Fitness Fellowship 2025: Check-in Seven

[sylvanwitch]

Greetings from the frozen tundra! (Okay, we don't actually have tundra here, but it feels like we should. Brrrr!)

How has your week been, fitness-wise and/or otherwise? Please feel free to share, as always, and know that there is never any judgement here.



Weight: 207.4, so I've lost exactly 10 pounds since the first of the year. I'm pleased about that because I haven't been eating quite as thoughtfully as I should be, but I *have* been getting exercise, so I suspect that explains this week's drop.

Exercise: As mentioned, I've been exercising. I did yoga four times, lifted light weights three times, and got in as much walking as time, energy, and weather allowed. I used the elliptical twice, since the weather outside was frightful, and I got my steps in at work last week, too.

Eating plan: We splurged for Valentine's Day and had leftovers, so my meals haven't been as calorie-controlled as one might like. I've also been indulging a bit in the delicious local chocolate T. got me for the holiday. (I asked for it, so he wasn't tempting me without my permission.) I have also, however, been eating a lot of fresh fruit and veg, so there's that too.

Hydration: I've been making it a point to drink water despite it being so cold.

Meditation: Ugh! I definitely didn't do any breathing exercises or meditating. I'll have to make a point of it this week.

Sleep: I've been trying to get to bed a little early, largely because I've been so tired, and that's helped me to feel more energetic during the days. I'm going to try to keep to that habit and see what happens. It helps that I'm on my winter break this week, so I can sleep in a little in the morning too.

The week ahead: I'm going to do my best to be thoughtful about what I eat, to get at least my usual daily exercise, and to try to achieve my other goals as well.


I'm sending you good vibes for the week we're in. :-)

Comments

[lenzes]

I'm in awe of your exercise habit! And yay for getting steadily closer to your weight goal and staying hydrated! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that you have the opportunity to do some breathing exercises or meditating this week :)

Goal 1 – walking: I finished week 3 of the program!

Goal 2 – push-ups: I worked out once and did some wall push-ups, which is at least better than doing none at all :D

[sylvanwitch]

Thank you! There are (many) times when I don't really feel like exercising, but I talk myself into it because I know it will help me to feel better physically and/or mentally, and since that outcome does, indeed, keep happening, I keep managing progress. It's not always smooth or pretty, but it happens (most of the time). ;-)

Go, you, for finishing Week 3 AND doing a work-out and wall push-ups! That is MUCH better than not doing any at all! You rock! Keep up the good work!

[luzula]

Congratulations on the weight loss and the weight lifting! (Sometimes we want to carry less weight and sometimes more, heh.)

My week was good! I worked out and did physical work, though I've resolved to be a little more careful with the latter. We lifted some heavy timber and while I didn't strain anything or drop anything, I very well could have. So I think we should always be three people doing the heavier stuff together, instead of just two. Sleep was fine, though I sometimes didn't turn out the light as early as I ought to. Weight also good (even though I made and ate sticky toffee pudding! what is up with my weight being so stable? well, I'm not complaining.)

[sylvanwitch]

Wise words, indeed. :-)

I'm so glad you had a good week AND that you recognize reasonable limits on lifting heavy things, even if said lifting didn't result in injury (thank goodness). Probably my greatest problem with gardening is that I overdo it and then cripple myself indefinitely right when I most need to be out in the yard every day. No matter how often I promise myself I'll be better about it--and no matter how often my husband reminds me to take it easy--somehow, I keep repeating this stupid pattern of behavior. This is to say that your self-awareness and self-restraint are both excellent reactions to heavy things! YAY!

Also, YAY that your weight is stable! I'm sure it's that you're just all around having healthy habits, so the occasional delicious treat doesn't make a dent in your maintenance.

