Staying the Course -- 8-17-2015

[Superbob]

Welcome to a new Staying the Course Week! Do I detect just a slight moderating of the torrid summer temps here in the subtropics? I know, folks pay big bucks to come here and bask in the sun, but personally I prefer autumn weather. Not too far away now.

I wrote in my blog this morning about trying to get back into walking without having sweet ol' Sadie on a leash. A big breakthrough was taking the grandkids out to Brookgreen Gardens this weekend -- a 9,000-acre preserve of native flora and fauna as well as American sculpture. (The largest collection anywhere, I'm told.) Just a slice of heaven -- love it!

Anyway I let the grands talk me into a walk through the Lowcountry Zoo that meanders for miles (or what seem like miles anyway) through a near-wilderness with sightings of red foxes, bald eagles, river otters (Nature's coolest show-offs), and alligators (and more). The good news is that I survived this adventure and am now getting more motivated to walk solo (dedicating every walk, of course, to the memory of sweet Sadie dog, who shared walks with me nearly every day for 15 years.) I wrote about this on my blog, www.steadfastdawgwalker.com -- if anyone would like to read more.

Brookgreen is great for all seasons -- so I bought a family membership for the year and plan to do a lot of walking out there.

On a sadder note, picked up urn with Sadie's ashes at the vet's today -- will always have an honored place in my home.

Hope all Stay the Course folks have a great week!

Cheers,
SUPERBOB

 

[honeybunny]

Good for you taking the grands to the zoo. You are a better grandparent than I! I prefer to throw money at mine and let their parents cart them around

I have a weight update: down 5-1/2 lbs. since August 3 when my surgeon gave me a list of "nevers" including:

Never eat bread.
Never eat between meals.
Never use salad dressing (just oil and vinegar).
Never eat after 8 p.m.
Never eat dessert.

Nothing I've not heard or tried before, but for some reason things are working this time. Maybe I'm combining all these "nevers" without realizing it and its working. I won't be down to my ideal weight by my surgery date (9/30) but every pound lost will make for an easier recovery.

Re: Sadie; you know I am with you on that one, Superbob. I've got many waiting for me on the Rainbow Bridge.

 

[Superbob]

Good for you taking the grands to the zoo. You are a better grandparent than I! I prefer to throw money at mine and let their parents cart them around

I have a weight update: down 5-1/2 lbs. since August 3 when my surgeon gave me a list of "nevers" including:

Never eat bread.
Never eat between meals.
Never use salad dressing (just oil and vinegar).
Never eat after 8 p.m.
Never eat dessert.

Nothing I've not heard or tried before, but for some reason things are working this time. Maybe I'm combining all these "nevers" without realizing it and its working. I won't be down to my ideal weight by my surgery date (9/30) but every pound lost will make for an easier recovery.

Re: Sadie; you know I am with you on that one, Superbob. I've got many waiting for me on the Rainbow Bridge.

Thanks for joining me on this course we're staying, honeybunny --- was beginning to feel pretty lonely out here. Of course it's mid-August and people are getting in vacations, schools are opening, a lot going on -- I understand why some of our regulars haven't been by.

I routinely violate every one of those "nevers" but thanks for posting them -- I can keep them in mind, could start with the salad dressing. As far as eating between meals, some nutritionists advise it -- or actually eating six small meals. The catch, though, is eating healthy in-betweens like carrots and celery and nuts -- and my snacks are not always wise choices. I can work on that. Don't know if I could ever go completely without bread -- but I could cut down. I am my hungriest late at night -- but I could take care to stock up with healthy snacks. Desserts -- I do avoid sometimes, but again I'd say moderation here.

Of course you are the one who's lost 5 1/2 pounds -- and congrats on that! Terrific! Keep us posted on your upcoming AVR -- your dedication to fitness should help you with that.

I may follow your lead and just post my weight numbers up or down instead of gross -- in my case very gross. That would be a way to work weight back into our discussion. I will have to work on courage to get on my Weight Watchers scales and find a baseline weight -- then report up or down based on that. Will try tomorrow morning.

Thanks for the kind words about Sadie. I do miss her dearly, but my son travels a lot in his work and his big ol' dawg Dasher boy boards here an awful lot. He can be a handful sometime but he is a good dog too -- a yellow lab. Loves to play. I wonder what he thinks about his friend Sadie not being here. Hasn't given any outward signs, but he must be aware.

