May 2020 well-trained bodies

[Matryoshka]

1 minute ago, Laura Corin said:

Thanks. Just for further confusion, I use metric cups, which are 250ml, so 1/4 of a litre. That's close enough to a US cup for present purposes. I think metric t is 5ml and metric T is 15ml.  I don't know anyone who still uses Imperial for anything except, weirdly, body weight and mpg.

LOL.  Which is why I decided to go convert everything to ml for you, because at least then apples = apples and not oranges!  

I usually don't convert, because Amercian recipes I just use the cups and spoons I have here, and I have a metric scale, a weird gram measuring cone, and liquid measuring cups scaled in l/ml if I have a recipe from elsewhere.  I think I've always just assumed t/T was fairly consistent, good to see I was right!

[wintermom]

I played my first singles tennis match this morning. It was really fun, though a lot more physical work than doubles. It's sunny and hot outside (for our standards) and I ran out of water right at the end of the match. Have to bring more next time.  Hopefully I'll be able to meet up with a friend and go for a walk this afternoon.  

[Soror]

quick check in before teaching:

We moved the shed this weekend, I'm sore and tired. Lots of steps and sweat and lifting enormously heavy things. Very proud of the feat of engineering we pulled off on our own. We rolled it on telephone poles 100+ ft down the property, it is 12'x16' and very heavy duty. We did not damage it either with all the bracing dh did. Now we have to rebuild the floor and get it on the new floor, that will be a challenge for a new day.

Today we are doing a few little things and relaxing. 

I plan on some light yoga to help my tired body.

food:

breakfast: egg on toast: small bit of oats? blueberries w/ pecans

lunch: tuna on gf crackers; wild rice & black beans; peppers and carrots

dinner: chicken w/ last of my garden salad, tomato, and feta

snack: gf apple strudel dd2 made

 

Edited May 25, 2020 by soror

[EmilyGF]

6 minutes ago, soror said:

quick check in before teaching:

We moved the shed this weekend, I'm sore and tired. Lots of steps and sweat and lifting enormously heavy things. Very proud of the feat of engineering we pulled off on our own. We rolled it on telephone poles 100+ ft down the property, it is 12'x16' and very heavy duty. We did not damage it either with all the bracing dh did. Now we have to rebuild the floor and get it on the new floor, that will be a challenge for a new day.

 

Wow, great job!

------

I did yoga again today and was very mindful of my arms. I stopped the practice early because I could feel them more than normal. I'm trying to listen to my body, since pushing through always gets me in trouble. Sigh.

I felt really awful late yesterday afternoon and then realized I hadn't really eaten any protein or many veggies during the day. DD made a mushroom salad and DH chopped up a large napa cabbage for dinner last night that we ate with fried eggs, and after that I started feeling like myself again. Today's goal is to eat protein and nutrient dense foods in order to feel good.

Breakfast: greek yogurt, berries, coffee

Lunch: baked tofu, cabbage / carrot salad with peanut / soy dressing

Snack: pear, sunflower seeds, chocolate at some point in the day

Dinner: eggs of some sort again

I need to remember to thaw chicken for tomorrow.

[Laura Corin]

@soror that is an unimaginable feat!  Well done!

Yesterday was a bit of a food and exercise disaster.  Serious stress eating due to British political events.  Today I'm no-news, back to normal eating and making sure to do my yoga as well as a good walk.

Food: Breakfast - porridge, zero fat kerned yoghurt, berries; lunch - inauthentic chickpea and butternut squash masala (leftovers from last night); supper - chicken thighs in some manner, maybe roasted with tomatoes and olives.  Snacks - raw veg mostly with some nuts - my son has eaten all my low fat cheese.

[Soror]

11 minutes ago, EmilyGF said:

Wow, great job!

------

I did yoga again today and was very mindful of my arms. I stopped the practice early because I could feel them more than normal. I'm trying to listen to my body, since pushing through always gets me in trouble. Sigh.

I felt really awful late yesterday afternoon and then realized I hadn't really eaten any protein or many veggies during the day. DD made a mushroom salad and DH chopped up a large napa cabbage for dinner last night that we ate with fried eggs, and after that I started feeling like myself again. Today's goal is to eat protein and nutrient dense foods in order to feel good.

Breakfast: greek yogurt, berries, coffee

Lunch: baked tofu, cabbage / carrot salad with peanut / soy dressing

Snack: pear, sunflower seeds, chocolate at some point in the day

Dinner: eggs of some sort again

I need to remember to thaw chicken for tomorrow.

It is hard sometimes to listen to our bodies but even more important as we age. Food sounds delicious, I have got to put cabbage on my list.

9 minutes ago, Laura Corin said:

@soror that is an unimaginable feat!  Well done!

Yesterday was a bit of a food and exercise disaster.  Serious stress eating due to British political events.  Today I'm no-news, back to normal eating and making sure to do my yoga as well as a good walk.

Food: Breakfast - porridge, zero fat kerned yoghurt, berries; lunch - inauthentic chickpea and butternut squash masala (leftovers from last night); supper - chicken thighs in some manner, maybe roasted with tomatoes and olives.  Snacks - raw veg mostly with some nuts - my son has eaten all my low fat cheese.

I'm sorry for the bad day, today is a fresh start. 

19 hours ago, wintermom said:

I played my first singles tennis match this morning. It was really fun, though a lot more physical work than doubles. It's sunny and hot outside (for our standards) and I ran out of water right at the end of the match. Have to bring more next time.  Hopefully I'll be able to meet up with a friend and go for a walk this afternoon.  

Ya, for tennis!!! Remember your body is out of practice, give it some love too!

On 5/23/2020 at 1:29 PM, Laura Corin said:

I'm glad you found a way to your favourite exercise.  I'm looking forward to Nordic Walking next weekend  I'll put the tide app back on my phone so that I can see when there'll be lots of beach for everyone to use safely.

