Hi, Christina! A huge positive is your sticking with the challenge even after a challenging month! I don't think my pics show any change at all since August, but I'm determined to stick with it anyhow. It would've been fun to do Leigh's challenge together, but I certainly can understand timing issues. I'm hoping it starts after my son's birthday party on Oct 11 and ends before Thanksgiving! I guess I'll find out.
Christina, your goals sound good! I like how you are focusing on the big picture with how much progress you've made this year. Working on posture is a very good goal. Sitting at a desk with good posture is a workout in itself!
Christina, I agree with the others--you've done a great job this month esp with an injury. As for the goal of being happy with the way you look, that's a wonderful goal and one that most women never attain. Good for you for tackling that head-on.
I think you have done very well this month considering the ankle and everything. I really like your goal of changing your perception of yourself. I realized the other day I was writing my weight on a doctor's form and realized I started writing the wrong higher weight. I can't get myself to think of these changes as permanent. Keep your head up....soon enough you will be able to work out like you want again.
Isn't is weird? When I went to the doctor I groaned when it was time to be weighed because I didn't want to see that high number. But 144 (with clothes and shoes, right after lunch) is so much less than last time I was weighed at the doctor. It is hard to remember that I am changing and making progress and to think of it as permanent.
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Originally Posted by foodfromafar
Hi, Christina! A huge positive is your sticking with the challenge even after a challenging month! I don't think my pics show any change at all since August, but I'm determined to stick with it anyhow. It would've been fun to do Leigh's challenge together, but I certainly can understand timing issues. I'm hoping it starts after my son's birthday party on Oct 11 and ends before Thanksgiving! I guess I'll find out.
Keep up the good work!!
It would have been fun to do Leigh's challenge together. I wanted to, but just couldn't fully commit; I've got another month of healing to do.
I did my ankle exercises the other day, and dang! It hurt!
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Originally Posted by ceebee
Christina, your goals sound good! I like how you are focusing on the big picture with how much progress you've made this year. Working on posture is a very good goal. Sitting at a desk with good posture is a workout in itself!
Yeah, when I stand, I sway my back, and when I sit, I slouch. Oddly enough, the two don't counter act and make everything right. So, at work, I sit on a ball, which helps so much! Except, of course, on days like today when I'm wearing a slick-material skirt. I tend to slide right off the ball. So, I'm in a chair trying not to use the back. Maybe I should consider a stool.
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Originally Posted by Celestialmom
Christina, I agree with the others--you've done a great job this month esp with an injury. As for the goal of being happy with the way you look, that's a wonderful goal and one that most women never attain. Good for you for tackling that head-on.
It's really hard! Yesterday I looked at my back-view photo and hated it. This morning, I looked at it again and thought, it's not terrible. It's not where I want to be, but it's better than it used to be. What's even more interesting is that I'm actually really proud of the front and side views compared to where I was in Feb. Maybe it's because I see the front and side views every day in the mirror. I have no idea what my backside looks like.
Anyway--food yesterday came in around 1690; not as big of a deficit as I'd like, but a small one anyway. I was really hungry yesterday, which seems to be a trend on my day after workouts. I think it's because I workout in the evenings and usually have just a shake and a small meal afterwards.
Oh, and I made Anne's chicken and salsa in a crockpot recipe yesterday. It turned out really good. I had it in a salad with goat cheese and a dressing made of soy yogurt and salsa. The goat cheese and dressing gave it a bit of a tangy-bite. Perfect with the spicy. I'm having it for lunch again today. I'm going out to dinner with my sister tonight, so I'll save a few calories for that too.
It's really hard! Yesterday I looked at my back-view photo and hated it. This morning, I looked at it again and thought, it's not terrible. It's not where I want to be, but it's better than it used to be. What's even more interesting is that I'm actually really proud of the front and side views compared to where I was in Feb. Maybe it's because I see the front and side views every day in the mirror. I have no idea what my backside looks like.
