Weight Loss/Fitness Support!

[StarryView]

I feel pathetic and great at the same time if that makes sense.

Yesterday I ran a total of 800m(half mile) but I only did it 100m at a time. I walked 300m per 100, so total I walked/ran 3k. trying to work up to running it all at once, but I havent exercised since I quit softball two years ago. and yes ANony, it totally is harder for me to start than keep going!

Today, I ran 400m and walked 400 meters. I did that about 3 times, and I also did my core stuff. I've also figured out that without trying I have eaten less since starting this. I can't figure out if it's because Im drinking more water so Im hydrated (thirst can sometimes mimic hunger) or if its because I havent drank pop or ate much sweets (glucose and sucrose- and MAYYYBE frutose but thats the healthiest kind- leave you more hungry or hungry quicker). Either way I'm really satisfied with this. I wish I had a scale so I can check my weight.

I wonder if theres a way to post pictures that are not on a website (like from my computer directly) so I can maybe motivate myself more by putting them in my post every month or so to see if I or anyone else can see the difference?

[kilala]

Seems like you are all doing awesome

Yesterday I didn't work out at all, but I ate pretty healthy and I worked for 6 hours, so it wasn't a totally bad day.

Today I'm going to the park to jog hopefully a few miles. I'm really craving Chinese food and Taco bell and ice cream and root beer, but so far I've been able to stay away from them. Although tonight I'm going to a party where therewill be pizza, and Sunday is my friends 21st birthday party and we are going to olive garden, but I will be working out both those days at least. I agree with it being much easier to keep going than to start, normally my workouts last a lot longer than I plan on. I'm gonna try to find a gym soon that won't cost me $50 a month to join, there just aren't any good ones in this area besides the Y, and I want to go there so bad, I just can't pay that.

I had a dream last night I won two million dollars somehow. I was so sad that it wasn't true.

Counting calories is hard for me because I have such a high metabolism that I'm always hungry, and it's the type of hunger that makes me feel weak and nauseous and dizzy. I'm just trying to watch what I eat better and cut out sweets, not completely but I have cut down alot.

[Anonymouse]

SilenceOutspoken, do you mean you did intervals? I read that those are actually more effective at burning calories than just running the entire time. Not sure why, but it makes your heart rate fluctuate constantly so I guess that's good for it. I usually do the same thing when I run and it seems to work.

[Evergreen]

and maybe as a bit of advice for everybody (not that i have that much room to talk the past few weeks), but don't try any crazy diets. for real. everyone keeps asking me what diet i used or how much i had to starve myself to lose weight, and i'm appalled. i really love counting calories as a way to lose weight. eat what you want, but make sure to be accountable. figure out the number of calories you need per day and per week to lose one or two pounds a week and then make sure you reach that goal through watching what you eat. i ate dessert every single day, but i made sure to eat lighter meals to accommodate what i really wanted. sorry if this sounds common sense, but i used to think to lose weight you couldn't indulge, but i was happily proven wrong.

This exactly. I was shocked when I stepped on the scale in January and found that I lost twenty pounds since October just from counting calories (and not necessarily watching what I was eating, though that's important too for overall health). I never lost weight that quickly before (except when I just plain didn't eat for a while when I was fifteen, which I'm pissed about because I'm pretty sure my boobs used to be bigger).

It's easier for me at college because I control what I buy and when I eat. I would eat throughout the day and never feel hungry and never go over 1500 calories. It was actually difficult for me to eat at least 1200 calories (because it can be dangerous to go below that).

Just now - really proud of myself. I had a manager's meeting and stayed afterwards to work out at the gym. Someone was on my favorite elliptical so I decided to try the virtual reality stationary bikes. They're so awesome, they have giant screens with fake environments you can bike through. Kind of like the Wii Fit. Low quality graphics but it's still nice to have something to zone into besides the parking lot outside the window.

Anyway, the pride comes from me thinking I would quit after the one trail that took me about twenty minutes. Then I decided to do another trail that I estimated would take me eight minutes. Then I decided why not just keep going until I hit at least forty minutes? So I did this cool-looking trail that took me through ancient ruins and before I knew it I was at forty-five minutes. I perservered because I remembered something I read on the Calorie Count boards, that it's harder to start a workout than to keep going during one. Ie, it's easier to do three sixty-minute workouts in a week than six thirty-minute ones because you have to get yourself off your ass more. I still plan on working out everyday if possible from now on, but in case I have to miss a day I want to be able to do as much as I can on other days.

haha. i laughed when you referred to your favorite elliptical. i, too, am really picky when it comes to my elliptical. i've been getting into the treadmill a lot more lately. but i still love my elliptical and my bike. i've also been trying to do resistance training, too, because it builds up your muscles, thus it builds up your metabolism. i was so proud. i did 30 minutes resistance and 30 minutes cardio today. cardio is my love, but i know that resistance is necessary. that being said, my legs feel like jelly still. hahaha.

