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sylvanwitchHello and Welcome, Friends, to the Fitness Fellowship 2022!
The Fitness Fellowship began many years ago, but in its most recent incarnation, this will be Year 3. I launched it and still maintain it as a small community of people interested in achieving their individually set fitness goals. Please define "fitness" however you'd like, including but not limited to physical, mental, emotional, and/or spiritual fitness.
Our prime directive is respect: For ourselves and for one another.
We are non-judgmental and focus on mutual support and encouragement.
The way it works is simple: Once a week, this year on Saturdays, I post a check-in that asks you to review the week you've had in terms of your self-determined goals and to offer your plans for the week ahead. You may check in as often as or sporadically as you'd like; there is no commitment implied or required.
The overall goal of this group is to encourage you to achieve your goals through accountability, if that's something you need and/or desire.
The purpose of today's post is to state your goal(s), short- and/or long-term, for fitness in 2022, and speak a little about your plan(s) for achieving it/them, should you choose.
No pressure.
My goals for fitness in 2022 are the following:
1. Return to and maintain my goal weight of 170 pounds.
2. Get more and better sleep.
3. Eat clean(er).
4. Incorporate strength training into my daily exercise.
5. Exercise daily.
6. Incorporate a spiritual element (e.g. meditation) weekly.
Context:
I'm currently at 184 pounds, having gained 7 pounds from where I started 2021 and 16 pounds from my lowest weight of 2021. As background, I've been losing weight since 2020 (starting weight: 230.6) and made my goal weight (170 pounds) in February 2021. However, as is typical of me, maintenance did not go as I'd intended, and I regained a lot of that weight starting in September 2021. (I regained almost 6 pounds of that weight since 21 December 2021. The holiday permissions I gave myself were...broad. ;-)
In January 2021, I purchased a NordicTrack Elliptical, and it changed my exercise life for the better. It came with a year's subscription to iFit, a virtual gym with thousands of recorded workouts that I can load up. The workout session takes over my machine, setting resistance and elevation, and the sessions themselves take me all over the world. I've hiked the Alps, Easter Island, and the Scottish Highlands, and toured New Orleans necropolises, Egyptian pyramids, and street markets in Germany, Portugal, and the Dominican Republic. I've been on beaches all over the world. (I do all of this with the trainer's sound OFF and the television on.) I work out daily, though not always on the machine, walking and hiking being my other preferred regular exercise. I am certainly much fitter, physically, than I was at this time last year, so despite the weight gain, I'm healthier overall.
I try to maintain a plants-based, whole foods diet, which means in practical terms that I'm a vegan, but for health, not animal rights, reasons. (That's a significant distinction for me because we participate in a hive share program with a Minnesota farm, so honey is a sweetener I use and enjoy.) The plan I am supposed to be following is Dr. Greger's How Not to Die plan, also known as the Daily Dozen. Suffice it to say that I have strayed far afield of this healthy eating, consuming a lot of processed vegan foods because they are lower in calories than the non-processed alternatives and/or are easier to prepare. But personal history has proven time and again that the cleaner I eat, the better I feel, regardless of what the number on the scale says. And, not for nothing, the number on the scale tends to trend downwards when I'm eating clean. Also, I try to watch my sodium intake because my family has a history of hypertension, and I emphatically do not want to go on medicine for it.
Plans:
1. Eat clean: Avoid processed foods, pay more attention to sodium content, use the Daily Dozen app every day.
2. Track calories: Myfitnesspal is my friend. I am the sort who needs daily accountability. I've set MFP to reflect my level of activity and that I'd like to lose 1/2 pound a week. That means I have 1830 calories a day, not including calories earned by exercise. I am anticipating that I will not need that many calories a day, but if eating clean means going over but consuming moderate quantities of healthier foods, I'm okay with that. So, I'm shifting my eating plan focus from how many calories to what kinds of food, at least for the first two months of 2022. We'll see how it goes.
