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Hawaii Babies
10/25: Health and Fitness Check-in
1. How are you feeling?
2. What are your current nutrition and exercise goals?
3. Did you meet your nutrition and exercise goals for the week?
4. Share at least one recent health- or fitness-related SUCCESS!
5. Optional weigh-in or progress monitor:
6. Growing up, how health and fitness oriented was your family?
7. Do you have health and fitness goals for your family? How do you incorporate (or plan to incorporate) these into your daily life?
8. People who already run: How do you suggest easing into running and what shoes would you recommend?
9. What other questions would you like to add to future check-ins?
This discussion has been closed.
Re: 10/25: Health and Fitness Check-in
1. How are you feeling?
Slightly better, but so tired. We're still kind of on east coast time so K has been waking up early and I've been trying to get up before her to workout. I still haven't been able to get myself to go to bed at 10 like I would like.
2. What are your current nutrition and exercise goals?
Eat more veggies, exercise 2-3/week.
3. Did you meet your nutrition and exercise goals for the week?
I've been eating less and getting more veggies than when we were traveling, so yes. But I've only worked out once since we got home.
4. Share at least one recent health- or fitness-related SUCCESS!
I lost 3-5 lbs since last week. I think it was all water weight due to eating bacon every day for at least 8 days (on the cruise and before and after that).
Also, I found a great solution to my breakfast issues. Well, first of all, I've been drinking coffee and I find it helps keep my appetite in check all day. Second, I made this egg casserole that can last us several days for breakfast. A dozen eggs, chopped up zucchini, steamed spinach, browned turkey sausage and some Mrs Dash. Baked 45 min at 350 in a 9x12 pan (greased with coconut oil). Voila!
5. Optional weigh-in or progress monitor:
See #4
6. Growing up, how health and fitness oriented was your family?
Not too much. Neither of my parents are very athletic. My mom was always really skinny (weighed like 110 at 9 mos pregnant!), so she never had to exercise. I do remember going walking as a kid - to get ice cream after dinner! LOL.
7. Do you have health and fitness goals for your family? How do you incorporate (or plan to incorporate) these into your daily life?
I definitely want Kaya to be active. She has so much energy that I plan to put her in soccer as soon as she can sign up. She also loves to dance so I would love to put her in dance classes. We should probably do more outdoors now that the weather is better. When we move back to Hawaii I'm POSITIVE we will spend a ton of time outdoors.
8. People who already run: How do you suggest easing into running and what shoes would you recommend?
I have been wearing Asics DS Trainers almost exclusively since 1998. I LOVE them. They're pretty much the lightest running shoe out there. But, it all really depends on how you run (mechanically) and your body weight. Heavier runners would need a shoe with more cushion. The best thing is to go to a specialty running store where they can watch you run and recommend a shoe.
Starting out, I recommend doing walk/run intervals. When I first started running I would run 1 min/walk 1 min and I just kept increasing the run part. For the last marathon and half marathon I trained for I actually did 4 min run/1 min walk for a lot of my training. Jeff Galloway swears by this to prevent injury.
1. How are you feeling?
Overall good, but just OK about my healthfulness
2. What are your current nutrition and exercise goals?
Mostly clean eating, exercise 3 times a week.
3. Did you meet your nutrition and exercise goals for the week?
I'd say my effort level was only about 50% this week.
I got one good 3.5 mile trek in with the family over the weekend, but during the week, I didn't really step it up. I did go walking, but it was not very athletic or intense. I need to commit to a gym class or something to get it on the calendar, so I can't weasel out. Foodwise, I could also improve.
4. Share at least one recent health- or fitness-related SUCCESS!
I'm happy that my most consistent exercise has with DH and LO on the weekends. This has been good for all of us and the easiest thing to keep up, since it's not a solo activity and it's really fun.
5. Optional weigh-in or progress monitor:
Still at a good weight, feeling relatively healthy, but not yet fit, strong and active -- which is really what I'm shooting for.
6. Growing up, how health and fitness oriented was your family?
Our diet was decently healthy thanks to my Japanese grandma's cooking, but I didn't become consciously aware of food and smart eating until I was out on my own. We were a very sedentary family, which seemed fine since my relatives are all naturally thin, so I also didn't learn to value physical fitness until I was an adult. I signed up for countless sports as a kid, but quit every single one, and I really wish my family had encouraged me to stick to something just to establish fitness as a normal part of my growing-up years. I really didn't start working out until college, to avoid the freshman 15 and as a much-needed stress relief.
