Fitness Fellowship 2024: Final Check-in of the Year

[sylvanwitch]

Well, we made it to the end of another year of triumphs and tragedies, my friends.

You are welcome to share a retrospective of your year's fitness journey here or simply check-in for the last full week of 2024. As always, there will be no judgement from any of us who have made this place a little weekly home.



Weight: I'm still on our mini-vacation, so I have no idea, but I'd imagine my weight has gone up, since we've been eating snacks and heavier meals, etc. Still, I have also tried to have salad and fruit each day, with some success, so perhaps it's not as bad as I'm expecting.

Exercise: I think I did yoga every day but one last week, and I definitely walked A LOT. The friend I'm visiting is a rambler like me, so we incorporated long walks into each of the three days we spent together, and T. and I made a point of getting in a walk the evening we arrived at the hotel, too.

Eating plan: See above, re: weight. I've been fiddling with the WeightWatchers app to see how things stack up and have come to the realization that I'll have to radically alter what I eat if I don't want to be hungry all the time. That's okay, though, because the program rewards fresh fruits and veg, legumes and beans, oats, etc., and those are all things I should be eating more of anyway. For this past week, since I've spent a good chunk of it on vacation, the food choices have been inconsistent, let's say. ;-)

Sleep: I never sleep entirely well while away, but I made it a point to go to sleep when I was tired and to try to stay in bed when I woke up too early.

Hydration: Mostly? My best friend is a tea-drinker, and I have a little electric travel kettle, so we had lots and lots of tea on our visits to the room between walks.

The week ahead: I'll post my new goals and plans on Wednesday with the FF25 introductory post.



I'll post the 2025 welcome on Wednesday (1/1/25 GMT -5), if you are thinking of joining or re-joining us. Until then, Happy New Year! May 2025 be better than a reasonable person might expect!

Comments

[oschun]

Enjoy your mini-vacation! We're travelling up north to spend a few days with my cousins for the new year. I just baked an apple crumble cheesecake to take with us--two desserts in one! It looks amazing.

I haven't eaten too badly over the past week. I've also done some walking. But I've been rather sedentary on the whole. Lots of reading books on the sofa with the cat!

Thinking about the year in review: I feel proud of myself for making important changes to my diet. It's one of the biggest conscious changes I've ever made to improve my health. Without a doubt, I feel healthier, sleep better, and have more energy since I moved to a more plant-centred, wholefood diet.

Thank you so much for hosting this group. It's really useful to stay mindful about food and exercise goals.

[sylvanwitch]

We had such a lovely time--lots of walking and tea-drinking and talking and sharing of stories. Just what we all needed! I hope you have a fabulous visit with your cousins. Happy New Year, my friend!

YAY for walking and reading books and cuddling with the cat!

YAY, too, for the amazing changes you've undertaken and maintained this year. May the new year bring you more of that excellent energy!

*HUGS*

[cornerofmadness]

It was not the year I wanted, a back slide in many ways, especially with medical appointments taking up so much of it. I'm hoping next year will be better

[sylvanwitch]

I'm trying to focus on the things I can control--what I eat, how much, my exercise regimen, etc.--to offset what I know will be the many, many stress-inducing things I cannot control. Maybe you can do something similar to help you in the same way? I'm sending you ALL the good new year vibes I can spare, my friend! *hugs*

[cornerofmadness]

Thanks, good suggestion. Yeah it's not a good start to 2025 already with the news this week that my uncle and two cousins are all entering hospice this week. ffs

[delphi]

Congratulations on this year's successes, and thank you again so much for hosting this space. <3

It was a pretty good year for me, I think. I managed to have many more "good" weeks (i.e. ones with habits and practices that made me feel good) than I would have had otherwise, without the scrutiny on my body triggering too much dysphoria or the other anxieties that sometimes have me shying away from focusing too much on my physical self. It wasn't perfect, but it's left me feeling like I have a good place to continue on with and build on as I go into the new year, rather than feeling like I need to start fresh from scratch.

[sylvanwitch]

Thank YOU for the kind words and for letting me know that you find my posts useful. That means a lot to me, truly. *hugs*

I'm so glad you've had more good weeks than less-than-good ones and that you've gotten into habits that make you feel better about yourself! That is SO much what I was going for with the Fellowship, and I hope that positive momentum continues for you in 2025!

[luzula]

I hope you're having fun on vacation, as well as making sure to walk and drink enough, etc! : ) As for me, I had three days of hosting Christmas, which were maybe not great fitness-wise, but otherwise I worked out etc last week as usual!

Overall, 2025 was a pretty good year for me fitness-wise, especially the second half of it. In the first half, I was hampered by some injuries/pains that kept me from working out as I wanted to, but those have healed now. And of course you already know how much I enjoy having more physical work on the farm! And my crush energy has been great for working out now that we're in the winter lull on the farm. I'm also happy with having successfully lost 6 kg during this year and kept my new weight.

Thanks for hosting this fitness fellowship! <3

[sylvanwitch]

Our vacation was lovely, truly, but I'm also happy to be home with a few more days off before I have to return to teaching. It's helping me ground myself and focus on some goals.

I am glad 2024 saw such positive results for you, especially the healing, the physical work, and the working out! YAY for so many good things coming to you, helping you to lose weight, keep it off, and feel better and stronger all around. These are all amazing milestones!

I hope 2025 brings you more positive surprises where your health and fitness are concerned, and I look forward to hearing about your progress if/when you are so inclined to share. :-)

2024

[oldtoadwoman]

I had to double-check because I wasn't even sure if I was down overall or not this year. But I did, in fact, lose almost exactly one stone this year. Not nearly as much as I had hoped for as I plateaued the instant I started the new job and have just been slowly creeping upward recently.

But technically, it's still progress over where I started last year.

Re: 2024

[sylvanwitch]

This is, indeed, progress, no matter how the latter part of the year went. I hope you find your groove with teaching and that you're able to develop healthier habits *for you* in the new year, understanding that there are a lot of variables in doing so. *hugs*