Fitness Fellowship 2024: Week 27 Check-in

[sylvanwitch]

Hello, Friends!

I am all out of small talk, so I'm just going to get right to the point: How was your week, fitness-wise and/or otherwise? I hope you've had more successes than struggles. As always, please share with us whatever you'd like to about your week and any goals you may have for the week ahead.



Weight: I'm up a little from last week and only just shy of what I weighed when I got home from vacation.

Exercise: It's not because I'm not exercising. There has been less gardening--the conditions haven't been ideal for weeding, but I've done what I can, mostly watering--but I've been getting in a lot of miles every day and also have done some light weights and some incline and cardio work. So, I've been active.

Eating plan: I've snacked every night--and LATE at night, circa midnight. It's not always because I'm hungry either. I am definitely struggling with some anxiety issues around our upcoming elections in November, and I should really stop doomscrolling the app formerly known as Twitter because it is not conducive to my mental health. Needless to say, the doomscrolling doesn't help with the next one either.

Sleep: I think I've finally disciplined myself enough to be off devices at least a half-hour before my bedtime and to be in bed by circa 1:00am. I have been doing okay with falling asleep, but staying asleep is another story. The anxiety dreams seem constant. (Last night's woke me up coughing, convinced we were trapped in a house on fire.) But I'm at least setting actual boundaries and trying to abide by them.

Meditation: Yes, I've done some breathing and prayer.

Hydration: Yes, definitely. I've been more mindful of this as it's been hotter here. I bought a sort of water bottle sling that lets me put my camera, ID and bank card, tissues, etc., in it as well, and I've been using that. (I don't like holding something in my hand when I'm out for a ramble, and I dislike the way a full backpack makes my back soaked with sweat.)

The week ahead: One thing at a time. This week's goal is to defeat the nighttime snacking fiend and get back on the strict eating window wagon. Then, I'll work on reducing my intake of calories during that window.


May the week be a good one for you, full of those things you most need to feel contented.

Comments

[delphi]

Congrats on staying active and sticking to a bedtime! That's huge.

I am taking the "one thing at a time" page from your book and focusing first and foremost on sleep this week. It's pretty much the linchpin to everything else: if I get to sleep on time, I wake up early enough to get a brisk walk in before the day gets hot, and my appetite is better if I have a full night's sleep, and I don't fall into the caffeine trap if I'm not tired.

This week could have been worse. I was in bed early enough to get eight hours a night, even if they weren't in the sweet spot of the most restful eight hours. I ate at least two meals every day. I got out for a walk most days, and yesterday at Pride I walked around for at least two hours in the heat without it feeling like any strain, which is a level of fitness I appreciate being at.

[sylvanwitch]

Your measuring stick for fitness is *so* useful and healthy! YAY for having the stamina to walk outside in the heat and the common sense to set reasonable goals upon which you can build. I hope that sleep comes to you easily, that you stay asleep all night, and that you wake each day feeling rested and ready for whatever the day will bring. *hugs*

[delphi]

That's really kind of you to say. I get embarrassed sometimes that my goals are so unambitious but still present a struggle for me. But while other frameworks tend to prod at some dysphoria and other triggers, I can at least always feel motivated by thinking about the things I take everyday satisfaction in - like going to an outdoor event for the day, or carrying home my groceries, or assembling some new furniture - and just focusing on what I can do to keep operating at that level as long as possible in my life.

May good sleep find you too. *hugs*

I'm so close

[oldtoadwoman]

I'm back to being one pound above my next goal (i.e. tied for lowest weight of the year). I could have hit and passed my goal by now if I hadn't given in to so many bouts of comfort eating, so I totally get you. It's so hard to avoid the doomscrolling. (And I really resent that we are already so worked up about an election that is still months away. We shouldn't have this much stress for this long ahead of time.)

I've been having dreams that I can't remember, but I know they are nightmares because I keep waking up feeling sad or panicky. I know it's because I'm stuffing my brain full of things to worry about just before going to bed.

Eventually, I need to focus on clearing my mind and avoiding stressful things. But in the meantime, I've got a few more to-do items that need to be taken care of. (Clean apartment, take out trash, re-edit my resume and write a basic cover letter that I can tweak as needed, make a dentist appointment, etc.)

