September/October weight management challenge

[emily_in_nc]

107.5 again, same as last week. Not happy with it, but I had been 108 the last two days, so I will take it. It's amazing how much just a small fluctuation affects the way I feel about myself. I was in a huge funk the past two days since I the 108 is very high for me (I was 103 when we moved here in August 2011), and I have no one to blame but myself. Not eating poorly or too much, but I am sitting at the computer way too much and not getting enough exercise.

I also blame Belize's HOT HOT HOT September, though. Even the locals are saying it's the hottest one they remember. When it's already 86-88F by 7:30 am with full sun and humidity between 75-85%, it's just impossible to motivate myself to do anything outdoors. Last year this time I was running 3 mornings a week (and complaining about it being 79-80F...I would give my right arm for that now!)

I have been trying to pump up the indoor workouts with weights and a mixture of mat Pilates and yoga, but my yoga instructor is out of the country, so I'm missing those 2x a week two-hour workouts. I THINK she's back next Wed., so I may get to go to a practice on Thursday. Crossing fingers!

I also think there's very likely some hormonal changes at play. I am in perimenopause, but when we moved here, I was having frequent cycles (like every 22-26 days). Now, I seem to have moved into the next phase, where my cycles are lengthening to 40-60 days. It's quite a blessing in many ways after feeling like I was *always* on my period over the past 5-6 years, but I think my metabolism is probably slowing as well. My mother and her mother both gained a ton of weight at menopause, and that scares me a lot. But they were completely un-athletic, so I am hoping I can avoid their fate if I can just get my butt into gear with exercise. Once we move back to the US and I can get myself into some cooler weather, I am sure I will be much more active again, and then maybe weight maintenance will be easier once again. But I suspect at this age, and with menopause approaching, it will never again be like it used to be, where I could easily lose 2-5 lbs. just by cutting back a little here and there.

Sigh....

[Blueberry]

I'm at 229 today. See the doc this afternoon, so hopefully can start medicating the underactive thyroid.

Emily - any more news on moving?? Have been thinking of you PM if you prefer!

[Crankin]

Emily, I started riding as I was in the worst throes of perimenopause (the last 2 years). I got my first road bike around the time I had my last period. When I started riding in 2000, I weighed about 118-122 (if you can believe it), basically from being burned out on the exercise I had been doing for 20 years. I had gotten myself down to 110 a couple of times when I was heavier and in peri (basically for my kids HS graduations). I wasn't inactive, but it wasn't enough to neutralize the effects of hormones. I also changed the way I eat quite a bit in late 2003. I had been riding for 3 years, one year on a road bike, and I weighed about 107. At first, I was pretty happy with that weight, but I really wanted to get down to around 105. I've had to change up what I do in terms of exercise, every so often and modulate my grain intake even more since then. I just can't slack off. Given that I still enjoy red wine and chocolate and I go out a lot, it's OK, but now I can't stop going to those boot camp classes....

[emily_in_nc]

Crankin, your experience really does give me hope. Sometimes I feel hopeless and think I will never be down even a few lbs. again, but then I know there are a lot of lifestyle issues going on here that won't necessarily last forever. Hot and sticky weather and working out are just a tough mix for me. We exercised a ton on our trip to the US in August, and I only gained 1 pound in 16 days despite eating and drinking pretty much everything I wanted (including lots of restaurant meals, alcohol, and Mom's home cooking! I couldn't say no...) So I know if I am active and eat a much more tempered, careful diet, I can take off the weight. I too enjoy wine and good chocolate, and although I eat very healthy (light on meat, heavy on veggies), I know I have to eat fewer calories as I get older except for days when I am super active. It's just quite hard to eat little enough for my low activity days here. I do ride my beach cruiser, but that's more of a "commuting" kind of riding, it's flat, and not very difficult, so I doubt it burns many calories as I've become VERY efficient in my cycling here.

Your story does help, though; and I am still a lot lighter than I was at age 39 -- I weighed around 118 then and wasn't very active, so I went back to the gym, changed my way of eating, and eventually, over a long time, got down as low as 101. I maintained in the 102-105 range throughout my 40s by staying active, and only started creeping up after we moved here.

It's slow, slow season right now, so even though our condo is on the market, we haven't had a showing in a couple of months. We hope to sell it this winter or next spring when high season tourists are here, but if not, we plan to put it in the resort's rental pool and go back to the US in May or June of next year. We don't want to be here through another summer.

[bunny_ninja]

failed to weight in *and* post on friday. My weight hasn't really done anything remarkable. It was 146.7 this morning. :-/

I did start doing Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred on Friday. I am sore from it! I had gotten so out of shape. Due to lack of core strength - biking had been giving me mechanical sciatica pain. Oi vey. Counting calories now and working out differently... it has got to only get better from here!