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Thank you, @SpiritDragon for the suggestions and the linked video. It's important to remember these things and I particularly liked how in the video he emphasized celebrating with the tiny habits and small successes; intuitively that makes sense to me, that when we feel super pumped and good after doing something, we're more likely to repeat that behavior.

I do try to focus more on feeling good and not so much on an end result per se. The weight loss is a big concern but also I would like to be a more active person and healthier. I want to be able to walk or run and not feel defeated; even still right now, going up a flight of stairs makes me feel like I need to sit down once I get to the top. So, I guess this is an end result to reach but it can have positive "successes" along the way as I get less winded or feel less achey or I am able to walk faster.

Right now, I'm struggling with this walk, not the doing it part, because I think it's developed in my mind as "something I do" that I don't really argue with. I get up at 6:50, get ready and go; it's routine. No, it's a part in my walk when we're going up the hill just before hitting the 1 mile mark around the neighborhood. My shins and calves hurt so bad and the hill isn't even that steep, more a long stretch of a progressive incline. But by the end of it, I feel a lot of discomfort and pain. Nothing too too bothersome because once I get home and sit for 5 minutes, it's gone. And walking anywhere else during the day where it is flat, it is gone, I feel no pain, even if walking for a long time. No, it is just that little hill, which then results in me desiring to give up at that point, so, I really have to push myself to walk the route to and around the temple for another 2 miles. By the end of that, my legs ache so much, but still, the aches go away and I experience no stiffness once I am home and at rest. I'm thinking of changing the route to go walking around the temple first and then do that hill in the neighborhood last. I'll try that tomorrow to see if it's better but as of right now, I'm a little worried about "working up" because I've been doing this once a day for 2 weeks now. I would like to start seeing results in getting used to it. I may even walk in the evenings also; not sure yet. But if I still feel the same exhaustion in the mornings, then I may just add that extra route at night as well. I may not always do a morning AND evening walk, but I will always do a morning walk; I would just like to have a good route that I can do without feeling like I'm dying by the end. And it's just my legs. Breathing is fine, back is fine; my shins are the problem.

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@a mustard seed It may sound silly to be careful with a walking program, but what you're describing could be the very early stages of shin splints (which can actually be a number of things, but generally refers to excess stress leading to inflammation in the tendons of the shin). It could be a good idea to avoid the hill altogether until you are feeling more accomplished as a walker - at least consider taking it slow on the hill and taking breaks when you feel your shins are burning too much. There is no shame in being conservative with your exercise program to avoid injury. The number one cause of people quitting an exercise routine seems to be loss of motivation from set-backs such as injuries, I know you want to push yourself, and you should, but be careful and remember that Rome wasn't built in a day.The thing is that your body might be telling you to scale back before it tells you stop outright because the pain becomes nearly unbearable. I'm not trying to scare you out of walking, I just want you to be aware that what you're describing sounds like it could quickly turn into shin pain that is a problem during regular walking in day to day activities and it's not fun. 

Here's a decent article to read on some of the most common walking injuries to look out for:

http://www.prevention.com/fitness/fitness-tips/solutions-10-biggest-walking-pains

Train safely :) 

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@SpiritDragon Makes a great point about listening to our bodies. I know someone that was participating in something like the spartan challenge and felt pain but pushed through it anyway. He ended up having a stroke. He was in his 30s at the time and has had various issues since. 

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Thank you so much for that suggestion, @SpiritDragon! :o I did not even realize this could end up being so harmful! It's hard for me, being so out of shape because I wasn't really sure what was "normal burn you feel when you challenge your body a little" and "ouch, ok, you need to stop before something serious happens." I was sort of waiting for the leg thing to handle itself because in times past, I've walked and eventually it gets easier. This was not happening. So, I took your advice and the advice of that article, doing some of those shin/foot exercises last night and this morning. Then we walked to the temple first on our morning walk and did half the hill in the neighborhood part last. Much better results! No pain at all and since we didn't walk the end of the hill, the one part where it steepens, I came home feeling good! No pain! I think tackling that whole hill and pushing myself up it was just draining me for the rest of the walk. Still, I'm very grateful that you guys gave me these suggestions so that I can pay better attention; I don't know, I've never been an active person but also I've never researched it or gone to classes or anything. So, I'm glad I'm able to be more aware of my body and signs of pain and stuff and not just blow it off as "oh, that might get better soon, I hope."

