NEY Fitness Check in -April 7th

Hummingbird125

Well, I ate a cup of ice cream with chocolate sauce last night, but I factored it into my meal plan at least. It was GORGEOUS out on my drive home and the last thing I wanted to do was to go to the gym and be stuck inside, so I called FI up while I was on my way, and asked if he wanted to go to the park to play tennis instead! We played for about 30 minutes, and it felt like a decent workout but I know I would have done more if I had gone to the gym. When I got home and got our chili simmering on the stove, I spent 15 minutes doing the P90X ab-ripper workout. I haven't done it for a while and it was HARD. My abs are sore today, so I think it was effective!

Today I plan to go to the gym for cardio after work, and will use my weights throughout the day to do bicep curls.

cu97tiger

I did okay yesterday, except that I had: 1) a coke, 2) french fries and 3) girl scout cookies. Oops. But... with the run and a salad at lunch, I only went over my calories by 12.

Breakfast this morning was fruit, eggs and a couple grilled potatoes. I need to go grocery shopping tonight to get healthy snacks for work again. I'll run again tomorrow and Friday and then I have a 10 mile race on Sunday.

Swazzle

I posted on yesterday's thread... so I'll just copy/paste here: 

Morning guys! I was thinking that instead of a new thread each day, what are your thoughts on just doing a weekly one? That way we're not spamming the board everyday? Just a thought! 

So, I continued my shitty eating all day yesterday and when I got home to workout, which I had JUST enough time for before having to leave for the movies, I couldn't connect to YouTube. So, I literally gave up on the day at that point. But that was yesterday and today is a new day.......

I got up at 4:20am and got my workout in! I did 30 Day Shred again and I'm going to stick with that for the full month or at least until I go on vacation. I'm hoping that at that point, I'll be in some sort of a routine and maybe then H and I will think about joining the community center. I don't want to pay for a membership and then not use it which I have a history of. 

I packed my breakfast, lunch, and snacks and have plenty of points leftover for a hotdog and fries at the last Devils game of the season tonight. BACK ON TRACK.

Hummingbird125

@Swazzle - oops. I missed that. I agree - let's keep it in one thread!

jenjen047

@swazzle - awesome work on all fronts! do you like 30DS so far?

sorry i have been MIA from these threads. ive been doing bootcamp 4x/week but so far not really making an effort with my diet. whoops.....

Swazzle

@jenjen047 - I love 30DS. This is probably my 8 billionth time starting it. Jillian Michaels does NOT screw around and it's a tough, quick workout. Including warm up and cool down, it's about 35 minutes. 

Dignity100

Didn't have time to workout yesterday.

Day 1 on the nutrisystem and I did cheat a little bit.  While my dinner was cooking one of my cookies called my name and I had a tiny sliver of the leftover Easter bread because I was still hungry after all my food was gone. 

Day 2 - I had my blueberry muffin, it was small but pretty tasty.

Trying to get the 8 glasses of water/liquid is not easy!!  I think I got 7 in... and a lot more steps because I had to use the restroom more.

[Deleted User]

I'm also C&P from yesterday's post, since I posted there this AM.

Yesterday was an A+ for me!!!  I stuck to what I planned to eat (which included 100 cals of chocolate!), ran a mile plus warm-up and cool-down (30 min) and did PiYo Core (30 min).  I cooked a healthy dinner with lots of colorful veggies (chicken thighs over purple sweet potatoes, yukon potatoes, carrots, sweet onion, and green beans).  I am super pumped.  Oh, and I got into my peak HR zone yesterday during my run, according to my FitBit!
Today I've got healthy meals planned out plus a small treat (either a little bit of kettle corn popcorn or a couple Dove dark chocolates).  Work outs are supposed to be PiYo Upper Body (only 20 min) and I'll probably go for a walk or hoe the garden.  Hoeing the garden is a lot of work, I totally count that as a work out.

Dignity100

@Hummingbird125 - Way to take advantage of the warm weather!

