Get in shape/get healthy check in/challenge?

penad5 · March 2014

So i know there are many of us who between cycles would like to lose weight/get in shape/improve health - and if you are like me I do better when i have to be accountable and have support. So i was thinking what if we had a weekly check in?

We could post our goals - whether it be a number or pounds you want to loose or a healthy habit you want to adopt or a race you want to complete... whatever

Then once a week (or twice if you'd prefer) we can update on our successes, get support when we fall off the wagon, share tips and tricks. I know there is a fitness message board but since IF adds it's own set of challenges I thought maybe it could be something we would do here

Thoughts? Ideas?

indianaalum · March 2014

I am totally in. I worked sooooooo hard to lose weight in the last few years and was religiously working out..then this happened and I have gained 10 lbs...that makes me want to cry more than the hormones

poohniki · March 2014

I know these posts come around often- but I'm finally ready to start losing and join one.

I think a ticker would also help motivate me to keep on it, this way I know other people are noticing. I haven't attempted to lose anything for the last 3 ivf cycles, so it's now quite a bit I need to get rid of.

FishyMom · March 2014

I'm in too. I just need to be counting my calories. Great idea!

HopefulSoul2 · March 2014

I'm in. I need to eat right and get back into the gym and on a spin bike!

RunCC37 · March 2014

I'm in, but I have to say that I find this topic to be very hard and frustrating. I feel like it is impossible to reach my fitness related goals while cycling, and when I see these posts come up sometimes it just depresses me even more. For me, it is all related to the fact that my lifestyle is on hold while pursuing IVF. I'm a marathon runner, but haven't run a marathon in a year now because of IF. Obviously, I understand on a rational level that I can't do both, and right now I choose to build my family. But emotionally it has been a journey coming to grips with the sacrifice. I have tried to make changes, like alternative forms of exercise and tweaking my nutrition to compensate... It just makes me miss running even more.

I hope that doesn't sound whiney... It's hard to describe. I am a marathon runner down to my very core, so no marathons really changes everything in my life. No Sunday long runs with my friends, no lacing up after a tough day to blow off steam at the track, no running to the top of the hill just to prove to myself that I am awesome and I can do it... And then there's the obvious changes to my body that poke holes in my self esteem. It's a mess!!

penad5 · March 2014

@runcc37 I know exactly how you feel i'm a runner too. I was suppose to be running the "Around the Bay Road Race" at the end of the month... 30k and its one of my favorite races. I was just told yesterday that i'm not allowed to run for another 2 weeks... and with the 4 weeks i've already been off there is no way i can do it.

Running is my social life - we all go out push each other then grab coffee after. I hardly fit into my workout cloths. I also wanted to complete my first triathlon this year and that's not going to happen

Hopefully we can at support each other to at least take a few steps towards getting back to our normal routine until the next cycle screws it all up again

penad5 · March 2014

Couple questions for you ladies

Do you want to put a time limit on this group - aka a 60 day goal or would you prefer to leave it as open ended?

Would you like a once a week or twice a week check in?

what shall we call ourselves?

And do we want a shared badge or ticker... and if so does someone else know how to do that lol

pblge · March 2014

Assuming a negative beta next week, I'm in! I'm 90% certain we'll be taking some time off, so that's a great time for me to get back a little of all that I've lost, even if it's just for a month. I actually found a week long cleanse+work-out plan in a magazine in the waiting room (I totally stole it! But I brought a different magazine in the next week.) that I want to try. The recipes looked super yummy! I don't know if the detoxing stuff will really do anything, but it SOUNDS like a good idea after all these hormones. So my goals would be to detox, lose a little bit of weight, and get back some muscle tone.

kz's_girlygirl · March 2014

I'm not great at keeping up with checkins, but if anyone is on My Fitness Pal feel free to add me! I'm kzsgirlygirl on there too and find it really motivating to connect that way.

I'm currently priming with plans to start stims next week so my workouts will change, but I really want to stay on track and avoid unhealthy weight gain/binge eating lol

PrincessPix · March 2014

Count me in!

RunCC37 · March 2014

penad5 said:

Couple questions for you ladies

Do you want to put a time limit on this group - aka a 60 day goal or would you prefer to leave it as open ended?

I think it would be more meaningful if we had a specific goal date to work toward... perhaps we could call them "Benchmarks" and have prizes for people who make it (like a badge for your siggy... I'm thinking a gold star, LOL!)

Would you like a once a week or twice a week check in?

I think weekly check-ins would be appropriate... Fitness Friday?! Or Motivation Monday? Or both!!

what shall we call ourselves?

