Cory's Quest for a Healthier Life
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-Cory-
Well-known member
Hey guys, I know I popped up sometime around the time I graduated professing a new commitment to my weight loss goals. Clearly, that didn’t work out so well. Between the stress of the end of the semester and the stress of job hunting, I was having some real issues with anxiety that started to show up in my food and exercise habits. I want healthy choices to be something I do because it makes me feel good and is good for me, not because the thought of making a bad choice makes me ridiculously anxious. So I decided to take a break for a couple months. It was a good decision. The last couple months have allowed me to get back into a better frame of mind, even if I maybe did gain a little weight back. I’ve been out of school for three months or so and have started to get some call backs for jobs, which has significantly decreased my stress level. I think I’m really ready to get started again now that I’ve gotten a little bit of distance and some clarity.
So where am I at right now? Well, I’m not sure what I weigh. I haven’t checked in a couple months, but I’ll do that when I go to my parents’ house this weekend. I’m still horseback riding. I have not found an alternative to Zumba now that I don’t have access to my college gym, but I’m still looking around. Hiking has been stop and start the last couple of weeks. September where I live means torrential rain, so that doesn’t make it easy to do things outside. Food for the last couple of months has been really variable. I ate out a lot last month, which is never good for the waistline. I’ve been trying the last couple weeks to get back into the habit of cooking for myself though. I hope everyone else has been having success while I’ve been gone.
So where am I at right now? Well, I’m not sure what I weigh. I haven’t checked in a couple months, but I’ll do that when I go to my parents’ house this weekend. I’m still horseback riding. I have not found an alternative to Zumba now that I don’t have access to my college gym, but I’m still looking around. Hiking has been stop and start the last couple of weeks. September where I live means torrential rain, so that doesn’t make it easy to do things outside. Food for the last couple of months has been really variable. I ate out a lot last month, which is never good for the waistline. I’ve been trying the last couple weeks to get back into the habit of cooking for myself though. I hope everyone else has been having success while I’ve been gone.
-Cory-
Well-known member
Thanks for the welcome back, guys! On the job fronts, I’ve had two phone interviews but I have not heard back from either yet. I also got an offer from another company, but I don’t think I’ll take the job because it’s temporary, does not offer benefits, and would require a move almost all the way across the country.
On the weight loss front, holy crap was yesterday frustrating. The rain ruined literally everything. A lot of the time I take a half hour walk during my breaks at work, but I couldn’t do that because the parking lot was a lake. I had also planned to horseback ride, but I couldn’t get out of town to get to the barn. All of the roads were either closed due to flooding, going the completely wrong direction, or traffic was dead stopped because of rain related accidents. So I just went back home instead. At least I did pretty well with food.
Today seems to be going better. The parking lot has dried out so I should be able to walk today. I’m also going to make up for the horseback riding I missed yesterday. I have decided to go eat Indian food for lunch today and it’s a buffet, so I know I’ll eat too much but this is the one time during the week I’ll let myself eat out/overindulge. Everyone should be able to splurge on one or two meals during the week, right?
Hopefully I can catch up on some threads tonight after the barn. I really missed this community.
On the weight loss front, holy crap was yesterday frustrating. The rain ruined literally everything. A lot of the time I take a half hour walk during my breaks at work, but I couldn’t do that because the parking lot was a lake. I had also planned to horseback ride, but I couldn’t get out of town to get to the barn. All of the roads were either closed due to flooding, going the completely wrong direction, or traffic was dead stopped because of rain related accidents. So I just went back home instead. At least I did pretty well with food.
Today seems to be going better. The parking lot has dried out so I should be able to walk today. I’m also going to make up for the horseback riding I missed yesterday. I have decided to go eat Indian food for lunch today and it’s a buffet, so I know I’ll eat too much but this is the one time during the week I’ll let myself eat out/overindulge. Everyone should be able to splurge on one or two meals during the week, right?
Hopefully I can catch up on some threads tonight after the barn. I really missed this community.
Cate.
-Cory-
Well-known member
Hey guys! I haven't forgotten about this place in the last couple weeks. Just been REALLY busy. My progress has been kind of meh. I haven't lost any weight, but I haven't gained any either. I've been struggling a lot with portion size lately. I don't know why. It's like every time I get to dinner I go, "I could eat half of this now and then have lunch tomorrow and that would be two appropriate portion sizes. Nah. I'll just eat it all now." Exercise has been ok. Definitely better than it was, but I'm still having a hard time finding some cardio to do that I don't hate.
I did good tonight with food. I decided to have a loaded baked potato with chili, cheese, chives, and a little ranch dressing. I made two potatoes and thought about eating them both, but have managed to talk myself out of it and will have the other one for lunch tomorrow. No purposeful exercise today, but I wound up on my feet most of the day at work so I'll count it.
