Healthier Lifestyle Thread 13th April till 19th April

[Lorelei]

Happy new week all!

I have a new elliptical! The old one pantsed out, the resistance wasn''t working so Hubby took it apart and something had happened to it, the metal flywheel was gouged and damaged....* scratches head* Anyway we have a new Pro Form one, I used it last night and am pleased with it. The feetie pedals are adjustable so you can make your foot flatter which I prefer, so I will start alternating with the treddy now I have a new elliptical.

I hope you all had a joyous Easter weekend with your families and did some egg and chocolate bunny nomming! All of us are a work in progress wherever we are on our journeys. With the better weather arriving or being just around the corner for some, it can be great to reward all your hard work with some new clothes, T shirts don''t cost the earth and can really show off positive results! New jeans, or maybe try a cute skirt if you don''t usually wear them - you might be surprised. Sometimes trying something new can really change the way you see yourself. I know I have certain '' mental blocks'' that I can''t wear this style or that style, but sometimes just trying something out you wouldn''t normally wear can pay dividends!

So next time you are shopping for clothes, maybe break your '' rules'' a little, you might discover a whole new style and look and have fun with it. After all you aren''t committed if you are trying things on and this is a good way to see what suits you now, rather than sticking with the same old '' safe'' clothing and styles.

Have a great week

 

[marcy]

Happy Monday.

Great opener, Lorelei. I am sure you''ll enjoy the new elliptical. I really like the idea of trying out some new styles of clothing. It''s always good to add some spice to life.

Have a great day everyone.
Marcy

 

[lliang_chi]

Hooray Lorelei for the new elliptical! I hope you enjoy using this one!!!

I hope everyone''s Easter was a good one. Ours was pretty relaxed. Sis & I went to church, then we prep''d dinner. We had my sister, her boyfriend and one of James''s friends over for dinner. We had steak & wasabi potatoes & grilled asparagus for dinner.

My sister and I biked around a lot on Saturday looking at apartments for her. That''s about all we did.

Hope everyone''s day is a good one! It''s going to be rainy all day today here in Chicago

~Lisa

 

[Skippy123]

Good Morning friends!!! Today is an allergy shot day and then I have some reading to get done. I went walking yesterday and it was great to get a walk in so today I will get a walk in too; it should be in the high 60's today. Yesterday evening I pulled out my ipod and did some core. Am I the only nut that doesn't like to hear myself breath; it actually allowed me to do more push ups. I also noticed my ball was losing air so hubby filled it up and that was a huge difference.

Have a great Monday friends!!!!

LORELEI, yay for a new ellip!!! Great opener; there have been times I will just try on a new style just for laughs and then I realized wow, it looks great, thanks!!

MARCY, yay for baking.

LISA, yay for biking. I hope the sun comes out soon.

 

[dragonfly411]

hey everyone! Well here''s something interesting. My sister is having me do her diet and personal training to get in shape. She''s currently overweight, and really wants help. I put together a diet plan for her last week and this weekend, and we started with a workout yesterday and I''m going to get her into a work out routine. I''m excited! Hope everyone had a great holiday. I did! My family came into town and we had a lot of fun.
Tomorrow is my BIRTHDAY. I have family dinner tonight, and then friends dinner tomorrow night. Going to try to be good though (cringe)

 

[stepcutnut]

Good Morning all

Well, I am new to this thread and am hoping to find some much needed motivation!

It is a must to get myself healthy again, after grad school, several moves, many lifestyle changes and a slightly different career direction-I am an almost unrecognizable image of my former physically active, in shape-healthy self.

My goal is to get healthy-period!

I need to learn to take time to fit in physical activity again and learn to be patient with myself, results do not come over night.

I hope you don''t mind a newbie joining the crowd, but I love the fact that everyone is so positive with each other!!!

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 4/13/2009 12:03:17 PM
Author: stepcutnut
Good Morning all

Well, I am new to this thread and am hoping to find some much needed motivation!

It is a must to get myself healthy again, after grad school, several moves, many lifestyle changes and a slightly different career direction-I am an almost unrecognizable image of my former physically active, in shape-healthy self.

My goal is to get healthy-period!

I need to learn to take time to fit in physical activity again and learn to be patient with myself, results do not come over night.