Team FUIF - get it??
Making FU(N) of IF - a little bit of a nicer way to say the same as the above

And do we want a shared badge or ticker... and if so does someone else know how to do that lol

I think it would be fun to have a shared ticker that counts down the the next benchmark... then if we want to add personalized info it's up to us (for example, how much weight you lost towards your goal, or how many workouts you've completed during the challenge)

@penad5 - you understand!!! Ahhh, I'm always so excited to connect with endurance junkies like myself

I'm sorry you have to miss out on your 30K this year. It is such a bummer to watch those events come and go. And if you're anything like me (which I suspect you are), then you have lots of friends in your FB newsfeed buzzing about how awesome their training is going, and how much they're looking forward to the next race. I ended up giving up my spot for the NYC Marathon in November because of IVF and it broke my heart. It was right after an already devastating BFN from IVF #1... it was so hard to let that spot go, especially after working so hard the year before to earn it (I did the 9+1). I'm currently working on my 9+1 for the 2015 race. I hope and pray that by then, I'll be able to get back into the swing of things. I'm also coming up on the anniversary of the last marathon I ran (Shamrock 2013 - it was a GREAT race, I set a PR!!). It is so bittersweet, because I have about 13 friends who are going to run it this year, and on the sidelines I sit. I hate that I can't run it with them

RunCC37 · March 2014

I actually designed T-shirts with a few fellow 3Ters over the summer. We ran a 5K color run together, and wore these designs. Perhaps we can use the design or team name for our badge or ticker (and if anyone wants a t-shirt, let me know. I can put a new order together as long as enough people go in).

RunCC37 · March 2014

Here are a few pics of how the shirts turned out

penad5 · March 2014

@runcc37 i love it!!

I would vote for a Friday check in - going in to the weekend. So first check in will be this Friday... with maybe monthly bench marks to keep it simple... and the gold star can go to everyone who makes their goal

As for the ticker - do you know how to make one? i'm kinda tech dumb

penad5 · March 2014

@runCC37 that sucks about the New York Marathon. ATB was suppose to be my consolation prize - and now I don't have either a baby or a race

I'm trying to sell my bib and so now i keep getting people emailing and texting excitedly assuming i'm selling because i'm preg... i know they mean well but it's salt in the wound.

Lady2010 · March 2014

runcc37 - I completely understand! I am not a marathoner, but used to run ages ago and started to get back into it this summer. Then we started IUIs, etc. In Jan (my month off) I used the couch to 5k program to ramp back up. And now I am at the end of IVF cycle 2 (beta Friday!)

I used to work out with a trainer 3x per week and he really worked me hard - but when I am cycling it drops to 2x / week and then 1x - and even then it is more gentle - no planks, crunches, etc. (per my dr's instructions). I took the week of my ER and the week after off since I was so uncomfortable by the week of and the week after I was still in a lot of pain.

I did get myself a new Fitbit One (old one went through the wash back in Nov). And I am trying to get back up to 10 - 12k steps / day. Yesterday I was up to 9.2k so I think by the end of this week I will be back there. The weather doesn't help but I am trying. My first goal is to consistently get at least or over 10k steps / day consistently.

And of course I need to see what the beta says Friday. Hopeful it is positive, in which case I will need to ramp up the walking to keep some sort of shape. If negative, then we are taking at least a month off before starting FET and will definitely be up for being more aggressive.

tptbabe · March 2014

I'd love to join in if you guys'll have me! I've managed to lose 10lbs of the 40 that I needed to, but I've been pretty stagnant lately. Apparently when your thyroid is jacked, it's nearly impossible to lose weight? Stupid body. My fitness level is pretty decent, but I just can't seem to get rid of these pounds I joined a [free] local workout group a couple of months ago, and that's really helped to motivate me and get an extra couple of workouts in a week!

I love to run. I'm not very good at it, but I enjoy it alot! I'm more of a "slow and steady" kinda gal. And I'm OK with that! @penad5 - A couple of my friends are doing that race! (I'm an Ontario girl. Not sure if you are too, but hi neighbour if you are!)

RunCC37 · March 2014

I have never added a ticker to my siggy before, so I don't know how to do it... I'd imagine it's not too hard to figure out, so I'll play around with it tonight and report back if I figure it out.

So, first check-in on Friday - YAY! @penad5, I assume you are going to be our fearless leader

Thank you for starting this! Maybe benchmarks can be the first Friday of the month, so our first goal would be April 4th. What do you think?

I wish I could reach out and hug each of you. We all have to put our dreams on hold in order to pursue the dream of building our family. Penad5, my heart hurts for you thinking of all the emails you're getting for your bib... It hurt so much to watch the NYC Marathon from the sidelines, but I felt better knowing that a very good friend was able to take my spot. I actually made a badge version of the Team FUIF logo, and she pinned it to her shirt. It was nice to know that she ran in my honor and as a way to say FU to IF.

