Since the number-one resolution is to lose weight, I thought maybe we could talk about that just in case you need some moral support. And because if I could lose a few pounds this month, that would be nice--but I'm just saying nice; I'm not saying I'm trying to because that would be a resolution and I'm not making resolutions!!!
Picture from this blog
What works for me:
Exercise at least 4 days a week. I've been doing Insanity for many moons and it still kills me. I've learned that I love to sweat.
Snack on healthy foods like almonds, snap peas, and sometimes cheese.
Avoid breads as much as possible.
If I put on a few pounds, I go back to good old-fashioned calorie counting to see if I'm overeating.
What doesn't work for me:
Having treats in the house. If I know they are there, I'm going to find them and I'm going to eat them.
Skipping meals or going on fad diets. I never stick to them and I always overeat when I'm hungry.
I once saw and interview with a lady who only ate dessert once a year--on her birthday. It made me sad for her. Food can bring joy! I don't think you should have to deprive yourself. Only restrict and eat in moderation.
But even though I'm doing better than I've ever done before, there's still areas I need to improve. I need to not stress eat. I need to not eat SO many almonds. I need to drink less Diet Coke. (No resolution there--just stating the obvious.) And I need to get her arms:
Jennifer Morrison from Once Upon a Time. Picture from ABC.
Who am I kidding? I need to get her entire body. Yowza.
Picture also from ABC
How do you guys suggest I do this?
Tell me, what do you do to stay fit? What's your favorite way to burn calories? What healthy foods do you love? Do you do yoga to relax? Do you stress about weight or do you have a whatever approach?
And then this:
Spartan is coming to town. I'm not a racy kind of girl. Nor do I really like getting dirty. But it kinda sounds fun. Has anyone out there done Spartan or something similar? What competitive events have you done? And how do you train?
And what do you wear? Why are athletic clothes so tempting to buy? And why do you never want to change out of them once when you put them on? How about shoes? I want the Nike Flex Trainers. Anyone have them? (Not for me to borrow, just tell me if you like them.)
The floor is now yours: lets talk fit. Or do some push ups if you like. Get it? I said the floor is yours. For push ups. Ha ha. Ha. Ha. OK, so that really wasn't that funny. Can you blame a girl for trying?
9 comments:
I'm actually avoiding the thought of weight right now... other than just eating really healthy and trying to avoid snacky things. It's worked out pretty well so far, but it helps that I don't really like sweet things anymore. Except cake - so it's usually not allowed in the house. My biggest problem right now is salty. Steve recently got me hooked on Limon chips and they're amazing! Oh, and I've been drinking less pop. But I am very grateful for caffeine free Pepsi :)
On a side note, I've decided I'm going to start picturing Hugh Dancy as Donovan when I ready Reign of the Trees. Except for the eyes (which are still gorgeous), I think he's got it down.
Sounds to me like you pretty much nailed it. I so agree..don't do fad diets. Or anything that promises super fast results. For me its slow and stead wins the race. (or at least keeps me in the race...I haven't won YET. ) I've been slowly losing weight for about 2 yrs and I am almost there. Finally!
The biggest thing that has help me I think is learning to drink lots and lots of water. Most of the time I've found if I think I am hungry I am actually thirsty. I love Diet Coke. It makes me happy. But I limit myself to having a few on the weekends and otherwise try to only drink water.
I like circuit training. I don't have a lot of time to workout everyday but I know that I can get in a short workout. And it is impossible not to break a sweat with circuit training. I have no excuse to not fit in 20 mins or so. Jillian Michaels has some great workout videos.
I've never done the Spartan or the Mud runs. I know people love them.I don't really get the crawling around in mud part..but that is probably because I haven't done one. I've done a few races and I really enjoyed them all. When I get into it (as in after a few runs of feeling like I might die...) I really like running. It can be so peaceful. But the only thing that pushes me past the feeling like I might die moments is signing up for a race. If I sign up and pay for a race then I know I will do the training for it. I've used Hal Higdon plans for my training and they have worked well.