The cake was a success.  I was discouraged from baking for forty years by an unsympathetic teacher at school.  It turns out I actually can bake a cake: lockdown forced me to produce carrot cake for my own birthday and chocolate cake for my son's.  Last night's Chinese food was really delicious: tofu with spring garlic; bai cai with garlic and ginger; eggs and tomatoes with scallions (all cooked by Husband).

After cake with Hobbes in person and Calvin on Zoom, Husband and I went for a gentle walk - there are fifty-mile-an-hour gusts of wind at present, so longer walks aren't very attractive.  Then a perfectly decent mid-level yoga session to which I added Crow (up to 25 seconds now) and a couple of seconds of Side Crow, plus a few extra inversions.

Our boiler isn't working properly at present - it's producing hot water but not heat.  The outside temperature has dropped again, so I'm sitting cosily by the wood stove.

Good for you making the cake. That wind is horrible. 25 sec crow is awesome!

On 5/23/2020 at 12:12 PM, Dreamergal said:

My pool is opening this weekend. I am so excited I feel like a child on Christmas, not even funny. 25% capacity only. But I am going at 5 am to swim. Wearing swim shorts over a tankini, no robe. No changing anything. Wearing a mask and water shoes which will be on deck and a towel. Have a plan to be safe. I will wear a swim cap too. Will swim and come directly.  Shower and wash everything. The usual thing we do when we venture out for occasional grocery shopping. I did not even check if the locker room will be open. My kids won't swim though. 😒. I feel a bit guilty for that and I will probably find a way to do if safely later but even though I feel a bit selfish I think I need to visit a pool more for mental health sake than any physical benefit. But I am so very excited. It is just exploratory now. But just getting into the water will make me feel so happy I can't even quantify it. I am sorry for gushing, but it's the little things. 

Have a great memorial day weekend. !

How was the pool??

________________

I had a break between classes and did about 20 min of yoga, some nice stretching and restorative poses.

[wintermom]

2 hours ago, soror said:

quick check in before teaching:

We moved the shed this weekend, I'm sore and tired. Lots of steps and sweat and lifting enormously heavy things. Very proud of the feat of engineering we pulled off on our own. We rolled it on telephone poles 100+ ft down the property, it is 12'x16' and very heavy duty. We did not damage it either with all the bracing dh did. Now we have to rebuild the floor and get it on the new floor, that will be a challenge for a new day.

Today we are doing a few little things and relaxing. 

I plan on some light yoga to help my tired body.

food:

breakfast: egg on toast: small bit of oats? blueberries w/ pecans

lunch: tuna on gf crackers; wild rice & black beans; peppers and carrots

dinner: chicken w/ last of my garden salad, tomato, and feta

snack: gf apple strudel dd2 made

 

That does sound like a really big job moving the shed. Congratulations for pulling it off with success and creativity.  Enjoy some lovely yoga today. 😃  Your food sounds delicious!

[wintermom]

2 hours ago, soror said:

Ya, for tennis!!! Remember your body is out of practice, give it some love too!

________________

I had a break between classes and did about 20 min of yoga, some nice stretching and restorative poses.

Great job on the restorative yoga. I plan to do some of that this morning as well.  Yes, I'm going to have to try and spread out the tennis so I don't wreck my body. Right now it's once a day with rest days scattered throughout the week. Keeping up with my stretching and yoga is really helping. It's also helping by avoiding piling on additional intensive activities on the same days as tennis. 

I may play singles tennis later this afternoon if the rain holds off. Otherwise, it will be a relaxing yoga and walking day today.

[wintermom]

Dh asked to do yoga with me this morning! It was really nice having company, and it will be great for him if he keeps it up. We may even get our ds 14 joining us eventually. 

[Laura Corin]

5 minutes ago, wintermom said:

Dh asked to do yoga with me this morning! It was really nice having company, and it will be great for him if he keeps it up. We may even get our ds 14 joining us eventually. 

That's great.  My husband talks about it occasionally (without my bringing it up) but never does it.

[wintermom]

17 minutes ago, Laura Corin said:

That's great.  My husband talks about it occasionally (without my bringing it up) but never does it.

That was my dh as well. He talked about it for a bit out of the blue, and then suddenly said that today he would start. 

[wintermom]

It turned out to be a beautiful and relaxing day. I walked the dog a couple times, did yoga with dh, and did some gardening with dd. We finally got out to a garden centre to buy some new plants. It was very fun! I was very excited to find Thai Basil plants, so I bought 2 to supply my stir fries and pho cooking. I also bought some bird seed and put my feeder back up. I found a much better spot for it and I've already seen one visitor! I think it was a female cardinal. 😃

 

Edited May 26, 2020 by wintermom

[Soror]

19 hours ago, wintermom said:

Dh asked to do yoga with me this morning! It was really nice having company, and it will be great for him if he keeps it up. We may even get our ds 14 joining us eventually. 

Well done, I think dh has joined me for a bit of yoga maybe twice in nearly 20 years of practicing

9 hours ago, wintermom said:

It turned out to be a beautiful and relaxing day. I walked the dog a couple times, did yoga with dh, and did some gardening with dd. We finally got out to a garden centre to buy some new plants. It was very fun! I was very excited to find Thai Basil plants, so I bought 2 to supply my stir fries and pho cooking. I also bought some bird seed and put my feeder back up. I found a much better spot for it and I've already seen one visitor! I think it was a female cardinal. 😃

 

That does sound like a very nice day! 

It ended up around 90 here with tons of humidity. We did a few odds and ends outside but mostly relaxed. I got in a short walk and my yoga in the am. We took the kids for icecream after our afternoon nap. I got the smallest size sundae they offered.