 

[dornole]

I'm here Superbob! I have good momentum to share on the weight loss front. I got back to weightlifting class yesterday and man am I sore. BUT it is a step back to getting into a solid exercise routine. Today I will walk 10000 steps. I've also re-started the weight loss plan that was effective for me before which is pre-tracking all the food I plan to eat and exercise I plan to do on fitbit either the night before or before eating in the a.m. This allows see if plans to have a treat are realistic, the work of tracking is done, and if I deviate from the plan I have to change it which is a disincentive to stray. I had a 400 calorie deficit two days ago and 1000 calorie yesterday without feeling deprived. I also got a new organization system that's helping me thoughtfully plan what to do for my health each day. So I should be able to report a weight loss within a week or two and be a healthy weight by Christmas. Sitting at 162 at last check which is about 30 pounds heavier than my short self needs.

Stay the Course - what will you do today for your health? : )

 

[Superbob]

That looks like a winner of a plan, dornole! Your goals look similar to my new STC weight plan, which, coincidentally, I was about to share when I saw your great post. Perfect timing.

Okay, I finally got on the scales this morning and got my baseline weight. On the second Monday of each month, I will weigh in and post any change -- down (I hope) or up from that baseline. I'm not going to post the baseline for now -- though I was pleased it wasn't as bad as I feared it would be. Guess by staying busy and not pigging out too much I have burned some fat.

Others are welcome to weigh in on this schedule -- or any other they might prefer. And can post either up/down or actual weights or both, as preferred.

SO my first STC weigh-in day (reporting change from my personal baseline) will be Monday, September 7 (Labor Day). (Or of course any day that week would be fine.)

Others are free to report weights weekly if they prefer (or of course not do weigh-ins at all), but sometimes I get discouraged when there is little change week to week. So I'm going to try monthly.

My goal, following this plan, is to lose 10 pounds by Christmas Day. I think that is doable. (And then keep holiday gain to no more than 3 pounds.)

BTW, I also find some incentive by tracking food and fitness in Sparkpeople.com daily.

All best to all our Stay the Course folks.

 

[epstns]

I'm still here, but temporarily have less time to post. This is the last week of frantic preparation for my auditors' annual visit to review company financial statements. As I've said before, summer is my favorite season, but for all the years I've been at this job it has had to take a secondary position to work, with our fiscal year ending on June 30 we have auditors and their inevitable questions all summer and into the fall.

I'm still trying to stay with my exercise routine, but summer also kicks that out the window. The fitness center I belong to closes down their cardio workout facility for 2 to 3 weeks every August for cleaning and refurbishment. I guess they found that August is their slowest month so they inconvenience fewer members by closing then. Doesn't help me, though. I don't swim, so all I can do is walk miles on the paths around the center. Better than nothing, though, and I sort of enjoy the serenity of walking.

I haven't finalized my STC goal this season. It might be a weight loss goal for the end of summer, or maybe I'll try to just maintain my current summer weight through the winter. Either way, I want to keep a meaningful goal out there so I don't lose track of things.

 

[honeybunny]

I am using My Fitness Pal, Superbob. I've used Loseit! In the past to track calories and exercise but I'm liking MFP better. They had the calories and nutritional info for a appetizer at BJs. Pretty impressive. A scanner for food labels is very helpful also.

I'm 5' even and was 160 at the surgeons on 8/3. Today I was 154. This is the first time I've gone steadily down in four years. That encourages me to STAY THE COURSE!!

 

[harrietW]

I really need to jump on this band wagon. I have literally doubled my body weight in 2.5 yrs not being able to exercise walk more than half a block at a time and being completely breathless all the time and worsening. I really need that list of nevers. I need to seriously lose a lot of weight very quickly in order to have a better recovery

 

[Superbob]

Harriet -- would love to have you be part of our informal group here. Mostly we've just chatted out what's going in in our lives, our goals in general, activities, fitness quests, etc. But recently we have talked about tracking weight more regularly -- those who want to.

For starters, I took my own baseline weight today, and on first Monday of each month (starting with September 7), I'm going to weigh-in and see how much I have lost (or gained ) -- sure hope for the former. My modest goal is to lose 10 pounds by Christmas. Thought might try monthly weigh-ins, but if others want to do theirs weekly, that's fine.

One piece of advice: if you're looking to lose a lot of weight very quickly, I recommend you consult a medical professional first. But by all means Stay the Course with us, too.