7. Do you have health and fitness goals for your family? How do you incorporate (or plan to incorporate) these into your daily life?
No explicit goals, since I think our activities and interests already revolve around physical activity. DH was an athlete and now coaches, so we're always at sporting events and LO is already mimicing what he sees -- he stretches on the sidelines with the football players pre-game, practically sprints around whenever he sees others running and loves anything related to balls. So I imagine he'll end up playing sports when he is able.
He's also got tons of energy, so we're always out and about, and I hope to always give him lots of regular opportunities for being active -- at the beach, park, in the yard, etc. He's so "well-behaved" outdoors, but sometimes drives me batty when cooped up inside, so I do it for both our sakes! I really like our Sunday morning walks and talks and hope to make that a family tradition.
Nutrition-wise, A is a great eater and still gobbles up all my healthy concoctions, so I hope we'll keep that up. He's the best motivation we have for eating well, especially when he insists on eating what we do. We are trying to get in the habit of telling him that healthy things will make him big and strong, since I think kids sometimes rebel against foods that are labeled "good for you" or "healthy."
8. People who already run: How do you suggest easing into running and what shoes would you recommend?
I am terrible at running. My endurance levels suck. I would really like to try to incorporate a little running into my routine, just for the awesome cardio kick. Advice, please!
I'm ALL about the coffee! Caffeine totally does the trick for me, too.
I've been making quiche a lot these days. It's so easy to stuff it full of veggies and the leftovers are great for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Plus, eggs are so affordable -- gotta love that!
Another coffee fan here! I know it would probably be healthier if I gave it up, but 2-3 cups of coffee a day really helps me to stay feeling full...not to mention gives me energy to chase the Pirates around lol.
life in oz
1. How are you feeling? OK. The allergy meds I'm on make me tired and headachy, but otherwise I'm doing pretty well. I took a few days off dieting (see #3) and feel much more relaxed and happy to be doing this again.
2. What are your current nutrition and exercise goals? That 180lbs goal is getting closer and closer! Just 12lbs more and I get new clothes! Wheee!
3. Did you meet your nutrition and exercise goals for the week? Well...sort of. I took the weekend off. I didn't go crazy with my food and eat 4 fried chickens or anything, but I also didn't calorie count or worry if I was having too many snacks, and I had a couple of beers over those days. I've been losing 2lbs per week very steadily since August and religiously tracking my calorie intake, and I simply needed a break. Got right back on the horse on Monday, but I wasn't surprised to see when I weighed myself this morning that I hadn't lost weight this week. Didn't gain any, but I didn't lose any either.
4. Share at least one recent health- or fitness-related SUCCESS! After taking the weekend off, I had no problem getting back into the swing of things. I think that's great, because I often tend to burn out with this kind of thing - but nope, I was happy to start up again, and happy I took the break.
5. Optional weigh-in or progress monitor: 192lbs. Same as last week. (see #3)
6. Growing up, how health and fitness oriented was your family? It was an odd blend of too much healthy food and too many sedentary activities.
Nutritionally, my mother has always been very conscious of making healthy choices, to the point where it was a bit extreme (we had almond butter instead of peanut butter, and weren't allowed to drink milk, which she thought was bad - we did have tons of yogurt, spinach, etc for calcium, but had to use fruit juice on cereal, which was disgusting).
Portion sizes were a challenge though - she knew we needed X serves of veggies, protein, etc. per day, but only had a vague idea of what a serving size was, so we often overate. I attribute my lack of understanding portion control to that, and it's probably why it's something I still struggle with so much (I literally cannot just scoop out a serving - I have to visually measure a pot of food, like "OK, so the pasta packet makes 5 servings, so I'll divide it into fifths and then take one fifth out). It probably sounds like I'm blaming my mom for my problems, but I'm really not - nearly every relative on my mom's side is obese, including my grandmother, so I suspect the ignorance about portion control goes way back.
Exercise wise, we were pretty sedentary. We didn't have TV, but we were all mega book readers and that generally took precedence over exercise. We lived in a rural area and would go for walks, but there weren't any organized sports or the like to get you out of the house...so if you weren't motivated, it didn't happen.
7. Do you have health and fitness goals for your family? How do you incorporate (or plan to incorporate) these into your daily life?
I want to make sure the boys grow up with a healthier idea of portion control than I did. We also give them a very wide range of foods to make sure they're exposed to as many types of fruit and veggies as possible - that way, if they don't like something (like cooked carrots) it's not a big deal because they eat 99% of the other veggies available anyway.