Today- I need to go grocery shopping after teaching and mow the lawn when I get back if the storms hold off that long (I can't mow too early as the grass has to dry from the dew). I am going to give my body another day of rest from strength work after all the heavy lifting this weekend. We're supposed to have thunder storms coming in the afternoon so I'm not sure if I'll get in a walk after my chores or not.

b: eggs on toast; oatmeal w/ blueberries + pecans

l: chicken, wild rice, black beans; side salad

d: tacos w/ cabbage slaw

s: dark chocolate; pineapple and cottage cheese

 

[EmilyGF]

No exercise this morning as I decided to sleep in (didn't happen) and then used the time from getting up early to get caught up on some homeschooling and life things. If I have some down time this afternoon, I'll exercise, but I'm not going to stress out about it.

Goal for the day: find some lists of HIIT exercises I can do in my backyard that don't involve my arms bearing any weight.

Breakfast: greek yogurt with berries and fruit

Lunch: napa cabbage salad with fried eggs and crackers

dinner: chicken sweet potato crock pot meal, maybe rice

snacks: pear, chocolate 🙂

DH is supposed to make dinner tonight. He is aware of how incapable his father is in the kitchen now that his mother has died and I think wants to build up some skills. He volunteered when I asked each kid to pitch in due to my arms. When I protested (he's literally made dinner a handful of times in 17 years), he said, "Am I not part of the family?" OK!

[wintermom]

It's a scorcher out there at 89F (31C)! Dh and I played doubles tennis in the heat. It was a really fun match, though draining. The season is too short to waste, though. 😉

@soror  Hope you got your lawn mowed before the storm hit. 

@EmilyGF Enjoy your HIIT work-out and the dinner by dh! 

[Matryoshka]

9 minutes ago, Dreamergal said:

Our gym opened. Not the pool. Someone jumped the gun on the pool information that was sent out. 🙂. I can laugh today, I was not amused when I went there at 6:30 am 😂. They are usually open at 4 am and I go at 5:30 am. They opened at 6 am and I was there at 6:30 am. I was so thankful I was wearing swim shorts and a very modest top, masked, covering up with my towel  and as I did not have even a robe when I had to go via the lobby ☺️. A few people in gym gear did a double take at me, but I was not the only one enthusiastic to swim, people were in swimming wear and no robe like me. I quickly found out the pool was closed and ran as fast as I could back to the car. 😂

So the status is the gym is open, locker rooms are open, shower stalls are open with precautions for cleaning every hour and precautions like distance between equipment, upper lockers only, alternate shower stalls. The pool opens on June 1st. Lap Swimming only. I will be wearing a robe. 😊 🤣

That seems very backward to me - seems like the gym is a riskier place, Covid-wise, than the pool.  Hope you'll be swimming soon!

[Matryoshka]

8 minutes ago, Dreamergal said:

My biggest pet peeve even on good days is gym equipment because few people clean before and after. Now management is going to clean. I don't know how they are going to enforce that. Also the gym area has towels given by management. I don't know how that will be affected or if it will. But lots more people were there for the gym. I did not check on classes, but it was too early for that.

Pools are 25% occupancy according to state regulations. This is an indoor pool open year around. Our community pool is closed indefinitely because they cannot clean.

My gym is super-clean; we all wipe down every time we use something (sometimes before and after!) and then management cleans between classes as well.  But honestly the surfaces don't even bother me that much.  It's all the heavy breathing in close proximity that freaks me out - and even if they limited capacity to 25%, with the size of the room and the amount we push ourselves (which results in the heavy breathing), it's really no better.  And in that case a mask 1. really would make it hard to breathe and 2. probably wouldn't help  - two 'reasons' I kind of pooh-pooh when the kvetching is for walking around the grocery store with masks - but working out hard indoors in a group?  Yeah, then that argument starts to hold water, even for me.  Staying home. 😞   At least the rowing machine factory is back in production and I can hopefully soon look forward to spending big bucks on one of those...  

My rowing club says they may open up for singles sculling later this summer (1 person in boat, 2 oars).  Won't be as fun for me as sweep (8 in boat, one oar each), but I will miss being out on the water!  Might go kayaking with my brother - I said I'd buy him a second used kayak for his birthday if we can go together...

Edited May 26, 2020 by Matryoshka

[Laura Corin]

I wouldn't be comfortable in a gym. Heavy breathing in a confined space with recirculating air doesn't sound good. My organisation is offering free membership when the gym reopens, but I'm not keen.

The weather is glorious again. I did yoga outside at lunchtime and held Side Crow for a couple of seconds. After work I walked through the woods for about three miles.

Breakfast - Marmite oatcakes with kerned zero fat yoghurt and nectarine; lunch - lettuce and tomato with tuna and Marmite oatcakes again, and an apple; supper - hake with a tomato bell pepper sauce, and broccoli; snack - raw veg, some nuts, prunes.

[Matryoshka]

1 hour ago, Dreamergal said:

People were masked coming into the gym, are they planning to mask working out ? I don't know about the safety of it. Already heard stories about people fainting due to masking and running outside. They say they are "social distancing" and there is supposed to be space between equipment. They usually are clean, but not in between each person using equipment.  Usually they have signs and put wipes around but people are expected to basically wipe equipment before and after, but most don't. Now management will personally clean each piece of equipment when each person is done and deep clean I think in 1 hour intervals and the locker and shower area. I did not look too carefully at the gym policy as we do not use it much, more pool. I am concerned about the breathing in the gym though. I should find out more about group classes. I did not look that up. 

I tried running outside in a thin mask, just for a test.  It was not good.  Fortunately I live in a spread-out place, so if I do go for a run it's easy to just stay away from people.  I'm just skipping the gym till this is over - which makes me very sad, as the in-person classes were really motivating and fun for me.  But it is what it is, and it's also why I'm willing to invest in a machine.  I'm really not a runner - I'd rather row even on a machine.  

