Getting Stronger by Samhain

[_ktg_]

Merry Meet Everyone and the great wheel turns once again!  Welcome to the Lughnasadh to Samhain edition of the Witchy Weight Loss thread, for anyone who wants to bring an earth-centered/holistic/pagan spirituality to the issue of weight loss and health through better choices in diet and exercise.

Here we are moving towards Samhain and the harvest is here for our little weight loss and healthy living circle.

So in the wonderful image of the first lady Michelle Obama - We are here to get stronger, lose weight and practice healthy eating so we can all have the "right to bear arms"

So come in, introduce yourself, layout your goals for this period and share in our triumphs and joy with our successes.

Intros:

Who am I? I'm Kate, a WOHM with 2 boys and a wonderful DH who is turning his life around with better eating habits and exercise.

Goals? Starting at 213 as of 06/2010, I am looking to lose 40 (ish) lbs and get back to my pre-pregnancy weight of 175. I am currently down to 185 and my next goal is to lose another 5 this period.  

How are you going to get there?

I'm on track finally with a system so here we go!  My goals for Samhain:

• Get a solid night of sleep
• Workout for 1 hour a day
• Do meditation for 30 minutes a day
• Take my thyroid meds on a daily basis
• Remind myself that I am fabulous no matter my shape and love me for me.
• Eat healthy and keep the sugar/carbs low in my diet - and tracking my calories to stay on track!
• Get out into my garden everyday to enjoy it (the flowers, plants, critters!) and the wonderful food which is being cultivated

I am stoked to see how close I am to my goal of 180 and even though I have stalled during the last period (since Beltane) I'm more pleased that I have not gained anything back and just maintained around 185. 

[Aubergine68]

Thanks for starting the new thread, ktg!  Back later with more....feeling really excited about getting healthier and stronger.  I want arms like that!

[_ktg_]

Not a problem - all the thanks should go to Millie who suggested the title!!!

I love those arms that Mrs. Obama has and clearly I am loving the use of google images today to add to my posts (and have no desire to work today...)

Now a stock photo of people skipping!  

[spughy]

Hee!  Love the photos!

Me: currently SAHM (totally slacking, as my child is now old enough to bounce out of bed, dress herself, gobble some breakfast and run over to a friend's house until retrieved), and I will be (dun dun DUNNNNNN) 39 next week.  My weight is higher right now than I'd like, but I am viewing it as an opportunity to raise my muscle mass easily rather than a total setback.  I haven't actually stepped on the scale in a bit but I think I'm about 140 - goal is 125ish, but more importantly I would like to be at below 25% body fat.  Not much below though. (Edit: it would help to put what I'm at now! Around 30-31%)

I've been quiet on the internet front lately as the weather FINALLY turned nice here and I've been working diligently on my vitamin D levels.  I have the loveliest tan now and feel pretty good.  I've been hitting the gym regularly and my strength is up (with my weight, interestingly).  I think today I'll be able to get my back squat weight up to 100 lbs (3 sets of 12 reps).   I clearly remember before I had my daughter being super-impressed when I could do 3 sets of 3 reps at that weight!

Harvest season is upon us here too and I've been going all-out on the jams and jellies - I don't eat them myself, but I do keep my MIL well-supplied and a bunch of my friends, too.  Blackberries aren't quite ripe yet, and I fear that the figs will not materialize this year as it's been a cool summer.  :(  However, I am feeling very grateful for all the bounty that IS here and I am enjoying my veggies a lot.

By Samhain I hope to be very close to my goals - I think I will find someone to take most of our fresh milk in September and do a Whole30 for the month, to sort of cleanse myself out a bit.  I love dairy, and I don't feel bad when I eat it, but it does make it a bit harder for the weight to come off.

[Indigo73]

Who am I? I'm Indigo or Aimee, WOHmama with one boy, one husband along with a dog and a BIL, a SIL & a nephew around the house.  I got several hours alone at home this past Friday, I think it's been a year since that's happened.

Goals? Mostly I want to get fitter if I lose weight that is cool but not first priority.  I haven't lost a single pound in months (nor gained any), but I have lost two pant sizes this summer.  I am VERY happy with that.

