Sprite Stitch Board!

Ally wrote:I got a workout DVD the other day for some exercise program called X-tend Barre, which I've been doing a couple of days a week in between my normal walking. Think aerobics meets pilates meets ballet. You work up a hell of a sweat and it stretches out everything, but you feel ever so ladylike and graceful doing it! Highly recommended

Uuu that sounds awesome. Will have to check it out.

UK people: you know BMH posted a voucher code for Graze boxes the other day? If you haven't tried Graze yet, you should totally take advantage of that code to give them a go! I have just had my second box and everything I've tried so far has been scrummy and mostly low-guilt, to boot! I've got some voucher codes too, which I'll post tomorrow if I remember (I get my boxes delivered to work so don't have the code on me now).

I had a really naughty week last week (there was a party with lots of cake and wine...) so I'm making a real effort this week. I've done at least half an hour's exercise every day since Monday, and feel pretty good now. I can't manage that much every week though - usually have too much to do in the evenings, but this week I've been working early shifts and my brain hasn't cottoned on to the fact that this means I should be going to bed earlier, so I've sort of ended up with longer days which has been helpful.

Ally, that workout sounds really interesting - I'm sort of struggling to imagine doing it myself though (I have miserable coordination!)

I am in awe of all you workout people. I tell myself I will. I think about it. I plan for it. Annnnnddd... the alarm goes off and I want more sleep, or I'm too tired at the end of the day. Exercisers say to just do it and it will become a habit and make you feel good. I'm struggling with even getting it started.

I've been on my FODMAP restricted diet. I've not weighed at all, since it's more about by stomach and intestines not rioting out of my body, BUT I feel a MILLION times better. All of the pain I'd been having is gone, my mood is boosted, and I'm not feeling fatigued all the time. I'm getting nervous that I may have some food intolerance issues I am mentally able to eschew all of the items I need to because I keep telling myself, it's only for 4 weeks. However, if I reintroduce a food and it causes digestive problems, I may not be able to eat it without knowing it will cause pain and problems later That being said-- WEEK ONE IS DONE!

Dealing with intolerances is really difficult, especially with the cultural factors thrown in - half the people around you dismiss it as fad dieting, and the other half are angry because they have "real" intolerances or anaphylactic allergies and you're "faking it" because you haven't been diagnosed with their particular disorder. Ganbatte, jadely!

As for me, I haven't been to the gym this week. We're in the middle of preparing for a sudden move. Nothing's gone wrong, necessarily, but an opportunity ("opportunity", bleh) to move back to the city has opened up. We're rural folk who can't stand city life, but between my college classes and my spouse's work - plus the fact that the girls want to try school out next year to see if they'd rather be in American educational hell than homeschooling - the next couple of years would be a lot easier and cheaper if we were rubbing elbows with hundreds of thousands of other people. So yeah, no gym time at the moment.

jadely wrote:That being said-- WEEK ONE IS DONE!

Well done!

jadely wrote:I am in awe of all you workout people. I tell myself I will. I think about it. I plan for it. Annnnnddd... the alarm goes off and I want more sleep, or I'm too tired at the end of the day. Exercisers say to just do it and it will become a habit and make you feel good. I'm struggling with even getting it started.

It is hard to get started, especially when you may not have for a while. The easiest way to get into it is to start small. Do 10 or 15 minutes, it's not much time and once you get going you can increase that to whatever you're happy with. I've been told many times from active friends that afternoon is a good time (around 2-3pm) so why not try that if you can?
The other thing, and I'm sure this has already been mentioned, is to find something you really enjoy doing. Then it won't seem like such a chore and you'll feel more motivated to do it!

no_need wrote:UK people: you know BMH posted a voucher code for Graze boxes the other day? If you haven't tried Graze yet, you should totally take advantage of that code to give them a go! I have just had my second box and everything I've tried so far has been scrummy and mostly low-guilt, to boot! I've got some voucher codes too, which I'll post tomorrow if I remember (I get my boxes delivered to work so don't have the code on me now).

OMG YES. They are delicious, and there's a range of different boxes to choose from. I would definitely recommend it to any of the UK peeps!
I get the "eatwell" box, which is full of nutrients and vitamins and the occasional treat too. My code is SHERON22P and it will get you your 1st, 5th and 10th boxes free. I also have a £5 voucher going spare for anyone who wants that! (When I dig it out of my kitchen drawer.)


Aaaaaand...I've been coming up with super tasty healthy recipes which I will be happy to share if anyone's interested! I'm not much of a cook, mostly I just cast Fire and somehow edible food appears, so I must be doing something right.

