Fitness Fellowship: Check-in Nine

[sylvanwitch]

Welcome back to the beginning of the third month of our mutual endeavor! It is both difficult to fathom that it's already March and also possible that this year has lasted four hundred months. Time is so weird that way.

I hope the past week has been a good one for you. Please share your ups and downs of the past week and any new goals and/or plans you've got for the week ahead.



Weight: 192.4, down one pound from last week and the 20-pound loss mark for me. I was VERY excited to see that number on the scale! Yay!

Exercise: I did yoga 4/4 times last week, strength-training 4/3 times, and walked every day.

Eating plan: I was tired and struggling last week, so I ate more carbs and processed foods than I usually do, but even those weren't "as bad" as choices I'd have made in the past. I tend to keep healthier packaged microwave meals in the freezer for evenings when I just can't face cooking, and I had a few of those meals last week, but I didn't overindulge in sweets or snacks or whatnot, so I feel like I did alright.

Hydration: Yes!

Meditation: Yes!

Sleep: Ha! I did try to get to bed on time every night during the work week, but I had trouble falling and/or staying asleep some nights. Last night, I made sure to be in bed just before 11:00pm, but the full moon usually messes up my sleep, and last night was no exception. Still, I am redoubling my focus on getting good sleep, especially as March is the longest teaching month, and it's only the second of the month and tempers are already fraying.

The week ahead: I plan to eat fewer processed meals but otherwise the same old, same old.



May the week be a good one for us all.

Comments

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

>>It is both difficult to fathom that it's already March and also possible that this year has lasted four hundred months. <<

Yeah, especially since spring things started happening about 2 weeks ago here. 0_o

Today: I transplanted snowdrops, set up 3 red curly willow cuttings (plus one dogwood and one mulberry from my own yard) in water or potting soil, and sorted through seed packets.

Sunday: We hauled rocks and potting soil. I also transplanted snowdrops and did some other yardwork.

Saturday: We went out shopping, so that was mostly walking. I also made some water jug greenhouses and transplanted daffodils.

Friday: I made water jug greenhouses, trimmed the last of the dead stems off the wildflower garden, and did some other yardwork.

Thursday: I took some pictures around the yard and did a couple of garden crafts. See the Worm Bin and the Water Garden. I also made some water jug greenhouses.

Wednesday: I did a lot of trimming in the wildflower garden and made the first water jug greenhouses.

Tuesday: Howling wind kept me indoors except for minimal outdoor chores.

Tomorrow will be the Poetry Fishbowl with a theme of "World Cuisine" so I'll be in my office most of the day. Also it's supposed to rain much of the week.

Re: Thoughts

[sylvanwitch]

I am so envious that you've had weather that allows you to be out in the yard and gardens. We're going to have somewhat more moderate temps starting tomorrow, but we're also expecting basically four days of rain with some breaks. *sighs* Anyway, GO YOU! That is a TON of exercise of the most useful variety! YAY! :-)

Re: Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> I am so envious that you've had weather that allows you to be out in the yard and gardens. We're going to have somewhat more moderate temps starting tomorrow, but we're also expecting basically four days of rain with some breaks.<<

It's catch as catch can. Today it's raining -- convenient since I'm busy with the Poetry Fishbowl anyway -- and is likely to be wet much of the week. But I do get a lot more cold-season yardening days than I used to when the ground was covered with snow for 3+ months.

>> Anyway, GO YOU! That is a TON of exercise of the most useful variety! YAY! :-)

I am pleased with how much I got done.

[falkner]

Sounds like it was a good week for you overall! Yay!

Mine was also OK! Good on exercise, thanks in part to the arrival of good weather, mostly good on food, the exception being yesterday (Monday) when I made the bad decision to binge on sweet treats and then have carbs for dinner causing a massive sugar headache that I had to go walk off. Might make one more bad food decision today, as I'm going to be alone for dinner and have been feeling weirdly homesick, so the temptation to have pizza is strong...

