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36 squats is definitely nothing to sneeze at, even if you didn't get a full workout in that's still a good effort! Getting up earlier and being more organized sound like a good plan. Following through is the hard part! For me, for a little while I was really trying to be more organized about packing my lunches for the work week, and on Sunday afternoons/evenings I would try to do a lot of prep work so that I could easily just grab things during the week to throw in my lunch bag. But after a few weeks of doing that, I started slacking off on food prep and haven't really been that organized since, and as a result I've had to scramble in the mornings to throw together a halfway decent lunch. So thank you for the reminder that I've got to make a renewed effort to be more organized in that regard myself!
 
Most of my exercise from this weekend came from walking about. Saturday was a mall day so I spent a few hours roaming about.

Yesterday boyfriend and I went on a hiking trip to check out a small waterfall in a forest preserve outside of Chicago. It was a really nice and refreshing outdoor trip but the mosquitoes were brutal. If you even stopped for a second there were swarms of them trying to eat you. We hiked approx. 9.4 miles total and stopped at the waterfall for a snack and rest period halfway through. It was an even, gravel trail with some slight inclines/declines along the way. We went off of the path once so got some extra leg work in trying to climb up the hill to get back on the right path.

I'm really glad I made the decision to stretch before we got in the car to head back home. Boyfriend, on the other hand, didn't stretch and after our 45min drive found himself to be incredibly stiff from the ride.

My feet need a rest so today I will give it to them. I'm at the point now where if I walk too much throughout the day I get heel pain. I've had to start altering the types of shoes I wear because of this. It goes away after a good nights rest off of my feet though.

Tomorrow I start the jog intervals again.
 
Awesome hawkeye! Yes, I have also tried (and failed) a few times before. This is the longest I've lasted. How is it going for you? What type of terrain are you running on?
 
That hike sounds like a lot of fun, but you're right about the mosquitoes, they've been terrible this year! I let my dog outside to do her business and we both get swarmed, it's miserable. The waterfall sounds cool though and it sounds like you had a good hike aside from the mosquitoes.
 
It's going pretty good. I went out again tonight. I'll probably notch it up to 3 and 1's over the weekend. I am running on "hilly" terrain. Our neighbourhood is far from flat.
 
Glad to hear it's going well hawkeye. :) I bet the hills are adding an extra challenge. They do for me. I go much much slower on inclines. Looking forward to hearing about your progress! I find the current interval I am at to be a bit challenging so I will probably stick here for a while. It's doable right now, but still pretty difficult to complete.

Took a short walk after work yesterday since the weather permitted and I didn't have time for a full workout. On my route I accidentally stumbled on the set for the TV show Chicago Fire! I honestly thought there was a real fire drill going on so I didn't think anything of it and kept walking about. LOL They stopped me from walking through the scene they were about to film, told me to watch if I wanted, so I stuck around for a little bit then continued on my walk :p

Friday I will be able to start focusing on my jogging. The fun run 5k is three Saturdays from now. As of right now I'm averaging 2.3 miles. I will be focusing a lot more on my diet as well for energy. Time to make sure I am in decent shape to complete my interval for the 5k.
 
That's really cool about stumbling upon a TV show set! Hulu filmed a TV show here in Madison a couple years ago ("Battleground") and they hired some local actors, so I kinda geeked out because I know a few people who were in the show (one of them even had a major role) and all the filming locations were local, so we had a fun time watching the show and saying, hey, is that Warner Park? And look, there's that guy we know! :p

It sounds like you're making good progress in your training for the 5K! Do you have fitness goals that you'd like to tackle once you've run the 5K race?
 
I'm going to focus more on weight loss for better health (crohns and joint health) and getting a 5 day routine going when it comes to exercise. I need to find the right balance with diet and exercise and create something that I can stick to once fall/winter hits. The first step is getting a morning routine going.

I've been reading a lot of articles on sleep cycles and the benefits of waking up early to get me motivated when I start next monday. Interesting fact the average sleep cycle is 90minutes. If you want to wake up more easily and refreshed, decide what time you want to wake up and then count backwards in 90 minute increments until you hit 7 or 8 hours and that determines what time you should go to bed for the best sleep.

I tried it once before and as much as I hate getting up early it did make it easier to do.
 
That's interesting about the 90 minute sleep cycles. I'll be interested to hear how it goes for you! So I presume you're going to get up earlier so that you can get in a workout before you go to work? I'm just not a morning workout person (I tried once or twice, but my reflux and my nausea are both worst first thing in the morning so it just didn't happen for me - I need to wake up, let things settle down, drink some water, eat something, let that settle for a few hours, then I'm finally able to work out - so I'm a noon exerciser at the very earliest!).

Are you going to do more treadmill runs when fall/winter hits? Or are you going to be one of those tough/crazy people who still runs outside regardless of what the weather is like?
 
Yeah, I have to be honest with myself and admit that trying to work out routinely after work just isn't possible. It's always short-lived. I get myself involved in so many different activities that easily keep me away from doing exercise.

I've tried working out mornings before and it honestly feels good but it never sticks because I'm usually a BEAST when I wake up :p. The 90 minute sleep cycle I tested out made me feel more alert immediately when my eyes opened, so that's promising. I just need to stop convincing myself that I'm not capable of a morning routine. I'm the only one holding me back from giving it a good try.

95% of the time I am a get up, get dressed and rush out of the house for work kind of person (I occasionally take my showers the night before to save time). The morning routine will not only give me a healthy workout habit it will give me more time to prepare for my day, give me some ME time while everyone else in the house sleeps (I don't get much alone/quiet/free-to-roam time after work), I can cross some extra to-do things off my daily list so that I have more time to relax when I get home AND it will hopefully get me into a better, quality sleeping routine. All of these things also contribute to less stress in my life which would be nice :) The trickle effect can only lead to positive outcomes if I can keep this up.

I want to work on a balance of cardio and treadmill exercises with of course some weight training thrown in every few days. I'm not crazy. I have no intention of jogging in snowy, cold, icy Chicago weather LOL. I don't mind jogging in cooler, fall weather but I definitely won't do it on the lake because that would just be too uncomfortable for me. I freeze so easily and get sick easily in fall/winter. I'm always either super hot or super cold.


Cat-a-Tonic said:
That's interesting about the 90 minute sleep cycles. I'll be interested to hear how it goes for you! So I presume you're going to get up earlier so that you can get in a workout before you go to work? I'm just not a morning workout person (I tried once or twice, but my reflux and my nausea are both worst first thing in the morning so it just didn't happen for me - I need to wake up, let things settle down, drink some water, eat something, let that settle for a few hours, then I'm finally able to work out - so I'm a noon exerciser at the very earliest!).

Are you going to do more treadmill runs when fall/winter hits? Or are you going to be one of those tough/crazy people who still runs outside regardless of what the weather is like?
Click to expand...
 
It sounds like you don't get much "me" time at home - how many people live with you? I crave "me" time (I'm a massive introvert) and it's just me and hubby (and the pets) and that's just about perfect for me. I agree though that a morning routine should help. I always get up at least 30 mins before hubby does - that allows me to spend extra time in the bathroom if I need it, and sort of mentally prepare myself for the day ahead. I don't do any exercise in the mornings but I do like to have that little routine of just being by myself for a bit before I go wake hubby up and start getting ready.

What, you don't want to go jogging on icy sidewalks in -30 wind chills?? ;) I don't blame you! I do walk my dog (sometimes with snowshoes) in the winter, and shovel the driveway/sidewalk, and very rarely I'll go ice skating outdoors (I think I went once last year?), but that's about it for my outdoor winter fitness activities. I know it's possible to jog outside year-round - my mother does it (she is definitely crazy though) - but it does not sound enjoyable in the least. I think you've mentioned that you're kind of similar to me, that you get bored with doing the same thing like jogging on a treadmill all the time (personally I get so so so bored riding the stationary bike all winter! Pedaling to nowhere for 8 months out of the year, I know I need the cardio but it drives me nuts!). So, I hope you can figure out some ways to keep from getting too bored with running indoors during the cold months!
 
So like I said earlier, my typical morning routine looked like this:
  • Night before go to bed around midnight
  • Alarm goes off at 6:00am
  • I hit snooze until around 7:25am
  • I wake up between 7:25am and 7:40am
  • Shower (if I haven't done it the night before), dress
  • Run out of the door by 8:15am to catch the last bus to get to work JUST IN TIME.
  • Breakfast at work, tired and wishing I was at home in bed still.


TODAY, things change. I got my new morning desired routine started.....

I followed the sleep cycle schedule I mentioned above and went to bed at last night at 10:30pm in hopes of waking up at 6:00am. To help me fall asleep more easily since it was earlier than I normally do, I listened to one of my meditation recordings while in bed. I managed to wake up with more alertness than I am used to in the morning and was out of bed by 6:05am. I had to shake off some of the sleepiness but it was nothing like the morning grogginess I am used to. I have to say so far I'm impressed with this sleep cycle trick.

By 6:25 I was out of the door, fully alert and started my jog/walk interval to the park.

