2016 Resolvers: Fitness Support

[Whoosh]

So I was supposed to be back at this around 2 weeks ago, but then got orders to limit activity for a bit.  Yesterday my Dr. called and said I can go back to the regular routine.  WOOT.  For today and tomorrow, that probably won't mean much in terms of steps on my fitbit, but I will be spending more time vertical and getting the house a bit back in order - hopefully by Monday I will have eased back into things.

Goal: Put the breaks on my fast-moving train to serious fitness problems
My reasons for motivation: Maintain best fitness level I can for better quality of life
How I'm gonna do it:

• Schedule the crap outta my day a la one of our fav fundies (for myself only LOL).  Annoying, but seems to help me be as active as my body allows
• Track all food.  Stay in calorie range for the week.  Follow plan from nutritionist 
• Check in with fitbit pals daily for motivation- try to increase vertical time and steps taken each day.
• Strength & flexibility exercises at least 5 days/week

Well, that's that for now.  Keep it up, team!

 

[withaj]

21 minutes ago, Whoosh said:

So I was supposed to be back at this around 2 weeks ago, but then got orders to limit activity for a bit.  Yesterday my Dr. called and said I can go back to the regular routine.  WOOT.  For today and tomorrow, that probably won't mean much in terms of steps on my fitbit, but I will be spending more time vertical and getting the house a bit back in order - hopefully by Monday I will have eased back into things.

Goal: Put the breaks on my fast-moving train to serious fitness problems
My reasons for motivation: Maintain best fitness level I can for better quality of life
How I'm gonna do it:

• Schedule the crap outta my day a la one of our fav fundies (for myself only LOL).  Annoying, but seems to help me be as active as my body allows
• Track all food.  Stay in calorie range for the week.  Follow plan from nutritionist 
• Check in with fitbit pals daily for motivation- try to increase vertical time and steps taken each day.
• Strength & flexibility exercises at least 5 days/week

Well, that's that for now.  Keep it up, team!

 

Yay!

Are we going to make this workweek hustle challenge a regular thing, guys? I wish there was one for a full 7 day period but maybe 5 is more than enough  Plus we have 3 slots left!

[Whoosh]

35 minutes ago, withaj said:

Yay!

Are we going to make this workweek hustle challenge a regular thing, guys? I wish there was one for a full 7 day period but maybe 5 is more than enough  Plus we have 3 slots left!

I have either just joined the workweek hustle challenge OR I just created one for me, myself, and I on my phone LOL.  I am on a mac, so can only see challenges on my phone.  If I just joined something larger - great.  If I didn't, I will when there is one!

[church_of_dog]

7 minutes ago, withaj said:

Yay!

Are we going to make this workweek hustle challenge a regular thing, guys? I wish there was one for a full 7 day period but maybe 5 is more than enough  Plus we have 3 slots left!

For those of us in fitbit-won't-let-the-challenges-though world (aka Mac-land), would you be kind enough to describe the challenge here just so I can pretend I'm playing along?

As for me, I'm still figuring fitbit stuff out.  According to fitbit I ate 3500 calories less last week than I burned.  So in theory if I continue that trend I should lose a few pounds in the next few weeks.  Hard to say if I've been eating less than I've burned prior to last week (when I got serious about the food tracking) because there was also holiday treats around.  So far I've not lost any weight in recent weeks, that's all I'm sure of.  So maybe I'm eating more/same than I'm burning after all, or maybe I'm on a plateau (but since I haven't exercised much in the last month I doubt that).  Or maybe, as y'all have been saying, fitbit's food tracking is just messed up and who knows.

If it IS accurate, I'm only burning 1500-2000 calories per day so trying to have any substantial differential in my eating does bring me down really low, as was discussed earlier.  Part of me thinks the answer is to exercise more, which is all well and good except for my damn neuroma-foot that hurts when I walk more than about a half a mile at a time.  The slushy/icy conditions outside don't help either (no gym nearby and usually walking outdoors is just fine).  But I'm also seeing people (both here and IRL) saying that eating fewer calories is easier/better than exercise.  (Note:  I completely agree with @Maggie Mae that for my goals of increased strength, exercise is needed.  Talking here just about trying to lose a little weight).  And so with such a low burn level, I'm baffled how I can eat fewer calories without dipping uncomfortably close to the BMR.

One side detail that might make a difference -- I have a lower-than-normal resting heartrate.  It may also be lower than normal when doing light or moderate exercise.  So I'm wondering if there is a way that might be skewing things, although I can't see how that might work -- if I'm actually burning more calories than fitbit thinks I am (due to fitbit seeing my low heart rate and thinking I'm even more sedentary than I am, for example), then I should be losing some weight by now, no?

Anyway, all insights appreciated.

