2019 Weight Loss Group

[unixknight]

The upper pic is more appealing to me.  I'm a deep, hardcore, dedicated Introvert who loves it.  When the weather is bad, especially snowy, people leave you alone.  You can be in your warm home by yourself and just enjoy the peace and quiet, maybe have close family with you. 

That bottom pic of the beach horrifies me because the reality is that beach would be swarming with people.  Look at those chairs!  Look at that boardwalk!  That practically screams "Come all ye people and be HERE!"

No thanks!  

[anatess2]

10 minutes ago, unixknight said:

The upper pic is more appealing to me.  I'm a deep, hardcore, dedicated Introvert who loves it.  When the weather is bad, especially snowy, people leave you alone.  You can be in your warm home by yourself and just enjoy the peace and quiet, maybe have close family with you. 

That bottom pic of the beach horrifies me because the reality is that beach would be swarming with people.  Look at those chairs!  Look at that boardwalk!  That practically screams "Come all ye people and be HERE!"

No thanks!  

We're like.... the exact opposite.  That would be me on that Florida beach yelling... Come all ye people! 

 

[zil]

42 minutes ago, anatess2 said:

Who else will join us?  @zil?

?  I've got my new plan and I'm sticking with it until it becomes habit, then I'll tweak.  So, I'm not sure what there is to join.

[seashmore]

22 hours ago, unixknight said:

I've decided on how to address the "dilemma" of the hill between me and the trail.

Until I'm fit enough to bike up and down that hill, I'll just have to suck it up and either walk the bike or put my bike rack on my car and drive over.  There's a parking area by the trailhead.

Something I felt silly for not knowing/realizing until someone told me, but if you have a multi speed bike, the lower numbers make it easier to pedal, which makes hills seem less intimidating. There are some pretty steep hills on my favorite trails (they're actually switch backs in some places) that I rode while training for a 60 charity mile ride. I memorized hymns as my "soundtrack", and loved the wordplay of the chorus of Praise to the Man as I ascended and conquered those hills.

I can hardly wait for the weather to nicen up so I can go riding, although she needs a good tune up before that happens.

[unixknight]

3 minutes ago, seashmore said:

Something I felt silly for not knowing/realizing until someone told me, but if you have a multi speed bike, the lower numbers make it easier to pedal, which makes hills seem less intimidating.

Yep, mechanical advantage.  The trade-off is that you have to pedal faster for the same road speed.  So somebody who's out of shape like me still gets winded.  

[SpiritDragon]

5 hours ago, zil said:

?  I've got my new plan and I'm sticking with it until it becomes habit, then I'll tweak.  So, I'm not sure what there is to join.

How's the new plan going at this point?

[zil]

Just now, SpiritDragon said:

How's the new plan going at this point?

Good, except when snow-removal takes me hours (and other people do things with the snow that ticks me off) and I reward myself with laziness afterwards.   I'm averaging 2x per week than 3x, but I'll get there.

I came home today from getting my car inspected and buying groceries and found they'd finally sent a plow, but all he appears to have done is barricade my driveway.  It was higher than the clearance on my car, but what the plows pile up is too heavy for removal without a truck + plow, so I lined up as much as possible (I back in) and floored it.  Made it through, thankfully, but spread a lot of that snow back into my driveway.

I believe whoever clears our street has changed - last year, the guy never barricaded driveways.  This year he's done it every time he had the chance.  Also, the good neighbors who had an ATV with a plow and knew how to use it moved, and my other neighbor with an ATV and a plow can't figure out how to use it and just makes things worse.  So, I tend to come back in frustrated and mopey.  I miss New York, where we didn't have sidewalks.

[SpiritDragon]

2 hours ago, zil said:

Good, except when snow-removal takes me hours (and other people do things with the snow that ticks me off) and I reward myself with laziness afterwards.   I'm averaging 2x per week than 3x, but I'll get there.

I came home today from getting my car inspected and buying groceries and found they'd finally sent a plow, but all he appears to have done is barricade my driveway.  It was higher than the clearance on my car, but what the plows pile up is too heavy for removal without a truck + plow, so I lined up as much as possible (I back in) and floored it.  Made it through, thankfully, but spread a lot of that snow back into my driveway.

I believe whoever clears our street has changed - last year, the guy never barricaded driveways.  This year he's done it every time he had the chance.  Also, the good neighbors who had an ATV with a plow and knew how to use it moved, and my other neighbor with an ATV and a plow can't figure out how to use it and just makes things worse.  So, I tend to come back in frustrated and mopey.  I miss New York, where we didn't have sidewalks.

I remember living through a similar plow circumstance. I found that a metal garden shovel broke through nicely and allowed for clearance. It's definitely frustrating though.

[anatess2]

9 hours ago, unixknight said:

Yep, mechanical advantage.  The trade-off is that you have to pedal faster for the same road speed.  So somebody who's out of shape like me still gets winded.  

Unix, I did it.  It was a bit chilly at 70 degrees so we went faster.  We went 6k this time.  We could’ve gone more but the tips of my fingers was starting to tingle so we decided to go home.

