Thrive Without Janelle: The Accountability Group

[Gramto6]

6,865 steps yesterday. Hip is still wonky, guess I pushed too much the day before.

[Gramto6]

7,244 steps yesterday. Still not 100%...

[Absolom]

Four pounds under goal weight due to some nerves and digestive issues.

[Gramto6]

45 minutes ago, Absolom said:

Four pounds under goal weight due to some nerves and digestive issues.

Not liking for the nerves and digestive issues, just for being  under goal weight.

[Gramto6]

6,276 steps yesterday. Taking it easy still.

[Absolom]

15 minutes ago, Gramto6 said:

6,276 steps yesterday. Taking it easy still.

I hope you're doing better soon.

I'm still about 3 pounds below goal weight.

[Gramto6]

6,375 steps yesterday. It is taking me a longer time than expected to get back to normal.

[Gramto6]

9,221 steps yesterday. I am in the habit of walking when on the phone. Yesterday I talked to 4 of my grands and DD and DS so lots of steps while talking.

[Gramto6]

6,783 steps yesterday.

[Absolom]

Still at least a pound and a half under goal weight even with Thanksgiving and pie.

[TurtlePower]

Averaging 10k-15k steps a day. Walked 5 miles yesterday for work and found some historic artifacts. 

[Gramto6]

6,971 steps yesterday. Still can't shake the sore hip...

[ginger90]

46 minutes ago, Gramto6 said:

6,971 steps yesterday. Still can't shake the sore hip...

If you’re a side sleeper, placing a pillow between your legs may help.

[Gramto6]

30 minutes ago, ginger90 said:

If you’re a side sleeper, placing a pillow between your legs may help.

Mostly side sleep but also on my back a lot too. Will try the pillow though, it is getting annoying not to be able to reach my goal. Thanks!

[Pickleinthemiddle]

13 hours ago, TurtlePower said:

Averaging 10k-15k steps a day. Walked 5 miles yesterday for work and found some historic artifacts. 

Interesting.  

[Gramto6]

15 hours ago, TurtlePower said:

Averaging 10k-15k steps a day. Walked 5 miles yesterday for work and found some historic artifacts. 

Are they  Native American artifacts? Fascinating. You have a very interesting job.

[Gramto6]

6,790 steps yesterday. 

[TurtlePower]

On 11/29/2020 at 10:19 PM, Gramto6 said:

Are they  Native American artifacts? Fascinating. You have a very interesting job.

Mostly. Sometimes, they're from old homesteads like these were. Old, broken lantern glass and broken ceramic plates. Perfect weather because it's cold, but not too cold (40s/50s during day). Great for walking or running. 

[Gramto6]

7,088 steps yesterday. Oddly I didn't feel that good yesterday yet I did more steps...

[Gramto6]

7,351 steps yesterday.

[Gramto6]

6,565 steps yesterday.

[ginger90]

Just now, Gramto6 said:

6,565 steps yesterday.

How is your hip? Did you try the pillow, by chance?

[Gramto6]

2 minutes ago, ginger90 said:

How is your hip? Did you try the pillow, by chance?

I have good days and bad days still. Yes, use the pillow and it does help some days are just not good no matter what I do... It is he!! getting old!

[Absolom]

I have found some stretches on youtube that help me a lot.  

[LilWharveyGal]

"Discovering" YouTube has been one of the bright spots of the pandemic for me. There are so many awesome workout and nutrition videos at your fingertips. Janelle could learn a thing or 10.

[Gramto6]

6,643 steps yesterday. Just can't seem to get the steps back up to where I used to be...

[Gramto6]

5,292 steps yesterday. le sigh...

[Gramto6]

6,201 steps yesterday.  Today I am taking it really easy.

[xwordfanatik]

24 minutes ago, Gramto6 said:

6,201 steps yesterday.  Today I am taking it really easy.

Me too.  I had back spasms after putting up the Christmas tree, so not much else is getting done today.  We'll see how tonight and tomorrow goes.  

[Absolom]

2 hours ago, Gramto6 said:

6,201 steps yesterday.  Today I am taking it really easy.

I hope you're all better soon.  

I'm hanging in maintaining the weight loss so far.  I may have the key for me in aiming slightly below my actual goal.  I'm beginning to zero in on how many calories I can eat and stay at this weight.  

[Gramto6]

1 minute ago, Absolom said:

I hope you're all better soon.  

I'm hanging in maintaining the weight loss so far.  I may have the key for me in aiming slightly below my actual goal.  I'm beginning to zero in on how many calories I can eat and stay at this weight.  

Thanks, this is the longest it has ever taken me to recover. Not sure if it is age or something else, may have to lower my expectations for a while...which I really don't like!!

[Gramto6]

5,250 steps yesterday.

[crazycatlady58]

On 12/6/2020 at 8:39 PM, Gramto6 said:

Thanks, this is the longest it has ever taken me to recover. Not sure if it is age or something else, may have to lower my expectations for a while...which I really don't like!!

