I am getting back in the bandwagon, the holidays always gets me!!!!! I am starting Paleo in the second week of January after all our holidays are over.
I have never been a gym person. I have tried a few times but I just can't drag myself to get to a gym. I was lucky enough to be given a treadmill a while back so when I'm being really good I get on that for an hour every night and do other exercises that focus on my problem areas.
I just checked this out on Cathy's blog. A little too much scrapbook related for me (can I say something like that here) haha I just want some hard core weekly challenges that motivate me every day and keep me progressing but we all have our own unique style and journey that helps us learn and improve and I'm sure her program helps many people. I hope you share your experience with us here as you progress.
I have been involved with a Facebook group called Sneakers (the running shoe kind of sneakers, not the sneaking into the cookie jar kind of sneakers) . This started out with a local friend and has built up to quite a few participants from all over the world. Up to this point it has been a prize base competition where every paid in $20-$25 dollars each session. The session run anywhere from 8-10 weeks. We get so many points based on exercise, water intake, calories, fruits and vegetables, no sweets, food journaling, and weight loss and inches lost. Each week she would post a new weekly challenge. Some were movement based, some were sharing tips, some have been getting enough sleep, eating a meal for 20 minutes (that one was way harder than it sounds, spending so many minutes outside, etc. Each week we weigh in and then record all our points. At the end of the ten weeks there were cash payouts for the top 4 team winners and individual winners. Oh yeah, we each had a partner and I have found that that alone can make a huge difference when keeping yourself motivated. My sister is my partner and since we don't want to let each other down we don't give up and quit like we would be tempted to do if we were on our own. We are all in a private FB group and encourage each other through there. Even though it is a competition there is not a competitive nature to it. We all support and encourage one another. I did really well and my sister and I won the first two rounds we were involved in as a team. I am in my third round and I am actually running this one but not doing so well. I think my sister and I just needed a break and we had already decided we weren't going to allow ourselves to win a third time so we have not been behaving as well this round but I am maintaining which is pretty good considering I have gone through Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. My friend is starting hers up again next month but she is removing the prize element of it and just charging $10. I'm not sure how I feel about that because I am so competitive that winning was a huge motivator for me. hahaha I know, I know, the getting healthy part should be the motivator and of course I am thrilled with my results but I'm a pretty honest person and really it was the competition that kept me going. Anyway in a nut shell that is what I have been doing. so 52 pounds in 4.5 months, maintaining for that past 6 weeks and looking forward to kick starting again to get off the next 25. -
My nutritionist and endocrinologist and primary care doctors won't let me do paleo but I love paleo recipes! Which is crazy, b/c I also love vegan. I'm a walking contradiction. I have to eat a grain carb (15g), a protein (8-20g), and a fat with each meal and snack or I get hypoglycemic. I had a gastric bypass in 2014 and lost 108 pounds. It is very difficult to maintain if I don't seriously work at it. I try to make significant dietary and exercise changes a little at a time. In 2015 I switched to mostly organic foods, changed from white flour to spelt or almond or oat, changed from white sugar to organic raw sugar or molasses or honey or agave. I love vegan and paleo recipes. I no longer eat any artificial sweeteners at all (not even stevia), no dairy, no caffeine (or very, very little), and try to eat processed foods as little as possible. That said, I still fail miserably when it comes to chocolate. I make a great black bean brownie but if I haven't cooked anything I will succumb to the chocolate bar if I see one. Hubby eats mostly paleo so dinners are almost always a grilled or baked meat/fish and a steamed veggie. I have gained back 20 pounds of my weight loss in the last few months by eating junk. I confess. The junk has to go bye-bye in 2016 and I have to up my exercise! I don't care about the number on the scale or even what size I wear - I just want to be healthy and happy and fit. I was miserable when I was 280 pounds pre-surgery and I don't ever want to be that way again. I will be 50 in May so my goal is to be fit and fabulous at 50. I can do it! I'm searching the house to find my Fitbit and put it back on and get my steps in every day.
