Hello friends. I'm back with the WGOM Fitness Posts.
Due to a large activity level at work, culminating last Friday, I've been out of whack. A lot of the good habits that I had built up fell by the wayside in the face of the stress of a deadline. That's over now and I'm going to be back on a more even pace, but I also need to rededicate myself to fitness.
I suppose one of the lessons that I've learned over the last month or so is that moderation is a good thing. I knew that the pace of my weight loss was probably a little too fast and I felt some of the effects of that when I was losing weight. My digestive system got kind of screwed up and I just kind of lived with that as a by-product of the process. I don't think that's a really good idea -- if your body is telling you to slow down, you probably should. I now feel a lot better overall than I did during the height of my weight loss.
A lot of people have said to me, I bet you feel a lot better. Well, when dealing with digestive issues, I didn't really feel that great and some of the intense workouts (at least for me) left me sore quite a bit. I would smile and say, yes, I feel great, even if that wasn't really true.
I have a type of personality where when I'm going well, I can push and push and push. But, when I'm not going well, I kind of fall apart a little. That's kind of scary (am I manic depressive?), but I don't think that I am (a manic depressive), but I will admit to peaks and valleys of activity and motivation. I think I've become better at dealing with the troughs, mainly because I recognize what they are and I basically try not to beat myself up when they happen. This leads me to have shorter and less deep troughs.
Anyway, my point is, I don't know how in the hell I got so motivated to shed almost 80 pounds (I'm actually at about 76 pounds down right now -- I gained a few back during the last couple of weeks of stress induced poor eating). I knew probably three or four days into the program that I would do it. Now, though, the idea of limiting myself to 1800 calories a day is really tough. It was so easy for months (MONTHS!). I effortlessly went day after day sticking exactly to the diet, working out vigorously, etc. I was on, pardon the phrase, a run of mania that lasted about a half a year. Then, all of a sudden, it was gone.
Really, I don't know when, or if I'll be able to finish the job. It is frustrating to me that I've come so far and have not yet reached the goal. But, in the long run, this is about a healthy lifestyle and not about reaching that goal by a given date. So, I've come to some acceptance about that. I haven't been to the gym in two plus weeks. I need to get back there and start working out again. That will happen. I will get back there. I will be on vacation next week and I will start then to get back into the gym. I'm adding more calories, but trying to limit what I eat to healthy foods. I hope to be under 200 pounds by, say, June 1. That would be terrific. More important to me now is to work on the fitness part of the equation. I have made great strides there, but I have further to go and when I'm working out, I really enjoy doing it. I'd kind of like the soreness to decrease a little, but that will come. The soreness is muscular in nature, not joint related, so I'm not really worried about it.
Back to the question of whether I feel better. I do feel better. I used to have a lot of back and rib pain. That has almost completely disappeared. The soles of my feet used to really bother me. Not any more. Climbing stairs left me short of breath. No longer. There is no doubt but that I'm in much, much better shape. I do really feel a lot better.
I don't really recommend what I did to everyone. I went at it too hard, I think, and as a result I think I'm a little burned out. But, I've had a couple of weeks of rest. I am hoping that I'll get on a more sustainable plan, limiting my food intake to healthy (and more varied) offerings, and focusing on working out as my primary weight loss driver. I hope to build more muscle, for sure. Most of all, though, I hope to enjoy the fruits of my weight loss and leverage that into a happier, healthier life.
This is a real good post for me to read. I've kind of been beating myself up for not going at it as hard as you did, and I have to continuously remind myself that I'm in a different place and need a different approach. Perseverance is key either way. Glad to hear you recommitting here. Keep at it. That goal will happen. And even if it doesn't (as you build up muscle, it might seem to get further away), you'll feel a lot better about it as you reap the other benefits. My efforts got noticed again this weekend by a friend, and it definitely felt good. After a week of not working out (sick kids), I'm hoping to get back to it today.
I got back from New Orleans yesterday. Back to where I weighed on New Year's.