Have you been to the dr? 

[Gramto6]

2 hours ago, crazycatlady58 said:

Have you been to the dr? 

No,I am afraid of the exposure going up to town so many more cases there. I have to go there Thurs for eye exam and that scares me enough. 
For now I will live with the sore hip and see if it gets better...

[TurtlePower]

10 miles yesterday. 

They cancelled my May marathon (isn't there supposed to be a widely distributed vaccine by then?) which I'm angry about and found to be a bit premature. So now I'm looking for another one--there's one at White Sands Missile Range scheduled for March, tentatively. 

https://bataanmarch.com

[Kohola3]

1 minute ago, TurtlePower said:

(isn't there supposed to be a widely distributed vaccine by then?

I think that's a pipe dream, experts don't expect things to be widely distributed until the end of summer at the earliest.  The first couple of tiers will be done sooner (medical, essential workers, nursing homes) but after that it's going to be a crapshoot depending on how distribution is handled.  We were notified this week (I'm a docent at one of a lighthouse) that our state DNR staff is not planning on opening state buildings until probably July, if then.

[laurakaye]

@Kohola3 - you're a lighthouse docent?  That's one of my dream jobs!  And aren't you in Michigan?  Color me intrigued (except for the part about not opening state buildings until summer....but I get it).

Back on thread topic - I have managed to drop four pounds using the MyFitnessPal app.  I've been using it since the beginning of October (it took some time to get used to remembering to log my info every day).  I don't care if I only lose a half pound a week, as long as I can keep it off.  And I know me - if I stop using the app, my brain will tell me that I've given up and therefore it's fine to eat a bag of Doritos and wash it down with a beer, so every day I have to be structured enough to eat enough good food that I don't crave the bad as much.  That, and my daily walks at lunch time and after work are basically keeping me sane right now so my though process is, why ruin those walks by eating crap?

My brain and I, we fight daily. 😄 

Edited December 8, 2020 by laurakaye

[Absolom]

Congratulations!!

I've been using that app for a couple of years and now I'm 3 pounds under my goal weight and holding.  ::fingers crossed::  I don't really want to go any lower.  I need some reserve and I start looking frail if I get much below this weight.  

[LilWharveyGal]

@laurakaye and @Absolom, your success with the app is inspiring! I'm really struggling with my eating right now so this tip is helpful!

[laurakaye]

Regarding the MyFitnessPal app, one of the best pieces of advice I read when tracking your food and exercise is - don't eat back the calories you've subtracted from exercise!  Might be common sense (it wasn't for me, LOL) but if you walk off 200 calories, you shouldn't necessarily eat those calories back as a "treat" for working them off in the first place.  This was the top tip I read when I Googled "why aren't I losing weight using the MyFitnessPal app?" 😄

[Kohola3]

2 hours ago, laurakaye said:

@Kohola3 - you're a lighthouse docent?  That's one of my dream jobs!  And aren't you in Michigan?

Yes, in MI. I am the secretary of the Friends of Tawas Point Lighthouse and State Park.  We do all kinds of stuff at the lighthouse including tours, fundraising, and maintenance even though we're all older than dirt.  I guess that makes us more sympathetic to the 144 year old girl!  This autumn, while wearing masks and keeping distant, we rehabbed the outside of the gift shop which is an historic building having been a boat house, shed, and extra quarters for first and second assistant keepers.

Good for everyone wearing fitness jiggamabobs.  Instead of inspiring me, those make me depressed!

[Absolom]

12 minutes ago, laurakaye said:

don't eat back the calories you've subtracted from exercise!  Might be common sense (it wasn't for me, LOL) but if you walk off 200 calories, you shouldn't necessarily eat those calories back as a "treat" for working them off in the first place. 

That's true.  It's part of what has made maintenance tricky for me in the past.  I have to consume them or at least part of them.  I also have had a tendency to get slack on using the app once getting to goal weight.  This time I've kept it up.  I'm 90+ days on maintaining this round!   Sadly I think the pandemic has helped.  By not going out with people, I'm not tempted by restaurant food or take out.  By not shopping more than once every 10 to 14 days, I'm not picking up many extras or treats.  By cooking almost all my meals, it's easy to track.  I've had takeout twice and both times I temporarily put on 2 to 3 pounds.  Too much food and too much sodium.  

A couple other things is to keep an eye on the in five weeks you'll weigh line.  Kind of track in your mind where you think you'd like to be in five weeks and see if you're matching.  I also needed to adjust the goals section a few times as I was losing.   Good luck to all trying to lose or maintain!

[laurakaye]

Ooh, cool!  Adding Tawas Point to my long, long list of places I want to visit in my own state!

And no shade at all, but I can't imagine ever wearing one of those fitness bracelets, which is why I use the app on my iPad.  I can't even stand wearing a watch or bracelet most of the time, LOL.  My friend has health insurance which requires her to wear a FitBit so her steps, etc., can be tracked by her doctor.  And while I know many people who rely on the information those trackers provide, I also know several people that wear them just for show.