I also like to give them produce that's cooked in a wide variety of ways so they can see that pasta sauce doesn't magically appear in a jar - it starts as raw tomato (yummy in salad!), gets cooked (roasted with oregano and rosemary - sooo good) and can be blended into sauce (as in pasta). Obviously they don't really GET this at this point, but understanding where your food comes from is an important thing in my book.
On similar lines, when we buy another house next year, we also plan on starting a small garden so the boys can see how we get food from start to finish. By that point, they should be old enough to help weed, water and pick fruit/veggies.
Ben and I are both trying to become more active, to make it a normal part of everyday life for the boys. I don't want them to see exercise as just a scheduled activity at the gym, but something that incidentally happens during daily walks, playing sports, etc. We're indoors-y people by nature, so we're trying to reorganize our lives to involve being outside more.
8. People who already run: How do you suggest easing into running and what shoes would you recommend? n/a
9. What other questions would you like to add to future check-ins? How do you stick to your nutrition goals when eating out or attending social events? Do you have any favorite cookbooks or websites with healthy recipes?life in oz
that is awesome - they will love it! I was surprised at how much J liked the garden this year. He wanted to visit it every night when we got home and he figured out what he should pull up for a carrot (even spotted a few I missed that were mixed in with the kale), when berries (and tomatoes) are ripe, and helped dig for potatoes.
He also kind of turned into a food snob - he doesn't really enjoy berries or carrots from the grocery store. - only from the garden or farmers market. I guess I don't blame him, they do taste different!
1. How are you feeling? pretty good - just tired. still dealing with the aftermath of J's stomach flu. He can't go back to school until the diarrhea is gone and based on his nutrition during the illness it's going to take a while. SOOO, I have to drive him over to my g'ma's which makes my commute 90mi. one way.
2. What are your current nutrition and exercise goals? clean eating as much as possible, gym 4x/week, run-walk 3x/week
3. Did you meet your nutrition and exercise goals for the week? struggled with the eating part during J's sickness because his needs were unpredictable and I didn't want to buy a ton of food we wouldn't eat. Did get the workouts in though.
4. Share at least one recent health- or fitness-related SUCCESS! YAY, walked/ran a 5k last weekend. I planned to run more but didn't realize how frustrating a race with stroller can be. I had to start with the leisure pace people (should have tried to get to the front of this area, but just lined up near the place the crowd thinned - BIG mistake). I spent the first mile+ (15-20 min) struggling to get around people (and their dogs)anytime a space opened people would spread to 5-6 ppl wide. I also didn't realize how hard going downhill with a stroller is. Oh well, the point was getting outdoors and being active, but I was bummed with my overall time because I figured I could finish around the 32min mark like at home but instead took 42mins for the hilly course and walking/dodging ppl at the start and having to walk down the hills.
5. Optional weigh-in or progress monitor: - 4.6% weight loss since Sept. Down a size+ in clothes.
6. Growing up, how health and fitness oriented was your family? fitness - pretty good. My sdad ran marathons mom did 1/2s and I did lots of kids runs. they were supportive of any activities we wanted - I took dance class multiple times a week and my sister played premier league soccer. We were also members at the golf club and usually played at least a round a week all together.
BUT, nutrition is another story - at least early in my life. My mom grew up very poor and her family relied on government commodities passed out to indians. think white flour, sugar, fake cheese, powdered milk and lard. She really didn't have the knowledge of what is good/bad (and we were kind of poor at first too) so we were allowed to have lots of stuff like koolaid, jello, white bread, fried food etc that I would never give J. My sdad was more into fitness and likes to read and knew he had a high probability of heart disease based on family history so he kind of cleaned up what we would eat to an extent (whole grains, less fat). Today I'm happy to report they eat pretty healthy and are way more educated about choices I make for J.
7. Do you have health and fitness goals for your family? How do you incorporate (or plan to incorporate) these into your daily life? I want J to appreciate healthy food. I like Lola's "big and strong" mantra - I will start that now
8. People who already run: How do you suggest easing into running and what shoes would you recommend? run walk to start. but keep pushing yourself. I get tired and then say I can do this for another minute, I can do anything for 60 seconds, then move up to 2 minutes, etc.
1. How are you feeling?
I'm back on the wagon! Or is that back off the wagon? Enough of the jokes, I kind of vanished for a couple weeks. I had a minor step back and was sort of embarrassed to come on here to continuely say I failed. I had to take a step back to asses my goals and really realize what I want and what I need to do to get there. I'm feeling better, but not 100% yet. I'm feeling better though with where I'm headed.
