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Fitness Weekly Discussion
What have you been doing lately for your own fitness? Try out any new programs or exercises? Have any questions for others about your training? Want to vent about poor behavior in the gym? Started a new diet or have a new recipe you want to share? Anything else health and wellness related?
About 15 years ago, I lost about 70lbs. I've since gained 40 of it back and I am working to lose that again. I will say, that the older I get, the harder it is. And everyone's body is different. Anyway, I wanted to share what worked for me in the past and currently:
Losing Weight:
The South Beach Diet
This is just a snippet from the Mayo Clinic, but I recommend asking your doctor about it and really following this strictly. I lost weight fast (not always good) but with my doctor's input, it really helped a lot. The hardest part was the first 2 weeks with no sugar, breads, etc. Like, no fruit or bread and only lean proteins and veggies. It was rough. I failed twice before I hit my stride, so don't give up!
Exercise:
The majority of my exercise was running. Free. Fresh air. And I was lucky to work near a park that I would spend about 30 minutes of my lunch every day running. At first, it was just shuffling along until my shins hurt. Then I would push myself to do a little more every week when I didn't feel the pain as much. And I would push and push and push until I was running 2+ miles a day.
Currently (15 years later) I still try to run 2-3 times a week and play a little pick up soccer once a week. But I will recommend another free thing to do in your own home. And that's:
MadFit. Seriously, I don't know how this is free (she has paid programs too), but during COVID and now, this was (and is) my go to when I can't run. And with the heat, if you have AC, this is worth it. I mean, my wife even uses this at her work in an air conditioned building she has access to.
Tracking:
I use a Withings Smart Scale to track everything. Weigh yourself at the same time every day, but only look once a week or month to see a trend. You will have ups and downs all week, but you can see a trend with all of your weigh ins. Trust me. If you only weigh yourself once a week, you might catch an "up" day and think you are messing up. You aren't. There are fluctuations. It's normal.
Food Tracking:
My Fitness Pal was my go to, but with privacy issues, it's hard to find a really good replacement. I currently use Cronometer but don't fully trust anyone. Regardless, you need to hold yourself accountable. Don't shame yourself. But, record yourself. It's hard to admit you f'ed up. But that's ok. We need to be people too. Not robots. But always strive to do your best. It took me a long time to not be anxious just thinking about recording my meals. Or shaming myself when I ate something bad. You got this!
Finally, here are some recopies that really make it easier:
Skinny Taste
I subscribe to this through my RSS reader (just add /feed to the url) and there are planned meals for the week and just a lot of fun looking recopies. Not all are perfect, but there are so many to choose from. And all free.
I hope this helps someone out there, as all of this info changed my life for the better.
I've been failing this week! We got back from vacation and shortly thereafter our kid got sick and is out of daycare, plus all my backlogged work from vacation I've been extremely stress and doing poorly on diet too.
I guess I am writing this in hopes to remind myself to get back on the horse here and start doing some work outs.
Anyone else going through something similar? How do you remotivate yourself?
You got this! Remember health is about long term habits and life is gonna throw things our way. Missing a week or two isn't going to detract from your success. Just finding 30 minutes when you can a couple times a week to run, bike, lift, whatever you usually enjoy doing is going to keep the habit's momentum. I find diet is easier to stick to when I'm supporting it with a bit of activity.
Thanks! I definitely make better decisions when I am working out, it also helps prevent mindless snacking.
A weird week for me. I made a stupid mistake while training and injured my groin. Out of an abundance of caution had the doc give me an exam for a hernia. She wasn't able to fine any indications of a hernia but asked if I'd do an ultrasound. I'll schedule that in the next week. Just want to be sure I catch something while it's simple.
Other than that I haven't experience any pain. It feels like a slightly strain and some bruising. So I've continued lifting cautiously taking more warm ups than usual. I'm right in the middle of a peaking block and lifts are exceeding where I was before my hiatus.