when I started.  We did a pretty ambitious weight loss plan, and she said at the start 6 to 8 months max for it.  Losing weight is positive, but does also put stress on the body.  You need to let your body relax and take a break at times, and just maintain.  I am would like to lose 10 to 20 more pounds, and I really need to work on strength.  My muscles suck, but giving myself until August, oh and having a car.            

[Iggy aka IG]

Count me in as a daily weigher.  Speaking of which, unlike my prediction, I ended up gaining weight during vacation.  A nibble here, a sugary drink there, along with sodium and carb-laden foods....  After a week and a half, I'm almost back to where I was prior to leaving.  Now to get back to the exercise routine.  

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

1606 calories for today.
As usual, I was over on carbs and under on protein.

I did a light work out today.

[jerseygirl]

New here, was stuck at 154 for months. Went on vacation for a week and came back with swollen ankles and weighing 158. My waist is so much bigger than 10 yrs ago but only about 15 lbs more. Guess it’s all there

Two weeks later and today at 149.2! Lowest in about 2 years. I’ve been swimming most days and haven’t a big appetite since it’s been so hot and muggy
Hoping to get down to 140 but realistically 145 would be great
Too hot and too many gnats to walk until fall? So relying on swimming and walking/ stairs in house. Maybe I’ll go to local mall and walk there?

[flamingo]

I used to be daily weigh-er. But now that I work from home, my schedule is off and I don't ever really think about it. It used to be I'd get up, hop in shower immediately, then eat and go to work. Now I get up, eat, work, drink coffee, work, then who knows. Some days I work out at lunch, others after work, so my daily shower isn't always at the same time. 

Also, I'm a little afraid to get on it, haha. My clothes fit fine still, but I don't really want to know if the number has gone up.

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

I'm a bit annoyed with DH for moment; I'm just going to vent here.

Background: My second pregnancy damaged my right side sciatic nerve. (My second pregnancy is 20 yo DD#2.)
Aging and lack of targeted, preventative care caused my L4 disc to dengenerate. About seven years ago the pain increased significantly, and I increased chiropractic and massage visits from once or twice per month to every rotating each every week. My health insurance cut me off after about a year. I had to get a primary care provider (I'd never had one). She sent me to PT and for and MRI. I learned enough and was then consistent enough from the PT that I was able to stop the shooting pains down my right leg and the painful numbness in my my right ankle and toes. If the exercise hadn't work, I was likely going to have to have surgery.

Last year to now: When DD#1 got married last summer, I had been consistently exercising, so my core and my lower back were in harmony. I rarely had any back pain and never had severe back pain. After the wedding, I gave myself permission to rest for a week. Then a week turned into two or three; then school started in September and my college classes started in October. DH became ill and hospitalized in late October; we listed our house for sale in late February. We moved out of our house the last week of April and lived in our camping trailer through mid-June. We moved into our house in the latter half of June. We got our gym set back up at the end of the June.

My severe back pain flared up this last week. It's to the point I cannot easily walk. My right toes are actually numb in the morning; usually it takes a few 20,000 step days in a row to get them consistently numb. I know I just need to get through a few weeks of consistently working through the same PT exercises from five years ago and then increase my endurance and the intense pain will--again-- subside.

Tonight: My husband told me tonight I should just have surgery. He meant it in a caring way as he doesn't want me to be in pain. However, when I replied that having surgery seems drastic and that I just need to consistently exercise, he told me that I am not able to do that. I was a bit hurt by that. His point was that I work full time and am now adding ten commuting hours per week to my schedule. Now I just want to pout and also prove him wrong.

[CCL]

I'm sorry your husband isn't more encouraging. I've had back issues, too, so I know how it feels. One summer I had a herniated disc in my neck. My right arm became pretty much useless. I had to wear a sling just to keep it supported.

Once I finally saw the neurosurgeon, he recommended, wait for it... surgery. I just didn't want to do it. I asked him if there would be therapy following surgery, if I decided to go that route. He said yes. So I asked him why couldn't I try the therapy first, since I'd be doing it one way or another anyway. He agreed to let me try it. It took a while, but it worked. I got much better. My point is, I agree with you. Try the exercises and therapy first. I would only do surgery if I had tried (and failed) other options first and was in severe pain lasting more than a week or two.