[Destiny]

41 minutes ago, withaj said:

Yay!

Are we going to make this workweek hustle challenge a regular thing, guys? I wish there was one for a full 7 day period but maybe 5 is more than enough  Plus we have 3 slots left!

I vote yes. I'll make another one shortly. As before, if you see an FJ-r I missed, please invite them.

Edit: I also sent out invites for a weekend one.

 

[withaj]

47 minutes ago, church_of_dog said:

For those of us in fitbit-won't-let-the-challenges-though world (aka Mac-land), would you be kind enough to describe the challenge here just so I can pretend I'm playing along?

As for me, I'm still figuring fitbit stuff out.  According to fitbit I ate 3500 calories less last week than I burned.  So in theory if I continue that trend I should lose a few pounds in the next few weeks.  Hard to say if I've been eating less than I've burned prior to last week (when I got serious about the food tracking) because there was also holiday treats around.  So far I've not lost any weight in recent weeks, that's all I'm sure of.  So maybe I'm eating more/same than I'm burning after all, or maybe I'm on a plateau (but since I haven't exercised much in the last month I doubt that).  Or maybe, as y'all have been saying, fitbit's food tracking is just messed up and who knows.

If it IS accurate, I'm only burning 1500-2000 calories per day so trying to have any substantial differential in my eating does bring me down really low, as was discussed earlier.  Part of me thinks the answer is to exercise more, which is all well and good except for my damn neuroma-foot that hurts when I walk more than about a half a mile at a time.  The slushy/icy conditions outside don't help either (no gym nearby and usually walking outdoors is just fine).  But I'm also seeing people (both here and IRL) saying that eating fewer calories is easier/better than exercise.  (Note:  I completely agree with @Maggie Mae that for my goals of increased strength, exercise is needed.  Talking here just about trying to lose a little weight).  And so with such a low burn level, I'm baffled how I can eat fewer calories without dipping uncomfortably close to the BMR.

One side detail that might make a difference -- I have a lower-than-normal resting heartrate.  It may also be lower than normal when doing light or moderate exercise.  So I'm wondering if there is a way that might be skewing things, although I can't see how that might work -- if I'm actually burning more calories than fitbit thinks I am (due to fitbit seeing my low heart rate and thinking I'm even more sedentary than I am, for example), then I should be losing some weight by now, no?

Anyway, all insights appreciated.

Hmmm, all the fitness-y technical details are sort of beyond me at this point, to be honest, but I'm a Mac user and no problem with viewing/participating in the Fitbit challenges -- do you have an iPhone? I don't think they show up on desktop for either Mac or PC (not having the latter, though, I can't confirm).

[Firiel]

1 hour ago, church_of_dog said:

For those of us in fitbit-won't-let-the-challenges-though world (aka Mac-land), would you be kind enough to describe the challenge here just so I can pretend I'm playing along?

As for me, I'm still figuring fitbit stuff out.  According to fitbit I ate 3500 calories less last week than I burned.  So in theory if I continue that trend I should lose a few pounds in the next few weeks.  Hard to say if I've been eating less than I've burned prior to last week (when I got serious about the food tracking) because there was also holiday treats around.  So far I've not lost any weight in recent weeks, that's all I'm sure of.  So maybe I'm eating more/same than I'm burning after all, or maybe I'm on a plateau (but since I haven't exercised much in the last month I doubt that).  Or maybe, as y'all have been saying, fitbit's food tracking is just messed up and who knows.

If it IS accurate, I'm only burning 1500-2000 calories per day so trying to have any substantial differential in my eating does bring me down really low, as was discussed earlier.  Part of me thinks the answer is to exercise more, which is all well and good except for my damn neuroma-foot that hurts when I walk more than about a half a mile at a time.  The slushy/icy conditions outside don't help either (no gym nearby and usually walking outdoors is just fine).  But I'm also seeing people (both here and IRL) saying that eating fewer calories is easier/better than exercise.  (Note:  I completely agree with @Maggie Mae that for my goals of increased strength, exercise is needed.  Talking here just about trying to lose a little weight).  And so with such a low burn level, I'm baffled how I can eat fewer calories without dipping uncomfortably close to the BMR.

One side detail that might make a difference -- I have a lower-than-normal resting heartrate.  It may also be lower than normal when doing light or moderate exercise.  So I'm wondering if there is a way that might be skewing things, although I can't see how that might work -- if I'm actually burning more calories than fitbit thinks I am (due to fitbit seeing my low heart rate and thinking I'm even more sedentary than I am, for example), then I should be losing some weight by now, no?

Anyway, all insights appreciated.

Again, note that I am not a degreed exercise professional.

