O.Chat > Diet, fitness, well being - what are YOU up to??
If I am not away from home due to business, I go to the gym at least once a week for weight lifting.
On that day, I do a 20-minute treadmill workout as well based on interval pacing.
I go to 2 kickboxing classes that incorporate high intensity cardio with isolated strength training.
The same teacher offers pump classes 2x weekly as well. I love to bike, so if I miss a gym day I make sure to take a one-hour bike ride, and I usually put in 8 or so hours a week in the garden. I like to bike back and forth to the gym, but that really eats up time I need to be at the computer doing business (as opposed to the time I spend on this blog)
When I go to the Cape, I focus on Iyengar yoga and bike riding, with kayaking if I can catch the high tide and it is not windy.
Then there are the 10 days to 2 weeks that I sit on my duff, away from either the Cape or home, that completely negate my regimen. So the end result is zero.
Foodwise, I am on oatmeal for keeping my LDL levels down, as well as the plant sterol based OJ> and generally try to stay clear of red meat whenever I can. I have a meat and potatoes husband, and I need to keep him happy. On those days I try to really watch portions.
No soda, not as good as I should be on water, and drink herb tea at night to stave off appetite.
One of my dear friends owns a small batch chocolate factory on the Cape. If I am helping her, 2 truffles are my lunch.
Bevi
Wow. So much exercise... you're really good!
Posh Tater
Wow--I'm impressed. I walk every morning for about an hour, although half if that is with 2 friends who have 3 dogs between them so it isn't very aerobic but it is good for my mental health! Then I bike a fair amount when the weather is good. Today my kids and husband have the cars for work so I biked to the library and the grocery store, but came home starving and ate 2 cookies. I lift weights when I watch TV and I try to park the car pretty far from where I'm going. One of my jobs involves outdoor education so I do a LOT of walking there. I'm definitely trying to get more exercise!
Deb
debm
You sound like you have a healthy life, Deb. My winters are long ones, so I'll get out my CDs during those 6 months. I can't stand being in the gym when it's dark outside - just another quirk of mine.
Do you get to go hiking for your outdoor education job?
Posh - mantra - no snacking after the last meal. At least, that is what saved me when I had to squeeze into a dress 2 weeks ago.
Bevi
I start my day by spending a minimum of 1hour 30 mins in the gym daily, before heading to work.
I work in a bank where resumption is at 8am, so I get to the gym by 6am, 20 mins on the Reebok Body Trek (elliptical machine) during which i burn about 170 calories on the average, then i take a stroll on the treadmill for another 20 minutes.
I also started working with a trainer at the gym earlier in May, he makes me do crunches and reverse crunches, about 120 daily and then we work with weight - leg press and dumbell most of the time...and then there is the abdominal weght machine (never checked its name).
They gym also has a nice sauna, which i use at least 3 of 5 days.
Excercising forces me to watch what I eat, and I have lost 6kgs since i started the gym routine (about 3 months now). I snack on fresh apples, pure orange juice and bannanas.
I only need to reward myself with 2 more pairs of gym shoes now (running shoes).
If only the traffic would reduce in my city, then i would feel healthier..:)
No gym on weekends for me, way out of my route.
Nice topic.
Y A
Wow Y A - that's a good amount of weight loss in a short amount of time.
What dedication! My problem is I love to eat, and I was raised to clean my plate. Among my dieting friends, everyone whom I talk to about healthy eating said eat fiber, but stay away from high fiber fruit (mangoes, apples, etc.) after 2 pm. How do people feel about that?
Mark Bittman has written a book and recent articles about increasing vegetable intake and decreasing meat and carbs and the weight will peel off.
Bevi
Thanks Bevi,
I think the fact that the gym is on my way to work makes it easier for me, I would have had to set out early anyway because of the crazy traffic. Also, once you get into the rhythm you won't want to stop.
I am not a food lover as such, but I love meat - beef especially. I stay away from lots of carbs - rice, white bread etc instead i go for beans and i get to eat beef too. My main meal is lunch, dinner is one apple or a cup of tea most of the time, and lots of apples and water between lunch and dinner. Breakfast is tea or Cocoa beverage.
High fiber fruit causes abdominal bloating in some people, so it should also be done in moderatiom, I drink plenty of water so i guess the digestion goes well and exercising helps the body metabolism.
When I'm not windowshopping on the net, i read health related articles too.