[busymom]

I'm a big fan of doing therapy.  I managed to injure my back years ago, before having kids, and no pills seemed to help but man, once I started doing PT, I was like a different person.  Years later, on those occasional days when I feel my back tightening up, I do some of those stretching exercises I learned years ago, and it really helps.  I've also learned that gaining too many pounds can mess me up, so I need to do a combination of watching my weight AND exercise.


I have a relative who I love dearly on DH's side that has had back surgery, but now it seems she's a bigger mess than before having surgery.  And, what does her doctor suggest?  MORE surgery.  No thank you!

[ners]

Monthly check in

July was not a month for hitting goals.  

Water goal was 45 actual 43.7
Step goal 235,000 actual 206,500
Keep weight off

Goals for August

Water 45 ounces
Steps 235,000
Keep weight off

Goals for the week
Water 45 ounces
Steps 50,000

I weigh in daily.  Weight fluctuates by several pounds.  Usually look for trends. 


01/01/19 177.2
01/01/20 165.2
01/01/21 169.0
01/01/22 167.2
02/01/22 166.8
03/01/22 169.0
04/01/22 167.8
05/01/22 166.0
06/01/22 166.0
07/01/22 164.2
08/01/22 162.6

Have a good week everyone

[ners]

Knee Deep in Water Chloe  I would definitely want to try to exercise before having surgery. My surgeon said he could do surgery to get my arm / shoulder to work better or the surgery could make it worse.  I am opting for doing exercise.  I am sorry your husband is not being more supportive of your choice. 

[Iggy aka IG]

Hugs, Knee Deep in Water Chloe .  Sciatica pain is the worst physical pain I've dealt with in my many years of being on this earth.  All bodies are different, and I hope you find the right combination for relief, including if it means surgery.  I also work FT and commute and understand how difficult it is to add daily workouts and to stick to them regularly.

I am back from camping for three nights and up two pounds due to cocktail hours, and a bit of off plan food to celebrate two birthdays.  I will say, however, the 25-pound weight loss made things much easier at 10,000 feet.  My heart and lungs were happy.  

[Minnesotagirl7]

Holy cats! Feeling good about this past week – down 3 lbs to 208.4! So happy to see such a big jump. I’m still sticking to my daily habits and my challenge. In fact, already looking ahead to what my next challenge is going to look like.

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

It's August already! There are five months remaining in 2022.
It's a good time to check in. I've tagged everyone who has posted on this thread at some point this year. If I missed tagging you, it was not intentional. 

Feel free to use any of these questions as prompts or respond in any way. 
Even if you're not progressing as desired, please still check-in! We are all human and all have challenges. 
 
How are you regarding a healthy lifestyle?
Did you set goals at the beginning of the calendar year? Did you (re) set them at another point in the last few months? How are they going?
Do you want to set new goals for the remainder of the calendar year or even just August?
Do you need specific encouragement from those of us on this board? 
What have you been doing that's worked well for you being healthy?
What's an obstacle that's preventing you from being healthy?


ners, Lizard Queen, busymom, laterbloomer, flamingo, tcu2003, gs11rmb, Iggy aka IG, nidena, wvugurl26, flutterby, chiver78, Happy prose, @pinkcshmere, mamasita99, azucena, daisylu, Minnesotagirl7, hkguy, CCL, geenamercile, honeysalt, countrygirl2, Ava, dippyegg, finnime, @giramama, Opti, anciana, stillmovingforward, @athena53,

[daisylu]

I am also in favor of therapy and exercise over surgery. Last year, I started getting a horrible pain shooting down my left leg when standing and my legs would go numb if I bent at the waist for more than 30 seconds. It was a terrifying feeling. Turned out that I have a large piece of bone growing from my pelvis\, probably from a fracture during childbirth. The first thing the doctor asked was how bad I wanted to have surgery. Excuse me, hip surgery on an otherwise healthy 45YO? No thank you. Physical therapy helped with the pain. I do still get numbness if I bend at the waist for too long, but that is more of an inconvenience now.

