A&S Mini -- Food Tracking and Fitness Habits!

[Syren]

Track and Be Healthy!

 

A.    What's the focus of your group? 1 goal, 3 goals, motivation, tracking, etc...

B.    How much info do you want to share? There doesn't have to be a rule here, but if you're feeling iffy about the content (TMI stuff) but want to talk about it, then use the Spoiler box so that folks know that going into that box means you have agreed to the risk. Some folks handle other people's stories just fine, some get triggered. SPECIALLY useful for the group working on awkwardness!

C.    How often do folks think they should post? Don't overdo it, this isn't your main challenge, but you'll want enough that the conversation stays fresh and everyone gets a chance to chat about their stuff and give responses as they can/want.

 

Seriousleigh

Kareesh

Cathelas

Syren

Starstuff

Akkina

Skywalker

Wokerjabi

[WritingWeaver]

I'm following the rebel strength guide lvl 2 (dumbbells), so working out 3 times a week, I'm also doing a HIIT workout once a week (though I want to get it up to twice a week). My other main goal is eating clean, 90% paleo/primal. The main issue I have is eating everything in sight when I get really stressed and with my new term in university and work piling on hours, I've been stressed lately (working on it). 

I am going to try checking in every day, I've downloaded Nerd Fitness onto my phone so I can do it on the go as well

[Syren]

A. We seem to be focused on the Tracking of things -- it seems quite scouty and adventurous to be on track

 

I use MyFitnessPal, MoonJoggers, and HabitRPG a great deal right now to help me track my food, fitness, and general habits.

I am trying to stick close to a meal plan so that I:

Do not overeat too much

Get as many nutrients as possible 

And attempt to save a little money and or work to be more sustainable or mindful about how I get food

I also love to swim!

But I have to do things beside swim to prevent injury, so I may have to do things I love less to swim better or faster, which include:

Strength training

Flexibility training

Cross training -- Walking, Hiking, or Biking

Since I have to cross train to be a better swimmer, I might as well focus on a tri as a motivation point, neh?

 

B. I am sometimes an oversharer. Very few topics truly make me uncomfortable. However, I realize that others do not share my zeal for sharing. If I say something that is offensive, let me know and I will work to tone it down. 

 

C. I think posting as often as you need to would be a good way to handle this. Maybe get a least one post in a week that can just be a link to your challenge weekly update, or a direct line for some support.

[Syren]

I'm following the rebel strength guide lvl 2 (dumbbells), so working out 3 times a week, I'm also doing a HIIT workout once a week (though I want to get it up to twice a week). My other main goal is eating clean, 90% paleo/primal. The main issue I have is eating everything in sight when I get really stressed and with my new term in university and work piling on hours, I've been stressed lately (working on it). 

I am going to try checking in every day, I've downloaded Nerd Fitness onto my phone so I can do it on the go as well

 

I know the stress eating impulse well. Luckily Macaroni and cheese is out of sight while not out of mind at the moment.

 

Have you tried to surround yourself with paleo/primal snacks that you find tasty? This will not solve the stress eating problem, but it may help to push it in a positive direction.

[WritingWeaver]

I have, and it worked for a time (peppers and carrots are my go to), but my family likes to buy junk food a lot. I have asked them to put all or most of it in a cupboard or out if sight, but was told I should have the willpower to avoid the things I don't eat. Bah, family isn't making it easy, but I have gotten myself mostly under control.

I love to swim but I'm so self-conscious I rarely do so unless I'm at my grandmas (her apartment has an indoor pool). I'm planning to get a bike for shorter trips and though my family has a lot of bikes from garage sales, I think I may want a new one. Is there any upside to getting one new vs used? I also love working with dumbbells which is something I never thought I would say lol. Even though I'm still at a low weight (25lbs each), I still feel strong when lifting! 

Oh, I forgot to add, very few topics make me uncomfortable as well, though I am respectful of others, so if I say anything that is off, let me know.

[Syren]

Self-Consciousness is a problem I had when I got more into swimming. I feel like the pillsbury dough girl in my swim suit sometimes -- but in the water there is so much distortion it doesn't matter so much -- or that is how I think. Besides, I am much more graceful in the water, I usually feel so good after my swim I don't think about how I look coming out of the water half as much as I did before I got in the water. But it is a hard thing to get over at first.

 

New versus old bikes -- if you are just dabbling with biking, starting used is a good way to go, or if you don't have enough cash to get the one you want right away. If you are really into cycling, think about a new one, but also think about what kind of cycling you like to do. Road bikes vs. mountain bikes are really different for different things. Bikes, they can be pricey things.

