This topic contains 3,042 replies, has 111 voices, and was last updated by Delayedgratification 5 years, 4 months ago.
” LOL the chimp toes!!!!”
Right. The only thing is, unfortunately, it’s true. And it’s awkward. Shoes don’t fit and perhaps you can see that my 3rd toe is stepping on my own 4th toe.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/75667634@N00/25555855324/in/dateposted-public/
It’s one of those things I’m going to get around to getting fixed but they tell me the recovery time is about 6 weeks of not even being able to drive.
Oh so right about those last hardy souls to cross the finish line!
Many years ago when my son was in middle school (up here in Vancouver, as a matter of fact), I forced him to choose an extra curricular activity so he would meet some kids and get integrated into the life of the school. He chose track. And he was pretty quick but not quite quick enough to lead his events. He was always 3rd or 4th. …which I, being a mommy and a couch potato, thought was pretty fine. But it irritated him mightily.
Anyway, they were fun intramural events and, good mommy that I was, I was at all of them. I used to marvel at the bravery of the kids who came in last. Every. Single. Event. And the marvelous thing about it is, they didn’t mind. They were doing something they wanted to do (as opposed to my son who was forced into it by the Evil B*tch Who Bore Him). I can still remember the pride in my mother’s heart (not my son’s mother but generic Mother of All mother thing that gets in your DNA after you pop one out) at those kids and the wonderful supportive schools and culture that supported them in their best efforts whatever they were.
We are PROUD of you, Jade, for being that wide-eyed hopeful lass who bit off a little more than you could chew. This. Time.
I KNOW next time will be better and, still a couch potato, I am PROUD of you for just being able to run!
Oh golly, Chubs, you brought up a similar fond memory from when our kids were in sports, they were actually pretty good but boy did they love those kids who were the slowest etc. Everyone did, and it seemed those kids enjoyed themselves too. Not that I need that kind of character building experience at my age BUT it is good to remember perspective. I actually don’t mind being imperfect as a teacher, I feel I’m teaching the students that you can be <perfect and it’s ok. That said, Annette I get not wanting to be dead last! I almost was at my marathon but I think some 100-year-old guy was behind me. Might’ve been a spectator.
I’m sorry I laughed at your toes…that looks painful. I well know what you mean about shoes – I had surgeries on both feet (bunions – one at a time) and it’s not fun for about a week. Yes, the right foot kept me from driving (shh, I actually did drive after a couple of weeks). Having shoes fit is amazing. Think about it – I had a surgeon recommended to me by a runner or I’d have never even considered it. But so glad now. xxx
I’m still here reading and enjoying it. You all are great, strong and funny women – thankyou for sharing your stories.
I got lost or actually the lizard became a dinosaur; this easter I had it all ( alcohol, sweets, crisps, chocolate, desserts etc)in huge amounts. But what’s done is done so now just move forward. I’ve had two fd this week and I’m still tryingwith LCHF.
Chubs you crack me up! We’re all a hot mess 😝 Seriously, if I’ve learned anything from getting older it’s that anyone who thinks he isn’t a hot mess is an even hotter mess.
Whew, I’m feeling slightly less close to death this morning. Which is just enough encouragement to keep acting like a total fool. But it’s April Fools Day anyway, so I’ll see if another long run is in the cards tomorrow.
Yffan well done on KO’ing the Easter lizardasaur! It was a stampede wasn’t it…. I’m not a fan of aversion therapy but I may have punished myself enough this time to get the point. Sugar is so sneaky – first it makes me feel just fine, but I’m one of those who thinks if a little is good, a lot is better. Probably my Cajun side 😈 Anyway, great job on bouncing back with 2FDs and the LCHF effort, perfect way to nail a sugar lizard 🎯
Ugh, I’m meeting the tax man today, I hope he doesn’t send me straight into Cadbury’s arms with his assessment. TGIF islanders! 🌴☀️😘 xx
Hey Lolly, I crossed with you – thank you for those kind words ✨
More on how we may be less in charge than those microscopic bullies in our nether regions: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/28/magazine/can-the-bacteria-in-your-gut-explain-your-mood.html?_r=0
Hey all! I’m back. I got a little off-track and far away from the computer over spring break and then turned around pretty quickly and had to start school again (which meant planning a course from scratch in, like, no time at all) and then flew to LA for a conference. I’m back and ready to get started again. I didn’t do too badly even though I wasn’t fasting, so I think I’m starting from about the same place as before. Still committed to not weighing myself, but I have a dress I need to fit into for a wedding that is exactly 90 days away from today. I made a calendar to go on the fridge and I’m thinking I will commit to fasting twice a week at a minimum (not trying to make this impossible for myself, though my first inclination was to commit to alternate day fasting for 90 days, which I may try out, but I’m not convinced I can stick to it) and I will continue running, training for my half marathon in May. Any other suggestions for success in 90 days? Should this be my Lent? No sugar? I don’t think I can do that because that would mean giving up wine and, well, that’s not going to happen 🙂 Happy to be back!
Wait…no sugar means no wine? Um no that isn’t going to happen here either. But welcome home Penguin! I am finding that giving up sweets (candy, pastry, junky white-flour crap) is turning the tide for me. I’m reading labels within reason but not that hard-core. I actually prefer unsweetened coffee, tea, yogurt, etc., so even though there is some sugar getting through, it is working for me.
I wasn’t very good at 4:3, just got too hungry BUT you should try it. Many say it keeps them un-hungry on nFDs too. As for FDs, I discovered yesterday what Chubs has been saying all along – just don’t eat. I sipped but didn’t use my teeth for anything 🙂 just had coffee w/cream (real cream – yum), a diet coke with cream (I know, junk but there is a descending scale of priorities and it’s better than eating cake!), some brothy soup, and some sugar-free custard I had made. It was a total hodge-podge, and I had intended to have a meat-veggie FD dinner but discovered I really was not that hungry. And also discovered the likely reason was that I had not worked my gigantic jaws all day, so why ruin a good thing. I think this could make FDs a whole lot easier for me, because when I eat even a salad I am ready to rip open the fridge with my teeth. Best to keep sipping – which I suppose could include WINE – but best not on a FD, could get dangerously tipsy. 😉
Chubs, thanks for the link, I don’t understand much of the science except to get that a lot of what we fight is not our fault – which isn’t to say we shouldn’t fight it, but two things I’ve learned: (1) guilt is not the answer, and (2) our systems are all different, thus there is likely a solution/food-combo that hits the target for us individually if we just keep trying and sharing. Which is kind of good!