Changing your perception of yourself is a really hard thing to do. I was doing weight-loss meetings last year and someone suggested telling yourself "I'm beautiful" every day. In my sarcastic mind, I'm thinking "yeah, right, that'll happen." It took me a while to come around to the mindset that the idea has merit and I'm really not that bad. I doubt I'll be telling myself that I'm beautiful every day ever, but I have changed my perception of myself and my critical attitude of me (partly by using your "good thoughts for the day" method), which has really made a world of difference. So, basically, thanks for being a positive thinking role model .
Thanks Karen. I really needed that today. I've been really kind of down lately (discouraged, frustrated, and so on), and haven't stopped to find the good. Time to re-focus, and redirect my thinking on the good. No, I don't think I'm going to tell myself I'm beautiful every day. But I do need to make note of the good things each day.
That said, good things for yesterday:
1. I actually only worked 8 hours! That's huge for me. I got in the office at 7:30, took almost a full hour lunch, and left by 4:30.
2. I came home to a wonderful smelling kitchen. There's really something to be said about coming home and having dinner ready.
3. I took Suzee to the dog park last night; she was super cute about it--way too excited! Her happy dog face it too cute.
Good talk going on in here. I also think you have done a great job and I can see the changes.
I am going to have to make this chicken. I could almost smell it when reading about it. LOL
__________________
Ginger
"The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start." ~ John Bingham
What I really loved about the chicken is that there was absolutely no prep work. And it turned out pretty good too!
In the spirit of thinking positive, here's my good thing for yesterday:
1. I missed the bus from the office to the train station last night after work. Normally, that would have been a bad, but instead, I walked the mile. It gave me a chance to really clear my head and get some thoughts together--much needed! And, by the time I got to the station, I realized that my ankle didn't hurt. It was fatigued, but not tender or sore or painful. So that was really good too!
2. I went to dinner with my sister last night, which also came with a trip to the mall. I managed to eat really well and still in my slight deficit. I'm pretty happy about that. And, I bought a dress. Not that I needed it, but it was too ridiculous not to get. It's a black and purple mod dress that could also probably be used as a Star Trek costume if I ever needed one, with the right accessories. I tried it on just to be silly, but it turned out I really like it, and it was oddly cute on. Plus, it was on clearance, so how could I not get it?
Food yesterday: calories 1457; protein was a little low, carbs were a little high, but all-in-all, I can't complain.
Today I'll workout-back and chest plus ankle stuff. Fun.
What I really loved about the chicken is that there was absolutely no prep work. And it turned out pretty good too!
It's one of those dishes that you could probably reinvent and make it better (ie. you could brown the chicken with pepper and salt, maybe a little chili powder). You could add freshly chopped hot peppers to kick the heat up a little. You could add the salsa ingredients separately (tomato, onions, pepper, cilantro, etc.) chopped fresh.
Sometimes though it's nice to just dump stuff in the crockpot and walk away.
I have a low-carb slow cooker book in front of me (borrowed) and trying to decide what to try first. I'll have to dump the recipes into FitDay because they're using 'net carbs' and I want to make sure the macros are good.
Anne, I thought about reinventing it and even bought veggies to put in, but never quite got around to it--that happens a lot.
Please post some of those recipes once you find out about the macros. I'm apparently all about the crockpot right now. It's just so easy and usually quite delicious.
Will do. I suspect I'll get a chance to really look at it over the weekend. It's Canadian Thanksgiving so I have three days off, although I do have a test on Tuesday night.
Workout for yesterday: Incline Bench Presses: 3 sets w/65lbs--8, 7, and 7 DB Flies: 3 sets 8 w/15lbs each Close-Grip Seated Rows: 3 sets--8 @ 80lbs, 7 @ 80lbs, 10 @ 70lbs Close-Grip Bench Presses: 3 sets--10 w/45lbs, 10 w/55lbs, 8 w/65lbs--this was a new one for me, so I really didn't know where to start. Next time I'll start with 65lbs and work my way up. Leg Extension: 2 sets 15--youch! Ankle Crap: Point and flex foot w/band: 2 sets 15, move foot side to side w/band: 2 sets 15, calf raises-both feet no ledge: 2 sets 15. Ice and advil. It's a little sore today, but not terrible.
