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sylvanwitchOn 4/16, I was laid low by COVID, which my husband gave to me for spring break, and while I am no longer contagious, I'm still struggling to regain strength and stamina and have an annoying cough of the phlegmy throat variety. As a consequence of COVID and a host of other personal troubles, I not only fell off the fitness wagon but also just sort of disengaged from many activities, largely because I had to jealously guard what energy I've had.
I am slowly improving, as is my husband. We're both back to work, though that, too, is a significant struggle for each of us in different ways. And, of course, we're hoping that there are no long-term effects.
However, I did not want to abandon the Fitness Fellowship, so I will resume our regularly scheduled Saturday update posts with this one, which is a day late.
Please share how you've been the past three weeks, what your fitness highs and lows have been, and any plans you have moving into a new season.
Weight: I'm at 190 as this morning, but as that's almost three pounds lower than last week's weigh-in, I'm happy about it. I have recommitted myself to losing at least ten of the pounds I've regained, and I'm doing that by slightly modified methods (more below).
Exercise: COVID really hamstrung me. Even after I've mostly recovered from active illness, I'm still having difficulty with sustained activity, which includes things like standing for too long at work or walking up too many stairs at a time. I get winded more easily and lose my energy by mid-morning; work has become a miserable marathon. (I'm also suffering from COVID fog and inattentiveness. I have never in my life been this cognitively impaired, and I DO NOT LIKE IT.) All of this said, we did manage to get out for three two-mile walks at the end of last week, and I'm hoping if the rain here breaks today, we might take a stroll in the early evening. Otherwise, I am basically happy to get my daily steps goal, which is woefully reduced from healthier times, and I'm not pushing it.
Eating plan: HA! This past week, I've been MUCH better about paying attention to what I'm consuming and eliminating snacks and sweets, etc., which is why I think I lost that almost-three pounds mentioned above.
The week ahead:
In terms of exercise, I'm going to start slowly reintroducing regular exercise in very brief increments of perhaps five- or ten-minute easy intervals spread out throughout the course of the day. So, for example, I might do a five-minute hall-walk at work and/or spend ten minutes on the recumbent bike in the evening. If I'm feeling up to it, I may try a walk after work, weather permitting, but I'm not going to push it. I'm still suffering from my ankle injury, alas, so I have to be careful about my choices. The elliptical gathers dust, and I miss it desperately, but neither my ankle nor the rest of me is ready for that yet.
Eating-wise, I'm going back to basics, with lots of fruits, veggies, whole grains, beans, and nuts and many fewer processed food choices than I was subsisting on during the past three weeks, when I couldn't bring myself to prepare more than the most rudimentary of meals (e.g. open package, put in microwave). (I'm also weaning myself off an abhorrent orange Gatorlyte (reduced-sugar/calorie Gatorade *shudders*) habit I developed during COVID, when it was literally one of the only things my body craved.)
Weight-wise, I'd like to lose a half-pound to a pound a week, but I'm not going to be hard on myself if I see little progress. I really do need to be well again before I start pushing it with the weight loss plan. That said, eating cleaner and getting more exercise, conditions permitting, will probably make me feel better in the long-run.
May the week ahead be a good one for you all! Thank you for hanging in there with me! :-)
I am slowly improving, as is my husband. We're both back to work, though that, too, is a significant struggle for each of us in different ways. And, of course, we're hoping that there are no long-term effects.
However, I did not want to abandon the Fitness Fellowship, so I will resume our regularly scheduled Saturday update posts with this one, which is a day late.
Please share how you've been the past three weeks, what your fitness highs and lows have been, and any plans you have moving into a new season.
Weight: I'm at 190 as this morning, but as that's almost three pounds lower than last week's weigh-in, I'm happy about it. I have recommitted myself to losing at least ten of the pounds I've regained, and I'm doing that by slightly modified methods (more below).
Exercise: COVID really hamstrung me. Even after I've mostly recovered from active illness, I'm still having difficulty with sustained activity, which includes things like standing for too long at work or walking up too many stairs at a time. I get winded more easily and lose my energy by mid-morning; work has become a miserable marathon. (I'm also suffering from COVID fog and inattentiveness. I have never in my life been this cognitively impaired, and I DO NOT LIKE IT.) All of this said, we did manage to get out for three two-mile walks at the end of last week, and I'm hoping if the rain here breaks today, we might take a stroll in the early evening. Otherwise, I am basically happy to get my daily steps goal, which is woefully reduced from healthier times, and I'm not pushing it.
Eating plan: HA! This past week, I've been MUCH better about paying attention to what I'm consuming and eliminating snacks and sweets, etc., which is why I think I lost that almost-three pounds mentioned above.
The week ahead:
In terms of exercise, I'm going to start slowly reintroducing regular exercise in very brief increments of perhaps five- or ten-minute easy intervals spread out throughout the course of the day. So, for example, I might do a five-minute hall-walk at work and/or spend ten minutes on the recumbent bike in the evening. If I'm feeling up to it, I may try a walk after work, weather permitting, but I'm not going to push it. I'm still suffering from my ankle injury, alas, so I have to be careful about my choices. The elliptical gathers dust, and I miss it desperately, but neither my ankle nor the rest of me is ready for that yet.
Eating-wise, I'm going back to basics, with lots of fruits, veggies, whole grains, beans, and nuts and many fewer processed food choices than I was subsisting on during the past three weeks, when I couldn't bring myself to prepare more than the most rudimentary of meals (e.g. open package, put in microwave). (I'm also weaning myself off an abhorrent orange Gatorlyte (reduced-sugar/calorie Gatorade *shudders*) habit I developed during COVID, when it was literally one of the only things my body craved.)
Weight-wise, I'd like to lose a half-pound to a pound a week, but I'm not going to be hard on myself if I see little progress. I really do need to be well again before I start pushing it with the weight loss plan. That said, eating cleaner and getting more exercise, conditions permitting, will probably make me feel better in the long-run.
May the week ahead be a good one for you all! Thank you for hanging in there with me! :-)
(no subject)
Date: Monday, 2 May 2022 08:59 am (UTC)I thought I would have put on weight while I was away over Easter but I haven't, so I'm happy about that. I fasted one day last week for a 24hr period from dinnertime to dinnertime. It's definitely something that works for me. I'm going to do it one day a week at first and try to build up to two days. I just want to drop below 70kgs and see that number 60 on the scale! I averaged 72 kgs this week. I've also slipped back into the habit of drinking wine most nights so that's my focus again this week. I've got some alcohol free alternatives to help me do that.
(no subject)
Date: Monday, 2 May 2022 04:17 pm (UTC)