Completely off topic (sorry), but speaking of NO - an acquaintance at my office and his girlfriend are heading down for a vacation. They'll be staying just outside the French Quarter and using feet/public transporatation. They're only there for 2 days, but I told him I'd ask my Big Easy boys for suggestions & "can't miss" places/things to do, see, eat...drink, etc. I could go back and review all of the back-and-forth interactions between you and meat (and between him and the citizenry), but this seems easier. You can answer in the CoC if you're willing to share so we don't hijack fitness.
As for fitness, with minimal exercise (daily walking, some running and an impromptu 7k last weekend) but with focus on the daily 2000 calorie limit, I'm down 6.5 lbs* since I started keeping track one month ago today.
I don't pay attention to the quality** of the food so much as the calories. However, being aware of how quickly servings of things like candy bars, potato chips or soda add to the total and limit my ability to have a beer or slice of pizza really has pushed me to eat smaller portions and healthier foods. Also, knowing that going over by 50-100 calories every once in a while isn't the end of the world has allowed me the flexibility I need.
Thanks in particular to Stick for the posts and inspiration - manic or not - and to everyone else who's sharing their methods, efforts and results here. I agreed to get onboard and you've helped me stick with it.
*down more than 12 lbs from my heaviest last year, but not sure when that started coming down.
**watching quality will be step 2...well, 3. 2 is going to be a more reqular schedule of visits to the gym.
Well done!
I too printed out Stick's 'Eating plan for 1800 calories'.
OK so I get to the second sentence and WHAM. One key ingredient for a meal plan to work is consistency. Many of us fail to keep consistency in our lives or we stay consistent with bad habits.
I often skip breakfast (not hungry) and lunch (too busy with work stuff). Adding The Snacks will be a new thing also - need to get some Snacks lined up). That for me will be step 1.
Now that we're trying out the vegan way this will be interesting...
I think the biggest reason why the diet has become so difficult now when it was so easy before is that I've not been consistent with breakfast.
Skipping breakfast is one of the worst things you can do as part of a weight loss strategy. When you don't eat breakfast your body goes into "starvation mode" (since it could be 12 hours since you last ate) and slows down your metabolism, thus you aren't burning calories at a good rate.
Now of course having breakfast doesn't mean scarfing down a 1700 calorie Denny's Grand Slam breakfast but a quick 300 calorie breakfast of juice, fruit and granola can go a long way in your weight loss plan.
+2 scoups
Or two eggs, black beans and water depending on your particular diet.
I've had to give up acidic breakfasts. Sometime Cut oats or Oatmeal happen too. Yum.
Looks like somebody borrowed my Droid.
Ruth Bader Ginsberg can kick your ass.
I really struggle with push-ups because of my left shoulder. Still, knowing that she can handle twenty is pretty good motivation.
I hate pushups and bench because of my shoulder too.
yea, I am now part of the New World Order of shoulder weakness. I look forward to the day when I can do one.
If Ginsberg's pushups are anything like the First Lady's pushups (in the video on linked page), I'm not terribly impressed. /ROMnazi
I haven't watched the video, but based on the teaser picture, it seems to be different.
Michelle Obama and Ellen didn't have their knees on the ground, but their max depth was shoulders parallel to elbows. (Sort of like doing a floor press instead of a bench press.) Ginsberg could well be doing chest to ground push-ups, but it doesn't really specify. The bottom position in the push-up is the most difficult part, and when you see people attempting a max effort set of push-ups, they usually start to cheat their range of motion at the bottom.
I always touch my nose to the floor. Although I do have a long nose, I guess...
I have done "girl pushups" for years in order to protect my lower back. you get pretty much all of the upper-body workout without the lower-back stress. I've been trying to convince my dad for years to make the switch, as he (age 78) has a great deal of difficulty completing even 10 pushups.
traditional pushups are great whole-body exercises, but they are hard on the lower back. Older people, in particular, have significant need to keep up their upper-body strength.
Yes and no. It depends on how strong your midsection is. For a well-conditioned athlete, there will be no stress on the lower back because his abs/obliques/etc are holding everything in place.