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Healthy Habits, Week of Oct. 6

MsMary

Veteran

K seems to be elsewhere, so I am going to start this thread because I am so excited to tell you all I am going back to the gym tomorrow! Will start out with just personal trainer sessions, arms and legs only, gently, and see how I do. My doc said to wait 4 to 6 weeks and this is the end of Week Five, so I think it's time. Plus I've missed it so much! If all goes well we'll see about adding the boot camp classes back in, in a week or two. Tap class is also starting up on Tuesday, so things are getting back to normal!

The past week was my first week back at work and it went well, but I was very tired by the end of the day! Being off for four weeks and having a little surgery has wreaked havoc with my stamina. Hopefully it will be back soon!

I saw my surgeon on Tuesday and things are going well -- don't have to go back for a month! Yay!

How was your week, everyone, and what are your healthy habits plans for the coming week?

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17 replies

Latest reply was from MsMaven

Mo

(website)

Veteran

Go Mary! Safely, of course
I seem to keep yoyo-ing my extra pound or two. Doing better with the wine intake and overall food amounts. Still running at least twice a week. But I don't have a strength routine going and I know I need one. My middle is feeling very middle aged this last month
I'd ideally get back into my yoga practice. Perhaps I'll just follow along with the TV twice this week as a 'get moving' tactic.

Kristin L

Veteran

Thanks for starting this MaryK! My BF and I were out of town visiting for birthdays and we ran into a few traffic problems on the way home. And yay for being able to get back to your routine. Just make sure to listen to your body and rest when you need to.

Good luck Mo!

My hours are changing this week (I got a full time job!), so this week I'm going to try to figure out if my old routine will still work or if it needs to be adjusted. And the BF and I ate out a lost this past week and weekend, so this week I need to get back to cooking and eating better.

anne

Veteran

K - congratulations on your new job!!

Mary K

Mo - I can relate on the strength routine. I really miss my old gym's pump classes and also their general setup (more variety in weight gradation). Strength training has never been my favourite those things help. At my new free work gym I have to force myself to lift weights. I do sometimes to a circuit class that does include a few strength exercises.

I am on holiday for half this week, which will probably include a bush walk (last year we did 11km) but also lots of food temptation of which I will just not try to eat too excessively. Before that I am aiming to fit in a core stability class at lunch today, and one or 2 treadmill 5km runs. I went for a run walk with each of DD10 and DD7 yesterday.

Next week I am seeing the Dr about my iron deficiency, and am already trying to make dietary changes to help with that. I am presuming that my difficulties with running as hard as I'd like may be related .

CocoLion

(website)

Veteran

I was doing really well before my trip to LA/SF but pretty much ate my way through both cities. So today some jeans I haven't worn for a while felt quite tight and I had to unbutton them under my waist apron. Later I noticed the apron had slipped below the button for all of my customers to see. Right there at eye level. So busted!

So here's my healthy habit challenge. I need to get my cholesterol down! I tested high, and my levels have increased since last year. Now I am suddenly reading labels and there is saturated fat in EVERYTHING I like to eat. If anyone has any suggestions for lowering cholesterol I would love to hear.

Since the weather is cooling down I can start taking my dogs out for longer outings. I think that will help with the overall middle-age healthy habits program. And they love it, rather than me standing in the driveway and throwing balls out to them.

My final fitness goal is to look into some sort of fun dance-oriented class or workout.

This is all probably much too ambitious for one week: lose weight to fit into jeans; lower my cholesterol; walk the dogs; join a dance class. LOL let's see if I can accomplish one of them!

Janet

(website)

Veteran

Denise, I wonder if a bit more exercise, like the dance or workout class you're interested in, might help the cholesterol. I was a bit worried about my levels, because my mom and dad both had borderline or high levels, and both died of heart attacks. I'd never had my cholesterol tested before this year, but it was part of the full blood workup I had to have before my surgery. My cardiologist reviewed everything thoroughly with me, and when we talked about my cholesterol levels (which were great even though I do eat pizza on a fairly regular basis ;-), she said that my exercise routine is probably a big contributor, and that even just moderate daily exercise -- enough to get the heart rate up a bit -- is excellent for keeping those levels in check. So, in tackling one of your goals, you might be helping another!