I hope you don''t mind a newbie joining the crowd, but I love the fact that everyone is so positive with each other!!!

Welcome stepcutnut - of COURSE we don''t mind you joining, we are so pleased to have you hop on board!!!

Thats the key - patience, persistance and practise, slow and steady wins the race as we say here! You can do this!

 

[stepcutnut]

Back at you Lorelei! Thanks for the welcome and I hope you love your new elliptical!!!

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Monday kids!

Did an hour of walking on the dreadmill this morning and then ran, but just for a mile. I figured since I'm seeing the knee guy tomorrow I could push it a little.

Last night I went out for a big burger and lot of fries and a chocolate brownie with ice cream and hot fudge. 'Nuff said!

My girlfriend and I were going to go to the Cubs home opener today... but it's 42 degrees and raining right now... so I think we'll just stay home and drink pink champagne!

Lorelei, congrats on a new hampster wheel!

Marcy, do you still have snow?

Lliang, my friend wants to sign up for "power yoga" (still warm, but not HOT like Bikram) in the South Loop. Ever heard of this?

Skippy, LOL on hearing yourself breath! When I was swimming last summer I could hear myself and I felt like I was havin one big long 60 lap obscene phone call!

Dragonfly, good for you sister for getting motivated!

Stepcutnut, WELCOME! We're happy to have you!

 

[appletini]

deej, I love pink champagne sounds like a great plan to me!

 

[KimberlyH]

Hello All! I''ve missed you. Things seem to be sorted out now and I''m back in action as of about an hour ago. Just exercised for the first time in many weeks. I''ve got some work to do to get back to where I was, but am just excited to be back in motion again. I gained about 3 pounds, should be easy to lose (if I stop eating the chocolate peanut butter chip cookies I made yesterday!). I went for a nice long walk. In general have been eating very healthy, just the exercise piece that was missing.

Lorelei, we were in Austin last week and I bought a fab new subdress that is screaming "WORK ON YOUR ARMS!!" at me. Perhaps I will! Hooray for the new elliptical, I have ProForm and love it.

Lliang/Lisa, Easter dinner sounds delicious! Hope your sister finds an apt. that she loves.

Skip, are you studying or reading for pleasure? Enjoy your walk.

Dragon, what fun for you and your sister. It''s always more motivating to have someone do healthy things with us!

Stepcut, welcome! So happy to have you.

Dee, I don''t know what pink champagne tastes like, but enjoy.

Hi Marcy and Apple, hope all is well.

Have a great rest of your day, all. We have a friend coming by for dinner, J is in the kitchen making enchiladas as I type.

 

[zoebartlett]

Happy Monday!

My husband was sick yesterday, so I went to brunch with my parents by myself. We went to an inn about 30 minutes or so away, and the food was soooo good. There was everything you could possibly want at a brunch buffet. I enjoyed myself but I don''t think I went overboard. After that, we took a long drive before heading back home.

It was a gorgeous day but pretty chilly. I was hoping to take a walk when we got back to my parents'' house but it was too brisk and I didn''t have a jacket with me.

Hi Stepcutnut! Welcome to the thread!

Hi Lorelei, Kim, Lliang, Dragon, Skippy, Apple, Marcy, and Dee Jay.

My dad''s coming over tonight to hang out for a while. My mom''s away on business and my dad''s bringing over a pizza. yum! I"ll try to check in later but I might not get a chance.

 

[appletini]

No TBT today b/c I went to a lunch and learn about having a career plan. However I totally made up for it this evening. I stopped by Target on my way home and got a pair of 5 lb dumbbells. I did my 30 min walk/jog routine around the neighborhood and ran into some neighbors I haven''t seen in a long time. Then when I got home...I used my free fitness on demand and did the Jillian Michaels 30 min shred level 1. It was tougher than I expected and I am drenched in sweat...DH couldn''t believe it was that tough.

Tomorrow is yoga at lunch and then a repeat of this evening.

 

[Skippy123]

Back from a 3.5 mile walk w/sprints thrown it to keep my heart rate up.

Today I went to Costco and bumped into an old elementry/mid/high school friend; she is visiting family so we will meet up for lunch sometime. I made some stuff chicken w/salad and brown rice. Hope everyone is having a wonderful Monday; it turned out to be a nice day, upper 60''s.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DRAGONFLY!!!! Yay for helping your sis!!!