[StarryView]

SilenceOutspoken, do you mean you did intervals? I read that those are actually more effective at burning calories than just running the entire time. Not sure why, but it makes your heart rate fluctuate constantly so I guess that's good for it. I usually do the same thing when I run and it seems to work.

Yeah, I did intervals. I think tomorrow I'm going to start slowing things down when it comes to the running part though.. give my legs a rest since I havent done this much exercise for a lllooonnnng time. maybe a powerwalk?

I just got a single serving poptart thingy.. didnt realize until after I bought it how horrible it is as anything especially a snack which I got it for. So I jsut took out one and shared it with my nephew. I am indulging, but Im trying not to indulge too much.

[Anonymouse]

Good job Kristen! (That's my name too, I don't mind sharing that. ) My elliptical has the perfect location, it's between a pillar and another squeaky older elliptical that nobody seems to like. I like my personal space when I work out. It's also just a smoother elliptical.

SilenceOutspoken, be careful with the running. When I first started I got horrible shin splints. I think it was because I had terrible shoes. Either way I try to do a different kind of workout everyday so I don't get bored so I only really walk/run two or three times a week.

[polychrome]

Not-so-hot Friday...got stuck doing extra paperwork and decided to skip the gym and go to the dog park instead....but came home to find that the dog had decided to rifle through the kitchen garbage and bring some into the livingroom, so I used that as an excuse to sit on my bum. Also turns out that the combination of yummy splurgy cafeteria breakfast (bacon, egg and cheese on a croissant and an iced cappucino) did not pair so well with my late afternoon impulse snack (1/3 of a giant cupcake and a chocolate chip cookie), so I was pretty much out of calories by the time I got home. Rather than end the day with yogurt and high fiber cereal, like I probably should have, I convinced my husband that ordering pizza was definitely the way to go.

The good news is that the above could have been any random day for me, but it hadn't been for the earlier part of the week and I'm motivated to keep days like that the exception rather than the norm. A friend is coming into town today, I'm going to try to suggest healthy options like a walk by the river and possibly eating in tonight instead of going to a restaurant. And, the funniest part given my food intake yesterday, I'm apparently down to 225.6, much better than Tuesday's 229. Of course 3 pounds of that is probably extra fluid from the salty yuck I ate last weekend, but it's still nice that I'm on the downward trend.

[kilala]

Due to the fact that I had not such a good day today I had leftover chinese food, ice cream, candy, and rice krispie treats, and I really couldn't care less right now. I did work out a little (just walked about 1 mile) and I've been doing really good this whole week and today was awful so I'm just taking a day off from being healthy. Tomorrow is my off day and it won't be such a good day either, but I'm trying to do really good during the week because I know I won't be on the weekends. I think that's a fair trade.

[StarryView]

I took a day off from exercising completely today since my calves were killing me still, and its the last day to see my boyfriend until next weekend. I had nachos and later a sirloin tips mixed with mushrooms and onions with eggs and hasbrowns and pancakes. I let my bf have the pancakes and I ate all the eggs, a couple bites of hasbrowns and maybe half the sirlion/mushroom/onions. Idk if that's good or not.. but oh well.

[VoOs]

Friday - jogged for about 10 minutes, then ran intervals for another 10 minutes (sprinting for 30 seconds, then walking for 30 seconds, repeat. I can't believe I did this for 20+ minutes last year. ).

Going with my little brother for another 40 minutes jog in about an hour. Thinking of doing intervals the last ten minutes or so. Wish me luck.

EDIT: Annnnd back. And I totally outran my lean, long-legged, sixteen year old brother. Can you say ego-boost?

[Anonymouse]

EDIT: Annnnd back. And I totally outran my lean, long-legged, sixteen year old brother. Can you say ego-boost?

HAHA, win. Good job.

Didn't exercise today but I think Sunday will be my day off. I'm exhausted from work even though I did absolutely nothing. It was a crappy day so nobody came to the pool and we closed early. Didn't eat much today either and I'm having wine night with my mom later so I'd rather just relax.

