Fitness Fellowship 2023: Week 24 Check-in

[sylvanwitch]

What's the air like where you are? I'll admit I had the luxury of taking clean air for granted until this past week, when I was forced indoors by Canadian wildfire smoke. (No shade on Canada, and I'm sorry you folks are going through this.) It curtailed many of my usual outdoor pursuits and required that I pivot to indoor exercise on the machines. I recognize that I am privileged in several ways: First, I don't work out of doors (or at all right now, as I'm on summer break); second, I have exercise machines in my own house; third, I have AC that filters the worst of the smoke, so I can use those machines.

And I know that for many folks, smoky air is a regular seasonal concern. I'm also aware that there must be other seasonal, personal, and/or health-and-safety concerns that prevent folks from going outdoors to exercise.

So what do you do, friends, when you cannot go outside to exercise? Do you have some surefire indoor activities that you might suggest for folks who are kept indoors for whatever reason? I'd love to hear your suggestions, if you're inclined to share.

And, of course, please do share how your week has gone.



My weight is at the highest it's been since January 2020 and that is entirely because I have been eating my feelings, and I've taken that sense of needing food for comfort to the grocery store, which means my house is full of things I probably shouldn't be eating and certainly not in the quantities in which I've been consuming them. To be fair to me, I am still trying to make sure I eat fruit and veggies and other healthy stuff each day. I'm just supplementing the good stuff with the not-so-good stuff.

For good news, there has been hydration aplenty and regular exercise despite the air quality issues.

However, my sleep has been crappy, just broken or delayed or absent altogether (looking at you, insomnia). Last night was the first time in as long as I can remember that I slept mostly through the night and got a full 7+ hours.

As for meditation, I did some breathing exercises, very deliberately, yesterday, so I'm going to count that toward my weekly meditation goal.

My plan for the week ahead is to stop eating so much. The crap is in the house, and I'm going to end up eating it. I just need to stop eating SO MUCH of it. Moderation is key. I will continue to exercise daily, work on better sleep quality and quantity, practice some sort of meditation/spiritual work, and hydrate.


Here's hoping the week ahead is clear for you, whatever "clear" means in your life.

Comments

[batdina]

This week has been a wash as far as both eating and exercise are concerned. I've written about that elsewhere. I have managed a few days on the bike, but food has been take-out because of the partner-chick's work schedule, and my inability to put anything together in the kitchen outside of eggs and toast.

I'm walking a lot right now though, which counts for something? And I'm aware that given the order to lose weight, I'm thinking stupid thoughts that are dangerous for me. Working on how to deal with that so I don't hurt myself.

I'm sorry about your air. I deal with that a lot out here on the left coast so we're prepared for it, mostly. I think the surprise of it for you all probably made it even worse, if that makes sense.

[sylvanwitch]

Walking absolutely counts, as does getting on the bike when you can manage it. I think you need to be kind to yourself, particularly now, when things are so difficult, and I also think it's very good that you are aware of the pitfalls of weight loss. As much as I know you want (and deserve) surgery--and as much as said surgery will ultimately make you feel even MORE yourself and even stronger and better--I'm glad you're taking time to consider how to achieve the necessary weight goal without doing any harm to yourself. As someone with a history of unhealthy attitudes towards food, exercise, and weight loss, I can appreciate the very slippery slope and also how we can trick ourselves into perceiving certain behaviors as safe and healthy, actually, even though they are, in fact, neither of those things.

This is a very longwinded way of saying please take care of you, okay? Big, big *hugs* and all the good vibes and love coming your way.

[cornerofmadness]

While I did a lot of walking all over New Mexico I did a lot of eating stuff I shouldn't so it was probably a wash

[sylvanwitch]

Ugh, I SO hear you on this. I, too, am getting LOTS of exercise and then negating its effects by eating All The Things I Shouldn't. Gah!

[cornerofmadness]

frustrating isn't it sometimes

[sylvanwitch]

Terribly!

[oldtoadwoman]

I haven't even worked up the nerve to weigh myself in ages. I know it's bad.

[sylvanwitch]

Weighing myself is the one thing I have to keep doing because I know that if I stop, it means I've given up, and when I finally do get on it again, it will be because I've gained so much that the quality of my life has been affected. (I'm speaking from ample personal experience here.) But of course, what works for me may not work for anyone else. ;-)

♥

[oldtoadwoman]

Oh, absolutely. I don't even know what the final point was where I just stopped trying, but I've definitely crossed that line to where it's affected my quality of life. Nothing fits. I can't get comfortable. Everything requires too much effort.

I was talking with a friend today about how we both need to get back to healthy soups and salads and cut the sugar and starch and how it's not that hard if you can just make it through about three days the junk cravings subside, but ... getting that far is the hard part.