Workout clothes? Good shoes if you are running. Other than that I say just something comfortable! I do have a hard time changing back into regular clothes though...so maybe they should be less comfortable. :)
Hey Lori! This post couldn't have come at a better time for me, because next week I'm supposed to teach our 8-11 year old girls about fitness at the church. I like the idea about talking with them about how different things do work for different people, AND, there will be fitness ideals that don't work for each of us. So true!
What works for me is exercising 5-6 days per week. 3 of those are my "great workout" days (45-60 minutes of intense cardio and weights, which I do at home with videos and DVDs), and 2-3 days of lighter exercise, which for me would be 30-45 minutes of anything I feel like, including walking, or my workout videos again. Racquetball is top priority, and when I can play that, I always hope to play 1 1/2 to 3 hours. Sometimes I can't walk the next day, but that just shows how much fun I had ;).
I try to eat healthy, and I think I do a pretty good job. But my two weaknesses are: sweets of all kinds, and eating large meals. I'm not afraid to have multiple desserts when they're available, because I want to taste all the different yummy things. And, at home, I almost ALWAYS have seconds, and sometimes thirds, of any meal. I just really like to feel full. I do not like to feel hungry. So, it doesn't work for me to try to eat less. I don't do well with counting calories, but I do okay with the Weight Watchers guidelines as to which foods to focus on and which ones to avoid. When I want to lose weight, it's really effective for met to write down everything that I eat. Funny how that's so hard to do, though.
I don't feel motivated by organized races. They kind of scare me. If a friend really challenged me to join them, I might do it if I knew it was going to be as hard for them as it would for me, but I would never want to train to run a half-marathon (which would be my life-time achievement) with my friend who runs marathons every other day. My sister and I have been striving to complete a 10K each summer, but it doesn't have to be in an organized race. I like doing it on my own. And I only run about 2 months of the year. Otherwise, I pretty much hate running. So, no Tough Mudder or Spartan or even triathlon for me, thanks. (Not to mention I have very little endurance for biking and swimming).
Workout clothes? Eh, whatever. As long as they're drenched in sweat by the end of my workout, that's all that matters to me :).
Don't be too hard on yourself. Just try to make a few extra smart choices each day, including saying "no" once in a while, and "yes" to the good things a little more often. You exercise, and that's awesome! There, that's my coaching moment for the day.
One last thing--I've been learning that our weight is way more determined by what we eat than by how much we exercise. That surprised me when I heard it, but it makes sense. Just something to think about.
I like good old fashioned hand to mouth exercise!! Just kidding. I work out a lot, and don't lose anything, but I am the best maintainer you will ever meet, I just wish I wasn't maintaining at a very large number. A smallish number would be better to maintain at. I have wanted to do insanity forever do you like it? I did P90X and it kicked my behind parts, I started to love it though after a while. P.s. I read Reign Of Trees. Loved it. Mustache rash? Really, I didn't know there was such a thing. He he!
I'm sorry....This probably isn't a week for me to comment but I shall just to show you guys how much I love you all. I don't really worry about weight because i havn't been able to gain a whole ton PSJ(Post St. Jude's). One of my ways of keeping the weight off is chewing a lot more. That's most likely due to the paralysis of half my throught and the need to chew more but it takes me longer to eat and thus I usually only have one serving because my stomache realizes it's full sooner. Also, not wanting sweets very often or having to eat a salty thing with it to help my taste buds adjust it probably a good thing too. I should excercise more often so my body can actually develop some muscle but I always think I'm too busy. Sorry if I'm a snob, but that's what I do.
Nicole: you are off the hook on this one. We WANT you to gain weight. And then you get an entire year after to get back to pre-pregnancy size, so eat up! I've never tried those Limon chips before: I better not buy them because I'm sure it will be love at first bite. I'd never thought of Hugh Dancy as Donovan, but you're right: he would be perfect. Should I offer him the role in the movie?
