One Step at a Time

[AnnSparks]

@LaMaria @alligatorob
I'll keep that in mind. Even if I don't do good, I plan to still upload at least once a week so that I can keep on top of posting and keeping myself accountable since that's this journal is for.

 

[Llama]

Excellent. And I love the picture of Sam running: you both look great in it.

 

[liza]

Nice to have you posting again Ann. I missed you while you were away.
You sound like you're back on track. Try to not get too discouraged with weight fluctuations. They happen and it doesn't always mean a whole lot. Anyways glad to see the weight's come back down and you're back to meal planning.
I can't imagine doing all what you are doing plus adding in work! Sounds like you already have a full time job with all the animals!
Loving all the pictures as always

 

[River Bird]

One thing I'm not too keen on with now having to factor in work is the fact that I have to get up at 5am to be able to accomplish everything I want to in a day and still have a bit of personal time. (Although the cats, mostly the kitten, think I should be awake at 4:30 instead) But oh well, such is the way of life.

I also started getting up at 5, then going to bed at 9. What helped me was doing this everyday, even on weekends and holidays. This helped my body get used to it. I didn't like having less personal time in the evening, but I like starting my day with exercise. I feel like I've accomplished something. I also have more energy in the morning than evening.

So you have lost about 25 pounds, correct? That is a huge accomplishment. It is very good you are precooking healthy meals.

What kind of exercise do you do?

 

[alligatorob]

I think you look slimmer in the most recent pictures. Good for you!

 

[AnnSparks]

Thanks for the feedback everyone.


@River Bird
I think I'll have to adopt that stratagy and keep going to bed at the same time every day regardless of what day it is since I can tell it's not working letting myself sleep whenever on weekends lol.
And I've lost 15 lbs. Or at least that's all I count since my starting weight is 220.5 and I'm now 205 give or take on the day.
As for exercises, I used to use an exercise/stationary bike but I've kinda slacked off using it lately. Otherwise, my main source of activity is going for walks with my horses or riding my horses. I often burn more calories riding than anything else, but I'm hoping to add in more exercises sometime in the future.

 

[AnnSparks]

Little update.

I've been struggling lately with junk food. I keep wanting unbaked cookies (which are super easy and fun to make) and ice cream and at times, pasteries as well. It's been a big challenge and I often find myself giving in so I keep bouncing back and forth in weight with gaining some back, losing it, then gaining it back. I think I need to go back to having packs of gum laying around and everytime the craving hits, just chew some gum instead. It's lower in calories and it still satisfies the craving. Or at least distracts my body from the craving anyway so I don't give in lol.

Also, it's been raining a lot lately so I haven't been doing a whole lot with the horses or exercises. But last week I did manage to go for 1 trail ride that lasted about two hours or a little under. It was purely walking, but my legs felt like jelly by the end anyway lol. Another day I walked half way, then rode back the other half. Since I was walking, it took longer and was out for about 2.5 hours roughly. And I think there was one other day where I rode for about 30 mins or something. But then there was a different point where I sat in the garden and weeded for like, 4 hours which left me with a sore neck and shoulders by the end. So I still got in some fresh air.

As for this week, yesterday I didn't do much. It rained and stormed all day. Today I managed to go for about a 30 minute walk this morning, taking Sam with me. Then went to work for a nearly 8 hour day. And at the very end, I went on a short 5 minute walk with Sadie. Finished off the day with an hour ride on Sam. However, this ride was different since I actually rode him more than I have in the past and actually got both him and I sweating a bit lol. I think I burnt roughly 514 calories, but that's a rough estimate on the lower side. It's quite possible I burnt closer to the 600 mark. Either way, that's the exercise for today.

And some pics to finish things off.

 

[Llama]

It's impressive how quickly cookies and pastries add up the calories, isn't it? Also: that stationary bike sounds like excellent bad weather exercise, and may even distract from cravings.

