MarineLizard
New member
Hello forum,
This is my first diary post! I'm on here for support and to hear what works and doesn't work for people, knowing that we are all differently abled and motivated. So here's the skinny (so to speak) on me:
I'm coming up on my 40th birthday, have 2 small kids, and am struggling with obesity. I'm a 6' tall woman. My body really changed after my second child 3 years ago as a woman of "advanced maternal age" - worst term ever. I never really carried my weight around the middle, but I do now. Muscles that were always strong in my back and core are now weaker than they ever were. I look gross; worse than when I was pregnant. My job for half the year was very active - tromping around carrying heavy things in mud for several hours a day. You would think this helped with dropping weight, but it just ended getting me injured to the point where I ended up applying (and getting) another position with less field work. I have been in that job for 1 month now. It is less active, but I'm looking forward to fewer injuries and surprisingly, more time for habits like walking during lunch. My job is about 1hr 15 min away from home, so I spend a lot of time in the car and am pretty much exhausted when I get home. I miss feeling strong and healthy. I can't do the things I want to do with my family. I don't know what a day without physical pain is like anymore.
So, while this has nothing to do with New Year's resolutions, the new year is timely. I'm trying to make small changes that are lasting. I've been in the situation before where I really thought I had made lifestyle change only for it to peter out months later. I've seen temporary success with low-carb diets, so I'm purposefully trying not to focus on that. I'm not interested in fad diets, and as a scientist object to many of them a lot. I don't do well with calorie counting since it ruins my enjoyment of food and eating. I tend to feel guilty when I have set-backs to the point where I stop habits like writing down what I eat. That might be my biggest hurdle - getting back on the horse after falling off.
Here are some things I've been doing regularly for about 2 weeks now that make me feel better.
1. Cut out sweets. I was never a sweets hound until last year. By sweets, I mean dessert-like things with refined sugars. I haven't had soda in about 20 years and don't drink juice or caffeine already. It has been almost 2 weeks of abstaining and I'm finding that I don't want sugary sweets as much. I'm allowing myself other carbs though, which is something I haven't done in the past. My current short-term goal is 30 days without sweets.
2. Make sure I drink water at work. This is easier with my new job and forces me to walk down a couple of halls to get it.
3. Carry around my phone with a pedometer app. Pedometers are notoriously horrible step trackers for those who spend a lot of time in cars, but I can get a relative measure of how many steps I do each day an it encourages me to be more active.
4. Proper arm form push-ups in the morning on an incline against a counter. I'm up to 20 now. I have to watch it and not push myself, otherwise my lower back injury is aggravated. These are followed by regular squats and sumo squats (~30 total). I do them before I walk out the door in the morning to get my blood pumping before my drive. It is quick (2 min) and at least something if I don't get to do anything else the rest of the day. I've also been doing planks on and off because of my back and I only get up to about 25-30".
5. Just moved into a new house (life changes anyone?) and I have stairs now. Yeah?! I use them to stretch my calves all the time now. My calves prevent a lot of longer walking since they are so tight. I'm also chasing the kids up and down and unpacking, so that gets in some steps.
So I'm not trying a huge lifestyle change all at once. We'll see how it goes. I'm happy to hear it any of these things have worked for others and any other changes for next steps. For my health and the ability to be there for my family, I want and need to lose a lot of weight. My first major goal, which I hope to accomplish in a year is to reach 220 lbs, which takes me out of the obesity category. Wish me luck, or better yet, perseverance.
This is my first diary post! I'm on here for support and to hear what works and doesn't work for people, knowing that we are all differently abled and motivated. So here's the skinny (so to speak) on me:
I'm coming up on my 40th birthday, have 2 small kids, and am struggling with obesity. I'm a 6' tall woman. My body really changed after my second child 3 years ago as a woman of "advanced maternal age" - worst term ever. I never really carried my weight around the middle, but I do now. Muscles that were always strong in my back and core are now weaker than they ever were. I look gross; worse than when I was pregnant. My job for half the year was very active - tromping around carrying heavy things in mud for several hours a day. You would think this helped with dropping weight, but it just ended getting me injured to the point where I ended up applying (and getting) another position with less field work. I have been in that job for 1 month now. It is less active, but I'm looking forward to fewer injuries and surprisingly, more time for habits like walking during lunch. My job is about 1hr 15 min away from home, so I spend a lot of time in the car and am pretty much exhausted when I get home. I miss feeling strong and healthy. I can't do the things I want to do with my family. I don't know what a day without physical pain is like anymore.
So, while this has nothing to do with New Year's resolutions, the new year is timely. I'm trying to make small changes that are lasting. I've been in the situation before where I really thought I had made lifestyle change only for it to peter out months later. I've seen temporary success with low-carb diets, so I'm purposefully trying not to focus on that. I'm not interested in fad diets, and as a scientist object to many of them a lot. I don't do well with calorie counting since it ruins my enjoyment of food and eating. I tend to feel guilty when I have set-backs to the point where I stop habits like writing down what I eat. That might be my biggest hurdle - getting back on the horse after falling off.
Here are some things I've been doing regularly for about 2 weeks now that make me feel better.
1. Cut out sweets. I was never a sweets hound until last year. By sweets, I mean dessert-like things with refined sugars. I haven't had soda in about 20 years and don't drink juice or caffeine already. It has been almost 2 weeks of abstaining and I'm finding that I don't want sugary sweets as much. I'm allowing myself other carbs though, which is something I haven't done in the past. My current short-term goal is 30 days without sweets.
2. Make sure I drink water at work. This is easier with my new job and forces me to walk down a couple of halls to get it.
3. Carry around my phone with a pedometer app. Pedometers are notoriously horrible step trackers for those who spend a lot of time in cars, but I can get a relative measure of how many steps I do each day an it encourages me to be more active.
4. Proper arm form push-ups in the morning on an incline against a counter. I'm up to 20 now. I have to watch it and not push myself, otherwise my lower back injury is aggravated. These are followed by regular squats and sumo squats (~30 total). I do them before I walk out the door in the morning to get my blood pumping before my drive. It is quick (2 min) and at least something if I don't get to do anything else the rest of the day. I've also been doing planks on and off because of my back and I only get up to about 25-30".
5. Just moved into a new house (life changes anyone?) and I have stairs now. Yeah?! I use them to stretch my calves all the time now. My calves prevent a lot of longer walking since they are so tight. I'm also chasing the kids up and down and unpacking, so that gets in some steps.
So I'm not trying a huge lifestyle change all at once. We'll see how it goes. I'm happy to hear it any of these things have worked for others and any other changes for next steps. For my health and the ability to be there for my family, I want and need to lose a lot of weight. My first major goal, which I hope to accomplish in a year is to reach 220 lbs, which takes me out of the obesity category. Wish me luck, or better yet, perseverance.
Thanks for the support.
