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Healthy Habits 8/17

shedev

Veteran

I weighed myself for the first time in a while. I'm up a few. It's not the number of total weight that bothers me. I'm up in lean mass, but I'm also up in body fat percentage.

I worked 78 hours this last week, which affected my gym routine. Overall my week was a bust. Onward and upward.

So how was your week?

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27 replies

Latest reply was from shedev

Mo

(website)

Veteran

I had a similar weigh in just yesterday, but this morning it turned around, so don't take it to heart. (bodyfat and muscle % as well here)
My week started out with missed workouts due to going out of town for a concert. I danced away over 20,000 steps so that made up for one workout, but 2 more were missed, waiting for a repairman to fix the front door when the door knob came off in my hand. I doubled up workouts on one day, so I made up for most of them by week's end.
2 weight sessions, 1 bike, 1 swim, 1 run, and the dancing. Too much to drink (see concert out of town above ) but overall came out okay in the end.
This week I plan to do better with the drinking and cook some more at home. Off to weight lift this afternoon with the BF to get started.

Alassë

Veteran

After I belatedly posted in last week's thread, I came back to target weight. So this week, I'm enjoying feeling slim and want to add back the workout routine. Daily walks are going well.

Mo

(website)

Veteran

Oh, and forgot to add, with a 78 hr work week, no wonder workouts got missed. Hope you have a more balanced load this week.

shedev

Veteran

Alasse, I'm so happy for you. Congratulations and enjoy that feeling you've earned it.

Mo, I try not to overdo the work schedule but it happens. Next week looks better. So far I'm at 56 hours.

kellygirl

Veteran

That's a long work week, Shedev! I can't imagine trying to keep a work out schedule with those kind of hours.
Like you, Mo, I have similar fluctuations. I'm up a few pounds one day and then down to a new low the next time I check. Then, back up to normal. So much fluctuation!
That's terrific, Alasse!
We were so busy on vacation that I didn't really think about working out. It was nice to take a break from the usual routine but it's time to get back to it this week. I'm aiming for five workouts this week. (Weight is pretty much the same as usual.)

Good luck everyone!

lyn*

(website)

Veteran

Started zumba class. Feel like I am going to die. In a good way. If I hear "shake those hips" one more time...

Dude, with a 78 hr work week, I'm lucky if I remember to brush my teeth. Give yourself some breathing room - I squish in 10 to 15 minutes of "zumba-esque" dance in the break room sometimes. :p

Peri

Veteran

78 hours?! No gym...just sleep!

With diet, I did okay some days and ate too much chocolate other days. I need to start with a tracking app or something because I'm not getting enough awareness.

Count me in on the fluctuations driving me nuts. I read something to weigh on Monday morning and Friday morning...makes sense because you can see how your week did and then how the weekend went. So I weighed on Friday and was happy with a 2.5 pound loss. Then out of curiosity weighed again on Saturday...up one pound and Friday had been a really good day. Made no sense!

My goal for the coming week is to check out food tracking apps and pick one and get started.

shedev

Veteran

I can manage both work and workout up to 60 hours, After that something's gotta give. Food wasn't bad for the most part.

I could use a food tracking app myself, Peri.

Mo

(website)

Veteran

My Fitness Pal
Fitbit
Fitday
Sparkpeople
are a few apps off the top of my head. A lot of people love the bar code scanner on MFP from what I read.

citygirldc

(website)

Veteran

I've stayed the same in the weight department which I'm frustrated about. I know it's my eating habits and I do track. I guess maintenance is not a bad thing. I'm also training for a half marathon in October and my longest run to date is 7.5 miles. Trying to increase my strength training and have be pretty lax.

Suja

Veteran

Sticking with a good diet and exercise regime for this week. I have been doing quite well in the effort department but I have yet to see the results on the scale. Oh well, I have had to work harder and wait longer to see results in projects in other areas of my life so I will continue plugging away and keeping the faith.