Re: ♥

[sylvanwitch]

I've just (as in just today) decided to try intermittent fasting, beginning with a 12:12 model (12 hour eating window, 12 hour fasting window), which I think will work best for me to start and help me ease into a stricter model later if it feels like something I can do. I figured I have SO MUCH resentment built up around food restrictions and calorie counting that maybe if I just let myself eat whatever (within reason--like, I can't eat cookies for breakfast or something) for a set amount of time, I won't be resentful about not getting to eat certain things and then the fasting will offset the eating. Also, I feel like my body has changed enough with menopause, etc., that the old super-strict calorie counting just isn't working.

Of course, I might totally be kidding myself, but I'm willing to give it a fair shot and see what happens.

Your plan sounds good, too, and I hope you decide to do it and that you get through those initial cravings days without too much misery!

Re: ♥

[oldtoadwoman]

Intermittent fasting is the one that worked best for me. But it's very difficult to do when other people are eating around you. (And my roommate orders takeout multiple times a week. I was doing so much better when I lived alone.)

Today counts as one more day where I haven't binged, so I'm calling it a win.

Re: ♥

[sylvanwitch]

That IS a win! Woooo-hoooo!

I’m in my first fasting window, and nighttime is when I struggle the most, so we’ll see how it goes. I figure if I start having pangs/cravings, I’ll make a cup of tea.

Re: ♥

[oldtoadwoman]

I have weighed in two days in a row. Baby steps towards accountability. (I also consolidated the data from the phone app where I'd been recording weigh-ins earlier this year and the spreadsheet where I've been tracking weight for the last three years, but had slacked off because the phone app was easier ... but really I was just hiding from myself how much I've backslid.)

[luzula]

I do take clean air for granted! I'm sorry it's not possible for you to do so any longer. : ( As for exercise indoors, there are lots of exercise videos on Youtube which I find helpful.

Last week I traveled for work, which was tiring, but then I got to go hiking Sunday-Monday, which was great! I hope I can do it this weekend again.

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.
- Turn off computer at 10 pm every day.
- Go to bed and turn out the light at 11 pm every day.
Yes, all those goals were fine even if I occasionally stretched them a little.

- Go running once (if I go hiking) or three times (if I don't go hiking).
Yes, I went once.
- Hopefully go hiking two days. : D
Yes! : D
- Do workouts on two days (if I go hiking) or three times (if I don't go hiking).
Only one.

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 twice.
- Hopefully go hiking again. : D
- Do workouts on four days.

Also, I'm going to try a food goal again, since I find myself eating perhaps too much sweets:
- When I eat sweet things, decide beforehand how many pieces of chocolate or whatever that I can have, and then don't eat more.

[sylvanwitch]

I like that you are so specific with your food goal. There's really no room for fudging with it, and also, you are thinking *before* you take the food, not trying to prevent yourself from eating more when you've got the whole bag with you or whatnot.

I am SO envious of your hiking, and I hope you get to do more in the coming week! YAY for all of your goals and for keeping on with achieving them! :-)

[oschun]

Photos of the wildfire smoke on the news do look intense.

We're having a heatwave over here that's making things pretty uncomfortable. I was just getting into a good routine with going to Pilates every Tues but I just couldn't yesterday. I came home and had a cold shower, then lay down on the couch! I don't know why the heat always feels so much worse in England than it does anywhere else. Partly the humidity, I guess. But it's not like I haven't travelled in places like Cambodia and Vietnam. And lived in Africa.

I have been walking in the later evening though and I'm feeling pretty good about trying to build up the amount of exercise I'm doing. I'm also drinking less because I'm not drinking any white wine in the week and just occasionally having a cold cider (so good in this heat!). I've also been continuing with my vegetarian cooking journey. Over the past week I've made falafel with tahini sauce from scratch and made a seriously authentic ramen with homemade dashi. And on Saturday I made vegan burgers from a recipe I found online that had things like walnuts and brown rice in them that managed to (mostly) maintain their shape on the BBQ. And they tasted good. Amazing!

I'm so much less stressed at work so feel like I have more patience for things like pre-soaking chickpeas and seaweed. Oh for a more balanced life all year round!

[sylvanwitch]

Ugh, heat sucks, and I'm sorry you're going through it over there! I hope it breaks soon for you all.

YAY for walking so much and for all the wonderful things you're cooking and eating these days! All of your recipes sound fantastic, but I think the falafel sounds the most wonderful for my tastes. That said, I applaud you building a veggie burger that stayed together on the grill--that is a HUGE accomplishment only fully appreciated by people who have tried the same feat and failed (as I have more than once).

I totally hear you about wishing I could have a more balanced life for the rest of the work year. I wish it for you and for me, hon.