Fitness Fellowship 2023: Week 22 Check-in

[sylvanwitch]

Yesterday was my first full day of summer break, and it was a busy one, full of errands and such. Today, I overdid it doing weeding, raking, trimming, etc., outdoors, and now I'm hobbling around like an old woman and regretting my choices. I have so much more yardwork and gardening to do, but I'm having to remind myself that it does me no good if I overdo it and then can't do anything for several days.

I'm not very good at listening to myself, however.

(I should note that I recognize I am speaking with the privilege of a person who does not have a disability. I know that many folks with disabilities have no choice but to be cognizant at all times of what their body will and will not allow on any given day.)

How about you, friends? Is there an activity that you know better than to overdo, but you tend to overdo it anyway? Or are you far more sensible than I am and actually pace yourself?

As usual, if you're so inclined, please share how your fitness journey this past week has gone and any plans you have for the week ahead.



I'm at about where I was last week Friday, weight-wise, which is good. That means I didn't regain a TON of weight over this weekend (and I lost all the weight I'd put on LAST weekend). I've been trying to splurge less on the weekend, but as this was my first official summer break weekend, I sort of didn't behave as I might have. That said, I am already reveling in the free time to make fresh meals (e.g. vegan tuna mac, a crudite platter for lunches, a homemade fruit salad dressing) and prep fruits and veggies for easy eating.

I've also been getting SO much exercise--lots of walking and the aforementioned yardwork, which doesn't rack up the steps like walking does but is certainly strenuous. In fact, today's three or so hours earned me 186 "intensity minutes," meaning my heartrate indicated I was exercising even though I hadn't set my watch for a particular activity. I can confirm that I was, indeed, working hard.

My sleep has been interrupted. I'm having some anxiety about not being at work, which probably sounds incredibly ungrateful, but there it is. I think I should probably grow out of it in a few days, but for the meantime, I'm having weird/anxiety dreams, am waking up several times a night, am waking up at my usual time (circa 6:00am), and am just not quite getting the rest I need. The good news is that I can resume my natural sleep cycle, which means staying up late reading and sleeping in (until, typically, 8:30 or 9:00, if I go to bed at, say, 2:00am), and I'm hoping that will put paid to any lingering difficulty with sleep.

I'm hydrating like no one's business largely because I am working so hard and sweating a great deal.

No meditation this week. Boo!

My plan for the week ahead is to continue walking and doing yardwork (so much yardwork--SO MUCH) for exercise, to eat healthy for at least M-F (that means smoothies, fresh veggies with hummus, salads, fruit, etc.), to take melatonin gummies as necessary to try to get back into a regular sleep habit (but not too many nor too often), to develop a regular meditation/spiritual exercise (can include tarot-reading, prayer outside of my usual times, and meditative breathing while walking/communing with nature), and to continue hydrating. On that last, I've been using cordials to make water-drinking more attractive, and I might branch out to hydration additives (natural, real sugar additives, not the artificial sort) because I've heard Skratch Labs has some good ones. If I do that last, I'll let you know how it goes.


Here's hoping we all accomplish our goals with a minimum of suffering and a surplus of energy. :-)

Comments

[ljm]

Great job with the yard work (even if you overdid it a bit) and good job with the meal prepping!

I didn't do anything new this week, just the usual alibi exercises before bed, and some walks. I took the dumb bells and ankle weights today and was grateful for the cool air.

The all consuming costuming continues. I have taken a break from the coat (because I had to order more buttonhole twist) and begun drafting breeches.

[sylvanwitch]

Thank you!

And go, you, for keeping up with the alibi exercises in the midst of the costuming frenzy! May I ask what character you're cosplaying?

[ljm]

I have finally begun my Midshipman Hornblower costume! (That I've been saying I'd make for at least 3 years now...) I had attempted parts of it before, but never got very far due to frustrations about fitting and pattern alterations and such.

Turns out, all I needed was a solid deadline to get myself into action, and the costume event provided that.

[sylvanwitch]

This is SO GREAT! I'm sure it's going to turn out fabulously and that you'll be a hit at the event! :-)

hi

[oldtoadwoman]

I'm still struggling to just stop backsliding. I keep letting my emotions take over my decisions and thus a lot of really bad decisions have been happening lately.

Re: hi

[sylvanwitch]

Oh, man, SO MUCH THIS. I am right here in this space with you, my friend. Every day is a struggle to resist the temptations I shouldn't have bought in the first place, but some wiring somewhere between willpower and retail therapy is disconnected--lol!