I worked out every single day for the past week though. I ran for half an hour yesterday. I was aiming for forty minutes but my boss called and it was cut short. Then mom for some godforsaken reason brought home breakfast from Burger King. Not just small hash browns either, the large. I didn't eat all of them but still. I had some. The last time I ate that crap I was probably eleven so I had to lol. It's so delicious but so bad for you.

Didn't gain any weight and that's okay with me. I can deal with where I'm at, preferably would like to lose ten but I'm fine if it happens slowly. I'd rather maintain than gain.

[Evergreen]

i got called into work yesterday, then my friend wanted to grab coffee, so by the time i was free, the gym was closed. meh. but i didn't worry that much, since i had eaten really healthy yesterday (until like midnight when i was starving and pigged out). still, my calorie level wasn't too bad yesterday. today i've been good and i worked out for an hour. huzzah. let's just hope i can keep the snacking to a minimum. haha.

Didn't gain any weight and that's okay with me. I can deal with where I'm at, preferably would like to lose ten but I'm fine if it happens slowly. I'd rather maintain than gain.

I TOTALLY AGREE. haha. except i'd like to lose another five maximum. i'm at what i said was gonna be my ideal weight so i'm happy, but my goal is to tone.

[polychrome]

Slightly high on calories yesterday because we did end up going out for indian (yum), but we did go for a long walk. Today I was eating small portions of not-so-healthy leftovers but I'm within the right calorie range and I took a walk to the dog park with my husband. I've already portioned out yogurt + almond butter into 4 containers for easy lunches and have my full breakfast and lunch packed for tomorrow. I joined a couple of challenge teams on SparkPeople, one is a little mini-challenge everyday and the other is a 10 week Biggest Loser type competition. Later tonight I hope to load up my new MP3 player with good music for another week at the gym.

[vote_for_pedro]

ATTENTION PEOPLE WHO LIKE RUNNING!

Just wondering, did you always like it? Or is it one of those things you have to learn to like?

I can't stand running, and I wish I didn't feel that way. I'm not turned off by the pain, getting tired, or out of breath. It's just that running is so goddamn BORING! I can't figure out how people go out and do this and manage to enjoy it. I've tried getting into it before, and I always fail because I just can't make myself stick with it. Especially on a treadmill! Good lord, talk about tedious torture! When I run outside, I always find myself wanting to slow down or stop to look at things that catch my interest. Then I'm irritated at the pressure I put on myself to keep going because stopping defeats the purpose of running.

I hear people talk about a runner's high, and I think it sounds nice. I might look forward to running if it made me high. But I've never experienced it. I just run, get super bored, and check my watch constantly to see if I've been doing it long enough to matter so I can hurry up and do something else.

Walking, on the other hand, is not so bad. I don't know why. Maybe I'm just a lazy piece of crap.

[Dawnie]

ATTENTION PEOPLE WHO LIKE RUNNING! Just wondering, did you always like it? Or is it one of those things you have to learn to like?

Pretty much sweetie.

I can't stand running, and I wish I didn't feel that way. I'm not turned off by the pain, getting tired, or out of breath. It's just that running is so goddamn BORING! I can't figure out how people go out and do this and manage to enjoy it. I've tried getting into it before, and I always fail because I just can't make myself stick with it. Especially on a treadmill! Good lord, talk about tedious torture!

Honestly sweetie I found it MUCH more boring to run on a treadmill. I only do it it if I absolutely have to. Getting outside and running in a park or on a route, is better. I put on my MP3, play all my modivational songs and just hit the ground running.

When I run outside, I always find myself wanting to slow down or stop to look at things that catch my interest. Then I'm irritated at the pressure I put on myself to keep going because stopping defeats the purpose of running. I hear people talk about a runner's high, and I think it sounds nice. I might look forward to running if it made me high. But I've never experienced it.

I'd like to think that I've experienced it. I know once I start going it's such a struggle, but then something kicks in. And when I'm done and I realize that I've completed my route or my time is better, I really feel good about myself.

Walking, on the other hand, is not so bad. I don't know why. Maybe I'm just a lazy piece of crap.

Hey that's my sweetie you're talking about there. Cut it out.

[vote_for_pedro]

Aww Dawnie. You and me. Central Park, NYC. Hours of walking. I'm never bored!