As for me, I'm doing pretty well this last week. After all my moaning about not losing weight in the last HH post, I realized yesterday that I think I *have* lost a little weight. When I put on my white jeans the other day for the first time in some time, I realized they were fitting a little looser in the waist, and I'm seeing some changes in my body. It's funny how it seems like nothing is happening for the longest time, and all of a sudden, a change appears. I wonder why that is. I don't own a scale, but I would venture a guess that I've lost 2-3 lbs. I'm kinda curious to track down a scale and find out.

I've been eating pretty well (except Saturday, during which my diet consisted of pancakes, a gyro, and a hot dog, and that's it -- ugh!). And I've been quite active every day this week. I rode my bike 9 miles and ran 2 one day, rode 13 miles another, and rode 35 yesterday.

I have been making it a habit to walk briskly at least three miles on the days I don't ride or run, and I really like keeping up with that rather than taking a day totally off of exercise. It gives my body a little break but not too much of one. I need to keep that up. I feel so much better when I've been active!

The Fitbit has been a great motivator too. It was nice to see last night that I had burned 3000 calories yesterday.

Mo

(website)

Veteran

Denise, weird as it sounds, it's not necessarily saturated fat that becomes cholesterol in our bodies. Sugars can be a big contributor. And of course, all cholesterol isn't bad - your ratio of good to bad is more important. Anyway, since I know you move a lot throughout the day in your job, I'd suggest maybe short, intense exercise to boost your metabolism a la the Tabata principle. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jR-E8xkT4g or http://www.exercisemenu.com/ta.....t-routine/ I should practice what I preach lol!
And I am starting to try and see a shift in body shape vs fat or skinny. My middle is bigger, there is no doubt. But trying to size up in shorts last week showed me that I am not a larger size, just more rectangular and less hourglassy.
Janet, so happy to hear the Fitbit gets you going! I love it even when I'm being a slug

Anonymous

Sounds like we are all trying to make and effort with our diets and exercise. Congrats Mary on getting back to the gym. You take it slowly though.
Well done on your job K.
Anne, Denise Janet and Mo, good luck with plans.
BTW I had my cholesterol checked a while back and apparently I have good levels of the good type of cholesterol.
Mo, I've also changed more to a rectangle verging on apple now
Anyway, this week I'm carrying on in the same vein as last, in that I'm walking every morning and I've also done a short workout on the exercise bike plus cardio. I hope to get back to a bit of work with weights soon, time permitting. Oh, and I've been eating pretty healthily too.

Karie

(website)

Veteran

Pilates this week for sure! Pilates is every Wed. evening, and I've missed it for the last two weeks in a row. I've also started juicing with the Nutribullet and I've been doing that every day. My goal is to find one afternoon a week to get to the gym (other than Pilates class).

CocoLion

(website)

Veteran

It occurred to me that those of you who are seeing body shape changes are exercising a lot. Compared to when I was younger, I feel I am actually becoming MORE not less of an hourglass. That is because I have put on around 10 -15 lb compared to my former, skinny self. It could also be that I am now aware of body type while I wasn't before. All I knew was -- body weight as a body shape factor, with a few modifications. Anyway, I will also add that compared to my skinnier self, I exercise less. So that could further be hourglassing me. I think it's because my job is physically tiring that I don't feel like exercising a lot any more. Also I don't have time, and the only gym near me is a tiny Curves. I used to exercise to counter the desk job lifestyle I had up until we opened a restaurant. I needed to exercise to gain more of a peaceful feeling. But now that I am so physically active, running around for 8 hours straight without a break, I don't need exercise for stress reduction like I used to. But it is now apparent I need it more for health reasons.

So I like that Tabata approach Mo -- thanks for that. I think I could do 4.5 minutes. Probably not at the level of the video instructor. I would have to work up to that. How many times a day are you supposed to do it?