I am back at school too, and can I just say…ughh. Happy Monday islanders! xxx
Checking in briefly here, and adding to the ‘no wine’ convo, it won’t be happening here either, I’ve given up a lot of other stuff but not wine (not yet anyway). I was pretty good all last week until Friday 🙁 then there was wine, and more wine, followed by a family sized pack of Minstrels, on a good note someone said I looked like “my face was thinner”!! whey hey, pathetically pleased, not sure if pre or post Minstrels! Anyway was better over the weekend, and am planning to eat clean and low carb all week :0) Jade, do you also teach?
I said in an earlier post I’m not feeling the ‘love’ in my current teaching job, desperately looking for a way out, and as you know not easy.
Yes have done 4:3 but on long teaching days, it’s a kind of hell, seriously, haha! sure there are other jobs worse..stick to 5:2, tomorrow will fast. On a brighter note I checked my Fitbit before the Latin dance class I give, it was 11,722 steps, when I got home, drum roll, 23,035, was very pleased! I will do 2 FD’s this week, maybe an 800 Fri, then w/e will sin a bit…have a good week fellow Fastees xxxxxx
Morning All,
I don’t drink alcohol very often as it just makes me feel ‘rubbish’ and years of what I always thought were alcohol related migraine headaches, made consumption simply not worth it. I met a friend for lunch at the weekend and had a glass of wine and a dessert, although I drank loads of water I was obsessed with buying some chocolate on my way home. A family bag of Maltesers were history in minutes. So, does alcohol drive the desire for the sweet stuff?
The scales are staying the same, but more clothes are fitting and looking better. A way to go before the pink shorts are worn outside my bedroom!
Interesting Jade and chubs about no food FD. I might give it a try although that would have to be at the weekend, as meals at work are a social experience.
Good Luck Penguin with HM training for May. I am struggling to get fit enough for a 10K in 2 weeks. I did a trial run last week and it took 2 days to recover!! Impressive steps too.
Hello everyone, just back from a week overseas and feeling fatter than ever so ready to start again (always starting again!). Ditto to the not-giving-up-wine among our rank (weddings in particular are exempt 🙂 ) but I was reassured by this spiel from an anti-sugar site:
“Believe it or not, but wine actually contains minimal fructose. How?
The fructose in the grapes is what ferments to become alcohol, leaving the finished product low in sugar. If the wine has been fermented to “dry” (red or white) it contains very low levels of residual sugar (less than 1g per litre).
Red wine is lower in fructose than white wine and is definitely the better option in our opinion.”
Bubbles (Champagne & the equivalent grown outside of Champagne) are slightly worse and they are very unhappy with all of you reprobate beer/cider and mixer drinkers out there, but it seems red/white wines are okay 😉
Penguin – I spotted ’90-days’ in your post and my brain lit up and I wondered if there were any others out there who’d like to commit to a 90-Day challenge???!! It doesn’t matter what it is you chose to do or not do (might be food/FD related or running goals or even not yelling at the kids/partner/traffic) but it occurred to me that a short, sharp & defined challenge might be a good move for me right now. I’m keen to commit to 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise every day for 90 days, as I know that is likely to kick start other self-care stuff that I tend to neglect. Seeing the photos from the wedding I’ve just been to is also another very powerful motivator… 😉 and it would be cool if we could support penguin to look her most stunning!
So who’s with me? I’m going to start on Friday April 8th as Friday’s are my weigh days and maybe we could check in here when it suited us with an update on our 90-day challenge?
Another motivator (apart from the unsightly spare tyre around my midriff) is that the cooler weather is finally here and I’m so much more able to get out when it’s cool (I’m also a ‘hot mess’ and it can never be cool enough for me).
Anyway, that’s what I’m doing between Friday 8th until 90-days later on Wednesday 6th July 2016. In trying to work out the dates, here are some other fun-facts if you’re like me and love to break things down into manageable chunks…
The total time span is 2,136 hours.
This is equivalent to 128,160 minutes.
You can also convert to 7,689,600 seconds.
For me, that means my 30 minutes a day (2,700 seconds a day for a total of 243.000 seconds) doesn’t seem like a lot out of 7 and a half million… JOIN ME!!!
Love Spring xxx
Tango, had to laugh at the phrase “pre-Minstrel” – a difficult time in anyone’s book 🙂 But congrats on the compliment and WOW 23k steps. In my dreams…. Yes I teach but post-grad so a very light load compared to those in the classroom all day, maybe 6 hours “teaching” in a week. The rest is prep, meetings, student conferences etc. but a luxury of scheduling which I never had before.
Annette, yes the social aspect of eating makes it tough for me too. I usually start early in the week, scouting for nights when hubs just wants to “graze.” Sunday/Monday are often great because we’ll have leftovers and we do just pick and choose separate things for dinner. Later in the week it’s harder not to join him in a true “jaws in” dinner 🙂
Spring, you’re ON! Wonderful idea, I love a joint effort to get Penguin in shape for the wedding. Especially now that you have explained wine, whew! I was just going to have to drink quietly in a corner and not tell anyone, otherwise. I have wanted to add strength training so I will commit to 30 min a day of either the weights or walk/jogging (wogging). So now I have NO excuse if it’s raining.
I tell you, this habit business is awesome. I am regularly doing light or even FD Sundays now, where before they just seemed impossible after our typical Sat nights out. And the sugar-avoidance is still going well. I almost feel allergic to candy – when I see it I just think uh oh, crazy-sugar-bitch on the horizon! And then I just don’t. The wine doesn’t seem to make make it worse, so I’m convinced it’s a lot of behavior-habit aside from the blood-sugar biochem thing. Which is good!
Back to this god-awful paper I’m grading 🙁 hugs to you crazy islanders! jade xxx
Thank you, all, for the wonderful support. And thank goodness for the news about wine, Spring, because I live in Oregon’s pinot noir producing area so there’s plenty of red wine to be had. In fact, my DH suggested that, because it’s so nice today, we head up to a local winery and have a glass after I finish lesson planning.