[Matryoshka]

I re-did the Fit Test from earlier this month.  Biggest improvement was the wall-sit - I increased from 1:52 to 4:31 - over twice as long!  Wonder if I wasn't trying hard enough the first time!  The other two things I managed one more of, lol.  27 -> 28 push-ups and I managed the full 5 minutes of sit-ups again, but squeezed one more in for a total of 89.  I have not redone the 1-mile run yet - I think I'll do it this evening when it's cooler.  Also need to plant the garden that is finally (!) fenced.

[Soror]

quick am check-in:

I did get groceries and the lawn mowed. We also took a couple of little walks and enjoyed the nice temps.

Today I need to do some outside work if the storms hold off (we never did get that storm yesterday although we were at 100%  chance!). Otherwise, I don't know.

breakfast: oats w/ banana and tsp of choc; greek yogurt w/ berries and almonds and drizzle of honey from the hive

lunch: chicken; wild rice; roast broc

dinner: stir fry I think (dd2 is cooking)

snacks: dark chocolate; cottage cheese and pineapple

Not sure what I'm doing exercise wise....

[Laura Corin]

13 hours ago, Dreamergal said:

We have brutal summers where I live, days close to or even 100. . So people prefer the pool or gym during summer. I am not sure how people will exercise outside. A lot more people were enthusiastic about the gym than the pool during the rest of the year, but during summer our pools and gyms are full. Our yoga classes, pilates, cycling classes are all full. I really don't know how people will exercise in this weather outside and inside safely. 

As for marmite and vegemite,  I smile whenever I read your marmite food posts. DH loves it on toast with butter. We carry it from the UK. Me, not so enthusiastic. 

That's weird:  I replied to you earlier, I thought, but now can't find it.  I understand the problem with hot summers - Hong Kong was bad enough, but when we used to visit the in-laws in Texas in the summer, we would take the children to the playground at night fall, otherwise the equipment was too hot to touch.

I woke up with a sore calf but it seems fine now.  I'll take that as a hint for a quiet day though: two-mile walk at lunchtime and a long slow yoga session after work.

Breakfast - Marmite oatcake, zero fat yoghurt, berries; Lunch - salad, poached egg, leftover chickpea and butternut squash masala; supper - lentils, rosti, baby turnip salad.  I'll probably adapt the chickpea recipe here for lentils and add toasted almonds for extra protein (we've eaten a lot of chickpeas recently), and roughly do the first salad.

[EmilyGF]

14 hours ago, Matryoshka said:

I re-did the Fit Test from earlier this month.  Biggest improvement was the wall-sit - I increased from 1:52 to 4:31 - over twice as long!  Wonder if I wasn't trying hard enough the first time!  The other two things I managed one more of, lol.  27 -> 28 push-ups and I managed the full 5 minutes of sit-ups again, but squeezed one more in for a total of 89.  I have not redone the 1-mile run yet - I think I'll do it this evening when it's cooler.  Also need to plant the garden that is finally (!) fenced.

Do you have a link to the fit test? I would enjoy doing something like that for June...

------

DH made dinner last night and it was great! He also got up early to do an absolute beginner yoga class with me this morning. I think I might try switching off beginner with him one day and then intermediate the next. No success on the HIIT intervals without arms. I think one point of HIIT is to get a full-body workout and engage the core, and getting on the floor is a good way to do that. Eight years ago, I ordered BeachBody's TurboFire and I think it has some 15-25 minute HIIT routines that I remember being more upright. I'm going to dust those off and do one this afternoon.

Today's food: oatmeal w/ berries and peanuts, sauteed cabbage with fried eggs, pear with chocolate, chicken with sauteed white beans and some brussels sprouts dish for dinner.

[Matryoshka]

null

51 minutes ago, EmilyGF said:

Do you have a link to the fit test? I would enjoy doing something like that for June...

------

DH made dinner last night and it was great! He also got up early to do an absolute beginner yoga class with me this morning. I think I might try switching off beginner with him one day and then intermediate the next. No success on the HIIT intervals without arms. I think one point of HIIT is to get a full-body workout and engage the core, and getting on the floor is a good way to do that. Eight years ago, I ordered BeachBody's TurboFire and I think it has some 15-25 minute HIIT routines that I remember being more upright. I'm going to dust those off and do one this afternoon.

Today's food: oatmeal w/ berries and peanuts, sauteed cabbage with fried eggs, pear with chocolate, chicken with sauteed white beans and some brussels sprouts dish for dinner.

I can just write it out - this wasn't on the corporate site, just on our local members' FB page.  The real Fit test parts are Blocks 2-5; the rest are really extended warm-ups and cool-downs.  Usually we just have the 5 min dynamic warmup and then 5 min Flexibility at the end.  OrangeTheory is generally HIIT.  Their corporate website has free workouts during pandemic times, if you want some HIIT.  They have a new one every day, but the old ones stay up for quite a while - just scroll down.  I often pan through to see what it is before committing, lol.  The Mayhem ones they're doing right now (it's a May special thing for a week) are set up weird - maybe look at the older ones.  Some focus more on upper body, or lower body, some are whole body, and they also have focuses like Endurance, Strength, or Power, or a combo (ESP).