How are you going to get there?   My new goals are pretty much my old goals, the fun part will be fitting them in while attending school full time and working full time.

Shorter Term Goals:

1. Consistent Workouts
2. Daily Yoga/Meditation Practice

Long Term Goals:

1. Pass Adult Fitness Test
2. Complete Couch to 5K program
3. Complete a Triathlon
4. Fit into size 10/12 by age 40 (just under 2 years)  I've gotten down from a 24/26 to an 18/20.
5. Waist = 36 inches 

[Millie Ivy]

thank you for starting this ktg!  I was about to if one wasn't up soon, but I always feel like I'm being presumptuous or something, starting threads, willy nilly.
 

Originally Posted by Aubergine68 

Thanks for starting the new thread, ktg!  Back later with more....feeling really excited about getting healthier and stronger.  I want arms like that!

arms+muscle= supa sexy.

Originally Posted by _ktg_ 

Not a problem - all the thanks should go to Millie who suggested the title!!!

I love those arms that Mrs. Obama has and clearly I am loving the use of google images today to add to my posts (and have no desire to work today...)

Now a stock photo of people skipping!  

thanks  chica, Strong is better than skinny. :-)

Originally Posted by spughy 

Hee!  Love the photos!

Me: currently SAHM (totally slacking, as my child is now old enough to bounce out of bed, dress herself, gobble some breakfast and run over to a friend's house until retrieved), and I will be (dun dun DUNNNNNN) 39 next week.  My weight is higher right now than I'd like, but I am viewing it as an opportunity to raise my muscle mass easily rather than a total setback.  I haven't actually stepped on the scale in a bit but I think I'm about 140 - goal is 125ish, but more importantly I would like to be at below 25% body fat.  Not much below though. (Edit: it would help to put what I'm at now! Around 30-31%)

I've been quiet on the internet front lately as the weather FINALLY turned nice here and I've been working diligently on my vitamin D levels.  I have the loveliest tan now and feel pretty good.  I've been hitting the gym regularly and my strength is up (with my weight, interestingly).  I think today I'll be able to get my back squat weight up to 100 lbs (3 sets of 12 reps).   I clearly remember before I had my daughter being super-impressed when I could do 3 sets of 3 reps at that weight!

Harvest season is upon us here too and I've been going all-out on the jams and jellies - I don't eat them myself, but I do keep my MIL well-supplied and a bunch of my friends, too.  Blackberries aren't quite ripe yet, and I fear that the figs will not materialize this year as it's been a cool summer.  :(  However, I am feeling very grateful for all the bounty that IS here and I am enjoying my veggies a lot.

By Samhain I hope to be very close to my goals - I think I will find someone to take most of our fresh milk in September and do a Whole30 for the month, to sort of cleanse myself out a bit.  I love dairy, and I don't feel bad when I eat it, but it does make it a bit harder for the weight to come off.

Whole 30 is AWESOME.  Have you ever done it before?  It was easier and harder than anything I've ever done and I only did 15 days, intentionally as I had vacation coming up. But it was  great. very clean, and I am still off dairy 90% of the time.

WHO AM I?

 

I am Shelley, aka Millie aka Stone And String Studio on other sites. I am a mama, fiber artist, yogi aspiring to be a yoga teacher, wife, friend, health and nutrition enthusiast and more.

GOALS

I'm at a healthy weight for me now, but would like to continue toning up and gaining strength and flexibility.  I don't know my body fat percentage, I should find that out for certain so I can set a better goal.  I'm 5'2'' and 135 lbs right now, size 4, or xs.  I am super pear shaped and I'd love to turn my big ol hips into more muscular big ol hips.  I'm very happy with my upper body currently.

HOW AM I GOING TO GET THERE

Right now I am practicing yoga several times a week, as my personal practice and as working towards teacher certification . I really need to get more disciplined about building a home practice.  I will start with practicing at home on the days I don't get to the gym or studio for a class, and then build to at least a small routine daily on top of all other practice.  I feel I need to have that as a base if I am to be able to offer anything to anyone as a teacher. as a plus, I am learning a lot so practicing at home on my own without instruction seems almost, playful?  Intuitive?  Instead of daunting.

