View Full Version : July health and wellness challenge
Summer is upon us and it is a great time to focus on health and wellness. What are your goals for the month? Consider this thread a place to post your achievements as well as your disappointments -- we'll all try to keep each other motivated and moving in a positive direction.
lhamo
I'm doing well on diet & exercise. Need to be more regular about meditation, and also work on sleep a little. Cats are waking me at 4:30am and I need to get to bed earlier. I don't really mind being up bright and early, but the lost sleep is accumulating.
Bastelmutti
7-1-11, 10:36pm
Biked ten miles yesterday and ten miles plus today! So feeling pretty good about exercise. Leaving on vacation soon & hoping to swim a lot to balance out the car sitting. On eating/nutrition - well, could be better on portion control, but I am learning to take it easier on the carbs.
Bastelmutti
7-2-11, 8:27am
Oh, forgot to post goals. I'm w/ Rosemary about sleep - cats are waking me up, too, but I will get a break on vacation and hopefully feel more rested. I would like to keep up exercising at least every other day and lose that 20 by a combination of portion control and just plain not eating empty calories (or at least being mindful about it - have a smoothie for breakfast if I am going to have some pizza for lunch). This will be interesting to do on the road w/out my own kitchen.
I want to run at least 3x/week.
Have fallen off the wagon totally. Ready to get back on. Should sign up for a fall 5K to keep myself motivated. Eventually I want to be able to run an entire 5K course. I have completed several but walking/running. Want to run a whole one.
I also need to get back to a more regular routine, and notch it up a bit.
Goals:
Minimum 20 workout sessions this month -- will be a bit of a challenge due to a busy work schedule, but I've managed that in past months even when busy.
Add weight work back into workout. Let this slide when I started on the low carb diet, but really need to get back to it. I feel much better when I'm working my muscles regularly, and muscle burns more calories than fat
Do more supplemental exercise along with regular workouts -- swimming with kids, walks with the family, generally moving my body more. Every little bit counts.
Continue with the low carb diet. I'm actually feeling pretty good on it, so why mess with a good thing?
I would LOVE to get my weight down another 3 kilos (to 65) by the end of the month. I dropped 3 kilos in the first 3 weeks on the low carb plan, and then put one back on during my trip, so I think it is doable.
lhamo
I'm down 35 pounds; my goal for July is 6 pounds.
Ran this morning, but got distracted by some rustic skis out for trash picking and had to stop running in order to carry them home. :laff:
The first (of 6) Mind-Body Medicine for Stress class that I signed up for is tomorrow evening. It's offered free by my HMO. Stress (and its physical effects on me) is my biggest health-related issue, so I am really hoping this class can help me.
Kara
Ran this morning, but got distracted by some rustic skis out for trash picking and had to stop running in order to carry them home. :laff:
I think you just added weight training to your routine -- or maybe we should say you NEED to add some resistance training. Resistance to picking up goodies from the trash... :)
I'm three for three the last three days, and did add the weights back in. Feeling it a bit this morning, but it isn't so bad -- the slight achiness in my muscles tells me I'm doing good things for my body.
lhamo
I think you just added weight training to your routine -- or maybe we should say you NEED to add some resistance training. Resistance to picking up goodies from the trash... :)
I'm three for three the last three days, and did add the weights back in. Feeling it a bit this morning, but it isn't so bad -- the slight achiness in my muscles tells me I'm doing good things for my body.
lhamo
HAHAHAHAHA good one lhamo :D
Excellent job on three/three workouts.
Kara - glad the stress class is starting for you. I remember you mentioning it last month.
What a bummer! I just heard that the trainer that comes to my work 2x a week (the company pays, as an employee perk) is having knee surgery on Friday, so no classes for 7 weeks. I am of course sorry that she needs surgery, but the selfish me is saying, "Wahhh! There goes my guaranteed 2 days of exercise a week."
I can of course do workouts on my own at home, but I love her classes (cardio & weights cross-training on Monday nights and pilates & meditation on Wednesday afternoons), and get a much better workout with her than by myself. And I will be the first to admit that I am less than perfect about even working up the motivation to work out on my own, whereas I never miss a class. Sigh.
Kara
I hear ya, Kara! Do your best to tough it out for the 7 weeks. Maybe something like this to get you through?
http://www.sparkpeople.com/myspark/groups_individual.asp?gid=42559
I really caught up on sleep this weekend while we were at our friends' cabin, away from our wonderful but early-rising cats. The first day we were there, I took a 2-hour nap and then slept 9.5 hours that night! -- that is highly unusual for me. It was great to really feel rested, though.
Maintaining diet and exercise... still need to work on meditation.