[laurakaye]

1 minute ago, Absolom said:

A couple other things is to keep an eye on the in five weeks you'll weigh line.  Kind of track in your mind where you think you'd like to be in five weeks and see if you're matching.  I also needed to adjust the goals section a few times as I was losing.   Good luck to all trying to lose or maintain!

Yes, - that "in five weeks" fluctuates like my mood most days!  So far I am above what it's told me, but I'm also losing at a snail's pace which - for the first time in my entire life - has made me realize that perhaps that's the best way for me to lose weight (very slowly) instead of giving myself this imaginary perfect number that I want to see by the end of the month.  If I lost one pound for every time I told myself, "by the end of December I plan on weighing (whatever)," I'd be invisible right now.

The hardest part sometimes is trying to match what I've eaten to what shows up on the app when I search the food item. Also, a lot of the time I'm guessing on the portion size and selecting what I think is the closest item.  But an approximation of calories, fat, etc. is fine with me.  The first thing I noticed when I started using it was that a lot of the things I thought were relatively "healthy" were not as healthy as I thought they were.  And it's also forced me out of the house many times for a second walk or a bike ride because I wanted those subtracted exercise calories to increase!

[LilWharveyGal]

24 minutes ago, Absolom said:

A couple other things is to keep an eye on the in five weeks you'll weigh line.  

I totally forgot about this feature! I could really use some kind of longer-term goal visual like this. Time to dust off the app. Thank you all for the discussion!

[TurtlePower]

19 hours ago, laurakaye said:

Regarding the MyFitnessPal app, one of the best pieces of advice I read when tracking your food and exercise is - don't eat back the calories you've subtracted from exercise!  Might be common sense (it wasn't for me, LOL) but if you walk off 200 calories, you shouldn't necessarily eat those calories back as a "treat" for working them off in the first place.  This was the top tip I read when I Googled "why aren't I losing weight using the MyFitnessPal app?" 😄

Exactly. This is the biggest problem I had with new runners complaining they were gaining weight. They ate back (and then some) their workouts. A beginner run of 3 miles is only bout 300-ish calories--that's some chips and a cookie or a starbucks Fancy Schmantzy Frothy Whippy Top concoction (really, that should be on the menu 😆).  It was hard for them to accept that exercise wasn't a miracle activity that allowed them to "eat whatever they wanted". 

As a "side rant", I've also wondered what it is about modern humans that we feel the need to "snack" every few hours. Humans survived for thousands of years without doing this and, excluding those with medical reasons to eat often, our bodies are used to not getting food every few hours. In general, we're also more sedentary, making the snacking trend even more problematic. Boggles my mind 🤷‍♀️.

Back to main topic: Another 10 miles yesterday (easy 5 planned today or maybe less if I need the recovery). 

Edited December 9, 2020 by TurtlePower

[deirdra]

47 minutes ago, TurtlePower said:

Exactly. This is the biggest problem I had with new runners complaining they were gaining weight. They ate back (and then some) their workouts. A beginner run of 3 miles is only bout 300-ish calories--that's some chips and a cookie or a starbucks Fancy Schmantzy Frothy Whippy Top concoction (really, that should be on the menu 😆).  It was hard for them to accept that exercise wasn't a miracle activity that allowed them to "eat whatever they wanted". 

And the "300 calories" is for the average person running X distance over Y time.  Actual metabolisms vary and some expend fewer calories to run the same distance.  Eating sugary treats will increase insulin, the fat-storage hormone, wiping out the insulin depletion caused by the exercise.

Edited December 9, 2020 by deirdra

[laurakaye]

5 hours ago, TurtlePower said:

As a "side rant", I've also wondered what it is about modern humans that we feel the need to "snack" every few hours. Humans survived for thousands of years without doing this and, excluding those with medical reasons to eat often, our bodies are used to not getting food every few hours. In general, we're also more sedentary, making the snacking trend even more problematic. Boggles my mind 🤷‍♀️.

I think it's boredom, which then turns into habit.  For years as an adult I had a snack before bed because that's what I did as a child.  I only recently outgrew the need to have something sweet in my belly before going to bed because most of the time, I wasn't even hungry.  And when I'm at work and bored, I start craving something to snack on.  On busy days when I don't have time to think about it, I don't need that snack.  Just my two cents! 

 

[deirdra]

When I was a kid in the 1960s, we didn't snack all day or go to fast food joints (there were none nearby), we ate three square meals a day and nothing after dinner.  I think it was food engineering in the 1970s making and advertising junk food designed to make you crave it (and cause their profits to sore) that started the snack all day trends.

[Gramto6]

Backing off a little as hip is really killing me. 12/7 ran a couple of errands and could barely walk when I got home. Yesterday took it really easy. 4,797 steps yesterday. Will be taking it easy again today. Finally starting to feel a bot better. Tomorrow have to drive up to town to go to the Ophthalmologist for my yearly. Not looking forwaed to that.