I think I need to get more consistent with exercise outside of work. Getting old sucks, I can't afford two days in a row of zero exercise but at the same time I need total rest if work was particularly strenuous. I pay for a gym membership but I haven't been there since the year started, sigh.

[sylvanwitch]

Thank you! :-)

Oh, no! I'm sorry to hear about the sugar headache, but boy, do I understand the urge for sweets, carbs, and pizza. The struggle is real, lol!

I hope you're able to find a gentle exercise regimen that doesn't strain your need for rest but does allow you to feel better on days when you aren't getting work-related exercise. That's a difficult balance to find, for sure.

[luzula]

Congratulations on reaching that weight milestone! And you exceeded your goal on weight training, I see. : )

I'm good except for having too much to do, sigh. But the course I'm teaching ends in two weeks, which will be a relief. On Sunday I was home the whole day for the first time in much too long, and my crush and I both did a lot of work outside. We did some sowing in the polytunnel, and then I pruned the blackberries, emptied the stoves of ash and spread it under various trees and bushes, used the clearing saw on some brushwood, chopped wood, etc. It was a lovely day! Although I can feel all that work in some sore muscles.

Okay, goals. Sleep and weight are fine. Now that I'm home more, I want to work out more regularly than I've managed, focusing on the exercises I got from that personal trainer, so that I can eventually go to the next session with him and see what else he's got up his sleeve.

Also, I am SO ready for spring.

[sylvanwitch]

I'm so glad you got some home time and that it was full of the best kind of exercise--useful and gardening-related, of course (LOL)! YAY for good sleep and a comfortable weight and good luck getting back into the exercises. I hope that you feel limber and supple and that your next session with the personal trainer goes well! :-)

[delphi]

Congrats on the progress, and on having the freezer stocked with some good options for those nights when cooking just isn't an option. (I have been having a lot of those evenings lately.) I'm rooting for you on the sleep front and on the soothing of tempers. <3

I've been dealing with some health issues the last couple of weeks, but having my checklist has definitely helped spur me to stay on top of a lot of things, even if some have been sliding.

Congratulations on all the successes, not least how you're managing the SAD. *hugs*

It's been a rough couple of weeks here, very much just hanging on by teeth, but I'm reminding myself that doing things on my list help with the stress.

Meals - 2/7
Water - 7/7
Stretching - 7/7
Walking - 7/7
Fibre - 7/7
Sleep - 6/7 (the bright side to being exhausted is getting to bed earlier!)

[sylvanwitch]

Thank you so much for your kind words of support. I know you know what all of this *gestures broadly* is like. Let me commend YOU on that absolutely fabulous list, even if meals took a serious hit this past week. (I get it. I *so* get it.) I hope that the week ahead is better for you, meals-wise, and that you're able to get good rest WITHOUT being driven to it by exhaustion. Barring any of that, I hope your teeth keep gripping the edge. *hugs*

[oschun]

Congratulations on the 20-pound loss! That's an amazing achievement. Well done you!

I know what you mean about tempers fraying. Things have felt pretty fraught at work since the start of January. However, the spring weather is lifting spirits. Also it was world book day on Thursday and pretty much the entire staff body dressed up. So much fun. My dept went as characters from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I enjoyed channelling Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs Bucket all day.

I'm eating okay, not exercising as much as I should, and trying to get 7-8 hrs of sleep every night. Getting enough sleep has such a massive impact on my sense of well-being.

[sylvanwitch]

Thank you!

Your world book day sounds AMAZING and fun! I'm so glad you have that kind of school community and that the spring weather is lifting spirits. We're having a bit of a warm spell (to be followed by cold, miserable weather, of course), so we're going to get out for a walk before the rain sets in. Anyway, this is to say that better weather has so much impact on mood, doesn't it?

Also, YAY for sleeping! Seriously, truer words were never spoken about how important sleep is to wellbeing. I wish it weren't so because I have so much trouble sleeping sometimes, but we do what we can, yeah?

Anyway, I hope that spring continues to be kind to you and that you can get out for a ramble, perhaps, if that's something you'd enjoy. *hugs*