Fitness Fellowship 2026: Check-in Three

[sylvanwitch]

Greetings from the snowy north! We're in the middle of a winter storm that keeps oscillating north and south of the city. We're north, and sometimes we get snow from north of us and south of us, since we're located between two lakes. We had whiteout conditions at times this morning, got a big dumping of snow overnight last night, and the wind chills are down in the negative numbers. Yesterday and today were definitely indoor workout days, and I don't see that changing over the next couple of days more, but we'll see.

Some of us were discussing in the comments of last week's post where we go to walk when the weather is inclement. Do you have a favorite indoor space? Mine is the closest mall, which is about .8 miles per loop. It can be boring--we're quite familiar with it by now--but at least we can people-watch.

Feel free to ignore the question, but please do update us about how the past week has been for you in terms of fitness (or any other area of your life you'd like to share with us).



Weight: 194, down 1.6 from last week and officially the lowest weight I've registered since I began trying to lose weight on 1 September 2025. I have lost 18.6 pounds as of today. Onward!

Exercise: I did yoga four times out of four pledged, strength-training three times out of three pledged, and got steps and/or elliptical work in every day.

Eating plan: I'm finding that I don't feel like I'm "on a diet," for whatever value of that phrase you give it. I don't feel deprived or resentful, I do eat things I like, and I don't feel hungry very often. I know a lot of that has to do with my focus on plants-based, whole-foods eating, but some of it feels like an age-related sea change? I don't know how to explain it, but this time, out of all the dozens of times I've dieted in my 55 years of life, just feels different--sustainable, maybe? Anyway, I don't feel like I'm forcing anything. It just feels *good* most of the time. And the fact that I *am* seeing success when my default in difficult times is emotional eating...well, that's huge!

Hydration: Yes!

Meditation: Yes! (Two times of two times pledged)

Sleep: Mostly good? I've had a three-day weekend, and I had a snow day last week, and I'm expecting one for tomorrow, as well, and that all means my sleep pattern is somewhat disrupted. I did have one night when I couldn't shut my brain down for the longest time, but it didn't quite trip me over into anxiety loops, for which I am immensely grateful. I've been purposefully avoiding using melatonin because I don't want to develop a habit, but assuming we go back to school at all this week, I'll probably need it for the night before that return.

The week ahead: More of the same.



Here's hoping the week ahead is a good one for all of us, weather notwithstanding.

Comments

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

>>Greetings from the snowy north! We're in the middle of a winter storm that keeps oscillating north and south of the city. <<

Yikes.

Here it was supposed to be single digits today, but has been in the twenties or teens. So it wasn't cold enough to defrost the deep freezer (we store the bags of food outdoors in the car). We have built a fire, so I've been trotting back and forth feeding that most of the day.

Saturday our regular craft show turned into a small farm show, which was great fun. We're tempted by a two-wheel tractor with numerous attachments, like a snowblower or bushwhacker. But the booth was unmanned. :/ We're not sure if the smaller ones have an electric start option, which is an issue because they're a lot easier to handle, but no good if we can't get them started with a pull-cord. *sigh*

>>Some of us were discussing in the comments of last week's post where we go to walk when the weather is inclement. Do you have a favorite indoor space?<<

The closest mall to us seems okay with walkers. Some aren't. Some have a sign or stripes showing routes of different lengths. They often have a food court and seats for resting. It's worth checking if you have any in reach. One mall I know includes a fitness center, which is becoming more common.

Big-box stores such as Sam's Club and Costco are large and rarely crowded outside of holiday season. Costco has an excellent eatery with a few healthy options -- we scored an excellent chicken sandwich last time. Big-box stores often have free food samples to try, which you can aim to hit or miss as you wish once you learn their schedule.

Here in the Midwest, we have lots of farm stores. These are also big and spacious, rarely crowded except for the peak in spring planting and fall harvest.

Some of our local thrift stores are quite large, and if you walk the whole area, it adds up.

Libraries can be large enough, especially a city or university library with accessible stacks. You may need a member card to reach some areas, or not, it varies. If you are quiet about walking around, people will think you are just taking a stretch break. It's a place where you should make long loops, not pace in one area, but many libraries are large enough to make it feasible. Also, most of the big ones have stairs if you're into that, which is not an option at very many malls or stores.

Museums near here are small ones, but in cities some are huge. If this is an option for you, consider an annual membership, which is often much cheaper than a day pass, and the free days are usually packed with people.

Some strip malls have big stores. While it's not all-indoors like a real mall, you can walk through one store, then duck into the next. Outlet malls are particularly good for this approach. Back when ours was functional, shopping the whole thing probably meant hiking for several miles.

Ideally, try to find multiple places where you can walk. For us, we're often doing it because the power is out or the heat / air conditioning is broken so we need to spend hours out of the house. Rotating options reduces boredom.

>>I'm finding that I don't feel like I'm "on a diet," for whatever value of that phrase you give it. I don't feel deprived or resentful, I do eat things I like, and I don't feel hungry very often. <<

Then it stands a good chance of success, as more of a foodway than a diet. The leading cause of dropping a diet is feeling hungry too much, followed by dissatisfaction with the foods or flavors. The most successful are the foodway diets, like the Mediterranean diet -- although I note that the African food pyramid is the only one I've seen with a base layer of dark leafy greens.

Today's cooking is an African recipe, but it's a stew -- Crockpot Xawaash Chicken Stew done with xawaash seasoning, chicken thighs, tomato paste, onion, potatoes, and butter beans. We have a large carton of cherry tomatoes so I want to throw in some of those. It comes out more curry texture.