2016 Walking, Exercise, Weight Loss Member Challenge Thread

**MickintheHam** · 08-15-2018, 03:30 PM

Funny. It was crazy. There is not a scratch on my body and the bike is fine. I had to ride it about 2 miles to get back to the car.i was riding in a group and came upon a water meter access point that had no cover. I moved to the right and the rider in front of me was going much slower than everyone else. I hit the brakes and tried to go around, but hit a sandy patch. I fell over, slid. The handle bar went into my chest and my shoulder slid into the curb. The group has some medical types. The did a quick evaluation making sure there were no broken bones and that I didn’t suffer a concussion when I hit the curb.

The gal in back of me said I did a nice job with the fall, rolling nicely. But lying on my back in the middle of 24th St. N., the biggest injury was to my self esteem.

**Darrell KSR** · 08-15-2018, 09:27 PM

Lol on the self-esteem. Man, there is absolutely nothing worse about falling at our age, and having people ask you if you are all right.

**MickintheHam** · 08-16-2018, 06:31 AM

All right?? Hell it took two people to get me back on my feet, one to pull, one to push.

**Darrell KSR** · 08-16-2018, 04:58 PM

Mick, this wasn't your group was it?

https://www.al.com/news/birmingham/i...mBirmingham_sf

**Doc** · 08-21-2018, 07:03 AM

back down to 222. Started at 256 on July 1st

**Darrell KSR** · 08-21-2018, 07:21 AM

Originally Posted by Doc

back down to 222. Started at 256 on July 1st

That's amazing, Doc. I know not all of it has been "by design," but that's a great thing.

I'm 217.4 this morning. Have hit a plateau and been bouncing between 215+ to 218.

**blueboss** · 08-24-2018, 09:16 AM

219-220 still, which means I’m still a lazy pig. No dieting, no structured exercise. Random summer activities is keeping my weight somewhat stable.

I keep threatening to start getting back in to a regular exercise routine...

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**KSRBEvans** · 08-24-2018, 09:25 AM

I walked 0.77 miles in 15 minutes last night, which isn't a huge amount or speed, but I loved being able to cruise around the neighborhood again. Working on my stamina and hoping to get up to 30 minutes in about a month.

**Darrell KSR** · 08-24-2018, 09:38 AM

3 days later and I have "lost" 4 pounds. Just goes to show how crazy a fluctuation is from day to day. Ran an easy 2.25 miles yesterday at home at lunch, nothing extraordinary, and down to 213.4 this morning.

Let me get under 210 and I'll start getting excited.

BEvans, that's terrific. What a long road you have, but your journey is already well underway. Keep up the great work.

**KSRBEvans** · 08-24-2018, 09:42 AM

^Thanks, D. My therapist moved me from a walker to a cane about 3 weeks ago, and she wants me to start walking short distances without my cane, so I'm close to reaching that milestone.

My main issue now is foot drop from a nerve that was bruised in the surgery. If I can just get the nerve to start firing and get rid of this foot drop, I'll be 95% back. But they say nerves take a long time to regenerate, so I have to be patient.

**Darrell KSR** · 08-28-2018, 03:34 PM

3.58 miles, 2 pm CT, 97°. I did not realize it was that hot when I started. The last mile was mainly walking. Just too hot, even for me.

I got little sleep last night and wasn't focusing well working so I tried to do all the mindless things, and then went for a run. I like to do that on my unproductive days.

**MickintheHam** · 08-28-2018, 04:05 PM

Well, I had my wellness check up yesterday and it did not go particularly well. I weighed in at 185 (about normal) but 15 pounds needs to come off.....NOW. He would prefer 20 before the New Year. He said I need three hours of exercise a week as a minimum. Hell, I do that now. So, it's on to investigating the carbs I eat and the early research on thet is I am a carb factory. I thought bread, bananas, blueberries and rice were good for you.

**Darrell KSR** · 08-28-2018, 04:10 PM

Originally Posted by MickintheHam

Well, I had my wellness check up yesterday and it did not go particularly well. I weighed in at 185 (about normal) but 15 pounds needs to come off.....NOW. He would prefer 20 before the New Year. He said I need three hours of exercise a week as a minimum. Hell, I do that now. So, it's on to investigating the carbs I eat and the early research on thet is I am a carb factory. I thought bread, bananas, blueberries and rice were good for you.

Sheesh. That's why I don't like to go to the doctor. They tell me things I don't want to hear!