Janet

(website)

Veteran

I don't weigh myself, so I don't know how I'm doing numbers-wise. I just know my clothes still fit, and I can tell when I'm eating too much sugar or fried food because I start feeling bloaty.

Exercise-wise, I've been doing OK. Sticking with the biking 2-3x a week, swimming maybe 2x week, and walking/running on the remaining days. I biked 62 miles yesterday (preparing for a century ride next month) and I'm amazingly not in the least bit sore today, so it would seem I'm doing something right. Also interesting to see that looking back over my Strava data, I biked 62 miles in only 10 minutes longer than it took me to ride 40, just a few months ago.

The only bad thing is that my running pretty much sucks now -- I'll run for a mile and then take a minute walk break before running another mile. But I'm happier on the bike, so I'm going to keep at it. I have a feeling I'll get in more running over the winter, when my tendency to heat up quickly will actually work to my advantage.

Sal

Veteran

Exercise was okay, with four gym sessions including one that was a step session. Should have had one extra walk or bike but got busy in the garden and doing some long overdue chores.

Drinking was okay, eating only moderate. We have a few too many "family meals" that are not so good for me but perfect for the rest.

I don't weigh either, but trying to decide if I should. I am a steady size NZ 12 (US 8 I think)...or size Med - Large here (US Medium). I can live with the sizes but the weighing always freaks me out. The pro with weighing is seeing progress but there are cons too.

Shedev that is a big work week - hope this week will be calmer for you.

shedev

Veteran

Mo, thanks for the trackers

Citygirl, maintenance is good.

Janet, my clothes were still fitting, I guess that is where the gain surprised me. I'm creeping back down. 3 or 4 more and I'll be back to normal. That is pretty good progress on the biking.

Kiwigal, the con in weighing for me is that I tend to start obsessing over the number. I'm trying to gain muscle, and to calculate that, I have to weigh.

MsMaven

Veteran

A bit late, but here I am after a 6 day trip and lots of food that I don't usually eat, more wine than usual, and no exercise. I'm dropping the "airplane" weight quickly though and trying to catch up on everything before the next trip. (I see I'm slowly fading away in the badge department.

So hoping for a quick recovery this week and doing better at maintaining next time.

texstyle

(website)

Veteran

I had sort of the usual week - but workouts were mostly unconventional via the garden (it's seriously big and was extremely weedy from recent rain) and remodeling projects caulking and painting baseboard which means a lot of squats for several hours. I may get a weight training session in today and tomorrow just for good measure.

I don't have a scale at home but I recently weighed myself on a huge old scale at an historic warehouse (which is now a charming cafe) and was pleased that I'm doing just fine there. DH weight himself too to verify general accuracy. I typically just look in the mirror or judge by clothing fit like Janet.

My food is never really "bad" as I don't really like fried food or sweets and I love a lot of vegetables. Last night we just had french bread with olive oil and some ham/cheese and olives for "dinner" so that was my worst meal lately. When it's 100 degrees out sometimes we just don't feel up to making a proper meal.

shedev

Veteran

Ms Maven, Trip weight doesn't really count, it usually comes right back off when we get back to our regular habits. I see it more like fluctuation than gain.

Texstyle, seems like you got a lot of work done.

Elly

Veteran

I highly recommend against getting on the scale at the zoo that compares you to a variety of gorillas and other primates. It is never good to realize you weigh more than a gorilla!
I'm not a very happy camper at the moment. I have only been working 193-200 hours a month, but also commute over an hour a day. Food has been pretty moderate and I've worked fairly physically hard in august (cleaned 2 apartments top to bottom including major scrubbing, packed, moved the BF, 4 fights of stairs at work) so I can only attribute recent weight gain to stress at work. I'm not a happy camper and my body composition is all messed up and my clothes are fitting differently.
Extremely disappointed in my summer and wondering what I can change to make fall different.

cinnamon fern

Veteran

I have been working out five days a week since the beginning of May. (Usually, cycling class or ashtanga yoga.) I took a week off when we went to Grand Teton, but I'm not sure that counts since we hiked or biked every day.

