Are you looking for support on your health and fitness journey? If you are, then this thread is for you.

There are no expectations in this forum. Post as often as you like. Post anything that you feel is relevant to your own personal health and fitness goal. Here are some ideas:

• Monthly health and fitness goal
• Daily health and fitness goal
• Progress (or setbacks) in reaching your goal
• Personal stories about why you are joining this topic
• Healthy recipes that you feel others will enjoy
• Links to articles or books that you feel others would find helpful
• Food Choices (healthy or unhealthy)

Remember, your health and fitness journey is your own. There is no one program, method, or philosophy that is right for everyone. This thread is for support only.

In the interest of "mindful eating," by August new habit is going to be to always eat sitting down, specifically at the dining room or kitchen table.

When my DH was alive we always ate at the table and we never had television on while we ate.  I've totally got out of this habit and find myself eating in front of TV a lot, or even just standing at the island in the kitchen and eating.  The standing up is usually so I can march in place to get steps, but I don't think eating should be a multi-tasking event.

It's too easy to overeat when I'm not deliberate about what, how much, and where.

August Goals:

• Get down to 125 (and stay there!)
• Get back into an eating routine~I tend to be less deligent in the summer.
• Eat less carbs~I don't have a number for this yet as I need to see what the recommended amount is.

Happy August. Hope everyone has a great month. My goals for this month are:

Lose 5 lbs.Last month I only lost 2.7 lbs. I'd really like to do a little better.

Drink more water. I usually drink about 3 bottles of water a day but would like to up that amount to about 5 bottles.

Good morning.  August 1 - WOW!  This year is flying by for me.

I read the last posts in July, but didn't comment there.  Congratulations Shayla on meeting that weight loss goal.  I agree that eating in and limiting the sweets/treats makes a world of difference.  I just did that for basically one week and lost 2#.  I need to continue it.  Those 'snacks' can derail me, even when I'm sticking to my IF window.

Margaret, my biggest problem with the long fasts is fitting them in around my social engagements, most of which involve a meal.  This weeks schedule wanted to have one 24 hour fast, but I don't have a day I can do that easily so I changed it to be fasting every day from 3 p.m. to 7 a.m.  That is a schedule that usually is easy for me to follow.  Friday would be the only day I might be able to do the 24 hour fast, but I actually prefer a more regular schedule that I don't have to think about too much.

Melissa, I should cut back on the carbs too, but I'm never too successful at that.

Vicki, define 'more water' and you'll have a better chance to meet it.  :)

Today will be day 1 for me to eat at a table sitting down.  This will be hard for me, but I sort of have a plan.  From my dining room table I can see the living room television.  So, if I'm eating when baseball is on, or other situations where eating in front of TV is preferable, I can sit at that table.  But, I'm going to make most of my meals eaten at my kitchen table because it's less distracting that way. 

Today a friend is planning to bring lunch and watch a movie with me.  We do this fairly often and usually have trays in the living room in front of TV.  She'll be surprised I want to sit at the table.  :)

I think this shouldn't just be meals though, but all the food I eat.  That will help limit snacking. for sure. if I have to go sit at the table to eat it.

Back feels much better today - maybe 90%.  I chose to skip the gym because I don't want to put stress on it before it's all back to normal.  That will mean 3 days in a row for the gym (T-W-Th), but 'so be it.'

Continuing all my 'habits'.  Almost all of them are so ingrained now I don't really think about them.  In large part that is due to this thread.  :)

Wishing you all a successful day!

Happy August! It's crazy it's August already but I do love a new start each month. I weighed in today & was 123.4. Up .4 from yesterday but I had Mexican for lunch & I'm sure that's what did it. August will be a crazy month for us with Adam starting back to school next Tuesday & all the things that go with that. Scott moves to Anderson Univ on Friday the 19th so we'll be busy up until then. Plus I'm still short staffed at work, but have some interviews lined up tomorrow. Hope to get someone hired & trained by end of the month.