After a few days away I noticed that my chronic reflux was much improved, so now I have a list of some possible offenders that I hadn't eliminated before - things I did not have with us while there, including spices, almond butter, apples and berries (acidic fruit), and some others.
Rosemary, how was your elimination diet? Is it done or ongoing? Was it a success?
I have been spending some time researching yeast infections this morning. Sorry if TMI. They just keep coming back. There are so many home remedy ideas, but I am not sure which might be effective. That's the blessing of the Internet - information - but also the curse since the source of the information is often obscure or dubious. I need to try something.
I might go for a run before a shower. It's a nice cool overcast day and my belly is at a good level of not-too-full and not-too-empty.
OMG I just went. The simple act of typing "it is overcast" made the sun come out. But I went almost 3 miles, pretty good. I want to work on upping my pace. Right now it is between 13:00 and 14:00 miles. I would like to run an entire 5K later in the season so also need to work on my endurance, if that's the right term.
Thanks for asking, Fidgiegirl. The elimination diet is nearly done, and it has been a useful experiment. Down about 11 pounds now and enjoying that, especially in the warm summer weather. We're testing soy this week and next week will be (drum roll) wheat. It's been nearly 3 months since I've had anything with wheat in it --- and I don't really miss it (or the 11#).
I have found some sensitivities, and I do mostly plan to continue eating as I've been eating on the diet because in general I feel TERRIFIC! Alert, active, light.
Fidgiegirl - did you try eliminating sugar for the yeast infection? Also, if you've been using the OTC antifungal and it keeps coming back, you might consider getting a Dr to check it - possibly it's a different sort of infection that doesn't respond to that treatment.
fidgiegirl
7-7-11, 11:13pm
That sounds awesome! It's amazing how much even a few pounds makes, I would love to be able to lose 11 (or more!). Kudos.
I read a lot about the sugars thing today. And my friend said she did an anti-candida diet some years ago and had fantastic results. But I have such a sweet tooth that I doubt my willpower - plus what I read said that it had to be even fruit that is cut out. But I may have to give it a try.
I am kind of tempted to try an elimination diet myself. I was reading an article today about how food allergies make us so inflamed, making it hard to lose weight (ok, so I AM a little fuzzy on the science). But I have been diagnosed with IBS, but I always wonder if it's something else like some kind of food sensitivity. Perhaps I need to do some experimentation.
Did your doc prescribe your diet, or did you just decide to do it?
My doctor did prescribe the diet, and for a longer duration than is commonly done. Overall, I think it was very helpful. I can pass some info on to you if you decide to try it. I have a binder full of recipes that I collected from various sources, and a lot of links online.
What makes this so astonishing to me is that I started from a relatively healthy position, diet-wise. I never eat fast food and never drink soda, all our bread was whole-grain, homemade, sugar-free, and I worked to make meals varied every day so that, for instance, we never had more than one wheat-focused meal (e.g. if we were having pasta for dinner, breakfast was not something like pancakes, lunch did not involve sandwiches). We already ate a lot of produce -- now we eat a lot more. When I baked, I always cut sugar to about 1/3 the recipe quantity, added whole grain flour, etc. I started to suspect that all flours, all sweeteners, and even many true whole grains were less than healthy when I did some research about the glycemic index of various foods last year.
re: sweet tooth. I hear you. My mom always had fresh, home-baked goods in the house when I was growing up. I've been a sugar addict most of my life. Giving up gluten and dairy means that most of the processed sugar goes out, too. I did eat several servings of fruit/day while on the diet. Both times I've gone gluten-free (last year, for a month, and this year on this diet), I've lost weight with no effort - no calorie counting, no feeling deprived, no being hungry. After this elim diet, I really believe that diet has way more to do with weight than does exercise. I currently weigh a couple pounds less than I did when I used to run 4 miles/day in my 20s - and not eating flour/sugar is a LOT easier than that was! And - it might be hard to believe, but there really weren't any foods that I had cravings for. When I was hungry, I ate an allowed food. I love fruit & nuts, and those were my snacks. Those beautiful cakes at Cafe Latte are tempting, but really, a perfectly crisp apple is just as satisfying - with no guilt attached.
In my experience, even cutting sugar for a couple of weeks reduces the taste for it. When we went to Germany about 10 years ago, DH and I had plenty of desserts - but none of them were as sweet as is commonly produced here. When we got back home, all baked goods tasted just like sugar - not tasty, but just like sugar. Kind of the way food that's too salty just tastes like salt.
I was just playing in a band concert (which burns lots of calories :) ) and there was free ice cream available, but I passed. My DH always has to have a dessert, and when I'm watching him have a dessert, I can't resist having one as well, even if I've already had 17 that day. So it was good that I skipped the ice cream when he was not with me.