Made it home by 6:55am, showered and dressed for the day by 7:15. I made overnight, refrigerated oatmeal last night so my breakfast was all ready and just needed to be reheated. I had about 45 minutes to myself to breakfast, send some e-mails and browse the web before it was time to leave for work.

Left for work at 8:00am and made it to the office 15 minutes early.

I wasn't expecting it to go this well on the first day of this new attempted routine but it was incredibly promising. I felt rejuvenated and ready for the day. Now I just wait and see if I manage to pass out during my work lunch break! :lol:

And after getting all of this done I don't have to worry about it tonight and can focus more of my evening energy on relaxing.
 
Sounds like a definite improvement! It's just past lunchtime now so hopefully you managed to stay awake. ;) At the very least, being so active so early in the day should hopefully allow you to zonk right out at your new bedtime tonight.
 
Still wide awake, no overwhelming urge to nap like I normally have mid-afternoon. I will definitely sleep like a baby tonight :p
 
Sounds like so far so good! I'll be interested to hear how the rest of the week goes. Are you planning to keep up with getting up early on weekends as well, or will you stay up late/sleep in on weekends?
 
Making a habit is about being consistent so I decided to keep the sleep schedule going at least 6 days/week. Eventually my body will get used to the idea and it will naturally want to be up at that time anyway (at least that's the theory with all of this).

The only problem is that I do sometimes stay out late on weekends and some weeknights so I will have to strategize as I go along. But this month my calendar is a bit vacant intentionally so I am going to focus even more on getting to bed on time than staying out late.

If I get tired and I have some time over the weekend to do so then I will allow myself a nap :p
 
I used to do that for awhile - the year before I developed IBD, it was like my brain wanted me to get up at 5 AM every day. It just became habit after awhile. So I made a habit of it and that actually worked out quite well. I would do yoga most of those mornings and then head to work feeling refreshed. Those were nice days! I don't seem to be able to do that anymore though. My morning routine now is - get up at 6, use the bathroom, feed the cat, let the dog out, feed the dog, briefly check email and facebook, then wake hubby up, get dressed and pack my lunch. If I could just get up at 5 instead of 6, I could do yoga in the mornings again. Hmmm, maybe that's something I should try to do! I can't lift weights nor do cardio in the mornings because of my reflux, but it seems to not be so bad when I'm doing yoga, so maybe I could still get away with doing yoga first thing in the morning. That's something for me to consider.

Naps on the weekends are totally okay in my book! :) Especially if you don't sleep in.
 
That's interesting, before IBD, I could sleep until 2pm with no problem daily. Once I became ill, I was up every morning around 6:30am. I would be bored out of my mind on steroids and so if I was well enough I would go walking, get my grocery shopping done, clean my house and maybe even a quick exercise in all before 11am. Sometimes I confused myself and my family/friends because I got so much done early in the day I thought it was later than it actually was. I was calling or texting them at 8am to chat and wondering why no one was getting back to me until hours later or why people responded with confusion....they were shocked that I was up so early...hahaha. These days unless I am sick, 9:00am is considered "sleeping in" to me thanks to previous steroid meds :p

Yoga in the morning sounds like one of the most relaxing things. Definitely worth trying if it's something you think won't cause acid reflux. And if daily napping were law then I would be the happiest woman on earth.

Day 2 of the early morning routine.

Same sleep schedule (10:30pm to 6:00am). Waking up was a tad more challenging today but I managed to force myself out of bed by 6:10am.

I'm assuming it was two things that caused this....(1) It's dark and gloomy outside today (and humid!). I find it hard to get out of bed in the morning without adequate daylight coming through the windows. (2) Last night I forgot I had a personal training appointment. If I cancelled then I had to pay a fee so I went through with it. We did a boxing circuit in addition to upper body and core strength training. So on top of the jogging/walking I did earlier that day, I was pooped! It didn't take me long at all to fall asleep last night.

Once I did get myself out of bed it was much easier to get going mentally. I took it easier given my last night routine and went for a 20minute walk, then came home and did some core work with an exercise ball and jump rope/jumping jacks for 10 more minutes to get my blood flowing. The shower helped wake me up a little more.

Breakfast was scrambled egg whites mixed with sauteed spinach, mushrooms, tomato, green onions and monterey jack cheese.

Managed to get downtown to work a bit earlier than normal (about 25min) so I stopped by one of the weekly farmer's markets and snagged some fresh mint and zucchini bread (YUM!).

I still feel a tad bit tired, but it's more physically than mentally. I might go to sleep a bit earlier today to let my body rest and adjust to this change in routine some more.
 
Fresh mint is awesome! It grows like a weed in my garden, I have both peppermint and spearmint growing. I don't even cook/bake with it much, but it makes my yard smell really nice! :p If you can grow it (not sure if you can have a little garden at your apartment?), it's awesome - mint requires basically zero care. I don't ever water my mint plants but they grow like crazy and spread out. My mint has survived torrential rains and harsh drought. I'm not a very good gardener, so low-maintenance things like mint are the plants I like to have in my garden! ;)

Sounds like you had a very active day yesterday! It's good that you went to work out with your personal trainer even though you had already worked out that morning, I applaud you for that. I recently read somewhere that it's a good workout strategy to go all out one day, and then the next day have either a rest day or tone it way down, then go all out the next day, and so on. So since you went all out yesterday, maybe take it easier today but then maybe push yourself again tomorrow.
 
The mint I got at the farmers market was beautiful and so fresh. It tastes and smells lovely in my cup of tea at work too.

You are the third person to tell me it grows like a weed this week hahahaha! Unfortunately I wouldn't know because mine is dead in a pot on my balcony! I'm just not meant to own plants...I have a black thumb they don't even like me in the same room as them :p

We can grow stuff like that in Chicago. Boyfriend and I actually have a starter potted garden going right now (we began rather late) with banana peppers, tomatoes, chili peppers, rosemary, basil.

There was also at one point catnip and mint, but they are dead. And the rosemary is dying. Of course those three are the plants that belonged to me. And oddly enough my boyfriend takes care of them more than I do. Death by association....they can't even be associated with my name! :lol:

Honestly though, I think the catnip growth spurt exploded and actually got sick (it had white stuff on it) and poisoned the mint when they were initially in the same trough full of dirt.

Meanwhile his tomato flowers are budding, two banana peppers are almost full grown and the chili peppers are getting there too and the basil is growing like a weed.

I've participated in a few community gardens here that give the food to pantries for AIDS patients and homeless shelters. You'd be surprised what we can get growing here in Chicago with a little effort.
 
Yeah, that's what I'm told hawkeye.

My mint plant did take off when I first planted it. However I planted it alongside the catnip. Out of nowhere (still not sure how, I'm a novice at gardening) the catnip became sick and the mint which shared dirt with it started dying too so I separated them. All of my mint died with the exception of one half-dead stem. New mint kept trying to grow on top of the dead stem it but would then it would all die again because the rest of the plant was in horrible shape. So I gave up on it.

The catnip perished all on its own.
 
Last night I was still a bit physically tired. But once I tried to get to bed at 10:30p my mind just wasn't ready to sleep. Used meditation and eventually got there.

This morning alarm goes off 6:00am, I'm up at 6:10 but strong urge to stay in bed. Either I'm moving extra slowly today or time is moving much quicker because though I kept the same routine (dress, outside jog interval, shower, dress, cook breakfast), I was running a few minutes behind on everything. I won't blame it on physical exhaustion because once I forced myself out of bed and threw water on my face I was in a more alert state and the jog felt great once I got a third of the way into it. And even after I felt more energized and ready to get through the day. I didn't have time to eat a decent breakfast so I packed it up and brought it to work with me.

Tonight I will do a small amount of strength training.

Tomorrow I leave for a weekend road trip which will include 2 days of hiking in Upper Peninsula Michigan. I am going with 6 other people. I'm trying to figure out how I am going to incorporate exercise into my day while I am out there. One person is bringing her new bike to test it out early mornings. If I knew how to ride a bike that would have been the best idea. I want do jog but it's unfamiliar territory to me.

I absolutely plan to keep my early morning wake up routine in Michigan, but I'd like to get a little strength training in at some point and small bits of cardio if the hiking doesn't do it for me workout-wise. I'm looking online for the best travel-friendly exercises.
 
Since I had a lot to do last night which kept me up later than expected, I shifted my sleep cycle times.

Was in bed by midnight and up at 7:30am. Slightly harder to get up, I opted to stay in bed for a short while and get some stuff done on the computer rather than just go back to sleep. It's currently 8:42am. I've made breakfast which I am enjoying bedside as well :). I will finish packing while my stomach settles and then do a high-intensity workout DVD at home.

The drive to Michigan is about 7 hours so I will be mostly sedentary for the rest of the day and have plenty of time to nap if my body really wants it.

Tomorrow back onto the 6am sleep-cycle and waking up to workout immediately. I pulled some 30minute HIIT workouts to try while on vacation if I am unable to jog anywhere.
 
I hope you have a fun trip! Upper MI is beautiful so I'm sure you'll be hiking in some lovely scenery. Hopefully the mosquitoes will leave you alone too!