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Guest MormonGator

For me the hardest part about weight loss (and keeping it off) isn't really the exercising. Don't get me wrong, that's not easy. I'm a naturally lazy person who prefers to play Xbox rather than you know, do stuff. But I can motivate myself to walk 3-4 miles a day. More from fall-spring when it's not 300 degrees outside. To me the hardest part is cutting down on what I eat and portions. 

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5 hours ago, MormonGator said:

For me the hardest part about weight loss (and keeping it off) isn't really the exercising. Don't get me wrong, that's not easy. I'm a naturally lazy person who prefers to play Xbox rather than you know, do stuff. But I can motivate myself to walk 3-4 miles a day. More from fall-spring when it's not 300 degrees outside. To me the hardest part is cutting down on what I eat and portions. 

Yeah, that has been tough for me too. Like, yesterday morning, I had a fried egg, two pieces of turkey bacon, and half a chopped tomato. I ate at 8:45-9-ish and around 10, I was hungry again. However, with this Beyond Diet, I have changed focus from "lasting" until meal time because we've had visitors coming and going to our new house and they often bring with them fatty and sugary things. So, "lasting" becomes an argument with myself every time I'm in the kitchen and see the muffins or cookies on the counter. So, I've actually been eating the prescribed morning and afternoon snacks, which usually are a fruit or veggie with nut butter or hummus. Smaller portions isn't a big problem, not when I serve a meal because I eat it and I feel full. But then it comes later where I itch to eat. I have a big sweet tooth, love gummy candy especially, but I won't stick my nose up at anything dessert or candy. So, that's where I start to slip and fail and it is partly due to smaller meal portions.

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8 hours ago, a mustard seed said:

Thank you so much for that suggestion, @SpiritDragon! :o I did not even realize this could end up being so harmful! It's hard for me, being so out of shape because I wasn't really sure what was "normal burn you feel when you challenge your body a little" and "ouch, ok, you need to stop before something serious happens." I was sort of waiting for the leg thing to handle itself because in times past, I've walked and eventually it gets easier. This was not happening. So, I took your advice and the advice of that article, doing some of those shin/foot exercises last night and this morning. Then we walked to the temple first on our morning walk and did half the hill in the neighborhood part last. Much better results! No pain at all and since we didn't walk the end of the hill, the one part where it steepens, I came home feeling good! No pain! I think tackling that whole hill and pushing myself up it was just draining me for the rest of the walk. Still, I'm very grateful that you guys gave me these suggestions so that I can pay better attention; I don't know, I've never been an active person but also I've never researched it or gone to classes or anything. So, I'm glad I'm able to be more aware of my body and signs of pain and stuff and not just blow it off as "oh, that might get better soon, I hope."

I'm glad you were able to walk pain-free. Just take your time, listen to your body and build up gradually :)

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Sunday weigh-in: I lost another 4 lbs! So from 275, I'm down to 267 now! For my free day, I chose to eat at Hickory for dinner with the family and I had the sourdough chicken sandwich - crispy. I was also peer pressured by an uncle to take a bite of cheesecake. There was a Karie Anne visit earlier in the week and we did stop by Maverik for a large soda drink...with a couple squirts of extra flavor syrup. So, there were a couple choices there that weren't so good but over all, it was great! I'm feeling very good lately, very energetic and the walking is starting to get easier. Not this week but next week, the singles ward I'm going to with my cousin, is going to be going doing trek, so, I hope to get involved in that as well! All of this activity will pay off and I'll be able to walk decently! :D

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  • 2 weeks later...

Forgot to update this on Sunday. I hit the first 10 lb.s milestone! I'm at 263 lbs! All total, in 3 weeks, I've lost 12 lbs! I was actually a little worried because we went to Bear World as a family - so there were 5 of us and we each got a square of fudge, then we sat out on the tables and tried them all together. I...had a lot of fudge. ^^; So, I was a little worried but relieved to see I had gone down the same 4 lbs for the week!

