April Fitness and Healthy Eating Goals

[ejchase]

Hello,

After suffering a shoulder injury that kept me fairly inactive for a couple of months, I'm trying to get back in shape.

My goals for the rest of April:

Take 18 walks of at least 30 minutes, including at least four that are at least 60 minutes

Do at least 15 minutes of yoga/physical therapy exercises 24 times, including at least 10 times when I do at least 30 minutes of yoga, and at least 3 times when I do at least an hour.

Go 20 days without sugar or alcohol.

Anybody else in?

Elizabeth

[The Storyteller]

I'm always in. :)

I'm still pounding away at getting to 165 pounds by April 24, one year after I changed to healthy eating lifestyle. On that date last year I weighed in at 223. I did hit 165.6 one day last week, but since have fluctuated between 166 and 167 most mornings, so I'm not counting it. Can't seem to lose that last couple of pounds. With the warmer weather and farming and gardening duties ramping up, I expect my energy use will increase, so that may take care of it. Tomorrow will be 12 hours of farming. I do feel and look much trimmer than just a couple of weeks ago, though, so maybe I'm trading muscle for fat.

I have been keeping up with MyFitnessPal and have logged every day for the last month and a half. Still reading lots and lots of health books. Saw a bit on The Doctors tv show about jumping rope the other day. Don't know why I didn't think of it before. As a boxer I would jump rope for an hour at a time and think nothing of it. Tried it ten years ago and all it brought me was knee pain. But that was many pounds ago. I'm much closer to my boxing weight now, so maybe I will give it a shot.

Feeling great lately!

[awakenedsoul]

Hi Elizabeth,

Sure. Mine is to keep up what I've been doing: biking four miles each morning and doing yoga, pilates, or dance exercise 5 or 6 nights a week. I also want to dig up all of the weeds on my property and finish trimming my trees.

Diet wise I'm in good shape. I switched from sugar to agave in my coffee. I still have a couple pieces of chocolate or a couple of cookies a day, but that's okay. I've cut my coffee consumption in half, and that feels better. It's cheaper, too. I want to eat up the vegetables I get in my bi weekly box from the organic co op, instead of composting some of them.

[Selah]

I am now officially overweight. I used to walk one hour a day, six or seven days a week, and lift weights three or four times a week...and then my knee started hurting so I "took a break" that extended to over a year! Now my knee is better, but I need to start lifting weights again. Unfortunately, I seem to have some kind of arthritis in my left elbow that has pained me for over four months now. Does anyone have any advice on whether it is safe to lift weights with an arthritic joint? I haven't seen the doctor about it specifically, so I don't know what kind of arthritis/bursitis/tendinitis it may be.

Any advice would be appreciated. Strapping and bracing and IcyHot haven't helped, and even a painkiller with codeine in it did virtually nothing to stop the pain. I can bend my elbow, but can't lift anything when my arm is in any position except hanging straight down. It hurts 24/7 but is not inflamed, and I didn't injure it in any way I can remember. I am right-handed and use my computer mouse with my right hand.

[Gardenarian]

Selah, I think you should see a doctor about your arm, especially before lifting weights.

I'm continuing my foot rehabilitation. I went for a long ramble (6 miles or so) and had very little foot pain until I got back onto the pavement. Then I could feel every step, not only in my foot but in my lower back and shoulder. So I'm going to try and get in as much off-road walking as I can - better for my spirit, as well as body!

I'm going to continue with modified yoga and hope I see some improvement. I need more consistency with this - I'm going to commit to 10 minutes every evening.

I've been careless about my diet - I don't need to lose weight, but I haven't been eating well at all. I'm going to try and eat a big salad every day this month.

[ejchase]

Hi All,

I've taken 8 30-minute walks so far and done at least 15 min of yoga 10 times. I'm off from work this whole week, so I'm trying to walk and stretch every day while I have the time.

I haven't made much progress avoiding sugar and alcohol, though I went without both yesterday.

Selah, I'm with Gardenarian: I'd get the elbow checked out.

How are the rest of you doing?

Elizabeth

[Float On]

Finally after over a year and a half from the broken ankle (and I did find out I had a broken bone in the lower leg as well - no wonder that had hurt so bad). Anyway, I still feel the ankle and leg but I can carry through. I'm back to some light trail running, weights and bands, and we've turned the studio into an exercise room that has a lot of equipment. My 16 year old is re-training me on how to use everything (he's so buff!) And best of all...it's lake kayak season again (my arms are feeling all that wind I fought the other day on the lake).