Use your DH's attitude to drive you to do what you need to do.

[daisylu]

How are you regarding a healthy lifestyle? For the most part I am doing well with eating, exercise is another story. I have been eating a mostly clean diet, but if I want chips, I eat chips. I have no desire to limit myself for the rest of my life.

Did you set goals at the beginning of the calendar year? Did you (re) set them at another point in the last few months? How are they going? I am horrible at setting goals, so not really. But that does need to change.

Do you want to set new goals for the remainder of the calendar year or even just August? Not at this time.

Do you need specific encouragement from those of us on this board? Not really, I do like seeing what others are doing though. I will try to participate more, including posting some clean recipes that I have tried and liked.

What have you been doing that's worked well for you being healthy? IF has served me well. And drinking water. I challenge myself to drink a gallon a day. Last month when I had a respiratory virus I was drinking 1 1/2 gallons and noticed it made a huge difference in my symptoms.

What's an obstacle that's preventing you from being healthy? Honestly, myself. I know exercise is key, but still do not prioritize. In fact, I have fallen off on prioritizing myself at all. DH & I had a serious talk about this over the weekend. 

[flamingo]

How are you regarding a healthy lifestyle? I guess I'm doing ok. Food wise, I could probably make some better/healthier choices. We've kind of given up over the last month, we're feeling decision fatigue when thinking about meal planning.
Did you set goals at the beginning of the calendar year? Did you (re) set them at another point in the last few months? How are they going? Yes I have one big goal this year, plus a lot of littler ones to help me get there. I'm on track and feeling pretty good about things today.
Do you want to set new goals for the remainder of the calendar year or even just August? My only goal is to remain healthy and injury free so I can run my big race in October. I'm going to continue following my schedule and trust that if I do that, I'll make it through in good health.
Do you need specific encouragement from those of us on this board? I love all of you on this board. Everyone is so encouraging!
What have you been doing that's worked well for you being healthy? For me it's just knowing that I have this big goal that I want to succeed at. I know the only way to do that is to follow the set schedule. I love schedules/calendars/etc so it works for me right now.
What's an obstacle that's preventing you from being healthy? My biggest obstacle is my DH (and I say this with love). He is so encouraging and wants me to succeed, but then he also is like, I'm tired of menu planning, let's eat out. And I mostly feel the same way, so it's easy to let myself be "talked into" something more fun/tastier.   But also, I have to keep reminding myself that it's a lifestyle and a few meals here and there won't ruin me. But I just have to keep it to a "few", lol.

[Iggy aka IG]

First, I'd like to say thank you for posting this, Knee Deep in Water Chloe .  And I look forward to reading your answers if you choose to post them.  


How are you regarding a healthy lifestyle?  Fair to midland as we say around here.  I do very well at some things, but a few not so good habits are holding me back.


Did you set goals at the beginning of the calendar year? Did you (re) set them at another point in the last few months? How are they going?  For years I've made the same "lose weight" New Year's resolution, which I did again this year.  However, something personal triggered going hardcore in mid-March.  Hardcore meaning drastically reducing calories (the Dr. approved 1,200 I posted about earlier this year), doing floor exercises, and using the treadmill and hand weights again for the first time in months.  Unfortunately, treadmill time stopped late June when I quit making it/me a priority.  When that stops, so do noticeable and continuous drops in weight.

Do you want to set new goals for the remainder of the calendar year or even just August?  Not new goals, per se.  What I was doing before my mid-July vacation was working and resulted in the initial 25-pound weight loss.

Do you need specific encouragement from those of us on this board?  Your current presence and honesty are appreciated.  

What have you been doing that's worked well for you being healthy?  Avoiding inflammatory foods, primarily sugar and wheat, writing down EVERYTHING I consume, and counting the number of low carb veggie and fruit servings I eat daily.  Doing the latter ensures I am receiving diverse nutrients.  And most importantly, avoiding stress as much as possible (Neighborhood drama!  Local and national politics!) and staying hydrated.