I have a 90 day calendar on my fridge and it has a little place for notes. I’m trying to write a little something about each day. Yesterday I was supposed to work out but was reminded last minute of a poetry workshop I was teaching at the public library, so other than walking to class and back, fasting, and doing the usual teaching calisthenics of sweating profusely in front of 6 bored teenagers, I didn’t get much moving in. But the fast was good, though I’m certain I was closer to 6-700 kcals, but none of it in the form of anything but tofu, vegetables, brown rice, one orange, and a *very* small (for me, at least) glass of red wine before bed. And honestly, tough as it was, and despite never seeming to remember this on the fast days themselves, I am not hungry this morning. I’m quite content with a cup of coffee and a glass of ice water. I may make it to my lunchtime glass of wine before I consume much of anything.
Speaking of consuming things with wine, Annette, wine absolutely, positively, 1000% drives my cravings. Which is wholly unfortunate because I love wine, I love eating, and I do the worst kinds of eating when I drink wine. Inhibitions be damned is what wine says to me.
Yes, I will commit. I will do SOMETHING every day, even if it’s just walking the dog around the pasture. Tonight I have my run get-together with a group in my town so I have that to look forward to.
Cheers to you all, and solidarity in grading forever!!!
EXCELLENT!! I’m so so happy to have company on this quest because of course I woke up this morning with the euphoria evaporating, thinking crazy woman, now what have you gone and committed yourself to???? But that’s just the perfectionist talking so right from the get-go I’m NOT BOARDING THE PERFECT BUS and will do my best as a flawed human being. Having you lot out there will make a huge difference I know and penguin, you are going to look STUNNING!!
Thanks for the walking-penguin image Lolly – it’s hilarious some of the images that come to my mind when I think of the folk on the Island based on their names 🙂
Okay, well I have some on-line assessments to prepare for this morning so better get organised. Sending endless strength if you’re fasting today (like me) and may you have the lard baton firmly in hand. Here’s to white-knuckling till bedtime and waking up pleased with myself for persevering – I still find FD’s really hard work, I suspect I always will, so I’m more than a little jealous of those of you who have either found them getting easier over time or god forbid, actually enjoying them :-0 Hugs, spring xx
Without a doubt, Spring, FDs are still hard. I find them to be a lot like exercise: my mind protests furiously, saying “no no no, that’s a terrible idea why would we want to do that when there’s wine to be had and good times with friends and oh, look, how lovely it is today let’s just stay here all day in this chair and drink more and get a little sunshine on our skin and…and…and…” (can you tell I had this exact scenario happen to me today?) But I always feel better after I do it. Anyway, I persevered and got my somewhere-in-the-realm-of-5-6-miles run in tonight and now I’m enjoying the rest of the wine I so wanted to quaff this afternoon sitting in the glorious Oregon sunshine with friends. It’s not the same, but I’m proud of myself for how I handled my eating today. Now, finding time for another fast day will be the next challenge, as we’re headed to the mountains for my husband’s work tomorrow so I’ll have to find 30 minutes to walk or something and I’m thinking Saturday may be the next chance I have for a fast day? Have any of you tried fasting away from home on a quasi-holiday? I just can’t convince myself to try it.
Oh heck yes FDs are hard, even after a year of (at least trying) every week 🙂 Still quite worth it though – even on FUFDs – to fight for control. Penguin, I did try fasting last year on holiday but about the best I could do was fasting until dinner, which was ALWAYS a social occasion, then try to eat light…so maybe a few 1000 cal days. But the whole “control” mindset was helpful I think – ended up just 1# up after a month.
I’ve just returned from my 30-min walk on the path near campus, so GO ME! LOL Spring, I know what you mean about committing so thank goodness just 30 minutes, not TOO scary right? Here it’s so gorgeous today, so it was perfect for getting out, esp since I’m at school so it felt rather like an escape from Alcatraz.
So I’m feeling pretty blood-sugar-normal lately, not that I’m kidding myself into thinking I AM normal. But the night-time sugar twinges are a bit smaller, i.e., Mount McKinley, not Mt Everest. I do indulge them but with fruit, or last night a diet coke with <teaspoon of cream. I can seriously swoon over that makeshift “coke float.” And despite the evils in diet drinks that paltry 8 oz has to be an option for me at the moment. It’s amazing but pure candy or chocolate doesn’t tempt me now. Well, knock wood now that I actually wrote those words! Cookies and cakes, I’ll be honest, still quite tempting. But I’m off to Costco later to restock the natural peanut butter, more apples, fresh veg, eggs, etc. Wheee, health-food wonderland as long as you stay away from the sample ladies 😀
Ok islanders, let’s make good on that 90-day pledge – health is on the way 🙂 xxxx
love, love, love the challenge Spring! I’m in! think I’m going to get a hoola hoop, as one of my Latin class ladies says she swears by it, and some of them are weighted, sure it takes practice though.
This is only brief, but yes agree FD are soooooo hard, love the “white-knuckle” and on FD’s often have that ‘sinking’ feeling on waking, “Oh no, nothing to look forward to”….but always enjoy the first coffee.
Annette, yes wine is the party pooper, as soon as I have a glass in hand, temptation abounds, must be the sugar and “what the hell’ attitude it gives me. Jade, Coke float, nice one!
Fasting today, speak soon!
x
Spring-I am in for the 90 day challenge. I will commit to running 4 times a week(probably x3 short jaunts and a longer one at the weekend).But making me go will be great.
Interesting about the wine and the desire to scoff. Dinner with friends tonight, we all take something and usually eat far too much. I have been assigned hummus and maneesh(flat bread with herbs on the top) which is very easy to make, so that is what I shall be doing today. Back to work next week and will then get back to the fasting. I have no idea why I worry, it is usually far better than I think it is going to be and those FD which fall apart at the seems are becoming rarer. My goal has been to eat better quality food and to avoid sugar-mixed success but less sugar in my life does make me a happier soul without the lunatic cravings.