Y A
When I am working in our main office, I have access to Trader Joe's, which I do not have where I live. TJ's carries a broccoli slaw which I eat with a few almonds and apples tossed in. It fills me up, and keeps me from grabbing every food I see. That and the oatmeal - but really - would rather not do either!
Bevi
Every bookl tells you a different story! One will say fruit is the devil's spawn, one will say bread is. One will say you shouldn't eat meat between 3 and 4.30 on a Sunday in a month with an R in it.
It's quite difficult to find impartial sensible, hysteric's free information.
Even nutritionists can be obsessive about their individual bugbear. I had an appointment with a nutritionist once who hated that I did Weight Watchers because to him, that meant that I was being MADE to eat all their ready meals, their biscuits, and learning nothing about healthy eating. And he could NOT get it into his head that we cooked every day with fresh vegetables and chicken or fish and that I won't let an additive in the house. Bonkers! Had to get rid of him.
The best book I ever read about food was "Supermodel's Diet Secrets" by Victoria Nixon. I am a food nazi anyway and I have to know what's in everything I eat. My mantra is DON'T TRUST FOOD MANUFACTURER'S! The book confirmed some things I knew and told me a whole heap of stuff I didn't (gah). It's about healthy regular meals, with a lot of knowledge about additives, preservatives, and what they put in your food without telling you. Oh and how to never be caught in the house without great food. Which is fantastic now that we do it!
To lose weight, I would always recommend Weight Watchers. We use the plan where there's a list of foods that you can eat as much as you like of in three meals a day. Unlimited pasta, rice, fish, chicken, lean meat, green vegetables. My lifesaver!!! We cook every day so that suits us, and we've found great ways of frying and making sauces that don't use high calorie options. So that's useful. And I'm always FULL, which is wonderful.
Having my allergies tested was useful. All the foods that I shouldn't eat blow me up like a puffer fish. I can lose a dress size in four days just by dropping bread and dairy. Lunatic isn't it??!
I drink 3 litres of water a day, I don't have any caffeine or bread. If I can stay away from alcohol and sugar I feel great.
Posh Tater
Hi Posh,
Have you heard about the movie "Food, Inc."? Check out the trailer online if you are interested - all about where our food comes from and what manufacturers do not want you to know. It premiered in the States on June 12, I think.
Weight Watchers is great, and you can do it without buying the WW branded meals. Most of my friends who have done WW have had great success.
PS -You may see a very similar post to this that might be in moderation. I'll delete it if it shows up. My computer shut down unexpectedly.
Bevi
Oh lordy. No I haven't heard about it. I'm not sure I could watch the movie!!! I watched the trailer though and it looks fanTAStic!
We rescued some ex-battery farm chickens a year and a half ago. The way they looked, how ill and distressed they were until we nursed them back to health just finished us off.
We don't buy meat, poultry or fish that isn't organic or at the very least responsibly farmed. We buy organic milk, eggs (in the winter when the girls are on strike), flour, butter, vegetables and where possible, wine. It's amazing the difference it makes to our general health, concentration levels and skin condition. Really, it's frightening to think what we've eaten in the past.
We now grow 90% of our own vegetables. I've made elderflower cordial this year and we are making our own wine, beer and cider, yoghurt, soft cheese and if we find cheap milk - we make butter. Everything we grow we either preserve or cook and freeze so that we have our own home grown green veggies or fruit all winter, either neat or in soups. We also use farmers markets and we are going to make our own bread, too. It's much quicker than people think, you have heaps more energy, and you're happier. It's a no brainer.
Posh Tater
When they arrived:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1760075&l=0f977e6636&id=781945252
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1760136&l=a77fa72d95&id=781945252
After two and a half months:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2350252&l=6be3494e18&id=781945252
Posh Tater
When my kids were little, I made all our bread, preserves, canned fruit and veggies, and frozen veggies. They never had a jar of baby food in their lives. To this day, they tell that story with pride! I loved baking Anadama bread, and various loaves for French toast. My daughter used to love to make a cinnamon roll bread with raw sugar and plump raisins.
We also buy a great deal of organic, but not 100% as you do. I did have a great bottle of local organic wine with a former student a few days ago, and it was delicious. So at least I now have a source.
My parents' resort was a working farm prior to boarding guests. My grandfather had farm animals, gardens, and made his own beer (like a good Czech). My dad made his own dill pickles, and made muscatel wine from his own grapes. When I was a kid, he used to put fishing waders on me and my sisters, lift us into the big vat, and have us stomp the grapes for him.
When I get back (from the gym - LOL) I will take a look at your photos. BTW, my husband is uploading garden shots (he has been uploading these shots for a week now) that you will see eventually....
