It’s that time of year- get in shape- again.

It's a journey, and one in which I've admittedly lost my way over the years. Some folks need a forest, some folks need a tree. When I have been successful -- short lived, ultimately, when I let an injury reverse my steps -- what had been working for me was the forest; it's a journey, not a destination. We made certain tweaks on intake and committed to exercise. Both are needed but I'd stress the latter as I think it is more of the self-fulfilling prophecy of the two. Fitness begets dietary change, your body and brain make that happen and you're not forcing as much of a denial on yourself. Again, intake tweaks still are needed. We'll see how much bullshit is in that plan (rationalization?) this time around.

 

Oh, and find a training partner. My calendar is thick with group rides and events, but I still have to force myself to get out and pedal on my own. Just how I'm wired.

 

Today's lunch from a blender ... and it ain't nearly as good as a chile verde burrito!!

Spinach, Silk, almond butter, blueberries, whey protein powder, Greek yogurt, dab of honey. Horrid color, taste actually ain't too bad.

 

Thanks for the reminder. When I was successful before, a)I had a personal trainer once a week, b)my daughter went to the gym with me on Saturdays to do spin and a body class, c)on Sundays we ran a trail, plus d) we joined running club that met on Tuesday evenings and ran a different routes that always ended at a new bar for drinks afterward. I have always hated going to workout, but after about 5 minutes of moving I get into it and love it. I doubt running like I did is in my future as I am a decade older and when I had my knee fixed my orthopedic doctor told me that running is horrible on your body and I shouldn't do it. Weird that he is an high level NFL orthopedic doctor as well. My brother had a health scare a few years ago and he turned to riding a bike. I wish we had the trails that he has in Virginia. My town in Pennsylvania is not that good since I would have to drive quite a distance just to hit a decent trail. My brother also thrives on riding long distances by himself and I would get bored real quick with that.

I need to stop feeling sorry for myself and find a way to get this done.

 

I am back to low-carb... actually Paleo diet except this time I am adding cheese...almost through the first week.... I actually have been low carb for over 18 months but got lazy the last few months ... and started eating bread... then had the holidays and then a cruise... slowly gained back 25 of the 27 pounds I lost...have a gym membership but haven't gone for quite a while -- after another week of this, I will have to force myself to go back to the gym.

 

jumped on the keto diet with some vigorous exercise to get back to the goal weight. two months out to Cancun so both Sarah and I are hitting the diet / exercise trail hard. The no carb thing is miserable, but everything else actually isn't bad at all. And the workouts actually do make me feel better.
I know there are dozens of diets and plans and what works for some don't work for others....encourage everyone to find their motivation and find what works and do your best to stick to it. Good luck to everyone!!

 

I’m right there with you @nancyf .
Over the last 10 years I’ve had that slow creep upward, and unless I stick to my walking and low carb regimen at home, I have to go to the gym to get it back under control. I hate the gym, I hate the gym. Not my thing. But with a cruise here, an out of town trip there, the holidays, a trip to Vegas coming up - it’s a balancing act.
Did I mention I hate the gym...

Oh how I miss the days when I could eat anything and never gain an ounce

Cheers and success to all our VMBers in the same boat - celery and tomato juice, as I pretend it’s a homemade waffle and ice cream sandwich

 

Several years ago I did the Atkin's Diet and it really worked, I lost over 30 pounds. The keto diet is based on that. Basically do away with white food, i.e potatoes, bread, starch.
Eat lot's of protein, meats, fats. Eat green vegetables, sweet potatoes as opposed to regular white potatoes. It takes several days - don't remember exactly how many, to actually kick in - that's the ketone part. Your ketones need to bet measured.

 

I do fine with moderating my food and exercising...my problem is the calories in all of the alcohol that I drink!

 

Sorry to hear STPFan about your fall but glad to you know that you and your grandson weren't seriously injured.

I plan to transition from Nutrisystem by the summer and there's a period after you reach your goal where they recommend working with the NS counselor online to help with the transition, which includes having more days each week that are the days where there is no NS food and you are preparing your own meals. I think the options though are unlimited. I really like, for example, the lunch bars as they are so handy and portable so I could seeing buying a few dozen of those every few months just to have them and take them with me when I am eating out . Have a bar and then a salad of veggies when I'm with friends.

I am single, live in a tiny NYC apartment with prep space that is non existent (I have to cut veggies on the side of my kitchen sink or on my mini dining table) and often have 60+ hour work weeks so while, in an ideal world, I would purchase and prepare all of my food, that is simply not realistic for me. There would be no way I could do it.