Had some kind of stomach flu on Thurs/Fri, so no exercise. Wasn't totally better yesterday, but did hit the treadmill for 30 minutes of good paced walking. Figured something better than nothing. Having some issues with my feet, too, so not sure I can run today. Will give it a try, though. Hard to run with the heat and humidity like it is. But doing well with weight -- back at 67 kgs, maybe even a little less. A couple of days of not much food helps!
Did make a realization this week that I need to stay FAR FAR away from anything with sugar in it, especially chocolate. I made the kids some trail mix for a snack at camp this week, and had a little bit myself. Oh my god -- set of a cycle of cravings that I found VERY hard to control. I think sugar is basically like crack as far as my body is concerned. I just have to stay away from it totally and then I'm ok, but if I let just a little bit in watch out because mama's gonna move heaven and earth to get her next fix. It is scary, really. My mood was also horrible, and I am more and more convinced that my mental health is also intricately tied to what I eat. It is hard to resist sometimes, but if I keep focused on the fact that both my physical and mental health are goign to be negatively affected hopefully that will make it easier.
Why should it be hard to resist what essentially poisons me body and soul? I know there are powerful systems in my body that are designed to crave that sugar hit, but hoping this can eventually be a successful "mind over matter" story.
lhamo
fidgiegirl
7-10-11, 11:06pm
Has been pretty hot yesterday and today. Had a nice looooong walk with DH last night. Today had another concert but no exercise other than that.
As far as eating, trying to choose a protein snack instead of a carb-y one. Today had some almonds instead of toast or cereal. However this evening I was not successful on that.
Going out of town for this week and have all my workout stuff packed to hope to get in some runs. There are also bikes there so I can go for a ride. Maybe we'll bike in a state park. It's WI, so they are not CLOSED like here in MN. >:(
DD and I have been going for daily bike rides, and I've been taking long walks in the evenings. It's been a pretty busy summer so far so I am trying to sit down and meditate for at least a few minutes each day. The walking is really a form of meditation for me as well.
Food and weight continue to go well. We introduced wheat yesterday and it's possible that I have sensitivities to that and soy. Will have to stop and start them a few times each to verify. A wheat sensitivity would be a blessing in disguise for me, really - it would keep me from eating a major source of unnecessary calories. Although I have to say that, since I've been off it for 3 months, breads, cakes, etc have no real appeal to me now. (And it will stay that way as long as i continue to not eat them, I think.)
I've been walking semi-regularly in the AM, but the kids keep me busy so I haven't exercised as much as I'd like to. I'm going to start stretching regularly and also fit in some cardiovascular exercise in the evenings. We have an old elliptical trainer that we bought for cheap (it was a returned damaged model at a local store) and had it repaired under warranty. I like it because it gets my heart rate going yet is easy on my knees.
fidgiegirl
7-12-11, 11:08pm
Lots of walking on vacation, a little biking too. Just did a SparkPeople video tonight for abs. Feels good; reminds me that I need to do more ab work!!
Eating? Crap. We are on vacation and I'm not really trying.;)
I hope everyone's efforts are going well. I started jogging for the past 3 days in addition to walking regularly. I'm only jogging a mile or two but it's a good start. I've already lost a couple of pounds so far. I'm also starting to eat healthier and prepare healthier meals for the family...
fidgiegirl
7-13-11, 9:11pm
Took a run this morning. It was hard, but I used landmarks to keep myself going - the next mailbox, or light Pole, etc.
Skipped the fries at lunch and got fruit.
Off for dessert now, tho ... Will do the SP pilates vid again later.
fidgiegirl
7-17-11, 9:43pm
I ended up going for one more run since my last post. Also trying to eat fewer carbs. It's hard because I love them and because my IBS limits my veggie options quite a bit. But I'm trying. I felt really bloated yesterday and have been reaaaaaallllllllly tired after meals and wonder if it's because they are too carb heavy. I was reading about yeast and it said you can have yeast all in your system and that one thing that will happen is that you will feel really tired after eating if that is the case.
Fidgiegirl, I feel so much more alert all the time since going off wheat, and I think it's mainly because I have limited all grains. Not a low-carb diet, because I'm eating plenty of fruit and legumes, but lower carb than I've ever eaten before. I've had none of the fluid retention I usually experience in this hot+humid weather, either.
I am not exercising until the humidity drops enough to allow breathing outside. Sheesh! Dewpoint over 80 today.
Back on the wagon and doing pretty well the past week -- lost another kilo, down to 66kg! Three more to go and I'll be at my new target, which represents moving into the "normal" BMI range. I think I may be able to do it by the end of summer, but I'll be happy if I meet that goal by my birthday in November. I've now lost 8kgs since January, nearly 18 lbs. All my clothes are pretty loose and it is hard to imagine I was carrying around 20 extra lbs of fat -- probably more since I have replaced a fair amount of fat with muscle -- just a few months ago. Yay me!