3. Get to bed BY 11:00pm, no screens after 10:00pm. I get up at 6:00am for work. I need to get seven solid hours of sleep, and I've been letting this erode over the past semester because I like to read before bed. This plan requires that I start easing down my day's activity earlier in the evening. I can do this, but it takes redeveloping the habit.
4. I bought an Amazon FireStick and am installing it on our Smart TV today, so I can use the iFit app through our television. This makes doing floor workouts with hand weights infinitely easier than squinting at my iPad screen. My initial goal is to do three iFit strength training workouts per week for the first two months. If I develop and maintain this positive regimen, my reward will be the purchase of a pricey but extremely convenient set of easily adjustable NordicTrack hand weights. (I am a sucker for rewards.)
5. Meditate at least once a week. This can be traditional meditation, walking meditation, guided meditation, meditating on a passage or mantra, and/or reading the cards. (I'm a professionally trained tarot reader, but I very rarely read the cards for myself for Reasons. I've promised myself that I'll incorporate more readings into my life because the cards are a vital element of my spiritual life, and I need to approach them as such. Plus, I genuinely feel more centered when I honor that part of my life.)
May 2022 be the year you feel strongest!
The Fitness Fellowship began many years ago, but in its most recent incarnation, this will be Year 3. I launched it and still maintain it as a small community of people interested in achieving their individually set fitness goals. Please define "fitness" however you'd like, including but not limited to physical, mental, emotional, and/or spiritual fitness.
Our prime directive is respect: For ourselves and for one another.
We are non-judgmental and focus on mutual support and encouragement.
The way it works is simple: Once a week, this year on Saturdays, I post a check-in that asks you to review the week you've had in terms of your self-determined goals and to offer your plans for the week ahead. You may check in as often as or sporadically as you'd like; there is no commitment implied or required.
The overall goal of this group is to encourage you to achieve your goals through accountability, if that's something you need and/or desire.
The purpose of today's post is to state your goal(s), short- and/or long-term, for fitness in 2022, and speak a little about your plan(s) for achieving it/them, should you choose.
No pressure.
My goals for fitness in 2022 are the following:
1. Return to and maintain my goal weight of 170 pounds.
2. Get more and better sleep.
3. Eat clean(er).
4. Incorporate strength training into my daily exercise.
5. Exercise daily.
6. Incorporate a spiritual element (e.g. meditation) weekly.
Context:
I'm currently at 184 pounds, having gained 7 pounds from where I started 2021 and 16 pounds from my lowest weight of 2021. As background, I've been losing weight since 2020 (starting weight: 230.6) and made my goal weight (170 pounds) in February 2021. However, as is typical of me, maintenance did not go as I'd intended, and I regained a lot of that weight starting in September 2021. (I regained almost 6 pounds of that weight since 21 December 2021. The holiday permissions I gave myself were...broad. ;-)
In January 2021, I purchased a NordicTrack Elliptical, and it changed my exercise life for the better. It came with a year's subscription to iFit, a virtual gym with thousands of recorded workouts that I can load up. The workout session takes over my machine, setting resistance and elevation, and the sessions themselves take me all over the world. I've hiked the Alps, Easter Island, and the Scottish Highlands, and toured New Orleans necropolises, Egyptian pyramids, and street markets in Germany, Portugal, and the Dominican Republic. I've been on beaches all over the world. (I do all of this with the trainer's sound OFF and the television on.) I work out daily, though not always on the machine, walking and hiking being my other preferred regular exercise. I am certainly much fitter, physically, than I was at this time last year, so despite the weight gain, I'm healthier overall.
I try to maintain a plants-based, whole foods diet, which means in practical terms that I'm a vegan, but for health, not animal rights, reasons. (That's a significant distinction for me because we participate in a hive share program with a Minnesota farm, so honey is a sweetener I use and enjoy.) The plan I am supposed to be following is Dr. Greger's How Not to Die plan, also known as the Daily Dozen. Suffice it to say that I have strayed far afield of this healthy eating, consuming a lot of processed vegan foods because they are lower in calories than the non-processed alternatives and/or are easier to prepare. But personal history has proven time and again that the cleaner I eat, the better I feel, regardless of what the number on the scale says. And, not for nothing, the number on the scale tends to trend downwards when I'm eating clean. Also, I try to watch my sodium intake because my family has a history of hypertension, and I emphatically do not want to go on medicine for it.