As for gardening - I also have a black thumb, but I'm sloooowly getting better. The "white stuff" on your catnip, it may have been mold? If I over-water plants then they tend to get moldy sometimes too. Once a plant gets moldy, even if it looks okay, it's apparently just done for! So I'm guessing that's what happened to your mint & catnip. I'm proud of myself though, I actually managed to grow a few things besides mint in my little garden this year. I actually grew not one but two (!!) cucumbers. I just picked one this morning and put it into my juicer. Yum! I'll be picking the other one shortly as it looks just about ready to go. I also have a small pumpkin growing on the vine - I can't remember if I planted pie pumpkins or regular jack-o-lantern pumpkins this year though so I'm not sure how big it'll get! :p Ha ha.
 
Probably was mold. I'll probably try growing mint again next spring.

Vacation was a blast...the most relaxed I've been in a while. Managed to get some canoeing, swimming and hiking into my schedule.

I kept up with my early morning rises. The time difference is one hour ahead from Chicago so while I was getting up at 7:30 there...it was technically 6:30 Chicago time. The days are also longer up there so we were all a tad bit thrown off and spent a lot of time with outdoor activities then passed out afterwards or took naps in between. The heat also helped to tire us out. It averaged 87 degrees fahrenheit while we were there....temperatures like that are apparently rare in the U.P.


Got home super late after an 9 hour drive which included a few pit stops. My body is catching up on sleep now.

Tonight I go to the personal trainer, then bed.

The 5k is in 4 days so I will try to be up and at 'em in the morning.
 
Sounds like a fun but busy trip! And yikes, 87 degrees in the UP?? It's like 65 degrees here in southern WI today, I think the UP stole our summer weather. :p It's funny, you went through WI and I actually went through Chicago on the same weekend - we crossed paths and then some! I went through Chicago to Indiana to tour some historical sites. And I have to say, I did not enjoy my drive through Chicago. One way it was all tolls and the other way it was all congestion! Yuck!

Sounds like you've had and will continue to have an exhausting few days! I got tired just reading that! It's great that you're going gung-ho on training for your 5K, but make sure to get enough rest too. You don't want to be burned out and exhausted for the 5K!
 
The 5k was a lot of fun! This one definitely was not serious by any means. It was a blacklight run so it happened during the evening hours after sundown.

It was a bit crowded. They had our route winding around a local sports venue so the terrain was a combination of gravel paths, paved paths and grassy patches. We were not expecting any of this as they did not notify us of our route beforehand or even during the event for that matter. Makes me SUPER glad I trained on concrete and not just the treadmill....the gravel was not always fun to jog on. Since it was pitch black during the run besides a few checkpoints with blacklights and the thousands of people wearing glow-in-the-dark items, it was difficult to run without risking injury at times.

Though a full run was not entirely possible due to risk of injury, I managed to jog through a little over 2/3 of the race only stopping twice briefly.

I consider that a HUGE accomplishment for myself being that it was my first time ever doing something like this and the "training" the most jogging I have done in my entire life. What I found most interesting was the ease with which I was able to jog. Easier than I have been able to do on my own at some points. It almost felt as if I glided through it at times. I read somewhere that running feels a lot more natural to the body during evening hours.

I would like to add that I think the idea of jogging with so many other people interested in doing the same thing helped motivate me further. There's a local Saturday running group in my area for all levels. I might consider the option of meeting up with them at some point to test this theory.

I spent my Sunday yesterday resting and stretching, stretching and resting. Early morning rise was successful but I didn't get out of the house unfortunately. Tonight I head back to the gym and start focusing on a better workout habit in general.
 
I just have to say, I am not a fan of the local blacklight 5K that was held here a couple weeks ago. They for some reason had part of the route going through our dog park (also on a gravel path), and they didn't clean up any of the neon-colored cornstarch stuff. As a result, my dog had neon green paws for about a week and hubby's shoes also turned green. People littered tons of glowsticks, water bottles, etc as well in the dog park and nobody cleaned up afterwards. Real nice. So anyway, I hope people were more considerate at your blacklight 5K, Chicago! Or at least I hope it didn't go through a dog park!

With the gravel that you mentioned, it sounds like these blacklight runs are just not very well thought out or organized. I'm guessing it's the same company organizing all these blacklight runs. There was a different 5K here in the spring I think, it was called the "electric foam 5K" or something like that. It apparently was super lame, they didn't mark a course and they set up 2 lame kiddie bubble machines, and that was it. (It was supposed to be like a huge party with techno music and tons of foam.) That company went out of business shortly afterwards. I kind of hope this blacklight 5K company goes the same way if they're doing iffy things like poorly marking the course, opening their participants up to injury, not cleaning up afterwards, etc.

Anyway, I'll step off my complainey soap box now. :p Yay Chicago for running as much as you could run without injuring yourself! I'm glad you didn't get injured and had a good race. It does sound like a fun concept and I'm glad to hear you had a good time. Do you have any thoughts as to what you'll train for next, another 5K or something else?
 
HAHAHAHA Thanks.

Yeah, while fun, there were a number of organizational flaws I didn't appreciate. It was on the property of a sports venue in an industrial area so any cleanup will not affect the public. But it was a glowstick mess on the ground for sure. I actually saw an invitation to the foam 5k in my e-mail this morning. Not interested, how would you even run something like that? :lol:

Since this one was an easy one, I may try for another one either before winter hits or next spring. Themed runs are a good idea (Chicago has a Mike Ditka 5k where you dress up like him: Ditka Dash it's called hahaha), but only if they are organized properly.

In the meantime weight loss and a better workout/morning habit are my main goals.
 
The Ditka Dash sounds hilarious! I imagine there must be fake moustaches everywhere. :p I'm not sure if there are any Wisconsin-themed races around here. I'll have to do some googling. I believe there is a race (not sure if this is just a WI thing though) where at each mile or each checkpoint, you have to chug a beer before you can continue on. That sounds absolutely disgusting, I would vomit! Yuck, running plus chugging beer just does not sound like a good combination to me. :p

I'm surprised they're even still doing the foam 5K after how badly it went here! Here's the local news article about how bad ours was - the photo in this article really makes me laugh at how lame it looks.
http://www.channel3000.com/news/electric-foam-5k-folds/26574250
 
Roughly 200 participants arrived expecting giant foam guns, pulsating dance beats and an overall after-party. Instead, they found two children's bubble machines, no marked course, signed no waivers and had no fun.
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...

OMG hahahaha. that had to be SO disappointing for the participants! That picture is hilarious!:ylol2:


So last night I did the elliptical for about 45minutes. Tonight I have personal training and will do some quick cardio after. I ordered a balance board in the mail for home to help me find different ways to practice strengthening my core (I also have HORRIBLE balance). Kind of excited to have some new exercise gear to play around with in the morning.
 
A balance board sounds intriguing! I need to work on my balance as well. I used to love ice skating, then as an adult I didn't go ice skating for years and years. This past winter, I went ice skating once - it was fun, but I obviously need a lot of work as it took all my strength and effort just to stay upright! So, I wonder if a balance board would help with my ice skating? Hmmm.
 
I got the balance board last night. Either that thing is hard to ajdust to or I am TERRIBLE at this! Hahahaha.

I do like how versatile it is you can try it for a variety of exercises both standing, sitting and push ups. This is the one I got: Reebok Balance Board link

I didn't get a chance to work out like I wanted. My first trip to Europe is next week and I've been scrambling to get stuff done along with setting up arrangements for my cat and cleaning the house before I leave. I'm a combination of exhaustion and nerves at this point. I originally wanted to jog outside today but it's been raining non-stop. I'm going to try that balance board again tonight though to get used to it. If that doesn't work I still have my giant exercise ball I can work with.
 
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Exciting! Where in Europe are you headed to? I hope you have a really fun trip and that you're able to eat some tasty foods without your body protesting too much. :)

Thanks for that link, I'm definitely intrigued by the thought of using a balance board and may even purchase one depending on how you do with it! So do keep me posted on how it goes and if you feel it is improving your balance. I have a giant exercise ball as well that the hubby keeps deflating (he feels it's too much clutter so he deflates it and puts it away) so I don't end up using it very often as it's annoying to keep inflating it! A balance board, though, I could just slip under the couch or bed or whatever when I'm not using it, it would be less clutter-y. Hmm!
 
Just got back from eastern Spain for vacation. The trip was fantastic and I was very happy to report that no crohn's symptoms flared while there. The only real discomfort came from flying. I was especially gassy and any turbulence sent my gut into a farting frenzy (I feel SO bad for those on the plane sitting near me...I was consistently farting for hours...lol.) I never use to have this problem pre-crohn's so I was a bit embarrassed by the whole thing myself.

Overall, I think the simplicity of the Spanish diet has really helped me physically as well as with gaining perspective on what I need to do going forward to accomplish my dieting and weight loss goals.

I had been experiencing odd and awkward amounts of gassiness periodically over the past month or two but while there and eating on Spanish time-tables, Spanish portions and Spanish ingredients (colorful, basic, small portions, natural and with simple spices - olive oil, bread, cured local ham, fresh seafood, small plates, little dairy, beautifully prepared veggies) my gut was at ease more than it has been lately. I will take this experience as confirmation on how I should be eating.