[Starstuff]

My goals this challenge are to start tracking my food and weight again and to actually follow my half-marathon training plan instead of just half-assing it and then having a miserable race like I did last time. My life goal is the current session of Camp NaNoWriMo. I use a combination of FitBit, HabitRPG and bullet journaling for all of my tracking.

 

I'm very much in the talk about whatever you want, whenever you want camp. Very few topics bother me, and the few I can think of aren't exactly the kinds of things likely to come up in a fitness-oriented accountability group. I'm good with people sharing all the things (and I may sometimes do so myself) or sharing only a little (and I'll probably do this sometimes, too). I'm going to try to check in here every day, myself, but I can't promise I'll always have a lot to say.

[Cathelas]

I am getting the tracking going in full force.  I built a spreadsheet last challenge for all of my mini-goals, have been using a FitBit for about a month, I use RunKeeper to track my bike rides (the name is so misleading  ), plus I log my workouts on my Google Calendar as well.  I have a lot of redundancy going on and I need so streamline at some point.  For now, I figure it has me thinking a lot about what I am doing and is helping me focus.  

 

I am comfortable talking about most things.  It takes something impressive to bug me.

 

On the bike front, I was riding a hybrid last fall and planned on buying a road bike for the spring.  I watched Craigslist over winter and scored a huge deal on a road bike, barely used from a bike shop, 2014 model, less than 1/2 new price.  It looked brand new to me, I still can't believe it had been used at all.  Then it sat until the weather finally got better.  Now, I am riding outside multiple days a week and loving it.  A good bike makes the experience completely different.  One thing I really love about cycling is how much faster I recover than when I go jogging.  Of course, Central Illinois is flat as a pancake, so it is perfect for biking.

 

Also, my go to snack has become almonds.  I am having almond snacks 2-3 times a day, but enjoying them so much more than chips and cookies these days.

[Syren]

Almonds are a fantastic idea! 

 

-- I just need to not get the chocolate covered ones

[Akkina]

Hey guys!

I hope there is still room in this group, as I am in desperste need of some support, and this, by far is the most well suited for me.

My goals for this challenge are to get back to basics, counting calories and watching my food as I let it go way too far. I've been having a ton of trouble with my days off work thoguh, either not eating at all, or binging hard core. My thought was maybe to prepack myself all my food and snacks maybe? I do great when I pack lunch at work, just not so at home.

I am also working on Zombies, Run 5k for my working out. I do keep a log sheet that I'm terrible at, but I am working on it!

[Leigh]

A.    What's the focus of your group? 

     I use Lose It! to track food, I find it's easier for me to set it up than MFP, and I also have HabitRPG, but I neglect it greatly... >_>; I also got kinda old school and made a physical calendar on my wall with bubble letters, goals, points etc that I'm trying to keep updated. I see it as soon as I wake up, when I'm getting dressed, getting in or out of bed and it's huge and vividly coloured so it's hard to ignore.

    I've got three goals:

       1: track all the foods!

       2: make a fitness plan each week and stick to it as best I can

       3: sleep... my god I need a solid bed time >_<;

B.    How much info do you want to share? 

     I'll share plenty depending on the day or nothing at all, I'm not really consistent in that area, although I have no idea what I could possibly post that would warrant the spoilers option... hmm...

C.    How often do folks think they should post? 

     I'll post daily in my own threads and in here, and I will make an effort to post in each team members threads daily if I can, I read and type really fast so I should be able to do this no problem

 

Any ideas on what kinds of goals we should have as a group?

[WritingWeaver]

Well, today I woke up with a sore throat and that "hazy" feeling, I now have a cold. I hope it's a very short one, I have an all day class tomorrow and I do not want to be hacking and sniffling through it (and I don't want to miss it) though I'm already losing my voice. 

 

As for goals, it seems that we both share a lot of goals and need to get back to basics. Calorie counting, prepping meals, sticking to our workouts, getting to bed at a certain hour for a good sleep, etc. What if we set it up as a challenge? Pick 5 goals and do one for each week until the end of the challenge? That might be a lot of challenges though... Let me know what you think.

[Syren]

Weekly goals could be interesting. Food based or exercise based do you think? or Alternate?

 

Did you have anything in mind for next week, WritingWeaver? 

 

Does anyone object to this idea? I know that piling things on can add extra stress and that is not something we want to do.

[WritingWeaver]

I was thinking that for next week, everyone track their food how they like (counting calories, make a list of what you eat). Anyone else have any suggestions?