I've been doing pretty well lately, remembering to get on the bike, which once I set up a rough daily routine for (i'll get on in the mid afternoon, when i'm starting to feel tired, and then go have a lovely cool shower which is really refreshing. Staves off the whole falling asleep stitching thing, too. )
I fell off the bandwagon last night.. pizza and pepsi. It was soo good. At least i made the pizza, so it wasn't like dominos or pizza hut pizza, so I did eat less.. though all the bacon and cheese that was on it.. yeah. >.>

girly stuff (and I want to join in on the spoilers haha)

So long as you make the pizza and know exactly what goes into it, I think pizza is fine, arkani! Or, at least, that's what I'm telling myself! Plus I think so long as you back it up with exercise you can eat whatever the hell you want!

blackmageheart wrote:

jadely wrote:I am in awe of all you workout people. I tell myself I will. I think about it. I plan for it. Annnnnddd... the alarm goes off and I want more sleep, or I'm too tired at the end of the day. Exercisers say to just do it and it will become a habit and make you feel good. I'm struggling with even getting it started.

It is hard to get started, especially when you may not have for a while. The easiest way to get into it is to start small. Do 10 or 15 minutes, it's not much time and once you get going you can increase that to whatever you're happy with. I've been told many times from active friends that afternoon is a good time (around 2-3pm) so why not try that if you can?
The other thing, and I'm sure this has already been mentioned, is to find something you really enjoy doing. Then it won't seem like such a chore and you'll feel more motivated to do it!

It's definitely a lot easier if you start with something enjoyable. Even something that doesn't feel like working out. I was doing Zumba for a while because it felt like I was just dancing around. Like blackmageheart says, you have to find the time that works best for you. I find I have a lot more energy on days that I work out now.

Even just adding extra activity to your daily routine can help get you into the swing of things. If you work and you don't have time to do it before you leave, there are exercises you can do at work depending on your job. And if I notice I'm just standing around while cooking dinner, I might do some squats or leg raises or something while my water is boiling.

Extra benefit: I suffer with allergies aaallll the time. If I feel that I'm going to be hay-fevery one morning, it used to make me feel like not working out. But one day I pushed myself through it and the rest of the day I felt amazing. So I've discovered that working out helps my allergies.

TigerLily wrote: For workouts, I've been using videos from Youtube to help me out since I wouldn't be able to afford a gym membership or anything. The videos I like doing the most are from Fitness Blender. I think they've got a good variety of exercises. I've just found a few that I like that I am able to do in the small space I have to work out. Some of you might find then useful as well. http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiP6wD_tYlYLYh3agzbByWQ.

The Fitness Blender website has been a huge source of motivation for me. I really like their workouts, especially since they're all fairly challenging even without weights. After randomly watching their videos for a few weeks, I went ahead and purchased one of their workout guides (the 4 week Fat Loss for Busy People) just because I wanted something with a little guidance and lots of variety. My favorite video so far is the this No Burpee HIIT Cardio video: http://www.fitnessblender.com/v/workout ... urpees/fs/ I was really nervous just looking at the name, but it wasn't too bad. And it went by so quickly because they changed up the motions rather quickly. The boxing ones were a lot of fun!

So, thanks TigerLily! That was an awesome source.

lpgeorge123 wrote:

TigerLily wrote: For workouts, I've been using videos from Youtube to help me out since I wouldn't be able to afford a gym membership or anything. The videos I like doing the most are from Fitness Blender. I think they've got a good variety of exercises. I've just found a few that I like that I am able to do in the small space I have to work out. Some of you might find then useful as well. http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiP6wD_tYlYLYh3agzbByWQ.

The Fitness Blender website has been a huge source of motivation for me. I really like their workouts, especially since they're all fairly challenging even without weights. After randomly watching their videos for a few weeks, I went ahead and purchased one of their workout guides (the 4 week Fat Loss for Busy People) just because I wanted something with a little guidance and lots of variety. My favorite video so far is the this No Burpee HIIT Cardio video: http://www.fitnessblender.com/v/workout ... urpees/fs/ I was really nervous just looking at the name, but it wasn't too bad. And it went by so quickly because they changed up the motions rather quickly. The boxing ones were a lot of fun!

So, thanks TigerLily! That was an awesome source.

I'm glad you're finding them good too! I actually decided to get one of their programs for a bit more structure as well. I'm on workout 17 of the 8 week program and I feel a lot stronger and more flexible already. And I know what you mean about some of them going quickly. Yesterday I did a 20 minute video that felt like 8 minutes, haha.