Re: hi

[oldtoadwoman]

I need to find a better way to deal with emotions. I'm stressed; I want to eat. I'm anxious; I want to eat. I'm tired; I want to eat. I'm sad; I want to eat.

Re: hi

[sylvanwitch]

Yes, for sure, me too. All I do lately is eat my feelings. Ugh. Sometimes, I can derail the comfort eating train by doing something else that distracts me and that I enjoy (I.e. hidden object games on my iPad), but often, I just end up doing both things together—eating and whatever else I was doing as a distraction. *sighs*

[batdina]

We had a weekend at the beach, lots of walking. Not much paying attention to what I was eating though. But I'm okay with that. I'll probably get on the scale some time this week and see what's what post prednisone. A few more pounds and I can get the first appointment with the surgeon. Incentive!

Congrats on making it through another school year.

[sylvanwitch]

YAY for beach weekends! That sounds like fun!

And YAY for surgery for a GOOD reason this time! (As opposed to all those involuntary surgeries you survived, that is.) I am sending you ALL the good-reason-for-weight-loss vibes!

[luzula]

Yay for summer break, and all the exercise and yardwork sounds great! But do rest up a little, as well. : )

I did go hiking, and walked 32 km over two days; after that I was stiff and achy and gave myself a rest day on Sunday. The weather was glorious--too glorious, as it has not rained for far too long, and we will likely have a drought. : ((

This week, I am going away for a work conference Tuesday-Thursday, but I really want to go hiking again on the weekend! Perhaps strangely, hiking time is also reading time for me, as I get a lot of reading done on public transport going to and from the trail (usually on public transport I have a laptop and do work and writing, but obviously I'm not carrying a laptop when hiking), and also listen to audiobooks some of the time while hiking.

As for eating, I am now getting my CSA vegetable bag, so all my cooking is centered around using them up. Which is nice--it's a surprise what I get from week to week, so it's making me creative.

Goals for last week:
- Do not do things related to my environmental organization (or to work) after 9 pm, or 8 pm if I can.
Yes.
- Turn off computer at 10 pm every day.
Some slight backsliding, but mostly fine.
- Go to bed and turn out the light at 11 pm every day.
Some slight backsliding, but mostly fine.
- Go running once (if I go hiking) or three times (if I don't go hiking).
Went running once, because I did go hiking.
- Hopefully go hiking.
Yes! \o/
- Do workouts on two days (if I go hiking) or five times (if I don't go hiking).
Yes, two days.

Goals for this week:
- Do not do things related to my environmental organization (or to work) after 9 pm, or 8 pm if I can.
- Turn off computer at 10 pm every day.
- Go to bed and turn out the light at 11 pm every day.
- Go running once (if I go hiking) or three times (if I don't go hiking).
- Hopefully go hiking two days. : D
- Do workouts on two days (if I go hiking) or three times (if I don't go hiking).

I seem to have dropped the "go out in the woods" goal, but it's pretty much covered by the running and the hiking right now...

[sylvanwitch]

I am SO envious about your CSA veggie bag! I've looked up farms nearer to us that offer CSAs, but either they are too costly or the pick-up schedule won't work for us. (Also, T. isn't a veggie eater, so I worry that even a smaller portion would go to waste, which I'd regret.) Anyway, ENJOY those veggies! I will have to content myself with our local farmer's market.

Also, YAY for a wonderful hiking experience and for making the best of the transportation to and from the trailhead, too! How neat that you get to have that extra experience. :-)

I wish you all the best for your week ahead and that you do get out hiking again. Good luck with your conference, too!

[oschun]

Good luck with the yardwork. S and I are both so clueless and unmotivated about gardening. We pretty much just leave the garden to its own devices. Luckily, our actual garden area itself that we need to maintain is pretty small. We're surrounded by fields and woodland so it doesn't matter.

I had a great week. Did a lot of hiking! My knee was hurting a little mid-week, but I seem to have walked off the twinging pain in it. I'm also about to go to my second Pilates class. Check me out actually trying to set up an exercise routine!

[sylvanwitch]

OMGs, my friend, I am beginning to realize how big a hole I've dug myself into by constantly expanding the gardens. I'm definitely looking toward simpler solutions for the future, which is why I've begun my own native tree nursery on the back deck. So far I've got oak, maple, beech, and a chestnut tree. I'm going to plant them in the fall, assuming they continue to thrive through the summer. (I've had them in the greenhouse to over-winter, with much success.) Anyway, this is to say that I appreciate your method of non-gardening, for sure, and if the backs of my thighs had anything to say about it, I would start using the same method in my yard! Lol!

Also, YAY for hiking and for voluntary Pilates! I hope the second class is as much fun as the first was!