** On a side note about the coffee thing keeping your appetite in check, does that really work? Do you drink a cup plain in between meals?? The only way I can drink my coffee is if it has flavored creamer in it which tacks on the calories. I already drink 2 cups in the morning for breakfast, I can't see myself drinking more than that thinking I will be all wired and not able to sleep at night which I SO need
2. What are your current nutrition and exercise goals?
Exercise 3x/week and track my calories.
3. Did you meet your nutrition and exercise goals for the week?
So far I have done both.
4. Share at least one recent health- or fitness-related SUCCESS!
I have successfully and consistently tracked my calories...even if I know I'm not going to like what I see. Usually I won't even track my calories if I know I didn't eat well. It's like I was embarassed to actually see what I ate so I would never face it by looking at the calorie intake number staring at me in the face. Now, I honestly track it and it makes me really think of what I'm putting in my mouth.
5. Optional weigh-in or progress monitor:
See siggy, haven't lost OR gained any and my hip/waist measurements have all been the same.
6. Growing up, how health and fitness oriented was your family?
Not really health or fitness oriented at all. We never really went on family walks, played outdoor activities or ate "healthy". We weren't "poor" growing up, but my parents were for sure on a very fixed income so we ate a lot of mac and cheese, hot dogs, pasta, etc. That's were my blindness for portion control comes from and my laziness for cooking. I cook whatever is easy vs what is healthy as cooking healthier has more prep work involved
Also, we always had to clear our plate so I have always been used to doing this. I ALWAYS belong to the clean plate club., but if I put smaller portions on my plate this "bad habit" won't be such a problem...DUH!!! 
Simple, right??
7. Do you have health and fitness goals for your family? How do you incorporate (or plan to incorporate) these into your daily life?
I want to incorporate family walks in the evenings which MH is on board with. We just need to go early since the sun is now setting earlier. I don't like to be out walking in our area because of all the wildlife that roams around (wild donkeys, mountain lions and coyotes). It's a little scary when you see a Havalena running down the street.
8. People who already run: How do you suggest easing into running and what shoes would you recommend?
This was my question as I'm wanting to start running again. I did the C25k before and it worked really well for me. I was doing this before I got pregnant and actually continued with it until I was about 20 weeks or so then it just got too difficult.
I don't think I have the right shoes though for it so maybe when I reach a weight loss goal I will buy myself a pair of good running shoes
| Olowalu, Maui ~ August 6, 2008 |
| Family of 4 ~ April 2, 2011 |
| Family of 5 - October 24, 2012 |
Coffee definitely kills my appetite. I'm like you, and can't drink it black - I only like it with milk and 2 sugars. Yes, it adds extra calories, but because the coffee keeps me from feeling hungry between meals, it's easy to cut those extra 65 calories elsewhere. I know that might sound stupid - and cutting them from a meal to consume during a not-so-healthy cup of coffee instead probably isn't the healthiest option - but even though coffee isn't the healthiest option the way I drink it, it's still relatively low in calories. It's also the way I get my "sweet fix" during the day, even though it's not really all that sweet (but hey, it's better than eating cake, right?).
I drink 2-3 cups a day - first at around 9am, and then around 2pm, sometimes with a third either earlier or later in the day. I can't drink it after about 5pm or I don't sleep at night.
I can relate to the clearing your plate thing. Not so much to the "eat everything on your plate" statement, which my mother never actually said -- BUT she would always get us to eat the things we disliked first. "Save the best for last" was a favorite encouragement, and although it DID work to get us to eat all of our veggies and whatnot, the flip side was that if you ate your food in the order of least to most favorite, you were damn well going to finish everything on your plate so you could get the coveted "best for last" that you'd been eying the entire mealtime! So that indirectly encouraged a clear your plate mentality, and it's something I'm going to avoid saying to Will and Dash.
life in oz
i've been reading these with interest but not participating b/c I don't have any exercise goals
I'm giving myself a pass until we wean, at which point i'm determined to get back on the wagon. anyhow...
re running - *definitely* get a good pair of running shoes. it's so worth it - it makes running so much more enjoyable! I wear (ahem, wore) brooks, but I seriously tried on a zillion pairs, and ran up and down the hill next to the running store a zillion times, finally picked one that was just okay, ran a few miles a week in them, and literally returned them for a full refund - i was getting blisters and they just weren't working for me. then i went to a different running store, tried on 1 pair, and those were it. like christine (I think) said, go to a specialty running store and get fitted. they'll watch you run and recommend a shoe based on how your feet hit the ground when you run. the first store i went to just didn't have the right shoes for me. a good running store will help you find the ones that work best for you (and let you return shoes, even worn and muddy like mine were, if they don't work out).
and mauiwedding - i LOVED your photos of J in the garden. i love that he's learning at such an early age about good food! i really want to start a garden next year...
