Fitness Fellowship 2025: Check-in 46

[sylvanwitch]

Greetings and salutations, friends! I hope the week that was has passed easily for you and that you've had some successes to share with us today.

Please do tell us how your fitness journey has been the past week. You know we won't judge, no matter what you report.



Weight: 199.2, down 1.4 from last week. I was SO EXCITED to break 200 and sustain that loss! Wooo-hoooo! My original goal was to lose ten pounds by 31 December. Since I've surpassed that, I'm hoping to lose 15 pounds by then. I'm trying not to fixate overmuch on the scale number because that way leads to dangerous eating habits, but it does feel good to see the changes in my clothes, as well, and in my overall level of energy and strength!

Exercise: I did yoga four times out of four pledged this week, strength-training four times out of three pledged, and got lots of steps in except for Monday and Tuesday, when I was still sick from my cold. I'm mostly recovered now and am doing my best to get at least 10K steps per day in.

Eating plan: I've been focused on eating whole foods, unprocessed whenever possible, with lots of fruits, veggies, beans and other legumes, etc. I'm not depriving myself of anything--I still eat dessert after dinner every day--but I have been eating smaller portion sizes and have mostly avoided snacking at night.

Hydration: Yes!

Meditation: Yes!

Sleep: Meh. I'm still struggling with adjusting to the time change. I go to bed on time, usually, but often have difficulty falling asleep. I'm working on it, though, and hoping I'll adjust soon. Being mildly sleep-deprived at work is kind of miserable.

The week ahead: More of the same good habits, more quality sleep (*crosses fingers*).



Have a great week ahead and good luck on reaching your fitness goals!

Comments

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

It sounds like you're making good progress. \o/

Today and yesterday we hacked down the brush in front of the garage. Still more to do like cutting stubs lower, raking, picking up nonorganic debris, etc. But it looks a lot better. Of course, there's a giant pile of brush that we need to do something with.

I've done some other cleanup too, mostly removing dead weeds along the south side of the house -- cleared the metal spire that holds the suet feeder.

Saturday we went out to a couple of craft events, so lots of walking there.

Re: Thoughts

[sylvanwitch]

Your progress is excellent too! Brava!

I did a bunch of clean-up on Sunday. I had a clematis that had grown out of control and stopped blooming, but I hadn't wanted to mess with it because my MIL planted it before we inherited the house. Anyway, it was time. I'm hoping it will come back next year and perhaps actually bloom, but if it doesn't, I'll plant another there in her honor.

And the wildflower garden needed cutting down. Alas, the frost got to the blooms before I could get seeds, but there were still plenty of seeds to be had, so I collected them. We'll see how it goes in the spring.

I had hoped to plant my bulbs, but it was very cold and windy on Sunday, and 2+ hours out in it was enough for me. Hopefully, we'll have a bit more moderate weather before the next snowfall. *crosses fingers*

Re: Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

>>I did a bunch of clean-up on Sunday. I had a clematis that had grown out of control and stopped blooming, but I hadn't wanted to mess with it because my MIL planted it before we inherited the house. Anyway, it was time. I'm hoping it will come back next year and perhaps actually bloom, but if it doesn't, I'll plant another there in her honor.<<

Different types need different pruning. I hope it works!

https://www.thespruce.com/clematis-pruning-3269552

>>And the wildflower garden needed cutting down. Alas, the frost got to the blooms before I could get seeds, but there were still plenty of seeds to be had, so I collected them. We'll see how it goes in the spring.<<

Most native wildflowers in North America have seeds that withstand frost, and in fact some need to be cold-stratified before they'll sprout.

https://www.americanmeadows.com/blogs/wildflower-seeds/how-to-cold-stratify-seeds

Whether and when you cut down a wildflower garden depends on your goals. If you only want it for show during the warm season, and want it tidy during the cold season, trimming in fall is fine. But if it's meant as wildlife habitat, then only cut it in spring when the first green leaves start to appear. Many insects overwinter in dry stems or leaf litter, and birds will hunt for both seeds and insects. My downy woodpeckers love drilling the tall dead stems of cup plant and sunchoke, as well as the shorter goldenrods. It sounds oddly like banging an aluminum screen door!