I've also been extending my walks. I only have a learner's permit right now, so, when I want to go somewhere and no one can take me, I usually walk. So, last week and this week I added another 4 miles onto the 2 that we walk in the mornings for one day each week. Today I walked to main street and the Library and I felt moderately okay coming home! Last week, walking back up the hill towards the temple was brutal; I stopped every few feet to rest because it was just killing me. Today, I still felt winded and exhausted by the time I got home but I felt okay while walking! This is truly my goal, even if I can never truly lose the belly or the junk in the trunk: to be active. It is irritating to get winded walking up the two short flights of stairs in the house. That more than anything else is what I want to conquer, the feeling of it being SO hard to get from point A to point B.

I also tried spaghetti squash for the first time! I am not a big fan of it by itself and it is an affront to nature to treat it like pasta. It is not. However, I will not give up on it and will try it in different recipes mixed with other things. I used to not be a fan of green and yellow squash but tried the right recipe and they work! So, I will try it again.

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Yeay @a mustard seed!  You need a feel-good award or something.  12 lbs = $12.  That's how much my hair flower ring costs at Claire's.  If you lived next door I'd give it to you!

You look super pretty in your photo!

I'm gonna go do it with you.  I'm currently on vacation - traveling all over the place - so it's tough to do some disciplined things.  But vacation season is almost over and seminary is about to start - so back to the grind, and disciplined lifestyle.  I'll put a goal of 30lbs. and see how long it will take me to get there.  Hopefully before Christmas!

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56 minutes ago, anatess2 said:

Yeay @a mustard seed!  You need a feel-good award or something.  12 lbs = $12.  That's how much my hair flower ring costs at Claire's.  If you lived next door I'd give it to you!

You look super pretty in your photo!

I'm gonna go do it with you.  I'm currently on vacation - traveling all over the place - so it's tough to do some disciplined things.  But vacation season is almost over and seminary is about to start - so back to the grind, and disciplined lifestyle.  I'll put a goal of 30lbs. and see how long it will take me to get there.  Hopefully before Christmas!

It is definitely tricky, especially when I've had so much positive happen. It is easy to get into a lazy mindset. But yes! Do it with me! You can make it! :D Tell me what you do and how you do!

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On 7/26/2017 at 10:53 PM, a mustard seed said:

It is definitely tricky, especially when I've had so much positive happen. It is easy to get into a lazy mindset. But yes! Do it with me! You can make it! :D Tell me what you do and how you do!

My plan is whole foods (that's how I ate before I came to America - because, in the Philippines, it's more expensive to buy processed foods than fresh market foods and chicken is more expensive than fish).  The whole foods diet you did that you described in your OP seems weird to me.  So, I'm going to call my plan "common sense whole foods" instead.  LOL.  But yeah, we usually eat veggies straight out of the plant with not much cooking (because my husband and kids are not too fond of my cooking).  But we do like steamed veggies or grilled veggies or sauteed veggies.  We are also big on fruit.  We live close to an Asian market where I can find my childhood fruit sold in season - Rambutan, Jackfruit, Mango, Guyabano, etc., they also sell not-common things like Jicama.  We love those.

As far as meat - we're big on fish, shrimp, and crab, and chicken.  We rarely eat pork and beef.  We like it simple - take a fish, sprinkle with Mrs. Dash, sautee in coconut oil, done.

And rice.  We eat rice.  White rice.  From the rice cooker.  We're Filipinos!  But, when I'm on a weight loss mode, I limit my portions.  And I don't eat rice after lunch.

As far as exercise... I like walking and dancing.  And my husband has some weights that I can dabble with.  I'm thinking of getting better at rollerblading.  I really like it but I'm too scared of falling down.  So, I'm gonna get me a membership at the skate station.