@cu97tiger - YAY for staying on track (mostly)

@Swazzle - I'm cool with 1 weekly thread.  Hope today is a better day for you.  I hope you can keep up with 30DS.

@jenjen047 - At least you've been working out.  Sometimes it's easier to start with exercise before cleaning up your diet (or vice versa)

@CocoBellaF - Way to nail it!!

jenjen047

@swazzle -  i did 30DS a few years ago and loved it too. its HARD. i was proud that i actually did it every day for 30 days, including some days doing it at 1am after getting home from a night out. i think i did it drunk once.

bethsmiles

I did good on my diet yesterday but skipped the gym. I was so exhausted when I got home from work and Mondays are the hardest for me to be motivated to go to the gym.

Tonight a have PT session so I'll for sure be going to the gym today. Hopefully I can stay on track with the diet today as well.

jenjen047

I need a sounding board here for a minute....

I have recently started going to Barrys Bootcamp and have been going about 4x per week. It's pricey. As of now I am buying packages of 10 classes for $260....which is going to add up realllllly fast if I keep going 4x per week. They offer some different programs and wanted to see what other people think about the options:

1. Keep purchasing packages that allow me to just go as I please. I can buy 10 for $260 ($26 per class) 20 for $500 ($25 per class), 30 for $720 ($24 per class), or 50 for $1,150 ($23 per class). You have a year to use the classes.

2. Do a 30 day membership which is as many classes as you want for 30 days for $365. Assuming I keep going 4x per week that's maybe 17 classes in a 30 day period ($21.50 per class).

3. Do a 10 week academy from April 27 - July 4 for $775. It's as many classes as you want so assuming I do 4x per week that's 40 classes over 10 weeks ($19.50 per class) and you also get a Nike running gait analysis and free pair of Nike shoes for your gait, weigh-in and body for percentage at the start and end of the 10 weeks, and a meeting with a nutritionist and customized meal plan.

Obviously option 3 is the cheapest per class, and has the extra goodies....but it's a LOT of money to put in up front. So if I'm going to invest that kind of cash I need to ACTUALLY commit to a diet. This is what concerns me. I could see myself trduging through 10 weeks of classes and not having as much to show for it as I should because I don't stick to healthy eating. On the other hand, having commited all that money could make me MORE likely to stick with a diet....not wanting to waste my cash and all.

I thought about just doing 2 of the 30-day memberships back to back but then I'm still investing $730 and not getting all the extra goodies that come with the 10 week academy. That seems foolish....if I'm going to spend $730 I might as well spend the extra $45 for the 10 week academy.

Thoughts? Am I insane for even considering this when just a few months ago I lectured BF about paying $40/month for a Y membership when we have gyms in our area for $10/month?

bethsmiles

@jenjen047 - Honestly? I'd look for a different class that wasn't so expensive. Plenty of gyms offer classes free with membership.

[Deleted User]

@jenjen047 - I'd go with the 10 week one...lots of extra goodies, and, by the time 10 weeks are up, you'll be used to working out regularly and will probably have a lot of the exercises down and can do them yourself.  Plus, if you sign up for the academy, you'll be there with a bunch of other people who signed up for the same thing, meaning peer motivation, which might help you stick to a diet.  (Also...HOLY CRAP THAT'S EXPENSIVE.  I lived in Connecticut for awhile, but it's easy to get used to how much cheaper things are here.)

Yesterday I kicked butt.  Stuck to my meal plan and even got to have some frozen yogurt after ballet last night as a reward because I had calories left!  I did my C25k workout and took a kickboxing class to get in a little extra workout.  These days in ballet, we're mostly working on recital choreography, which means a lot more standing around and a lot less actual exercise.  Plus I love punching things in kickboxing.  Today I teach 2 Zumba classes, so that and a little bit of strength training will be my workout.

jenjen047

@bethsmiles - I definitely agree there are plenty of cheaper options. The main reason I really like Barry's is because once you sign up for a class, you can't cancel/reschedule within 12 hours of the class. There have been plenty of days that the only thing that gets me to class is not wanting to forfeit my $26.

bethsmiles

@jenjen047 - If you don't think you'd be motivated to go with a cheaper option then I'd definitely choose option 3 as it seems to be the best deal. 

bethsmiles

What sort of little things during the day do you ladies do to be healthier?