 

[River Bird]

Little update.

I've been struggling lately with junk food. I keep wanting unbaked cookies (which are super easy and fun to make) and ice cream and at times, pasteries as well. It's been a big challenge and I often find myself giving in so I keep bouncing back and forth in weight with gaining some back, losing it, then gaining it back. I think I need to go back to having packs of gum laying around and everytime the craving hits, just chew some gum instead. It's lower in calories and it still satisfies the craving. Or at least distracts my body from the craving anyway so I don't give in lol.

Also, it's been raining a lot lately so I haven't been doing a whole lot with the horses or exercises. But last week I did manage to go for 1 trail ride that lasted about two hours or a little under. It was purely walking, but my legs felt like jelly by the end anyway lol. Another day I walked half way, then rode back the other half. Since I was walking, it took longer and was out for about 2.5 hours roughly. And I think there was one other day where I rode for about 30 mins or something. But then there was a different point where I sat in the garden and weeded for like, 4 hours which left me with a sore neck and shoulders by the end. So I still got in some fresh air.

As for this week, yesterday I didn't do much. It rained and stormed all day. Today I managed to go for about a 30 minute walk this morning, taking Sam with me. Then went to work for a nearly 8 hour day. And at the very end, I went on a short 5 minute walk with Sadie. Finished off the day with an hour ride on Sam. However, this ride was different since I actually rode him more than I have in the past and actually got both him and I sweating a bit lol. I think I burnt roughly 514 calories, but that's a rough estimate on the lower side. It's quite possible I burnt closer to the 600 mark. Either way, that's the exercise for today.

And some pics to finish things off.

You should definitely try the gum idea and see if that helps, Ann. Let us know how that goes.

Have you tried some exercises that you can do indoors when it rains? Even if just for 30 minutes? Is there a particular exercise you think you might like better than others? Maybe aerobics on YouTube, using a treadmill, or lifting dumbbells?

 

[liza]

That's good that you know where your challenges are and have some good remedies for it. Are you still doing any form of Keto? Just thinking that there might be some nice treats with that that could satisfy some of those cravings?
Lovely pictures on one of your non-rainy days

 

[AnnSparks]

@LaMaria
It is quite surprising but understandable when you really think about it. Just sucks that they add up so quickly lol. And the bike would be more tempting to use, except the seat is insanely uncomfortable and now, for some weird reason, the seat is always tilted at an angle and doesn't want to sit level/flat like it should so that it makes it even more uncomfortable to use and puts in a weird position.

@River Bird
I've done the gum thing in the past and it does definitely help! I joke about saying I become a "gum-aholic" lol since when I start, I go through packs of gum fairly quickly. I just have to be careful about the type of gum I get since some of it makes me dehydrated and that's not much fun.
I've tried doing some exercises but my place is tiny so it's really hard to do exercises inside. At best, my cabin is the size of a master bedroom in a standard house, if not a touch smaller and I have a kitchen, bed, table, desk, bookshelves, and so on in that space. So it's a tight squeeze as it is. Plus its old so the whole floor is slanted, kinda like it's a giant bubble underneath xP

@liza
Not really. Meat has gotten a lot more expensive which makes it quite hard to have it as larger portion of the meal. And getting the glutten free flour and such is expensive too. Makes it a challenge when this month, I only got paid $100 due to the way work started up so I haven't been able to do much with finances so tight at the moment this month thanks to that.

 

[AnnSparks]

So I've been thinking lately, and I think I need to find a way to do a workout thing with a buddy. I've been struggling to stay on track lately and I need to get back on track. I just find a struggle to be here on my own. I can't go off my weight reliably at the moment either since my sleep pattern isn't perfect yet and I find that always messes with how much I weigh for some reason. But I can feel that I'm staying in the same spot or gaining a bit and I need to reverse it.