Being that August will be crazy I am only adding flossing to my goals this month. I want to floss each day. I feel my nighttime routine of washing face/brushing teeth is going well. I feel eating in is going well although I could see that being a little disrupted this month. I want to stay strong in the only one sweet treat each week goal. So my goal is to really get back to flossing my teeth each day. I'd also love to get down to 122 by the end of the month but being it's bound to be crazy & stressful I'm not going to be too worried about the number as long as it doesn't go up a lot.

Shayla, wise to just add what you think you have a chance of achieving.  You are so busy now and this month will be tough with both the boys going back to school, and especially with Scott going away to school.

Hope you are able to get someone hired quickly.  This seems to be a fair amount of hours at least, not like when you just needed a weekend person.

Well, those cheesecake bars were my downfall. I've eaten three more the past three days and my weight this morning showed it.  I was up to 152. I did NOT want to see that number ever again! I went to water aerobics this morning and will be going again tomorrow.  No more sweets!  I've given the rest of the bars to a neighbor.

Shayla, I hope you can find a reliable and competent employee.  It seems like businesses are hurting for good employees lately.  

Lisa, good idea to snack sitting down at a table.  Dean and I eat our dinner in front of the TV but I don't feel like we overeat because of it.  We have on our plates what we are going to eat regardless of where we are sitting. We would eat the same amount if we sat at the table.  Since we spend so much of each day together there isn't a lot to talk about by the time dinner rolls around. We look forward to watching a show or two together.  I've been needing some humor in my life so we are catching up with Modern Family. We watched the first 6 seasons and then stopped. I don't remember why we stopped.  I love that show.  It always makes me laugh.

My goals for August are to continue some kind of physical activity 5 times a week and one sweet a week.  One sweet a week may be hard but I have to try my best!   

Good morning.  Happy Tuesday!  Hope it's going well for you.

Yesterday's plan changed and we ate out at Chic-fil-A.  I was up a pound from Sunday morning, but maybe just normal fluctuation since I don't think I have eaten too much over the last two days.  Anyway, today I'm eating in which is always a good thing.

I ate breakfast - a breakfast sandwich - at the kitchen table with my food on a plate.  Definitely made me more mindful.  I normally would have just used a napkin and taken it with me to bathroom to eat while I was getting cleaned up for the day.  Or, maybe fixed it earlier and ate it while I was doing Bible Study.  This will definitely make me think more about what and when I eat.

Nancy, yeah for you giving the cheesecake bars to your neighbor.  I'm going to try to do another week of the no sweets/treats because I think it was very helpful last week.  But, I know I can't do that as a new habit and just give them up completely, so I'll let it just be a goal.

At Weight Watchers Saturday we were talking about the difference between goals and habits.  Goals - definite and trackable, but once reached they are 'done.'  Habits - definite and trackable, but continue on with no specific end.  It reminded me of a conversation we had here about that.  Goals are okay, but habits are what we need to really sustain us on the journey.

My back is better, but I wouldn't say 100%, so I'm going to the gym, but going to do a stretching class.  I don't want to risk straining my back doing strength training or a core workout.  :)

Wishing y'all a successful day.  Hope your interviews go well today Shayla.  Maybe the perfect person for the job will be one of them.  :)

I'm still trying to develop a breakfast and lunch plan for back to school. My favorite protein shakes have been recalled.

127.8 this morning.

I used my one sweet treat for the week today. I had a doughnut & a small vanilla chai tea latte from DD. Doughnuts are one of my favorite treats & I do love a vanilla chai tea latte. Good for another week now. :)

Went to a stretching class at the gym so as not to re-strain my back (or whatever I did to it).  I think I'm about 95% today and I don't want to set things back.  I never did the stretching class, but it was kind of nice.  Low key and slower paced and stretching always feels good.

Melissa, I assume you are trying to figure out breakfast/lunch options to take to school with you and eat there.  I always took yogurt to work for breakfast and ate that pretty much as soon as I got there.  I either ate out or took leftovers for lunch, but I know eating out isn't something you want to be doing.  You might not even have sufficient time to do it.  Anyway, good luck figuring it out.  I've no doubt you'll have a good plan when school starts.