Also I had no idea sugar could promote high cholesterol. My doctor's instructions were more of the avoid fats variety.

Carla

Veteran

DH and I actually dropped weight while on vacation. (I've been pretty stable around 150 lbs for most of my adult life, but am at 145.) DH played golf on 7 occasions, and we walked for about 6 hours almost every day. Breakfasts were bigger than what we might normally eat, but then we would have something very light mid day, and a nice meal in the pm. It was easy to pass on desert when the food was so good, including a shared bottle of wine, or a pint of ale! No pm stress eating though!

I was back in the gym on Saturday, and after a short run did 2 sets (vs 3) of my easiest weight routine with all weights reduced. (I have 3 routines that I cycle through!). Sunday I did a 20k bike with heart rate at 85% followed by a core routine.

Today I can hardly walk! My quads and derrière are killing me! Tomorrow is the start of masters swimming, after a 3 month summer break. Evil Kevin The Personal Trainer is giving me a 2 week break from our weekly sessions to get back up to speed as he does not want to listen to my whining.

CocoLion

(website)

Veteran

I forgot to add: I am super impressed with your routine Janet! I mean, cycling for over 30 miles, then walking briskly for 3 miles on your "day off"? Sounds very intense to me.

CocoLion

(website)

Veteran

Mary are you still doing Boot Camp as your primary workout routine?

If not, what is your routine? Hope you are feeling OK.

MsMary

Veteran

Denise, I had my first private session with Trainer Dave today since my surgery. We're going to do three times a week for a week or two (or more) until we feel like I'm ready for boot camp. And tap class once a week, and a lot of walking. The issue is I need to stay off my abs and core for a while longer, and just get my strength and stamina back.

ETA it was awesome to be back in the gym today!

Janet

(website)

Veteran

Denise, I guess you're right! My whole perception of exercise has changed over the last few years. After the rigors of training for half marathons, a brisk three-mile walk feels like very little effort. I hate going to the gym and doing weights. Never liked it, never will. I had to find something that I enjoyed doing, that was mostly outdoors. Swimming, biking, running, walking/hiking... all of those speak to me.

After my surgery, I was pretty worried about being too sedentary and losing the fitness ground I'd gained, so as soon as I had the OK from my doctor, I walked as much as she allowed, and started swimming too. I got in the habit of doing one of these things every day, and I think that really helped my healing and my mental and emotional state.

Now I'm trying to fit in that walk on my off days even if it means taking some walking shoes with me to my studio and walking to the inner harbor and back for a break or to have dinner. It's also got me walking around with my camera more (although that tends to be a more leisurely walk), which is another good thing.

Yesterday I did a fair amount of walking because I had errands to run, but it was rainy, so I didn't get in the walk-for-walk's sake. But last night as I did laundry and some straightening up around the house, I had some music on and just danced around. Yeah, I probably looked like a big goof, but I got my heart rate up a little and logged some steps on the Fitbit.

Along with Denise's remark, I had another funny moment of realization that I am a pretty darn active person yesterday. My husband told me he was talking with his son and one of his son's friends about some young women they know and whether they work out or not, and apparently my name came up as someone who is a "workout nut" -- LOL! They see me as an athlete, even though I see myself as a middle-aged woman trying to keep healthy.

citygirldc

(website)

Veteran

Hi guys. Sorry for the late reply. Since I'll be heading to Costa Rico in 12 weeks, I've started to plan extra activity and tracking what I eat starting this week. On Saturday, I'm planning on weighing in to begin my weight loss process. It's going to be hard especially with the upcoming holidays but I am determined. I'll need all the support I can get.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Bravo, Mary. That's excellent news.

MsMaven

Veteran

Another late reply. I've had back to back house guests and eating out more than usual. I am maintaining my weight loss thus far. Physical therapy was less demanding on Monday after I explained that I had been wiped out the previous week.

And the treatments are working. I hope to be pain-free soon.