Not only that, but for riding, it's best if a person plus the tack only weighs 20% of the horses body weight to make sure the horse can comfortably carry them. And with my young guy coming back and the rough estimate of his weight would calculate that I need to weigh about 180 - 200 lbs range in order for him to comfortable carry me around. And at this point, with my tack, I'm about 10-15 lbs over the 200 mark.

I'm also thinking maybe something I can do is let the exercise go back to the family member who owns it, and instead I'll get myself a treadmill and start going for runs like that. While I do live out in the country, I can't go on a run because I'm in an area where moose and bears like to hang out, and the other day I saw large patches of grass and bush that had been flattened due to some large animals having slept there. So a treadmill would be the best way to be able to go for a run and stay safe.

Current Goals:

Long term: reach 150 lbs and maintain that

Short term: reach 195 lbs

But ya, I think if I had someone to talk to that was doing similar stuff to me to be able to keep us accountable pretty much everyday, it'd help. But I'm not sure how to find someone to do that with.

 

[Llama]

If you have the space for a treadmill you could be using it for home workouts, too... But if running is something you'd be more likely to do: go for it. And I 100% agree that it's easier to exercise with a buddy, even if it's a geographically distanced one.

 

[AnnSparks]

If you have the space for a treadmill you could be using it for home workouts, too... But if running is something you'd be more likely to do: go for it. And I 100% agree that it's easier to exercise with a buddy, even if it's a geographically distanced one.

I meant I'd get ride of the exercise bike and replace it with a treadmill since they'd be close enough to the same size. As it is, I have 0 space for a treadmill or else I would've gotten one already lol. And that it is. The challenge is just finding said buddy.

 

[Llama]

Oh I understood that part. I was just thinking that getting rid of the unused bike and not putting anything in its place would free up room. But as I said: if you think you´ll be more likely to stick with running on a treadmill than with home exercise that´s all the reason you need. In fact: you don´t need any justification to live your life whatever way you want to.

 

[River Bird]

@LaMaria

@River Bird
I've tried doing some exercises but my place is tiny so it's really hard to do exercises inside. At best, my cabin is the size of a master bedroom in a standard house, if not a touch smaller and I have a kitchen, bed, table, desk, bookshelves, and so on in that space. So it's a tight squeeze as it is. Plus its old so the whole floor is slanted, kinda like it's a giant bubble underneath xP

You can find exercises to do in small spaces by googling phrases like "Exercises for small spaces" or "Exercises for small apartments." There are probably lots of YouTube videos with examples.

 

[liza]

ut ya, I think if I had someone to talk to that was doing similar stuff to me to be able to keep us accountable pretty much everyday, it'd help. But I'm not sure how to find someone to do that with.

yes accountability does a lot for me too.
I find for me just posting calorie and exercise goals and logging them in every day here really helps.
I hope you find something that works for you

 

[AnnSparks]

Hey guys. Well, I have officially sold Sam. He's still at the stables so I get to see him every day still, but he's no longer mine. It's not as hard as it could have been since 1 - I know the people he went to and I know he's getting the best care possible all the time and 2 - Jack arrived the same day Sam sold so I right away had another horse to work with and ride in place of Sam. Anyway, for the time being, I just have Jack and Sadie until Melody is old enough and will come to live with me as well.

Also, as much as I hate to admit it, but I did get up to 210.5 lbs again but as of today, I'm down to 209. I've been struggling a lot with wanting sweets. But I think I'm starting to get a hold of it. It's a challenge so far, but I'm getting there. I've also been feeling pretty complacent lately so I think that's part of the problem and I need to get a hold of that as well.

But anyway, that's just a short update of what things have been like lately. Don't have much else to say at the moment, so here are some pics from the week.

 

[Llama]

Was selling Sam a sudden decision or something you'd been planning? Either way it's good you know he's going to another excellent home.

 

[Cate]

Is that what you do, Ann? Train horses & then sell them? You must be good at what you do. That’s great that Sam is going to someone else who will also care for him well.