With the diet I experienced as well as days outdoors wandering cities on foot (unintended exercise), I seemed to have dropped 5lbs on the scale thanks to vacation.

As soon as I came back to the States, the first smell that hit me hard at the airport was GREASY FOOD. It made my stomach turn a little. I also have not had time to cook since I got home and have been relying on take-out and am noticing that my stomach is not very interested in American food at the moment. Our portions truly are ridiculously huge...this trip was a wake-up call about how my plate should look. So far I can only eat a few bites of food before I become full.

And I don't feel like I am TASTING my food. Only grease and additives. More incentive to put stronger emphasis on a clean eating diet again. This week I will be planning my meals in depth to start getting me on track.
 
It sounds like an amazing trip, and that's great that it gave you a new outlook on food and diet. You'll have to keep me updated on what kinds of dishes you end up preparing! I'm always looking for new, interesting, tummy-safe meals to pack for my lunches. I feel like my life revolves around tuna sandwiches, ha ha.
 
For sure I will let you know. As of right now a new healthy snack I am doing is homemade bruschetta using slices of zucchini instead of bread. A whole batch is incredibly cheap to make and the entire meal is nothing but simple, easy to make, easy to digest veggies. Still looking for cool protein-packed, low calorie ideas.

I've also started taking the stairs at the office. After a week of travel walking around all day, every day, I have been feeling a little bored just sitting at work, sitting on the bus, sitting at home....

I broke up my work days this week with 6 flights of steep stairs, 2x day. I also have forced myself outdoors for a few minutes for some fresh air.

Once life settles down and I catch up with all of my stuff this week, I will be hopping back on the personal training sessions at least for another month. Then I will probably stop with one-on-one training. I have learned a lot of routines and become comfortable with the equipment at the gym. I need to readjust my finances so I can let go of the training and work out on my own now and also focus more on the group cardio classes that come with my regular membership.
 
While I still haven't had time to do a formal cardio/strength routine since before my vacation, I have been on my feet non-stop for two weeks for at least 3/4 of each day. As of last night, my body officially crapped out on me and forced me to rest.

I am surprised that I was able to last this long without it happening. I know it's not good to push yourself this hard with no rest and my body doesn't bounce back like it used to pre-crohn's, but I had no choice. My feet hurt. My lower back hurts. My legs hurt. I am getting grumpy from pain and exhaustion.

This week I will dedicate time to rest.

With the exception of two days, my small plate, simple eating is still happening. And my sleep routine I started a few weeks back is working well still!

SLEEP SCHEDULE UPDATE: I am up within 5 minutes of the first alarm. I haven't hit the snooze in almost 2 weeks now. Even while on vacation! I now have ample time in the morning to get ready and even take a small breather before I have to leave for work. Even on the weekends my body now refuses to sleep past 8am (unless I was out SUPER LATE). I hope this truly is the start of a long-lasting habit.
 
That's excellent about sticking to a sleep schedule! Well done! And it sounds like you've been staying active even if you haven't made it to the gym recently. You definitely deserve a rest, enjoy it! :)
 
Well I'm finally back at it. I have been feeling a bit fatigued for a number of reasons I assume including my failure to meet my b12 appointments in the last two months and running myself about with responsibilities and activities. If I continue to do nothing about it I tend to fall into the habit of laziness and more fatigue.

I've officially cancelled my personal training appointments. I just can't afford them anymore.

Since I'm waking up early now, I'be begun A.M. workouts again. I have shortened the length of these workouts to 20 minutes just to get my heart rate up and my energy flowing for the day without completely wearing me out before the day begins. However, I also plan to start 1 - 2 am bootcamps weekly before work that I found at a discount. I really enjoy bootcamps and being pushed along with a large group of people. I still have my cheap LA Fitness gym membership and I've decided while boyfriend watches football, I will be at the gym working out and catching up on my shows when I can :p

Today I did a 20 minute dance/cardio YouTube video at 6am to get my blood flowing for the day. Tonight I'm actually going to go see a music set and that might get me moving about again.

Life and responsibilities are about to calm down significantly for me. So the point of all of this is to begin creating a regular routine of exercise to eventually start losing weight. Winter is coming and if I start off the winter season being a lazy couch potato then there's no turning back for me....
 
I hope the boot camps go well! I've never done anything like that so I'll be interested to hear how it goes. I'm glad to hear that life will be calming down for you in a bit (I wish mine would too!). And winter definitely doesn't have to be lazy, if you don't let it be. Yes, it's totally tempting to just laze around in comfy sweaters and drink hot cocoa and not move off the couch. I think for me, being a dog owner and a homeowner, those things force me to be active in the winter. I need to shovel the driveway and the sidewalk, and I need to walk my dog regularly. Those two things alone keep me pretty active. But I also try to do fun winter activities - my favorites so far are snowshoeing and ice skating. Sledding can be a good workout too - trudging uphill in the snow while wearing heavy boots definitely gets the blood moving! So just keep your mind open to that type of thing in the winter. Make it into an opportunity to try new things. Last year I tried snowshoeing for the first time, and I really enjoy it! I am NOT a fan of winter, but a little part of me is admittedly excited to get my snowshoes back out again. It almost seems weird that I'm looking forward to that!

Anyway. That was a ramble. Enjoy your music tonight, and have fun at the bootcamps!
 
In my mind, the words "winter" and "fun" have never been used in the same sentence unless the joining words were "is not" :p

I find winter beautiful and living in Chicago you learn to adapt to winter, but here it's more of a sloppy winter because of our large population so our snow quickly turns into massive pools of slush and our temps....well, if you know anything about Chicago I don't have to explain what the cold and winds often feel like. But still I love my city, weather flaws and all! Lol :heart: :)

Winter is my least favorite season. I naturally run cold and have struggled with anemia my entire life so I tend to have a hard time physically adapting to the weather when the temps drop and get the shakes if someone even decides to huff and puff in my direction. So I'm far more likely to stick to the sofa and warm places and eat and drink hot things consistently to avoid feeling cold if there is no motivation or obligation to be somewhere. Hot Chocolate, naps and a warm blanket is my idea of a happy winter.

The only thing that helps when I'm not eating or lounging around in snuggies is exercise because it brings my body temp up. Boyfriend wants to teach me how to ski this winter, maybe in Wisconsin so that's a winter activity to explore for sure.

I'll let you know how the bootcamps go. I think it will be fun!
 
Oh yes, I know just what you mean. My hubby went to art school in Chicago, so when we were dating, I spent a lot of time in Chicago visiting him (we did long-distance dating for 4 years until I graduated college & he finished art school). So I know how miserable Chicago in the winter can be! It's pretty miserable up here in the winter too although Madison is a much smaller city so less yucky dirty slushy snow, and we're not on Lake Michigan so less bitterly cold winds and lake-effect snow than you guys get.

For me, I had to really adjust to being outdoors in winter when we got the dog. Her favorite thing ever is snow, which I hadn't expected - when we adopted her, she had come from California so our first winter of having her was her first time experiencing snow. And she absolutely LOVES it! When snow has freshly fallen and I open the door to let her out in the yard, she gets this "OMG" look on her face and then she runs all around in it as fast as she can - she zooms this way, then she zooms that way. It's pretty hilarious, all the neighboring houses have perfectly pristine snow and my yard has ten zillion dog footprints, it looks like about 100 dogs came running through. :p

So anyway, my dog's extreme enthusiasm for winter and snow makes me a little more excited myself to go outside in the winter. I, like you, also tend to get cold very easily and I definitely would be way happier on the couch with hot cocoa and three blankets, but my dog would be unhappy if I just stayed in all winter long, and I don't want her to be unhappy, so out into the snow we go. But yeah, it's pretty much my least-favorite season too. My dog definitely makes it more tolerable though! (And hah, you mentioned snuggies - my dog actually stole my snuggie, she uses it as a blanket!)

What kind of skiing are you thinking of learning, downhill or cross-country? I'm so not a fan of cross-country skiing (it's such hard work and it's just not fun, I honestly hate it!) and I've never been downhill skiing but I'm sure I'd fall over a ton. Still, downhill skiing does look like it could be fun.
 
LOL I wouldn't winter run here unless you want to fall all over the ice. Plus I hate that burning feeling in my throat I get from running in cold, wind gusty weather. I will likely be transferring to the gym treadmill for my occasional jogs once it gets too cold out.

I started my bootcamp today at 7am. Using that sleep cycle I managed to wake up around 5am with little issue. I'm really glad I made the choice to go. I love the environment: they have half of the floor covered in an indoor football turf-style material for drills and the other half is matted and contains different weight exercises.