Dynamic warmup - 5 mins 

• Squats x30sec
• Plank walkout x30 sec
• External/internal hip rotation x15sec ea. (internal 1st round; external 2nd round)
• Cossack squats x30sec
• Seal jacks x30sec

Complete 2 rounds
60 sec recovery

Block 1 - 5 mins

• Hip Bridge x30sec
• Spider planks x30sec
• Fire hydrants x30sec  (1st round right, 2nd round left)

Complete 2 rounds
90 sec recovery

Block 2 - 5 minutes

• Wall Sit - hold as long as possible.  When no longer able to hold, record time and move on to following exercises until time is called
• Alt single leg V-up x16
• Back extension x10

90 sec recovery

Block 3 - 5 mins

• Push-ups - do as many reps as possible.  Once a break is needed, record reps and move to following exercises until time is called
• Alt single leg deadlift x12
• Alt lateral lunge x12

90 sec recovery

Block 4 - 5 mins

• Sit-ups - do as many reps as possible.  Once a break needed, record reps and move to following exercises until time is called
• Superman Lat pull-down x10
• Hip hinge Y-raise x10

90 sec recovery

Block 5

• Distance challenge - 1 mile, record your time

Block 6 / Flexibility/Flow

Okay, basically this is 4 rounds of slightly modified sun salutations. There's no fit challenge in this part...

Then some cool-down stretches which I can type out if you want, but regular shoulder stretch, twists, leg reaches, child pose type stuff

[barnwife]

It's been a few days since I've checked in...I'll have to go back and see how everyone else is doing. Overall, it's been a meh few days for both food and exercise (too much food and not enough exercise). But thanks to insomnia, I got some middle of the night cardio in. I can definitely tell the hot, humid weather and being in 2nd trimester is making things harder.

It's actually not bad out at the moment, so maybe a walk should be next on our schedule, instead of math. If it doesn't rain, I hope to get some weeding in today. 

Breakfast: fried eggs, 2 prunes
Lunch: leftover chicken pasta salad, 2 prunes
Dinner: Probably frozen pizza for the kids, maybe 1 slice for me with some veggies on the side...Hey, this made me remember DH grabbed cucumbers when he was at the store. So definitely some of those for me.

[wintermom]

@soror  Glad you had the weather to get your outdoor yard work finished. We were supposed to get storms yesterday, too, and they never came. Enjoy your day!

@Laura Corin  That's great your calf soreness disappeared. Enjoy your walk at lunch.

@Dreamergal  Hope you can begin swimming again soon. 

@barnwife  Being pregnant in hot weather is tough. Hope you get some relief and are able to sleep well. When is your due date?

@EmilyGF  That's wonderful you and your dh can do yoga together! You can do your own HIIT with any activity (e.g., running, biking, stair climbing or steps, elliptical, etc.). Just pick a short distance or time interval for the sprint/intense part, and alternate with a longer, low intensity part. Decide how many repetitions in a set you want to do to start with, and make sure you build in lots of recovery/rest between sets. For example, 3 X 30 sec high knees running on the spot, walking around the room or yard for 90 sec between each rep. Do this set 3 times. 

@Matryoshka  Thanks for typing out the fitness test! I may try it next month.

-----------------------------------------------

I cancelled my tennis match today, as it's another very hot, humid day today. It's going up to 91F. It would be too hard on my body to have 2 days in a row of 'heat exhaustion tennis.' I've completed my yoga and push-ups, and I took the dog for a very short walk in the woods with dd. A swim in a pool would be great, but sadly not available.

Edited May 27, 2020 by wintermom

[Laura Corin]

1 hour ago, Dreamergal said:

Wow, in laws in TX ?? Nice. That is why we do gym membership here. It is so self contained with lots of activities for kids. DH has plans for a garage gym now. Ugh...our property might turn into a mini gym because of COVID. Climbing wall, weights, equipment.  I am not sure I like or dislike that. Will have to negotiate. 

What vegetables do you regularly eat ? We used to buy vegetables from the Indian and Chinese store and now our grocery is limited to amazon and whole foods I feel we don't eat a good range. Your chickpea salad looks lovely. I may borrow it. 

Yes, Husband is from Dallas. He's a naturalised Brit, so he and our children have dual nationality. I could definitely see converting the garage in your situation.

Our standard veggie list would include various beans, sugar snap peas, broccoli, cauliflower, courgette, aubergine, celeriac, butternut squash, chard, various kale, spinach, various mushrooms, carrots, celery. This week the farm delivered kale, baby turnips, celery, chard, herbs, potatoes, carrots and kohlrabi. Husband hopes to buy veg at the Chinese supermarket next week too.

[barnwife]

@wintermom Baby should be here by late Sept. (I think my MW has my due date as Sept. 19, officially. I prefer not to be so specific, so that when baby is late, it's easier mentally for me.)

@DreamergalI did postpone math, and it was totally worth it. Well, except for the goats accidentally being fed twice today (miscommunication between kids). Hope they enjoy the extra corn!

@Laura Corin Your posts always make me hungry. The food always sounds lovely!

[Laura Corin]

13 hours ago, Dreamergal said:

Aubergine is eggplant right ? What is celeriac ? So I guess we are ok with what we are eating. Do you like leeks ? How do you cook them ? I use them to cook potato leek soup or turkey bacon and leek quiche.   I don't know how to incorporate them in Indian curries, they seem so delicate flavored. 

Nice about DH. We are also going to bravely venture out to the Chinese supermarket next week. 

@barnwife Fall babies are nice. 

I do like leeks, but I eat a lot of them in winter when other veggies are less good. They are delicate and the singe easily. Celeriac is here

https://g.co/kgs/UAgFhQ

 

Edited May 28, 2020 by Laura Corin

[Soror]

Well, my food has not been the best and my weight is up. Mostly bloat at this point I'm sure but it is a warning sign. Sigh. I did not meal prep lunch this week and have been eating a hodge podge of leftovers and too many snacks. I haven't done any exercise except walking and a tiny bit of easy yoga. I am trying to figure out what the heck I'm doing but haven't yet. So, today I'm hoping for less snacks.

breakfast: 

gf steelcut oats w/ blueberry & flax; egg w/ spinach on toast

lunch:

chicken w/ cabbage & wild rice "asian" salad

dinner:

beef stir fry (broccoli, peppers, onion)

snack: dark chocolate; smoothie or cottage cheese & pineapples

[Laura Corin]

@soror- my food hasn't been great recently.  Not junk, but just too much.  My weight is up too.  I'm trying to combine being kind to myself with working out how to make changes.