I've been hearing a lot about how sitting all day is the new smoking (although that comparison just screams media hype to me) but this week I decided I might as well stand instead of sit if it will benefit my health in any way. So now I stand at my desk but it got me wondering what other little things I could add to my daily routine not necessarily for weight loss but just for general health.

[Deleted User]

@bethsmiles - I'm always drinking something (water or green tea).  It helps keep me from snacking.  If I'm working away in one of my long writing or grading stretches, I try to get up every hour and walk around for a little bit.  I tend to do laundry while I work so that I have a reason to get up and move around for 10 minutes or so.

Loves2dream

@bethsmiles Over the course of the past 2 years or so, BF and I have started wondering the same thing. We have made small changes here and there that have changed the way we eat entirely now. Here are some of the things we did overall in about 24-30 months:

-I have a sticky note on my computer that tells me how much water I should have consumed by certain times during the day to ensure I have most of my water in by the time I get home

-I stopped buying Diet Coke or any soda for at home so now if I want one at work, I have to go out of my way to have it

-I started using the MyPlate concept (not entirely) so that our plates at dinner consist of 1/2 veggies, quarter protein and quarter grain (most of the time it is just half veggie and protein)

-Cut pasta down to once every two weeks or less

-Switched all of our bread for only multigrain

-Rarely buy anything that has ingredients we can't pronounce

-We drink more tea to aid digestion

-We buy only 100% juice

-We cut out red meat at home (we still eat it at restaurants)

-TRY not to eat processed foods

We didn't do this to lose weight, we just wanted to change what we were putting in our bodies to feel better and help his high cholesterol. We also go to bed much sooner than we used to so that we could get at least 7 hours rest per night.

I have been trying to unplug at night. I rarely go on my computer now at night (I do go on my phone still though). Since doing this, I am much more active in the evenings whether cleaning, walking the dog or playing a game with BF.

I will be curious to see other posts to get more ideas!

[Deleted User]

Loves2dream said:

@bethsmiles Over the course of the past 2 years or so, BF and I have started wondering the same thing. We have made small changes here and there that have changed the way we eat entirely now. Here are some of the things we did overall in about 24-30 months:

-I have a sticky note on my computer that tells me how much water I should have consumed by certain times during the day to ensure I have most of my water in by the time I get home

-I stopped buying Diet Coke or any soda for at home so now if I want one at work, I have to go out of my way to have it

-I started using the MyPlate concept (not entirely) so that our plates at dinner consist of 1/2 veggies, quarter protein and quarter grain (most of the time it is just half veggie and protein)

-Cut pasta down to once every two weeks or less

-Switched all of our bread for only multigrain

-Rarely buy anything that has ingredients we can't pronounce

-We drink more tea to aid digestion

-We buy only 100% juice

-We cut out red meat at home (we still eat it at restaurants)

-TRY not to eat processed foods

We didn't do this to lose weight, we just wanted to change what we were putting in our bodies to feel better and help his high cholesterol. We also go to bed much sooner than we used to so that we could get at least 7 hours rest per night.

I have been trying to unplug at night. I rarely go on my computer now at night (I do go on my phone still though). Since doing this, I am much more active in the evenings whether cleaning, walking the dog or playing a game with BF.

I will be curious to see other posts to get more ideas!

To the bolded:  I do this too!  I've tried to cut out processed stuff as much as I can.  It's easy because I love to cook, and I didn't grow up eating a lot of processed stuff because my mother also loves to cook, but I've definitely noticed it helped bring my sodium intake way down.

bethsmiles

BF and I used to cook a lot more than we do now. The kitchen at my apartment is so small and crappy it's really a pain to cook in. But the place I'm moving to next week has a great kitchen so I think we will start cooking a lot more which I am looking forward to. I do like that BF usually knows what all those crazy ingredients are so it's pretty easy for him to say x is fine, y is a no when I have no idea how you would even pronounce them!

