Perpetual Healthy Eating and Fitness Rant & Rave thread

[caito]

Well, I was thinking of my four year old, who will happily eat as much ice cream that fits. It's not at all on her radar whether or not it's going to have negative repercussions, eating ice cream at that age is an exercise in pure joy for her. Hopefully most preschoolers aren't worrying about the impact a dessert is going to have on them.

Yeah.  That is awesome.   And she is young enough that food likely does not have the same emotional connection that it has with some teens/adults.   In one of the many books I've read about this sort of thing they discusssed an experiement with pre-schoolers.   They found that kids that young tend to intuitively balance out their calories for the day.   If the kids were served an extra cookie or two, later on in the day they ate less of something else.   I wish I could remember more details about that right now.   Their bodies just knew when to stop wanting more food because they'd had enough.  No will power required!

[debbatx]

Yeah, it's pretty amazing to watch Reid. If he's hungry, he chows down. If he's not as hungry, eh, whatever, he has no qualms leaving things on his plate. I wish!

[Ice Cream]

   A 5 mile  run = roughly 500 calories.   

My Garmin calculates 5 miles as 450 calories.  If you calculate that you are probably substituting light activity around the house that would burn about 120 calories by the run, you are actually left with a net surplus of 380 (or on my case 330).  Sad, I know.

[hally]

Most weekend days I am extremely active. Friday hiked up a pretty steep hill for about an hour. Among other shorter hikes. Saturday, hiked 13.1 miles with a lot of steep terrain carrying a pack for 8 hours. Drank about 3 liters, ate a banana and a largish healthy sandwich, and orange. I used 19 or my weekly allowance of 49 Weekly points that day, mostly on alcohol in a restaurant after. Sunday, also hiked for about 1.5 hours, nothing like Saturday. Stayed close to my PP. My scale says I am up.
Other weekends I might bike both days for 2-4 hours and hike too. Doesn't matter that I am hungry from all that exercise, still gotta watch big time if I want to lose.

Bad new is ladies, it doesn't get better. It gets even worse when you hit menopause. I think the exercise factor only works for people who have never done any. Our bodies have learned to deal with whatever we throw at them. But in my dotage I have finally come to accept this and that I have to not give up, there will be good days choice wise and not so good days but I will keep at it. And not beat myself up over it. Because that does absolutely no good at all. I am trying to focus on the good choices I make.

[MiniDriver]

Most weekend days I am extremely active. Friday hiked up a pretty steep hill for about an hour. Among other shorter hikes. Saturday, hiked 13.1 miles with a lot of steep terrain carrying a pack for 8 hours. Drank about 3 liters, ate a banana and a largish healthy sandwich, and orange. I used 19 or my weekly allowance of 49 Weekly points that day, mostly on alcohol in a restaurant after. Sunday, also hiked for about 1.5 hours, nothing like Saturday. Stayed close to my PP. My scale says I am up.
Other weekends I might bike both days for 2-4 hours and hike too. Doesn't matter that I am hungry from all that exercise, still gotta watch big time if I want to lose.

Bad new is ladies, it doesn't get better. It gets even worse when you hit menopause. I think the exercise factor only works for people who have never done any. Our bodies have learned to deal with whatever we throw at them. But in my dotage I have finally come to accept this and that I have to not give up, there will be good days choice wise and not so good days but I will keep at it. And not beat myself up over it. Because that does absolutely no good at all. I am trying to focus on the good choices I make.

Yes, I think people who are transitioning from low activity levels to high activity levels see a big boost in their metabolisms and see a drop in pounds without changing intake. 

But I think for me the best solution is re-framing: I want to eat healthily and have fun.  That's my priority. 

[merigayle]

i agree, exercise does not seem to be the key for me. But when i went from not exercising to exercising ages ago, i did lose weight.

[Ergonomic Mouse]

Welp, today is our last day...we fly out tonite.  Right now I am sitting on the Lanai sipping my coffee and enjoying the surf. We check out later , return our gear and then I think we will head to the aquarium and then a walk to IO Needle before heading to the airport.
It has been a lovely vacation, super relaxing.  Molokini crater was awesome, but even though we were the only boat there that early I wasn't crazy about the number of people on our boat. I am just not social. I want it all to myself!

I am curious as to what I will weigh in at when I get home.  I ate whatever I felt like, which wasn't horrible in of itself, since I like goo healthy foods, but the beer! I usually shy away from beer because of the calories, and most days here I had at least 2. 

I miss our boys, but other than that I could stay here.

[Courtney]

I know!   My inner bitch is smugly satisfied now that all my naturally skinny friends from high school and college who never exercise or pay close attention to nutrition are suddenly gaining weight and I'm finally the fit one.   I guess I am glad that I learned the tough lesson earlier than later.

Heh.  I can relate to this.  While I'm not the fit looking one in any of my groups, I know that despite my chub, I'm way fitter than most of them.  And in HS (super small) all my friends were jocks.  I do take satisfaction in a couple of them being all "You run?" when I know they don't exercise at all.  I'm sure that makes me a class A bitch, but they were shitty to me about my lack of athletic talents back in the day. 

