Fitness Fellowship 2024: Week 26 Check-in

[sylvanwitch]

Look at me posting on the actual day of check-in! That's wacky! :-)

As always, I'd love to hear how your fitness journey has been this past week and what your plans are for the week ahead. Please do share as much or as little as you'd like.



Weight: I regained about .8 pounds of what I'd lost post-vacation, for reasons that will become apparent below.

Exercise: I was very good about this, most days spending at least an hour gardening and also getting in a good walk as well. On Friday, I took a 4.4 mile solo hike, which was lovely. I did not do intervals, however, nor did I lift weights. (I completely forgot about weights, to be honest, but also the gardening was a LOT some of those days.) I did one day of incline work. I was quite sore from the day I spent two hours putting in a new garden bed, so that contributed to the lack of more strenuous upper body exercise the following days.

Eating plan: Here is where I failed miserably. First, I have a snacking-in-the-evening problem, which ends tonight. Second, I had a lot of leftover goodies from the trip, and I hate wasting food, which is absolutely the excuse it sounds like. The good news is things either got too stale, or I ate them, so now there are many fewer temptations in the house. Also, I've been hungrier than usual, which I attribute to both moderate summer temperatures (hotter temps tend to dampen my appetite) and the heavy-duty gardening I did for several days. I really was quite active for most of the week, and I think my body expected more food as a result. I will say that for the quantity of food I ate (not counting the treats), I did eat *healthy* food. For example, it is now officially smoothie season in my house, which means lots of frozen and fresh fruits, a plant-based complete protein powder additive, and lots of greens. Also, meal-sized salads have returned to the menu. (I do love a good salad.)

Meditation: Yes.

Sleep: I had some trouble getting to and staying asleep this week, to the point at which I finally caved and took melatonin, which helped me sleep through the night but also made me logy the next morning. I'm working on it.

Hydration: I've been extra careful about this while working outside.

The week ahead: If I can continue to eat healthy meals but smaller portions, can avoid snacking at night, and continue to regulate the goodies, I should see some progress on the scale. I will continue with making sure I do yardwork/gardening every day and also get formal exercise, and I will go back to making sure I lift at least twice, do intervals at least twice, and get some incline work in as well. I also hope that with the reduction in snacking at night the sleep might resolve itself. We'll see.


May the week ahead give you what you need to reach your goals.

Comments

[batdina]

I'm cleared to get back to exercise post-surgery. I haven't a clue what it's going to mean for my weight, which is stable (minus the seven pounds of tissue they removed!), but the way my body feels when I don't exercise sucks so I'm pretty pleased to get back to it. Frustration that it'll be slow going at first, but ...

I'm glad to hear you're taking care of yourself. As you know, I think of you often and am always sending you good energy. xo

[sylvanwitch]

I am SO glad you got the all-clear and that you are ready to get back to exercise. I hope it doesn't take too, too long for you to rebuild your habits, but I'd imagine your body will let you know what it can manage as you go along.

I so appreciate your kindness, my friend, and think of you often too. Big, big *hugs* and lots of good-energy vibes coming your way!

💟

[oldtoadwoman]

I need to post an updated weight chart.

Last week was my best week of the year. I had hit my lowest weight of the year a few times before that, but the weekly average wasn't reflecting that until last week when I kept the weight off long enough for the weekly average to be low as well. However... Saturday, I tried a new barbecue restaurant with a friend and then Sunday I was feeling very sulky and decided to treat myself to a trip to the movies (Inside Out 2 was very sweet) and I ended up splurging on buttered popcorn and a root beer AND then I stopped and got a sandwich on my way home. So ... here's hoping I can see better numbers by the end of the week and at least not see my weekly average go up by much.

Re: 💟

[sylvanwitch]

GOOD LUCK! I hope you dodge the weight-gain bullet from the food you chose to eat. I hate that we have to even worry about having popcorn, for example, or treating ourselves once in a while. It irks me to no end that I can gain SO much in so little time, but it takes FOREVER to lose it. I hope you don't see too big an uptick and that you get that best week again in the week we're in!

Re: 💟

[oldtoadwoman]

Yes! I swear that I don't even eat that much (except when I do) and just one lapse will be enough to undo a whole week of healthy eating. It doesn't seem to balance out at all.