This week may be a challenge as I have a big event I am coordinating and will not have as much control over my diet as normal. On the positive side, the food at the hotel where we will have most meals is not terribly appetizing, so it isn't much of a temptation. More difficult will be keeping up with exercise. Kids are leaving with their dad for a visit to the inlaws, though, so I can work out in the evenings when I get home, assuming I'm not totally worn out. We'll see.
lhamo
fidgiegirl
7-18-11, 9:50am
Well done, lhamo!! It must feel really good.
Rosemary, it's interesting you mention fluid retention. That's another thing I've really notice is muuuuch worse for me this summer! Typically in the past I haven't even been aware of it happening, and this year it's almost every day in any temp. My sandals will be loose in the morning and squeezing and leaving marks by afternoon.
Time to give this some serious thought.
fidgiegirl
7-19-11, 12:09am
Just did the SparkPeople pilates video for the third time in the last week. It's amazing how in just three times it is so much easier. I find I have a lot fewer back problems when I even do these vids, focusing on abs, a few times a week.
http://youtu.be/fdMptxZv4hQ
Fidgiegirl - I've been on the precipice of big dietary changes before, and know it can seem like a huge step. Things that helped me move from thinking to action were setting a time period for evaluation of the change (I think 6 weeks is good, personally - long enough to see big changes), planning (for the allergy elim diet, I got allergy & GF cookbooks from the library, found some great blogs, and made lists for each meal), and reminding myself of all the favorite foods I could have, rather than thinking about the things I couldn't have.
If you are interested, I can send you some of the books & websites I found helpful, and/or the meals we ate during this time.
Another thing to think about when contemplating shifts in your diet is that ultimately you are probably going to feel MUCH BETTER -- this is something that isn't just good for you, it will often FEEL GOOD as well. I had a pretty bad first couple of days when I went low carb, feeling really out of it and horrible sugar/starch cravings. But that dissipated about 36 hours in and to be honest I haven't felt this good in years. I have much more energy and as long as I take my vitamins daily I find my mood is also much more stable. I'm needing much less sleep, feeling more alert, and the cravings are pretty much gone as long as I stay away from sugar/starch. It really does feel a little bit like I've stopped taking a daily dose of poison, which I now do think sugar is for me. It is hard sometimes, especially when you aren't in a position to control what you are eating as precisely as if you are cooking for yourself, but the payoff is worth it. And I've lost 4kgs -- nearly 10 lbs -- in under two months! So I agree with Rosemary, see if you can give it a try for a certain period and see how you feel. YOu might be surprised how easy it is.
lhamo
fidgiegirl
7-19-11, 9:52pm
Thanks, gals. When I come back from Costa Rica and get back into the work routine, I might tackle it. DH has said he would support me but would not participate :) That would be hard. I do notice when I skip the breads/crackers that I feel more "sleek" through the middle. When I eat them, it's like I bloat right up. I had to change "breads/crackers" from "carbs" because fruit and stuff doesn't do it.
Kara - How your stress class is going?
My DH and I have been walking for one hour every day, ever since we moved here in November. We both work out with weights, and when I started I would work out with them every other day. Recently, I've moved up one notch in my dumbbell "distribution"...I used to use 3, 5 and 8 lb. weights, and now I work with 5, 8, and 10 lb. weights. I also started working with weights six days a week, using a DVD that alternates workouts (day one, day two, day one, etc.) so I'm not getting injured but my results are really starting to pile up quickly.
With the heavier weights and the more frequent workouts, I am just as tired now as I was when I was working out less with lighter weights! When am I going to get that wonderful "I have such a burst of energy after working out!" feeling that other athletes talk about? I was complaining about this to a lady in our apartment complex who was a professional body builder. She just laughed and said, "oh, that'll come...one of these years!" LOL!
I really can't believe it's me who is doing this work! Dealing with blisters, sore muscles, bra chafing, knee braces...I would see other athletes deal with this and never could relate. I was a big sports girl growing up (walking, biking, swimming, diving, skating, aerobics) but got sedentary after I started working. It was only by becoming unemployed and not having to be anywhere in the morning that has allowed me to get serious about fitness again. Now I realize that if I'm going to stick to daily exercise as a permanent way of life, I really can't afford to take any work that starts in the morning. I know myself well enough to know that I will NEVER exercise after work, no matter how many promises I make myself. Believe me, I've joined so many gyms over the years and have given them so much money for nothing! It is humbling to finally get real with myself about my own limitations, but at least I know what they are and can now choose to work with them, instead of against them. If the career suffers, so be it. If you don't have your health, how can you do a good job in the first place?
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