One misconception is that on NS it is all prepared food; it's not but it does contain the main meals. You add veggies, fruit and some proteins for snacks (like greek yogurt with berries) for midday snacks if you don't have a NS snack. I'm having the NS "dinner" for example, but I "made" my own salad. We're talking though a couple of cups of triple washed mixed greens and chopping a red bell pepper, some red onion, adding some ground pepper and then good balsamic vinegar. This took me about 90 seconds. I'm having sparkling water and lemon in a nice crystal wine glass and after I finish the salad I'll nuke my NS dinner for a couple of minutes and have more salad or some baby carrots and salsa. Prep time total for everything is . . . . 5 minutes MAX ... and I'm eating better than I have in a long time (except when I first started on NS). And it is presented well, e.g., having the sparkling water and lemon in a nice glass as a treat. (95% of all of this stuff IMO is about the little things that can motivate.) There's no way I would do this day after day on my own if I had to prep all of my meals. Eventually I'll start preparing my own meals but I might cook twice a weak and do some reheating or still might have a NS dinner every now and then for ease (and to remind myself about portions). For now it is great to have lunch or dinner in less than 5 minutes and be full. A couple of hours from now I'll have the NS snack -- small pack of nice mini cookies -- and some hot tea and water and I'll be good.

Whatever you decide to do I'm sending positive vibes your way.

Edited to add: I also learned that even as I am losing weight I CAN enjoy alcoholic beverages. I just learned to have fewer cocktails, which are typically loaded with sugar, and do more straight alcohol, whether wine (25 calories an ounce), champagne, vodka, tequila, etc. You can get a really nice buzz for less than 100 calories and feel even more special LOL for under 200. Even doing things like using seltzer water rather than club soda can save calories.

 

I've been doing keto for a few week and so far lost 20 pounds. Majority of weight so far is water and bloat, but seems to be working well for me. I use the carb manager app to keep track of everything and just been starting on the treadmill.

 

Another one getting on the bandwagon. Though I was never one to make something like this a New Years resolution. So I've been doing this for the past couple months or so.

Been adding salads oatmeal and salmon to my diet...Not all together. Still working on my weakness of sweets but I will get there.

 

I wish I could get drunk for 100-200 calories. My alcohol tolerance is through the roof. I have quit drinking sugary cocktails and beer. Now, I drink vodka with diet soda or flavored water. Still, vodka has like 100 calories per shot, and...well...1500 calories later, I start thinking about going to bed...

I'm glad NutriSystem works for you. I actually never had any doubt that it would help people who follow it. (Which is the hard part, I know).

 

It's funny. Going from close to 200 pounds to mid 150s (and back now in mid 160s) -- I want to get to about 145 -- my tolerance for alcohol got a lot LOWER, which makes sense for two reasons. First, my body weight was less but in the first few weeks of the program I didn't drink all that much. Two months in, after having lost 17 pounds, I'm off to Vegas in November 2017. I barely had a full glass of champagne and it hit me hard, in a nice way.

 

About 5-ish years ago, I managed to keep to my New Year’s resolution. I dropped a huge amount of weight and got into (if I do say so, myself) damn good shape. I can offer two pieces of advice for anyone trying to do the same.

First, when it comes to diets, one size does not fit all. Try to figure out what works for you – something you’ll be able to stick to. Don’t worry about following some particular diet to the letter if that doesn’t work for you. “Pretty good” for the long haul is a helluva lot better than “perfect” for a few days. My diet is far from perfect. But it’s much healthier than the typical American diet, it allowed me to lose the weight and keep it off and it’s something that I’m able to stick to. Find what works for you.

Second, you need to incorporate some sort of resistance training into your exercise routine. The muscle you gain will help you burn more calories. But more importantly, IMO, are the psychological benefits. Your body will change much more quickly and that will give you encouragement to keep you on track. Plus, being stronger just makes everything easier, whether it’s helping your brother-in-law rearrange his basement or just carrying in the groceries. And, ladies, don’t worry, you won’t wake up one morning looking like The Rock. I promise. (I’m in no way, shape or form a medical professional…talk to your doctor if you’re not sure about what you can/should do physically.)

Best of luck to everyone trying to get healthier. I'm pulling for you!

Yeah. Booze is my Achilles’ Heel as well. And there’s no way around the fact that you can’t get a drink to be less than 100 calories. Club soda with limes and/or lemons is a decent near-zero calorie mixer though. And lots of ice.

 

I made a few small substitutions and it was yummy!
Strawberries for the spinach, pudding mix for the whey powder, ice cream for the yogurt.
(Don’t ya just wonder about people who give an online recipe rating a max of 5 stars and write “ This is the perfect recipe, my new favorite “ then proceed to list the many substitutions they made”)?

BTW - I give yours a 5, without the honey

 

I'm doing intermittent fasting. It works for me.

 

Brew pub for lunch today!!

 

Thanks @Flowers for sharing that detailed infor on NS - never knew exactly how it worked. Your description of how you incorporate it now and plan for later makes it seem so doable and enjoyable at the same time. And those simple little extra touches like using nice stemware to ritz it up and doing what works for you helps keep it a positive experience. Best of success in reaching and maintaining your goals.

Here I am getting ready for my Vegas trip and have Charlie Palmer, MAG, and high tea (think desserts) at Petrossian Bar already set with still others tbd . I’ll be good after that trip...