Watched a new programme last night which was about how to live younger. Looking at body age versus chronological age from various twin studies etc.The key points were that dancing was the best exercise, that lentils and hummus was good for reducing internal fat and that reducing stress was a good idea. A simple indicator of muscle strength for those over 50 that interested me was whether you were able to lower your body to the floor in a crossed ankle without wobbling and then raise to standing again without wobbling without using hands, knees etc. I thought that running might have helped but I am completely rubbish at it, but it can be improved even by simply practicing that ‘move’. So can you sit down on the floor unaided without using your hands, knees etc to sit with ankles crossed? Then rise in one movement to the standing position without a wobble?
Hi all, can I join you? You seem to be a great group of wonderful women and while I couldn’t read everything you have written over the last 12 months, I would love to join you on the 90 days challenge. I am doing a lot of sports already (which has helped me always to not go completely out of shape), but since I just started the 5:2 diet a few weeks back, my challenge would be to stay below my calorie allowance of the day. Is that ok or does it have to be exercise related? BTW, Annette, this is a brutal exercise. I was able to sit down (without falling over), but no way I was able to get up again without any support. So I can add this one to the challenge 🙂
Cheers
Karen
Welcome Karen,
Your challenge can be anything you like according to spring, which is rather fabulous.I am also going to get back to fast days and keeping below my TDEE on non fast days. I have a 10K on the 17th, haven’t run for the whole winter, not sporty or fast. My goal is to complete it uninjured and not to be last.I am doing a 10K for the Race for Life in June and hope to be rather faster!
Glad to hear that you couldn’t do the getting up one either. I have quite some way to go to get fit enough to be able to do either without a wobble…or at all. I suppose that I could add that to the 90 day challenge!
Hi Annette, thanks for your kind message. Great to hear that we will be in this together – with whatever goal we have.
I am sure you will do fine with your run, take it really easy over the first 2 kilometers, super slow, let everyone pass by, then you will see them again at km 8 and 9 when you pass them!
I wrote that today in another post, that I found the exercise videos of Fitness Blender on YouTube rather helpful to complement my running. They are free and for many you don’t need any equipment. You can do them at home, and you can choose between 15, 30, 45 and even up to 60 minute training sessions. I just love it if somebody tells me to do this and that exercise, tells me when to stop and what to watch out for. Way better than doing it all by myself, counting the sit-ups, getting bored, getting lazy, looking for short-cuts. I also found that they are great for improving my coordination. When I started, I was pretty amazed to see how much coordination I have lost in my movements over the years. I turned 50 last year. But the good news is that this is all coming back when you exercise on a regular basis. I am trying to do one of these Fitness blender sessions every other day, especially abs and cardio. Really works well for me. My running times have improved due to the cardio work for sure. You might want to try it. And who knows, it might help with this getting up with cross legs exercise 🙂
Have a great start into the weekend, everyone!
Karen
Hi Karen,
Thank you for your lovely message. I started running at 52 and now 3 years later would love to say that I am getting better, but I don’t think that I am. I hate running through the winter and see no joy at all in getting wet in the pouring rain. I might have a look at this fitness blender sessions and and see how it goes. My plan was to get back into running and then have a go at Krav Maga for both self-defence and all over fitness which would help my running too. A teeny bit frightened though as it is very male and they all seem to be very fit, but I suppose we all have to start somewhere. All those years of loathing PE at school, faking notes and illness have all come back to bite me now that i really want to improve my fitness and maintain it!
Hi there,
Welcome Karen! and thanks for sharing the Fitness Blend videos 🙂 just had a look and they look great, will give them a go 😉 I usually try a short strength routine about 3 days a week, but this looks like it has some cool stuff.
Annette, I’ve had to stop running due to a bad knee at the moment, I started running about 8 years ago, to raise funds for my mum, who was very ill at the time. My first half marathon was THE worst weather, chucking it down, windy and very cold…but I did it, more the tortoise than the hare though, but running is such a huge personal accomplishment, you should be really proud of getting where you are, it’s such a motivation. Totally agree with the weather aspect. I hope when my knee is better I can start again, at the moment am saving my knee for dancing.
hello to everyone, hope the 90 day challenges are going well..xx
Hi all. I’m headed out the door soon for our usual fried-food-and-beer Friday night, but I thought I would share that I managed to get in quite a bit of walking yesterday and……. I convinced myself to do an Insanity video today! And after driving all day! My husband was out mowing the lawn and I was just sitting there like, what now?, and I knew I needed to do SOMETHING, so I talked myself into it! I’m so glad we have committed to this, because if it hadn’t been for the thought of all of you working to fit 30 minutes into your schedule, I wouldn’t have done it.
Now, off to un-do all the hard work 🙂
Hi islanders and big welcome to you, Karen! Thanks for the tip about fitness blender, I’ll have to take a look at that and also Penguin’s “insanity” thing. I’m like you, I’ll do some on my own but get bored and of course stop. I do love running, or what I call running, which is technically both feet off the ground at some point, so Annette just be loud and proud girl! You can do it, you won’t be last (but as Satchel Paige said, don’t look back 😉). But you have GOT to be kidding about that crossed-ankle no-wobbles thing. No way in the rest of my lifetime is that going to happen. I could get down (we won’t talk about how wobbly that was), and I wobbled my darnedest to get back up. I think I burned off a few calories with all the wobbling, but no Phoenix rose from that ash heap. Interesting challenge though! I felt as though my knees were going to split right in half.
Lolly way to go, you! Tally that effort. I’m so happy to see everyone joined in this mutual challenge, makes it more fun. Tango what kind of strength routine do you do? Can you all tell I’m shopping around 🤔 for something I won’t hate? I didn’t get my 30 min in yesterday – and by the way Spring how are you doing? I must get back on board so today I’ll go for a 10k which will take well over an hour. Ha, that’s my euphemism for “under 2 hours I hope!” I will have to walk part of it. And will sub gardening for strength exercises. It’s too pretty here to stay indoors 🔆🔆
I confess I had a tangle with the sugar lizard last night. I was noshing on stuff I didn’t even want, trying to take my mind off a craving for sweets. I’ve been fine for weeks but last night I wanted them and nothing else would fill the hole. I did pass up immense trays of cookies at work despite missing lunch (was at an all day student competition). And last night I wasn’t hungry but I was eating grapes, peanut butter, could not fill the empty spot until I had half a cupcake. So once again I need to ponder things. In the end I’d have eaten far less if I’d just had the darn cupcake to begin with. But I really don’t want to awaken the beast 👹
I’ll see how that goes. Time is a’wasting for my Saturday chores so off w/me – happy weekend islanders!! jade xx
ps Quenn how are you getting on?
