Fitness Fellowship 2025: Check-in 24

[sylvanwitch]

Welcome back for another week of the Fitness Fellowship! I hope the week had brought you everything you needed for success in achieving your personal goals.

As always, if you feel so inclined, please leave a comment about your week and let us know how you've been.



Weight: I'm up this week, and that's because of eating. (See below.)

Exercise: Phew! This week's exercise was a mixed bag of practical exertion (yardwork) and deliberate fitness activities (yoga, strength training, walking). Yesterday (Sunday), I didn't walk at all because Saturday we walked more than two miles at a local arts festival and then another two and a half miles to, at, and from our local #NoKings protest rally. All that concrete and asphalt play havoc on my poor feet, so while I did do yoga yesterday, my exercise largely consisted of cleaning and laundry-related activities. Otherwise, I did yoga five times last week, did at least four days of strength training (two of them garden-related--so much trimming with heavy loppers!), and walked six days of the seven. I'm having to remind myself that my daily step totals from work are difficult to achieve on break, and that's okay--there are plenty of other ways to measure fitness than in step count.

Eating plan: Ugh. So, I was doing okay, sort of? But then we got Chinese food as a reward for me braving both a huge street festival and the protest rally in the same day (crowds are really not my thing, though I do like the marching and the chanting at the rallies), and, well, yeah...two-pound gain literally from one day to the next, so...

Hydration: Good!

Sleep: Mostly good!

Meditation: Yes!

The week ahead: Well, we're visiting a friend this week to hang out and do some hiking. The hiking will hopefully counteract the takeaway we're likely to be eating in our hotel room and the road trip snacks, etc., that are a much-loved part of our travel habits. I can only hope it's not like our last mini-vacay, during which I gained four pounds and only lost part of it again. *sighs* The plan is to bring my weights and yoga mat, and I'm good about doing yoga and lifting light weights before our plans for the day begin, so at least I'll maintain good habits, even if my eating habits are not-so-good.



Wishing you a week full of fun fitness adventures!

Comments

[china_shop]

Well, we're visiting a friend this week to hang out and do some hiking.

That sounds lovely! Have fun. <3

[sylvanwitch]

Thank you! *hugs*

[oschun]

That's great that you went to a No Kings march. I was thinking of you when I read about it.

Have a fantastic time next weekend hiking and catching up with your friend.

I had a dental issue last week that caused me pain and loss of sleep, so it wasn't a good week for making good choices. I'm back on track this week :)

[sylvanwitch]

Oh, no! I'm so sorry to hear about your dental troubles, and I hope things are healing for you and that you're in no more pain. Mouth pain is SO distracting and awful! *hugs*

💙

[oldtoadwoman]

I one-thousand percent understand the food reward for having survived two big crowds.

I desperately need to find a coping mechanism other than using food for both comfort and reward. But in the meantime, my schoolyear is finally over! There were too many reward/coping/comfort snacks yesterday as you can imagine. (The mantra was kind of "I just need to get through this day.")

More healthy eating starts now. An actual nutrition plan may start in mid-July after my sister's visit is over. (My stress load hasn't gone away yet, but it has significantly decreased.)

I know I really do need to figure out some way to face discomfort without falling back on food rewards. (I find I also eat as a fidget/distraction when I'm in social situations because it gives me an excuse to not talk.) There will no doubt be many more situations in the future where I am anxious or upset and my go-to reaction can't be food every time. But this year just broke my spirits. (Also the election. I was naively optimistic about the future and then the election results just blind-sided me. It's very hard to make healthy choices that will impact my future self when the daily doom scrolling make you feel like there is no point to anything.)

I'm flying to California in less than a week! Normally a vacation would be a big food concern, but I'm traveling with a friend who is food conscious and naturally on the thin side. She's the kind of person who orders a sandwich at lunch and when it arrives goes, "Wow, I had no idea this would be so big. I guess I can wrap up the second half and now dinner is all taken care of." Meanwhile, I'm looking at my sandwich thinking, "Oh, I didn't realize this didn't come with fries, but I suppose just a sandwich might be enough. I wonder if this place has a dessert menu." (I'm more worried about a post-trip binge. Reward for having "behaved" on vacation and comfort for bracing myself for my sister's visit just a week after I get home.)