I did good tonight with food. I decided to have a loaded baked potato with chili, cheese, chives, and a little ranch dressing. I made two potatoes and thought about eating them both, but have managed to talk myself out of it and will have the other one for lunch tomorrow. No purposeful exercise today, but I wound up on my feet most of the day at work so I'll count it.
-Cory-
Well-known member
Ok, so the last week has been hit or miss. I’ve had days where I did really well with food and some days where I did poorly with food. Yesterday was awful, for example. Chinese food for breakfast, ham steak for lunch, and pizza buffet for dinner. I actually didn’t set out to eat that way, but the day was so crazy it just kind of worked out like that. I had an interview for a job in the morning and just ate the first thing I could find for breakfast. In all the hustle, I forgot my lunch and stopped and got something (ham steak). Then my friend invited me out for pizza and it had been so long since I’d seen her I felt like I couldn’t refuse. On the flip side, I did go riding last night and it was ROUGH. I got put on this horse that three other people had tried and couldn’t ride. I was moderately successful (meaning I didn’t wind up on the ground and got her to do mostly what I wanted), but I am paying for it today. I haven’t had to work that hard to ride a horse in a while. So fun though.
Today has been better so far. Fruit smoothie for breakfast, soup and half a sandwich for lunch, and am planning on stir fried rice with lots of veggies and an egg for dinner. I also am trying to be more consistent with my walking on breaks at work.
In my struggles to get back under control the last couple of weeks, I was reflecting on some things related to my journey so far. At this point, I’m quite a bit worse off than I was a year ago both in terms of regained weight and my overall level of fitness. It has occurred to me that in some ways I don’t care about the weight as much at this point. What I really miss is how GOOD it felt to be in shape. I am definitely not in shape now. Or at least not in the kind of shape I was in last year when I was doing Zumba 5 days a week. It’s made me reconsider some of my short term goals. I know I’ve mentioned how much I’ve been struggling with food lately. I’m thinking instead of stressing and focusing on food I need to focus more on exercise and getting back in shape. I know that will make me feel better in about 19 different ways. Then maybe when I’m in a better frame of mind, I can focus more on the food side of things. Right now I feel like I’ve been spinning my wheels and not getting anywhere because of how I’e been eating. I think slightly altering my short term goals might be really beneficial to my overall state of mind and long term success.
Today has been better so far. Fruit smoothie for breakfast, soup and half a sandwich for lunch, and am planning on stir fried rice with lots of veggies and an egg for dinner. I also am trying to be more consistent with my walking on breaks at work.
In my struggles to get back under control the last couple of weeks, I was reflecting on some things related to my journey so far. At this point, I’m quite a bit worse off than I was a year ago both in terms of regained weight and my overall level of fitness. It has occurred to me that in some ways I don’t care about the weight as much at this point. What I really miss is how GOOD it felt to be in shape. I am definitely not in shape now. Or at least not in the kind of shape I was in last year when I was doing Zumba 5 days a week. It’s made me reconsider some of my short term goals. I know I’ve mentioned how much I’ve been struggling with food lately. I’m thinking instead of stressing and focusing on food I need to focus more on exercise and getting back in shape. I know that will make me feel better in about 19 different ways. Then maybe when I’m in a better frame of mind, I can focus more on the food side of things. Right now I feel like I’ve been spinning my wheels and not getting anywhere because of how I’e been eating. I think slightly altering my short term goals might be really beneficial to my overall state of mind and long term success.
Quercus
New member
It was easier for me to get the exercise going before I made strict changes to my diet.
My riding experience is much less than yours, but I did learn to be wary of phrases like "spirited" or "green stick broke". I'm glad you enjoy that sort of horse. You can make them rideable for the less brave.
My riding experience is much less than yours, but I did learn to be wary of phrases like "spirited" or "green stick broke". I'm glad you enjoy that sort of horse. You can make them rideable for the less brave.
-Cory-
Well-known member
Yeah, Q. I like the ones that are a lot harder. Actually, the point of me riding this horse last night is to eventually get her ready to be a kid's mount. She'll get there eventually.
So, I thought some more about my goals over the short term. They are as follows:
Goal 1 - walk 10,000 steps/day five days a week
Goal 2 - go horseback riding 2-3 days a week
Goal 3 - Explore one new form of cardio each week until I find something that I like
Goal 4 - Go back to drinking no sodas
I'm not going to be counting calories or restricting my food choices right now. I think in a couple of months I would like to revisit this, but for now focusing on the exercise is enough.
So, I thought some more about my goals over the short term. They are as follows:
Goal 1 - walk 10,000 steps/day five days a week
Goal 2 - go horseback riding 2-3 days a week
Goal 3 - Explore one new form of cardio each week until I find something that I like
Goal 4 - Go back to drinking no sodas
I'm not going to be counting calories or restricting my food choices right now. I think in a couple of months I would like to revisit this, but for now focusing on the exercise is enough.