Thanks Jade.
The crossed ankle no wobbles thing is actually called ‘the sit rise test’ and is on You Tube, tried to do the link but failed. I have some serious work to do to be able to sit without wobbling, never mind ever getting up! Telling my friends about it last night, they can sit down but no one can get up again.
I met up with friends last night and we all take something to share. My contribution was a homemade flat bread topped with sesame seeds/thyme and marjoram which is lovely with homemade hummus. I had the leftovers for lunch today and was feeling very pleased that I refused seconds for dessert last night, when some ice cream leapt into my shopping basket this afternoon.Ho hum.
Yep the store is a dangerous place isn’t it, Annette – full of things leaping into baskets 🐍🐊 😂
How’s that challenge going islanders? I was a big talker, that 10k did not happen, but I did go out for an hour+ and logged “a few miles.” Anyway, it was an hour! So I feel caught up. Today a nice indoor workout is called for as it’s raining and my legs need a rest. I tried that wobble test again, but no go – and the sound my knees make is not encouraging🙈🙉 xxxxxx
Hi all, thanks for welcoming me to your group. I have been reading your posts over the last couple days but only have the chance to properly write something today.
Very proud of you guys that you are all keeping up with your challenge! All the walking and trying hard to stay away from too much of the sugary stuff. Well done!!
Annette, I thought about your running. If it really gives you such negative feelings, you might want to explore other options as well. Now that I am 50 I find that life is too short to do things that we absolutely cannot stand. Not sure how much you hate it, but if you don’t enjoy any part of it, it might be healthier for you to find another exercise that works for you. 9 of 10 times I don’t want to go up and start my runs, but once I am at it I usually enjoy it quite a bit. Do you at least feel good once you have managed a run? That positive feeling as a reward might justify the pain 🙂
I had to google Crav Maga, that looks cool! I totally understand that you think about doing this. Would be awesome to be able to have such body control.
I had my weigh-in on Saturday morning (that’s the only one for the week, always) and was totally stunned that I had lost 2 kg. I was actually weighing me twice just to make sure that the scale did work. Was the happiest person in all of Northern Germany I think 🙂 But looking back at the week, it does make sense. I was very good staying within my TDEE on non-fast days and stayed in the 500 cal range on fast days, plus doing quite a bit of running & the fitness blender thing. I exercised even on my fast days which I can handle well. (I cannot do any exercise on the morning following a fast day, my body goes on strike if I try it).
What helped me with the TDEE effort was that on non-fast days I entered chocolate and wine to my calorie tracker app first thing in the morning – not to have that for breakfast (might be quite an experience actually!), but for after dinner delight. About half a bar of chocolate and 2 glasses of wine, knowing quite well that this would make for a very nice end of the day. This way it was so much easier to stay within the (then of course lower) calorie allowance for the rest of the day, as I had something to look forward too. I hope that this trick will help me in succeeding with the challenge here.
Today is fast day, and I had my fruit bowl with strawberries and blueberries and some non-fat yogurt. I always add some real vanilla powder, gives the yogurt some flavor without adding calories. Am drinking herbal tea, which is fine for a Sunday afternoon. I always have my fast days on Sunday as I absolutely hate Mondays. The thought of making Mondays even worse by fasting is too much for me, so I do it Sunday and have it out of the way.
Hope your weekends are going well – with or without fasting.
Karen
Hi guys-
I’m TOTALLY behind in what’s been happening here and more than a little off my game.
We had friends visiting the past week. Glad to have them and everything started out going well. I squired them to my favorite eateries and sipped my tea while they chowed down. Cooked favorite meals keeping them within my sensible parameters. And then… The husband had a heart attack. In. My. House. In (for them) a foreign country — with all those unfamiliarities and insurance complications. And the short week began stretching out into (god forgive me for being pissy at such a time) “The Man Who Came to Dinner” proportions. I LOVE them but, man!, we were looking forward to getting back to “normal”. …and so, I’m sure, were they.
Happily, a couple stents corrected the problem and he will be in much better shape because he’ll get a good cardiologist at home and know what needs monitoring for the future. He’s beyond diligent about his health (LEAST likely candidate for a heart attack EVER!) and it took us all a much longer time to recognize what was happening than would ever be comfortable. But now he’ll know and stay on top of his arteries!
Anyway, I got stressed out and began eating from dawn to dusk. And I wanted COMFORT FOODS. Understandable, perhaps, but, coming a week after the excesses of Easter, not a good time to go off the rails again.
We’re off to a birthday party dinner tonight and then tomorrow I am going to have to muscle and white knuckle myself back on track. To. Stay. this time, I hope.
Looking forward to catching up with all of you and being buoyed up by your good examples and stellar motivation!
Hi all, welcome Karen.
My challenge is going OK, but I’ve only really had one fast day this week, which I’m not very happy about. We’ve been busy with friends and days of hanging out seem to always morph into night of hanging out, drinking, and eating bar food. I’ve been careful to try to eat sensibly (fish tacos instead of fish and chips, for instance) but I doubt I’m really doing myself any favors. I did go for an hour horseback ride and I worked in the garden for a while last night, so I’m saying I met my challenge goals for the day. Not sure what I’ll get up to today—we were going to go kayaking but the weather isn’t really cooperating. Maybe just a short run will have to do. Good luck and happy fasting to everyone today!
Don’t worry Jade, I did 11K for you today. It was run/walk a bit/run a bit but I did it and felt great afterwards, certainly taller!I am just not be trusted with ice cream in the house…I know this and yet sometimes I weaken and bring it home. This will be part of my 90 day challenge..when I have eaten the other 4!
Karen-ran 11K which was a run a bit/walk a bit and felt brilliant during and struggled to stay awake afterwards! I like how running makes me feel and to see the improvements along the way, but I am not fast and see no joy in running in the freezing weather or rain. My plan to try Krav Maga was for after the 10K which is next weekend. I can see that I will be in a complete heap afterwards. Well done on the weight loss.