Re: 💙

[sylvanwitch]

I know you have at least one more major stress-inducing event in the near future, so it is *super* relatable to set your goal for healthier eating for AFTER that event (and the vacation, too). I hope you do find your travel companion is a good influence (and I am totally like you with looking at a meal and worrying that it won't be enough), but I also hope you're able to just enjoy yourself on your vacation, relax, regroup, rejuvenate--all those "re-" words. :-)

When you have a plan together, please do share. I am always looking for ways to tweak my mostly haphazard eating "plan." On the exercise front, I'm solid, but eating? *sighs*

I hope the service passes as quickly as such things can and that the time after gives you a chance to catch your breath!

Re: 💙

[oldtoadwoman]

I am totally like you with looking at a meal and worrying that it won't be enough

I'm not quite sure where this fear of "not enough" comes from, but it's so strong. The fear-of-missing-out really kicks in when I'm looking at sides and appetizers and desserts. Even though I know restaurant portions are such that an entree is nearly always more than enough, I find myself worried that I'll still be hungry or even just that I'm missing out on something awesome. When I'm at a new restaurant looking over a menu, I just want to try one of everything and I hate narrowing it down to just one thing.

I am always looking for ways to tweak my mostly haphazard eating "plan."

Things that have worked well for me in the past:

Ginormo salads where I'm filling up on lettuce and/or cabbage and tomatoes. (Years and years ago, I followed the Richard Simmons plan where lettuce, cucumbers, and salsa were basically "free" and carrots and tomatoes were "vegetables", whereas some vegetables were "starches". I could max out my "starch" points by breathing. Look at a bagel and there go my starch and fat points for the day. But I'd often get to dinner still short on "vegetables" and occasionally "protein" so I'd make a big salad using salsa as my salad dressing. More recently, I was watching a woman on YouTube who advocated the Ridiculously Big Salad (always capitalized) and I got back into that routine and it was working well for me.

Baked potatoes. Potatoes are satisfying and filling and can be paired with a lot of things. Potatoes and broccoli. Potatoes and chili. Etc. After vacation, I think I'm going to try and grab some potatoes more regularly. (Not doing any shopping at all before the trip. My short-term goal is to use up as much perishable food as possible.)

The problem is that none of these things are as easy (or satisfying) as just getting junk food when I'm passing by a tempting place. They require planning. If I buy too much produce at once, it will spoil before I can use it. But going to the store frequently (even with the intention of only buying healthy foods), means I'm more frequently facing the temptation of, "Oh, look, candy is on sale. Oh, look, ice cream. Oh, look, there's a new flavor of Oreo that I haven't tried."

A friend gave me a link for a free one-week trial with Factor, which I've scheduled to be delivered the day I get back from my trip and I've already "paused" the next week (with plans to cancel outright the moment the free box arrives). I really wish these services were more affordable because I think having pre-made meals delivered (thus not being tempted to buy junk food while in the store) would be good for me. But ... it's only 6 meals and, once the free trial is over, full-price including shipping is over $110!! It works out to about $19 per meal. That's just not a sustainable food budget for me.

So my primary plan is going to be more canned foods. Not exciting or fancy, but canned potatoes and canned green beans and canned chili and so on. Things where all I need is a can opener and a microwave (or a fry pan if I'm feeling really fancy).

Re: 💙

[sylvanwitch]

I am a HUGE BIG SALAD fan, especially in the warm weather months. I fill them up with tons of good stuff and try to use a light dressing and a healthy topper, like sunflower kernels. SO GOOD!

I do absolutely understand the temptation of having to go to the store regularly and seeing things that you want (or that are on sale) and buying them. I am very much a person who just can't have temptations in the house, or I'll eat them (probably in one or two sittings).

I like your canned idea, especially if it means you can eat relatively healthy meals and avoid the aforementioned temptations!

Re: 💙

[oldtoadwoman]

Yeah, I've often said that I could eat healthy as long as someone else was doing all the shopping and meal-planning. But when I have to make decisions and do shopping (especially when I'm tired or cranky), it's just so hard for me to make good choices.

[lenzes]

Congratulations on exercising so much and in such a variety of ways! It seems like you had quite a productive week :) I hope you enjoy your visit with your friend and have fun hiking!

Goal 1 – walking: I walked three times last week! I'm not back in the program yet, but I'm still proud of myself :D

Goal 2 – push-ups: One more incline push-up :D

[sylvanwitch]

Oh, you've made excellent strides this week! Go, you! That's awesome on both counts! Wooo-hooo! *\o/*