Shayla, vanilla chai tea latte sounds yummy.  I never go to DD, but I bet Starbucks could make it happen too.  A lot of the time I'd just as soon have coffee (I do know this drink is tea) as a treat than anything else.  That's been the hardest thing for me in trying to do the no sweets/treats thing.  Fortunately, I like black coffee, and especially black cold brew, so I'm surviving.  If it helps me drop a pound or so this week, I'll be happy.

Tomorrow will be a challenge because I'm working at a blood drive from 9-3.  My fasting window starts at 3 and goes until 7 a.m.  I can eat before I go, which is very good, but I will need to be creative about that 2nd meal.  They have a cafeteria where I can get lunch, but I'll have to do it around Noon or 12:30.  I will need to try to buy something that I can either eat in it's entirety later, or eat some and save the rest for later.  If I eat regular lunch and then buy something else to eat closer to 3, that would technically fall in the snack category.  Best if I can buy something that will keep until closer to 3 that I can eat at the desk where I'm checking people in.  I'm not a good "pack a lunch" person, and there isn't really anything here I could easily take.

Oh well - I'll figure it out.  Right now I probably need to go read for 30 minutes because I haven't done that yet today and I won't want to do it after the Astros play.

Talk to y'all later.

I had a close call while shopping. I had a half of a strawberry rhubarb pie in my cart. I put it back.

Teri-good job making a healthy decision.

Lisa- I'm not a coffee or tea drinker but I do like this tea bc it's basically a dessert...so sweet. Starbucks has a chai tea latte that's good I ask them to put a little vanilla in it & it's almost as good as DD.

I admire your willpower Shayla. 

Yours too Teri!

July goal: take blood pressure reading every day. I missed one day, which is pretty good! But I already missed this goal yesterday (for goodish reasons), so I'll list it as a not completely mastered habit.

August goals:

• weigh every day. I already was doing this almost every day, but when my provider put me on the new med, she made me promise to weigh every day, because a big fluctuations could point to very negative side effects. So I want to be sure I'm mindful about this, but I was already doing this at least 6 days a week.
• aim for at least 5000 steps a day, but firm goal is 40,000 steps per week. This is because there are some days where I will be driving all day, so I don't want to "fail" on those days, and this way I can "make up" for a difficult day.

how I am doing so far:

Sunday, July 31, should have been a day full of packing by my daughter and me, but that isn't what happened. She was tired from visiting friends in Cincinnati all weekend, and I was nauseous all day and didn't feel up to it. I later realized that this was due to the new BP med. By thinking about a few days where I was a little nauseous and Sunday which was terrible, and looking up side effects of the med, I made a solid conclusion: even though the med says "take with or without food," if I take it without food, I get very nauseous. That problem solved!

August 1: Yesterday we got up early and packed and packed and packed... but it was too late to get it all done before checkout time, so I had to pay for an extra night. I weighed before packing the scale, so I did get that habit in. Then I stopped on the way to visit my sister in the hospital. I stayed longer than I meant to stay. Then I had to do some emergency shopping. Because we were so short on time, instead of taking some stuff to my car and some stuff to my daughter's room, we just dragged it all to her room which was on the same floor, then checked out , then grabbed stuff out of her room to put in my car. But the hanging stuff I intended to lay across the boxes in the back seat got left in her closet! I realized this after diving over an hour, so not worth turning around. So after I visited my sister, I went to Walmart and bought clothes to wear today. Then tonight I went to Mom's and borrowed clothes from her to wear for the rest of the week. Today when I was setting up these goals I thought I probably didn't make my step goal yesterday, but between all the trips to load the car and the forced walking the long way around the parking garage at the hospital due to locked doors, I got more than I thought. I just checked, and I had 4927 recorded steps. However, I got to the hotel so late that I didn't have the energy to do anything except fall straight in the bed, so no BP reading.

Good morning.  I'm working at a blood drive today, but thought I'd check in here quickly before I have to go get ready to leave.