STEPCUTNUT, glad you joined us; being healthy is a great goal!!

DEEJAY, hehe, glad you don''t like to hear yourself pant either! lol to the obscene phone call. Yay for all your workouts, woman!!! Yum to all the above!

KIMI, I soooo missed you; glad you are back!!!! Yum to cookies. Woo for your workout; the reading is kind of both, pleasure and studying. I am going to take a class this summer.

APPLE, grea job on the walk/jog; I though of you when I threw my sprints in. hehe Yay for weights too; you sound like you are in uber shape!

ZOE, oh your poor hubby; I hope he feels better soon. Yay for not going overboard, that is a big kudos; I have the hardest time at buffets because everything is calling my name and looks so pretty! Yay for hanging out w/your dad.

ROD, I missed you this weekend!!

 

[lliang_chi]

Deejay, I heard of that power yoga, is it at the South Loop FFC? I think the temp is just 95F, not 105F?? My sis went to a home opener a few yrs ago and it snowed. This is why I only go to baseball games in Chicago after June Stupid Chicago weather. Although after Marcy''s stories I don''t feel like I have a right to complain. I love pink & red champagne too!

Dragon, Awesome you and your sis will be working out together. Happy birthday!!!

http://www.pricescope.com/idealbb/files/birthday_34_arms.gif

Welcome Stepcut!!! Everyone here is fantastic and positive! I find they''re really helpful to keep me moving along the healthy track

Skip, funny about hearing yourself! I used to swim so I used to hear myself breathe all the time. I guess I just tune it out now. I hate sweating though. I wonder why I do hot yoga...

I''m glad you had a good walk! Wow! How about that with running into an old friend.

Kim, great to see you again! We missed you! How is your class teaching going? My sister is still looking for places, but I''m pretty confident she''ll be able to find something she likes.

Zoe, I hope Mr. Zoe gets better

I love Easter brunches like that! I used to go with my parents when we were growing up. Easter mass @ 9AM then we''d hit a hotel brunch. It was SUPER tasty. And the first time I ever had lox.

 

[marcy]

Hi everyone.

I hated to go back to work today.

I guess the weekend wasn’t long enough.We had some leftover lasagna for lunch and made tacos for supper.We have taco salads for lunch then tomorrow.

Right after work tomorrow my Marty is giving the local engineers club a tour of our facility so I am going to be the “wrangler” and follow the crowd keeping everyone on track and not wandering off.I thought it’d be a great way to get in a nice walk.

It will probably take about an hour for the tour.

Lisa, glad you had a nice time this weekend.I picked up some asparagus too but forgot to cook it this weekend.I am sure we’ll cook it sometime this week.

Skippy, I pulled out my Ipod yesterday when I was on the treadmill.It’s makes working out so much more fun.

Dragonfly, happy birthday tomorrow.

How nice of you to help out your sister.

Stepcutnut, welcome to the thread.You are so right that results don’t happen overnight but we are firm believers in slow and steady win the race.

DeeJay, good luck with your knee tomorrow.Mmm to pink champagne.

Most of the snow is melted but you see remains of drifts here and there.

Appletini, sounds like you had a great workout tonight.

Kimi, I am so glad to hear from you.Those 3 pounds will be gone in no time.

Zoe, sounds like you had a nice day yesterday.I hope your husband is feeling better.Enjoy the pizza with your dad tonight.

Take care and have a great day.

Marcy

 

[KimberlyH]

I missed you all too!

Lliang, my new job is going really well. I love the students and it''s been a great way to transition into my own classroom (although with state budgets being what they are and all the cuts being made I doubt I''ll have a contract position next year). If asked back I''d love to do this again next year.

Today is my two job day, so I''ll try to squeeze in a workout between. Have a great day all.