[Anonymouse]

Just wondering, did you always like it? Or is it one of those things you have to learn to like?

Definitely learn to like. Whether everyone is capable or not, I'm not sure. But it was never something I liked. I learned to deal with the monotony of it by doing intervals, two minutes fast pace, one minute slower pace. It helps having four TVs at my gym at school, otherwise I'd probably get really bored. But I've stayed on the treadmill for longer than I've planned a few times because I got into something on the TV and didn't want to leave.

[Dawnie]

Aww Dawnie. You and me. Central Park, NYC. Hours of walking. I'm never bored!

[BlueRandom]

ATTENTION PEOPLE WHO LIKE RUNNING!

Just wondering, did you always like it? Or is it one of those things you have to learn to like?

I never really disliked it, just didn't do it much - but it's awesome now. I think you need a really great motivational/cheesy playlist so that you can't help moving when you're listening to it. And the runner's high is totally real!! You have to get to the point when it's starting to feel tough, and keep going!! For me, that's what the music's for - you can distract yourself and try and run in time if you want to stop. It feels awesome at the end, but I think you have to push yourself a bit first. And the point when your breathing really deeply as you're running - that's good, too. I think it's best when you get into a rhythm - personally, I run for enjoyment and how you feel just afterwards, rather than to beat a time, etc. That seems to come naturally the more you do it, and you can go further, and stuff.

Also, I'm not going to lie - running does tone your legs pretty nicely. Even if you don't lose weight, they tend to look a bit longer and leaner. Mine have some way to go on the length thing, but somehow I don't think exercise will fix that ...

I doubt you're lazy, not everyone likes the same things! This forum being the prime example of that ...

[VoOs]

ATTENTION PEOPLE WHO LIKE RUNNING!

Just wondering, did you always like it? Or is it one of those things you have to learn to like?

I never really disliked it, just didn't do it much - but it's awesome now. I think you need a really great motivational/cheesy playlist so that you can't help moving when you're listening to it. And the runner's high is totally real!! You have to get to the point when it's starting to feel tough, and keep going!! For me, that's what the music's for - you can distract yourself and try and run in time if you want to stop. It feels awesome at the end, but I think you have to push yourself a bit first. And the point when your breathing really deeply as you're running - that's good, too. I think it's best when you get into a rhythm - personally, I run for enjoyment and how you feel just afterwards, rather than to beat a time, etc. That seems to come naturally the more you do it, and you can go further, and stuff.

^what BlueRandom said. Running is pretty much the only form of exercise that I've ever truly liked, but a good playlist is necessary to keep me motivated. Good music makes everything ten times easier.

[Dawnie]

^what BlueRandom said. Running is pretty much the only form of exercise that I've ever truly liked, but a good playlist is necessary to keep me motivated. Good music makes everything ten times easier.

Essential.

[polychrome]

^what BlueRandom said. Running is pretty much the only form of exercise that I've ever truly liked, but a good playlist is necessary to keep me motivated. Good music makes everything ten times easier.

Essential.

Good! My new MP3 player is loaded up and I bought some new headphones so I should be good to go. Although, running is a bit of a stretch yet.

[kilala]

I like running alot, I just can't do it for very long. I think once I build more endurance I'll enjoy it alot more. Walking outside is my favorite way to excersise, and I actually prefer to do it alone with my iPod. It gives me time to think.

I just ate 3 pieces of chocolate cake at my friends going away party (I already miss her ) and I'm feeling it. I swear I'm gonna get back on track soon! Me and J are going gym shopping wednsday. And I'm gonna be eating good the rest of the week

ETA: I actually ended up having four pieces. But me and my friends went swimming so hopefully that will help some.

[vote_for_pedro]

Hi running people. Thanks for all the input. Very interesting to read.

I gotta say that I'm just a different animal than all of you. I've got my head plugged into my ipod all the time, and it has never made running a more entertaining experience for me. I guess it'll never be my thing! Oh well.

[Anonymouse]

Forty-five minutes of cardio and fifteen of weight lifting this morning. Peanut butter sandwich for breakfast (I was still half-asleep and I always grab the weirdest food when I'm not fully awake), then a bowl of cut-up apples and bananas and some Smartfood white cheddar popcorn for lunch. I had to save calories for the pizza we had tonight at our manager's meeting. Putting everything into Calorie Counter now, hopefully there's some deficit or it evens out at the most. If I go over again I'll be sad (past two days, not good, weekends are a killer).