Yeah Teri on the win putting back the strawberry rhubarb pie.  Proud of you girl!

Margaret, I like your thought about a weekly step goal so that you can 'make up' for days when you fall a little short of the daily goal.  I try to get my daily goal 6/7 days a week, but it would take some pressure off to think in view of the weekly goal of 60K steps.  Something to think about it.

Glad you figured out the issue with the blood pressure med making you nauseous.  Simple solution to take it with food.  :)

Sounds like you are in the actual process of moving.  Exhausting I'm sure.  Be safe on the road.

Gotta run, but I'll be trying to keep to my habits today.  Steps could be a challenge, but maybe I can move around some at the blood drive and not just be sitting.  Going to the gym this evening with a friend.

Hope it's a successful day for all of you.  Later. . . . .

My weight is back down to 213 from 215. I'm learning that eating too much cheese and too much chocolate affects my weight. Chocolate...... A couple squares of 85% dark chocolate actually helps weight loss when I eat it after supper. However, eating half a big bar of Touch of Sea Salt (not dark chocolate) is detrimental.  And more than a couple ounces of cheese also has a negative effect. I also plan carbs so I don't have too many although I'm not sure how much is too much. I suspect there's a totality involved, combinations of foods, that affects how I metabolize. I received a book recently, unread as yet, that I think talks about insulin resistance and how protein links with orher foods, etc. Yesterday I enjoyed a banana as well as a hamburger bun. No cheese or chocolate. I lost!

I have some unsweetened coconut cream I bought last year when I was keto. It needs to be used or tossed. Anyone ever use it?

Good for you, Teri, on trying to really think about which foods and quantities cause a little gain instead of a loss.  I think you are doing great at being 'mindful' about your food choices.  I can't help you on the coconut cream though.  I think I had some after my DH died - remember he did keto - and I just threw it out.  Probably information online though if you really want to use it.

My quandry about eating turned out not to be since the blood drive actually ended at 1:30.  I had taken some yogurt with me as "part of my lunch," and so I did eat that so I could take a vitamin pill.  Then I just waited until I got home and ate here right before 3:00 when my fasting window started.

Heading to the gym at 6:30 for time number two this week.

I take breakfast and lunch to school with me. I have plenty of time to eat breakfast but not enough time for lunch (20 minutes). I use to take a Premier Protein Shake and a banana for breakfast, but since they've been recalled, I'll have to figure something else out. Also, my doctor told me that those shakes and bars are not healthy. I may go back to Greek yogurt and a banana. Lunch is so hard~usually it's something like pb crackers while I'm standing up or walking to the bathroom. The good thing is that I don't eat many calories during the day.

I did read everyone's posts today, but I'm kind of stressed and short of time right now. I'll get it right in about a week.

Yesterday was day 1 of my new job. I got there about 5 minutes early, which was perfect! Since I had very little sleep because of all the issues on August 1, I did stop at McDonald's on the way and get unsweetened tea. The first drinks with caffeine since June 30 were on August 1 to help me stay awake while driving, and then more on August 1 and 2 ( and even 3, but that's getting ahead of the story. )

I am now the Church Life Facilitator at the First Mennonite Church of Iowa City. The elders set up a scavenger hunt for me. It was such a creative way to welcome me. I followed each clue to the next. At each stop there were a few Dove chocolates and the next clue. At several places there was also a Bible verse, or a blessing, or an encouragement from one of the elders. One elder went along with me to give hints when I had trouble. Another one showed up with coffee cake when we were almost done. Then I spent time setting up my office. Along the way I had lots of questions for the administrative assistant, and that was fun too, because she was my high school English teacher. Then the chair of the elders stopped by to give me some guidance on what to try to accomplish that week, interrupted by the man who came to work on the sound system and the return call I got from the phone support people so I could fix the time display. It was off by 1:13 and I knew that would just drive me crazy if I didn't fix it. By the end of my day there were post-it notes with my scribbles all over the desk. I did take one break to visit the church library and there was a book that several people had recommended to me. So of course I checked it out. My office is HUGE. It had been a Sunday School room. There's a nice window for natural light.