The good: I have gained three pounds but lost an inch in the waist.

The bad: I am sore, tired, grouchy, and hate the idea of exercise right now. I wouldn't have thought I'm working out nearly enough to be overtraining ... but ... am I allowed to take a week off to see?

I do have other reasons for being grouchy, but I usually look forward to going to the gym. For one thing, it's way easier than writing:)

kellygirl

Veteran

@CF: I totally know where you are coming from! I was wondering this too before I went on vacation. I have a hard time believing that I could over train these days but I think I really do get mentally fatigued. I feel like my work outs are less intense than they used to be but I think I have so much more going on besides exercise that it makes it feel more taxing. I took a week off--similar to yours it sounds like and came back dreading getting back in the routine. I've backed off a little bit and given myself permission to take it easy. I feel much better today. It's nice to hear that I'm not the only one feeling this way (but sorry that you are feeling grouchy.) Exercise has always been enjoyable--more or less (less when I was doing Bikram every day :P) Take that week off and recover--you have my permission

kellygirl

Veteran

@Elly: Lol about the scale at the zoo. I definitely don't need that kind of weight ranking! You've had a busy summer. Are things settling down in the fall? If so, perhaps you can come up with an exercise goal. I try to focus on that because it usually makes me want to eat better for performance reasons. Good luck and don't be too hard on yourself. We are here to support you!

shedev

Veteran

Elly, sorry that things aren't as you want them to be. Is your commute an hour each way? I go an hour total, I think it is close to the average in the US. Do you drive or take public transit? Is it possible to use this time to mentally distress?

Cinnamon Fern, were you sore before the trip? It is possible you are overtraining. Are your days consecutive. As we get older, we need a little more recovery time for our muscles to repair. Can you break up your days so you get a rest day in the middle. If you are only sore after vacation, maybe it is because you used your muscles in a different way, slope terrain or more miles. Then a little rest may do you good.

Kelly, I also want to eat better when I'm training.

cinnamon fern

Veteran

Thanks, KG and Shedev! This is the first week of school coming up - maybe I'll take the week off and then come back on a four day a week schedule. I have done four days a week for years but five is new this summer. Besides, biking to work counts for something, right?

Janet

(website)

Veteran

If you're sore so much, it sounds like you're overdoing something. Instead of taking a whole week off, what about lowering the intensity or switching up your workouts? I alternate my form of exercise and the intensity from one day to the next. Even when I feel like I need a break, I try to do *something* even if it's just a half hour walk.

For instance, this week on Thursday I biked 20 miles (varying intensity on the ride, but it was also a warm and humid day), and then on Friday I just did a 40-minute walk/run, alternating walking and running time so I didn't get too intense. I was sweating five minutes in, and drenched when I finished, but again, it's very humid here. I find that alternating my bike rides with swimming or walking/running really helps me to feel like I'm overworking any particular muscles. Just a thought.

Mo

(website)

Veteran

Ditto Janet. I did 2 bikes, 2 runs, 2 weight sessions, and am heading to the pool today for laps. But I space similar workouts at least a day apart, two if I can help it. I like to swim the day after running, so my legs get a break and my arms get the workout instead, for example.
I aim for half an hour every day knowing that I won't likely get them all in, which gives me a built in rest day.

cinnamon fern

Veteran

Hmmm. According to my yoga teacher, Ashtanga was designed to be practiced 5 or 6 days a week, so it should be fine. She recommends (a) not doing any other kind of exercise (I'm not going to take this advice), and (b) take it easy, don't try to do the full version of every pose every time.

So I'm going to cross her advice with yours - cut back to three or four times a week, and do easy backbends etc.

shedev

Veteran

Sounds like you are sorted, Cinnamon Fern.