Good thing for yesterday:
Corn-Beef and Cabbage. Yum. I love this stuff and don't eat it nearly often enough.
Food for yesterday: Pretty darn good. I came in at just about 1590cals. So, for a workout day, that's jsut about a 400cal deficit. More than planned, but just how it worked out.
I'm hoping to introduce a little cardio into my day today by attempting to ride a bike in the cardio-room downstairs. I'm not sure that I'll make it; I don't know what the schedule today totally looks like. Right now I have about a half hour to do it at lunch, but that's always changing. I also don't know if it'll hurt or not. This will be my first attempt at riding a bike since the whole coffee-incident.
Do you have a recipe for corned beef and cabbage? I like both of them, but I don't actually think I've had them together, except in a Rueben. Does corned beef have a lot of sodium? I think I may need to try to throw something together. Let me know what you did.
Jane, I just buy the corned beef that comes with the spice packet--it's got bay leaves, peppercorns, and a couple of other spices that I can't remember off the top of my head. Throw it in the crockpot with mixture of water and beer (cider also works really well). For the cabbage, I boil that separately; I like it a little more crisp than it would be if it were in the pot too, but you can do it that way. My mom and sister slather the cabbage with butter; I prefer eat it plain.
The process of corning beef does include salt, so there's a pretty good possibilty that it's high in sodium. On top of that, I think that the pre-mixed spice packet is higher in sodium than if you put something together yourself. I like the convience of the packet though. I have a tiny kitchen and storing a lot of extra spices really isn't an option. As it is, my spice rack is piled too high. For an every now and then meal, I don't worry about the sodium. On most days, I have very low sodium intake.
Ha! That's very true. Luckily (?) I have a very bad reaction to cow's milk, so butter is out of the question for me. And I really haven't found a fake butter that I like. Mom and sis seem to really like it that way though!
So, I just rode the bike in the cardio room for 20 minutes. Got my heartrate up, so that's good. I still hate indoor cardio, but I think I really need to try to get some in 2-3 times each week while I can't run. And, the bike in the cardio room does the job. I did the pre-set hilly intervals, listened to some music, and stared out into the parking lot. Not the best view, but, eh.
Ugggh I hate indoor cardio, too. In a couple weeks it will be dark when I get home from work, so that means my beloved bike rides and runs are going to be moving indoors.
Sounds like your ankle is getting better so thats good!
Ugggh I hate indoor cardio, too. In a couple weeks it will be dark when I get home from work, so that means my beloved bike rides and runs are going to be moving indoors.
Sounds like your ankle is getting better so thats good!
Thanks. The ankle is slowly getting there. I'm trying not to push it and follow the advice of my doctor, but it's getting really hard! Another 3 weeks of taking it easy. Next week, I'm going to start introducing body-weight exercises into my PT, so that'll at least be something.
I know what you mean about the bike rides. As it is now, it's dark when I leave my house in the morning and the sun is setting by the time I get home. I'm ok with riding in the dark though; there's not a whole lot of car-traffic in my neighborhood, which is nice. And there's always weekends!
Speaking of weekends, this one is supposed to be rainy/snowy, cold and gloomy for us here. I'm actually looking a little forward to it. I'm also thinking that it's time to use the oven. I refuse to in the summertime because it's just too hot. So, I think I'm going to make a couple of batches of meatballs--BFs mom has the best recipe ever, so I'll use that. If buffalo is still on sale, I'll sub that for the beef and maybe mix in some pork.
Food yesterday: Around 1615 cals. Protein was good.
So, here's a question for those of you eating in a deficit and doing re-feeds. I was listening to one of Leigh Peele's podcasts, and she mentioned that even if you're eating at a slight deficit, you should do a refeed every now and then, even though you may not realize it at such a small deficit. So, my question is, how often do you do re-feeds, and for how long? I've only just started my deficit, but want to make sure that I don't hose up my body. I'm also thinking that I'll post this in the fat loss section.