I left around 3 and went back to the hotel for a nap. Then I went to Mom's for dinner. She made baked potatoes, peas and carrots, and some roast of some kind. It was beef, but I'm not sure what kind. She made it in one of those countertop convection ovens. I may have to get one. I used her scale to weigh, because mine is in the car but I have to unpack a lot more before I can get to it. It was maybe a pound up, but I usually weigh first thing in the morning, unclothed, and this was in the evening and dressed, so that's ok. Then I tried on some of her clothes and borrowed some to wear today, since I accidentally left my professional clothing in KY. Back to the hotel and took my BP: 104/78. Green zone!

two out of three goals met... what about steps? Did I make the 5000? Sadly, the skirt I bought on my way to Iowa so I had something to wear on my first day has no pockets, so since I track my steps on my phone and my phone didn't travel with me, I only have 2545 steps recorded, though I know there were a lot more. Weekly total so far: 4927+2545=7472, need to walk more in the next several days to make that weekly goal.

Margaret-sounds like you are off to a great start in Iowa! I grew up 45 minutes east of Iowa City in Moline, IL. I was born with club foot on both feet & had surgeries & many appointments at the Univ of Iowa when I was young as they were the best around at the time. They were great & no one can even tell I had that issue in my past.

My schedule has been pretty weird this week so I weighed in today to see if my weight had gone up. Thankfully it hasn't. I'm exactly the same as I was on 8/1.

Melissa-that is a very short lunch period you have at school!

Good afternoon.  Hope it's a good day for everyone.

Melissa, 20 minutes for lunch would be pretty hard.  Really has to be a grab and go kind of thing.  Maybe you could 'swap the meals' and eat your lunch when you would normally eat breakfast and then the breakfast when you would normally eat lunch.  But, you probably don't need my input since I guess you deal with this every year.  :)

Margaret, you didn't waste any time between arrival and starting that job.  It sounds like a perfect fit and I hope you enjoy the work.  Hopefully a lot less stress than the job you just retired from.  Good for a green zone blood pressure too.  May Iowa be a great new season of life for you.  :)

I should be walking because I'm behind on steps today.  I went to get my haircut and my tires were low.  So after the haircut I had to stop and get them fixed/aired up.  I thought it would be quick because they usually have a line you can go in and someone just airs them all back up to what they are supposed to be.  Today they didn't and I had to wait for them to pull the car in and check all the tires, etc. etc.  Turned out two of them had nails though and had to be repaired so I suppose that was the Lord looking out for me.  All good now, but I spent an hour just sitting at the tire place.

I am going to two classes at the gym today.  My friend wants to do the upper body class, so I will do it with her, but I really want to do the whole body workout class that is right before that.  Double gym classes -  uhmmmm, I have to be careful or I'll become an overachiever.  Lol

I'm doing okay with the new habit of sitting at the table when I eat, but I have to keep reminding myself because I've been so bad about multi-tasking while I'm eating.  Yesterday I did choose to sit at the dining room table so I could see the television and the Astros game.  :)

We're responsible for our own success - so let's 'be successful' at what we set our minds to do.

Good Morning Ladies, I think you're all doing great. Keep up the good work.

I went ahead and weighed this morning and I'm 229.8 lbs. I'm down a little over 4 lbs. this week and back into the 220's, which I haven't seen in months. So that's a good start to the day. I don't drive on the weekends as our parking area is always packed and If I move my car to go somewhere, I may not have a place to park when I get back. Thankfully it's only weekends it's this bad. So I'll piddle around the apt. and get chores done. With it just me, there's not a lot of cleaning needed to do. I should do some dusting though even though it's my least favorite job to do, so I put it off until I can't stand it any longer. I have a lot of knick-knacks and those all have to be moved to dust the furniture plus they have to be dusted as well. So I just put it off til it's glaring at me and I can't ignore it any longer. So that'll give me something to do this weekend.

Hope everyone has a good weekend.

Congrats Vicki! Way to go on the weight loss.