[SpiritDragon]

15 hours ago, anatess2 said:

Unix, I did it.  It was a bit chilly at 70 degrees so we went faster.  We went 6k this time.  We could’ve gone more but the tips of my fingers was starting to tingle so we decided to go home.

Did your finger tips start to tingle from a medical condition? Or are you so far from acclimated to 70 degree weather that your body finds the ideal room temperature cold  ? 

Well done with the 6K.

[anatess2]

On 2/9/2019 at 1:40 PM, SpiritDragon said:

Did your finger tips start to tingle from a medical condition? Or are you so far from acclimated to 70 degree weather that your body finds the ideal room temperature cold  ? 

Well done with the 6K.

It's a circulation problem which will be alleviated when I lose the weight I plan to lose.

Unfortunately, I'm sick again.  Sigh.

70 is a bit chilly for me.  80 is more my style.

[unixknight]

So this is the part where I reach out like a fallen alcoholic to their AA sponsor.

The last few days have been a disaster.  I don't just mean I fell of the wagon.  I mean I took a full-on nosedive and am being dragged behind the wagon face down on a dirt road traveled by horses.  

I was going to try and think of a funny way to tell the story but I've got nothin'.  Weighed myself last night to see the damage.  Not so good, that.

[NeuroTypical]

I am so glad to hear that I’m not the only one that looks at the stuff through the lens of addiction and AA and whatnot.  There are absolutely similarities between unhealthy eating and distructive addictions.

Unix, Confession is good for the soul.  My usual thing is to go on six-month long benders and give back every single gain  made.   I’m using this thread is a way to keep me from doing that. By committing to do what you just did, admit it when I fall short, and I accept the support of the group. 

You can recover from two days off the wagon. Find your motivation. Win it back.

[anatess2]

24 minutes ago, unixknight said:

So this is the part where I reach out like a fallen alcoholic to their AA sponsor.

The last few days have been a disaster.  I don't just mean I fell of the wagon.  I mean I took a full-on nosedive and am being dragged behind the wagon face down on a dirt road traveled by horses.  

I was going to try and think of a funny way to tell the story but I've got nothin'.  Weighed myself last night to see the damage.  Not so good, that.

As the saying goes... it's not that we fall off the wagon.  It's how we pick ourselves back up.  So, I'm going to channel my inner Sarah Connor, "On your feet, soldier!  We got some biking to do!"

So, okay, I missed my walk yesterday because... Alita Battle Angel.  And tonight is Scouts.  But, Wednesday... you're all mine and we're walking this neighborhood to the ground!  Join me, Unix!

[unixknight]

No biking for me today.  Freezing rain, ice and snow.

Confession:   My heavy bag is in place, but is surrounded by mostly empty boxes and debris.  My first workout will be excavating it, which I have not yet done.  

I will commit to doing that tonight.

Edited February 12, 2019 by unixknight

[anatess2]

P.S.  So, I've been doing really good with the water intake.  I targeted 1 liter.  I've been averaging 1.5.  But there's a downside to this.  I went to pee right before Alita started.  And I didn't last through the end of the movie.  I had to pee again.  Which made me upset because I was trying to enjoy this movie and I can't stop thinking about having to pee, so I missed part of the movie just to get that pressure off my bladder.  I feel like I'm back in my pregnant days.

[SpiritDragon]

1 hour ago, unixknight said:

So this is the part where I reach out like a fallen alcoholic to their AA sponsor.

The last few days have been a disaster.  I don't just mean I fell of the wagon.  I mean I took a full-on nosedive and am being dragged behind the wagon face down on a dirt road traveled by horses.  

I was going to try and think of a funny way to tell the story but I've got nothin'.  Weighed myself last night to see the damage.  Not so good, that.

Let me suggest that it's important for you to revisit your reason for doing all of this. Have you found your "why"?

What is the default future of continuing on being dragged by the wagon? What is the future you want? Make it vivid - make it real. Put up pictures if you need to. Maybe you need pictures of an aunt or uncle who became so overweight they need a wheelchair, or maybe it's one who had a heart attack in their forties - you can put up a picture in a place you see with a crossed out circle around like a no smoking sign. Maybe keep one in you wallet and pull it out before eating, the other side can have your commitments written down. It's also helpful to have a picture of your dream self - not so much the ideal physique aspect, although that can be quite motivational for some, but a picture that encompasses health and vibrant energy to play with kids and grand kids, to have the get up and go to help out at service projects, to know if a natural disaster strikes your area you can put in a 16 hour day saving lives without much food... whatever it is that's meaningful to you.

A new idea that I recently learned in a book on job satisfaction, but I think is applicable here, is to also measure your success against the impact it has on others. When you're doing well, take notice of your better moods and how that affects family, or how you have more energy for fun with family, perhaps how you are role modelling healthy habits to family, being a leader. When you fall short of where you'd like to be take notice of how other areas of life also seem to slide. More importantly, choose something that you can measure out of all of this and let that help you determine how effective you are being. It may be how often you get your kids to smile, or maybe even just how your efforts are helping Anatess to go for her walks. It's a little less clear exactly what this should be compared to tracking your progress on your own habits, but it should be something you have influence over because of daily decisions you make. 