**bigsky** · 08-29-2018, 03:30 PM

All bad. ten pounds up. new bike (it's a jake the snake mick) but can't ride due to serious arthritic inflammation in hands and feet. Hardly can get off the sofa. Argh. Now eating two meals a day and nothing after two pm just to try and stop the swelling...not in my hands, in my waistband! In the good news division, I have a new girlfriend, bad news, she's a dduke grad, really good news, she has tickets for nov 6. Bad news, I've got to keep dating her till Nov 7

**bigsky** · 08-29-2018, 03:32 PM

Originally Posted by MickintheHam

Well, I had my wellness check up yesterday and it did not go particularly well. I weighed in at 185 (about normal) but 15 pounds needs to come off.....NOW. He would prefer 20 before the New Year. He said I need three hours of exercise a week as a minimum. Hell, I do that now. So, it's on to investigating the carbs I eat and the early research on thet is I am a carb factory. I thought bread, bananas, blueberries and rice were good for you.

We are in the same boat. Lo cal beer. eggs and burger and no buns and toast. 185 after being 175 last summer. see post above

**Doc** · 08-31-2018, 02:56 PM

now at 221........

**MickintheHam** · 08-31-2018, 08:01 PM

Originally Posted by bigsky

We are in the same boat. Lo cal beer. eggs and burger and no buns and toast. 185 after being 175 last summer. see post above

It is crazy Sky. I always weighed 155 to 170. I have a stroke, they put me on meds. It slows the matabolism and I gain weight. I am eating 1400 to 1500 cals a day and less than 150 carbs. Nothing happens as far as weight loss. I have all the physical activity I need. I already have 3 hours of exercise for the week and if things go as planned I’ll have another three tomorrow. Grr!

**blueboss** · 09-13-2018, 08:14 PM

Still hanging around 220.

Fitbit awarded me my Africa Badge today, I’ve achieved 5000 lifetime miles since I’ve had my Fitbit, which is equal to the entire length of Africa.

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**Darrell KSR** · 09-16-2018, 09:39 AM

212.8 this morning.

After 6 years, my Fitbit Zip finally died. I'm using a pretty reliable, fairly accurate fitness band tracker, but I hate wearing things on my wrist, and I hate having to charge them, even though this lasts a good 2-3 weeks.

I loved being able to just replace the battery every 3-4 months (the 6 months they claim is a fantasy).

Anyway, I'll probably get another one, but I thought I'd try to do without replacing it and see how I liked it.

212.8 this morning.

**Darrell KSR** · 09-16-2018, 09:42 AM

Originally Posted by blueboss

Still hanging around 220.

Fitbit awarded me my Africa Badge today, I’ve achieved 5000 lifetime miles since I’ve had my Fitbit, which is equal to the entire length of Africa.

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Oh, I checked my app. I have the Sahara badge (2,983 miles), and don't know how close I was to the next one. I don't recall getting a badge in a long time, so maybe I am getting close to the next one. Well, if I had a Fitbit... (the wristband tracker I have isn't Fitbit).

**Darrell KSR** · 10-15-2018, 12:54 PM

Had an insurance exam at noon today.

6'0½
214 (I weighed 212 this morning at home, so I think my scales are right).
BP 120/74, HR 66

I've grown ½ inch taller. That was pretty cool. He probably mismeasured me, but I was dreading the first number being a 5 after years of it being a 6.

I've been running 3-4 times a week pretty consistently. Always 3 miles, but usually no more than 4. I want to get to where I can run 5-6 miles 3 times a week, but I'm not there yet. And I'm slow.

**Darrell KSR** · 10-15-2018, 12:59 PM

Originally Posted by Darrell KSR

Oh, I checked my app. I have the Sahara badge (2,983 miles), and don't know how close I was to the next one. I don't recall getting a badge in a long time, so maybe I am getting close to the next one. Well, if I had a Fitbit... (the wristband tracker I have isn't Fitbit).

On the fitbit--I ordered another Fitbit Zip. Got it in. It won't sync with the OnePlus 6 phone. I talked with them at length about it, and after the nonsensical beginning (make sure you're using at least Android 4.4--uhh, I'm using Android 9) and garbage like that, we both agreed that I'd just send it back and get my money back. They usually require you to pay shipping costs back, but they agreed, a one-time thing (after arguing with them for days via email) that I shouldn't have to pay that since a replacement Fitbit wouldn't work either, and there's no way they could remedy the situation (at this time--although they claim their engineers are working on it).

I loved Fitbit. I hate wrist bands. I love several month battery life. I hate having to recharge batteries.

Oh well. Until they develop something that works, I'm just out of the Fitbit ecosystem. For now, I'm using a wristband that I don't wear all day long and it doesn't do a good job measuring steps when I run. Otherwise, it's great for the price--about $30, IIRC, lets me see the beginning of text messages, does a superb job of measuring my heart rate, and has features where I can click on "run" and it will measure my heart rate constantly during the run, providing an average and maximum heart rate, also providing an inaccurate distance and pace (because of the distance being wrong), but it's still pretty cool.

It's the Letscom fitness tracker. Various variations of it on Amazon. It's not bad for what it is, attractive looking, lasts about a month before it has to be recharged, etc.