I have been walking a lot for the last few months.  It's getting harder as it's SO hot out in tx right now, and I really am wiped all day if I walk outdoors like I'm used to.  I'm trying to get a few walks in in the earlier mornings and then at the gym before or after class.  I really love my walks and neeeeed them

continue with my diet as is. I eat relatively low carb, paleo/primal style.  I do eat potatoes (just what come in our produce share) and fruit (in season) and just enjoy the bounty of the season, but I don't need that to delve into "french fries are potatoes, and I'm really rushed and hungry..."

Limit my caffeine to the one big cup in the morning of coffee, limit to 2 glasses of wine at night.  Moderation.

On the more spiritual goals, I'm really wanting to get back into ritual.  Anyone else?  I'm thinking about starting with something weekly and simple on top of my daily yoga. hm that needs more thought.

[Valerie.Qc]

Just subbing for now... will come back...

[Aubergine68]

Hooray for looser pants,  beautiful gardens and daily meditation!

Who am I? - I am a 40something mom of 3, a young teenager and two young school-agers.  Currently on staycation, but back to running my home daycare and taking early childhood courses next week.  I started at 196 pounds 2 years ago, was 183 pounds in July of 10 on this thread, now 154.4 pounds and under that 25% body fat for the first time in 6 years!  I went GF and lately mostly sugar-free while on this journey and am pretty happy with how I eat now!  Life has been stressful the last few months and I have become totally addicted to exercise as stress relief.  I just cleaned out all the size 14s and stretched-out t-shirts from my closet and have picked up a few things from thrift stores as treats to celebrate officially not being overweight.  Also, part of enjoying the changes in my body is that I'm having sex more and better (can I say that on this thread?) and am very about that.

Goals - to weigh 145, bmi of 22.3, fit into my size 10 pants again, to build muscle in my core and upper body to thwart the family history of osteoporosis and, not incidentally, to buff up and love the results my arms and back and tummy and posture.  My weak links are carpal tunnel issues in my right wrist and knees that have become rather stiff and sore lately.  I also wanted to inspire overweight family members to eat healthier and get stronger as well.  My daughter is about 15 pounds lighter (very close to my size), no longer overweight, and she is really enjoying her body so much more than she ever has.  Plus, guys are now checking her out (maybe not my favorite outcome :-P, but she is young and beautiful and this is season for it - the end of childhood and the start of the maiden time for her.)  My dh is the one who really needs to lose some weight and I'm going to work on hanging out with him and making him exercise with me. 

How I will get there:     I will continue with my diet as it is  -- lots of veggies, protein, healthy fat, not a lot of grains or fruits, no gluten or sugar.  This is the perfect time to enjoy that late summer produce!  I have been doing a lot of the eliptical and exercise bike at increasingly high tensions for the past couple of months, but am going to give that a rest to avoid knee injury.

 So, low-impact all the way....walking, gardening, in the pool with my family, hooping, the rowing machine at the gym for my back, light  hand weights, pushups as my wrist allows, going to get back into the yoga with my family and the daycare children. When the weather gets bad, I may sign up for a yoga class, if I can find one that will take my dd as well, and will probably start to use the weight machines at the gym.  I've been trying to do a minimum of 300 calories of low impact exercise a day (about an hour) plus the Shred.

 I have been doing level 1 of the 30 Day Shred and I can really see results with that but I've had to modify it to cut out the high impact cardio - I'm on day 15 and I recommend it - really have seen results and I find one can do anything for 20 minutes....  I requested Jillian Michael's "Trouble spots" dvd from the library and hope that it will have some low-impact ideas for abs and arms.

[HeckedyPeg]

Who Am I? Marcelle, just turned 30, full time grad student and mama - DS just turned 1. I'm studying traditional Chinese medicine, and I spend a LOT of time commuting to school. DH and I have been researching the paleo/primal lifestyle, we are (slowly) making the switch. 

Goals: Currently 175-180lbs. I want to reach my drivers license weight of 140 (and maybe more!); to make a healthy transition to a primal diet. We are also training to hike Half Dome in Yosemite next summer!