We did some pretty simple things like jump roping, box climbing/jumping, walls its, push-ups, situps and planks ( :faint: ) but I was also introduced to other routines like the kettlebell lunges and pull-ups which I've never done before. I have horrible upper body strength but these pull-ups were made capable by hanging over the ledge of a box with one foot placed inside a large rubber band attached to the pull-up bar near the ceiling and letting the rubberband catch you as you drop down from the pull-up and give you a slight boost to help pull yourself up over the bar. It was hard, but I thought it was fun and creative at the same time. Here's what it looked like:

Band-Assisted-Pull-up.png


They played awesome music with that thumping beat I need to push myself and I left there I was nearly gelatin but felt refreshed at the same time... better than I have since I was practicing jogging for the 5k. I feel like I needed that. The session lasted a full 60 minutes. My arms are a bit sore so are my legs. And I seem to be spending the last half of my work shift trying not to fall asleep at my desk but it was exactly the physical challenge I was looking for. I decided I'm going to keep going twice/week before work to make sure I'm getting that high-intensity workout that I want.
 
I really like assisted pull-ups! There's an assisted pull-up machine at my gym - not quite the same as what you described with the bands though. It's got like a kneeling pad, so you kneel on it and set your counterweight and do pull ups of your own body weight minus the counterweight, if that makes sense. It's a fun and challenging machine, I really like it!

Sounds like you had an excellent session even if you are exhausted now (are you still getting enough calories with your smaller meals? I ask because I get really exhausted if I don't eat enough).
 
I had a good amount of protein and veggies for breakfast and lunch. More likely than not my body hasn't been used to working out that intensely for a while PLUS I was up at 5am which is earlier than normal so combined I just couldn't keep my eyes open during the last half of the day. I passed out at around 9:30pm.

Today I will be taking it easy with some walking or light elliptical training. Tomorrow I wake up extra early and go to bootcamp before work again.

Also, I've started making soups for the fall and it's really helping me keep my daily calorie intake under better control. The soups I've been experimenting with are heavy on the vegetables and protein and broth-based or just puréed vegetable blends. My favorite so far is the puréed zucchini soup I made. This method is helping me get an adequate amount of veggies in my diet, making digestion a bit easier for me and keeping calories down while making me feel fuller. The puréed soups I use mostly as a 1st course to my lunch and dinner. The broth-based soups and stews are more hearty and balanced meals. Out of those, my favorite so far is the "sweet potato quinoa chicken chili".
 
2nd bootcamp experience today. I was still a bit sore last night so I took an epsom salt bath before bed to prepare for it. Good thing I did because today worked me just as hard if not harder. It's been 90minutes since class and I'm already hurting but in a good way. More pull-ups, some rowing, lots of core and arm exercises and some running drills.

I think a day of rest in between these two bootcamps is a good idea.

I'm also doing a burpee challenge/experiment each day to see how many I can do in the month of October. I'm nuts. But in between the bootcamps the burpees will be a reminder that I need to try my best (and within reason) in order to see positive health changes.
 
Today my legs feel almost back to normal but my arms feel like they are still on fire. Going to give the arms a rest and focus on light cardio this weekend like walking or an easy gym cardio class/DVD. Another epsom salt bath this weekend will be lovely.
 
I have read and experienced firsthand that when you're really sore, exercising the sore muscles will actually help them feel less sore! It sounds counterintuitive, but it really does work - I've tried it a handful of times with good results each time. Resting your sore muscles would also work though and that sounds like the better plan to me (exercising already sore muscles does put you at a higher risk of injury). But, if you do some light arm exercises, you may find that you feel less sore - just a thought for you if it's really awful soreness. A massage might be nice too if that's within your budget!

Have fun if you end up going walking! Are you guys supposed to get really cold weather this weekend too? The high temp here for tomorrow is only about 45 degrees, and they said we might get snow tonight or tomorrow. Brr and yuck! So if you go walking outside, bundle up! I think I'm going to stay in all weekend (I'll go to the gym but I probably won't walk the dog or do any outdoor type activities). It seems WAY too early in the season for cold and snow already. And it was 80 degrees on Monday, what a difference in one week! :( Brr! Stay warm!
 
Yeah, movement does help it, but overall it's the soreness where if I'm not moving, I can't really lift my arms comfortably at all. I know it's not an injury though because it's on both arms in the exact same spot and it's only when I flex my muscles a certain way does it get uncomfortable and hard to move into position.

They've been sore since the first bootcamp on Tuesday, the Wednesday epsom salt bath helped a little but Thursday's bootcamp put them back into hurts-to-lift-my-arm soreness mode. All things considered, rest for at least a full day is probably the best idea.

My lower body (which has always been much stronger than my upper half) is recovering much faster and so some lower body-focused cardio will do me well until Saturday. Then I will try some light arm exercises and see how it feels.
 
It was raining all last night and this morning. The temps are expected to drop in the 40s and the winds are starting to pick up a lot. Chicago is having it's first annual Great Chicago Fire festival on the Chicago River tomorrow with all day music, performances, and a finale fire spectacle on the river and fireworks and I REALLY want to check it out I will have to bundle myself up well. I know it's October but these temps usually don't hit Chicago until around Halloween at the end of the month (its always freezing on halloween).

http://chicagofirefestival.com/

http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/2014...ver-during-first-ever-great-chicago-fire-fest

That's crazy you are going to get snow already. Good luck and stay warm!
 
We normally have fairly decent weather through October, as well. It typically does not snow here in October! This is WAY too early in the season for snow. It's quite windy here as well and it was something like 48 degrees when I went out to run errands a little while ago. Not snowing yet, but it feels like it might! Yuck! I hope you have a good time at the festival tomorrow! Maybe get your leg cardio in by moving around/jogging in place at the festival to stay warm. :p Stay warm!
 
Saturday was crazy cold. I still managed to get out for a few hours on Saturday evening though. The soreness was gone by the afternoon which is a relief...sleeping on sore arms was not fun to wake up to. Sunday I went to a dance/cardio class that worked me out real nice.

Still going strong on the burpees. 105 completed this past week...I'm up to 30 burpees/day. Today is a rest day and tomorrow I have an 60 min. bootcamp and 35 burpees.

My sleep cycle routine has officially shifted. I tried resting this weekend and sleeping in until 9am....all weekend my body was wide awake and I was ready to get up and moving by 6:30a.m. Consequently, I am also a walking zombie now by 10:00p.m. :lol: But my sleep feels more relaxing and wholesome. The morning sluggishness is fading and my alertness at work during the day is increasing.
 
Up at 4:55 a.m. (no alarm!) Bootcamp at 7:00 a.m.

Mostly upper body work and lunges, all using kettlebells. I don't normally use kettlebells at all so I got a unique workout today. Using them kind of makes me nervous. There were these kettlebell side swings and oblique crunches that we did that got me thinking if I accidentally let go of the kettlebell it would fall right on my head. Good thing that didn't happen in real life.

I challenged myself in a new way but I don't feel like the recovery time will be as lengthy and intense as last week as I spent more time focusing on proper form than getting in reps. At least the reps I did were quality ones.
 
I'm still keeping with the workout/sleep routine I began: bootcamp 2 - 3 days/week early A.M. and early rises M-F between 5:00a.m. and 6:00a.m.

I 'm loving the bootcamp class and challenging myself in a way I haven't since before Crohn's and steroid treatments for crohn's. I have more energy and mental clarity in the morning but I find that pure exhaustion comes easily as the day progresses. I'm beginning to crash easily by mid-afternoon and I can barely keep my eyes open by dinnertime. It becomes a combination of physical and mental exhaustion. My body is pretty used to getting up early now and does it on it's own even without the alarm so sleeping in is not all that easy. My bedtimes have also moved up to about 1-2 hours earlier naturally since this early a.m. routine has taken over.

Naps are not a real option anymore as my office just moved floors temporarily for construction and the private conference room I used to rest when I was flaring is no longer available.

My diet can continue to be evaluated to eliminate poor items and increase those proteins and things that will give me the energy boost to keep me going.

I also haven't gotten my b12 shot in close to 3 months now (I've been traveling and occupied with dentists and other things that create scheduling conflicts). I need to get back on track with that.

I have a GI appointment I need to schedule for next month and I will ask him to check all of my blood levels including iron and b12 since it's been a good while since I have gotten that done.

The one thing I've noticed is that my body doesn't bounce back from activity like it used to before crohn's. Fatigue is my new nickname after a day or two of activity. Kind of disappointing but also acknowledgment that I have to figure out what works best for me at this stage in my life to help keep my health more balanced during remission.
 
Chicago, if it were me I'd definitely look into getting back on those B12 shots ASAP and get some bloodwork done too - even though you're exercising early in the morning, you really shouldn't be that exhausted by dinnertime or that fatigued after a day or two of exercise. Definitely makes me wonder if you've got some vitamin deficiencies going on so I'm glad you're going to get that checked out! I hope whatever is causing the fatigue is an easy fix.
 
Thanks. I set up my appointment for two weeks from now with my GI and PCP so hopefully they can help shed some light on the situation.

I've also been pushing myself a lot with other responsibilities in addition to trying to relax and enjoy myself. Last week was pretty brutal. But the coming weeks I will be more focused on balancing my calendar to encourage exercise and rest. Before crohn's I was a very active and social person. In general I often forget that I can't just run around like I used to and expect to have the same amount of energy left over. Then I wind up occasionally crashing and reaching a point of exhaustion that brings me to tears and disappointment.

However, I don't have any intention of giving up the bootcamps as I feel so much better physically and mentally when I do them. I can feel myself getting physically stronger....so I will need to focus more on working around them.