I think coffee helps suppress appetite due to the caffeine content. Diet pills, for example, often contain a lot of caffeine. Since I drink coffee so that it actually tastes good, it satisfies on that level, too.
I have a cup in the morning and, if I need, one during the afternoon. I tolerate caffeine OK, so it doesn't seem to affect my mood or focus, especially since it's not THAT much (and not super strong brews to begin with). All in moderation, I think.
You can still join us for the "health" element... with a focus on nutrition or overall well-being or whatever. The more the merrier!
Totally agree!
life in oz
Thanks Lisa and lola!
I think I will try to spread out my 2 cups/day in between my meals and see how that works for me. Sounds like it makes since (how lola stated about the caffeine and diet pills thing). Your right though Lisa, it's less calories than scarfing down a piece a cake or a million pieces of Red Vines that I mysteriously find in my pantry to curb my sweet tooth
| Olowalu, Maui ~ August 6, 2008 |
| Family of 4 ~ April 2, 2011 |
| Family of 5 - October 24, 2012 |
Exactly this. All of it. I haven't been craving sweets since I started drinking coffee and I really eat a lot less. I have been using stevia or splenda (agave nectar is another option with a low glycemic index but I don't care for the taste too much). And I just bought some pumpkin spice creamer. Otherwise I use the sugar free french vanilla coffeemate.
THIS! I've been so busy planning E's party and our big trip that I haven't been consistent with my goals! Perhaps, once we get back from our trip and have nothing much going on, I can concentrate on myself!!
Great job ladies. Keep up the good work!
you should take a look at clean eating magazine - see if it appeals to you. They have tons of different recipes and lots of meal plans. You could modify it to suit your needs but I have been following it since the start of my get fit plan and I feel like I eat more than enough to keep myself full. I eat 3 meals - smaller than usual, but still filling and 2-3 snacks. I never use to snack - this is has made such a difference.
I don't mind eating the same thing for lunch every day for a week straight, so I don't really follow the 2 week menu plan. Instead buy the stuff for a couple lunches and snacks I know I will like and then also know I will have leftovers a few days a week and pack up 2 days worth of lunch/snacks so I have them ready to take with me, or if I'm at home so I know what I will be eating and not have to get sidetracked by something unhealthy.
There are also plenty of blogs from people that follow that lifestyle eating plan that have great recipe and snack ideas and I really enjoy seeing posts of exactly what they eat in any given day.
edit to add - the only downside is that the dinners do require quite a bit of prep and cooking time, but almost all have been given a thumbs up by DH. I generally pick ones that take less time, do prep work the night before (as much as possible) and sometimes even cook in batches on the weekends. But even if I personally just did the easier lunch type foods and then had a sensible, but not completely clean dinner, I would be happy.
I do have better skin (although this started after I severely limited dairy and just got better as I added a goal of real clean eating) and more energy. Could just be a placebo effect... but DH notices it too. And on days he eats crappy food for lunch or has to go out to dinner with co-workers/clients he feels it for sure!
I bought one copy a long time ago. I'll have to go back through it and find some recipes. We're trying to cook a lot more now so that'll be good. Thanks!
What do you think of stevia? I've read a lot of good things about it, but generally speaking, I haaaaaate the flavor of artificial sweeteners. Does stevia have that powdery sweet flavor like Splenda does?
life in oz
I actually prefer splenda to stevia. I can't really explain it but it has a weird after taste. It might be because the stevia I have is old? Not sure.
How "healthy" do you think these are? I used to use Splenda and liked the taste, but when we started TTC, I gave up the artificial stuff and have stuck to that. I'm not super concerned about calorie counts, so I don't mind using sugar in the raw, condensed milk or Coffeemate (though I think this tastes pretty artificial, so I usually dilute with milk). I'm curious if there's a consensus about using Splenda or Stevia, a product which I know nothing about.
I honestly don't know. I've read that they're supposed to be better for you than sugar, but at the same time I just can't wrap my head around something so chemical-y being better than something (relatively) natural like raw sugar. It's the same reason I use butter instead of margarine - sure, it's higher fat etc., but it has like 2 ingredients vs 18 (half of which are 28 syllables long lol). I don't think that artificial ingredients are always bad, but I feel weird about eating things made of primarily artificial ingredients, if that makes sense.
life in oz