Today I'll try to do some vigorous yoga at lunchtime, and then a gentle walk after supper.  I have book group after work.

Breakfast - berries, kerned zero fat yoghurt, marmite oatcake; Lunch - leftover lentils, apple, oatcake with pumpkin seed butter; supper - smoked fish in some way (Husband is cooking) with spinach or kale.  Snacks - raw veg and toasted almonds (left over from last night).

[wintermom]

@soror and @Laura Corin  I'm in the same boat with weight up a bit and eating kind of weird. I'm going to blame mine on the weird weather. 😉  We went from the coldest capital on earth to the hottest capital in the span of a couple weeks. My body is not adjusting well. Add in the underlying stress of the ongoing pandemic to simply wear a person out like a slowly dripping tap. Hopefully we can all get a mental and physical boost sometime soon!

Sleep has been wonky for me as well. I'm constantly going through cycles of being a little cold then suddenly sweating. Can't seem to figure out the exact right bed covering from one night to the next. 

Going to push on today and play some tennis and go for a bike ride with a friend. It has cooled off a lot, so that is a relief. I'm also continuing to do my morning yoga and push-ups. As far as food goes, my breakfast is my anchor for the day. Not too much excitement for the other meals, and trying not to snack too much.

[lmrich]

My weight is up too! Ugg - I have been steadfast in diet and exercise. I almost think I am doing too much and my body is freaking out. 

I will stick with it since I know it is more about a healthy lifestyle than a number on a scale, but, man, I want that number to drop! I do look thinner in my tummy - so good news there! But I can't imagine to think that I have just gained muscle - it is most likely bloat - from being a woman... 

 

[Soror]

nt

 

 

Edited May 29, 2020 by soror

[Soror]

Thank you ladies for sharing your struggles. I know I've said that before but it helps when you are going threw a rough spell to know you are not alone. I've had it on my mind for a little bit now that I feel like I'm fighting depression. It is hard to unravel it all. I know they say depression is not having interest in activities that you usually enjoy so it seems obvious that is causing the issue with lack of desire with exercise but I don't think that is all there is. I'm just not feeling 100% physically, I feel like I'm pushing myself uphill and so many things take more effort than they should. I am having plenty of days where we are getting so much done because we have to but when we don't have something to work on or the weather is bad it is a lot of work to motivate myself.So, I'm trying to focus on the things I know that help. Eating good foods. Sleep Hygiene. Diligence with supplements (back in March the Dr. rec a few things to help with adrenals and energy as it was a problem then- I've dropped off on some as I hate taking things but I'm adding them back in). I've not stopped exercise in years now and really don't want to stop now so I'm still contemplating what I can do now that doesn't push myself too hard. I need specific goals or otherwise it gets all blurry. I need strength work but it feels very hard right now, maybe I'll try a very pared down plan.

[Laura Corin]

@soror the house looks great. Do you think that after all that hard work you need to dial back to really gentle exercise for a week or two? Goals like a walk gentle enough to sing; yoga slow enough to really work on breath?

[Soror]

29 minutes ago, Laura Corin said:

@soror the house looks great. Do you think that after all that hard work you need to dial back to really gentle exercise for a week or two? Goals like a walk gentle enough to sing; yoga slow enough to really work on breath?

Thank you. I'm contemplating just doing a step goal and more activity through the day. My walks have been light. 

I will be getting some harder activity this weekend as we have to work on building the new floor for the shed. That will involve some heavy lifting with the boards, blocks, and concrete. I *need* to clear out the woods where the new floor will be put but it is all leaves of course and my allergies are already killing me I think its best to let dh and the kids do it.

Not sure what to do about strength work. Need to think on that more.

[wintermom]

@soror  Thanks so much for the photo of your home. It looks lovely! You did a fantastic job on the painting, and I really like the colour. Superb!  I'm sure you've developed a lot of muscles from all that work. I remember when I spent a summer installing flooring upstairs. I had ZERO interest in exercise after all the physical labour. All I wanted was a strong drink and to rest every evening. 

My tennis match this morning was interesting. There was a 5th 'player' in the game, namely the wind. It was moving the ball around in crazy ways so there weren't too many rallies happening. My bike ride was wonderful, though my friend and I got a little ambitious and extended our ride to 2 hr. Fortunately it's raining now, so I don't feel too guilty about doing nothing for the rest of the evening. 😉

Edited May 28, 2020 by wintermom

[KathyBC]

11 hours ago, Laura Corin said:

@soror- my food hasn't been great recently.  Not junk, but just too much.  My weight is up too.  I'm trying to combine being kind to myself with working out how to make changes.

Today I'll try to do some vigorous yoga at lunchtime, and then a gentle walk after supper.  I have book group after work.

Breakfast - berries, kerned zero fat yoghurt, marmite oatcake; Lunch - leftover lentils, apple, oatcake with pumpkin seed butter; supper - smoked fish in some way (Husband is cooking) with spinach or kale.  Snacks - raw veg and toasted almonds (left over from last night).

Bunny trail: Does your book group work differently now? I'd love to hear how that is running.

[lynn]

just checking in.  Almost  half way through Shaun t's 60 days of digging deeper.   

[Laura Corin]

6 hours ago, KathyBC said:

Bunny trail: Does your book group work differently now? I'd love to hear how that is running.

We just do it over Skype. It works pretty well. There were only five of us this week, so very manageable.

[Soror]

12 hours ago, wintermom said:

@soror  Thanks so much for the photo of your home. It looks lovely! You did a fantastic job on the painting, and I really like the colour. Superb!  I'm sure you've developed a lot of muscles from all that work. I remember when I spent a summer installing flooring upstairs. I had ZERO interest in exercise after all the physical labour. All I wanted was a strong drink and to rest every evening. 