OH! And I can feel myself improving on my planks! I can finally hold a side plank AND do a few seconds of proper plank punches without my knees on the ground! :dusty: I still hate planks though. Hahahahaha!
 
My workout routine is going strong and I'm even feeling like I am getting a bit more energy to start my days. The scale wasn't budging at first but it looks like I have dropped 3 pounds since starting bootcamp the beginning of October. (3 down, at least 17 more to go!) I'm assuming I've put on more muscle which caused the delay in pounds lost on the scale.

I gave up my membership at my LA Fitness to join the bootcamp program as I'm really being challenged there more than personal training or doing their gym activities. I also joined a dietbet challenge to try and win some money off of my weight loss/health improvement goals. With the dietbet, I have to lose 4% of my current weight (7.8lb loss) in 28 days. The pot is now at around $18,500 (and about 530 players) so that will be fun if I can win a piece of that plus what I put into the pot initially.

So I will be doing bootcamp 2 -3 days/week + 2-3 days of cardio at home via YouTube channels. I've been reviewing and collecting exercises from YouTube that I think will give me the variety that I need to stay focused and in the game. Also, I usually give up sweets at the start of November in preparation for Thanksgiving so I'm looking forward to seeing how that affects my body in addition to my new workout / clean(er) eating routine.

Oh! And planks STILL improving! I'm learning how to do plank varieties now! :) Today was the plank toe-touch.
 
Sounds like you're doing great! And yes, muscle is denser than fat so it is possible to put on muscle and lose fat but not have your number on the scale shift much - that happened with me, too. Do not let that discourage you - health is about wayyy more than just the number on the scale! It sounds like you're feeling better and getting stronger which are far more important things, even if they can't really be measured in numbers.

That's excellent about your planks improving! It's so satisfying to improve on something you don't really like - it's a feeling like, you won! :) Planks zero, Chicago one.
 
Got my B12 injection last night. Also had a 6 month follow-up with my GI regarding my remission. I have felt better than I have since this diagnosis 2 1/2 years ago. I am finally able to do more and even though I sometimes need to take a break to regain my energy from all of my activity, I have had no crohn's symptoms....only excessive IBS gassiness and fiber bloating-non constipation (he has me starting probiotics to help with that).

I have been on 6-mp for 1 year + 8 months now and it put and has kept me in remission. However I seem to be an unusual case as I appear to be in remission at a non-therapeutic dose. And though my dose is non-therapeutic with no symptoms, my liver toxicity levels seem to INCREASE each time my dosage is altered...doesn't matter whether the dose is upped or lowered. My GI has been stumped as to why this is happening but we didn't want to mess with a good thing. While my liver toxicity levels are worth monitoring, they aren't elevated enough to require me being off of the medication so we have kept things as they are since the start of this year and I have had no issues and keep feeling better.

Over the summer he apparently consulted with a few colleagues about my case and they all seem to have come to an agreement that adding allopurinol to my treatment plan may be in my best interest. I'm not pleased to hear that. I am so over being a lab rat, adding medications and dealing with side effects or the worry of potential side effects that could effect my everyday life. I've been feeling so well and for some blood work to say that is not the case just pisses me off and bummed me out a lot. This appointment just reminded me that no matter how well I may be feeling, I will always have this cloud of crohn's hovering over me waiting to strike and make my life uncomfortable again. I had more bloodwork done last night and that will give me time to think about whether or not adding medication is in my best interest....depending on the results of the lab work, of course.

Anyway, outside of yesterdays glum news, I'm still making progress with the fitness and I am starting to see some slight visible results. You are right, Cat. The scale is only one part of the equation. I feel myself becoming lighter and developing muscle in areas where I had little to none. My energy/alertness is improving and I am still committed to my weight loss / healthy diet goal.
 
Got my b12 last week and feeling much more able to get-up-and-go than before.

Also got my bloodwork back and from the looks of all of it everything seems to be in a good range except for the 6mp is still not at a therapeutic level but the toxic levels have dropped significantly into a safer number. Not sure what my GI will think of all of it given my history on these meds but we will see when I call.

Been under a lot of mental stress lately and also very busy so I didn't put much energy into exercising last week though I did go on a few easy walks through some neighborhoods. Went back to bootcamp this morning and feel like it was my first time there I was so burnt out! That's what I get for missing a few days lol. It also shows me the importance of staying physically active. If I had done absolutely nothing last week I would have been mush this morning :p

I'm down from 194lbs. to 191lbs still. Having difficulty breaking into the 180s but I'm sure it will happen with diligence. I am more excited to FEEL stronger than I have before. I've also shed almost a full inch in my hips so there is definitely some muscle being built in my body right now.
 
I'm glad you got your B12 shot and that it helped! The way you've been talking about your energy levels lately has had me a bit concerned so I'm glad things seem to be on the upswing now. And I know what you mean about having a hard time getting back into the really tough workouts after a break. I slacked for awhile on my workouts with the vertigo stuff and the weather turning cooler and all that, and now that I'm finally properly getting back into my workouts, I've had to lower the amount of weight I'm lifting and things seem more difficult. Even though I've still sporadically worked out the past couple months, that was not enough to keep my fitness level up where it was so now I'm playing catch-up. Hopefully boot camp quickly gets easier for you again! Not that it'll ever be easy from the sound of it, but you know what I mean.

And that's fantastic about the weight loss and your hips being slimmer! I've actually gained about 6 lbs lately so I'm trying to lose a bit of weight myself, and it's definitely not easy, so you should be proud of your 3 lb loss! I was also reading recently about the term "NSVs" - non-scale victories. Hitting fitness goals or milestones that can't be quantified as a number on the scale. Like, you mentioned feeling stronger and having put on muscle, and that's definitely a NSV. So celebrate those things as well! :)
 
Wow. 11/11/14 was my last post. This was unintentional. I've been dealing with some very personal issues that have kept me away from the forum. I kept up with my challenge however I unfortunately lost. I DID manage to get my weight into the 189lb. range (original weight 194) :). And as of this past weekend I saw visible progress for the first time in the form of performance....I completed my very first set of proper plank push-ups! My core is getting stronger as are my arms. I did 4 rounds and got through 7 of them before needing to return to the modified version. Prior to this I couldn't do a plank for more than 5 seconds and I definitely couldn't get my arms up to do a push up. So I'm motivated to keep going and pushing myself to become stronger and healthier.

Dietary-wise I have done my best to keep things simple but am slipping now and then due to stress. Fortunately my fridge does not keep bad foods in stock so temptation wins only if I choose to seek out the not-so-good-for-you foods. I avoided binge eating on Thanksgiving and even refused to take many leftovers home to avoid sabotaging my goals.

My energy levels are still pretty good but I've been running about a lot so I sleep a bit longer than usual though I still manage to keep my two days/week 5:00 a.m. schedule for bootcamp. I also go to bootcamps every other Saturday. When life settles in two weeks or so I will be able to give more time to physical activity.
 
I'm glad to hear you're still exercising in spite of life/personal stuff getting in the way! That's an accomplishment in itself and you should be proud. And congrats on the weight loss too! It sounds like you're hitting your goals so keep at it. That's awesome about the plank and push-ups, too! :D
 
Still here....

Most of December was spent away from the gym with holidays, a move and other matters to attend to but I assure you they kept me on my feet and moving about constantly. Started back at the bootcamp gym this week after a month away and was surprised to see how easily I was able to get back into the routine. Not very sluggish at all.

Also, I found out that my gym coach has colitis as well. We talked about our own personal diets (he's a triathlete and takes lots of amino acids and lives in the gym). I had to school him a little bit on Crohn's-colitis which is what I have but it was good to have an understanding person face-to-face to talk about it and one who coaches me physically who will understand my limitations and how to push me even more now. It's interesting the contrast between us...him: colitis, lots of muscle build, triathlete, looks like the typical athlete. Me: crohn's, soft, supple, weak arms but determination lol.
 
Moving to a new place is worth about 20 workouts! I definitely don't fault you for not hitting the gym while that was going on. The last time I moved was about 6 years ago, when we bought our house. We were excited to be going from an apartment to a house, but even so, moving was a nightmare. It was like, why do we own so much stuff? And why do we own so much HEAVY stuff?? :p So I'm sure you got some good exercise out of your move!

That's cool about your coach having colitis. Well, not cool for him of course, but it's cool that you've got someone training you who has experience with similar health challenges.
 
Oh I did get the exercise from the move. I also now have to walk up 4 flights of stairs (no elevator) to get to my place. Talk about leg burn throughout the day hahaha. Yeah, not cool he has it, but I at least have someone I can relate to regarding one of my routine activities. We talk a lot about food lol.

Still slowly making progress but I have great results. I can now do about 10 assisted pullups instead of just one :) AND I have advanced to normal planks and a couple normal push-ups! :) :) :). I feel like I look the same but yesterday a friend of mine said I look trimmer and this morning my gym coach said I looked like I was starting to get leaner. The scale hasn't changed nor have my clothes much so there's muscle building in there somewhere which is still good!