@Lady2010, good luck with your beta! The only thought getting me through this is that one day, I will be out on the roads running again and hopefully with my child along for the ride in the running stroller!

penad5 · March 2014

@tptbabe I am an Ontario girl too! congrats on losing 10lbs sometimes the first and the last 10 are the hardest - so you are on your way

@runCC37 thanks for looking into the ticker! And yes i'll head it up every Friday!

I'm actually getting excited about getting in shape!

HopefulSoul2 · March 2014

I'm getting excited too! I need a meal plan that I can stick with. Anyone know anything about meal plans? Assuming I get a BFN on Friday, I am ready to start this week. All FRER's up to this point have been BFN

penad5 · March 2014

@hopefulSoul2 I'm thinking about using this meal plan I found from Dr Oz - it was actually an elimination diet - so i'm going to adjust so i'm not actually eliminating anything... so it's basically

Breakfast

Rice Cereal

1 cup of Fruit

Green Tea

My breakfast will prob be more like

Oatmeal

1 Cup Fruit

(or a Smoothie)

Green Tea or Coffee

Snack

Almonds and an apple (or other Fruit)

Lunch and Dinner

Lean Meat

2 Cups of Veg

1/2 Cup Brown Rice

HopefulSoul2 · March 2014

@penad5 - looks easy enough! thanks for sharing. for me, it's going to be all about meal prep. if I can get some lean meats and veggies prepared ahead of time for the week, I will be good. not having a plan is dangerous for me. it's way too easy to slide through the drive through or grab take out from the delicious pizza place next door or the yummy Italian restaurant down the street or the thai place around the block. lol!

ETA: I just ordered a digital scale from Bed Bath & Beyond (I have never owned a scale). I'm ready to do this!

RunCC37 · March 2014

@HopefulSoul2, it's all about meal prep & planning for me too. Two weekends ago, I got together with a girlfriend and we cooked ahead for the whole week. It was AWESOME. In about 3-4 hours, we made three dinners (since it's just the two of us in my house, we can stretch three meals the full week with the leftovers), and five servings of two breakfasts. I definitely want to do this again because it really made the rest of the week so much easier (less mess to clean up, and dinner was ready to go). Maybe I'll make this part of my challenge goals!

HopefulSoul2 · March 2014

Didn't even think about "less cleanup."
Good point and one more reason to prepare my meals ahead. This is a great distraction for me. I needed this!

RunCC37 · March 2014

Yes! It also provided an awesome distraction while we were waiting for our fert reports!!!

pblge · March 2014

RunCC37 says. I think you'd have to buy the most recent issue, though.

Another tip I'd add is to figure out some healthy meals that are super quick and easy for the week nights. My go-to is instant noodles (the Thai kind--sorta high on sodium, but I don't have to be careful with that) plus tofu and about 3-4 cups of fresh veggies (scallions, broccoli, spinach, carrots, etc--whatever's in the fridge!). It's very filling without a lot of carbs and empty calories. I don't add the little oil packet so it's almost fat free, except for whatever is in the tofu. Takes about five minutes to make. Sriracha to taste.

If anyone wants to try to eat a little less meat or dairy as part of their challenge, let me know! I cook vegan most of the time, which is an awesome way to lose weight.

RunCC37 · March 2014

YES!!!! I figured out how to add a ticker thanks to the help of @poohniki!! I went to alternatickers.com and created a countdown ticker - lots of choices for backgrounds and icons. It's just a three step process, then it gives you two grab codes. I used part of the code for "Stick your ticker in your sig file." The full code says:

[URL=https://alterna-tickers.com][IMG]https://alterna-tickers.com/tickers/generated_tickers/5/51knbiea3.png[/IMG][/URL]

BUT you only need to copy it from

https://alterna-tickers.com/tickers/generated_tickers/5/51knbiea3.png

Leave out all of the [bracketed] nonsense.

Then you just add it to your siggy the same way you would add a picture.

tptbabe · March 2014

pblge said:

If anyone wants to try to eat a little less meat or dairy as part of their challenge, let me know! I cook vegan most of the time, which is an awesome way to lose weight.

I've actually been looking for more vegan recipes in the past week or so for Lent! (In fact, I joined Pinterest last night, just so I could find some more ideas!) DH is following the fast this year as well, so it's nice to not have to worry about making food just for myself

I found a couple that look really good! I find it difficult to eat vegan because I don't like to eat alot of soy, so it kind of limits my options.