My tennis match this morning was interesting. There was a 5th 'player' in the game, namely the wind. It was moving the ball around in crazy ways so there weren't too many rallies happening. My bike ride was wonderful, though my friend and I got a little ambitious and extended our ride to 2 hr. Fortunately it's raining now, so I don't feel too guilty about doing nothing for the rest of the evening. 😉

I feel like I'm just losing muscle mass although I am using muscles for sure, it is different work than exercise. I don't drink but you are nailing the feeling! That is why I inhaled too much of the gf apple strudel dd2 made last weekend.

Sorry the wind interfered with the tennis, I hope the evening was nice and relaxing.

__________________

I did a couple of little walks yesterday. 

dh is off now for 4 days, he has vaca time he has to use or lose. We're going to work some on the new floor for the shed and I think have some alone time. My parents are taking the kids for an overnight today, we've not been alone together in months now. So, we'll see what today holds 🙂 

food:

breakfast: scrambled eggs w/ spinach, gf whole grain toast and roasted sweet potato

lunch: chicken w/ 'asian' salad (cabbage, carrot, wild rice/quinoa blend)

dinner: brats (dh's favorite), corn on the cob, peppers and onion

snacks: dark chocolate, fruit, nut, smoothie?? 

I ate well yesterday although too much I think. I was starving. Today I'm hoping the appetite isn't so great. Planning a little yoga and some walks maybe but we'll see what dh wants since we're finally getting time together I want to do what he wants. Maybe some board games and a non-kid movie.

[barnwife]

@soror
I am sorry you have been struggling. Time with your DH sounds like a great plan. FWIW, the further I get into this pregnancy, the more I think I will be doing just walks and some yoga/stretching towards the end. So I think your plan sounds great.

Yesterday was okay food-wise for me, but not much exercise happened. Today is a new day though, and I am up before the kids, so cardio is done! And it looks like it will be a lovely day weather-wise. It will be nice to see the sun!

I haven't been good about meal planning this week. DH's schedule has been erratic. When he is not around, I get...much less enthusiastic about thinking about/planning/making food. But here is the tentative plan for today:

Breakfast: fried eggs, 2 prunes
Lunch: leftover curried chickpeas and rice, 2 prunes
Dinner: Breakfast for dinner (so a kid will choose pancakes, waffles, popovers, etc...they love this)

I also think I will take the kids for ice cream today. We have to return library books (our book return is only open 2 days a week). And I was pretty grumpy with them the other day, so this might be my making amends. Plus, it's just a special treat that happens only a handful of times a year. Sadly, none for me, as baby doesn't really like ice cream. 
 

[wintermom]

1 hour ago, soror said:

I feel like I'm just losing muscle mass although I am using muscles for sure, it is different work than exercise. I don't drink but you are nailing the feeling! That is why I inhaled too much of the gf apple strudel dd2 made last weekend.

 

Yes, the muscles needed for physical labour are sometimes very unexpected ones, and musices that you can't see all that well. With my flooring work, it was my forearms that *I* felt were 'bulging' but in reality looked no different than usual. I even had a friend feel my forearm muscles. Ya, nothing to feel there except tight tendons. 😂

Which of your muscles are getting used a lot and which are perhaps getting missed? These times of cross-training are an opportunity to develop areas in our body that may otherwise be overlooked. 😉

Edited May 29, 2020 by wintermom

[EmilyGF]

On 5/27/2020 at 3:26 PM, Laura Corin said:

Yes, Husband is from Dallas. He's a naturalised Brit, so he and our children have dual nationality. I could definitely see converting the garage in your situation.

Our standard veggie list would include various beans, sugar snap peas, broccoli, cauliflower, courgette, aubergine, celeriac, butternut squash, chard, various kale, spinach, various mushrooms, carrots, celery. This week the farm delivered kale, baby turnips, celery, chard, herbs, potatoes, carrots and kohlrabi. Husband hopes to buy veg at the Chinese supermarket next week too.

That sounds amazing!

Started the day with a "challenging intermediate" yoga practice involving a few balances and was able to shower before DS8 and I started on math. The weather cooled down a lot, so we feel pretty comfortable.

Our AC died and so we got a quote yesterday to replace it and our heater (on its last legs). Wow. More than our last two cars together. Yes, we buy cheap cars! Sigh.

DS8 reminded me on Wednesday to start sourdough for pancakes tonight, so that's what he'll be making for dinner tonight.

Do you set fitness or health goals on a regular basis? I'm trying to think about ways to be more purposeful in June. Ideas?

Emily

[Laura Corin]

14 minutes ago, EmilyGF said:

That sounds amazing!

Started the day with a "challenging intermediate" yoga practice involving a few balances and was able to shower before DS8 and I started on math. The weather cooled down a lot, so we feel pretty comfortable.

Our AC died and so we got a quote yesterday to replace it and our heater (on its last legs). Wow. More than our last two cars together. Yes, we buy cheap cars! Sigh.

DS8 reminded me on Wednesday to start sourdough for pancakes tonight, so that's what he'll be making for dinner tonight.

Do you set fitness or health goals on a regular basis? I'm trying to think about ways to be more purposeful in June. Ideas?

Emily

Ouch on the AC.  If we manage to buy the house we have made an offer on, it will need a new boiler for the heating system.  No need for AC though.

People often set new goals when we start a new thread for the new month, but anytime is fine.

I set up my own sequence of yoga practices about two months ago, based on Yoga with Adriene's offering.  I forgot to make notes first time through, so I'm now doing them again, writing notes about suitability and level, and adding and subtracting practices.

