Fitness Fellowship 2024: Week Nine Check-in

[sylvanwitch]

We are having an unseasonably warm day with sunshine, and it is making me itch to get outside. Alas, I'm trapped indoors by duty, but it should be light enough yet when I get home to go for a little mosey.

How has your moseying gone this week? Did you meet your personal fitness goals? Please do share both your triumphs and struggles.


I am down .6 from last week. I was down considerably more than that before my splurge meal on Saturday, and I'd be lying if I said it doesn't bother me how one single meal choice seems to have such an impact on my progress (when the opposite isn't true going the other way on the scale), but it is what it is, and I'm not giving up my weekly splurge.

Thankfully, there are other measures of progress. For example, my jeans aren't as snug even fresh from the dryer, and stairs are getting easier. Yesterday, I took a very brisk walk for just over three miles and managed to throw a couple of hills in there, as well, and I had no trouble at all maintaining that pace for the whole hour-plus. I've exercised every day this past week, as usual.

My sleep was kind of disrupted this week; I'm not sure what's going on there, but I'd like to sleep through the night, please.

Hydration was good. I've been enjoying my home-brewed ginger tisane and otherwise drinking water (besides my morning mug of coffee, that is, and an occasional cup of tea).

It only just occurred to me that I didn't do any meditation or breathing exercises this past week.

I *did* use the elliptical on incline once, and I made a point to do some hill-climbing (such as it is on my mostly flat island) yesterday on my vigorous walk, so I kept to that new goal.

My plans for the week ahead are the same as always, including that new goal to get in some hills and/or use the elliptical on incline at least twice in the week.



Any sunshine and happy thoughts I can spare I am sending your way.

Comments

[oschun]

Your jeans fitting better and managing hills and stairs easier sound like good signs of progress. I hope your sleep improves.

I'm currently in bed fighting off a chest infection. I was hoping to get through the winter flu season without falling ill, but no such luck. I do feel like I'm making a quick recovery so that's an upside.

I'm probably not going to get any exercise done this week, but I am steadily following the Zoe nutrition plan. I'm really enjoying it. I find the scores for different foods really useful and am adjusting my diet as a result. The scores are based on my blood sugar, fat control and gut bacteria tests. Brown rice, for example, gives me a score of 43 while wholewheat pasta scores at 74, which is a lot better. I don't even think about buying white bread, pasta or rice anymore, and I don't miss those things either. Although no food is off limits with Zoe because it's supposed to be about building a long-term lifestyle that's realistically sustainable. I also really like the way I can up my daily score by eating an orange or a handful of nuts or drinking some home-made kombucha.

Like you, I'm getting into the routine of sticking to eating windows and doing clean fasts three days a week. There's an interesting podcast vid here if you have the time and inclination https://youtu.be/3yExtphYB8w?si=IVxKfEZUOxbArdeD

[sylvanwitch]

Thanks for the link! I'll watch it if I ever get another lunch break--ugh! You know what the last two weeks before the close of a marking term are like? Double-ugh!

But it is, at least, better than a chest infection, from which I hope you continue to recover quickly!

Also, the Zoe plan sounds really accessible and flexible and manageable, all qualities I appreciate in a lifestyle adjustment plan! It's wonderful that you're having fun with it and learning and feeling good too! YAY! :-)

[luzula]

Yeah, I feel you on the jeans not being as snug--I am also enjoying that sign of progress. : ) Best of luck with the hill-climbing and the rest of your goals!

Last week's goals:
- do PT on four days,
Only twice, but in the middle of the week I went to the physical therapist who said I should now do PT on fewer days but with more repetitions, and start running again.
- work out on three days,
Yes!
- go hiking on one day (another 6 km) and go running carefully one day,
Yes! Both worked fine, and my knee is better.
- keep to my sleep schedule (and hopefully actually sleep),
This was mostly fine.
- continue to be mindful of what I eat,
This continues to go well. I'm still at minus two kilograms from where I started. I'd like to lose one more, and then I'm at my comfort weight. Heh, and then of course the challenge is to stay there.
- continue to reach out to friends and get social interaction
The hiking was with a friend, so that was nice. I also had a long conversation with another friend on another day.

This week's goals:
- do PT on two days,
- go running on two days,
- work out on one day (would be more, but I'm going away on the weekend),
- keep to my sleep schedule,
- continue to be mindful of what I eat,

[sylvanwitch]

I just continue to so enjoy the evolution of your goals and the way you really have a holistic approach to fitness. It's impressive and, honestly, kind of #lifegoals, if you will. You have such balance. :-)

[delphi]

Definitely a struggle week here, but it made me happy to hear of your successes on the hydration front and on the incline-training - and that you're sticking to your practice of having a nice treat once a week.

Sorry for the lateness in catching up, which is representative of not really having my life together the last two weeks. I've been working in the office every day because I'm training a new direct report who prefers the guided approach, which is a lot of being present and available that gets in the way of me modelling my own directive to said new direct report to take two full coffee breaks and a full lunch break every single day. Then I stay late because I need to catch up on my non-training work... On top of that, I've been the only manager in the office due to illness and vacation, so it's just been hard to take care of myself. I'm hoping to get back on track next week when I can work from home again, but I know I also need to start developing some strategies so that in-office weeks don't completely derail things for me in the future.

Goal #1: Eat breakfast, lunch and dinner every day.
Result: 1/7.

Goal #2: Take at least a 30-minute walk every day (weather and health permitting).
Result: 3/7

Goal #3: Turn off electronics and start getting ready for bed by 10:30 every night.
Result: 3/7, although at least I wasn't over by more than an hour.

Goal #4: Cut out caffeinated drinks.
Result: 7/7. Hanging on here, much as being in the office gives me the urge to go around the corner to Tim Hortons for an icy hit of caffeine and sugar.

[sylvanwitch]

Your struggle sounds both tiring and frustrating, particularly when you are constrained by someone else’s (understandable) needs. I hope you’re able to find a way to work around such circumstances in the future. I applaud your patience with the situation and your self-awareness. I really do hope you can be back to working from home next week!