RunCC37 · March 2014

Ok, now, here's the question... do we want to have the same tickers or create our own? I made the ticker in my siggy just messing around, but am definitely open to other options. Also, I saw that @poohniki added a ticker from My Fitness Pal... is that synced to the app?? Cool!!

poohniki · March 2014

@runcc37 Yes it is. This way the whole world can see if I can keep up with this diet. Can't let my fans down. LOL

penad5 · March 2014

I kinda like the idea of having the option for the same ticker so we can always identify who is part of the challenge - or maybe we do our own tickers but create a badge?

pblge · March 2014

tptbabe said:

pblge said:

If anyone wants to try to eat a little less meat or dairy as part of their challenge, let me know! I cook vegan most of the time, which is an awesome way to lose weight.

I've actually been looking for more vegan recipes in the past week or so for Lent! (In fact, I joined Pinterest last night, just so I could find some more ideas!) DH is following the fast this year as well, so it's nice to not have to worry about making food just for myself I found a couple that look really good! I find it difficult to eat vegan because I don't like to eat alot of soy, so it kind of limits my options.

Yay!!! I'm got my pompoms out for you.

And soy limits some things, but there are still tons of options. You could substitute cashews, for example, into almost any stir fry that called for tofu. We don't eat fake cheeses or meats (I don't really understand the point of those), so the protein comes from all kinds of beans and nuts, although we do eat tofu and tempeh. I'm not a big fan of seitan, but it's another good option. But you can do so much with the world of legumes! Black and pinto beans can be the base of anything in the Mexican cuisine family, and lentils are super quick and can go into a wide variety of dishes.

Here are some good sites:
https://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipe/vegan/
They made their site much less searchable, but there are still tons of vegan recipes there.

https://www.theppk.com/
My favorite vegan chef's website. Her cookbooks are excellent, especially Veganomicon.

https://vegweb.com/
Another searchable site.

pblge · March 2014

I forgot that I wanted to speak to the ticker/badge thing. I had a question: seems like all our tickers would be for different things, yes? The first ticker I would put up would be a detox counter. So would the tickers all just look the same? Or do we just want an image/badge?

penad5 · March 2014

@pblge I was going to post the ticker @runcc37 created for anyone to use - but i'll also be using my own that will track my progress.

I do like the idea of a badge, but I can't figure out how to create one I tried goggling it but i can't seem to figure it out... I'm new to the whole message board thing

If anyone would like to create one (or be willing to teach me how) I will gladly post it on my siggy and put it on the weekly post for others to use

tptbabe · March 2014

tptbabe said:

pblge said:

If anyone wants to try to eat a little less meat or dairy as part of their challenge, let me know! I cook vegan most of the time, which is an awesome way to lose weight.

I've actually been looking for more vegan recipes in the past week or so for Lent! (In fact, I joined Pinterest last night, just so I could find some more ideas!) DH is following the fast this year as well, so it's nice to not have to worry about making food just for myself I found a couple that look really good! I find it difficult to eat vegan because I don't like to eat alot of soy, so it kind of limits my options.

Yay!!! I'm got my pompoms out for you. And soy limits some things, but there are still tons of options. You could substitute cashews, for example, into almost any stir fry that called for tofu. We don't eat fake cheeses or meats (I don't really understand the point of those), so the protein comes from all kinds of beans and nuts, although we do eat tofu and tempeh. I'm not a big fan of seitan, but it's another good option. But you can do so much with the world of legumes! Black and pinto beans can be the base of anything in the Mexican cuisine family, and lentils are super quick and can go into a wide variety of dishes.

Here are some good sites:
https://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipe/vegan/
They made their site much less searchable, but there are still tons of vegan recipes there.

https://www.theppk.com/
My favorite vegan chef's website. Her cookbooks are excellent, especially Veganomicon.

https://vegweb.com/
Another searchable site.

___STUCK IN QUOTE BOX___

Thank you so much!!! I despise fake cheese. (There is one particular fake chicken burger that is pretty fantastic though.) It tastes like plastic!

I do love lentils. I'm actually making lentil tacos tonight for dinner What's seitan? I've never heard of that before!

indianaalum · March 2014

So discouraged today. i had to do some hardcore maneuvering to get my pants to close today..it was horrible and uncomfortable. It took every ounce of my being to lose all my weight in the first place, only to have this be a huge set back..I hope it works out in the end

penad5 · March 2014

@indianaalum I know what you mean I've basically been wearing nothing but yoga pants since starting IVF. I swore to myself i'd never put the 50lbs i lost back on and now here I am only 6lbs from my heaviest. But one step at a time... worry about your cycle now and being healthy and you can worry about the weight later!

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