 

[dragonfly411]

Good morning everyone! I woke up this morning to new Nikes from the SO!!!!!!! I tried them out with some kickboxing, and love them. They are made for running which is what I really want to get more and more into so I''m really excited! Last night I did a mixture of cardio with sculpting moves. I started with 60 seconds jump rope between moves with my first moves being lunges with twists, sumo squats, push ups, and standing rows. Then I switched to 60 seconds of butt kicks between moves with plank on ball, another move where you put your shins on the ball then lift up so the ball comes forward and your holding it with your toes, using your abs to lift your body up into a v, and 100 crunches on the ball. Then switched to weighted cross punches between moves with reverse crunches and bicycle crunches. I ended with a few more butt kicks. Wooo. This morning was 40 mins of kickboxing. Food wasn''t so great. Ice cream cake and Mexican casserole lol. I''m going to try to do good today despite having ANOTHER b-day dinner tonight out.
Stepcut - my best advice is to set up a routine for yourself when it comes to fitness. You''re more apt to keep with it if you set up a time for it. Good Luck and if we can help let us know!!!! Glad to have you
Dee Jay - that sounds DELICIOUS
Kimberly - wb
skippy - sounds like you had a great day!! Thanks for the birthday wishes today ; ) .

 

[BeachRunner]

Good Afternoon to all of you! I am new to this thread, but thought I''d join for motivation and advice!

I am currently pretty healthy; eat well (most of the time), and exercise often. I recently had to cut dairy from my diet so I am finding alternatives to those foods (ie: my morning yogurt turned into hard-boiled eggs).

Today I will do some strength training for arms and some cardio at the gym. I am running in a 5K on Saturday, so I can''t overdo it this week, right?

 

[steph72276]

Hello friends. I''ve been MIA here lately. I didn''t have too much going on and really a little frustrated. I have been working out at the gym about 5 days a week and eating really healthy counting calories and such. But I was not losing weight! I would lose 5 then gain 4 back, etc and I have been really trying since Jan, so it is super frustrating to not see results when you put in the hard work. Anyway, I went back to the way I was eating when I was diagnosed with insulin resistance issues and it has really worked so far. I guess it is sort of a diabetic diet where you leave off the processed carbs and eat more whole foods. I went from a size 6 to a 10 when I was pregnant, and today the 10s are falling off. So I am back to an 8 and heading for a 6. Eating this way is the only way I seem to be losing anything at all. I guess we are all just different and different approaches work. Anyway, hope everyone is doing well and I hope to post here more often again!

 

[bee*]

Hi all

Haven''t been here in a while but just thought I''d do a quick update in between studying! Since last time I posted, I have lost over 31 lbs so I''m thrilled. I have been meeting up with a trainer who works for the gym and she''s given me a good programme and I''ve totally changed my eating and am feeling great!

Glad to see that everyone else is still working hard! Great opening as always Lorelei!

 

[steph72276]

Wow, Bee. That''s awesome!!!

 

[BeachRunner]

Date: 4/14/2009 3:06:38 PM
Author: bee*
Hi all

Haven''t been here in a while but just thought I''d do a quick update in between studying! Since last time I posted, I have lost over 31 lbs so I''m thrilled. I have been meeting up with a trainer who works for the gym and she''s given me a good programme and I''ve totally changed my eating and am feeling great!


Glad to see that everyone else is still working hard! Great opening as always Lorelei!

Congrats!! That is awesome!

 

[lliang_chi]

Bee that''s incredible! Awesome!

 

[Skippy123]

Hi Friends, hubby and I met for some Pho today; that stuff is yummy!!!! I had the pork Vermicelli (pork, noodles, sprouts and a few peanuts). I also had a few Reese Bunnies that are little but finally threw them out because I was tempted by them and didn't need to keep eating them. haha I am off to interval training, sprints and push ups, etc. It is so beautiful today but it suppose to get cold again tomorrow; this weather is such a tease!

Hope everyone is having a fabulous Tuesday!!!!!!!!!!


DRAGON, yay, happy birthday darling!!!

sending you a birthday hug!!!

wooo for new running shoes. eek to sumo squats, hard work!

LISA, I thought of you when I had my pho because I remember you said you liked it too; I actually had pork vermicelli today! hehe I never had pink or red champagne, only the white ones.

MARCY, yay for tacos; I think I will have egg whites tonight, darn those bunnies. Yay for a walk!

KIMI, have a great workout!

BEACHRUNNER, glad you joined us. how about some nuts or turkey rolls also. I love hard boiled eggs, the keep me full longer. Yay for your run on Saturday and your workout today! What types of races do you do?

