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

[delphi]

Oh wow, I was wondering if you guys were getting all that weather I was hearing about!

Congratulations on the exercise despite the inclement weather, and I'm so glad the way you're currently eating is feeling good for you. <3

Living in the Pacific Northwest and not driving, my weather options for walking most of the year are either "Enh, it's fine if I wear something waterproof" or "Oh god, the rain is horizontal and the wind is hurling garbage cans at me - I'm not making it to any secondary location," with a week once every couple of years of "It snowed and no one knows they're supposed to clear their sidewalks, I'm staying inside until it melts." But I definitely have routes for rainy days that keep me out of the mud and under a certain amount of awnings.

My week:

Meals - 6/7 (stocked up on some breakfasts for the freezer to hopefully avoid another 'no breakfast so then no lunch' day)
Water - 7/7
Stretching - 7/7
Walking - 7/7
Fibre - 7/7
Sleep - 3/7 (but never more than an hour late to bed, which isn't too bad)

I am also noting to myself, so I remember, that having a high-fibre smoothie at breakfast really does cut down on cravings massively by keeping me full and keeping my blood sugar steady.

[sylvanwitch]

So, we've been getting lake effect for days, on and off, and now not only are we getting more of that, but we're expecting the big, bad storm that everyone else is supposed to be getting, at least this side of the Mississippi. We're in exam week, and we've already had one snow day, and the whole schedule has been thrown into disarray. This morning, I drove through an actual snow squall. Thankfully, I was going only 20mph when two deer gamboling in the road materialized out of the snow. They looked at me like they couldn't figure out what I was doing in their field. I was like, uh, guys, I hate to tell you, but...

Anyway, you have been doing SO WELL! YAY! I love that you've found a breakfast option that keeps you satisfied. My fallback lately is sprouted multigrain toast with peanut butter. I've noticed the last two mornings when I haven't felt like PB, I've gotten hungry a lot earlier in my day. I suspect my body is missing the fat and protein in the PB, so I'm going to have to force myself to get past whatever minor mental barrier I've erected against my usual morning meal. This is to say that I appreciate how a fiber-rich smoothie can keep you full much longer than something less fiber-iffic. ;-)

I like the way you've accounted for those 3/7 sleep nights, too. I have been struggling to get to bed on time, but it's been because I've been doing crosswords to settle myself in for sleep, and I always want to get just "one more clue." But, like you, it's rarely very MUCH past my usual sleep time, so it's definitely better than being up all hours.

I hope the week we're in is treating you gently, friend. :-)

[delphi]

Oh man, I'm so sorry about the weather. (Although I laughed out loud at "uh, guys, I hate to tell you, but...")

Peanut butter toast is definitely a classic in this house too. Sometimes with banana or apple sliced on top of it. I'm just bad at making sure I always have bread - I should pick up a loaf for the freezer.

And re: sleep, I figure that's one of those categories where better is still good even if it's not perfect. Staying up until 11:30's different from staying up until 1:00! That 'one more clue' or 'one more chapter' is a tough one to conquer, but reading or puzzling in bed is one of those cozy things that makes life worth living.

Crossing my fingers you can stay warm, comfortable, and safe throughout the big bad storm. <3