I don't think I could ever do Vegan or even vegetarian for that matter. My body craves beef every once in a while and I do love chicken. But I would also love to be able to adapt my recipes to be more healthy. I have replaced most pasta with zucchini noodles and I don't miss them at all and as much as I love bread I have cut that mostly out as well. Since I am drinking so much water I don't have room for milk any more either. I haven't replaced it with any nut milk I just don't drink it like I used to. I still use it in recipes though. I have no food allergies, knock on wood, so I can eat pretty much whatever I want with no ill effects but I do notice that when I eat any grain I hold onto the weight so I try to be very selective. This whole process has made me much more aware of my body and much more selective of the foods I put in it. Although I will indulge on occasion. I could never go completely healthy. What fun is there in that?
I had one, then decided I didn't use it enough to keep it. So I dropped it. But I didn't replace the times I was using it with anything else, so my weight went the wrong direction! Coupled with a thyroid issue, BLAH! This time around, I have a plan to make it a habit, and use it. If I'm not using the pass, the money comes out of my fun money. If I'm using the pass, the money comes out of our regular budget. So there's a money incentive for me!
I'm from the Netherlands! And no, it will not be my first. Back in 2009-2010 I went to Canada (Whister, BC) for 8 months and ended that adventure with a road trip with my two sisters through south-west Canada and north-west America. They have been doing road trips around every other year. My oldest sister is the one in charge (unofficially) of planning. We'll probably fly on Denver and do a round from there, visiting Yellowstone for sure. I'm very excited and actually went back to the gym today after a couple of months hardly going. I've been eating my eggs and greens and drinking my water. I'm not going to wait for the new year to restart my healthy living.
I see people are sharing weight loss experiences so I'm going to add mine. On Halloween 2014 I started a program at my gym that combined food advice with exercise and a weekly feedback and weight-in moment. It worked great because it was all happening at one place. I HAD to come for my meeting and while I was there I followed it up with a work out. The trainers at the gym all know I was following the program which was a huge support. They congratulated my with my progress and just the whole social thing was very important and helpfull. I lost 12 kilos in 3 months (26 pounds). Then things got difficult in my private life: my dad health got worse and I had to struggle financially. And slowly but surely my eating plan got changed in a bad way and from working out 3 times a week I went to 2, 1 and eventually 0. My sisters have been on a healthy eating streak lately though and have been losing lots of weight. I wasn't ready for it and when we went shopping last monday I felt myself getting jealous. I do not like that at all so I decided to get back onto my plan in the new year. I know what I have to do that works for me (eats quark instead of bread for breakfast and lunch, eat 1-2 eggs a day, 2 fruits and halve a pound veggies each day) and that really isn't that hard. I know that if I do this, I wouldn't even feel the need for the chocolate and chips I want now. So I know what I have to do and I know what I can, I just have to do it. Well I'm just very happy I started off right today. The gym session today felt great. Seriously I was NOT looking forward to it but I talked myself into it and went and while working on one of those things I caught myself thinking "this feels good, I should have gone back sooner". I really like going to the gym on sunday morning btw, because sundays for me are days that I don't do much at all. And starting the day with a work out makes me feel I accomplished something that day. I take a shower when I get home (I live like 3 minutes away) and then put my onesie on. And I don't have to do anything else that day. It's my treat to myself. BTW, I have been warm the whole day. I have cold hands and feet almost always and I have noticed before and I am noticing now again that my blood circulation is way better when I work out regularly. Another reason. It's clear I want and need to do this. So I will.
I'm not sure yet!! I would really really like to get healthier more than lose weight.....I was thinking of doing like a cut out white sugar...or something instead of a goal to lose weight. I haven't decided yet! lol
13 years ago I had a gastric bypass but I have pretty much gained all of it back so am now starting fresh. I have ordered a Fitbit Flex so hopefully will have that early in the new year and I will be back at Aqua Zumba twice a week from mid January. My biggest issue is grazing and eating bad stuff when I am out as well as constantly being at the grocery shop
We have the fitbits, and just walking and not drinking diet pop, my husband lost 30 pds or more since August. He was diabetic but now might be taken off his meds! I have lost but gained it back. We have an 11 yr old son who has autism and issues with his hips and feet, so he cant walk long distances (hubby can now do like 8 miles with no trouble at all!) so i dont get to go out as often as he does.
