Fitness Fellowship 2024: Week Three Check-in

[sylvanwitch]

Greetings, Friends! I'm writing from the brave new (to me) frontier of the beta posting page. It's exciting!

How has the past week been for you in terms of achieving your fitness (or any other) goals? I hope it has been satisfying for you. As always, please share as much or as little as you'd like. Remember, you are welcome to change your goals at any time. I am not the boss of you. I'm just here for gentle encouragement. :-)



I'm still up from my lowest weight of the year, currently at 206.4 by this morning's number. I'm okay with that. I'm sure that being back in the swing of things at work will help bring that number down rather quickly. Besides, I am trying to focus on more than just a number on the scale as a judge of fitness.

For example, yesterday, I walked almost 4 miles, half of that in the snow, and though it was often quite cold, it was extremely enjoyable, and I didn't experience any grinding fatigue or loss of stamina. It felt great to know I was able to do that kind of really strenuous exercise without any ill effects. I take that as a sign that I am fitter, regardless of what my weight might be.

Also, though my calories were higher during my snow-induced break, I still exercised every day, sometimes quite vigorously, including stair climbing and lifting light weights, which I haven't been able to do for a long time because of hand and wrist issues that are, blessedly, no longer causing me trouble.

My sleep was great, though I definitely didn't get to bed at a reasonable hour on several nights--too much reading of Kindle books! And my hydration is usually good at home because I have regular access to a bathroom (which is not the case with my teaching schedule) and because I like to brew tea and also drink ice water when I'm at home.

And I definitely meditated and did some breathwork a couple of times while I was out in the snow earlier in the week and again yesterday on my long, snowy walk. I do love the muffled quiet of snow-covered woods in winter.

My goals for the week ahead are the same as always--get to bed at a reasonable hour (by 11:00pm on work nights), get off-screen by 10:30pm on work nights, hydrate regularly, meditate/breathe mindfully, and exercise every day.


May the week ahead be full of happy surprises (or not, if you dislike being surprised in any fashion).

Comments

[cornerofmadness]

I'm pretending last week didn't exist. I was too wrapped up with my uncle's cancer diagnosis and emergency surgery and talking dad thru it all while starting the new semester on top of it to really do anything

[luzula]

Yay for hiking and finding joy in that! \o/

My goals for last week:
- do PT on three days,
- go for a walk/be outside somehow every day,
- find ways of working out which I can do despite arm/shoulder, and do that on five days (I'm including the PT I did on Tuesday...)
- stick to my sleep schedule
Yes, I did all that--with a bonus of going cross-country skiing on Sunday! The lake where my parents live was frozen over, with snow on it, so I skied on that. Now it's milder again, so that will possibly be the only skiing I get this winter. My shoulder is better, but there's still some pain in my knee. However, I'm getting more confident in using it anyway, as the exertion of the PT is not making it worse.

Goals for this week:
- do PT on four days,
- continue to find ways of working out that don't strain the knee or shoulder too much, and do that kind of workout on the three days I'm not doing PT,
- go hiking on one day, perhaps 7-8 km, and see how my knee takes that,
- be outside in some way every day (this can be a very short walk),
- keep to my sleep schedule,
- be mindful of what I eat (I would like to lose a little weight).

[oschun]

Sounds like you had a great week, and your description of walking in the snow is delightful. I'm glad you're feeling strong and fit. I feel the same way when I go to pilates. Our mushrooms have also made us very happy this week. I turned half the shiitake mushrooms into a broth that I've frozen in portions for quick noodle bowls. We've also had mushroom parfait and pulled BBQ mushrooms and mushroom steaks from the king oyster mushrooms. Viva the Mushroom! :D

[delphi]

For example, yesterday, I walked almost 4 miles, half of that in the snow, and though it was often quite cold, it was extremely enjoyable, and I didn't experience any grinding fatigue or loss of stamina. It felt great to know I was able to do that kind of really strenuous exercise without any ill effects. I take that as a sign that I am fitter, regardless of what my weight might be.

That's fantastic! That's really something to be proud of. ❤️

I was aiming for:

Goal #1: Eat breakfast, lunch and dinner every day.
Result: 6/7, with the lesson that even if I'm working from home, I can't count on catching up on breakfast during work hours if I don't make a point of having it before work.

Goal #2: Take at least a 30-minute walk every day (weather and health permitting).
Result: 5/7, although both days were cancelled due to weather rather than failing to carve out the time. On Friday, I ended up taking a full two-hour walk with a friend and was able to keep up with their much longer and younger legs while also nattering on, so counting that as a win.

Goal #3: Turn off electronics and start getting ready for bed by 10:30 every night.
Result: 6/7, so moving in the right direction.

Goal #4: Cut out caffeinated drinks.
Result: 7/7. This one remains easy to stick to when I'm sleeping well and remembering that not sticking to it makes me not sleep well.