My kitchen at my new place is not allowed processed foods or sugars. If I desperately crave something like that I have to go out of my way to get it. Anything I eat at home must be made myself. I've really got to fine tune my portion control and balance though. I think a food journal and accurate measurements of foods is my February goal.

I can see that getting older and a health condition is starting to make my fitness progress a much slower process than it has ever been but I'm still committed and will happily accept whatever change I can keep up.
 
Yes, I know what you mean about having slow progress which may be due at least in part to our health conditions. (I'm 35 and I haven't even really factored in age into my equation, personally I feel like my health issues and medications etc play a much larger part for me than my age does - I'm probably just in denial though about how rapidly middle age is approaching!) Yeah, sometimes progress in my overall fitness seems to be at a snail's pace. But any progress is progress nonetheless and should be celebrated! I'm quite similar to what you said, my weight hasn't really changed nor has my clothing size (except that I've had to get rid of some shirts because my biceps are now too big for the sleeves!). But I didn't actually need to lose weight, and my body has definitely changed and I've shifted some flab into muscle for sure. I actually kind of like how I look now and I've heard some positive comments (my hubby swears my butt looks better now than it did when we were first dating, when I was 19! Ha ha). So yes, even though progress can seem slow or almost nonexistent at times, it is still progress so keep going! :)

That's fantastic about having no processed foods at your new place, well done! And the 4 flights of stairs, phew! Do you have a fitness tracker at all? I just got a fitbit which tracks how many flights of stairs I walk up per day (it tracks a bunch of other things too, but the stairs thing in particular might be of interest to you). Because of my fitbit thing, I've been taking the stairs rather than the elevator at work even though it's exhausting (to be fair, I've had the flu for a few weeks now and my lung capacity is currently not so great, so cardio type stuff wipes me out almost immediately lately). It's definitely motivating and something like that might help you visualize your progress in a different way if you could see the numbers of what you've accomplished that day. Just a thought for you.
 
Congrats on the nice butt! :) :p

Just finding a steady health routine right now with all of these life changes I have going on some suddenly and some planned is what's most important. I would love to see the scale go down faster but I can accept at least for right now that it may take a little bit more time.

I have been thinking about the fitbit recently. My friend who is very overweight and desperately trying to lose pounds for health reasons just got one to complement the diet plan her doctor has her on. I previously used an app that counted steps taken and congratulated you when you met certain milestones. What I really like about her fitbit is how it tracks her sleep. I would love to know what kind of sleep I'm actually getting. The only downside to a fitbit for me is I never wear watches or bracelets except for very special occasions which is rare (once or twice a year) so I don't know if I could manage wearing that fitbit all of the time. But I'm still thinking about it. Weighing if it is ultimately worth the cost and inconvenience to my wrist lol.
 
They do make fitness trackers that aren't in wristband form - I have one! I have a fitbit "one" which is actually a clip-on. (There are two clip-on models of the fitbit - the "zip" is basically only a pedometer, whereas the "one" tracks sleep and other things as well.) As for the fitbit "one" - you do wear it in a soft fabric wristband when you sleep and that's how it tracks your sleep. But that's the only time you wear it in a wristband, when you're not sleeping you just clip it on to your pants or whatever. The "one" seemed to get better reviews on amazon than the fitbit "flex" (wristband) so that was my main reason for going with the clip rather than the wristband - it's my understanding that the "flex" wristband also does not have an altimeter, so it can't count how many flights of stairs you've gone up. The "one" does have an altimeter and does count stairs so that was another selling point for me. I'm not sure if the "flex" has a sleep tracker or not but I seem to recall that it does not. Long story short, my understanding is that the "zip" and the "flex" are both essentially just fancy pedometers, whereas the "one" has the added features of stairs & sleep tracking, and that's why I got that one.

Anyway, do some reading on the various fitness trackers that are out there - there's a lot besides just fitbits. There are quite a number of fitness trackers on the market right now with a variety of features so read some reviews. None of them are quite perfect yet - all of them require you to log your food if you want to see calories in vs. calories out (I'd love a fitness tracker that just automatically knows how many calories I've taken in on a given day!) so that part is kind of a pain. Only a few fitness trackers are capable of checking things like heart rate (my understanding is, it has to be rather tight on your wrist to check your heart rate so that would get annoying and uncomfortable pretty quick). Some track sleep and some do it better than others. Some are waterproof and some are not. And so on. So, go read a bunch of reviews - that's what I did! Good luck!
 
So I mentioned the possible fitbit purchase to a group of people and it turns out a friend of mine has a Jawbone UP fitness tracker that she received as a gift and never opened/never plans to use. She said she'd give it to me for free (how cool is that!) so I think I'm going to give that one a test drive and see if it's a good fit for me.

Still making it to the gym. I've been pushing myself a bit more with the goal of getting to bootcamps 3-4 days/week instead of my typical 2 days/week routine. The pounds won't budge but I'm still seeing strength and muscle development. And today I did a monkeybar exercise and managed to fully cross over to one new bar of the monkeybars! It sounds like nothing but never in my life have I been able to do any sort of monkeybar activities (definitely something I missed out on in childhood). Slow progress overall but progress nonetheless.

I'm going to rest for a day or two....with the additional day of exercise and the amount of ongoing activity I've had going on I think my body is needing a rest. As far as weight loss goes my diet is steady getting more veggie focused though I fail every other day with sweets or something else indulgent. I also think I need to mix it up as my bootcamps are primarily focused on strength training and I need to find a way to get some extra cardio into my routine. I've purposely walked a lot this week to get some mild cardio in between the bootcamps and I feel like i've done my body good.

Also I noticed that the combination of exercise, simpler diet and more sufficient sleep is easing my constant gas issues. The gas is still present, but it's not an all day inconvenience to me and those around me like it has been in the recent past.
 
Keep in mind that muscle is denser & heavier than fat - so even though the lbs on the scale may say the same number, it sounds like you're definitely slimming down and getting more toned. That's a good thing! :) So don't get discouraged, you're making progress and you just need to look at the big picture, don't just get bogged down by the number on the scale by itself.

Congrats on getting a fitness tracker for free, that's awesome! I don't know much about that one except that my boss has a Jawbone UP and she seems to really like it. Apparently it gives a little vibration if you've been idle for an hour? I'm not such a fan of that feature, I sit at work all day and I don't need something buzzing on my wrist every hour for 8 hours straight. :p Other than that, though, it sounds like it's a really decent tracker and it seems to have a better sleep tracker than my fitbit does (my boss raves about the awesome sleep tracker on her Jawbone). Have fun with it!

Don't worry so much about your diet and "failing" by having sweets, either. I was reading something that Jillian Michaels had said, she's a celebrity fitness trainer and she's super fit and someone that I admire. Anyway, she had said that about 80% of her diet is good, clean, healthy food, and 20% is junk, treats, snacks, etc. She said it's impossible to stick to a perfect diet all the time and it's totally okay to allow yourself a little bit of junk or sweets each day as long as you stick to mostly healthy food otherwise. I really like that outlook, because I know I would fail in about 3 seconds if I tried to cut out all junk food forever. But the 80/20 ratio sounds totally do-able in comparison. So don't beat yourself up too much, it sounds like you're doing about 90/10 if you're only having junk food every other day.
 
I definitely see where you are coming from, I have to admit though my concerns I express about my weight loss mostly come from these things:

I think my metabolism is slowing and it is very easy to put the pounds back on now compared to the past. Also, I have in my past and still a bit in my present been guilty of overindulgent periods/lack of self control when it comes to food that I'm learning to control. Even if I eat healthy, it's still unhealthy as I sometimes eat far more than I should over an extended period of time. It's a binge session and usually happens during stressful or very bored moments. I've started talking to personal coaches to help get it in order a bit more and make it easier to combat when the urges hit as I'm trying to make a lifestyle change. Its very much a mental thing to tackle and affects me more than I let on at times.

I measure myself periodically with measuring tape. My mid-section is definitely slimming down but my lower body (gut/hips/butt/thighs) which is where I carry the majority of my weight hasn't budged yet even with all of the exercising I do. Historically I have to work very hard to get my body in a position where it's able to tackle the lower half. I'm 190 lbs., a pear shape with a high body fat percentage (35%) mostly accumulated in my lower half. If you looked at a photo of me waist-up you would think I'm very skinny but if you looked at me waist-down I could be categorized as overweight and do wear plus-sized pants.

I'll get to it eventually. The important thing is I'm still seeing progress no matter how long it's taking to finally show. But it's definitely something I need to be more mindful of especially as I get older.
 
The pounds are starting to come off. I'm 185lbs to date. I had to change my routine up a little to realize what I was doing wrong. I was doing the bootcamp and was building strength/endurance but not enough cardio. So I switched to his other bootcamp class which is just as challenging but adds more cardio and supplements it with increments of strength training and voila! I toggle between the two classes but mostly do the cardio-focused one now. I'm still learning new exercises every week through the boot camps which challenges my body and reduces boredom. And it's turning out to be an especially great stress relieving activity for me lately. I go 2-3 times weekly and that's plenty. I do something very light in between those days or simply make sure to stretch with the foam roller and get some rest.