Chubs! Oh my goodness, what a fright for you.Have you thought about giving yourself a break on the food/fasting front? Why not take the pressure off yourself? Great to hear that your husband is doing well.
Penguin-I haven’t fasted for a few weeks. Easter plus being at home(access to food/fridge at all times) meeting up with friends/meals out and then feeling fed up, so ate then too.I love fish and chips- a great favourite of mine. Never mind, life happens. I am back to work tomorrow where there will be biscuits to avoid and heaven knows what else.
🙂 How cool to see all the work happening on various challenges and welcome on board Karen! And let me just say Chubs, I totally understand comfort eating when someone has tried to die in your house. Take care of yourself.
In random order of responses, no I never do FD’s when I’m on holiday, mainly because I don’t want to miss out and also don’t want to be a downer on my husband who likes to eat out with me. Even if I’m on my own on holiday I don’t do FD’s and not when I’m travelling for work as they are usually places in SE Asia where to resist the food would be CRAZY (although there are always healthy choices). I know it impacts on my ability to get back into FD’s (though not in the first 8-12 months of 5:2 – back then I could easily slip back into the rhythm and I rarely gained more than a pound or 2) but more recently a FD-feee week or 2 is harder to recover from. I think I may need to think about the modified regime you used Jade (and others I think?) of fasting till dinner.
I also can’t maintain exercise from a DVD or anything that requires me to turn on technology – I spend so much work-time on a computer I just can’t stand turning one on for leisure (this forum excepted although it is often why i go long stretches without checking in). Jade, my very slim & fit daughters do ‘Insanity’ and sometimes they will moan for days after a workout – it would definitely kill me!
To my great surprise I’ve exceeded the 30 minutes moderate daily activity everyday since I began this challenge, but sadly that’s been related to trying to wear out 2 naughty puppies who are keeping me awake at night. In the process (90 minutes of being ‘walked’ by the dogs each day) I’ve ended up with a mild injury so I’m going to have to be very careful I can maintain the effort. I threw in 120 minutes of vigorous gardening on one of the days too, so today I can barely move… Haha, I’m such an ‘all-or-nothing’ girl and after all these years I still get blind-sided by that trait… I sometimes see it as a form of self-sabotage, at others just a flaw like any other.
Some other random musings include reflecting lately (with the discussion of sugar on the thread) that, given the choice, I would almost exclusively binge on fatty food (LOVE fish & chips too Annette, although sadly can’t run them off). I only ever eat carbs as a vehicle for fat and honestly, I wouldn’t eat carbs at all if I couldn’t load them with 1)creamy sauces 2) butter 3) Dips of various fattening sorts 4) Cheese 5) more cheese. Especially the CHEESE, which I can happily eat all by itself. Not that I won’t scoff sugary stuff if it’s all I can get hold of (especially if it’s deep-fried 😉 )but it’s never a first choice. Are there others out there like this? I do recall Queen that you can binge on wholefoods? I do find it all so fascinating really.
Okay, well I need to get back to work and upload some student results and other worthwhile activities. Thanks for the wonderful encouragement and for taking up your own 90-day-challenge to inspire us all. Love Spring xxx
Good morning, hope that you all have a great start into the new week.
Annette, very glad to hear that you are enjoying the running – amazing that you did 11k!!! It really doesn’t matter whether you are walking or running as long as you are moving. My 5 cents on your 10k next weekend: take it easy this week, do a max of 5k on Wednesday and only do a very light 2k jog on the day before the race. Hope you will have some nice sunshine on the weekend 🙂
Spring, I can totally relate to the cheese, which is something I also love way too much. But I prefer it in combination with a good bread (guess that is the German in me, we all love our bread) and butter. If I would live all by myself, and would not need to worry about calories, I would have a variety of cheese and breads for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Every day. I never get tired of it. Right now, when I am saving my calorie allowance until dinner, I do that to also have a nice cheese sandwich for dinner. Together with a glass of wine and some chocolate for dessert.
Glad that my fast day is over, I did well yesterday, so far the challenge is moving along real nicely. This week I have two dinners in restaurants, one business and one with family. Hope I can manage it, so that I can also truly enjoy it.
Cheers,
Karen
Hi everyone!
Fish and chips, ditto, cheese, ditto 😉 have F & C’s about 3 times a year 🙂 live by the sea, so they are everywhere…have been quite ‘good’ this weekend. Am doing a course in Anatomy and Physiology, in my attempt to change career paths, I’d like to reduce the hours in the day job, and start working in massage (Sports) it’s going to be a long haul, but as you said Karen ‘life is too short” my normal teaching job does not make me happy, hence the Latin fit class and the potential fitness career, wish I’d done it years ago….
So anyway the venue for the A & P is about 6 miles away, got a lift there, and walked back on Sat/sun,2 hr walk. Jade you asked about the routine I do. Wish I was as disciplined about food as exercise, lol…do it pretty religiously, 3-4 times a week, and feel it’s like a bad omen if I don’t, so basically, balances on one leg, shoot the leg out behind, plank, tree pose, push ups, and bicep dips, do 3-4 reps of 10 of each exercise..cannot do any lunges or squats due to knee, but they are the best, but technique is everything. My push ups are the ‘girly’ kind, but I do ‘dip’ very low, and it burns like hell. Weights are also part of this regime, although not a great fan, but 4-5kilos can get the Bingo wings in shape!, why don’t men get bingo wings? it’s often women carrying heavy shopping bags? Planking is the exercise par excellence, like Heineken beer, reaches the parts other exercises can’t..I’ve been doing planks (not daily ;-)) for 1 year, and can hold 2:45 mins, the burn is challenging (not pain though) it’s made a huge impact on my shape (works on virtually all muscle groups) enough of the spiel. Annette, I can’t do the sitting from standing, hopeless at crossing legs anyway! squatting right down on haunches is also a good flexibility test, another one I can’t do
Ate ok over weekend, no real down falls, but on Friday when I’d allowed myself a treat, had to force the treat, silly! then on Saturday of course was totally craving something sweet. There was a programme a while back, might have been Secret eaters, where they showed you explicitly what the average processed food treat, e.g choc biscuits looked like once it was semi-digested, and broken down into parts. It did the trick, but not sure if any food would look very nice in that state.