If you are burning fewer calories than someone of your height/weight would normally burn during exercise, then you also may have a lower BMR than most people of your height/weight, so the standard calculator number may be high for you which means you could cut your calories more without dipping below your personal BMR.  Short of actually going in for metabolic testing (which I imagine is quite expensive...), there's no way you can know for sure which kind  of sucks.

Is there any way you could either see a doctor or personal trainer or something for a consultation?  I know that can be expensive and isn't always an option, but sometimes a consultation can give you some information to help yourself without totally breaking the bank... 

[meda]

I think the Fitbit really over estimates  calories burned. FitnessPal food logging seems much more accurate. Just a non professional observation 

[Firiel]

So, I did my 20-mile run today!   It was hard, but not as bad as I was worried about.  No troublesome pain, and I managed an 8:10/mile pace.  My dad did a 10 miler yesterday, and our times were literally only four seconds apart.  We got a kick out of that when we realized that on the phone today.

[church_of_dog]

@withaj, I don't have a smartphone, and fitbit only has software to accommodate challenges for smartphones and for specific versions of Windows, but none for Mac.  There's a whole thread about it on their help forum, and they have said "we're working on it" and then not replied for months to the more recent inquiries.  I'm not techie enough to know how (or really care about) finding a workaround, so I just thought maybe I could "simulate" participating just by knowing what it is that y'all are doing.  @Destiny helped me out in a PM with an explanation, and since I have several of y'all (why do I keep saying that?  It's not in my IRL lexicon) as fitbit friends, I can pretty much see how I'm ranking anyway.  I can always post my weekly total here if anyone wants to know.

And @Firiel, thanks for the advice/comment.  I would love to have a metabolic screen or a personal trainer -- but before even considering cost concerns, I don't think there are any services like that offered in my area.  I'll just keep tracking (and truckin') and make adjustments based on how I feel and what kind of results I'm getting.  And maybe I'll go to MyFitnessPal just to rule out any of fitbit's particular weirdnesses and make sure only my own weirdnesses remain...

ETA:  and YAYYYY!  You rock! for completing that 20-miler!  I've walked that far in a day (remember walkathons?) but not for years and never run anywhere near that far in one day.  You are inspiring!

[Firiel]

4 minutes ago, church_of_dog said:

ETA:  and YAYYYY!  You rock! for completing that 20-miler!  I've walked that far in a day (remember walkathons?) but not for years and never run anywhere near that far in one day.  You are inspiring!

Thanks!   I was pretty worried about a bunch of random things, and it actually went pretty well!

[Whoosh]

3 minutes ago, church_of_dog said:

I'll just keep tracking (and truckin') and make adjustments based on how I feel and what kind of results I'm getting

This is really what i think actually needs to happen with this stuff.  For one, the calorie trackers are not always ideal as people have said.  Don't get me started on trying to figure out how many calories of rice I just had LOL.  For two, the fitbit will give an idea of what you have burned, but it isn't ideal.  What I have heard over time is that for most of us we are somewhat routine in what we do and eat.  If you can figure out the zone where what fitbit tells you for calories in and what it tells you for calories out is giving the desired weight goals = now that's the ticket and reality isn't so important.  I know this has been said a few times probably, so sorry for that.  

[Maggie Mae]

17 hours ago, Firiel said:

So, I did my 20-mile run today!   It was hard, but not as bad as I was worried about.  No troublesome pain, and I managed an 8:10/mile pace.  My dad did a 10 miler yesterday, and our times were literally only four seconds apart.  We got a kick out of that when we realized that on the phone today.

Good work!

 

[ClaraOswin]

The windchill was negative 16 this morning and I so didn't want to leave the house...but I forced myself to go to the wellness center anyway. I did 15 minutes on the elliptical and 20 on the bike. Then I went to the pool and did some laps. Then I walked/"jogged" more laps in the shallow end for a bit. I didn't do tons in the pool but I did more than last time (which was Wednesday.)

I feel dumb posting about my very little exercise over here since everyone else seems to do a lot. But...it's just where I'm at now. And it's better than nothing at this point.

[withaj]

1 minute ago, ClaraOswin said:

The windchill was negative 16 this morning and I so didn't want to leave the house...but I forced myself to go to the wellness center anyway. I did 15 minutes on the elliptical and 20 on the bike. Then I went to the pool and did some laps. Then I walked/"jogged" more laps in the shallow end for a bit. I didn't do tons in the pool but I did more than last time (which was Wednesday.)

I feel dumb posting about my very little exercise over here since everyone else seems to do a lot. But...it's just where I'm at now. And it's better than nothing at this point.

That's great! I'm not doing much worth writing about at the moment, so that sounds very disciplined to me. (I'm just trying to make my steps on Fitbit. Getting up around 10,000 most days, but only around 6,000 today... though a lot of those steps were climbing a verrrrry tall belltower.)

