Past and present

[Waves 2]

Anyone else gone from really quite fit to couch potato?

I was a good swimmer at school,a quite good hockey player at college, a reasonable cross-country runner as an adult ,plus playing netball and hiking. ( I walked the Tour of Mont Blanc in France) Then after 7 years of drinking and a back injury I did absolutely nothing except the odd swim- or did I go for the sauna and jacuzzi?

Upon finding this site I began to walk/run. 20 steps of each. It was really hard for the first few weeks. Now I am running for 20 minutes 2 or 3 times each week: slowly but hey you have to start somewhere.

It makes me wonder how I let it go for so long when I really enjoyed my sport and was in teams where I met others socially. Now I have very few friends or outings. Drink has a lot to answer for.

If mods doesn't work for me this time, with all the help and encouragement I find on here, I will definitely go abs to try to get my life back together.

What are your past/present experiences?

[Newyear]

Past and present

Good Morning Waves-

I am not an athlete at all. I actually tried out for the badminton team (yep we actually had one) in high school and didn't make it. One of my problems is that I am not very coordinated. I can't swim (can't manage getting arms and legs moving at the same time in different ways) and I can't do other team sports well at all - 'scared of the ball' issues for softball or soccer etc. The only thing I managed to do ok was run. I couldn't run fast and I wasn't ready to do a marathon either, but I could run every day. I got up to running 10k's and once ran 8 miles. But that was about 15 years ago.
Since then I took up smoking again ( had quit for 8 years!) and started drinking more regularly.
I tried getting back into it but had a hard time. With my back problems running became something not recommended by doctors - and I took that to heart and quit it.
Now that I stopped smoking last Dec 31st - a huge, gigantic, big deal for me - I feel like I can really work on this.
So, I guess my background does not lend me at all to athletics - no one in my family is athletic or either. But I have one important thing on my side and that is determination.

Right now I don't want to go to the gym. I slept a long time last night and my back is killing me - achy all over. Hurt to even get out of bed this morning. But I decided two things - 1. I repeated my matra for working out (I love mantras- helped me quit smoking)
my mantra for working out is 'it's not up to me' - i.e. whether or not to work out - I just have to do it anyway. Should I work out today? hmm "It's not up to me" gotta go anyway.
Sounds a little crazy....
2. I decided I would reward myself for working out by going to a nice hair salon to get my hair cut - I normally go to Super Cuts - or Great Clips .
ok- going to the gym now. If it were up to me I'd stay home at watch tv but since it isn't I'd better get dressed and go!!

I'll let you know about my fancy haircut later today :H

Lisa

[Newyear]

Past and present

Thought I'd share my news. I did go workout this morning. I think I have strained a muscle in my lower abdomen though from the leg lifts I've been doing. That is not my news though.
I started working out on 10/28. My fat % was 33.8%. I just asked them to check it today (couldn't wait a few more days I guess) and it was 32%! I've moved from 'very poor' to just 'poor'
I don't actually know if that is a little or a lot but I'm pleased that it has moved period. Especially since I haven't really lost any weight - which is how I normally guage progress.

Anyway, just wanted to share my news. Pretty soon I'll be in the "fair" category!
Lisa

[Guest]

Past and present

Go Lisa!

I am new here and I am rooting for you and stealing your mantra - I hope you don't mind!! You go girl.

[wwbarb]

Past and present

Back after big food, too much drink, too much money loss weekend in Nevada. Sad news about Kanga - he will be missed very much.

As for being really fit to a couch potato yes - that has happened. Over the summer I was very active. Cardio five times a week, weights three times a week - very intense, as well as watching every bite I was eating. IN addition, I did six weeks of abstinence. Then I hurt my foot and turned 50. I stopped doing everything right. Even tho I could have continued doing upper body, watching what I was eating and the drinking part, I threw it all in the toilet.

Why? I think that our personalities tend to lead to "all of nothing" thinking. If we can't be perfect, we tend to be "perfectly bad". I myself am a "professional dieter". Since 17, I have been either dieting or cheating on my diet. It's almost like you know you are going to start a diet, so you have to eat everything that is not on it because you are never going to have it again. Like drinking - you know you are going to quit, so you hurry up and finish what you have so it's gone. I really thing exercise is the same thing - you think you have to rest up for it.