Still doing the ‘colours’ to my meals, yesterday was orange, red and yellow, Lolly I loved you comment. The yellow was a mistake, as I’d meant to get frozen peas for my knee, but they only had sweet corn, not a great favourite, but colourful. Spring, I hear you about the carbs. Bread has been banished from my life ;-( cos I can’t do it without all the things you mention, and toast, and also almond butter, can’t do the moderation basically. Have been trying to go the Michael Mosley route and use good fats to fill up. Soured cream is great on top of some veg, and makes up for the lack of bread or whatever.
Karen like the idea of saving up the calories for wine and choc, but I fear I wouldn’t have the control for that.
Spring well done on the 30 mins, I’m guilty of undoing the good work, but think the release of Endorphins is such a great extra, and it’s after exercise that the metabolism continues at a faster speed, and muscles burns more calories..
Annette, I succumbed to ice cream about 2 weeks ago, Kama Sutra B & J’s, I don’t officially like ice-cream!, anyway we just have to put these things behind us. Fasting tomorrow and Thurs, have 3 goals looming, May, June and July, so hoping it will be an incentive. xxx
I am pleased to report that I’ve stuck by my promise of 30 minutes walking for 3 days now, which is 3 days longer than I’ve stuck to for years. I look at what you’re all doing and shake my head in amazement, but a girl’s got to start somewhere! I can’t do it all in one go yet, so that’s my first goal.
A wonderful week to us all!
Lolly, what great news! You must be so proud of yourself – well done!! Day by day and step by step… 🙂
Tango, it is very encouraging to hear that you are changing your career. What was the trigger for that? When did you realize that you needed to change something? Sounds like you found a way to do it over time, which is certainly the most sensible approach. And you sound very confident about it, which is fabulous. So you are getting the qualification/training now and once you have it you will transition into the new profession? (Sorry if I am asking too much, feel free to ignore me)
All, have a good evening wherever you are.
Karen
Hi islanders! Well, no 30 min workout for me today, but Tango I felt as though I’d had one, just reading about everything in your “routine”! Wow very impressive and thank you – now that I know better than to try “insanity” (and thank you Spring, no need for me to do any more moaning than I already do!) maybe I will give yours a go.
I was on the go all day today, then hubs offered a sunset drive and dinner at a Mexican restaurant in a nearby town. Not going to pass that up! I forgot about 7/8 of the way through my margarita that it was loaded with sugar – oh well. And once we got home there was just enough time to catch up on my grading quota (3 papers a day HOLY MOTHER ARE THEY BAD, even after alcohol). And now it’s bedtime so perhaps I’ll get in an hour of exercise tomorrow. I feel like a slacker but it’s the best I can do! Lolly you go girl, you are awesome, my role model. Along with Annette, putting in an extra kilometer just for me I’m sure 😉😘 But hey, on my hour-ish run this weekend, I’m pleased to say I rediscovered my runner’s high – after about 3 miles I felt like I could just go forever. Which is pure bs but I FELT that way is the thing. I’ve missed enjoying my exercise, so that was nice 😍
Good heavens Chubs!! I wondered how you were getting on, now we know. I definitely agree with Spring that when someone tries to die in your house, a bit of extraordinary nutrition is warranted. 🍷🍷 I hope your own heart rate has returned to normal after all that excitement. Holy cowz.
Penguin, horseback riding? Sounds like great fun, and I remember it does give your legs a workout! Walking afterward gave me a workout too 😂 And hey, one FD is better than none! Did someone mention bread?? I couldn’t get enough of that on Sunday and just said what the **** just relax and have the ****ing bread. So speaking of awesome bread – Karen, are you in Germany? Oh my, the food there is wonderful.
All right this is definitely NOT helping anyone. I will try for a FD and some exercise tomorrow. Gotta love a plan that gives you a new chance every day ♥️ Sweet dreams islanders 🌴💤 xxxxx
Lovely work everyone, great to see the activity on the Island 🙂
I’m still trying to walk the puppies into the ground and can happily report that I’m doing so with much less pain than last week. It’s definitely use it or lose it and I’m even considering going for a swim later today – can you tell that my students are on mid-semester teaching break??!. The icing on the cake is the weather at it’s autumnal best with temperatures in the mid 20’s (that’s mid 70’s for you lot ‘up over’) with brilliant blue skies and crisp evenings – absolutely my favourite kind of weather.
In other random musings, I have a theory about the effects of short-term cycling weight loss/gain and body shape. So, I’ve been gaining and losing the same 10lbs for months now, but it appears that all loses come from ?? I-have-no-idea-but-possibly-the-back-of my-left-knee whereas ALL the gains go straight to my midriff. It’s so frustrating and it means that clothes I was able to wear 6 months ago, while they still fit, just don’t look so good anymore. How I wish that endless ‘lose weight from your belly’ crap was actually true and not.. well, crap. At this rate, without really gaining any significant weight overall I’m going to look more and more like the Michelin (wo) man 🙁
Okay, well enough whinging and I know the answer lies within my power (except perhaps when the Lizard has wrestled me to the ground 😉 ) so sending out some lizard-slaying vibes to you all because it’s great to share these struggles with you. Love Spring xx
Hi all, the penguin here, checking in for the week. Just finished 30 minutes on the treadmill—it was all I could muster after a relatively successful fast day. I have had three mini-york peppermint patties and an apple. I’ll have broccoli for dinner. Weird, I know. It’s just… school. Teaching, then workshop, sitting around for three hours talking about each others’ writing. People bring snacks. I do my best to not eat them, but I have a fondness/weakness for peppermint anything.
Anyway, I’m just here to say that, between my friend in Alabama and you all, I have really been embracing this 30 minutes-a-day thing. I’m so proud of all of us!
So glad to see some activity here again!
Oh!, comespring. How I empathize! This morning at the gym I finally weighed myself and then promptly got confused about what the number was before I got home and could record it. I’m going to have to check it again tomorrow before I make any declaration but I *think* it was a substantial loss and yet I’m still in the same jeans I’ve been wearing for months!