[ClaraOswin]

That a lot of steps to me! Nice! On a regular day for me, I'm lucky if I get 5,000 steps. I'm sure I'll get more once the weather warms up and I can take my son for walks. But now...we're pretty much at home all day so I don't get many steps. And his naps are few and far between so I don't get that time to exercise now.

[withaj]

Just now, ClaraOswin said:

That a lot of steps to me! Nice! On a regular day for me, I'm lucky if I get 5,000 steps. I'm sure I'll get more once the weather warms up and I can take my son for walks. But now...we're pretty much at home all day so I don't get many steps. And his naps are few and far between so I don't get that time to exercise now.

I didn't start tracking again until a few weeks ago when I started traveling (which in itself generates a lot of steps), but I can't have been getting more than 2-3,000 with any regularity in 2015... and I definitely gained the weight to show for it!

[Whoosh]

With my situation, there are some days where I have all the time in the world to try to walk as much as possible and other days where I am advised to walk as little as possible.  I also live in a city without a car, so even just walking out of my building and over to the store in the next building to pick up something scores me about 500 steps.  One of my favorite things about the fitbit is that it gets me moving more even in very short spurts.  I briefly mentioned that when I am not feeling well but am not on any type of restriction, I try to set a schedule for my day in 15 minute increments.  They alternate between up and moving vs not.  I schedule walking (even if just in the hallway of my building) for the first 10-20 minutes of each 2 hour block.  If I am on the phone or something when I am supposed to be doing something else, I just shift things around a bit but make sure to get in the most important things (walking being one of them).  I think this sounds crazy because it probably is - but it does really work for me when I have clearance to do things but am struggling.  It is also probably fairly easier for me to do because I once billed by the quarter hour.  I know everyone's lives are drastically different and that most people would not want to or can't do some super weird scheduling like that, but I do think setting aside a few 15 minute blocks of the day where you plan to just be walking is very helpful if you struggle to get in many steps.  

[Maggie Mae]

Accomplishments: 

• Completed 4/5 scheduled runs. 2/3 Swims. 1/4 Bikes. 
• Stayed under my calorie goal most days.
• Improved my running efficiency score 
• Dropped a few pounds. 
• Survived a run time trial. 

Failures:

• Was late to my run group on Thursday and missed the warm-up.
• 1/4  scheduled bike sessions. 
• Ate poorly on Thursday (lots of salt & not enough hydration), which made the evening run more difficult
• The only excuse I have for lack of bike time is that the gym bikes are uncomfortable and indoor biking is BOOORING. 

How I Can Improve:

• Say no to free food. It's free for a reason. 
• DO NOT DRINK HALF A BOTTLE OF WINE & EAT NACHOS THE NIGHT BEFORE A LONG RUN.
• Try the new Ramen place. 

[Whoosh]

If there is a weekly hustle challenge that I am not in, please someone add me!  

My mini goal for the week - water.  Water water water water.

[Destiny]

If there is a weekly hustle challenge that I am not in, please someone add me!  

My mini goal for the week - water.  Water water water water.

I thought I invited you. I'll double check and send one if I didn't. Check your challenges section in a couple minutes.

Edit: you were invited. It should be there under your challenges screen.

[Whoosh]

Thanks so much @Destiny.  I guess for some reason I don't receive invites.  I checked my settings in fitbit and they are correct, so IDK what is up.  I appreciate your time.  I will try to read up on it in the help section and see if I can figure it out for next week!

[church_of_dog]

Here's a BMI question I just thought of while posting in another thread, but figured this was the place to see what people think about this.

I was commenting that I have lost an inch or so of my height -- prematurely, I think, considering my age (53).

I was wondering about how this factors in when calculating BMI.  I think there's a full inch (unconfirmed but what I remember being told was actually 1.25" less than my normal adult height) difference.  Which might be enough to make a difference in BMI.

Note:  I just plugged both heights into a BMI calculator, and the taller height gives me 25.4 whereas the shorter height gives me 26.4 -- so that is a noticeable difference.

Has anyone heard what the specialists have to say on this?

[Fundie Bunny]

I forgot what a bliss wad going to the gym withouttwo bras ( the regular one and the aporta one)

Thanks for the boobs, mom. 

[withaj]

2 hours ago, Fundie Bunny said:

I forgot what a bliss wad going to the gym withouttwo bras ( the regular one and the aporta one)

Thanks for the boobs, mom. 

Omg boobs, don't even get me started. I went from a 32D to a 36DDD this year. (I can't blame mom for the weight gain but can definitely blame her for the boobs.) THEY ARE EVERYWHERE and I'm still small compared to a lot of busty ladies... especially since I'm just about six feet tall.