My husband said something to me about exercise that made a lot of sense. I am never sorry when I do it, but I am always sorry when I don't. Right now, I'm dressed for the gym, making excuses not to go. Actually, I'm trying to get my 16 year old out of bed so I can go.

Thanks for making me think, Waves. Lisa, I hope you are feeling better. Take care of yourself and get back to work!! No waiting until January for this group.

[Guest]

Past and present

Good job, Lisa!

[wwbarb]

Past and present

Yes - I forgot to mention that - great job on the drop Lisa!! We're pretty close - we'll get there together!

Barb

[Newyear]

Past and present

wow- thanks for all the encouragement. That means a lot.

hey- unregistered - hope you register and join us here. and glad you like the mantra
Lisa

[LtLM]

Past and present

lisa3102 wrote: Thought I'd share my news. I did go workout this morning. I think I have strained a muscle in my lower abdomen though from the leg lifts I've been doing. That is not my news though.
I started working out on 10/28. My fat % was 33.8%. I just asked them to check it today (couldn't wait a few more days I guess) and it was 32%! I've moved from 'very poor' to just 'poor'
I don't actually know if that is a little or a lot but I'm pleased that it has moved period. Especially since I haven't really lost any weight - which is how I normally guage progress.

Anyway, just wanted to share my news. Pretty soon I'll be in the "fair" category!
Lisa

Great job Lisa!! I'm so glad to see that you are watching your BF% and not the stupid scale!! BTW - did your scale weight change any? How are you having your BF measured?

[Newyear]

Past and present

Hey LtLM-

Scale has not moved in awhile! When I started I weighed 142, now I'm 140.
They use what looks like a hand held hmmm well, you hold on to it with both hands and they type in your weight, height and age...then I'm assuming it does some kind of scan and then a digital readout comes up of your body fat%. Have you used one like that?

I guess I should assume I replaced the fat with some muscle?

Lisa

[wwbarb]

Past and present

Lisa, that's how I measure my body fat. I never could get the hang of a caliper. I bought one for about $50 - it's supposed to run a current of electricity through you or something like that to measure the the fat - I don't know - I am sure there is someone wiser than me who knows how the operation works. The most accurate way, I have heard, is to measure by water.

When I went to the gym and had it measured, they used to measure with an electric caliper on several parts of the body. At one time, I was in the low 20s. Now, I am in the high 20s, weight 145, height 5'5''. Not bad, but not good enough.

[Waves 2]

Past and present

Well done Lisa

[LtLM]

Past and present

lisa3102 wrote: Hey LtLM-

Scale has not moved in awhile! When I started I weighed 142, now I'm 140.
They use what looks like a hand held hmmm well, you hold on to it with both hands and they type in your weight, height and age...then I'm assuming it does some kind of scan and then a digital readout comes up of your body fat%. Have you used one like that?

I guess I should assume I replaced the fat with some muscle?

Lisa

That thing is called an Omron. They are very inaccurate for telling you what your BF% really is but very good for tracking trends. Callipers in the hands of an experienced trainer are more accurate and, as wwBarb said, the underwater method is the most accurate.

Of course how your clothes look and feel and how much your muscles show beneath the skin is all that really matters (IMHO).

You should absolutely assume you replaced fat with muscle!! Good for you!!

I am getting back on the band wagon (after being off for 8 weeks). I get pretty anal about it all and am tracking everything in FitDay. That coupled with not drinking should get things moving.

Again Lisa, WAY TO GO GIRL!!! You've motivated me!! Thanks!

[wwbarb]

Past and present

I had a feeling they were not very accurate. I mean, how in the world can it tell the difference between fat, muscle, water and bone - does it really run electricity through your body??

Maybe as time goes by, I'll invest in an underwater test every month or so. As you said, Lt, my true gauge is whether my clothes fit or not. Getting on the scale does not always tell a true story, good or bad.

[MonaCat]

Past and present

Yikes, being dunked under water is very scary to me. Let us know how it goes Barb.