Health & Fitness • Page 113

Basically floating around my pre-pandemic weight. Not going to lie, it feels good.

 

I'm almost to the weight that I was horrified to be at a little over a year ago at my Dr appt, but tbh I wasn't horrified of how my body looked more so the number on the scale. So feeling a bit more confident. Was also able to fit into a lower size jeans the other day but I suspect that's more about vanity sizing because I suspect if I tried on the same size in another pair of jeans I have they wouldn't fit lol. My goal is to at least be a lil under the weight I was at my last Dr appt which is v doable as she rescheduled me out a few months and I only have a few pounds to go

 

Congrats! And don't put so much into the number. The way you look/feel is way more important and the best guide. You can be 160 one year and 160 the next and look/feel way different, that's for sure.

 

Yeah I've been at 200lb for a couple months now but I'm definitely the healthiest I've been in years

 

I def don't put at much emphasis on the number on the scale as I used to. I do think this whole weight gain journey has been beneficial in some ways. I mean it's been rough too for sure. Def had more than a few occasions where I beat myself up and cried at how I looked and felt. Mostly the "shame" of gaining weight and not feeling like myself, putting too much of my identity into being a petite person all my life, etc

But I think the best thing I've learned to really accept is the numbers don't matter as much. Like I used to stuff my body into the smallest sized jeans I could so I could tell myself I was the smaller size. But it wasn't even always flattering or comfortable. Now I'm way more chill about sizing up and it looks more flattering and is way more comfortable. And when I'm comfortable I feel more confident and honestly feel smaller too, because even the thinnest person will feel like they're bursting if their clothes are too small

I'm still like 35lb more than where I started but I def don't expect to get down to my "starting" weight or size. But I am a small person so even a few lb can be noticeable, so the journey continues but I'm unlearning a lot of negative mindset

 

Last year, on May 1st, I decided I needed to get healthier (and, as part of that, lose weight). I've always been active, but with age (I'm approaching 40) and thinking being active could still allow me to eat and drink whatever I wanted it started to catch up to me. I had been biking to work (almost 12 miles roundtrip each day) and was already down about 15 pounds from my heaviest (~225 lbs) but with the pandemic and working from home I lost that activity.

I did well for a couple weeks - I added a couple miles of walking to my day, cut down on my snacking, especially on things other than fruit and nuts, and cut down on alcohol - lost a few pounds, and started feeling better. But then we went out of town for a month and I didn't keep up with it. I started back up again in mid-June 2020 and was able to lose about 25 lbs and plateaued there, but I've been feeling pretty great. I'm still about 10-12 lbs more than I would like to be, but trying not to stress about the number and just stick with healthy habits.

Also considering running a marathon again. It's been about 4 years since my last one, and I'm in a much better place physically now and will be fully vaxxed in a few weeks.

 

I hate when coworkers and stuff know I'm exercising and want to be gym buddies. They never follow through. My coworker was saying she feels like I'm leaving her behind and wants to exercise with me so we set up a gym date this morning and she forgot. Which didn't bother me because I like exercising alone. But like... Then don't be sad I don't take you with me!!

 

ive had my peloton now for a month and a half and im almost back down to my wedding weight in 2019 which is the best shape ive been in. love this thing.

 

I've always been a solo workout person. I just want it to be me and my music or podcast.

 

What is it about them that sets them apart and makes them awesome? I don’t know anything about them really I just hear the name all the time.

 

I have their stationary bike. There’s a wild amount of classes on the app that are both live and on demand ranging from cycling, to running, cardio, yoga, etc. The coaches are great and It has a great community where you can go against people live with a leader board of people who have taken the class or taking the class at the same time. I have a group of friends on there so we do the work outs at the same time and it’s just really motivating.

 

Ahhh that IS pretty cool. I didn’t realize there was sort of a social aspect to it.

 

It's definitely a premium product and is priced as such. But the value you receive is much more than with the competing brands it seems.

 

I always hear about the fun sounding peleton classes. Can you download and pay for the app without the bike to do the classes on your own at the gym or do they make you do both?

 

You don't need the bike to do the classes. You could do them on your phone with another bike or gym bike.

There's also yoga, weight training, running treadmill, running out side, stretching, meditating

 

NordicTrack also has a very similar bike and options for a bit cheaper than Peloton. I haven’t tried it, but if it’s anything like their treadmills it’s a great option that’s a biiiit cheaper than Peloton (aside from the awful iFit website NordicTrack uses but the screen on the device itself works well).

also really dumb that if you have two Peloton bikes in the same house you need two accounts, you can’t just have one account linked to both bikes.

 

I hate how expensive things can get. Like I am not a serious runner by any stretch and I do not intend to be but I have been running more and my current shoes don't seem to be absorbing the shock very well and my shins hurt when I run. I want to invest in some decent running shoes but without having to spend an arm and a leg for a casual interest in it

 

it’s definitely an investment. But think of it this way - most running shoes last at least 300 miles. So if you spend $120 on a pair of shoes, yeah it’s a lot, but how long will it take you to get to 300-500 miles? Whatever that estimate is in months divide by the cost of the shoes and it’s probably not a whole lot different than a Netflix or Hulu subscription.

 

You can often find past season models on sale. When I find one I like, I'll shell out for that initial pair but then I usually wait for them to go on clearance and will buy a couple more of the same shoe.

Also, this is a couple weeks old but Runners World recently had a list of shoes under $100:

Best Cheap Running Shoes 2021 | Affordable Running Shoe Reviews

 

I'll second finding the sales. But also, weird injuries from cheap equipment always end up costing more in medical bills.

 

I really love my Peloton and am happy I bought it. I do wish I had the one where the screen rotates to the side for yoga or floor workouts, but that's a bit boujee. I have a TV in that room that I can just have the app on to do any floor stuff, but it'd be pretty convenient to have it all on the bike screen.

My output SUCKS though, my friends can get their output up into the 500s for a ride and I can't even get out of the 200s. I can't even comprehend that output. Maybe as I get more in shape, but I've been riding my peloton since January!

 

It's insane the screen can't rotate on the normal peloton

 

I know, you'd think that would just be a baseline feature since they have so much more than cycling workouts.

They often say to just stand behind the bike to do them, but I don't have enough room for that.

 

Still going strong with consistent exercise and counting calories. I didnt count them for most of the week the week of my boyfriend's birthday just cause we were going out a lot and stuff but where I would normally get discouraged and just give up and stop, I reminded myself that it's okay to celebrate and resume now so I've been back at it for a week or so.

I'm at an awkward stage of weight loss though where my pants are too baggy but the next size down I still feel uncomfortable and stuffed in

 

I’ve been killing it with my walks/runs the last couple of weeks. Thinking I’ll start at the gym again next week once my vaccination fully kicks in. Really hoping I’m at or really close to my goal by Memorial Day weekend.