Let's go! Topic

Helena 02/20/16
So, time for a check in? I had the flu this week, so my weight went down to 134.7 this morning, although I may have made up for it this weekend with an apple cake my daughter made :). I've been out cross country skiing and walking a bunch but not as active as usual because of the flu. I'm still working at trying to manage my tendency to eat beyond my hunger while not getting too focused on food other than keeping it healthy! A difficult balance! How are you all doing? How's the pre-training going?

Justjennie 02/22/16
Weekends are hard for me food and drink-wise, although it wasn't *that* bad this weekend. I tend to log on the high side since I'm not actually measuring my food so it tends to look like I did really bad but I'd rather log high and be low than log low and be high if that makes sense.

Didn't make it to the gym this weekend and I didn't get any cardio in but the break was good. I was back at it this morning. I'm glad I had to change my cardio time on Friday. I like having my cardio done early. We get to the gym a little after 5 a.m., home around 6:45 -- depending on how long our workout was -- hit the sauna and then I do my cardio. Everything is done by 9 a.m. AND if something comes up in the afternoon it doesn't matter. I'm done.

This week is going to be a smoothie and juice week for most meals. Trying to keep calories down!

Helena 02/24/16
Jennie, you are amazing at keeping up with your workouts! Food is so tricky. It's hard to eat healthy all of the time. I have been thinking about decreasing sugars in my diet, as that is definitely my tendency! Although we eat fairly healthily, I love fruits and jams and yogurts with berries, etc., as well as the less healthy sweets like pumpkin pie, frozen yogurt, and a dip into my son's leftover birthday cake icing!! I'm a little concerned about how much sugar in taking in which might not be filling me up the way I'd like it to. What kinds of sugars numbers are you all getting from logging food?

Justjennie 02/24/16
Honestly I don't really pay attention to my sugar numbers. What I do get pretty much comes from fruits, milk etc. so I'm not that concerned about sugars. Since I started doing the juices and I make smoothies I'm sure I'm way over every day.

I'm also a huge label reader and I steer clear of anything with added sugars in it (or try to at least)! I used to be a huge "sugarholic". Like putting sugar on sugared cereal, getting my coffee "light and sweet" sugar in my tea and the like. Once I cut it out I didn't miss it. It wasn't that hard either. It started with cutting down the amount of sugar in my coffee until I was down to none and then I just stopped adding it to other things.

Helena 02/24/16
I just had a look at my last couple weeks and it ranges from 62-180g/day!! I don't know what's average, but I think I'm going to try to focus on that area for a bit - I know that while I eat a lot of healthy sweets, the sweet end of the spectrum is definitely my tendency. One other thing that I've done away with for years is diet soda, and since I've been regaining the 7-10 lbs I lost two years ago, I've been starting to drink it again even though I hate the thought of putting it into my body! I've heard that having these intensely sweet substitutes can also increase the desire for more, so I know it's something I want to stop...soon.

Helena 02/24/16
Do you go to the gym every day?

Justjennie 02/25/16
I do (with the exception of today). We just started incorporating the weekend as well. It's just worked out that if we have some things to do early in the morning on the weekend since we have to go out any way, hitting the gym then doing the errands is a no brainer. Plus the gym opens at 7 on the weekends so there's a little bit of "sleeping in". Normally the alarm goes off at 4:20 a.m. during the week. We'll more than likely do every other weekend for the gym. I also do cardio 4 days a week -- it works out to Mon/Tues; Thurs/Fri. I was thinking of adding in Wednesdays but I find the break to be welcome -- in the form of my Billy Blanks DVD's (I LOVE those!). I sometimes incorporate a walk on the treadmill if I'm just sitting around watching TV on the weekend. I was doing my cardio in the afternoon but have changed it to after we're done with the sauna post-gym. Gets it out of the way and that way there's no excuses if something comes up in the afternoon.

When I get into a routine it's hard for me to stop. Even though we skipped the gym this morning I still have my cardio to do. It's the days where I do nothing that I feel like a complete and total slug and berate myself for it.

Oh, and regarding the sugar, I just looked and the average is 32g over a 7 day period.

Helena 02/27/16
Wow, you are so dedicated! I know what you mean about doing better with a routine. I also have that with setting a goal; I may sign up for a running or biking event this summer to help myself out with that!

I hope you are not too hard on yourself when you miss a day or even a few! You are getting lots of physical activity in overall, which is keeping you strong! My sister has a severe eating disorder which helps me to remember to find the balance between healthy living and letting it consume me. It is hard to find that a some days, though. You are clearly working so hard on your fitness, I hope you can enjoy the benefits, too.

And wow, your sugar intake is so much lower than mine! I am such a sweet tooth! :). What sorts of things so you like to eat and snack on? I have a couple books I just took out from the library on diabetes. Although I don't think I have the disease, I think I could benefit from using some of their guidelines! I don't think I will cut out any food group, but I do want to somehow find a better balance.

I am off on holidays for a bit, so I hope you enjoy your week and do something fun this weekend!

Justjennie 03/01/16
I try to be dedicated. And yeah, I can be hard on myself but it's mostly when I see progress and I don't want to have a set back.

I like to snack on pretzels, peanuts, I make roasted chick peas, fruits, veggies, cheese (I'm a HUGE fan of cheese!) I do keep away from things like chips because I pretty much binge on those which is not a good thing.

Helena 06/05/16
How's it going?

Let's go!