Recently I've been starting to exercise five times a week and trying to eat healthier so that I can feel comfortable walking around in a swimming suit this summer. It's a thing I'm doing for me. On the one hand it is to feel comfortable in my own skin, but on the other it's because I gained the dreaded freshmen 15 over the last three years. So not so bad, but I don't want the trend to continue.

So, are there any other Mene folks who like to exercise and eat right? What do you do to keep yourself in shape?

I've been a yogie on and off for the last four years, so I do that, and I also run and bike in the summers. At the moment I'm trying aerobic dancing for a fun way to stay healthy.

I did gymnastics for 10 years so I exercised A LOT! I used to be able to eat just whatever I want, I was pretty healthy. I quit two years ago and it seems I still have my old eating habits and since I only do exercise now and again it's all starting to catch up on me.
I've just put on 3kg or so so I've started to count calories and occasionally exercise with my stationary bike or wii fit. I try to eat salads and vegetable options rather than others.
I'm lazy and not motivated, hah.

I need to eat less sodium. One thing I have started watching is my saturated fat intake.. I feel better at the end of the day knowing that I could resist pigging out on 100% junk.
I gotta cut out the soda, but it's hard to drink stuff without flavor for me; for a while I was doing alright because I switched soda with (decaf) tea but I've been slippin' bad for the last two weeks. Flavored mineral water is a good alternative to water since it still has flavor and fizziness.

@ Ely: It's a bummer having to wait until the summer to go out for fun outdoor activities. I know that in Oregon where I live it's raining and gloomy outside most of the time, so it's hard to take advantage of all the outdoor activities available. I'm not a gym or a dancing person, so I'd rather be with nature if I am biking or running.

I've been trying to eat healthier myself. It sort of works. I don't drink soda much anymore. But I still love my ice cream to death. I don't think I get enough protein most days. I'm actually trying to gain muscle though, and thus weight. I have had a hard time gaining any sort of weight in the past.

I've also taken up weight training, yoga, and obsessing over the stair stepper. I do the occasional drop-in aqua fit class as well, and I may jump on the couch to 5k band wagon soon.

I don't want to slow down my significant other this year on the Grouse Grind. Last year was terrible but he helped me make it all the way. I really didn't think I would make it. I also want to be able to squat my body weight.

@Wonder: Oh wow! A gymnast, huh? I'm a tad surprised, actually, that you're not still absolutely addicted to exercise after all those years of solid work outs, but I guess you'd get burnt out on that as well over time.

@Risque: Yeah, I try not to eat that much salt, either. I avoid the hell out of t.v. dinners and such because of the salt content. I also agree on the water. I pretty well hate the non-taste of water. I love juices, sodas, and all that bad stuff, but I've been trying to drink some water every day while I'm working out and I've been cutting back to one soda a day which I hope is something I can stick to.

I tried that flavored mineral water once and the taste made me want to be sick. I think it was just that one brand, though, but you know how it is if something makes you sick you're leary of everything else.

Ach, yeah. It's cold, snowy, and slushy in CO right now. I wish it'd stop and just be summer so I could be outside.

@Caught: I wish I could squat period! My one knee is a tad creaky still, and I'm hoping it loosens up in the next few weeks so I can start doing some serious leg exercises, but we'll see.

Good luck! Squats are amazing, but injuries are not.
I've personally found sun salutations to be one of the best stretches for my legs.
I'm trying to get my significant other to do them regularly with me because he can't go ATG in his squats.

I've been trying to live a healthy lifestyle. I go to the park on the weekends and after work (average 4 times a week) to do some exercise. There are always lots of people there which is great because I get even more motivated to keep up with my regimen. I either have fruit or oatmeal for breakfast, salad for lunch, and then some type of protein with brown rice and vegetables. My goal is to lose 10 lbs.

@ Ely: Haha, I can't even look at a t.v. without feeling my blood pressure rise.
Do you do diet sodas or just regular? When I tried to stop drinking Dr. Pepper regularly I switched to diet and the taste of only drinking diet was enough to make me not want soda for a good month.
Sorry that you can't do mineral water though. I drink Perrier, in case you were wondering, I hope that's not the brand you tried. xD
Cutting soda is unfortunately like the first step in eating healthy/weight loss... shame that it's such delicious refreshy-ness.