>>I had hoped to plant my bulbs, but it was very cold and windy on Sunday, and 2+ hours out in it was enough for me. Hopefully, we'll have a bit more moderate weather before the next snowfall.<<

I wish you luck with the weather. Here we've gotten some much-needed rain. :D

Re: Thoughts

[sylvanwitch]

Thanks for the advice! I do my best to keep the yard as critter-friendly as possible.

The only wildflower garden I cut down was nearest the house, where it blocks the view of the bird-feeding stations and makes it difficult to get back there in the snow to refill. It is a very small area compared to the big perennial beds in the back, where I do not cut anything down for the exact reasons you suggest.

Also, we have a large area near the wildflower garden that once held an above-ground pool, and I've let that mostly grow out, so there are places for birds and bugs to hunker down for winter. :-)

Re: Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

>>The only wildflower garden I cut down was nearest the house, where it blocks the view of the bird-feeding stations and makes it difficult to get back there in the snow to refill. It is a very small area compared to the big perennial beds in the back, where I do not cut anything down for the exact reasons you suggest.<<

Ah, that makes sense.

>>Also, we have a large area near the wildflower garden that once held an above-ground pool, and I've let that mostly grow out, so there are places for birds and bugs to hunker down for winter. <<

That's wonderful. :D

💙💙💙

[oldtoadwoman]

I really need to update my weight graph. I haven't done it since my new job started. I've got my weigh-ins recorded on my phone app, but haven't had time to add them to the master graph that I've been keeping for five years. I still keep making excuses for "just one more" treat and not getting back into good habits.

Re: 💙💙💙

[sylvanwitch]

I get it--getting up the momentum and locking in is an energy-intensive process, and it helps if the other parts of my life are going well enough to allow me to focus on health, fitness, weight loss, etc.

I hope you find the gumption you need, my friend. Believe me, I understand the challenges!

Re: 💙💙💙

[oldtoadwoman]

I was tired today and super, super tempted to stop at the hot dog place with the amazing milkshakes, but I reminded myself that tomorrow is "Thanksgiving" (chicken) lunch at school and I'm wistfully hoping that might include pie (we were only promised chicken and potatoes) so I opted to save my calories for tomorrow. (If there is no pie, I might just hit the store on the way home though.)

[oschun]

Congratulations on dropping under 200. Those round numbers feel so significant. Good luck with losing the other weight before Christmas.

I had a so-so week. Eating - mostly good. Sleeping - mostly okay. Exercising - not good enough. Work is insane. We've just had a person in the dept sign off with stress until Christmas. Initially it was only supposed to be three weeks. Sigh. I'm enjoying long baths with herbal salts and a book as way to de-stress. Rereading little bits of Dickens novels and Alice Munro short stories are my favourite bathtime reading. There are a lot of soggy books in the bathroom.

[sylvanwitch]

Ugh, I am SO sorry to hear about your dept. losing another person (temporarily, I hope--honestly, the burnout is SO REAL). I'm glad you've found a healthy way to cope, even if it does make your books soggy. That's a reasonable price to pay for a good escape from *waves hands at everything*. I'm sending you whatever gas I've got left in the tank to give you the energy you need to survive the stressful lead-up to the holidays. Big, big *hugs*, my friend.

[luzula]

I know I haven't been checking in for a while, oh well.

Anyway, it looks like you're doing well, go you! Congratulations on the weight loss and doing well on your habits. : )

I'm...so-so? I damaged/overstrained a thigh muscle a couple of weeks ago, and while it's better (I went to a physical therapist and got some exercises), still it's not back to normal. And I did some stupid things working outside this weekend, so my back is stiff and achy. I am frustrated with myself.

I have realized that I need to get much better at having proper posture and technique while doing physical work and working out, so that I don't damage myself. To this end, I am now reading a book on the topic, and also booking a couple of times with a personal trainer. We have a health-and-fitness voucher from work which I can use for the latter.

[sylvanwitch]

Thank you for the kind words. I've had a significant weight gain this week, and it's bothering me more than it should, so it's nice to be reminded that I can achieve things. ;-)

I'm so sorry to hear you're struggling with an injury, and I do hope the physical therapy helps and also that you're able to find new ways to work without causing strains and injuries. I can well relate to how I can no longer do some things the way I always have before, at least not if I want to remain hale and hearty!

May you find your strength and flexibility, my friend, and get back to working in ways that work for you!