What's an obstacle that's preventing you from being healthy?  Honestly?  Myself.  (ETA:  I purposely responded with my answers before reading others'.  daisylu, like minds!)

[busymom]

Ouch!  You threw in some tough questions.  


How am I regarding a healthy lifestyle?   So-so.  I've lost momentum since my relative has been spending so much time in the hospital.  I spend more time in the car going to & from, than I do walking right now.  And it's catching up with me.  I've got some new body aches now where some days I can't do my walking.  (Anyone else suffering with severe ankle pain, or pain in other joints?  I was hoping it was our extreme weather causing my problems, or maybe sitting too much at the hospital, or in my car?)  

No new goals needed at this time.  I've regained a couple pounds that I need to take back off.  I didn't even have a specific goal when I began this journey, I just wanted to see some significant improvement.


Encouragement is always welcome!  


One thing I've done that seems to work for me (usually), is there is a specific time I must get my steps in by.  If I don't get it done, even DH knows what time NOT to bother me, so I can get 'em done.  


One of my personal obstacles is, in the house I grew up in, food equals love.  So yes, I tend to stress-eat when the going gets rough.  DH mostly supports me, but even he will bake me a favorite treat, which of course doesn't do my waistline any good.  I need to figure out an alternative love language.

[geenamercile]

How are you regarding a healthy lifestyle? Over all I think I do pretty well.  I do better during the school year than summer.  
Did you set goals at the beginning of the calendar year? Did you (re) set them at another point in the last few months? How are they going? I had the same goal at the start of the year that I did last August which was to get ready for my trips in the summer.  I may not have made the 140 weight goal, but I had the endurance to do the hiking and scuba diving that I had planned.  Since then I have been pretty aimless.  I have told myself I would like to hit that 140 mark, and maybe even 135 but really have just coasted.  
Do you want to set new goals for the remainder of the calendar year or even just August? I am going to see what August brings with starting school.  I get a lot more steps in during the day at work, and besides the food they feed us this week tend to not snack much at all while at work.  Once September is here I will have a month of baseline data to work from with a goal or two.
Do you need specific encouragement from those of us on this board? Sharing and knowing others are working towards goals as well helps.  I like reading about the different things people use and see what works and does not work for me.  Besides my coffee I pretty much naturally IF during work, at home not so much.
What have you been doing that's worked well for you being healthy? Just cooking what I want to eat, and not eating just what others want has helped a lot.  Going to the gym also helped.  I was on a reduced calorie diet for awhile, the 1200, but that pretty much stopped when summer started.
What's an obstacle that's preventing you from being healthy? I am not sure I am not being healthy, I still had some activity and my diet is mostly protein and veggies.  Besides bread I do not eat many carb foods.  My intake of coffee is most likely not on the healthy range, but I am okay with that   I pretty much stick to water once my coffee cup runs out, but it is a 40oz cup.

[Happy prose]

Hi all! I've gained a few pounds, but not giving up. I have recently added some exercises to my normal walking. My eating is pretty good. My Dr has me on a medication that the side effect is weight gain. So I get very frustrated when I eat well and exercise, and the scale doesn't move. I still have faith I can do it!

[ners]

How are you regarding a healthy lifestyle?  I am trying to make healthy choices and limit alcohol.  

Did you set goals at the beginning of the calendar year? Did you (re) set them at another point in the last few months? How are they going?   I have a step goal for year and am on pace to hit step goal. 

Do you want to set new goals for the remainder of the calendar year or even just August? Not really

Do you need specific encouragement from those of us on this board? Not really I just record information as a way to get goals in writing.

What have you been doing that's worked well for you being healthy?  Improved my water intake.  I know it is not as high as it should be however it is an improvement. 

What's an obstacle that's preventing you from being healthy? Stress at work 

[laterbloomer]

Hi there 🙂 So I'm doing well with walking and drinking water. I'm doing well enough with my low carb eating to stay at a size 12 but I would really like to get to a size 10 and stay there. That's about a 20lb weight loss for me. That is doable in 5 months if I can be disciplned.
Thanks for asking 🙂