Personally, I am going to make a meal plan, I find it much easier to stay on target when everything is planned out, and I may even cook everything on Monday. 

 

Ps. Starstuff, you go! Nanowrimo is stressful but such a great experience. I missed camp this month, but I think there's another in July and if not, I always write in November

[Cathelas]

I am good with tracking what I eat next week.  It won't be too bad (if it is only for a week  )

[Leigh]

I'd like someone to give me a food based challenge of some kind anyone want to take a look through my food log and toss me a suggestion?

[Starstuff]

Tracking food next week sounds good.

 

Today completely sucked. I spent all day waiting around for my car to be fixed (took way longer than expected) and eating crap because the only things within walking distance of the dealership are vending machines, fast food, and an IHOP. Thankfully, it was a scheduled rest day, so I didn't miss any workouts, but I did miss a full day of work (instead of just starting a little late like I thought) and haven't written anything at all and probably won't since I'm supposed to be having date night with my sweetie. Most of the time, I love my car, but today not so much.

[Syren]

Okie Dokie -- tracking of the foods! either on your challenge thread or here. Recipes/links if you got'em? 

 

I'd like someone to give me a food based challenge of some kind anyone want to take a look through my food log and toss me a suggestion?

 

I used to be on LoseIt, but tracking with it and MFP were stressing me out. I can dig up my login though and see if it still works  

(I did not see foods on your challenge thread when I looked, but I do have a really short attention span and all of the tabs open).

[Leigh]

Ahh yeah I keep my food log and activity log in my battle log thread, it is linked in my signature.

[Syren]

Ahh yeah I keep my food log and activity log in my battle log thread, it is linked in my signature.

 

You like the sweet stuff. Because it is delicious, of course.

 

Are you trying to change that or keep it the same?

 

It also looks like you are trying to increase your protein from the things you have logged, which is good as you become more active. I was reading about protein uptake last night, and the article mentioned that the recommended daily allowance of protein on most trackers is the minimum amount for the average sedentary person of average health (typically college aged and male) to keep from becoming protein deficient. It was really interesting, and something to think about if you are trying to become more active. If you like scientific journals, and or have access to them, this is the paper that is cited in the article.

[Leigh]

That's the thing I like about the version of Lose It that I have. It just tells me what I ate without setting limits on anything other than daily calories. I just find it handy since it does all the math for me

But I would like to seriously reduce the sweet stuff, the baked goods at any rate. I seriously love fruits. I've just been too broke lately to get any and the fruit available when I go shopping never looks very good or it's so good that everyone has picked the selection clean >_<

Idealy I'd like to keep my daily total carb load under 150g

[Kareesh]

Sorry I've been really quiet. Had a road trip to visit family and I'm finding it hard to get into a good headspace to start this challenge. I'm totally cool with the food tracking mini-challenge as that's one of my goals.

And an think that we should alternate as I'm finding it hard to get motivated to go to the gym. Bleh....

[Syren]

That's the thing I like about the version of Lose It that I have. It just tells me what I ate without setting limits on anything other than daily calories. I just find it handy since it does all the math for me

But I would like to seriously reduce the sweet stuff, the baked goods at any rate. I seriously love fruits. I've just been too broke lately to get any and the fruit available when I go shopping never looks very good or it's so good that everyone has picked the selection clean >_<

Idealy I'd like to keep my daily total carb load under 150g

 

Hmm. Have you tried shopping at a different time during the week for a better fruit selection? if your schedule will allow. Or a different shop? I have six grocery stores vying for my money right now... I used to just have one so I know the struggle! 

 

Another option: tell yourself that you can only have a baked good if you make it yourself. This worked (mostly) for me -- I am exceptionally lazy, but I like to challenge myself and stick to what I plan. I had to really, really want a sweet to make it on my own -- because, with the exception of chocolate chip cookies -- baked goods are a lot of effort! For a short reward. You also gain an awesome skill if your baking prowess is currently to be desired -- almost everyone will love you at work because you can bring them cupcakes the next day -- because you will eat them all at home if you don't... or that might just be me...

 

>.>

 

<.<

 

>.<

[Syren]

Sorry I've been really quiet. Had a road trip to visit family and I'm finding it hard to get into a good headspace to start this challenge. I'm totally cool with the food tracking mini-challenge as that's one of my goals.

And an think that we should alternate as I'm finding it hard to get motivated to go to the gym. Bleh....

 

No worries about posting -- I hope you were able to enjoy the family time!

 

And just to motivate you -- I'll leave this:

 

[Kareesh]

 LFG!