**KSRBEvans** · 10-15-2018, 01:53 PM

I've been yo-yoing for a few months now. I lost a lot of weight quickly after my accident--went from 246 to 218 in about 9-10 weeks. I had a post-operative infection, no appetite and wasn't moving much, so lost a lot of muscle mass. I was being encouraged to eat a lot of good stuff, but also just plain eat. Weird for a guy like me who's basically had to worry his whole life about getting too heavy.

Lately I've been putting on more muscle but my appetite has returned with a vengeance, so a lot is fat, too. I've basically gained back all the weight I lost after the accident. So now I'm going to have to start tracking my stuff in My Fitness Pal like I was doing before, just to get a handle on what I'm taking in. I'm not too worried about it--in fact, a lot less worried than I was when I had that rapid weight loss--but it's just disconcerting to have those big swings.

**Darrell KSR** · 10-15-2018, 02:25 PM

I'm deleting my Fitbit app from my phone, since it is, more or less, useless to me as a fitness tracker (at least the way I use it). That's what I used to track calories as well.

Do you recommend My Fitness Pal as an easy-to-use (it has to be SUPER easy for me so that I WILL use it) app to track calories, carbs, proteins, fats, etc.?

I know we've had this conversation before, but since I used Fitbit I was pretty much engaged in that ecosystem only.

Also, what is Google Fit? I'm a Google person, so I guess I should know. Is that phone-only? Or does it sync with stuff?

**blueboss** · 10-15-2018, 03:05 PM

I’m still a FitBit guy. I use it more as a base line for my exercise, daily steps, sleep, and hourly movement.

The areas I have to manually add I don’t keep up on with the exception of my weight and water intake. I’ve never taken the time to log each meal, I kind of do that as I go in my head. Basically I know when I’m eating more than I should and what I should and shouldn’t eat.

I’ve been hanging around 220 since around June. I’ve noticed since my activities have slowed with the season change I’ve crept up to 222. So now it’s time to cut out the sweets and start some type of daily consistent exercise.

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**MickintheHam** · 10-16-2018, 01:32 AM

Well, I have now dropped 8 lbs. about halfway to what I must do as a minimum. I spend an hour on the treadmill 3 or 4 days a week along with 15 to 20 minutes of light weight training. If there is anything more boring in life than a treadmill, I don't want to know what it is. I'm having a tough time reducing carbs, but I am eating about half the amount I was eating before. Eliminating processed foods has helped greatly. I don't go anywhere near the middle of the grocery store.

**Darrell KSR** · 10-16-2018, 09:14 AM

I have read that we eat way more food than we need to eat, but it has been a struggle for me to convince myself of that.

Treadmills are the worst. I maintain a Planet Fitness membership just for access to a treadmill in a different environment than the one I have in my garage for bad weather days, or days when my allergies cause me to wheeze if I run outside. I probably haven't been to Planet Fitness since the spring.

**MickintheHam** · 10-16-2018, 10:12 AM

I went a year without going to PF. Now I live there. It is eating into my time on the bicycle.

**KSRBEvans** · 10-17-2018, 03:09 PM

Originally Posted by Darrell KSR

I'm deleting my Fitbit app from my phone, since it is, more or less, useless to me as a fitness tracker (at least the way I use it). That's what I used to track calories as well.

Do you recommend My Fitness Pal as an easy-to-use (it has to be SUPER easy for me so that I WILL use it) app to track calories, carbs, proteins, fats, etc.?

I know we've had this conversation before, but since I used Fitbit I was pretty much engaged in that ecosystem only.

Also, what is Google Fit? I'm a Google person, so I guess I should know. Is that phone-only? Or does it sync with stuff?

I like My Fitness Pal, but I only use it to log my weight and calories taken in (along with exercise calories burned, which impacts how many calories I can take in). I've not tried it for carbs/proteins/etc., but my guess is it's good with those items, too. I like that it's crowd sourced so a lot of things you want to input already have the info from another user.

**Darrell KSR** · 10-17-2018, 04:39 PM

I did a test yesterday again with the Fitbit zip against a Letscom wristband fitness band activity tracker. I counted steps, both walking and slow jogging.

Fitbit Zip was dead on the money. The letscom fitness activity tracker, which I really like except for, you know, tracking activities, was wildly off, about 20%. Surprisingly, by the end of the day it had almost caught up, however. It just looks to me like it is almost random.

Given that I value accuracy over almost all the other items, I decided to keep the Fitbit Zip and reinstalled the app. Also, I can sync it to my computer within 20 days or 30 days or something like that and it will automatically recapture the steps day by day. And then will display on my phone. So while I cannot sync it to my phone app directly, there are workarounds that I guess I will just have to live with.

All of that is to say that I guess I'll stick with the Fitbit ecosystem.

I sure hope they figure out the Android 9/OnePlus 6 sync issue. It's becoming a very popular phone. It's not Samsung popular, but when I adopt it, you know the general populace is starting to get on board lol.

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