Today, five of us at the office went to lunch. Seems like a nice idea, right? On the way back, the car I was riding in was rear-ended by the other office car. For the last hour and a half, my head has been hurting more and more, and I can feel my back starting to tense up. I'm hoping that it's just a little stiffness that will go away over the weekend, but really, my ankle is starting to feel better, I'm moving around more/better, now this. Like I said, I'm hopeful, but with the way the last couple of months have been going for me, I don't expect much. Crap.
/rant
Be super careful, and ice your neck/shoulders area... you probably will feel stiff and maybe have some inflamed/irritated muscles around there from mild whiplash...
If you don't overdo it and ice, you will probably feel ok in a day or two... ugh and sorry 'bout the crash - at least it wasn't your car, right?
Be super careful, and ice your neck/shoulders area... you probably will feel stiff and maybe have some inflamed/irritated muscles around there from mild whiplash...
If you don't overdo it and ice, you will probably feel ok in a day or two... ugh and sorry 'bout the crash - at least it wasn't your car, right?
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Originally Posted by realcdn
Yikes, that definitely is not fun. Hope it's only something minor.
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Originally Posted by Karen411
How are you doing now? Any better?
Thanks all! Today, I'm down to a little soreness between my shoulder blades and the area where my head meets my neck. Nothing too bad. I've been icing, taking advil, all that good stuff. Ugh.
Not my car. So that's at least something, right?
Otherwise, the weekend has really sucked. The bird that I rescued 12+ years ago died last night. He was abused and I worked for years to rehab him and get him to a point where he was actually not angry all the time. He was a big part of my life for years, and really affected the way I treat and feel about the treatment of animals. I'd have to say that having him was a life-changing experience. And I will always have the scar on my arm to remind me of that.
I spent today cleaning like freaking mad. And I gave away half of my clothes--things that I've been hanging onto for years that I never wear, along with some stuff that was too big, and some things that I can't even explain. I guess the good news is that my house hasn't been cleaner and my closets have a lot of room in them.
Health-wise, ankle feels pretty good, weight hit a new low today--I was at 138.2 this afternoon, but I'm guessing that won't last. I was at 139.2 Saturday morning, which is also lower than anticipated. We'll see what the upcoming week brings. Food was in a deficit, but I not necessarily the best of choices. I was all around town with the bird and emergency vet and whatnot. It didn't lead to packing food and making anything.
Obviously, no workout this weekend. Back/neck was still to sore for weightws and today, well, tons of NEAT, right?
Anyway, sorry to be the bummer lately. I'm really hoping that things start looking up soon. I don't know that I'll be able to handle it if it gets much worse. Thank you to all of you who have helped and supported me up until this point. It really means a lot.
Sorry to hear about your bird. It's hard to lose a pet/friend. Glad to hear the aftereffects of the wreck are minimal and you had such success in decluttering! I seriously need to get rid of my too big, too old clothes...
Thanks Pauline.
So, getting dressed this morning was so much quicker and easier; I only had half of the options. And my house looks a little bigger too.
I won't talk about my food choices again for yesterday; let's just leave it at slightly under maintenance. And I did not eat the bag of cookies BF plopped in front of me (mint milano! Serious temptation), or the pint of rice dream that my mom suggested. Had it been a couple of years ago, I would have eaten that pint, probably using the cookies as a scoop. Come to think of it, maybe my food choices weren't as bad as I think. I'll have to log it all to find out...ok, cals at 1590, protein low, carbs high, alcohol also high.
Weight was at 139.2 this morning. I'll take it. Last week I averaged 140.7--I had a high-day of 142.2 and low day of 139.4 in the mix. Friday-today has been tettering in the 139-8's; I'm pretty happy with that, and am almost willing say I've in the 130s.
Christina, I'm so sorry about your bird. I hope things start going better soon. Good for you for staying strong in the face of ice cream and cookies, too.
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