I need to start bringing my water bottle to work to up my water in-take. I have a little cup I fill up a bunch throughout the day but I know I drink more if it's sitting right in front of me.

eilis1228

@jenjen047 I went to a personal trainer for a looooooong time, and I started out with the 10 packs and then just sucked it up and did the more expensive long-term packs. Granted I stayed on a diet plan because I didn't want to waste so much money, and I did meet my fitness goals, but holy moly did I build up a lot of credit card debt. It's really up to you and what you're comfortable spending-- if you think the 10-week course will pay off, then do that. If you don't want to invest a ton of money right now, then do the smaller packs and stop going as much (go to free group classes, the gym, or find an effective at-home workout program like P90X). Whatever you do, don't go into debt or overspend for a workout program. There are many other cheaper alternatives that will provide results if done with a proper diet.

@bethsmiles I cut out soda entirely. I used to drink it every day, and now I've gone so long without it that I don't like it anymore. I drink a lot of water and a lot of hot tea. I also try to incorporate veggies in 2 of the 3 meals I eat per day. Even if it's just baby carrots, I make sure I've got some sort of vegetable in at least 2 of my meals.

AuroraRose41

I didn't do terribly yesterday, but not great either. I'm still very sore from that 5k, so I have just been taking it easy and stretching my muslces. I plan to do yoga tonight. 

I had a strawberry smoothie (strawberries, milk, a half scoop protein powder) for breakfast yesterday and today, salad for lunch yesterday, and then leftover veggie pizza last night for dinner. 

Today I plan to eat a salad again for lunch and then have some homemade beef and veggie stew tonight. 

jenjen047

@bethsmiles - agreed. if i dont have a giant water bottle in front of me, i could literally go all day without drinking water. i have a 40 oz bottle from target that is leak proof so i can carry it in my bag. i think it was only $8. also like @loves2dream i have goals for how much water i should have consumed by a certain time. i dont have a sticky note, i kind of just keep track in my head. i try to have 40 oz down by 11am and then another 24oz by 3pm and anything on top of that is bonus.

@eilis1228 - agreed...definitely wouldnt suggest going into debt over a gym membership...i think i decided im going to partially leave it up to fate: the 10 week program is limited to 200 members and registration opens on friday while i am on a plane. if there are still open spots when i land i will do it. if not, i will go to plan B, which i think will be a 30 day membership.

eilis1228

Checking in for the day... I did PiYo Sweat as my workout, and I'm about 100 calories under my limit today. I made Hamburger Helper for dinner, but I used ground turkey so it's a little healthier. 

Dignity100

Wednesday Morning 4/8/2014

I'm not sure which post we're going to keep going, so I'm posting here.

I did not get a chance to work out and did not reach even 5000 steps yesterday.  Work has been killing me!  I think my customer should be all straightened out now though.  Both Monday and Tuesday when I got home from work, I had to sign back in and didn't get to do anything else.

Nutrisystem - Day 2
Blueberry Muffin - small but tasty
snack - hardboiled egg and an apple
Lunch - baby carrots, 'lettuce salad' and a nutrisystem lunch bar (it was chocolate peanut butter - it was pretty decent, not really what I'd want for a lunch though).
mid-afternoon snack - cheese stick and I didn't have time to get a fruit/veggies so I had a 150 calorie bar thingy that I had in my desk.
Dinner - Lasagna in meat sauce (I cheated here and had a cookie and a tiny sliver of my homemade bread). The Lasagna was good for a microwave meal, I'd eat it again.
Dessert - Carrot Cake - wasn't my favorite, it was ok, if I decide to continue I don't know if I'd order it.
I did have a handful of gummy bears too.

Swazzle

Morning!

I did great yesterday! I stuck to my plan, was perfect with my points, and drank a ton of water.