Ok, so this really relates to two girls.  I should cut them out of my life, their toxic behavior still bothers me, clearly.  If one more of them acts surprised that I run or bike, I'll probably flip out on them!

[hally]

Life is too short for toxic people Courtney, dump them.

And even though exercise is not helping me lose, or kept me from gaining I would not stop doing it.
I took Monday and Tuesday off because I wrenched a knee on the hike Sunday and I feel like a total slug.
It's just something I do, can't imagine not doing it or understand how people can not do it.

[debbatx]

Heh.  I can relate to this.  While I'm not the fit looking one in any of my groups, I know that despite my chub, I'm way fitter than most of them.  And in HS (super small) all my friends were jocks.  I do take satisfaction in a couple of them being all "You run?" when I know they don't exercise at all.  I'm sure that makes me a class A bitch, but they were shitty to me about my lack of athletic talents back in the day. 

Ok, so this really relates to two girls.  I should cut them out of my life, their toxic behavior still bothers me, clearly.  If one more of them acts surprised that I run or bike, I'll probably flip out on them!

Yeah,  underneath all my flab is someone who is actually pretty damn fit. My trainer does not take it easy on me, by far. He had us doing fitness tests a couple of years ago, and was posting all our results on the wall in the section of the gym where he trains us. Some of his other clients - mostly the men - were PISSED when my numbers got posted and I beat them. Then they were abjectly humiliated to find out I was 7 months pregnant at the time.

Unfortunately, there's still an awful lot of flab on top of all that fit. Dammit.

[caito]

And even though exercise is not helping me lose, or kept me from gaining I would not stop doing it.

It's just something I do, can't imagine not doing it or understand how people can not do it.

I totally agree.  I avoided/feared exercise until I was about 22.  But then it became one of my favorite activities of all time and I cannot relate at all to my former self and habits.  I do not understand why I didn't "get it" before.   

[merigayle]

nothing was better than going to my 10 year reunion and the two popular identical twins were FAT. not just a little heavy set, but huge. I giggled on the inside because if they saw themselves they would have made fun of themselves and been mean.

[BonitaApplebum]

nothing was better than going to my 10 year reunion and the two popular identical twins were FAT. not just a little heavy set, but huge. I giggled on the inside because if they saw themselves they would have made fun of themselves and been mean.

A lot of people snickered at our prom queen at our 10th reunion, because she was kinda chubby looking.

She'd had a baby a few weeks earlier. I'm guessing karma bit a lot of the snickering women in the butt when they had kids themselves and realized it ain't so easy dropping that baby weight.

[merigayle]

A lot of people snickered at our prom queen at our 10th reunion, because she was kinda chubby looking.

She'd had a baby a few weeks earlier. I'm guessing karma bit a lot of the snickering women in the butt when they had kids themselves and realized it ain't so easy dropping that baby weight.

karma is a bitch. those twins were just so nasty in high school. there was no baby involved though.

[merigayle]

you wanna know how my running partner lost 20lbs since the New Year? No ice cream after dinner and only one girl scout cookie at a time. life is just not fair.  i have not had a girl scout cookie in, i cannot remember.

[Lanarkshire with an L]

you wanna know how my running partner lost 20lbs since the New Year? No ice cream after dinner and only one girl scout cookie at a time. life is just not fair.  i have not had a girl scout cookie in, i cannot remember.

Yeah, I always hate those "helpful" articles with tips like "cut back on soda!" or whatever. I never drink soda!  I basically have very few foods I could change- maybe eat less pasta? But I already eat the most healthy version of most everything I eat!

[MiniDriver]

Finished with dinner and I'm still hungry.  DFW to the rescue. 

[caito]

Yeah, I always hate those "helpful" articles with tips like "cut back on soda!" or whatever. I never drink soda!  I basically have very few foods I could change- maybe eat less pasta? But I already eat the most healthy version of most everything I eat!

 I know!        Once you get to a certain point, there just aren't any more little tricks or substitutions.   I need a lot more discipline about portion sizes I guess.  And okay, booze...

[merigayle]

I know!        Once you get to a certain point, there just aren't any more little tricks or substitutions.   I need a lot more discipline about portion sizes I guess.  And okay, booze...

Yeah, I always hate those "helpful" articles with tips like "cut back on soda!" or whatever. I never drink soda!  I basically have very few foods I could change- maybe eat less pasta? But I already eat the most healthy version of most everything I eat!

yep yep yep. but no pasta or booze here!!!! well. pasta very rarely, but maybe after a 20 mile run or before  a big race.

[debbatx]

You'd think that, having given up binges for Lent, I'd be down a ton of weight. I mean, I gave up soda, Reeses's mini cups, skittles, whatchamacalits, doritos, reese's pieces, heath bars... pretty much every candy bar imaginable. And y'all, when I say binges, I mean it. Gave them up for Lent. I've had one dessert on date night with DH, one piece of birthday cake for a kid's birthday, and will do something similar this week for DH's birthday and another kid's birthday.

Yeah. I've dropped 2 pounds. Thanks, Jesus!