How I will get there: right now ... eating one primal style meal a day, cutting back on the carbs in general; walking daily; meditating more; hiking once a week - progressively harder. We are actually going to Yosemite at the end of the month so DH can see what he's up against! (I've already hiked Half Dome once, five years ago).

I'm off the frapaccinos, but it's been the hardest craving to beat! I'm trying to switch from coffee to tea. Food is my biggest struggle! I'm a stress eater and I've been SO stressed lately :(  

... but I'm getting there!

The skipping photo made me LOL! 

[_ktg_]

Inspirational Photo Friday ( cus I was inspired when reading Soulemama's blog ) 

Ok I realize this is not a photo per se - but it made me laugh!!!  Happy Friday everyone!

[Aubergine68]

LOL, ktg!

Marcelle, my driver's license weight is 146 - about 8 pounds lighter than I am now.  I noticed this when I was renewing my license recently and it was motivating for me, too!

Lunch/dinner today -- thinly shaved garden zucchini, chopped tomato and finely chopped broccoli tossed with 2 eggs and some feta, mozzarella, garden basil and oregano and a little sea salt and pepper, baked for about 40 min at 350.  Really yum.  Less cheese than I want with my Mexican style variation of this.  I will make this again!  Loving zucchini as a sub for pasta/gluten.

Gotta get some exercise in before I go to bed tonight, so see y'all later!  

Walked -  very slowly - for 4 hours yesterday with the kids at a local attraction, did no other exercise and had (way too much) chocolate for dinner yesterday - my pms day.  Feeling more motivated today, though!

My dd has decided that archery is going to be her sport for the fall. She has never handled a bow before but was able to draw 30 pounds, shot different bows for 2 hours, and did pretty good on hitting the target.  Artemis in training, she.   Looks like a lot of fun.  I can't share her bow - she's a leftie and I'm a rightie - but I will have to figure out how to try this.  My eyes are bad so I've always assumed I'd suck at archery.  That alone should put it on my list of things I must try.  No more of this giving up before I begin!

[Millie Ivy]

Aubergine- I love the image of your daughter with a bow.  Artemis indeed!  Congrats on all the progress you've made so far and for your enthusiasm!

I've had a slightly less than ideal week.  Not enough sleep or taking care of myself.  No more of that nonsense!

Up early today, but just nursing a cup of coffee right now.  We were going to get up and set up our booth at the farmers market (my yarn and spinning, dd's spa stuff, ds's jewelry) but woke up at 5 to my dd puking and it raining outside.  figures. She's fine now, she had some indigestion last night and I think that caused it. She;s asleep.  But ds is awake and bummed.  he wanted to go and make a bunch of money, lol.

And this rain!  It's nuts!  We've been in such a drought here in TX so this is very very needed and appreciated.  The kids have been rain dancing all week.  ;-)  It's just that even if it stopped right now it'd be too muddy to go set up with my precious hand dyed yarns and stuff. no way.

[Millie Ivy]

where is everyone? 

I'm changing my goal a bit.  I am back to low carbing (like 20 net) again for a while. I go back and forth on where I want to be, but I really do want to be leaner, I think.  I'm working out plenty and feel good, but I need to rein in the food a bit for a while to regroup. 

I want to be back at 125.  I know random numbers as goals aren't fabulous, but I'm doing it by losing fat and retaining lean muscle so thbbbt. A number goal will help me stay on track better, I know from past experience.  That's 10 lbs in 2 months, and that's totally doable for me.

Obviously this will still be done primal-style.  No fake low carb foods for me!

[HeckedyPeg]

I'm here! It has been a crazy month for us. My MIL passed away on Aug. 13 so that really effing sucked, and kind of sent both DH and I into a spiral of not caring about anything for a week or so (I mean diet/exercise wise) ... but we are getting through this period. We went on a long planned camping vacation to Yosemite the last week of August and that was just so lovely. Yosemite has always been a spiritual anchoring place for me, and it really helped me mentally to spend some time there ... physically we were so inspired to be active the entire time; bike riding, hiking (of course) and some downtime by the river. I've also been sticking to my personal weekly hiking goals, so yay. 