Hey Cory!
Doing anything in an effort to be more healthy is better than nothing. I think trying to focus on exercise is great goal. One step at a time one day at a time, right?
Also kudos on eating healthy after your not so healthy day. I'm the worst at embracing the all or nothing approach. If I have a crappy day, I feel like I already screwed up so fuck it all- which is the worst attitude! And I've got the girth to show for it. I'm trying to be more zen about my eating. So what if I ate an unhealthy meal, or had an unhealthy day- or weekend. It doesn't have to dictate the choices in future. Every moment is a new fresh chance to make healthier choices
I love horseback riding. Sadly haven't gone in 5 years, and even then its the city girl variety, but still a ton of fun.
Doing anything in an effort to be more healthy is better than nothing. I think trying to focus on exercise is great goal. One step at a time one day at a time, right?
Also kudos on eating healthy after your not so healthy day. I'm the worst at embracing the all or nothing approach. If I have a crappy day, I feel like I already screwed up so fuck it all- which is the worst attitude! And I've got the girth to show for it. I'm trying to be more zen about my eating. So what if I ate an unhealthy meal, or had an unhealthy day- or weekend. It doesn't have to dictate the choices in future. Every moment is a new fresh chance to make healthier choices
I love horseback riding. Sadly haven't gone in 5 years, and even then its the city girl variety, but still a ton of fun.
-Cory-
Well-known member
slickzchik - I think what you said about not allowing one bad choice to ruin a whole day is great. It's easy to say, "Fuck it," but ultimately that doesn't help you any. Also, if you like to ride you should definitely see if there's an affordable stable near you offering lessons. It's great exercise and really stress relieving (at least to me).
The last couple of days have been pretty good. I did manage to get my 10,000 steps in on Wednesday and yesterday. I’m also on track to get them today too. Going horseback riding after work. No sodas since Tuesday. It’s always hardest for me on the weekends to avoid the soda. When I’m at my apartment, I just don’t keep them in the house, but when I go to my parents’ house we have to have them or my grandma throws a giant hissy fit. Just having them there makes them so much harder to resist.
Food has been a little up and down this week, although that’s primarily due to things outside of my control rather than me actively making bad choices. But, I told myself I wasn’t going to focus on food at the moment so I’m not going to worry about it right now.
I’ve also decided to only weight once a month. Previously I had been doing every week, but weight loss specifically isn’t in my goal set at the moment. I still want to monitor, but not weekly like I had been doing before. I'm thinking I'll weigh myself on the 1st of every month, so in about a week I'll put up a new measurement.
The last couple of days have been pretty good. I did manage to get my 10,000 steps in on Wednesday and yesterday. I’m also on track to get them today too. Going horseback riding after work. No sodas since Tuesday. It’s always hardest for me on the weekends to avoid the soda. When I’m at my apartment, I just don’t keep them in the house, but when I go to my parents’ house we have to have them or my grandma throws a giant hissy fit. Just having them there makes them so much harder to resist.
Food has been a little up and down this week, although that’s primarily due to things outside of my control rather than me actively making bad choices. But, I told myself I wasn’t going to focus on food at the moment so I’m not going to worry about it right now.
I’ve also decided to only weight once a month. Previously I had been doing every week, but weight loss specifically isn’t in my goal set at the moment. I still want to monitor, but not weekly like I had been doing before. I'm thinking I'll weigh myself on the 1st of every month, so in about a week I'll put up a new measurement.
-Cory-
Well-known member
Thanks Q!
This weekend was alright. I primarily focused on resisting the soda temptation at my parents' house. Happy to say I was successful. I think that makes 5 days soda free now maybe, with the completion of today being 6. I went riding and got all my steps on Saturday. Got to work with that green horse again, which was fun. We worked on messing with her feet. She's a little nervous when people try to pick them up and will try to kick, so I've been trying to help her get over that. We're definitely making progress. She's so much better about it than she was even 2 weeks ago. Sunday was somewhat less successful. I only got about 5 thousand steps in because it started raining; however I did take some pics of the beautiful fall foliage we have right now.
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This weekend was alright. I primarily focused on resisting the soda temptation at my parents' house. Happy to say I was successful. I think that makes 5 days soda free now maybe, with the completion of today being 6. I went riding and got all my steps on Saturday. Got to work with that green horse again, which was fun. We worked on messing with her feet. She's a little nervous when people try to pick them up and will try to kick, so I've been trying to help her get over that. We're definitely making progress. She's so much better about it than she was even 2 weeks ago. Sunday was somewhat less successful. I only got about 5 thousand steps in because it started raining; however I did take some pics of the beautiful fall foliage we have right now.
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Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
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