I’ve got a spare tire that’s very evident when I put on stretchy gym clothes. I’ve got unpleasant back fat. And I’ve still got both an above-the-belly-button belly and a below-the-belly-button one. So why are these things not diminishing?!
On the plus side, I no longer have double boobs and when I sit I don’t have the equivalent of a child on my lap. But it truly does seem that everything that goes on goes on the belly and what comes off… Well, where *did* it come off of?????
Yay for you for moving, penguin! I just learned that Dr. Mosley did another BBC doc about exercise. I’ve got to go looking for it.
Just got back from the gym. I’ve got a nice cross country program going on the bike. I spent a good deal of time up at a “performance” zone (even hit a high of 164bpm) and worked up a good sweat. I also noticed that my recovery between intervals is really improving.
Only one problem. I discovered that the ache I develop in my butt well before an hour is up is a bit of a rupture in the skin. I have a broken butt crack! 😳 …and, for some reason, sweat rolling down into it doesn’t help a bit.
Looks like I will have to find the right program on a treadmill for the rest of the week.
While I was there curiosity got the best of me — because it’s been a long time since I felt like I’d made much progress. So I weighed myself. 164.5 pounds. Down from 177 in mid-February. Twelve and half pounds. I’d be happier about that but some confusion yesterday (when I first weighed myself) between remembering the number and mistaking pounds for kilos caused me to briefly think I was at 143. …which I MUCH prefer and which robs me of some of the satisfaction. (Do I hear tiny violins???)
But I get to put a new benchmark on my tracker and get a visual on some success. And today is a food day again after 2 FDs so, all in all, broken butt or not, it’s a pretty good day! 😏
Ha ha, I snuck in to take a grading break and omg the butt crack crack – I can imagine that would be painful! Chubs, you always make me laugh. And let’s celebrate the still-terrific loss! Congrats to all of you, too, on the exercising – I’m working on 3-days-in-a-row of very little exercise. Just too much going on plus I’m on a tear to get these &*(& papers graded because another stack is waiting in the wings. Ah well, I’ll cheer you on from the sidelines until this weekend, then catch up with a 10k. Yes, I said that before but I WILL get it done this time, because my bd is this weekend and that’s when everyone else has to wait on ME. 🙂
So while I make all my excuses due to school, go PENGUIN for exercising and (eek) for your FD of peppermints and broccoli. I’m all for the Yorks but I do NOT like those little green trees that smell like swamp gas. Bon appetit! 😀
And in further confession, no FD yet this week – I was on a roll yesterday until hubs said “Let’s go to happy hour” at a favorite restaurant. YOLO and all that. And today is another happy hour with students, gee what a happy week I’m having! The scale was consulted and it was not happy, but only 2# worth of not happy so I’m actually not too unhappy about that. I would give that sentence an F but I’m sure you all understand.
Spring, I have a theory about that weight as well – “new” weight goes right to the midsection, so the good news is that it leaves much faster than that stubborn left knee fat lol. No really, though – recent gain goes away without all the drama of old fat. Anyway that’s my theory and I think you should run with it. Tell your clothes who’s boss.
OK, back to these darn papers, so tired of reading the same thing over and over…. I’ll no doubt be ready for happy hour soon, but I will practice my control muscles, I promise 😉 xxxxx
Hello All,
I am recovering from Easter and now that I am back to work…I am exhausted. As a result, I have made too many poor food choices along with the better ones but rather than beat myself up..feel guilty…eat rubbish…I am simply going to cut myself some slack for the rest of the week and then after the 10K on Sunday, get back to 2 FD a week and keep up running.
Ah Chubs..I feel your pain. I have found that although the fat has melted from the back, sides and I have gained a waist.. the tummy is resistant to further shrinkage. If Lustig is correct and we store fat on our belly ready to convert into fast energy…then the only solution seems to be more exercise and less sugar.
Well done Penguin. You will find that it will become addictive as you realize that 30 minutes a day is very doable and that you feel much better afterwards.
Spring-me too! I do wonder whether the key to belly shrinkage is less sugar in the diet. I have lost 4 inches off my waist, but really need to lose another 3 to be less than half my height. My plan is to watch the sugar intake with a gimlet eye and see if that has any effect along with the running. It is 6 weeks until half term, so I hope to see a positive change then.
Jade-hope the students papers improve or you will be reaching for more sugar! It is great to experience the runners high. Even when I struggle, like I did this afternoon, I always feel good for having done it.
Lolly- well done and Hi to Karen, Tango, queen and apologies to anyone that I have missed.
Hi all,
great to read from you. You are such a lively and inspiring group 🙂 And very creative writers, too. You make me laugh quite a bit. thanks for that!
I am good on my challenge since I am religiously entering all calories in this food / exercise app. Staying below the TDEE so far. Did some running in the rain this morning, it was cold & windy, too. Took me about 15 minutes to make up my mind whether I should do it or not, but then I thought that if it would be easy everyone would do it and now is the time for me to do things that I might otherwise not do.
The park was so empty, about 90% of the usual runners crowd wasn’t there, so the rest of us felt pretty good about ourselves as we were brave enough to face the elements. Disappointing, though, that I was the only woman as far as I can tell. Are the guys better in overcoming their laziness?
While running I thought about you guys and the fast diet and the fact that I am really keen to NOT make it another diet to lose weight but rather change my diet for good. And it is going well right now, I have lost more than I have expected, not too much longer and I will be where I want my body to be. But keeping the weight and making a chance for good will be yet another big and maybe lifetime challenge. Maybe you guys have discussed all that already on one of the other 41 pages of this post, apologies for not checking that. I read in the book, that one can go on 6:1 to maintain the weight. Sounds sensible. But the calorie checking can never stop. It would be nice if one could introduce a binge-day into the week. A day of carefree eating. Are you doing this from time to time, I mean not by accident where you just happen to have a day and all the food is coming your way and you give in. But rather a day that you declare as a binge day before it starts and then you eat and don’t think about any calories?
Cheers,
Karen
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We pay tribute to our dear friend and colleague, Dr. Michael Mosley. Michael was an integral part of our lives, […]
Michael is touring Australia this September! Here's a link to dates and tickets. Hope to see you there.
Michael Mosley gives an update for 2019, current research in the field and announces a tour starting in February.
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