Plans:
1. Eat clean: Avoid processed foods, pay more attention to sodium content, use the Daily Dozen app every day.
2. Track calories: Myfitnesspal is my friend. I am the sort who needs daily accountability. I've set MFP to reflect my level of activity and that I'd like to lose 1/2 pound a week. That means I have 1830 calories a day, not including calories earned by exercise. I am anticipating that I will not need that many calories a day, but if eating clean means going over but consuming moderate quantities of healthier foods, I'm okay with that. So, I'm shifting my eating plan focus from how many calories to what kinds of food, at least for the first two months of 2022. We'll see how it goes.
3. Get to bed BY 11:00pm, no screens after 10:00pm. I get up at 6:00am for work. I need to get seven solid hours of sleep, and I've been letting this erode over the past semester because I like to read before bed. This plan requires that I start easing down my day's activity earlier in the evening. I can do this, but it takes redeveloping the habit.
4. I bought an Amazon FireStick and am installing it on our Smart TV today, so I can use the iFit app through our television. This makes doing floor workouts with hand weights infinitely easier than squinting at my iPad screen. My initial goal is to do three iFit strength training workouts per week for the first two months. If I develop and maintain this positive regimen, my reward will be the purchase of a pricey but extremely convenient set of easily adjustable NordicTrack hand weights. (I am a sucker for rewards.)
5. Meditate at least once a week. This can be traditional meditation, walking meditation, guided meditation, meditating on a passage or mantra, and/or reading the cards. (I'm a professionally trained tarot reader, but I very rarely read the cards for myself for Reasons. I've promised myself that I'll incorporate more readings into my life because the cards are a vital element of my spiritual life, and I need to approach them as such. Plus, I genuinely feel more centered when I honor that part of my life.)
May 2022 be the year you feel strongest!
(no subject)
Date: Saturday, 1 January 2022 09:51 pm (UTC)Hear, hear!
Thank you so much for once again creating and maintaining an inclusive, supportive, and inspiring space like this. Your plans sound wonderful, and at least one item has prompted a last-minute addition to my own.
Things I'm Aiming for This Year
1. Eat consciously. This includes:
• checking in with myself to see if cravings are coming from a place of hunger vs. boredom, stress, or not feeling up to cooking
• creating meal plans each week and making sure I have backup plans so that I'm not making decisions hungry when life inevitably goes awry
• choosing foods that are nourishing, delicious, and make my body feel good in the long term rather than just in the moment
• choosing foods that require less transportation, less cruelty to people and animals, and fewer unsustainable resources
2. Make regular use of the stationary bike I just bought. I used to have one in my old apartment years ago but didn't take it with me because my new place didn't have room for one, and because I was largely moving house on foot. Well, my place still doesn't have room for one, but I think wedging it in awkwardly is worth getting back the opportunity to accomplish some movement during my Youtube-watching or podcast-listening downtime.
3. Do some stretching and bodyweight exercise each day.
4. Get out for a morning or lunchtime walk every day that circumstances allow.
5. Turn screens off by ten o'clock, and be in bed by ten-thirty. I let my bedtime drift way off course while working a different schedule, and I have been paying for it in headaches and grumpy mornings.
My main hope is that doing all of the above will feel easier by the end of the year, setting me up for making/keeping them long-term habits. If I lose ten pounds, that will be a bonus.