I also have shifted to a diet that focuses a lot more on vegetables cooked in a way that my body digests them more easily. I have discovered I love roasted vegetables. I also sautee them a lot now too which is good. I have difficulty with raw veggies so the oven and stove are my friends in this area. I am preparing about 90% of my meals at home. This calls for more clean eating and control over ingredients. I'm making sure I have a good balance of protein, carbs and healthy fats. The food scale I bought is also teaching me a lot more about portion sizes. I learned with the food scale that I was being VERY generous with my dry pasta servings. I now know what one serving looks like and though it looks much smaller than I normally eat, I'm still very full and satisfied from the meal.

I've discovered I like eggplant and make mini pizzas out of it instead of using crust. If it is cooked a certain way I am more willing to eat and enjoy it.
 
That's great that you've found a good balance of what type of exercise is working best for you! And yes, rest is good - it'll help heal your muscles and you'll be better able to do the next workout. Those mini eggplant pizzas also sound kind of amazing - I like eggplant parmesan so mini pizzas don't sound like that much of a stretch. Do you have a recipe or do you literally just slice the eggplant, put sauce & cheese & toppings on, and bake it?
 
All you have to do is slice the eggplant about 1/4 - 1/2 inch thick. I put a little oil on the baking sheet and place them in the oven on 400 degrees for about 5 minutes. Then I pull them out, flip them over, top them with pizza or marinara sauce, fresh mozzarella (or cheese of your choice), sliced grape tomatoes and fresh basil and put them back in the oven until the cheese bubbles and browns a little. That's it. A really quick recipe. The fresh basil really adds the most flavor.
 
I love fresh basil! We've grown it in our garden the past couple summers. Unfortunately I don't have a green thumb so I've tried numerous times to grow basil in a little flowerpot in the house, but it always dies. It grows just fine outside in the summer so pretty much I only get fresh basil during the warm months (in other words, no basil right now as it's like -20 out there!). I will definitely keep eggplant pizzas in mind when the weather warms up - thanks! :)
 
Long time no post. But here's my update: 10lbs down total :) It's starting to show. I look trimmer from the bootcamps and feel stronger overall. I've also been getting in my 10000 steps as much as possible. My diet is more about portion control and sneaking in extra veggies or making them the main dish more frequently as well as cooking more at home and bringing my lunch to work.

Unfortunately it looks like I will have to cut back significantly on the bootcamps and go only once per week....turns out my knees are in poor shape and have begun making crunching sounds. Doc examined me for injuries but says it is more likely the start of arthritis and that crunching sound is bone on bone from my kneecaps.

Doc told me I didn't have to give up bootcamps (because exercise is good for arthritis) but I should reduce frequency and intensity. That being said, I recently found a dance studio in my neighborhood that does cardio dance sessions combined with core work and finishing off with yoga moves. I tried them out and like the classes so far (doesn't hurt that they are cheaper than the bootcamps either). So I will be switching over to more cardio which will probably lead to more fat loss and energy and hopefully be less stressful on my knees (no weights, kettlebells, deep constant squatting and jumping).

Not much I can do about the knees except for ice and rest and stretching since us IBD folks can't take anti-inflammatories (or at least I refuse to).
 
Aww, sorry you have to join the arthritis club! :( I've had arthritis in my hips for a few years now so I can definitely understand what you're going through. And it sounds like you're doing things right - keep exercising, but switch to exercise that doesn't hurt and doesn't exacerbate things. For me, high-impact exercise like running/jogging and even walking can make my hips feel worse, so I keep it low-impact and ride my bike for cardio instead. Also, as long as I stretch things out very well after a workout, then my hips are nearly pain-free most of the time. So as long as I do those things to keep my hips happy, then I can still work out and feel relatively little joint pain.

Another thing you may want to look into - going to physical therapy really helped me when I was first diagnosed with arthritis. They can show you very specific exercises and the correct form to do them, that should help with your knee pain. PT definitely helped me. If PT isn't an option, generally speaking what I learned was that I have to stretch & strengthen not only the affected joints, but also the areas around those joints so that everything is working in harmony to support the arthritic joints. So, for me it wasn't just working on my hips, it was also working on my lower back, glutes, quads, hamstrings,lower abdominal muscles, etc. I'd do some gentle strengthening exercises on all those areas, then stretch everything out very well. That helped me a lot!

I also refuse to take anti-inflammatories for my arthritis as I'd rather deal with the pain than deal with the potential repercussions of taking NSAIDs. Ice, heat (heating pad or hot bath), sports creams, Tylenol/acetaminophen (not an NSAID), massage, stuff like that can all help a little bit and might at least take the edge off. Honestly though, physical therapy and exercise have been the things that have helped my arthritis the most. So keep on working out, just do what you can do!
 
CrohnsChicago said:
bringing my lunch to work./QUOTE]

Good for the waistline and good for the pocketbook.
I try to stay away from the ibuprofen (tylenol is the main go to for pain - but I take the odd, odd advil if I really need to) and NSAIDs as well.

Do fish oil supplements help with the joints?
Click to expand...
 
Thanks for the suggestions that's really helpful as I'm a bit lost on the situation. Fortunately there's no pain in my knees for me. Just the crunching with varied intensity depending on the type of activity I've been involved in. They can get a teensy bit tight and feel tired once in a while too. A couple weeks ago they felt warm for the first time ever so I laid off of exercising for a few days and iced/rested the knees. I VERY OCCASIONALLY take Tylenol but I too would rather just fight through any kind of pain or discomfort whenever possible or use a natural remedy first.

I did a cardio class yesterday and it was a bit of dance combined with pilates and yoga. I can absolutely see how stretching helps and I need to work a lot more on that. I thought I was pretty flexible until I did that class lol.

And it's definitely helping the pocketbook hawkeye to eat my own lunch. It's funny to look at my account now and see all of the old ringups for fast food...even the healthier fast foods. It all really does add up!

I've heard that fish oil supplements do help with joints. I already take them for my crohn's because I've read some research in the past that says fish oil also helps to maintain remission. But I haven't been diligent about it lately and should probably get back into that routine.
 
One of my colleagues at work was mentioning how his knees don't crack as much when he is going up stairs when he is taking the fish oil. I take 3 capsules every day with breakfast.
 
It's good that you don't have any pain from the arthritis! I'm presuming this means they caught it early? In my experience, physical therapy works best if it's caught early (although PT is still a good idea even if it's more advanced). Speaking of arthritis, how are your knees holding up with this rainy weather we've had lately? My hips were doing okay until today, then the bad hip decided to become quite painful this morning. There is definitely a good stretching session in my near future and I'm going to have a long soak in a hot bath tonight as well.
 
I'm pretty sure they caught it early as all of this is fairly new and developed very slowly over the last couple of months. My knees feel fine in this weather but admittely I've been working out and stretching everyday this and using heat packs every other day. Surprisingly the crunching was barely noticeable yesterday compared to other days though I dealt with the slightest bit of knee discomfort walking down stairs. Today they seem okay as well.

I have a pin in my hip and am at risk for arthritis there and have arthritic symptoms there when I flare but outside of a flare that joint only bothers me in severe negative degree temps.

I go back to my doc in a few weeks for an unrelated matter I'll see what they say about PT and if that is something I should be considering at this point.
 
I finally got my Jawbone from my friend (took a while but if it's free it's worth waiting for lol). It's similar to a fitbit just another brand.

I'm liking it so far and it's a lot easier than carrying around my phone so that an app can occasionally log my steps as I carry it around. I also like that it syncs with other apps like MyFitnessPal so you can log your food. Hopefully this will help me keep tabs on the types of nutrients and bad things that are being consumed as well as give a more accurate count of what sort of activity I am doing during a day.

The sleep tracker on the wristband is pretty interesting and fairly accurate at least when logging when I am awake but not necessarily moving much in the middle of the night. THe only inaccuracy I found was that I chose to meditate at one point before bed and it logged me in as being in a deep sleep....well I guess I did eventually get there LOL

Got back on the fish oil and I've also added Vitamin D into the supplement mix for bone health as well as mental health and some research suggests it helps aid in weight loss through physical activity.
 
My boss has a jawbone so I'm a bit familiar with it. I don't like hers mainly because it vibrates whenever she has been sitting for an hour - we work in an office so sitting for 8 hours a day is what we do! Hers wants her to get up every hour and move around, and that's just not always feasible and it seems like that feature would get annoying really fast. I do think her sleep tracker on the jawbone is better than mine on the fitbit is, though. My fitbit can't really distinguish very well between lying awake but not moving, and being asleep. The jawbone seems to have much more ability to detect subtlety in sleep patterns whereas the fitbit is more just, you're moving or you're not so you're awake or you're not. :p Pros and cons to each fitness tracker I guess!
 
Hahaha yeah that's a personal setting that can be changed or removed if you want. I have it set to buzz if I'm idle after an hour but so far it hasn't had the need to yet :p. I'm surprised you can hear it because I barely can and the thing sits on my wrist I just feel it vibrate mostly with a subtle sound.

I think this will be really interesting to look at my sleep patterns after the first week has passed. Overall the sleep and nap features have been the most impressive to me.
 

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