Bevi
Your girls are beautiful, Posh. You did a really great thing, and nurtured them to good health.
It makes you think twice about how animals are raised.
Bevi
This website is a favorite of mine:
http://www.diaryofalocavore.com/
It is maintained by a young woman who chronicles the local food resources of her community, and she posts recipes that are simple and good.
Bevi
I made elderflower cordial the other day - and it's scrummy! Thanks for the link to that blog, the recipes will be a problem while I am dieting!
Posh Tater
Posh, does scrummy mean good? I am going to start using it in my neck of the woods.
Nyon
It does! "Yummy, scrummy, in my tummy," is the kind of thing children or disingenuous grown-ups might say. Possibly not that many say it any more. I have a habit of speaking as if I have fallen out of a 1950's schoolgirl novel. I wield words like gosh, crikey, awf'ly and lawks with gay abandon. Few know what the hell I'm talking about, but it makes me happy.
I lost 2 more pounds this week! Yay! But I'm determined to lose more this coming week, so I've dug out one of those "Four weeks to your bikini body!" magazine supplements, and husband and I are going to start it tonight. We're both going to do it. Not that Mr Tater wants a bikini body per se, but the exercises are pretty comprehensive and we are both unfit fattipuffs. I'd like to lose 4lbs by next Wednesday. That's the mission.
Posh Tater
Drink water until is is coming out of your ears!
No sugar!
No carbs!
Cardio!
Cardio!Cardio!
You Go, Posh and Mr. Tater!
PS - There's nothing wrong with the help of a little under body armour - I had on a double layer under my wedding outfit - just for good measure - when I had to squeeze my flesh in a dress.
I felt like I was walking around in a sausage casing.
Bevi
We did OK till Sunday, when we both started feeling really under the weather. I think we're coming down with something. A panini got in under the radar, and I don't care! I felt much better after having it. We're still walking lots but we're too floppy for much else.
Yeah, sausage casing rocks. I wore it for my wedding. And it was great until I sat down in the church, and the left leg rolled up.
Posh Tater
Ha - even with the sausage casing it took me and a "helper" 5 minutes to zip up my dress.
Walking is great - wish I could walk more around here - but we have had almost 3 weeks of rain with an occasional partly cloudy day thrown in....
Bevi
Some of you make me want to change my lazy ways, yesterday I had the best burger and fries.
By way of fitness I am fairly sporadic, I may work out for two weeks straight then not work out for an entire month, I eat lots of fish and salads and aside from my Starbucks twice a week trips only drink water.
In the past week I have lost five pounds with no exercise just drank water and ate breakfast lunch and dinner with 1 snack.
dee84
This is an interesting article form the NY Times.
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/24/can-you-get-fit-in-six-minutes-a-week/?em
Bevi
Yeah. The important sentence in there was "There’s a catch, though. Those six minutes, if they’re to be effective, must hurt." That was the point at which I went to look for a biscuit. Actually, I'm joking about the biscuit. I lost three pounds this week, which brings my total to 13 so far. Squee!
dee84, I think you may have inspired me to have a burger and fries as a treat tomorrow. I haven't had one in a while. And hell, I'll work hard enough in the garden tomorrow to offset and good meal!
Posh Tater
Bevi and I fell into this topic today so I thought I'd create a thread for it before we completely obliterated Nyon's discussion of singledom.
I've long been a fan of a member of european royalty who I've found quite inspirational in terms of fitness and well being. Mrs O shores that idea up, for me, with her radiant skin and lean limbs.
I've recently lost 8lbs by dieting, and have started exercising every day. I'm feeling great. Partly I suspect from taking control of an issue I find distressing (not looking as good as I could), and partly because exercise makes you FEEL good! Historically I've been very slim and fit, but it all went to pot in recent years, along with my stomach.
Primarily at the moment I'm walking - I have a small silly dog who needs his excitability dragged out of him every day. This weekend for example, we walked for three hours on Saturday evening, and an hour and a half on Sunday morning. I'm also heavily into my garden at this time of the year, which is additional exercise. Both are free!
There's an exercise bike upstairs, which my husband hangs his shirts from ..... you can see the marks of the coathangers in the dust.
Is there anyone else here who has been inspired to watch what they eat a llittle more since watching Mrs O? Who maybe gets off the bus one stop early and walks the rest of the way whereas before they wouldn't have?
It'd be interesting to hear and compare notes, maybe inspire each other to greater lengths!