Edited to add eating goals: I'm 7 months diet coke free, 2 months chocolate free. I still like my coffee. I tried tea again for awhile but still it dehydrates me too much and gives me heartburn. Its a good thing I like water. This last week I felt a real turn in my cravings and I think I'll see fewer lbs on the scales the next time I find a scale to weight myself on.

[Gardenarian]

Float on, sounds like you've made a lot of great changes!
I need to get back to kayaking. Because I kayak in the SF Bay I don't feel safe going out alone, and it's been hard to arrange with anyone else. My upper body could use the exercise - besides, it's just so fun and beautiful out there.

I haven't been keeping up with the yoga, but I have been eating better. The weather has been glorious so getting outdoors is no problem.

[bthatch]

I started the no sugar thing back in march so I am definitely in to keep up with that! I've had some slip ups with the holiday weekend but back on track this week! Getting into some new workouts and exercises so I'm excited to see how those go! The weather is finally staying somewhat nice so I'm also going to try to do some outdoor activities as much as I can.

[Gardenarian]

I've been keeping up with having a salad every day and that makes my other food choices easier as well.
Got in a lot of hiking this past week (and a small case of poison oak), and as long as I stay off the pavement my foot is not too bad.
I'm starting to regain some of the muscle mass I lost. The older you are the faster it seems to go.
As for yoga, it's not much fun when I'm so limited - but I know it will help me build strength, so I've just got to be more vigilant about it.

bthatch - what benefits do you find from cutting out sugar? I know my dd gets really grumpy and kind of lazy when she eats sugar, but I don't feel much effect (though I do try to keep my overall carbs low. I like a cup of cocoa in the evening.)

[Float On]

I'm continuing my foot rehabilitation. I went for a long ramble (6 miles or so) and had very little foot pain until I got back onto the pavement. Then I could feel every step, not only in my foot but in my lower back and shoulder. So I'm going to try and get in as much off-road walking as I can - better for my spirit, as well as body!

I too am more off-road now. I can really tell a difference in my ankle and lower leg with how far I can go or how much running I can do when I stay on the wood trails instead of the regular walking paved trail.
And in good news the new pants I bought 5 weeks ago are now too big! April has been a good month after that long dreary winter.

[The Storyteller]

I mentioned several times my goal of losing 58 pounds since April 24 last year, by that date this year. Started out at 223, goal was 165. This is what my scales read this morning...


http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/pp29/storypage/scales164_zps2158c931.jpg

A day early and a pound lower than my goal. SUCCESS!!! Except my old Marine buddy is teasing me because I still can't fit in my old dress blues. I weigh a pound less than in the Marines, but maybe those pounds are just in different places. :)

And then I went to the doc for my annual checkup. Bad cholesterol a little high at 83 (he wants it at 70 or lower). Good cholesterol a little low at 37. Needs to be over 40. Triglycerides and blood sugar levels were perfect. BP was 118 over 72. PSA count was .5 (goal is less than 4, so that is good!).

All in all, not a bad report for a 61 year old heart attack survivor. Now to move into sustaining mode for health and weight, and switch to strength training. :)

Or maybe I'll lose those next 8 to 10 pounds and see if I can squeeze into that uniform.

[rosarugosa]

Congratulations, Storyteller! My DH is on a 40-lb weight lost quest and I hope he has similar results!

[ejchase]

Congratulations, Storyteller! That's fantastic!

I have done 17 of the 18 walks I was aiming for this month, though several of my other goals have fallen by the wayside. Still, I'm getting in better shape.

[fitasafiddle]

I have found it can be surprising how long it can take muscle injuries to heal. Treatment helps but costs time and money - depends how much of both you have. The major pain may diminish but a niggling discomfort can remain for some time - especially if they are muscles which are difficult to truly rest. Even though i am reasonably fit i had a muscle spasm down one side of my body - basically from the hips all the way down. I had enormous trouble sleeping, i was getting massage twice a week and on painkillers just to get thru the day. eventually it settled down but it took several weeks. And this was not an actual injury - just muscle spasm.

I once somehow injured the muscles in a finger and it took months to heal - because they were muscles i couldn't properly rest.

I think when injuries are muscle based, genuine rest is important, and treatment such as physio or massage will help speed up the process - but you need to find a good practitioner.