For this week, my short-term goal is to actually get my stationary bike assembled. :D
(no subject)
Date: Saturday, 1 January 2022 11:42 pm (UTC)These plans all sound fantastic and realistic and doable. I especially like the incremental approach to everything--doing these things this year to get yourself to a new point for the following year. I like how progressive that is. It's one of the qualities of Dr. Greger's plan that I've always liked: He talks a lot about making "better than" choices, as in, "Is this a better choice than I'd have made before?" even if it's not the *best* choice. I live in such an imperfect state in terms of food that it helps me to have that perspective. (Sorry, I'm doubtless repeating myself here.)
I wish you excellent progress on your goals and good luck, especially, with your sleeping habit adjustment. I suspect that's going to be a challenge for me, at least for a few weeks, until I get back into the habit.
(no subject)
Date: Sunday, 2 January 2022 01:01 am (UTC)But I really like that phrase - '"better than" choices'. Lately I've been thinking about it a little like my relationship to piano. I have a colleague who took up playing a few years ago, and we chat a lot about it, since I played as a kid and got back into it around the same time as him. And while we can bond over songs, equipment, and inconveniences, we baffle each other when we talk method. He is one of those people who approaches self-directed study with an amazing amount of discipline, and even now that he's proficient he works to master each piece he encounters: recording himself, listening back to it, getting each bar perfect before he moves on to the next. Whereas to me, the thing I like about being proficient enough not to need lessons is...not having to do that. Unlike with other hobbies (*cough* writing) where I'm driven to improve and experiment, with the piano I like being able to sit down, sight-read a few tunes, and not care about whether I get them perfect.
Diet and exercise aren't ever going to be like writing for me, but I'm working to make them like piano. Something worthwhile that I regularly spend time on in ways I can enjoy or find satisfaction in while I'm doing it, and something that does get better every year with practice, even if I'm never going to be a virtuoso.
(no subject)
Date: Sunday, 2 January 2022 07:29 am (UTC)1) I weigh about 79kg at the moment, and I'd like to get down to 70. I try to eat a Whole Foods plant based diet, but with all the vegan snacks coming out this is getting harder and harder! I weighed about 77kg so I gained 2kg in 2021 due to aforementioned vegan snacks, which I am trying to eliminate in 2022, or at least eat a whole lot less, and replace it with fruit and veggies.
2) We have a stationary bike which I try to ride 4-5 times a week, which is going well enough. I want to pick up walking every day as well but the weather has been not great for that, rainy and windy. It's an excuse, I know, but bleh.
3) However. We really want to have a third child this year, so if I do get pregnant at least the weight loss is out of the window, so my main focus will be eating healthy and right instead of weight loss, because that at least I can keep up during a pregnancy (except for the first trimester because then all bets are off!).
(no subject)
Date: Sunday, 2 January 2022 05:46 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: Saturday, 8 January 2022 03:41 pm (UTC)1. My #1 goal is to reduce the amount of alcohol I drink, specifically white wine. It’s always been a problem for me. And like a many other people I started drinking more during the pandemic. I would like to get back to a place where drinking wine during the week is occasional, not daily. To that end, I’ve committed myself initially to a semi-dry January. Until the end of the month I’m not drinking alcohol Mon-Thurs. I’m trying it out for one month because I know a resolution to give up week-day drinking with no immediate time-frame won’t work for me. It needs to be incremental.
2. I weigh 161 pounds and would like to get down to 150 pounds. I’m planning on getting back into intermittent fasting but initially I just want to focus on goal #1, which at the moment is making me eat more than I usually do. As long as it’s whole foods that are reasonably healthy, I really don’t care - even if I put on a bit of weight over January.
3. Exercise three times a week, including at least one non-walking form of exercise. This is manageable and not drinking is helping me to do it more easily.
4. Bed by 10:30. No screens after 10:00. At the moment that’s proving really hard because sobriety is massively affecting my ability to go to sleep. But I know it’s only temporary while my brain chemistry is adjusting. If I only achieve goal #1 for a full month, so be it.
(no subject)
Date: Saturday, 8 January 2022 08:00 pm (UTC)Anyway, I hope you find week two an easier crawl for you, hon, and that as the weeks progress, every part of this gets easier.
Big props and huge *hugs*. You've got this! You can do it!