Anne: why does water have to taste so much like water? I guess I should get off my duff and put lemons in it, but then there's all the cutting and squeezing. So much work! You forgot to mention that you like to take midnight walks through bear infested forests. That is peaceful as well, no?
JazznJenna: (aka The Girl Who Can Do Anything)I like working out at home too because then I don't have to look like a dork in front of anyone. I remember being laughed at during an aerobics class back in the 90's and it scarred me for life. I've heard that too about our diet making more of a difference that our work-out--even bodybuilders worry more about food than lifting. Drats. It's easier to workout that it is to eat right!
Team C: Is that why my right bicep is so much bigger than my left--because it's my eating arm? Maybe I better start eating with my left arm. Yes, I love Insanity and if you did P90X, you'll do just fine with Insanity. Maintaining is a great thing--you never have to blame too tight pants on your dryer! Glad you got to read Reign. And yes, 'stash rash is the worst!
Devree-(aka The One We All Envy Because Of Her Age, Among Other Reasons) (That's a really long alias. I would hate to have to fit that on your driver's license.) Look at that silver lining! And now I understand why that entire loaf of bread went moldy! Maybe you just need to drink more milkshakes. And you are exercising tons because you walk everywhere. I actually lost weight freshman year for that exact reason. Maybe I should learn to type while I walk--or at least I could use voice-to-type software and dictate an entire chapter while doing Insanity. Thanks for helping me come up with that genius idea.
I know you'll be shocked by this, but I did just buy some new trail running shoes. I've hit that age where things are getting droopy and I feel more pain. My feet were really hurting a lot, so hopefully money can buy youthful comfort, 'cause I almost had to get a 2nd mortgage to pay for my little heavenly clouds. So far so good.
So far this week I've been on my bike that's attached to a resistance trainer, I've snowshoed, and played basketball. And it's only Tuesday! Great week!!!! Working out is a mental and spiritual boost for me, and it's a way I connect with really amazing women and learn from them. The best is doing something physically challenging as a family! There is nothing like working on a common goal and sharing a hard experience and coming off conqueror. It empowers in all the other challenging aspects of life.
I have done some races, but I've found that I have much more joy in just living an active life out of the love for it rather than stressing myself out over an event. I love picking a really hard activity and then doing it on my own, without the crowd. The scenery is better, my thoughts are my own, and it's on my terms. I love knowing that I could compete in anything right now without having to do special training for it (except swimming. I would drown.).
There are certain things that can only be done with a body while we are here on earth. Enjoy doing them! And that definitely includes eating!!!
I've got a New Year's weight loss plan for you and I bet you never would have considered it- get your wisdom teeth out (preferably when you're really too old and should have done it 2 decades ago)! Really, don't do it, it was a bad deal.
I love to be outdoors and honestly love to be moving my body. So getting exercise has never been a problem for me but food is. Especially cookies. So in my world if I need to drop a few- don't make cookies and step up the intensity of my exercise for 3 weeks. Take it easy the next week (don't quit, just back off a little) and then go hard for another 3 weeks. Works everytime. I also really like my heartrate monitor so I don't allow myself to be a pansy. The numbers don't lie.
Paulashawn: Did you really run out of questions? This surprises me, much more than you buying new trail shoes. I'm so glad you are older than me, as I do not experience any of those same symptoms. What do you mean you would drown during a triathlon? I remember that you were an excellent swimmer. Oh wait, no, that was me. You were the one too afraid to jump of the diving board. Yes, I take great pride in the fact that there was one sport that I did better than you. I will come visit if we can go for a swim.
Bigskyboys: Ugh, I'm sorry for your pain. But ice cream is good on a sore mouth, right? What flavor should I bring you? (Banana?) I like your 7 week plan, especially the 4th week. I will look forward to that. I should get a heartrate monitor, but I'm afraid it would just tell me that I don't have a heart!
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