STEPH, I missed you; yay for your clothes fitting loose!!

BEE, great to see you; love your new avatar. are you doing WW? Yay for 31 lbs lost!!!

 

[bee*]

Thank you Steph, BeachRunner, lliang_chi and Skippy! I''m not on WW anymore Skippy-I think I posted here before that I did a salsa step and salsa aerobics class-well I went for a gym review with the woman that teaches these classes and she''s an absolute battleaxe, but that works very well with me when I''m working out as I can be really lazy. She knows that my wedding is coming up and that I wanted to lose all the weight and she gave out yards to me for not trying and she set up a diet and exercise programme for me. (I cried the whole way home the first night I met her-but what she said made sense

). So I''ve just been doing that. I have to meet her every couple of weeks to check in and get a new programme but she''s been very good at keeping me on track, partly because I''m scared of her reaction if I mess up

 

[BeachRunner]

Thanks Skippy! I eat whole wheat pitas with turkey and hummus lately, as recommended in this thread about healthy lunches. I always try to incorporate a protein into each meal for sustainable energy.

I don''t run in races very often, and when I do, its not to be competitive. The 5K on Saturday benefits Earth Day and the proceeds go to that. I have only run 5K''s, and am working up to run 10Ks. I need to program my pedometer, as I don''t know how far my "long runs" are. (awful, I know!). But, my endurance has def. gone up, and I feel great

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Tuesday kids!

Went to the magic knee doctor today. Good news and bad news... Bad first: I do have two tears in my meniscus, which makes my knee cap track improperly. Good news is that the damage is done at this point (have I mentioned I first hurt this knee 15 years ago?) so unless I do something *else* to it I''m not likely to cause any more/worse damage to the knee. So, bottom line, as long as I am able/willing to manage the pain I can put off surgery as long as I want (but I will have to have it SOME day... hopefully when that time rolls around technology will be better and I''ll have more confidence in the whole thing. Really, if I just exercise a little common sense (i.e., I can run 3 miles today and be OK tomorrow or I can run 7 miles today and be crippled for a week... hmmm.... what to do, what to do?

) I should be alright.

Appletini, it''s never too cold or rainy out for pink champagne!

Kimi, chocolate peanut butter chip cookies -- you have my address, right?!?

Zoe, good for you for enjoying the buffet but not going overboard!

Skippy, upper 60s -- I''m so jealous!

Lliang, yes, I think that''s the yoga she''s talking about. Is there really much difference between 95 and 105 though?

Marcy, glad to hear most of your snow is gone!

Dragonfly, happy birthday!!! I hope the Birthday Fairy brings you a day filled with all of the things you love best!

BeachRunner, welcome!

Steph, yay for being an 8 and heading for a 6!

Bee, 31 pounds is FANTASTIC!!! Congratulations!

Off to change into some jeans and go pick Bill up from the gym. We''re going to our favorite restaurant tonight, where we haven''t been for a few weeks, and I''m really looking forward to it.

 

[Skippy123]

Back from Intervals. We did 7 sets of 3 mins jump rope (the entire night), muscle work like lunges w/ weights for 2 mins and then 1 min of abs on the bosu, 10 ish mins of bosu for the warm up. Gosh if anyone wants to wear themselves out do the jump rope; I got so tired that I finally just started doing jumping jacks toward the end.

Oh on another note; I saw some jeans at Costco and picked up 2, a smaller size then normal and size I thought might fit me. I never know and the smaller size fit, yay; now I just got to get the short girl jeans as my legs aren't as long as I thought. ehhee

BEACHRUNNER, oh that is great; oh thank you for the link, great thread!! Yay for your runs!

BEE, woo for all the hard work!!!!

DEEJAY, oh no, take it easy, maybe the elliptical is your thing since it isn't high impact but still super hard? You poor sweetie; I hope you have many years left in your knee. Yay enjoy dinner!

 

[appletini]

I did yoga at lunch today and then this evening while I had stuff in the oven I did the 30 day shred sessions 1 & 2. wow! I have my weigh-in with my trainer tomorrow morning so I think I''m ready for it.

skippy,
sounds like you had a great intense workout

bee,
congrats on the weight loss!

steph,
Congrats on slimming down and finding a plan that works for you.