 

[harrietW]

Superbob thank you, sounds great and forsure l am not about to try any lose weight quick schemes in my condition. Just a little dream lol ! I read earlier about your Sadie and l am very sorry for your loss. I know how hard it is l had a Sadie also and to be honest l found it hard to read and tried to avoid saying anything because l didn't want to feel my own pain. I am really sorry.l look forward to follow this thread thank you for the invite. Thats kind of you Xx

 

[dornole]

WHoo hoo honeybunny encouraging August! Stay the course!

Good to see you popping in Harriet. I hope it will be helpful to you.

 

[Superbob]

I am using My Fitness Pal, Superbob. I've used Loseit! In the past to track calories and exercise but I'm liking MFP better. They had the calories and nutritional info for a appetizer at BJs. Pretty impressive. A scanner for food labels is very helpful also.

I'm 5' even and was 160 at the surgeons on 8/3. Today I was 154. This is the first time I've gone steadily down in four years. That encourages me to STAY THE COURSE!!

honeybunny,, that is great progress! Congrats! Hope I will have some progress to report soon as well. Really helpful to read about the approaches you are using.

 

[Superbob]

Superbob thank you, sounds great and forsure l am not about to try any lose weight quick schemes in my condition. Just a little dream lol ! I read earlier about your Sadie and l am very sorry for your loss. I know how hard it is l had a Sadie also and to be honest l found it hard to read and tried to avoid saying anything because l didn't want to feel my own pain. I am really sorry.l look forward to follow this thread thank you for the invite. Thats kind of you Xx

Harriet, thanks for your kind thoughts about my Sadie -- I miss her dearly but she lived a long and happy life -- well beyond the average life expectancy for a golden. My son's yellow lab spends a lot of time visiting us from next door so we do have a doggie presence. Maybe someday if one comes along like Sadie we'll get another best friend of our own. We are so glad to have you with us in Staying the Course.

 

[Superbob]

hey, dornole (or other STCers), do you find fitbit to be a worthwhile investment? I saw a display at Sam's Club this morning and was intrigued. I would like my steps tracked -- never have found a reliable pedometer. Heart rate would be advisable. Weight tracking -- maybe motivational. If I had one that monitored my sleep, the device probably would go haywire because I am a restless sleeper. See several different models and not sure which might most benefit an old codger like me. (Looks like they were roughly $20 less at Sam's than on their website fitbit.com) .....

 

[dornole]

I have the Fitbit Charge HR wristband and find it to be very motivational. The step counts are in fact accurate. Mine also tracks flights of stairs (or equivalent if you walk uphill) and active minutes, and it has a clock to function as a watch. It has a heart rate monitor that functions via flashing lights directed at the skin of your wrist. It is nowhere near as responsive or accurate as my fitness HR monitor with a chest strap - you can't really use it for interval training - but it does go up with exertion and that goes into the "calories expended" calculation so you get credit for working harder. The Flex wristband can be had for $80 on Amazon but does not have HR or a watch. (Was on sale at Christmas time for $60). This link has the comparisons:

https://www.fitbit.com/compare

What is really cool about the Fitbit vs a pedometer is the software. If you have a tablet or smartphone, the app is really slick but you can also use the website. Super easy to view your steps, track food and your calorie burn, see if you are on track for eating throughout the day, hand-enter other exercise like weights or biking. I also really love the "challenges." I know about 10 people who have fitbit and I can challenge them to a step-off. If I'm off the wagon someone else may challenge me and that gets me going again. I "think" only the wrist units can do challenges. They're fun! Lots of updates on who's ahead, you can cheer on others, etc.

I used to have a Jawbone UP but it kept breaking and no one I knew used it. I've been happy with the Fitbit.

 

[Superbob]

thanks dornole, this is very helpful. My daughter-in-law told me last night that she has one she got free as an award of some sort, it's mid-range of the various options, and she says it's great but she doesn't want it any more and I can have it. But I hate to take it, 'cause she might change her mind and miss using it. So I'm going to shop around some more. Saw a display at Sam's Club yesterday, for the "Charge" (like yours I gather), and it looked nifty. I haven't yet gotten into the smartphone (have a very dumb old cellphone) but my grandkids having been nagging me to do so, so maybe take a big tech leap forward and do both.... but I gather I could just connect it to my Macbook and record readings there.