Re: I'm so close

[sylvanwitch]

I am sending you good vibes for getting through that list of adulting stuff and then arriving at a headspace where you can just relax and get rid of all the stress.

I am with you on this being way too long to be expected to maintain anxiety. I am resentful of the media for its feeding frenzy and for people I thought were sensible Americans getting all het up about it like this. Honestly, we've turned into the dystopian satire of ourselves. I am *so* tired already, and it's not even autumn. *sighs*

Anyway, here's to BOTH of us getting to a point at which we can STOP doomscrolling, especially near bedtime, and find our respective centers. *hugs*

Re: I'm so close

[oldtoadwoman]

I'm feeling encouraged by the UK and French elections going much better than predicted. Apparently all of their news analysis leading up to the elections said the far-right parties were supposed to have the lead and instead the left and moderates did better than expected. So I'm hoping there's a trend of the news hyping up the end of the world and actual voters being more reasonable. (But I'm still horrified that the choice between "be a decent person" and "destroy the world" is always so close every time. How do the awful candidates maintain so much support?)

Re: I'm so close

[sylvanwitch]

In answer to your question there, I'm afraid it's because so many people are truly awful. I mean, I get that there are a lot of ignorant white people driven by fear of becoming irrelevant, and I understand that they are victims of a system that prefers them to be ignorant bigots, so said system can perpetuate itself. But I think that the Orange Menace normalized public, pervasive hatefulness, and those people got used to thinking it was normal to be this way, and now they are desperate to maintain relevance, so they can feel powerful when, in fact, they have zero influence in real terms. And the media plays into the narrative that this vicious minority has more power than it does because a lot of the media is funded by people who benefit from perpetuating the Us vs. Them-ness of this whole twisted system. *sighs*

Sorry...you were probably looking for comfort, not a screed. ;-)

Re: I'm so close

[oldtoadwoman]

Agreed. I guess I still have this childlike confusion about why people want to be hateful. Hate is not an emotion that I am comfortable with. Anytime I get that angry, I need to get away from whatever is getting under my skin to make the feeling go away. So many people seem to want to be hateful and I just don't get how that doesn't make you even more miserable.

[oschun]

I'm sorry you're feeling stressed. I can totally understand why. It sort of astounds me that Biden and Trump are the two choices that you have for your major political parties. For us, we're feeling relieved after the wins for the Labour party in the UK and the left-wing alliance in France, which has seen a worrying swing to the right in recent years.

Doom scrolling really is an awful thing for your mental health. Good luck with managing it and defeating the snacking fiend. One thing at a time is a really good strategy.

[sylvanwitch]

Thank you, hon. *HUGS* to you and CONGRATULATIONS on the big election news in the UK! (I am also super relieved about France; I've been keeping a worried eye on that situation for a while now. Ditto Poland, but I fear things are not getting better there.)

I have no excuse for being on Twitter late at night. I have broken my habit of reading an ebook before bed and have two actual, physical books going at any one time in addition to an ebook. Plus, I've been doing crossword puzzles at night, which I find soothing. So, it should not be that difficult for me to leave the iPad where it is and do other, less anxiety-inducing things. And yet...

I'm pleased to report that last night (Monday), I neither snacked nor doom-scrolled. One day at a time.

I hope your week has been a good one, hon, and that the elation of the election results carries you for some time to come. *hugs*

[luzula]

Ack, I'm sorry about the election anxiety. : (( Best of luck letting go of the doomscrolling!

Well, I already summed up last week in my late comment to the previous post. This week is not going to be a good one for exercise--I am currently visiting a friend, and on Saturday I'm leaving for further traveling. My visit to my friend is currently disrupted by her getting sick with a fever and a sore throat last night. We were mostly outside yesterday, so I'm hoping I might escape it. Luckily I can stay at her parents' house nearby for now, and maybe tomorrow she will be improved and we can do some more socializing outside. So I suppose my main health goal for this week is not to catch whatever she has!

Also to eat healthy (have already turned down cakes/candy three times today) and sleep well.

[sylvanwitch]

I hope your friend recovers quickly and that you don't catch it at all. I am also sending you good vibes for continued anti-sweets willpower and pro-sleep experiences. :-) You seem to be handling the disruptions with real grace. *hugs*