I got up and did 30DS again this morning. So that's 2 consecutive days and 3 total since Friday. 

I just had breakfast and tried to change it up a bit (hard-boiled egg with dijon, some turkey, a slice of cheese, and an orange) since I'm working out in the morning but my orange was bad and needed to be tossed which was disappointing and, honestly, I'm still a bit hungry. I need to figure out this eating + being active thing ASAP. 

Loves2dream

I had an OK day until bedtime. I stuck to my calories and was even under for the day. Drank a ton of water, mostly because my throat is dry at the moment. I worked out depsite being under the weather. BF and I did the countdown workout, which just cracks me up because BF would tease me about it until he started doing it too. The rest of the night he ends up complaining about being sore when we do it, lol. Anyway, after the countdown we went for a walk but had to cut it after a mile because it started raining.

We had a good dinner and I measured everything out and tried eating it more slowly since it was so tasty and I could only have a certain amount. I made a smoked turkey keilbasa with potatoes and onions on the stove top, very good!

Later I had an orange for a snack and then went to bed. Everything was great until.....damn BF came in with these organic corn chips I can't seem to resist from Trader Joe's. So that was hard but then he started handing me one here and there and, I mean, it would be rude to say no, right? So I had a few of those...Augh. Stupid will power....

I did stop weighing myself everyday, for the moment anyway. I was getting too obessed with it during my plateau so I have gone two days without looking at it so far. I am thinking of weighing once or maybe twice a week. We'll see how long that lasts though.

[Deleted User]

Good morning!

Yesterday was so crazy.  Around 10 AM we were evacuated (for the first time) because of a fire alarm.  Then we got to come back, but within a few minutes we were evacuated again because of a halon leak.  We weren't able to come back until after 1 PM, and I didn't get time to grab my lunch because they were rushing us out of there.  I hung out at our Einstein's Cafe with some co-workers, and ended up grabbing a roasted veggie flatbread pizza with chicken and a fruit cup.  I managed to stay pretty close to my meal plan for the rest of the day, except I bought a Reese's Easter egg for 50 cents and had that for a "snack". 

We did PiYo Lower Body and Upper Body last night and then worked in the garden for a while.  I got plenty of activity between PiYo, gardening, and all the evacuations at work.  And we prepped the storm cellar and I practiced going down in it by myself and locking it, so we got in a few flights of stairs, too.  Hopefully I don't have to use it tonight!

This morning I have been so hungry.  I had my breakfast shake and some banana chips, and I've been snacking on some kettle corn.  It's 170 cals for 3 cups, so it won't put me over by much.  I've been waiting for this kettle corn for a week!  I bought it from a co-worker for his daughter's softball team fundraiser.  It's so good.

My legs are dead from my run on Monday night.  I couldn't walk without shuffling this morning!  Thankfully it's a rest day.  I've got healthy food and snacks, so I'm going to put away this kettle corn and stay on track the rest of the day.

jenjen047

@dignity100 - great work! the lunch bars were tough for me too because it didnt feel like a meal, even if i was full.

@swazzle - yay for getting up early two days in a row! i know what you mean, sometimes i am hungry no matter what i eat/drink. its frustrating. i bought a few bags of frozen peas and carrots so if i feel like eating a ginormous bowl of something...at least it will be low-cal. then i can go for sheer quantity of food haha

boot camp was HARD last night. it was all butt and legs (which i love) and i think i sweated more than i have ever before. made ST baked nuggets and bang bang sauce (again....thanks @swazzle) and had a weight watchers fudge bar for dessert. overall a good day!

bethsmiles

@Swazzle - I'm impressed that you've been getting up early to go to the gym! I didn't even wake up early enough to get breakfast this morning.

I did good yesterday. Kept within my calorie goal and went to the gym. I'm aiming for another good day today. I'm starving right now though because I woke up late and didn't have time for breakfast. I'm so excited to move to my new place next week because I won't have the 30 minute to commute to work anymore which should help me with having time to eat a good breakfast in the morning.