Dr. Pepper, why can't I quit you? ;_;

I'm slowly making changes to improve my diet. I've never been fat, but I definitely gained weight from stress and poor diet in college. But then I moved to Japan a few years ago after graduating and that dramatic change in lifestyle and food opportunities naturally brought my weight down without me putting in a lot of effort. For awhile I was doing sports again and riding my bike everywhere so I was actually pretty darn healthy.

Then I injured my leg and had a few other health issues so I quit playing sports, winter started so I haven't been able to ride my bike, and I started dating a guy who enjoys going out to eat as much as I do... so I've put on some more weight again. But luckily spring is on its way so I plan to be more active soon.

I've made a few simple changes lately: eating plain yogurt with no sugar instead of the kind with fruit, eating more fresh fruits and veggies, and cutting down on snacking as much as possible. I eventually want to be cooking proper meals most weeknights, but I haven't been able to settle into a good schedule that let's me use up my fresh ingredients before they expire yet.

@Risque: YES, that's the unfortunate bit about trying to get healthy. The soda has to go first, and that's definitely my worst addiction.

It actually wasn't Perrier, and that's the brand I've been wanting to try so I'm glad you said you like it. :) It was some sort of store brand and I've refused to try it since.

@Ferra: I'm the same--I've never been fat, I just gained weight over the years from the stress, low exercise, and bad food of college. I also LOVE food, so I love to go out to eat like you and it catches up to you. You lose two pounds during the week and just gain the little stinks back the second you go out on the weekend. >.>

@ElysiumFate: Yep, pretty much. But I'd rather enjoy eating out now and again than be super thin. I'm not interested in exercising like crazy or extreme dieting to look thin, I just want to be a bit more active and eat a bit healthier because I feel healthier when I do.

@Ferra: For me a big part of it is that I'm in constant high stress mode due to college and I need something to turn the stress into other than wrinkles. But I agree, I'm not looking for super skinny, I'm just tired of feeling tired after a half hour walk, and I know I can't lift the amount of weight I used to, either.

I have a really fast metabolism. I'm fairly active too. In the summer I ride my bike the 4 miles to work and 4 miles back. I also ride it to the store if I need something, which is about 2 miles down the road and anywhere else I need to go. In the summer I basically trade my car in for the bike.

I also go to the gym and do circuits 4 times a week. I swear, it's the easiest way to stay in shape and tone up.

As far as diet goes, I just eat. I don't really watch what I eat too much aside from having to watch sugar so my blood sugar doesn't fluctuate.

@ElysiumFate: Yeah, I've started feeling winded when I used to be able to run or bike for long periods without feeling tired. That gets to me, but I keep telling myself I'll get back into the swing of things once spring starts.

And yeah, I get what you mean. College stress sucks and I think it really took a toll on my health. I'm glad that you've found a positive outlet for stress.

@Mystic: Unfortunately gyms have never appealed to me. I think it's great that they work for a lot of people, but they're not for me. Plus, in Japan gyms are prohibitively expensive. D: Like more than $100 a month for basic membership and I think there are limitations too.

I have a really bad habit of always eating sweets, and I'm trying to cut down on that. (.__.)
It's very difficult to just quit cold turkey, though. And I'm trying to find something healthier as a replacement to turn to, because sweets are what I turn to when I stress eat. It's really terrible xD

I've also been walking more, but mostly to get my obese dog to slim down.
This is probably kinda gross, but in my Honors Anatomy class we dissect cats, and our cat was kind of overweight. Seeing all that fat inside of it made me feel bad about my dog.

I try to be healthy...but at the end of the day, after spending 8-13 hours around food...I just want something I don't need to spend ANY time making(bag of chips, pop, fast food). Even on days I don't work I hate having to go and make food, since I know either the next day, or the one after that, I will be back to spending my day with loads of food.