I have a question for you. What do you eat when you are craving something "substantial"? Sometimes I crave pure sugar, which I know has nothing to do with hunger, but rather stress or boredom or other emotional stuff and I can talk myself out of these cravings half the time. Sometimes I'm normal levels of hungry and I can be fine just getting a salad or something reasonable. But then there are those "hangry" times where I'm hungry and tired and cranky and I find myself desperately craving meat. (If I were getting a steak or something it might not even be that bad, but generally the easiest and most affordable options end up being very unhealthy junk food like burgers or fried chicken or something.) I can't imagine vegetarians crave meat, but I'm sure "hangry" is a universal state so what sort of things do you end up eating?

(I had a chicken sandwich from KFC for lunch and instantly felt guilty about it, but I'm not sure what a good alternative is when my InnerBrat is going "No!" when I even consider salad or soup.)

Re: 💟

[sylvanwitch]

When I'm really hungry and craving something substantial, my go-to is usually toast with plants-based cheeses or some other savory plants-based spread, or I will have nuts themselves or wheat crackers with "cheese" and/or hummus spread or something like that. Snacking feels like a transgression, but I try to make it healthier choices, so I'm both "cheating" and not, if that makes sense. I don't always succeed in resisting the urge for something less healthy, of course, but I do find that pretending to snack but on things that are better for me tends to work.

[delphi]

Poking my head up after a rough couple of months due to family illness and work stress. Self-care wasn't ideal during that period, but at least it wasn't as bad as it could have been thanks to getting some habits underway at the start of the year.

Congrats on getting in that exercise through gardening (and on meeting the hydration goals, if it's been as hot out your way as other places this June)!

[sylvanwitch]

I'm so glad you were able to fall back on some established habits, but I'm sorry to hear that things have been so difficult. I hope the worst has passed and that you're able to enjoy some respite and rejuvenation in the weeks ahead.

It has not been as prohibitively hot here as it was a couple of weeks ago, but I have also been timing my heavy-duty garden chores for either a time of day when it's not as hot or a day when it's overall not going to be so warm. So far, so good. I dread August, though.

[delphi]

Loved one's out of surgery and home today, so that's helped a lot on the worrying front. I'll feel better in a few weeks when hopefully they're recovered - at least enough for the next phase. Disease sucks.

I'm glad it hasn't been quite as hot where you are, but yeah...August will likely be a doozy. Take care and stay hydrated!

[oschun]

Yay for fresh fruit and salads! I've enjoyed having my own homegrown beansprouts in salads this past week. One batch went bad, possibly because of the heat and humidity, but the other batch was really good. I've got about nine different seeds and am looking forward to trying them all. I'm also making my own kefir yoghurt. It's deliciously sour and fermenty. Very good for the gut microbes.

Good luck with finding ways to resolve your issues with sleeping.

[sylvanwitch]

MMmmm, beansprouts. I'm so glad you're having such a thorough success in making lifestyle changes. You sound *so* enthusiastic, and that's fantastic! I'm also excited for your kefir-making. I don't do dairy, but it sounds delicious.

The grocery store T. works for recently introduced their own line of probiotic and prebiotic (both in one) all-natural, low-sugar sodas, so I've been using a half-can a day with my usual morning juice blend to add some good stuff to my own gut biome. Let's say it had an immediate effect at first, so I know it works. Lol!

[luzula]

Well, the week is pretty much over... *fails at commenting*

Anyway, I had a very good week, fitness-wise and otherwise! We've been at the family summer place, and I have been gardening and sawing/chopping wood and picking bilberries. Also I've been sleeping well and managing to exercise/work out, which is not a given since I am usually worse at those things while I'm here. I've been running every other day and doing various workouts.

Good job on your gardening, and I hope you've been able to keep from that evening snacking.

[sylvanwitch]

No worries on when you comment. Since I'm on summer break, time has no meaning. I think it's Sunday? *shrugs helplessly*

I have failed miserably on the snacking front, but I remain very active.

YAY to you for maintaining a workout regimen while at the family summer place! I know that's historically a challenge for you. It also sounds like there have been lots of other more holistic/organic modes of exercise. YAY! That's all simply excellent! Go, you! It sounds like the much-deserved break you've been wanting.