I have had quite a rough week so homework will be fairly easy.

Where are you right now in your eating and exercise plan? Do you need to bump it up a little or are you where you want to be?

Jill

I am not happy with where I am at. I do indeed need to bump it up, but I am not sure where.

Swimming is, for now, the only exercise that I can safely do, and it is a workout. I do 15 laps, 30 minutes of water walking, 10 minutes of weights in the water, and another 10 laps. Until I can get back to the weights at the clinic, this is it. I am hoping that is on June 1 or so...we'll hope for that.

Eating-wise, right now, financially we are limited as to what I can put on the table. Please don't tell me that junk food is more expensive, I am well aware of that, and can't remember when a chip or whatever darkened my pantry door. So I am learning to become very adept at making things out of nothing. With deepest respect to Jesus, I don't know how except by miracle he multiplied fish and bread.
thank goodness for leftovers from the restaurant. Vegetables are sky high here right now, canned, frozen or fresh. Fruit is the same way, two weeks ago oranges were 59 cent/lb now they are 59 cents a piece for oranges the size of large golf balls. Apples aren't much better..and grapes, well forget it. I am hoping that soon we'll have things shipped in from different areas of the country and will be back to status quo.

You do what you can with what you have and thank God you have what you have.

Exercise: I never thought I'd say these words, I'm GREAT! I walked every day this week and am going on a community walk tomorrow morning.

Eating: I'm o.k., but not great. I need to get back into the veggies - I have improved since I dove off the wagon, but I need to get more into my diet.

Linda

Exercise:
It feels strange to say it, but...I'm having fun. My trainer is receptive to my input and honest with her feedback. Twice a week, for a hour each time, I do all kinds of exercises, some that I'm familiar with and some that I've never done before. She explains them all, and pushes me to work, but not to pain. I told her about the guys I work around having to periodically "drop and do 20" (pushups), and she thinks that if I'm patient, I could do 20 pushups, too.

I feel...motivated. Not to be fast, not to be better, not to lift more weight, but just to feel better. This was the first week I really FELT like I'd been working out regularly...I got into a skirt this morning that fit...it hugged curves, but didn't make me feel like I was in a sausage casing. My legs are more toned, my shoulders are re-developing (I had no idea how much I missed my "swimmer's shoulders" until I started working out again).

I do exercises every night to strengthen my abs, and I'm beginning to feel that, too. After the surgery, just stretching my arm above my head made my stomach hurt--now, I can do small crunches. I feel like I'm making progress, and like I'm FINALLY exercising for the "right" reasons. It helps that my trainer tells me during each workout, when I do something new, "You're my hero!" (she's 10 years younger...) and is VERY quick to point out the good and the improving. Her attitude is a primary reason I'm enjoying this, finally. I believe it's the first time I've ever exercised without someone's voice (either mine or a coach's) yelling loudly about how I need to work harder and get better.


Eating:
This week has been rough--we've been having the last of the kitchen remodel done, which included turning an un-useable space into a walk-through pantry (it's between the kitchen and the utility room). The kitchen has been covered in drywall dust every night OR has had so much junk in it (from the other room) that cooking has not been an option. However, I made good choices every night, and didn't eat past "full." We got frozen yogurt "shakes" from our ice cream place on Wednesday to eat during the season finale of our favorite show, and they were a nice treat.

I'm trying to enjoy things more and worry less. If I can't cook, then I'll eat sensibly from take-out. If there's nothing super-sensible, then I'll do the best I can. I guess I'm kinda refusing to let food be the boss.

It is amazing to me that I can be on such a restricted diet and still be a pig! I have had to give up gluten, casein, soy, eggs, peanuts..(I think that's it.) I can eat plenty- meats, ckn, veggies, fruits, rice, quiona.. and lays chips. I am totally now where I want to be. I think i've been in 'poor baby' routine. Poor baby can't eat anything but at least I can eat chips! It's doing nothing for my overall health. Honestly that (along w quantity on a few other things) is my major downfall. W. exercise...I HATE inside exercise. I LOVE to walk outside. So I see that ramping up. Then I can hopefully keep it up for next winter!!!! once i"m in a routine
amy

I have been playing with reducing the overall amount of carbs I've been eating over the last few weeks in an attempt to break out of the plateau that I've been stuck in for months. I've switched out all of the white carbs in favor of whole grains, including my beloved pasta. I'm also really watching salt levels.

Short of two water weight gain incidents, I've kept off 3 of the 4 pounds that I've been yo-yo'ing.

I'm really happy about this, and I'm eating fewer calories overall. I've even cut back big time on my evening snack.

I still exercise 5 days out of 7, so I really can't bump it up much more. I did start varying intensity a little bit more, though.

Exercise:

Right now, I am in baby step mode to work my way back to exercising regularly after a few months of not exercising much because of pain (or doctor's orders) and a few months of not exercising much because I got lazy from getting out of my routine of working out 5 days a week.

This week, I worked out on a workday for the first time in at least a month, so that was a baby step victory...now to just keep it going.

Eating:

Pretty much the usual, though I have backslid on not eating after 8 p.m. for a few months and am just starting to baby step my way back to the "norm" on that routine as well.