How is everyone else doing??

[Indigo73]

Just popping in.  School started for me and little guy.  I am still adjusting to the new amazingly intense schedule.  I hope to get to the gym tomorrow for the first time in way too long.  But my body and I are getting along very well, despite lack of sleep and way too much of a reading load for a working mom. That is what I get for majoring in Anthropology & History, with Native American Studies mixed in.   No weight gain and a slight weight loss.  It's all good.

[Aubergine68]

I'm sorry for your loss, Marcelle.  Your trip sounds amazing - I'm glad you got away to such a soul-nourishing place.

How are you doing, ktg?  Millie Ivy?

Aimee, that program sounds really interesting.  I know what you mean about being so busy you lose weight.  I am taking 3 courses right now and working full-time.  Today, I will have worked from 7:30 am - 6 pm, then two online course meetings until 10 pm.  Fortunately, dh is around to take care of the kids this evening, because I will not see them. You're doing the student life as well, Marcelle - do you find that when you are busy you lose weight without noticing?

Hi!  I was ill in September (infection-related, too complex to explain) hoping to manage it without surgery this time.  My health is my priority at the moment and I'm trying to eat lots of probiotics, especially kefir (thanks again for the grains, Spughy!).  I should buy some cabbage and make a pot of decent sauerkraut.  I am also not trying to eat less at this time, though I'm sticking to no gluten, low grain, no sugar..  My gut was really cramping up for a while - thought I would have to eliminate coffee (horrors!)  Fortunately, the probiotics are helping so I guess it was the trauma to my gut of taking the abx.  

My first sign of feeling unwell was that I stopped having the energy to exercise after mid August - boy did I miss it, though! I felt pudgy and like my posture was slumping, just from no exercise.  I've been back to exercising every day for about 10 days, though.  I'm avoiding cardio, except for walking, and concentrating on weighted stretches - doing the 30 Day Shred as a default, though trying other, longer dvds when I can.  If I do a 40 min workout, I can skip a day, or if I skip a day, I have to do a 40 min workout.  Just ordered a bunch of yoga dvds from the library and am so looking forward to them.Anyone have any favorite yoga or exercise dvds to recommend?  I'm feeling ready to branch out from Jillian Michaels.

I am about 150 right now, so down four pounds since Sept 10 (46 pounds since my highest non pg weight, woo-hoo!) but I think some of that is lost muscle from not exercising for a few weeks there. I am fitting comfortably into my pair of size 10 pants now.  I think I will keep up with the exercise as much as I can and then do a set of measurements at Samhain, see where I am.

I splurged on a big bucket of coconut oil and one thing I've been doing that really feels good is smoothing it all over my body before bed. It feels nourishing and healthy and sensual and smells lovely - I am glad to stop using my old chemical-laden skin cream. I concentrate on appreciating every part of my body as I do this ritual. Even just locking the bathroom door for 5 minutes of privacy to do this for myself feels decadent  - I know any mom would understand how that is.  After only a few days of this, my skin is so much softer, and I am feeling more connected to my body than I have in years.

[Valerie.Qc]

Look like I never came back...

Life been crazy!

I'm down 20 pounds from my highest point. :-)

Still eating Gluten Free.

At this moment, the only exercice I do is walking to and from the restroom up to 4 times / hour... Thanks to a kidney stone and the tube they put in my body to relief pressure from the kidney.

Hope to get back to yoga soon (first fall class was last Friday - couldn't do it) and to add daily exercices from T-Tapp.

[Valerie.Qc]

I'm under 150!

First time since I got all that weight on suddenly back in... 2007, I think.

I'm thinking of going back to my doctor and ask for a few tests... Reading about possible cause for reccuring kidney stones, I came across infos about para-thyroid... It could aslo explain the extreme fatigue, the weight gain, etc.  The cure is a simple surgery... I just have to get my doctor to beleive me and order the tests - she used to be so good at digging for the truth... Her closed attitude of the last few years was very puzzling to me.

Wish me luck for getting an appointment before 2013... (she's overbooked)