 

Edited by anatess2
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Sounds like a good plan, @anatess2! I don't remember much about the book I had for the Whole Foods Diet. There could have been other things than smoothies and soups but the integral part of it was raw fruits and vegetables and nothing processed or packaged. I think the only recipes I liked were the soups and smoothies and I'd often cheat and cook the soups because it was seasoned vegetable soup. *shrugs* It's not one I'd do again because I'm trying to maintain a diet that I can live with. Some things I just can't live without: pasta and cheese being two of them. I'm not an aficionado or "sophisticate" or anything; cover something in mozz or chedd, melted, and I'm in heaven. But it is something that is very much a part of my ability to enjoy life, getting to occasionally indulge in that greasy goodness. This week was a shambles though and I just pray that the scale doesn't say anything higher than 263. Because I've been eating sandwiches lately. With bread and mayo. That's the hard part; if you don't plan the meals when you go to the store to shop for the week, then when the week is in full swing, there's not a whole lot around except quick and easy crap.

I will probably never touch rice again, lol. I'll eat quinoa instead. I agree about the pork and beef. Maybe the occasional hamburger, but otherwise, I'm not really missing it. I much prefer exploring my options with fish and chicken. I recently did a recipe for oven baked salmon. Ok, in a small bowl, you combine 1/4 tbsp of butter(melted), a clove or two of diced garlic, 1/2 tbsp of parsley, and 1/2 tbsp of lemon juice. That is the measurement for each serving of fish, so, if I were making it for two people, I'd double it. Then you put the salmon on a sprayed cookie sheet, "paint" it on the top and sides with the mixture, and bake for 15 minutes. It is simple and so good! I love it!

I love walking and dancing too! But I want to take a class or do it with someone. I don't much like Zoomba but I want to learn how to dance. Rollerblading might be fun! I want to try biking; that and hiking seems to be what a lot of people do around here.

Edited by a mustard seed
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Sunday weigh in: 256! O_____O I stepped on the scale 3 times to double check and I even asked my uncle(who's scale it is) if it's the type of scale that goes progressively down because I just couldn't believe it! This Monday for Pioneer Day, we had a firepit gathering with the family and we did smores(I made two and then ate two more marshmallows). Then I broke down and bought energy drinks this week. I've had 3 this week, including a cotton candy flavored one I got from Broulim's! And the meals were not planned at the beginning of this week, so, we often winged it for lunch and dinners. The last 3-4 days I've been eating sandwiches...with bread, which is something I try to limit in my life, in addition to the energy drinks. So, I was just praying I wouldn't have gone back over what I'd already lost or at the very most, lose another 4 lbs like I have in weeks previous. But then I lost 7 lbs!

I think what did it was the walking. Altogether, my baseline for each week is 14 miles. This week, I walked 22 miles because on 2 separate days I walked to town and back home again. I'm learning the street names here very well and hopefully this will help once I start actively driving. So, I think, even with the pieces of bread and the sugary drinks, walking so much helped me burn off that extra bit. Which is going to be fun because to help relieve the burden on my family for giving me rides, I'm planning to walk everyday to work(and I work almost every day of the week except Sundays) and then just get rides home after. So, it will very likely end up being 28-30 miles/week(because walking one way, it's 2 miles to town).

The plan for this week is to plan the meals for each week this month. So, each week we go shopping, we already have a list. And then next month, we'll repeat it.

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Guest LiterateParakeet
On 7/8/2017 at 0:19 PM, Iggy said:

My Team want me to exercise. Cardio exercises. I hurt and don't want to. I have neuropathy and my legs, feet and hands HURT. They tell me that once I get into an exercise regime, then the hurt will lessen.

Have you tried swimming?  That provides good cardio, and might be less painful.  It helps me.  I also find walking any distance painful, but swimming feels like heaven.  

A Mustard Seed--congratulations and good luck moving forward!  I changed my lifestyle and eating habits about 7 months ago.  I've lost weight, and lowered both my blood pressure and my blood sugar.  I love my new way of eating so this is a sustainable change for me.  I hope things continue to go well for you too! 

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1 hour ago, LiterateParakeet said:

A Mustard Seed--congratulations and good luck moving forward!  I changed my lifestyle and eating habits about 7 months ago.  I've lost weight, and lowered both my blood pressure and my blood sugar.  I love my new way of eating so this is a sustainable change for me.  I hope things continue to go well for you too! 

Thank you so much for the encouragement! <3 And congratulations to you too finding something that works!

