NPR Fitness Group

[Ronster]

Drinking so much tasteless water...uggh.

When I was in the Air Force before every meal we had to drink 2 glasses of water before we were allowed to eat any food, no exceptions. We guessed it was mind control drugs in the water or something else. Turns out it is a great way of staying hydrated and food eaten with water usually doesn't have the flavor hidden.

Oh well, Conspiracy theory: 0 Hydration: 1

[Kyle]

Yeah- I'm real frustrated right now. I feel like I'm not fully committed.

[Phoebe]

I have been drinking more water and specifically things like a big warm mug of tea or coffee before and between meals, in order to feel full and to eat less. It works. I am purposely not looking at the scale for a little while because it was making me pointlessly frustrated. Diet and exercise are both going pretty well right now, so we'll see what the scale says later. I'm going to have a birthday soon and that always motivates pretty powerfully. Like, you cannot be this old and remain overweight, because time is very quickly running out to change it. Already it's much harder to lose weight than ever before.

[Cazmonster]

It may not be the healthiest thing, but I've taken to eating more cottage cheese and a little less bread. I wish bread and peanut butter were not the most delicious thing on earth.

[Ronster]

PB sandwiches are great sources of protein though. If you switch out your bread for a whole wheat then you have an excellent under 400 calorie meal.

[Phoebe]

I'm close to trying my husband's very-low-carb diet, which I said I would never do because why the hell would any sane person give up carbs? But it worked for him and whatever I'm doing isn't working, so...

[Mrs.Darcs]

New rule for myself, every time I walk into a room to find I am completely alone, I have to do 10 lunges (on each side) or 10 squats. (Exception being the autoclave room as it has a huge window in the door and faces the hallway directly. I did 40 lunges and 20 squats today alone. Today I wasn't a big moving around day (but bathroom breaks and water breaks took me in and out of the 'scope room quite a bit)

[Phoebe]

My phone broke and I stopped using the app. I'm beyond frustrated at the lack of progress. I'm going to just stop eating all sugar and most "white" carbs like bread/rice/potatoes and see how that works. At this point worried some medical issue is responsible. Or one of those pregnancies that passes undetected until a baby pops out.

[Ronster]

you can do it!

[Phoebe]

It is going to be a nightmare to give up sugar/empty carbs completely and that should be a sign to me that I'm on the right track. I have been finding some really exciting recipes, though - that makes it seem more like a treat NOT to be eating the sugars and instead enjoying some new dish. Here is one with very few carbs of any sort:

http://toriavey.com/toris-kitchen/2010/ ... shakshuka/

Anyone made this before? It looks amazingly good.

Walking a lot these past few months has been fun and kept me at some base-level in shape during winter, but it also reveals that stress is a big part of the problem. I need to find some way not to be stressed out by things. My dad is the champion of this even though I know he does feel stress - I mean, that's why he's the champion, because he's naturally kind of anxious and manages to be completely chill anyway. Surely if he can do it, I can do it. I think he had years of practice dealing with crazy people at work, doing all their work for them and such. I have learned a lot from his example, such as through great patience and cunning to crush under mine enemies and dominate them wholly. Ha ha j/k maybe.

[Ronster]

the skillet and eggs look good

I walk at lunch every day with a friend from another department...we trade stories about crazy stuff in our lives. We can talk about anything. It's like having my very own Mike Jones to talk to.
This is very cathartic.

[Phoebe]

Yes, I should try exactly that. Great idea. It would have the added benefit perhaps of making closer friends with some gals my age. Gals old enough not to think that word is inherently stupid.

[Mrs.Darcs]

Pheobe, if you have another baby I'm stealing it

[Phoebe]

I'm okay with that. You know those weird stories about so-and-so whose surgery yielded a surprise fibroid tumor the size of a watermelon? I sometimes wonder if that's me or if I'm just fat, you know? And here is the joyful consequence of Trumpism and GOPism generally: I won't go to the doctor unless it's an emergency because I can't risk adding any pre-existing condition to our family's list at a time when I might lose health benefits. I cannot be the only person taking this gamble, either, or the one in the worst position to take it. My odds of having some kind of really bad condition later in life are also so high, I have no idea what will happen. We are not really living in a civilized society with respect to things like health care, family leave, or higher ed funding. That is so unfortunate, as we could very well afford it, but you know, lining the .01%'s pockets is important.

[Kyle]

I'm back! I was sick for a week- but did go to the gym yesterday and today!

[Ronster]

You prolly got the bug at the gym Hope you get well soon.

[Kyle]

Word.

[Phoebe]

Basically I don't want to increase my chances of dying of cancer or heart disease whatever. Perhaps that will still happen, but I don't want to be doing things that I know full well increase the odds.

Apart from that, all of this is bullshit. I don't always have much time to exercise and there is so much good food in the world. I am the product of a long evolutionary history that tells me to eat all of the good food.

[Phoebe]

Well, people, I hope we're all still committed to this thing. Valentine's Day and its candy proved to be an even bigger temptation and mess than Christmas or Thanksgiving, which was surprising. I am back to walking walking walking - it feels good and it's the one time I feel like I'm getting freed from this stupid fatsuit someone wrapped me in while I slept one night.

I am discovering that diet really tracks work life in a negative way; the more I work, the more I resort to quick and easy options that have lots of calories. Or I feel like I somehow "deserve" bad food because of a bad day, or I'm stressed out by all the things we're seeing these past few weeks and worried about lots of other developments, and eating is one way of dealing with stress. It's funny because in past years, occasionally I've stopped eating in response to stress and lost weight. At other times, frenzied comfort eating occurs. What's up with that? OK: I know, it's that depressed anxiety means not eating, and scurrying-around-to-solve-it anxiety means eating too much. Boo to all of this nonsense.

I'm not tracking daily eating anymore. Plus side: it was pissing me off to see no relationship between sacrifices of food and pounds lost. That was counterproductive. Negative side: I'm pretty sure I eat more in a senseless, carefree way when I'm not forcing myself to write it down.

Anyway, new plan: eat moderate amounts but try to totally avoid empty carbs, and exercise like fucking crazy. That is the whole plan. I have lost 3 lbs on this plan so far, which is better than any other plan tried for the last few months. But it could be a random noise - we'll check again next week and see if it continues. Also I have a burning desire to make a cake, so... that's all empty carb.

[Ronster]

We are about to embark on a 30 day sugarless diet...I dread it like oral surgery.