I did a half-hour yoga practice at lunchtime that had some great intermediate stretches.  It wasn't otherwise that hard - I plan on a big walk after work.

My son is vegetarian and I would - if on my own - probably eat mostly veg with some fish, and an occasional bit of chicken.  So we get through a lot of veg.

 

[Soror]

1 hour ago, EmilyGF said:

That sounds amazing!

Started the day with a "challenging intermediate" yoga practice involving a few balances and was able to shower before DS8 and I started on math. The weather cooled down a lot, so we feel pretty comfortable.

Our AC died and so we got a quote yesterday to replace it and our heater (on its last legs). Wow. More than our last two cars together. Yes, we buy cheap cars! Sigh.

DS8 reminded me on Wednesday to start sourdough for pancakes tonight, so that's what he'll be making for dinner tonight.

Do you set fitness or health goals on a regular basis? I'm trying to think about ways to be more purposeful in June. Ideas?

Emily

Sorry about the A/C! Ours went out last year right before our big Vaca, it was sure painful to have to pay that much for something that isn't even fun. I regularly make goals but my current goal has just been not to slide entirely into a funk and stay busy around the house.

1 hour ago, wintermom said:

Yes, the muscles needed for physical labour are sometimes very unexpected ones, and musices that you can't see all that well. With my flooring work, it was my forearms that *I* felt were 'bulging' but in reality looked no different than usual. I even had a friend feel my forearm muscles. Ya, nothing to feel there except tight tendons. 😂

Which of your muscles are getting used a lot and which are perhaps getting missed? These times of cross-training are an opportunity to develop areas in our body that may otherwise be overlooked. 😉

Good thoughts. I'm using my upper body for sure, lower body not as much, mostly walking and I try to deadlifts some things.  I think my weight training has prepared me well for the work as I know I can lift so much more now.

2 hours ago, barnwife said:

@soror
I am sorry you have been struggling. Time with your DH sounds like a great plan. FWIW, the further I get into this pregnancy, the more I think I will be doing just walks and some yoga/stretching towards the end. So I think your plan sounds great.

Yesterday was okay food-wise for me, but not much exercise happened. Today is a new day though, and I am up before the kids, so cardio is done! And it looks like it will be a lovely day weather-wise. It will be nice to see the sun!

I haven't been good about meal planning this week. DH's schedule has been erratic. When he is not around, I get...much less enthusiastic about thinking about/planning/making food. But here is the tentative plan for today:

Breakfast: fried eggs, 2 prunes
Lunch: leftover curried chickpeas and rice, 2 prunes
Dinner: Breakfast for dinner (so a kid will choose pancakes, waffles, popovers, etc...they love this)

I also think I will take the kids for ice cream today. We have to return library books (our book return is only open 2 days a week). And I was pretty grumpy with them the other day, so this might be my making amends. Plus, it's just a special treat that happens only a handful of times a year. Sadly, none for me, as baby doesn't really like ice cream. 
 

It is hard to keep on schedule when things change. Enjoy the time out with the kiddos today.

[wintermom]

It's a low key day today as far as exercise goes. I did my morning yoga and push-ups, and then went for a nice walk with dh. It's been a long time we walked together, and I hope we continue with this trend. My push-ups were definitely tougher today after the tennis and long bike ride yesterday. 

[Soror]

17 hours ago, Dreamergal said:

I always thought thin was healthy. So when I first started seriously working out, it was more for looking good rather than health. Then when i started learning about things like BMI, I always looked for "normal" category. I also have a family history of diabetes and hypertension, so I am always conscious of weight contributing to it. I never wondered about body composition until in a conversation with my doctor he mentioned the famous example of Serena Wiliams and the BMI that says she is obese. So I was encouraged more towards the direction of not looking at the scale, but working towards things like increasing muscle mass, flexibility, endurance, balance and encouraged to swim more because it is better on the body. So my goals have always been healthy and one of the ways to achieve it is fitness, the other is food. You cannot do much about genes, but "family history" does not mean you cannot be an exception or you cannot put them off until later.

My grandparents did have heart disease, diabetes, hypertension as they grew older, but they both lived until their early 90s, were mobile and had their mental faculties until the end. Now I don't know what contributed to that exactly, but their way of life was always moving, eating healthy, eating home cooked and least processed as possible, more vegetables, herbs, spices. They never went to a gym or saw any numbers like I did, but I think their way of holistic living I think contributed to their longevity. 

Those are great goals. ITA that thin is not the be all, end all. 

_______________

My 'exercise' yesterday was helping dh clear land. I didn't do any raking so I wouldn't totally kill my sinuses. I hauled branches and little trees up and down the hill.

Today is more clearing but mostly heavier work, using the tractor but digging by hand whatever we can't get with it.

This will be our last really big project, with things looking more uncertain with dh's work we're not comfortable going ahead and building the shop and spending so much. We are hoping to get the concrete pad poured but we'll see. I've got a few more little jobs that aren't terribly expensive (just labor) so I won't be just sitting on my butt just yet 🙂

I told dh in a way it is a relief with all we've already done it is nice to think we don't also have that giant job looming ahead. Of course, the uncertainty is stressful. We've been mindful for a while that this could be coming but we're hoping it wouldn't be so soon. It is what it is though. 

bfast: eggs spinach onion red pepper, roasted sweet potato gf whole grain toast & orange

lunch: mediterrean bowl w/ side salad

dinner: minestrone soup

dessert: homemade apple crisp, dark choc and nuts

[wintermom]

@Laura Corin  You inspired me to do my morning yoga outside, and it was amazing! It helped that the temperature was pleasant and the birds were chirping. The time seemed to go by a lot faster, and my push-ups seemed easier! Can't beat that. 😉

I'll be playing tennis this afternoon, and I'm also doing some gardening today. I'll try to go for a bike ride after tennis to help squeeze out the lactic acid in the legs.