[oschun]

I've had a difficult week. As I'm sure you have. My wrist is still so inflamed and causing me so many issues. And I've been worrying about my mom, who fell and broke her leg and has been in hospital. That was compounded by our cat, Maisie Mouse, who is our surrogate child, disappearing. We've spent days scouring the area for her. We're very rural. I couldn't sleep and kept thinking about her out there in the cold and the dark. It's been so stressful. My mom's okay and this afternoon we finally found Maisie alive and miaowing in an empty house with a cat flap that only worked going in and not out. We'd been checking all the fields for her body because we thought she was dead and just wanted to know. S and I burst into tears when we found her. I think I'm hypersensitised by the pain in my body and just a general feeling of the world being an unhappy and unsafe place right now, like I can't really rely on the benevolence of the universe, which is normally a force I believe in. I'm sorry to unload like this. It's been a weird day. I hope you're okay.

[sylvanwitch]

Oh, that IS a difficult week, particularly with Maisie being missing. I am SO GLAD and relieved that you found her unharmed. We had a cat go missing when I was a teen, and I still remember the awful helplessness of it and all the terrible scenarios my brain provided.

I'm so sorry about your mom's injury; I hope she comes home from the hospital soon and recovers well and without complications.

I also hope your inflammation subsides; constant, grinding pain of that nature can take you apart down to the molecules.

Big, big BIG *HUGS* for you in these awful, uncertain days. May you find a source of peace and some cessation of pain and worry soon!

[oschun]

Thank you for your kindness, hon. I'm feeling a lot more positive. My mom has had surgery and is going home today. Maisie is recovering from her incarceration ordeal and insists on sleeping right between us at night, which comforts us as much as her. And I've got a doctor's appointment today about my hand/wrist. As brilliant as it is to have a national health service, it is a slow and creaking machine.

I hope the funeral wasn't too difficult for you and everything you have to do as executor is reasonably straightforward.

Let's hope for a better week next week, right?

💙

[oldtoadwoman]

I'm afraid to get on the scales. It's been a rough winter. It's like my brain cannot distinguish between being cold and being hungry. (I resisted getting any junk food today, but that's just one good day after a string of too much comfort-eating.)

Re: 💙

[sylvanwitch]

I hear you and absolutely get it. I made some BAD choices yesterday after the funeral, and even so, I was a little shocked by just how much damage showed up on the scale this morning. UGH! Why????

Anyway, good on you for avoiding the junk food yesterday; that's a positive step, even if you have a misstep later.

Re: 💙

[oldtoadwoman]

It feels so unfair how quickly weight goes back on. Of course, in my case, it hasn't been just one bad choice, it's been a whole series of "just once won't hurt" bad decisions in a row. I'm trying to go sugar-free this month and see if that can help get back under control. (Not all of my bad decisions involve sugar, but it's a bit of a binge-trigger for me.)

[delphi]

Congratulations on the successful week! I remain in awe of your exercise stick-to-it-iveness, and I'm really glad you got to splurge for Valentine's Day. Getting to enjoy special occasions is one of the best reasons for eating more consciously the rest of the time, in my book.

As the late check-in might suggest, it's been a busy couple of weeks here. I haven't hit as many of my goals as I'd like, but being more mindful of them through these check-ins definitely helped me not just write off the weeks wholesale and abandon self-care. :P

Three Meals a Day: 5/7 (need to fine-tune some breakfast options that survive being taken on the go or sitting cold on my desk a while if a morning takes an unexpected turn)
30 Minutes of Movement: 6/7
Pescatarian: 7/7
No Packaged Sweets: 7/7
No Caffeine: 7/7
Stretch Before Bed: 6/7
Bedtime Adherence: 0/7 (Boo. But I'm feeling the effects and am appropriately incentivized to fix this.)

[sylvanwitch]

Look at you go! It's impressive how good you've been to yourself--sleep goals notwithstanding--especially given how busy things have been for you. Go, you, with continuing in such fine form and good luck wrangling your sleep habits back into order.

Thank you for your supportive and encouraging words, too. There has been some stress eating this week, but I'm doing my best to balance that with exercise.