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On 7/28/2017 at 6:29 PM, a mustard seed said:

I want to try biking

First, throw out the advice from the cruiser kiddies; that big squishy seat is going to chafe your crotch to the point of needing medical attention if you try to do any meaningful distances.  Flat or riser handlebars will kill your shoulders over time from lack of other hand positions; no matter how comfy they might seem, when you're riding for a couple hours with only one hand position, your trapezius muscles are not going to be happy.  Get the narrowest saddle that will support your pelvic ischia, and as firm as you can find it.  Put it up at the right height, and look into getting some pedals with foot retention to save your knees.  Clip-and-strap or SPD pedals will also force you to keep your foot properly positioned on the pedal which will eliminate a lot of lower leg and foot discomfort from pedaling with the wrong part of your feet.

I'm wrenching on bikes for a living now, working for a guy who lost 110lbs in 18 months and hasn't needed metformin in a year now.  At 6'3" and 285lbs, he rides one of the narrowest saddles we carry.  I've only dropped about 12lbs, but 6 inches off my gut and my calves look better than they have since high school.

http://www.bicycling.com/training/bike-fit/get-perfect-bike-fit-3-key-measurements-every-cyclist-should-know

http://blog.bikefit.com/how-to-fit-a-road-bicycle/

Get the bike tuned up and fitted before you try more than a test ride.  Any good bike shop will do this on a new bike, but you may be looking at $100-150 to tune up a used bike or something from a department store.  It's worth it, though, as repacking a set of bearings is a lot cheaper than having them fail 10 miles out because they weren't properly greased to start with, or the grease had hardened over time.

Consider going for a commute/utility/touring bike style; putting a rack on it and using it for small-to-medium grocery runs and other trips eliminates the "I don't have time for a workout" excuse.  90+% of my riding over the last 18 months was in a commute of first 4.5 miles each way, then 8 miles each way once the office moved.  Now it's down to .75 miles each way, but I go home for lunch and do all my grocery runs on the bike, plus riding to the local senior citizens center (yeah, I've got a couple more decades before I qualify for membership, but they have open-to-the-public stuff a lot) dances on Tuesday nights, and the occasional campout on family land 10 miles out.  

Edited by NightSG
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6 hours ago, LiterateParakeet said:

Have you tried swimming?  That provides good cardio, and might be less painful.  It helps me.  I also find walking any distance painful, but swimming feels like heaven.  
 

I float like a rock, a big boulder to be exact. Plus there are no public swimming pools within a 50 mile radius of me.

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Also, I don't know how accommodating they'd be, but you could check with some of the supported tour companies and other bike rental places in the area and ask if they'd be willing to do some half-day or shorter easy rides with you on different types of bikes.  Once the fall semester starts, it might be a good way for them to get a bit of rental income and you can get some pro tips from people who ride a lot and fit bikes to new people daily, and actual, meaningful tests of the bikes instead of just a couple laps around a shop parking lot.  You don't want to start a six day intensive tour on an unfamiliar bike without a lot of work up to that point, but a couple hours in the saddle will tell you a lot more than a few minutes.

http://bicycleadventures.com/destinations/idaho-bike-tours

http://www.cyclingutah.com/event-calendars/regional-road-tours-and-century-rides/

http://www.bicycleridesnw.org/2017/current-rides/idaho/

http://www.ridethehiawatha.com/

Then start reading https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/ to get an idea of where the hobby can take you...which is pretty much everywhere.

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  • 2 weeks later...
13 hours ago, a mustard seed said:

Sunday weigh in: 250 lbs. I didn't check in last weekend because I only lost two pounds; I ate a bunch of taffy and drank a bunch of energy drinks. This week was better and I walk about 4 miles each day. Got two jobs now. I basically work and walk.

Wow!  4 miles is great!

I'm just totally off the rails.  I've been totally just pleasure eating.  I had powdered donuts for dinner last night.

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10 hours ago, anatess2 said:

Wow!  4 miles is great!

I'm just totally off the rails.  I've been totally just pleasure eating.  I had powdered donuts for dinner last night.

Thank you! I'm very proud! While walking a route I walked the first week I got here, I was astonished by how easy it was now, remembering a time when I was left gasping and stopping every few minutes to rest.

Lol, that's awful, anatess! XD I remember the freedom of eating cake or ice cream or Cheezits for dinner. *sigh*

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