[unixknight]

My problem is that the instant gratification desire is massive, and everything else feels far away.  

I have goals for what I'd do if I could slim down.  I want to go skydiving.  I want to drive an open-wheel racer car (There's a track nearby and you can pay them to let you drive one).  I want to ride rollercoasters again.  These are all things that aren't currently an option.  

They're also things I've lived without for a very long time, and when I'm stressed or in a depressed mood they seem impossibly far away so maybe that burger and fries don't really matter so much and... boom.  

I'll close this post here before it turns into a pity party.  Suffice it to say some recent events have me in a mindset where I don't have too many craps to give right now.

[SpiritDragon]

12 minutes ago, unixknight said:

My problem is that the instant gratification desire is massive, and everything else feels far away.  

I have goals for what I'd do if I could slim down.  I want to go skydiving.  I want to drive an open-wheel racer car (There's a track nearby and you can pay them to let you drive one).  I want to ride rollercoasters again.  These are all things that aren't currently an option.  

Perhaps if we take this approach:

 

[SpiritDragon]

14 minutes ago, unixknight said:

They're also things I've lived without for a very long time, and when I'm stressed or in a depressed mood they seem impossibly far away so maybe that burger and fries don't really matter so much and... boom.  

I'll close this post here before it turns into a pity party.  Suffice it to say some recent events have me in a mindset where I don't have too many craps to give right now.

Increased fiber and water intake can help with that

Okay - in all seriousness, I'm sorry to hear you're going through a rough patch, and I haven't personally shared the same challenges so I don't know exactly what you're going through. I can try to relate with other struggles I've had in my own life and I want to help. If it's okay with you I'll continue to offer suggestions that may be helpful, and when they're not you're welcome to disregard them. I can also forego giving suggestions and work on asking you for the solutions you have inside of you, but may need help coaxing out.

[unixknight]

10 minutes ago, SpiritDragon said:

Increased fiber and water intake can help with that

Okay - in all seriousness, I'm sorry to hear you're going through a rough patch, and I haven't personally shared the same challenges so I don't know exactly what you're going through. I can try to relate with other struggles I've had in my own life and I want to help. If it's okay with you I'll continue to offer suggestions that may be helpful, and when they're not you're welcome to disregard them. I can also forego giving suggestions and work on asking you for the solutions you have inside of you, but may need help coaxing out.

I'm still in the game, just feeling discouraged about other things.

[NeuroTypical]

Motivation.  When I manage to have it, it works.  When I don't have it, fast food is easy, cheap, and yummy - occasionally 3, or even 4 times a day.  

Without motivation, I'm blown about by the fickle winds of my own emotional state and resulting bad habits.  This became apparent to me a few years ago, when someone was taking issue with an aspect of my character.  I like blinked, and discovered I was literally in the kitchen halfway through microwaving a couple of hot pockets - and this was after dinner.  A quick scan of my own thought process, and I was the embodiment of a living pity party.  It dawned on me that this was sort of my normal reaction to injustices, perceived or real.  It dawned on me that I perceived more than were actually real.  And that I had done so for at least 2 decades.

So yeah, I've got a powerful negative thought process with which I must do battle.  Without motivation, I can occasionally win by sheer willpower, but such wins are temporary.  But with my motivation, it lasts long enough for me to get into good habits, which make it harder to fall into that trap.

Got my fingers crossed for you Unix!  Here's hoping you can develop a crap or two to give.

[anatess2]

2 hours ago, unixknight said:

My problem is that the instant gratification desire is massive, and everything else feels far away.  

I feel ya, brother.  

[unixknight]

So while I have yet to honestly drag myself back up onto the wagon, I did excavate my heavy bag and worked it over a bit.  My arms are sore today (which I see as a good thing.  It means I actually did some good).

Weigh-in tonight.

[anatess2]

@unixknight, you jinxed Florida!  It's rainy and cold and icky here.  And it's supposed to rain tonight too.  So, I went ahead and bought another ticket to Alita.  But I don't feel bad because we had Fitness Obstacle Course at Scouts last night that I asked my son to lead the cubs through.  I thought, well, it's for the cubs so it can't be that hard... well... my son is a whip-master.  I almost didn't make it through the warm-ups.  The course starts with a 2/3 bball court dash, then forward on a 12-foot balance beam, then backward on the same beam, then sideways on the beam... then run to do front roll, back roll, crab walk, 8 push-ups, 8 curls, then 8 jump ropes, then go do the 8-lb ball toss and lift 3x, then do a knee high vertical jump over an elastic band followed by a waist high vertical jump over an elastic band that I couldn't do no matter how hard I tried, then another 2/3 court dash to end on a 3-second frog stand finish.  I went through the course in just under 2 minutes and I almost died.  Hah hah.

So, that's a long-winded way to say... I'm not walking tonight. 

But you should still try to bike if the weather lets up!